Ballers Come Back to Beat Jackalopes in Opener
Trailing 3-1 as late as the seventh inning, the Ballers were on the ropes against the Grand Junction Jackalopes in their first-ever meeting.
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Trailing 3-1 as late as the seventh inning, the Ballers were on the ropes against the Grand Junction Jackalopes in their first-ever meeting. Clutch hitting and lockdown pitching lifted Oakland to a 4-3, come-from-behind victory Tuesday night.
Oakland executed in optimal scoring situations right away. Tremayne Cobb Jr. worked a leadoff walk and stole second, Davis Drewek singled him to third and Daniel Harris IV brought him home with a groundout to establish a 1-0 edge in the first inning.
The Jackalopes started the second with back-to-back jacks. Mason Minzey and Robin Fernandez each went yard to put Grand Junction in front, 2-1.
Zach St. Pierre quickly settled in, providing the Ballers a quality start. He allowed just three runs on four hits and one walk and struck out four over six solid frames.
Marques Titialii made the final putout of St. Pierre's outing. Titialii saved a run with a sliding grab in left field to keep the Grand Junction lead at 3-1.
Conner Richardson entered in the seventh and pitched an effortless inning. He fanned one and kept the Ballers well within striking distance.
Aaron Miles turned to the bench in the bottom of the seventh, sending up Pat Monteith to bat against a lefty. Monteith rewarded Miles immediately, crushing a one-out solo bomb 380 feet to left field for his first professional home run, bringing the B's within one.
Grand Junction brought in a right-handed pitcher, but the Ballers greeted him rudely. Cam Bufford ripped a single to right on the first pitch he saw from the new reliever, Titialii walked and Esai Santos got plunked to load the bases.
Next, Darryl Buggs bounced the first pitch of his at bat to the left of the shortstop, who could only knock the ball down. Buggs' infield hit scored Bufford to tie the game at three apiece.
In the eighth, Caleb Franzen dominated the Jackalopes. He punched out the last two hitters he faced in a perfect inning of work.
Drewek led off the bottom of the eighth and took a called third strike at the bottom of the zone. However, he successfully challenged the umpire's decision and earned a full-count free pass instead.
The next batter, Harris, saw nine pitches in his at bat, including a wild pitch on which Drewek scooted up to second. Eventually, Harris served a full-count breaking ball into left field, plating Drewek and completing Oakland's comeback with his second RBI of the night.
Presented with its first save situation of the season, Oakland turned to second-year righty Connor Sullivan. He struck out one Jackalope and retired the side in order in the ninth to secure his initial save of 2025.
Factoring in the knockout round win on Opening Day, the Ballers picked up their second win when trailing in the seventh inning of a game. Also, they improved to 2-0 in contests decided by one run or fewer.
First pitch for game two of the six-game series against the Jackalopes is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. PDT on Wednesday. You can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
