Tag: nfl

Buc Split Weekend Series With Power

Max Suckley

The Inland Valley Bucs traveled out to Palm Springs to face the Power on Friday and Saturday. The Bucs hosted the Power last weekend at UC Riverside, losing both games, including blowing a two-run lead in the ninth inning of the first game. 

In 2024, the Bucs were the only team that beat the Power in the CPCL and the entire season. 

The weekend in Palm Springs would likely be the Bucs’ last chance to beat the Power in 2025. 

Similarly to last Friday, the Power jumped out to an early lead in a game that came down to the wire. 

The Power scored one run in each of the first three innings, but the Bucs equalized by scoring one run in the fourth and two in the sixth. 

The Bucs busted the game wide open in the seventh, spotting four runs on the scoreboard. The Power fought right back, scoring three quick runs, but they could not find a fourth. 

The Bucs added an insurance run in the eighth, which turned out to be much needed as the Pirates matched with a run of their own. After an eventful couple of innings, Noun Haro was able to shut the door on the Power in the ninth, giving the Bucs a massive win. 

Offensively, Frank Brazil was the standout player for the Bucs as he drove in three runs on three hits. Bryan Bradshaw and Reagan Samples added two RBIs of their own on three and two hits, respectively. 

Saturday night gave the Bucs the opportunity to sweep the weekend series over the Power and split the season series. 

The Power didn’t let the Bucs stay in the game long. The Power jumped out to a 4-1 lead by the third, and they never came close to relinquishing it. Five Power pitchers combined to allow only two runs and strike out 15 over nine collective innings. 

The game was still somewhat close late in the game, but in the bottom of the eighth. The Power exploded for eight runs to officially put it out of reach. 

The Power’s 14-2 win guaranteed them the season series victory over the Bucs and helped them avoid a potential weekend sweep. 

Bucs end Power 51 game win streak

Max Suckley

After over a year of seemingly endless dominance, the Palm Springs Power winning streak has finally been snapped. 

The Power last lost during the 2023 CPCL to the Inland Valley Legends. Palm Springs looked poised to continue their success and finish the 2024 season unbeaten as well. Over the last calendar year, the Power had played and won 51 games in a row. 

Their impressive 51-game streak came to an end at the hands of the fourth-place Inland Valley Bucs. 

For both teams, the game was the last of the CPCL season, meaning Palm Springs was only nine innings away from being the first and only team to have an unbeaten CPCL season. 

The Bucs’ pitching led the way, with starter Derek Ryan going six innings, only allowing three hits and one run. 

Ryan forfeited his only run in the second, then proceeded to put up four blank frames. 

The offense had Ryan’s back and gave him the win by scoring two runs in the third and adding an insurance run in the fourth. 

Nick Mascaro drove in the Bucs’ first run on a two-out single to right field. The Bucs’ second run came a few moments later after the Power issued a bases-loaded walk to Noah Madole.  

The Bucs did an excellent job of taking advantage of uncharacteristic mistakes from Palm Springs. 

In the fourth, Carter Vanderhook was walked, then advanced to third on an error, putting him in position to score on a passed ball a few pitches later. 

Outside of these two innings, Palm Springs starter Richie Amavizca was amazing. Over 7.2 innings, Amavizca struck out 12 batters and only allowed five hits and two earned runs. 

Despite Amazca’s great outing, the Power still couldn’t rally against the Bucs pitching. 

Ryan was replaced after the sixth inning by Hudson Myers. Myers faced some trouble in the eighth and surrendered one run, but he was ultimately able to preserve the now 3-2 lead. 

Myers allowed a runner in the ninth but quickly closed out the inning to solidify the Bucs’ victory. 

Though the Bucs missed out on the playoffs, they did prove they could play at a high level by ending Palm Springs’ illustrious winning streak. 

The Power finished the regular season in first place for the second year in a row.

Bucs hold off late comeback from Pirates

Max Suckley

It was an active day on Bonita High School’s practice field with dozens of students playing soccer, field hockey, and football. Just past this field, the CPCL’s Bucs and Pirates met to play a Wednesday game at Bonita’s baseball stadium. 

Both teams have gotten off to a slow start to their seasons and will need to turn things around quickly to qualify for the CPCL playoffs, which take place in just over a month. 

The first four innings of the game flew by. Pirates pitcher Noe Novella was excellent, allowing only three baserunners in his four-inning outing. 

Novella had a hiccup in the third, allowing the Bucs to score one, but it was largely because of bad luck as a ground ball hit the lip of the infield causing the routine out to bounce high over the shortstop’s head. 

Pirates pitching got into trouble early in the fifth, giving up three runs due to a myriad of walks, hit batters, and passed balls until Evan Evita came in to clean things up. Evita cooled off the Bucs’ momentum by throwing 2.2 scoreless innings. 

After being shut out through five, the Pirates finally got on the board with a two-RBI line drive home run to left from shortstop Isaiah Walz. The home run was the first for Walz and the first for the Pirates this summer. 

