Harden and Davis Power Ballers to 6-3 Win
Payton Harden crushed a go-ahead two-run home run and Austin Davis followed suit with a solo jack in the seventh inning for the Ballers on Sunday.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
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0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | X | 6 | 9 | 1 |
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Payton Harden crushed a go-ahead two-run home run and Austin Davis followed suit with a solo jack in the seventh inning for the Ballers on Sunday. Those big-time bombs led Oakland to a 6-3 win against the Northern Colorado Owlz, securing a series split.
Before Davis made his mark at the plate, he flashed the leather in the second inning. Omar Ortiz hit a line drive to right field, and Davis laid out, soaring through the air to rob him of a hit.
Myles Jefferson opened the scoring in the third with a solo shot, his second long ball of the season. Davis delivered an RBI double, extending Oakland's advantage to 2-0.
Reed Butz dominated the Owlz for the second time this series. This time, he gave up just one unearned run over six innings and punched out a season-best eight batters. Butz struck out the side twice, and at one point fanned five in a row.
Northern Colorado finally scored in the sixth on an RBI single by Dave Matthews. However, Matthews tried to move up to second on a strong throw home by Davis, and Coleton Horner came out to catch it and whipped it down to second to erase Matthews.
Danny Perez tied the game with a leadoff bomb in the seventh. He served a full-count pitch over the wall in right-center field for his second big fly of the year.
The Ballers responded almost immediately. Jefferson drew a clutch, two-out walk in the bottom of the frame, and Harden launched a two-run blast the opposite way, putting Oakland back in front with his first professional home run.
It knocked Northern Colorado starter Mark Tindall out of the contest. Reliever Dalton Ross entered, but it didn't stop the Ballers from going back-to-back. Davis took him deep to increase the lead to 5-2 and complete his four-hit afternoon.
With the tying run at the dish for the Owlz in the eighth, Perez, who had homered in his previous at bat, lifted a long fly ball to left field. But Trevor Halsema drifted back as far as he could go and crashed up against the fence to secure the catch and end the threat.
Chandler David locked down his first career two-inning save. He allowed just one hit and struck out two to close out Oakland's 6-3 victory.
Here's what the first-half playoff race looks like after the series split. The top five teams in the PBL standings are listed with their records and games back of that highly coveted second first-half playoff spot.
Playoff Picture
Missoula PaddleHeads (27-9, + 5 G)
Glacier Range Riders (22-14, -- GB)
Boise Hawks (21-15, 1 GB)
Northern Colorado Owlz (21-15, 1 GB)
Oakland Ballers (20-16, 2 GB)
Next, the Ballers head to Davis to face the Yolo High Wheelers. You can listen to Tuesday's series opener on 860 AM The Answer.
