Tatum Walks Off Boise with Signature Tater
The only thing tastier than an Idaho potato is a Tatum tater.
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Despite blowing leads in the eighth and ninth innings, the Ballers had to feel okay about their chances of beating the Boise Hawks on Thursday. After all, Dillon Tatum, who twice smashed go-ahead, ninth-inning homers on the road earlier this season, was the man leading off in the bottom of the ninth.
Oakland needed a baserunner, and with Tatum ahead in the count 3-1 against Boise righty Trey Jones, a walk would have done the trick. But then, Jones hung a curveball.
Tatum tattooed it, deep into the Oakland night, for a walk-off solo moonshot to left field. The statistics behind the long ball (390 feet, 105 mph, 38-degree launch angle) paint an accurate picture of Tatum's majestic, game-winning blast.
Of Tatum's 20 homers and 68 runs driven in this season, 7 bombs and 22 RBI have come against Boise. That's a ton of Tatum taters against the team from the Potato State.
This contest was marked by big home runs and sparkling defensive plays. Ethan Underwood opened the scoring with a leadoff bomb to left in the top of the first for the Hawks.
Cam Bufford gave the Ballers the lead in the bottom of the inning with a two-run, 428-foot demolition to left. In the fourth, Davis Drewek padded the Oakland advantage with a solo shot to right field to make the score 5-2.
Then in the fifth, Underwood drove in another for Boise with an RBI single up the middle. The swing should have plated two, but Darryl Buggs II delivered a dart to home plate from center field to cut down Braxton Turner at home.
Next inning, Tremayne Cobb Jr. showed why he was a Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalist in college. First, he robbed Max Jung-Goldberg of a hit by diving to his right and snaring a line drive that was destined for left field.
Drew Woodcox, the very next batter, bounced a ball up the gut, and Cobb glided over behind second to field it and fired to first while running to his left to get Woodcox for the second out. Oh, and Cobb smoked a two-run double earlier in the contest.
Drewek also made a sweet leaping catch in left in the seventh to join in on Oakland's dazzling defensive display. But, Boise found a way back into the game with three more homers, starting with a J.C. Santini solo blast in the seventh.
Jung-Goldberg brought Boise within one with a two-run, opposite-field clout in the eighth. Finally, Jake Hjelle swatted a two-out, two-strike big fly to left to tie the game at seven.
Cobb scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth on a wild pitch before Paul Myro IV evened the score again for the Hawks in the top of the ninth with a sacrifice fly. But, Boise could not avoid giving up another Tatum tater, this time of the walk-off variety.
First pitch for game four against the Hawks is set for 6:35 p.m. PDT Friday. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
