The Cubs returned to action after being off for Labor Day weekend, followed by a Wednesday snow-out here in Colorado that saw a good amount of snow fall this past week, which is pretty early for such a heavy amount this time of year.  But, being Colorado, it was back to almost 80 in Conifer yesterday for the rematch between the Cubs and Hops. Both teams were super excited to play on the newly turfed Conifer HS field, which takes a top spot in local fields with its scenic mountain atmosphere.  "I'm ready to play here every week!", said RF Nick Besman.

The Cubs took an early lead 5-2 lead, with a few walks and sporadic base hits, but the Hops came to tie it in the bottom of the 4th and then took a 7-5 lead after scoring two more in the bottom half of the fifth.  Cubs ace JD Heredia returned to action after 2 weeks off and pitched well, giving up 6 hits in 4 innings, while keeping his pitch count low.  "I felt great today, its been a few weeks since I've felt this good, having the last two weeks off certainly gave me the necessary time off, and I always love pitching in my Vans, they provide great support on the arch of the foot as well as ankle support", said JD after the game while pumping gas at the local Sinclair.  

With the Hops scoring finished for the game (relief P Zach Newhuis pitched 4 shutout innings, followed by a 9th inning no run performance between Jarin Dorchinez and Andrew Clark), the Cubs got one back with a single down the left field line by 1B Paul "the ripper" Rummage, scoring Clark who reached on a FC.  With the Cubs going 1,2,3 in the bottom of the 7th, then threatening with two runners on in the bottom of the 8th, "the ripper" was back up and hit a deep fly ball to the warning track for the third out, leaving the Hops leading 7-6.  For the 9th, C Adam Bradell lead-off with a single from the left side of the plate to center-field, stole second, advanced to third when the ball slipped away from the second baseman.  Two pitches later, Zach Newhuis popped up to the first baseman for a routine pop-up, but the first baseman dropped it, allowing Bradell to score from first.  "I knew there wasn't a chance to tag-up, so I simply went about 1/3 of the way down the baseline in anticipation of a possible drop, and as soon as I saw it pop out of his glove to the ground I took off, I knew they weren't going to get my as I had my PF Flyers on since we were playing on turf", said Bradell after the game while chowing down on a nice medium-rare bison steak.  With the game tied, a base-running blunder by Newhuis cleared the bases with two outs and the Cubs were not able to take the lead, leaving the score 7-7 going into the bottom of the 9th.  The Hops threatened with a 2-out double from Jimmy Coadly, but the Cubs were able to get Richard Grady to line-out to short to end the game, resulting in both teams first tie of the season.  

"I was really proud of the guys today who came to play.  We had a few guys call out at the last minute with no reason to not come and play, so we were limited to our 9 guys, a few guys playing out of position, but we battled, and getting that tie, while it feels like going to prom with your sister, is better than a loss", said interim manager Bradell.

With the tie, the Cubs remain in second place moving to 9-2-1 (18-3-2 overall), the Hops at 7-4-1, currently having on to the 4th and final seed for the playoffs in a few weeks.  

The Cubs face off against the Bandits next Sunday (hopefully) as the Bandits have been forfeiting games recently, something that should not happen in 18AAA.