Game 12 Recap: Fresh Breath of Air
Risse Throws Six Scoreless, Four Ballers Homer in Sweep of Mobiles
by Joe Horton
WEST OAKLAND—What a difference a year doesn’t make.
“Last year after two weeks at home, we were 7-5 and this year we’re 6-6,” said Assistant General Manager Tyler Petersen after the game. For fans still wrapped in the afterglow of last season’s championship, it’s a good reminder that there’s a lot of season still to come, with the B’s starting to streak at the right time.
The Oakland Ballers completed the sweep of the RedPocket Mobiles with a 7-1 win on a gorgeous Sunday at Raimondi Park. Celebrating Scrappy’s birthday as team mascot, the stands were filled with posters and party hats and possum hats, and the maturing marsupial himself was thronged with well-wishers, child and adult alike.
On the field, the home run barrage from B’s bats continued unabated. Jake Allgeyer, T.J. McKenzie, Esai Santos and Cam Bufford all homered, and the B’s jumped to a 7-0 after the sixth inning.
The pitching also dazzled, with starter Aidan Risse tossing six scoreless innings while striking out four to earn his first win of the year. In relief, Matt Lozovoy and Michael Riley made their debuts for the B’s, who finally had some breathing room on the right side of the scoreboard. There would be no late-inning rally for the Mobiles, with the game finishing in a tight 2h16, which left more time for the Sunday traditions of kids running the bases and fans meeting the players and getting autographs.
Said Lozovoy of his debut, “Great to be out there. Fun to be in front of these fans, and glad we won. Put up a zero, can’t complain.”
Davis Drewek’s first at-bat back with the Ballers
One recent returning Baller, Cam Bufford, continued to be hot, while the team welcomed back to Raimondi another familiar face: Davis Drewek.
Of returning to Raimondi, Bufford said, “It's fun. It's like a brotherhood. Being back feels like home. I love the city of Oakland. I love the team, the coaches.”
Drewek agreed. “It's amazing, man. Back out at Raimondi again for the first time. Feeling the energy; it's electric out here. I miss Cali too. Got off the plane today. The Cali air felt good. Fresh breath of air, you know?”
Asked about his recent run at the plate, with homers in three of his past four games, Bufford said: “It did take a little minute, playing again. Once I got my couple hits, one home run, I got the hang of it, and I’m good now.”
Drewek flew into Oakland this morning and was originally scheduled to start. But luggage delays put him behind schedule and Manager Aaron Miles decided instead to pinch hit with Drewek in the seventh. Now that he’s officially suited up, what is he looking forward to in another season with the B’s?
“Just being back in Oakland, man,” Drewek said. “I miss, like I said, I miss being in Cali interacting with the fans, being around the guys. This is a great organization to be in. So I'm super excited about all of that. Just soaking it all in, you know?”
Looking Back
Long Beach continues to scorch their start of the season, putting up 26 runs on Friday and 15 on Saturday against Yuba-Sutter. I asked Miles if the Coast’s continued success gives him any perspective on the B’s series.
“We absolutely knew they were gonna be a great team going in. With the coaching staff, with Troy Percival and Jerome Williams combining, it's almost two deep, really good clubs combining to make one from last year,” said Miles. “They're a force. I thought we played them real well. You know, in a ball game, the ball goes here or there, and I think it's even-Steven. We could have swept them, and we should have had one more of the games.”
Looking Ahead
Petersen’s reminder that the B’s record is similar to last year’s team that took off to the Pioneer League’s best record also looks ahead to the importance of the 2026 team’s first—and farthest—road trip of the season. The team will play twelve games against three teams in Montana: the Glacier Range Riders (2nd in the league), Great Falls Voyagers, and Missoula Paddleheads, who took two of three at Raimondi to start the year. The rest of the season, the Ballers don’t leave California.
I asked Miles and Petersen what a successful road trip would mean.
“If we can have a road trip like we had last year where we come back over .500…right now it's very crowded at the top. We're three games out. We want to put ourselves in a good position to where after those two weeks on the road, we're a winning ball club, and that's halfway done already with the first half,” said Petersen.
I asked Miles if a road trip can build stronger team bonds and intangibles.
“Always. You know, these guys, they live together, too, here, so I think they're constantly building these relationships. But the road can bring about some different camaraderie—you're eating all in the same place, everybody's in the same spot, and it's always good for a team to go on the road, especially if you win.”
“I feel like we're hitting a little bit of a stride right now,” added Miles. “It's a good test for us, and we're ready for it.”
I asked Lozovoy what kind of preparation he’s planning for the trip. “I think just take care of our bodies as much as we can,” he said. “We got an early flight out of here tomorrow, so hydrate, eat well, try to rest up, and then we're back to it up at the altitude. So take the day off, rest as much as we can, travel, and then continue to play on Tuesday.”
For someone like Bufford, who wants to stay hot, he was adamant he won’t change anything about his approach. What in his mind would be a successful trip for the team? “Win the series, compete every day, and come back home with more wins than losses.”
With photos from Chris Drue.
Joe Horton is the editor of Dispatches from Raimondi.
