2024 OC Sox Dominate Monarchs in Game Three of Playoffs for 40+ National Division Crown in SoCal MSBL

SoCal MSBL, 40+ National Division

OC Sox 18, Monarchs 4 (Game three in best-of-three championship series)

Submitted by Dave Rice

The OC SOX have always had a rich tradition of talented players. This year was no exception. New additions included Jeff Cruz, Ray Avalos, and Tim Chappell.

The OC SOX have a great 1-2 punch on the mound with Andy Torres and Christian Hernandez leading the charge with 115 k’s & 18 walks in just 95 innings.

As for the bats, top sticks were Jeff “The Machine” Cruz (.533), Cobi “Bird Dog” Cradle (.455), Ed “The Rook” Pearson (.455) & Kurt “Golfkart” Smashio (.420).

Defensive standouts were John Berryman, Amin David, Scott Poirot, Gil Garcia, Eric Orue, Bob Pone, David Young, and Tim Chappell.

Elvis Davis kept a tight scorebook all year long.

This all carried over to our League Championship Series playing the top seeded Monarchs in a best of three series. Both teams battled, walking away with a split from the double header. Game 1 went to the Monarchs, 7-6 while the OC SOX bounced back in a due or die 6-4 victory in Game 2.

These teams lived to play the deciding Game 3. OC SOX started Torres and used Hernandez to close it out on the bump. With the deadly combo of Pearson and Cruz going 6 for 10 and accounting for nine of the runs, that is all the OC SOX needed for the 18-4 victory. The Monarchs led by their savvy Manager Javier Escobar, always brings a quality team year in and year out. But in this game, they were missing a few key players.

The OC SOX recipe for success can be attributed to EVERYONE being a Team Player.

Finally, it must be noted that the OC SOX franchise would not be possible without their General Manager, John Berryman. Thank you for being our friend!