Franco’s error costs Chukars

Casper committed seven errors Wednesday, but it was the one the Chukars committed that handed Casper a 6-5 win.

With two outs in a 5-5 game in the bottom of the ninth, Idaho Falls second baseman Angel Franco had a groundball bounce off his glove and into center field. Instead of Casper’s Avery Barnes ending the game on a routine groundout, he stood at second base.

“He went to second due to the grass being real thick,” Chukars manager Darryl Kennedy said. “The ball really died.”

In came Casper pinch hitter Jared Clark and he singled into right field off reliever to Mitch Hodge. With Barnes, who is second in the league in stolen bases, at second, it was enough for him to score.

While the lone error hurt, most costly was Idaho Falls’ inability to take advantage of seven Casper errors. Of its five runs, only three were unearned.

“We had our chances early in the game,” Kennedy said. “Second and third, nobody out, bases loaded, nobody out. And out of those situations, we got one run. That’s what cost us the ball game. We let them off the hook early in the game. We should have scored more than five runs.”

Catcher Wil Myers continued his torrid a night after going 0-for-4. He went 2-for-3 Wednesday.

Chukars win opener in Casper 4-2

The Idaho Falls Chukars opened their season-ending, four-game series with a 4-2 road win over the Casper Ghosts on Tuesday.

The Chukars led throughout, as starter Bryan Paukovits (4-3) pitched five scoreless innings to pick up the win.

Paukovits struck out six batters, walked one and scattered four hits.
The Chukars took an early lead in the second inning when Joey Lewis scored on a bunt single by Malcom Culver.

Casper starter Jonathan Vargas was taken out of the game before throwing a pitch in the third inning.

His replacement, Billy Vopinek, didn’t fare much better, serving up a solo homer to Deivy Batista to give the Chukars a 2-0 lead.
Batista leads the Chukars with 13 homers on the season, tying him for fifth in the Pioneer League.

The Chukars tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh inning with a little two-out lightning when Alex Llanos ripped an RBI double before coming home on Angel Franco’s single.

Franco and Salvador Perez each had three hits for Idaho Falls and Derek Rodriguez had two.

The Chukars called on reliever Richard Folmer to wrap up the game in the ninth. With a 4-1 lead, Folmer worked himself into some trouble, thanks in part to his own throwing error. Folmer gave up two hits, a walk and a run to pull Casper within 4-2, but he struck out Casper leadoff hitter Avery Barnes to escape further damage and collect his seventh save.

The teams play game 2 of their series at 7:05 tonight.

Alfaro, Chukars slam Casper 13-3

Heading into the game Thursday at Melaleuca Field against the Casper Ghosts, the Idaho Falls Chukars hadn’t hit a grand slam all season. In fact, neither had their opponents.

The Chukars and their opponents combined for 122 at bats with the bases loaded. While there were hits struck, walks taken and errors made, not once did the ball find its way out of the park.

That changed Thursday in the second inning when J.D. Alfaro sent a 2-2 pitch screaming over the left field wall with the bases juiced to give the Chukars a 6-1 lead over Casper. The Chukars never looked back, racking up 14 hits in a 13-3 blowout.

The homer was just Alfaro’s third of the season and first since June 30. Alfaro hit nine jacks last season in Idaho Falls, but his power has lessened as he’s worked to become less hack-happy at the plate.

Alfaro said he’s changed his approach, trying to hit liners up the middle instead of towering bombs.

“The home runs will come,” Alfaro said. “I’m not a home run hitter. There are guys on this team that are a lot bigger. I’m trying to get on base for them to drive me in.”

Chukars manager Darryl Kennedy said managers around the Pioneer League have wised up to Alfaro’s strengths his second year in the league.

“They know he’s got some power, and they’re going to attack him a little differently,” Kennedy said. “He’s made a good adjustment by using the whole field and not swinging for the fence so much.”

