Idaho Falls, ID - The start of the 2019 season for the Idaho Falls Chukars has been near perfect. Down two with two out in the ninth inning, perfection was nearing its end, but the baseball gods had something else in store. With two on and two out, Isaiah Smith
Idaho Falls, ID - The start of the 2019 season for the Idaho Falls Chukars has been near perfect. Down two with two out in the ninth inning, perfection was nearing its end, but the baseball gods had something else in store. With two on and two out, Isaiah Smith struck out, but a wild pitch on strike three allowed Smith to reach, loading the bases. Isaiah Henry stepped in next, and a passed ball on the first pitch scored a run to cut the deficit to one. Henry then singled to right, scoring both runners to give the Chukars the 8-7 walk off win at Melaleuca Field. Idaho Falls has now won six straight to begin the season.
The game went back and forth throughout, with the Chukars holding the lead twice, only to give it back to the Osprey. Missoula drew first blood in the top of the second on an RBI double from Francis Martinez, but the Chukars countered with a pair in the bottom of the third as Smith doubled home Clay Dungan and Rhett Aplin. Martinez then gave the Osprey the lead back with a two run home run in the top of the fourth, only to see Aplin top him with a three run homer to dead center, making it 5-3 Chukars.
Missoula cut the deficit back to one in the fifth on a fielder's choice ground out from Spencer Brickhouse in the fifth, and then tied the game at five in the sixth on Martinez's second home run of the game. In the seventh, Cesar Garcia led off with a single against Bryar Johnson, but Axel Andueza hit into a 6-4-3 DP to seemingly kill the rally. Yet Brickhouse kept the line moving with a single, followed by a Liover Peguero triple that scored Brickhouse to make it 6-5 Osprey. Martinez then drove home his fifth run of the night with a single to extend Missoula's lead to two.
The Chukars' offense went silent after the fourth inning as they were held hitless by the Osprey bullpen. It remained a two run lead into the bottom of the ninth, when Osprey closer Mailon Arroyo (L, 0-1) hit Dungan to start the inning, and then walked Jose Marquez. The next two batters struck before the dramatics gave the Chukars the walk off win.
Derrick Adams (W, 2-0) picked up the win, throwing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. The Chukars take tomorrow off before beginning a three game series with the Billings Mustangs on Friday, seeking to continue their winning streak. Tickets and a full schedule of promotions for this weekend are all available on ifchukars.com
