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Ghosts rebound quickly, score 26 runs

Ortega, Dickerson total eight hits, one night after 20-8 drubbing
August 28, 2010
One night after surrendering 20 runs, the Casper Ghosts discovered that payback was the best medicine.

Rafael Ortega drove in five runs and Corey Dickerson scored five times Friday night as Casper rolled to a 26-3 rout of the Missoula Osprey.

The Ghosts were coming off Thursday's 20-8 loss to Helena but came out swinging on Friday, scoring six runs in the first inning. They continued their assault with three in the second and two in the third before going down 1-2-3 in the fourth -- the only time that happened all night.

Casper added four runs in the fifth and put up nine in the sixth, five of which were produced by Ortega. They capped the night with two in the eighth, totaling 27 hits.

"Last night, we got killed by Helena and our approach tonight was aggressive to the middle of the field," Diaz said. "Their focus was at another level, and to me that was the key. They didn't give away any at-bats and were competitive right from the start.

"First of all, it shows character and second of all, it's just one game. It shows that we have heart as a club, but at the end of the day it's one game, too. We have to come out with the same intensity level tomorrow and stick with our approach."

Ortega and Dickerson, the top two hitters in the Ghosts' lineup, led the way. Ortega tied season highs with four hits and three runs scored. Dickerson -- the Rockies' eighth-round pick in June -- went 4-for-6 with two RBIs and fell a triple shy of the cycle.

Diaz credited the tablesetters, saying "they epitomized what was going on tonight, that's for sure."

Every hitter in Casper's starting lineup collected at least two hits. Blake McDade had four, including a pair of doubles, and drove in four runs, while Juan Crousset homered and also had four RBIs. Jeff Squier, who was homerless in his first 39 games, blasted a pair of two-run shots.

Starter Albert Campos (4-3) lowered his Pioneer League-leading ERA to 2.04 after allowing an unearned run on seven hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings. It was Campos' seventh quality start in his last nine outings.

"Campos has become our ace. He pitches deep in ballgames and, at times, shows a plus fastball with a good downward plane and his curveball is also a plus pitch," Diaz said.

Missoula's Kevin Eichhorn (5-5) surrendered 11 runs on 13 hits over four innings as his ERA climbed from 4.20 to 5.30.

Robert Emrich is a contributor to MLB.com.