Toronto Wins Fourth Straight, Muller Hurls Shutout
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The Toronto Rush earned their fourth consecutive victory on Sunday, while Brady Muller hurled a complete game shutout for the Canada A’s at Palm Springs Stadium.
Toronto (6-3) battled to a 14-11 victory over the Coachella Valley Snowbirds in game one on the main field.
Tyler Garkow hurled three scoreless innings in the start for the Coachella Valley Snowbirds (1-7), but Toronto turned up the offense in the middle innings. Down 2-0, the Rush rallied for five runs in the fourth, highlighted by Jay Stout’s two-run single.
Kevin Wirth contributed at the dish with a 1-for-3 performance, including a walk, hit by pitch, and two RBI, before pitching 1.2 innings in relief. Marcus Blackmon doubled home a run in the fifth inning, going 1-for-3 with two runs batted in.
The Snowbirds refused to go down quietly. Facing an 11-3 deficit, Coachella Valley bursted back with a five-spot in the sixth and would bring the tying run to the plate in the seventh before Seth Powers closed the door, inducing a flyout to left to notch the save.
In game two Brady Muller hurled a six-inning complete game shutout as the Canada A’s knocked off the British Columbia Bombers, 9-0. Muller, who has signed to play with Windy City of the Frontier League, permitted only two hits and did not issue a walk, striking out nine batters in the win over the Bombers (3-5-1).
Kevin Barker got the offense going for Canada (6-3), delivering an RBI double in the first inning. Barker finished the day 2-for-2 at the dish, including a walk and two runs scored. Jack LaMarca turned in a 3-for-4 day with three runs scored as the A’s pounded out 11 hits.
On the auxiliary field, Tom Nagy led the Manitoba North Stars in an 8-4 win over the the Palm Springs Power. Nagy collected three hits and four RBI’s, including his second home run of the season. Colin Moberly earned the win, striking out seven and holding the Power to three runs on three hits in five innings.
Westyn Baylor belted his first home run of the season for the Power, a no-doubt drive that sailed over the right-centerfield wall and into the main stadium.
The Midwest Haymakers rolled past the Palm Springs Chill by a 4-1 final in game two.
Kawagoshi Haruki tossed four scoreless innings of one-hit ball to earn the win, while Kenny Frosch worked a scoreless final frame for the save for Midwest (3-5). Nicholas Zaharion boosted the offense with a blast to left-center for his first home run.
The New York Colonials concluded the day’s action by holding off the Oregon Lumberjacks for a 6-3 win. Jalen Harris homered in the first inning for New York, while Connor Hoffman added his first longball to lead off the third.
Monday is Local Day at Palm Springs Stadium, where Coachella Valley residents can get in for just two dollars with a valid ID. Action kicks off when the Alberta Grizzly and the Palm Springs Chill square off at 10 a.m.
