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SCCBA News
SCCBA ALL-STARS SHUTDOWN PACIFIC WEST LEAGUE
ALL-STARS, 7-0
July 25, 2009, Palm Springs, CA – The Southern California Collegiate Baseball Association dominated the Pacific West League 7-0 on Saturday night inside Palm Springs Stadium in front of one of the largest crowds of the year to see the Home Run Derby and All-Star game.
Palm Springs POWER ace Aaron Brooks earned his way onto the All-Star game and was selected as the starting pitcher and showed why he was given the honor as he struck out the side to open up the top of the first inning. The SCCBA looked to score in the bottom frame with the bases loaded and no outs. California Mariners’ Chris Lum hit a fly ball to centerfield as POWER infielder P.J. Jimenez tried to score, but PWL outfielder Javier Solis gunned him down for the double play. POWER catcher Sharif Othman walked before L.A. Thrashers Adrian Martinez flew out to right field as the SCCBA stranded the bases loaded with no runs.
The SCCBA plated four runs in the bottom of the third with three base knocks including a triple from Trombly Thunders Eric Wright. With one runner on Wright drilled the ball over the right fielders head to drive in a run and grab a 3-0 lead. Jimenez followed the triple with a single he sprayed down the right field line for a 4-0 advantage. They scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth.
POWER closer Bryan Longpre pitched the fifth inning and ran into a little trouble when the Pacific West League had the bases loaded with only one out. Longpre showed why he has not allowed a run all season and promptly struck out the next two hitters to get out of the jam. Every pitcher on the SCCBA staff threw one inning during the All-Star game and Longpre earned the win.
CALIFORNIA MARINERS’ ROBBIE ROBINSON
WINS HOME RUN DERBY
July 25, 2009, Palm Springs, CA – Fans were treated to an exciting Home Run Derby before the All-Star game as California Mariners’ outfielder Robbie Robinson hoisted the trophy with six total long balls in the two rounds.
Robinson beat out Palm Springs POWER first baseman Josh Manzano in the final round with three home runs.
Robinson drilled three over the fence in the first round while SCCBA third baseman Adrian Martinez and PWL first baseman Ryan Laing both hit one. PWL outfielder Dave Rohm and Manzano both hit two to force a three out swing-off to decide who will face Robinson in the final round. Both hit bombs the first time around and Manzano was able to get one the second swing-off to position himself in the finale. Manzano could not get a hold of one as Robinson hit three to win the 2009 All-Star Home Run Derby.
2009 SCCBA SEASON IN REVIEW
Palm Springs, CA – The Southern California Collegiate Baseball Association provided another successful run with some stern competition from the six teams in the league as the Palm Springs POWER defeated the Orange County Pioneers in the championship for their first outright SCCBA title.
It was a storybook year for the league especially for a team like the Pioneers. The Pioneers started off the season 0-6 before they put it in gear and snatched up second place winning 10 of their last 14 games.
The POWER came in as the heavy favorites in the conference, but for nearly half of the season the California Mariners were stepping on their toes. The POWER faced the Mariners in a two game set on the July 4th weekend inside Palm Springs Stadium. The POWER jumped out to a three game lead after defeating the Mariners in both games. The Mariners tumbled after their trip to Palm Springs and the POWER locked up the regular season title.
As the Mariners started losing games the Pioneers had the opposite effect. The Pioneers were not originally thought to be a threat, but they made some late season acquisitions to poise them for a run in the SCCBA. They went from last to second place and gave the POWER their second and last loss in the conference.
As the games drew to an end the Pioneers had one game left on the season and needed the win for a playoff spot. They won their last game and tied the Mariners in the conference standings. The Pioneers snuck ahead for the playoff spot after splitting with the Mariners, but they scored more runs in the four games played against each other for the tie breaker.
The final weekend of play was a big weekend for not only the Mariners and Pioneers, but also the East L.A. Dodgers. The Dodgers had a tough task of trying to sweep the POWER for a spot in the playoffs. The POWER looked to play a new opponent come playoff time and crushed the Dodgers 20-0 and 11-6 to end their season.
Teams like the Los Angeles Thrashers and Trombly Thunder finished under .500 for the year, but were tough teams winning seven conference games each.
SCCBA action will be on hiatus until next June and will look to have even fiercer competition next year.
POWER DEFEAT PIONEERS FOR THE OUTRIGHT SCCBA TITLE
 July 22, 2009, Palm Springs, CA – The Palm Springs POWER are now the Southern California Collegiate Baseball Champions after a strong offensive outing against the Orange County Pioneers to win 10-5 inside Scolinos Field at Cal Poly Pomona University on Wednesday afternoon.
The POWER won their first outright title in the SCCBA with solid performances from starting pitcher Travis Blankenship and Tyler Saladino had three base knocks including two doubles, was hit by two pitches, and scored three runs. Blankenship (7-0) earned the win after going five innings, allowing one run, and had five punch outs on the day.
