Orlando Arcia, Sky Sox rally with 9 runs in final 3 innings
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NEW ORLEANS • The Sky Sox rallied late on Saturday to score nine runs in the final three innings to take an 11-8 victory and a 2-1 series lead over the Baby Cakes.
New Orleans led 5-2 until the seventh, when Colorado Springs scored twice on Tyrone Taylor’s single.
In the eighth, Jake Hager hit his first homer of the season and three more runs came around on Quintin Berry’s pinch-hit double and Orlando Arcia’s single.
New Orleans scored three in the eighth to tie it 8-8.
The Sky Sox scored three in the ninth on Christian Bethancourt’s homer and Brett Phillips’ double.
For the third time this series, the Sky Sox were the first to score Saturday night, putting up the first run of the game in the second inning. After drawing naught but a walk in the first inning, the Sky Sox collected a pair of hits in the second frame. Jett Bandy first hit a one-out single, scoring one batter later on a Shane Opitz RBI double to give Colorado Springs the first lead of the evening.
New Orleans took their first lead of the evening in the bottom of the fourth, and would not relinquish it again until the eighth inning. Eric Campbell led off the fourth with a walk, advancing to second on a Jonathan Rodriguez single. Two outs later, both runners moved up on a wild pitch from Colorado Springs’ starter Bubba Derby. Austin Nola then drew a walk to load the bases, and with two outs on the board Peter Mooney hit a bases-clearing double to give the Baby Cakes a 3-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, Brett Phillips reduced the Cakes lead to just one run when he lined his second solo homer in as many nights to make it a 3-2 ballgame. The last Sky Sox batter to hit home runs in consecutive games was Tyrone Taylor on July 3rd and 4th against the Round Rock Express on the 3rd and the Baby Cakes on the 4th. Taylor hit a two-out single after Phillips’ home run, but then was thrown out trying to steal second to end the top half of the fifth and send it to the bottom.
The Baby Cakes led off with a pair of hits in the bottom half of the fifth. Austin Dean hit a double off the center field wall, and Magneuris Sierra laid down a bunt single to put runners on the corners. Campbell then drew a walk, with another wild pitch from Derby on ball four allowing Dean to score to make it a 4-2 ballgame. Derby was then replaced on the mound by Miguel Sanchez, who was making his Triple-A debut. Sanchez recorded a strikeout and a fly out, but then threw a wild pitch that allowed the speedy Sierra to score to make it a 5-2 game.
In the top of the seventh, with one out in the inning, Jake Hager reached on New Orleans’ first error of the evening. Dylsn Moore then came into the game to pinch-hit in Sanchez’s spot, reaching on a fielder’s choice that saw both him and Hager safe. Phillips then flew out to move Hager up to third, and Orlando Arcia walked to load the bases. Taylor then hit a single to score both Hager and Moore to make it 5-4. Domingo Santana then drew a walk, but Christian Bethancourt struck out swinging to end the inning and the rally.
In the top of the next inning, with two outs already on the board, Hager hit his first home run of the season to tie the game at 5-5. Moore and Phillips then drew back-to-back walks, before Arcia hit an RBI single to plate Moore and retake the lead for Colorado Springs. Quintin Berry then came into the game to pinch-hit, hitting a double to clear the bases and extend the Sky Sox lead to 8-5.
The home squad responded right away in the bottom of the eighth. Isaac Galloway led off with a walk, with Campbell being hit-by-pitch to put two on. Rodriguez then reached on the Sky Sox first error of the night to load the bases for JB Shuck, who grounded into a force out that saw Rodriguez out at second and Galloway safe at home to make it 8-6. Rafael Ortega then walked to load the bases again for Nola, who singled to score Campbell and Shuck to tie the game at 8-8.
On the very first pitch of the ninth inning, Bethancourt hit his 13th homer of the season to retake the lead for Colorado Springs. Opitz and Hager then hit back-to-back singles, with Moore grounding out for the second out of the inning to advance both runners into scoring position. Phillips then hit an RBI double in the gap to score both and make it 11-8 Sky Sox. Arcia was then intentionally walked to bring up the pitcher’s spot in the lineup, with Andres Blanco stepping in to pinch-hit with two out and two on. Blanco flew out, however, to end the half-inning and send it to the bottom of the ninth with the Baby Cakes trailing by three.
The Baby Cakes would go three up and three down to end the game in the bottom of the ninth, with the Sky Sox taking a 2-1 series advantage over New Orleans with the Saturday night win.
