2024 45+ Cactus
The Tribe 5, Arizona Giants 1
Submitted by Scott Paltos, Tribe manager
There are NO guarantees in baseball. No one can ever say it’s a given. What you can say is a team is driven to make something happen. What you can say is a Tribe comes together with a purpose. It wasn’t any more evident Friday morning into the afternoon in the playoffs that a Tribe was there to win.
“It hasn’t rained in four months!” “It’s the coldest it’s been in more than a year!” These were the resounding comments as The Tribe started the playoffs Friday morning. So, while games got suspended and delayed multiple times, The Tribe didn’t move. One by one, the other seven teams playing, left for their cars, left during the rain, and left their dugouts. Well, The Tribe, maybe not all that smart, stuck together and didn’t leave the area. NO one lost focus of what the goal was. As soon as the clouds cleared, it was evident in the next two games where The Tribe wanted to be. 
Come Saturday morning, playing for the Championship, was the plan. 19 ballplayers from NJ, PA, NY, SC, FL, CA, and FL got suited up and ready to go. Tribe Manager Scott Paltos, with his Assistant Manager Marty Jones and Bench Coach Oscar Alcantar, have been doing this for a long time, but this was the first time they could get all their guys together and travel as a unit.
They were well aware of how competitive the Arizona Giants are. Earlier in the week they opened their pool play against each other, Tribe taking it 5-0. As we all know, championships are all hands on deck, and the expectation was a good game, AND it was!
The Tribe and Arizona Giants matched up very well, as both teams have solid pitching, very good defense, and a strong lineup. Omar Moraga got the start for The Tribe, earlier in the week pitching a 9-inning gem. It was his opportunity to shine. Moraga threw eight innings while letting up only one unearned run, and contributing seven K’s.
Neither offense did much until The Tribe got on the board in the bottom of the third when Eli Siebert (vocal Tribe leader) got himself on with a bunt base hit. Mike Mathews was able to single with one out to move Siebert to third, where the next batter Moraga drove him in with a Sac Fly. 1-0 Tribe
The scoring continued in the bottom of the fourth when Keith Hawk singled, Jamie Steele singled, and Mario Lopez doubled in Hawk to make it 2-0. Come the next half inning, the Giants got themselves on the board making it a 2-1 game. As expected, it was going to be a good game.
In the bottom of the sixth, The Tribe started making something happen. Steele singled, Lopez singled, and at the top of the lineup, Jeremy Brownlee came up big with a single to score Steele, getting the lead back to two runs and a 3-1 lead. 
After a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, The Tribe came out swinging. Moraga doubled, Alcantar singled, and Paltos singled both baserunners in to break the game open 5-1. For the three above, it capped a week of an absolute hitting clinic. The three combined to drive in over 30+ runs and more than 15 extra-base hits.
Moraga finished up the eighth, and The Tribe handed the ball to Nat Stoner to close the ninth. Stoner pitched the semi-final shutout and had thrown game one versus these Giants with a shutout in the pool opener. In the ninth, he closed the door with the final out going to Siebert at second base.
All within the celebration and fun for The Tribe came some amazing experiences for a lot of first timers to the MSBL World Series. More than half the ballplayers had never traveled to the tournament. In the end, some things to know…The Tribe turned over 20 double plays in the week and had some amazing pitching with Jones, Scott Day, Lopez, Steele, Moraga, Stoner, and Dave Rivera all throwing multiple days. Those arms were led by Mike Redahan, who caught the first three games in a row, and Hawk behind the dish.
Dave Hoffman, the Cali connection, mashed balls all week while Alan Anderson popped at the plate with some bump time, too. Jason Kuliju played EVERY inning in center field for nine games. John Sawicki had some timely hitting in games, and local Jamey Clawson was a huge reason for the successful week.
The original plan was to enjoy this tournament, one time, but with the fun everyone had, and the enjoyment everyone had playing together, The Tribe will be back. Big thanks to Steve Sigler, Tom Prendergast, and the entire MSBL staff. The umpires, the grounds crews at each facility, and all else who helped this week contributed to an amazing trip for OUR TRIBE!