Alfaro’s knock was the most dramatic, but most of the Chukarrs enjoyed big days at the plate. Salvadore Perez batted 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Angel Franco had two hits to reach base for his Pioneer League-leading 24th straight game. Joey Lewis had two hits to run his on-base streak to 15 games spanning his entire time with the Chukars.

Deivy Batista, Wil Myers and Ryan Stovall each had two hits.

Chukars starter Bryan Paukovits pitched 5.2 innings to pick up the win. Paukovits gave up a solo home run but held Casper to two runs on six hits.

Paukovits ran into trouble in the second when he loaded the bases with no outs, but he struck out two Casper batters and induced an inning-ending ground ball to post a zero on the scoreboard.

“He bared down and made some great pitches,” Kennedy said. “It was good to see him get out of the inning, go deep in the game and get the win.”
The Chukars (18-12 in the second half, 37-28 overall) wrap up a three game series with Casper (13-16, 25-40) tonight at Melaleuca Field.

Chukars catch a break in Ogden

Salvador Perez

Every once in a while in baseball, a team needs a break. The Chukars got one Monday night to preserve a 6-4 win at Ogden in 10 innings.

The Chukars trailed 4-2 before Deivy Batista smashed a two-run home to right-center field in the eighth, tying the game and ultimately sending it to extra innings.

Idaho Falls struck again in the top of the 10th before escaping a one-out, runners-at-second-and-third-base situation in the bottom of the inning.

Chukars reliever Mitch Hodge served up a fastball to Ogden’s Angel Songco and he ripped a line drive up the middle. Fortunately, Chukars second baseman Angel Franco, at double play depth, snared the line drive and touched second for the game-ending, win-sealing double play.

“He’s playing to get a double play and it went directly at him,” Hodge said. “It was a little bit of luck, but that happens.”

The double play made the rally in the top of the 10th stand. Franco led off the inning with an infield single and Batista followed with just his 16th walk of the season.

Chukars manager Darryl Kennedy put on a sacrifice bunt, but catcher Salvador Perez had a better idea. Perez saw the infield charging to take away the sacrifice, so he pulled back and slapped a single to right field, scoring Franco.

“I thought Salvador did an outstanding job,” Kennedy said. “He pulled back and had a huge hit to right.”

Chukars designated hitter Wil Myers followed with a sacrifice fly to right for the final score.

Franco finished the day 3-for-4 to stretch his hitting streak to a team-high 15 games.

John Lamb started the game on the mound and while he struck out eight through four innings, he also gave up four runs. But relievers Pernell Halliman, Patrick Keating and Hodge pitched a combined six scoreless innings while allowing seven hits and striking out eight.

Combined with Orem’s win Monday, the Chukars still trail the division leader by six games with 11 left to play.

Chukars earn hitter and pitcher of the week

Angel Franco

The Chukars took home both the Pioneer League’s pitcher of the week and hitter of the week awards.

Right-hander Scott Kelley earn the pitcher’s award after throwing 8.1 scoreless innings in his last two outings while allowing a combined four hits and one walk while striking out 14 since. Since joining the Chukars, Kelley has yet to allow a run in 15 innings.

Middle infielder Angel Franco earned the hitting award as he recovers from a slow start to the season. He went 13-for-29 at the plate (.448) with a double, a triple, eight runs scored and five RBIs during the past week, slugging .724. During the week, he raised his season batting average from .256 to .278.

Franco wrapped up the week going 4-for-6 Sunday, extending his hitting streak to a team-high 14 games this season.

Chukars set two season marks in 13-0 win

The Chukars set season highs in largest margin of victory (13) and hits (22) Sunday in a 13-0 win over the Orem Owlz.

The Chukars also tied marks for the most runs (13) and triples (two).

In just the second shutout of the season, Idaho Falls took a 5-0 lead after the first inning and never looked back. Ten batters came to the plate and nine of them recorded at least one hit with Ryan Stovall, Joey Lewis, and Angel Franco all finishing with four hits in the game.

