Idaho Falls (31-22, 4-2 second half) claimed the first two games of the series in Knockout Round victories, then won Saturday and Sunday by one run apiece.

The Raptors (28-25, 2-4) return home Tuesday to start a long homestand, first facing Boise (32-22, 2-4) in manager Kash Beauchamp’s return to Ogden after leading the 2023 Raptors to the league title.

Yuba-Sutter leads the second half so far, out to a 5-1 start.

FRI: OGDEN 11, IDAHO FALLS 2

Eli Elliott picked up the win on the mound and led a shutdown pitching effort to keep the Raptors in the win column.

Elliott pitched five shutout innings before Idaho Falls got to him in the sixth. He ultimately threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking four.

The Raptors built Elliott a 7-0 lead through five, highlighted by Carmine Lane hitting a two-run triple in the third and Damian Stone delivering a two-RBI single in the fifth.

After Idaho Falls got on the board in the sixth, Connor Bagnieski hit a solo homer in the seventh to keep runs flowing for the visitors. The Raptors added a sac fly and two RBI groundouts in the final two innings for the final score.

Christian Ciuffetelli, Cameron Edmondson and Nik Cardinal each pitched a hitless, scoreless inning to close the game for Ogden; only an error in the ninth kept the trio from facing the minimum nine batters. Cardinal struck out two in a bounce-back effort.

SAT: IDAHO FALLS 12, OGDEN 11

Idaho Falls cut down Ogden’s ninth-inning rally when Damian Stone was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a True Fontenot single; right fielder Grady Morgan delivered the strike to catcher Johnny Pappas to deny the Raptors the game-tying run.

The game ended on the next batter when Elliott Good grounded up the middle and the second baseman stepped on the bag to retire Fontenot.

Chris Sargent moved into a tie for second place on the Pioneer League’s home run table with 18 (he was also second in RBIs with 79). His solo homer in the sixth inning tied the game 6-6 and briefly helped the Raptors erase a 4-1 deficit.

But the Chukars jumped back into the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Tyler Wyatt took Ogden’s Kyle Lewis deep for a three-run shot and a 9-6 lead.

Good’s solo homer in the seventh and Kyler Stancato’s RBI single in the eighth cut that to 9-8 but Idaho Falls had answers again in the bottom half, getting a two-RBI triple from Grady Morgan to push the lead to 12-8.

Carmine Lane singled in a run and Stone drove in two with a double to make it 12-11 and set up the dramatics that saw Stone thrown out at the plate.

SUN: IDAHO FALLS 10, OGDEN 9

The Raptors took an 8-4 lead deep into the game, powered by a third-inning grand slam from Connor Bagnieski, but the Chukars roughed up Christian Ciuffetelli for five runs in the seventh inning and escaped with one final close victory Sunday afternoon.

Bagnieski’s slam helped newcomer Mitchell Torres hold a 5-4 lead when he departed his start after five innings; Torres allowed four earned runs on six hits, striking out six and walking two for Ogden.

Chris Sargent hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, moving into sole possession of second on the Pioneer League’s leaderboard with 19 and tallying his 80th RBI, helping his team to the 8-4 lead.

But after Tyler Wyatt hit a two-run double off Ciuffetelli in the bottom of the seventh, Idaho Falls first baseman Trevor Rogers tied the game with a two-run homer and third baseman Simon Baumgardt put his team ahead 9-8 with a solo shot.

IF shortstop Anthony Mata tagged Ogden’s Cameron Edmondson with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, which proved to be important insurance. Elliott Good led off the top of the ninth with a triple for the Raptors, scoring on a Kyler Stancato groundout to make it 10-9.

Cole Jordan singled and advanced to second on a groundout, but Idaho Falls starting ace Gary Grosjean, pitching the ninth out of the bullpen Sunday, struck out Connor Bagnieski to leave Jordan in scoring position and end the game.