PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - The giants have fallen and it all comes down to one final series.  The Inland Valley Bucs pulled off one of the biggest upsets in SCCBL history, taking down league super power Palm Springs Power, winning two-straight games to earn their spot in the Championship Series.  The San Diego Force came into their series with the Inland Valley Pirates as the underdog and made quick work of the Pirates to find their way to the Championship Series yet again.

The two underdogs will face off for the SCCBL Title in a three-game series beginning on Friday.

How the Bucs got there:

The fourth-seeded Bucs shocked the world on Wednesday, taking the first two games of a best-of-three series with the top-seeded Power.

Game One was easily one of the most intense pitchers’ duels of the season.  All-Star starters Brennan Piceno (Bucs/CSU San Marcos) and Jonathan Buckley (Power/St. Mary’s) exchanged scoreless frames in the first before the heart of the Power’s order strung together three hits against Piceno in the top of the second, culminating with a Zach Grande (Power/CSULA) RBI single to score John Mauldin (Power/New Orleans). However, those three hits would turn out to be all the offense the Power could muster as Piceno settled in to fire seven and two-thirds innings of three-hit, one-run ball.  

Buckley initially held the advantage over Piceno, firing four perfect innings to start the game, until Christian Valdez (Bucs/Cal Poly Pomona) and Monte Montenegro (Bucs/Fullerton JC) reached base to start the bottom of the fifth and scored on Kristian Scott’s (Bucs) two-RBI single. Buckley finished the afternoon six innings pitched, four hits and two earned runs. Both bullpens entered and held the opposing lineups at bay, and Bucs closer Hayden Petrovick notched two strikeouts in the top of the ninth to record the save.

Malcolm Smith (Bucs/East New Mexico State) was the spark the Bucs needed to keep their momentum rolling in Game Two.  He scored the first run for the Bucs in the top of the third, coming around to score on an RBI single by Valdez. Valdez kept his strong day going in the top of the fifth, knocking in Connor Kostecka (Bucs/Biola) on a fielder’s choice for his second RBI of the day.  Brad Lewis (Bucs/UNLV) chipped in a two-RBI single to push the lead to 3-0 through their first five at-bats.

Ben Nisle (Power/Purdue) got the offense rolling for the Power when he brought Matt Green (Power/St. Mary’s) across to dent the board for the top seed in the bottom of the sixth.  They struck again in the bottom of the seventh when Spencer Weston (Power/SDSU) scored on an RBI double off the bat of Austin Reyes (Power/Santa Clara) to cut the Bucs’ lead to one.  Casey Combs (Power/East Texas Baptist) knotted the game at four with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the eighth.

Smith stepped up his game in the top of the ninth and became a terror on the bases.  With one of the league’s top closers, Darren May (Power/Cal Poly Pomona), on the mound, Smith reached on an error before stealing both second and third, putting himself in scoring position before racing home on an error to regain the lead for the Bucs.  Petrovick, who took over with one out in the bottom of the eighth, shut down the Power in the bottom of the ninth, striking out two to earn his second save in two games.

How the Force got there:

Historically one of the strongest teams in the SCCBL, the San Diego Force came into the first series as the lower seed, finishing behind the second-seeded Inland Valley Pirates.  This fact did not phase them, however, as their offense exploded for 15 runs in two games to power their way into the Championship Series.

Game One belonged solely to the Force, led by big flies from Drake Pierson (Force) and Phillip Steering (Force/Hawaii Hilo), and a one-hit shutout by Ryan Losman (Force) and the rest of the bullpen.  Losman went six innings, striking out 10, while giving up the only Pirates hit of the game to earn the win.

Steering blasted his solo shot to put the Force on the board in the top of the second inning, and the momentum rolled into the third where the Force struck for three more. Pierson knocked in the first of his three RBI with a single to knock in Junior Coleman (Force/Riverside City College), before Aaron Barkley (Force) and Trey Martin (Force/Army) knocked in one run each.  James Shimashita (Force) scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth to stretch the lead to 5-0, and the Force sealed the deal with a four-run sixth inning.

Pierson’s two-run shot got the ball rolling in the inning and was followed by RBI hits from Barkley and Pierson.  Justin Coleman (Force), Max Holtzclaw (Force), and Mark Lemus (Force) each took an inning on the mound and combined to strike out four in three innings to close out the game for a 9-0 win.

Game Two was much of the same, highlighted by a dominant performance on the mound by Frank Lopez (Force).  His 11 strikeouts in seven innings held the Pirates to just one run in the game, helping the Force to the 6-1 victory.

Pierson remained hot at the plate as the Force wasted no time getting on the board.  His groundout proved productive in the top of the first, allowing Coleman to score the first run of the ballgame.  The Pirates answered back in the home half of the inning when Trevor Jackson (Pirates/College of Southern Nevada) walked with the bases loaded to force in a run.  

The game belonged to the Force after that, beginning with Steering’s second home run of the series in the top of the fourth.  Joshua Sidley (Force) and David Huddleson (Force) both came up with RBI base hits in the top of the fifth to stretch the lead to 4-1, and Ryan Williams (Force/California Baptist) belted a two-run shot in the top of the sixth to cap the scoring.

Onto the Championship:

With both lower-seeded teams coming away victorious in the first series, the two will face off in a three-game series beginning on Friday.  The fourth-seeded Bucs will host Game One, with the third-seeded Force hosting Game Two and this if-necessary Game Three. Stayed tuned to sccbaseball.com and SCCBL social media for more information on game times and locations.