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July 31, 2020
SANTEE, CA— After winning the regular season with a 15-1 league record, the San Diego Force outhit the California Jays in the first round of the Pacific Shore League Playoffs with a 4-2 win followed by a sizable 11-0 victory. The opening series against the California Jays featured breakout performances by #5 Drake Pierson who blasted a 2-run home run in the former and seven solid innings of work by #20 Jacob Hennessy in the latter. The Force had Wednesday off and time to reset for Game 1 of the Championship Series against the Grind. They dropped the first one 9-5 in a combination of struggles on the mound and missed opportunities at the plate.
Game One: Grind beat Force 9-5
By Cassidy Thornburg
Three runs against the Force’s starting pitcher, Jacob Kokeny in the bottom of the first inning put them in an early hole against the Grind. The Force punched back in the top of the second and closed the lead to 3-2. #25 Alec Arnone knocked an RBI- Double to score one and Ben Davidson brought home the second run with a clutch RBI-single. The action died down in the ensuing innings until the Force brought a resurgence in the top of the fifth. The Force’s lead off hitter #11 Hector Carreon hit a sac-fly to score Ben Davidson and knot the game 3-3. Kokeny rolled through three batters in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Force the opportunity to take the lead in the sixth. #5 Drake Pierson worked his way around the bases and into scoring position. The Force were not able to bring him across home plate and left a missed opportunity at third. The Force’s bats came back alive in the seventh, if only momentarily, when #24 Caleb Harmond had a double immediately followed by a hit by Short Stop #28 Michael Davinni. The Force, again, missed out on the opportunity to score and were quickly back on defense in the top of the eighth. The Force shuffled through three relief pitchers as the Grind put up six runs in that solo inning. After a major setback, the Force entered the ninth in desperate need of a late inning rally. #14 Taylor Meaux entered the game after a week away from play determined to kickstart a comeback. Meaux hit a bomb over the centerfield fence, knocking a two run- home run that closed the lead to 9-5. The rally fell flat after that and a couple outs later, the Force dropped game one to the Grind.
Game Two: Force Beat Grind 10-9 in Extra Innings
By Christian Houser
The Grind started the first inning with a two-run home run by #23 Zak Farris. The Force answered in the bottom of the first with two runs. One coming off the bat of #12 Gabe Jones who had an RBI-single. The Grind took back the lead in the top of the second with an RBI-triple from #26 Victor Arreola. Only to be answered with another run by the Force in the bottom of the second. The back-and-forth momentarily seized until the bottom of the fourth inning. The Force tallied four runs and took the lead seven to three through four innings. Many of these runs coming from #28 Michael Davinni who had a three RBI- double. Once again the bats died down until the top of the seventh where the Grind scored two runs that cut lead to two. The Force returned the favor in the bottom of the seventh with one run of their own. The Force relievers took the mound for the top of the eighth where the Grind rallied from behind to score four runs and take the lead by one. With elimination on their minds, the Force answered to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. The ninth went scoreless and the game was pushed to extra innings. The Grind failed to bring their runner from second home and the Force had the chance to bat. With one out and the infield in, #30 J.T. Stanley walked it off with an RBI-single, forcing a final game three.
Game Three: Grind Edge the Force 8-7 to Claim Championship Title
By Christian Houser
After walking off their game two win in extra innings just twenty minutes prior to Game three, the Force kept the momentum and came out swinging in the final game of the Championship Series against the Grind. The Force tallied three runs in the first inning with a two RBI-double from #12 Gabe Jones and an RBI-single from #14 Taylor Meaux. The Force added to their three to zero lead in the bottom of the third when #24 Caleb Harmond hit a two-run home run and #25 Alec Arnone hit an RBI-single. Through three innings, the Force led six to zero. The Grind answered with a single run in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to five. Scoring halted until the top of the sixth when the Grind brought home two runs off two errors by the Force. The 6-0 game was now a much closer 6-3. In the seventh, each side tallied one run continuing to change the story of the game and make the score 7-4. As the eighth went scoreless, tempers flared and dugout chatter increased. On the brink of dropping the series, the Grind scored four runs in the top of the ninth. #23 Zak Farris, the series MVP, hit a three-RBI single to turn the tables and put the Grind up eight to seven. The Force failed to make something happen in the ninth, allowing the Grind to claim the first ever Pacific Shore Leauge Championship title.
