Chukars Split Twin Bill To End First Half

Great Falls, MT - Playing a double header to end the first half, the Chukars came out with a split against the Great Falls Voyagers. Idaho Falls won the first game 6-5, but dropped the second game 7-4. The 2019 Pioneer League 1^st Half Northern Division Champions finish the first half with a 21-16 record.
Game 1
Great Falls took advantage of a defensive miscue to score the first run. Jonathan Allen reached on an error from Jose Marquez, and scored with two outs on a sharp single to center from Luis Mieses.
Idaho Falls though came back in the top of the third inning and took the lead. Kember Nacero singled to start the inning, and with a hit and run call put on, Hector Pineda singled to right with one out, moving Nacero to third. Marquez grounded out, scoring Nacero, but Clay Dungan came through with a triple to deep right center, plating Pineda to put Idaho Falls up 2-1.
Great Falls though took the lead right back in the bottom of the third. Josh Rivera started the inning with a triple, and scored on a one out single from Lency Delgado to tie the game. Mieses then followed up with a double to deep right center, scoring Delgado to put the Voyagers back up in front.
Yet the Chukars punched back right away, as with one on and one our in the fourth, Ismaldo Rodriguez sent a laser beam over the wall in right, a two run shot, to put the Chukars up 4-3. For Ismaldo, it was his third straight game with a home run.
Stephan Vidal added to the home run brigade with a two run blast in the sixth inning, the first home run of his career. The home run made a difference, as Jakob Goldfarb hit a two run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 6-5. Brady Cox retired the side in order in the seventh picking up his first professional save.
Cody Davenport earned the win, going 2.2 scoreless innings out of the Chukars bullpen. The win is the first of his professional career.
Game 2
Like in game one, the Voyagers struck in the first inning, but did it in a more impactful way this time. With two out and nobody on, Lency Delgado walked, followed by a Harvin Mendoza single and a Bryan Connell walk, loading the bases for Jonathan Allen. Allen smoked an inside pitch into the right field corner, going for a triple and putting Great Falls up 3-0. Josh Rivera then singled into right, easily scoring Allen to make it 4-0.
Idaho Falls got a run in the second inning with two outs, as Stephan Vidal doubled home Wyatt Mascarella. In the fourth inning, the first three for the Chukars reached against Voyagers reliever Nick Johnson, thanks to a double and two walks. Jose Marquez singled home a run with one out, but Chukars managed just one more in the inning, making the score 4-3.
Great Falls came right back in the bottom of the fourth and got those two runs right back, as Delgado doubled home two with the bases loaded and one out. Connell added on a run in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run, and the Chukars could only manage one more run the rest of the game.
The second half begins tomorrow as the Chukars and Voyagers do battle at 7 PM. You can listen to the broadcast of the game on ESPN 980 The Sports Zone KSPZ or online via the TuneIn App.
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