PALM SPRINGS, Calif –
The Power and Inland Valley Bucs faced off in game one of a Power double header on Thursday afternoon. The Power went in looking for win number 26 on the season.
Kyle Mosley started for the Power and absolutely dominated. Mosley had both the fastball and breaking ball working. The Pitt Panther struck out 8 Bucs in 5 innings of shutout ball.
The Power’s offense also dominated in the win. Michael Groves grounded an rbi single in the first that brought home Jacob Mejia. With the way Mosley pitched that would have been enough but the bats poured it on throughout the game.
The Power added 3 in the 4th and 2 more in the 5th for good measure. Second baseman Dalton Thomas drove is 3 runs on the day in a breakout performance.
Johnny Young finished things out on the pitching side with 2 scoreless innings and 4 punch outs of his own. The Power improved to 26-1 over the team they will face this weekend for the Championship series.
Game 2 Recap
The Power battled with the Inland Valley Pirates in game 2 of a Power double header Thursday night at Scolinos Field on the campus of Cal Polly Pomona. It was a fiery game that went down to the wire.
Pitt Panther “Money” Matt Porter got the starting nod from Coach Casey Dill. Porter pitched well giving up only 1 run while tossing 7 strikeouts in 4 innings of work. The Power bats were quiet until the top of the 5th inning.
The Power rallied for 3 runs in the 5th before hitting into an out. To start the bottom of the 5th Julian Tellez came on in relief of Porter. Tellez had some traffic but limited the damage allowing one run in the 5th to make it 3-2 Power.
After the 5th Tellez locked in and pitched 2 more scoreless innings. The Power batters added 2 more runs in the 6th via “small ball” which included a sac bunt and a Jacob Mejia rbi base knock.
The Power held a 5-2 lead going into the bottom of the 8th. After the first 2 batters of the inning being retired, the Pirates rallied with some walks and a towering 3-run double from Connor Green to tie it up at 5 a piece.
Usual Power closer, Kenny Schechter, got the last out of the 8th. Schechter then went on to pitch a scoreless 9th sending the game to extra innings.
Emanuel Dean hit for the first time in the game with 1 out in the top of the 10th inning. He roped a single to left. Dean then moved to second after a Noah Blythe single. Dean, 6’3” and 230lbs, showed off his wheels by stealing 3rd base and scoring on a wild pitch to give the Power a 6-5 lead.
That would end up the final score as Schechter pitched one more shutdown inning to secure the extra inning victory. The 2 wins on Thursday gave the Power a 27-1 record.
The Power are back at Palm Springs Stadium Friday July 14, 2023 for the final game of the region season against the San Diego Bombers. Game time is 7:00pm and gates open at 6pm. Come on out to cheer on the Power as the close out a historic season.
