SKY SOX DROP HEARTBREAKING EXTRA-INNING GAME TO LAS VEGAS

POSTGAME NOTES
Thursday, June 14, 2018 vs. Las Vegas 51s
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (34-30) | Las Vegas 51s (28-39)
SKY SOX DROP HEARTBREAKING EXTRA-INNING GAME TO LAS VEGAS
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox dropped a heartbreaker on Thursday night, losing to the Las Vegas 51s 7-5 in 10 innings to even this three-game series at one game apiece.
After winning game one of this short three-game series last night, the Sky Sox continued on the right foot in the first inning here in game two.  Freddy Peralta struck out the first two batters he faced in the top of the first, drawing a flyout for the third out of the half-inning to give the home team their first chance at the plate.  Nate Orf led off with a triple on the third pitch he saw (his third three-bagger of the season), coming home on the very next pitch via a groundout off the bat of Keon Broxton to give Colorado Springs an early 1-0 lead.
After a quiet second inning, the Sky Sox went back to work in the third.  Peralta once again struck out the first two Las Vegas batters he faced, gave up a single, and then recorded a third strikeout to get out of the inning.  That would prove to be all for Peralta on the night, allowing no runs on two hits with five strikeouts and no walks.  In the bottom of the frame, Brett Phillips drew a two-out walk to put one on for Christian Bethancourt, who promptly hit a two-run, no-doubt homer over the left field wall to extend the Sky Sox lead to three runs.
The next three innings proved to be scoreless, but in the top of the seventh, the 51s broke up the shutout in loud fashion.  Zach Borenstein kicked off the inning with a solo homer to make it a 3-1 affair.  Patrick Kivlehan then reached on a fielding error by Colorado Springs, advancing to second on a Colton Plaia four-pitch walk.  Patrick Biondi singled on the next pitch to load the bases for pinch-hitter Johnny Monell, who doubled to clear the bases and give Las Vegas a 4-3 lead.
The 51s threatened again in the top of the eighth, beginning with a leadoff single from Phillip Evans.  Evans moved to second on a wild pitch, and advanced to third on a ground out, but was left stranded 90 feet from home.  Jon Perrin was able to record a strikeout for out number two, and a flyout for out number three to get safely out of the inning.  The Sky Sox went three up and three down in the bottom of the eighth to send the game onto the ninth, still trailing by one.
In the top of the ninth, the 51s managed a single but nothing more, sending it to the bottom of the ninth to give Colorado Springs one final chance for a comeback.  In the first at-bat of the frame, Bethancourt hit his second homer of the evening and his eighth of the season to tie the ballgame at 4-4 and give the Sky Sox some breathing room to work with.  Brad Miller singled on the next pitch, before Andrés Blanco was hit-by-pitch to put two on, still with no outs (Dylan Moore came into the game to pinch-run for Blanco).  Kyle Wren laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up, with the winning run now just 90 feet from home.  Jett Bandy was then intentionally walked to load the bases and set up a potential double play for pinch-hitter Shane Opitz, which is exactly what happened as Opitz hit into a double play, sending the game into extra innings.
Instituting the new extra-innings rule that starts every extra inning with a man on second base, Las Vegas was able to plate a run on a Colorado Springs throwing error to take a 5-4 lead.  With two outs and Borenstein on second, Cody Asche drew an intentional walk to put two on.  Plaia then doubled to score both runners and make it a 7-4 game.  Biondi was then intentionally walked to again put two on for Las Vegas, but a strikeout brought the half-inning to a close, sending it to the bottom of the tenth, beginning with Jacob Nottingham pinch-running and starting on second base.
Orf led off the inning with an RBI single to score Nottingham and reduce the lead to just two runs.  Broxton then hit into a fielder's choice, with Orf being thrown out at second for the first out of the inning.  Phillips then hit into a similar fielder's choice, with Broxton now being thrown out at second.  Down to their final out, Bethancourt also hit into a fielder's choice, with Phillips being thrown out at second to end the game, with Las Vegas evening the series at one game apiece.
The Sky Sox complete the three-game series against the Las Vegas 51s tomorrow with a 6:40 p.m. MT scheduled first pitch.  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 Preview: In the final game of the three-game series against the Las Vegas 51s at Security Service Field in Colorado Springs on Friday, the Sky Sox are sending righty Aaron Wilkerson to the mound to face left-hander P.J. Conlon for the 51s.  Conlon looks to pick up his third win of the season, whereas Wilkerson is looking for his first.
Mowing 'em Down: Freddy Peralta put together yet another strong outing on Thursday night against Las Vegas, allowing no runs on two hits with five strikeouts and no walks. In his last 61 batters faced, the 22-year-old has only allowed eight hits, four walks, two runs, and struck out 28.  The 11-strikeout appearance by Peralta last Sunday marked a season-high for Peralta with the Sky Sox, and the second-best strikeout appearance of the season for a Sky Sox pitcher.
