It would seem as though the Ogden Raptors have gotten back to their championship form, as they ripped off seven straight wins from June 25 to July 1. During the stretch, the Raptors outscored their opponents 60–19.
During an uninspiring 4–6 start, the Raptors were unable to win back-to-back games over the first 10 contests of the season. With the seven consecutive victories, they have improved their record to 11–6 and sit in first in the Pioneer League standings.
The Raptors started the week with a victory over the Grand Junction Rockies and were led by catcher Ramon Rodriguez. He started off the season in a slump, going just 2–16 over his first five games, but rebounded in a big way with a strong 3–4 performance that helped propel the Raptors to a 5–3 victory.
Manager Jeremy Rodriguez said the turnaround could be credited to Ramon’s family, who flew in for
the game.
“For him to put on the show and the display that he did, I’m glad his parents were here to watch it,” Jeremy said.
The Raptors then turned their attention to the Orem Owlz, who they have now played eight times over the first two and a half weeks of the season.
After splitting a four-game series with the Owlz from June 19 to 22, the Raptors dominated this time around. They defeated the Owlz in all four games, outscoring their rivals 35–10.
Perhaps the most complete performance came in the final game of the series, which was played at at UCCU Ballpark in Orem. Ogden held a slim 2–1 lead through five innings but scored 12 combined runs in the sixth and seventh innings en route to a dominant 14-4 victory.
Heading into the weekend, the Raptors faced the Idaho Falls Chukars with a chance to take over first place in the south division. Idaho Falls was coming in with a three-game winning streak of their own.
The Raptors put on a batting clinic, every player in the lineup earning a hit through the first four innings of the game. Ogden finished with a total of 16 hits in the game. Third baseman Jair Camargo led the way with two hits and three RBIs in the game.
The action picked up for the Raptors in the third through fifth innings, as they exploded for 10 hits and seven runs to take an 8–1 lead into the sixth. Strong pitching secured the victory, and the Raptors won 11–2.
On July 1, Ogden trailed 3–0 after four innings but erupted for nine unanswered runs en route to a 9–4 victory over Idaho Falls.
“I think we are getting into that routine where we know how to win as a team,” Jeremy Rodriguez said. “We have a young team, and we are just having fun now.”
The Raptors finish their series against the Chukars with a 7 p.m. game at Lindquist Field on July 3.
