Palm Springs Chill Salute Gene Autry With A Win

January 31, 2009 Palm Springs, CA - The Palm Springs Chill were victorious in their home opener against the San Diego Surf Dawgs 7-1. The Chill jumped out to an early 3-0 in the 2nd inning lead and never looked back.

The Chill began their season with a salute to Gene Autry, and the Singing Cowboy would have liked what he saw. Under the desert sun at a beautiful 76 degrees, the Chill looked like a cohesive unit even though they have only known each other a week.

Mikael Ryder picked up the first win for the Chill, pitching for 5 innings and giving up only one run on two hits.

“I felt great out there. My fast ball wasn’t what it usually is, but my changeup was money,” states Ryder about his performance.

Ryder’s changeup cashed in its value for five impressive strikeouts in only five innings pitched. Ryder was not the only dominant pitcher as Charlie Hesseltine and Mike Reeves combined to only give up two hits and no runs in relief. The effectiveness of the pitching was not lost on the Chill manager, Darrell Evans.

“I couldn’t be happier. We played perfect. Pitching was there and we were able to get 13 hits and 7 runs behind that. I can’t think of a mistake,” said Evans.

The Chill were clicking on all cylinders. Besides the great pitching, they were able to put up seven runs on 13 hits. With the great example of their lead off hitter and shortstop extraordinaire Petie Montero (1-4 2 RBIs), the Chill were able to put up 3 runs in both the 2nd and the 6th inning, adding the final run in the bottom of the 7th. Also, Aaron Jimenez was spectacular at the dish. Coming in to pinch hit in the 6th, he was able to finish the day 2-2 with an RBI.

The Chill will look to continue their success next weekend during their two game series with the Saskatchewan Silver Sox. Saturday, February 7th will be Chipotle Day at the ballpark. Sunday, February 8th, fans are invited to celebrate Tundra’s Birthday! The games will continue to be played at 1 p.m. at Palm Springs Stadium.

The Palm Springs Chill are a part of the Arizona Winter League, which is an instructional league. The players come from a variety of backgrounds and are looking for guidance in their careers. Every team in the AWL is managed by a former major league player. The hope of the league is to polish players so that they are ready to try out for major league teams during Spring Training.