2014 Monarchs Repeat in Open Division in Southern Wisconsin
Southern Wisconsin MSBL/MABL Open Division
Monarchs 12, Orioles 5
Submitted by Kevin Mack, Southern Wisconsin MSBL
Six teams competed for the regular season crown in the open age division of the Men’s Adult Baseball League of Southern Wisconsin. The Grays were a new team and featured two father and son tandems. They started slowly and while they were soon competitive, they went out to a 0-11 record before winning two of their last three games. The Angels, championship game runners-up in 2013, dealt with the loss of their best hitter at mid-season and some pitching depth issues as they battled to a 5-10 mark. The Orioles were also new to the MABL in 2014, having competed previously in La Liga Latina de Beisbol in Madison, Wisconsin. They were the last of the undefeated’s but eventually fell back to fourth place, finishing at 8-7. The Bulldogs started slowly, 1-3, before righting the ship and finishing at 9-6.Last year’s champion, the Monarchs, won and lost to a 5-5 mark before winning the rest of their games and finishing a game out of first at 10-5. The Athletics won the regular season title with an eight game winning streak after their game two loss. 11-4 got them the pennant and the top seed in the double elimination tournament that followed the season.
Despite having to win two elimination games on the second Sunday, the Orioles climbed
from the fourth seed into the championship game where they faced the tournament undefeated Monarchs.
Both teams started their aces for the championship game: James Klintworth for the Orioles, Guido Fonseca for the Monarchs.The Monarchs got to Klintworth with three runs in the first, who then settled down for three scoreless innings as his team battled back to even with single runs in the second, third and fourth.The Monarchs, however, put up crooked numbers in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings, rendering the Orioles single runs in the eighth and ninth, a case of too little, too late. Final score: Monarchs 12, Orioles 5.