Ballers complete reverse sweep to snatch PBL crown from Chukars

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Chukars have finished the 2025 season one win short of claiming their first league championship in six years.

Seven days after pitching Idaho Falls into the Pioneer Baseball League championship series, Shane Spencer got the start again in a winner-take-all game for the trophy. Spencer was dominant for four innings, but he pitched six-plus. The damage the Ballers dealt him in the first two innings, Spencer’s offense never could overcome, as Oakland earned an 8-1 Game 5 victory.

Both offenses started their halves of the first inning nearly identically — with a walk and a hit to set up a second-and-third, two-out situation. As was the case in Games 3 and 4, the Chukars were unable to get the big hit, stranding both runners.

Oakland, on the other hand, did get the clutch hit — a three-run homer from third baseman Jake Allgeyer.

Spencer was hit with an RBI single in the second, pushing the Ballers’ lead to 4-0.

The right-hander locked in from there, giving his offense sufficient chances to answer the early deficit, but the answer never came. And the Ballers put the game out of reach with four more runs against the Chukar bullpen.

Spencer allowed one hit over the next four innings, and eventually retired for the season having tossed 6-1/3 innings, allowing five hits and four runs while striking out nine.

The Chukar offense never could find that clutch hit it searched three days for, leaving seven men on base on the night.

Idaho Falls did eventually find the scoreboard, on a Trevor Rogers solo homer in the ninth, but the game had already all but been decided.

The Chukars were held to just three combined hits. They struck out 14 times.

Prior to the series, manager Troy Percival spoke about the incredible improvement he has seen from the club in his two years as skipper. The Chukars went from a last-place finish and 34-win season in 2023, to a 40 wins and a 10-place finish (out of 12 teams) last year.

This year, with a nearly identical roster, Percival’s club won 54 games and came just a few hits short of a league championship. Many of those same players will be eligible to return to the club next year, including “franchise player” Tyler Wyatt, who missed the entire postseason with an oblique injury.