Tag: pirates

Pirates attempt to end Power win streak in Palm Springs

Max Suckley

The Palm Springs Power hosted a two-game series with the Inland Valley Pirates on a scorching hot weekend at Palm Springs Stadium. 

It was so hot that even the wind burned. The games both started at 7 PM, but even with the sunset start time, it was at least 105 degrees at first pitch both days.  

The weather conditions along with the small, yet passionate fanbase is unpleasant for away teams and gives the Power a huge home field advantage.

The extreme heat is usual in Palm Springs, as is the Power winning games at home, which they did again two more times. 

On Friday night, Palm Springs asserted themselves immediately by scoring four runs in a taxing first inning for the Pirates. Inland Valley pitching has been vulnerable to inconsistency this year, but it was the defense that hurt the Pirates this time. 

Inland Valley’s defense made several mistakes, including three painful errors, which gave the opportunistic Power momentum to establish an early and commanding lead.

Palm Springs scored another run in the second to get out to a 5-0 lead. Pirates starter Noe Novella pitched excellently and likely would have only given up one or two runs through his four innings of work if the defense was better.

Corbin Duffield relieved Novella and threw three scoreless innings, stalling the Power’s momentum and giving the Pirates a chance to mount a comeback. 

Inland Valley finally capitalized on their offensive opportunities in the seventh. With a runner on second and third, Evan Evita hit a hard single up the middle to open the scoring for the Pirates. 

In the bottom of the inning, Inland Valley put up their sixth consecutive scoreless frame, capturing the game’s momentum with a three-run deficit heading into the ninth. 

Unfortunately for the Pirates, they could not rally in the eighth, and the Power scored two more runs to finish Inland Valley off.

Game two would be the Pirates’ last, and best chance to earn a win against Palm Springs in the 2024 season. 

UNLV’s Alex Navarrete started on the mound for Inland Valley and put on one of the best pitching performances from a Pirates pitcher this year. Navarette gave up two runs in the first inning, but after that, he dominated, throwing four scoreless innings, and allowing only two hits.

The defense made some mistakes with two errors but ultimately did enough to aid Navarette in his dominance. 

The Pirates got one run back in the third on a bad throw from the Power third baseman, which allowed Isaiah Walz to score from first base. 

In the top of the sixth, Inland Valley got multiple runners on base with two outs for Walz, who hit a hard ground ball into the center to knot the game up at two. 

With the game tied, the Pirates brought in Alex Chavez to continue Navarette’s dominance, which he did with a quick 11-pitch, two-strikeout inning. 

As Chavez was warming up for his second inning, Walz was injured in a freak accident, causing him to be removed from the game.

The accident forced Inland Valley to put their DH on the field and take Chavez out of the game prematurely. 

In response to the Pirates tying the game, the Power brought in Holden Phelps for the last three innings. Phelps was incredible, striking out five batters and allowing only one baserunner in three scoreless innings. 

It is hard to blame the Inland Valley hitters for failing to take the lead as Phelps was throwing a firm and accurate 93-MPH fastball with quality offspeed pitches. 

The pitching held up for the rest of the inning but ultimately could not hold together and the Power scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to erase any hope of a Pirates victory in Palm Springs. 

Inland Valley was within striking distance on both nights, but could not find the runs needed to finally take the Power down. 

Palm Springs lost only one game last year and remains undefeated through 20 games in their 2024 campaign. 

The Pirates, who are often at a similar level or even better than the Power, continue to struggle this year due to high roster turnover.

The Pirates and Power will continue to have games this week, but the highlight of next week will be the IVBA’s Sunset Baseball League All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 2nd, at Azusa Pacific. The home run derby will be at 5:30, and the All-Star Game will follow. 

Double plays and double headers, Legends beat Pirates, lose heartbreaker to Bucs

Max Suckley

On one of the hottest days of the year, the Inland Valley Legends hosted a doubleheader against CPCL opponents Pirates and Bucs at Azusa Pacific University. 

