2016 65+ Central ‘Wind Jacket’ Division
San Antonio Broncos 5, Red Sox 1
‘Barnes Complete Game Seals Championship’
By Jason P. Skoda, special to MSBL National
October 28, 2016, Scottsdale, Az – Diamondbacks Complex – At this point in life it is not easy to get in a groove for the players in the 65 Central ‘Wind Shirt’ division, but the San Antonio Broncos managed to accomplish just that on their way to their second title in three years.
The Broncos won four straight, including a 5-1 victory over the Red Sox on Friday at the Salt River Fields’ complex, to take the championship back to Texas. “We got in a pretty good groove there, and that’s not easy to do anymore,” said 63-year-old Elias Bazan, a retired law enforcement officer. “It takes a while to get going sometimes but we got on a good roll.”
The Broncos started the week 1-2 but pulled it together. They got a little help from an Arkansan in starting pitcher Joe Barnes, as the right-hander shut down the usually high-scoring Red Sox lineup. The 65-year-old allowed seven hits in the complete-game effort as he struck out two and walked three guys. “These are bunch of great guys and I jumped at a chance to play with them,” said Barnes, who has been playing hard ball since 1988 in Little Rock. “The defense helped me out a lot. I was just throwing strikes and they kept making plays.”
Barnes, who won two games during the week, saw two runners on base in a few innings,
but the only time the Red Sox managed to score was in the eight when Bill Mitchell drove in Chuey Munoz who singled with two outs. By then the Broncos were in control after scoring single runs in the second and fourth while adding a three-run seventh on four straight hits off starter Pancho Fauala. The Red Sox defense had a few miscues in the seventh to keep the inning going.
“Our bats went cold,” Red Sox manager Joe Williamson said. “We scored 11 runs in the first inning of the semifinals and then couldn’t 
get a hit after that. They threw strikes and made all of the plays. We struggled with some injuries and had four starters out, but we kept playing hard.”
The Broncos were led by Bazan’s three hits, including a double, while driving in a run. Jonas Mata, John Cantu, Ken Collins and Hector Pena all had two hits apiece to lead the 15-hit attack. “The bats came alive the last few games and our defense can really play,” Broncos manager Jim Gutierrez said. “We have some fast guys who are good with the glove. It worked perfectly today with all the strikes Joe was throwing.”
San Antonio Broncos 5, Red Sox 1
RS 000 000 010 – 1 7 3
SA 010 100 30x – 5 15 0
Fauala and Cortez. Barnes and Herandez.
WP – Barnes. LP – Fauala.
Leading hitters – (Red Sox) Flournoy 2×4, run; Bill Mitchell 2×4, double, RBI; (Broncos) Mata 2×4, double; Cantu 2×4; Colin 2×4, run; Bazan 3×4, runs, RBI; Pena 2×3, run; Sandate 1×2, run, RBI.
2B: Mitchell (RS), Mata (SA).
PB: San Antonio. DP: RS 2, SA 1.
LOB: Red Sox 9. San Antonio 8.