Long Ball Decides Coast 8-7 Victory over Ballers
The Long Beach Coast (30-8) kept the Oakland Ballers (16-22) at arms length in the 8-7 Wednesday night victory with the two teams combining for five home runs.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 1 |
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0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 5 | 1 |
LONG BEACH, CA – The Long Beach Coast (30-8) kept the Oakland Ballers (16-22) at arms length in the 8-7 Wednesday night victory with the two teams combining for five home runs. What started as a 6-1 L.B.C. lead turned into a nine-inning game of cat-and-mouse with Oakland chasing but never catching Long Beach.
The Ballers crept across runs in five different innings to chase the five-run third frame that buoyed the Coast.
It took six pitchers for the L.B.C. to claw into the win column; starter Nick Bautista dealt 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts. A string of Jake Dixon, Ryan Faulks, Liam Rocha, Steven Ordorica, and Cole Percival relieved the right-hander. Despite surrendering a pair of hits to begin his outing in the ninth, Percival rebounded by retiring the next three batters to secure his second save and the win for Long Beach.
Second baseman Jacob Jablonski splashed two home runs in his first two at-bats to set the tone for the Coast. Catcher Cuba Bess battled through injuries to slug a two-run blast in the fifth inning, as well. The Oakland bats contributed to the long ball-heavy evening with two dingers of their own.
The Coast and B’s rematch for the weekday series finale on Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. PDT. Doors open for Long Beach’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence Day at 5:05 p.m. The red, white, and blue themed Beach Ball Pre-Game Report rolls into action on the Home Team Network and the Long Beach Coast YouTube channel at 6:15 p.m.
Jesse Cook