OGDEN — Another middle inning of pitching, or Vibes hitting, doomed the Ogden Raptors on Sunday afternoon as Rocky Mountain claimed a 9-5 win to conclude the series with a 3-3 split.

After a day off Monday, Ogden remains at Lindquist Field to host six games with the Northern Colorado Owlz from Aug. 16-21.

Raptors starter Riley Ottesen pitched around danger in the first inning and kept the visiting Vibes to just one run despite giving up three hits that included a triple and a double, courtesy of a pickoff move, a nice play by Jesus Valdez at shortstop and Sonny Ulliana blocking a ball in the dirt with the bases loaded.

Ogden (41-31, 12-12) got things going in the third inning. After Reese Alexiades singled to score Josh Broughton to get the Raptors on the board, Matt Warkentin drew one of his four walks in the game to set up Freddy Achecar for a two-run double, putting the Raptors up 3-1.

Rocky Mountain (27-42, 11-12) catcher Luis Navarro kicked his big night into high gear with a solo homer to lead off the fourth, making it 3-2. Navarro totaled that homer and hit two doubles off the outfield wall.

That solo homer was the only Vibes player Ottesen didn’t retire in a string of 13 batters following the sketchy first inning. But that came screeching to a halt in the fifth when three straight RMV players singled to tie the game with one out and a sacrifice fly put the Vibes up 4-3.

Navarro then hit the second of his doubles to score another run, and Cesar Lopez skied a two-run homer over Raptor Ridge in right-center to make it 7-3, crediting the loss to Ottesen.

In the seventh, Ogden reliever Juan Santos only allowed one hit but issued three walks and threw a wild pitch to help Rocky Mountain plate two more for a 9-3 lead.

Ogden finally got some offense cooking in the seventh when Dustyn Macaluso, who subbed in for Josh Broughton defensively in the top half of the inning, hit an infield single to third base. He eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to cut the score to 9-4.

Warkentin drew his fourth walk and Achecar took a pitch off the helmet to load the bases with two outs. Brian Dansereau came off the bench to pinch hit but struck out to end the threat.

The Raptors took another crack at it in the eighth when Gunnar Buhner led off being hit by a pitch and came around to score on a Pat Adams single. But with the bases loaded and two outs again, Warkentin was retired for the first time Sunday with a lineout to center field.

After Saturday’s relative umpire-centered chaos, Sunday’s game saw a more serious delay when the home plate umpire left the game in the sixth inning in a heat-related incident and was taken to the clubhouse. After a 15-minute delay, the game continued with a two-man umpire crew.

Grand Junction shut out Northern Colorado for the second straight day Sunday, a 10-0 win that improved the Rockies to 18-6 in the second half. GJ appears to be running away with the second-half title on a collision course with Ogden, the Pioneer Leauge South Division first-half champions, for September’s playoffs.

SUNDAY SCORES

Rocky Mountain 9, Ogden 5

Grand Junction 10, Northern Colorado 0

Glacier 6, Great Falls 5

Missoula 16, Boise 9

Billings 11, Idaho Falls 3

PIONEER LEAGUE STANDINGS

Second Half

NORTH DIVISION

*Missoula 16-8 (51-20 overall)

Idaho Falls 13-10 (41-30)

Great Falls 13-11 (40-31)

Billings 12-12 (37-33)

Glacier 10-14 (27-44)

SOUTH DIVISION

Grand Junction 18-6 (44-28)

*Ogden 12-12 (41-31)

Rocky Mountain 11-12 (27-42)

Northern Colorado 9-14 (26-42)

Boise 4-19 (21-50)

*- denotes first-half champion

Newsletter