Chukars Take 2-0 Series Lead with 15-10 Victory Over Ballers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 1 |
|
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | X | 15 | 16 | 2 |
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – The Idaho Falls Chukars used a six-run first inning and a balanced offensive attack to outlast the Oakland Ballers, 15-10, on Wednesday night at Melaleuca Field, moving within one win of a Pioneer Baseball League Championship presented by RedPocket.
The Chukars struck early against Oakland starter Noah Millikan. Idaho Falls' Ben Rosengard doubled home the first run of the game, Spencer Rich added a sacrifice fly, and Simon Baumgardt and Thomas McCaffrey each contributed RBI singles. Kirkland Banks closed the inning with a two-run double, giving Idaho Falls a 6-0 lead.
Oakland responded with five runs over the next two innings. Tremayne Cobb Jr. and Esai Santos each drove in runs, and Christian Almanza hit a two-run single to make it 6-5. Trevor Rogers answered for Idaho Falls with a two-run home run in the fourth, and Spencer Rich added a sacrifice fly for a 9-5 advantage.
The Ballers closed within 11-9 on a Cam Bufford RBI single in the fifth and an Almanza two-run homer run in the sixth, but the Chukars added four runs in the seventh. Idaho Falls' Johnny Pappas singled home two, Ben Rosengard followed with an RBI single, and Rich drove in another run on a ground ball. Almanza hit his second homer of the night in the ninth to finish the scoring.
Almanza led Oakland by going 4-for-5, with two home runs and five RBI. Santos had two hits and scored twice. For Idaho Falls, Pappas went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored, McCaffrey finished 3-5 with an RBI, Banks went 3-for-4 with three RBI, and Rosengard added two hits and two RBI.
Reliever Bennett Flynn earned the win with 1 2/3 shutout innings, and Robert Hughes recorded the final out with a ninth-inning strikeout. Millikan took the loss after allowing six runs in the first inning.
The Chukars lead the best-of-five Championship Series 2-0. Game three is scheduled for Friday in Oakland at 6:35 p.m. PDT. The game will be broadcast on 860 AM The Answer and streamed on FloBaseball.tv.