Oakland Ballers Latest Win, a Relief

Jason Burke | Jul 21, 2024

The second half of the Pioneer League season started off rough for the Oakland Ballers, losing three straight to their most bitter rival (and fellow expansion team) the Yolo High Wheelers. Two of those losses came in the Knockout Round after the games were tied after nine innings. On Saturday, the Ballers got revenge.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Oakland was walked off during the Knockout Round by the bat of Jose Gonzalez of the High Wheelers. The Knockout Round essentially equates to an extra-innings Home Run Derby. It was added to the Pioneer League in 2022, and essentially boils down to one player from each team getting two minutes to crank as many dingers as they possible. The team with the most homers wins.

After losing two Knockout Rounds earlier this week, the Ballers decided to flip their strategy and try something completely new, sending relief pitcher Jake Dahle to the plate. He hammered the second pitch he saw over the fence in left, accounting for the lone homer and earning the Ballers their second consecutive win, bringing their second-half record to 2-3.

According to Baseball-Reference, in the 97 games he's played since 2019 when he began his college career at Utah, Dahle has never accrued a single at-bat. Technically, he still hasn't. But he does have a game-winning home run.

The Ballers return home on Friday, July 26 to face the High Wheelers for the remainder of the weekend, then have a full six-game series at home against the Northern Colorado Owlz that lasts from July 30-August 4. After that, the Ballers will only have two more home series left before the end of the regular season at the beginning of September. If you haven't been to a game at Raimondi Park yet, it's a great experience for fans of all ages.