Orem's Season of Joy Ends In Playoff Defeat

The Orem Owlz' remarkable 2017 season came to a close after they were swept in the Pioneer League South Championship Series at the hands of a 7-3 loss to the Ogden Raptors.
The Owlz chipped away with late home runs from Harrison Wenson and Kevin Williams Jr. Jr., but they were ultimately unable to come back from an early six-run deficit.
Jose Soriano took the loss in Orem's final game of the season, allowing five earned runs in one and two thirds innings.
The Owlz ended the regular season with a Pioneer League-best record of 49-26-1. That was Orem's best record since 2011 and it was the first time that it led the Pioneer League since 2011.
Orem won the first half for a team record fourth straight season. The Owlz' 26-11-1 first half record was the second-best first half record in franchise history, and the best ever since the team moved to Orem in 2005.
On July 26th, 2017, the Orem Owlz played in their first tie game of team history, with the Billings Mustangs. The final score of the game was 9-9 in a final of six innings after rain prevented the game from ending.
The Owlz' largest home crowd of the season came on Fourth of July celebration night, when 4,422 people filed into the Home of the Owlz on July 3rd, 2017, to watch Orem surmount from a 5-0 deficit in defeating the Grand Junction Rockies by a final score of 13-5.
Manuel Guzman led the 2017 Orem Owlz with a .360 batting average, a .459 on-base percentage, .986 OPS, 41 walks and 120 total bases.
Torii Hunter Jr. Jr. led the team with 13 stolen bases.
Ryan Vega led the team with 55 runs scored, 84 hits and 58 runs batted.
Harrison Wenson led the team with 14 home runs this year.
Chris Rodriguez became the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher in Orem Owlz team history at 18 years and 11 months.
Elvin Rodriguez led the team with a 2.50 ERA, 54.0 innings pitched, a 1.04 WHIP and 49 strikeouts.
Elvin Rodriguez, James Ziemba, and Mayky Perez all tied for the team lead with five wins among the Owlz' pitching staff.
Isaac Mattson led the Orem Owlz with six saves.
Franklin Torres had the Owlz' longest hit streak at 17 straight games, and Jeyson Sanchez had the Owlz' longest on-base streak at 27 straight games.
The 2017 Orem Owlz had six Pioneer League All-Stars on the team: RHP Chris Rodriguez, RHP Elvin Rodriguez, RHP Daniel Procopio, RHP Isaac Mattson, INF Leonardo Rivas and OF Ryan Vega.