The Idaho Falls Chukars announced the first two members of its 2013 roster Thursday.

Left-handed pitcher Patrick Conroy and right-handed pitcher John Walter will spend their second years as professionals with the Chukars after opening their careers with the rookie-level Burlington Royals in North Carolina.

Conroy started 11 games in Burlington and posted a 5-2 record with a 4.13 ERA, striking out 43 in 61 innings. The 21-year-old ranked third in the Appalachian League in wins as the Royals’ 32nd-round selection out of the College of Marin in California. Read more »

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It took 10 years. But former Idaho Falls Chukar Ed Lucas finally got his call to the big leagues Wednesday.

The Miami Marlins purchased the contract of the 31-year-old infielder and called him up after the Marlins designated Nick Green for assignment. He wore No. 59 and remained on the bench Wednesday in the first Major League game of his career as the Marlins hosted the Tampa Bay Rays.

Lucas started his professional career as shortstop for the Idaho Falls Chukar in 2004, hitting .312. The career .278 hitter was hitting .304 this spring for the Marlins Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans before the call-up.

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The Idaho Falls Chukars announced a new member of its radio broadcasting team Wednesday.

Chris Lewis will join John Balginy, who is entering his 29th year calling professional baseball in Idaho Falls, in the booth this summer after graduating from Syracuse University in May.

Lewis, who was ranked the fifth best College Broadcaster in America by Sportscasters Talent Agency of America, will call all of the Chukars road games and broadcast all home games with Balginy as part of a two-man crew.

“I’m extremely grateful and thankful for this opportunity with Idaho Falls,” Lewis said in a news release. “I’m excited to be a part of such a hard-working team.” Read more »

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The Idaho Falls Chukars will remain an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals for another two years.

The Chukars and Royals announced Wednesday they have extended their player development contract through the 2014 season. And the new deal comes with a promise to improve the quality of the Idaho Falls club.

Chukars general manager Kevin Greene said he and the Royals have reached an agreement that will place Idaho Falls on top rung of the Royals’ three short-season clubs.

The Royals added a third short-season club in Burlington, N.C. in 2007. Most Major League teams field only two short-season clubs. The 2007 season was the last time the Chukars qualified for the Pioneer League playoffs, partially due to the Royals splitting talent between three short-season clubs.

“Our concern with the Royals has only been what can we do to offer our fans winning baseball?” Greene said. “Operationally, the Royals are great people to work with. There’s never been anything there that made us want to second-guess the extension. It was all about what can we do to offer our fans a winning team.” Read more »

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Just when it looked like the Idaho Falls Chukars were going to go to extra innings, Diego Goris stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with two outs.

The second baseman cranked a two-run homer that soared over the left field wall to score Adrian Martinez, tossed his batting helmet after rounding third base and sprinted home, where he was swarmed by his maroon-clad teammates.

The homer sealed the 5-3 win over the Billings Mustangs before 3,135 in attendance at Melaleuca Field, capping a Chukars’ rally that began in the seventh inning. The Chukars fell quickly into a 3-0 hole in the third inning.

The victory also snapped a three-game losing streak and avenged three previous losses to the Mustangs (16-7) within the past week.

“It was a great win against a great team, especially coming from behind,” Chukars manager Omar Ramirez said. “We haven’t had many of those this year. They’re (Billings) probably the best team all around.”

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After losing the lead once, the Idaho Falls Chukars took it back with a vengeance and held off a late rally en route to a 6-4 win over the Orem Owlz before 2,951 fans Saturday at Melaleuca Field to win the three-game series.

The win puts the Chukars (8-6 second half) one game behind the Pioneer League South Division leading Owlz (9-5 second half).

It was also the first win for Chukars starting pitcher Alec Mills, who improved his record to 1-3.

The 20-year-old righthander engaged in a pitching duel with Orem starting pitcher Jairo Diaz early and went on to strike out five without a walk in six innings.

“I was spotting the fastball well,” Mills said. “The changeup was definitely my best. I got a lot of people out with that. It was just a mix of a little bit of everything (tonight).”

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The Idaho Falls Chukars wasted no time flipping the script on the Orem Owlz, routing the Pioneer League South Division leaders 12-5 before 2,629 fans Friday at Melaleuca Field.

