Butz, Leehey Propel Ballers to Sixth Straight Win
Oakland now 2-0 in Second Half
By Nevada Cullen
KALISPELL, Mont. -- In Reed Butz's last start against the Rocky Mountain Vibes on July 8, he pitched six strong innings and Nick Leehey drove in three to power the Ballers to their 12th straight win. Sound familiar?
In Oakland's 5-2 win over the Glacier Range Riders on Wednesday, Butz pitched 6.2 strong innings and Leehey drove in three to power the Ballers to their sixth straight win. Déjà vu.
Butz matched a franchise record for pitching victories in a season, improving to 7-1 on the season. Christian Cosby and Zach St. Pierre each picked up seven wins a season ago.
The Range Riders got Butz for two runs in the first, but he settled down quickly. Butz retired the next 11 hitters he faced, refusing to allow another knock until the fifth.
He also had the strikeout stuff working. Butz tied his career high by fanning nine Range Riders on the night.
On the other side, Glacier starter Ty Bothwell stifled the Ballers through six. He held the Ballers to just three hits and no runs over the first six innings of action.
It took a Jake Allgeyer single with two outs in the seventh to finally oust Bothwell. Davis Pratt entered for the Range Riders and walked in a run.
Glacier tried to go to Luke Cooper to get out of the inning, but with the bases loaded, Leehey lined a go-ahead, two-run single to right. Oakland assumed the lead for the first time, 3-2.
Christian Almanza added insurance with an oppo taco to left, his team-leading 15th long ball of the year. Then in the ninth, Leehey came through with a two-strike, run-scoring single into center to extend Oakland's edge to 5-2.
Conner Richardson erased all four Range Riders he faced out of the bullpen and struck out a pair. After pitching on Tuesday, Connor Sullivan returned to the hill on Wednesday and claimed his league-leading 12th save with a perfect ninth.
First pitch for game three of the series against the Range Riders is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PDT Thursday. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
