Grand Junction Tops Idaho Falls 14-5

Grand Junction showed the fans why Saturdays are for the boys as the Rockies topped the Chukars 14-5 in the opening game of the four-game series. The win improved GJ's record to 28-27 overall and are 10-7 in the second half. Rockies starter Anderson Amarista picked another win moving him to 4-1 on the season after pitching five innings allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out four. Only three of the five runs were earned. Both teams do battle in game two Sunday night at Suplizio Field with first pitch slated for 5 p.m.
The Chukars may have put the first run on the board but the Rockies came out swinging in the home half of the first sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring a whopping seven runs including three dingers. Shael Mendoza led things off with a home run to right center before Joey Bartosic singled. Chad Spanberger then belted a long ball beyond the center field fence. A pair of singles from Ramon Marcelino and Alan Trejo set the stage for Nic Motley who hit a home run to score all three to make it 6-1. Motley would finish the night 3-4 with 7 RBIs finishing just a double shy of hitting for the cycle. Kyle Cunningham hopped aboard with a double before scoring on a single from Shael Mendoza. That would be the last run of the inning with Grand Junction leading Idaho Falls with a commanding 7-1 lead.
That set the stage for the rest of the game as the Rockies kept the lead adding five runs in the second and a run in both the fifth and seventh innings. Idaho Falls worked to add a few runs but Grand Junction's bullpen kept them off the board with the Chukars only getting one hit in the last four innings to seal a 14-5 win.