Tag: pirates

The Inland Valley’s Bucs and Pirates met on Thursday for their third matchup of the year. Coming into the game, each team had won one game in the series, so the winner of Thursday’s contest would take advantage of the season series. 

In the end, neither team would. 

It was a nice, 84-degree summer day, much cooler at game time than earlier in the week. What made the game even better was the quality of pitching and the pace of play. 

Pirates’ starter Jude Favela pitched three and a third scoreless innings, striking out five and only allowing two hits. 

On the other side, Bucs’ starter Ryan Chavez also threw three scoreless innings, striking out four and only allowing one hit. 

Wyatt Prieto relieved Favela in the fourth and went on to throw three and a third innings himself. Prieto did not allow a hit, but due to a walk and a throwing error, Bryan Bradshaw was able to hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the game’s first run in the top of the sixth. 

Chavez was relieved by former Pirate Chris Gonzalez in the fourth and pitched an incredible four scoreless innings, striking out five along the way. 

Ryder Gibson pitched the last two innings for the Pirates and allowed one unearned run to extend the Bucs’ lead to 2-0. 

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth, the Pirates’ bats finally woke up. Luke Medure led off the inning with a double to left. Roman Cruz singled to right to bring Medure in and bring the score within one. 

Connor Tallakson hit another single to put the winning run on first and move the tying run into scoring position. 

Isaiah Walz then hit a double into the left-center gap, scoring Cruz. The center fielder retrieved the ball, but slipped when he was about to throw, which should have allowed Tallakson to score as well, but the third base coach of the Pirates had already held him up. 

Walz, seeing the center fielder slip, advanced to third, not realizing that the runner had been held. Walz tried to get in a pickle to let Tallakson score, but he was tagged out, and the Pirates weren’t able to take the lead. 

Both teams put up scoreless innings in the ninth, but the Bucs did not have enough pitching to play extra innings, so the two sides agreed to a tie. 

The Bucs and Pirates do not play again until July 15, when the season series will finally be decided, unless they tie again, of course.

The Inland Valley Pirates and SoCal Mavericks came together for a CPCL contest at Mt. SAC on Monday after a wonderful Father’s Day break. 

The game was the first between the Pirates and the CPCL newcomer Mavericks. 

The early innings of the game flew by with hits hard to come by for either team. The Pirates took a lead in the third inning with Esteban Olazaba grounding into a fielder’s choice to score Hunter Meyer. 

Pirates starter Landon Martin was fantastic, throwing three scoreless innings. 

In the top of the fourth, the Mavericks were able to get runners on second and third with two outs, but Meyer made an incredible diving catch in center field to maintain the Pirates’ lead. 

After six innings, the score was still 1-0, and it looked like the game might end in a pitchers’ duel. 

The Mavericks’ bats finally woke up in the seventh, and with the help of two walks and an error by the Pirates, they were able to score two runs and take the lead. 

In the eighth inning, the Mavericks worked two quick outs, but the Pirates began an improbable rally by hitting a single and drawing a walk. With two runners on and one in scoring position, Connor Tallakson shot a line drive into center to tie the game. 

A Wyatt Prieto single returned the lead into the Pirates’ hands. With two outs, Vaugn Coleman hit a hard groundball to the Mavericks’ shortstop, who struggled to field it cleanly, which brought in an insurance run to make it 4-2. 

With the lead now back in their hands and the pitching great all day, it seemed like the Pirates would breeze through the ninth inning and win the game, especially with a two-run lead.

This assumption was wrong. 

The Mavericks led off the inning with a single. Pirates’ pitching stalled the Mavs’ momentum by getting a fly out, but started it right back up again by issuing a walk. A single from Kamata brought in one run, and the tying run was now in scoring position. 

A single to the right fielder loaded the bases, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. The Mavs didn’t need to get any more hits to tie as the Pirates issued another walk. A single from Runge brought in one more run to give the Mavs the lead and put the Pirates into a tough spot. 

The Pirates finally got a second out, but a brutal error at third base brought in two more runs. 

With the Pirates’ offense breaking out in the eighth, the comeback didn’t seem impossible, but it was definitely going to be hard as they were now chasing three to tie and four to win despite leading by two just minutes earlier. 

The odds of a comeback quickly diminished as the Mavericks got two quick outs on hard-hit balls right to defenders. 

Andrew Sanchez barreled a third consecutive hard hit, but this one found the outfield grass in left. Ashton Romero came up next and hit a solid line drive into center field. 

The tying run was now at the plate, but there was still a lot of work to be done, and there was no margin for error with two outs. Rocco Reagan hit a groundball in the 5-6 hole immediately appearing to be a close play. Luckily for the Pirates, the shortstop overthrew the first baseman and the ball went into right field allowing Sanchez and Romero to score, and Regan to get all the way to third base. 

Jordan Viramontes just needed a single to tie the game, and he did exactly that, scalding a line drive into center. Tallakson hit a single of his own to advance Viramontes into scoring position. 

