On Cloud 59: Ballers Set New Franchise Win Record
Oakland Goes for Series Victory Tomorrow
By Nevada Cullen
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Fifty-eight wins is so last year. With the Ballers' 12-10 victory over the Rocky Mountain Vibes on Saturday, Oakland surpassed its win total from its inaugural season with three weeks to spare.
Rocky Mountain created an early cushion with a four-spot in the second. Oakland evened the terms with a four-run inning of its own.
Nick Leehey slapped an opposite-field big fly to right field to slash the Rocky Mountain lead in half in the fourth. His two-run jack traveled 397 feet to right, resulting in his seventh long ball of the year against the Vibes.
Later in the frame with the bases juiced, Esai Santos lined a ball off of the right-field wall for a double. Santos plated two on the play to tie the score at four.
Finally, the Ballers grabbed their first lead in the sixth. Tyler Lozano lined a first-pitch double into left to put Oakland ahead 5-4.
A couple of batters later, Tremayne Cobb Jr. scored Lozano with an RBI double of his own. Then, Cobb came home all the way from second base on a wild pitch for Oakland's third run of the sixth.
Oakland's three-run advantage did not last, as Rocky Mountain plated four in the bottom of the inning. Sam Linscott blistered a go-ahead, two-run single up the middle to hand the Vibes an 8-7 edge.
The Ballers knotted it up at eight in the top of the seventh in the wackiest of ways. With the bases loaded and two outs, Daniel Harris IV struck out on a breaking ball, but the ball escaped the catcher's grasp for a game-tying dropped third strike.
Dillon Tatum led off the ninth for Oakland with the score still tied at eight. On the second pitch he saw, Tatum rifled a go-ahead solo shot over the left-field wall, his second ninth-inning, go-ahead tater of the year.
Next, Leehey worked a full-count walk, and Michael O'Hara smoked an opposite-field double on a two-strike pitch. That set the table for Lozano, who had already banged out three hits and two doubles on the evening.
Down in the count 0-2, Lozano tattooed a ball into the gap in left center to bring home Leehey and O'Hara and give the Ballers a pair of insurance runs. Lozano hustled out a triple, the third of his career (all in Colorado Springs), resulting in his sixth extra-base hit of the series.
The Vibes mounted a comeback in the ninth, scoring a pair of runs and bringing the tying run to the plate in Linscott. Rocky Mountain's three-hole hitter floated a soft line drive into left center, but Darryl Buggs II dove headfirst, body fully outstretched to rob Linscott of a base hit and secure the final out.
First pitch for the series finale against the Vibes is scheduled for 11 a.m. PDT Sunday. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
