Tatum's Late Tank Lifts Ballers to Series Victory
Oakland off to 4-2 Start in Second Half
By Nevada Cullen
KALISPELL, Mont. -- On the first pitch he saw in the ninth, Dillon Tatum smacked a towering, go-ahead, two-run homer to right to power Oakland to a 5-3 win over the Glacier Range Riders Sunday. The Ballers took the series against the Range Riders, their sixth straight series victory.
Lou Helmig handed the Ballers the initial edge in the fourth. He looped a two-out, RBI single into center for his 40th RBI of the year.
Eli Paton tied the game for Glacier in the bottom of the inning with his first professional hit. Then, Kingston Liniak put the Range Riders ahead with an RBI single.
Christian Almanza evened the score at two in the sixth. He laced a run-scoring single into left for his team-leading 57th RBI of the season.
Glacier regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with Liniak's second go-ahead knock of the game. But with the bases loaded, Gabe Tanner entered and punched out back-to-back batters to get Oakland out of the inning without any further damage.
Tatum and Nick Leehey singled with one out in the seventh, giving the Ballers a chance to tie the game. Aaron Miles turned to Tremayne Cobb Jr. off of the bench, and Cobb delivered a pinch-hit, two-strike single to right to knot the contest at three.
Helmig led off the ninth with a two-strike single of his own off of Glacier closer Rayne Supple. On the very next pitch, Tatum ran into a fastball and untied the score with his 14th tater of the season.
Oakland led 5-3 entering the ninth, and James Colyer came on for the save. Colyer struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his second pro save, good for his 12th straight scoreless appearance.
For the fifth time in six games in Kalispell, the Ballers held the Range Riders to three runs or fewer. Zach St. Pierre allowed just three runs over 5.1 innings and fanned five, while Tanner tied his career high with four strikeouts in his 2.2 scoreless innings and improved to 4-0 on the year.
Next, the Ballers return home to host the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, with first pitch slated for 6:35 p.m. PDT Tuesday. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
