The Washington Blue Sox beat the Alberta Grizzly 10-6 Friday morning on the auxiliary field. A seven-run first capped with Jose de la Cruz’s three-run homer gave the Blue Sox an early lead.
The Grizzly crawled back into the game with a couple of two-run homers from Micah Barkenhagen in the second and Kayden Chichura in the fifth. The Grizzly made things uncomfortable for the Blue Sox as they had the tying run at the plate with the bases loaded. Josh Nielson entered the ballgame in a jam and found himself out of it by recording the final five outs. The Blue Sox improve to 10-2 and take on the Canada A’s (4-8) Saturday morning on the auxiliary field. The Grizzly drop to 5-8 and face the Palm Springs Chill (4-8) on Monday at Palm Springs Stadium after days off on Saturday and Sunday.
The Manitoba North Stars and the Oregon Lumberjacks met in the first stadium game on Friday. The Jacks turned to Garrett Deyoung on the mound who was one half of a pitching duel in the early half of the game. The North Stars rode the back of David Clarke who was dominant. The North Stars took a no-hitter into the seventh inning after jumping on a Jacks pitching staff that struggled in late innings. It was 1-0 into the sixth but an error allowed Khyle Radcliffe to reach and started a rally for the North Stars. Manitoba scored six runs in the final two frames and took home the win 7-0. David Clarke was the winning pitcher and Garrett Deyoung took the loss.
Both teams play one more game at the stadium on Saturday with the North Stars facing the Chill at 10am and the Jacks against the Power at 12:30pm.
The first matchup of the two Canadian counterparts took place in the second game at the stadium on Canada day. The Canada A’s taking on the British Columbia Bombers in a which swung towards the A’s at the beginning with potentially the longest homerun on the season by Kevon Jackson over the centerfield wall that traveled 432 ft with an exit velocity of 103 mph. With Tino Novis on the mound for the Bombers, he managed to limit the damage after the A’s went up another run in the 3rd inning before being replaced by William Merriott later on who would get the win. Ethan Alexander had a decent day with 5 strikeouts in 5 innings pitched while only giving up one earned run. Takushi Minakawa would come in to relief and soon the Bombers would pounce on the opportunity in the 6th inning. After the Bombers scored two in the 5th inning thanks to a sacrifice groundout by Christian Kuzemka that scored Jacob Schlesselman and an RBI triple by Will Cell, Schlesselman would tie the game with a key single to score Tanner Darley. The onslaught continued with an RBI walk by Cell and a two RBI single by Jack Halloran to go up 6-3. Chet Robinson would take over in the 7th for the A’s to give them a chance to attempt to tie it in the seventh, but Merriott would close out the game for the Bombers. A key victory moves the Bombers instantly into the 3rd spot in the standings with a chance to hold that spot off with a two day break before a rematch against the A’s next Monday.
Meanwhile, the A’s get a tough road match against the Blue Sox at the AUX field before Super Bowl Sunday.
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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 950 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.
