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 Ogden Raptors

Raptors Stun Chukars in 9th

July 1, 2015 - Pioneer League (PL)
Ogden Raptors News Release


IDAHO FALLS - Trailing 8-6 with two outs and two strikes, Willie Calhoun pulled a two-run single to right field to tie the ball game and started a rundown that scored Nick Dean to give Ogden (5-8) a 9-8 win over Idaho Falls (4-9) on Tuesday night to give the Raptors their first road win of the season.

Nick Sell and Jake Henson drew leadoff walks and Deion Ulmer bunted them into scoring position at second and third. After Scott De Jong struck out, Nick Dean walked to load the bases and then it was all up to Calhoun. Down to his final strike, Calhoun singled through the right side of the infield to bring home Sell and pinch-runner Chris Godinez to tie the game.

"He threw me a two-strike slider and it was a really good pitch. I just put the barrel on the ball," Calhoun said. (see Calhoun's postgame interview above)

What happened next seemed like a brilliant managerial decision, but it turned out to be a lucky fluke. Calhoun took off for second base, prompting a throw from Kyle Pollock behind the plate. Calhoun stopped and started to run back to first base creating a rundown. Dean headed for home from third base and scored when Pollock could not handle the throw home cleanly. Michael Medina struck out to end the inning, making the baserunning gamble appear to pay off for Raptors manager John Shoemaker. But it wasn't the play he called.

"Sometimes the best plans are plans that aren't really plans," Shoemaker said. "That was not the designed play. That was just a miscommunication."

"It was definitely a miscommunication," Calhoun added. "It was supposed to be a fake break, but I stopped and got the run in, so that's all that matters now." Despite his mistake he quipped, "Altogether, I'd say this is my first career stolen base."

Ogden's ninth-inning heroics became necessary after the Raptors blew a 6-2 lead in the seventh inning. Jairo Pacheco did not allow a hit through his first four innings, striking out seven of the first twelve batters he faced.

"Jairo has to be happy with his outing. He really mixed his pitches well, he started out strong," Shoemaker said. "I'm really happy the way he threw the ball."

The Raptors got two runs in the top of the fourth inning on Medina's third home run of the season - a two-run shot to left field. After the Chukars tied the ballgame up in the bottom of the fifth, Ogden added four runs in the top of the sixth inning, all with two outs. Calhoun scored on a wild pitch, Sell hit a two-run single, and Henson hit an RBI single to put the Raptors up 6-2.

Idaho Falls scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take its first lead of the game, 7-6, thanks to four RBI singles. The Chukars added some insurance in the eighth inning on Brawlun Gomez' solo home run.

After the Raptors took the lead in the top of the ninth, Idaho Falls put runners on first and second with just one out, but Michael Boyle struck out Gomez and Luis Valenzuela to end the game.

The second game of the four-game series begins Wednesday night at 7:15pm MT at Melaleuca Field. Tommy Bergjans will make his first start for the Raptors against Derek Gordon for the Chukars.


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