Chukars mathematically alive following Wednesday win — realistically, their playoffs hopes are gone

IDAHO FALLS — The Chukars have officially exhausted all their lives in the playoff race.

Idaho Falls did its job with a 14-6 victory over the Hawks (25-19, 48-44) in Boise Wednesday night. But with a Modesto Roadsters (30-14, 57-35) win, the best the Chukars (27-17, 42-50) can hope for is a tie, with either the Roadsters or Long Beach Coast (27-17, 64-28).

The Pioneer Baseball League tie-breaker rules rely first on head-to-head record — the Chuks have not faced the Roadsters or Coast this season. The second tie-breaker gives the playoff berth in question to the team with fewer runs allowed.

Idaho Falls is currently second-worst in that category, with 1,071 runs allowed this season — to Long Beach’s 576 and Modesto’s 591.

After an atrocious first half, when they went 15-33, the Chukars, though, gave their fans something to be excited about all second half. And that started with the pitching, which struggled throughout the first three-plus months of the season.

Wednesday’s win was another complete effort, with more solid pitching and a continued display of offensive firepower.

Ian Lanik (W, 5-8, 10.33 ERA) was the latest Chukar starter to give his team a strong start, holding the Hawks to five hits and four runs in his 6 innings of work.

Reliever C.J. Colyer allowed two more runs to cross in his 2 innings of work, and Mason Bryant finished the night with a scoreless ninth.

Offensively, Idaho Falls leads the Pioneer Baseball League in hits (1,265), RBIs (959) and runs (1,011), becoming the first team to score more than 1,000 runs this season during Wednesday’s game. The Chukars are third in the league in home runs (176) and extra-base hits (447).

That offense was led Wednesday by the same cast of lead characters, with Sam Canton and Justin Trimble each homering and driving in three runs.

Tyler Wyatt, sandwiched between Canton and Trimble in the clean-up spot, went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. He extended his PBL-record hitting streak to 46 games.

And lead-off man Ty Dooley added to what has already been an incredible season, going 3-for-5 with a homer and three runs scored.

The Chukars will take the field on Wednesday, looking to further assert their second-half dominance on the in-state rival Hawks and close out their season on a high note.

PBL second-half standings

1. Missoula PaddleHeads 31-13
2. Modesto Roadsters 30-14
3. Billings Mustangs 28-16
T4. Idaho Falls Chukars 27-17
T4. Long Beach Coast 27-17
6. Boise Hawks 25-19
7. Oakland Ballers 22-22
8. Glacier Range Riders 21-23
9. Ogden Raptors 20-24
10. Yuba-Sutter Freebirds 17-27
11. Great Falls Voyagers 15-29
12. RedPocket Mobiles 1-43