2026 25+ American
2026 25+ American
Motor City Mariners 7, Nassau Bucs 6 (11 innings)
‘Mariners Walk it Off in 11th for Repeat Title’
After a perfect weather week in Tempe, Arizona, the 25+ Motor City Mariners would complete their quest by becoming back-to-back MSBL World Series champions. After going 6-2 in route to last year’s championship, the Mariners would best themselves by going 7-0-1 in this year’s World Series.
Despite the record, there would be plenty of drama and great storylines. Overall, the Mariners offense would come alive early and often, averaging 8.5 runs per game by scoring greater than 10 runs in three of their first four games. The offense would bat .344 as a team.
Pitching-wise, Detroit’s core starters included Steve Simmons, Larry Wood, Gio Aiuto, and Spencer Checkoway, who allowed only six earned runs combined in pool play through about 27 innings of work.
The Mariners’ total record over two years of MSBL World Series: 13-2-1. The Mariners have now won four straight tournaments: 2024 Fall Classic, 2025 AZ World Series, 2026 Vegas Kickoff Classic, 2026 AZ World Series.
Story lines:
Game 1/2: Mariners offense comes down to Arizona hot, scoring 26 runs in the first two games.
Game 3: The Mariners would play a tough Long Island Mudcats team and go down 7-0 through the fifth inning. From the fifth inning on, Alex Dyke and Steve Simmons held the Mudcats at bay while the Mariners slowly crept back and tied it 7-7 in the eighth.
The Mariners would eventually hit a leadoff triple in the ninth by speedster catcher Sean Bennett and would ultimately be singled in by an even bigger speedster catcher, Jessy Hernandez, with a walk-off single up the middle, with the infield drawn in to successfully complete the 7-0 to an 8-7 comeback.
Game 4: The Mariners would shut out the LA Legends 12-0 at Goodyear Stadium, highlighted by seven shutout innings on the mound by Gio Aiuto and a 3-run home run by Joey Pejuan.
Game 5/6: The Mariners would tie Nassau Bucs and narrowly beat Cleveland Impact.
Semi-final vs Long Island: Steve Simmons, who would toss 16 innings with zero earned runs, would go eight shutout innings, and the offense would pace by scoring 10 runs off good Long Island pitching. Numerous high-difficulty catches would be made by left fielder Brad Jones to keep Long Island off the board.
Final vs Nassau: This was a rematch of last year’s pool play and semi-final, which resulted in two one-run wins for the Mariners. This game would be no different.
The Mariners would stake themselves to a 6-3 lead heading into the ninth. The lead would be decimated with two outs and two strikes on Nassau’s #9 hitter, who would clear the bases with a double to tie the game 6-6. Spencer Checkoway would come in and keep the Bucs offense at bay without letting a run score (even with extra-inning California rules).
In the bottom of the 11th, the Mariners would load the bases and nearly squander their third straight inning with runners in scoring position with fewer than two outs.
Gio Aiuto pinch-hit and drove a deep ball to left-center that the Nassau outfielder misplayed, resulting in a walk-off 11th-inning World Series win!