Series Recap: Vibes Take Down Owlz 4-2

By: Hudson Ridley

The Rocky Mountain Vibes have won their first series in 49 days, defeating the Northern Colorado Owlz in four of six games at UCHealth Park this week. The series victory also marked the first over the Owlz in over a calendar year.

August 13th: Rocky Mountain 12, Northern Colorado 3 (Vibes Lead 1-0)

Rocky Mountain opened the series on a tear. After Vibes starter Carlos Lomeli retired the top of the order, the bats came alive. Josh Day blasted a breaking ball well over the left field wall, driving in two runners and giving Rocky Mountain a 3-0. That was a lead the Vibes would never give up. The Rocky Mountain pitching staff threw a combined gem, only allowing four hits and two walks. Lomeli pitched six complete innings only allowing one run on two hits.

August 14th: Rocky Mountain 8, Northern Colorado 7 (Vibes Lead 2-0)

Wednesday's contest was a nail biter, but started in much similar fashion. After retiring two of the first three batters in the bottom of the fourth, Owlz starter Tyler Curtis allowed five straight hits to push across four runs and set the tone for the game. Entering the sixth inning the Vibes had an 8-0 for the second straight day, courtesy of yet another Josh Day home run. However, unlike the day before, the bullpen wasn't as up to the task. After starter Nick Powers was pulled, the Owlz rattled off seven straight runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Four of the runs came off of the newly added Abdel Guadalupe, in his return to NoCo. The Vibes called on closer Trey Morrill to shut the door. The righty blew through the side 1-2-3 picking up two strikeouts and securing a Vibes win. 

August 15th: Rocky Mountain 12, Northern Colorado 9 (Vibes Lead 3-0)

Game three of the six game set was one of the most improbable comebacks in Vibes history. The game of runs began with the Owlz knocking Vibes starter Danny Nunan out of the ballgame in two innings after surging into a 4-0 lead. The seesaw then tilted back after a big performance from the bottom of the order knotting the game at 4-4. Rocky Mountain's seven, eight and nine hole of Halsema, Mize and Miller combined to start six for six. It didn't take long for the Owlz to strike back, taking advantage of what was an off night for the Vibes bullpen. By the end of the sixth, NoCo had nearly put the game out of reach at 9-4. That was until the Vibes finally found their groove again. The bullpen would combine to throw a scoreless back half of the ball game, while Vibes hitters combined for three extra base hits in the sixth to come within one. Flash forward to the bottom of the ninth the score is still 9-8. The Owlz opt for one of the best closers in the league in former Vibe Dutch Landis. Down to its final out, Rocky Mountain sends up Dane Tofteland to pinch hit with two runners on. Just weeks ago Tofteland struck out in the exact same spot, but this time he flipped the script and crushed a three-run home run to center to win the game on a walk-off.

August 16th: Northern Colorado 12, Rocky Mountain 11 (Vibes Lead 3-1)

Just a day after the miraculous comeback, the Vibes nearly executed another. Starter Christian Day had pitched a one run gem entering the fifth with the Vibes up 4-1. Only needing one out to put up six innings of one run ball, Day was pulled, and that's where the problems began. Reliever Derrick Cherry took the mound and the Owlz were quick to attack. Northern Colorado scored six straight runs all with two outs in the inning. That would kick start an 11-2 run from that point to give the Owlz a lead they wouldn't lose. Rocky Mountain nearly pulled back yet again with a 2 RBI home run from Glenn Miller and a 3 RBI blast from Steven Rivas. However, with the game on the line, Dutch Landis was once again called on in relief, this time shutting the door and giving NoCo its first win of the series.

This game was attended by 8,371 people for Strikeout Breast Cancer night. Just shy of the Pioneer League record of 8,427 the Vibes set back on the Fourth of July.

August 17th: Northern Colorado 10, Rocky Mountain 9 (Vibes Lead 3-2) 

Still in search of their first series win since late June, the Vibes turned their attention to Saturday night's game. On Army vs. Air Force night the crowd was treated to a nearly four hour marathon with a thrilling finish. Both sides traded leads up until the fourth inning when the Owlz broke open the 3-3 ball game by rattling off six straight runs. With the NoCo bullpen humming along, desperation was starting to set in for the Vibes. Rocky Mountain grabbed a run back in the seventh, but still trailed 9-4 heading into the home half of the eighth. That's when a switch flipped, led by Ernie Yake. Yake, who has RBIs in 17 of his last 18 games began a chain of five base runners, all of which would come in to score. The Vibes had stormed back for the third straight night, tying the game at 9-9. However, when the Owlz came up to bat, it was Yake that had the game slip away. With two outs and a runner on second a ground ball would come to Yake at first base (his first time playing the position since the 2023 season with the Twins organization). The ball took a hard bounce and caremed off his knee into the outfield. The runner from second came in to score what would go on to become the winning run.

August 18th: Rocky Mountain 11, Northern Colorado 6 (Vibes Win 4-2)

Needing a win to clinch the series, Rocky Mountain left Sunday's game in no doubt. That was largely due to the starter Carlos Lomeli on the mound who pitched a second straight gem in the series. After allowing a hit in the first, Lomeli would only allow one more through the rest of the six complete innings he pitched. Lomeli was pulled after holding the Owlz scoreless and doing it all in under 80 pitches. Although the Owlz began to mount a comeback after that point, the run support generated by the Vibes early in the game kept NoCo out of reach. The Vibes jumped out to an early 10-0 lead with every member of the lineup recording a hit. That included six multi-hit efforts. Trey Morrill came in to finish out the contest, going through the order 1-2-3 to secure the win and the first series victory since June.

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