Owlz Lose Lead Late to Lose Fourth Straight

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The Owlz hung five early runs but couldn't hang on, allowing an eighth-inning explosion and losing another game in Grand Junction.

Down a run entering Friday's eighth, the Rockies (18-15) rattled off five in the form of a bases loaded walk and a grand slam. That combo completed the comeback in a 9-5 win over NoCo (12-18).

After retiring six-straight swingers to start his outing, Chance Benton (L, 1-1) saw the last of that lead slip away. Now, the Owlz slip into another three-game losing streak and have lost seven of their last eight games.

Starting on the hill for Grand Junction, Jack Parisi produced nothing but ground balls through nearly three full innings. But the Owlz struck first anyway.

Brandon Crosby cracked one past a diving second baseman for a single. The deft DH stole second base, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored from third after Liam Scafariello's steal attempt coaxed a throw down to second base. Marshall Rich chopped a ground ball past the shortstop to single in Scafariello and grow the lead to 2-0.

Then, with two outs in the third, Kevin Higgins lifted the first fly ball of the affair for his second homer of the year. That three-run touch-em-all put the Owlz up by five.

NoCo starter Will Buraconak breezed through his first three innings too, but a Rockies' rebuttal in the fourth made it a 5-3 game. In the fifth, a leadoff hit batsman scored after consecutive singles and shrunk the Owlz advantage again.

That 5-4 lead loomed as Gaylan Young (W, 1-0) took the mound. Young flung it and swung it NoCo's notable two-way player. He joined Grand Junction just this week, and his first win of the season came at the expense of his ex-teammates.

By allowing those five runs in the eighth, the Owlz have now been outscored by 26 runs in that inning this season.

Good defense by the good guys did keep Rockies runs off the board multiple times on Friday. In the second, Alex Jackson let fly from left field and cut down a Rockies runner at home plate to preserve a scoreless inning. A few frames later, catcher Rich caught a creeping Rockies runner in a pickoff play at third base to douse that fifth-inning fire.

Rich recorded two hits at the dish, the only Owl to do so on Friday night. With eight NoCo strikeouts, it's just the second time this season the Rockies fanned fewer than 10 in this matchup.

Remember that the last six-game set between these squads saw this exact same outcome through its first half. Then, the Owlz offered up three great games to split the series.

They'll try for déjà vu starting with Saturday's skirmish at Suplizio Field. First pitch for the pivotal fourth game of this series is set for 6:35 p.m.