Category: League Champions

DCMSBL, 18+ ‘C’ Division

Northern Virginia Warriors 10, Loudoun Beavers 8

‘Warriors ‘Find the Beat’ on Way to 2018 Title’

Submitted by Matt Dolan, Warriors manager

The Northern Virginia Warriors have won four DCMSBL championships in the last eight years, with a few runner up performances mixed in as well.  We suffered a heart breaking loss in the last inning in the third game of the 2017 championship and made it our mission to come back even stronger in 2018 and win it all.

This was no small feat given 80% of our team was brand new to the squad in 2017.  It took half the season in 2018 to build up the team chemistry and find our Warrior drum beat, but once it was found we didn’t look back.  Win or lose we have a group of warriors that give it all on the diamond and enjoy a few cold PBR’s postgame!

Fox Valley MABL

McHenry Rough Riders 12, Round Lake Pirates 8

‘Rough Riders Sweep Pirates for 2018 Title’

Submitted by Evan Scully, Rough Riders manager

What a year! The Fox Valley MABL, located throughout Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, remained super competitive as well as great group of teams which feature stellar ballplayers. There were lots of close games coming down to the wire, which always makes it fun.

The McHenry Rough Riders were seeking a revenge year after falling short to the Round Lake Pirates in 2017’s World Series. After having a bad taste, the Rough Riders came out strong with a nine game winning streak although every game was a hard fought battle. We finishing the year with a 15-3 record as the #1 seed heading into the playoffs.

Great pitching and defense was our story. Every player played an intricate role by putting winning first and playing small ball to find a way to win. Every team gave us a run including the Spring Grove Orioles, Northern Illinois Coyotes, Johnsburg Tigers, Kenosha Javelins, Kenosha Chiefs and last but not least the Round Lake Pirates, who are the 2017 defending champions.

The World Series between the McHenry Rough Riders and the Round Lake Pirates featured a couple of one run games and some extra innings, really showcasing good defense and timely hitting. When the final out was made the McHenry Rough Riders were crowned CHAMPS! Every team in our league has great guys and good sportsmanship, especially the Round Lake Pirates. Afterwards both teams went to the local tavern sending pitchers of beer to one another saying they can’t wait to faceoff next year in the World Series. On behalf of the McHenry Rough Riders and the Fox Valley MABL ‘thank you’ for making it possible for us guys to play the game we all love!

North County (San Diego) MSBL, 55+ Division

North County Cardinals 8, Yankees 5

‘Cardinals Fly to Championship in Inaugural Year’ 

Submitted by Stan Stewart, Cardinals manager

Before the 2018 season began, North County league president Doug Johnson approached Jim Tapper and asked if he would put together a 55+ team together for that division.  Tapper called around and I was fortunate enough to be one of his calls.  Organizing a team is hard enough while maintaining a healthy team at our age is even harder.  We have a great nucleus of guys who love the game.

We started the season slowly with a loss but with ten guys batting over .350 and a strong pitching core we quickly picked up steam, winning out the rest of the season.  Fortunately our success continued into the rest of the season.  Tapper earned the championship game MVP with hits in crucial situations that generated RBI’s and eventually an 8-5 win.

Joe Flores and Paul Storck both pitched well striking out a combined eight batters while holding the Yankees to five runs.  Thanks go out to the Yankees for their great sportsmanship, competition and fun.  Finally, thanks to Doug Johnson for continually putting together a great league for all ages.

Puget Sound Senior Baseball League, 60+ Rainier Division 

Mariners 12, Tugs 5

 ‘Offensive Explosion Leads ‘M’s to 60+ Crown’

Submitted by Tom Evans Krause, Mariners manager

The 2018 season marked the debut of a new 60 and over Rainier Division in the Puget Sound Senior Baseball League.  The league, which celebrated its 30^th year, serves the greater Seattle-Tacoma region.

The Rainier Division championship game featured the teams who finished one-two during the regular season, the Mariners and Tugs.  Earlier in the double elimination bracket, the Mariners eked out a 2-0 victory over the Tugs – a game in which pitching and defense was highlighted. However, the bats took over in the deciding contest with the two teams knocking out a combined 29 hits.

The Mariners took an early 6-1 lead, but the Tugs battled back to narrow the margin to a single run at 6-5 in the top of the sixth inning.  The M’s pulled away with 3-run innings in the sixth and seventh frames while holding the Tugs scoreless for the remainder of the game.

