Power Convincingly Take Game One From Pirates After Favela Gets Injured

The Inland Valley Pirates and Palm Springs Power met halfway to play a doubleheader at UCR on Monday. 

The two teams met for a weekend series two weeks earlier in Palm Springs, a series that saw the Pirates beat and sweep the Power for the first time in a long time. 

Monday’s doubleheader was significant for both teams as they held the top two seeds, but had yet to clinch. 

The Pirates, looking for a season sweep of the Power, started Jude Favela, one of their premier pitchers. Favela looked sharp early, but he was hit with a comebacker to the elbow with two outs in the first inning. 

Favela immediately walked off the mound after getting hit, and there was no question about keeping him in the game. 

Losing Favela was a massive blow to the Pirates, and they felt the impact immediately. The runner on base was able to advance, and the batter who hit the ball reached base. 

After a lengthy delay to allow the Pirates to warm up a new pitcher, Power catcher Matt Chavez hit a double into the right-center gap, bringing in two runs. 

Pirates pitcher Noe Novella did well for the circumstances and got out of the first and pitched a clean second inning. 

In the third inning, the Power completely blew the game open. The Pirates were not even able to get an out until the seventh batter of the inning. 

Michael Gonsalez hit a single to bring in the first run of the inning. Mark Kirkwood hit a deep double to add a second run, and Chavez continued his success by finding two more RBIs.

A bases-loaded walk, and another single added two more runs to the total, making the score 8-0 in just the third inning. 

In the bottom of the inning, Cole Koniarsky hit a line drive down the rightfield line to bring in one run for the Pirates, but they would need multiple big rallies to match the Power. 

The game was quiet for a few innings, until the top of the sixth, when a bases-loaded walk extended the Power’s lead to 9-1. 

The Pirates were only able to bring in one more run during game one, and it came on a Sonny Rios single to center. 

The final score of the game was 9-2, and the pressure was now on the Pirates to beat the Power in game two to help them try to clinch a playoff spot.