The Inland Valley Pirates drop game one in their series against the Long Beach Legends Tuesday night. After leading early in the game, the Pirates couldn’t control their ship and ended up losing 8-4.
The Pirates hit some rocky waters when the Legends hit a homerun off of starting pitcher, Pablo Valenzuela (2) in the first inning. Luckily, the Pirates were able to respond and take the lead in the bottom of the inning with a lead off base hit from Tyler Van Marte (34), a walk for Greg Lamb (3) and a double for Cody Marshall (11) to bring them both in. Designated hitter Dennis Hildebrandt (16), hit a deep single to bring in Marshall to make the score 3-1 in the first.
However, the Pirates just couldn’t contain the Legends’ bats. The score would tie-up at 4-4 in the fourth inning and the Legends would continue to stay hot and get four more runs. Despite all the hits, Pirates defense was not something to be upset about. Reliever, Nicholas Ramirez (10) got the defensive momentum going with 3 shut out innings in the fourth, fifth and sixth. Following his lead, the defense worked together to get throw outs and double plays to keep the innings short.
In Sunset League play, the Pirates are now 4-7 and 4-9 overall. The Pirates hope to split the series with the Legends on Thursday, June 28 at 7pm at Amerige Park in Fullerton.