Oakland Ballers Jake Allgeyer’s walk off hit wins it in the bottom of the ninth inning at Raimondi Park in Oakland against the Yuba Sutter High Wheelers on Tue Aug 5, 2025 (Oakland Ballers photo)

Yuba-Sutter (2nd 1/2:8-11;2025:37-30) 000 006 000 6 10 2

Oakland (2nd half:14-5,2025: 51-16) 020 100 004 7 7 2

Time: 2:57

Attendance: 2,603

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Your Oakland Ballers returned this evening for the second part of their back to back, home and home series against their arch rivals, the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers. The local nine had taken the measure of last year’s Pioneer Baseball League champs, who had been based in Davis for the ’24 campaign, by defeating them in five of the six contests in Marysville.

The B’s won, 7-6, with a stunning four run outburst in the bottom of the ninth that wiped out the effects of their excruciating sixth inning meltdown. That unfortunate interlude had let the visitors turn a 3-0 Oakland lead into a seemingly impregnable 6-3 High Wheeler advantage

The Ballers held the upper hand for the first five frames of the contest. Their starter, Noah Millikan. kept the HIgh Wheelers off the basepaths until the third inning, when Connor Denning reached on a single. But he was removed in a double play liner to third. Millikan seemed to be tiring in the fourth, but all he surrendered was a single to River Osak.

The High Wheelers started to race around the bases in their next turn at the plate. Kirkland Banks led off with a walk. A sparkling double play provided a brief respite; Randy Flores hit a hard line drive that Tyler Best corralled in left, threw to cutoff man Tremayne Cobb who snapped a bullet to Christian Almanza at first to retire Flores.

Evan Berkey then homered to left, and Gia Brusa doubled to right, and that was it for Millikan. His replacement, Adam Bogosian never had any steam to run out of. He didn’t retire any of the five batters he faced. One of them walked, and the other four got hits, one of them an RBI double by Orak. The Baller defence contributed to the debacle, committing two chargeable errors, not to mention sins of omission.

That’s the way things stood, with Yuba-Sutter ahead, 6-3, until the Ballers bounced back like a Spalding (pronounced Spall-DEEN) in their last turn at bat.

The resurgence of the killer B’s came out of nowhere. The High Wheelers’ starting pitcher, Brett Woznik had held them to three runs on five hits and a couple of walks over seven innings, excellent work by Pioneer League standards. Mason Bryant had set the hosts down in order in the eighth and seemed ready to cruise to an easy save.

He began the inning by walking Cam Bufford, who at two for three, seemed to be coming out of his recent slump. Then he walked Dillon Tatum, who had gone hitless in three at bats. Esai Santos, a vital cog in several Baller late inning comebacks, pinch hit for Tyler Best and singled to center.

Both runners wisely refrained from trying to advance more than 90 feet. With the bases FOB (full of Ballers), Davis Drewek was called out on strikes. Two outs were all that separated Yuba-Sutter from a series tying win.

The powerful Lou Helmig pinch hit for Darryll Buggs. Bryant walked him, and Oakland trailed 6-4, the bases remained loaded, but Oakland was running out of outs, and Bryant was out of the game. Ethan Bates (listed as Joe in the box score) walked Cobb.

Now it was 6-5 as Oakland kept the line moving. Jake Allgeyer came to the plate, one for four so far. The count went to 1-1. Allgeyer singled to center. Buggs and Santos raced home, and, as the saying goes, the crowd roared.

Like every Wednesday when the Ballers are in town, is a Winning Wednesday at Raimondi. The first 500 fans to arrive will receive a commemorative cup and a poster. Everyone will have the chance to enter ano-cost raffle to a custom Green Day x Ballers bike designed by Billie Joe Armstrong. Game time is scheduled for 6:35pm PT