POSTGAME NOTES
Tuesday, June 19, 2018 vs. Salt Lake Bees
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (37-32) | Salt Lake Bees (41-31)
SKY SOX OVERPOWERED 17-9 BY BEES IN SERIES FINALE
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox, who won in back-to-back fashion the previous two nights at home, settled for a series split after being overpowered in the series finale 17-9 by the Salt Lake Bees.
On a windy Colorado Springs evening, the final game of the series with Salt Lake got started right out of the gate with the Sky Sox striking first. In the bottom of the first, Nate Orf led off the half by getting hit by a pitch, marking his team leading 14th of the season. Following a stolen base by Orf and a groundout by Tyrone Taylor to advance the runner to third base, Brad Miller hit a sacrifice fly ball to centerfield to make it an early 1-0 advantage.
In the top of the second, Salt Lake found a rhythm against Brewers rehabber Zach Davies. Ben Revere led off with a single while Dustin Ackley followed up with a double to tie the game at 1-1. After a groundout by Francisco Arcia to move Ackley to third, Eric Young Jr. hit a sacrifice fly ball to give the Bees the 2-1 lead. Davies, who was on a 30 total pitch count exited after one and two-thirds innings, making way for reliever Michael Brady, who allowed a solo home run to Matt Thaiss before finishing the half.
After Taylor Ward made it a 4-1 ballgame on his solo home run in the top of the third, Orf made it a one-run game on his two-run shot to straightaway centerfield, marking his third home run in four games.
The Bees didn't stop their offensive momentum entering the fourth, as they would rally for five more runs to take a commanding 9-3 lead. Arcia led off the inning with a solo home run while two singles and a force groundout would plate another. Ward then collected his second home run of the night and third of the year to plate two more runs and three consecutive singles manufactured the fifth run.
After a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth sparked by consecutive doubles by Brett Phillips and Keon Broxton, Salt Lake went on to plate a solo run in the top of the fifth. Trailing 10-5, the Sky Sox made a final run at chasing the deficit. Following consecutive walks to Taylor and Miller, Phillips walked with one out to load the bases. After a Broxton sacrifice bunt to plate Taylor, Andrés Blanco made it a one-run ballgame on his three-run moonshot to right field, bring the score to 10-9.
The Bees offense took over for the rest of the night from there, plating four more runs in the top of the sixth, including a home run from Young Jr., and three in the top of the ninth to seal an overpowering 17-9 victory.
The contest totaled 17 extra-base hits, 10 of which were by Salt Lake with five home runs; Colorado Springs collected seven extra-base hits with two home runs. Bees first baseman Thaiss put together an impressive 5-for-7 performance at the plate with a double and a home run while Ward went 4-for-4 on the night.
The Sky Sox enter into game one of a five-game set against the Iowa Cubs Thursday with a 5:08 p.m. scheduled first pitch at Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa. For all information on Sky Sox, follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit the team's website at www.skysox.com.
__NOTES__
Thursday's Preview: In the first game of the five-game series against the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park in Des Moines, the Sky Sox are sending righty Aaron Wilkerson to the mound to face Cubs righty Jen-Ho Tseng.
Orf Orf Orf: Infielder Nate Orf collected his fourth home run of the season Tuesday night at Security Service Field. It marked his third long ball in four games.
Orf Continues the Climb:  With the one hits by Nate Orf Tuesday evening, Orf passes Neifi Perez for 19th place with 301 hits. He became the 20th player in Sky Sox history to collect 300 regular season hits in his Sky Sox career Monday night with his two hits. In addition, the runs scored were numbers 197 and 198 for the infielder, which passes Jay Gainer for 10th place all time on runs scored. Matt Miller is next in 9th at 201 runs scored.
Wear It: The hit by pitch by Nate Orf was his 14th of the season, which is third most for a Sky Sox player in a single season. Clint Barmes holds the top two single season marks: 22 HBP in the 2007 season and 15 HBP in the 2004 season. The hit-by-pitch was also Orf's 31st regular season hit-by-pitch in a Sky Sox uniform, good for third place all-time. Barmes has the most with 47. Mark Strittmatter is second with 35 total.
New Career Highs: Alec Asher, who pitched out of the pen Tuesday evening, set new career highs in hits and earned runs allowed. In three and two-thirds innings, the righty allowed 10 earned runs on 11 hits. His previous high of hits allowed was 10 (8/14/15 vs. Pawtucket (AAA)) while his previous high of earned runs was 7 (3x, 4/28/14, 9/5/15 & 7/30/17).
Five Trips: The five home runs Tuesday night by Salt Lake marks the third time that they have hit five homers in a game at Security Service Field. The other two instances: June 12th, 1996, Salt Lake won 10-4; August 20th, 2001, Salt Lake won 19-12. The last opponent to hit five homers against the Sky Sox at Security Service Field: New Orleans, on May 24th, 2017.
1,000 for EYJ: Former Sky Sox player and current Salt Lake outfielder Eric Young Jr. played in his 1,000th game Tuesday night in Colorado Springs. On the night, he went 3-for-4 with 5 RBI and a home run.
Thaiss Pretty Good: The five-hit game by Bees first baseman Matt Thaiss marks the 11th time a Salt Lake player had a five-hit game against the Sky Sox. The last Salt Lake player to meet the feat against the Sky Sox was Nick Gorneault on August 12th, 2006 in Colorado Springs.
Pacific Southern Stretch: Colorado Springs ended their first Pacific Southern series of the season going 4-3 overall against Las Vegas and Salt Lake. Last season, the Sky Sox went 9-7 against Pacific Southern opponents.
