PALM SPRINGS, Calif – Last season, the POWER won 19 games, this year, they hit that mark in just 20 games, with a commanding 15-1 victory over the Inland Valley Legends on Saturday night. The POWER offense was firing on all cylinders, their 8th game this season scoring double digit runs, and bringing the average up to a whopping 8.4 runs per game, and extending their lead in first place in the highly competitive California Premiere Collegiate League.
In the bottom half of the second inning, Emanuel Dean tripled to drive in Anthony Angel Jr with no outs, and the floodgates just began to open. After two batters walked, the bases were loaded for last night’s player of the game, Kohl Abrams, and he continued his hot streak with a bases clearing double down the left field line to extend the POWER lead to 4-0. By the time the inning ended, the POWER led it 6-0, and had batted around, giving some major cushion to starting pitcher Julian Orozco.
Orozco, the Long Beach State product, continued his dazzling summer with five fabulous innings, displaying efficiency and control. He struck out six batters, allowing just four hits, and one earned run, throwing just 58 pitches, 44 of them for strikes. Orozco’s ERA increased to 0.85, and he’s now compiled 29 strikeouts to just three free passes in 21.1 innings for the POWER.
The bats stayed hot in inning number three, another two runs were driven in by Abrams on another double down the left field line, and then following doubles by Noah Blythe, and Dean, who won player of the game, the POWER eventually extended1 their lead to 13-0, scoring seven in the third inning alone.
The rest of the night was a relatively quiet affair, with the POWER coasting through to victory and getting scoreless relief pitching efforts from Naun Haro, who made his POWER debut, Jacob Strmiska, and Kyle Mosley.
The 15-1 final is a reflection of how dominant the POWER have been all year, and tonight was just a continuation, with the close game of Friday night being the outlier.
On July 4th, the POWER take on the All-Stars from the POWER Summer Collegiate League, and there will be fireworks after the game as we celebrate the 247th birthday of the United States of America.
