By: Clinton Cole
PALM SPRINGS, CA- Jordan Zimmerman (Mesa CC) stepped to the plate with nobody down and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with just one job to do: get the ball out of the infield.
That’s exactly what he did as he lined a 3-1 pitch from reliever Dominique Key high and deep off the wall in right field to score pinch-runner Nick King (Georgia) from third.
“He (Key) got me to a 3-1 count and I was just looking for a fastball to drive,” said Zimmerman of his final at-bat. “I stayed on the pitch and hit it over the right-fielder’s head.”
The POWER won the ballgame 4-3 and are alone in first place in the SCCBL for the first time this season.
Zimmerman’s heroics would not have been possible without the strong pitching performance from Alex Mistuloff (Chico State) and the offensive production from Ryne Clark (Chico State) and Ino Patron (Long Beach State).
Mistuloff was dominant on the mound in his fourth start of the season only allowing one earned run in a complete game. He struck out 10 and didn’t allow a run to score after the first inning to counteract a strong outing from TSD starter Randy Wynne (Missouri Baptist).
“Once I get past the first inning I settled in and was OK,” said Mistuloff. “I love pitching against good pitchers like him (Wynne). He pitched a great game but I knew we could beat him if we played our game and we did.”
Ino Patron and Ryne Clark both went 2 for 4 on the evening. Patron drove in a pair and Clark tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with a run-scoring triple.
With a win tomorrow, the POWER (31-7, 11-4) can clinch a first-round bye in next week’s SCCBL playoffs.
First pitch between the POWER and High Desert Heat is set for 7:05 PM.
