Ballers Falter Late in 12-7 Loss
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Great Falls Voyagers | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 16 | 2 |
|
Oakland Ballers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 1 |
By Nevada Cullen
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Ballers fell behind four separate times on Friday night against the Great Falls Voyagers, and tied the game or took the lead on three of those instances. But, they gave up five runs over the final two innings and couldn't stage an ultimate comeback in their 12-7 defeat.
Great Falls fans will always remember this as the Antonio Fernandez game. The catcher launched his first two professional long balls and drove in a career-high five runs to guide his team to victory. Fernandez even provided a go-ahead solo shot in the eighth inning, which gave the Voyagers a lead they never surrendered.
For the third time in the series, the Voyagers scored first. Hernan Yanez pulled an RBI double down the right field line, and Fernandez smacked a sacrifice fly to center to put Great Falls up 2-0.
But, the Ballers grabbed the lead right away in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Lozano delivered an RBI single, and Austin Davis came through with a two-run infield hit to hand Oakland a 3-2 advantage.
Fernandez crushed a three-run homer to place the Voyagers back in front in the fourth. Once again, the Ballers answered immediately with a game-tying, two-run tater from Lozano, his second big fly of the series. Oakland regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth, as Brad Burckel scored on a passed ball.
Jack Lynch knotted the game at six with an RBI single in the fifth, part of a three-hit performance for him. Almost as soon as Great Falls got the lead again in the sixth, Dondrei Hubbard leveled the terms once more with a run-scoring infield hit in the home half of the inning.
In the eighth, Fernandez led off the frame with his go-ahead bomb. Freddy Rojas Jr. landed the last blow, a three-run dinger in the ninth that resulted in a 12-7 lead for the Voyagers.
The Ballers no longer have a shot at a first-half playoff berth. However, they hope to return to their winning ways on Saturday against the Voyagers, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. PDT. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.
