2022 Detroit Yankees Shrink Giants in 18+ Pistono Upper Division Championship in Detroit MSBL

Detroit MSBL, 18+ Pistono Upper Division

Detroit Yankees 6, Detroit Giants 2 (Game 3 in best-of-three series)

‘Yanks Get it Done All Year on the Bump’

August 27, 2022-The Detroit Yankees captured their first MSBL championship in their second year in the Detroit 18+ MSBL in a 6-2 win against the defending champs from 2021, the Detroit Giants. The Giants took game one by the score of 7-4. Game two was taken to extra innings where the Yankees prevailed 4-1. This would set the scene for a winner-take-all game three.

In game three, the Yankees offense put on a show early thanks to leadoff singles by young stud Thomas Eitniear and team batting champion Craig Zimmerman. This set the table for the third hitter Nicco Lollio who is affectionately called ‘The Swingin’ Italian Sausage’ to bomb a 3-run shot over the centerfield fence in the bottom of the first to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead early. These three hits would set the tone until late RBIs came from a Johnny “Sparkplug” Starks single and Jared Janssen sac fly. 

Pitching was the Yankees’ strength all year. The pitching staff was led by Indy ball teammates Steve Simmons and Thomas Constand. Simmons captured the 8-inning win in game two and would start game three as well and go all nine innings and only allow two earned runs over those two games. In addition to the pitching, the defense was put on display in game three with two diving snags in the outfield by Blaise Woods and John Starks. These catches would come in key moments, which included the catch to give the Yankees the championship via the glove of John Starks.

Looking back early in the season, the Yankees started off the season white hot being undefeated in their first 14 games of the 24-game campaign. The Yankees pitching staff would not surrender a run until game #6 on the season. The Yankees bats would go quiet for a small stretch in the middle of the season, but the Yankees would roll into the playoffs as the #1 overall seed by a half-game.

The Yankees would win game one of the playoffs against the Devil Rays due to solid pitching by Tom Constand who only surrendered one run with 18 strikeouts. The big blow offensively would come via a grand slam by slugger Jared Pingitore to give the Yankees a 6-1 win. In game two the Yankees would face off against the A’s, who were the champions from 2020. The Yankees would send Steve Simmons to the hill to secure a 5-0 complete-game win and 14 strikeouts. This would set the table for the aforementioned championship series against the defending champion Detroit Giants.

Pitching for the Yankees was outstanding all year. The pitching staff was led by fifth-year MSBL-er Steve Simmons who tossed a team-leading 88 innings and only allowed three earned runs all year while posting a K/BB ratio of 174 to 12. Simmons ERA on the year would be a microscopic 0.31. Just when you thought you’d get a break by facing the next Yankee pitcher, you’d see Simmons’ indy ball teammate Tom Constand who threw more than 62 innings with a K/BB ratio of 107 to 16 and another outstanding ERA of 1.44.

When the two workhorses weren’t on the hill, the bullpen was paced by Alex Pogasic who posted 26 innings and an ERA of 0.34. Of course, the pitching staff was only as good as their catchers calling the game behind the dish. These duties were handled by Jack Dynes and Cory Osborne who split time. This combination would only yield 22 earned runs all year in 29 games. The team ERA was an unbelievable 0.97 with a K/BB ratio of 380 to 49.

Offensively, the Yankees were paced by #2 hitter Craig Zimmerman who moved back home from the Madison, Wisconsin MSBL. Zimmerman posted a team-leading .431 batting average and plated 16 RBIs. A close second was Thomas Eitniear who led off for the Yankees and posted a .382 average to set the Yankees table. The middle of the order would consist of Alex Pogasic who led the team with 27 hits and the power surge that was Nicco Lollio, Jared Pingitore, and Cory Osborne who had 3, 2, and 1 home runs respectively. The Yankees would hit .302 on the season.

Overall, a great season in the Detroit MSBL that has grown tremendously in talent over the years and has expanded to 17 teams in the 18+ division. Stay tuned for the 2023 season!

Here is the YouTube link for a complete game championship video: https://youtu.be/Lqnqmm3DElo