By: Clinton Cole
PASADENA, Calif.- Fourth-seed Arroyo Seco scored the go-ahead run in the 8th inning on a Ricky Perez single and reliever Anthony Robles atoned for his dropped pop fly by stranding the winning run on third as the Sentinels knocked off the top-seed Palm Springs POWER 5-4 at Jackie Robinson Park in Pasadena, California Monday night.
The POWER swept the season series 4-0 but only won by a combined six runs so Head Coach Casey Dill knew this would be another close one:
“It was a tough loss, we knew it was going to be a fight going into tonight, a frustrated Dill said after the game. “The last two runs were leadoff walks. You give this team any ground at all and they are going to run with it. We played pretty solid all-around but a couple of mistakes cost us.”
POWER starter Cameron Neff struck out four Sentinels over the first two innings, but couldn’t get out of the fifth and was lifted for Bryan Menendez. The righty from UNLV was effective as usual, only allowing one baserunner in 1 2/3 IP.
Palm Springs led the ballgame going into the bottom of the 8th, but Harrison Hoff reached first and then stole second and third to set up the game-winning hit. Ricky Perez lined a two-out, Josh Tedeschi pitch to right-center and the Sentinels held on for the win. Tedeschi (2-1) walked three batters and struck out a pair in two innings of work.
Brock Hale and Ryan Mota led the POWER at the plate combining for more than half of their hits. Hale went 3-5 with two runs scored and his 13th stolen base of the season. Ryan Mota’s RBI double in the second put the POWER on the board first and he later singled for yet another multi-hit game.
Colby Schultz, Willie Bourbon and John Mauldin also drove in runs. Mauldin’s double in the first was his 16th of the season, which sets a new POWER record previously held by Jake Howeth.
Manager Harry Gurley’s final playoff run didn’t start out the way most thought it would, but the POWER aren’t done yet as they will host the Sentinels at 7:05 PM Tuesday night on $1 Beer Night.
