Yonamine Buries Ballers with Three Bombs
Micah Yonamine, one of the Pioneer League’s superior sluggers, put on a show for the Boise Hawks on Tuesday night at Raimondi Park.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Micah Yonamine, one of the Pioneer League's superior sluggers, put on a show for the Boise Hawks on Tuesday night at Raimondi Park. He hammered three home runs and drove in four of his team's five runs to guide the Hawks past the Ballers, 5-1.
Yonamine's powerful performance came as no surprise: he has bashed 10 homers in his last nine games. It's the fourth time this season the Hawaiian has gone yard twice in a game, and first time leaving the ballpark thrice.
He quickly put Boise in front. Two batters into the contest, Yonamine smacked a solo shot to left field that traveled more than 400 feet.
In the second inning, the Hawks scored their lone run that did not result from a Yonamine dinger. Trevor Minder and Noah Marcelo led off the frame with a couple of singles, and Tyner Hughes sent a sacrifice fly to center.
The Ballers scored their only run in the third on an RBI groundout by Tripp Clark, scoring Daunte Stuart who began that inning with a leadoff knock. It cut Oakland's deficit to 2-1.
With two outs in the fifth, Michael O'Hara lined a single into right field to bring up Yonamine. He lifted a sky-high fly ball to left for a two-run shot to extend Boise's lead to 4-1.
Yonamine completed the hat trick in the eighth. He kicked off the frame with an oppo taco to right field, his third big fly of the night.
Offensively, the Ballers struggled to hit with runners on base. They left the bases loaded three times, and stranded 11 runners in all.
Boise's pitching staff deserves a lot of credit. Brayden Spears improved to 5-0 in his seventh start. He allowed just one run over six innings, struck out five and escaped two-bases loaded jams with minimal damage.
Oakland's five-game win streak ended Tuesday, but the Ballers look to begin a new streak on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. PDT. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
