2025 Athletics Cop ‘Three-Peat’ in 65+ Division of Arizona MSBL
Arizona MSBL, 65+ Division
Athletics 17, All-Stars 10
‘A’s Complete Sweep of All-Stars to Earn Third Consecutive Championship’
Wednesday, August 27 – When the Athletics took the field 135 days ago at Indian School Baseball Grounds, the thought of a third straight championship seemed a dream too tall, a crown too heavy to wear. Two titles had already marked them, and challengers lined up eager to knock them down. But the season became a test of resilience as much as skill, and the A’s answered at every turn. And now, against every doubt, they stand atop the league once more, champions for the third straight year, and with it, a dynasty that few thought possible, except for 19 Athletic teammates.
After taking Game one at home in a hard-fought 9-7 battle, the A’s hit the road to face the Allstars, stepping into a sellout crowd eager to rattle the visitors and force a winner-take-all Game 3.
The A’s got off to a quiet start, going down in order in the top of the first. But when starting pitcher Jim Barker took the mound, he quickly evened the score, three up, three down in the bottom of the inning, and just like that, the Allstars’ cheers met a stubborn wall.
The second inning started with hope for the A’s as signal-caller Mike Briguglio led off with a single. Miguel Esteves followed with a walk, and Jeff McCluskey laid down a sacrifice, moving both runners into scoring position. Freddie Simms drove in the game’s first run with a single, and Esteves scampered home on a wild pitch. Doug Harmon added a base hit, and though Simms was cut down at third after a passed ball, Scott Sachwitz delivered with a single of his own, bringing in Harmon and giving the A’s an early 3-0 lead that silenced the crowd.
Barker stayed locked in with another clean inning, but the A’s offense couldn’t capitalize in the top of the third. Mike Civiello was hit by a pitch and stranded on the bases. In the bottom half, the Allstars struck back, using four hits and an error to score three and tie the game, reigniting their fans and the tension in the ballpark.
The A’s answered with a two-out rally. A harmless single set things in motion, and Briguglio delivered an RBI double. Esteves followed with his own run-scoring double, and after McCluskey drew a walk, the Allstars called in a new pitcher. Simms wasted no time greeting him with a single that brought home a third run, giving the A’s a brief lead.
But the Allstars weren’t intimidated. Four hits and an error later, they scored four runs to retake the lead, forcing Chris Means into relief to record the final out. The A’s now trailed 7-6, the crowd back in a frenzy.
The fifth inning saw the A’s quickly even the score. Barker and Dan Doleshal each drew walks, and a catchers’ interference call with Civiello at the plate loaded the bases. After another Allstars pitching change, Steve Katz forced the tie the hard way, getting hit by a pitch to bring home the game-tying run. Means battled around a one-out single in the bottom half, sending the teams into the sixth deadlocked.
Darryll Foster led off the inning with a bunt single, and Steve Pepi drew a walk. Briguglio tried a sacrifice bunt, but it rolled perfectly, and his bionic hips smelled an infield hit as he hustled down the line and reached safely to load the bases with nobody out. Esteves put the A’s back on top with a sacrifice fly to left, but that would be it for the inning, the rally ended when McCluskey’s deep fly to center turned into a double play as the runner at second was cut down trying to advance.
The Allstars, fueled by the rocking crowd, struck back immediately. They strung together four hits, three coming consecutively with two outs, scoring twice and reclaiming the lead at 9-8 heading into the seventh.
The A’s wasted no time answering. Simms walked, stole second, and scored on a Harmon single. After another stolen base, Sachwitz singled to put runners at the corners, but the Allstars’ pitching held, retiring the next three batters and escaping further damage. Means kept the game deadlocked, inducing three ground balls and posting a zero in the bottom half, sending the teams into the eighth tied at nine.
