PL Ogden Raptors

Raptors Bounce Back to Grind out Win

Published on July 31, 2019 under Pioneer League (PL)
Ogden Raptors News Release


GRAND JUNCTION, CO - For all of Monday's game at Grand Junction - and most of the night Tuesday - the Ogden Raptors saw their well-hit balls find leather, while the Rockies used flares and infield hits to put runners on and score.

However, the Raptors kept the game close throughout most of the night Tuesday and benefitted from bounces going their way to score in the ninth and hold Grand Junction back in a 4-3 victory.

With the game tied at three apiece in the final frame, Marco Hernandez led off with a bouncing ball toward first that appeared to be a routine out. Instead, it took a bad hop over the first baseman and Hernandez reached on a single. With two out and runners at first and second, Sam McWilliams' grounder up the middle was snagged on a dive by the shortstop, but on a glove flip to second base the ball rolled away from the bag and Andrew Shaps scored the go-ahead run all the way coming all the way from second.

In the home half, Reza Aleaziz flirted with trouble - allowing a base hit to left, an infield hit and hitting a batter to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position with one out - before a grounder to Jeremy Arocho was turned into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

After a slow start to the series Monday, where Ogden scored just one run and left nine on base, the Raptors' offense began with more of the same in game two, accumulating just two hits through seven innings.

Luckily, the batters were alert enough to lay off bad pitches. In the second, Ogden drew three walks and had a batter hit by a pitch while Ryan Ward singled for their first hit. Two of the walks were with the bases loaded, forcing in two runs for the visitors.

For the second-straight start, Jeronimo Castro failed to make it out of the fifth inning with two out and the bases empty. On July 24, against the Rockies at Lindquist Field, Castro reached his pitch limit while inducing a grounder back to the mound with two out in the fifth. An accurate throw to first would have qualified him to earn the victory, but he overthrew first base for an error and was pulled from the game.

Tuesday, Castro worked around a leadoff error and bunt hit in the first to strand two, two runners reaching with one out in the third, and a leadoff hit in the fourth to take a shutout into the fifth. After recording the first two outs, Castro walked the next two, gave up a run-scoring single and was pulled from the game. Nelfri Contreras entered and walked a batter to load the bases before a line drive to center scored two more to give Grand Junction a 3-2 lead.

The Raptors came right back with Ward drawing a one-out walk in the sixth and advancing a base each on two wild pitches. With two down, Sauryn Lao's line drive to left brought in Ward to tie the game.

The rubber match of the three-game series is scheduled for Wednesday night at 6:40.

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Pioneer League Stories from July 31, 2019


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