Glacier Ranger Riders – Sports Radio Service

Oakland Ballers report: Follow The Bouncing Ballers Jun 1-8 coverage

Published on June 9, 2026June 9, 2026 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland Ballers battled the Red Pocket Mobiles (Oakland Ballers X ;photo)

Jun 1st through 8th coverage

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–There was reason to feel that the Ballers, having swept a six game series at home against the hapless RedPocket Mobiles were on a roll as they left for a 12 game tour of the North (previously known as the Mountain) Division of the Pioneer Baseball League. Those half a dozen wins had evened the defending circuit’s defending champs’ season record at 6-6.

They were on a roll, all right, but it was downhill, at least for their three encounters with the Glacier Range Riders, who play in the beautiful Glacier Bank Park in Kalispell, MT, just outside of Whitefish, which is, if it hasn’t changed since I was there some 30 years ago, a one horse town version of Las Vegas without the glitz, notable for its bars and gambling parlors.

After the Ballers put Kalispell in their rear view mirror, they had begun to experience a modicum of success. But when the team left Grand Rapids and headed for Missoula following yesterday’s frustrating defeat, the Miles Militia was ninth in the 12 team PBL’s standings. Only the 1-7 RedPocket Mobiles trailed them in the six team South Division.

The road weary Ballers and manager Aaron Miles would have quite some time and distance toto go before they can sleep easy. Avenging the 2-1 series defeat Missoula’s Paddleheads handed them in the opening series at Riamondi will be a tough order to fill. Remember that the Ballers won the 2026 league title by beating the PaddleHeads in the final three games, played in Oakland, after Mousoula had won the two games played on their home turf.

I don’t know which was more dispiriting, the first two mismatches, in which the Oaklanders were clobbered from start to finish or the final encounter of the series, when, after two thrilling comebacks, the B’s went into the bottom of the ninth with a four run advantage, only to blow the lead when T.J. McKenzie dropped Tommy Rover’s two out fly in deep center field, and then lose the knockout round on a last second home run by the Glaciers Jake Millan in the first round.

The ugly line scores of the Tuesday and Wednesday games give you all you need to know about the poor accounting the Ballers gave of themselves. On Tuesday, the rough Range Riders rode over the Ballers in the first frame, plating six earned runs against Joel Tornero, who gave up six walks to the eight Glacier batters he faced and hitting another. His replacement, Michael Riley, staved off the hosts for four innings, but the damage had been done and was irreparable.

R H E

Oakland Ballers (6-7) 100 001 000 2 8 0

Glacier Range Riders (10-3) 600 002 00x 8 4 0

Winning pitcher: Evan Langston (2-0) Losing pitcher Joel Tornero (0-1)

Time: 2:37 Attendance: 1,516

Wednesday’s line score reads like the summary of a horror story.

R H E

Oakland Ballers (6-8) 001 000 000 1 6 1

Glacier Range Riders (11-3) 500 070 01x 13 11 0

Winning pitcher: Jared Engman (1-0) Losing pitcher: Derek Murphy (0-2)

Time: 2:50 Attendance: 1,553

The Thursday game merits a bit more detail., but before I comment on it, I’d like to say a few parenthetical words on the knockout round, a rule the Pioneer League uses to decide what used to be extra inning contests. The procedure, on which the PBL prides itself, is a home run derby. Lots of fans enjoy watching batting practice; many arrive early to watch it, some in hopes of snagging a ball; others, as amateur scouts.

MLB’s All Star Week home run derby is a fan favorite, but neither batting practice nor the home run derby decides the outcome of a game. Who wants to watch nine innings of tight, exciting baseball only to hang around for what boils down to post game BP to determine the winner? The only answer I can think of is gamblers. I don’t think it’s entirely coincidental that MLB is thinking of installing the Knock Out Round (the Pioneer League’s name for this crap shoot) to settle ties in the all star games and that Las Vegas will be the new home of the now floundering Nomad Athletics.

The line score and all the action it summarizes are what go into the cumulative team and individual statistics. Only the deciding action is omitted. The derby information is recorded under its own label, available on the league’s website.

