The Calgary Vipers hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to defeat the Schaumburg Flyers 12-11 at Foothills Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Heading into the bottom of the eighth inning the Vipers trailed by three runs but Drew Miller, Carlos Duncan, and Jason Colson in the span of five pitches not only tied the game but gave their team the lead. The victory gives the Snakes the three game series win and improves their second half record to 12-14.
For the third straight game in this series Schaumburg scored in the top of the first inning. Anthony Monegan leadoff with a double and Jimmy Hurst scored him with a single. After a Patrick O'Sullivan two base hit, Christian Snavely picked up the third double of the inning for two more runs and the 3-0 lead.
Calgary came right back in the bottom of the inning with four runs to take the lead. Drew Miller walked, Carlos Duncan doubled, and Jason Colson knocked in two with a two base hit. A batter later Kyle Nichols drove in Colson with a single to tie the game. The Vipers took the lead when after a Nelson Castro walk, Jorge Tang doubled in Nichols for the 4-3 score.
Right back came the Flyers though with a five run second inning. Robert Matlock singled and scored on a Monegan RBI triple. Mike Rohde followed with a run scoring base hit, Hurst doubled, and O'Sullivan nailed a three run homer for a 8-4 lead.
A run was scored in the bottom of the fourth on three straight hits. Darryl Brinkley singled, Miller had a base hit, and Duncan a RBI knock to cut the lead down to 8-5.
The comeback continued in the sixth inning with a Manabu Kuramochi single and Brinkley doubled him home. A Miller productive groundout moved him to third base and Duncan cashed Brinkley on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead down to one run at 8-7.
Hurst started off the seventh inning by hammering a 3-0 pitch for a solo home run. After a Snavely walk, Malone reached on a fielder's choice, stole second, and scored with two outs on a Kyle Leon RBI double to make the score 10-7.
The Vipers exploded in the eighth inning for five runs thanks to three home runs. Kuramochi singled, reached second base on a balk and scored on Brinkley 70th RBI of the season. Down by two runs Miller hit his eighth blast of the year to tie the game at ten. Duncan made it back-to-back with a solo bomb for the lead and Colson hammered his 14th shot of the year for the eventual winning run at 12-10.
Hurst was back at it in the ninth with a leadoff home run to pull the Flyers within one run. After a base hit Curtis Moenter was able to get the final three outs of the game and record his third save.
Scott Sarver, in his return to the Vipers, recorded the side in order while striking out one in his one inning of work. Ryan Olson went two innings and gave up only one hit while striking out three and Tom Lyons got the win by going two innings and striking out three as well.
The Vipers now head out on a six game road trip. Friday August 10th at 6:00 PM (MDT), Saturday August 11th at 5:00 PM (MDT), and Sunday August 12th at 1:00 PM (MDT) they will play the Gary-SouthShore RailCats. Tuesday August 14th, Wednesday August 15th, and Thursday August 16th all at 6:05 PM (MDT) they will play the Schaumburg Flyers. All games can be heard live online at
am770chqr.com.
The Snakes then return home Friday August 17th for a Skip Work Special at 2:35 PM (MDT) against the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Saturday August 18th at 5:05 PM (MDT) and Sunday August 19th at 1:35 PM (MDT) features the Cardel Night Under the Stars at Foothills Stadium. Tickets can be ordered by calling 277-BALL (2255).
