Palm Springs, Calif. – The California Winter League playoff quarterfinals took center stage at Palm Springs Stadium today, delivering a double dose of exciting baseball action. The day’s first matchup pitted the seventh-seeded Alberta Grizzly against the third-seeded Palm Springs Chill. Later in the afternoon, the fifth-seeded Washington Blue Sox battled the fourth-seeded Palm Springs Power. Both contests were fiercely fought, with each team vying for a coveted spot in tomorrow’s semifinals, where games are set for 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM.
PALM SPRINGS CHILL 7 – 3 ALBERTA GRIZZLY
The Palm Springs Chill defeated the Alberta Grizzly 7-3 in their quarterfinal matchup on Friday morning to advance to the semifinals.
The Chill struck early against Delvis Lorenzo with a two-run homer by Dominick Bucko to give them a 2-0 advantage after the first. The Grizzly answered with a run of their own in the top of the second inning after Matthew Fabian reached on an error, stole second and then stole third and came in to score on another Chill error.
The Chill kept a 2-1 lead until the bottom of the fourth inning when they broke things open with a five-run frame. The big blow came on a bases-clearing, three-run triple by Jarrett Burney to open up a 7-1 lead. The Grizzly refused to go down without a fight though, as they scored twice in the seventh inning on a two-run single by Scott Shaw. That forced manager Tom Vaeth to bring in his closer Johansel Gomez to shut the door and pick up the save.
Jeff Rotz picked up the win for the Chill after tossing 5.2 innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Delvis Lorenzo suffered the loss for the Grizzly.
The Palm Springs Chill will take on the Canada A’s in the semifinals on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m.
BLUE SOX 5 – 2 POWER
The Palm Springs Power could not come up with the big hit as the Washington Blue Sox won the second quarter final of the day to advance to the semifinals. Clayton Warner was the starter for the Blue Sox while Cooper Bagby was the first to go for the Power.
The Blue Sox started the scoring early in the top of the first. Kevin Gameros hit a double and came around to score on an Allen Goodwin RBI single. Parker Depasquale, who got on after a dropped third strike, would score the second run of the inning after two straight walks from Angus Stayte and Shuya Funada.
They would tack on one more in the top of the third with a Parker Depasquale solo home run that hit the scoreboard.
The Power would finally get some runs in the bottom of the fourth. Francisco Pulido and Tyler Hendrix would lead off the inning with two straight singles.
With the wind picking up and blowing fast to the right side, Nathaniel Lai hit a pop-up that was pushed from third base to the second base side and went out of reach of second baseman Tommy Easley, scoring Pulido. Tristan Pacheco would hit the next pitch into right center field to score Hendrix and make it 3-2.
After two more scoreless innings, the Blue Sox would extend their lead in the top of the seventh. With Gameros on third and Easley on second, Goodwin hit his second RBI single of the game, scoring both runners and making it 5-2.
Warner would shut down Kazuya Ohira, Jude Drzemiecki and John Taylor in the bottom of the seventh to get the win. Warner went the distance, pitching all seven innings and only giving up two, earning the win. Bagby got the loss, going 6.2 of his own but giving up five.
The 5-seed Blue Sox will advance to the semifinals to play Team China tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. for a spot in the championship game.
Saturdays at Palm Springs Stadium are $3 Beer Days where both Bud Light and Budweiser draft beers are only $3!
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.
