Tag: Christian Kelley

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.

Three Pirates Drafted

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3_pirated[1]Three former Inland Valley Pirates have reached the pinnacles of their careers by hearing their names announced in the 2015 MLB Draft.

It started with Cody Ponce late Monday night, who was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 55th overall pick in the second round.

Ponce boasted a microscopic 1.69 ERA in 2013, while only allowing the opposition to hit .164. He was the ace of the staff at Cal Poly Pomona this past season and a big reason why they were able to advance to the semifinal round of the Division 2 World Series.

Christian Kelley celebrated next early Wednesday morning as he was drafted by a familiar mascot, the Pirates in the 11th round. Kelley was the 337th overall pick.

Kelley was one of the undoubted leaders of the Pirates in his two-year stint with the ball club. He was a two-time SCCBL all-star selection hitting .284 in 2014, while ripping in 11 and also scoring 11 runs. Kelley’s prowess as a brick-wall backstop was on full display both seasons as he commanded the best from his pitching staffs and got it time and time again. Mix that with the fact that he has a cannon for an arm and the big league Pirates should feel like they’ve gotten one of the steals of the draft.

Finally, Kyle Garlick was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as the 852nd overall pick in round 28.

Garlick was huge in the push to the playoffs. He hit .344 and was a mainstay in the middle of the lineup for each of his 10 games played. In the playoffs, he showed what clutch and prime-time player he was by coming up with a go-ahead double in the playoff game against Team San Diego, while adding a three-run homer to give the Pirates the lead over the Power in Game 1 of the Championship Series.

We wish the best of luck to all three of the former Pirates who were selected and look forward to seeing many more in future drafts!

D2 Regional Features 17 Inland Valley Players

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After winning both the regular season and postseason CCAA championship, Cal Poly Pomona secured the No. 1 seed in the western regional of the Division 2 tournament.

They will host the regional tournament at Mt. Sac starting Thursday morning at 11 a.m.

This specific tournament has extra significance for the Inland Valley Baseball Association because 17 of its players will be represented between four of the participating schools with one goal in mind – to make the World Series in

Joining the Broncos are No. 2 Azusa Pacific, No. 3 Cal Baptist and No. 6 Point Loma.

Cal Poly has 12 including: (Ryan Alsworth, Jacob Bernardy, Kyle Garlick, Christian Kelley, Michael Koval, Jason Padlo, Cody Ponce, Jonathon Reynoso, Matt Reynoso, Caleb Romo, Eric Trask and Michael Zidek)

Azusa Pacific has two: (Jacob Cage and Blake James)

Cal Baptist has two: (AJ David and Alec Morabito)

Point Loma has one: (Jack Spohn)

Below is the schedule for the first two days of the tournament.

Thursday, May 14
11:00 am – Game 3: #3 Cal Baptist vs. #4 Dixie State
3:00 pm – Game 2: #2 Azusa Pacific vs. #5 UC San Diego
7:00 pm – Game 1: #1 Cal Poly Pomona vs. #6 Point Loma

Friday, May 15
11:00 am – Game 4: Loser game 1 vs. Loser game 2
3:00 pm – Game 5: Winner game 1 vs. Loser game 3
7:00 pm – Game 6: Winner game 2 vs. Winner game 3

Christian Kelley Leads Cal Poly

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Two-time SCCBL all-star Christian Kelley has been on a tear all season long for the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos.

Kelley, who is renowned for his uncanny ability behind the plate defensively, has put together equally impressive numbers at the dish offensively.

The sophomore leads the Broncos with a .400 batting average and is second overall in the CCAA.

Cal Poly Pomona is currently ranked No. 16.

Inland Valley All-Stars Revealed

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pirates all stars copy The Inland Valley Baseball Association earned 10 combined all-star elections for the All-Star game on Saturday night at Palm Springs Stadium.

The home run derby will get underway at 6 pm with the all-star game beginning at 7:05. Continue reading “Inland Valley All-Stars Revealed” →

Pirates Drop Wild SCCBL Championship Game 1

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pirates gm 30On Tuesday afternoon at Cal Poly Pomona, the pitcher of the month in June, Andrew Alvarez was set to duel the pitcher of the month in July for the Power, Morgan Earman. Surely runs would be at a premium.

That’s why they play the games.

The Pirates (26-7, 12-4) fell 18-13 to the Palm Springs Power (35-8, 12-4) in a game that was completed on Wednesday at Palm Springs Stadium after Game 1 was suspended due to darkness on Tuesday. Continue reading “Pirates Drop Wild SCCBL Championship Game 1” →

Pirates Take Game 1 vs SD

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pirates gm 27The Pirates (24-6, 11-4) defeated Team San Diego (23-18, 7-8) 7-2 in Game 1 of the double dip Friday afternoon at Cal Poly Pomona.

The Pirates jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

Andrew Alvarez doubled and scored on a Nolan Henley RBI base hit up the middle. Christian Kelley plated the second run on an infield single by Greg Espinosa. Continue reading “Pirates Take Game 1 vs SD” →

Pirates Conquer Legends

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pirates gm 24The Pirates (21-5, 10-4) conquered the Long Beach Legends 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Long Beach City College.

The story of the game was the two D-1 pitchers for the Pirates, Andrew Alvarez (5-0) and Jordan Scheftz (SV 2), shutout the Legends. Alvarez tossed the first five innings, while Scheftz closed out the final four. Continue reading “Pirates Conquer Legends” →

Pirates Win Game 1 in SD

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pirates gm 19The Pirates (16-4, 7-3) defeated Team San Diego (16-8, 6-4) 8-4 in Game 1 of the doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Morley Field in San Diego.

Inland Valley came out of the gate strong with two runs in the first inning when Jonny Reynoso belted a two-run double scoring Greg Espinosa and Andrew Alvarez.

San Diego came back with two of their own in the bottom of the first to knot it up at 2 apiece. Continue reading “Pirates Win Game 1 in SD” →

Pirates Top Power in Game 1

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pirates gm 16The Pirates (13-3-1, 5-2) defeated the Palm Springs Power (17-2, 3-2) in a tightly contested 3-2 victory at Cal Poly Pomona Monday afternoon.

Andrew Alvarez (4-0) shut down the Power for the second consecutive time and remains the only pitcher to notch a victory against Palm Springs. Alvarez tossed 8.1 innings, striking out four and only allowing two runs in the ninth inning.

The Pirates took the lead in the fifth on an RBI double down the left field line by Jacob Bernardy scoring Nathan Virgen. Continue reading “Pirates Top Power in Game 1” →