Butz Shoves, Sullivan Claims Seventh Save in Fifth Straight Win
Oakland Takes First Two Games Against Glacier
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Reed Butz worked into the sixth and Connor Sullivan locked down his league-best seventh save in another strong Oakland pitching performance Wednesday. Consecutive 6-5 wins against the Glacier Range Riders mean that the Ballers are winners of five in a row and tied atop the Pioneer League with the Missoula PaddleHeads.
Butz hurled 107 pitches and went 5.1 innings, allowing just one earned run over the course of his outing. The left-handed pitcher overpowered the Range Riders, striking out a season-high seven hitters en route to his third win of the year.
The Ballers ambushed Glacier starter Grant Taylor with back-to-back-to-back hits to take the lead in the first. Davis Drewek blistered a two-run double to right center to put Oakland ahead 2-1.
Two batters later, Christian Almanza reached on an infield single and scored Drewek from third. The dribbler resulted in Almanza's team-leading 31st RBI.
Oakland blitzed Taylor again in the third with four straight knocks to begin the frame. Daniel Harris IV singled through the left side to score one, and Lou Helmig roped a two-run double to right to grow the cushion to 6-1.
In the sixth, momentum shifted Glacier's way. Gabe Howell curled a solo shot around the foul pole in left for his 33rd career homer as a Range Rider, tied for second most in franchise history.
Glacier trimmed Oakland's edge to one in the seventh. A pair of RBI doubles from TJ Clarkson and Xavier Casserilla made the score 6-5, with the Ballers clinging to the narrowest of margins.
Enter Carson Lambert. The righty fanned two Range Riders in the eighth in a scoreless frame to keep Oakland in front by one.
Lambert passed the torch to Sullivan, who made quick work of Clarkson and Logan Beard. Sullivan punched out the top two batters in the Glacier order for the first two outs of the ninth.
Then, he got Xavier Casserilla to pop out to shallow center to end the game. Only, no one could see the baseball in the pitch-black sky.
Out of nowhere, Drewek came sliding in feet first from left field to nab the baseball by his side before it touched the ground. When it landed in his mitt, it completed a perfect ninth for Sullivan, who leads the league with seven saves.
The Ballers go for a season-best sixth straight win Thursday, 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.