Here’s the line score of the Baller’s near miss in Kalispell:

R H E

Oakland Ballers (6-9) 000 120 010 10 11 1

Glacier Range Riders (11-3) 300 003 004 10 13 0

Time: 3:20 Attendance: 1,851. No winning or losing pitcher. Glacier won in KO round. Oakland: Cobb 3 HR. Glacier: Millan, 4 HR

After a four hour bus ride to Grand Falls, which got them there at around noon on Friday, the fifth, the B’s lost no time in jumping to a 13-4 lead after 4-1/2 innings. You’d think a lead like that would be enough to end the Ballers’ frustrations. But that would be true only if you didn’t understand one basic fact about the Pioneer League: no lead is safe. Ever. That’s part of what makes the league fun. It’s also a reason why it can be exasperating.

Grand Rapids countered Oakland’s midgame dominating nine run advantage, with a little help from the blew (I mean “blue”) crew, a run in the bottom of the fifth and continuing to score in each of the remaining four frames. A trio of Voyager pitchers held the B’s scoreless the rest of the way. Catcher Nick Poss’s performance was a painful highlight for the Oaklanders, not just because of his three run homer in the third, but alsofor the pluck he displayed by remaining in the game in spite of injuries to one of his feet, his groin, and another to, I believe, his hamstring. I’ll add as an aside that Poss was a part of Aaron Miles’ managerial legerdemain in the previous night’s game, when the Ballers’ skipper juggled the PBL’s rules on designated pinch hitters and the designated hitter rule to call on pitcher Matt Lozovoy to pinch hit in the top of the ninth, when the B’s still held seemingly secure four run lead. I’m not being sarcastic; it was a smart move at the time.

Oakland Ballers (6-10) 125 230 000 13 20 1

Great Falls Voyagers (12-4) 040 012 214 14 17 0

As I’ve often mentioned recently, the purpose of the Pioneer League’s partnership with Major League Baseball is to provide players for the big league organizations. Tyler Davis, who started five games and pitched one in relief for the 2024 Ballers, ended that season with a record of 0-0-1, 1.29. He’s already made The Show. He was 2-2-1, 3. as a reliever for the Chicago White Sox, but after losing yesterday, Sunday the 7th, to the Phillies, his record stood at 2-3-1, 4.43. Before the start of Saturday’s game in Great Falls, the B’s announced the bittersweet news that the Pale Hose had purchased Gabe Tanner’s contract. As I write this, I haven’t had any news about to which team the Cal State East Bay graduate been assigned.

On the field Saturday, the news was that, even though the Boys from West Oakland blew a 12-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth, they recovered, scored a couple of runs in the top of the ninth, and held on to defeat the Voyagers, 14-12. It’s much more pleasant to record the line score of this contest than it’s been at any other time since the start of the Ballers’ current foray into Montana.

R H E

Oakland Ballers (7-10) 101 402 402 14 17 13

Great Falls Voyagers (5-12) 002 201 160 12 12 1

Winning pitcher: Valek Cisneros (1-0) Losing pitcher: Kevin Worek (0-1) Save: Matthew Maloney (1)

Time: 3:45 Attendance: 1,037

The game, played under steadily increasing rain, broke Oakland’s four game losing streak and gave them any opportunity to win their first road series of the nascent season. But they once more snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory.

In any case, it would have been an extremely difficult victory. The Ballers’ punishing schedule since leaving their home grounds was made worse by a planned game time of 11:35, which then was pushed back to 2:30. They, as the famed radio announcer Dizzy Dean put it, “shoulda stood in bed.” The situation echoed Chico Marx’s lines in Duck Soup, “It rained all day. There was no ball game, so we stayed home. We listen to it over the radio.”

The line score also resembled an earlier artifact, a table from a clinical study of bipolar disorder.

R H E

Oakland Ballers (7-11) 320 013 304 16 10 1

Great Falls Voyagers (6-12) 019 020 24X 18 18 1

Winning pitcher: Emir Sepúlveda (2-0) Losing pitcher:Jake Tirk (0-2)

Time:3:10 Attendance: 644

This tear your hair and chew your nails display the fickle middle finger of not only began with an echo of the Minnie Marx’s sons, it ended with one.

