Home of the Friendship League
GM Scott Mallon unexpectedly traveled to KC for the Patriot/Butcher series to give Pawtucket manager Mike Jones a not so subtle message regarding his expectations for this season. Jones came through taking 5/6 in the home and home battle with the Butchers.
Posting this for Mike Jones. He is moving his team to New England and renaming them the Pawtucket Patriots!
Montreal has asked to make Alek Manoah their Yu Darvish, and adding the oft-injured Anthony Rendon to the 17 man protected list. Rendon is the star of a good meme....
MTL KEEPERS FOR 2023:
1.) Bryan Abreu - RP, 2.) Emmauel Clase - RP, 3.) Alex Verdugo OF, 4.) Enyel De Los Santos - RP, 5 ) Ezequiel "Zeke" Duran - UTL, 6.) Cristan Javier - SP, 7.) George Kirby - SP, 8.) Julio Rodriguez - OF, 9 ) Tarik Skubal SP, 10.) Chas McCormick - OF, 11.) Jake Meyers OF, 12.) Alek Kiriloff 1B/DH, 13.) Harold Ramirez DH, 14.) Spencer "Tork Bomb" Torkelson - 1B, 15.) Gleyber Torres - 2B, 16.) Cal Quantrill - SP, 17 ) Anthony Rendon
MTL "HEEEEEE GOOOONNNEEEE!!!"
1.) Nick Gordon - UTL, 2.) David Fletcher - 2B/SS, 3.) Scott Barlow, 4.) Andrew Wantz 5.) Jalen "CAW!" Beeks, 6.) Oswaldo Cabrera - UTL, 7.) Franciso Meijia
YU DARVISH
1 ) Alek Monoah
NO CARD WHATSOEVER
1.) Glen Otto SP, 2.) Harold Castro 2B/UTL, 3.) Gary Sanchez - C, 4.) Carlos Santana
Christian Bethancourt
Alex Bregman
Wander Franco
Riley Greene
Austin Hays
Cole Irvin
Michael Kopech
Michael Lorenzen
Josh Lowe
Yoan Moncada (returning Yu Darvish from last year)
Dylan Moore
Bailey Ober
Cal Raleigh
Eduardo Rodriguez
John Schreiber
George Springer
Giancarlo Stanton
CHOPPED
Tyler Alexander
Christian Arroyo
Adam Cimber
Dylan Coleman
Corey Kluber
Lance McCullers
Cionel Perez
Zach Plesac
Kyle Stowers
Terrin Vavra
Austin Voth
Jared Walsh
YU DARVISH
Xander Bogaerts
Maine 2024 Protection
Batters:
Abreu, Jose
Baez, Javier
Castro, Willi
Haase, Eric
Higashioka, Kyle
Mullins, Cedrick
Seager, Corey
Sheets, Gavin
Tapia, Raimel
Urias, Ramon
Walls, Taylor
Pitchers:
Cortes, Nester
Keller, Brad
Kikuchi, Yusei
Kremer, Dean
Wells, Tyler
Yarbrough, Ryan
Yu Darvish: Gilberto Celestino
Cuts:
Donaldson, Josh
Turbull, Spencer
Pollock, AJ
Cordero, Franchy
Meadows, Austin NC
Acevedo, Domingo NC
Bass, Anthony NC
Flexen, Chris
Payamps, Joel NC
Velasquez, Vince NC
Unfortunately, It looks like the Bandits management team will be drafting from their spring training facility in Myrtle Beach. There is some business that needs my attention that will encompass the draft weekend. The Bandits management team will be in the Novi area April16th and 17th and should be able to meet up with Strat-0 members the night of the 17th .
B. Bichette
T. France
I. Kiner-Falefa
D. Waters
S. Perez
A. Gimenez
C. Biggio
J. Jung
J. Siri
R. Laureno
J. Gallo
R. Marinaccio
R. Detmers
A. Civale
C. Schmidt
T. Glasnow
L. Lynn
Darvish: J. Loaisiga
He gone: T. Kemp, B. Phillips, T. Banks, L. Severino, J. Lopez, M. Moore
The 2022 season brings an end to a long championship drought, with Steve Willnus and his Maine Loggers winning their first title in almost 30 years!!!
Steve Willnus, won the Manager of the Year award, in addition to his World Series trophy. The Loggers were a classic "whole is greater than the sum of their parts" team. They had very nice but not particularly gaudy team stats (3.17 ERA, 85 HRs, just over 4 runs a game, and a somewhat dismal. 223 team batting average). Shrewd managing and clutch performances made this a season to remember for Maine.
