Bees put their rally caps on to sting Sox

The Salt Lake Bees, for all their success this season, have not been good at late-inning rallies. Entering Wednesday night's game at Franklin Covey Field, the Bees were 0-for-27 when trailing at the conclusion of the seventh inning.

Make that 1-for-28 now.

Mike Eylward ripped a two-out, three-run home run to left in the bottom of the ninth to give the Bees a dramatic 7-4 victory.

"It was a fastball, just like the one he threw me the pitch before that I fought off," said Eylward. "I just put a good swing on it."

Eylward's heroics came after the Bees rallied from two runs down in the eighth inning to tie the game on a Casey Smith double. Then, in the ninth, Reggie Willits drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a single by Curtis Pride. That brought up Salt Lake's best hitter — considered by some to be the best hitter in the minor leagues — in Howie Kendrick.

But Kendrick struck out on three pitches for out No. 2.

"This is what a team is about, picking each other up," said Bees manager Brian Harper. "The way Howie has been hitting all year, you expect Howie to win the game for us. But then when he didn't, Mike Eylward came through and picked the team up."

Salt Lake improved to 51-35 with the victory, while the Sky Sox fell to 36-51.

The last-place Sky Sox, for the second night in a row, jumped all over the Bees in the first inning. Salt Lake starter Kasey Olenberger gave up four singles and a walk in the first inning, as Colorado Springs jumped out to a 3-0 lead. That came one night after the Sky Sox scored six runs in the first inning on Tuesday.

But after spotting a Colorado Springs lead, Olenberger settled in and didn't surrender another hit in his next four innings. Reliever Jeff Heaverlo kept the Bees in the game, pitching a pair of shutout innings, too. But a solo homer by designated hitter Ryan Shealy in the eighth inning gave Colorado Springs a 4-2 lead.

Heaverlo, Jonathan Rouwenhorst and Greg Jones, who picked up the victory, combined to give up just one run on two hits in four innings of relief for the Bees.

"The bullpen really did a nice job," said Harper.

Kendrick, who had his 10-game hitting streak end on Tuesday night, failed once again to get a hit. Kendrick is still hitting .373 on the year, but has fallen into second place in the PCL in batting average behind Las Vegas' James Loney.