After blowing a 5-2 ninth-inning lead, one towering blast to right field from designated hitter Cuba Bess in the tie-breaking knockout round was enough to redeem the Long Beach Coast. Friday’s victory over the Oakland Ballers was Long Beach’s first-ever knockout round win at Blair Field.
“I did it a lot last year, I thrive under that environment and I love to do it,” Bess said about being selected to hit in the knockout round. “Hitting home runs are fun, especially when you’re just going to go out there and have fun.”
The knockout round is the PBL’s alternative to extra innings. Each team selects one slugger to hit in the knockout round, which consists of two minutes or five swings, whichever comes first. If the home run count is tied, each team sends another hitter for an extra round until the tie is broken.
The Coast needed just one homer to claim victory, which alleviated much of the pressure off Bess
The team, along with Nguyen Lawyers, teased many surprises on Instagram before Friday’s game.
Fans received tote bags with Nguyen Lawyers branding, hats, free beer and more giveaways, including cash prizes.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was Pioneer Baseball League (PBL) home run leader and Ballers first baseman Jeter Ybarra’s homerless effort in the knockout round, the PBL’s alternative to extra innings.
Before the thrilling knockout round, the Coast were seemingly on their way to a low-scoring, anticlimactic win heading into the final inning.
Star reliever Zach Voelker held a three-run lead, with a runner on first and two outs in the top of the ninth. Voelker then issued a walk and a hit-by-pitch to the glutes on a full count, loading the bases. The next batter, Noah Blythe, represented the go-ahead run, but Voelker stayed in the game to earn the last out. Voelker induced a fly ball that was on track to land in center fielder Emilio Corona’s glove, but he dropped it, sharply turning a 5-2 victory into a tie ballgame.
Brett Wozniak replaced Voelker on the mound and nearly got into more trouble after allowing a fly ball to right field. However, right fielder Robert Pitts, who entered the game as a substitute, sprinted toward the foul line and tracked down the ball with just enough grass to spare, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, Corona stepped up to the plate with a chance to erase his error. His base hit up the middle was all for nothing as Bess failed to drive him in or extend the inning further.
Despite his ninth-inning gaffe, Corona had a remarkable offensive performance, with two hits, one run and four RBIs in five at-bats. His first hit was a home run in the first inning, which gave the Coast an early 3-0 lead.
That hot start was appreciated by Coast starter Nathan Hemmerling, who pitched six shutout innings and allowed only four baserunners via three hits and one hit-by-pitch.
“[Offense] has been great all year and we’re going to just continue being great,” Hemmerling said. “It’s pretty easy going out there, especially in the first inning when we put up a three spot and just get to cruise through the innings.”
Hemmerling, who has generated at least seven strikeouts in four of his past five starts, struck out nine batters Friday.
“I just go out there, I get to go throw once a week, so I’m always prepared especially with the coaching staff we have,” he said.
The Coast won their third consecutive game after a three-game losing streak, bringing their August record to 7-5.
“We’re getting our mojo back, especially getting this close to the playoffs, so we’re going to keep grinding, keep doing our thing and continue the winning streak,” Hemmerling said.
Bess acknowledged the challenges of maintaining their record from the first half of the season, when they were the PBL’s best team, but knew the team was due for another hot streak.
“It’s a long season, 96 games,” Bess said. “It’s hard to really ride the way we were on in the first half, but the key to it is not get too up and down, not get too high, not get too low, got to stay even-keeled.”
