The Bombers ink 9 to roster

Joseph Goncalves(RHP) - Cathedral Catholic HS

Andy Martinez(C) - Santa Ana College

Gavin Barkema(P) - University of Dubuque

Johnathon Borashan(P) - Vanguard University

Jay DeSoto(INF) - College of Southern Nevada

Tyler Fischer(RHP) - Colorado Christian University

Lorenzo Llorens(RHP) - Pasadena City College

Edward Monzo(OF) - Pasadena City College

Jack Ruegge(RHP) - Concordia University of Irvine

Early April Commits

Brett Finnel - UC Santa Barbara commit

Colton Talton - Dodge City Community College(KS)

Justin Nathasingh - Bethesda University

Michael Starns - Graceland University(IA)

Jared Paderez - Uncommited

The 2018 Bombers have received early commitments from the following players.

Brenden Dixon - Azusa Pacific University

Aaron Corral - Solano Junior College

Jacob Felix - Imperial Valley College

Tanner Gilmore - Hope College(MI)

Dylan Lutz - Quinnipiac University

Joseph Kim - Azusa Pacific University

Zack Mendez - Westmont College

BREAKING NEWS.....BOMBERS HIRE ANDY SMITH(BIOLA UNIVERSITY) AS MANAGER FOR THE 2018 SEASON, DYLAN KUHN AS ASSISTANT GM/PITCHING COACH, AND ADAM PAULSON BULLPEN COACH

The Bombers Collegiate team is adding quality players to their summer roster. Thus far this month the Bombers have had commits from the following players.

James Arakawa - University of Pacific commit

Austen Salcedo - Palomar College

Joel Manzano - Colorado Christian University

Bryce Short - New Jersey Institute of Technology

Phillip Steering - University of Hawaii-Hilo

Alisha Alexander - Director of Baseball Operations

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The SCCBL announced the selections for all-league on Sunday, with 32 players making up two teams.  Seven SoCal Bombers were named to the teams with four being named to First Team and three named to Second Team.

Chris Palmer, Jimmy Smith, Chris Sandberg and Cody White were all named First Team All-SCCBL, and Joey Magro, Conner Shepherd and Andrew Miner were named Second Team.

Palmer led the Bombers at the plate in the regular season with a .474 batting average, primarily in the leadoff spot.  He also led the team with a .535 on-base percentage and his 36 hits ranked second on the team. 

Smith gave the Bombers a lot of power at the plate, leading the team with five home runs this summer.  Of his 28 hits, more than half went for extra bases as Smith legged out nine doubles and a triple.  His .711 slugging percentage was the highest on the team.

Sandberg was a huge asset behind the plate this summer for the Bombers, catching nine runners attempting to steal during the regular season and then three in the first game of the SCCBL playoffs.  He recorded 24 hits, including two home runs, and knocked in 19 runs.

Leading the Bombers from the mound, White led the pitching staff with 26 strikeouts in his 27 innings pitched.  His 3.00 ERA was the best among Bomber starters and he did his part at the plate with three home runs and 14 RBI.  He was the only pitcher with a complete game win this year over the Palm Springs Power, handing them one of only three losses on the season.  He struck out a season-high nine batters in the game.

Magro was a consistent producer at the plate for the Bombers, leading the team with 39 hits in the regular season.  He had a .361 batting average and was second on the team with 21 RBI.  He was key defensively as well, seeing time all around the infield as well as the outfield.

Shepherd, who signed his letter of intent with TCU this summer, knocked in a team-leading 25 runs for the Bombers.  He logged 28 hits including 13 doubles and three home runs for a .588 slugging percentage.  Shepherd saw a lot of time at the infield corners as well as in the outfield and as a designated hitter.

Miner was a strong arm out of the bullpen for the Bombers this season, appearing in nine games with a total of 15 innings on the mound.  He led the team with a 1.80 ERA and logged 18 strikeouts.  Miner allowed just three runs all season.

Alisha Alexander - Director of Baseball Operations

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The regular season concluded on Saturday night as the SoCal Bombers dropped their final SCCBL matchup to the Palm Springs Power.  The game was a back-and-forth battle until the Power bats exploded for a huge eighth inning.