Adolis Garcia clubbed 16 homers and J.D. Martnez added 15. They had two starters who DID put up gaudy numbers: Jose "Squidward" Urquidy went 10-2 with a 2.84 ERA and Martin Perez went 10-5 with a 3.44 ERA. Luis Castillo had limited innings this year, but made the most of them, going 5-1 with a microscopic 0.69 ERA! The bullpen was excellent for Maine, led by closer Jason Adam (7-1, 19 saves, 21 hits allowed n 38 innings). Jose "The Ouija Board" Quijada and Diego Castillo also had sub 2.00 ERAs, and Gavin Jax was not far from that himself.
Congrats to Steve for a terrifc season and a well-deserved title!
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| Steve Willnus, right after the last dice roll and before the Gatorade shower! |
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| Excited Maine-iacs enjoying the Logger's title! |
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| High quality merchandise available in the Logger Team Store |
In other significant results for the season, Jose Ramirez (LAS) edged out Aaron Judge (TOR) for the MVP Award
Closer Jason Adam (MAI) won the Cy Young Award as well as the Rolaids Relief Award
Luis Arreaz (PIT) had one of the highest batting averages in the computer only era (2008 through this season). His .353 average was only bested by four others batters
Rafael Devers (PIT) edged Judge for the most RBIs, 63 to 62.
On the pitching side, Dylan Cease (WIC) led all hurlers with 11 wins. He also topped everyone with 150 strikeouts. Only Jose Urquidy (MAI), Martin Perez (MAI) and Alek Manoah (MTL) earned 10 wins. Manoah won the ERA Crown, delivering the second lowest ERA in the league since 2008
The Grizzlies had another top pitcher as well, as Emmanuel Clase led the league with 22 saves.
WHAT'S THE 411? MONSTER GAME ON 4/11/2022
Seth Brown (MTP) put up a truly legendary game early in the year against Boston. The Train Wreck rolled to a 24-2 victory, setting the following season highs in the process....
Most runs in one game (MTP wth 24)
Most combined runs in one game (MTP and BOS with 26 total runs)
Most hits by one batter in one game - Seth Brown with 6
Most homers in one game - Seth Brown with 3
Most RBIs in one game - Vlad Guerrero Jr. with 7 (tied by MIC's Oscar Gonzalez)
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| Box score from the crazy MTP - BOS game, Seth Brown with the video game stat line of 6-6-6-6 |
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| Seth Brown with a game for the ages. Six for six, six runs, six RBIs, and three HRs!!! He had more than 10% of his hits for the whole season in the one game (ended up with 59 hits for the year) |
Game One proved to be a nail-biter, every bit living up to the hype of a series starter between the teams with the two best regular season records. A packed house at Lowe's LumberDome in Augusta, Maine watched as Martin Perez and Triston McKenzie battled through seven scoreless innings. Perez was able to retire the Train Wreck in order in the top of the eight, setting the stage for McKenzie to match him in the bottom of the frame. Match him he did for two outs, when the weak hitting Isaac Paredes (.126 regular season average) stepped up with two down and nobody on. He rolled a 4-3, flyball RFX. Josh Naylor, he of the 4e6, gave chase into the right field gap. Naylor unwisely tried to keep the ball from falling for any kind of hit, and rather than playing it safely on one-hop for a single, he unnecessarily dove for the ball. It hit the ground just in front of him, then caromed off his leg, and into the straightaway center field. Centerfield Mike Trout had rushed over to back up the play, but the ball bounced behind him. Trout, running full bore. tried to stop his momentum and turn back for the ball, but instead comically skidded and did the splits. As Naylor got up to retrieve the ball, still rolling away from him, Parades was nearing second base with a full head of steam. Naylor finally ran down the ball in center (he and Trout arrived there at the same moment). The crowd roared as third base coach Jose Bautista waived his arm furiously in a circular motion. Parades stormed for home. Naylor's throw was accurate, but late. The Loggers led 1-0. Cy Young winner Jason Adam came on for a 1-2-3 ninth, and the Loggers had escaped with a win.