The Mariners claimed the first-ever PSSBL Rainier Division title with a 12-5 victory.

Rocky Nordness, who had thrown a 4-hit, 2-0 shutout against the Tugs earlier in the playoffs, was the winning pitcher in the championship game.  He scattered 12 hits while giving up five runs.  Nordness finished the season 8-0 with a division-leading 1.08 ERA.

All but one of the Mariners in the starting lineup had a base hit as the team pounded out 17 safeties.  Rich Bonny went 3-4 while Nordness, David Caffey, Wayne Ottum, Jay Hyma and Steve Packer had two hits apiece.  Caffey hit .556 and Bonny batted .500 during the M’s playoff run.

The Tugs were led by Greg Thompson, who went a perfect 3-3 at the plate.  David Mathews, Bill Williams and Dave Reynolds contributed two hits each.  Reynolds, who was inducted into the PSSBL Hall of Fame earlier in the season, took the loss on the mound for the Tugs.

Long Island Midweek, 35+ Division (Fall)

East Islip Giants 4, Huntington Yankees 3

Submitted by Bill Burke, Giants manager

The East Islip Giants are the Fall 2018 League Champions in the 35+ Long Island Midweek Baseball League. Joe Lankford threw seven strong innings for the win and stuck out six against the solid veteran Huntington Yankees.

Newcomer Pete Barylski closed it out, capping an outstanding season in relief for the Giants. This victory represents the Giants fifth championship since their inception in the Fall of 2006. Thanks to all for their past commitment and to future successes.

North Texas Amateur Baseball League, 18+ Division

Oak Cliff Pelicans 5, Dallas Orioles 0

 

‘Pitching Staff Shuts Door for Pelicans’

 Submitted by Patty Evans, Pelicans manager

The Oak Cliff Pelicans defeated the Dallas Orioles 5-0 in the championship game of the North Texas Amateur Baseball League 18+ division as three pitchers combined to throw a championship shutout. Jessy Guzman led things off on the pitcher’s mound for the Pelicans, going five innings and allowing zero runs on one hit while striking out nine.

Oak Cliff totaled eight hits in the game with Nate David and Jake Simpson each collecting two hits to lead the team. The Pelicans were sure-handed and didn’t commit an error while the Orioles had three.

In 1.2 innings of relief, Robert Bertucci surrendered one walk and struck out two. Bertucci induced a groundball to finish off the game. During three playoff games the Oak Cliff Pelicans pitchers were dominant, combining for 37 K’s, six hits and only two runs given up in 21 total innings to finish the fall season at 9-4.

Puget Sound Senior Baseball League, Cascade (18+) Division

Ravens 4, Reds 3

‘Ravens Go ‘Back to Back’ in Walk-off Fashion’

 Submitted by Paul Davison, Ravens manager

The Reds finished the regular season a half game up on the Ravens for first place and won the head to head series 2-1.  The Reds, managed by Brandon Williams, featured one of the league’s best offenses complimented by a pair of ace lefty starters in Spencer Seabourne and Alex Hatch. The Ravens found their success with a rotation of four solid starting pitchers, a dominant closer, a stingy defense, and an opportunistic offense. The top two seeds seemed destined to square off for one or more playoff games deep in the double elimination bracket.

In the first round, the Ravens faced off against the sixth seeded Dodgers, a team that had just won a play-in game 7-0 a couple days prior.  The Dodgers played the Ravens tough all year and the playoff opener was no different.  The Ravens handed the ball to long time ace and PSSBL hall of famer Jeremy Thornton.  Thornton went seven strong innings and gave up only one run on six hits.

In the fourth inning, down 1-0, Ravens catcher Michael Sherwin jump-started the offense with a leadoff triple, Ben Ruff walked and stole second, and they were both driven home by Derryck Christensen.  In the fifth inning Paul Fisher singled and was promptly doubled home by Andrew Barry.  In the sixth Ruff hit a leadoff double and was again driven in by Christensen.  With a 4-1 lead, Thornton handed the ball to closer Ben Ruff who retired the remaining batters in order.  The Reds cruised to a 9-1 victory in their playoff opener.

