Foster cycles as Owlz rout Rockies

Jared Foster can remember the exact hits he needed when he came up short in previous attempts at a cycle in his baseball life, but when he finally accomplished the feat for the first time on Friday night, he wasn't even thinking about it.

With a triple in the ninth inning, Foster became the first Orem player to hit for the cycle in four years as the Rookie-level Owlz rolled by visiting Grand Junction, 12-4.

"Our whole offense was putting the pressure on them and swinging the bat well tonight," Foster said. "I was very fortunate to hit some balls hard and find some holes.

"I've been close twice, but I was short a single once and short a double once."

The LSU product left no corner unturned on Friday nigh. He singled to center field in the second and doubled to left in the fourth. After homering to left field in the fifth, he needed a triple to complete the elusive feat.

"I wasn't really thinking about the cycle at all," Foster said. "Some of the guys on the team mentioned it, and I was like, 'Oh, thank you,' thinking they were going to jinx me or whatever. I ended up getting a ball in the left-center gap and as soon as I rounded second, I saw he had the ball and said, 'You know what? I probably won't have this chance for a while.' I took off and went for it and got there safely."

Foster's rope to left-center came with one out in the eighth.

"It's amazing," he said. "You kind of grow up thinking hitting for the cycle is something you want to do. I was fortunate enough to do it as a professional baseball player. That's pretty awesome to be able to accomplish something like that and have your name down there for a while."

The cycle was the first for Orem since Jerod Yakubik accomplished the feat on Aug. 13, 2011 against Casper.

A backup quarterback on LSU's 2011 Southeastern Conference championship team, Foster took a full-time baseball path starting in 2012 and was drafted by the Angels in the fith round last month. His first foray into pro ball has been much of what the outfielder was told to expect.

"It's something that you definitely have to adjust to," he said. "Being able to stay focused every day, play a game every day, especially with the long travel here, that's what people tell you about. You have to be prepared to hit the grind, come out here and stay focused. It's an adjustment at first, but once you get the hang of it, once you get going, it's all good from there."

Foster wasn't the only Owlz player raking on Friday. From the last spot in the lineup, Kenny Towns went 5-for-5 for the second multi-hit effort of his 13-game career. Towns doubled twice and drove in four runs.

"He's been swinging the bat well, just hasn't found that many holes lately," Foster said. "It definitely paid off tonight. He hit the ball hard every single at-bat. His average might not say it or whatever, but definitely before tonight he was hitting the ball hard. We're just happy to see him put it together tonight."