With two down in the top of the ninth, Jaden Collura worked a walk that brought Noah Blythe to plate, representing the potential tying run. He lifted a fly that reached the center field wall, where it landed in the glove of Anthony Manisero, whose family name means peanut vendor. Groucho sings and whistles the song of that name throughout Duck Soup. You also might get a kick out of video of its original presentation at New York’s Roxy Theater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2UU33oJY5g.

I haven’t been able to find the season statistics for all the players on the Baller roster, but what follows are the stats for those who participated in yesterday’s tragicomedy:

1BJeter Ybarra								.296
3BJake Allgeyer								.375
DHCam Bufford								.196
CJaden Collura								.364
RF/LFNoah Blythe								.347
CFDavis Drewek								.240
T.J. McKenzie								.250
LFDamian Stone								.208
2BNick Leehey								.250

Oakland BallersPitchers
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	WP	BF	AB	NP	ERA
Michael Riley	2.1	8	9	9	2	1	3	0	17	14	53	12.27
Derek Murphy	3.2	2	3	3	2	3	0	0	18	13	74	11.17
Jake Tirk (L, 0-2)	1.0	5	3	3	0	2	0	0	7	7	26	13.50
Campbell Spradling	1.0	3	3	3	1	1	0	0	7	6	25	7.04

So, where does this leave us as they Ballers try to get some sleep and redemption and we try to get our bearings as the upcoming six games in Missoula? You tell me.

Oakland Ballers game recap: Follow the Bouncing Ballers

Published on June 1, 2026June 2, 2026 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland Ballers pitcher Aidan Risse (1-1) delivers a pitch against the Red Rocket Mobiles at Raimondi Field in West Oakland Sun May 31, 2026 (Oakland Ballers photo)

Monday, June 1

Oakland, CA

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–In last week’s column, I discussed some of the challenges the Oakland Ballers and the Pioneer Baseball League as a whole were facing. The last week has thrown those challenges into sharper relief.

The league’s decision to save on travel expenses resulted in scheduling anomalies. Instead of playing a set of six game against each visitor, with night games Tuesday through Friday, a mid-afternoon game on Saturday, and an early afternoon contest on Sunday, the Ballers opened the season with a three game series against the Missoula PaddleHeads, the team they had defeated for last year’s championship, three games to two, by sweeping the final three games, all at home, of the five game series.. This year, Missoula took the series, 2-1, which began on Tuesday Mayo 19

On Frida the 22nd, some of the new kids on the block, the Long Beach Coast, came to West Oakland. The B’s came from behind with a 12-11 victory after having trialed 10-9 going into the eighth. Jeter Ybarra’s leadoff blast over the left field fence in the bottom of the ninth tied it up, and T.J. McKenzie’s sacrifice fly to center gave Oakland the win, evening their record at 2-2.

The teams split the last two games of the week. The Coast beat them, 15-12 on a four run top of the ninth in a seesaw battle on Saturday the 23rd, and the Ballers finished the week at 3-3 with a solid 11-5 triumph the next afternoon.

This raised an interesting question. The Coast (who also go by the moniker “Regulators”) and the Ballers had another three games between them scheduled for the following week. Would this be part of the original series or a new one? This is not an idle question, and one reason it was a new series shows how significant the question was.

The Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday contests had a different umpire crew from the three preceding game. Another reason to consider the trio of set-to’s a group of its own is the headline the Coast published in its May 28 recap. Read it and weep.

Grand Beginning Leads Coast to Series Sweep

The Long Beach Coast (6-3) blasted the OaklandBallers (3-6) 9-5

on Thursday night in the Bay Area to secure their first ever series

sweep .

The situation was made more unsettling by scheduling the Wednesday game, usually played at 6:35), for a 1:05 start to accommodate an Oakland Public Schools field trip.

Hardly a student was at sight among the intimate gathering of 1,122 attendees.

Thursday, the 29th, brought in another innovation: the RedPocket Mobiles, owned by the PBL’s cel phone provider. They’re a barnstorming team with no home stadium and, I assume a miniscule fan base. They also have a miniscule won-lost record. They were 1-8 when they hit town and 1-11 when the Ballers, now 6-6, got through with them.

