Ballers Come Up 90 Feet Short, Lose 3-2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Oakland Ballers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
|
Glacier Range Riders | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 8 | 0 |
By Tyler Petersen
KALISPELL, Mont.
The Ballers played much better baseball than the previous two nights but still came up short on Saturday, dropping to 2-3 on the season in a 3-2 game.
After giving up 10+ runs in back-to-back games, the Oakland pitching staff shut down the Glacier offense, barring two solo home runs. Starting pitcher Carson Lambert picked up the first Quality Start of the year for Oakland, putting up a line of 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, and 9 K. Reliever Jake Dahle finished up with two scoreless innings in his second appearance.
The Oakland offense was similarly stymied by Glacier's arms, as they could only push across two runs in the nine innings they batted in. They were scored in less than impressive ways – an RBI groundout early in the game and on a dropped transfer on a fielder's choice in the ninth.
The Ballers made a go at a rally in the ninth in a 3-1 ballgame, with Tyler Lozano drawing a one-out walk and Brad Burckel following up with a single. After Austin Davis grounded into a fielder's choice, Burckel went hard into second base, making the Glacier infielder drop the ball on the transfer. With the ball on the turf Brian Williams (who pinch ran for Lozano) took the opportunity to score. Davis stole third and was standing 90 feet away with Payton Harden in the box with two outs. He grounded out to second to end the ballgame.
The series advantage now goes to the Range Riders, with a decisive sixth game to decide if they take it outright, or if Oakland can get out of Montana with a split. First pitch for the finale is scheduled for 12:05 pm PT.