Starting pitcher Santiago Garrido gave up three hits and one walks in five scoreless innings before giving way to Scott Kelley. Kelley struck out eight over the final four innings to earn the save. He gave up one hit and one walk and has yet to allow a run in 15 innings with the Chukars.

The Chukars trail the Orem Owlz by six games in the division with 12 left to play. Idaho Falls heads to Ogden for a two-game series on Monday before returning home for a six-game homestand starting Wednesday.

Kennedy waves home winning run against Ogden

Managers, in a way are figureheads.

They don’t turn hit singles, or locate fastballs, or turn double plays. Their strategic impact on the game, from aligning defenses, filling out the lineup card and calling for substitutions, account for runs here and there, but seldom swing games.

Wednesday night at Melaleuca Field, however, Chukars manager Darryl Kennedy won the game for the Chukars, who beat the Ogden Raptors 7-6 with a bit of heads-up base coaching in the bottom of the ninth.

With the score tied at six and runners on first and second with one out, Chukar Angel Franco laid a bunt down the first base line. Ogden’s catcher, Gorman Erickson, charged out to retrieve the ball and throw to first. Just as the ball reached first to beat the quick Franco by a step, Kennedy waved the slow-footed Tito Espinosa around third and to the undefended home plate for the winning, walk-off run.

“The catcher did a real good job coming out aggressively to get the out at first,” Kennedy said as the Chukars whooped it up in the locker room. “The pitcher went after the ball, and there was nobody at home plate.”

Kennedy said he tried to be sly as he sent Espinosa home.

“I didn’t want to start screaming, start throwing the red flag,” Kennedy I was glad Tito recognized it, too.”

The win was the second straight for the Chukars (14-8 in the second half, 34-24 overall) over Ogden (11-11, 35-24). The teams wrap up a three-game series tonight at Melaleuca Field.

As exciting as the finish was, Kennedy said he was more proud of how his team responded to Ogden posting four runs in the fifth. The Chukars immediately fired back, scoring five in the bottom of the inning on five hits, including a 2-RBI triple by J.D. Alfaro and an RBI double by Wil Myers, who played his second game with the Chukars after being drafted this year out of high school.

It was the second straight game the Chukars replied to big Ogden inning with a big inning of their own. On Tuesday, Ogden took a 5-0 lead in the top of first, but the Chukars came back with three runs in the bottom of the inning and eventually won, 8-5.
“If you look at the hit total, it’s not like we banged it around the ball park,” Kennedy said. “What I’m proud of is how those guys answered after they scored four runs. We came right back and put up five. The guys are refusing to quit. They battled their butts off tonight.”

Chukars come back for 3-2 win

The Idaho Falls Chukars fought through a frustrating night Saturday to score three runs in the ninth and take a 3-2 road win over the Great Falls Voyagers.

The Chukars (11-8 in the second half) won the opening two games of the four-game series with Great Falls (8-11).

A combination of strong Great Falls pitching and bad luck kept the Chukars off the scoreboard for eight innings. Great Falls starter Brandon Kloess scattered five hits over five scoreless innings, thanks in part to his defense turning three double plays behind him.

Two Great Falls relievers carried a 2-0 lead into the ninth, then Nelson Curry came in to close out the Chukars.

For the second straight game, Chukars outfielder Alex Llanos worked his way on base in a late-game situation with a bunt single.

Curry began to self destruct by walking Hilton Richardson. The following batter, Angel Franco, hit a tapper back to the mound. After fielding the ball, Curry threw it away, allowing both Llanos and Richardson to score and tie the game 2-2.

Salvador Perez lifted a sacrifice fly to center field and Franco tagged home to give the Chukars a 3-2 lead that stuck.

Chukars reliever Patrick Keating pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his seventh save of the season.

Chukars starting pitcher Bryan Paukovits gave up a solo home run to Nick Ciolli in the fourth, but otherwise kept Great Falls scoreless. Paukovits struck out four batters and didn’t issue a walk to lower his ERA to 5.13.

Pernell Halliman gave up just one run on three hits over three innings to pick up the win for Idaho Falls and improve to 4-1 on the season.