This happy outcome for Ballers’ fans wasn’t just the result of the Mobiles weakness. Please bear with me while I try to relate the Ballers’ current situation to the challenges and shortcomings of the Pioneer League.

The circuit’s labyrinthine eligibility rules not only penalize successful teams by limiting the amount of time they can keep any given player (which is consistent with the PBL’s purpose, which is to develop players), but also fail to provide compensation to those teams that lose players who are—for want of a better expression—termed out. Each year is, as it were, a whole new ball game. This may mean that the Ballers’ marketing plan. which includes merited bragging rights about the team’s championship status, may be misplaced.

There’s much to be enjoyed about Ballersball, but winning isn’t everything. It’s not even not caring if you won or lost but how you played the game; it’s about community, fun, and watching the players mature and improve. And don’t forget the innate beauty of the game, no matter on what level it’s played. And a whole lot more.The Ballers and their followers may have to learn to live with defeat. Remember, I said “may.”

The team’s management has made some moves to improve its personnel. They obtained Cam Bufford, a mainstay of the ’25 Ballers is heading back to his championship roots. Just six days into the Pioneer League season, the Sioux City Explorers have traded 1B/DH Cam Bufford to Oakland in exchange for players to be named later.

Pitchers Matt Lozovoy and UC Berkeley’s Michael Riley, as well as center fielder and third baseman Davis Drewek made their professional debuts on Sunday afternoon. Drewek took fa called third strike as a pinch hitter in the ninth. Lozovoy surrendered two hits but no runs in the eighth, and Riley gave up one hit, a home run, in the ninth.

The Ballers have improved the ballyard’s physical plant. The scoreboard has been improved; it’s now bigger and brighter, but often is too far behind action, and some of its fonts are too small to be read, especially through the protective screens in front of all but the cheapest seats.

The B’s currently are building higher fence in left center and the outfield lighting could be improved. Permit issues have delayed an important improvement, the installation of real toilets to replace the port-a-potties, which will come as a much needed relief.

Here’s a brief rundown of the scores of the Ballers first sweep of the season:

5/29	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
RedPocket Mobiles	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	2
Oakland Ballers	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	X	3	5

Winning pitcher: Langston Burkett (1-0) Save: Braydon Nelson (1)

Losing pitcher: Billy Rozakis (0-1)

The team will be on the road for the next two weeks, visiting the Glacier Range Riders,

Great Falls Voyagers, and Missoula PaddleHeads, before returning on Tuesday, June 16th, to the friendly confines of Raimondi Park, to try to wreck some vengeance on the Long Beach Coast.

5/30


RedPocket Mobiles	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	2	0	6	9	0
Oakland Ballers	1	1	2	0	2	1	1	0	X	8	13	0

Winning pitcher: Gabe Tanner (2-1) Save: Langston Burkett (1)

Losing pitcher: Matt Lauria (0-2)

Tanner lasted 7-2/3 innings and threw 111 pitches. It was, alas!, the best outing of a Ballers hurler so far this season.

5/31	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
RedPocket Mobiles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	9	0
Oakland Ballers	1	0	0	1	1	4	0	0	X	7	8	0

Winning pitcher: Aidan Risse (1-1)

Losing pitcher: Charlie Adamson (0-3)

You can find the Ballers latest individual offensive statistics at https://www.oaklandballers.com/sports/bsb/2026/teams/oaklandballers?view=lineup

I haven’t been able to find all their pitching stats in one place.

The Ballers are averaging a respectable 2,295 attendance in their 12 games.

And that’s how the ball’s been bouncing so far.

Ballers 5 run eighth inning rally sinks Riders 10-6 at Raimondi Park

Published on June 23, 2025June 23, 2025 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland Ballers James Colver started and picked up his second win of the season against the Glacier Range Riders at Raimondi Park on Sat Jun 21, 2025 (Oakland Ballers photo)

Glacier Range Riders (11-18) 000 213 000 6 17 3

Oakland Ballers (20-9) 101 030 05x 10 12 3

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 3,250

Saturday, June 21, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Exciting, but not always well-played, games are getting to be a habit at Ernie Raimondi Park. This sunny and, for the most part, warm Saturday afternoon, the home team rode a roller coaster in their match against their guests from Montana, over whom they prevailed by a score of 10-6 score for the straight time in as many days.

