MISSOULA, MONT. - Joey Rose launched his eighth home run of the season and the Osprey led from start to finish en route to defeating the Orem Owlz (34-13-1 | 8-2) by a final score of 6-3 on Saturday night at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field. The win pulled the
MISSOULA, MONT. - Joey Rose launched his eighth home run of the season and the Osprey led from start to finish en route to defeating the Orem Owlz (34-13-1 | 8-2) by a final score of 6-3 on Saturday night at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field. The win pulled the Osprey even with Orem in the series, offering Missoula a chance at clinching the series on Sunday.
The Osprey opened the scoring in the first inning when Ernie De La Trinidad led off with a triple and came across on a foul fly from Eduardo Diaz down the first base line. In the next inning, Missoula mounted a rally on the back of a one-out double from Brandon Leyton, followed by a walk from De La Trinidad. With two out in the inning, Joey Rose pulled a 1-1 pitch from Orem starter Cole Duensing over the left field fence for a three-run homer, widening the Osprey lead to 4-0.
The homer extended Rose's hitting streak to 21 games. He later added a pair of singles, finishing 3-for-4. Brandon Leyton notched a pair of base hits and Andy Yerzy added a 2-for-4 game, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. The next half inning, Osprey starter Brady Muller loaded the bases with none out, but recorded back-to-back outs on a pop fly and a strikeout.
With the count full to Orem left fielder Ryan Vega, Muller was tagged for a bases-clearing double to cut Missoula's lead to 4-3. The three-run double was the only major blemish on Muller's line, as the left-hander earned his third victory of the season by pitching five innings and surrendering only the three runs on Vega's double, limiting Orem to six hits and a walk, while striking out four.
With an RBI single from Yerzy in the fourth, the Osprey widened their lead to its final margin of 6-3. Beginning with the sixth, relievers Rafael Pujols and Cole Bartlett combined to fire four scoreless innings, allowing just two base runners to close out the game without a serious threat from Orem.
The Osprey return to action on Saturday night for a 5:05 p.m. first pitch at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field for the second installment of their three-game series with the Orem Owlz. Gates open at 4:30 p.m.
