Ballers Sweep Raptors with 7-4 Win
First Sweep in Ballers History
By Nevada Cullen
OGDEN, Utah -- Berkeley native Noah Millikan made his professional debut and threw four scoreless frames in the Ballers' 7-4 victory over the Ogden Raptors on Sunday. The win gave Oakland a three-game sweep, the first sweep in franchise history.
Nearly a month after Millikan's last collegiate start at the University of Pennsylvania, he gave the Ballers four shutout innings. The right-handed pitcher allowed just three hits and struck out the Raptors in his opening pro start.
Oakland led 2-0 when Millikan exited, as Tyler Lozano ripped an RBI single through the left side in the third. But, Ogden tied the game in the fifth with a Christopher Sargent Jr. run-scoring double.
Caleb Franzen entered the fifth and stopped the bleeding. The lefty got Oakland out of the inning and added a scoreless sixth, punched out two and earned his second win of the year.
With the game still knotted at two in the seventh, Davis Drewek worked a bases-loaded walk to untie the score. Next, Michael O'Hara lined a two-run single into left to give the Ballers a 5-2 lead.
O'Hara passed the bat to Lou Helmig, who singled up the middle to push Oakland's edge to four. In all, the Ballers sent nine to the plate and scored four in the seventh.
Sargent struck again in the bottom of the seventh for the Raptors. He slammed a two-run homer to left to bring Ogden within two.
Oakland grabbed an insurance run in the eighth. Christian Almanza reached out and poked a sweeping slider into left for an RBI single, handing the Ballers a 7-4 advantage.
Connor Sullivan pitched a perfect ninth to claim his league-leading sixth save of the season. He has now recorded multiple saves in two different series this season.
Cam Bufford paced the Oakland offense with three hits. He doubled in the first and reached in four of five plate appearances.
Midway through the first half of the Pioneer League season, the Ballers are in fourth place. They are just a game and a half back of the Idaho Falls Chukars and Rocky Mountain Vibes, who are tied for first.
At last, the Ballers return home on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. PDT against the Glacier Range Riders. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
