2007 PCBL Single A Division Champions, Pineapple Hill Outlaws Isotopes (3) (13-5) -vs- Outlaws (1) (18-0) Outlaws Steal Championship from Isotopes This years’ PCBL Summer Championships brought with it some refreshing change. The most noticeable of that change being the venue; where we move from the hot confines of JetHawk Stadium in the Antelope Valley desert to the picturesque home of the Annaheim Angles, Minor League team Quakes – the Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga. With comfortable temperatures in the upper 80’s and an occasional breeze coming off the mountains to the North; a beautiful setting also proved to be a comfortable one for a day of championship baseball! The first game of our Championship triple-header would be the Federal Division battle between the #3 seeded Isotopes with a season record of 13 –5; and the #1 seeded Outlaws who pulled off the perfect season at 18 – 0. A huge accomplishment considering the competition in their division! The visiting Isotopes send up their leadoff hitter, Cris Pena, to set this game into action. He singles and then is moved over to second on a ground out. Kenny Sanchez singles to right to put runners on the corners for Chris Vargas, who singles to right to score Pena. The Isotopes get a run on three hits and take an early 1 – 0 lead. The game would go scoreless as we enter the bottom of the 3rd inning with the Outlaws still chasing the 1-run deficit. They send up catcher Shane Hunter who draws a leadoff walk and then steals second shortly thereafter. B.J. Serviss flies out to deep center, advancing Hunter to third. The next batter would be Tim Lyons, who promptly bangs one past the pitcher into center field for an RBI single. The Outlaws get a run on 1 hit and a walk and tie up this championship at 1 apiece through three complete innings of play. However, the Isotopes strike back early with a little help from the Outlaws. Dan Baldin leads off for the Isotopes and he grounds to third; but a throwing error by the third baseman allows him to reach second base safely to start things off. The next batter, Antonio Arce, grounds back to the pitcher who throws to third to tag out Dan Baldin who was advancing from second. With Arce on first by way of a fielder’s choice; he steals second and advances to third when the catcher’s throw to second goes into center field. The next batter strikes out, sending up Joe Garcia with two out and Arce on third. He grounds to third, but a throwing error allows him to reach first safely as Arce scores from third. The Isotopes get a run on no hits and two costly errors as they retake the lead, up by a 2 – 1 margin. The Outlaws come up to bat in the bottom of the 6th inning, still trailing 2 – 1. The first batter would strike out, sending up leadoff hitter Frank Carlisi who draws a walk and steals second. The next batter flies out to right, sending up right fielder Rick Stockton with two out and a runner on second. He rips one up the middle into center field to score Carlisi from second. The Outlaws get a run on a hit and a walk and have once again evened things up here in this contest; now tied at 2 through six innings of play. And once again, the Isotopes let little time pass before breaking the short-lived tie. They start the top of the 7th inning with Joe Garcia who lines to right, but is robbed by an Outlaw when the left fielder, Chris Bentz, lays out to make a brilliant diving catch. With one out, first baseman Hector Areliz rips a single for his second hit of the day. The next batter would fly out to center, bringing up Mark Colgin who walks. Kenny Sanchez, who singled in his last three at-bats, steps into the batters box with two out and runners at first and second. He singles for an RBI and his fourth hit of the game! They settle for a run on two hits and retake the narrow lead, up 3 – 2 through 6 ½ innings. Here come the Outlaws in the bottom of the 8th inning, down 3 – 2. B.J. Serviss leads off the inning with a single. The next batter grounds out, advancing Serviss to second. Soon after, a balk advances Serviss to third. Next up is Frank Carlisi who draws a walk, his second of the game. Brian The Isotopes go down in order in the top of the ninth inning, bringing the Outlaws up in the bottom of the ninth inning having never led in this championship contest. However, it will be of little consequence if they can muster one run here. They lead off with Chris Bentz who hits a hard single into center field to become the potential winning run. The next batter is Max Foumberg who is 0 – 3 on the day and desperately needs to move his runner over. On the 0 -1 pitch to Foumberg, Bentz steals second, putting him 90 feet closer to securing victory for the Outlaws. Foumberg grounds the 1-1 pitch to short for the first out as Chris Bentz advances to third on the play. Shane Hunter comes up with one out and the winning run 90 feet away. He lines a shot right to the second baseman for the second out; afterwhich the second baseman fires to third to try and double up Chris Bentz who just gets back safely. The next batter is B.J. Serviss who singled in his last at bat; knowing that anything through the infield in this situation would be huge to say the least. Two out, bottom of the ninth, 3 – 3 tie, winning run 90 feet away. Serviss takes the count to 1-1. The 2-1 pitch is low, getting past the catcher and dribbling behind home plate. Serviss backs away from the plate as the catcher scrambles to recover the pass ball. Chris Bentz responds to the pass ball and races down the line towards home and will not be stopped! He scores the game-winner on the pass ball as the Outlaws race in excitement towards him in celebration! What a dramatic finish to this contest, although obviously unfortunate for the Isotopes who played such a hard-fought championship game. Congratulations to the PCBL Summer Season Champion Outlaws for a perfect season and a dramatic ninth inning victory in this Championship Contest! The MVP in this contest for the Outlaws went to their left fielder, Chris Bentz; both for his dazzling defensive play in the 7th inning as well as for getting on base at the right time and scrambling home on the pass ball to wrap up the championship for his Outlaws! I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris after the game and I asked him to sum up the results of his team’s dramatic victory. Here were his thoughts: “Well … on the defensive side I knew that we just stepped up a bit. They were dropping them in the gaps all day long ….. the line drive that was hit to me … I knew I had to make a big effort on that one so I just went all out for it and luckily enough it ended up in my glove. Offensively, we were slow all game … you know, six hits isn’t very good for our team, so I knew coming up in the ninth that I had to get on base.” When asked about the pass ball and his eventual winning run, Chris explained why he delayed before making his move towards home: “The weird thing was that I didn’t think it was a pass ball … I thought it was a foul ball off the bat. Until I heard the greatest manager ever, Chris Coley, yelling at me to go. I was walking back to third base and luckily enough, the pitcher was still standing on the mound and I was able to get in.” Congratulations, Chris, on the MVP honors and for taking a few minutes to share your feelings on the ball game! Pitching Stats Isotopes: Mark Colgin (4 inn, 1 run, 2 hits, 2 K's, 1 walk) Game Time: 9:35am - 12:05pm ( 2 hrs, 30 mins) Umpires: PA Announcer: Mike Gulatto National Anthem performed by American Idol contestant Sherman Pore |