Orf Continues to Climb: The first inning triple by Nate Orf Thursday night was his 17th career regular season triple with the Sky Sox, moving him into a tie for eighth place on the all-time triples list with Choo Freeman. Next up at tied for sixth: Edgard Velasquez Clemente and Nelson Liriano with 18 triples each. Several of Orf's current teammates are also in the career top 25 in triples: Kyle Wren tied for third with Wayne Kirby at 20 triples, while Brett Phillips tied for 11th place at 15 triples with Sean Barker, Corey Dickerson, Jayhawk Owens, Neifi Perez, Ben Petrick, and Yadiel Rivera. Keon Broxton needs two more triples to move into the Top 25 list in career triples.
Double Trouble:  With Christian Bethancourt belting the game-tying homer in the ninth inning, this marks the 28th time a Sky Sox player has hit a two-homer game against Las Vegas, and only the second time during the Sky Sox four-year affiliation with the Brewers.  The last instance a Sky Sox player hit a two-homer game against Las Vegas: Shane Peterson, May 28th, 2015 at Cashman Field.  The last instance a Sky Sox player hit a two-homer game against Las Vegas in Colorado Springs: Chris Nelson, July 21st, 2011 against Las Vegas at Security Service Field.
Drama Club:  After taking an early 3-0 lead Thursday night, the Sky Sox allowed a four-run seventh inning to go down 4-3, before scoring a sole run in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra-innings.  Las Vegas scored three times in the top of the tenth to send the game into the bottom of the tenth, 7-4.  The Sky Sox would go on to score just one run, dropping the game 7-5.  With the loss, Colorado Springs fell to 1-4 in extra-inning contests this season.
Wednesday Warriors: With the win Wednesday night the Sky Sox improved to 8-1 on hump days this season, making it the best day of the week record-wise for Colorado Springs by far.
Phillips Goes Deep, Again: Outfielder Brett Phillips knocked his fourth home run of the 2018 season Wednesday evening and his second in three nights (1st of June). Phillips first home run didn't come until May 23 when on the road in Nashville. In 2017, the Florida native knocked 19 homers throughout the season.
Burnes' 13th: Corbin Burnes put together another strong performance in his 13th start of the campaign Wednesday night at Security Service Field. It marked the longest start for the righthander in Colorado Springs and his fifth start lasting at least six innings. It was also the first time he allowed less than three earned runs since May 17 against Memphis at home.
Taylor Leadin' The Way: Tyrone Taylor's outfield assist in Wednesday night's game against Las Vegas marked his 11th of the season, which puts him in first in the PCL for assists.
Nottingham's Quartet: Jacob Nottingham marked a season-high in strikeouts in a game Wednesday with four total. His previous high this season was three, which he met two times (May 1 vs. Nashville, June 6 @ Fresno).
Martin's Third Road Start: Las Vegas starter Cody Martin made his third road start with the 51s on Wednesday night. In the outing, he allowed three earned runs, the most he's allowed on the road with Las Vegas this season. In his first road start on May 21 in Sacramento versus the River Cats, he did not allow a run and only gave up a solo hit in four innings of work. In his second road start in Reno, he gave up just on earned run on five hits through five frames.
History With Vegas: Earlier this year, we used the historical note with Des Moines and Omaha being the only two cities to be involved in all three eras of Colorado Springs minor league baseball history (Millionaires era from 1901-1905, Single-A Sky Sox era from 1950-1954, and current Triple-A era from 1998-present). Another note that is just as important with Las Vegas in town for this three-game series: Las Vegas and Tacoma are the only two PCL cities that have been in the Pacific Coast League for all 31 years of the Sky Sox Triple-A affiliation (1988-present).
Multi-Night: It was a multi-night for multiple Sky Sox on Wednesday night in game one against the Las Vegas 51s. Both Brett Phillips (2) and Jett Bandy (3) collected multi-hits on the night while both of them including Tyrone Taylor all had two-RBI nights as well.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox are in the midst of a seven-game homestand at Security Service Field with a three-game set against the Las Vegas 51s before welcoming the Salt Lake Bees to town on Saturday for a four-game series.
 
NEXT GAME: Friday, June 15 vs. Las Vegas - 6:40 p.m. MT @ Security Service Field
RHP Aaron Wilkerson (0-2, 3.26) vs. LHP P.J. Conlon (2-4, 7.51) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Tomorrow's Promotion: Friday Night Fireworks - Cheers to 45 More Years Specialty Jerseys (1980s)
 
COS TOP PERFORMERS
·Freddy Peralta (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 SO)
·Christian Bethancourt (2-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI)
·Nate Orf (2-for-5, 3B, 1 R, 1 RBI)
   LV TOP PERFORMERS
·Johnny Monell (1-for-1, 2B, 3 RBI)
·Drew Gagnon (6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 9 SO)
·Colton Plaia (1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB)