Barracudas Devour Tigers to Claim Title
By Scot Sweet / PCBL Staff Writer
 

We make our way to the nightcap of our championship gameday with the Barracudas and the SFV Tigers, who were competing for bragging rights in this PCBL National Division Championship. Finally getting some relief from the sweltering heat of the Antelope Valley, this final championship game of the day brought with it the pleasure of cooler temperatures and a 7pm start under the JetHawk Stadium lights. Play ball!

 
 The Barracudas drew first blood with a run in the top of the 2nd inning as Dos Jessen singled, stole second and eventually scored in the midst of a well-turned Tiger 6-4-3 double play. Cudas up 1-0. For the next scoring we move to the top of the 4th inning where the Barracudas add a run, courtesy of a Kjavik Mahon single followed by Mike Silva's RBI double. Barracudas take a 2-0 lead through 3 1/2 innings of play.
  
With the Tigers still held hitless through the first 4 innings, the Cudas come up in the top of the 5th inning to add to their 2-0 lead. With 2 out, leadoff hitter Wes Bolton singles and then steals second. The next batter is Adam Smith who reaches base due to a fielding error as Bolton scores. The Barracudas settle for 1 run in the 5th inning and now lead 3-0.
  
The Tigers fail to get their first hit of the ballgame in the bottom of the 5th inning, turning the offense over to the Barracudas who have been picking away on offense to lead by 3. They start the top of the 6th inning with Kjavic Mahon who singles. The next batter pops out, bringing up Mike Silva who draws a walk. Casey Fritts comes up with 2 on and 1 out and he singles home Mahon. With 2 out, Devin Ellis reaches base by way of an error as another run scores. 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk and the Barracudas start to pull away as they take a 5-0 lead through 5 1/2 innings of play.
  
Barracudas' starting pitcher Seth Schornick is masterful as he finally allows a base hit after 6 1/3 innings of no-hit ball!! The hit, a single by the Tiger's Will Morrow, was quickly nullified when a line drive hit back to the pitcher strands him off of first base. No runs on a hit and nobody left for the Tigers as they move swiftly out of the 6th inning down 5-0.
  
The Barracudas come up in the top half of the 7th inning looking to do some additional damage. Leadoff hitter Wes Bolton singles to start the inning for the Cudas, but the next batter grounds into another Tiger 6-4-3 double play. With 2 out in the inning, Justin Collins singles to keep the inning alive. Kjavic Mahon, with a pair of singles to his credit already, cracks a ground-rule double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd for Dos Jessen. Jessen doubles home both runners, sending up Mike Silva with a runner on 2nd and still 2 outs in the inning. He gets his own RBI double to keep things going. Casey Fritts follows with a 2-out RBI single, further extending the bloodshed. The Cudas end up with 4 runs on 6 hits and now lead the SFV Tigers by a resounding 9-0 in this championship matchup.
  
The Tigers would start things off in the bottom of the 7th inning with their second hit of the ballgame, a Jesse Chastain single. However, a 6-4-3 Cuda double play would follow and the rally would end there. The Barracudas would come up in the top of the 8th with a comfortable 9 run lead and would only need to stay conscious to maintain the big lead.
  
However, they would look to do much more than that. Sticking with what works for them, the Barracudas wait until there are 2 outs in the inning to begin to produce offense. Samir Ramos was hit by a pitch with 1 out in the inning. The top of the order flew out to center, bringing up Adam Smith with 2 out and 1 on. He triples to center to send home Ramos. The next batter is Justin Collins, who gets his third single of the night; scoring Smith. Kjavic Mahon follows with his fourth hit of the evening; a single which scores Collins. Dos Jessen follows with a single (his third hit) and is driven in by a Mike Silva single (his third hit). Another 4 runs scored on another 5 hits and the Cudas now out of reach, up 13-0.
  
The Tigers would get on the board in the bottom of the 9th innings with singles by Will Morrow (his second of the game) and Josh Reyes, but it would hardly be enough as they settle for 1 run and leave 2 as the Barracudas defeat the SFV Tigers by a final score of 13 - 1.

Congratulations to the 2006 PCBL National Division Champion Barracudas
on a most decisive championship victory!

  
 
Game Time: 7:00pm - 10:05pm (3 hrs, 5 min)
  
 
Umpires: (Home) Murray Labow
  
               (1st) Ralph Peck
  
               (2nd) Bob Messina
  
               (3rd) Gary Montalvo
  
 Game MVP: Barracuda's - starting pitcher Seth Schornick
  
                    7 Complete innings / Allowing no runs on 2 hits and striking out 4
 
 Inning Breakdown:
  
Barracudas   0 1 0 1 1 2 4 4 0   13 19 2
  
SFV Tigers    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1    1  2  1