Sox Secure Series-Split With 8-5 Extra-Inning Win
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - The Sky Sox and Express would need 12 innings to determine a winner as Colorado Springs plated four runs in the decisive twelfth to earn 8-5 victory and six-game series-split with Round Rock before a crowd of 10,160 at Dell Diamond on Friday night.
Each starter turned in strong performances for their respective teams with veteran right-hander Derek Holland departing with a 3-2 lead for the Express after five. Holland allowed just two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight over five innings of work. The Sox did their only damage against Holland in the fourth when Michael Reed tied the ballgame at two with a two-run double.
Hiram Burgos was effective for Colorado Springs, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks while also striking out eight. Michael Choice and Thomas Field drove in runs in the home second to open the night's scoring in a rough frame for the Sox right-hander. The Express would retake a 3-2 lead in the fourth on a Hanser Alberto RBI single before Burgos' night was through.
Celebrating his 31st birthday, Nevin Ashley knotted the ballgame with at three in the sixth with a sacrifice flyout against reliever Ross Wolf. Luis Sardinas' run-scoring double in the seventh gave Colorado Springs a late 4-3 lead that would last a mere five batters.
Michael Choice drove in the game-tying run in the very next frame against left-hander Jeremy Horst with a sacrifice flyout. This would be the last scoring by either side until the decisive 12th as both bullpen's traded zeros in strong performances.
Horst gave way to Preston Guilmet in the Round Rock eighth after two frames of solid relief. Guilmet's two scoreless frames gave way to a 2.2 inning performance by right-hander Austin Ross (2-0, 6.35) to keep the Express off the board in the game's pivotal final frames.
Held scoreless for four innings, the Sky sox offense would breakout for four runs in the top of the 12th against flame-throwing reliever Luke Jackson (2-3, 4.50) to all but secure the lengthy contest. The Sox would collect three hits and two walks in the frame with Domingo Santana's RBI double representing the go-ahead fifth run. Matt Clark added an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-4 before Michael Reed added another two-run double to give the outfielder four RBIs on the night. The two-run two-bagger gave Colorado Springs an 8-4 advantage heading into the Express 12th.
This is the first time the Sky Sox have ever scored four runs in the 12th inning, scoring three runs in the 12th inning six times before. The only other time where the Sky Sox scored four or more in an inning in the 12th or later was on May 10th, 1989 at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver when the Sox scored four runs in the top of the 14th inning to beat the Canadians that day, 6-2.
The Express would scratch their final run across in the final frame when Thomas Field's two-out RBI double knocked Ross out of the game in favor of veteran reliever Jim Henderson. Henderson would induce a fly out off the bat of Beamer Weems to earn his second save of the season and end the ballgame. The win improves Colorado Springs to 50-69 while dropping Round Rock to 68-52 on the season.
The Sox will look to make it three straight as they head home to take on the Reno Aces in the first of a four-game set on Saturday evening. Ariel Pena (1-2, 4.94) is slated to make the spot-start against Reno righty A.J. Schugel (1-5, 13.50) with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 PM MDT at Security Service Field.