The competing teams managed to commit a half a dozen errors, and that includes only those that were officially scored as such; no mental mistakes, misplayed balls, incompleted double plays, or he should have gotten it among them.

The Ballers won, 10-6, the same score by which they had won last night, but today they needed a five run rally in the eighth to pull it off. Each team made 12 hits, connected for two doubles and two home runs, and was charged with three errors. Talk about evenly matched!

The B’s used five pitchers. The first of them, Noah Miliken, was the beneficiary of that recent rarity, an early Ballers lead. After Miliken had set the Range Riders down in order in the opening frame, Oakland’s lead off hitter, Esai Santos, smacked Jared Engman’s 0-1 offering over the right field fence for the first of the two runs his team would register against the Riders’ right handed starter in his three innings of work. The second tally came in the third on Nick Leehey’s single to center, a wild pitch, and a single to right by Davis Drewek.

Glacier pulled even in the fourth on Kingston Levari’s leadoff double to left center, Jack Lynch’s RBI single, and an error by second sacker Daniel Harris IV. They went ahead, 3-2. in their next turn at bat on TJ Clarkson’s solo round tripper to center.

The Range Rider’s right fielder had homered twice in last night’s thriller. When Logan Beard followed tonight’s shot with a double, Adam Bogosian followed Millikan to the mound and finished the frame by getting Xavier Casserill to ground into a 6-4-3 twin killing.

The pendulum swung in Oakland’s favor in the bottom of the fifth. Christian Almanza’s 417′ blast to straightaway center field with Buggs, who had walked, and Drewek, who had singled, on base, obliterated the Riders’ brief advantage.

But leads are made to be lost, especially in the Pioneer League, and Oakland’s newfound 5-3 advantage was transformed into a 6-5 deficit. Kenneth Levari opened the top of the sixth with a bunt single to third and trotted home in front of Kingston Liniak, whose drive to left was caught … in the netting above the fence.. Jack Lynch doubled to right, and that brought Conner Richardson in to relieve Bogosian.

Gabe Howell singled to left, Lynch advanced to third and held on. He came home on Efraín Manzo’s grounder to short that forced Howell out a second. Clarkson’s single to left moved Manzo up 90 feet. An error by Leehay at the hot corner loaded the bases, but Xavier Casserill popped out to right to staunch the bleeding.

Glacier was riding high, hanging on to their slim margin when Oakland came to bat in the bottom of the eighth. Nick Zegna replaced Luke Cooper, the only one of the four pitchers theRange Riders used to try to contain Oakland’s potent offence not to have given up a run, holding them to a couple of hits and a base on balls in the sixth and seventh.

An error by Beard at second put Tyler Lozano on first. Ryan Pierce, making his professional debut, pinch hit for James Colyor, who had been pitching for the B’s and was scheduled to bat because of some fancy manipulation of the Pioneer League’s substitution rules by manager Aaron Miles.

He smacked a double to left that tied the score. Two walks, intentional, another pair of RBI on a single by the irrepressible Almanza plus an error by Liniak in center and another on Manzo at third equal five runs on two hits and three errors with one runner left on base for the inning and 10-6 lead for the Ballers.

Connor Sullivan pitched the top of the ninth and struck out all three Range Runners he faced.

Four Ballers had multi hit games: Drewek, Harris, Almanza, and Lozano, with two each. Lozano and Pierce doubled. Santos and Almanza, who drove in five runs, homered. The other B’s with RBI were Santos, Drewek, and Pierce at one each. Levari logged three hits in five at bats for Glacier. Four of his teammates two hits a piece: Clarkson, Liniak, Lynch, and Howell.

The two teams will end their six game series, starting at 1:05 Sunday morning. Glacier (11-18) will send Ty Bothwell (0-1). to the mound. Oakland (20-9) will counter with Luke Short (2-1).

The Ballers then will leave town for an extended road trip and won’t play at home until 6:35 in the evening of Tuesday, July 8th, when they’ll face the Rocky Mountain Vibes on Bruce Lee night.