The Legends and Bucs both got off to slow starts, but have picked up momentum recently. The Pirates won their first game, but have struggled mightily ever since, losing their last eight games. 

All three teams are talented and can beat each other any day, but the Pirates have drawn the short end of the stick over the past two weeks. 

Game one started between the Legends and Pirates at 1 PM. 

The Legends wasted no time getting their offense going, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first off of five hits, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. The Legends were positioned to score even more until the Pirates rolled a badly needed double play. 

The Pirates responded in the next frame, scoring one and creating some momentum of their own. 

The Legends scored another run in the third, but they had the opportunity to score two until shortstop Isaiah Walz made an incredible throw from the outfield grass to cut a runner down at home. 

The Pirates loaded the bases in the fifth and looked poised to do some serious damage to the Legends’ lead. A hit batter allowed the Pirates to score one, but the next batter hit an unlucky line drive straight to the right fielder to end the promising rally.  

Down by three in the seventh inning, the Pirates badly needed another rally to hopefully take the lead late. 

Three consecutive singles to start the inning gave the Pirates the start they needed, but Legends’ pitching was able to limit the damage to two runs.

With their lead down to one run, the Legends needed to respond with some insurance runs. In the bottom of the seventh and eighth the Legends would add another five runs to bolster their lead to 10-4. 

The highlight of the Legends’ late success at the plate was a solo home run from Nathan Hellein. The biggest contributor to the Legends’ offense was Will Medina who got three hits, scored two runs, and drove three runs in. 

The Pirates were able to load the bases in the eighth, but Legends’ pitching came up clutch and ended the threat without surrendering a run. The Pirates had ducks on the pond again in the ninth, but the Legends were able to turn another double play, this time to end the game. 

Game two saw the Legends remain while the Pirates exchanged places with the Bucs. 

The Legends opened the scoring in the top of the third with one run from a Jackson Licata home run. The Bucs matched by scoring a run in the bottom of the inning on a sac fly. 

In the fourth, Will Medina continued his stellar day by mashing a solo home run to left field. 

The Legends could not hold their lead for long, and the Bucs went on to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to establish a 4-2 lead. 

The Legends looked as dangerous as ever when they loaded the bases in the sixth. Unfortunately for the Legends, they were not able to capitalize on the opportunity and only drove one run in from a Medina sac fly — his fifth RBI of the day. 

Legends’ pitching was not able to slow the Bucs’ momentum, and they once again responded in the bottom of the inning by scoring another run to maintain their two-run lead. 

Medina came through once again in the eighth with an RBI single to bring the score within one. The Bucs came with a vengeance in the bottom of the inning and blew the game wide open, scoring five to extend their lead to 10-4. 

The situation looked bleak for the Legends in the ninth, but they never gave up. Down six runs, the Legends gave their best effort towards carrying out a seemingly impossible comeback. 

The Legends relentlessly battled back, scoring four runs with their backs against the wall. With two outs and the tying run at the plate, the Bucs were finally able to obtain the final out of the game, ending the Legends’ valiant comeback attempt. 

The Legends are now 5-6, the Bucs are 5-5-1, and the Pirates are 1-9.

The Pirates and the Bucs will meet up at Cal Poly Pomona’s Scolinos Field at 4 PM on Monday, and the Legends will be there on Tuesday to take on the Colton Nighthawks. 

Legends dominate Pirates again

Max Suckley

The wind whistled through the oak trees beyond the left field fence at Scolinos Field on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona, where the Inland Valley’s Legends and Pirates faced off. 

Outside of the Palm Springs Power, the Legends may be the hottest team in the Inland Valley. Coming into today, the Legends were unbeaten against the Pirates and the Bucs. 

The Pirates, on the other hand, have been searching for their second win after losing five in a row after their opening-day victory over the Bucs. 

The last time these two teams met, the Legends won 7-1 behind seven shutout innings from Gavin Reeve. Today, Reeve was again given the start against the Pirates with the prospect of dominating them once more — and dominate he did. 

