For the second consecutive night, the Orem Owlz found themselves in the same situation. Up one run in the ninth inning.

Ready, ahhh.

Hold your breath Owlz fans. It's about to get interesting.

Would Orem cough up the lead like it did on Friday or Saturday, or would the Owlz find relief like they did on Sunday?

Relax, Owlz fans. Yeison Almeida is Rolaids.

For the second straight game, Almeida saved the game. He got the Owlz out of a jam in the eighth and closed the door in the ninth to help Orem hold off Great Falls on Monday night in Orem for a 6-5 win.

"We threw Almeida 15 pitches last night to get the save, we weren't waiting tonight. The game was on the line in the eighth, so you've got to go for it there," said Orem manager Tom Kotchman. "Right now Almeida maybe has earned that spot. I'm no Phi Beta Kappa, but he's done it two nights in a row."

Almeida got Ken Gilbert to line out to first. Kevin Dubler singled to right and Todd Gossage was hit by a pitch, but when Almeida needed a strike out he got one. He fanned Jeff Tezak and got Jesus Avila on a swinging bunt that looked like it might be trouble, but Almeida charged off the mound, grabbed the ball and fired to first. It was low, but Tyler Mann dug it out of the dirt to preserve the win.

Justin Bass put Orem in a position to win the game. He went 3-for-5 with a home run and Casey Haerther went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple to lead the Owlz.

After Orem scored two runs in the third to take a 3-1 lead, the Owlz pushed across two more runs in the fifth.

Bass led off the inning with a home run that almost hit himself. He just missed his picture on the jumbotron. Instead, he hit the top of the Zion's bank sign that is three-quarters of the way up the scoreboard, a mammoth shot. Haerther followed with a triple. He scored on a single from Terrell Alliman.

Orem added two big insurance runs in the seventh when Haerther doubled, Richard Cates followed with an RBI single. Jon Karcich then singled and Cates took third.

The Owlz then traded an out for a run, when Karcich stole second and slowed down before getting tagged out, allowing Cates to steal home.

It proved to be a pivotal play because just when it looked like Orem's pitching staff had the Great Falls offense tied up, the Voyagers rallied in the eighth. Kenny Gilbert singled and Zach Larsen was hit in the head. Todd Gossage singled to load the bases.

Orem's Jonathan Garrett replaced Kyle Roberson, who pitched one inning. Garrett hit Tezak to force in a run and Avila singled in a run.

Kotchman could wait no longer. He called on Almeida again, and he came through. He relieved Garrett, promptly struck out Ryan Hamme and for an encore sat down Johny Celis on strikes. Jordan Cheatham singled in two runs to cut the lead to 6-5, but Almeida regrouped to strike out Matt Harughty to end the inning.

The save made a winner out of Orem starter Orangel Arenas, who looked sharp in his six innings of work. He walked one and gave up just four hits. He got some help from Orem's defense. Cates threw out two runners, one at home and one at second. The Owlz also recorded an out when Gilbert tried to score on a wild pitch, but Orem catcher Braulio Pardo got a friendly bounce off the wall behind the plate and threw to Arenas covering home for an out to save a run.

Orem is now 11-9 on the year. The Owlz will hit the road for a seven-game road trip that begins at Billings on Wednesday.

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