Palm Springs, CA – Feb. 4, 2011 – Both Friday afternoon games at the ballpark started off with good old-fashioned pitcher’s duels.

In Game One, Canada A’s right-hander Taylor King and 18-year-old lefty Shota Kano of the Coachella Valley Snowbirds traded zeroes for the first four innings.

The A’s drew first blood in the home half of the fifth, on a leadoff double by catcher Sam Wiley and singles by J.T. Putt and Harry Williams – all three of whom would come around to score.

Wiley led off the seventh with his second double of the game and scored on a Matt Palko RBI-triple. Palko later crossed home on a wild pitch to give Canada a five-run advantage. The offense added two more in the eighth, but it wouldn’t be necessary. King threw 7.1 innings before turning it over to the bullpen. Mike Steir and Brian Wilde completed the scoreless outing by the Canada pitching staff, and the A’s won their league-best seventh game of the season by a score of 7-0.

Game Two started in similar fashion, as both James Janclaes of the Palm Desert Coyotes and Sean Watson of the Palm Springs Chill kept the opposition silent through the first three frames.

The Chill struck first in the fourth, as Chris Round singled with one out and scored on an RBI-triple off the bat of Andrew Kuhn.

Palm Desert responded in the fifth with a three-run outburst, thanks to singles by Rob Herrmann, Clint Stottlemyre and James Mays. The two-RBI single by Mays made it 3-1 in favor of the Coyotes.

In the eighth inning, the desert dogs capitalized on four walks issued by Chill relief. All four base runners scored to give Palm Desert a 7-1 lead. A lone run in the ninth was all Palm Springs could muster, as Justin Uribe, Charles Williams and James LoPresti each threw an inning to complete the victory.

With the win the Coyotes move to 6-4 on the season, one game behind the A’s in the CWL standings.

Tomorrow’s action features Palm Desert taking on the Coachella Valley Snowbirds at 10 a.m., followed by the 1 p.m. matchup between the Palm Springs Chill and the Canada A’s.  Saturday is Canadian Day at the ballpark – fans from north of the border receive a special discount at the gate with a valid Canadian ID.

Both games can be heard live on the California Winter League website, at www.CaliforniaWinterLeague.com and the 1 p.m. game will be simulcast on NewsTalk 920 KPSI.

Taylor King struck out eight and walked one in his 7.1 innings of work Friday afternoon.