Another Fateful Eighth Gives Vibes Consecutive Comeback Wins

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- NoCo lost another late lead, losing Thursday's rubber match and the series in the process.

Down three runs entering the eighth inning, four hits and two two-out errors resulted in four runs that revived the Vibes (2-1) in their 8-7 win. Despite trailing all game to that point, they've found their way to consecutive come-from-behind wins against the Owlz (1-2).

One at-bat deep into his Owlz debut, C.J. Grant-Debose allowed two singles to start the eighth. Then, the ball belonged to Chance Benton (L, 1-3), who induced one out right away. But the Vibes converted a single-walk-single combo into two runs before the Owlz recorded their next out.

So, with two away, Ulysses Cantu came up, having already tallied 10 RBI in the series. Benton coaxed a grounder, but Brandon Crosby bobbled it. His throw to second pulled Kevin Higgins off the bag, and everyone was safe.

It was not a popular call. Higgins let the field umpire hear it. Skipper Robby Bales did too. Either way, the play produced a tie game.

Next at-bat, Higgins had a chance to end the inning, but a throwing error brought in the eventual winning run.

Honestly, it wasn't just the eighth inning. Yes, it decided the disappointing outcome, but the Vibes scored three runs in the inning before. That means they outscored the Owlz seven runs to one over the final third of this game.

Rocky Mountain managed a series win to open the second half. Doing so spoiled a special showing from Preston Snavely and a solid start by the swingers supporting him.

For the third night in a row, the Owlz came out aggressively and added a run after just a handful of pitches. Alex Jackson's triple and Matthew Turner's worm-burning RBI groundout gave Snavely a 1-0 lead to work with.

And work he did.

By surviving strongly into the seventh, Snavely submitted his longest start of the season. Through his 6.2 innings, he struck out nine to tie his season high. Weigh that against just one walk.  

NoCo notched a few in the fifth for some early insurance. Crosby conked a double before Euro Diaz drove him in. Then, Vibes starter Yohandry Perez caught wind of Diaz stealing, but airmailed the attempt to second base. Cameron Phelts, who'd just walked, ran home to increase the lead to three. Jackson smoked a single that scored Diaz and made the lead 4-0.

Rocky Mountain made up one in the bottom half of that inning, but the Owlz found two more runs the half-inning after that. Higgins stayed hot with a shot to start the sixth. He moved to third on Ty Lewis' seeing-eye single and hustled home when Diaz delivered a sac fly.

The Owlz held onto a 6-1 lead, and Snavely stayed staving off trouble.

Until the seventh inning, that is, when Cantu's cannon shot brought home three runs and ended Snavely's evening. It ruined his quality start too. Cantu's second homer in as many nights sparked Rocky Mountain's momentum just enough heading into that fateful eighth.

NoCo couldn't quite replicate its momentum from past two nights. It followed up two 19-hit games with eight hits on Thursday. Four of those came from Jackson and Higgins, who each contributed a pair of pokes. Diaz earned two RBI, the only Owl with more than one in the game.

Despite some adept defensive moments, the Owlz committed four errors. It's the first time they've made that many in almost a month. The last time? June 22, at home, against the Vibes.

That's the exact setting of NoCo's next game, which is Friday back at The Jack.

These South Division rivals are right back at it for another three-game series. First pitch for Friday is set for 4:05 p.m.