Fifth-Inning Firepower Fuels NoCo's Series-Deciding Dub

JOHNSTOWN, Colo. -- The Owlz opened the flood gates in the fifth, knocking in the nine runs they needed to notch NoCo's first series win in a month.

They haven't seen a series dub since July 31. They earned this one by a score of 12-8, mostly because they've never seen an inning like Saturday's phenomenal fifth. 

The Owlz (13-22) throttled three of their five homers that inning. Five homers in a game is their most all year.

They thumped three more extra-base hits that inning too. Nine extra-base hits in the game is their most all year.

Eight of the lineup's nine batters bopped a hit that inning. Alex Jackson jolted two, getting his group to nine hits in the fifth alone. That's the most in an inning all year.

Basically, Saturday's fifth frame became the birds best inning yet, and it took one of their best hurlers off the hook.

Preston Snavely (W, 3-3) shook off the struggles he saw last time against Grand Junction (26-9). That start, with 10 hits and 10 earned runs allowed, broke a streak of three-straight quality starts from Snavely.

Saturday's performance won't start another streak of quality starts, but the reserved righty returned with another six-inning outing. It's the seventh time this season Snavely's sustained six innings in a start.

The FoCo kid collected seven strikeouts compared to two walks. He also allowed six earned runs, five of which were earned, and his team trailed as a result. 

That is, until the fifth inning, of course. 

But the birds brought home a few runs before those fireworks. Abdel Guadalupe homered in his squad's second at-bat of the game. Tim Bouchard hit his second homer in as many nights a couple innings later, once again tying him for the team lead. Then, in the fourth, Cameron Phelts sent a screaming single to center, stole second base, and tacked on another run with a two-base tag up. 

It's worth reiterating ... Phelts stole his 42nd base of the season, extending his league lead, and then he tagged up and scored from second base on a fly ball to right field. 

Universally considered the fastest cat in the PBL, he's the closest thing we'll ever get to The Flash in the flesh. 

As fast as Phelts is, the ferocity of the fifth inning showed up even faster. Jackson led things off with a double. After a groundout the next at-bat, the good guys grooved six consecutive hits. Bouchard barrelled a single. Brandon Crosby crushed a two-run homer. Matthew Turner turned in a homer too, his a solo shot. Phelts tagged a triple. Kevin Higgins hacked an RBI double. Ronnie Allen lifted a run-scoring single to left. Then, with two outs, Jackson added another hit, this one a single. Guadalupe looped himself in by smashing his second homer of the day and completing the nine-run eruption.

No more NoCo noise after that, but it didn't need anything else. That's because the bullpen brought enough the rest of the way.

Snavely survived the sixth, he ended his day with 119 pitches thrown. That's the most any Owlz hurler has hucked this year.

CJ Grant-Debose, Isaiah Ramos, and Christian Griffin all pitched in an inning on the hill. The Rockies recorded just two runs over the final three frames, far from enough to erase the deficit that gnarly nine-spot supplied. Those three combined for three strikeouts without walking a soul. 

The soul of this team was on full display on Saturday. It ends its season series against Grand Junction with a dominant dub. 

NoCo's offense is mostly to thank. Every starter stung at least a hit in the ballgame. Six of them registered an RBI.

These hot-hitting hooters have an off day on Sunday before taking on another intrastate enemy starting Monday. The Rocky Mountain Vibes invade Nelson Farm Park for a four-game series packed into three days. 

Monday and Wednesday are regularly scheduled games, starting at 6:05 p.m. Tuesday will see a double-header, where the first game will start at 4:05 p.m. and the second one will start roughly a half hour after game one ends.

Tickets are on sale now, all for just $10. Snag your seats today, and we'll see you Monday for the start of the next series!