In the second round the Ravens faced the Tigers, who finished as the third seed.  The Tigers featured a fearsome offensive line up, but Jim Radovich got the start for the Ravens and was up to the task.  Delivering his usual solid workman like start, Radovich was in complete control for the first five innings allowing only three hits.  On the other side, the Ravens offense exploded with an 11 run second inning and continued to pour it on.  Ben Ruff and DJ Penick led the way with three hits apiece.  By the time the Tigers started to get to Radovich in the sixth the Ravens lead had already ballooned to 17-0.  However, the Tigers did not go quietly. Late in the game their offense got going, but the early deficit proved much to overcome and the Ravens won 18-7.  The Reds again cruised in their second round matchup winning 14-0 and setting up a winner’s bracket matchup with the Ravens.

It was a perfect Saturday night for baseball under the lights at Bannerwood Park with #1 vs #2 in the winner’s bracket final for a trip to the championship.  The Reds gave the ball to Alex Hatch, who pitched extremely well.  However, the night belonged to Ravens starter Todd Jeffress.  Jeffress delivered his most brilliant performance of the season in the biggest spot possible.

After allowing the first batter of the game to score on a HBP and two subsequent singles, Jeffress proceeded to shut the Reds out for the remainder of the contest.  In his complete game effort he allowed just the one run on only five hits and struck out 11.  The Ravens tied the game 1-1 in the fourth on back-to-back-to-back singles by Ben Ruff, DJ Penick and Deryck Christensen.  Then in the eighth inning with the score still tied 1-1, Michael Sherwin and Christensen singled.  With men on first and third and two outs, Brian Whetzel was asked to pinch hit.  Whetzel delivered a clutch RBI single and the Ravens took the lead 2-1.  Blake Fisher and Justin Sherwin followed up with their own RBI singles pushing the lead to 4-1.  That was all Jeffress would need as he seemed to get stronger as the game progressed.  He struck out three of the last six batters of the game to send the Ravens to the championship.

The Reds won their next game 11-4 setting up a rematch with the Ravens in the Championship game at Russell Road Park.

For the Championship game it was a clash of styles on the hill.  The Ravens handed the ball to crafty right hander John Trupin.  The Reds gave the start to their long time hard throwing lefty ace Spencer Seabourne.  Again, the Reds struck early with a leadoff double and a run in the first inning.  That was followed by a triple and another run in the second inning.  After falling behind 2-0, Trupin settled into the efficient groove he normally finds with his excellent control.

From the third inning through the eighth inning Trupin faced only two batters over the minimum as he induced ground outs and pop-ups galore.  On offense, the Ravens were struggling to deal with Seabourne.  The Ravens were no-hit through five innings and managed only two baserunners.  However, in the sixth Andrew Barry was hit by a pitch with one out and then Michael Sherwin clubbed an RBI triple to make the score 2-1 Reds.  In the seventh Blake Fisher was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Matt Kruse singled behind him.  The runners were moved over to second and third by Paul Fisher, which set the stage for Andrew Barry, who came through with a huge 2RBI single to give the Ravens a 3-2 lead.

In the ninth, with the 3-2 lead still intact, Trupin gave way to Ravens closer Ben Ruff.  Even facing the hard throwing Ruff, the Reds were determined to force a second and decisive championship game and tied the game 3-3 in the top of the ninth.  However, in the bottom of the ninth Matt Kruse led off for the Ravens with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then Paul Fisher walked.  After back to back pop outs, Ben Ruff singled to load the bases.  DJ Penick stepped to the plate with two outs, bottom nine, a 3-3 tie, bases loaded, and a championship on the line…and he delivered a walk off single through the 3-4 hole to give the Ravens the 4-3 victory and back to back Cascade championships.

The 2018 championship marked the Ravens sixth championship in the past ten seasons.

MSBL of Southern Colorado, 18-45+ Division

SoCo Pistols 10, Colorado Springs Bombers 3

‘Early Lead Sets Stage for Pistols Victory Over Bombers’

Submitted by Andrew Storm, Pistols manager

The MSBL of Southern Colorado league rivals Southern Colorado Pistols and the Colorado Springs Bombers squared off for the MSBL 18-45-over championship at Spurgeon Field on September 23rd.  The Pistols were 0-1 in league play versus the Bombers and 1-0 in the double elimination tournament.

An early lead helped the SOCO Pistols defeat the Bombers 10-3 for the title. The Pistols scored early on a single by me (Storm) in the first inning, an error in the first inning, a double by Zach Versluys in the second inning, and a stolen base by Versluys in the second inning.

We then put up three runs in the seventh inning as Andy Davis and Jason Jacobs all moved runners across the plate with RBIs in the inning. Pitcher Zach Versluys toed the rubber for us while lasting four and a third innings, allowing only four hits and two runs. Wirt started the game for Bombers and lasted three innings, allowing 12 hits and nine runs while striking out two. Baumann threw five innings in relief.

