2018 League Champions

2018 PCBL A-Division Spring Championship
July 22, 2018 @ COC
Barons (7-10-1) -vs- The Bats (8-10)
Photos
 

 

In the midst of another brutal Southern California heatwave, Sunday morning had a light breeze to go along with triple digit temperatures.  But that would be nothing compared to the two hottest teams in the Single A division, the Barons and the Bats, as they faced off at College of the Canyons in the 2018 Single A Championship Game!

Tom Farrell took the hill for the Bats, and was greeted by some solid Baron offense.  Nolan Draves led off with a single, but was erased on a Scott Tiano fielder's choice.  Grant Clark singled, but after a line drive to short, Farrell looked ready to escape the jam.  But an error on the 3rd baseman and a Tim Lecoz single plated 2 runs, and gave the Barons a quick 2-0 lead.

 

The Barons sent Aaron Rosenberg, the 2018 Single A Cy Young award winner, to the mound.  The Bats weren't impressed.  Brian Corralejo led off with a single, and with 1 out, Jonathan Lane singled.  After a fielder's choice left men on the corners, Rosenberg too appeared ready to escape.  But Max Segal was hit by pitch to load the bases, and Gilbert Escalante worked a 7 pitch walk to bring home 1.  Reese Corralejo followed with a clutch, full count, 3-run double to left center, giving the Bats a 4-2 lead after 1 inning.

Farrell worked around 2 walks and a single in the second, picking a runner off first, and Rosenberg did his part in the bottom of the inning to keep the score 4-2.

 

 

In the top of the 3rd, the Barons came to life.  Grant Clark and Don McClain led off with back-to-back singles.  After a ground out moved them into scoring position, Jack McLaughlin singled them both home.  Angel Argomaniz wasted no time, belting the first pitch he saw for an rbi-double, and with 2 outs, Dave Navarro reached on an error, plating Argomaniz.  All said, the Barons led 6-4 after 2 and a half.

 

Both offenses were quiet until the bottom of the 4th.  The Bats' Reese Corralejo hit a 1 out single, stole second and took 3rd on a passed ball.  Michael Morgan hit a slow roller to first to bring him home and cut the lead to 6-5.

 

But the Barons answered right back in the top of the 5th.  Tim Lecoz led off with a double, and after Jack McLaughlin walked and Angel Argomaniz singled to load the bases with no outs, things looked dire for the Bats.  But Farrell battled back with a strikeout and 2 groundouts, limiting the damage to 1 run.  However, that did extend the Barons' lead to 7-5.

 

Farrell and Rosenberg went into cruise control at this point, showing why they were two of the best arms in the division all summer.  But with their pitch counts rising, something was bound to give.

 

 

In the bottom of the 7th, the Bats finally got something going.  With one out, Reese Corralejo hit a long fly ball to left field which was dropped for a 2-base error.  He quickly stole 3rd, and was singled home by Michael Morgan.  After a ground out moved Morgan to 2nd and a wild pitch moved him to 3rd, Tom Farrell walked and Kevin Melford singled home Morgan to tie the game 7-7!

After another quiet inning, The Bats looked to keep the momentum going.  With one out in the bottom of the 8th, Jonathan Lane reached on an error.  2 pitches later, Christopher Morris got his first hit of the game - and it was a big one - with a go-ahead rbi-double!  The Bats took an 8-7 lead and were 3 outs away from a champagne bath!

 

 

 

But the Barons were the top scoring team all season, and they weren't going down without a fight.  After a strike out, Single A MVP Don McClain was hit by a pitch, putting the tying run on base.  Farrell struck out the next batter, bringing up Jack McLaughlin - the last hope for the Barons!  With a 2-1 count, he hit a line drive OVER the left fielder's head to the fence.  With McClain running full steam and having no plans of stopping at 3rd, everyone knew there would be a play at the plate!  The throw sailed over the cut-off man's head, but somehow found Farrell in the middle of the diamond.  He relayed home to catcher Bogdan "Boggs" Tomalevski, who put the tag on McClain just before he touched the plate, bringing home the championship for the Bats!  And while it was an EXTREMELY close play, we'd like to give a shout out to photographer Marv Keller for getting an amazing shot (just to the right of this paragraph) verifying the runner was indeed out!

 

Congratulations on a great rookie campaign for the Barons - they proved they will be a force to reckon with for years to come.  But this game, and this season, belonged to The Bats!  From no wins in Fall 2017 to a trophy 8 months later, The Bats brought home their first PCBL title in style!

 

 

 
Congratulations to the 2018 A-Division Champion Bats!

 

 
 
                    Barons       2   0   4   0   1   0   0   0   0        7     13    2    
                    The Bats    4   0   0   1   0   0   2   1    x        8      8    3   
 
 
Pitching Stats:
WP Tom Farrell (The Bats)    CG 9IP (150 pitches); 7R (5ER), 13H, 9K, BB, HBP (Championship Game MVP)
LP  Aaron Rosenberg (Barons)   CG 8IP (115 pitches); 8R (5ER), 8H, 5K, 2BB, HBP
 

The Bats
Reese Corralejo - 2-3, 2B, 2R, 2SB
Jonathan Lane - 2-4, R, SB (game winning run)
Michael Morgan - 1-3, R, 2RBI
Christopher Morris - 1-4, 2B, R, RBI, SB (game winning rbi)

Barons
Jack McLaughlin - 3-4, 2B, R, 2RBI, BB
Grant Clark - 3-5, 2R
Angel Argomaniz - 2-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB
Nolan Draves - 2-5