Initially, it looked like the Pirates had figured out the craft lefty after multiple batters reached base, but Reeve was able to work out for the early jam. 

After that, it was smooth sailing for Reeve. In a near-identical stat line from last week, Reeve pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and three walks. 

Having a competitive pitcher like Reeve on the mound gives the Legends confidence that they can compete and win. 

“He’s dominant, and every time he gets on the mound he gives us a chance to win. He throws strikes and lets the defense work for him, and that’s all we can ask from him,” said assistant coach Marcellus Pearson. 

On the other side of the ball, the Legends continued their dominance. The Legends were held scoreless after one trip through the lineup, but the bats heated up in their second trip. 

In the third, the Legends scored three and added another two in the fourth to give themselves a 5-0 lead. 

The Legends scored one more run in the seventh before the Pirates finally responded with one of their own. Unfortunately for the Pirates, this run was isolated and would be the only one they scored on the day. 

The Legends countered the sole Pirates’ run with two more to push their lead to 8-1 — the eventual final score. 

Rising high school senior Jayden Daya impressively finished the game off for the Legends to improve their overall record to 4-5 and help them remain undefeated against the Bucs and Pirates. 

Key improvements in defense and pitching, along with quality hitting approaches have helped propel the Legends up the standings after a rough Opening Day. 

“Defense and pitching have done a great job as the season has gone along. Offensively we’ve been more aggressive early in the count,” Pearson said. “We’ve been taking advantage of the fastball early in the count and driving the ball in the gap.”

Despite the great progress, the team recognizes there is still more to work on. 

“There’s always room to get better; we had three errors on defense today so we can always clean that up,” said Pearson. 

The Pirates have now fallen to last place in the CPCL and have a record of 1-6 this season. 

They will play for the fourth day in a row on Friday at Cal Poly Pomona’s Scolinos Field at 4 PM.

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. 

Sunsets, salsa, and spaceships and baseball, Power beat Pirates in Palm Springs

Max Suckley

Hot, hot, hot. The red-hot, undefeated Palm Springs Power hosted the struggling, yet talented, Inland Valley Pirates at the arid Palm Springs Stadium.

The journey from the Inland Valley is far, but the gameday environment in Palm Springs is unparalleled in Southern California’s collegiate summer league scene. 

A combination of misters and wind greeted the hundreds of fans in attendance to cool them down in the 100-degree heat. 

A mix of classic Mexican music, rhythmic salsa, and world-renowned reggaeton serenaded the crowd in honor of Hispanic Heritage Night. 

The beautiful view of the palm tree-scattered cityscape with the backdrop of barren desert mountains illuminated by the day’s last light falling beneath the jagged peaks of Mt. San Jacinto is a magnificent setting to take in a baseball game.

The combination of all of this makes Palm Springs Power games a unique experience and undoubtedly one of the more fun ways to take in a baseball game in the region during the summer. 

The gameday experience became even more fun for the visiting Pirates as they dominated offensively in the first inning. Despite the difficulties of hitting against seven-foot-tall pitcher Brenton Thiels, Inland Valley manufactured three runs because of timely hitting from Landon Greenhouse and Connor Green.

After two quick outs in the bottom of the first, it appeared that the Pirates would be able to establish momentum, but the Power were able to start an improbable two-out rally. 

After loading the bases, Palm Springs was able to drive in two runs on a single to left field. The Power could have tied the game, but catcher Max Shor ingeniously threw the trailing runner of a double steal out at second to end the inning and maintain the Inland Valley lead. 

After the rough first, Thiels settled in, and even with some traffic, he was able to shut out the Pirates over the next three innings. 

It was the opposite story for Inland Valley. Pirates’ pitching was never able to settle in allowing Palm Springs to log three consecutive three-run innings. This streak only ended in the fourth when they scored three to extend their lead to 9-3. 

