Oakland Falls to Missoula on Opening Night
Ybarra and Allgeyer homer in losing effort
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 16 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
By Gareth Kwok
OAKLAND, CA – Opening Night for the defending Pioneer League champion Oakland Ballers was spoiled on Tuesday night as the Missoula Paddleheads defeated Oakland 11-2 from Raimondi Park in front of a sellout crowd of 4,135.
Missoula (1-0) scored six runs in the first three and a half innings against Ballers starting right-hander Gabe Tanner (L, 0-1). In the third, Nich Klemp hit a two-run homer and Will Bermudez followed with a solo homer to extend the Paddleheads lead to 4-0. Klemp teed off again in the fourth with his second two-run homer of the game to make it 6-0 Missoula.
Tanner finished the night going four innings and allowed six runs on nine hits with three walks and two strikeouts in his first start of the season. It's the first loss of Tanner's professional career after going 9-0 last season.
Oakland (0-1) answered with a run each in the fourth and fifth innings on opposite-field solo homers from Jeter Ybarra and Jake Allgeyer to trim the deficit to four against Missoula right-handed starter Brendan Beard. Beard threw 4.2 innings and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in a no decision.
The Ballers couldn't capitalize on a bases loaded opportunity in the fifth with the tying run at the dish. Ybarra lined out to left to end the inning, which would prove to be Oakland's last true threat with the bats.
Missoula scored five more runs in the sixth and seventh innings on four hits and two errors to put the game away. The Paddleheads tallied 16 hits on the night.
Right-handed reliever Grant Garza (W, 1-0) spun three scoreless innings with six strikeouts to earn the win for Missoula.
Ballers' righties David Clarke and Jake Tirk shined out of the bullpen for Oakland in their pro debuts. The Palo Alto native Clarke threw two strong innings with two strikeouts while the Novato native Tirk fired two scoreless innings with also two strikeouts.
Oakland continues its three-game home opening series against Missoula tomorrow night from Raimondi Park on Ring Night. RHP Aidan Risse will take the mound for Oakland against Missoula's LHP Jaren Jackson. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Fans can tune in beginning at 6:15 pm on HomeTeam Network and via audio stream on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel.
