Ballers Slug Three Bombs, Win Fourth Straight
The Ballers engaged in a back-and-forth battle over the first six innings with the Northern Colorado Owlz, and the Oakland bullpen retired the last nine Owlz to hold on for a 6-5 victory in Tuesday’s series opener.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 0 |
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1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
By Nevada Cullen
WINDSOR, Colo. -- The Ballers engaged in a back-and-forth battle over the first six innings with the Northern Colorado Owlz, and the Oakland bullpen retired the last nine Owlz to hold on for a 6-5 victory in Tuesday's series opener. With four wins in a row, the Ballers are a season-best 13 games over .500.
Dondrei Hubbard started the scoring in the first inning. He launched a two-out, two-run bomb to left for his 15th dinger of the season, putting the Ballers in front 2-0.
Northern Colorado tied the game with a pair of run-scoring extra-base hits. Dave Matthews destroyed a solo shot in the bottom of the first, and Jacob McCaskey stroked an RBI triple in the second.
The Ballers quickly untied the contest. Daunte Stuart led off the third with an opposite-field solo blast, his third long ball in the last three games.
But, the Owlz knotted things right back up at three. Dario Gomez went yard on the first pitch of the bottom of the third for his 21st big fly of the year.
Tripp Clark walked and Brett Carson doubled him to third to start the fourth. Brad Burckel bounced a grounder to the right side of the infield to score Clark, giving the Ballers a 4-3 advantage.
The Owlz took their first lead of the night in the fifth. Jackson Coutts and Kevin Jimenez each lined RBI singles to the outfield to hand Northern Colorado a 5-4 edge.
Then, the Ballers grabbed the lead right back. Burckel sent a two-run homer over the video board in right-center field to put Oakland ahead 6-5.
Connor Sullivan pitched the seventh and eighth and struck out two Owlz. He retired every hitter he faced, good for his eighth straight scoreless appearance to begin his professional career.
Braydon Nelson took over in the ninth, struck out the first batter he faced and set down the Owlz in order. He sealed the 6-5 win and nailed down his third save in the process.
Following a loss by the Boise Hawks on Tuesday, the Ballers are just two games out of first place in the second-half standings. First pitch for game two of the six-game series is set for 5:15 p.m. PDT on Wednesday. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
