Palm Springs, CA – It took a big fifth inning, but the Palm Springs POWER were able to come from behind on more than one occasion on Tuesday night to take game one of the SCCBL Championship Series from the O.C. Pioneers by a final score of 9-5.
The POWER fell down 2-0 after the top of the first before answering with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning to cut the O.C. lead in half. The POWER then put up two runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 3-2 lead on an RBI single by first baseman John Haberman that scored Corey Black.
The Pioneers answered the POWER fourth inning with two runs of their own to take a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom into the fifth. However, the POWER were just getting started in their half of the fifth, plating five runs.
Brett Christopher started off the inning with a leadoff single, then stole his third base of the night. Marcus Romero then stepped up and ripped an RBI single that plated Christopher. After Romero stole second, Black came back up to the plate and ripped an RBI single of his own, scoring Romero. Two batters later, Haberman stepped up and ripped a clutch two-out, two-RBI double that plated Black and catcher Chris LeFay. Following Haberman’s big rip, Ben Woodchick came back up with two outs and drilled an RBI double that brought Haberman around to score. The POWER weren’t done yet as Keenyn Walker ripped a standup triple in the bottom of the seventh and was driven in by Haberman, who singled in his fourth RBI of the night on the play to give the POWER a 9-4 lead.
The POWER received a mostly steady pitching performance from Aaron Brooks, Bryan Dalton, Gabe Aguilar, and Corey Black. Aguilar was the most dominant of the three, hurling three shutout innings before Black came in and shut down the Pioneers in the ninth. The win went to starter Aaron Brooks, who improved his record to a perfect 5-0 on the season.
The POWER return to action on Wednesday night when they take the road to take on the O.C. Pioneers for game two of the best-of-three SCCBL Championship Series. The game will take place at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California at 1:05 PM. Listen in as Jordan Loperena and Jeff Daley bring you the game on internet radio as the POWER try to clinch the SCCBL Championship for the second year in a row. The broadcast can be accessed by going to https://palmspringspowerbaseball.com and clicking on the “KRP Broadcasting” icon.
If necessary, the POWER will host game three of the SCCBL Championship Series on Thursday night at Palm Springs Stadium. Be sure and visit https://palmspringspowerbaseball.com to get the updates on the POWER run for a back-to-back Championship.
The POWER return to Palm Springs Stadium on Friday night when they take on the L.A. Rhinos, concluding their regular season run. Friday will be Christmas in July at the ballpark, and the POWER will be giving away over $15,000.00 in giveaways to fans in attendance.
On Saturday night, the POWER host the SCCBL All-Star Game and Home Run Derby at Palm Springs Stadium. The Home Run Derby kicks off at 6:05 PM and the gates will open up at 5:00 PM. The All-Star game will start after the conclusion of the Home Run Derby.
