SKY SOX FALL TO RIVER CATS FRIDAY IN SERIES OPENER

POSTGAME NOTES
Friday, June 8, 2018 @ Sacramento River Cats
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (31-28) | Sacramento River Cats (30-32)
SKY SOX FALL TO RIVER CATS FRIDAY IN SERIES OPENER
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sky Sox dropped the first game of the four-game set against the Sacramento River Cats 4-1 at Raley Field on Friday night. Right-handed Sky Sox starter Aaron Wilkerson would put together a solid outing (5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 K) but walked away with his second loss after two errors in the bottom of the sixth would allow Sacramento to take and hold the late lead.
In a game that would go perfect on each side through the first three innings, Sky Sox would break the trend in the fourth with one out after Keon Broxton doubled to record the first hit of the contest.
After the Sky Sox broke through but could not plate a run, Sacramento found some momentum sparked by a leadoff triple from the bat of Grégor Blanco. With one out, Chris Shaw disrupted the scoreless battle with a single to right field to plate Blanco and make it a 1-0 River Cats advantage.
The Sky Sox kept some of their fourth inning rhythm though as Tyrone Taylor led the top of the fifth off with a double. A batter later, Shane Opitz brought him around on his single to centerfield and made it a 1-1 contest.
The difference in the ballgame came in the bottom of the sixth when the River Cats collected three runs on just one single. Kelby Tomlinson drew a walk to lead off the frame while Austin Slater singled with one out to put runners on first and second. After Jorge López took the ball from starter Wilkerson, a dropped foul pop error by Jacob Nottingham would result in a walk to Chase d'Arnaud to load the bases. Eury Pérez's infield groundout manufactured the go-ahead run while a wild pitch delivered by Lopez sent both runners on base into score to extend their lead to 4-1.
Following Sacramento's three-run outburst, the Sky Sox offense went quiet and would not put up a fight in the final goings of the Friday night contest.
The Sky Sox are in the midst of a nine-day, seven-game road trip and continue into game two of the four-game series against the Sacramento River Cats. 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 the second game of the four-game series against the River Cats at Raley Field in Sacramento, the Sky Sox are sending righty Alec Asher to the mound to face southpaw Matt Gage. This season, the Sky Sox hold a 9-3 record when facing a lefty-starting pitcher.
Errors Costing: Two errors made by the Sky Sox in the sixth inning made the difference in the late go-ahead scoring by Sacramento. The Sky Sox hold a 13-17 record when committing an error in a game. Oppositely, the Sky Sox squad is 18-11 when committing no errors in a game.
June So Far: The Sky Sox as a team are batting .241 over seven games so far in June with 10 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 30 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. However, they are just 12-for-63 with runners in scoring position.
Road Woes: Colorado Springs road trips struggles continue, as they are now 3-10 over their last 13 road games. Over nine games in Tennessee, the Sky Sox only nabbed a single win in each of the series. So far on their California road trip, the Sky Sox are 1-3.
Closing In: The Sky Sox find themselves the closest to a .500 winning percentage since they held a 4-1 record on April 10 after five games played. They currently hold a 31-28 record and have not won more than two games in a row since taking four straight from May 12 to May 17.
Good start, Bad luck: Sky Sox starter Aaron Wilkerson had himself a tough day after walking away Friday night with his second loss while only allowing five hits and one earned run with six strikeouts.
Looking Back at Some Firsts:  As Thursday night marked the final scheduled meeting between the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Fresno Grizzlies for some time to come, here's a look back at some first meetings between the two clubs:
-First Sky Sox game vs. Fresno Grizzlies: April 21st, 1998 at Security Service Field. The Fresno Grizzlies beat the Sky Sox, 7-3. Jeff Ball went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Doug Mirabelli went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI for Fresno in the win.
-First Sky Sox game in Fresno: August 15th, 1998 at Pete Beiden Field, Fresno Grizzlies beat the Sky Sox, 15-7. Armando Rios belted a grand slam homer, while Jalal Leach went 3-for-5 with a HR and 3 RBI for Fresno in the win.
-First Sky Sox game in Fresno (at Grizzlies Stadium, now Chukchansi Park): August 13th, 2002 at Chukchansi Park, Sky Sox beat the Grizzlies, 3-2. Jason Romano went 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and two stolen bases, with Adam Melhuse hitting a solo homer in the Sky Sox win.
-Final Sky Sox game vs. Fresno Grizzlies, at Security Service Field: May 9th, 2017 at Security Service Field, Sky Sox beat the Grizzlies, 8-5. Kyle Wren and Eric Sogard both went 3-for-4 with 2 SB in the Sky Sox win.
Orf Snags Another:  Nate Orf's stolen base Wednesday night gives him 25 career stolen bases with the Sky Sox (regular season), moving into the Top 25, in a four-way tie for 24th place, joining Neifi Perez, Jeff Salazar, and Juan Sosa. Next at tied for 22nd place with 26 SB: Craig Counsell and Derrick Gibson.
Strong Rehab: Eric Thames, who joined the Sky Sox on a rehab assignment Wednesday night, went 2-for-4 with two singles against the Grizzlies.
Nail-biters: Tuesday night was only the second time that the Sky Sox and Fresno Grizzlies completed in a game with a final score of 1-0. The other instance came on May 26th, 2012 in Fresno, with the Grizzlies also winning that game, 1-0.
Guess Who's Back:  Tuesday night marked Jacob Nottingham's first game back with the Sky Sox since May 11, and his first hit since May 10 after an extended stay on the disabled list. Nottingham went 2-for-4 in the game, while also stealing a base.
Extras: On Sunday afternoon, the Sky Sox played their fourth extra-innings contest of 2018. With the loss to the Cubs in the tenth, Colorado Springs is now 1-3 in extra-inning contests.
This Week's Preview: The Sky Sox hit the road for five more days and four more games to take on the second of two Pacific Conference teams on this road trip, the Sacramento River Cats. This will be the first round of Pacific Coast conference games for the Sky Sox.
NEXT GAME: Saturday, June 9 @ Sacramento - 8:05 p.m. MST @ Raley Field
RHP Alec Asher (2-2, 3.30) vs. LHP Matt Gage (2-4, 6.91) | Broadcast on XTRA Sports 1300
Next Home Game: Wednesday, June 13 vs. Las Vegas - 6:40 p.m.
COS TOP PERFORMERS

• Keon Broxton (1-for-4, 2B)
• Tyrone Taylor (1-for-3, 2B, R)
• Aaron Wilkerson (5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 K)

   SAC TOP PERFORMERS

• Austin Slater (2-for-4, R)
• Gregor Blanco (1-for-3, 3B, R)
• Casey Kelly (W, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 K)