The Sky Sox dropped the final game of the series to the Albuquerque Isotopes 11-5 at Security Service Field to finish in a series split. The Isotopes out-hit the Sky Sox 16-7.
In the first inning, the Isotopes, who hadn’t scored a run prior to the third inning all series, broke out the offense quickly with three runs. With two outs, Davis Dahl started the momentum with a double while Josh Fuentes singled to plate their first run. After Jordan Patterson singled and Daniel Castro walked to load the bases, Shawn O’Malley sent a line drive single to centerfield to make it a 3-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the second, Christian Bethancourt made it a one-run ballgame on his big fly to left field. After Jett Bandy drew a one-out walk, Bethancourt knocked the first pitch he saw, marking his 17th home run of the season and making it a 3-2 contest.
The Sky Sox continued into the bottom of the third with three more runs to take the 5-3 lead. Jonathan Villar started the inning with a line drive single and was followed by another single via Dylan Moore to place runners on the corners. In the next at-bat, Tyrone Taylor grounded a what-would-have-been double play ball to second base, but a wild throw by O’Malley wide of Castro’s glove allowed both Villar and Moore to score. Domingo Santana allowed the third run to score on his single to right field.
The Isotopes rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a late lead. Raimel Tapia began the momentum with a one-out double and scored a batter later on Noel Cuevas’ base hit. After Dahl struck out for the second out, Fuentes tripled to right field to tie the game while a wild pitch would give Albuquerque the 6-5 advantage.
Albuquerque extended the lead to 11-5, capping off the night, with a solo run in the eighth inning and four runs in the top of the ninth on three singles and a home run. Colorado Springs went down in order in the final three innings.
The Sky Sox hit the road for a seven-game road trip with their first stop in Reno beginning on Wednesday before heading to Tacoma for four games.
