Oakland Ballers Add New Faces, Start a Win Streak

Jason Burke, Madison Montez | Aug 5, 2024

Oakland Ballers playing at Raimondi Field / Oakland Ballers

The Ballers added new guys to the roster this past week, and they were all able to make their debuts at home in the 6-game series. Growing up less than an hour away from Oakland, playing for the Ballers has been a dream come true for RHP Connor Sullivan and LHP Luke Short.

All of Connor’s baseball journey has come in the Bay Area. He attended College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, California as a multi-sport athlete playing both football and baseball. After graduating high school in 2019, Connor went the Juco route committing to San Mateo and continuing his multi-sport journey. Finishing up at San Mateo, he then transferred and finished his collegiate baseball career at the University of California, Berkeley playing D1 baseball. 

Cal was definitely an easy choice for Sullivan and his family. “Obviously it’s close to home and my grandparents coming to games is important. It’s a power 5 school. There was great competition and I got along with everyone” Sullivan said. He made his Cal debut on February 20th against San Diego State going 2 1/3 scoreless innings only giving up one hit and one walk. 

Sullivan made his Ballers debut on July 28 where he pitched two innings giving up a hit and no runs, recording four strikeouts.

“It was a bit of a surreal experience, the atmosphere was awesome and the fans really got into it”, said Sullivan following his debut. Both of his parents were in attendance and were more than proud. “I was definitely more nervous than him, as a parent we can’t do anything more than cheer.”, Connor’s father Rob Sullian added. He pitched on the July 31, helping the Ballers pick up their first win of the series. He recorded three strikeouts, walked one, gave up zero hits, and zero runs through two innings. Sullivan completed his first week with the Ballers on Friday, pitching in the 9-4 win and going 1 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and striking out three. 

On Sunday August 4, the Ballers debuted a left-hander, Luke Short from San Jose. Short also went the Juco route, attending West Valley College and ending his career at the University of California, Berkeley where he played alongside Connor Sullivan. 

Short has played for many colleges in his lifetime. Sort of team hopping, playing for four different teams throughout his college career and ultimately ending with Cal. Coming to Oakland and already having a relationship with a teammate definitely helped the transition go smoother. “It was cool. It made me a little bit more comfortable coming in here. It’s nothing new to me being the new guy but it is nice having somebody you can talk to if you don’t know a bunch of the guys.” 

In his Ballers debut, Short went 2 2/3 innings giving up two hits, no runs, no walks, and striking out five.

“I went out there and just tried to pitch my game and I feel like I did that pretty effectively.” Since he’s from the Bay Area and very close to Oakland, his family came out and supported him. “I’m sure if you were at the game, you’d know that my family was here. We had a whole cheering section and I’m so grateful for them.”

Short was a part of history with his debut on Sunday, when the Ballers hit their first ever walk-off. “It’s an honor, it’s an honor to be the starting pitcher out there. The offense picked it up late in the game and our guys out in the pen shut it down. Overall it was a great win for the boys”.  

The Ballers are on a five-game win streak after taking five of six from the Northern Colorado Owlz. They will travel to Idaho this week to take on the Idaho Falls Chukars Tuesday through Sunday, and will be looking to keep the streak going. This will be the first of two matchups between the Ballers and the Chukars this season. 

With the great week, the Ballers are now 37-29 on the year overall, and are now 10-8 in the second half, sitting in third place. Idaho Falls (7-11) have lost five straight heading into their matchup with the hottest team in the Pioneer League.