Ogden Rallies Late Only to Fall in Ninth

Early and often, the Grand Junction Rockies were hitting the ball out of the park. In the thin Colorado air, the hosts launched five blasts - the most in a game this season hit against the Ogden Raptors.
That didn't discourage the Ogden offense - the Raptors hit two home runs of their own and fought back from an early 6-run deficit to take the lead.
Grand Junction, however, had the final word as they immediately tied the game and then walked off in the bottom of the ninth for a 9-8 win.
The loss dropped Ogden four games back of Pioneer League South division-leading Orem, as the Owlz easily handled Idaho Falls in a 12-1 rout Saturday night.
After Ogden had a runner thrown out at the plate on a delayed double-steal in the top of the first inning, the Grand Junction offense came out swinging against Raptors starter Gregorio Sequera, hitting a pair of two-run homers for a 4-0 lead.
Sequera seemed to settle down after the first inning, striking out six of the next nine batters, but a check-swing double with two out and two strikes in the fourth threw him off and the next hitter blasted another two-run shot.
Ogden scratched and clawed back for four runs in the fifth, as Moises Perez singled in Gersel Pitre before Luis Paz launched his league-leading seventh home run of the season with Perez and Garrett Hope on base.
A solo home run with two out in the home half of the fifth ended Sequera's night, but the Raptors' offense got the run back in the sixth on a Kevin LaChance infield single.
Ogden trailed entering the eighth inning, 7-5. Hope led off and lifted his fourth homer of the season to left field to bring his team within one. Perez then singled and Paz laced a double to left-center to tie the game. With two out, Romer Cuadrado smashed a double inside the bag at third to score Paz with the go-ahead run.
Raptors pitching retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the eighth in quick succession, but the Rockies' fifth homer of the night tied the score once again. In the bottom of the ninth, a leadoff triple was followed by a sacrifice fly to end the game.
The Raptors and Rockies take the field again Sunday evening at 5:00, followed by the series finale Monday at 6:40.