IDAHO FALLS — Nothing is coming easy to the Idaho Falls Chukars right now.
They entered Friday night’s showdown with the Ogden Raptors at Melaleuca Field having lost four straight and six out of eight, and fell into a second-inning 3-0 hole. Even after answering the early deficit and taking an advantage into the middle innings, Idaho Falls watched as sudden gusts of wind carried what looked off the bat to be a routine flyout over the wall for a Raptors two-run seventh-inning homer.
But the worm began to turn, as that same wind helped drive an insurance homer (3) from Anthony Mata out of the park. Then in the ninth, after a lengthy on-field delay, which included two separate umpire huddles, the home club was ruled to have turned a double play, snuffing out an Ogden rally. And by a final of 10-6, the Chukars (18-9) knocked off the Raptors (14-14) to end their first losing streak of 2025.
There is no better medicine for the team the in the throes of a losing streak than having its ace on the hill. That was one thing the Chukars had going for them Friday, with Gary Grosjean (W, 6-0) getting the nod.
Second baseman Garret Ostrander spoke to the boost his offense gets when Grosjean is on the bump.
“You just know he’s going to give us a chance,” Ostrander said. “Offensively as a whole, we’ve had a great year — it’s been a little slow recently, but when you know (Grosjean) is going to give you a chance to win, you go out there with confidence.”
Manager Troy Percival agreed.
It wasn’t all flowery for the right-hander though, as he was touched for three runs on four hits and a hit batsman in the third.
The suddenly confident Idaho Falls offense, which had scored just 13 runs in the first three games of the series, answered right back in the bottom half. Jacob Shanks got things started with a two-run blast (4) off the scoreboard in left-center, and Spencer Rich added a two-run single to give the Chukars their first lead in 13 innings.
Like an ace, Grosjean repaid his offense for its answer with a pair of zeroes, sending the game into the fifth with the Chukars leading, 5-3.
The Raptors broke through again in the top of the fifth, on a solo homer from Cole Jordan. But Idaho Falls again returned serve, on an RBI single from Shanks.
In the sixth, Ogden set the table with runners on second and third and no outs. But Grosjean worked out of the jam without surrendering another run.
Idaho Falls nearly did the same in the bottom half, putting two in scoring position before an out was recorded only to see the next two batters go down with out knocking in either. It was Trevor Rogers who made sure the Chukars would not waste the scoring chance though, knocking a two-strike, two-run double into the gap in right-center.
The Chukars, Ostrander explained, have been searching for ways to get those big at-bats. The powder-keg offense scored in bunches early on and seemed to get used to putting massive numbers on the board. He joked that it is often easier to scored 20, or even 30, than it is to score five when you need all five.
“We hadn’t gotten tested, necessarily, in those close games. Just recently, you know, we’ve needed to find a way to move a guy from second to third … when you have a guy in scoring position, you need to find a way to get them in,” he said, adding that his team is capable of playing big ball or small ball. “Tonight, we did just that.”
Ogden cut the Chukars’ 8-4 lead to 8-6 on a seventh-inning two-run homer from Christopher Sargent Jr., but Mata answered right back with his own solo blast.
Every time the Raptors scored Friday, the Chukars bounced right back with tallies of their own the very next half-inning. Only once — in the seventh — did Ogden do the same.
Sargent’s homer knocked Grosjean from the game after 6-plus innings with six runs allowed — far from his best start of the season, but enough to get his team back on the winning track.
Luke Hempel retired the three batters he faced to end the seventh, and Nicolo Pinazzi went the rest of the way — through some confusion in the ninth.
With a runner on first and no outs, Connor Bagnieksi sent a fly ball to deep left. Shanks made a backwards lunging catch, which was ruled a catch by the third base umpire. But the Raptors did not believe the umpire’s out call was clear, and that Shanks had dropped the ball, so the base runner advanced to second without tagging up.
The Chukars sent the ball to first for what they believed was a double play, but no ruling was made by the first base ump.
After discussion with both managers, the umps gathered near the middle of the infield for an extended discussion. Their determination was that the catch was made and the batter was out, but they did not offer a ruling on the runner who had moved from first to second.
The Chukars appealed at first, but once again the the umpire did not offer a ruling.
Again, the umpires gathered near the pitchers mound for a discussion. When that second meeting was complete, they ruled that the runner was, in fact, out.
“To me, it was cut-and-dry,” Percival said, adding that he would not have argued had the runner been put back at first.
The game ended on a strikeout, with the third strike coming on a ball challenged by catcher Johnny Pappas and overturned by the in-stadium trackman.
Percival and the Chukars will hand the ball to new addition Jorge Romero with a chance to make it two wins in a row against the Raptors, Saturday. But given their current injury situation, the skipper cautions fans not to expect a massive win streak — not now, at least.
“We’re not set up to have a momentum streak right now. We have to grind out every win we can get until we can solidify this pitching staff,” he said, adding that he sees his team being back to “80- or 90%” in the next two weeks. “Then we’re tough to beat.”
Current PBL standings
T1. Missoula PaddleHeads (19-9)
T1. Oakland Ballers (19-9)
T3. Idaho Falls Chukars (18-9)
T3. Rocky Mountain Vibes (18-9)
5. Yube-Sutter High Wheelers (17-10)
6. Boise Hawks (16-11)
7. Ogden Raptors (14-14)
8. Billings Mustangs (13-15)
9. Grand Junction Jackalopes (11-16)
10. Glacier Range Riders (11-17)
11. Northern Colorado Owlz (5-21)
12. Great Falls Voyagers (3-24)
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