SKY SOX FALL IN FINAL GAME TO BABY CAKES BEFORE ALL-STAR BREAK

POSTGAME NOTES
Sunday, July 8, 2018 vs. New Orleans Baby Cakes (MIA)
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (49-39) | New Orleans Baby Cakes (42-47)
SKY SOX FALL IN FINAL GAME TO BABY CAKES BEFORE ALL-STAR BREAK
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox dropped the final game of the series and the first half of the season on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Baby Cakes 7-4, still taking the series three games to two.
Despite giving up a double and a single to the Baby Cakes in the first two at-bats of the game, New Orleans didn't manage to score in the first inning, stranding both runners and sending it to the bottom of the frame. In opposite fashion, the Sky Sox recorded two quick outs in the first two at-bats of the bottom of the first, before scoring twice. Tyrone Taylor drew a two-out walk, advancing to second on a Domingo Santana single. Jett Bandy then doubled to clear the bases and give the Sky Sox an early 2-0 lead.
After a scoreless second, the Baby Cakes would tie the game in the third. With one out on the board Magneuris Sierra hit his second single of the game, but was picked off for the second out of the inning. Eric Campbell then drew a walk and Austin Dean singled to put two on for Tomás Telis. Telis hit an RBI double on the first pitch he saw to score both runners and tie the game at 2-2.
In the top of the fourth, New Orleans extended their lead. Jonathan Rodriguez hit a leadoff double, moving to third on a Peter Mooney single. Braxton Lee then singled to score Rodriguez and put Mooney on third, and a Sky Sox error allowed Mooney to come home to make it 4-2.
In the top of the fifth, the Baby Cakes scored for the third consecutive inning. Telis led off with a single, Christian Adames drew a walk, and Rodriguez hit another single to quickly load the bases for Mooney. Mooney hit into a ground out to score Telis and make it 5-2, but the Sky Sox would escape the inning without further damage.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Sky Sox scored another pair of runs to make it a one-run game. Santana drew a leadoff walk, and Bandy hit his second double of the game to score Santana. Bandy moved to third on a New Orleans error, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Andrés Blanco allowed Bandy to trot home to make it a tight 5-4 game.
The score wouldn't change again until the ninth inning, when New Orleans scored a couple of insurance runs. Sierra led off with his third single of the game, Campbell reached after being hit by pitch, and Dean singled to score Sierra and advance Campbell to third. Telis then hit a sacrifice fly to plate Campbell and make it 7-4 New Orleans. That score would hold, with New Orleans taking game five 7-4, but the Sky Sox taking the series three games to two, thus closing out the first half of the season before the All-Star Break.
The Sky Sox now head into the three-day All-Star Break, and then will hit the road for four more games against the Baby Cakes in New Orleans. For all information on Sky Sox, follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit the team's website at www.skysox.com.
__NOTES__
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox first half of season is complete and the team heads into the three-day All-Star Break (July 9-11). After the break, the team will hit the road for four more games against the Baby cakes in New Orleans.
First Half in the books: The Sky Sox finished the first half of season with the third-best record in the Pacific Coast League (49-39), behind Fresno (52-37, 2nd) and Memphis (56-34, 1st). As a squad, the offense hits the half with a .274 average (801-for-2924), which is good for sixth best in the PCL. Over 89 games, the team has collected 161 doubles, 36 triples, 85 home runs, 420 RBI, 304 walks, 736 strikeouts, and are the outright leaders in stolen bags (118) by 40. On the pitching end of things, Colorado Springs staff fares fifth best with their 49-39 record and 4.30 ERA. The staff to this point have totaled 759.0 innings of work and allowed 767 hits over 3,296 batters faced with 363 ER, 64 home runs, 294 walks, and 694 strikeouts tallied.
Last Year Knowledge: At the half last season (2017), the Sky Sox also led the American Northern Division. After 89 games, the Colorado Springs squad finished six games up in the conference with a 55-34 record. This season, the Sky Sox finish the half also atop the conference with a 49-39 record but just one-and-a-half games up.
