Mustangs score 4 in the 7th to halt Chukar win streak

IDAHO FALLS — After winning their final five games in June, the Idaho Falls Chukars lost their first game in July.

The Chukars (12-26) got big games from Justin Trimble and Tyler Wyatt, but couldn’t overcome a late blitz from the Mustangs (28-9), falling 11-8 in Billings, Mont.

Starter Ian Lanik (ND) got through the fifth having allowed just two runs, with his club ahead 8-2 after a four-run top of the sixth. But he hit a speed pump in the sixth, surrendering five runs before escaping the frame.

Catcher-reliever Mason Collins (L, 0-1) came on in the seventh for the depleted Idaho Falls bullpen, and was tagged for five hits and four runs.

But the Chukars threatened to grab the lead right back in the eighth, when they put two on with one down for Trimble and Wyatt, who had already driven in four in the game. Neither, though, could come up with the big hit.

Wyatt finished the game with a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer. Trimble picked up two hits, including a triple, and drove in three.

The Chukars went down in order in the ninth, seeing their five-game winning streak come to an end.

They will look to start a new streak Thursday when they play their series finale in Billings, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Current PBL standings
1. Long Beach Coast (29-8)
2. Billings Mustangs (28-9)
3. Glacier Range Riders (23-14)
4. Modesto Roadsters (22-15)
5. Ogden Raptors (22-16)
6. Boise Hawks (21-17)
7. Missoula PaddleHeads (17-20)
8. Oakland Ballers (16-21)
9. Great Falls Voyagers (14-23)
10. Yuba-Sutter Freebirds (12-25)
11. Idaho Falls Chukars (12-16)
12. RedPocket Mobiles (8-30)