Owlz End Skid by Splitting Sunday's Double-Header

COLORADO SPRING, Colo. -- A stormy Saturday transitioned to Sunday, and having dropped back-to-back-to back ballgames, the Owlz looked to clear up their own horizons heading into a double-header day. Impressive pitching kept Sunday's squabbles to small scores, and small spurts of scoring were all each team needed to take its one of the two games in this Sunday split. 

Game One: 

NoCo's starter stood strong and its offense supplied just enough support to snap a three-game losing streak versus the Vibes.

Crown Kida De La Cruz (W, 1-1) with his first win of the year in this 4-3 finish. He didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, and after Sunday, the Floridian's fought through five innings in consecutive starts. De La Cruz coughed up just two earned runs, issued three walks, and struck out two Vibes (7-20) batters.

The Owlz (12-14) offense clipped De La Cruz's counterpart in the second inning to take a quick lead. In Zach West's first at-bat against Rocky Mountain starter Brock Knoten, he needled Knoten for a nine-pitch at-bat. The Owlz second baseman won the battle, bopping an RBI single up the middle to score Kevin Higgins for the game's first run.

Two of the three hits De La Cruz allowed came in the fourth, when a single and a double drove home a Rocky Mountain run and evened the score at 1-1.

NoCo responded with two hits of their own – a slow-rolling single and a deep, down-the-line double – to take the lead for good. When Pete Bayer (L, 0-1) took the bump in the fifth, he promptly put away two Owlz. But then he issued back-to-back-to-back free passes, and those three walks led to three runs.

With the bases loaded, Kevin Higgins nicked a nine-footer that stayed just fair down the third-base line, Freaky-fast Cameron Phelts flew down that third-base line, crossing home plate and giving Higgins his lone RBI.

The final two Owlz RBI came courtesy of Euro Diaz, his first RBI since June 5. With a two-strike two-bagger that scored two runs, the right fielder recorded a two-RBI ground-rule double in his first game back on the Owlz active roster.

Chase Wilkerson went to work in the sixth, striking out two of the four batters he faced. But he also allowed the Vibes to cut their deficit, giving way for Gaylan Young (S, 4). With a 4-3 lead, the Owlz needed Young for a four-out save, and the do-it-all dude delivered to end a three-game losing streak to the new-look Vibes.

Two NoCo batters poked a pair of hits in Sunday's first skirmish. Higgins hit two singles a total of about 30 feet, but in the scorebook, they look just as good as Robbie Kellerman's two hits. Kellerman cracked the first hit of the game, a two-out single in the first. The catcher also crushed the Owlz only other extra-base hit: a double with a 101 m.p.h. exit velocity.

Game Two:

A no-doubter from the newbie was the only Owlz offense to see in Sunday's second game, and this low-scoring event ended with a high-leverage loss for the Owlz.

The game tied 2-2, a former-teammate-turned-NoCo-foe found a way to win the game for Rocky Mountain (8-20). Mike Annone, who played in seven games for the Owlz (12-15) before being cut earlier this month, sent a run-scoring single to center field in the seventh, walking it off for a 3-2 Vibes win. Annone followed up Friday's five RBI flurry with that big-time base knock, giving him six ribbies on the series.

With his help, the Vibes achieved their first series win this season. And they earned it.

For a while, starter Preston Snavely was the one making them earn it. The righty went right to work and didn't allow a baserunner through the first three innings. In the home half of the fourth, though, Rocky Mountain ruined that spotless stretch by thumping three-straight hits. Gio Diaz, who lost a 25-game hit streak after the day's first game, singled to start, right before Cesar Lopez logged his first hit. Ulysses Cantu conked the third consecutive single to score Diaz and provide the Vibes with the game's first lead.

The score stayed at 1-0 until Tim Bouchard boomed one to the bleachers beyond the center field fence. In his third game as an Owl, he hammered his first homer 453 feet to feed the Owlz the lead in the sixth inning.

But Cantu came in clutch once again, driving in Lopez with another ribbie-producing poke. His second hit of the game scored Lopez and tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. It also gave him his sixth RBI of the series, matching seventh-inning savior Annone.

If we're talking trends, let's talk Ty Lewis two-baggers. He's hit four of them over the last three games. Over his last five games, he's stroked seven extra-base hits. Lewis led the Owlz with two hits in game two, both doubles, which became a third of NoCo's six total hits.

Through his first series with the squad, Bouchard went 3-for-8 with a double, a homer, two RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Not to mention he made some remarkable defensive plays from his hot corner spot.

Next Up:

First, two tantalizing off days. Then, the Owlz will cross Colorado for their first of 15 games at Grand Junction this season. First pitch for Wednesday's matchup at Suplizio Field is set for 6:35 p.m.