“We are very proud to be the undisputed conference champs,” POWER Owner Andrew Starke. “This is a championship that has eluded us for the past three years, but these players and coaches have done an outstanding job to get us to this point of the season and we are very proud to represent the community.”
After a solid first inning from both teams, the POWER were able to get on the score board in the top of the second. Mercer University infielder John Moreland walked to start the inning before Max Willett grounded into a fielder’s choice. Brett Christopher had a seeing eye single up the middle and P.J. Jimenez hit a gapper into right-centerfield to score both Willett and Christopher to grab a 2-0 advantage.
Two singles from Sharif Othman and Jay Ponciano put runners on for Brian Heere who popped up in left field for a sacrifice fly and a 3-0 lead in the third inning.
The POWER separated themselves in the fifth frame, plating five runs during the inning. Saladino led off and smacked a double to left field, Othman then hit a flair that dropped into right field to score Saladino. Brett Hambright continued with another single and Jay Ponciano beat out a throw that went over Pioneers first baseman Bryan Knapp’s head and scored Hambright. Heere stepped up and singled on the second pitch on a grounder that just missed the outstretched glove of second baseman Robert Cortwright’s glove and plated two runs. A few batters later Willett hit a sac fly to score Heere for the 8-0 lead.
After the POWER scored five runs, the Pioneers made a comeback attempt in the bottom of the fifth. Blankenship saw seven batters in the inning and surrendered three hits and three runs (one earned) in the inning after the Pioneers first two hitters reached on errors. Knapp hit a double with the bases juiced that scored two runs before Erik Hempe was gunned down by Hambright in a collision at the plate. Runners are not allowed to run into the catcher and Hempe was tossed out of the game along with two other Pioneer players and trailed 8-3.
The POWER scored two more runs in the game before Dylan Lightell and Bryan Longpre shut the door for the win.
The 2009 SCCBA Champions will have a nonconference game on Friday with the Bay Cal Yankees with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. Angel Mata is the likely starter for the POWER.
July 21st
POWER and Pioneers to compete for 2009 conference title.
After getting off to an 0-6 start the first year Pioneers finished the regular season going 10-4 in their last 14 games to slide into the playoffs as the number two seed. The POWER who wrapped up the number one seed will host game one in the best of 3 series at Palm Springs Stadium on Tuesday July 21st. Game two will be held at Cal Poly Pomona Univ. on Wednesday July 22nd at 4pm. If necessary, game three will be back at Palm Springs Stadium on Thursday July 23rd at 7pm.
July 17th, 2009
As the 2009 regular season comes to a conclusion a true dog fight has emerged for the second playoff position. With the POWER wrapping up the #1 seed each of the other 5 teams in the SCCBA all have a legitimate shot at finishing the regular season in second place and qualifying for the playoffs. The playoff format is a best of 3 game series with the #1 seeded team hosting game 1 and game 3 if necessary of the playoffs on Tuesday July 21st and Thursday July 23rd. The #2 seeded team will host game two of the series and if the series is tied after game two, Thursday night will crown the league champion. If the series wraps up on Wednesday night 2-0 then Thursday will not be necessary.
Going into the final weekend of regular season play only two games separate the 5 teams fighting for the final playoff spot. This weekend the POWER will be taking on the Dodgers in a two game series in Palm Springs while the Pioneers have two games against the Mariners and one against the Thrashers. The Thrashers also have one additional game against the Thunder that will all determine who is in and who will be out. If two teams conference records are the same after the weekend is over then the team with the best head to head record will compete in the playoffs.
June 22, 2009
As the 2009 SCCBA conference season has begun, three teams have jumped out with winning records at or just shy of the halfway point. The Palm Springs POWER, California Mariners, and L.A. Thrashers have all collected 6 wins in their first 8-10 games respectively. The East L.A. Dodgers and O.C. Pioneers have started the year off with a heavy non-conference schedule and will be competing in the bulk of their league games over the next four weeks. The remaining league team, the Trombly Thunder has started off slow in their first 6 league games but have an improving team with quality pitching that can not be overlooked.
February 13, 2009
With the 2009 summer season approaching, the SCCBA is proud to welcome three new teams to the league: The L.A. Thrashers, Orange County Pioneers, & the Trombly Thunder. These highly competitive teams are run by David Yamane, Jamison Wicks, & Steve Trombly respectively, who are all no strangers to collegiate baseball in Southern California.
Each of these teams will bring to the league the opportunity for all league teams to compete in some of the best baseball facilities in So Cal, both between the lines and in the stands. Additionally, the 2008 evaluation team, the California Mariners have officially joined the league as a full time member and will host home games at both Dedeaux Field on the USC campus and Blair Field the host venue for Cal State Long Beach.
With a new year also comes a reorganization of league leadership. Andrew Starke has taken over as league Commissioner of the SCCBA and is very excited to bring a strong feeling of stability to the league and its members.
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