Ballers Take First Loss in KO Round
July 18, 2024 - Pioneer League (PL)
Oakland Ballers News Release
DAVIS, Calif. - Nine innings could not separate the Ballers and Yolo High Wheelers on Wednesday. With the contest tied at eight after the ninth, the High Wheelers earned their first knockout round win of the season, with Jose Gonzalez launching the lone home run in the second round.
Yolo jumped ahead in the first. Braedon Blackford smacked a towering three-run bomb to right field to give the High Wheelers a 3-0 cushion.
The Ballers got two back in the second. Dondrei Hubbard led off with a booming double to left center, and Trevor Halsema scored him with a first-pitch single up the middle. Later in the frame, Tyler Lozano lined a base knock to center to plate Noah Martinez.
Hubbard doubled down the third-base line in the next frame. Then, Halsema made Yolo starter Brandon McPherson feel like he was experiencing déjà vu. He came through with another first-pitch RBI single to bring Hubbard home and knot the ballgame at two.
Following singles from Lozano and Payton Harden, Austin Davis delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the fourth. Two batters later, Hubbard sent one through the right side for his third hit to drive in two and extend Oakland's advantage to 6-3.
Immediately, the High Wheelers evened the score in the bottom of the frame. Bobby Lada snuck a two-run double down the left-field line to complete the three-run fourth. In the fifth, Eddie Niemann put Yolo back in front with an RBI single.
Lozano crushed a double to begin the sixth, and came home on a fielder's choice to tie the game at seven. Then, Josh Leslie laced a two-out, RBI single through the left side to give the Ballers the lead briefly. Blackford squared things back up in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI double, his season-best fourth hit of the game.
Braydon Nelson and Chandler David held the High Wheelers to just one run over the final four frames to force the knockout round. Hubbard and Blackford both failed to hit one out in the first round, although Hubbard blasted one down the line in left that was called foul. In round two, JP Gates also went homerless, while Gonzalez got one out on his third swing to claim victory for Yolo.
The knockout round loss is the first of the season for Oakland, after beating the High Wheelers in the first two. First pitch for the third game of the series is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PDT on Thursday. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
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