2015 Rockies Capture 45+ Federal in Redwood Empire (CA) MSBL
Redwood Empire 45+ Federal Division
Rockies 4, Mariners 3
‘Beiswanger Takes Charge Offensively and Defensively’
Submitted by Allan Jaffe, Rockies manager
The Redwood Empire Baseball League Rockies (45+) began their season with a very unexpected record of 2-6. Having been to the championship series three consecutive years and winning in 2012, they anticipated coming out of the gate strong. The Rockies battled injuries all season. Six of sixteen players were on the shelf for a month or more. Still, they managed a team batting average of .330 with four players batting over .400. The Rox cobbled together enough wins to finish 10-10 and eek into the post season. The Rockies peaked at the right time. They swept the Reds in the playoffs 20-7 and 8-5.
The Federal League Championship Series was a well played, hard fought battle between the Rockies and the Mariners. Four of the division’s best pitchers started the two games. The winning pitchers for the Rockies, Chris Rosales (game 1) and Dave Halligan (game 2) threw complete games winning 10-4 and 4-3, respectively. Rosales threw 147 pitches over nine innings and Halligan threw 109 in the same number of frames. The teams managed to bang out 35 hits over the course of two games with good defense keeping many runners from scoring. The second and final game was a great defensive match-up. Both teams made key plays. The Rockies scored all four of their runs in the third inning. The Mariners chipped away at the Rockies’ lead coming up just short, scoring their third and final run in the ninth inning.
Series MVP Scott Beiswanger, who batted .737 in the post season banged out 10 singles, 3 doubles and a triple. He was very disruptive on the base paths stealing five bags. Scott also played stellar defense at shortstop with eight put-outs and 16 assists. It’s fitting that the final out of the game and series was hard grounder to shortstop. Scott made the last play look as easy as the first.
Of course, it takes more than three players to win four straight post season games. The team batted .371 collectively, and scored 44 runs in those four contests. Soon after the championship there was an unexplained run on Ibuprofen, ice, and heating pads!