Mike Ryan

               The Force picked up where they left off against the Pirates and handled the Inland Valley Bucs in a 9-3 road victory. Getting his first start with the Force, Dalton Schalburg did not disappoint giving the Force a quality start of 6 innings with 3 earned runs with 8 strikeouts. His lone mistake was to potential player of the year Kory Brown who hit a laser out to right in the sixth. The bullpen was able to take over from there and with the help of some great positional defense by Johnny Carr, the Bucs were never able to threaten the lead.

               On the offensive side, Phil Steering showed everyone why he was highly sought after by the Force midseason. He was a man amongst boys tonight going 3 for 4 with a walk, a double, and a deep fly. He ended the night with 5 RBIs, three of which came on that homer. The Force scored in bunches tonight scoring a combined 7 runs in the third and fourth innings. They were given opportunities by the Bucs who committed 3 errors all in that 4 run third inning. Another standout was the catcher Aaron Barkley who went 1 for 2 but also drew 2 walks (one of which with bases loaded) and was hit by a pitch. David Huddleson will be going home with a couple bruises considering he was hit twice tonight.

               The Force will be playing the Bucs at Morley Field on Saturday July 21 at 4:00 with the chance to win the league championship. Expected to be on the bump for the Force is Kyle Bledsole.