Matt Jones Leads Ogden to Crosstown Victory
August 23, 2015 - Pioneer League (PL)
Ogden Raptors News Release
OGDEN - After having no multi-hit game through the first 57 games of the season, the Ogden Raptors have had one in each of the last two games. Saturday night belonged to Matt Jones.
Jones homered in consecutive innings in the fourth and fifth to pace Ogden (13-8, 32-27) to a 5-4 win at Orem (11-10, 35-24), the Raptors first win in Orem this season.
Deion Ulmer, in a 0-for-19 slump, led off the third inning with a triple and scored the first run of the game. Ulmer also doubled in the game. Orem took the lead in the bottom of the third, however, on a two-run home run by Brendan Sanger. Jones tied it back up the very next inning with a leadoff solo home run to left-centerfield, his first of the night.
"The first one they shifted pull on me, so I was like, 'Well, here comes a fastball away' and it happened right there and I put a pretty good swing on it," Jones said. "The ball jumps out of this yard, so it felt pretty good." (see Matt Jones' entire postgame interview above)
Just one inning later, Jones gave Ogden the lead for good with a two-run blast to right field that scored Jordan Paroubeck. The second home run gave Jones an even ten for the season.
"He threw me a changeup kind of down and in," Jones said. "I stayed on it the whole way, kind of got the head out there, put it out there and it just happened to go over."
Orem made it a one-run game when Sam Koenig tripled in the sixth inning and scored on Alex Abbott's RBI single. The Raptors then got the needed insurance run right back in the seventh when Paroubeck led off with a triple and scored on Jake Henson's two-out double. Henson's hit was the only one of the night with runners in scoring position. Ogden finished 1-for-17 in those situations.
Michael Medina led off the eighth inning with a double and Alex Santana led off the ninth with a single, but neither scored. In fact, Ogden put the leadoff man on base in seven of the nine innings, but only scored three times.
MJ Villegas retired the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth, but ran into trouble when Jordan Serena walked, Sanger singled, and Jared Foster doubled to score Serena. With runners on second and third in a 5-4 game, Koenig flew out to left field to end the ballgame.
Adam Bray (1-1) earned his first win of the season, allowing two runs in five innings. Villegas (1) also picked up his first save. Jaime Barria (2-3) lost his third straight decision for Orem.
"We knew they had the edge in the first half," Jones said. "But we have three more here to get."
The series continues Sunday afternoon at 4:15pm MT with Ogden's Chris Powell (0-0) and Orem's Grayson Long (0-0) starting on the mound. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
Pioneer League Stories from August 23, 2015
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- Jones, Anderson Homer, But Rockies Lose - Grand Junction Jackalopes
- Great Falls Loses Third Straight in Matinee - Great Falls Voyagers
- Diaz Hits for Cycle in Rout - Missoula PaddleHeads
- Helena Secures Series Win over GF - Helena Brewers
- Idaho Falls wins 6-4 - Idaho Falls Chukars
- Voyagers Drop Second Straight in Helena - Great Falls Voyagers
- Matt Jones Leads Ogden to Crosstown Victory - Ogden Raptors
- I-15 Clash Starts with 5-4 Ogden Win - Northern Colorado Owlz
- Brewers Take 2nd Straight vs. GF - Helena Brewers
- Piron Homers Twice in Loss to Chukars - Grand Junction Jackalopes
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