Codgers Face Tough Week of Divisional Foes

[Denny]

By Granville Price, Palm Springs Semaphore
May 2, 2007

Though gardens across the country have scarcely even begun to blossom, the Palm Springs Codgers may have already reached a critical juncture in their season. Over the next seven days, they take on Aurora, Reno, and Bakersfield in quick succession, all strong rivals in the heated race for the Desert Hills divisional crown. It's not too farfetched to suggest this week might have playoff implications, even though the calendar has barely turned over to May.

Tonight and tomorrow at Elderberry Field the club concludes a series with Aurora which began last night in dramatic fashion, the local nine winning an extra innings come-from-behind victory that was capped by a walk-off home run from Armando Rivera in the bottom of the tenth. After a day off, the Codgers' homestand continues with three games against the Reno Tenpinners, tied for the division lead just one game ahead of Palm Springs; then the Oldsters travel to the hated metropolis to the north, Bakersfield, to take on the other division co-leader, the Bears.

Said Manager Sergio Sandoval, "we're going to be in a dogfight from start to finish out here, so every game is important, but against the other teams in the division it counts for like twice as much. I don't care what time of year it is."

He shook his head and let out a low whistle. "We can't lose our concentration for even a second."