The Pirates fell to the San Diego Force, 9-5 in the first game of a doubleheader at Scolinos Field on Saturday.
The Force hung a four-spot in the third inning to take a 4-0.
The Pirates cut into the lead slightly on an RBI single by Jason Padlo, to make it a 4-1 game.
The Force tacked on two more runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 6-1.
The Pirates rallied, however, in the bottom of the inning.
With two outs and runners on first and third, shortstop Tristan Hildebrandt came through with a clutch double to left center, scoring one and trimming the lead to 6-2.
The next batter Jason Padlo kept the rally going with a two-run single, which cut the lead to 6-4.
Two batters later, Padlo came in to score on a single by Kyle Jackson. The lead was down to one, 6-5.
The score remained 6-5 until the eighth inning when the Force scored three runs to expand their lead to 9-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates tried to mount one last comeback, putting runners on first and third with one out. However, a double play ball extinguished the rally and hand the Pirates their fifth loss of the season.
Jason Padlo led the way for the Pirates, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three runs batted in.
Kyle Jackson also had a quality day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs batted in.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Jackson | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonny Reynoso | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nolan Henley | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chaneng Varela | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jason Padlo | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Nick Marshall | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeff Nellis | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Justin Gomez | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tristan Hildebrandt | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 37 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
Batting2B: Jason Padlo, Tristan Hildebrandt
TB: Kyle Jackson 2, Jonny Reynoso 2, Nolan Henley, Chaneng Varela, Jason Padlo3, Nick Marshall, Justin Gomez, Tristan Hildebrandt 2
RBI: Kyle Jackson 2, Jason Padlo 2, Tristan Hildebrandt
| Pitching | IP | #P | TB | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | S% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Patton | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Brett Early | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Brendan Hornung | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | .000 |
| Marcos Martinez | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 0 | — |
PitchingL: Brendan Hornung