Martinez Lifts Ballers to Triumphant Home Finale
September 2, 2024 - Pioneer League (PL)
Oakland Ballers News Release
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Noah Martinez mashed a pair of two-run shots in the Ballers' come-from-behind 9-8 win against the Idaho Falls Chukars on Sunday. Oakland earned its 29th victory at Raimondi Park to wrap up the inaugural regular season home slate.
Martinez promptly put the Ballers in front. In the bottom of the first inning, he clocked a two-run blast to right center for his 20th long ball of the campaign.
The Chukars responded by scoring five runs over the next two innings. Thomas McCaffrey crushed his second professional homer, a two-run bomb in the top of the second to knot the game at two.
Then in the third, the first four Chukars reached base, as Jacob Jablonski smacked an RBI double and Anthony Mata lined a run-scoring single over short. After three innings, the Ballers trailed 5-2.
The bottom of the Oakland order got the Ballers back in the game in the fourth. Josh Leslie and Brad Burckel, eighth and ninth in the lineup respectively, each contributed an RBI single to bring the Ballers within one.
Mata provided a bit of separation for Idaho Falls in the fifth. He sent a solo shot to left for his third dinger in the last two weeks.
Stephen Wilmer erased the two-run deficit in the home half of the inning. With two outs and two in scoring position, he lofted an opposite-field double off the left-field wall to even the score at six apiece. Wilmer finished the contest with four hits, tying his season high.
The Ballers brought home the go-ahead run in the sixth on a double play, and picked up a couple insurance runs in the eighth. Martinez golfed a two-run big fly to left that snuck over the wall for his 21st of the year and first two-homer game, also extending the lead to 9-6.
Christian Cosby played an important role out of the bullpen for the Ballers, throwing four innings of one-run ball in relief. He allowed just one hit, and Cosby regained the Pioneer League for strikeouts by fanning eight Chukars.
Connor Sullivan pitched the ninth and allowed a couple of runs, but earned his first professional save. In the end, the Ballers took five of six from Idaho Falls in the series, and they remain atop the PBL second-half standings.
Finally, the Ballers finish the regular season in Davis against the Yolo High Wheelers. They could clinch a playoff spot as soon as Tuesday, and need to beat the High Wheelers three times in the series to secure the No. 2 seed in the PBL playoffs. Tuesday's series opener is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PDT, and as always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
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Pioneer League Stories from September 2, 2024
- PaddleHeads Ready to Close out Regular Season with Exciting Final Homestand - Missoula PaddleHeads
- Martinez Lifts Ballers to Triumphant Home Finale - Oakland Ballers
- High Wheelers Take Down Hawks Again, 10-4 - Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers
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