2026 Father/Son Cactus
Maine Diamond Dogs 4, Blue Dogs 2
‘Nunez Claims MVP Honors at the Plate and on the Bump’
Submitted by Clair Crandall, manager
The Maine Diamond Dogs returned to their favorite field, the stadium at Tempe Diablo, trying to knock off the undefeated Blue Dogs in the Father/Son Cactus championship. Aptly penned the “Dog Fight at Tempe”, this game did not disappoint.
Maine jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the top of the first, as table setters Quinn Dillon and Brady Harvie singled to start the inning, and after a pop-out, Saul “MVP” Nunez plated both with a triple into the left field corner.
The Blue Dogs plated one in the bottom of the inning with three singles, but a slick 6-4-3 double play ended the threat with Maine up 2-1 after one.
The top of the third started similarly to the first, with Dillon stroking a single and moving to third on a Harvie single, while a steal of second left Maine threatening again. After a strikeout, Saul Nuez hit a broken bat single to left, plating Dillon. Harvie would then score on a ground ball to second, giving Maine the 4-1 lead.
In most Father/Son playoff games, the sons take the mound in the fifth, making offense harder to come by. Maine struggled to place runners on base, and Nunez retired nine of the first 11, scattering just two singles, and keeping the lead 4-1 going into the eighth.
A lead-off error in the eighth led to an unearned run for the Blue Dogs. With the tying run on second and the Blue Dogs leadoff batter up, Nunez got a weak pop-up to second to preserve the 4-2 lead.
The bottom of the ninth saw Nunez retire the Blue Dogs 1,2,3, and the celebration was on!
Saul Nunez was named MVP on the strength of a .481 batting average and in 15 innings on the mound, giving up only one earned run. Quinn Dillon led Maine with a .583 batting average and a .625 OBP. Tyler Ouellette hit .375, and Matt Crandall chipped in offensively with a .357 average.
Diamond Dogs skipper Clair Crandall and son Matt have played in 23 straight Father/Son tournaments and have had the Diamond Dogs for 21 of those years, bringing home a ring eight times!
Claire’s granddaughter, Nora, captured the essence of competition and the Diamond Dogs’ love of the game, putting together a short video about the team titled ‘Dog Fight at Tempe’. Click HERE to see the video
