Short Tosses Six No-Hit Innings in Win

By Nevada Cullen

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Ballers carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning and held on for a 4-3 victory over the Boise Hawks in Sunday's series finale. Following three consecutive losses to the Hawks, the Ballers rallied with three straight wins to salvage a series split.

Oakland starter Luke Short was unhittable in just his fourth professional outing. He punched out nine and faced the minimum over six hitless frames to earn his first win as a Baller and as a professional.

Short struck out the side in order to begin the game. In the bottom of the first, the Ballers drew a couple walks to start the frame, and Dondrei Hubbard hit an RBI infield single to open the scoring.

Boise starting pitcher Brayden Spears kept the Ballers from scoring again until the fifth. On a two-strike pitch, Daunte Stuart slammed an opposite-field, RBI double to increase Oakland's edge to 2-0.

To begin the sixth, Joseph Kalafut worked a walk, becoming the first baserunner of the game for the Hawks. Although it ended Short's attempt at a perfect game, the lefty then notched his ninth strikeout and induced a double play to finish his sparkling performance.

Brett Barrera, whom the Ballers acquired in a trade with the Idaho Falls Chukars, made his Oakland debut on Sunday. He led off the bottom of the six with a solo bomb to left, his 19th home run of the year and first in green and gold.

Later in the frame, a second Brett went yard: Brett Carson. The left-handed hitter somehow sent a pitch at his eyes over the left-field wall for a solo shot, his 10th of the season and also his first as a Baller. With two sixth-inning dingers, the Ballers doubled their lead to 4-0.

Brody Eglite entered in the seventh and struck out two Hawks. So, the Oakland pitching staff carried its no-hit bid into the eighth.

Trevor Minder kicked off the eighth with a line-drive home run that barely snuck over the wall in left, ending the no-no and the shutout. It also snapped Eglite's scoreless-innings streak at an impressive 20 shutout frames.

The Hawks came within a run in the ninth because of a two-run bomb by Troy Viola, his 24th of the year. But, Carson Lambert shut the door on Boise and claimed his sixth save of the campaign.

From the fifth inning of game four of the series on Thursday, to the seventh inning of Sunday's series finale, the Oakland pitching staff went on an improbable run. The Ballers held the Hawks scoreless for 30 consecutive innings with a pair of shutout victories, showcasing their dominance in the second half of the series.

For the first time this season, it can be said that the Ballers are in a playoff spot. Since the Missoula PaddleHeads lost on Sunday, the Ballers are tied with the PaddleHeads for the second-best record in the second half of the PBL season. Missoula already clinched in the first half, which negates the need for Oakland to have a tiebreaker over the PaddleHeads.

Of course, the Ballers also want to better their spot in the overall standings just in case that determines their postseason fate. With the Northern Colorado Owlz also falling on Sunday, Oakland has jumped Northern Colorado to take third place overall.

Next, the Ballers travel to Windsor for a six-game set with those Owlz. First pitch for Tuesday's series opener is set for 5:15 p.m. PDT. As always, you can listen on 860 AM The Answer.