Chukars throttle Voyagers behind dominant Hemmerling to open homestand

IDAHO FALLS — The Chukars erupted in their first offensive inning back at home Tuesday night, and starter Nathan Hemmerling did the rest to open a six-game set with the Great Falls Voyagers with a win.

Jacob Jablonski and Simon Baumgardt were RBI machines at the bottom of the Idaho Falls order, driving in nine combined runs. But the star of the night was Hemmerling (W, 5-4), who posted his best performance of the season. The result was a 15-5 victory for the Chukars (41-31, 14-11).

The right-hander had to work around traffic in every inning, but did so by coaxing consistent ground balls. In his 5 innings of work, Hemmerling forced two double-play balls among six ground-ball outs.

He held Great Falls (24-49, 10-15) scoreless despite allowing six hits and three walks across 5 innings pitched.

Hemmerling was pitching with a lead from the second inning on after a six-run bottom of the first. And the PBL’s most powerful offense without flexing its longball muscles.

Instead, the Chukars sent 10 men to the plate and got run-scoring hits from Benjamin Rosengard, Jacob Shanks, Johnny Pappas, Jablonski.

The home runs did arrive eventually, though, with Trevor Rogers (21), Jablonski (12) and Baumgardt (16) each going deep.

Seven Chukars finished with multi-hit games, including a game-high four hits from Jablonski, who knocked in five runs out of his eighth spot in the lineup. Baumgardt drove in four from the nine-hole.

The Chukars host the Voyagers Wednesday night for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

PBL second-half standings
1. Oakland Ballers (20-5)
2. Missoula PaddleHeads (17-7)
3. Ogden Raptors (14-10)
4. Idaho Falls Chukars (14-11)
5. Glacier Range Riders (13-12)
6. Rocky Mountain Vibes (12-13)
7. Boise Hawks (11-13)
8. Billings Mustangs (11-14)
9. Great Falls Voyagers (10-15)
10. Colorado Springs Sky Sox (9-15)
T11. Grand Junction Jackalopes (8-16)
T11. Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers (8-16)