ORF, OPITZ HOMER IN SKY SOX THIRD STRAIGHT WIN OVER DODGERS

POSTGAME NOTES
Monday, May 14, 2018 vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (24-13) | Oklahoma City Dodgers (24-12)
ORF, OPITZ HOMER IN SKY SOX THIRD STRAIGHT WIN OVER DODGERS
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox won their third straight game against the Oklahoma City Dodgers and took the series at Security Service Field on Monday night with an 8-5 victory. Colorado Springs is now a half game back of the Dodgers in the American North standings.
The Sky Sox started the offense in the early goings with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. After leadoff Nate Orf walked on four pitches, Tyrone Taylor made it a second and third situation with his double to left field. During Christian Bethancourt's at-bat, a wild pitch by Dodgers' Manny Bañuelos would plate Orf as the first run while Keon Broxton's sixth double of the year would bring around the next two, making it a 3-0 Sky Sox advantage.
In the second inning, Orf, who totaled nine home runs last season, smacked his first home run of 2018 at Security Service Field to extend Colorado Springs' lead to 4-0.
Scoreless until the sixth, Oklahoma City found their way onto the board when Alex Verdugo led off the inning with a single and Kyle Garlick lifted a ball over the left field wall to cut the deficit to 4-2.
The Dodgers continued to add on in the seventh, putting up a solo run manufactured on three straight singles to make it a 4-3 ballgame.
In the seventh, the Sky Sox added two insurance runs to extend the lead to 6-3. Shane Opitz (walk), Orf (single), and Eric Sogard (single) combined to load the bases with no outs. Tyrone Taylor knocked a deep fly ball to right field to plate one run while Bethancourt singled to plate the sixth run.
Opitz capped off the night for Colorado Springs' scoring in the eighth after slugging his first home run of the season - a two-run towering fly ball over the right-field wall - making it an 8-3 advantage.
The insurance would come in handy as Oklahoma City put together a late rally off of closer Radhames Liz. After Liz surrendered a leadoff single and two consecutive extra-base hits, he continued on to strike out the next two batters. Tim Dillard finished off the three-hour and thirteen-minute game with a two-pitch groundout to Garlick to make it a final 8-5 Sky Sox win.
The Sky Sox continue into the final game of the series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers at Security Service Field tomorrow at 6:40 p.m. Following tomorrow's game against the Dodgers, the Sky Sox will welcome to town the Memphis Redbirds, top affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. For all information on Sky Sox, follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit the team's website at www.skysox.com.
__NOTES__
Tomorrow's Expectation: In the fourth game of both the homestand and the four-game series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the Sky Sox are sending righty Aaron Brooks to the mound to face righty Daniel Corcino for the Dodgers.
Battle of the American North: The fight is on as the two top teams in the Pacific Coast League American North duke it out. The Sky Sox (24-13) currently trail the Dodgers (24-12) by a half game after delivering them their 12th and third straight loss of 2018 Monday night at Security Service Field. Last season, the Sky Sox finished on top of the conference over the Dodgers with a 10-game lead (80-57 record).
Orf Goes Yard: In the second inning, Nate Orf, who totaled nine home runs last season, smacked his first home run of 2018 at Security Service Field. Despite ending a 20-game streak recently while on the road, infielder Nate Orf has continued his hitting ways, and has only gone hitless in five of his 35 games played so far this season. Over 13 games in May, he is batting .393 (22-for-56) with five doubles, a home run, and seven RBI.
Op-itz Outta Here: Colorado native Shane Opitz slugged his first home run of the season. In the eighth inning on Monday night, he knocked a two-run towering fly ball out and over the right-field fence.
Green Light: The stolen base-leading Colorado Springs Sky Sox nabbed two more bases Monday night and now total 53 as a team in 2018. The closest teams to the Sky Sox among the league are Memphis and New Orleans (33).
Scoring First: The Sky Sox improved to a 16-5 record on Monday night when striking first on the board in a game. Colorado Springs also improves to 5-1 on Monday games and 12-6 in the American North.
Not That Often: Monday night marked Kyle Wren's third game in 2018 where he did not get on base. On Monday night, Wren pinch-hit in the eighth inning and went down on a strikeout. His previous two games he did not get on base were this month on May 8 and 11.
Peralta's Memorable Debut: In his Major League debut, right-hander Freddy Peralta made history. In five and two-thirds innings of work, he struck out 13 batters and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. His 13 strikeouts set a new Brewers rookie record. The most recent pitchers to log double-digit Ks in Major League debut: Freddy Peralta 13, 2018; Matt Harvey 11, 2012; Thomas Diamond 10, 2010; Stephen Strasburg 14, 2010. Peralta is the fifth pitcher since 1908 to strike out 13+ in his Major League debut [Freddy Peralta 13, 2018 Stephen Strasburg 14, 2010 J.R. Richard 15, 1971 Karl Spooner 15, 1954 Cliff Melton 13, 1937].
Wilkerson's Return: In his first start of 2018 since being activated off of the disabled list, righty Aaron Wilkerson did not disappoint Sunday afternoon. In five and two-thirds innings of work, the Texas native allowed just two runs on six hits and fanned six Oklahoma City batters. In 2016 for Colorado Springs, Wilkerson went 2-6 with a 6.42 ERA over 11 starts with the Sky Sox. Last season, he made his MLB debut with the Brewers, making two starts while going 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA.
300 Club: On Thursday, Kyle Wren became the 18th player in Sky Sox history with 300 regular season games played. Wren is now one game away from tying Choo Freeman and Jayhawk Owens for 16th with 303 regular season games played.
That Was Wild: The Sky Sox 2-1 victory over the Dodgers in game one marked just the second walk-off win for Colorado Springs in the 2018 season. The win came by way of two wild pitches by Ariel Hernández, who surrendered a two-base wild pitch and then a game-ending wild pitch. The last walk-off for the Sky Sox came at home on April 12 when Jacob Nottingham delivered a game-winning base hit to give the Sky Sox the 7-6 victory.
Just A Bit Inside: With the hit batsmen by Tim Dillard on Saturday night, he has tied Jason Young for first place in career-hit batsmen with Sky Sox, sitting at 25 total. Jason Young pitched for the Sky Sox from 2002 to 2005.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are in midst of an eight-game, nine-day homestand that will see them host the Dodgers for four games followed by the Memphis Redbirds for four games, with a day of rest in between series.
NEXT GAME: Tuesday, May 15 vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers - 6:40 p.m. MDT @ Security Service Field
RHP Aaron Brooks (2-1, 4.50) vs. RHP Daniel Corcino (2-0, 3.44) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
$2 Tuesday - $2 Parking, $2 Tickets, $2 Coors Light Draft
   COS TOP PERFORMERS

• Nate Orf (2-for-4, 3 R, HR, RBI, BB)
• Tyrone Taylor (2-for-3, R, RBI)
• Keon Broxton (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI)

   OKC TOP PERFORMERS

• Jake Peter (4-for-5, 3B)
• Kyle Garlick (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R)
• Donovan Solano (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI)