Owlz Split Tuesday’s Turbulent Double-Header
August 31, 2022 – Pioneer League (PL) – Northern Colorado Owlz News Release
Northern Colorado Owlz’ Cameron Phelts in action
(Northern Colorado Owlz)
JOHNSTOWN, Colo. — The Owlz and Vibes split Tuesday’s night-and-day double-header. Rocky Mountain limited NoCo to only a few hits in Game One, but the birds batted the biggest hit of the day in their last at-bat of Game Two.
Here’s how it all went down …
Game One – Vibes win 13-2
Rocky Mountain mounted a 13-run lead before the Owlz got a hit, of which they only got three, in its 13-2 win.
The Vibes (19-17) contrived seven runs in the fourth, at that point ballooning the lead to 10-0. They’d notched nine hits. Six of them were doubles. Rocky Mountain mixed in a tater too.
The fourth frame continues to be this club’s kryptonite. Make it a margin of -49 for the Owlz (13-24), by far their largest run differential in any inning this season.
Rocky Mountain managed another couple runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth. That production provided plenty of cushion for Dusty Baird’s (W, 3-2) brilliant day.
Baird breezed through his seven-inning complete game. He threw 82 pitches, fanned four, walked four, and allowed only those three hits.
They came courtesy of Cameron Phelts, Tim Bouchard, and Brandon Crosby.
Phelts laced a left-center double in the sixth, ending Baird’s bid at a no hitter. By scoring Ronnie Allen, that rip ruined the shutout too. Phelts now owns an 11-game hit streak, tied for the longest such streak any Owl has owns this season.
He’s tied with Bouchard, who dumped a down-the-line double into right field for his squad’s second hit. Crosby brought Bouchard home with an up-the-middle single.
And that was it. An infield liner caught Crosby in a game-ending double play a couple at-bats later, and the Vibes secured their sixth-straight win. That streak sets a new franchise record.
Game Two – Owlz win 8-7
The game hanging in the balance, Phelts hit a hanging liner to left. When it fell, the Owlz found another improbable inside-the-park home run to rob Rocky Mountain of a win.
Just another jaw-dropping night in the PBL.
NoCo (14-24) may have given up too many easy runs, but it never gave up.
It gave itself a chance in the ninth. Kevin Higgins singled to start off that final frame and Euro Diaz followed it up with a walk. Robbie Kellerman dropped a sacrifice bunt an at-bat later.
Runners in scoring position, and the fastest runner in the league at the plate, it was fate. Phelts flared the sinking liner, leaving it just too far for the outstretched glove of the Vibes (19-18) left fielder to reach.
Higgins and Diaz scored with ease. Manager Robby Bales emphatically waved Phelts around, but he didn’t have to. Everyone who’s watched an Owlz game this season knew the speedster was sending himself.
When he did, he sent the crowd and his teammates, who hadn’t seen the Owlz lead once the entire game, into a frenzy.
Rocky Mountain never trailed despite batting 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. That one hit was a soft bases-loaded single off LJ Diaz’s glove in the first inning.
They did hack a homer in the fifth, but other than that, the Vibes earned their runs off of three wild pitches and an RBI groundout.
NoCo chipped away starting in the third. That’s when Kellerman cracked the scoreboard by cranking an RBI single to center. Euro Diaz darted home when the Vibes attempted to catch Kellerman stealing second. With Kellerman in scoring position, Alex Jackson jolted a run-scoring single of his own to tie the game.
One of the wild pitches and that homer helped Rocky Mountain retake the lead. It got as big as 7-3 before the birds bucked back a bit in bottom five.
Dakota Popham popped an RBI triple, his first three-bagger as an Owl. Higgins hit him in a few pitches later to make it a two-run ballgame. It stayed that way until the latest bit of folklore from Phelts.
He and Higgins had the only two multi-hit performances of the game. Phelts finished with three while Higgins hammered out two hits. Phelts became the only bird with more than one RBI in this instant classic.
LJ Diaz made his first start in NoCo colors, coughing up five runs across four innings but also striking out four batters. Three of them came in the first inning.
Christian Griffin (W, 2-2) threw one pitch and got the win.
Not the first time Phelts forced pretty much that same outcome this season.
Up Next
These two tango once again on Wednesday as the Owlz look to even what’s been a full four-games-in-three-days series.
It’ll complete the Northern Colorado leg of this season series. That means it’s the last time the Owlz host the invading Vibes this season.
You won’t wanna miss it! First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. from Nelson Farm Park. Get your tickets today, all for just $10. Can’t wait to see you on Wednesday!
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