Raptors rally to down Rockies

OGDEN — Eduardo Perez of the Ogden Raptors hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth to cap a come-from-behind 7-6 victoy over the Casper Rockies Saturday.

With a runner at second base, the Rockies decided to intentionally walk Matt Berezay to face Perez.

"I was not trying to hit the ball out of the park, just to put it in play," Perez said.

Trailing 6-2, the Raptors scored four times in the eighth to tie the game.

Juan Rivera tripled and then scored on a Matt Berezay double. Berezay then scored on a single from Carlos Medero. After Medero, Jeremy Brown stepped up and homered over the left field fence to tie the game.

The win allowed the Raptors to pick up a game on first-place Idaho Falls, which lost to Orem Saturday. Ogden is now 6-6 and two games behind the Chukars and Owlz.

Manager Lance Parrish said his team still has work to do, but he was proud of how they stayed in the game.

"We're still trying to find ourselves defensively," he said. "For some reason, the first and second inning give us fits. Give these guys credit for battling back."

The Rockies jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. Hector Gomez led off the game with a solo home run to left field. Casper then scored three more runs in the inning on three hits, a walk and a Raptor error.

Josh Wall started the game and gave up four runs on five hits in five innings. Joseph Jones pitched the final 1 1/3 innings to earn the win.

Prior to the first inning, Wall had the sixth-best ERA in the league, giving up only one run in 11 2/3 innings.

Parrish said his team needs to learn that if it's not broke, don't fix it.

"He threw a solid game his last time out and then he changed his approach in the first (inning)," he said. "He settled down and did a good job after that."

The Raptors didn't score until the bottom of the fifth. D.J. Jackson crossed home plate on a wild pitch, then Ryan Rogowski singled in Michael Rivera to cut the Ogden deficit to 4-2.

Casper added another run in the sixth on a single from Hector Gomez and another in the eighth on a double by Pedro Perez.

Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda was in attendance Saturday night. He is a special adviser to the chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

The Raptors love seeing him in Ogden, Parrish said.

"He's an amazing man," he said. "He's a lot of fun to have around. He fires everyone up. He loves to motivate these guys."

Ogden and Casper will do battle again Sunday at 4 p.m.

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E-mail: bhinton@desnews.com