Game 91: Vancena puts Boise on verge of clinching second half crown 

Boise, ID - After Matt Dallas shined on Friday, the Boise Hawks (26-17) got another marvelous pitching performance from their starter, guiding them to a 13-6 win over the Grand Junction Rockies (23-20) on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

Offensively it was all Boise in the early and middle innings, scoring two in the third, three in the fourth, two in the fifth, and another in the sixth, going up 8-0 over the visiting Rockies.

Boise’s first runs of the night came on an Alejandro Rivero double down the left field line that scored Jason Dicochea and Myles Miller in the third inning.

Rockies miscues in the fourth allowed the Hawks to pile on, with Hidekel Gonzalez and Tyler Jorgensen crossing on wild pitches, and Miller scoring on an error by Grand Junction’s second baseman, Alex Monge.

In the fifth, Roby Enriquez would connect for a blast to right field for a solo home run, and Gonzalez would take advantage of an errant throw by Rockies center fielder, Jose Gutierrez to cross the plate for the second straight inning.

The last of the eight runs would be delivered by Wladimir Galindo who smacked a two out double to score Jason Dicochea in the sixth.

Jayce Vancena certainly didn’t need all the run support he got, turning in seven and two thirds of scoreless baseball.

Vancena gave up just seven hits while striking out nine and exited the game with the Hawks up 8-0 before they added five in the bottom of the eighth, including Roby Enriquez’s second solo shot of the night, to go ahead 13-0.

A six run top of the ninth by Grand Junctions would make things slightly interesting by Luke Dawson was able to come out of the bullpen and get the final out Boise needed to finish off their third victory in four days.

Tonight’s victory brings Boise’s magic number to two, meaning a win in either Sundays or Mondays contests would clinch the Second Half Southern Division title for the Hawks and return the Boise Hawks to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

They will look to clinch tomorrow in their final Papas Fritas game of the season, as Liam Stiegerwald toes the rubber for a 7:15 first pitch on Sunday evening.