Raptors snap skid, top Missoula 13-2
The Ogden Raptors knocked out Missoula starter Chris Burican with eight runs in 4 1/3 innings Monday, and Troy Dixon and Niko Pacheco each hit solo homers in the eighth to cap an emphatic end to Ogden’s five-game losing streak on the way to a 13-2 win over the Paddleheads at Lindquist Field.
Ogden has nine games left in the regular season before the South Divisional knock-out playoff game on Saturday, Sept. 11, at Lindquist Field. After a travel day Tuesday, the Raptors go on the road to play the Rocky Mountain Vibes for only the second time this season from Sept. 1-6. Ogden ends the regular season at home hosting the Boise Hawks from Sept. 8-10.
Boise was off Monday and leads the South Division’s second half by one game over Grand Junction. Those two are battling for the playoff spot to play Ogden on Sept. 11 and play each other over the next six games.
The Raptors jumped to a 3-1 lead after one inning after Pavin Parks doubled in two runs and scored on a David Maberry single.
It became 5-1 in the second when Jakob Goldfarb singled in two runs.
It started to get out of hand in the fifth when Ogden knocked out Burica, who was pulled after Reese Alexiades drove in two more runs with a pinch-hit single to make it 7-1. After the pitching change, Goldfarb doubled in another pair of runs for a 9-1 advantage.
It was elementary from there, capped with the homers from Dixon and Pacheco in Ogden’s final at-bat.
The Raptors cobbled together a solid pitching night out of eight pitchers to finish the six-game series; the eight arms gave up two earned runs and eight hits on the night.
Jack Cunningham was credited with the win as the most effective reliever. He mowed through a minimum five batters across the seventh and eighth innings, striking out three in 1 2/3 innings.
After Kida De La Cruz recorded the final out of the eighth via strikeout, infielder Nick Michaels took the mound for the first time all season and used 18 pitches to throw a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
MONDAY SCORES
Ogden 13, Missoula 2
Grand Junction 10, Rocky Mountain 9
Grand Junction 13, Rocky Mountain 7
Great Falls 12, Billings 4
UPDATED STANDINGS
Second Half – 9 games left
NORTH
*Missoula 22-17 … 57-30 overall
Billings 21-18 … 39-48
Idaho Falls 20-19 … 54-33
Great Falls 19-20 … 38-49
SOUTH
Boise 23-16 … 43-44
Grand Junction 22-17 … 48-38
*Ogden 18-21 … 47-40
Rocky Mountain 11-28 … 21-65
* — 1st-half champion