Talk about coming in clutch.
That is exactly what Casey Petersen was in the bottom half of the eighth inning.
On the first pitch of his at bat, Petersen launched the ball to center field with the bases loaded to give the Rockies a 9-5 lead.
“I haven’t processed it yet. I saw it go in the air and I kind of blacked out after that,” Petersen said.
Petersen was able to get to the plate after a bases-loaded walk from Charles Middleton tied the game. Petersen credited all the batters before him for putting him in that position.
“We had so many guys come up to bat and have good at bats to get me up there,” Petersen said. ” Elvir started it and Charles with a great walk. I wanted to contribute as much as I could and he left a pitch down the middle and I took advantage of it and was more than fortunate and grateful to help the team get a win today.”
The team got off to another slow start offensively with only two hits through the first three innings and could not find their way with the bats. Both of the Rockies hits came in the second inning which could have led to the Rockies first run of the game but the runners were left stranded.
Tyler Sandoval doubled with two outs to get in scoring position for Nico Popa who singled to left field. Sandoval advanced to third on the single then tried to stretch it into the Rockies first run but was unsuccessful and was thrown out at the plate.
Timely hits combined with errors by the Owlz allowed the purple and white to get on the board in the fourth inning. Josh Elvir reached on an error by the pitcher, Will Buraconak, which also allowed Caleb Farmer to score.
Jordan Garr then grounded out to the second baseman allowing Shawn Ross to score. Nico Popa singled to center field which brought Elvir home.
A clutch base hit by Elvir in the fifth put the Rockies within one. Elvir went 2-4 on the night adding another timely single for his team.
Garr followed Elvir’s single in the eighth with a single of his own. Sandoval then hit a pop fly which caused the runners to hold at their respective bases. When Nico Popa came up to the plate, on a 2-1 count the Owlz threw a wild pitch prompting Popa to be intentionally walked.
Charles Middleton then walked to load the bases for Petersen and the rest was history for the Rockies victory on this Friday night.
The two teams will continue their series tomorrow as first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
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