After dropping three out of four to Reno, we would return home for probably our biggest series left on our schedule, a four game visit from the Iowa Cubs. Trailing the first place Cubs in the division race by six games, we would absolutely need a sweep to keep our division title hopes alive. Anything less than winning three out of four games in the series would be a disaster. With the Cubs playing well enough to keep from going on multiple game losing streaks, and us being unable to put together anything more than two or three wins in any given series, any hopes we would have of making up ground against Iowa and staying in the division race would be decided here and now in this series, the final time we would face the Iowa Cubs for the rest of the season. While we would start out strong in the first two games, we would fall apart in the last two games and our division hopes were likely shot now with no remaining games against Iowa to help us make up our six game gap between first and last.

Colorado Springs 5, Iowa 4 F/11
Colorado Springs 8, Iowa 4
Iowa 1, Colorado Springs 0
Iowa 4, Colorado Springs 3 F/10


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as normal. The first at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, unloading on a first pitch meatball for a no doubt solo home run to straight away center. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, ultimately grounding out to the second baseman. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the sixth inning, stepping in with two outs and runners on first and second, but instead of coming through in the clutch, Goose would pop out to the second baseman to end the inning. Goose would get his final chance at the plate leading off the bottom of the ninth in a one run game. It would be a weak hit, but the ball would find the gap into right field for a single to put the lead off runner on. A sacrifice bunt by Kyle Parker would move Goose up to second base, before Goose would successfully steal third to put the tying run just 90 feet away with only one out. A deep fly out to left field by Ryan Wheeler would be enough as Goose would tag up and cross home plate without a throw to tie the ball game. Just as quickly as we tied it up, our pitchers would give it right back up in the top of the tenth. Ben Paulsen would be a hero in the bottom of the tenth inning with a solo home run to save our bacon. After getting off the field without any damage, Goose would come to the plate in the bottom of the eleventh inning with one out and the bases empty. Swinging on an 0-1 fastball, Goose would send it flying off the wall to right center field, the right fielder wiping out on the wall in the process. Thanks to that, Goose would make it all the way to third base for a stand up triple with just one out, the winning run just one base hit or deep fly ball away. Kyle Parker would end up hitting a ground ball to the first baseman, the throw going straight home to force Goose back to third and allowing Parker to reach on a fielder's choice. Unfortunately, that would leave a potential double play ball wide open. Ryan Wheeler almost cost us as he would hit a ground ball to the first baseman. While the first baseman was able to make the throw to second for the force out, Wheeler was able to cross first base before the return throw from second on the fielder's choice, allowing Goose to cross the plate with the game winning run. Final stats for Goose in a wild one, 3-5 with a single, a triple and a home run, three runs scored, one RBI, one stolen base and player of the game honors.

The second game would see Goose batting third. The first at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, hitting a sinker up the middle and into center field for a single. A bloop single by Kyle Parker into shallow right field right along the baseline would advance Goose from first to third, though Goose would blow through the stop sign and nearly end up thrown out by the catcher while diving back into third base. Ryan Wheeler would come through huge with a stand up double into the left field corner, scoring both Goose and Parker to give us an early lead. Naturally, a late throw to first by our third baseman would result in a two out single, followed by a two run home run and our lead was gone the very next inning. Goose would lead off the bottom of the third inning, only to ground out to the second baseman for the first out. Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first, sending a line drive into right field for a single to put runners on first and second. A Kyle Parker single into left field would score the run from second, advancing Goose to second and leaving runners on first and second. Taking off stealing two pitches into the next at-bat, Goose would beat the throw from the catcher, as a double steal would put runners on second and third, before a full count walk by Ryan Wheeler would load the bases for Ben Paulsen, who would bloop an RBI single into shallow right field to score Goose and reload the bases before Drew Garcia would strikeout to a reliever to end the inning. Thanks to some timely hits in the next inning, Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first, only to quickly ground out to the first baseman to end the inning. Naturally, ANY lead would not be safe from our pitchers as our reliever would walk FOUR STRAIGHT FUCKING BATTERS, along with a single, to gift wrap Iowa two free runs and still leave the bases loaded for the next pitcher. Thankfully our bats would stay alive in the bottom of the seventh inning as we would add on three more runs to re-secure our lead. Goose would make his likely last at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, stepping up with one out and the bases empty, ultimately lining out to the first baseman to end his at-bat before he would even leave the batter's box. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with two singles, two runs and a stolen base.

