Ballers Force Game Three in Shutout Victory

By Nevada Cullen

OAKLAND, Calif. -- All the Ballers needed to beat the Yolo High Wheelers on Thursday night was a Brett Carson solo home run: the pitching did the rest of the heavy lifting. Oakland blanked Yolo, 1-0, to force a decisive game three in the first-round playoff series, which concludes Friday at Raimondi Park.

Chandler David, Connor Sullivan and Braydon Nelson combined to shut out the High Wheelers, with only four hits conceded between the three of them. They struck out 14 hitters and pitched Oakland to its seventh shutout win of the season.

David, who moved from the closer role to the starting rotation in late July, recorded his best start yet. He tossed a season-high six innings and allowed just two men to reach on a hit batsman and a double. David held the High Wheelers hitless through three.

The right-hander commanded all five of his pitches and punched out a career-best nine batters. David retired the last nine High Wheelers he faced, exiting after six stellar frames.

But, the Ballers failed time after time to give him run support. Yolo left fielder David Glancy robbed Brett Barrera of a long ball in the bottom of the first. Left-handed pitcher Brandon Mitchell stranded runners in scoring position in the second, third and fourth to keep the Ballers off the board.

Then in the fifth inning, Carson led off and socked a 2-2 pitch to left center for an opposite-field homer, breaking the deadlock. Both of Carson's hits against Mitchell came in two-strike counts.

A couple of innings later, Carson let his arm do the talking. With one out in the seventh, Jose Gonzalez ripped a single into right center for the High Wheelers and hustled towards second base. Carson got to the ball quickly and gunned it to Brad Burckel at second, who applied the tag to retire Gonzalez.

In his postseason debut, Sullivan sparkled on the hill for Oakland. He struck out four High Wheelers and held them scoreless in the seventh and eighth.

Nelson got the ball in the ninth and gave up a leadoff single to Brayland Skinner. However, he bore down with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts to earn the save in the Ballers' narrow 1-0 victory.

A trip to the Pioneer League championship series is at stake on Friday, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. PDT. Raimondi Park is going to be packed and loud again, and you can experience the amazing atmosphere firsthand by grabbing your tickets here. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.