On Saturday at Scolinos Field, the Inland Valley Pirates fell to the South Bay Sliders in a tightly contested, 4-2 bout.
The Sliders got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning off of Pirates starter, Breion Barron.
The Pirates managed to push across the early equalizer in the bottom of the first on a two-out base hit by Brennan McKenzie.
However, the Sliders regained the lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings to make it a 3-1 game.
In the bottom of the seventh, McKenzie delivered once again, with a sacrifice fly to left to trim the lead to 3-2.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, they were unable to muster anything more as the Sliders tacked on an insurance run in the ninth and held on to win by a final of 4-2.
Brennan McKenzie stood out, offensively, driving in both of the Pirates two runs. On the mound, Kyle Wade turned in three shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out two batters.
The Pirates will drop anchor for a brief recess, before they draw their swords again on Wednesday, when they take on the Gamers at Scolinos Field. Game time is set for 6:00 PM.