Ballers Fall to Paddleheads in Thursday Rubber Match
Santos launches first homer of season
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 3 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
By Gareth Kwok
OAKLAND, CA – The Oakland Ballers dropped their first series of the season on Thursday night in a 12-4 loss to the Missoula Paddleheads from Raimondi Park.
For a third straight night, the Ballers' bullpen was summoned earlier than expected. Tyler Stone knocked in three of the first four runs for Missoula (2-1) with a pair of singles and starting right-hander Nick Bautista (L, 0-1) lasted just 2.1 innings in his first professional start. The 24-year-old struck out three but walked five and allowed four runs on four hits on 72 pitches.
Oakland relievers covered 17.2 of the 27 innings pitched in the three games vs Missoula.
Missoula's starting right-hander Ryan Wentz (W, 1-0) twirled five scoreless innings on four hits, no walks and eight strikeouts to subdue the Ballers' bats after Oakland's 13-run performance the night before.
Campbell Spradling threw 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts in his Ballers debut. The southpaw was acquired by Oakland on Thursday from the Florence Y'alls for a player to be named later.
In the sixth, Stone singled in his fourth run of the game and Will Bermudez launched a three-run homer to give Missoula an 8-0 lead. Stone added three more in the top of the ninth with a three-run opposite field homer to left. The Missoula first baseman finished the night 5-for-6 with seven RBI.
Oakland (1-2) scored all four of its runs in the final three innings, highlighted by Esai Santos's first homer of the season, an opposite field two-run shot down the left-field line in the ninth.
The Ballers continue their 12-game opening homestand as they begin a six-game series against the Long Beach Coast on Friday night. RHP Charlie Hurley will take the mound for Oakland. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Fans can tune in beginning at 6:15 pm on HomeTeam Network and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel.
