Raptors race past Vibes for convincing 6-game sweep
The Ogden Raptors scored their first four runs without recording a hit and went on to defeat the hapless Rocky Mountain Vibes, finishing off a six-game sweep with an 11-5 win Monday afternoon in Colorado Springs.
Over the course of the six-game set, which included four seven-inning games due to rainouts early in the series, Ogden outscored Rocky Mountain 67-18.
Nico Tellache got the start for Ogden (53-40, 24-21 second half) and threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball until surrendering another pair of runs in the sixth. By that time, however, the Raptors already led 8-3 and the Vibes (21-71, 11-34) were already staring at their 10th straight loss.
Tellache struck out six and walked none, and spread out nine hits. His start Monday puts him on track to be the starting pitcher for the one-game divisional playoff Saturday, Sept. 11, at Lindquist Field.
Ogden will host either Boise or Grand Junction in that Sept. 11 playoff game to determine who advances to the Pioneer League championship series.
The Raptors went up 2-0 in the first inning Monday with a walk, two Vibes errors, and a wild pitch. They got it to 4-0 in the fourth with three walks, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch before the Raptors finally tallied a hit from Troy Dixon.
The floodgates opened in the fifth when Jakob Goldfarb and Dom Abbadessa each doubled, and Kyle Kaufman singled in a pair of runs to make it 8-1.
Nick Michaels had the moment of the game for Ogden. With the Raptors leading 11-3 in the eighth inning, Colt Mink gave up four consecutive Vibes singles to make it 11-4 and Michaels, a position player who has pitched but rarely, took the mound with the bases loaded and no outs.
Using a near-submarine delivery, Michaels got a strikeout, a single, a flyout and another strikeout to leave the bases loaded and get out of Mink’s jam with only one run surrendered.
Dixon hit 4 for 4 on the day for Ogden. Goldfarb doubled twice and scored three runs, and Abbadessa had two hits, two runs and two RBIs.
Ogden will host the Boise Hawks for three games to end the regular season, with 6:30 p.m. starts Wednesday through Friday at Lindquist Field.