Author: ivbaseball

Bucs Season Preview

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The Inland Valley Buccaneers begin their third season under Kevin Bowler on June, 1. The Bucs made strides in season two, qualifying for the SCCBL playoffs and are hungry to build upon that success in 2016.

A lot of familiar faces return for the 2016 season. The Bucs will have 14 returning Inland Valley players, half of which are former Pirates.

Former SCCBL all-stars Kevin Riley (twice), Kyle Jackson (twice), Justin Gomez, Jonathan Hopkins and Anthony Virgen are all back.

Kyle Jackson at second
Kyle Jackson

Kyle Jackson enters his senior season at Georgetown College. As a junior, he hit .291 and notched 55 hits in 52 games. Before Georgetown, Jackson starred at Chaffey College where he was named a first team All-Foothill selection and won a gold glove.

Jackson is no stranger to the Inland Valley program as he embarks on his fourth campaign with the red and black. This time he’ll make the switch from the Pirates to the Bucs. Jackson is the most prolific player in Pirate history scoring the most runs (34), RBI (28), hits (68) and SB (16). He hit higher than .300 all three previous summer seasons.

Junior Kevin Riley has been the cornerstone for the Bucs since the program started in 2014.

Kevin Riley in the Box
Kevin Riley

He’s notched the most hits (60), RBI (25) and runs (35) in Buc history. Riley will play the next two years at CSUN after completing two stellar seasons at Chaffey College. This past season, Riley was named the Foothill Conference player of the year finishing with a .392 BA, .467 OBP, 56 RBI, 48 runs and 8 HR in 43 games. As a freshman, he was also a first team all-foothill selection.

Azusa Pacific sophomore Justin Gomez led the Pirates in hits last season with 33. He also knocked in the most runs (14) and boasted a .464 OBP. His maiden voyage at Azusa Pacific saw him go .285 including a Pac West player of week nod.

Jonathan Hopkins was the Bucs’ #1 starter in 2015. The junior-to-be hurled the most innings in a single season in Buc history (44.2) and recorded the second most strikeouts in a single season (36).

Anthony Virgen
Anthony Virgen

Anthony Virgen is back for his fourth season with Inland Valley playing all three previous seasons with the Pirates. He had the most RBI in a single season for the Pirates (17) and added the highest slugging percentage in club history at an astounding .526 in 2014. Virgen, a senior, led Midland University to the NAIA playoffs this season with a .372 BA and .471 OBP.

Another key returner is Erik Trask, who played for the Bucs in 2014, jumped ship to the Pirates in 2015 and now returns to the Bucs in 2016. He’s logged 84 innings, tied for the most in Inland Valley history. His 69 career strikeouts is second most in program history.

Brett Early joins Trask for his fourth go-around with Inland Valley. Early is the all-time strikeouts leader (96) and is tied for the most innings pitched in the red and black (84).

CSU Bakersfield junior Drew Seelman comes back for his second season with Inland Valley. Seelman hit .356 with a .474 OBP last summer.

Key new additions include: Brad Lewis (Western Nevada), Aaron McCann (Chaffey College) and Anthony Necochea (Valley City State).

The Bucs will open the season at home against the Gamers on June, 1 at 4:30 p.m.

 

 

15 IV Players Headline D2 West Regional

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The road to Cary, North Carolina will go through Riverside, California as Cal Baptist will host Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State East Bay, Cal State Monterey Bay, Chico State and Dixie State.

The regional will have many familiar faces as 15 former Inland Valley players are on rosters.

The No. 1 seed Cal Baptist has first team all Pac-West selection A.J. David along with Alec Morabito.

No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona features first team all CCAA selections Michael Koval, Ryan Alsworth and Caleb Romo. The roster includes honorable mention all CCAA selection Jason Padlo as well as Jacob Bernardy, Kohto Hasegawa, Nic Hernandez, Matt Reynoso, Jonny Reynoso and Erik Trask.

No. 6 Cal State East Bay is represented by former Pirates Troy Resch (all CCAA honorable mention), Sean Patton and Nick Sergi.

The first game will be played Thursday, May 19 at 11 a.m between Dixie State and Cal State Monterey Bay.

Pirates Tearing it up in Minors

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KYLE GARLICK
Team: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Dodgers)
League: California League (Class A Advanced)
Update: Garlick was promoted to the Quakes last week in nearby Rancho Cucamonga. That’ll mark his fourth affiliate this summer after earning promotions in rapid succession. After contributing to the Pirates’ playoff run and continuing his hot hitting for Cal Poly Pomona, in May, Garlick now owns a .337 batting average during his time in the Dodgers’ minor league system. He was a 28th-round pick in June. More Info: Garlick Featured on MLive.com.

