2018 Santa Clara Twins Capture 25+ League Championship and World Series Title

San Jose MSBL, 25+ Dunn Division

Santa Clara Twins 6, San Jose Giants 0

 ‘Superman Tramble Quiets Giants with 13 K’s’

Submitted by Max Blankenship, Twins manager

The Santa Clara Twins started out the year in limbo. Not sure if they were going to be in 18+ Nicewonger division again or moving up to the Dunn 25+ division. Getting the nod to move up to the Dunn presented the Twins with the challenge of competing with their rivals the Santa Cruz Mets and San Jose Giants. The Dunn division proved to be the challenge the Twins were looking for.

The regular season ended with a 15-3 record for the Twins. The Twins rattled off their first three wins over The Yankees, Mets and Royals. The third win against the Royals was highlighted by a four home run performance by Mike Hoefs. The Twins suffered their first defeat in the second game of the Royals double header 8-1. The Twins rebounded by winning their next four in a row. Then the ultimate low point of the season occurred.

The Twins ended up losing a double header to the San Jose Giants 4-3 and 3-0. In the 3-0 loss, the ageless wonder Mike Denevi no-hit the Twins through eight innings and finished off the complete game shutout. The Twins didn’t look back after that, finishing the season with eight straight wins. The Twins then rolled through the Royals 7-0 and 11-0 in the first round of the playoffs. In the championship the Twins faced the inevitable matchup against the San Jose Giants. 

The first game saw the Twins lose 3-2. Tensions were high and tempers were flared. The disappointing outcome put the Twins in a do or die position. With the season on the line the Twins were carried by super hero Wesley Tramble. He threw a game complete game with only one earned run and 13k’s. Solo home runs by Mike Hoefs, Rich Mcdowell and Randy Lashua solidified the Twins offense, evening the series at one game apiece.

With the final game being a week later the Twins were able to bring Tramble back to the mound to shut down the Giants. Tramble topped his prior performance with a complete game shutout that also featured 13k’s. The offense was led by a Danny Dyer 3-run home run as the Twins prevailed 6-0.

The fourth San Jose MSBL league championship in a row is a feather in the cap, as the Twins participated in the recent MSBL World Series and won the Mountain 25+ division, topping off the most successful season of team history. The Twins look forward to the MSBL Desert Classic tournament in Palm Springs in January to continue the competition against the top tiered teams.