2026 Hitmen Overtake Redbirds to Capture Division ‘A’ Championship in Southern Colorado MSBL
Southern Colorado MSBL, ‘A’ Division
Hitmen 11, Redbirds 4
Submitted by Jesse Fortwengler
The game was a classic battle between the Redbirds and the Hitmen, with both teams scoring early and keeping it tight before the Hitmen’s defense and pitching shut down the Redbirds, while the Hitmen kept tacking on runs as the game went on.
The Redbirds’ Mike Guzman started off the game with a double, and he was quickly sacrificed to third base by Charles Milo. After an obstruction call on Mike Coy’s at-bat, Mark Hutchinson drove in the Redbirds’ first run. RBI hits by Chappy Watties and John Alban gave the Redbirds a 3-0 lead at the end of the first inning.
The Hitmen struck back in the bottom of the first inning when Martin Hernandez and Glenn Pendleton worked out walks with one out. Armando Medina Villa drove them home with a double to left field. Craig Baker drove in Medina Villa with an infield grounder; Medina Villa was ruled safe at home due to obstruction.
After a single and stolen base by Shawn Branstetter and a walk to Lupe Estrada, Scott Kusterer drove in Branstetter with a single to left. The Redbirds ended the scoring when Kele Kaono flew out to left. The Hitmen led 4-3.
The Redbirds pushed a run across in the second inning after 2 outs: Lance Shoffner walked and stole second, then scored on Larry Pickert’s single to right, tying it at 4-4. 
After a quiet bottom of the second and top of the third, the Hitmen got back on the scoreboard with two more in the bottom of the third when Martin Hernandez walked and stole second, Glenn Pendleton walked, and Armando Medina Villa drove in Hernandez with a single.
After Medina Villa stole second base, Craig Baker picked up his second RBI of the day, driving in Pendleton with a groundout to third. The Hitmen led 6-4 after three innings.
The Hitmen tacked on one run in the bottom of the fourth after Lupe Estrada led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a stolen base and a passed ball. Kele Kaono drove him home with an outfield single.
The Hitmen added four more runs in the bottom of the fifth after Martin Hernandez got hit by a pitch with one out, Glenn Pendleton singled, Armando Medina Villa walked, and Craig Baker doubled to add to his RBI total. The Hitmen led 11-4.
Kele Kaono started for the Hitmen, his second straight playoff game on the mound. Kaono shut down the Redbirds for the final 4 2/3 innings, facing 16 batters over the final frames, before handing the ball to Martin Hernandez for the final out.
Kaono pitched 6 2/3 innings, gave up four runs, scattered seven hits, gave up two walks and one hit-by-pitch. He struck out six Redbirds. Kele Kaono was voted Playoff MVP after defeating the Redbirds in the final two games of the series.