In the top of the fifth with a runner on first, the attention of those in the stands and dugouts was inadvertently directed toward the sky. High in the sky over Mt. San Jacinto appeared a giant smoke trail led by a spaceship lighting up the night sky. 

Could the spaceship be a sign? A harbinger of an incoming Pirates comeback? Or maybe it was just an outgoing vessel venturing into the cosmos in search of things we do not understand. 

Regardless of the potential symbolism, Inland Valley scored the runner from first, cutting the deficit to 9-4 with four innings left. 

On defense, the Pirates finally put up their first scoreless frame. From the fifth inning on, Inland Valley did not surrender another run and only allowed two baserunners.

With pitching finally settling down, the Pirates had a chance to mount a comeback. In the sixth, Inland Valley was able to load the bases with two outs but only scored one before Andrew Pinedo came in to end the inning. 

Pinedo halted the Pirates’ momentum and closed out the last 3.1 innings to hand the Power a 9-5 win. 

Palm Springs is now 7-0 in the CPCL and has won a ridiculous 32 games in a row. 

Inland Valley has been competitive but is still looking for its second win of the year. The Pirates will certainly have a lot of chances to get back on track this week with games on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. 

Wednesday’s game will be at Bonita High School at 4 PM, while the rest will be played at Cal Poly Pomona’s Scolinos Field.

Knuckleballs not enough for Pirates

Max Suckley

On Friday, Scolinos Field hosted a matchup between the Sunset League’s South Bay Saints and the CPCL’s Inland Valley Pirates. 

The Pirates have gotten off to a 1-3 start in the CPCL, while the Saints have gone 1-0 in the Sunset League. 

After a quiet first inning, Inland Valley’s Bret Bowers got on first base with one out in the second. With the threat of an inning-ending double play alive, Bowers stole second. The next batter, Sonny Rios, hit a double to score Bowers. 

After this, the game was serene for a while. Inland Valley’s Andrew Nesson held South Bay scoreless over four, allowing minimal traffic. 

It was the same story for the Saints pitchers outside of giving up a run in the second. With a heavy dose of offspeed pitches, South Bay pitching was able to keep Pirates hitters frustrated. 

Even in fastball counts, Saints pitchers kept throwing off-speed pitches inducing an array of swings and misses. When Inland Valley batters did make contact, it was usually soft, and the South Bay defense fielded it cleanly every time. 

In the 6th inning, the Pirates’ pitching faltered, walking four batters and allowing a hit, resulting in three runs for the Saints. It looked like Inland Valley would get out of the inning with only two runs given up, but misfortune found them.

With two outs and the bases loaded, South Bay hit a hard ground ball up the middle that deflected off the second base bag, allowing an extra run to score. The runner from second base tried to score, but the Pirates second baseman picked the ball up and nailed him at home to save a fourth run. 

In the eighth inning, the Saints’ barrels warmed up, leading the inning off with three consecutive singles. Defensive mishaps extended the inning and helped extend South Bay’s rally longer than it should have.

Inland Valley finally got out of the inning, but not before surrendering another three runs. 

Carson Mounce hit a late RBI single for the Pirates to give them a second run, but the team ultimately was never able to mount a comeback. 

The highlight of the day for Inland Valley was the top of the ninth when outfielder Gavin Garcia came in to pitch. Garcia shocked everyone when he started to throw knuckleballs during his warmup pitches.

It became even more shocking when he started throwing them during the game. Garcia was able to throw his knuckleball over the plate and even got a swing-and-miss.

To top this off, his catcher, Mounce, made an acrobatic diving catch in front of the dugout for the final out of the scoreless inning. 

Garcia’s pitching and Mounce’s defense finally brought some excitement back into the solemn dugout.

Inland Valley is now 1-4 on the season and 1-3 in the CPCL. The team has a lot of talent and has led in four of their five games, but they have not been able to piece everything together consistently.

The Pirates will have a chance to get their season back on track on Tuesday in Palm Springs against the undefeated Power. 

