It was a rough week for the Northern Colorado Owlz.
The relocated Orem team made its debut on the road in Great Falls Montana last Wednesday, where the first inning of the first game foreshadowed the whole week to come: the Owlz put up 4 runs, but allowed 6.
They eventually fell 17-10 to the Voyagers, with 5 defensive errors contributing to the loss. Outfielder Alex Jackson was a bright spot at the plate, getting three hits including a timely double, and middle reliever Will Buraconak looked solid steadying the ship for three innings after the disastrous 1.1-inning start from Austin Schneider.
In the second matchup of the series against Great Falls the Owlz couldn't get their offense going, managing only two runs in a 4-2 loss. The pitching looked solid comparatively, with starter Alex Smith allowing one run across four innings and Tyshaun Chapman and Gaylon Young closing it out leaving 11 Voyagers runners stranded on base.
Friday night saw the Owlz step up to the plate for the final match in the series, leaping out to an early 9-2 lead as their bats came alive behind a Seth Strong triple and a Daniel Molinari home run, the club's first of the year. Starter Jordan Powell had some control issues on the mound, and back to back walks led to the Voyagers first runs of the game. Ultimately Northern Colorado played a solid game until the very end, where a walk-off homer capped a 4-run rally at the bottom of the 9th inning and the Owlz took a sweep in their first road series.
The Owlz moved on to Billings for a three game set against the Mustangs Friday, but the opener there was marred with strikeouts and a miserable 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The Owlz fell 10-3.
Saturday looked hopeful as the Owlz maintained a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the 9th, but the Mustangs managed to rally and put up 6 runs highlighted with a walk-off blast into the stands by Gabe Wurtz off the Owlz' Tyshaun Chapman.
The final game of the inaugural road series was postponed Sunday, to be made up at a later date against Billings.
Heading home to Colorado, manager Cory Snyder has some work to do. His pitching staff is staring down the powerful bats of the Rocky Mountain Vibes (including Miguel Tejada Jr, son of...well, you can guess who), who have scored at least 7 runs in all but one of their games thus far in 2022. Conversely the Owlz starters have a combined ERA of 15.19 heading into the home opener.
Offensively Snyder's roster has gotten on base at a fair clip yet failed to bring runners home when it counts. As a team they average .224 at the plate and 6 runs per game, both below par for the Pioneer League (their next opponent, the Vibes, have a .385 team batting average).
Owlz Stat Leaders
Batting Average
Daniel Molinari C .438
Seth Strong IF .333
Kevin Higgins IF .300
RBI
Ty Lewis IF 4
Daniel Molinari C 4
Seth Strong IF 4
Home Runs
Daniel Molinari C 1
Alex Jackson OF 1
ERA
Gaylan Young 0.00
Christian Griffin 0.00
Alex Smith 2.25
Will Buraconak 2.45
Strikeouts
Will Buraconak 4
Tyshaun Chapman 4
Chase Wilkerson 4
WHIP
Christian Griffin 1.00
Alex Smith 1.25
Tyshaun Chapman 1.50
Upcoming Schedule*
-Wed June 1 4:05pm
vs Rocky Mountain Vibes
-Thur June 2 4:05pm
vs Rocky Mountain Vibes
-Fri June 3 4:05pm
vs Rocky Mountain Vibes
-Sat June 4 4:05pm
vs Rocky Mountain Vibes
-Sun June 5 1:05pm
vs Rocky Mountain Vibes
-Mon June 6 4:05pm
vs Rocky Mountain Vibes
*home games will be played at UNC's Jackson Field
By the time I'm penning the Owlz Weekly Update next Monday, hopefully our home team has scraped some wins together and inched closer back to .500. Despite a lot of production at the plate the Vibes haven't seen victory much either this season, with only one win to their name. If the Owlz can reign in their strikeouts and reduce the bullpen floodgates that seem to open at the end of games, the Owlz should be able to handle business at Jackson Field for their new fans in Northern Colorado.
Standings
Are you planning on catching any Owlz games this weekend? Find ticket info at https://tickets.ticketsmarterstadium.com/#/event-list
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