Miroglio's Single Beats Grand Junction in Extras

MISSOULA, MONT. - Dominic Miroglio fisted an infield single behind second base to score the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh, and the Missoula Osprey (5-8 | 24-27) beat the Grand Junction Rockies (7-7 | 25-27) by a final score of 6-5 on Tuesday night at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field.

With left-hander Franklyn Soriano on the mound, the Osprey fell to an early 1-0 deficit when Casey Golden hit a solo home run to center field for the Rockies in the second inning.
Despite notching three base hits in the first two innings, the Osprey were held scoreless until the fourth. Trailing 1-0, Missoula stacked three consecutive doubles by Andy Yerzy, Dominic Miroglio, and Juan Araujo to score a pair of runs. With one out in the inning, Terence Connelly poked a ground ball single into the outfield, scoring Araujo from second and gifting Missoula a 3-1 advantage.
With a lead at his back, Soriano dominated the remainder of his five-inning outing, allowing only the one run on two hits and two walks, while striking out four. The two hits against Soriano were the fewest he's allowed in any start this year.
In the sixth, Missoula rallied for a fourth run when Gabriel Maciel led off with a walk and Joel Novas and Eduardo Diaz followed with singles. After Grand Junction rallied for four runs in the ninth on a pair of homers to take a 5-4 lead, the Osprey entered the home half trailing for the first time. With one out, Eduardo Diaz was hit by a pitch and Ernie De La Trinidad singled. Grand Junction pitcher Jefry Valdez then issued a wild pitch, allowing the runners to advance to second and third. With two out, Diaz crossed home as the tying run when Rockies catcher Nic Motley committed a passed ball.
Two innings later, Missoula received a leadoff single from Brandon Leyton after a nine-pitch at-bat and Maciel followed with a walk. The runners then moved up a base on a fly ball to left field by Diaz that was caught in the corner just short of the wall. With two outs and runners on second and third, Dominic Miroglio fisted a bouncing ball behind second base that allowed Leyton to score the winning run.
In the victory, the Osprey piled up 15 base hits including four doubles. Five Missoula players posted multi-hit evenings, including three-hit games from Yerzy, Miroglio, and Leyton. Casey Kulina and Rafael Pujols combined to throw 4 and 2/3 innings in relief, surrendering just one base runner and striking out four.
The Osprey return to action on Wednesday night for the third installment of their four-game series against the Grand Junction Rockies at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:30 p.m.