Game Recap: 6/28/24
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rocky Mountain Vibes | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 2 |
|
Grand Junction Jackalopes | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
The Rocky Mountain Vibes won a rain-shortened six-inning game against the Grand Junction Jackalopes on Friday night at Suplizio Field, as the Vibes used a four-run first inning to kickstart an 11-7 win.
It is the fourth consecutive win for the Vibes against Grand Junction in the second consecutive rain-shortened game between the two teams, as Thursday's night game in Colorado Springs was also just six innings due to weather. The loss drops Grand Junction's record to 10-24. Rocky Mountain's record improves to 16-15.
Damian Henderson hit his 10th home run of the season in the loss while Austin Shumaker reached base three times in his first home game since coming off the injured list earlier this week.
The Jackalopes fell behind early as the Vibes scored four runs in the first inning and two runs in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead, but Grand Junction rallied with a four-run bottom of the second against Vibes starter Kelsey Ward.
After Calyn Halvorson worked a leadoff walk, Henderson hit a towering fly ball that snuck over the wall in left-center to make it 6-2. Henderson is now tied for fifth in the Pioneer League with his 10 home runs. After the blast, Druw Sackett walked, Shumaker singled and Holden Breeze worked another walk to load the bases with nobody out.
After a strikeout, Benjamin Rosengard came back from a 1-2 count to work an eight-pitch bases-loaded walk to drive home another run. Conrad Villafuerte reached on a fielder's choice, driving home another run, and advanced to second on a throwing error before a flyout ended the frame.
Jackalope starter Stephen Still recovered from a shaky start to put up zeros in the third and fourth innings, striking out four batters on the day across 4 2/3 innings pitched. Elijah Johnson had 1.1 innings of relief for the Jacks, giving up four runs.
Villafuerte ended the day with three RBIs on the night, as he came through with a two-run single to left center in the sixth to make it an 11-7 ballgame. Soon after, lightning strikes forced a delay, and a deluge of showers led the game to be called about 30 minutes after the game was initially stopped.
"Common theme today again, starting to sound like a broken record" said Jackalopes Manager Chris Knabenshue following the game. "Poor starting pitching gets us in a hole from inning one, offense battles back, relief pitching is ineffective and then rain delivers the deciding blow."
The Jackalopes and Vibes will continue their six-game series tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at gjjackalopes.com.