Sitting just a half game back of Team San Diego and the Palm Springs Power, the Inland Valley Pirates knew they had a very important game against the Bucs Thursday afternoon at Cal Poly Pomona.
The Pirates (15-4, 6-3) responded superbly defeating the Bucs (3-14, 2-9) 4-1.
AJ David ripped a two-run double down the left field line scoring Jason Padlo and Andrew Alvarez to make it a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third.
The Pirates doubled up in the sixth inning when Nolan Henley belted a two-run single scoring Jonny Reynoso and Jimmy Mancilla.
The Bucs scored one run in the seventh when Mbusi Hlatshwayo crossed home plate, but it was too little too late.
Conlan McKenzie (1-0) earned his first victory of the season. Brett Early notched his first save striking out both hitters he faced in the ninth.
Jacob Cage was solid in five innings of work for the Bucs, allowing two runs while striking out six.
PIRATES
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonny Reynoso | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kyle Jackson | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Michael Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A.J. David | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Alec Morabito | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Anthony Virgen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nathan Virgen | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jorge Ortega | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nolan Henley | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Padlo | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jacob Bernardy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Alvarez | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Matthew Reynoso | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bryce Cherry Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dylan Lowenstein | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jimmy Mancilla | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 29 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | S% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brett Early | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Aaron Reynoso | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Jordan Scheftz | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Ryan Romero | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Jack Johnson | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Michael Koval | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Conlan McKenzie | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Totals | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | – |
BUCCANEERS
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rudy Casarez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Luke Asperger | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Miles Ryan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bryce Brooks | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charles Escobar | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mbusi Hlatshwayo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Riley | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Diego Cortes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Spohn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Richie Chavez | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Michael Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tanner Thibodeau | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Anthony Rabito | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | S% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Trask | 4.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Jacob Cage | 5.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | — |