Idaho Falls adds to Ogden's woes

OGDEN — Every team goes through tough times, but Ogden manager Travis Barbary is just hoping Friday is as bad as it will get for the Raptors this season.

Ogden extended its losing streak to five games with a 7-4 loss to the Idaho Falls Chukars at Lindquist Field.

"You're going to go through streaks," Barbary said. "But it's still early, and hopefully this'll be our losing streak and we'll get it behind us. We just have to try and stay positive; we're still right in it."

Ogden and Idaho Falls were touted as two of the best hitting teams in the Pioneer League. And while the Chukars lived up to that billing with 13 hits, including a home run in the fourth inning that gave Idaho Falls a 3-0 lead, Ogden struggled at the plate.

"Their pitcher did a good job of throwing the ball inside on us," Barbary said. "Most teams have tried to keep it away from us, but he did a good job just coming at us, and we weren't able to adjust."

Kyle Crist earned the win for the Chukars, throwing five innings and giving up just three hits and a single run. He had no walks and two strikeouts as he faced 18 batters. He got a lot of help from his teammates on offense, with Billy Butler and Felipe Del Rosario both earning two RBIs in the win.

Ogden's starter, Scott Elbert, had a solid outing in five innings, but earned the loss as he gave up three runs on six hits. He had four strikeouts, but also two walks. He also allowed one run to score on a wild pitch in the fifth inning.

But the Chukars really went wild when Brian Akin began throwing at the top of the sixth inning. He gave up five hits, four runs and made three pitching errors. He was replaced after one and a half innings by Albenis Castillo, who gave up just two hits and had three strikeouts.

Ogden fared better with Idaho Falls reliever Patrick Green, earning five hits, including two home runs. Shortstop David Nicholson had an outstanding game both offensively and defensively with three great diving catches and two hits in four at-bats.

"Our defense has actually gotten better in the last three games," Barbary said. "It's not one thing in particular we need to fix . . . Our pitching has been good. We just need to get it all to work together on the same night."

ROCKIES 6, ANGELS 5: In Provo, what the Provo Angels lacked in hits, they made up for in errors. And you don't have to be a baseball guru to know that's not a good thing. Indeed, the result was bad for the Angels, who fell to the Casper Rockies at Larry H. Miller Field.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Provo, which dropped to 11-10 in the Pioneer League Southern Division. Casper improved to 10-11.

During their four-game winning streak — which saw them score 47 runs during that stretch — the Angels did much of their damage with their bats. Their bats were quiet Friday, as Provo managed just four hits, but it was the Angels' poor defense that led to their undoing.

Like Provo, Casper collected only four hits. The difference in the game, though, was the Angels' five errors, which gave Casper plenty of scoring opportunities.

The lone offensive highlight for the Angels was first baseman Chris Walston, who belted a two-out, two-run double in the fourth inning.

Provo and Casper conclude their three-game series tonight at 7.

---

E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com