Paukovits, Halliman and Keating combined for seven strikeouts and no walks.

The Chukars outfield made big throws throughout the night. Alex Llanos finished with two assists from right field, and left fielder Julio Aparicio finished with three.

The Chukars wrap up their four-game series in Great Falls at 4 p.m. today before starting a six-game home stand Tuesday at Melaleuca Field.

Lamb, Chukars nearly perfect in win at Great Falls

Playing on the road, the Idaho Falls Chukars used dominant pitching and quirky offense to take a 2-0 win over Great Falls.

Chukars starter John Lamb retired the first 14 Great Falls batters before giving up an infield single to Jordan Cheatham in the fifth.

However, Lamb picked Cheatham off of first base and pitched through seven innings without allowing another base runner, then Richard Folmer pitched two perfect innings.

In all, 27 Great Falls batters stepped to the plate, and 27 Great Falls batters found their way back to the dugout after making an out. Lamb struck out seven Great Falls batters.

“Without a doubt, that was probably our best game of the year,” Chukars manager Darryl Kennedy said. “Everything was working (for Lamb). He was able to locate his fastball in and out, up and down, and he changed speeds when he needed to. An impressive outing.”

Lamb said picking off the lone Great Falls base runner was satisfying.

“Absolutely,” Lamb said. “Giving up a hit wasn’t the end of the world.

It’s going to happen. (J.D.) Alfaro nearly made a great play on the ball. (The base runner) got on, and we picked him up three pitches later.”

Despite Lamb’s near-perfect performance, the score was tied 0-0 when he left after seven innings. He picked up the win only after the Chukars used some unconventional offense in the top of the eighth.

Ryan Stovall led off the inning with a double. With two strikes, Julio Aparicio laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Stovall to third. Alfaro laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to bring home Stovall and give the Chukars a 1-0 lead. Alex Llanos then bunted for a single. After a Hilton Richardson double and an Angel Franco single, the Chukars led 2-0 and put Lamb win in position for the win.

Folmer struck out two batters while pitching a perfect eighth and ninth innings to earn his sixth save of the season.

Chukars have more errors than hits in loss to Billings

At Billings, Mont., the Idaho Falls Chukars lost 6-3 to the Billings Mustangs on Wednesday in a Pioneer League game that wasn’t as close as the final score.

Billings starting pitcher Oscar Castro held the Chukars to one hit over six innings to pick up the win. The Chukars ended the game with three hits and five errors, a losing combination, manager Darryl Kennedy said.

“The box score tells it all,” Kennedy said. “If you make more errors than hits, you don’t deserve to win. That’s

exactly how we played. We were lucky it was only 6-3.”

The Chukars (7-7) lost two games in the three-game series at Billings (5-8). Orem beat Missoula to improve to 14-1 for the second half and pull 5 1/2 games ahead of the Chukars in the Pioneer League South Division.

Errors bit the Chukars all night.

Billings hit well, racking up 11 hits, including five doubles. However, because of the Chukars fielding miscues, only two of Billings’ runs were earned.

The only offense the Chukars generated off Castro came in the sixth, when Angel Franco doubled home Ryan Stovall.

Stovall then scored on a Castro balk, one of the pitcher’s few mistakes. Castro struck out seven batters and walked one.

“You have to give (Castro) some credit,” Kennedy said. “He was doing everything we couldn’t’ do. He changed speeds and we swung at it.”

The Chukars scored a meaningless run in the ninth when J.D. Alfaro singled, then eventually came around to score on a single by Tito Espinosa.

The lone bright spot for the Chukars was reliever Scott Kelley, who pitched two scoreless innings. Kelley hasn’t given up a run is six innings since joining the Chukars.

“He’s got a good fastball, and he’s pretty deceptive with his motion,” Kennedy said. “I don’t think the hitters see the ball off of him. He pitched well again tonight.”

The Chukars begin a four-game series at 7 tonight at Great Falls, the one Pioneer League opponent the Chukars haven’t visited this season.