The Pirates were able to get a lot of traffic during the seventh but were unable to cash anything in after some untimely baserunning mistakes and failure to execute at the plate.  

The Bucs added two insurance runs in the eighth inning to extend their lead to 6-2 heading into the ninth. The Pirates’ defense has been good throughout the summer, but an error early in the inning gave the Bucs extra life and caused both runs to be scored as unearned. 

Despite the four-run deficit, the Pirates showed a lot of fight in the ninth. A full-count walk and a hard single into left field gave some hope for a Pirates comeback. 

With two runners on and the tying runner on deck, Steven Mara made a massive dent in the Bucs’ lead by mauling a three-run home run far past the left-field fence. 

The blast was not only Mara’s first home run this season but also his first hit this season. The slow start was tough to deal with for Mara since he has not had many live at-bats in the past few months due to injury. 

Finally getting a hit, and it being a clutch home run was a great moment and a great relief for Mara. 

“It felt like a bit of a relief,” said Mara. “[It was a} weight lifted off my shoulders and gives me something to work off of for upcoming at-bats.” 

The Pirates were able to get the tying run on first with two outs, but catcher Alex Cummings cut the runner down trying to steal second, ending the game with a final score of 6-5. 

The Pirates are now 1-6 on the year, while the Bucs improved to 3-5-1. 

The Pirates will play again on Thursday, this time against the Legends at Cal Poly Pomona’s Scolinos Field. The Bucs will have the day off before also going to Scolinos Field to match up with the Pirates for the second time this week. 

All American helps Legends dominate Bucs

Max Suckley

It was an ugly, overcast Monday, but Scolinos Field looked as beautiful as ever for a CPCL matchup between the Bucs and the Legends. 

The Bucs came in looking for their first CPCL win, while the Legends vied for their third. 

The seemingly normal early-season game, gifted the fans in attendance a look at one of college baseball’s premier talents as the Legends took the field.

Starting on the mound for the Legends was UCSD’s Izaak Martinez. In Martinez’s senior year with the Tritons, he held a 1.85 ERA and was named an All-American by the NCWBA and Perfect Game. 

Martinez, a crafty lefty, splintered the bat of the Bucs’ leadoff hitter en route to a quick perfect inning. In the second, Martinez walked a batter but helped himself out by catching a comebacker and turning around to throw the runner out at first for an inning-ending double play. 

Martinez finally allowed a hit with two outs in the third, but he locked in and struck out the next batter in three pitches. The All-American finished his outing with three scoreless innings, allowing only two base runners. 

Martinez’s pitching prowess gave confidence to the Legends and helped establish a high standard for the rest of the game. 

“Honestly, when you have a guy who’s known to shut hitters down like that, it makes you feel good, and he really set the tone for what we wanted to do today,” said Legends head coach Matt Cordero. “It continued not just through Izaak but also to Isaac Mendez”.

APU’s Isaac Mendez took over in the fourth and was even more impressive, quickly throwing three scoreless innings and only allowing one base runner.

The Legends dominated the Bucs offense with six innings of stellar pitching combined with some very impressive defense around the diamond. The defense has made tremendous strides since the start of the season, which has helped piece things together for the Legends. 

“There’s been a big improvement in our defense over the last week and a half or so. We started rough against Palm Springs, but since then we’ve steadily improved,” Cordero said. 

The incredible pitching and defense were combined with a strong offensive performance. 

In the bottom of the first, Moonhyeon Eom attempted to lay a sac bunt down, but he was unsuccessful as the pitcher threw a fastball up-and-in that barely missed his face. Two pitches later, Eom clobbered a two-run home run over the left wall. 

The Legends added another run in the second to extend their lead to 3-0. They would blow the game wide open in the fifth by scoring four more runs by taking advantage of defensive mistakes, which elongated the inning. Eom drove in the first of the four runs for his third RBI of the game. 

Moon Eom drove in another run in the seventh inning for his fourth of the day and the final of the Legends’ eight runs. Moon has consistently performed for the Legends this summer, making him one of the most valuable players in the lineup. 

“Moon has been huge all summer… He’s been consistent in the outfield and also in the lineup, he’s bat anywhere from the two to the five slot, but he’s been productive wherever we need him, so I’m happy with the output,” said Cordero.

The Bucs finally got on the board in the seventh inning with an RBI triple off the top of the left-field wall for Jarren Sanderson. During the next at-bat, Sanderson attempted to steal home, causing the pitcher to balk. 

In the ninth, the Bucs scrounged a third run on a solo home run from UCLA’s Jarrod Hocking. 

With an 8-3 win, the Legends grabbed their third victory and solidified their hold of second place in the CPCL. 

The Legends are in action again tomorrow, this time for a doubleheader in Escondido against the San Diego Waves. The Bucs also have a game tomorrow, matching up against the Colton Nighthawks at Fullerton College.