SKY SOX HIT THREE HOMERS IN HOMECOMING GAME AGAINST IOWA

POSTGAME NOTES
Wednesday, May 30, 2018 vs. Iowa Cubs
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (28-23) | Iowa Cubs (20-31)
SKY SOX HIT THREE HOMERS IN HOMECOMING GAME AGAINST IOWA
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - After a tough road trip, the Sky Sox offense exploded in game one of this homestand versus the Iowa Cubs, scoring thirteen runs on the back of three homers in a 13-3 victory Wednesday night at Security Service Field.
The visiting club wasted no time getting the offense rolling in this series, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first.  Mike Freeman led off with a single on the second pitch of the game, followed by a David Bote walk.  Efren Navarro then reached on a force attempt with an error by the Sky Sox to load the bases, still with no outs in the game.  Bijan Rademacher then forced Navarro out at second, scoring Freeman for the first run of the evening.  Victor Caratini tacked on an RBI single to score Bote and give Iowa a 2-0 lead.
The Sky Sox responded in the bottom of the first with a run of their own.  After the first two Colorado Springs batters of the night were retired, Ji-Man Choi hit a solo homer over the right-center field fence to make it 2-1.  It was Choi's fifth homer of the season.
The Cubs went three up and three down to start the second inning, and in the first at-bat of the bottom of the second, Brett Phillips homered to tie the game at 2-2.  Today also happens to be Phillips' 24^thbirthday.
The third inning proved to be the first scoreless inning of the game, but the Cubs scored again in the fourth.  Lane Adams walked on five pitches before Jacob Hannemann doubled to score Adams and retake the lead at 3-2.
In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Sky Sox offense surged tremendously.  Nate Orf hit a one-out single, advancing to second on a balk.  With two outs on the board, Choi drew a walk, and Christian Bethancourt singled to score Orf and tie the game.  Phillips drew a walk to load the bases, and in the next at-bat, a wild pitch allowed Choi to score, giving the Sky Sox the lead.  Tyrone Taylor then drew a walk to re-load the bases, and Andrés Blanco singled in the next at-bat to score both Bethancourt and Phillips to make it a 6-3 ballgame.  Dylan Moore then doubled to score Taylor and Blanco and give Colorado Springs a commanding 8-3 lead.
The sixth inning was also scoreless, but in the bottom of the seventh, the Sky Sox poured on a few more runs to further extend the lead.  Choi led off the inning with a walk, and two pitches later Bethancourt hit a two-run blast for Colorado Springs' third homer of the night, marking the first time in 2018 the Sky Sox have hit three homers in a single contest.  Phillips then hit a single, scoring on a Taylor triple to go up 11-3.  Blanco hit a sacrifice fly to score Taylor from third for the Sky Sox dozenth run of the game.
Colorado Springs kept the momentum rolling in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the first three batters all reaching safely.  Orf led off with a single, followed by walks from both Keon Broxton and Choi to load the bases once more.  Bethancourt hit into a double play that scored Orf, extending the Sky Sox lead to ten runs at 13-3.  That score would hold, giving the Sky Sox the win in the first game of both this series and this homestand.
The Sky Sox are in the midst of a five-game homestand against the Iowa Cubs that will end on June 3, before going back on the road for nine days and seven games.  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 game two of the five-game set against the Iowa Cubs at Security Service Field, the Sky Sox are sending right-hander Adrian Houser to the mound to face fellow righty Alec Mills. Houser will be making his 2018 debut on the mound with the Sky Sox.
 
Bombs on Bombs on Bombs:  The Sky Sox hit three homers Wednesday against the Iowa Cubs, marking the first time this season Colorado Springs has had three dingers in one game.  They had hit two homers five times previously this season, with the last coming on 5/25.
 
Marked Improvement:  The Sky Sox scored 13 runs Wednesday night, which is more runs than they scored in either of their previous road series.  In the five-game series last week against Memphis, the Sky Sox scored a combined six runs.  In the four-game series last week against Nashville, the Sky Sox scored a combined twelve runs.
 
Brady Hits 300: Michael Brady threw one scoreless inning of relief Tuesday night in Memphis, marking his 300th Minor League game pitched.
 
