Ballers Clinch Postseason Berth in Nail-Biting 4-3 Win
On November 28, 2023, the Ballers were unveiled as Oakland’s newest professional sports team.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
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0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
By Nevada Cullen
DAVIS, Calif. -- On November 28, 2023, the Ballers were unveiled as Oakland's newest professional sports team. Just 283 days later, they clinched a Pioneer League playoff berth in their inaugural season.
Oakland finished just two games behind the Glacier Range Riders for the second first-half playoff spot in a whirlwind of a first half. Then, the second half got off to a rocky start, with the Ballers dropping six of their first nine games to the Yolo High Wheelers.
However, things changed when the calendar switched to August. The Ballers took five of six from the Northern Colorado Owlz to begin the month, and ended it with a 21-6 record, including a franchise record seven-game win streak.
And on Friday, Ballers secured their spot in the PBL postseason in thrilling fashion. The High Wheelers loaded the bases while trailing by only one run in both the eighth and ninth innings. But twice, Connor Sullivan left the bags full without surrendering a run, as the Ballers held on for a nerve-wracking 4-3 victory.
After his three-hit performance on Thursday, Tyler Best led off the third by dropping a base hit into right. Yolo starter Ben Ferrer struck out back-to-back Ballers before Kyle Guerra singled through the right side with two outs. Next, Daunte Stuart burned a ball at 104 mph off the bat past a diving Brayland Skinner in center and hustled to third for a two-run triple.
The High Wheelers got one of the runs back in the bottom of the frame. Following an Oakland error, Skinner smacked a single up the middle to trim the deficit to 2-1.
Yolo quickly tied the game in the fourth, starting the inning with a pair of singles and a well-executed safety squeeze by Braedon Blackford. Then, Alejandro Figueredo sent a sacrifice fly to center to push the High Wheelers ahead 3-2.
The Ballers strung together another two-out rally to grab the lead in the sixth. Stephen Wilmer came up with a two-out base knock and Best followed him with a walk. With the bases loaded, Brad Burckel lined a go-ahead, two-run single into right center, providing the game-deciding 4-3 edge for Oakland.
Luke Short tossed five solid innings for the Ballers to earn the win, and the Ballers bullpen kept Yolo scoreless the rest of the way. Christian Cosby pitched parts of two innings and did not allow a hit, while Sullivan went 2.1 innings to lock down the save.
The job is not finished for the Ballers, as they can become second-half champions with a win in either of their final two regular season games. First pitch for game five of the six-game series with the High Wheelers is set for 1:05 p.m. PDT on Saturday. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
