By Tom Liguori
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – On Wednesday night the Palm Springs POWER bounced back against the Inland Valley Buccaneers winning by a lopsided score of 12-2 in an SCCBL divisional contest. The win marked the 23rd time the POWER have earned a win at the friendly confines of Palm Springs Stadium.
After a tough loss Tuesday, the POWER would look to avoid their first back to back losses since early June. On the mound was Angel Landazuri, marking the first start for the young righty out of UC Riverside. Landazuri had a very effective evening keeping the Buccaneer hitters off balance. Finishing the night after four and two-thirds innings of work, the transitioning reliever struck out seven batters while only allowing one run on two hits.
In what appeared to be a pitcher’s duel in the early going, the POWER were finally able to light up the scoreboard in the fifth inning, evening the score at one apiece. One night after Kobie Foppe lost his remarkable 16 game hitting streak, the infielder started a new streak with a line drive single down the left field line. He would later be driven home by Zach Davis on one of two RBI singles that the right fielder would hit on the evening.
In the bottom of the sixth inning the POWER exploded for their most productive inning of the season. An amazing 12 batters reached safely, scoring a total of 10 runs. The Buccaneers were forced to use six pitchers in the sixth, making a total of 5 changes in the extended inning.
Catcher Chad Clark drove in two POWER runners in the inning after two line drive singles. Second baseman Ryan Raslowsky and shortstop Harry Shipley also chipped in with two singles and runs scored in the sixth frame.
POWER relief pitcher Caleb Wallingford earned his first win of the season after one and a third inning of work out of the bullpen. The lefty out of the University of Memphis allowed no runs behind one hit and one strikeout. Former Palm Desert High School right-handed pitcher Max Compton netted the save after closing out the game with three innings of one run ball.
With the win, the POWER improved their division record to 11-3 with the victory and remain in first place. On Friday night, the POWER will be back in action against yet another SCCBL division foe, the Orange County Riptide. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
