Lopez Wins in KO Round After Vibes Storm Back

By Tyler Petersen

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  –  Coming off the most heartbreaking loss of the season at the start of the series, the Rocky Mountain Vibes have now won three straight gutsy victories capped off tonight with the best win of the season.

Northern Colorado held a commanding 7-0 lead after five innings, scoring two in the second, three in the third, and two in the fifth off Brock Knoten.

The stage was set. Their mission, should they decide to accept it, was to make up a seven-run deficit in five innings and hold the Owlz scoreless in their final four frames.

They got busy.

Ethan Lopez had an RBI single for a run in the fifth, Andrew Hanson had one as well in the sixth, and Lopez again with his second RBI single in the seventh.

All three of those hits were clutch ones, they all came with two outs.

Then as the eighth inning has been this whole series, more wildness ensued. Luis Navarro had a leadoff home run off Kyle Adkins then, after Adkins induced a groundout, he was replaced by Chance Benton. The next four hitters in the inning did as follows off Benton: single, single, single, single. The last of that list was by Joe Encarnacion, and it brought in two runs.

Six unanswered runs made it 7-6 with three outs left.

All the while the Vibes were getting four shutout innings of one-hit pitching. Former UCCS Mountain Lion Joe Harris had three of those innings in his Rocky Mountain debut tonight.

Christian Griffin, the Owlz closer who lost the game last night by throwing the ball down the right field line, came in trying for his eighth save of the season. On a full count Ulysses Cantu doubled to left to start things off. A fly ball got him to third with one out. Nick Michaels singled to right with the infield pulled in and the comeback was complete.

Griffin got out of the inning with the game tied, but took the blown save.

To the knockout round we went. The Owlz got first crack as their manager Robby Bales threw to Brandon Crosby. It was a good display of power – Crosby knocked out three before he got his fifth out.

Ethan Lopez came to the plate. He mashed four home runs over the left field wall, single-handedly beating NoCo, and giving the Vibes their first Knockout Round win of the season.

A win tomorrow or Sunday and the Vibes win the series.