Pioneer League – Page 4 – Sports Radio Service

The Oakland Ballers have won five of their last eight games in spite of all the off field problems they are having. The Ballers are seen here battling the Yolo High Wheelers on Sat Jul 27, 2024 at Raimondi Field in West Oakland (photo Oakland Ballers X)

By Sports Radio Staff

Last week an agent Lonnie Murray who represents injured Oakland Ballers player Myles Jefferson said that Jefferson’s injury was mishandled by the team and said that Myles was not set up with a doctor’s appointment.

Murray also said that the housing conditions of the players is unacceptable as the team has roomed four players as opposed to be two players per room. There also was a player who was robbed by gun point during the season.

“I’ve been a player agent for 22 years,” Murray said on the social platform X formerly known as Twitter “I don’t stand for bad behavior by anyone and I carry receipts for what I state publicly.”

The Ballers recently fired their manager Micah Franklin last week Sunday even though the club had the fourth best record in the Pioneer league after playing 54 games. The firing could have been because Franklin was speaking out against the mistreatment by the team of his players. The Ballers are in their first year as a expansion club and the question was raised could the reason of Jefferson’s not seeing a doctor be related cost savings? The firing of Franklin and the call by Murray for the trade and release of all the players she represents might trigger the downfall of the organization?

“all my players on the Ballers following months of poor management & highly unprofessional antics to which Micah Franklin spoke out against.” Murray wrote on X that Ballers players “Trevor Halsema, Austin Davis & Myles Jefferson (who got injured) are GONE!”

Also Kelsie Whitmore was told by Murray do not return to the Ballers who is away playing for the national baseball team “When I say I was advising Kelsie not to come back to the Ballers after she’s finished with the national team, I absolutely was,” Murray told the Bay Area News Group.

Former Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart who is a business partner of Murray’s wrote on X that these young players under Murray’s watch will not be mistreated. Murray will support them every step of the way, “These kids deserve better. The whole damn industry knows you don’t mess with kids when Lonnie’s on watch. What were THEY thinking?”

The Ballers co-founder Paul Freedman said that the Ballers take injury and safety extremely seriously and that if an issue comes up that the Ballers will immediately investigate and rectify a solution. With Murray asking Freedman to release or trade all the players she represents and the firing of Franklin there could be nothing left of the Ballers if Freedman doesn’t come in and do some quick damage control fast.

In spite of all the off field problems the Ballers are having the Ballers have won their last two games on Friday and Saturday and won five of their last eight games. Yet and still the Ballers future as an organization could hang in the balance unless there is a happy medium between Murray and Freedman soon.

Oakland Ballers defeated the Davis High Wheelers on Sun Jun 23, 2024 in Davis. Here the Ballers pitching coach Jim Dedrick talks to the players in the dugout before their game on Tue Jun 4, 2024 at Raimondi Field in Oakland. (AP file photo)

Oakland Ballers (17-13) 1 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 8 10 0
Yolo High Wheelers(14-13) 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 6 12 2

Time: 3:15

Attendance: Not announced, but probably short of 100

By Lewis Rubman

DAVIS–This Sunday–and I do mean SUNday–in Davis, with the temperature in the 90s from the opening pitch at 1:05 to the final out at 4:20, the Ballers, who had been scuffling at the plate most of last week, Ballers built up a 5-2 lead over the host Yolo High Wheelers in the first 5-1/2 innings of play, blew it in the bottom of the sixth but escaped by breaking the rules, and battled back to win going away, 8-6.

The Ballers scored first, on a 351 foot solo home run by Dondrei Hubbard to left in the spacious Dobbins Stadium. It came off the Wheelers’ starter, Ben Ferrer, Hubbard who had earned his second win of the season on June 20 by holding the Ballers scoreless in one inning of relief work.

He’s become quite familiar with the Ballers lineup; this was the fourth time he’d faced them in the teams’ inaugural season. He got a no decision today, leaving his won-lost record of 2-1 and his ERA of 5.16 intact. Austin Davis also smacked a solo round tripper to the same general area leading off the visitors’ seventh.

Davis’s four bagger retied the score after Oakland had fallen behind in the sixth frame. His victim was Jacob Stobart, who took the loss, his first of the season against four wins. Many people think of him as Yolo’s best pitcher.

The Ballers blew their lead when Yolo batted around in the sixth. It came about as the result of walks to Justin Kirby and designated pinch hitter Alejandro Figueredo and singles by José González, Tanner Smith, Kirkland Banks, and Braylin Marine.

Oakland’s starter, Aaron Eden gave up the walk to Kirby and the singles to Smith and Banks. The remainder was surrendered by Jake Dahle, who relieved Eden. Yolo was leading 6-5 when the dust settled.

Oakland drew even on the Davis dinger and tacked on a couple of runs more and was ahead 8-6 after the few fans in attendance sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”Next came what was the most fascinating sequence of the contest.

One of the Ballers’ versions of Shohei Ohtani, second baseman-pitcher JP Gates, who had been the designated hitter, moved to the mound. He gave up a single to center to González and a bunt single to Blackford before being relieved by JC Ariza.

This violated themust face three batters or finish the frame rule, but no one called this to the attention of home plate umpire Bill Shortridge, and so Ariza arose to the occasion by retiring

the three batters he faced to finish up a scoreless seventh and, in spite of a hit batter and a wild pitch, a scoreless eighth. Tyler Davis, another two way player earned his second save of the season, setting the Wheelers down 1,2,3 in the ninth.

Monday is a day of rest in the Pioneer League. The Ballers will play the the Northern Colorado Owlz on Tuesday evening, the first of a six game series. The probable pitchers haven’t been announced.