Sky Sox Win Fourth Straight With 8-3 Victory Over Memphis

POSTGAME NOTES
Monday, June 25, 2018 @ Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (42-33) | Memphis Redbirds (46-31)
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Sky Sox started the homestand off right Monday evening with a decisive 8-3 victory over the Memphis Redbirds in game one, highlighted by a Keon Broxton pinch-hit three-run home run in the eighth inning.
The Sky Sox returned home Monday after a successful road trip to Iowa that saw them take four of five games from the Cubs, including shutouts in three of those four victories.  Game one of this four-game series against the Memphis Redbirds had no shot at being a shutout, however, as Memphis scored in the top of the very first inning.
After recording two quick outs to start the game, Sky Sox starter Alec Asher gave up a single to Luke Voit in the top of the first frame. Patrick Wisdom then walked to put two on with two out, before Adolis García hit an RBI single to score Voit and give Memphis an early 1-0 lead.
After a scoreless second inning, Memphis would score again in the third.  Oscar Mercado led off the third with a five-pitch walk, advancing to second one batter later on a Rangel Ravelo single.  Wisdom then drew his second walk of the game to load the bases for Garcia, who again collected an RBI, this time by way of a sacrifice fly to plate Mercado and extend the Redbirds lead to 2-0.
The fourth inning proved to be scoreless, and in the bottom of the fifth, the Sky Sox offense came alive.  Despite two quick outs to start the inning, Brett Phillips got the ball rolling with a two-out single, advancing to second on a Memphis error.  Jake Hager then doubled to center to score Phillips for Colorado Springs' first run of the homestand.  Nate Orf followed up with a double of his own to tie the game before Jacob Nottingham homered to give the Sky Sox a 4-2 lead.
In keeping with the pattern of the evening, the even innings remained scoreless, as the sixth frame came and went quietly, whereas the odd innings continued to be eventful, with more runs being scored in the seventh on both sides.  Wilfredo Tovar led off the seventh for the Redbirds with a single, stealing second to put himself in scoring position with one out on the board.  Ravelo then hit an RBI single to score Tovar from second and make it a 4-3 affair.  However, in the bottom of the seventh, the Sky Sox returned fire.  Phillips and Hager drew back-to-back walks to start the bottom half of the seventh, with Phillips advancing to third on a flyout for the first out of the inning.  Nottingham then grounded out for the second out of the inning, scoring Phillips in the process to retake a two-run lead and send it to the eighth with the Sky Sox leading 5-3.
Seeking to capitalize on the momentum of the seventh inning, Dylan Moore hit a one-out double in the bottom of the eighth to become the first baserunner of the inning, before a Kyle Wren walk put two on for pinch-hitter Keon Broxton.  Broxton promptly hit a three-run homer to extend the Sky Sox lead to 8-3, for Colorado Springs' first pinch-hit home run of the 2018 campaign.  The Redbirds would fail to score in the ninth inning, with the Sky Sox taking game one of both the series and the homestand.
The Sky Sox enter into the second game of a four-game homestand against the Memphis Redbirds tomorrow with a 6:40 p.m. MT scheduled first pitch at Security Service Field in Colorado Springs.  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 this four-game set against the Memphis Redbirds, the Sky Sox are sending righty Aaron Wilkerson to the mound to face Memphis' Daniel Poncedeleon. Wilkerson is looking for his third win of the season, whereas Poncedeleon is in search of his sixth.
Make No Mistakes:  With another errorless game on Monday night, the Sky Sox have now not recorded an error since June 18 against the Salt Lake Bees.
Helpin' Out:  Tyrone Taylor recorded yet another assist on Monday night, for his 12^th of the season, which leads all of the Pacific Coast League in assists.
Clutch City:  Keon Broxton came into the game in the eighth inning Monday night to pinch-hit, hitting a three-run homer for the Sky Sox FIRST pinch-hit home run of the 2018 season.
Zagurski Zaves:  Mike Zagurski collected his second save in as many days after recording the save in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.  In game two of a doubleheader on Saturday, Zagurski recorded a three-up-three-down save for his second save of the season.
