Player of the Week: Sam Neufeld – Force/Vanguard

Sam Neufeld of the San Diego Force put up big numbers at the plate in week five. The Vanguard graduate batted .600 over the week, recording 10 hits including a double and a home run. He knocked in eight runs and scored seven to contribute to the Force’s offense. He helped the team out on defense as well, making important stops at second base.

Pitcher of the Week: Rhys Stevens – Pirates/Cal Poly Pomona

Stevens had a dominating performance against the Inland Valley Bucs this week for the Pirates. The incoming freshman for Cal Poly Pomona threw five innings, giving up no hits or runs, and struck out 13 of the 15 batters he faced.

Team Recaps

Palm Springs Power – Jordan Quinn

For the Palm Springs Power, week five of SCCBL action saw more of the same as they continue with their season-long winning streak. In a 9-8 win over the San Diego Force, the Power were led by the hitting of Leonard Jones (CSULB) (2-3, one double, two RBI, one run) and Jayden Kiernan (Utah) (2-4, two doubles, one RBI, one run). In a 4-3 win over the SoCal Stros, the offense was highlighted by Peter Abinati (St Johns), who went 4-5 with two runs scored. The Power received an eight-RBI night from Trevor McKinley (Martin Methodist) in their 12-9 victory over the OC Legends. In the final two games of the week, the Power picked up two more wins over the Ventura County Thunder, 6-1 and 14-2. In the first game, Taichi Nakamura (Meisi University) led the offense with two RBI. On the mound, Jesus Chavez (Oklahoma Baptist) picked up the win. Closing out the week, Jeremy Gaines (Illinois State) had the hot hand with a double, triple, RBI and run scored. Jake Dahle (Utah) picked up the win, pitching six innings with four strikeouts.

San Diego Force – Cassidy Thornburg

The Force moved up to second place in league standings after another eventful week. They started the week on the road against the Power and fought hard to get a comeback win, but came up short in the end (10-9). After the holiday, the Force faced off against the SoCal Stros, again on the road, this time in Corona. They dominated the first game (12-2). Sam Neufeld (Vanguard) and Alex Blaszyk (Saddleback College) both hammered home runs. The Force dropped the second game (10-9), as the Stros walked off with the win to even the series.

Cal Jays – Cassidy Thornburg

The Jays had some time off from competing to start the week before picking up a three game series with the Inland Valley Pirates to end it. They lost the first two games (5-3, 6-1) and won the last (7-3). Devon Villanueva (Santa Ana College) had a good week at the plate. He scored three runs, had three doubles and tallied an RBI to put him at a .333 batting average on the week.

Inland Valley Pirates – Jordan Quinn

In week five of SCCBL play, the Inland Valley Pirates came away with three wins in four games. In their 5-1 win over the Inland Valley Bucs, the Pirates were led offensively by Michael Bennin (UCCS) (two hits, two RBI, one run) and Brendan Guy (Saddleback) (two hits, one RBI, one run). The Pirates suffered a 7-4 loss to the SoCal Stros, but bounced back with an 8-4 victory over the Inland Valley Bucs. The win was highlighted by the dominant pitching of Rhys Stevens (Cal Poly) who had 13 strikeouts in five innings. To close out their week, the Pirates defeated the California Jays by a score of 5-3 with help from home runs by Haydon Winters (Cypress) and Juan Guardado.

SoCal Stros – Cade Temple

Week five of the summer treated the Stros evenly. They played six games throughout the week and split with a 3-3 record. They started the week against the Palm Springs Power and held the undefeated team to four runs, scoring three in the tight battle. The momentum carried into their next two games as the Stros scored a combined 18 runs. The Stros bounced back from a loss to the Force with a walk-off 10-9 win over the league’s second-place team to cap the week.

Inland Valley Bucs – Cade Temple

The Bucs struggled through week five of the season, although it was an improvement from last week with one win in their four games. The victory came against the Stros in 8-5 fashion, led by Dawson Gilbert’s three hits. Dylan Hirsch (LMU) knocked in three runs in the game.