2014 Milwaukee Beavers Capture First 18+ Rock Title

Milwaukee Rock MSBL 18+

Milwaukee Beavers 14, Milwaukee Builders 6

Top Row L-R: Tyler Schoen, Alex Raver, Alex Rejniak, Mike Schroeder, Jarrett Gates, Doug Martin and Alex Nikolai Bottom Row L-R: Tim Garceau, John Kuhn, Justin Reminger, Garrick Day, Justin Barkhurst, Matt Burke, Rob Tschimperle, Joe Cefalu and Brett Youngbeck

‘Offense Leads Milwaukee Beavers to First Rock League 18+ Title’

Contributed by Justin Barkhurst, Milwaukee Beavers

MILWAUKEE, WI – Two runs were all that separated the Beavers and Builders in the first two games of the best of three Rock League 18 and over Championship Series.After losing 4-3 in game one, the Beavers came back and held on to win 9-8 in game two and now had to beat the Builders twice in two nights to claim their first league title in franchise history.

For the first time in the series, the Beavers scored first to grab a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning. Tim Garceau led off the game with his seventh consecutive walk and scored on a two-out RBI single to left by Doug Martin. Garceau had a chance to extend the lead in the second inning as he came up with one out and runners on the corners, but his line shot up the middle was snagged by the pitcher who doubled off the runner at first.

Despite crafty pitching from Beaver starting pitcher,Garrick Day, the Builders tied the game in the second inning on an error with two outs. Then they used three two-out singles to score two runs in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.

Then it was the Beavers, playing in their fifth elimination game in these playoffs, that went off in the fourth inning. Martin singled to center, Rob Tschimperlewalked and Tyler Schoen laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases with nobody out. Jarrett Gates was hit to score one while RBI singles fromJustin Reminger and Tim Garceau put the Beavs in front, 4-3. Justin Barkhurst knocked in two more with a single down the third base line and Mike Schroeder scored another with a single down the left field line. Martin launched an RBI double to the center field wall to make it 8-3 and then a fielder’s choice from Tschimperle scored Schroeder. Schoen lined his second hit of the inning to right field to extend the lead to 10-3. Milwaukee used eight hits to score nine runs in one inning against a team that had not allowed more than nine runs in a game all season.

Beaver starter Garrick Day kept the Builders at bay until a walk and a single in the bottom half of the fourth brought up their number three hitter, who hit a three-run home run to cut the lead to 10-6. The Beaver manager turned to his game one starter, Alex Rejniak, who ended the inning with two fly outs.

Rejniak faced the minimum in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. He induced two tailor-made double play balls to shortstop Justin Barkhurst to end both the fifth and sixth innings. The Builders went 1-2-3 in the seventh.

Milwaukee scored two more in the seventh to extend their lead to 12-6. The first two men reached base for the Builders in the eighth, but Rejniak escaped easily with three quick outs. Brett Youngbeck led off the ninth with a triple to the right-center gap and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Joe Cefalu. Beaver closer Alex Raver came in for the ninth and with two outs, he induced a ground ball to short and in a flash, the weight of three straight championship losses was finally lifted from the Beavers’ shoulders. A pile-up on the mound confirmed the 14-6 victory and their first championship in franchise history.

Alex Rejniak was brilliant in relief, allowing just two hits, one walk and had four strikeouts in 4.2 innings. He did not allow an earned run in 19 2/3 innings in the playoffs. Tyler Schoen was a perfect 5-5 with two runs scored and played great behind the plate all series. Doug Martin was 3-4 with a walk, two RBIs and three runs scored. Justin Barkhurst went 2-4 with two RBIs, a run and was hit twice. Tim Garceau reached base three times and scored twice. If you wish to know more about the astonishing Beavers from Milwaukee, just dial up their website at beaversbaseballclub.com.