We tallied 17 hits on the day, with Joe McKenzie, Russ Mannix, Davis, Storm, and Versluys all collecting multiple hits for the Pistols. McKenzie led the Pistols with four hits in six at bats. The Bombers racked up eight hits in the game with Willoughby and Baumann each collecting multiple hits for Bombers. Willoughby went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead Bombers in hits.

Buffalo Muny MSBL, 25+ Division

Queen City 5, Erie Buffalo 4

 ‘Dileo Leads Dominant Staff in Playoffs’

 Submitted by Jesse Watts, Queen City manager

In the 2018 summer season of the Buffalo Muny MSBL, Queen City, sponsored by ALL METAL WORKS, claimed the Championship in the 25+ division by successfully defending their 2017 title and sweeping Erie Buffalo in a best of three series. Queen City is a new team to the league with many veteran players combined with young talent.  Queen City has won the title its first two years in the league and looks to 3-peat in the upcoming season.

Compiling a 16-6 regular season record and a 6-0 playoff record (12-1 past two seasons) Queen City was able to end the season on a 11 game win streak with dominant pitching, stellar defense and timely/clutch hitting. Queen City’s powerhouse pitching staff was able to dominate in the playoffs with Joe Dileo, Dave Brozyna and Mike Wagner all getting wins. Joe Dileo’s MVP pitching performance in the playoffs will be talked about for years to come, taking the ball in four playoff games and proving to be a dominant force.

Queen City was able to finish the season with a team batting average of .325 with Kenny Johnston, Jimmy Luppens, Jesse Watts, Ryan Wojinski, Chris Cardona, Mike Wagner and Bobby Alvarez all having an all-star season.  Tom Anderson, Rich Creamer, Kenny Lorich and Jimmy Lord all came in clutch with key hits during the playoffs.  This season’s success was a combination of hard work and team chemistry. Every player on the team was able to contribute to this memorable season.

Long Island Midweek MSBL, 45+ American Division

L.I. Cubs 10, Southside Warriors 9

‘Amazing Final Inning Comeback Punctuates Title’

Submitted by Tim Hott, L.I. Cubs manager (Edited by Steve LaMontia, MSBL Director of Communications)

Our securing the MSBL Long Island Midweek trophy literally came down to the final at bat of the season in our championship series against the Warriors.  Our Long Island Cubs came from down eight runs in our last at bat, scoring nine runs to beat the Southside Warriors 10-9 and win the 45+ American Division championship. The texture of this story may be a little different from the usual league champion stories posted on the website but I thought it would be fun to revisit the half-inning the way it played out. Here is the 13 batter sequence from our run to the title.  Enjoy!

To begin, the score at the start of inning was Warriors 9, Cubs 1. Here is the blow by blow, batter by batter description of our final at bat.

Ippy Reggio started the inning with a walk. Ted Bennett pinch hit for Pete Munda and also walked. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, sending Ippy to third and Ted to second. Jeff Hinman was added to the bottom of the order and he ALSO walked to load the bases, no outs.

Luis Perez grounded to third but Ippy was able to score. Ted tiptoed into third and Jeff moved up to second, with Luis reaching first. (Score 9-2) Rafi Maldonado promptly doubled past the shortstop while Ted, Jeff and Luis all scored. (Score 9-5) Eddie Murria was hit by a pitch, moving Rafi to second. Mike Herring followed with another double to left center, scoring both Rafi and Eddie. I’m sure the Warriors were getting just a little nervous at this point with no outs, a runner on second and holding on to a slim two run lead. (Score 9-7)

Keith Bryant struck out for the inning’s first out but then Stu Juarez singled and Keith was the courtesy runner for Stu. Mike Gonzalez followed with a bloop single to right and Mike Herring scored, moving Keith (Stu) to third with Mike advancing to second on the play. (Score 9-8)

To climax the inning, Rob “Gonzo” Gonzalez singled while Keith (Stu) scored, advancing Mike G. to third. Keith ran for Gonzo and then promptly stole second, tying the score at nine apiece. Ippy walked for the second time in the inning, thus loading the bases. Phil Baldwin was sent in to pinch hit for Ted and drew a season ending walk as Mike Gonzalez scored the winning run in walk-off fashion. CUBS WIN 10-9! INCREDIBLE!!!!