Owlz Back Buraconak with Eight Extra-Base Hits

By Skyler Timmins

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - -  After finishing with 17 wins in the first half, the Northern Colorado Owlz started the second half off with a bang as they pounded out eight extra-base hits against the Rocky Mountain Vibes en route to a 12-2 victory. 

The Owlz (1-0) totaled 19 hits on the night, with every NoCo batter recording at least one hit, with three of them having three-hit nights. Kevin Higgins helped lead the way as he fell a home run shy of the cycle and drove in three runs. 

The Vibes (0-1) struggled to get their offense rolling, as they scattered eight hits with just one extra-base hit and went 3-for-14 with runners on base. 

The scoring came early and often for the Owlz as they got after Vibes starter Brett Erwin (L, 1-3) through four innings. On the night  Erwin allowed nine runs, eight earned, on 13 hits while only recording two strikeouts in the loss. 

In the first three innings, the Owlz scored five runs on nine hits, including a pair of doubles, to continue their season trend of scoring early. After a ground out to retire Alex Jackson to start the first inning, the boys in blue rattled off four straight hits, including an RBI double by Higgins, to quickly take a 2-0 lead. 

Erwin would then get Brandon Crosby to hit a ball to second that would potentially end the inning, but an error by the Vibes second baseman Ethan Lopez allowed another run to score. Euro Diaz would cap off the scoring with an RBI single to center field, and after sending nine men to the plate in the first, the Owlz were off to a good start with a 4-0 lead. 

The offense would continue to roll through the early goings. Cam Phelts added another run to the total with an RBI double in the third. The Owlz would then belt three extra-base hits in the fourth inning to drive in four more courtesy of home runs from Jackson and Ty Lewis, and an RBI triple from Higgins to take a 9-2 lead.  
Following a 45-minute weather delay in the fifth inning that seemed to stifle both offenses, NoCo broke through once again in the eighth inning after Jackson and Matt Turner hit back-to-back singles, and Tim Bouchard belted a two-run triple. Higgins would tap an RBI groundout to drive in his third run of the game and make it a 12-2 Owlz advantage. 

The Owlz pitching staff had all the runs they needed on the night. Will Buraconak (W, 3-2) started on the hill for NoCo and recorded a quality start after allowing just one earned run on seven hits in six innings of work. 

Chance Benton (SV, 3) would need just four pitches to retire the side in the seventh, before tossing two more strong innings to close out the game and record the three-inning save. 

NoCo will square off against Rocky Mountain again on Wednesday. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM in Colorado Springs.