2018 Epic Bombers Repeat as 17+ Champions in Southern Wisconsin MABL
Southern Wisconsin MABL, 17+ Division
Epic Bombers 2, Los Banditos 0
Back row (L to R): Luke Logic, Kon Kalnajs, Kevin Kadunc, Kyle Riemersma, German Lopez, Jeff Heerhold. Front row (L to R): Aaron Heerhold, Matt Mysliwiec, Austin Nordby, Yuki Kawahara, Chris Jackson
‘Ace Kalnajs Throws Championship Shutout’
Submitted by Aaron Heerhold, Bombers manager
The Southern Wisconsin MABL Epic Bombers repeated as 17+ division champions, capping a one-loss season with a 2-0 championship against Los Banditos. Avenging their only loss of the season to Los Banditos, the Bombers were led by staff ace Kon Kalnajs who went 5.2 innings, allowed only one hit, walked none and struck out nine. Kalnajs’ remarkable season wrapped up with a 0.00 ERA, 0.23 WHIP, and 46 strikeouts on the season. Kalnajs allowed only six total baserunners across 25.2 innings of work.
In the championship game, the Bombers scratched across single runs in the first on German Lopez’s RBI double to left and again in the third on a groundout by Chris Jackson which allowed Bomber speedster Yuki Kawahara to score from second. Despite being held in check by Los Banditos ace Matt Fettes and having two runs cut down at the plate by a fundamentally-sound Banditos defense, the Bombers held on for a hard-fought victory. Austin Nordby earned the save in perfect relief of Kalnajs, striking out four of the five batters he faced.
The Bombers finished the season with a staff ERA of 0.93, WHIP of 0.93, team batting average of .372, OPS of .956, and a run differential of +83. On the mound, Kevin Kadunc led the league in innings pitched (35) while maintaining a stellar 1.00 ERA for the season. The offense was led by manager Aaron Heerhold who finished with a league-leading .565 average and 15 RBI. The potent Bombers lineup featured six of the top ten hitters in the league including Ian Smith, German Lopez, Jake Sarosi, Ben Walgenbach and Kyle Riemersma, all hitting .437 or better. Walgenbach, Smith, and Riemersma were the league leaders in runs scored and also tied for second in the league with 11 RBIs apiece.