Even though the Sky Sox lost their second straight game and fell out of first place in the Pacific Northern Division, Colorado Springs starting pitcher Rob Scahill made Sky Sox history last night with his ten strikeout performance.  It was Scahill’s second double-digit strikeout start already this season at home, with the right-handed Rockies prospect fanning 11 Tucson Padres on April 19th, making Scahill the FIRST player in Sky Sox history to have two 10-strikeout appearances at Security Service Field.  Prior to last night, 16 different pitchers had a 10-strikeout game at home, but Scahill is the first to repeat the feat.

Scahill is also now the third pitcher in Sky Sox history to have at least two 10-strikeout games in a season.  Mike Saipe was the first notch two double-digit strikeouts starts, with 10 K’s in 7 IP at Tucson on May 5th, 1998 and 12 K’s in 9IP home vs. Vancouver ten days later on May 15th, 1998.  The other pitcher was former Sky Sox Pitching Coach Doug Linton, who did it three times in the 2000 season.  Linton struck out 12 batters in 9 IP on May 14th, 2000 at Nashville, then had 10 strikeouts at home vs. Calgary on July 4th, 2000, then struck out 11 batters in 9 IP in New Orleans on August 15th, 2000.  One other Sky Sox pitcher, Jason Young, had two 10-strikeout games,b ut over the span of two seasons.  Young had a 11-strikeout game in 6 IP at home vs. Iowa on August 29th, 2002, then the next season, Young struck out 10 batters in 6 IP at Autozone Park in Memphis on July 24th, 2003.

The performance by Scahill also marks the third time already this season that a Sky Sox starter has notched a double-digit strikeouts, with Guillermo Moscoso striking out ten April 17th vs. Tucson.   The only other season where there were three 10-strikeout games at home in the same season was in 2002, and all were at home just like this season.  Bryan Rekar had a 10-strikeout game in 7 1/3 IP vs. Omaha on July 14th, 2002, then Victor Santos had a 11-strikeout game in 5 IP on July 26th, 2002 against Iowa, then Jason Young had a 11-strikeout game in 6 IP vs. Iowa on August 29th, 2002.  Scahill and Moscoso also set a Sky Sox record with their strikeouts performances against Tucson earlier in the season being only three days a part, breaking the previous record of ten days set in 1998.