CODY PONCE
Team: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers)
League: Midwest League (Class A)
Update: After earning a quick promotion from the Helena Brewers, Ponce has pitched well for the Timber Rattlers. Overall this summer, he’s tossed 29 innings while maintaining a 1.86 earned run average with 23 strikeouts and just six walks. Ponce was a second-round draft pick in June and played for the Pirates in 2013. More Info: Ponce Featured on MLB.com.

CHRISTIAN KELLEY
Team: West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh Pirates)
League: New York-Penn League (Class A Short Season)
Update: Kelley has settled in nicely at the catcher position for the Black Bears. He’s drawn 16 walks in his 34 games played. Kelley was an 11th-round pick in June and was a two-time All-SCCBL selection.

Pirates Fall Short

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The Inland Valley Pirates (18-17-2) fell short in their quest to win in dramatic fashion in Game 3 of the SCCBL first round against the Palm Springs Power (34-12).

The Power scored the lone run of the game in the third inning without notching a hit or even an error as Ryan Raslowsky reached on a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly.

With that said, the Pirates had their chances, but base running mistakes were the thing that hurt their chances the most.

In the ninth inning, Inland Valley got two consecutive hits to start the inning from Kyle Jackson and Andrew Alvarez and they had runners on the corners with no outs. The tying run was just 90 feet away and the go-ahead run was on board, but the Pirates couldn’t come through with the timely hit as Justin Gomez bounced one to the first baseman who threw Jackson out at the plate. Nick Costello and Greg Espinosa tried to continue the rally, but on this day it was meant to be.

The pitching staff was great, only allowing four hits and the one run. Sean Patton worked the middle three innings and notched five strike outs.

Batting AB R H RBI BB K
Kyle Jackson 4 0 2 0 0 1
Jonny Reynoso 2 0 0 0 0 0
Chaneng Varela 1 0 0 0 0 1
Andrew Alvarez 3 0 1 0 1 1
Nick Marshall 3 0 0 0 0 1
Justin Gomez 4 0 2 0 0 0
Jake Thumm 3 0 2 0 0 0
Nick Hernandez 1 0 0 0 0 1
Drew Seelman 2 0 0 0 0 1
Nick Costello 4 0 0 0 0 2
Greg Espinosa 4 0 2 0 0 0
Totals 31 0 9 0 1 8

BattingTB: Kyle Jackson 2, Andrew Alvarez, Justin Gomez 2, Jake Thumm 2, Greg Espinosa2
SAC: Chaneng Varela

Pitching IP #P S% H R ER K BB HR
Sean Patton 3.0 0 — 1 0 0 5 4 0
Brett Early 3.0 0 .000 2 1 1 1 1 0
Ryan Alsworth 2.0 0 .000 1 0 0 2 0 0
Totals 8.0 0 — 4 1 1 8 5 0

PitchingL: Brett Early

Pirates Stave Off Elimination

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The Inland Valley Pirates (18-16-2) staved off elimination Tuesday night at Palm Springs Stadium as they defeated the Palm Springs Power (33-12) 2-1.

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the third when Kyle Jackson knocked in Jeff Nellis, but the Power answered right back in the bottom of the frame to knot it up at 1-1.

The Pirates plated the eventual game-winning run in the eight as Nolan Henley scored on a wild pitch.

Erik Trask tossed 7.2 innings and recorded his second win of the season against the Power. Trask struck out five, while only allowing one run. Ryan Alsworth earned the save finishing the final 1.1 innings.

Game 3 is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Palm Springs Stadium.

Batting AB R H RBI BB K
Kyle Jackson 2 0 0 1 0 0
Jonny Reynoso 3 0 1 0 0 0
Nolan Henley 0 1 0 0 1 0
Jacob Bernardy 2 0 1 0 0 1
Andrew Alvarez 4 0 1 0 0 1
Nick Marshall 4 0 1 0 0 1
Jeff Nellis 3 1 0 0 1 2
Jake Thumm 1 0 0 0 0 0
Nick Hernandez 2 0 0 0 0 1
Drew Seelman 1 0 0 0 1 0
Sergio Robles 2 0 0 0 0 2
Nick Costello 3 0 0 0 1 1
Greg Espinosa 3 0 1 0 0 1
Totals 30 2 5 1 4 10

Batting2B: Jacob Bernardy, Andrew Alvarez
TB: Jonny Reynoso, Jacob Bernardy 2, Andrew Alvarez 2, Nick Marshall, Greg Espinosa
RBI: Kyle Jackson
SAC: Kyle Jackson
SF: Kyle Jackson

Pitching IP #P S% H R ER K BB HR
Erik Trask 7.2 0 — 4 1 1 5 3 0
Ryan Alsworth 1.1 0 .000 0 0 0 1 0 0
Totals 9.0 0 — 4 1 1 6 3 0

PitchingW: Eric Trask
SV: Ryan Alsworth
HBP: Eric Trask 2

Bucs Season Comes to an End

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The Inland Valley Buccaneers (13-17-3) were swept by the OC Riptide in their first round SCCBL playoffs series on Tuesday afternoon at Vanguard University.

