Viloria, Edwards Power Up

On a night where a massive power outage delayed the start and nearly postponed the game, back-to-back home runs in the eighth were the spark to vault Idaho Falls to sole possession of first place

By Andrew Haynes

July 20, 2016

In the middle of the afternoon, the game appeared to be a lost cause. A massive power outage, covering parts of three states, threatened to postpone the finale of the four-game set between Missoula and Idaho Falls.

The power came back on and the game started, albeit 15 minutes late. But for most of the evening many Chukars fans, with the way their team was playing, wished it would have been cancelled.

Finally, in the eighth inning, with Idaho Falls down by a run, the bats woke up just long enough to put the Chukars in front, both in the game and in the South division standings.

With Missoula's most dominant reliever entering a 5-4 ballgame in the bottom of the eighth, Meibrys Viloria and David Edwards punched fastballs over the wall for back-to-back solo shots and a 6-5 lead. Drew Milligan turned in a scoreless ninth to seal the victory, and with Orem's loss to Billings Idaho Falls took sole possession of first place with seven games left to play in the first half.

The Osprey went out to a lead in the first on two singles and an error, and for a while it looked as if that 1-0 advantage would stand up. Missoula's starting pitcher, Chester Pimentel, set down 12 of the first 13 hitters he faced and held the Chukars hitless through four innings.

In the fifth, however, Viloria and Edwards both singled. Jordan Ebert laid down a sacrifice bunt and Angelo Castellano singled in Viloria. One out later, Rudy Martin's line drive up the middle plated Edwards, and Ricky Aracena drove in Castellano for a 3-1 lead.

Alex Luna pitched five strong innings before faltering with two out in the sixth. A walk knocked him out of the game, and Brian Bayliss allowed a walk, a wild pitch and two singles as Missoula scored four to re-take the lead.

Idaho Falls pulled one run closer in the bottom of the sixth when Viloria drove in Yeison Melo, the Pioneer League's most recent Player of the Week, who had doubled.

After a day off Wednesday, the Chukars hit the road for a seven-game series at Helena and Missoula to finish the first half of the season. If Idaho Falls can stay ahead of Orem through the week they will clinch the South division first-half title and an automatic playoff spot. The first game of the trip, at the Helena Brewers, is Thursday night at 7:05.

Make sure to listen to Andrew Haynes on the call of road games on ESPN 980 AM (and the TuneIn app), 105.1 FM and 94.5 FM.

For tickets and other information, call (208) 522-8363, follow the Chukars on Facebook or Twitter (@ifchukars) or visit www.ifchukars.com.