Chukars ride Leerssen gem to win

IDAHO FALLS — When Josh Leerssen made the opening day start for the Chukars back in May, there was a great deal of expectation dropped onto his right shoulder.

Teams, organizations and entire fanbases put a lot of demand on a staff ace. Through the ups and downs of the 2026 campaign, Leerssen has shown flashes of the dominance often expected from the ace. Friday night, he put all the flashes on full display with a complete-game shutout, leading the Chukars (2-2, 16-35) to a 4-0 victory over the Raptors (2-2, 31-20) in Ogden, Utah.

Leerssen cruised through the first four innings, holding Ogden to one hit and one walk. He didn’t have to face a batter with a runner in scoring position until the fifth, when a single, sacrifice bunt and hit by pitch set the Raptors up with runners on first and second with one out. But Leerssen escaped that jam with a pair of strikeouts.

He faced traffic again the sixth, but was bailed out when a line drive to Garret Ostrander at second base turned into a triple play.

When all was said and done, Leerssen needed just 106 pitches to scatter seven hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Ty Dooley and Tyler Wyatt were his support, combining for seven hits and all three Chukar RBIs.

Idaho Falls and its well-rested bullpen will look to make it back-to-back win Saturday when they face the Raptors at Lindquist Field for the fifth game of a six-game set. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

PBL second-half standings
T1. Long Beach Coast (4-0)
T1. Missoula PaddleHeads (4-0)
T1. Modesto Roadsters (4-0)
T1. Billings Mustangs (3-0)
T1. Boise Hawks (3-0)
T6. Idaho Falls Chukars (2-2)
T6. Ogden Raptors (2-2)
T8. Glacier Range Riders (0-3)
T8. RedPocket Mobiles (0-3)
T8. Great Falls Voyagers (0-4)
T8. Oakland Ballers (0-4)
T8. Yuba-Sutter Freebirds (0-4)