Raptors Power Past Owlz

Halfway through the seventh game of the Ogden Raptors' 2018 campaign, the team had yet to hit the ball over the fence.
A trio of two-run blasts in the late innings Thursday at Orem changed that narrative, and they spurred the Raptors on to a 9-3 comeback victory in the Owlz' first home game of the season.
In addition, the home runs marked the first of each player's professional career.
With Ogden trailing, 2-0, in the top of the sixth, shortstop Ronny Brito drew a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Dillon Paulson, the Los Angeles Dodgers' 13^th-round pick who made his pro debut on Tuesday, hammered the ball 404 feet and over the right-field fence to tie the game.
Eighth-round pick Luke Heyer and second-year pro Preston Grand Pre both went yard in the ninth inning to break the game open. Heyer's shot came after a leadoff single by Chris Roller, and Grand Pre stepped in with two down and a runner on second and launched a drive out of the park to left field for the final tallies.
After a second-straight game between the rivals opened with quick, scoreless innings, the hosts broke through in the third. Raptors starter Kevin Malisheski had retired eight consecutive batters after a leadoff hit in the first, but he allowed a two-out double in the third to the same hitter. The next batter hit a routine ground ball to second baseman Jeremy Arocho, but it kicked off his glove and was picked up by Brito. The runner from second rounded third and broke for home, but Brito's throw airmailed the plate to score the unearned run.
Orem then put together three straight singles in the fourth to plate their second run.
The inning after Paulson's shot, the Raptors scored three times. They loaded the bases with one out on an error, hit and walk, then an Owlz reliever entered and committed a balk to put the go-ahead run across the plate before he even threw a pitch. The batter, Brito, fell behind in the count but slapped the ball up the middle for a pair of RBI to put Ogden up by three.
Ogden's pitching staff put together another excellent outing. Malisheski, Mark Washington, Justin Bruihl and Evy Ruibal combined to scatter 12 hits while striking out 11 and walking just one. A pair of double plays from the defense helped keep Orem from mounting a comeback.
The Raptors and Owlz play once more at the Home of the Owlz, on Friday, before splitting off to face Grand Junction and Idaho Falls, respectively. Friday's game is scheduled to start at 7:05.