Ballers dealt late blow in Saturday night loss to Coast
Trimble homers twice but Ballers can’t hold ninth inning lead
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 16 | 5 |
|
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1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 1 |
By Gareth Kwok
OAKLAND, CA – One night after rallying in the ninth to complete a seven-run comeback against the Long Beach Coast, the Oakland Ballers fell victim to the Coast's ninth inning rally in a 15-12 loss on Saturday night from Raimondi Park.
The Ballers led by as many as four through three innings highlighted by a solo homer from T.J. McKenzie in the second, a three-run triple from Damian Stone in the third, and a solo homer from Justin Trimble in the fourth. McKenzie is 7-for-19 with four homers and eight RBI to start the season.
Starting left-hander CJ Blowers came one out away from recording the first five-inning start by a Ballers pitcher this season but Paul Winland knocked him out of the game with a two-out RBI single. The 29-year-old southpaw finished his Ballers debut with 4.2 innings pitched and six runs allowed on six hits, three walks and two strikeouts in a no decision.
Oakland (2-3) held a 9-6 lead through six innings but a grand slam from Jacob Jablonski, his second homer of the day, and an RBI single from Eddy Pelc gave Long Beach (3-2) the two-run lead in the top of the seventh.
Poor infield defense from Long Beach in the bottom of the seventh helped the Ballers retake the lead. Trimble led off the inning with his second homer of the game before McKenzie reached on a fielding error at third. A two-out fielding error by first baseman Cooper Vest off the bat of Jeter Ybarra tied the score at 11 before Jaden Collura drove him home with a go-ahead single to center.
The Coast infield committed five errors on the night.
Holding a 12-11 lead entering the ninth, Oakland summoned David Clarke (L, 0-1) to try and pick up his first professional save. He recorded the first two outs of the frame but Pelc singled, Emilio Corona walked and Vest hit a three-run homer to put the Coast back in front. Cuba Bess followed with a solo shot to make it 15-12.
After taking the loss the night before, Zach Voelker (W, 1-1) earned the win for the Coast with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief and Mason Bryant (S, 1) faced the minimum in the ninth and induced a game-ending double play to earn the save.
The Ballers continue their six-game series against the Long Beach Coast on Sunday afternoon. RHP Gabe Tanner will take the mound for Oakland. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Fans can tune in beginning at 12:45 pm on HomeTeam Network and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel.
