Baseball – Power Outlast Athletics in Extras
The POWER were looking for their 16th win in a row tonight at Palm Springs Stadium against Southern California College Baseball League (SCCBL) rival the So Cal Athletics. It took extra baseball for them to earn the victory, winning by the score of 2-1 in 11 innings.
The first run of the game came on a strikeout of all things, as the Athletics scored on a dropped third strike in third inning. The POWER made it dramatic, not tying the game until the bottom of the ninth on a two-out RBI single by Frankie Torres.
The game went into extra innings, and in the 11th, the Athletics nearly won the game. So Cal second basemen Erik Lewis hit a single with runners at first and second base but a laser-beam of a throw from POWER left fielder Marcus Romero gunned down pinch runner Nick Begarra at home plate to keep the tie intact.
The POWER loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, and Hank Yates, who came into the ballgame as a defensive substitution in the 9th inning, watched a 3-1 pitch go by high and outside to walk in the winning run.
Tony Guerra picked up the win in relief for the POWER, his first decision of the summer. Romero had a nice offensive game, 2-for-5 with a walk, a double, and two steals. He also scored the winning run.
With the win, the POWER improve to 28-3 overall and 13-1 in SCCBL play. The Athletics drop to 17-10 and 11-6 in the SCCBL. The POWER go on the road for a doubleheader against the LA Thrashers Monday before coming back for home games Tuesday and Wednesday against the SD Waves and Arroyo Seco Saints. First pitches for both games are at 7:05 with the gates opening at 6:00 pm.
