Haymakers ‘KO Colonials in extras, Lumberjacks win wild contest over Power
By: Julius Bzozowski
On day 14 of the California Winter League season, drama was the theme. Fans that took advantage of the Jack-In-The-Box sponsored “Dollar Wednesday” promotion (one dollar tickets) were certainly not disappointed.
In the first game of the day at the auxiliary field, the Palm Springs Chill defeated the Palm Desert Coyotes by a score of 4-1. Chill starting pitcher and Frontier League signee Ryan Strombom dominated the struggling Coyotes, who have dropped three games in a row.
In six innings of work, the future Windy City ThunderBolt struck out 11 Palm Desert batters while allowing just two hits. Strombom’s earned run average now sits at a sparkling 0.37, good for second in the entire CWL.
Palm Desert shortstop Kyle Massie went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the loss. Massie is batting .393 on the season.
In a rare 9am start at Palm Springs Stadium, the Bay Area Bootleggers defeated the British Columbia Bombers by a score of 5-4.
(The 9am start was due to a speaking engagement with Oakland A’s OF Coco Crisp)
After quality starts by the Bombers’ Matthias Leyva and the Bootleggers’ Jameson McGrane, the game was tied 1-1 heading into the top of the sixth inning. In the sixth, the Bootleggers exploded for four runs, with the big blow coming in the form of a three-RBI double from Bootleggers third baseman George Rooke.
British Columbia showed no quit, however, as they rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh against Bay Area relief pitcher Gary Aho. The Bombers sent eight batters to the plate, and had the game-tying run on second base when third baseman Gabriel Ramos flew out to end the game.
Bootleggers leadoff hitter Clay Ragland went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Bombers left fielder John Williams went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI in a losing effort.
The craziest game of the day came from the auxiliary field, as the Oregon Lumberjacks defeated the Palm Springs Power by a score of 9-8.
Oregon built a 9-2 lead heading into the seventh inning, thanks to two-hit efforts by Taran Tani, Dakota Burke, Josh Davis, and Tyler Hermann.
Palm Springs rallied with six runs in the top of the seventh inning, but they stranded the tying run on third base. One of the offensive leaders for the Power was first baseman Jordan Brower, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI and is batting .429 on the season.
After a slow start, the Lumberjacks have won two games in a row.
Game two at Palm Springs Stadium saw another nail-biter, as the Midwest Haymakers defeated the New York Colonials by a score of 2-1 in eight innings. This was the first extra inning game of the California Winter League season, and International Tiebreaker Rules were followed. Each team started each extra inning with a runner on second base.
Tough-luck loser Ryan Davis threw a complete game for the Colonials, as he struck out seven batters and walked none.
Haymakers starting pitcher Kawagashi Haruki threw five solid innings as well, allowing one run in five innings.
Will Soto played the hero for the Haymakers, lacing a single into right-center field to score Sheehan Planas-Arteaga from second base in the bottom of the eighth inning.
To wrap up the day, the Toronto Rush defeated the Manitoba North Stars by score of 6-1 on the Auxiliary Field.
Manitoba scored a run in the top of the sixth inning to cut their deficit to one, but the Rush answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to provide some insurance.
Toronto starting pitcher Alex Brosnan got the win, as he threw five shutout innings. Kyle Kennett and Seth Powers each threw one inning to nail down the win. Dakota Freese took the loss for the North Stars, allowing six runs in 5.2 innings.
Offensively, the Rush were led by leadoff hitter Charles Dailey. Dailey, playing centerfield, went 2-for-4 with one run scored and an RBI. Richard Riccardi also had a big game, going 1-for-3, scoring once, and driving in two runs for the Rush.
Looking Ahead
Thursday is “Out-Of-Towners Day” at Palm Springs Stadium! Fans with an out-of-state identification card get into Palm Springs Stadium for just two dollars. There are also three games on the docket at the Auxiliary Field behind the outfield wall of Palm Springs Stadium. Games at “The Aux” are always free to attend.
Listen Live
Games are streamed daily on CaliforniaWinterLeague.com, which has a “Listen Live” link on the homepage.
For tomorrow only, the 12:30 PM game between the Alberta Grizzly and the New York Colonials will be broadcasted on “The Valley’s Sports Leader, Team 1010 KXPS”. Be sure to tune in, as Thaddeus Krzus and Julius Bzozowski will be on-air beginning at noon for a pregame show!