Mas Hits: The 24 hits Tuesday marked the fourth time Salt Lake has had at least 24 hits in a game here in Colorado Springs. The other instances: 33 hits - July 29th, 1994 (most in stadium history); 27 hits - August 23rd, 2011; 24 hits - August 20th, 2001.The last time an opponent had 24 hits in a game in Colorado Springs was on May 29th, 2013 by Tacoma, who had 30 hits (the second most allowed in stadium history).
Ward Doubles Up: The two-homer game by Taylor Ward marks the 27th time where a Salt Lake player has hit two home runs against the Sky Sox, and it's the 17th time where a Salt Lake player has hit two homers at Security Service Field (16th in regular season, one time in postseason by Tom Quinlan in Game 4 of the 1995 PCL Finals on September 14th, 1995). The other ten instances were in Salt Lake. Prior to Tuesday night, the last Salt Lake player to have a two-homer game against the Sky Sox, was by Paul McAnulty, on September 1st, 2011, in Salt Lake. The last Salt Lake player to have a two-homer game against the Sky Sox in Colorado Springs was by Peter Bourjos on July 2nd, 2010 (one of them an inside-the-Park homer).
Trouble Late: The grand slam homer by Matt Thaiss in the ninth inning on Monday was the 18th Salt Lake grand slam hit against the Sky Sox, the most by any Sky Sox opponent, nine in Colorado Springs and nine in Salt Lake. It was the 17th hit in the regular season, with one hit in the postseason (hit by Mike Durant in Game 5 of the 1995 PCL Championship, on September 15th, 1995).  Prior to Monday night, the last Salt Lake player to hit a grand slam against a Sky Sox pitcher was on June 13th, 2014 by Efren Navarro, in the sixth inning off Christian Friedrich. Salt Lake won that game, 8-6. The last time an opponent hit a grand slam in the ninth inning against a Sky Sox pitcher was on June 9th, 2016 at Autozone Park in Memphis, when Kolten Wong hit a walk-off grand slam homer against Jaye Chapman, with Memphis winning, 8-5.  The last time an opponent hit a grand slam homer in the top of the ninth inning at Security Service Field against a Sky Sox pitcher was on August 9th, 2002, when Omaha' Brandon Berger belted a top of the ninth inning grand slam homer off Chris Nichting, with Omaha winning 16-6.
Men in Back (-to-back): The back-to-back homers Sunday afternoon by Keon Broxton and Nate Orf in the 7th inning marked the 13th time a Sky Sox tandem has hit back-to-back homers against Salt Lake pitching. The back-to-back homers by Taylor and Miller in the 4th and Broxton and Orf in the 7th marks only the fourth time in Sky Sox history where two Sky Sox players hit back-to-back homers in different innings in the same game, all here at Security Service Field. The other instances: June 14th, 1994, home vs. Albuquerque Dukes (Sky Sox won 17-9) - Jim Tatum and Alan Cockrell back-to-back in 5th inning, off Rick Gorecki, and Ty Van Burkleo and Jim Tatum back-to-back in 7th inning, off Jose Garcia, August 22nd, 2004, home vs. Albuquerque Isotopes (Sky Sox won 14-11) - Brad Hawpe and Andy Tracy back-to-back in 3rd inning, off Matt Blank, and Andy Tracy and Erick Almonte back-to-back in 5th inning, off Chris Michalak, June 27th, 2007, home vs. Tacoma Rainiers (Sky Sox won 23-11) - Ian Stewart and Joe Koshansky back-to-back in 5th inning, off Jake Woods, and Alvin Colina and Cory Sullivan back-to-back in 6th inning, off Juan Sandoval.
Fourth Time's the Charm:  The Sky Sox walked off in the bottom of the ninth inning on Father's Day (Sunday), marking their third walk-off of the season and their first since 5/12. They followed up with another walk-off on Monday for their second walk-off in as many days and their fourth of the season.
Orf's Leadoff Launch: Leadoff man for the Sky Sox Nathan Orf knocked his second home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning to put the home squad on the board Friday night. The leadoff homer by Orf marks the sixth time a Sky Sox player has hit a leadoff homer against a Las Vegas pitcher and the first time against a Las Vegas pitcher in nearly eight years. The last came on June 20th, 2010, by Dexter Fowler in the bottom of first off of Las Vegas' Lance Broadway (at Security Service Field); Sky Sox won 13-4. Orf's first homer of 2018 came on May 14 against Oklahoma City at Security Service Field. In 2017, the infielder totaled nine on the season.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox hit the road for Des Moines to face off against the Iowa Cubs, Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, to play five games at Principal Park in a four-day stretch, including a scheduled double-header on Saturday. The Sky Sox return home on Monday, June 25 and will host the Memphis Redbirds, St. Louis Cardinals top affiliate, for four games at Security Service Field.
NEXT GAME: Thursday, June 21 @ Iowa - 6:08 p.m. MT @ Principal Park
RHP Aaron Wilkerson (1-2, 2.59) vs. RHP Jen-Ho Tseng (2-7, 8.21) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Next Home Game: Monday, June 25 vs. Memphis Redbirds (STL)
COS TOP PERFORMERS
 Andres Blanco (2-for-4, R, 3 RBI, HR)
 Nate Orf (1-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, SB,HBP)
 Brett Phillips (1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB)
   SL TOP PERFORMERS
 Matt Thaiss (5-for-7, R, RBI, HR, 2B)
 Taylor Ward (4-for-4, 4 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR)
 Eric Young Jr. (3-for-4, 5 RBI, HR, 3 R)