2026 Expos Sweep Twins in Best-of-Three Series for Peoria Sunday Morning Championship
Peoria Sunday Morning League
Firehouse Pizza and Pub Expos 4, Tin Lizard Twins 0 (Game two of Best-of-three championship series sweep)
The summer of 2026 was season #111 of the Peoria Sunday Morning League! In his 12th season as the manager of the Firehouse Pizza and Pub-sponsored Expos, Kent Deets rallied his team of young players for a strong playoff run that included a first-game loss and then a 4-game-in-4-days winning streak that got the Expos to the best-of-3 championship series, played at Dozer Park in Peoria, Illinois.
Game 1 on July 30th, between the Tin Lizard-sponsored Twins and the Firehouse Expos saw a dominant pitching performance by Expos pitcher Nolan Reiman (Millikin University). He gave up two hits, struck out six, walked one, and allowed 0 runs. The Expos had nine hits and won game 1 in five innings!
Game 2 on July 31st clinched the championship for the Expos behind an electric pitching performance by former Houston Astros pitcher Carlos Sanabria. He went six innings, giving up one hit, 0 walks, striking out seven, and allowing 0 runs. Kash VanHouten (University of Illinois commit) pitched the seventh inning, striking out two and inducing a groundball to second baseman Eli Michanicou (Bradley University commit), who was the playoffs MVP for the final out of the game! How fitting!
Many players contributed to the successful season, including regular-season Expos Brandon Barrientos-pitching (Carl Sandburg College), Jackson Chatterton-utility (Bradley University), Ryan Vogel-outfield (Bradley University and MLB Draft League), and Brock Luna-catcher (Central College, Iowa). All of the players came together and performed well with one goal in mind: Win it all! The Firehouse Pizza and Pub Expos got to hoist the Thome Trophy in celebration of a great season and a strong championship series! What a great accomplishment! Vamos Expos!
