Sky Sox Score Four In Eighth To Beat Topes

NEED TO KNOW: The Colorado Springs Sky Sox (57-76) rallied with a four-run eighth inning Friday night at Isotopes Park to beat the Albuquerque Isotopes (58-76) 8-2. Outfielder Roger Bernadina was 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored on the evening.

THE TURNING POINT: Both starting pitchers turned in a gem Friday night. Colorado Springs starter Josh Roenicke allowed just three hits in five shutout innings, while the Isotopes Eddie Butler scattered four hits in 6.1 scoreless innings. It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth when Albuquerque finally broke through after a leadoff single from Trevor Story. He advanced to third on a pair of groundouts and scored on Roger Bernadina's ground-rule double down the left field line. Bernadina later scored on Tommy Murphy's single to center, giving the Topes a 2-0 lead through six. After escaping a bases loaded jam in the seventh inning, Albuquerque's luck ran out as Colorado Springs plated in the eighth four to steal a victory from the Isotopes. The Sky Sox added four more runs in the top of the ninth for good measure.

EVERY WEEK IS SHARK WEEK: Outfielder Roger Bernadina went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a walk in Friday night's game. He now has hits in 10 of his last 13 games, including three multi-hit efforts. During that stretch, Bernadina is now 16-for-47 with six runs scored, four doubles, four RBI and five walks.

DOUBLE THE FUN: The Isotopes infield managed to turn four double plays in Friday night's game. All four twin killings were of different varieties. The Topes turned a 5-4-3 double play in the second, a 4-6-3 in the fourth, a 6-4-3 in the fifth and a 3-6-1 in the sixth. Albuquerque now has 118 doubles plays turned on the season, which ranks fourth-best in the Pacific Coast League.

ENDING WITH A BANG: Albuquerque's annual fan appreciation weekend is Saturday and Sunday with more than $40,000 in prizes set to be given away over the weekend. There will also be post-game fireworks Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting.

ON DECK: The Isotopes and Sky Sox will play game three of their four-game series Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Left-handed pitcher Rudy Owens (1-5, 5.40 ERA) is scheduled to start for Albuquerque, while Colorado Springs is slated to go with fellow left-hander Brent Suter (3-0, 2.59 ERA) on the mound.

IN THE HOLE: After this four-game set with Oklahoma City, Albuquerque will wrap up its 2015 home slate with a four-game series against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox August 27-30. The Isotopes will conclude the 2015 season on the road with an eight-game trip to visit the Fresno Grizzlies and Sacramento River Cats.