2015 Dodgers Top A’s for 5th Consecutive Title in 18+ at Red Stick (LA)

Red Stick (LA) 18+ Division

Dodgers 12, A’s 3

‘Eight Run First Inning Sinks A’s’

Submitted by Andrew Rafaleowski, Dodger manager

This is the Dodgers fifth championship in row in the 18 and over division! The Dodgers have compiled a 27 game win streak over the past three seasons. We have a core group of individuals that have been a part of the team since its formation. We have welcomed new players every season and have been fortunate to have hit the lottery when it comes to team chemistry. We love to win and despise losing! We won’t let each other fail. The willingness of guys to play out of position to fill a need has been one of the factors in the Dodgers success. This past season we were plagued with injuries, usually barely having nine guys, and worst of all we lacked pitching, but we pulled it off and as a manager I couldn’t be more proud of this group of men.

The championship game was an awesome event to witness. Our defense was spectacular and the Dodgers did what they do best: “hit”. Up and down the lineup guys were having great at bats and squaring the ball up. It was a great day on the diamond indeed.

Will Rand has been our ace on the hill for the past five seasons, up until he suffered an arm injury which limited his time on the mound. Will also was one of our big sticks. He plays with a lot of intensity and had great command of the strike zone. As his catcher I enjoyed his dominating the opponent.

Some of our major contributors throughout the season were Christian Bond – C/INF/OF, Brendan Daley-MIF, Dustin Gary-CF , Matt Smith-OF/INF, Jason Salters-INF/OF and Ian Todd-3B. All these gentlemen are veterans of the Dodgers. Each one of these guys has contributed to every victory in some form or fashion. They showed leadership in their versatility and their commitment to the team. I can’t give stats but these guys wrecked the ball at the plate. Each one of these individuals had stepped up to be the hero on many accessions.

Jason Salters was sidelined due to an injury he suffered during an at-bat midway through the season. Christian Bonds, Will Rand, and Ian Todd were considered our big sticks and picked up the slack.

Due to injuries we acquired David Herig as a middle infielder who, although he had not played baseball competitively since high school, swung that bat like he never put it down. Seth Talley really found his craft at first base for us. Jack Carpenter played fantastic outfield for us this season. We had the best outfield in the league lead by Carpenter, Smith, and Gary. Colton Laverne came in to give me a break from behind the dish. He really did a great job commanding defense when he was called upon during the second half of season.

Every member of the Dodgers team contributed during the championship game, putting up eight runs in the first inning, which was huge. We crushed the ball and every guy was responsible for throwing up that many runs. Our defense was lights out. We demonstrated great hustle on every ball hit into the ground or in the air.

The A’s just had an off day. They are a very good team and have been all year. Our winning pitcher was Andrew Rafaleowski. It’s a blast playing with these guys!