All-Star Caliber: Colorado Springs' players participating in the 31st Triple-A mid-summer classic on Wednesday, July 11 are catcher Christian Bethancourt and infielder Dylan Moore, in place of originally selected Nate Orf (called up). Bethancourt, in his first season with the Brewers organization since signing as a free agent on January 8, 2018, was elected and will be representing Colorado Springs as the Pacific Coast League starting catcher. Moore, in his first season with Milwaukee after signing as a free agent in April, will be representing the Sky Sox as an All-Star reserve infielder. It marks the Southern California native's second career selection as a mid-season All-Star (NWL, 2015, Spokane).
Number 11: In 22 total series before the All-Star break, the Sky Sox finish with 11 series wins following the game four win Saturday night with six series losses and five series ties.
Burnes Gets the Call: The Milwaukee Brewers selected right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes Sunday morning, earning his first call up to the Show. The Bakersfield native was drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 draft. Over 19 games (13 starts), Burnes went 3-4 with a 5.15 ERA (45 ER in 78.2 IP).
Slurry of Moves: There were a slurry of moves early on Sunday before the final game with New Orleans. Recalled from the Sky Sox was infielder Nate Orf, catcher Jacob Nottingham, and right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes while right-handed pitcher Aaron Wilkerson was optioned and Aaron Brooks was activated off of the temporary inactive list.
Four Call-Ups: Over the first half of the 2018 season, four Sky Sox players have been called up to the Show for the first time in their carrer - catcher Jacob Nottingham, right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta, infielder Nate Orf, and right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes.
Houser Holdin Down the Fort: In his fifth start with the Sky Sox, righty Adrian Houser tossed four shutout frames and allowed just three hits while striking out three with no walks. It marked his first shutout performance with Colorado Springs and second no-walk performance.
Taylor is Fire: Outfielder Tyrone Taylor has been a sight to watch as of late. In his last five games combined, 10-for-18 with seven runs, a double, two triples, two home runs, and nine RBI.  
BB-BB-BB: Orlando Arcia drew three free passes on Saturday night and finished the night going 1-for-2 with two runs. In 2016 with the Sky Sox, Arcia only drew two multi-walk games (2 walks per) in 100 games.
Error Assists: Baby Cakes catcher Austin Nola supported the Sky Sox cause with two errors on the night - tying the most errors by an opponent (individual) when playing the Sky Sox. The last time an individual made two errors in a game against Colorado Springs came on May 24 at Nashville (B. Taylor).
Nottingham Reaches 10: On Friday, in game one of the doubleheader, Jacob Nottingham knocked his 10th home run with the Sky Sox, tying the most home runs he has totaled with one team. The last time he had 10 home runs with a team was during 2015 with Quad Cities. In that same season, the catcher combined for 17 home runs over three teams (Quad Cities, Lancaster, Stockton).
Three-Hit Win: In game one of Friday's doubleheader, the Sky Sox were victorious over the Baby Cakes 2-1 and did so on just three hits - Jacob Nottingham (solo HR), Dylan Moore (2B), and Domingo Santana (1B). The three hits tied a season-low for the Sky Sox, which they set on May 31 against Iowa at Security Service Field.
Brooks CG: Despite only going five innings in the game, Aaron Brooks officially marked the third complete game for the Sky Sox in the Brewers era. It marked the first complete game by a pitcher this season for the Sky Sox. Last season, Angel Ventura notched the one and only complete game last season.
NEXT GAME: Thursday, July 12 at 6:00 p.m. MT vs. New Orleans Baby Cakes @ Shrine On Airline
RHP Aaron Brooks (5-3, 4.24) vs. LHP Dillon Peters (2-4, 6.60) - Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
COS TOP PERFORMERS
 Jett Bandy (2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R)
 Andres blanco (1-for-3, 1 RBI)
 Tristan Archer (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K)
     NO TOP PERFORMERS
 Tomas Telis (2-for-4, 1 R, 2B, 3 RBI)
 Austin Dean (2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI)
 Magneuris Sierra (3-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI)