10.14.22 - Teams
Arizona Ridge Riders move to No. 2 in league standings after win against No. 1 Oklahoma Freedom at home
Though both teams only rode one bull, the Ridge Riders made theirs count.
By Mandi McCary
Arizona Ridge Riders: 86 / Oklahoma Freedom: 84.5
GLENDALE, Ariz. – As the opening night of their inaugural PBR Team Series homestand event began, the No. 3-ranked Arizona Ridge Riders cooled off the No. 1 Oklahoma Freedom, making the best of one bull ride to beat the league’s top team by a slim margin of 1.5 points and move ahead in the season standings to No. 2.
Winning their first game in the three-game set in Glendale helps the Ridge Riders in their push for the No. 1 seed heading towards the PBR Team Series Championship in Las Vegas (Nov. 4-6).
After a scoreless first frame, Oklahoma put the first score on the board as young gun Tate Pollmeier (Ft. Scott, Kansas) conquered Throw Down (Triplett Bucking Bulls) for 84.5 points. Despite his best try to put the Ridge Riders on the board, Vitor Losnake (Bauru, Brazil) ended his high-scoring hot streak of the past few weeks when he came down hard after 4.72 seconds.
Alisson De Souza (Taubate, Brazil) was the Ridge Riders’ sole score in the third frame, putting Arizona on the board and in the lead for a game-high score of 86 points aboard Clark (Triplett Bucking Bulls).
The bulls got the better of the cowboys in the final two frames as all four riders, including Arizona’s first-round draft pick Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) and Oklahoma’s usually successful closer Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington), now 13-for-27 on the season, were thwarted by their bovine opponents.
The win takes Arizona to 14-11-1 this season. They will seek their second game victory at PBR Ridge Rider Days on Saturday, Oct. 15 when they face the Texas Rattlers (1-0 | 14-12-0). The Oklahoma Freedom now sit at 15-11 for the season. They will look to rebound during the second round of games when they play the Nashville Stampede (1-0 | 6-19-1).
PBR’s Ridge Rider Days continues Saturday, October 14 at 6:45 p.m. MST. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com and PBR.com, at the Desert Diamond Arena (formerly Gila River Arena) Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer replays of all the PBR Team Series action from Glendale. Check https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/pbr-ridepass for the latest programming schedule.