STORM CHASERS TAKE COMMAND OF SERIES WITH EXTRAS WIN

POSTGAME NOTES
Friday, April 27, 2018
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (13-8) vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (8-13)
 
STORM CHASERS TAKE COMMAND OF SERIES WITH EXTRA-INNINGS WIN
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Colorado Springs Sky Sox, who took the field tonight dressed as the Colorado Springs Millionaires as part of the "Cheers to 45 More Years" season-long campaign honoring the history of baseball in Colorado Springs over the last century, lost to the Omaha Storm Chasers 6-5 in extra innings.
Mauricio Dubon-who came into tonight with an active 15-game hitting streak-wasted no time extending that streak to 16 games, crushing a solo homer in the bottom of the first frame to give Colorado Springs an early 1-0 lead.
The Storm Chasers responded with three runs of their own in the top of the third to go up 3-1, all without garnering a single hit.  Bubba Starling led off the inning with a five-pitch walk for the Storm Chasers, followed by another walk by Jack Lopez.  Humberto Arteaga then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up, but reached safely on a Sky Sox error that also scored Starling and Lopez to make it 2-1.  Paulo Orlando then reached on a fielder's choice that was fielded by Dubon, but Dubon had a throwing error for Colorado Springs' second error of the inning that allowed Arteaga to score, extending Omaha's lead.
Colorado Springs starter Alec Asher, who made his debut with the Sky Sox Friday night, didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, and then was pulled one batter later and replaced on the mound by Sky Sox reliever Tim Dillard.  Dillard then had his longest and best outing of the season, throwing 3.2 innings of relief and striking out three Storm Chaser batters.  He didn't give up either a run or a hit in the strong outing.
After three innings without a score, Colorado Springs made some noise in the bottom of the sixth.  Jacob Nottingham kicked off the inning with a leadoff triple, scoring one at-bat later on a Keon Broxton single to bring the tie within one.  Broxton then stole second, and advanced to third on a fly ball out to right field.  Kyle Wren then lined a single past the infield to score Broxton from third and tie the game at three runs apiece.
The Sky Sox scored a fourth unanswered run in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead.  Andres Blanco reached on a fielder's choice, then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.  Nottingham then lined a single to score Blanco and give the Sky Sox a 4-3 lead.
Mike Zagurski replaced Dillard on the mound for the Sky Sox in the top of the eighth inning.  Zagurski came into tonight with a team-leading eight holds, with those eight holds actually compromising half of the Sky Sox' 16 holds on the season.  However, after recording two outs, he gave up a solo homer in the top of the ninth to tie the game once more.  That solo homer off the bat of Ryan O'Hearn was only Omaha's second hit of the night.
Gi-Man Choi led off the bottom of the ninth with a double, but was thrown out at third trying to stretch.  Two quick outs later and the Sky Sox were headed to extra innings at home for the first time this season.
With the new extra-inning rules in play, Omaha scored twice in the top of the tenth.  With Starling starting the inning on second base in light of the new rules, Jack Lopez singled to score him for Omaha's first run in extras.  Arteaga grounded out to move Lopez over to third, before Paulo Orlando grounded out to score Lopez and make the second out of the half-inning.
Going into the bottom of the tenth inning down 6-4, Nottingham started on second via the new extra-innings rules.  A wild pitch moved Nottingham to third, and a Broxton single scored him to make it a one-run ballgame.  Broxton then stole second for the second time tonight to put the tying run in scoring position, with the winning run at the plate. Unfortunately the Colorado Springs rally fell short, with Omaha taking game three 6-5.
The Sky Sox continue the five-game series against Omaha tomorrow with game four scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Security Service Field. Gates open at 3:00 p.m. For all information on Sky Sox, follow along on Facebook and Twitter or visit the team's website at www.skysox.com.
 
 
__NOTES__
 
Extra Innings:  The Sky Sox played extra innings at home Friday night for the first time all season, losing 6-5.  The only other time the Sky Sox have gone to extras so far this season was on the road on 4/22 in Round Rock.  That game was tied at 2-2 after nine, but also ended with a final score of 6-5 as the Sky Sox took the victory after Colorado Springs scored four in the top of the tenth inning and the Express scored three. 
Dillard Dealin': Tim Dillard had his longest outing of the season Friday night, throwing 3.2 innings of relief after coming into the game in the fourth to replace Sky Sox starter Alec Asher.  Dillard struck out three Storm Chaser batters and didn't give up either a run or a hit in his best outing of the 2018 campaign.
Errors On the Board: After allowing four errors Thursday night, the Sky Sox allowed another two on Friday night, both of which came in the third inning.  The four errors the Sky Sox had Thursday night were the most they've had in a game so far this year.  Prior to that Colorado Springs had not had multiple errors in a game this season.
Dubon Derby: Mauricio Dubón extended his hit streak to 16 games Friday night. Dubon has gone 24-for-71 over 16 games with 12 runs, three home runs, 12 RBI, and two stolen bases. His longest recorded streak in 2017 with the Sky Sox was seven games. 
Tomorrow's Expectation: In the fourth game of the five-game series, right-hander Michael Brady gets the ball for the Sky Sox as he looks to pick up his first win of the season, while right-hander Scott Barlow is set to oppose him on the bump for the Storm Chasers.