Roman Cruz came to the plate with a fantastic opportunity to finish the incredible two-out rally and walk off the game. Cruz shot the ball into left field with authority and Viramontes came into home plate, with both immediately being mobbed by excited teammates. 

In the end, six consecutive reached safely and four scored, all with two outs. 

The Pirates will be back at Mt. SAC again tomorrow to see if they can continue their magic.

On Saturday evening, the Inland Valley Pirates dominated the Colton Nighthawks at Bonita High School in a non-conference game. 

The Pirates have beaten the Nighthawks twice already this season, 16-7 and 13-6 in two CPCL matchups. 

This addition of the Nighthawks Pirates matchup would be the widest margin between the two teams. 

The Pirates offense teed off on Nightawks’ pitching from the start, scoring three runs in the first inning and then scoring three more in the second. 

In the third inning, the Pirates doubled their score by driving six runners home. 

The Nighthawks held the Pirates scoreless in the fourth, but that would be the only time they were able to achieve that throughout the game. 

From the fifth inning on, the Pirates shockingly added another nine runs, scoring 21 in total. 

Pirates’ pitching was also solid, only giving up three earned runs and four total runs. 

Bobby Mahoney and Jackson Banuelos both pitched two scoreless innings for the Pirates. Andrew Sanchez finished the game off, pitching three innings and only allowing one earned run. 

Esteban Olozaba and Cole Howarth led the Pirates in hits, with three each. Howard scored four times, and Ashton Romero scored three times. 

Olazaba hit an impressive home run down the left field line to drive in three of his six RBIs. 

Jarrett Kozma also hit a big two-run home run for his second of the season. Kozma was second on the team in RBIs with four. 

Though the game was not a CPCL game, it was certainly a statement win for the Pirates after only scoring two runs against the Bucs in their last contest. 

Outside of their loss to the Bucs, the Pirates’ offense has looked incredible all year. 

The Inland Valley Bucs and Pirates met for a clash at Azusa Pacific on Wednesday. The Bucs’ last action was a Sunday Doubleheader against the Palm Springs Power at UC Riverside. 

The Bucs played well against the Power, almost beating them in an 11-10 thriller, before losing the second game of the day 6-1. 

The Pirates came into the game undefeated, beating the Bucs once and the Colton Nighthawks twice, averaging over 14 runs a game. 

Wednesday’s game would be different for the Pirates. Bucs’ pitching dominated from the start. Bucs’ starter Austin Klopfenstein pitched three shutout innings, allowing only four hits. 

Pirates’ pitching was solid as well, but the Bucs were still able to work one run off of starter Tre Minisee in the second and third. 

Chris Gonzales relieved Klopfenstein and continued the shutout into the fourth and fifth. In the sixth, the Pirates finally got multiple runners on base. George Holt singled into left to bring in the first run. Sonny Rios hit a hard ground ball to second base, which was bobbled, allowing another run to score.  

After the successful rally, it appeared that the Pirates were back in the game, but defensive errors in the bottom half of the inning hurt them badly. 

The Bucs led off with a single. A ball hit to the Pirates’ shortstop looked like a sure double play, but the ball was dropped, allowing both runners to reach safely. Bucs’ first baseman Samples hit a double two batters later to drive both runners in. 

Minisee issued a walk and then allowed another double to bring in two more runs, before finally getting out of the inning. 

Wyatt Pireto and Andrew Sanchez pitched the rest of the game for the Pirates, only allowing one more run, but the damage was done, and the offense was held at bay over the final three innings. 

The score of 7-2 would hold, giving the Pirates their first loss of the year. The pitching performance from the Bucs was spectacular and definitely their best so far. 

The Bucs and Pirates will meet again on June 19th at Azusa Pacific for the chance for one of the teams to take the series lead. 

The Inland Valley Pirates hosted the Colton Nighthawks at Azusa Pacific on Monday. The Nightwaks are one of the CPCL’s two new members, along with the SoCal Mavericks. 

Nighthawk outfielder Matt Bline made his presence known in the first at-bat of the game by crushing a home run halfway up the net in right-center field. On the mound, the Nighthawks started Oregon signee Jaxon Baker

The Pirates wasted no time starting a rally, loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 1st. First baseman Cole Howarth drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to tie the game. 

Another run came in on a wild pitch, and Marc DiCarlo drew a walk to load the bases up again. Outfielder Jordan Viramontes smashed a double into left field to give the Pirates an early 4-1 lead. 

In the 2nd inning, a pair of rough defensive errors for the Pirates allowed the Nighthawks to bring in two runs. 

In the 3rd, Georgia senior Cole Kinarsky hit a towering double off the wall in center field. DiCarlo subsequently drove Koniarsky in and then scored on a wild pitch later in the inning. The 3rd was capped off with an RBI single from George Holt that drove in another two runs. 

