Palm Springs, Calif. – The Palm Springs Power dropped Game 1 of the CPCL Championship series to the San Diego Waves by a score of 7-5 on Saturday night at Palm Springs Stadium.
The Power will need to win two games on the road on Sunday in Azusa to win their second straight CPCL championship. Game 2 is scheduled for 1 PMat Azusa Pacific University and if necessary a winner take all Game 3 will follow the conclusion of the first game.
Saturday’s scoring got started in the bottom of the first when Alonso Reyes (UC Irvine) drove an RBI base-hit to left field to bring in Aidan Taurek (St. Mary’s). After falling behind in the second inning, the Power would trail the rest of the ballgame.
Conner Batzer (Cal State San Bernardino) gave the Power a fighting chance when he entered from the bullpen in the bottom of the third. He came in with his team trailing by four, and gave the Power four innings of work. He surrendered two earned runs and twirled six strikeouts to keep the Power afloat in the middle innings.
Ishmael Quintero (Cal State LA) finished the game on the mound with 2.1 excellent innings allowing just one baserunner with two strikeouts.
Palm Springs made things interesting in the later innings. Noah Blythe tacked on his 45th RBI on a sixth inning sacrifice fly to bring in Ely Brown (Mercer). The Power added another run in the seventh to trim the deficit to four.
In the ninth, the Power added two runs on RBI walks from Austin Haller (Western Kentucky) and Andrew Rivas (UC Riverside). With two outs in the ninth, the Power had the winning run on first, but a groundout ended the night.
Taurek reached all five times including two hits and two walks. Rivas extended his hit streak to nine games, the longest streak for any Power player this season.
Palm Springs drops their second game of the season to fall to 33-2. This is the first postseason loss for the Power in the CPCL-era.
The live broadcast of Sunday’s action from the Cougar Baseball Complex can be heard on the Power Baseball Broadcast Networkbeginning at 1 PM. Fans can also follow along for updates on the Power’s social media pages.
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The Palm Springs Power are a summer collegiate baseball team playing all games at Palm Springs Stadium. The Power are a member of the California Premier Collegiate League and the league’s inaugural champions in 2023. Palm Springs has won nine league championships in 19 seasons of playing baseball in the desert dating to 2004.
Stay up-to-date with the Palm Springs Power at palmspringspowerbaseball.com and by following the Power on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok.
Fans can buy tickets every gameday at the stadium box office. Palm Springs Stadium is located at 1901 E Baristo Road in Palm Springs. Fans can also tune in on the Palm Springs Power Broadcast Network to watch every home game live.
For more information, visit palmspringspowerbaseball.com or call (760) 778-4487.
