Oakland Ballers Make History with Two Firsts
In this story:
On Thursday night at Raimondi Park, right-hander Kelsie Whitmore became the first woman to start a game in Pioneer League history. She ended up striking out the first batter of the game, Brayland Skinner, en route to a solid three innings, giving up six hits, three runs (two earned), walking one and striking out one.
First Batter? First Strikeout. @KelsieWhitmore pic.twitter.com/VUdMVr4HYp
— Oakland Ballers (@OaklandBallers) June 7, 2024
The damage was done in the third inning. With one out, Bobby Lada homered for Yolo. After getting Jose Gonzalez to line out to center, Whitmore gave up another home run to Braedon Blackford, giving the High Wheelers a brief 3-2 lead. The Ballers would tie things up on a Myles Jefferson RBI single in the bottom of the inning.
Zach St. Pierre came on in relief, facing the minimum through his first two innings in the fourth and fifth, but in the sixth, the Wheelers went off, scoring five in an inning that included two walks, two singles, and a hit by pitch from St. Pierre, then a fielder's choice, another single, and a sac-fly off Conner Richardson.
The second bit of history came when the game was tied after nine innings. In the Pioneer League, that means that the two clubs go to a Knockout Round, which is essentially a head-to-head Home Run Derby. Each team designates one player to receive five pitches, and then the team with the most home runs at the end wins the game. If the teams are tied after a round, then a new slugger is chosen from each side, and the teams just keep going until a winner is determined. Thursday's contest was the first one of the season for the Ballers, which makes it the first one in franchise history.
With the game tied at eight, the Ballers selected their franchise player, Dondrei Hubbard. Before Tuesday's game, former San Francisco Giants first baseman J.T. Snow said that he was looking forward to pitching in the Knockout Round, and on Thursday he grooved a couple for Hubbard, that the righty slugged over the fence in left. The Ballers won the Knockout Round 2-1, giving them a 9-8 victory on the night.
Justice delos Santos of the Mercury News was on the scene and got video of Hubbard's homers.
The Ballers win their first-ever Knockout Round thanks to Dondrei Hubbard, who homered in regulation, too. Electric. pic.twitter.com/sGC8XcsvVO
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) June 7, 2024
Hubbard also hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
Follow byjasonb