2023 Angels Hold Off Mudslinger Ninth-Inning Rally to Capture Twin Cities MABL 35+ Division Title

Twin Cities MABL, 35+ Division

Angels 8, Mudslingers 7

Submitted by Brett Hughes, Angels’ manager

The Angels lost in the Twin Cities MABL 35+ championship game in 2021 and 2022, despite coming in as the favorites with the league’s top record both times. This year, the 11-4 Angels faced an upstart Mudslingers team that ran the table through the semi-finals, coming into the championship game with a 15-0 record in their first season in the league.

The game was a classic as the Angels jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first and then barely hung on the secure an 8-7 victory. The Mudslingers were down 8-6 with one out and runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth when our right fielder, Tony Blake, made a diving catch of a line-drive off the bat of the Mudslingers’ third hitter.

Now with two outs, the runner on third tagged and scored to bring the Mudslingers within one run and the cleanup hitter due up next. However, when Blake threw the ball in to Angels first baseman Darin Giedd, the runner on second broke for third. He had to turn back toward second when he saw Giedd fire to third baseman Brian Blake. Brian chased the runner back to second and threw the ball to me at short and I was able to slap down the tag for the final out.

Brandon Casa de Calvo threw eight innings for the win and Nate Ackman came on in the ninth for the save, both of whom are Arizona World Series mainstays for the Minnesota Bruins. While managing the Angels, I am also proud to manage the Bruins World Series teams along with this year’s TCMABL 28+ Champion Grasshoppers manager, Jon Lipinski.

Here is a link to the video of the final dramatic sequence with one out and runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth!