The Inland Valley Pirates (8-9-1, 3-8) fell short of their comeback attempt against the San Diego Force (23-4, 10-2) Sunday afternoon at Madison High.
After trailing by six runs on three separate occasions, the Pirates cut the deficit to three in the eighth and left bases loaded in the ninth.
The Force led 6-0 at the end of the second.
The Pirates got one back in the third when Drew Seelman knocked home Jeff Nellis.
The margin was once again extended to six as the Force tacked on one in the third to make it a 7-1 score.
The Pirates plated one in the fifth on a Jason Padlo RBI single, but once again the Force made it a six-run game when they answered in the sixth to grab an 8-2 lead.
In the eighth, the Pirates scored three to cut the deficit in half at 8-5. The first three hitters in the inning all reached base and scored including Jonny Reynoso, Justin Gomez and Jacob Bernardy.
The Pirates threatened in the ninth with bases loaded one out, but Justin Hertzman, the Force closer slammed the door shut by striking out both Pirates he faced.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Jackson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jonny Reynoso | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jacob Bernardy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chaneng Varela | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jason Padlo | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Nellis | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Justin Gomez | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Nick Hernandez | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Drew Seelman | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 38 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
Batting2B: Jeff Nellis
TB: Jonny Reynoso, Chaneng Varela, Jason Padlo 3, Jeff Nellis 3, Justin Gomez 2, Nick Hernandez, Drew Seelman
RBI: Kyle Jackson, Jason Padlo, Jeff Nellis, Drew Seelman
FC: Kyle Jackson, Drew Seelman
HBP: Jacob Bernardy
| Pitching | IP | #P | TB | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | S% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conlan McKenzie | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Andrew Matus | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Andrew Eppenbach | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Dylan Stablein | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Ryan Alsworth | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — |
PitchingL: Andrew Eppenbach
HBP: Andrew Matus, Andrew Eppenbach