Halsema Plays Hero In 9-6 Win

By Nevada Cullen

DAVIS, Calif. -- Trevor Halsema collected three hits and drove in four runs on Saturday, powering the Ballers to a 9-6 win over the Yolo High Wheelers. He mashed a go-ahead three-run homer and tied his season-high in RBI to help Oakland snap a quick two-game skid.

Yolo scored first with a run in both the second and third innings, but it could have been much worse. Oakland starting pitcher Derrick Cherry induced a double play in each frame to limit the damage.

An error got Oakland on the board in the top of the fourth. Next, Halsema crushed his three-run tater to the opposite field to give the Ballers a 4-2 lead.

Two batters later, Coleton Horner nearly crushed the second home run of the inning. He pounded a double off of the top of the left-field wall to put two in scoring position. Finally, Jaylen Smith came through with an RBI groundout to complete the five-spot.

The High Wheelers got one in the fifth and another in the sixth, but the Ballers responded in the top of the seventh. After a Myles Jefferson double down the left-field line, Halsema singled him in to put Oakland up 7-4.

Yolo pulled within one in the bottom of the frame. Alejandro Figueredo singled after successfully challenging a called third strike. The next batter, Justin Kirby, crushed a hanging breaking ball for a two-run blast, cutting the deficit to 7-6 for the High Wheelers.

Then, with the tying run on base for Yolo, Jefferson turned a sweet double play to get the Ballers out of the inning. The Oakland shortstop fielded a ground ball hit towards the middle, stepped on the second-base bag, and fired to first to turn two.

An Austin Davis RBI double in the eighth and Horner run-scoring single in the ninth gave the Ballers insurance. Chandler David locked down the 9-6 victory for his first professional save. He struck out a pair and retired the side in order.

Oakland can salvage a series split Sunday, with an early start at 1:05 p.m. You can listen as always on 860 AM The Answer.