Game Two would be no pitcher's duel. Shane McClanahan for MTP and Jose Urquidy for Maine had outstanding regular seasons. But neither one had "it" in this game. The game was tied 4-4, going to the bottom of five, with both starters slogging along, still in the game. A leadoff walk to DJ Lemahieu brought up the very bad man, Adolis Garcia. Garcia continued his playoff heroism by launching a 2-run shot into the MTP bullpen, where Seth Martinez was warming up. The ball descended straight into the glove of Martinez, who then took the same ball straight to the mound with him when he was immediately summoned by his manager to replace McClanahan (MLB rules do not allow this, but the move went unnoticed by umpires). Holding a 6-5 lead entering the top of 8, manager Kirk Gibson said "my team is on the floor!", and unwisely sent Urquidy back out to try and hold down the fort. After getting an out, the next two men reached on a single and a double, bringing Gibson sprinting out to call for Jason Adam yet again. This time, Adam could not hold seal it with those men already on base. A pinch-hit 2-run single from Amed Rosario gave MTP a 7-6 lead. From there, Jordan Romano was called upon to deliver a 2-inning save. He slammed the door shut, and the series was tied 1-1 heading to mid-Michigan.
Mid-season trade acquisition Johnny Cueto was called on for MTP to face Joe Ryan for Maine, who had been riddled with gopher-ball-itis in the regular season, surrendering 17 homers in just 88 innings. The Loggers jumped all over Cueto for three runs in the top of the first. Vlad Guerro Jr got The Mount on the board with a 2-run homer in the 3rd, cutting it to 3-2. The Loggers scratched out a run in the 5th, but the goat of Game 1, Josh Naylor, homered in the sixth to cut it back to a one-run game 4-3. The Loggers then went to the best bullpen in the league from there. In order, Jose Quijada, Yimi Garcia, and finally Jason Adam, each pitched a 1-2-3 inning, and the Loggers were in business, up 2 games to 1.
Prior to Game 4, both managers agreed that that game would likely decide the series. Maine sent out second round pick Luis Castillo to do his stuff, while MTP countered with their own super-hero, Noah Syndergaar, aka Thor. Thor got the better of it, as MTP held a 3-1 lead heading to the 8th inning. The Loggers' Adolis Garcia singled with one out off of MTP's Jovani Moran. Then with two down, the light hitting Gio Urshella (6 HR's in 274 regular season AB's) belted an unlikely game-tying HR. In the bottom of the ninth, with the score tied, Carlos Corea made a bid to win it for MTP, getting a HR 1-6, flyout 7-20 roll. A 16 came up, and the game went to extra innings, tied at 3. In the top of the tenth, Adolis Garcia came up yet again in a key situation (a recurring instance throughout the playoffs). And again, he did not disappoint, destroying a 3-2 change-up from Kevin Gausman into the left-field 3rd deck, for a 5-3 Maine lead. Jason Adam came on for the bottom of the 10th, He surrendered a single, but no more, and the Loggers were a win away.
Game Five was a rematch of the pitchers who dueled scorelessly into the 8th in Game 1. Neither pitcher made it past four innings this time, as both managers sensed the urgency and went to their bullpens early and often. With the Loggers just four outs from a series-clinching win, leading 2-1 in the 8th, Jose Quijada was attempting to get it to Jason Adam for the ninth. But Amed Rosario had other ideas, hitting a laser into the right field bleachers to tie the game at 2, and send the Mount Pleasant fans into hysteria, and Maine owner Steve Willnus into a very dark place in the deep recesses of one Mount Pleasant's skyboxes. In the top of the ninth, Kendall Graveman was trying to get his team safely into the bottom of the inning, and had easily retired the first two men, when his manager came to the mound for a conference. Adolis Garcia was strolling to the plate with two out and nobody on, after having torched Graveman for the winning homer in the previous game. Graveman wanted revenge. His manager was having none of it, however, ordering a two-out walk, with nobody on base, in a tie game. Not since Barry Bonds had we seen such a strategy. Graveman did as instructed. Then Garcia (25 SB real life) took off for second base and made it easily. Elvis Andrus was at the plate, an aging veteran, in perhaps his final Friendship League season. Andrus had been the subject of a draft-day dispute long, long ago. And here he was, with the weight of a franchise on his shoulders. For the second time in the series, a fly ball was about to decide a game. This time, it was headed to LF, where Amed Rosario - a hero an inning prior - was staring into the lights, trying to find the ball. Rosario, not an accomplished fielder (4 e25) couldn't find the ball in time, and it dropped in for a single, scoring Garcia, and bringing Steve Willnus back from the shadowy corner. Jason Adam was called on for the bottom of the 9th, and he was not at his finest, walking two. But with the game on the line, he whiffed the final batter, and the Loggers had finally laid to rest their demons of the past 27 years.