Doubling Up on Shutouts: The Sky Sox posted their sixth shutout of the season Sunday afternoon in a 2-0 victory over the Cubs.  On Saturday, in game two of a doubleheader, they posted their fifth shutout of the season with a 2-0 victory over the Cubs.  Colorado Springs had just posted their fourth shutout Thursday evening against the Iowa Cubs with a 5-0 victory. The last shutout for the Colorado Springs squad before that came on May 24 in Nashville when they blanked the Sounds 4-0. In one series, Colorado Springs doubled their total number of shutouts from three to six after blanking Iowa thrice.
Out in Front:  The only time Iowa led in the entire five-game series was when they had the walk off walk in the bottom of the ninth inning in game two on Friday night.
Running Away With It:  With the four stolen bases during game one of Saturday's doubleheader, the Sky Sox (at that time) had amassed 106 stolen bases, which was the 7th most stolen bases in a single season, with nearly half of the season remaining. The team record for most stolen bases in a season is 169 stolen bases, during the 2009 season. During that season, Eric Young, Jr. had 58 stolen bases, with Mike McCoy adding 40 (1st and 3rd all-time in a single season in the individual SB category).
Doubleheader History:  Saturday's scheduled split day/night doubleheader marks only the second time that the current era Sky Sox (since 1988) has played a split day/night doubleheader. This is the first time that the spot day/night doubleheader was scheduled on the original schedule to start the season.  The only other instance where the Sky Sox played a split day/night doubleheader was on June 14th, 2003 at Zephyr Field (now The Shrine on Airline in Metairie) against New Orleans. This was scheduled after the April 8th, 2003 game was rained out during the first Sky Sox visit to New Orleans that season. Both games were scheduled nine-inning games. In Game One, Jason Lane went 3-for-5 with a RBI for the Z's, as the Zephyrs beat the Sky Sox, 2-1 in 11 innings (T-3:17, A-3,273). In Game Two, Gabe Kapler went 1-for-2 with 2 SB for the Sky Sox, but Zephyrs pitcher threw a four-hit nine-inning shutout, striking out nine, as the Zephyrs blanked the Sky Sox, 9-0 (T-2:24, A-7,812).  Last year, the Sky Sox tried to play a split day/night doubleheader at home on August 10th against Round Rock, after consecutive rainouts on August 8th and 9th. The Sky Sox had won the first game, 4-2. However, more rain arrived between games, and the evening game was once again postponed. During a previous baseball era back in the 1950's in the Single-A Western League, the Colorado Springs and Des Moines teams played a split day/night doubleheader in Colorado Springs. On July 21st, 1957 at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, the Single-A Sky Sox beat the Des Moines Demons, 4-3 in the afternoon game, and 15-9 in the evening game. Normally doubleheaders back then had one game nine innings and one game seven innings, but in this doubleheader, both games were nine innings. Des Moines was a Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs then, while Colorado Springs was affiliated with the Chicago White Sox.
Blanks:  After posting their fourth shutout of the season against Iowa Thursday night, the Sky Sox opened game two with five more shutout innings before allowing their first run of the series in the sixth frame, for 14 shutout innings against the Cubs to start the series. 
Out-Hit W: The win in game one over the Cubs marked just the 10th time for the Sky Sox out of 28 times this season when they were out-hit by opponents and walked away with the victory.
This Week's Preview:  The Sky Sox are back home to host the Memphis Redbirds, St. Louis Cardinals top affiliate, for four games at Security Service Field before going back on the road on Friday.
 
 
NEXT GAME: Tuesday, June 26 vs. Memphis Redbirds - 6:40 p.m. MT @ Security Service Field
RHP Aaron Wilkerson (2-2, 2.12) vs. RHP Daniel Poncedeleon (5-3, 2.45) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Tomorrow's Promotion: $2 Tuesday - $2 UR Tickets, $2 Parking, $2 Coors & Coors Light (Presented by Boost Mobile)
 
 
COS TOP PERFORMERS
 Keon Broxton (1-for-1, HR, 1 R, 3 RBI)
 Jacob Nottingham (1-for-4, HR, 1 R, 3 RBI)
 Alec Asher (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 SO)
 
   MEM TOP PERFORMERS
 Adolis Garcia (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI)
 Rangel Ravelo (2-for-3, 1 RBI)
 Wilfredo Tovar (1-for-2, 1 R, 1 SB)