Chukars Drop Opener to Owlz

[Empty Body]

OREM, UT --- The Chukars are now 2-12 overall this season against the Owlz this season following a 3-1 loss at the Home of the Owlz on Tuesday night.  It comes after their first win of the year against Orem at home in Idaho Falls' last game at Melaleuca Field this season. 
Neither team scored in the first four innings. Chukars' starting pitcher Janser Lara struck out three in the first, one in the second and one in the fourth. For the Owlz, Simon Mathews allowed just one hit to Idaho Falls during his first time through the order. 
In the top of the fifth, the Chukars struck first when with two outs, Logan Gray hit a solo home run off of Mathews over the right center-field wall. It was his fifth home run of the season. In the bottom of the fifth, the Owlz tied the game at 1-1 on a David MacKinnon RBI single off of Lara. 
Orem loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth against Idaho Falls reliever, Geoffrey Bramblett. Torii Hunter Jr., Jr. hit an RBI single to give the Owlz a 2-1 lead. Franklin Torres tried to score a second run at that play but was thrown out at the plate by Chukars' left fielder, Travis Jones. 
The Owlz tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh against Bramblett. Brandon Marsh hit a leadoff double and moved up to third on an error by Amalani Fukofuka. Then, David MacKinnon drove Marsh in with a sacrifice fly to give Orem a 3-1 lead. Neither team scored the rest of the way and the Owlz held on to win by that 3-1 score. 
In the loss, the Chukars only recorded five hits, which is just one more than their season-low of four. The Owlz recorded 12 hits but also left 12 men on base as a team. 
Orem reliever pitcher James Ziemba picked up the win to improve to 5-0. Geoffrey Bramblett (4-3) took the loss for Idaho Falls. Daniel Procopio earned his third save of the season for the Owlz. 
The Chukars are now 31-41 overall, 14-20 on the road, 15-29 against the Pioneer League South Division, and owns a 14-20 record in the second half of the season. Idaho Falls was eliminated from postseason contention on the final homestand. 
Idaho Falls plays game two of three in Orem on Wednesday night. In a battle of right-handed pitchers, Julio Pinto (4-7, 9.75 ERA) takes the mound for the Chukars against Jose Soriano, who makes his first start for the Owlz since his call up from the AZL Angels. Idaho Falls has four games remaining (two in Orem and two in Ogden) including Wednesday night's Pioneer League contest. 
You can listen to the final Idaho Falls Chukars broadcast of the season on Wednesday night with Logan Ratick on KSPZ (ESPN Radio), The Sports Zone on 980 AM and 105.1 FM in the Upper Valley, and at 94.5 FM in the Pocatello area. All broadcasts stream live on the web at 980thezone.com and on KSPZ via the TuneIn app and tunein.com. Coverage begins at 6:20 PM MT with the Sleep Inn & Suites Pregame Show, followed by first pitch between the Chukars and Owlz at 6:35 PM.