Oakland Ballers report: Ballers Butz and Sullivan keep Riders off balance in 6-5 win

Published on June 19, 2025 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland Ballers pitching held off the Glacier Range Riders on Wed June 18, 2025 at Raimondi Park in Oakland in Pioneer League action (Oakland Ballers photo)

Glacier Range Riders (10-16) 100 001 300 5 8 0

Oakland Ballers (18-8) 303 000 00x 6 12 3

Time:2:35

Attendance: 1,872

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–In a marked contrast to Wednesday night’s thrilling come from behind win over the Glacier Range Riders, the Ballers put up a half dozen runs in the first three frames and then held on to their 3-1 lead as it dwindled to 6-5 in the seventh to hang on and record their fifth straight victory.

It was Baseball for All Night, with an emphasis on women in baseball, and the umpire for the right side of the diamond was Kate Hart, who did such a good job that she passed virtually unnoticed. This evening’s contest began, like its predecessor on Tuesday, with the Riders taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, only now the Ballers roared back with three on back to back singles by Tramayne Cobb, Jr., and Esai Santos, followed by double by Davis Drewek that drove in both of them.

Cam Bufford’s fly to right allowed Drewek to advance to third, and he scored on Christian Almanza’s ground out to second. The B’s added another three tallies in their half of the third. Bufford opened it with a single to center and motored on to third on Almanza’s safety to right.

Danny Harris IV’s single to left plated Drewek and allowed Almanza to move up another 90 feet. With Lou Helmig at bat, a wild pitch enabled both runners to advance another base, and the Baller’s now led, 4-1. Helmig’s two bagger to right that made it 6-1.

Reed Butz, Oakland’s starting southpaw began to waver in the top of the sixth, just about the time the temperature began to drop. Gabe Howell, the second batter he faced, went yard on him to left, and that was it for Butz.

The eventual winning pitcher had needed 107 pitches to complete his 5-1/3 innings of work, during which he had surrendered two runs, one earned, on five hits, including Howell’s homer that drove him from the box. He struck out seven and walked two. Connor Richardson replaced him and hurled another 1-2 /3 innings.

The Range Riders’ resurgence in the top of the seventh suggested the possibility of a repetition in reverse of Oakland’s Tuesday comeback. Kyle Ashworth, leading off, set the stage by reaching first on an error by Harris. One out later, TJ Clarkson doubled to right.

Now it was 6-3. Another out later and another double, this one by Xavier Casserilla, and it was 6-4. Next up was Kingston Liniak. He managed a single to short, allowing Casserilla to make it to third. Seconds later, Cobb’s errant throw resulted in Liniak hugging third and Casserilla crossing the plate with Glacier’s fifth run.

Carson Lambert was on the bump for the B’s to pitch the eighth, and he provided a sigh of relief by escaping unscathed after throwing 17 pitches, one of which hit Angel Mendoza ,which brought forth cries of “He didn’t get out of the way” and so on from the crowd. Lambert also fanned a couple of Riders in the frame.

Connor Sullivan wrapped it up for the Ballers, needing only 12 pitches to strike out a pair of opponents on his way to earning his seventh save of the season. That’s the most in the league.

The visitors used four pitchers.. All of the runs the B’s were scored against Glacier’s starter, starboard hurler Grant Taylor, who took the loss, which dropped his record to 1-4. Eldridge Armstrong II (two innings), Jacob Hasty, and Luke Cooper (an inning each) followed him.

Drewek and Helmig got the hosts’ only two extra bases hits, with a double apiece. Helmig, with three, and Almanza and Buggs, with two each, were the only B’s to have multi-hit games. The Range Riders accomplished a rarity for a Pioneer League team; they didn’t make any errors.

The Ballers made three, but it was their defense that sent the fans home satisfied. Casserilla seemed assured of a Texas League single or more when his pop up to short center, almost invisible in the poorly illuminated Bermuda Triangle in the area behind second base, befuddled almost the entire concurrence at Raimondi Field. But Baller left fielder Davis Drewek was on the ball. And then he was under it, making a sliding catch to put an end to another night of anxiety and excitement.

The next encounter of this seven game series will be a celebration of Juneteenth and scheduled to start at 6:35 Thursday evening.

Oakland Ballers game wrap: Ballers get the edge on Riders 6-5 at Raimondi

Published on June 18, 2025 by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

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.