Bangor and Augusta Maine police were both better prepared than they were after the Boston series, and only three fires were reported, as drunk fans mostly climbed telephone poles and sang "Logggggggger-Maaaania" and assorted 80's rock songs, deep into the night. Jason Adam was named MVP yet again, after saving all four wins. Kirk Gibson retired following the game, saying he always wanted to go out like Al Maguire did at Marquette. With management's blessing, he handed the reigns over to Jose Bautista to carry the torch forward as Maine Manager for the 2023 season. Long live the Loggers.
Permission to come aboard: R. Refsnyder, S. Espinal, L. Rengifo, J. Altuve, T. Hernandez, A. Santander, M. Maldonado, J. LeClerc, J. Verlander, M. King, J. Springs, E. Swanson, J. Montgomery, G. Cole, C. Bassitt, K. Gibson and J. Means.
Yu Darvish: Dillon Tate.
Walking the plank: L. Gurriel NC, J. Choi NC, J. Bradley Jr, M. Stassi NC, C. Pache NC, A. Velazquez, R. Thompson, R. Montero, B. Burke, R. Hill NC, L. Hendricks NC, and C. Archer NC.
In what looks to be a great matchup on paper, the Leyland Division winning Wichita Bandits travel to the Mount Pleasant Train Wreck, winners of the Ausmus Division. Wichita led the regular season in batting average, on-base percentage, and steals while Mount Pleasant easily led the league in home runs and slugging. Both pitching staffs features heavy hitting aces and deep bullpens.
Game 1 – Wichita starts out with Cy Young runner-up Dylan
Cease to face Mount Pleasant’s top left handed pitcher Shane McClanahan. McClanahan
was the first to flinch in the sixth inning, serving up a meatball for Luis
Robert to gobble up for a home run, giving Wichita a 2-0 lead. Mount Pleasant
turned to the bullpen to get them out of the inning but that lead felt
insurmountable with Cease living up to his billing. A late pinch-slugger solo HR by Matt Carpenter
made it closer than it looked, as Wichita immediately steals home field
advantage with a 2-1 final score. WICHITA 1-0
Game 2 – The next night pitted Wichita’s Logan Gilbert
against Mount Pleasant’s trade deadline acquisition Joey Cueto. Again, nobody
can stroke their wood to locate the ball until Eugenio Suarez erects a towering
2-run bomb, giving Mount Pleasant a pair and a 2-0 lead. The Bandits respond
with a Matt Champman RBI single to shrink the lead by one, but the Train Wreck
respond by scorin two more on a single and an error. Cueto, after a strong 6.2
innings and 7 strikeouts, gave way to a strong bullpen who locked in the 4-1
score and tying the series. Amed Rosario went 4-4. TIED 1-1
Game 3 – Looking to change the temperature of their offense,
the series heads to Wichita. Mount Pleasant showcased their top pitcher, Triston
McKenzie, while Wichita featured Ross Stripling, who did boast the lowest ERA
on a strong rotation. Wichita attacked McKenzie early, including a 2-run blast
from Tim Anderson. Stripling held down the fort, tossing 7 innings, 1 run, and
7 strikeouts. JP Crawford and Yordan Alvarez each hit a home run late to enter
the 9th inning with a 5-1 lead. Mount Pleasant eventually showed some fight,
scoring a run on an error before setting the scene for Seth Brown, previously
waived by Wichita before the start of this season, to step to plate down three
runs with runners on first and second base. Brown, thus far 0-10 in the series,
had a chance to become the hero for Mount Pleasant against the very team who
dumped him. With the Matt Stafford-Jared Goff parallels floating in his brain, Brown
stared down closer Jimmy Herget and took a MIGHTY rip on a fastball, casually grounding
out to second base, ending the game and giving Wichita a 2-1 series lead. WICHITA
2-1
Game 4 – The fourth game of any series is inherently critical in determining the outcome. Your ace is still sore from game 1 and your bullpen is being stretched thin, eyeing that off day after tomorrow. It’s here the teams have to reach deep into the stable and ride a workhorse into the second half of a game, do or die. Both Mount Pleasant and Wichita did just that, trotting out Lucas Giolito and Sonny Gray, respectively. Vlad Guerrero Jr. finally flexed some power, knocking a solo home run out of the ring. Yordan Alveraz tied it back up but in the 4th inning a Eugenio Suarez home run attributed to four runs galloping across home plate. Giolito checked out of a 5-2 game after 7 innings and 9 strikeouts. Just as Wichita started to climb back, Guerrero Jr. kept on flexing, and guaranteed the series to return to Mount Pleasant with a two run home run in the 9th, allowing Jovani Moran to secure the final outs in an 8-4 victory. TIED 2-2
The Game 5 Porn 'Stache Showdown
Game 6 – With their back against the wall, Wichita turned to
clean-faced Logan Gilbert while Mount Pleasant welcomed back Johnny Cueto. With
everything on the line, Yordan Alverez found an opportunity to smash his fourth
home run of the series, jumping out to an early 2-0 start. But Mount Pleasant answered
immediately with another Mike Trout 2-run homerun, tying game. Cueto settled
in, putting Wichita away 1-2-3. And then the Mount Pleasant offense found its
groove; Suarez single, Brown double, Rutschman walk, Correa sac fly RBI, Guerrero
Jr. walk, Carpenter double, and ANOTHER Mike Trout home run to cap off a six
run inning. Mount Pleasant would tack on two more in the third inning, suddenly
forcing Wichita to zoom out and look at their season in the hands of a 10-2 deficit.
