Oakland Ballers Cam Buford tunes up before a game at Raimondi Park in West Oakland (photo by Oakland Ballers X)

Monday, May 25, 2026

Oakland, CA

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The first week of the 2026 Pioneer Baseball League was an inauspicious one for the defending champion Oakland Ballers, who managed nothing better than a 3-3 record, losing two out of three games against last year’s Mountain Division champs, the Missoula Paddle Heads and just squeaking by the Long Beach Coast, newcomers to the South Division and the league, also three games to two.

Both the league and the Ballers faced challenges before play began, but we’ll get to that after a brief review of the on-field action.

The Padddleheads demolished the B’s, 11-2 on opening night, Tuesday, the 19th, going ahead when Michael Koszewski blasted a one and two pitch over the left field wall to give the Montanans a lead they never would lose.

Jake Tirk was the only hometown hurler to blank the invaders, whoops: visitors, holding the seven batters he faced in the eighth and ninth frames to a couple of hits and a walk. Starting pitcher Gabe Tanner, who allowed six runs, five earned, on nine hits and three free passes, took the loss.

Shortstop Tremayne Cobb and catcher Jarden’ Collura were the only Ballers with multiple hits, neither for extra bases. The defense committed three errors, to none for the Paddleheads, but only one of the Missoula tallies was earned.

The Ballers evened the series the next night with a convincing, but not overwhelming, victory, seesawing through four and a half innings before breaking three with a five run

bottom of the fifth and then scamper home with a 13-8 triumph. Cobb got three hits, all singles, as did centerfielder T.J. McKenzie, whose three for three night included a round tripper and half a dozen RBI. I’ll have more to say about manager Aaron Miles’ use of McKenzie when we get to the challenges and solutions section of this column.

Switch hitting Jake Allgeyer was the remaining B’s batter to log a mult-hit performance. First baseman Jeter Ybarra had a bad night, going 0-5 at the plate and committing the Ballers’ only error. Liam Rocha, who relieved Aidan Risse in the fourth and surrendered two runs, one of them earned, on two hits, while walking another pair of batters, in his three innings on the mound, got the win.

Missoula mauled their hosts in the series finale on Thursday, the 21st almost as badly as they had in the opener. The PaddleHeads crossed the plate twice in first and were ahead, 8-0, by the time the Oaklanders managed their first tally, a sole run, in the bottom of the seven. The final score was 12-4. The visitors score their dozen runs with a baker’s dozen of hits and made three errors. Oakland their quartet of tallies on an octet hits while committing a duet of errors. Esai Santos drove in half of Oakland’s runs with a two homer with Cobb on base in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Bautista, who lasted only 2-2/3 innings, took the loss.

The worm began to turn for the West Oakland Wonders when the Long Beach Coast,

 AKA Regulators, sporting their teal jerseys and pinstriped black pants, came to town on Friday, the 22nd. It took an anxiety ridden three hours and thirty-two minutes before McKenzie’s sacrifice fly to center brough Jake Allgeyer home with the tie breaking winning run in the bottom of the ninth, giving us a line score that looked like this:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Long Beach Coast	2	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	1	11	10	1
Oakland Ballers	0	3	0	0	1	4	1	0	3	12	9	1

Santos, Ybarra, and left fielder Damian Stone went yard, and Jaden Sheppard, the DH, Stone, right fielder Noah ‘Blythe lifted the fans’ spirits with a run batted in apiece, Santos drove in threeand Ybarra five. Santos, Ybarra, and McKenzie were the only Ballers to get more than one hit, with two each; Sheppard, Stone, and Nick Poss, Friday night’s catcher, accounted for the remainder. Braydon Nelson was credited with the win, in spite of giving up a leadoff four bagger that put Long Beach ahead 11-8 in the top of the ninth.