The Riptide won 4-1.

No one scored for the first five innings, but in the sixth, the Riptide scored three due to a couple of errors in the inning.

The Bucs got one back in the eighth on an RBI knock by Bryce Brooks, but the Riptide responded with another run in the bottom half of the frame.

Randall Ortiz tossed six stellar innings allowing no earned runs, but was the tough luck losing pitcher.

Batting AB R H RBI BB K
Breyer Gayle 5 0 2 0 0 1
Connor Steer 1 0 0 0 0 0
Brendan Campbell 4 0 0 0 0 0
Kevin Riley 4 1 1 0 0 0
Blake Vandegrift 2 0 0 0 0 0
Johnny Juarez 4 0 1 0 0 0
Hershel Gardner 1 0 0 0 0 1
Matt Majher 4 0 1 0 0 0
Joe Morreale 4 0 0 0 0 1
Bryce Brooks 4 0 2 1 0 0
DJ Peters 2 0 1 0 2 0
Totals 35 1 8 1 2 3

Batting2B: Breyer Gayle, Matt Majher
TB: Breyer Gayle 3, Kevin Riley, Johnny Juarez, Matt Majher 2, Bryce Brooks 2, DJ Peters
RBI: Bryce Brooks
SAC: Kevin Riley
ROE: Matt Majher
FC: DJ Peters
SB: Bryce Brooks

Pitching IP #P S% H R ER K BB HR
Randall Ortiz 6.0 0 .000 5 3 0 0 2 0
Jacob Taylor 2.0 0 .000 3 1 1 1 0 0
Totals 8.0 0 — 8 4 1 1 2 0

PitchingL: Randall Ortiz
WP: Jacob Taylor

Bucs Taken Away by Riptide

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The Inland Valley Buccaneers (13-16-3) were crushed 20-5 by the OC Riptide Monday night at Cal Poly Pomona in Game 1 of the SCCBL semifinals.

Orange County took a 1-0 lead in the first.

The score remained the same until the fourth when the Riptide plated seven.

The Bucs got one back in the bottom of the frame as Brendan Campbell’s RBI ground out scored Kevin Riley.

Orange County scored eight more times in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 16-1 lead.

Inland Valley responded with a two-run homer by Joseph Morreale in the seventh.

The Riptide went back to work with four more in the eighth taking a 20-3 lead.

The Bucs tacked two in the bottom of the eighth as DJ Peters ripped a RBI triple and scored on a ground out by Johnny Juarez. Peters was one of the bright spots finishing 4-for-4.

The Bucs will travel to Vanguard University for Game 2 of the SCCBL semifinals at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Batting AB R H RBI BB K
Breyer Gayle 4 0 0 0 0 1
JP Hopkins 2 0 0 0 0 1
Connor Steer 2 0 0 0 0 0
Brendan Campbell 4 0 0 1 0 0
Kevin Riley 3 2 1 0 0 0
Blake Vandegrift 2 1 1 0 0 0
Johnny Juarez 2 0 0 1 2 1
Hershel Gardner 2 0 0 0 0 1
Matt Majher 1 0 0 0 1 0
Jacob Taylor 1 0 0 0 0 1
Joe Morreale 2 1 1 2 0 0
Bryce Brooks 4 0 2 0 0 1
DJ Peters 4 1 4 1 0 0
Totals 33 5 9 5 3 6

Batting2B: Blake Vandegrift
3B: DJ Peters
HR: Joe Morreale
TB: Kevin Riley, Blake Vandegrift 2, Joe Morreale 4, Bryce Brooks 2, DJ Peters 6
RBI: Brendan Campbell, Johnny Juarez, Joe Morreale 2, DJ Peters
HBP: Kevin Riley
SB: DJ Peters

Pitching IP #P S% H R ER K BB HR
Alex Bernstein 1.0 0 .000 2 1 0 1 1 0
Chris Sanchez 1.1 0 .000 7 8 6 0 2 0
Chris Ghosn 1.0 0 .000 0 0 0 2 0 0
Jonathan Hopkins 3.0 0 .000 8 7 6 3 2 0
Diego Cortes 2.2 0 .000 4 4 3 1 1 0
Totals 9.0 0 — 21 20 15 7 6 0

PitchingL: Jonathan Hopkins
HBP: Jonathan Hopkins
WP: Alex Bernstein

Pirates Overpowered in Game 1

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The Inland Valley Pirates (17-16-2) were overpowered by the Palm Springs Power (33-11) 8-1 in Game 1 of the SCCBL semifinals on Monday afternoon at Cal Poly Pomona

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Alvarez, but it was all downhill from there as the Power scored eight unanswered runs.

