Oakland Advances to Championship Behind 1-0 Shutout
Ballers Face Chukars for a Ring in 2025
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 1 | 5 | 1 |
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- On Sept. 13, 2024, the Yolo High Wheelers defeated the Oakland Ballers in the third and final game of their first-round playoff series, ending Oakland's inaugural season. Exactly one year later, the Ballers broke the curse.
They went to three games in the first round once again, but took down the Ogden Raptors in game three Saturday, 1-0. The Ballers clinched a spot in the 2025 Pioneer League Championship Series, where they will face the Idaho Falls Chukars in a five-game series.
It's only fitting that the team with the best pitching staff in the league by earned run average punched its ticket to the championship by shutting out its opponent. Oakland limited Ogden to just five hits and one walk, and not a single Raptor reached second base after the third inning.
Gabe Tanner toed the rubber for the Ballers as their starting pitcher in game three and twirled eight scoreless innings. The Danville native yielded only five hits and a walk and fanned five.
Tanner used three double plays, turned in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings, to get through eight frames with zero runs allowed. After going 9-0 in the regular season, Tanner picked up his 10th victory as a Baller.
In a 0-0 stalemate in the bottom of the seventh, Nick Leehey led off with a single, and pinch runner TJ McKenzie replaced him. McKenzie swiped second and later third on a double steal, coming home to score the contest's lone run on a throwing error by Ogden catcher Carmine Lane.
Clinging to a 1-0 edge, the Ballers turned to closer Connor Sullivan for the ninth. Sully fired a perfect frame, forcing Lane to bounce back to the mound and tossing to Christian Almanza at first to seal the save.
Idaho Falls throttled the Missoula PaddleHeads, 22-6, in the deciding fixture of a three-game set Sunday in Missoula. So, the Chukars stand in the way of the Ballers and a PBL title.
Unstoppable force meets immovable object in the championship series, as Idaho Falls paced the PBL in batting average and scoring, while Oakland boasts the toughest pitching staff in the league. Benjamin Rosengard, who took home the league's batting title with a .463 average, paces the offense for the Chukars.
In this five-game series, the Chukars are the home team for the first two contests, and the Ballers host for game three, and four and five if necessary. If the Ballers win the PBL championship, they will do so on home soil.
First pitch for game one of the five-game playoff series against the Chukars is slated for 6:05 p.m. PDT Tuesday from Idaho Falls. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
