Ballers Grab First Victory of Second Half
July 20, 2024 - Pioneer League (PL)
Oakland Ballers News Release
DAVIS, Calif. - Behind a strong start by reigning Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week Christian Cosby and a quick start offensively, the Ballers beat the Yolo High Wheelers 8-1 on Friday. Oakland snapped its three-game losing streak and picked up its first win of the second half in the process.
Cosby shut out the High Wheelers over five-plus frames, pushing his scoreless streak to 11.1 innings. He allowed just four hits and two walks, striking out seven on the day. Meanwhile, his team backed him up by scoring four in the first and three more in the seventh to make things comfortable.
The Ballers ambushed Yolo starter Ben Ferrer for four runs on four hits in the first inning. Payton Harden singled on the first pitch of the afternoon, and Noah Martinez brought him in with an RBI knock. Then, Dondrei Hubbard smoked a two-run double down the left-field line, and made a great read on a Josh Leslie bloop single into left, scoring from second on the play.
With one out in the bottom of the first, Bobby Lada lifted a ball deep down the right-field line and off of the wall. Initially, the umpires ruled the ball foul, but after a lengthy discussion, they gave Lada a double to put runners on second and third. Still, Cosby managed to prevent any runs from crossing in the inning, and struck out the side in the process.
Trevor Halsema added to the lead in the fifth. He roped a double into the corner in left to extend Oakland's advantage to 5-0.
Harden led off the seventh with his third hit of the day, and Martinez dropped a single into left. Next, Austin Davis drove a double into the gap in right center to plate Harden. The High Wheelers decided to walk Halsema to get to Josh Leslie, who lined an opposite-field, two-run single to right to balloon the Ballers' cushion to 8-0.
Yolo collected 10 hits in the game, but the combination of Cosby, Derrick Cherry, Jake Dahle and Brody Eglite held them to one unearned run. Oakland's arms will look to stymie the High Wheelers again Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PDT. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
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