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Homers Back Selman in 4-3 Chukars Win

July 20, 2012 - Pioneer League (PL) Idaho Falls Chukars

A Chukars offense that had been starved for extra base hits of late came up with four Thursday night, as Nick Cuckovich and Jin-Ho Shin each hit home runs and starting pitcher Sam Selman struck out 10 Helena Brewers in a 4-3 Idaho Falls win at Kindrick Legion Field.

Both Selman and Brewers starter Leonard Lorenzo were on their games early, with neither team scoring through the first three innings. The Chukars were finally able to get to Lorenzo and get on the board in the 4th however, as Cuckovich blasted a solo homer over the left-center field wall to put Idaho Falls up 1-0. The homer was Cucks second of the season.

The lead would be short lived for the Greybirds, as the Brewers picked up their first base runner, first hit and first run off of Selman in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 1-1.

Fast-forward to the sixth and it was once again the long ball that put Idaho Falls on top. Following a leadoff triple by Cuckovich it was Shin's turn to go long ball, as the South Korean catcher launched a ball just inside the left field foul pole to put the Chukars back on top 3-1.

The Chukars would use another extra base hit to tack another run onto their lead in the top of the 7th, as center fielder Ethan Chapman doubled inside the right field line with one out and came in on an Adalberto Mondesi RBI groundout to put IF up 4-1.

The Brewers offense would come alive when Selman left the game in the seventh however, as Chukars reliever Alec Mills gave up a single run in the seventh to bring the game to 4-2. The eighth inning started off even worse for Mills, with the right-hander giving up back-to-back doubles to Kevin Berard and Andres Martinez to bring the Brewers within one run and placing the tying run at second base. Things got worse when a Mills wild pitch allowed Martinez to move to third base, still with no outs in the inning. One out later, the Brewers had runners at the corners when Mills tossed a ball in the dirt that rolled away from Shin. Sensing a chance to tie the game, Martinez took off for home only to have Shin recover the ball and flip it to Mills at the plate to tag out Martinez for the second out. Mills would then strike out Chris McFarland to end the threat and preserve the Chukars lead.

Reliever Kevin Allen came in for the 9th and threw a perfect inning to pick up his second save of the season.

For the night, Cuckovich finished 2-4 with a homer, triple, one RBI and two runs scored. Shin went 1-4 with his 2-run blast while Chapman finished 2-5 with one run scored.

Selman (3-0) would earn the win for the Chukars as he held the Brewers to just one run on two hits over his season high six innings pitched, striking out a career high 10 batters along the way. Lorenzo (1-2) picked up his second straight tough loss against Idaho Falls, as he allowed just three runs on seven hits over his six innings pitched.

With the win the Chukars snap their 4-game losing streak and improve to 13-17 for the season, while the Brewers fall to 10-20. The two clubs will meat up for game two of the four-game series Friday night at 7:05 pm.

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Pioneer League Stories from July 20, 2012


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