Palm Springs, Calif. – The California Winter League was abuzz with baseball today, featuring a competitive tripleheader. The morning game showcased a compelling contest between the Alberta Grizzly and British Columbia Bombers on the backfield. The action continued with the Washington Blue Sox facing off against the Canada A’s. The day concluded with the Palm Springs Chill taking on Team China to end the afternoon, capping off a full day of exciting baseball under the desert sun.
BOMBERS: 6 – GRIZZLY: 2
The British Columbia Bombers and Alberta Grizzly met on the backfield for the first game of the day and there were plenty of new faces for each team with session 2 starting this week. Aaron Miles started Mason Collins on the mound for the Bombers and in his CWL debut he impressed. Collins tossed three innings of one-run ball without allowing a hit and striking out five. His efforts were supported by the Bombers’ new leadoff man, Mark Hernandez. Hernandez was hit on the first pitch he saw and went 1-3 with a stolen base and two runs scored. The story of the game was all about the Bombers starting center fielder, Davis Drewek. Drewek started the scoring with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first and didn’t stop there. He went 3-3 with a double, stolen base and 6 RBI being responsible for all of the Bombers run production. Jared Lemieux’s Grizzly started Daniel Clark on the mound and it was a grind from the start for him. The righty pitched four innings, allowing all six runs before handing it off to another new face in Luke Payne. In his first outing, Payne did not allow a baserunner, striking out two over two innings. Grizzly bats struggled until the seventh. Bubba Thompson took over for Collins in the fourth and only faced 10 batters. Alberta managed just one hit off Thompson who did not walk anyone and struck out four. Miles handed it over to Sinkeun Yun and things got interesting. Yun couldn’t find the zone and walked Pete Baker before hitting two Grizzly batters. Jaden Brown immediately came in with no outs and the bases loaded. Brown immediately induced a 5-4-3 double play in which Baker scored and followed it up with a Jason Leon fly ball to right ending the game and securing the third win of the season for the Bombers.
The Grizzly fall to 3-8 and get the day off before a rematch with the Bombers on Friday at 10:00. The Bombers improve to 3-7 and will face off against top ranked China on Thursday at 12:30.
A’s: 8 – BLUE SOX: 7
The Canada A’s walked off the Washington Blue Sox in the first game of the day at Palm Springs Stadium. Chet Robinson started for the A’s, while the Blue Sox looked to Angel Landazuri. The A’s would strike first in the bottom of the first as Juan Frances hit a 2 RBI triple to score Jorge Colon and Dane Simon. No one would score for the next two innings as Robinson and Landazuri would settle in. That was until the fourth inning, where two walks and a single would bring in one run. Anthony Sillas would enter the game with the bases loaded and give up two doubles, giving three of the four earned runs to Robinson. A sacrifice fly by Niko Diaz would make it 6-2. The A’s would respond in the bottom half of the fourth. Two walks and a single would drive in Frances and a Jed Downham sacrifice fly made it 6-4. Diante Jackson would drive in Matthew Warren with a single of his own to make it a one-run game. Both teams would exchange runs in the sixth, Kevin Gameros driving in Tommy Easley for the Blue Sox and Warren scoring on a fielder’s choice for the A’s. Down 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh, Aoi Nakaza would try to shut the door for the Blue Sox but would give up a single to Colon and a walk to Sam Ruta. Dane Simon would reach on a fielder’s choice before Frances would get another big hit, driving in Ruta to tie the game at seven. Tyler Foug, pinch-hitting for Grayson Moeller, took the second pitch of the at-bat into right-center field and scored the winning run in Simon, clinching the ninth win of the season for the A’s. The A’s are now 9-2 with the win, as the Blue Sox fall to 3-7. Both teams will be facing the Power in their next matchup, as the Blue Sox take them on tomorrow at 10 a.m. while the A’s have the day off tomorrow before they matchup on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
CHINA: 2 – CHILL: 1
Team China won their ninth game of the season over the Palm Springs Chill in the first extra inning game of the 2025 CWL season on Wednesday afternoon.
The Chill struck first in the top of the second with back-to-back one-out hits from Isaiah Fleming and John McGuire. McGuire got an RBI double off of China starter Guangxuang Sun to take the 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, Chill starter Jeff Rotz was dealing efficient innings. Averaging nine pitches a frame, the only run during regulation came across on an RBI single by Wenbin Xing in the bottom of the third. During the play that scored Xudong Zhu, Tianyuan Hu rounded second and got tagged out on the relay in from left field to end the inning. The following four innings went scoreless, with each pitcher facing no more than four batters for the remainder of the ballgame. After Alan Zhang Carter threw a perfect seventh inning to end regulation, the game went into sudden death, where Team China opted to bat against Jeff Rotz with a new pinch runner at first in Quiri Hu. On the first pitch of the eighth inning, Shuai Wang laid a bunt on the third base side of the mound, which third baseman John McGuire threw on to first for the first out. Hu rounded second base, eyeing a two-base sacrifice the whole way. The next batter, Xudong Zhu, took a first pitch ball, followed by a Baltimore chop infield single up the middle, scoring Wu from third and completing China’s second walkoff of the 2025 season. Rotz finished the game with 73 pitches in 7.1 innings of work, but takes the loss in a 2-1 heartbreaker to drop his Chill to 6-5. Team China keeps pace with the Canada A’s at the top of the standings at 9-2 on the year.
Thursdays at Palm Springs Stadium are Out of Towners Day! Where general admission for all non-local US residents is only $5! Fans can also tune in on the California Winter League YouTube to watch every 2025 stadium game live.
The California Winter League is the longest running professional showcase league of its kind. Since its inaugural season in 2010, the CWL has seen over 850 of its players sign professional contracts. Each year, it is the premier destination for free agent baseball players who are looking to be scouted and signed.
Stay up-to-date with the California Winter League at californiawinterleague.com or by following the CWL on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Palm Springs Stadium is located at 1901 E Baristo Road in Palm Springs.
For more information, visit californiawinterleague.com or call (760) 778-4487.
