Ninth inning rally falls short in Orem

With the tying run on base in the ninth, Daniel Suero bounced out to second baseman Hutton Moyer ending the Grand Junction Rockies comeback bid in a 6-5 loss to the Orem Owlz Wednesday night at Brent Brown Ballpark.

The Rockies rallied for two runs in the ninth, after Orem scored a pair in the bottom of the eighth. They had the tying run at third base in the sixth and seventh innings, but could never punch through.

Taylor Ward started the bottom second with his second homer of the season, and with one out, the Owlz got back-to-back doubles from Ranyelmy Mendoza and Michael Pierson to make it 2-0. They added to the lead in the third when Tanner Lubach started the third inning with a triple, scoring on a Hutton Moyer sacrifice fly.

After going scoreless for 10 straight innings, the Rockies got on the board in the fifth. Tyler Nevin started the inning with a double, and he scored on a Bobby Stahel sacrifice fly.

After Daniel Suero scored on a fielder's choice in the top of the sixth, Orem scored an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to get their lead back to two, but Anthony Brito scored Jonathan Piron on a fielder's choice.

Christian Talley was tagged with the loss despite being just the second Rockies starter to toss six innings this season. He surrendered four runs, three earned on seven hits. Juan Pena retired the first five Owlz he faced, but then allowed a home run to Moyer, followed by three straight singles.

Nevin finished the night with a double, walk, and two runs scored. Stahel and Brito both drove in a pair, but the Rockies were limited to just six hits as they fall to 8-6 on the season, two games back of Orem with 24 games left in the half.