By the eighth inning, the A’s had finally had enough. With one out, consecutive errors on hard hit grounders by Katz and Michael DiMino and a walk to Foster loaded the bases and cracked the door wide open. A single brought home two runs, moving Foster to third and advancing the batter to second on the throw. The Allstars opted to intentionally walk Briguglio, hoping for a double play, but Esteves had other plans. He crushed the next pitch deep into left field for a bases-clearing triple, silencing the crowd and turning the game firmly in the A’s favor. After yet another call to the Allstars bullpen, McCluskey and Simms followed with RBI singles, Harmon drew a walk, and Sachwitz added a base hit to bring in the eighth and final run of the inning. The Allstars managed a run in the bottom half and threatened more, but a ground ball to second led to a 4-6-3 double play, ending the threat.
With a 17-10 lead after eight innings and three hours of battle, curfew laws brought the game to a close. The A’s had swept the series and captured a third straight championship.
Back in the dugout, the celebration erupted. Simms popped open some budget bubbly, spraying teammates as they gathered their belongings. Super-Fan “Dean”, the lone Athletics fan who had stayed until the end, rounded up the players for a team picture, sending them off to a well-earned “Dude Time” championship celebration.
The heroes of tonight’s three-peat were many, as the Athletics once again got contributions up and down the lineup. It always starts with pitching and defense though. The team committed just three errors while Barker and Means were businesslike on the mound, working the entire game without surrendering a walk. Means earned the win in relief, while Briguglio expertly managed a complete game behind the plate, keeping his pitchers sharp.
Player-manager DiMino led from the top of the order, handling six chances at shortstop and scoring a run. Foster singled, walked, and scored twice. Briguglio went 3-for-3 with a double, reached on a walk, scored three times, and drove in a run. Esteves was a one-man wrecking crew, a run-scoring double, a bases-clearing triple, a walk, three runs scored, a sacrifice fly, and five RBIs. McCluskey added a single, a walk, an RBI, a run, and laid down a sacrifice bunt. Simms was flawless with three hits, a walk, two runs scored, and three RBIs. Harmon collected two hits, drew a walk, stole two bases, drove in a run, and scored once. Sachwitz had three hits and two RBIs. Barker walked and scored, Means and Doleshal each drew a free pass. Greg Price and Mark Chapleski handled six chances at second base. Civiello was hit by a pitch and awarded first on a swing that clipped the catcher’s mitt. Katz drove in a run on a hit by pitch and later scored after reaching on an error. The result, a lineup firing on all cylinders, each player adding to the historic three-peat triumph.
The celebration spilled over to the traditional Dude Time spot, where DiMino supplied McD’s double cheeseburgers and large fries, Harmon arrived with 100 wings, and Chapleski and Katz brought cookies and Little Debbie’s. What wasn’t there were Means victory brownies as they mysteriously were nixed from the team’s post-game menu yet again. Nonetheless, the team filled their bellies and yukked it up, savoring not just the championship but the little moments that make baseball unforgettable and mark these days as the best times of our lives.
Like Price, who played second base with one pant leg up and one down, claiming the elastic had broken. Or DiMino, the team’s self-proclaimed fashionista, who earlier had sent rookie McCluskey back to the clubhouse to swap his white sleeves for black, or risk being removed from the lineup. Foster, never one to miss a marketing opportunity, drank beer from his new endorsement with Fosters Lager, while DiMino bemoaned the loss of his yellow batting donut. Simms puffed on his impossibly large cigar and sprayed the group once again with budget champagne.
This crew was so lovable it had even won over the law. After being chased a few times from their postgame circle in a nearby mall parking lot (by the mall cops earlier in the season), the authorities had thrown up their hands as game after game the players just continued to show up. Now as Paul Blart rolled by, even he was smiling and accepting cheeseburgers from the players, and cheering them on. Ah yes, the good times were rolling and no one wanted them to stop.
But all good things must come to an end. The Athletics packed up for the final time in the 2025 season, champions once again, three straight years atop the league. What 2026 will bring remains a mystery, so for now, we live in the moment, good teammates, even better friends, months of memories, and endless fun playing the grand old game. As father time marches on, it’s these moments, the camaraderie, the triumphs, the laughter, we will miss most, until February rolls around again and spring training beckons, along with the quest for a fourth straight championship.