The ball wasn’t hit cleanly, but it was exactly what Christian Colonel needed.

Colonel, mired in a long slump during a season that he hoped would take him to Coors Field, bounced the game-winning single over third base as the Sky Sox beat Portland 3-2 in 10 innings Sunday at Security Service Field.

“I think early on in the season I was putting a lot of pressure on myself,” said Colonel, a third baseman who is batting .249 with 11 extra-base hits in 60 games.

“Maybe I was trying to get called up or something like that, I really don’t know exactly what I was thinking,” he said. “But I know I was trying to do way too much and putting way too much pressure on things.

“Now I’m just more relaxed and just worrying about controlling what I can control and not worry about anything else.”

With runners on first and third and one out in the 10th, Portland intentionally walked pinch-hitter Mark Bellhorn to get to Colonel, a move that wouldn’t have happened last year when Colonel was a Pacific Coast League All-Star on his way to hitting .308 with 33 doubles and 12 home runs.

But his single – his second hit of the game – scored Matt Murton and set off an on-field celebration for the team’s fifth straight win and sixth win in their last at-bat this month.

The Sky Sox have won nine of 11 overall and at 45-31 lead the PCL’s Pacific North division by 4½ games.

“I needed that personally, but it was good to come through for the team also to keep this going,” Colonel said. “The last few weeks I’ve hit a couple of balls hard – line drives that I thought might be hits – so I guess things even out.”

While Colonels’ patience was rewarded, it was mostly a day when the top efforts went unrewarded.

Portland left fielder Chad Huffman turned in the day’s finest defensive effort, projecting his body into a full flip after slamming into the wall as a foul ball landed just past his reach.

Both starting pitchers also left empty-handed, settling for no-decisions despite quality efforts.

Portland’s Brian Lawrence gave up two runs – one unearned – in eight innings, and the only blemish in seven innings for Colorado Springs starter Alan Johnson was a long two-run homer by Huffman in the second inning.

“You expect those out here,” Johnson said of the homer, which left fielder Matt Miller didn’t even attempt to track down. “I knew the second he hit it that it was gone, so I didn’t bother watching. I still don’t know where it ended up.”

Johnson said he didn’t mind missing out on his eighth win of the season.

“Wins and losses aren’t everything,” he said. “If the team wins, that’s what you want. As a starting pitcher, you just hope to keep the team in the game and give them a chance, whether that’s with two runs or eight runs.”

Major league momentSky Sox catcher Sal Fasano showed he still has a big-league arm at age 37, throwing out Huffman by a laughable margin in the fourth inning and then picking off Drew Macias at second after a leadoff double in the ninth.

Sky Sox third baseman Chris Colonel, left, was rushed by teammates Sunday after hitting a walk-off RBI. Photo by JERILEE BENNETT,THE GAZETTE