Game 14 Recap: When It Rains
First Inning Again Kalispells Disaster for the B’s in 13-1 Loss
by Joe Horton
KALISPELL, MT—Walks and first inning troubles were once again the story. This time, it kept getting worse.
Derek Murphy, in his first professional start, was lifted in the second inning after giving up four hits, five walks, and five earned runs. Yesterday, after one inning, the Ballers found themselves down 6-1. Today, it was 5-0. While the Oakland offense showed it could make up early deficits at Raimondi, no such spark has been seen in Montana. The B’s scattered six hits regularly came up empty with men on base.
In early relief, Liam Rocha allowed no runs over two frames, striking out four and walking three. The Ballers have given up an astonishing 28 walks so far in two games in Kalispell.
The night before, Oakland managed to limit Glacier to only two runs over the last seven innings. But in the fifth tonight, the dam broke again. The Range Riders scored seven times, powered by all kinds damage: a Carson Hornung homer, a tough B’s infield error, a bases loaded walk, and a double by Donovan Ratfield, who—in addition to his first inning three-run homer—continues to swing one of the hottest bats in the league. A nightmare fifth got worse when reliever Matthew Maloney, who had just come off the injured list, took a sharp Kyle Ashworth comebacker off his ankle and had to be helped off the field.
There were few bright spots on a night that turned cloudy and menacing. Outfielder Noah Blythe came on to pitch in the seventh and eighth, throwing in the mid-40s and topping out in the 50s, but he allowed only one run and allowed himself two wry smiles coming off the field to the dugout.
Fans who stayed for the blowout got to see one of the most distinctive deliveries in the league from Glacier reliever Ryan Humphreys.
After the game, Maloney needed assistance back to the visitors’ clubhouse. The rain, which held off for the game’s 2h50 duration, came down in force with Montana’s late 9:45pm sunset. The Ballers are 6-8 on the season, tied for seventh in the league.
Glacier and Oakland close out the set tomorrow at 5:35pm Pacific, with the B’s C.J. Blowers scheduled for the mound. Blowers proved a stopper in his last outing, recording the team’s first quality start of the season—six innings, seven strikeouts, only two runs—when the Ballers beat the RedPocket Mobiles 3-2 to stop a three-game skid. Can he play hero again?
Odds & Ends:
When Maloney was hit by a comebacker in the foot and, in obvious pain, was helped off the field, a heckler in the crowd yelled that he should be “used to it because he’s from Oakland.” I’m going to choose to take this as Maloney being tough and resilient.
Two Glacier fans—charmingly self-proclaimed total baseball novices—spent half an inning wondering if left-handed batters had to run clockwise around the bases, starting up the third base line, compared to righties.
The Range Riders victory music was Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration,” which nearly produced a collective dissociative episode for the traveling Oakland fans in attendance.