Road Troubles: The Sky Sox dropped their fifth series of the season after their loss to Memphis Monday afternoon. With the fourth consecutive loss on Tuesday, the Sky Sox finished their road trip going 2-7 over nine games in Nashville and Memphis. The team now totals six series wins, five series losses, and two series ties.
 
Halted at Four, Again: The Sky Sox were held to four hits three times throughout the five-game series with Memphis on Saturday night, Monday afternoon, and Tuesday afternoon at AutoZone Park. Before the series, the last time Colorado Springs was held to four hits was by Oklahoma City at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on May 5. The first time the Sky Sox marked the four-hit low came on April 7 at Omaha in game one of the doubleheader.
 
Run Differential: Over the Sky Sox last 12 games, opponents have outscored the Colorado Springs squad 55-26. Over the 12-game stretch, the Sky Sox have averaged 2.16 runs per game.
 
Road Trip Scoring: Over the nine-game stretch on the Tennessee road trip, the Sky Sox plated nine of 67 runners in scoring position. The Colorado Springs squad has collected a total of 57 hits with four home runs and eight doubles.
 
Short Ones: The two-hour and fourteen-minute Saturday night contest in Memphis marked the shortest game the Sky Sox have played in this season. The previous shortest game was ended at two hours and twenty minutes on May 6 at Oklahoma City. Sunday night fell within the same territory at just two hours and 22 minutes in length.
 
Duel of Dual Homers In Game One: Opposite to Friday night, after Dylan Moore made the difference in game one with his pair of home runs out of Colorado Springs' six total hits, the Redbirds sought revenge Saturday night, making the difference in game two with home runs by Rangel Ravelo and Patrick Wisdom within Memphis' six hits. The two-homer game by Dylan Moore in Memphis on Friday was only the 4th time a Sky Sox player had a two-homer game at AutoZone Park in Memphis. The other three: Greg Vaughn, on April 21st, 2003, Drew Garcia on May 1st, 2014, and Will Middlebrooks on June 10th, 2016.
 
Blanked Twice: After marking their third team shutout Thursday night in the final game in Nashville, the Sky Sox powerhouse offense was finally put to a stop for the first time Saturday night, coming 48 games in. The shutout loss on Saturday was in game 48, the fourth latest to start a season before getting shutout. The longest to start a season was game number 92 in the 2008 season. The Sky Sox were shut out again Sunday night after another excellent outing from the Redbirds pitching staff, who only allowed six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in the combined shutout. The last time the Sky Sox were shut out in back-to-back nine-inning games was June 11th and 12th, 2016, both at Memphis. This marked only the fourth time the Sky Sox have been shut out in back-to-back nine-inning games. The others: 4/27-28/2006 at Las Vegas (7-0, 5-0), 7/22-23/2007 at Fresno (2-0, 4-0), and 6/11-12/2016 at Memphis (2-0, 5-0).
 
Taking On Iowa: The Sky Sox will be taking on the Iowa Cubs, Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, for the first time this season starting Wednesday with the homestand ending Sunday, June 3. Colorado Springs is 97-113 overall against Iowa (40-63 against on the road, 57-50 against at home).
 
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox head into a five-game homestand that began Wednesday, May 30 against the Iowa Cubs. After the five games at home, they will hit the road again for sevens game to take on Pacific Conference teams, the Fresno Grizzlies and Sacramento River Cats.
 
 
NEXT GAME: Thursday, May 31 vs. Iowa Cubs - 6:40 p.m. MDT @ Security Service Field
RHP Adrian Houser (NR, -.--) vs. RHP Alec Mills (2-4, 3.93) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Thirsty Thursday ($3 Parking, $3 UR Tickets, $3 Craft Beers) presented by RMC Coors
 
   COS TOP PERFORMERS
·Christian Bethancourt (2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)
·Andres Blanco (2-for-3, 1 R, 3 RBI)
·Ji-Man Choi (1-for-2, HR, 3 BB, 3 R, 1 RBI)
·Dylan Moore (3-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB)
   IOW TOP PERFORMERS
·Mike Freeman (3-for-5, 1 R)
·Efren Navarro (2-for-5, 2 2B)
·David Bote (1-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB)