2010 PCBL A Division Summer Championship
Sunday, August 22nd @ 2:00pm / Quake Stadium
L.A. Braves (14-4) -vs- River Cats (14-3-1)
 

River Cats Purrfect 5th Inning Prove Too Much for Braves

By Scot Sweet / PCBL Staff Writer

 

This was the second game of our Championship triple-header at the beautiful confines of the Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga; home of the Quakes .... the single A Angels affiliate. This is one of the more picturesque baseball venues around. With the beautiful mountain range over the wall in left field, it's the perfect backdrop to the pristine conditions between the lines. With the field in mint condition and the weather more than favorable, the time was definitely right for some championship baseball ..... so let's get right to the action!
The Braves start things off in the top of the 1st inning. With 2 on and 1 out in the inning, Rick Mendes hits an RBI single to left center. The Braves settle for the single run in the inning; leading 1-0 with the River Cats coming to bat.
 
But the River Cats waste no time getting their offense going. The 1st 2 batters draw walks; sending up Chris Testa with 2 on and nobody out. He singles to score a run. The next batter is al Richardson. He also gets an RBI single. He is followed by Phil Hinds who singles home a pair. Two batters later, Brandon Murphy gets an RBI double. Jimmy McGrath follows with an RBI double of his own. The River Cats end up with 6 runs on 6 hits in the inning; taking a 6-1 lead through an inning of play.
 

 

The score would remain 6-1 River Cats as we entered the top half of the 3rd inning. With 1 out, the Braves send up Angel Sandoval who singles. The next batter goes down swinging; sending up Luis Cruz who draws a walk. He's followed by Brock Heerdt who singles home a run. The next batter walks; sending up Hector Ala who hits an RBI single. Soon after, Luis Cruz scores from 3rd on a pass ball. Edward Lanza also hits an RBI single. The Braves get 4 runs in the inning; now trailing by a 6-5 margin 2 1/2 innings of play. The Braves are back in business!
 
Or so we thought .... We move to the bottom of the 5th inning where the River Cats still maintain the 6-5 advantage. They start things off with Phil Hinds who singles. Two batters later, Brandon Murphy doubles for his 3rd consecutive base hit; scoring Hinds. He is followed by Jimmy McGrath hits an RBI triple. Rob Felix joins the hit parade with an RBI single. Manager Nick Lomeli singles to keep the drive alive. Leadoff hitter Eric Florez is hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Steve McGrath. He draws a walk; getting an RBI as a run is forced across. With the bases loaded and 1 out in the inning; the next batter is Chris Testa. He goes deep to right center for a grand slam! The next batter is hit by a pitch; sending up Phil Hinds who is 2 for 3 on the day. He goes deep to the same spot as Chris Testa for a 2-run shot! When all was said and done, the River Cats explode for 10 runs on 7 hits in the inning; now dominating by a score of 16-5 through 5 complete innings of play.
The Braves would find a run in the top of the 6th inning; courtesy of an RBI single by Kenny Robles. However, on this day, the River Cats were just too much to handle. They win in big fashion; by a final score of 17-6. Congratulations to the Braves on a great 14-4 season; making it to the championship. And congratulations to the 2010 A Division Champion River Cats for such an explosive victory on this Championship Sunday!
 
 
GAME STATS
R H E
L.A. Braves    1 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0    6  8  2
River Cats      6 0 0 0 10 0 1 0 -  17 22 3
 

Pitching Stats
WP Kyle Arnold (River Cats)
Complete Game - Allowed 6 runs on 8 hits; with 5 walks and 12 K's
LP John Salas (Braves)
4 1/3 IP - Allowed 11 runs on 16 hits; with 2 walks and 6 K's
 
River Cats Offensive Stars
Chris Testa 3 for 5; 2 singles, grand slam homer, 5 RBI's, 3 runs
Phil Hinds 4 for 5; 3 singles, 2-run homer, 4 RBI's, 3 runs
Brandon Murphy 3 for 5; 2 doubles, single, 2 RBI's, 2 runs
Jimmy McGrath 2 for 4; double, triple, 2 RBI's, 1 run

Game time
2:05pm - 4:55pm (2 hours, 50 min)
 
Umpires
Carlos Trujillo (Plate)
Brian Marine (!st Base)
Scott Keene (2nd Base)
Kevin Mackelberg (3rd Base)