TinselTown Terror 2003 World Series Champions
Tournament Summary
The Tinseltown Terror did what no other PCBL team has ever done and won the 18+ National Division Championship in the 2003 Arizona World Series. The Terror have been competing in the 18+ National Division World Series since 1999, losing every year in the semi-final game. This year they not only made it past the semi-finals but continued on to win it all, going undefeated, a 8-0 mark. This is the first year that a PCBL team has brought home the World Series title for the 18+ National Division.
The Terror didn't have an easy road though. Starting the round robin at 3-0, in game 4, against the Bay Area Rockies, the Terror fell behind 5-1 through six innings. They answered in the 7th though, with three doubles from Mike McNeely, T.J. Runnels and Jeff Bowne to tie the game at 5-5. Tinseltown exploded again in the top of the ninth when T.J. Runnels hit his second double of the game to give the Terror the lead. Then with the bases loaded and two out, Vince Kolbe blasted a base clearing double off the right center wall to give the Terror a 9-5 lead. That's all they would need as Kolbe then took the mound to close the game by pitching a scoreless ninth. The now 4-0 Terror went on to win game 5 by the score of 7-5. Robert Verstraeton took the hill in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and one out. Verstraeton ended Brooklyn's threat quickly by striking out the first batter and getting the next guy to ground out.
The Terror finished the round robin at 5-0 to give them the number one seed and a buy straight to the semi-finals. The semi-finals would be a little bit tougher though. The Arizona Mavericks, Tinseltown's opponent in the semi-final, kept the game close and took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Justin Urbas knocked a two-out single with a runner on third to tie the game at 5. In the eighth, Arizona responded back by hitting a two-out homerun to take back the lead. With the Terror down, 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth, once again Tinseltown came through in the clutch. Nick Gontmaher, with two outs and a runner on second, hit an 0-2 pitch for a line drive single to even at the score at 6-6. Ivan Hernandez pitched the top of ninth and cut up Arizona quickly by striking out the side. The Terror got things going right away in the bottom of the ninth when Donovan Wallace lead off with a single. After Red Junor pinch ran and stole second base, T.J. Runnels bunted him over to third. With one out, Jeff Bowne drilled a base hit up the middle driving in the winning run.
In the championship game, Tinseltown had to face the Kansas City Titans. The last two years, Kansas City had knocked out the Terror in the semi-final. This time, they would meet in the finale. Kansas City's starting pitcher, Jarrod Titus, was the one who beat Tinseltown in both previous years, throwing a complete game each time. Terror's manager, Justin Urbas says his team has been waiting all year to face Titus again. "Titus, wow, what can I say, he's definitely one of the toughest pitchers I've ever faced. His slider's nasty. You know it's coming like every pitch and you still can't hit it." Tinseltown got to him this year. Jeff Bowne and Justin Urbas set the tempo by leading off the game with consecutive line drive singles. Vince Kolbe hit a sacrafice fly to drive in the Terror's first run and give them the early lead. The Terror added on again in the fourth with four consecutive hits from Elvis Nelson, Mike McNeely, Tighe Curran and Nick Gontmaher. Gontmaher's single drove in two which capped a three run inning for the Terror to give them a 4-0 lead. Tinseltown's starter, James Carroll, was cruising, shuting down Kansas City through seven innings, allowing only 5 hits and no runs. In the eighth, Kansas City threatened by scoring two runs off of Carroll, making the score 4-2. Tighe Curran, came in with two outs to get the final out in the eighth. In the top of the ninth, Curran started the inning but got into a little bit of trouble. With two outs and runners on first and second for Kansas City, manager Justin Urbas took out Curran and brought in Ivan Hernandez. Hernandez threw three straight fastballs by the next batter to clinch the championship for Tinseltown.
The Terror's offense was lead by T.J. Runnels, Elvis Nelson, and Justin Urbas. Runnels hit .455 with 1 HR, 7 RBI's and 7 Runs scored. He also had a .773 slugging%. Nelson hit .385, 1 HR, 4 RBI's, 6 Runs scored and a .654 slugging%. Urbas hit .375, 4 RBI's, 6 Runs scored and had an on-base% of .429. The rest of the Terror's offense was as follows: Jeff Bowne, .308, 7 Runs scored, .419 on-base%. Vince Kolbe, .269, 1 HR, 10 RBI's, .538 slugging%. Mike McNeely, .269, 4 RBI's, 7 Runs scored. Tighe Curran, .348, 2 HR's, 8 RBI's, 7 Runs scored, .696 slugging%. Nick Gontmaher, .308, 3 RBI's, 3 Runs scored, 4 Stolen Bases. Erich Magiar, .286, 4 RBI's, 2 Runs scored. Donovan Wallace, .300, 1 RBI, 2 Runs scored.
Great pitching performances were: Eddie Russell, Game 1, 6 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 6 K's, Win against Tri-Valley. Tighe Curran, Game 2, 6 innings, 2 runs, 7 K's, Win against Kansas City. Robert Verstraeton, Game 3, 5 innings, 1 run, 5 K's, Win against Alberquerque, Game 5, 2/3 of an inning, Save against Brooklyn. James Carroll, Championship game, 7 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 4 K's, Win against Kansas City. Ivan Hernandez, Semi-Final game, 1 inning pitched, 0 runs, 3 K's, Win against Arizona. Championship game, Save against Kansas City.
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