2020 Maryland Cubs Avenge Regular Season Losses to Claim 22+ National Crown in Chesapeake MSBL

Chesapeake MSBL, 22+ National Division

Maryland Cubs 7, Chesapeake Patriots 4

‘Kurtz and Crawford Lead the Way in Double-Header’

Submitted by Charlie Gaines, Cubs manager

It was a grueling 18 innings that were required to win the championship last Sunday.  In the semi-finals we had to play the Ferndale Smokies and were able to come out with a 4-1 victory.  Our starter Garrett Kurtz went seven innings, allowing only one run and four hits while logging five K’s.  Casey Crawford finished out the game with a two-inning save while allowing only one hit and striking out two.

John Mayer went 3-4 with a walk and an RBI and I was able to also post a 3-4 day with a walk and a couple of RBI.  The Cubs totaled 12 hits on the day.

Then only an hour and a half later we were in the championship game against the Chesapeake Patriots.  This was a definite rivalry game with some history attached.  The Cubs had four losses all season and three of them were to the Patriots, with two of them being one run games.  We were ready to avenge those losses.

Casey Crawford pitched all nine innings, allowing 14 hits, struck out eight and gave up only three earned runs.  That totaled 11 innings thrown in the day, which was unreal!

Ryan Palardy and Cooper Jeffers led the Cubs with two hits apiece while going 2-4 each.  The game was scoreless game until the Patriots scored in the bottom of the fourth as the Cubs opened their scoring in the top of the fifth when Mike Cerabona hit a lead-off triple then advanced home on an errant throw to third.

It remained a 1-1 game until the top of the eighth when the Cubs opened it up by rallying for six runs off multiple fielding errors by the Patriots.  Crawford and the Cubs allowed two runs in the bottom eighth and one run in the ninth before the last out, which fittingly happened to be a fly ball to Casey Crawford’s brother Sean in left to seal the deal.