Legends one-hit Pirates in first matchup

Max Suckley

The warm, early-summer sun shone down upon Scolinos Field in Pomona, where the Pirates met with the Legends for their first matchup of the year. A breeze cooled the field temperature and blew the flowers off the still-blooming Jacaranda trees in right field.

The Legends got their offense going in the bottom of the second with a leadoff double from Justin Cabada. On the next pitch, Moonhyeonn Eom laid an immaculate bunt down the third base line to move Cabada to third and get himself on with an infield single.  

After a sac fly scoring Cadaba, Nathan Hellein came up and hit a deep drive to left that skipped off the top of the wall for a double, scoring Eom and extending the lead to 2-0. 

The game became tranquil until it was the Legends’ turn to hit in the fifth. After two quick outs to start the inning, the Legends unexpectedly commenced a major rally. The Legends did not have to hit the ball hard or at all; they simply had to stand in the box as Pirates pitched, hit a shocking five batters, and walked another two. 

The Pirates’ self-inflicted damage allowed the Legends to score four runs on a two-out rally in which they did not log a single hit. 

On the other side of the ball, the Legends were spectacular. Rising freshman Gavin Reeve took the mound and dominated from start to finish. Reeve worked fast each inning, limiting Pirate traffic, momentum, and hard contact. 

The ex-factor for Reeve was his utilization of his changeup, which created soft contact early in at-bats. 

“I was able to get some early contact, and my changeup was working really well, so I just lived with it early,” said Reeve. 

Reeve was so dominant that he took a perfect game into the third and a no-hitter into the seventh. Even after giving up the leadoff single that broke up the no-hitter, Reeve stayed composed and quickly got a pop-out and a double play to get out of the inning. 

Over seven innings, Reeve allowed one hit, no runs, and two walks on only 75 pitches. 

Reeve pitched extremely well, but he also benefited from the help of the stellar defense that made a myriad of miraculous plays behind him all day. 

“Our defense showed up today. In Palm Springs, we had a total of 12 errors in two games, and we had zero today, so that really made a difference,” said head coach Matt Cordero. 

The Pirates finally got multiple baserunners on in the eighth, but were only able to score one run on a wild pitch before being shut down. 

The Legends answered the Pirates’ sole run in the bottom of the inning with a well-executed sac fly from Eom to extend the lead to 7-1. 

Eom stood out today and has been one of the Legends’ most eye-opening players thus far.

“Moon has surprised me, he made some plays this last week that surprised me,” Cordero said. “He laid down a bunt early and came up with a big sac fly… He’s been a very productive player for us, and I look forward to seeing him the rest of the season.”.

Garret Halbiesen struck out the side in the top of the ninth to hold the Pirates to one lonely hit and end the game in just under two hours. 

This was the Legends’ second win of the season after beating the Bucs earlier this week. Beating two conference opponents back-to-back was validating for the team after a tough start in Palm Springs.  

“Honestly, they owned us last year, so it felt good… It was good to see that we can compete against both the Pirates and the Bucs,” Cordero said. 

Both teams will play Friday, with the Legends in Palm Springs taking on the Power and the Pirates at Scolinos Field against the South Bay Saints.

Pirates drop doubleheader to Power

Max Suckley

The Palm Springs Power have consistently been a dominant force in the Southern California Collegiate baseball scene over the years. Constantly a thorn in the side of the Inland Valley Pirates, one of the teams’ goals this year is to finally beat the Power, who went 30-1 and swept them last year. The first opportunity to beat Palm Springs presented itself on a Sunday doubleheader at Scolinos Field in Pomona.

Incoming Freshman Alex Chavez got the start for the Pirates in what would be his first Collegiate outing. The Power looked dangerous in the first after getting multiple runners on, but Chavez was ultimately able to get out of the jam unscathed. 

Inland Valley bats quickly inflicted damage on the Palm Springs pitching staff in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Landon Greenhouse followed by a loud Connor Green RBI double. 

