PL Idaho Falls Chukars

Chukars Topple Orem 8-5

Published on September 4, 2015 under Pioneer League (PL)
Idaho Falls Chukars News Release


OREM, UT ---- In the opener of a six-game series against the Orem Owlz, the Idaho Falls Chukars held on to beat their Pioneer League South champs in the first half by a score of 8-5 on Thursday night at the Ballpark of the Owlz.

Riding a wave of momentum from their sweep of the Ogden Raptors, the Chukars broke out in a big away against the Owlz pitching staff.

Down 1-0 after one inning on a RBI double from Owlz first basmen Jeff Boehm, Chukars outfielderRoman Collins returned the favor with a two-run blast against Orem starter Jeff Malm (L, 5-2) in the second to give the Chukars the lead. For Collins, the homer was his fourth of the year.

The score stayed that way until the fourth inning, where the Chukars started a surge where they would score three runs in back-to-back frames.

In the fourth, Idaho Falls got a two-out, two-strike, bases-clearing triple from second basemen DJ Burtto make the score 5-1.

For Burt, the hit increased his consecutive games on-base streak to 51 games. It is the longest streak of such kind in professional baseball this year. The triple was his eighth of the year (all coming after August 1), ranking him third in the league overall behind teammates Amalani Fukofuka (9) andMarten Gasparini (10).

One inning later, the Chukars got a RBI double by catcher Nick Dini, a RBI single from third basemenCarlos Diaz and a run-scoring groundout by Collins. Both Dini and designated hitter Brandon Dulinpaced the Chukars 15-hit attack with three hits each.

Fortunately for the Chukars, the eight runs of support after five innings was plenty for the pitching staff to handle.

Following three innings of one-hit ball from starter Bryan Brickhouse, righty Daniel Concepcionimproved to 2-1 on the year with the win in four innings of relief, giving up three runs on six hits. Concepcion blanked the Owlz bats through his first 3.2 innings, but gave up five straight two-out hits in the seventh inning.

With Concepcion out of the game prior to the eighth inning, lefty Brandon Thomas and righty Jacob Bodner combined to limit the Owlz offense to one run in the final two innings of work.

For the Chukars, the win was their third straight. With a 22-11 record in the second half, the Chukars sit with an over .500 record overall (36-35) for the first time since 8/24/14.

Combining the win with a Raptors loss against the Grand Junction Rockies, the Chukars increased their Pioneer League South divisional lead in the second half to two games with five games remaining in the regular season. Owners of the first tiebreaker between the two teams by securing the season series by a 9-7 margin, the Chukars magic number now sits at three to win the division.

The Chukars will continue six-game series against the Orem Owlz with the second of two games in Utah on Friday. Idaho Falls will send RHP Todd Eaton to the bump while the Owlz will counter with a pitcher that is to be determined. First pitch is at 7:05 PM.

Make sure to tune to John Balginy and Alex Cohen all season long on MiLBTV, the Chukars Tune-In Radio App and live on ESPN 980 AM, 105.1 FM and 94.5 FM.

Check out the Idaho Falls Chukars Statistics

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Pioneer League Stories from September 4, 2015


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