Game 59 Recap: Back and Forth We Go
The Ballers blow late inning lead, come back; Bufford hits game-winning Knockout Round homer
by Michael Thompson
WEST OAKLAND—Never has Yogi Berra’s famous saying “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” proven more true than in Oakland’s thrilling 8-8 last-second tie and Knockout Round victory over the Boise Hawks.
Boise’s left fielder and leadoff man Austin Folds set the tone early by driving Oakland starter Charlie Hurley’s third pitch just over the short left field wall to gain an early 1-0 lead. Oakland failed to score in their half of the inning against Boise’s Daniel Sullivan, who was making just his second professional pitching appearance since a short Frontier League stint in 2024.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the home half of the second, the Ballers put together a six-run inning started by a Jeter Ybarra home run and accentuated with a pair of two-run homers by Brendan O’Sullivan and Jake Allgeyer, swinging the game decisively into their favor.
Boise got another two runs off Hurley in the third, but that would be all the runs either team would scratch across until the fateful ninth inning.
Hurley, who ended up with just 3ER in 5.1IP, acknowledged the difficulty of pitching in front of Raimondi Park’s short left field porch, but had this much to say to Dispatches after the game about settling in after a leadoff homer began his outing: “You just got to stay with your game plan, stay consistent to what you work on every day, and the rest takes care of itself.”
Five full scoreless frames, a Pioneer League rarity, sent Oakland into the ninth inning with what felt like a comfortable 6-3 lead. Closer Langston Burkett took the mound after two superb multi-inning outings in Long Beach and a small stream of fans headed towards the exits.
Those who left early Saturday night robbed themselves of witnessing one of the wildest endings in recent memory.
Burkett struggled to find the strike zone, handing the first two Hawks hitters free passes via a HBP and walk before an RBI single by Folds made it interesting. Then, facing a 2-2 count, Boise second baseman Ethan Underwood sent a Burkett fastball over the left field wall, giving the road team a 7-6 advantage in the span of just a few minutes.
Brady Chavez entered the game and allowed three hits, growing the Hawks’ advantage to 8-6 and placing runners in both scoring positions with just one out. An intentional walk loaded the bases to set up a potential double play, but the double play the Ballers got didn’t involve the runner at first at all. Meyer sent a pop-up high and a few feet behind first base. First baseman Ybarra caught the ball, spun around, and delivered a bullet of a throw to home plate to gun down the tagging runner. Ybarra ended up being responsible for both scoring Oakland’s first run and preventing Boise’s last, but the play was full-circle for him for a different reason.
“I actually had a play that was almost exactly like that in college, so it was almost nostalgic,” Ybarra said after the game. “It was pretty cool, though, just to catch it and immediately make a good throw.”
With the Oakland crowd buzzing, Boise reliever Zan Rose entered the game and silenced it by getting two quick outs. Rose couldn’t finish off Ballers leadoff hitter Jaden Collura, though, and he took first base with a well-earned walk. Down to their last breaths, Oakland sent Jake Allgeyer to the plate. On a 2-2 pitch with those two outs, he drove the ball to right field, just over O’Hara’s glove and the fence to tie the game at eight.
Dispatches also caught up with Allgeyer after his two-homer, game-saving, player-of-the-game performance. After already hitting a homer and being down to the team’s last out and his last strike, did he want to win it right there? “Yeah, I do want to win it, but when it gets down to two strikes like that, I'm just trying to find a way to get on base and get the bat to the next person. I just ended up getting a pitch that I could really handle. So, all glory to God, just trying to keep it as simple as possible, trying to pass it to the next guy, and ended up working out.”
The replay looks like he knew it was gone immediately. Was that how it felt to him? “That was that was surreal. I kind of blacked out. I started throwing everything. Thankfully, nobody got hit by anything, but yeah, it's awesome feeling; surreal, honestly. I just felt everything like, lift off my shoulders.”
On to the Knockout Round we went.
Boise’s hitter made little of his opportunity, racking up five outs with foul balls and some weak contact. With regular knockout hitter Tremayne Cobb injured, Oakland sent Cam Bufford to the plate with the opportunity to end the game. Bufford in Long Beach earlier this week in the knockout hadn’t sent any out of the yard.
But Bufford made quick and effortless work of this task, lofting an early pitch deep to left field and giving the Ballers a 26-33 record. The defeated Hawks trudged to their locker room in right field below .500 at 29-30.
Odds and Ends
Today was both my first time covering and attending a Ballers game. The experience at and around Raimondi Park was incredible. The facility was beautiful and the baseball was exciting, but most importantly, every person I met was kind and welcoming. I would plan on going to many more games even if I wasn’t covering them for Dispatches.
That’s what you call firepower: Brendan O’Sullivan continues his absolute tear through July. He hit his third home run in as many games at Raimondi Park, two of which hit or landed near the Oakland Fire Department truck parked on Campbell. Dispatches has a request in to OFD to permanently assign a truck there during all games.
Jeter Ybarra (he of the home run and double play), attended St. Francis High School from 2016-2020. They are a main rival of my school, Mountain View. Ybarra smiled when asked about the rivalry, but kept it respectful: “You guys always had a good baseball team, so it was always fun having you guys come over to us and play you guys.”
Continuing to ask Jeter Ybarra for his favorite sandwiches after he hits home runs, a series which Dispatches is now calling Slamwiches, or maybe Sandingers. (Let us know.) “This one might be controversial. I say it's the sandwich. From The Melt, it's the Mac Daddy. Mac and cheese with bacon. It’s a mac and cheese and bacon sandwich. It's unreal, you gotta check it out.”
The Idaho Falls Chukars set a Pioneer League scoring record today with an explosive 40-18 win against the Great Falls Voyagers. Idaho Falls was the home team and didn’t bat in the bottom of the ninth, but that didn’t stop every single player in the starting lineup from recording a multi-hit game. Their only pinch-hitter, Wesley Mitchell, went 1/1 with an RBI single.
Dispatches asked Tremayne Cobb how he was feeling and if he had any timeline for his return from injury. “Day to day,” he said. Aren’t we all.
The Hawks knockout hitter *fanned * on one of his swings. “You don’t see very often,” quipped broadcaster Tyler Petersen.
Right fielder Jaden Collura played a game of catch with young ballplayers during an inning break. Overheard, a parent to their child: “This is why you always bring your glove!”
Video recap by Ben Verhoek, animation by Chris Drue.
Michael Thompson is a Bay Area student entering his senior year of high school. He writes about MLB and other baseball leagues on his Substack, as well as for Dispatches. After high school, he plans to attend college and work in the sports industry.