It was the Power who struck first as a leadoff triple followed by an error put them up 1-0 in the bottom of the second.

Eric Mendez singled to begin the third inning and get the momentum going for the Bombers.  He was thrown out at second, but his team picked him up as Chris Palmer reached on a two out single.  Back-to-back RBI doubles from Joey Magro and Conner Shepherd put the Bombers on top 2-1.

The Power quickly answered back in the bottom half of the third, putting up a four spot to reclaim the lead.

Daniel Dominguez stayed hot for the Bombers with a leadoff single in the top of the fourth.  Jimmy Smith followed up with an RBI triple down the left field line and was knocked in by a groundout from Chris Sandberg.

Sergio Valenzuela took over on the mound for the starter, Dylan Simcik, in the bottom of the fourth and worked a quick, scoreless inning.

As the Bombers trailed 5-4, Palmer singled to leadoff the top of the fifth inning.  With two outs, Cody White came to the plate and tied the game with an RBI double as Palmer came around to score.

Palm Springs took advantage of a Bomber error in the bottom of the fifth and was able to grab a one-run lead.

The Bombers tied the game at six in the bottom of the sixth as Smith doubled and later scored on a single to left off the bat of Sandberg.

The back-and-forth battle continued in the bottom of the sixth as the Power took a 7-6 lead.  After allowing a run, Andrew Miner shut down the Power with a strikeout and a double play to get the Bombers out of a jam.  He worked a quick top of the seventh, sitting the Power down in order.

Smith recorded his third extra-base hit of the game with a leadoff double in the top of the eighth as took third on a pass ball.  A sacrifice fly from Sandberg brought Smith in to tie the game at seven, giving Sandberg his third RBI of the night.

The wheels seemed to come off for the Bombers in the bottom of the eighth, as the Power bats could not be silenced.  The 10 hit inning pushed Palm Springs past the Bombers as they went on to win 21-7.

The SoCal Bombers now turn their attention to playoffs as they locked up the #2 seed with their win over the Bucs on Thursday.  They head to San Diego to begin a best-of-three series with the Force on Tuesday before the series heads back home for game two and an if-necessary game three.

Alisha Alexander - Director of Baseball Operations

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - After a tough loss to the Palm Springs Power on Friday night, the Bombers came out on Saturday looking to redeem themselves, and they did so behind a stellar performance from starting pitcher Cody White.

The Power drew first blood in the bottom of the second off back-to-back base hits.

The Bombers answered back in the top half of the third inning as Chris Sandberg forced an error on a well-struck ball to start the inning.  After a groundball moved him over to second to put him in scoring position, Joey Magro came to the plate with two outs and tied the game with an RBI single to left field.

An unearned run put the Power back on top in the bottom of the third.

Chris Palmer led off the top of the fourth inning with a single to right field.  Jimmy Smith then beat out an infield single to put two on as Sandberg came to the plate with two outs.  Sandberg came up clutch, crushing a ball into left field to bring in both runners and put the Bombers up 3-2. 

White continued to shut down the Power bats, allowing just seven hits over the course of the game.  The Power attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth as they trailed by a run.  A leadoff base hit put a runner on, but he was thrown out on a fielder’s choice leaving a runner on first with one out.  White struck out the last two batters in the inning, including the league leader in home runs in Ryan Mota.

Palmer led the offense with two hits on the night, and Sandberg led with two RBIs, knocking in both the tying run and the go-ahead.

White threw the first complete game for the Bombers this summer, going all nine innings and striking out nine while allowing just one earned run and one walk.

The series with the Power concludes on Sunday night as the Bombers look to take the series.  First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. in Palm Springs, Calif.

The Bombers hired their first intern of the 2017 season in Janell Wheaton.  Wheaton is a Sport Management student at the University of Florida where she plays softball.  She will assist the Director of Baseball Operations with media responsibilities as well as keeping statistics and helping with game day operations.

Alisha officially will take over the reigns on all Media Relations and off the field responsibilities. Alisha was our intern last summer and this season has taken a role on the Executive Management team. We look forward to seeing her do what she loves to and also joke around with the team.