Mustangs eliminated with 6-4 loss to Chukars
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- The Billings Mustangs (1-2) were eliminated from the 2019 postseason with a 6-4 loss to the Idaho Falls Chukars (2-1) in game three of the Pioneer League North Divisional Series at Melaleuca Field.Game three had previously been suspended due to weather twice, on both Tuesday and Wednesday
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- The Billings Mustangs (1-2) were eliminated from the 2019 postseason with a 6-4 loss to the Idaho Falls Chukars (2-1) in game three of the Pioneer League North Divisional Series at Melaleuca Field.
Game three had previously been suspended due to weather twice, on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, at Melaleuca Field. With the weather finally cooperating on Thursday, play resumed in the bottom of the second with the Mustangs leading 1-0. The first inning and a half was played on Tuesday when
James Free homered in the third to tie the game up, the first home run of the postseason for Billings. It was Free's eighth home run of the season.
Isaiah Henry's leadoff double in the fifth for the Chukars turned into a run later in the inning on a wild pitch. Henry finished the game 2-for-3 with two doubles, three runs scored, an RBI and a hit-by-pitch. Henry scored four runs and drove in three over the series for Idaho Falls.
Trailing 3-2 in the sixth,
The key moment of the day came in the bottom of the seventh inning. In a 3-3 tie with two men on and two out, Clay Dungan drove a three-run home run to right to put the Chukars up for good. It was Dungan's first home run in nearly two months.
Trailing by three runs going to the top of the ninth, the Billings offense mounted a rally to inject some late hope into the game.
With the win, the Chukars will advance to the Pioneer League Championship Series to take on the Ogden Raptors in a best-of-three series for the 2019 title.
With the loss, the Mustangs' season comes to a close. They finished the regular season 39-37 and were a Pioneer League-best 24-14 in the second half.