After a brutal 15-1 loss on Tuesday, April 1, the Albuquerque Isotopes flipped the momentum completely. They dominated the Salt Lake Bees in a 17-2 blowout at Isotopes Park on Wednesday, April 2.
The Isotopes struck early and never looked back. In the bottom of the first inning, Adael Amador stole home on a wild pitch to open the scoring, and a Salt Lake error brought in two more. Ryan Ritter extended the lead with a solo home run in the second, and by the time the fifth inning rolled around, the home team was up 5-0 and still heating up.
That’s when Aaron Schunk stepped in with the moment of the night — a two-out grand slam that cleared the left field wall and brought the crowd to life.
“After yesterday’s game, we struggled a little bit. We hit a lot of balls hard right at people,” Schunk said after the game. “Days like this are what get guys’ confidence going.”
The fifth inning alone brought eight runs across the plate, including a solo shot by Braxton Fulford, a two-RBI triple by Zac Veen and multiple Salt Lake errors that extended the frame. By the end of it, Albuquerque led 13-0.
Salt Lake managed to put two on the board in the sixth, but the Isotopes answered right back. Owen Miller hit a solo homer, and Veen added two more RBIs with a single. Schunk scored again in the seventh on a wild pitch for the game’s final run.
On the mound, Jack O’Loughlin delivered a stellar start, going five scoreless innings with four strikeouts and only two hits allowed. Relievers Dugan Darnell and Jefry Yan kept the Bees quiet the rest of the way.
“It’s a hard game, and you get beat by 14 the night before,” Schunk said. “So coming back and kind of doing the same thing to them shows that we’re still in it.”
Izabella Kubiak-Reseigh is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or @kubiakizabella
Simon Reseigh is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @simon_reseigh
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