This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sometimes, the bats just seem to wake up.
On Saturday night, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox's bats did that and more as they turned up the offense in a 15-7 rout at Spring Mobile Ballpark.
In the top of the fourth, the Sky Sox batters decided to get the party going against Bees' starting pitcher Matt Palmer. When the Bees' defense finally walked off the field, Palmer was on the bench and the team was down 7-2.
Mike Jacobs started the onslaught with an RBI single, which was followed by more of the same as four different hitters accounted for six Sky Sox RBIs during the inning.
"You can't let your defense and pitching affect your hitting," said Bees manager Keith Johnson.
But things only got worse for the Bees as the Sky Sox erupted for a combined 13 runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
"You hate for a team to be able to put two big innings against you like that," Johnson said. "It definitely took some of the wind out of our sails."
Saturday night's game was the first meeting between the two clubs this season. Last season, Colorado Springs won nine of 16 against the Bees, giving the Sky Sox their first series win against Salt Lake since 2004. The Bees do, however, hold the all-time series lead at 119-99.
In the third, Bees third baseman Jeff Baisley blasted his 16th home run of the season.
After Sky Sox starting pitcher Andy Graham was pulled after 2 2⁄3 innings, Baisley hit the first pitch he saw from reliever Andrew Johnston deep past the left-field fence to give the Bees an early lead that quickly evaporated.
The Bees were coming off a victory after defeating the Fresno Grizzlies 7-5 on Friday, but despite the win the Bees are just 8-16 in June. Before Saturday's game, they had been outscored 121-87, while only hitting .252 with just eight home runs during the month.
The game was a sort of homecoming for Sky Sox second baseman Alfredo Amezaga.
It was his first time back to Salt Lake City since he played for the Bees in 284 games between 2001 and 2004.
The Bees will have a chance to redeem themselves on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. when they face the Sky Sox for Game 2 of the series.
Raptors 11, Ghosts 5 • In Ogden, Matt Kirkland drove in four runs in the host Raptors' Pioneer League victory over Casper.
Owlz 6, Chukars 3 • In Idaho Falls, Idaho, Jarrod Parks scored the go-ahead run on Andrew Ray's sacrifice fly in the fifth inning of Orem's win.