Ballers Lose Big, Still Looking to Clinch Postseason Spot

Jason Burke | Sep 4, 2024

Josh Leslie of the Oakland Ballers points to the crowd / Oakland Ballers

The Oakland Ballers are on the edge of clinching a postseason spot in their inaugural season, and the only thing standing in their way is the team that up until Tuesday had been chasing them. The Yolo High Wheelers, also in their inaugural season, defeated the Ballers handily last night, 15-4.

The loss doesn't mean much by itself, but if the B's rack up a few more L's this week, they could be in trouble. This is the final week of the regular season in the Pioneer League, with both the Ballers and High Wheelers looking to clinch postseason berths this week, and there is plenty of room for both of them, too.

After Tuesday's game, Oakland and Yolo sit tied atop the second-half standings at 28-15. With five games left in the season, one team will end up ahead of the other.

Where things get tricky is with the third-place team, the Boise Hawks (24-19), who clobbered the Great Falls Voyagers, 14-6. The win kept their season alive for another day, and brought them to within four games of both Oakland and Yolo. Only two of these three teams can make the playoffs.

With five games left, it would take either Yolo or Oakland losing out the rest of the way, as well as Boise winning the rest of their games in order for the Hawks to outright make the postseason. The Ballers or High Wheelers could also go 1-4 the rest of the way, with Boise winning all five of their games, and that would result in a tie for the second-best record in the second half.

With the tiebreaker being the team's overall records, the Ballers would be safe, having already won 55 games this season, and five additional wins bringing Boise to 54 on the year. The High Wheelers would be in trouble if they went 1-4 the rest of the way, however, currently holding a 51-38 record overall, and one win not being enough to out-pace the Hawks.

None of these scenarios are necessarily likely, given that they take extreme results one way or another, and all begin and end with the Hawks winning the rest of their contests in the first place. If the Ballers and High Wheelers split the remainder of their series 3-2 with one team going 2-3, the Hawks would be out.

The Ballers need to win just one game in order to clinch a tie with Boise, which they would win.