Boyce blasts Hawks past Bellingham By Jim Thomas The Idaho Statesman Say it ain't so, Joe. Tell us your .228 batting average isn't indicative of your hitting prowess. Explain to us that there's a lot of power packed into that 5-foot-11, 180-pound frame. Oh, never mind, Joe. You showed us everything we need to know. Boise's Joe Boyce drove in two runs with a double and a 10thinning, game-winning homer, carrying the Hawks to a hard-earned 3-2 victory over Bellingham Thursday night at Memorial Stadium. "I love those laughers," Boise Manager Mal Fichman said with a sigh of relief. The win, coming in the opener of a five-game series against Boise's rival the Northwest League's Northern Division, pulled the Hawks (19-21) to within one game of the secondplace Mariners (19-20). And it came in dramatic fashion. Boise trailed 2-1 entering the ninth, but tied the score on a double by pinch-hitter Steve Mattingly. Boyce led off the 10th and hit Keith Bryant's second pitch well over the right-field fence, but also well foul. Bryant's next offering was sent equally far this time into right-center and Boyce circled the bases before being mobbed at home plate. "It's about time," said Boyce, a utility infielder who started at second base in place of injured Paul Cluff. "You dream about those kinds of things." Boyce's blast was real enough, although it came from a player who in high school could have been voted Least Likely to Hit Home Runs. Boyce still insists he's not a power hitter, but through strength conditioning and the tutelage of Boise Coach Jeff Mace, he has moved into second on the club in homers with three. "When I was younger, I was more of a punch-and-Judy hitter," said the Coon Rapids, Minn., native. "After high school, I started working on building up my forearms and having a quick bat. I'm still not a home-run hitter, but Mace has been pounding it into my head that I don't have to muscle up to hit 'em out." Boyce's homer came off a breaking pitch from Bryant, who ironically was the subject of a protest filed by Fichman. Bryant was listed on the Mariners' lineup card: as wearing No. 29, but came into the game with 39 on his uniform. No matter. Boyce had Bryant's number. "He 'came in with a pretty good fastball, and I pulled it foul," said Boyce. "So I kinda thought he'd throw a curve because I'd been so far out in front of the fastball. I just sat back on it and it went out." Boyce, who drove in Boise's first run with a second-inning double, overshadowed the heroics provided by several other Hawks. Mattingly, a seldom-used outfielder, came to bat in the ninth with the Hawks trailing by a run and Oreste Marrero on second. Mattingly ripped a pitch from the Mariners' reliever, John an RBI double. Wiggs, into right center field for "I noticed he'd been throwing a lot of breaking balls on the outside corner, so I was expecting it," said Mattingly, a Kennesaw See Hawks/4B HAWKS TODAY Who: Bellingham at Boise Where: Memorial Stadium When: 7 p.m. Pitchers: Bellingham, Scott Lodgek (1-3); Boise, Steve King (4-3) Radio: KIZN (AM-730)