Everything that seemed to go wrong for the Chukars (7-6 second half) in their 11-3 loss Thursday was reversed Friday as Idaho Falls racked up 11 RBIs with seven Chukars recording at least one hit. Four of those hits came at either a full count or with the bases loaded.

“We beat a good team tonight,” Chukars manager Omar Ramirez said. “The hitters did a great job looking for great pitches. That’s one thing we talk about. We did a good job getting in scoring position.”

The Chukars had an answer for everything the Owlz (9-4 second half) put forth Friday.

When Orem first baseman Wade Hinkle put the Owlz on the board with a solo homer to deep right in the top of the first, the Chukars piled on four runs in the next frame.

Jin-Ho Shin cranked a bases-loaded infield single to left to score Ethan Chapman.

Two batters later, Nick DelGuidice knocked a bases loaded, two-out double to deep left to score Adalberto

Mondesi, Nick Cuckovich and Shin for three of his eventual four RBIs Friday. The designated hitter finished 3 for 4.

“I just felt comfortable,” DelGuidice said. “One night, I can’t hit a pitch to save my life. You go day by day. You’ve just got to be comfortable.”

A performance like Friday’s was one the Chukars staff knew was a long time coming for DelGuidice. He is now a critical part of the lineup thanks to his progression throughout the season.

“He wasn’t playing that much in the beginning,” Ramirez said. “Now he’s making me put him in the lineup. He’ll be here tomorrow, too. He

deserved that. He gives us a big help.”

The hitting trend DelGuidice started Friday reached its pinnacle

after the third and fourth innings, when Idaho Falls added six runs to take a 10-1 lead.

The Chukars’ defense was tested soon after, however. The Owlz cut that lead in half with four runs of their own in the fifth, including a three-run homer by Joel Capote.

That would be the last time the Owlz would score, however, as the Chukars locked down for the final four innings, causing Orem to leave four men on base.

Cuckovich went 1 for 2 with a triple and three RBIs for Idaho Falls while Diego

Goris went 2 for 4 with a two-out RBI.

Twin Falls native Zeb Sneed started on the mound for the Chukars,

walking two and striking out four over five innings to improve his record to 2-1.

The win puts the Chukars two games behind the Owlz (9-4 second half).

The Chukars and Owlz face off for the third and final game of the series tonight with first pitch scheduled for 7:15.

Up next

Owlz at Chukars, 7:15 tonight / 980 AM

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When you want to keep self-incriminating evidence off the record, you take the fifth.

And when the Idaho Falls Chukars want to keep self-incriminating performances off the scoreboard, they would prefer someone to take the eighth.

One night after surrendering a lead to Ogden in the eighth inning, the Idaho Falls Chukars surrendered the farm in the eighth Thursday during an 11-3 loss to Orem at Melaleuca Field.

The Chukars have been outscored by 26 runs (50-24) in the eighth inning alone this season. Read more »

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In a contest of traded leads and comebacks, home runs were clutch.

It was Diego Goris’ three-run homer that gave the lead back to the Idaho Falls Chukars in the sixth inning. Unfortunately for Idaho Falls, it was a two-run

homer that gave the Ogden Raptors an eighth-inning advantage they would not surrender en route to an 8-6, come-from-behind win before 2,405 fans at Melaleuca Field on Wednesday.

The contest was tight throughout, remaining tied at 2 until the sixth inning when the first of three lead changes occurred. It was a scenario Chukars manager Omar Ramirez said is characteristic of the Pioneer League South Division this time of the season.

“These things happen,” Ramirez said. “Hopefully, we can do better in the bullpen tomorrow and we get a win. It’s going to be like this. It’s going to who can take the lead at the end of the game. This division is really competitive.”

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It took the Idaho Falls Chukars 15 innings to slip past the Ogden Raptors on Monday. It took them just over two hours to top the Raptors less than 18 hours later.

Sam Selman and Andrew Stueve combined to strike out 16 hitters and the Idaho Falls Chukars scored seven times in the first two innings while rolling to a 7-1 win over the Raptors in front of 3,003 fans Tuesday at Melaleuca Field.

Selman (5-0) allowed just one hit in five innings, walking two and striking out 11 while lowering his ERA to 1.31.

“The fastball’s working really well,” Selman said. “My changeup is working really well. It really helps when you score seven runs in the first two innings. It was a big help from the offensive standpoint.”

Stueve picked up where Selman left off to help the Chukars’ effort, limiting the Raptors to three hits and one walk in four innings.

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