Chukars triumph over Orem Owls

OREM, Utah — To cap off a weekend series against the Orem Owlz, the Idaho Falls Chukars avoided the sweep against the Pioneer League South champions with 4-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.

To snap their four-game losing streak, the Chukars took the initial lead in their fourth consecutive game.

Beginning in the third inning, third basemen Ryan Dale tripled off of Owlz starter Eduar Lopez (L, 2-2). During the next at-bat, outfielder Cody Jones drove Dale in with a run-scoring groundout to put the Chukars on the board.

In the fifth inning, the Owlz put together one a brief offensive surge to tie up the game. After a single from shortstop Juan Moreno and an error from the Chukars defense, third basemen Kenny Towns drove Moreno in with a RBI single against Idaho Falls starting pitcher Todd Eaton (W, 2-3) to tie the game up at one.

Fortunately for Eaton, the Chukars offense came through in the sixth inning to give him his second win of the season. After a leadoff double from outfielder Amalani Fukofuka, outfielder Roman Collins brought him in with a RBI single to put the Chukars back up. Later in the inning, a two-run single from first basemen Logan Nottebrok made the score 4-1.

With a three-run cushion, the Chukars bullpen put the game away. In the last four innings, Royals second round draft pick Josh Staumont and lefty Brandon Thomas combined to give up just one run to shut down the door for the Chukars. For Thomas, his 1.1 innings scoreless to end the game gave him his first save of the year while Staumont gave up a sole run in the eighth, but struck out two batters in 2.2 innings of solid work.

Offensively, the Chukars were lead by Fukofuka and Collins who had two hits apiece. Collins now has a five-game hitting streak, and with two more hits on Sunday is hitting .450 (9-for-20) over that stretch. Nottebrok also increased his hit streak to five games with his two-run single in the sixth.

With the victory, the Chukars avoided the sweep and snapped their four-game losing streak. They improved their record 4-3 on Sundays and 4-1 in day games.

Following the weekend series in Orem, the Chukars will head back to Idaho Falls to start a three-game series with the Owlz at Melaleuca Field on Monday night. The Chukars will send RHP Carter Hope to the hill while the Owlz will counter with a pitcher that is to be determined. First pitch is at 4:15 PM.

Make sure to tune to John Balginy and Alex Cohen all season long on MiLBTV, the Chukars Tune-In Radio App and live on ESPN 980 AM, 105.1 FM and 94.5 FM.

For tickets or any other information, call (208) 522-8363, follow the Chukars on facebook and twitter at @Ifchukars or visit www.ifchukars.com.