Short Shines, Tatum Swats Two Taters in 15-3 Triumph
Ballers Win Five of Six in Series
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Luke Short pitched into the eighth for the first time in his professional career, and Dillon Tatum drove in six with two long balls to guide Oakland to a 15-3 win over the Glacier Range Riders in Sunday's series finale. The Ballers collected 17 hits and blasted five homers in support of their starting pitcher.
Short began his outing by fanning the side in the first. He was responsible for nine of the first 10 outs recorded, catching a pop fly and punching out eight in that span.
The lefty diced up the Range Riders all day, retiring the side in order five times. Short finished with a total of 12 strikeouts, the most by an Oakland pitcher so far this season.
Glacier finally knocked him out of the game in the eighth, with a bases-clearing double by Logan Beard. In all, Short tossed a career-high 7.2 innings and allowed just five hits and one walk.
The Ballers surged out to a 4-0 lead in the second. On the first pitch of the inning, Cam Bufford left the yard for the fourth time this year with a solo bomb to left field.
Darryl Buggs II doubled the early edge with an RBI single. Next, Pat Monteith brought home Buggs with a two-run blast two left, his second pro home run.
Tatum's first dinger of the day came in the form of a two-run moonshot in the fourth. His mammoth mash traveled 415 feet to left, and the hangtime gave him plenty of time to admire his handiwork.
He added a measly run-scoring single in the seventh. One inning later, Tatum smacked his second home run to left field, a three-run tank this time, to push his RBI total to a season-best six on the afternoon.
Daniel Harris IV also launched a three-run homer in Oakland's six-run eighth inning. Harris extended his hit streak to 12 with his second round tripper in three days.
Every Baller grabbed a hit by game's end, with Esai Santos picking up three for the first time. Gabe Tanner made his pro debut, throwing a scoreless ninth and inducing a game-ending double play.
The Ballers remain tied atop the Pioneer League standings with 18 games left in the first half, and begin another 12-game road trip Tuesday. First pitch for Tuesday's opener with the Boise Hawks is slated for 6:05 p.m. PDT. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
