Pitching and late inning burst of offense propel Owlz to win

A seventh inning explosion helped propel the Owlz to victory Monday afternoon against the Great Falls Voyagers. 

Assisted by Voyagers pitcher, Drake Blake’s effort the Owlz batted all the way through the lineup.  Blake, started the inning by walking two batters on eight straight pitches.  Drew Martinez laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Blake threw the ball into the Voyagers dugout advancing the runners home and Martinez to third.

“When you got a guy that can run like that now, (the fielder) knows (he’s) got to hurry.  That’s when you get those mistakes,” said Kotchman.

CJ Cron was 2-5 with 3 RBI’s including a two run home run in the sixth, his sixth of the year.

“His coach from Utah was here today watching,” commented Tom Kotchman.  “Maybe we will have him tape a picture of that guy to his hat.  He really played well today.”

Ryan Crowley made his return to action today from an elbow injury he suffered earlier in the year.  He threw one inning retiring all three batters that he faced.

Baudillo Lopez came in and did a good job in relief.  “It’s good to have Crowley back so we can use (Lopez) in multiple roles.  He gave us five good innings and that worked out good,” said Kotchman.

Owlz reliever, Danny Reynolds, threw two shutout innings in the eighth and ninth, allowing just one hit.

“Reynolds came in and played well.  He had to make some adjustments, but he did, and that shows maturity.  He’s our first guy to get three saves for us, that’s huge,” said Kotchman.  “We had to get this one today, we used two of our three best relievers today.”

Due to Francis Larson being called up to triple A Cedar Rapids, Richard Pacione made his first start of the year at catcher today, giving Abel Baker some well deserved time off.

“I thought Richard did a good job with his first start today,” commented Kotchman.

The Owls continue their series with the Great Falls Voyagers tomorrow at 7:05 at Brent Brown Ballpark.