Game 37 Recap: Are You Not Entertained?
Coast Walk Off Ballers 8-7 in Teams’ First Meeting in Long Beach
by Joe Horton, with photos from the LBC by Anthony Alejandrez
Up 5. Tied. Down 2. Tied. Lost by 1. Another gauntlet in the freewheeling 2026 Oakland Ballers’ colosseum (complete with plebeian possums).
But.
A close game against one of the best teams in the league. Another strong starting pitching performance. A final score that looks more like baseball and less like Eastern European water polo. New faces making immediate impacts. There are no moral victories for the gladiator in the arena under the watchful eye of the emperor, but this thumb might have easily gone up as down.
The B’s staked starter Aidan Risse to a five-run cushion in the first—from a bat that’s been doing this all year, a Jeter Ybarra double that was so very nearly a home run—and in the fourth, from new bats just brought in: Paul Winland and Brendan O’Sullivan doubles and a Conner Smith single.
Risse went five innings, giving up a Matthew Bardowell homer, but otherwise limited the Coast scoring to sacrifices and singles. When he left the game after the fifth, it was 5-4 Ballers.
“Today was all about the cutter,” Risse wrote to Dispatches after the game. “I used it in hitters’ counts and was able to get ground balls with it. I wanted to give my team a lengthier start, but I was happy to leave the game with the lead. Sucks we weren’t able to pull out the win. Looking forward to my next start!”
Risse gave way to Valek Cisneros in the sixth, and the inning featured all the drama that the team is trying to leave behind in the first half of the season: two walks, a wild pitch, an error. It is telling—and good news or bad news, take your pick—that a supercharged Coast offense that’s third in the league in homers (behind your Ballers and Billings) had only one tonight accounting for just two runs. That early 5-0 lead was now a 7-5 deficit.
But Oakland wasn’t done. A solo shot from Conner Smith in the seventh and two quiet innings from fellow newcomers Jake Villar and Connor Godwin on the mound gave the B’s a chance in the top of the ninth. Down to their final out, here-comes-that-man-again Jeter Ybarra hit his league-leading 17th homer to tie the game.
The win wasn’t to be. In the bottom of the ninth, Matthew Maloney walked two Coasters, pinch runner Jaylen Edmonds stole a base, and Anthony Mata laid down a sacrifice bunt before Johnny Pappas sent a sac fly deep enough to score Edmonds.
The Ballers couldn’t make it three wins in a row, and they continue to struggle to put together complete games. Off the field, it was also a sad day, as the release of last year’s champion and fan favorite Davis Drewek was announced—an absolute top-notch guy who always had a moment for fans, Oakland, and Dispatches.
However, the new faces are making an undeniably positive impact: Winland, O’Sullivan, and Smith had five of the seven RBI tonight, and the relief efforts of Villar and Godwin were promising.
Jake Villar, officially signed the day of the game, expressed his gratitude with the immediate opportunity. “I’d say I’m grateful the coaches and the team trust me enough to throw me in the fire right away in a close game like that. I’m excited about helping this team win going forward.”
Connor Godwin wrote of his outing, “Got us into trouble early with a couple walks. Was fortunately able to work out of it and hold them but wish we could’ve pulled off the win. Grateful god has blessed me with opportunities like this one though and I’m looking forward to the next game.”
Conner Smith, coming from CSU Monterey Bay and playing in just his second professional start, finished the game 3-4 with two batted in. He wrote after the game about his ability to help his new team immediately: “It feels great to be able to contribute. The guys here make it easy to play with confidence. I’m very appreciative of the Ballers for giving me an opportunity. I’m looking forward to a great season ahead.”
It’s a tall order matching up with this titanic Long Beach team while trying to get the right pieces in place, fast, for a second half run, but the Ballers play only California teams until July 24 when Boise comes to town, including eight more against the Coast in that span. The gladiator metaphor is pretty tired out by this point, but you don’t often get a choice of what comes out that door into the arena—maybe it’s sharks or tigers or this murderers’ row of Coast bats or the big boss himself—and all you can do is keep fighting.
Photos from Anthony Alejandrez in Long Beach.
Joe Horton is the editor of Dispatches from Raimondi.
