Walks prove costly as Ballers drop second half opener
Bullpen struggles as Ballers issue nine walks
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
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0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 2 | X | 12 | 12 | 1 |
By Gareth Kwok
LONG BEACH, CA – The Oakland Ballers (0-1, 22-27) dropped their second half opener to the Long Beach Coast (1-0, 38-11) by a final score of 12-4 from Blair Field, marking the Coast's sixth consecutive win over the Ballers.
Oakland held a 4-1 lead through five and a half innings thanks to small ball and starting right-hander Charlie Hurley (L, 1-4). Hurley allowed just one run on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts through his first five innings on the mound.
The Ballers scored two runs in the fifth off Long Beach starter Jack Martin (W, 5-0) on an RBI double from Tremayne Cobb and a sacrifice fly from Jake Allgeyer and two more runs in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Nick Leehey and an RBI single from Cobb, his third hit of the game, to give the Ballers a 4-1 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Hurley walked the first two batters and induced a one-out, RBI groundout to Cuba Bess to cut the Oakland lead to three. Jacob Jablonski hit a two-out, RBI single to pull the Coast within one before Emilio Corona hit a go-ahead two-run homer to put Long Beach ahead 5-4.
Hurley finished the game with 5.2 innings pitched and five runs allowed on six hits, three walks and three strikeouts.
Long Beach padded its lead in the seventh with five runs in on three hits and four walks. Matthew Bardowell drove in two of those runs with a double to right-center. The Coast added two more in the eighth against right-hander Ahmad Harajli, who made his Ballers debut after being acquired from the Florence Y'alls last week in exchange for CJ Blowers.
The Coast bullpen combined for three scoreless innings of relief to clinch game one of the series.
The Ballers continue their three-game road series against the Long Beach Coast on Wednesday, July 15. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m from Blair Field. Fans can tune in beginning at 6:15 p.m on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel and HomeTeam Network.
