Orem faced off with the Ogden Raptors Sunday afternoon in the last game of a 6-game series, only to come off victorious once again 8-4.
The Owlz, which are now sitting on the best overall record, kicked off the series with two games in Orem, two in Ogden and then ended up back in Orem for the remaining two.
Although the Raptors scored first in 5 of the 6 games, they couldn’t quite pull off a “W,” and such was the case on Sunday.
Owlz pitcher Jose Perez came out pretty hot, and not just due to the heat outside. In the top of the first, Perez laid two strikeouts down with what seemed to be little effort. But it was heavy Raptor hitter Kyle Russell who quickly turned heads and had the crowd biting their nails. The .389-average hitter cracked one down the left side of the field to get on base, which got the game rolling.
That was only a taste before Kyle Orr stepped up to the plate and brought Russell home with a home run over the right field fence. Ogden kept a 2-0 lead, ending the top of the first.
The Owlz wasted no time answering back. In fact, the first hitter, Contreras, drilled one down the left field line for a base hit and was only complimented by his teammates thereafter. Perez fired one into center field to bring Contreras home. Righter Angel Castillo caught a lucky break when his infield hit was overthrown at first base.
Perhaps the quick swing back to Orem’s favor came from some simple mistakes made by Ogden’s third baseman Pedro Beaz. Owlz first baseman Gabe Jacobo hit a common grounder to Beaz, who missed and let the ball roll to a stop in right field, bringing Castillo home to tie up the game 2-2.
It wouldn’t have been so bad, but Beaz had the crowd shaking their heads again in the next inning when Owlz batter Jon Plefka hit another grounder right toward him, which again became the responsibility of the right fielder. From thereon out, the crowd sat back in their chairs relaxed, awaiting another win for the Owlz. It was a solid game and proved to Orem that winning every inning is essential.
The Orem Owlz move on to play the Idaho Falls Chukars July 1-6 in another 6 game series. July 3 is the Hootz Independence Celebration and will include fireworks after the game.