Palm Springs scored once in the second, three times in the third and fourth and once more in the seventh.

The two teams will meet at 7 p.m. in Palm Springs Stadium Tuesday night in Game 2 of the SCCBL semifinals.

Batting AB R H RBI BB K
Kyle Jackson 3 0 0 0 0 0
Jonny Reynoso 2 0 0 0 0 1
Jacob Bernardy 2 0 0 0 0 0
Chaneng Varela 2 1 1 0 0 1
Andrew Alvarez 2 0 0 1 0 1
Nick Marshall 1 0 1 0 0 0
Jeff Nellis 2 0 0 0 0 1
Justin Gomez 2 0 0 0 0 1
Nick Hernandez 1 0 0 0 0 0
Drew Seelman 2 0 1 0 0 1
Sergio Robles 1 0 0 0 0 0
Nick Costello 4 0 1 0 0 0
Greg Espinosa 3 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 27 1 4 1 0 6

BattingTB: Chaneng Varela, Nick Marshall, Drew Seelman, Nick Costello
RBI: Andrew Alvarez
SF: Andrew Alvarez
CS: Drew Seelman

Pitching IP #P S% H R ER K BB HR
Andrew Eppenbach 1.1 0 .000 3 1 1 0 0 0
Brendan Hornung 0.2 0 — 0 1 1 0 1 0
Jarrett Veiga 5.0 0 — 5 2 2 1 3 0
Erik Gonzalez 1.0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jacob Battaglia 1.0 0 .000 3 4 4 0 0 0
Totals 9.0 0 — 11 8 8 1 4 0

PitchingL: Brendan Hornung
HBP: Jacob Battaglia 2
WP: Andrew Eppenbach, Jarrett Veiga

Bucs Tie Force

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The final regular season game for the Inland Valley Bucs (13-15-3, 8-11-1) saw them use an eight-run eighth inning to take a one-run lead and ultimately tie the San Diego Force (36-6-2, 14-4-2) by a 10-10 score Friday night at Madison High.

The Bucs fell behind by a 9-2 margin heading into the eighth and that’s when they not only tied it up, but took a 10-9 lead.

Brendan Campbell went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Johnny Juarez cranked a two-run triple and scored twice.

Jacob Taylor knocked in two RBI and scored once.

Tristan Chamberlain, DJ Peters and Connor Steer added one RBI and one run apiece.

The Bucs will have the weekend off before playing the OC Riptide at 4 p.m. at Cal Poly Pomona in Game 1 of the first round of the SCCBL tournament.

Batting AB R H RBI BB K
JP Hopkins 2 1 2 0 0 0
Tristan Chamberlain 4 1 0 1 1 2
Connor Steer 3 1 1 1 2 0
Brendan Campbell 4 2 3 1 1 0
Kevin Riley 2 0 0 1 0 0
Blake Vandegrift 2 0 0 0 0 1
Johnny Juarez 2 2 1 2 1 0
Hershel Gardner 2 0 0 0 0 2
Matt Majher 4 1 0 0 1 1
Jacob Taylor 4 1 1 2 0 0
Bryce Brooks 5 0 1 0 0 1
DJ Peters 3 1 2 1 0 0
Totals 37 10 11 9 6 7

Batting3B: Johnny Juarez
TB: JP Hopkins 2, Connor Steer, Brendan Campbell 3, Johnny Juarez 3, Jacob Taylor, Bryce Brooks, DJ Peters 2
RBI: Tristan Chamberlain, Connor Steer, Brendan Campbell, Kevin Riley, Johnny Juarez 2, Jacob Taylor 2, DJ Peters
SF: Kevin Riley
ROE: Johnny Juarez
HBP: Tristan Chamberlain
CI: Jacob Taylor

Pitching IP #P S% H R ER K BB HR
Alex Bernstein 2.0 0 .000 1 1 1 3 1 0
Chris Sanchez 2.0 0 .000 3 2 2 3 1 0
Gerardo Ramirez 1.0 0 .000 4 3 3 0 1 0
Logan Lannon 2.0 0 .000 4 3 3 4 1 0
DJ Peters 2.0 0 — 2 1 1 2 0 0
Totals 9.0 0 — 14 10 10 12 4 0