Yet they didn’t give up. A Chapman homer, Robert RBI single, and Kwan RBI
double in the fourth cut the lead to just four. An Alvarez 2-run homer in the
fifth renewed the game entirely. In the eighth inning, Chapman blasted another
home run to nearly erase the massive lead, flashing a 10-9 score on the board.
Mount Pleasant subbed in stud reliever Felix Bautista to attempt the four out
save. After the heart of Mount Pleasant’s order went down 1-2-3 in the bottom
of the eighth, Bautista steps back onto the mound with a chance to go to the
championship. He starts by fanning Kwan. Crawford makes good contact but the
ball dies in the outfield for out two. Finally, Sean Murphy, with the season on
the line, whiffs on strike three to end the series! MOUNT PLESANT WINS 4-2
Mount Pleasant will move on to face Maine for a chance at
their first championship. Wichita had a great season and Yordan Alvarez nearly
won the series on his own. He batted an incredible 8-21 with 5 home runs, 8
RBIs and a comical 1.190% Slugging. Wichita’s offense couldn’t muster help
elsewhere, Tim Anderson being the next best bat going 8-23 with one homer and
three RBIs. Anthony Rizzo left a massive hole in the Wichita offense, registering
a decent 5-19 but with next to no power - hitting four singles and just one
double. Steven Kwan, Adam Frazier, and Sean Murphy combined to go 6-58.
The pitching for Wichita was a bastion early in the series,
seeing Cease, Gilbert and Stripling mute the high-powered Mount Pleasant
offense but they collapsed in the second half. Eli Morgan was the workhorse for
their bullpen, pitching 8 innings, striking out 14, and allowing just one run.
Four other Bandits who pitched relief in the series allowed no runs but by the
time they entered the game, they were trying to put out the fires their
starters set.
On the other end of the box score, Mount Pleasant got a very
balance contribution down the lineup. Four different players had multiple home
runs in the series, led by Mike Trout’s three home runs and leading 6 RBIs. Suarez,
the second first round pick for Mount Pleasant in the draft this year, drove
home 7 RBIs, going 7-20 with two homers and two doubles, making his case for
Series MVP. Finally Matt Carpenter was absurdly efficient, batting 4-8 with two
home runs, a double, two walks, and 6 RBIs.
Mount Pleasant’s pitching was the star, lead by series MVP
Shane McClanahan. His two starts across 13.2 innings yielded 18 strikeouts and
really beat down Wichita’s heavy left handed trio of Kwan, Alvarez, and Rizzo,
holding them to 3-10 with six strikeouts. His 8 inning start in game 5 both won
the game and rested the entire bullpen to be unleashed in the clinching game 6.
The 8th and 9th inning combo of Felix Bautista and Jordan Romano partnered for
5.2 innings, 8 strikeouts, 1 earned run, and 3 saves.
With that, Mount Pleasant will head to Loggers of Maine for a showdown of the top two teams this season. Stay posted for tickets to that series as we will be planning a day to play in person and crown a champion to end the season.
The much-maligned Maine Logger franchise has been waiting for a World Series winner since 1994, but they had put themselves in good position by clinching home field with the league's best record. Now, the fans were frothing at the mouth as the much more famous and successful franchise directly to their south was having to travel to the Lowe's Lumber Dome for the first two games. But these weren't your daddy's Boston Bobcats. There was no Alex Rodriguez or David Ortiz to throw fear into the opponent. Managerial brothers, Steve and Andy Willnus, good friends in real life, would have to set aside that friendship for this week.
