2025 Orioles Finish Atop Southern Wisconsin MABL 45+ Division
Southern Wisconsin MABL, 45+ Division
Orioles 12, Colt 45s 2
Submitted by John Kuehl
“How about that?!”
The underdog Orioles of the MABL of Southern Wisconsin flew from worst-to-first to win their first 45+ Division championship since 2010. With a 12-2 victory over the runner-up Colt .45s, the Orioles capped a three-game run to take the title and leave their affable veteran pitcher and third baseman, Steve Waugh, quoting the great Mel Allen as the postgame celebration ensued.
Despite finishing fifth in the five-team league after the regular season, the O’s followed a tried-and-true formula for three straight Sundays in October: ride the hot hand.
In this case, it was the right hand of newcomer Eric Engler. The 46-year-old Oregon, Wisconsin native dazzled and dominated the Orioles’ opponents, allowing a total of five runs and striking out 44 while pitching all 27 innings across the three playoff games. It was a performance that left fans and players alike shaking their heads in disbelief.
How about that?!
“Eric was electric, and he pitched like an absolute bulldog. When you have a guy like that on the bump, you know you’re going to be in every game,” said John Kuehl, Orioles catcher. “And in a playoff setting, that’s such an advantage. You can play loose and aggressive and know that you don’t have to be perfect.”
After not trailing in either of the first two playoff games, 15-1 and 6-2 victories over the Crawfords and Sand Crabs, the visiting O’s fell behind 1-0 to the Colt .45s in the second inning of the final. Both teams went scoreless in the third before the Orioles came alive in the fourth in the batter’s box and on the basepaths, scoring six runs on a mix of timely hitting, defensive miscues, and aggressive baserunning.
The inning started with Ben Mason and Sean Bernier reaching on consecutive errors. After Steve Hirshfeld struck out, leadoff hitter and centerfielder Gabe Park singled to drive in Mason. Shortstop Paul Orlowski then singled to plate Bernier, and it was 2-1 Orioles.
After Kuehl grounded into a fielder’s choice, forcing out Park at second, Engler reached on an error. Jim Little then singled to score Kuehl and Engler, and Jeremy Johnson doubled to bring home Little to make it 6-1 heading into the home half of the inning.
Engler continued to put up zero after zero, using a bewildering five-pitch mix of darting fastballs, late-breaking sliders, curves, changeups, and knucklers to strike out three in the fourth, two in the fifth, and two more in the sixth while not allowing a runner past first base.
The O’s added two more unearned runs in the seventh, three in the eighth, and another in the top of the ninth to take a commanding 12-1 lead heading into the last at-bats for the Colt .45s. In the bottom half, the Colts strung together three hits and scored a run on a sacrifice fly before Engler slammed the door for good, ending the game with his 13th strikeout of the day.
And with that, the Orioles hoisted the coveted MABL trophy.
How about that?!
Orlowski led the Orioles with a 3-3 day at the plate, scoring two and driving in two. Waugh, one of three veterans (along with Hirshfeld and Johnson) who were with the team for their last title run, went 2-4 in the final game of his age-70 season. Brothers-in-law Mike Thiede and Little also picked up two hits apiece — Thiede’s both coming on unexpected bunts down the third base line.
As a team, the O’s tallied 50 hits in their three playoff games, paced by Orlowski and Kuehl with eight each and six from “Playoff Jeremy” Johnson.
Twenty-one of those hits came against the Crawfords, when Kuehl collected five and Orlowski four, along with three each from Engler and Park and two apiece from Jeff Randall and Steve Hirshfeld at the bottom of the lineup, proving that even with the hottest of hands on the hill, the Orioles are capable of being more than a one-man show.
The Orioles last appeared in the title game in 2023. That season, they also upset the top-seeded and six-time defending champion Sand Crabs to reach the final before falling to the slugging Crawfords. This season, they had to exorcise those Crawfords demons in round one before again facing the vaunted Crabs — this time in the semis. After the 2023 upset, there would be no case of taking the Orioles lightly, especially with the Crabs now facing Engler for the first time.
But with their MVP allowing no baserunners to cross home plate through seven innings, the O’s focused on putting the ball in play and used a four-spot in the second and a single run in the third and eighth to take a 6-0 lead.
The bottom five in the order — Thiede (1-4), Bernier (2-4), Jason Edge (2-4), Johnson (3-4), and Mason (3-4) — accounted for 11 of the O’s 16 hits. The gritty Sand Crabs showed their mettle in the bottom of the eighth to score two runs, but it was all Engler would allow as the Orioles earned their second trip to the title game in three years.
And this time, they finished the job.
How about that?!
Many thanks go out to the MABL organizers, umpires, grounds crew, and fans for making this another memorable season of baseball for all of our teams!