The Nighthawks would go on to score another four runs in the game, but only two of them were earned. Of the seven runs the Pirates gave up, a total of three were earned. 

In the 5th inning, pitcher Ryder Gibson was brought in, and from then on, the Nighthawks could not gain any momentum. Gibson, throwing hard from a low release point with quality off-speed pitches, struck out five and only allowed three hits. 

Heading into the bottom of the 8th, the game was still relatively close at 11-7 due to the errors made by the Pirates, but the offense made up for the mistakes. 

DiCarlo drove in the first run of the 8th on a groundout to short. Shortstop Isaiah Walz followed by poking a single past the Nighthawks diving second baseman bringing in two more runs. 

The final blow of the impressive offensive performance was dealt by Waldy Perez, who scalded a double over the head of the center fielder. 

The final score of the game was 16-7. The Pirates’ offense has vastly improved from last year, and they really look like they could be contenders thus far.

The Pirates drew an impressive 10 walks and got 13 hits, with Hunter Meyer, Koniarsky, Haworth, and Walz all having two hits. 

Collegiate summer baseball is back! The Inland Valley Pirates, Bucs, and Legends all started their season on Tuesday, June 3rd at Azusa Pacific’s Cougar Baseball Complex.

The SoCal Mavericks and the Colton Nighthawks got the CPCL action underway in a thrilling 22-12 game on Saturday, May 31st. 

The Palm Springs Power have already played four games, but they have all been non-conference contests. 

The first game at APU was between the Bucs and Pirates. Both teams struggled last year, with the Pirates notably experiencing their first losing season under head coach Charlie Reynoso’s tenure. 

The weather at first pitch was surprisingly pleasant for a summer day in Southern California. Like the weather, the first three innings were very calm, with no notable action. 

In the top of the 4th, the Bucs would score their first run of the season on a double off the left field wall from Tyler Stull. The scoring runner only got on base due to a two-out error made by the Pirates. 

The Bucs began to make mistakes of their own in the bottom of the fifth, as pitcher Jake Entrup issued two four-pitch walks with two outs. Pirates’ Designated Hitter Rocco Regan took advantage of the walks by hitting a single to left field to tie the game up. 

In the top of the 6th, the Bucs quickly worked a walk and hit a single to put themselves in position to retake the lead. Outfielder Nolan Caira snuck a groundball past the reach of the Pirates’ infielders and into centerfield to give the Bucs the lead. 

An error with two outs allowed a second run to score to extend the Bucs’ lead to 3-1. 

By this time, the weather had begun to change dramatically. Powerful clouds rolled in, the sky turned black, and forecasts showed lightning and rain. The quick change in weather symbolized the offensive onslaught that the Pirates were about to unleash upon the Bucs. 

In the bottom of the 6th, the first two Pirates hitters got on. First baseman Diego Ortiz hit a single to bring one run in, and outfielder Luke Medure hit into a fielder’s choice to tie the game. 

A bases-loaded walk gave the Pirates the lead, which was promptly expanded by a double from catcher Connor Tallakson. 

In the bottom of the 7th, the Bucs got two quick outs, but the Pirates battled back with a single, a walk, and an RBI single from outfielder Jarrett Kozma. 

The bottom of the 8th was even worse for the Bucs. The first of the Pirates’ seven runs in the inning came from three wild pitches after a leadoff single. With two outs and the bases loaded, it looked like the Bucs might get out of the jam, but Cody White was able to extend the inning with an infield single. 

A walk to Ortiz brought in run number 10. The Pirates’ win was emphasized by a towering grand slam from Kozma, the first home run of the summer for any of the Inland Valley squads. 

By the end of the inning, the sky had opened up, and both rain and lightning came crashing down. With the game and weather now out of hand, the contest was called, and the Pirates’ first win was claimed. 

The Legends and SoCal Mavericks were scheduled to play at 4 PM, but the weather necessitated a 45-minute delay. 

The second game of the day proved to be another lopsided affair. 

The highlight of the game was, unfortunately, two calls overturned by the umpires in favor of the Mavericks.  

Already down 6-1 in the 4th, the Legends needed some momentum, which came from a beautiful home run from Andrew Alva. Alva rounded the bases but was then told to return to second base by the home plate umpire, who, seconds before, signaled that the hit was indeed a home run. 

The call was certainly controversial in the Legends’ dugout, and the team ultimately failed to capitalize with Alva in scoring position. 

In the bottom of the fifth with one out, a Legends runner advanced to third on a fielder’s choice to put runners on first and third. It seemed like the Legends were finally in a position to start a rally until the home plate umpire decided to overturn the call that the field umpire had made. 

This call was also unpopular among the Legends. The Mavericks added a few more runs, and by the 7th inning, the score was 9-1, which would end up being the final tally. The Mavericks’ offense did a great job of connecting on fastballs throughout the affair. 

Both teams had great pitching appearances, but the Mavericks’ pitchers were more consistent from top to bottom.