Raptors Lose Lead Late, Then Pile On For Big Victory

For six innings, the Ogden Raptors appeared to be cruising to victory Friday night.
After the Missoula Osprey tied the game in the seventh, however, the Raptors bats woke up and turned a tight game into a blowout.
The 11-4 victory put the Raptors two games up with 10 to go in the first half, as the Idaho Falls Chukars fell by one to the Helena Brewers.
Ogden, a day after collecting only one hit after the first inning, put up three runs in the first and another in the second.
Jacob Amaya led off the bottom of the first with a walk, and he moved to second on a wild pitch. He then broke for third base on a steal and scored as the catcher's throw sailed into left field. With one out, Dillon Paulson smashed a one-hop shot at third base and reached as the ball ricocheted away. Miguel Vargas hit a bloop single and Paulson went to third, then Matt Cogen beat out a possible double play to score the run. Cogen then came across when Chris Roller was safe on a throwing error after a James Outman single.
It was a 4-0 lead after the second, as Jeremy Arocho singled and was later driven in on a Daniel Robinson triple.
The lead held as Ogden's pitching staff shut down the Osprey offense that had scored 11 runs the day before. Caleb Sampen, in his second professional start, pitched three nearly-perfect innings. The only base runner he allowed was the leadoff hitter in the first, who reached on a fielding error.
Sampen set down the next nine and handed the game to Mark Washington, who allowed two singles and a walk over two scoreless frames. Justin Bruihl took over for the sixth and set down Missoula, 1-2-3.
Bruihl encountered trouble in the seventh, walking the leadoff hitter and allowing a single before recording a strikeout. He then had an 0-2 count on the eighth-place hitter but gave up a single to load the bases.
The next batter hit a line drive to right field, and it looked sure to drop in. But Roller, playing his third outfield position in the last three days, came up with his third diving catch in as many days to keep Missoula from scoring.
Shortly after, however, a four-pitch walk put the visitors on the board. A single to center scored two and knocked Bruihl out.
Austin Drury was the choice in relief, and he gave up a ringing double high off the left field wall. The tying run scored from second, but the Raptors turned in a perfect relay, from Outman to Amaya to catcher Jair Camargo, to cut down the potential go-ahead run from first to end the inning.
The tie wouldn't last long. With two down and the bases empty in the home half of the seventh, Dillon Paulson turned on the second pitch he saw and launched it over the right field fence for a 5-4 lead.
After Drury made quick work of the Osprey in the top of the eighth, the Raptors came up looking for insurance. They got plenty.
Outman opened with a tapper up the third base line for an infield hit before Roller drove a fly ball down the right field line. It landed in fair territory with about a foot to spare, putting runners on second and third. With one out, Arocho singled through the drawn-in infield to score both.
An Amaya single and Robinson walk loaded the bases, and Vargas grounded toward first base. The ball was dropped by the first baseman and then thrown away, allowing the two lead runners to score. Cogen followed with a rope to right field to plate Robinson and Vargas and cap the scoring.
Drury ended up overpowering the Osprey in the ninth, striking out the last two hitters, to finish the game. He earned the victory, his first win as a professional.
The 11-4 final score was the third of its kind in the four-game series, as the Raptors took the first and the Osprey the third game by that exact score. In fact, in all four games the winning team scored exactly 11 - Ogden also won the second game by an 11-0 score.
The Raptors remain home and welcome the Helena Brewers for the last time in the regular season for a three-game series beginning Saturday night at 7:00.