Game 48: Boise wraps up first half as winners

Boise, ID - The Boise Hawks put a bow on the first half of the Pioneer League Season on Friday night, winning 9-2 over the Great Falls Voyagers at Memorial Stadium.

Just two batters into the game, the Voyagers ambushed Hawks starter Matt Dallas, with Troy Dixon jumping the yard to right to put Great Falls ahead 1-0 nearly right away.

Boise would stand up for their starter in the bottom half of the first, beginning the inning taking four straight walks, with Myles Miller, Jason Dicochea, and Alejandro Rivero, loading the bases for Wladimir Galindo to take his free pass to tie the game at one.

Roby Enriquez then came up and laced a liner right back through the middle to plate two more runners and give Boise a 3-1 lead.

That first inning began the start of eight unanswered runs for the Hawks, who added three in the bottom of the second, all with two outs, and added two more in the third to make it 8-1.

Matt Dallas would make the run support look like overkill, dicing his way through the Voyagers lineup over seven innings, allowing just two runs while striking out five batters.

With the five strikeouts Dallas ended the first half with 64 in total to lead the league, seven more than second-place Domingo Pena of the Missoula Paddleheads.

Throwing seven innings also allowed Dallas to lower his earned run average to 4.50, ending the first half with the lowest ERA in the PBL among qualified pitchers.

Boise’s bullpen would continue what Dallas started, with Matt Terrones throwing a scoreless eight and Cannon Chadwick blanking Great Falls in the ninth, getting a double play to end the ballgame.

Thanks to the victory the Hawks ended the first half with a 20-28 record, six games behind Grand Junction in the South Division, and nine behind PBL South Champions Ogden.

A 0-0 record awaits the Hawks tomorrow, with the second half of the season beginning and granting each team a clean slate to work with.

Jayce Vancena will make the first start for the Boise Hawks in the second half as they continue their series against the Great Falls Voyagers, with first pitch for game four expected at 7:15 on Saturday night.