The Colorado Springs Sky Sox won a decisive rubber match on Sunday afternoon, besting the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-3 in the final of their five-game series, which was tied at two games each coming into today.
Mauricio Dubon came into today’s game with a 17-game hitting streak, and in his very first at-bat extended that hit streak to 18 games with a double to left field. Jacob Nottingham singled to score Dubon and give the Sky Sox an early 1-0 lead.
In the second frame Christian Bethancourt led off for Colorado Springs with a double, scoring three batters later on a Kyle Wren double to make it 2-0.
For the third inning in a row the Sky Sox held their opponents scoreless in the top half of the inning, and then scored a single run in the bottom half. This time the Sky Sox run came via a solo homer off the bat of Nottingham; his second of the season.
After a scoreless fourth inning the Sky Sox resumed the trend in the fifth, allowing no runs in the top of the inning and scoring once in the bottom. Nate Orf hit a one-out single, then moved to second on a Dubon sacrifice. Gi-Man Choi singled to right field to score Orf and make it a 4-0 ballgame.
The Storm Chasers, who had only mustered two hits through the first five innings, broke the shutout in the top of the sixth. Hunter Dozier singled for Omaha’s third hit of the game, and then scored on a Ryan O’Hearn double to make it 4-1.
The Sky Sox answered in the bottom of the seventh by extending their lead by three runs. Keon Broxton led off the inning with a walk, then stole second with Wren at the plate. Wren doubled in Broxton, then one at-bat later Orf singled to score Wren. Orf stole second for the Sky Sox third steal of the game and his fifth of the season. Brett Phillips doubled in Orf to make it 7-1.
In the bottom of the eighth the Storm Chasers were quick to strike back, scoring their second and third runs of the game. With one out Ramon Torres doubled to left field, and then scored on a Jack Lopez ground-rule double that hopped over the left field wall beneath the scoreboard to reduce the Colorado Springs lead to just five runs. Dozier singled to move Lopez to third, then a Billy Burns sacrifice fly scored Lopez to make it 7-3, for what would be the final run of the game.
The Sky Sox are set to start a four-game series against the Nashville Sounds tomorrow at 6:40 p.m., with gates open at 5:30 p.m. For all information on Sky Sox, follow along on Facebook and Twitter or visit the team’s website at www.skysox.com.
