The High Wheelers are in the playoffs
Yolo secure a playoff berth in their inaugural season
Oakland Ballers
56-37
6
Yuba-Sutter Freebirds
52-39
12
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 12 | 14 | 0 |
Davis, Ca.---It started with a press conference on January 23rd on the field at Dobbins Stadium celebrating the birth of professional baseball to this city. Over seven months later there was a celebration of a different kind on the same turf--the birth of a playoff spot. The Yolo High Wheelers (52-39; 29-16) are heading further into September as they defeated the Oakland Ballers (56-37; 29-16) 12-6 on Thursday afternoon. There's still work to be done for the top spot in the second half Pioneer League race as the High Wheelers and Ballers are tied for first with three games left in the regular season. Whomever wins the next two-of-three will finish first in the Pioneer League's second half.
Yolo manager Billy Horton had many thank you's, "all the glory goes to God. The players have done an amazing job, the coaches Jerome Williams with the pitching, Gary Davenport (bench coach) with whom I worked for eight years in the Giants system, our analytics person AJ Crapo, Troy Laparco our general manager, everyone played a role." "A lot of these guys knew each other, played against each other or were with each other in a league last year, we even had guys who played together in little league. These players connected in the off-season and in spring training it was amazing how well they connected. They just love playing together and that's the best part."
The High Wheelers celebrated after the game in a very subdued manner with champagne in their right field bullpen. They know there's a good chance Oakland will be the opponent next week in the first round let alone still with important games this week left against the Ballers.
The game was highlighted by two big innings for Yolo as they scored four runs in the third and six in the fifth. Everyone in the starting lineup reached base safely for the fifth time in the last eight games.
In the third Oakland was up 2-0 before the High Wheelers mounted their first comeback. Yolo had runners at first and third with no one out. Center fielder Brayland Skinner drove in the first run on a fielder's choice. Two batters later, third baseman Braedon Blackford singled in a run which tied the game. Designated hitter Bobby Lada gave the team a 4-2 advantage with a two-out two-run single. Lada has nine RBI's over the three games in this set.
Oakland regained the lead in the fourth scoring three runs and took a 6-5 advantage to the fifth. However, Yolo sent 11 to the plate taking the lead for good. Right fielder Tanner Smith drove home what turned out to be the game-deciding hit with a two-run single to right and left fielder David Glancy (4) belted a two-run homer to left--part of a three-hit day for him. A wild pitch scored a run and shortstop Braylin Marine chipped in with an RBI single. The High Wheelers plated single runs in the sixth and seventh on RBI singles by Glancy and Blackford respectively.
Brandon Mitchell was the starter for Yolo. The left-hander lasted four innings and struck out three while surrendering five runs (all earned). He allowed six hits and two walks. Kris Anglin (2-0) issued one run over two innings and earned the win. Jack Zalasky and Connor Langrell worked innings eight and nine, each a shutout frame.
The fourth game of this series is on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 in Davis. Oakland hasn't announced its starter while for Yolo it'll be righty Ben Ferrer who is tied for the league lead in wins at 10-3 and first in ERA at 4.24.
The playoffs will open on Tuesday, September 10th. Check the High Wheelers website, www.highwheelers.com for more information on times, location, and tickets.
HIGH TALES
The last time a professional baseball team from Yolo County made post-season was the Sacramento RiverCats in 2019 en route to the AAA & Pacific Coast League Championship
First baseman Jose Gonzalez hitting streak of seven came to an end, however, he extended his on-base streak to 39 straight games, drawing a fifth inning walk. He was 15-28 over the seven games, .536. Gonzalez has five hitting streaks of at least seven games with his longest being 12
Marine had three hits---it's his 13th such contest this year. His average is .387
Lada and Gonzalez co-lead the High Wheelers with 83 RBI's
Langrell and Zalasky share the team high in pitching appearances with 37. Langrell in his last 18 games has a total of 19 shutout innings with 25 strikeouts