Ballers crushed by Paddleheads in Tuesday night loss
Santos homers, drives in four in defeat
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
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3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | X | 17 | 11 | 5 |
By Gareth Kwok
MISSOULA, MT – The Oakland Ballers could not stop the Missoula Paddleheads and their bats on Tuesday night in a 17-5 defeat at Allegiance Field at Ogren Park in the first game of a six-game series.
Oakland's (7-12) pitching and defense gave up 20 free bases (13 walks, four hit batters, two errors, one passed ball) and Missoula (12-7) capitalized to record its second highest scoring game of the season.
The Paddleheads jumped out to an 8-1 lead through two innings. After Xavier Casserilla's two-out RBI single and a subsequent walk, Joskar Feliciano hit a two-run double, putting Missoula ahead 3-0 after the first inning.
Starting right-hander Langston Burkett (L, 1-1) struggled with command and gave up six walks in 1.1 innings pitched. With one out in the second, he walked three straight and hit a batter before being replaced by Liam Rocha. Tyler Stone hammered Rocha's first pitch in relief over the left-field wall for a grand slam to cap off a five-run second.
The Ballers whittled the lead down to three with a four-run fourth. Esai Santos hit a three-run homer to left, his seventh consecutive extra base hit, and Cam Bufford brought home a run via a sacrifice fly to make it 8-5 Paddleheads.
However, Missoula proceeded to score nine unanswered runs and used the long ball to its advantage. Casserilla hit two homers as part of a four-hit, seven-RBI game with a two-run shot in the fourth and a three-run shot in the seventh. Five of the seven runners he drove in reached base on either a walk or a hit by pitch. Jeremy Piatkewicz also hit a solo homer in the fifth.
Paddleheads relievers Reece Fields (W, 3-1), Jaydon Bishop and Jack Robinson combined for 5.2 shutout innings and four strikeouts to seal game one of the series for Missoula.
The Ballers continue their six-game series on Wednesday night against the Missoula Paddleheads. Left-hander CJ Blowers will get the start for Oakland. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m from Allegiance Field at Ogren Park. Fans can tune in beginning at 5:15 p.m on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel and HomeTeam Network.
