Martinez Walks Off Owlz, Ballers Take Fifth Straight
With the game tied at two in the bottom of the ninth, Payton Harden reached on a one-out infield single to put the winning run aboard for the Ballers.
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By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- With the game tied at two in the bottom of the ninth, Payton Harden reached on a one-out infield single to put the winning run aboard for the Ballers. Harden stole second, and Drew Woodcox worked a walk to put two on for Noah Martinez.
Oakland's best hitter at the beginning of July, Martinez came into this plate appearance having drawn walks in his previous three trips to the dish. Then, against one of the Pioneer League's best closers, Dutch Landis of the Northern Colorado Owlz, Martinez stroked a single up the middle to bring in Harden and win the game, 3-2.
Martinez's game-winning hit resulted in the first walk-off victory in Ballers history. After dropping game one of the series on Tuesday, Oakland strung together five wins in a row over the Owlz to take the series. And with a triumphant series finale on Sunday, the Ballers have won five consecutive contests for the very first time.
San Jose native and former University of California, Berkeley lefty Luke Short got the nod in his professional debut for the Ballers. He dominated in his brief start, allowing just two hits and no runs in 2.2 innings and striking out five.
Following Short was right-handed reliever Brody Eglite, who walked one batter and did not concede a hit or a run over 3.1 frames. Eglite extended his scoreless-innings streak to 15 with his stellar outing.
Until the sixth inning, the game was a stalemate. But, the Ballers loaded the bases for Tyler Lozano, who slapped a two-run single through the left side for Oakland's first lead.
The Owlz tied the contest at two in the seventh. Jacob McCaskey launched his first professional homer to left to even the score.
Braydon Nelson provided another brilliant performance for Oakland out of the bullpen. He gave up just one hit in 2.2 scoreless innings of work to allow Martinez and the Ballers to walk it off in the ninth.
Next, the Ballers take their season-best winning streak on the road to Idaho Falls. Their six-game series with the Chukars gets going at 6:05 p.m. PDT on Tuesday. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
