Marathon Ends in Defeat for Chuks

The Chukars (1-3) and Missoula PaddleHeads (2-1) met for game four of 96 in the 2024 Pioneer League Season at Melaleuca Field on a lovely night for baseball in Eastern Idaho

May 25, 2024

Idaho Falls, Idaho—The Chukars (1-3) and Missoula

PaddleHeads (2-1) met for game four of 96 in the 2024 Pioneer League

Season at Melaleuca Field on a lovely night for baseball in Eastern Idaho.

The two teams traded blows for all nine innings before the PaddleHeads

took the lead in the ninth before shutting the Chuks down to seal the

18-17 win for Missoula.

Johnny Czeslawski got the start for Idaho Falls and would go on to throw

3 innings giving up 6 earned runs off of 6 walks in an effort in which he

did not receive a decision either way.

After a solo homer in the first from Chris Monroe to give Idaho Falls an

early 1-0 advantage the PaddleHeads then went on a tear scoring 8 runs

unanswered to send the game to the fourth inning with an 8-1 cushion for

the visitors.

But as would be the theme all night at the Luc, no lead was safe…even

an 8 run lead. The Chukars scored 7 runs in the home fourth to tie the

game at 8-8.

Missoula then delivered a counter punch when they scored 6 in the fifth.

After Dusty hung a pair of zeroes for the Chuks in the top halves of the

sixth and seventh innings, to send the game to the final third with the

PaddleHeads leading 14-10.

Thanks to some solid hitting, hard earned walks and of course a few

errors from the visitors the Chukars scored 7 runs in the bottom of the

seventh inning to take a 3 runs lead with a pair to play.

The game then got away from the Chukars who entered the top of the

ninth up a run, where Missoula scored two and then set the Chuks down

in 1-2-3 fashion to end the four hour and 21 minute game in favor of the

PaddleHeads by a final score of 18-17.