Ballers Win Pushes Championship Series to Decisive Fifth Game
Series Tied 2-2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | X | 8 | 9 | 0 |
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Ballers flew back to Oakland from Idaho Falls on the brink of elimination, but back-to-back wins have them just as close to a Pioneer League Championship. Oakland pulled ahead late against the Idaho Falls Chukars to beat them 8-3 Saturday and force a winner-take-all game five Sunday.
Idaho Falls drew first blood in the second inning. Thomas McCaffrey, Jacob Jablonski and Anthony Mata all singled to load the bases for Eddie Pelc, who served up a two-out, two-run single.
The Chukars put together a two-out rally in the top of the fifth, as McCaffrey and Jablonski each singled again. It looked like the Chukars would add to the lead when Spencer Rich slapped a single to right, but Esai Santos hosed McCaffrey at home, his second outfield assist of the series.
Nathan Hemmerling got the start for the Chukars and held Oakland to two hits and no runs through the first four frames. Finally, the Ballers got to him in the fifth.
Michael O'Hara led off the fifth with a single, and then Tremayne Cobb Jr. accomplished a rare feat for a right-handed hitter at Raimondi Park: he beat the right-field wall for an opposite-field home run. Cobb's two-run shot, his first homer since Aug. 27, tied the contest at two apiece.
Next, Santos smacked a line-drive single and Christian Almanza worked a walk to knock Hemmerling out of the game. Cam Bufford sizzled a comebacker off of the shin of reliever Bennett Flynn, and the ball bounced through the right side for a go-ahead base hit.
Jake Allgeyer provided a clutch hit for the Ballers in the bottom of the seventh. He burned an RBI double down the right-field line to hand Oakland a 4-2 advantage.
Jablonski led off the eighth with a big fly for the Chukars to draw within one. Idaho Falls even got the tying run aboard in the inning, but Pelc flied a ball deep into foul territory in left, and O'Hara charged full steam ahead into the metal, chain link fence to make an unbelievable catch and keep Oakland in front.
An enormous, four-run eighth inning allowed the Ballers to put the game out of reach. With two down, Santos stroked a run-scoring single up the middle to get the lead back to two.
The Chukars decided to intentionally walk Almanza with first base occupied, giving the Ballers an extra baserunner because they would rather face Bufford. Instantly, Bufford made the Chukars pay for that decision, destroying an inner-half fastball to left for a game-breaking, three-run dinger.
Gabe Tanner got the nod for Oakland as the game four starter and allowed just two runs in five-plus innings of work. Tanner finished his rookie campaign with a spotless 11-0 record, counting the regular season and postseason.
Caleb Franzen and Conner Richardson each pitched well in relief for the Ballers. Franzen retired the two hitters he faced and Richardson fanned four over parts of two innings.
Connor Sullivan entered in the eighth and picked up his third save of these playoffs as a result. Sully retired all four batters he faced and struck out Benjamin Rosengard swinging to seal the 8-3 victory.
The 2025 PBL champion will be crowned Sunday, with first pitch for the fifth and final contest of the series slated for 6:35 p.m. PDT. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
