Lambert Leads Ballers to 7-4 Victory
July 11, 2024 - Pioneer League (PL)
Oakland Ballers News Release
OAKLAND, Calif. - With a little help from a quality Carson Lambert start, the Ballers came back to beat the Great Falls Voyagers 7-4 on Wednesday night. The victory ensured that Oakland would remain within reach of a first-half playoff spot with four games to go.
In his third appearance since returning to the team, Lambert fired a season-high 6.1 innings, allowing just three runs on seven hits and two walks. He punched out nine Voyagers, which matched his highest total in a game this year.
Great Falls got on the board quickly in the first. Makhi Backstrom crushed an RBI double to right, and Jack Lynch doubled the advantage with an RBI single.
But, the Ballers tied it up in the third. Payton Harden and Austin Davis each singled to start the inning. Then, JP Gates sent a sacrifice fly to center, and Dondrei Hubbard singled up the middle to knot the contest at two.
Hubbard led off the fifth with his third hit of the game, and Noah Martinez followed with a knock. Trevor Halsema gave Oakland its first lead with an RBI fielder's choice, and Josh Leslie delivered a run-scoring double to right for his first hit as a Baller.
In the sixth, the Ballers plated a couple more. Gates golfed a two-run blast to left for his third career dinger to extend Oakland's edge to 6-2.
The Voyagers cut the deficit to three with a run in the top of the seventh. However, Payton Harden laced an RBI single in the bottom of the frame to push the lead back out to four.
Great Falls got one more run on an eighth-inning RBI double by Hernan Yanez. That would be all though, as Chandler David struck out the side in the ninth for his sixth save of the season, which moves him into a tie for the Pioneer League lead.
The Ballers must keep winning to remain in the playoff hunt, sitting two back of the Glacier Range Riders with four games left. Head to Raimondi Park for Thursday's Vada Pinson commemorative cup giveaway, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. PDT. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
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