September 17, 2016
Code:
Team W L Pct GB Stk
Elliott Springs 42 28 .600 - W2
Marsein 40 30 .571 2.0 W3
Deepvale 37 33 .529 5.0 W3
Silver Beach 36 34 .514 6.0 L2
Gentry Hills 33 37 .471 9.0 W1
Lorris 32 38 .457 10.0 L1
Tifton 32 38 .457 10.0 L3
Allison 28 42 .400 14.0 L3
League News
In the end, it worked out that it wasn't all that close. Even though Marsein went 8-1 to finish the season, the Elliott Springs Tornadoes weren't about to let their lead slip, going 7-2 to outlast even the hard-charging Knights. The Tornadoes whittled their magic number to 1 with 3 games remaining, but had to wait two more days to begin the celebration, as they dropped a 5-2 contest to Silver Beach, while Marsein took care of Allison by a 3-1 score. The next day, behind rookie phenom
Jamie Wilder, they downed the defending champs with a 5-run 8th inning that gave them a 6-2 win. Considering the Knights had also won earlier in the day, the end of the race was a relief. "They kept the pressure on us," said Elliott Springs manager
Lennox Herrion. "You have to give Marsein a ton of credit, but these kids... I don't know if they're too good or just too crazy to realize that pressure handcuffs normal people."
First baseman
Riyad Gomes laughed when his manager's quote was repeated to him. "I'm not going to say which it is, but I will say that it's incredible what these guys on this team did. These are some young players, but I'm in awe of how much talent they have. If this is the kind of athlete, the kind of person, the Bay League attracts, there's a great future in this game."
The Tornadoes did it on the backs of some exciting young players.
Jamie Wilder is the big name. The 21-year old went 15-2 with a 1.90 ERA, striking out well over a batter an inning and holding opponents to an anemic .185 average. He's hardly the only one, though. 24-year old second baseman
Mike Richardson hit a team-high .327 and slugged .457. Hot corner man
Hunter Land hit 11 homers and slugged .454.
Tim Bohm, the 20-year old left fielder, came up late in the season and contributed two solid months (OPSing .870 in August, .783 in September). Center fielder
Lannce Barber, just 21, whacked 9 homers and slugged an impressive .508.
Riyad Gomes is still the best player on the team (.293/.396/.552, 14 HR, 43 RBI), but at 30 years old, he's a relative graybeard on this squad. The Tornadoes really do look a lot like a force of nature.
You have to feel for the Marsein Knights, though. This is the second straight year they've fallen just short of the title, after losing to the Silver Beach Whales by one game in 2015.
Mario DeGray (.374/.465/.638, 16 HR) had another outstanding season, but a half-season from shortstop
Robbie Isenhour (.914 OPS in 2015) might have been the nail in the Knights' coffin. The Knights finished 2nd in the league in both runs scored and runs allowed, but their pitching staff is aging. Will they have enough to challenge the Tornadoes in 2017?
Many other questions abound as the 3rd Bay League season comes to a close:
* What happened to the Allison Spelunkers? Behind talents like
Kyle Richardson,
Walter Sebring and
Alton Strong, they were supposed to challenge for a title in 2016, but instead they sank into last place. Not only that, they set the league record for most losses.
* Will
Ace Gervin add the important piece of hardware to his impressive collection and lead his Ferrymen to a league title? Early on, it looked like this was the year, but
Roy Lockwood's collapse turned a three-headed lineup monster of Gervin, Lockwood and catcher
Johnny Wright into a shadow of itself.
* What can we expect to see from rookie sensation
Steven Underwood? He obliterated Bay League hurlers in his debut season (.389/.475/.681, 13 HR in 185 AB), and looks like the real deal, but we saw what happened to Allison's
Walter Sebring, who observers think has every bit the talent of Underwood, in his second season. Furthermore, will it even matter? It could be argued that his Generals are the worst team in the league, having won 32, 33 and now 32 games in their three seasons. Can one phenom turn around an entire sad franchise?
These questions and more will be answered as we go into 2017. Stay tuned for final league leaders and award winners!