Maberry’s hit series survives 28 games, Ogden Raptors take victory in Grand Junction | Ogden raptors

David Maberry’s near-record hitting streak seemed dubious Thursday night when he double-played the game in the sixth inning with loaded bases.

It squeezed over a run that put the Raptors 8-4 ahead, but Ogden’s designated hitter was one of several who saw run-scoring opportunities to empty the game.

But Maberry got another base-rich chance in the seventh round and came through. He cracked a broken bat blooper in the opposite direction and failed a jump from Grand Junction rightfield player Frankie Jezioro, scoring Ogden’s final runs and pushing Maberry’s hitting streak to 28 games as the Raptors won 12-8 at Grand Junction.

Maberry finished 1 for 4 with four RBIs. The Pioneer League’s all-time record series for single-hit games is 32.

It didn’t start out well for the Gastraptors (31-22, 2-3 second half). The Rockies (30-22, 4-1) used two doubles and two singles to beat Ogden starter Mitchell Miller, who only started the first inning, 3-0.

Tate Budnick struck well in relief for the most part. He left Dondrei Hubbard a solo homer in the third, who put Ogden 4-0 back but otherwise tumbled into the sixth before getting into further trouble.

Grand Junction starter Brett Matthews had the minimum in three innings, but it fell apart in the fifth inning when he gave up a leadoff single on Nick Michaels, went three straight batters, hit Jakob Goldfarb with a pitch and then a double Andy Armstrong gave up with two runs.

Maberry ended up in third place, scoring Goldfarb, and Matthews was knocked out while his team was suddenly 5-4 behind.

After a pitch change, Michaels struck again in the inning, pulling a base-loaded walk and another Raptors run that scored on a wild pitch. The seven-run frame meant Ogden was leading 7-4.

Josh Broughton doubled up to tackle game six and later scored an 8-4 in the aforementioned Maberry doubles. Maberry’s RBIs proved critical when Josh Elvir hit a home run to help the Rockies take it down to 8-7 in the bottom of the sixth.

Maberry’s bloop single on the seventh was more than enough to secure the win, but Hubbard added his second homerun (and 14th of the season) on the seventh to bring it down to 12-8.

Budnick won the victory, allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings. Justin Watland gave the solo homer to Hubbard for his only legal run in the 2 1/3, and Jackson Sigman got four outs against four batter to finish the game on the hill for Ogden.

Armstrong hit 4 for 5 with two doubles for the Raptors. He and Broughton drove in pairs.

The two teams will continue the series on Friday at 6.40 p.m.

TRANSACTIONS

The Raptors announced several roster changes Thursday morning. Ogden re-signed the previously released Andrew Mitchel left-handed pitcher and activated the Dylan Pearce right-handed pitcher from the unauthorized list.

Catcher Kyle Kaufman was relocated to the IL and outfielder Myles Denson and pitcher Matthew Vonderschmidt were released.

THURSDAY POINTS

Ogden 12, Big Junction 8

Idaho Falls 8, Rocky Mountain 4

Missoula 7, Great Falls 3

UPDATED STATUS

* – denotes the champion of the 1st half