First Ever Professional Baseball Game Decided by “Knock Out”

Rocky Mountain Vibes Break 9th Inning Tie with Grand Junction Rockies On 4th Swing Homer

Spokane, WA

For the first time in professional baseball history a regular season game tied through 9 innings was settled by the Pioneer Baseball League’s innovative “Knock Out” rule.

Before a crowd of 1,998 fans, Manny Olloque of the Rocky Mountain Vibes hit the game winning blast on his 4th swing to secure an 8-7 win for the home team over the Grand Junction Rockies. Olloque, a 16th round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals (2014) from Torrance, CA, won the “Knock Out” round after the Rockies Dondre Hubbard failed to go deep in his round of five swings.

“It was just awesome,” said Vibes General Manager Chris Jones. “After all the talk about our new rules, it was so cool to actually see it happen. It was something the fans, our players and I will never forget.”

The Pioneer Baseball League announced on April 27th a set of ground-breaking rules for league play, including the first-of-its-kind “Knock Out” rule that resolves tied games with a head-to-head, “sudden death” home run duel. Under the rule, each team designates a hitter who receives 5 pitches, with the game determined by the most home runs hit. If still tied after the first “Knock Out” round, another hitter is selected for a sudden-death home run face-off until a winner is declared.

“I couldn’t be happier to see our “Knock Out” rule play out so perfectly,” said Pioneer League President Michael Shapiro. “Not only did it add tremendous excitement for everyone involved but it proved our concept that in baseball we can resolve ties without drawn-out bouts of extra innings and without all the burdensome financial cost and wear and tear on our limited rosters.”