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Cubs Snap Losing Streak with Walkoff Walk Versus Sky Sox

June 22, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox News Release


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox dropped a heartbreaker in game two against the Iowa Cubs Friday night in front of a sellout crowd, losing 4-3 on a two-out walkoff walk in the bottom of the ninth inning to even the series at one game apiece.

After posting their fourth shutout of the season against Iowa last night, the Sky Sox opened game two with five more shutout innings before allowing their first run of the series in the sixth frame, for 14 shutout innings against the Cubs to start this series.

The first three frames of game two were scoreless for both squads, until the Sky Sox scored first in the top of the fourth inning. Andres Blanco grounded out for the first out of the fourth frame, but Tyrone Taylor hit a single to extend his current hitting streak to seven games, before Brad Miller lined out for the second out of the inning. Christian Bethancourt then stepped into the box, and after fighting off a few pitches, he belted his 10th homer of the season to give the Sky Sox the first two runs of the game.

In the top of the next inning, Colorado Springs tacked on some more offense. Jett Bandy hit a two-out single, followed by a single off the bat of Sky Sox starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff to move Bandy into scoring position. Blanco then followed suit with Colorado Springs' third single in a row, scoring Bandy and giving the Sky Sox a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the home team broke up the 14-inning scoreless streak with a run of their own. Wynton Bernard led off the inning with a double, advancing to third on a Woodruff wild pitch. With two outs on the board, Victor Caratini lined an RBI single to score Bernard and break up the shutout, making it a 3-1 ballgame.

The Cubs tried to capitalize on that momentum in the bottom of the next inning. Bijan Rademacher hit a one-out single to become the first baserunner of the half-inning. Ryan Court then doubled to put runners on second and third for pinch-hitter Lane Adams, who struck out. Bernard then came to the plate with a chance to even the game, with the tying run on second and the go-ahead run at the plate, but a groundout brought the rally and the inning to an end.

After the Sky Sox went quietly in the top of the eighth, aside from Taylor's second hit of the game, Iowa threatened again in the bottom of the inning. Mark Zagunis led off with a single, and Jacob Hannemann was hit-by-pitch to put two on, with no outs. Caratini then walked to load the bases for David Bote, who hit a deep sacrifice fly to score Zagunis and make it 3-2. Taylor Davis then hit a sacrifice fly of his own to score Hannemann and tie the game up. With one on and two out, Rademacher hit a single to put two on for Court, who struck out to send the tied game to the ninth.

Keon Broxton proved to be the only Sky Sox batter to reach in the ninth, drawing a two-out walk. He then stole second for his 23rd swipe of the season, but was stranded at second, giving the Cubs a chance for a walkoff in the bottom of the ninth, which would make for their seventh walkoff of the season.

Zagunis mirrored Broxton's effort with a two-out walk for the Cubs, advancing to second on a Hannemann single to put the winning run in scoring position. Caratini, who already had a walkoff single earlier in the season, hit a single to load the bases to very nearly walkoff the game, but was reigned in on a beautiful defensive play by Miller. With Bote at the plate and the bases loaded, Bote drew a walkoff walk to force the winning run home and snap Iowa's seven-game losing streak, winning game two 4-3 to even the five-game series at one game apiece.

The Sky Sox enter into games three and four of a five-game set against the Iowa Cubs tomorrow with an 11:08 a.m. MT scheduled first pitch for game one of a doubleheader at Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa, and a 6:08 p.m. MT scheduled pitch for game two. For all information on Sky Sox, follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit the team's website at www.skysox.com.

NOTES

Tomorrow's Preview: In the third game of the five-game series against the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park in Des Moines and the first game of the scheduled Saturday doubleheader, the Sky Sox are sending righty Bubba Derby to the mound to face Cubs righty Alec Mills.

Extended: Outfielder Tyrone Taylor extended his hit streak to seven games Friday night with two hits. Over the seven games, he is 11-for-31 with six runs, two doubles, three home runs, and seven RBI.

Blanks: After posting their fourth shutout of the season against Iowa Thursday night, the Sky Sox opened game two with five more shutout innings before allowing their first run of the series in the sixth frame, for 14 shutout innings against the Cubs to start this series.

