By Milad Ghaemi

San Diego, Calif.

The San Diego Force dropped a controversial away-conference game on Thursday night, dropping a 13 inning game to the SCCBL-leading Inland Valley Pirates 6-7. Max Holtzclaw (Shasta) toed the rubber for the Force and overcame a first-inning hiccup to 4 2/3 4 ER. The pitching staff for the Force has been a bright spot and the relief proved to be crucial for the Force. 8 1/3 innings of relief was provided by Avery Wood (Central Washington commit) for 1 1/3 with 3 K's and 0 ER, James Shimashita (Madison High School Graduate/San Jose State commit) for 4 innings with 6 K's and 0 ER, Ryan Losman (Southeast Missouri) for 2 innings with 0 ER, and the duo of Tanner Cable (Bellhaven) and Justin Coleman (Cleveland State) whom combined for 2/3 innings.

The Force never held a lead but rallied in the 7th to tie the game at 6 against the Inland Valley Pirates. With the bases loaded for 1B Don Roethler (Southwest Baptist) he would come in the clutch crushing a 2-run double all the way to the warning track at Amerige Park scoring SS Drake Pierson (Angelina) and 2B Greg Bennett (Iowa Western). DH Aaron Barkley (Mississippi Valley) would then hit an RBI groundout scoring CF Ryan Williams. The game would be scoreless until the Bottom of the 13th Inning in which with the bases loaded and one out, CF Ryan Williams would catch a flyout and throw home to get the tagging runner out at the plate. C Trevor Johnson would apply the tag on what some would think would be an inning-ending double play, but the umpire ruled the runner safe giving the Inland Valley Pirates the walk-off win. The Force tried to argue the call but were met with the response they were not hoping for as the Force lost 6-7.

Drake Pierson returned to the lineup Thursday night with a bang. The Shortstop from Angelina College went 3-6 with a double and two runs scored. Drake Pierson has flashed leather exclusively at Shortstop and has paired it with a nice offensive season so far batting .258 with a .344 On Base Percentage.

Shimashita was dazzling in relief, giving 4 shutout innings to a team that has been exhausting its pitching. The right-handed graduate and captain for the Madison High School Baseball Team received All-CIF 1st team honors during his senior year. Shimashita will be playing for the San Jose State Baseball team during the regular season.

Avery Wood has been a lethal weapon out of the bullpen for the Force striking out the side in almost every outing. The High School graduate from Sacramento committed to Central Washington and has racked up an impressive 23 K's in only 9 2/3 innings.

The Force look to win some important conference games against the Inland Valley Bucs and the Palm Springs Power in back to back double headers over the weekend.