Oakland Bullpen Shuts Down Boise in 6-2 Win
Ballers Win Opener of Series
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Cam Bufford picked up three hits and drove in three, and the Oakland bullpen held the Boise Hawks to just one hit over the game's final five innings to push the Ballers to a 6-2 win on Tuesday. The Ballers are winners of three straight and six in a row in their season series against the Hawks.
Two Ballers set new franchise single season records over the course of the evening. In the ninth, Darryl Buggs II singled and swiped second for his record-breaking 30th stolen base. He passed Austin Davis, who stole 29 bases in 2024.
Then, Connor Sullivan locked down the 6-2 win with a perfect ninth. Sullivan eclipsed Jake Dahle's mark of 35 pitching appearances in a season with his 36th outing of 2025.
The Oakland offense got off to a hot start with four runs in the first against Boise starter Graham Edwards. Daniel Harris IV kicked off the scoring with a rocket RBI double into left with an exit velocity of 109 mph.
Next, Bufford literally one-upped him. He scorched a 110 mph double past short and into left center to plate a pair and give the Ballers a 3-0 edge.
Davis Drewek drove in the final run of the frame with a sacrifice fly. Oakland did not score again until the sixth when Esai Santos floated a two-out, two-strike RBI single into center.
The Ballers attained their last run in the seventh, as Bufford belted his 15th big fly of the year to right center on a 3-2 pitch after a long battle with Chaney Trout. Bufford finished the night with his 30th multi-hit game and 20th multi-RBI contest of the season.
From the fifth inning on, Boise managed just a pair of baserunners on one walk and one hit. Oakland's bullpen dominance began with Malik Binns, who the Ballers acquired from the Rocky Mountain Vibes over the weekend in exchange for three first-round picks.
Binns tossed the fifth and sixth innings, faced only six hitters and retired them all in his Oakland debut. The Chicago native punched out Max Jung-Goldberg and Jake Hjelle, two of the Pioneer League's most powerful sluggers, in the sixth.
Boise notched a pair of baserunners against James Colyer in the seventh. But, Colyer put up a zero and struck out the side, freezing Ethan Underwood with a 91 mph heater at the bottom of the zone to end the frame.
Conner Richardson went 1-2-3 in the eighth with one strikeout, and Sullivan finished the job with a clean ninth. Due to his two hitless frames, Binns was awarded the win in his Ballers debut.
It's an early start on Wednesday, with first pitch for game two against the Hawks scheduled for 1:05 p.m. PDT. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
