POMONA, Calif.- After outscoring the IV Bucs 29-9 in their previous two meetings, the Palm Springs POWER relied on good defense and a big day from Willie Bourbon to win game one, 6-2.
Bourbon’s RBI single in the first inning started the scoring but Alex Gaskin tied the game in the bottom of the second with an RBI single of his own.
Anthony Virgen hit one deep into the gap in left-center field for a run-scoring double to put the Bucs ahead 2-1 and chase POWER starter Peyton Lobdell.
Bourbon came through yet again for the POWER with a two-run double as the lead changed hands yet again.
“I’m just trying to stay with my approach,” said Bourbon. “That (RBI) is my favorite stat in baseball. It’s nice to have a guy like John Mauldin in front of you.”
Josh Tedeschi, who took over for Peyton Lobdell, did a fantastic job in relief and picked up the win.
Andrew Brown drove in a run in the eighth and both Taylor Grace and West Tunnell knocked in a run to provide insurance runs and the POWER held on for a 6-2 win in game one.
GAME TWO
Game two started with the same storyline as game one.
Willie Bourbon stepped to the plate with two on and one out in the top of the first and came through with a two-run double as the POWER never looked back en route to a two-game sweep and SCCBL regular-season crown.
The POWER opened the floodgates the next three innings scoring four times to take a 6-1 lead.
John Mauldin doubled in his second-straight game to tie Jake Howeth’s single-season record of 15 and is hungry to break the record tomorrow.
Head Coach Casey Dill was thrilled with his team’s approach at the plate:
“We had a lot of guys in our lineup that executed the whole series and drove guys in.”
Matt Acosta was sensational on the mound for a POWER team that used both Bryan Menendez and Gabe Gentner in game one. Acosta pitched into the 9th inning and earned the victory.
“I just wanted to throw strikes and get my team ahead,” said Acosta. “I had my pitches working; I was spotting up. You can’t fall behind if you want to go deep in the game.”
Palm Springs will be on the road Monday night for their first playoff game, but will finish the regular season schedule with a non-conference matchup with the SD Wave Friday night at Palm Springs Stadium.