Game One was over before fans could even get settled in. Boston went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, and anticipation was in the air as the Loggers came to bat in the bottom of one against Luis Severino. Maine had the worst team batting average in the league (.223), but had drawn the most walks of any team. That patience paid off immediately, as both Aaron Hicks and DJ Lemahieu walked to start the frame. Up stepped part-timer Kerry Carpenter, and he wasted little time, lacing the first pitch he saw in his playoff career off the right field wall for a double. Up stepped the man who was involved in the trade that sent Tyler Glasnow to Boston in exchange for the last pick of the first round in 2022 - the Loggers used that pick to select stud RF Adolis Garcia. And Garcia sent the Maine fans into an absolute frenzy by launching a 3-run monster blast to left that even bat-flipping Jose Bautista would have been proud of. With two down, light hitting Gio Urshella got himself a fastball down Broadway and did not miss it, homering to increase the advantage to 5-0. Boston managed to respond, with three runs in the top of the second including a two-run shot by Drew Waters. Then, it was the Martin Perez show. Perez has shuttled between countless Friendship League teams over the years, but found a home in Maine, winning 10 games this year. He was more than ready for his moment on the big stage - he shut down Boston for the next six scoreless innings. And then with the score still 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, here came that bad man to the plate again. Adolis Garcia launched a second three-run homer into the Maine night sky, causing the local college in Bangor, Maine to register a small earthquake of 2.7 on the Richter Scale. Maine wins 8-3. Garcia goes 3-4 with 2 HR's and 6 RBI.
Game Two started almost exactly the same way. Boston went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, and the fireworks were launching from the digitized scoreboard in left-center in the bottom of the inning. This time it was 2023 first-round pick Gunnar Henderson doing the damage, launching a 2-run shot to the give the Loggers the lead. DJ Lemahieu, a trade acquisition three years ago, got into the fray, hitting a homer of his own in the third inning to give Maine a 3-0 lead. With the man who finished third in the Cy Young voting on the mound, Maine was in control. Jose Urquidy went eight strong innings, allowing one run on five hits , before handing the ball to Cy Young winner Jason Adam for the ninth. Adam had a scare. With two down and a runner on first, Ty France made a bid to tie the game, with a HR 1-5, Flyout 6-20. With his back to the left field wall, Akil Baddoo watched the ball descend safely into his glove (a 16 on the split die) for the final out, and a 3-1 win.
The scene shifted to Boston, where surprisingly, the Bobcats had gone just 20-21 in the regular season. With the speakers blaring the saucy, racy "Bobcats" theme song, Boston fans were in a partying mood, ready to watch their team get back into the series. Inexperienced Joe Ryan took the mound for Maine in his first playoff appearance. Ty France, who had just missed the game tying homer for Boston in Game 2, was still flexing for Boston, homering in the fifth and seventh innings off of Ryan. The Loggers had some flexing of their own going on, as ROY candidate Gunnar Henderson homered again. But the big blow came from the often-maligned Isaac Paredes. Parades, acquired in this year's draft, had had a dreadful first season in Maine, hitting just .126 while playing in 78 games. Manager Kirk Gibsom, with few other options at first base, kept trotting him out there, hoping for the best. Well, apparently he was saving his best for this day, launching a 2-run game-changing blast over the green monster in left. Jason Adam saved the game in the 9th again, with the Loggers winning 4-2.
In Game Four, the Boston Bobcats did their best Philadelphia Eagles impersonation, and decided to just mail in the season. In what was a series-long theme, the Loggers jumped out to an early lead in the first, on yet another homerun from Gunnar Henderson. Gio Urshella got into the act in the second with a three-run shot, and the Loggers jumped on Aaron Civale for 7 runs in the first two innings. Second-round pick Luis Castillo fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings, and the Loggers pounded out 14 hits, leaving little doubt, winning 12-0.
Bangor, Maine saw heavy damage from partying fans, who set fire to two police cars and Howard's Furniture on Elm Street. Series MVP honors went to rookie Gunnar Henderson, who went 5-9 (.555) with three homers, and 7 RBI. Of note: Henderson only had ONE homerun in 72 AB in the regular season. The Loggers now await the winner of the Wichita - Mount Pleasant series. Mount Pleasant was the only team to register a winning record this year against Maine, going 4-2.
