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Game 4
One more win and arguably the most dominant team ever in the history of the MOBL will win another championship, without having lost a single game in the postseason. “We know how close we are, but it doesn’t mean much without actually winning that fourth game. They have nothing to lose and will come out trying to prove they aren’t just going to lay down,” Bells SS Telo Welter said The Bells send the young, but promising RHP Jose Guatarrez to the mound to try and seal the deal. He is being opposed by LHP Tommy Lafferty.

The Bells don’t waste much time in proving they want to win this series here and now as 2B Pedro Mateo takes Lafferty deep in the 1^st and gives them a 1-0 lead. Guatarrez starts off with some wildness, but, as usual, the Bells get out of it with a huge double play to preserve the lead. This continues to be the biggest problem the Terriers have – consistently not hitting with men on base, especially hitting into killer double plays.

3B Stan McQuistan was red hot after the ML Championship Series, but had been held in check a bit in this Cup Final. He hits a crushing homer to left in the 2^nd inning though and adds to his impressive postseason for this young superstar. “Stan’s got it all. He doesn’t have any holes really and is really starting to develop into that superstar role,” Bells manager Arlo Rojas said.

In the 4^th inning, the Bells get yet another solo homer, this time from SS Telo Welter. They then tack on another run with back-to-back hits from CF Jesus Rosalda and RF Isaiah Stroud. “It’s like they sensed blood in the water. We just didn’t have anything to counter what they were doing to us. It was impressive,” Terriers star LF Peter Northcutt said.

When you’re a pitcher and you’ve given up 44 home runs on the season, one expects to give up a couple per game. But with the way the Bells are doing it, tattooing tape measure shots, you know that Tommy Lafferty is not on his game. Welter hits another solo shot in the 6^th that is measured at a whopping 501 feet. Rosalda follows up with a 430 foot shot of his own, which chases Lafferty, who gave up 5 home runs in this game. The Bells now lead 6-0 and the feeling throughout the Canton dugout, stadium and city is that this series is over.

The Terriers get on the board, but the Bells add 4 more runs in the 9^th, including a 2-run double from Welter, as he’s been the star of this game, going 3-5 with 2 HR’s and 4 RBI’s. The Bells lead 10-1 going into the bottom of the 9^th and not many fans are there to see it. But the ones that are there are making lots of noise as they take the field as the Bells fans at the game are the only ones that seem to be left. A diving catch by LF Miguel Bermejo seals the 3^rd straight Gehringer-Sisler Cup for the Kalamazoo Bells!!! “We have something special here and I think every guy in this locker room knows it. I’m already looking forward to make it four in a row!” RHP Rickey Benson said amongst all the celebration. A grinning and wide-eyes Rojas, his first year as Bells manager, hugs the Cup all night and says to the reporters that “I’m not letting go of this until they pry it away from me.” So, the only team to ever win the Cup wins it again thanks to their pitching staff. Somehow, they keep finding the season vets that seem to have nothing left and they pitch brilliantly in the postseason. And the scary thought is that not only is a 4^th Cup possible, a 5^th and 6^th in a row are possible.

MVP’s – Kalamazoo Starting Pitchers (RHP Rickey Benson, LHP Elian Abilez, RHP Rich Nichols, RHP Jose Guatarrez) – 2-0, 1.17 ERA, 26 Hits, 22 K’s, 30.2 IP
In what can only be seen as a dominating performance by a pitching staff, the Bells’ starters were unbelievable in this series and all four of them deserve this award.
Unsung Hero – Kalamazoo SS Telo Welter – .333, .400 OBP, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB
Mr. Clutch comes through again in the postseason. He was a one-man wrecking crew in Game 4 and was the catalyst in Game 1. These are his postseason stats at this point in his career - .376, .455 OBP, 10 HR, 29 RBI, 4 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 16 SB’s in 29 Games! A more powerful Derek Jeter?
Goat – Canton C Tim Crase - .375, 2 2B’s, 1 3B, 0 RBI
Game 1, Bot 4^th, Crase Passed Ball, SS Telo Welter scores, Bells take a 2-1 lead
Game 2, Top 6^th, SS Truesdale and LF Northcutt on 2^nd and 1^st respectively, nobody out, Crase grounds into double play, score remains 0-0
Game 2, Top 10^th, SS Truesdale and LF Northcutt on 2^nd and 1^st respectively, nobody out, Crase grounds into double play, score remains 2-2
Game 3, Bot 4^th, SS Truesdale, LF Northcutt, 2B Harvis at 3^rd, 2^nd and 1^st respectively, one out, Crase pops up to the SS Welter, score remains 2-0 Bells

I know he batted pretty well in this series, but if he had come through in the crucial moments of these games, the series could be tied at 2 games apiece.
LVP (Least Valuable Player) – Canton 1B Bill McKinnon - .000, .000 OBP, 6 K’s
I’m going to cut him some slack because he just came back from the DL, but the big first baseman went 0-12 in this series and had some pretty key at bats where he couldn’t come through. This award could easily go to the entire Terrier lineup, which was pitiful in this series, especially in the clutch.

Congratulations to the Kalamazoo Bells - the 1942 Gehringer-Sisler Cup winners!!!