The Power got runners on early in each inning, but Chavez proved he belonged at this level by shutting them down each time without a problem. 

In his four-inning debut, Chavez struck out five batters and didn’t allow a single run. Chavez’s game plan against the dangerous opposing lineup was simply to throw strikes. 

“It felt good to get back out there, I just wanted to throw strikes, pound the zone, and learn what I need to do to get through the summer”, said Chavez. 

In the top of the fifth, Palm Springs was finally able to break through the floodgates and quickly poured on runs. The Power batted through their lineup and scored eight runs from a multitude of hits and walks. 

Palm Springs brought in seven-footer Brenton Thiels in relief who shut down the Pirates in the bottom of the inning. 

Inland Valley initially struggled with Thiels’ extreme release point, but they began to adjust after his first inning. A past ball in the sixth along and another RBI single from Greenhouse cut the deficit to four. 

The Pirates couldn’t compile their momentum into the next inning allowing the Power to add another run to their lead. 

With their backs up against the wall, the Pirates made a valiant final effort in the ninth culminating in three more runs. Unfortunately for Inland Valley, the Power were able to suffocate the late rally leaving two Pirates on base and the tying run at the plate. 

Inland Valley had the chance to avenge their 9-6 loss just 30 minutes later as the sun came down and the temperature dropped. 

The Pirates struck first once again on a Dominic Porter double that hopped over the third base bag in the third inning. 

Inland Valley cashed in one more run in the fourth inning when Greenhouse tallied yet again, another RBI single. 

Palm Springs responded promptly by loading the bases and driving in two runs in the fifth. With one out and the bases still loaded, Anthony Vasquez came in and got out of the jam. 

Vasquez held the Power scoreless in the next three innings, but Palm Springs’ pitching matched Inland Valley’s, holding them scoreless from the fifth to the eighth. 

The game was all knotted up heading into the ninth, with the Pirates possessing the opportunity to end the Power’s illustrious winning streak. 

Palm Springs put runners in scoring position with one out for Aiden Perez who then hit a two RBI double to right field to create a two-run lead. 

The next batter also hit the ball to right field, but Porter was able to catch the ball and spectacularly throw a runner out at home to end the inning and limit the damage. 

Inland Valley looked to replicate their three-run ninth inning in game one to end the Power’s winning streak in walk-off fashion. 

Palm Springs tasked Andrew Pinedo to get the final three outs against the Pirates four, five, and six hitters. Pinedo promptly struck out the side completing the double-header sweep and extending the Power winning streak well past 20 games. 

Inland Valley lost the heartbreaker 4-2, dropped the doubleheader, and are now 1-2 on the young season. The Pirates will have a chance to get back to .500 on Wednesday against the Legends at Scolinos Field. 

Pirates Give Dodgers the Blues

ivbaseball

A stellar pitching performance nets the Pirates a 4-1 victory against the East Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.

The Pirates’ pitching staff allowed just one unearned run on the evening as the offense slammed nine hits en route to the victory.

The Pirates didn’t waste any time getting on the board as in the first inning, catcher Justin Gomez hammered a 2-0 pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run, thus giving the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.

The very next inning, the Pirates would tack on two more runs on RBI singles by Chaneng Varela and Kyle Jackson.

The Dodgers would rally for a run in the fifth inning, but Pirates starter, Nicholas Sergi would work his way out of the jam and keep the score at 4-1.

From there, manager, Charlie Reynoso, turned to bullpen to shut the door.

Reliever, Dylan Stablein, pitched three shutout innings of relief before turning it over closer, Andrew Eppenbach in the ninth.

In the inning, the Dodgers attempted to mount a comeback, putting runners on second and third with just one out. However, Eppenbach would strikeout the next two batters and nail down the save on the Pirates 4-1 victory.

Justin Gomez provided the crucial offensive blow with his two-run shot in the first.

Shortstop Chaneng Varela also had a good day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in, as well as reaching base in all five of his plate appearances.