Century Mark Reached: The Sky Sox stole 100 bases as a team on Thursday night at Iowa against the Cubs. In 2017, the team combined for 99 stolen bags over the entire season. In 2018, it took the squad just 71 games.

Zagurski Rolls On: Southpaw reliever Mike Zagurski, who leads the league in holds with 11, tossed his 30th game of 2018 on Thursday evening in Des Moines to put himself into a tie for first in the category with Oklahoma City's Joe Broussard.

Fourth Shutout: The Sky Sox posted their fourth shutout of the season Thursday evening against the Iowa Cubs with a 5-0 victory. The last shutout for the Colorado Springs squad came on May 24 in Nashville when they blanked the Sounds 4-0.

Welcome: Recently promoted southpaw reliever Nick Ramirez made his third appearance of the season with the Sky Sox with one and two-thirds innings while allowing one hit on Thursday. He also marked his first Triple-A hit and RBI on his single in the seventh inning.

Out-Hit W: The win in game one over the Cubs marked just the 10th time for the Sky Sox out of 28 times this season when they were out-hit by opponents and walked away with the victory.

Orf Continues the Climb: With the one hit by Nate Orf Tuesday evening, Orf passed Neifi Perez for 19th place with 301 hits. He became the 20th player in Sky Sox history to collect 300 regular season hits in his Sky Sox career Monday night with his two hits. In addition, the runs scored were numbers 197 and 198 for the infielder, which passed Jay Gainer for 10th place all time on runs scored. Matt Miller is next in 9th at 201 runs scored.

Wear It: The hit by pitch by Nate Orf Tuesday was his 14th of the season, which is third most for a Sky Sox player in a single season. Clint Barmes holds the top two single season marks: 22 HBP in the 2007 season and 15 HBP in the 2004 season. The hit-by-pitch was also Orf's 31st regular season hit-by-pitch in a Sky Sox uniform, good for third place all-time. Barmes has the most with 47. Mark Strittmatter is second with 35 total.

New Career Highs: Alec Asher, who pitched out of the pen Tuesday evening, set new career highs in hits and earned runs allowed. In three and two-thirds innings, the righty allowed 10 earned runs on 11 hits. His previous high of hits allowed was 10 (8/14/15 vs. Pawtucket (AAA)) while his previous high of earned runs was 7 (3x, 4/28/14, 9/5/15 & 7/30/17).

Mas Hits: The 24 hits Tuesday marked the fourth time Salt Lake has had at least 24 hits in a game here in Colorado Springs. The other instances: 33 hits - July 29th, 1994 (most in stadium history); 27 hits - August 23rd, 2011; 24 hits - August 20th, 2001.The last time an opponent had 24 hits in a game in Colorado Springs was on May 29th, 2013 by Tacoma, who had 30 hits (the second most allowed in stadium history).

Fourth Time's the Charm: The Sky Sox walked off in the bottom of the ninth inning on Father's Day (Sunday), marking their third walk-off of the season and their first since 5/12. They followed up with another walk-off on Monday for their second walk-off in as many days and their fourth of the season.

This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are on the road in Des Moines to face off against the Iowa Cubs, Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, to play five total games at Principal Park in a four-day stretch, including a scheduled doubleheader on Saturday. The Sky Sox return home on Monday, June 25 and will host the Memphis Redbirds, St. Louis Cardinals top affiliate, for four games at Security Service Field.

NEXT GAME: Saturday, June 23 @ Iowa - 11:08 a.m. MT @ Principal Park

RHP Bubba Derby (3-3, 4.08) vs. RHP Alec Mills (3-6, 4.39) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300

Next Home Game: Monday, June 25 vs. Memphis Redbirds (STL)

COS TOP PERFORMERS

- Brandon Woodruff (5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 SO)

- Christian Bethancourt (1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, 1 BB)

- Tyrone Taylor (2-for-4, 1 R)

IOWA TOP PERFORMERS

- Bijan Rademacher (3-for-4)

- David Bote (0-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB)

- Victor Caratini (2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB)

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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