The third game of the series would find Goose remaining third in the batting order. Goose's first at-bat would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, quickly popping out to the catcher to end the inning. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, stepping into the middle of a pitcher's duel as both teams only had one hit thus far. Goose would end up striking out in his at-bat, as Iowa's pitcher dominated us with a repertoire of a running fastball, a splitter, a sinker, a slurve and a cutter. It was ultimately going to come down to who would make the first mistake. And naturally, that would be us as our pitching staff would give up two hits and one run in the top of the seventh inning. Goose would step up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty, the entire team still being one hit thus far. Goose would fight his best at the plate, but would ultimately strike out. We would finally record another hit in the bottom of the eighth inning and another in the bottom of the ninth, as Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, a runner on third base and Iowa holding a 1-0 lead. This would be the biggest moment of Goose's career, his chance to be a hero or a goat. More like, Goose would never get the chance as Iowa would opt to intentionally walk him to put runners on the corner and bring up Kyle Parker. Despite being intentionally walked, Goose would still end up deciding the outcome, and he would choose goat, as he would get picked up at first base before even a single pitch had been thrown to Parker, ending the game for Iowa and likely ending our division hopes. Final stats for Goose, 0-3 with two strikeouts, an intentional walk and getting picked off at first base to end the game.

The fourth game of the series would remain the same with Goose batting third in a foggy, rainy game with the rain coming down at a moderate rate. Goose would get his first crack in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, lining a slider into the right field gap for a single, but a pop out by Kyle Parker would strand Goose on the bases. This was likely going to be a long day as our pitching started sucking right from the first at-bat, with Jorge De La Rosa issuing walks like candy and having already surpassed the 50 pitch mark in the first TWO innings. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and runners on first and second, hitting a grounder to the first baseman and ending up tagged out halfway to first to end the inning. Goose's next chance would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first, slapping a two-seamer off the right field wall for what should have been a stand up double, but Tim Wheeler would get thrown out at the plate trying to swipe a run, ending the inning in the process. In regards to the epitome of suck, aka Jorge De La Rosa, he would last just five innings, giving up eight hits, two runs and four walks, racking up a pitch count of 85 pitches in that time, 50 of those pitches coming in the first two innings of the game. Goose would make his next appearance at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and runners on first and second, driving a first pitch fastball into straight away center for an RBI single, scoring the run from second to tie the game and leaving runners at first and second, but a strikeout by Kyle Parker and a ground out by Ryan Wheeler would be the end of our scoring threat. Once again, nine innings would not be enough, and once again, our pitchers would screw us as they would promptly give up a two run home run in the top of the tenth inning. Goose would lead off the bottom of the tenth inning, as we faced a two run deficit. Sending a curveball into the gap in right center field, the ball would go all the way to the wall, allowing Goose to slide into third base for a lead off triple. Kyle Parker would put up the first out with a five pitch strikeout, followed by a ground ball to the pitcher by Ben Paulsen that would somehow result in a single to put runners on the corners for Ryan Culberson. A soft chopper to third would score Goose from third and move the base runner from first to second, but we would come up one run short as a two out ground out to the shortstop would end the game. Final stats for Goose, 4-5 with three singles and a triple, one run scored and one RBI.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all four games. Goose would bat a solid .500 for the series, going 9-18 with six singles, two triples, one home run, an intentional walk, six runs scored, two RBIs, two stolen bases, two strikeouts, once picked off on the bases and one player of the game honor.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we wrap up our home stretch with a four game series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers before heading back on the road for seven games. Thanks to our second half series collapse, absolutely nothing changed in the division standings. We remain in last place in the division and six games behind Iowa. The Cubs remain in first with a record of 44-40. Omaha is in second place, two games back of Iowa, with a 42-42 record, the Oklahoma City Dodgers have jumped Colorado Springs for third place in the division, five games back of Iowa and three games behind Omaha, with a 39-45 record, and Colorado Springs now sits dead last, six games behind Iowa, four games behind Omaha and one game behind Oklahoma City, with a record of 38-46 as we are sitting on a two game losing streak and have split our last 10 games.