Nicholas Sergi went a very strong five innings, giving up just the one run on four hits and earned himself the victory.

“I just wanted to put the ball in play,” said Sergi. “I know I have a good defense behind me.”

The win moves the Pirates to 8-4-1 on the season.

The Pirates next contest will be this Saturday the 20th at Scolinos Field against the San Diego Force.

Batting AB R H RBI BB K
Kyle Jackson 5 0 2 1 0 0
Jonny Reynoso 5 0 0 0 0 0
Nolan Henley 4 0 1 0 0 0
Chaneng Varela 4 1 3 1 0 0
Tyler Urbach 4 0 0 0 0 0
Michael Deceglie 3 1 0 0 1 1
Jeff Nellis 3 1 1 0 1 1
Justin Gomez 4 1 1 2 1 0
Troy Resch 3 0 1 0 0 1
Andrew Eppenbach 1 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 36 4 9 4 3 4

BattingHR: Justin Gomez
TB: Kyle Jackson 2, Nolan Henley, Chaneng Varela 3, Jeff Nellis, Justin Gomez 4, Troy Resch
RBI: Kyle Jackson, Chaneng Varela, Justin Gomez 2
SB: Kyle Jackson, Nolan Henley
CS: Jeff Nellis

Pitching IP #P TB H R ER BB K HR S%
Andrew Eppenbach 1.0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 .000
Dylan Stablein 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 .000
Nicholas Sergi 5.0 0 0 4 1 0 1 4 0 .000
Totals 9.0 0 0 5 1 0 3 9 0 —

PitchingW: Nicholas Sergi
SV: Andrew Eppenbach

Pirates Sweep San Diego

ivbaseball

The Inland Valley Pirates (7-4-1, 3-3) completed the road sweep of Team San Diego (7-13, 2-7) on Tuesday night at Grossmont College.

Inland Valley won the second game of the doubleheader 4-2.

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first when Justin Gomez doubled home Drew Seelman, who scored three of the Pirates’ four runs.

Team San Diego answered with two in the second to grab a 2-1 lead.

The Pirates got even in the fifth when Seelman scored his second run on an error.

Michael Deceglie scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on an error by the second baseman as Inland Valley regained the lead.

Kyle Jackson added an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI sacrifice fly that scored Seelman.

Andrew Eppenbach earned the winning, hurling 3.1 innings in relief while allowing no runs.

The Pirates take the field again on Friday night against the East LA Dodgers at Banning High at 6:30 p.m.

Batting AB R H RBI BB K
Kyle Jackson 4 0 0 1 0 0
Jonny Reynoso 1 0 1 0 0 0
Nolan Henley 2 0 0 0 0 0
Tyler Urbach 3 0 0 0 0 0
Michael Deceglie 2 1 0 0 2 1
Jeff Nellis 3 0 0 0 2 0
Justin Gomez 5 0 2 1 0 0
Jake Thumm 4 0 0 0 0 0
Nick Hernandez 1 0 0 0 0 0
Caleb Romo 3 0 0 0 0 1
Drew Seelman 3 3 2 0 2 0
Totals 31 4 5 2 6 2

Batting2B: Jonny Reynoso, Justin Gomez
TB: Jonny Reynoso 2, Justin Gomez 3, Drew Seelman 2
RBI: Kyle Jackson, Justin Gomez
SAC: Tyler Urbach, Caleb Romo
SF: Kyle Jackson
ROE: Kyle Jackson, Caleb Romo
SB: Kyle Jackson, Jeff Nellis 2, Drew Seelman 4

Pitching IP #P TB H R ER BB K HR S%
Eric Trask 5.2 0 0 6 2 2 1 6 0 .000
Andrew Eppenbach 3.1 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 0 .000
Nicholas Sergi 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000
Totals 9.0 0 0 7 2 2 5 8 0 —

PitchingW: Andrew Eppenbach
HBP: Eric Trask