Ballers swept by Range Riders in knockout round fashion
Cobb’s three homers in knockout round not enough in defeat
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 1 |
|
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3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 0 |
By Gareth Kwok
KALISPELL, MT – The Oakland Ballers were swept by the Glacier Range Riders by a final score of 10-10 on Thursday night at Glacier Bank Park. Jake Millan hit four home runs in the knockout round home run derby to defeat Tremayne Cobb Jr. who hit three home runs.
Oakland (6-9) fought back from a three-run deficit and scored six runs in the seventh inning to take its first lead of the series. With two outs and the bases loaded, Davis Drewek was hit by a pitch, cutting the Glacier lead to two. T.J. McKenzie drew a walk to make it a one-run game before Damian Stone grounded an RBI infield single to the shortstop to tie the game at six. Cobb delivered the biggest swing with a bases-clearing double off the wall in right-center to put Oakland ahead 9-6.
Valek Cisneros threw 1.2 scoreless innings of relief in the seventh and eighth and Noah Blythe singled home an insurance run to give Oakland a 10-6 cushion entering the bottom of the ninth.
However, Glacier (12-3) scored four runs on three hits and an error to tie the game and force the knockout round home run derby. After a pair of singles and a walk surrendered by Braydon Nelson, Jacob Steele hit a two-run double to right-center to bring the Range Riders within two. Tommy Rover followed with a fly ball to center that McKenzie dropped, allowing the tying runs to score.
In the knockout round home run derby tiebreaker, Cobb recorded four of his first five outs and hit only one homer before hitting two more late to finish with a total of three.
Millan started the knockout with three homers and only one out recorded. After recording three more outs with 25 seconds left, he crushed the ensuing pitch well over the left-center field wall to win the game for the Range Riders and complete the three-game sweep for Glacier over Oakland.
The Ballers continue their 12-game road trip with a three-game series on Friday night against the Great Falls Voyagers. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m from Voyagers Stadium. Fans can tune in beginning at 5:15 pm on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel and HomeTeam Network.
