Oakland Ballers celebrate a walk off win scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Glacier Ranger Riders 6-5 at Raimondi Park in Oakland on Tue June 17, 2025 (photo by Oakland Ballers X )

Glacier Ranger Riders (10-15)   121 001   000   5  9 1

Oakland Ballers (17-8)                001 003  002   6  9 0

Time: 2:54    

Attendance:  2,388

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Riding the crest of a six game winning streak at the end of their two week trip east to Montana and back, the Ballers began this pleasant Tuesday evening at 16-8, only 1-1/2 games out of first place in the entire Pioneer Baseball League.  quickly fell behind the visiting Glacier Range Riders.  The hometown team came back to win, 6-5 in a game that wasn’t decided until the last out.

Glacier jumped to an early lead against righty Dylan Matsuoka, Oakland’s starting pitcher, who had serious difficulties with his control, and a held a 4-0 lead  after 2-21/2 innings of play until  Rookie Nick Leahey, playing third and batting eighth, sent a lead off home run over the left field fence in the third to put the home team on the board.

Nonetheless, the Montanans starting pitcher, lefty Ty Bothwell, dominated the Ballers until he ran out of energy in the bottom of the sixth on a lead off triple to right by Darryl Bugs, who crossed the plate on David Drewek’s grounder to first, which was scored as an error, marked the beginning of the end for the visitors.

Drewek advanced to second and then third on a balk and a wild pitch, both while Cam Buffard was at the plate. Dannie Harris’s RBI two bagger to right brought Drewek home, and a single to right center by Carlos Alanza brought the Ballers  within a run of the Riders and sent Bothwell to the showers.

Matsuoka had gone five innings, in which he had walked five batters and hit two more with a pitch, throwing 93 pitches in the process. He had allowed four runs, all earned, on six hits, including a second inning  two run homer to Angel Mendoza, and five walks.

His offerings also plunked two opponents. Bothwell  lasted a third of an inning longer than his rival and  threw 76 pitches. Three of the four runs charged to his account were earned. He didn’t walk anybody, and he notched seven Ks. Neither hurler was involved in the decision. 

The score remained 5-4 in favor of the Riders, and the temperature dropped precipitously until the bottom of the ninth. By then, Cam Cowan, Glacier’s fifth hurler, was on the mound. He walked Esai Santos, pinch hitting for Leehey.

Then he walked Lou Helmig, putting Santos on second with the potential tying run. Franks then plunked Tremayne Cobb, who hadn’t reached base in his four previous plate appearances, to load the bases. Buggs sent a fly ball to center  fielder kingston Liniak, whose throw to  Jack Lynch, forced Hemig out at third as Santos came home with the tying run. Bufford’s infield hit reloaded the bases with two out.

With the count full on Harris, Cowan unleashed a wild pitch, and the crowd, bursting with energy went wild with the anticlimactic ending of the contest.

The Ballers used five pitchers in all. Brody Eglite pitched to two batters to start the sixth. After surrendering a single and a run producing double, he left the game with an injury and was replaced by James Colyer, who was granted extra warm up tosses.

The B’s also used two pitchers after Colyer’s intervention in the sixth. Caleb Franzen went 1-1/3 frames, didn’t allow a baserunner, and struck out three of the four batters he faced. Carson Lambert earned the win, his first decision this year, with his one hit, two strike appearance in relief of Franzen.

In addition to Bothwell, the Range Riders used David Pratt, Nick Zegna, Jason Franks, and Cowan, the losing pitcher, now 0-1. He was the only Glacier reliever to allow a run,

Buggs and  Almanza had multi hit games for the Ballers, with two appiece. Harris, Almanza, and Pat Monteith doubled. Bugg tripled, and Nick Leehey homered.

The two teams will resume hostilities at 6:35 Wednesday, evening. The game’s theme is Baseball for Everyone: Women in Baseball.