We'll get to other notes from the month, but the pennant races get their own issue here.
NORTHERN LEAGUE PENNANT RACES
We say Pennant Races, but really there was only one to cover as the Indianapolis Engines ran away and hid in the West, earning the second division title in franchise history – the other coming in 2012.
The real pressure was in the East, where as the month began four teams were within 5 games of each other.
By the time we reached September 15, the New York Heroes had overtaken the Boston Riders to inch a game ahead and Boston had been forced to deal with losing Steve Carlton for the rest of the regular season with back trouble. The Louisville Racers had fallen 5 ½ back and the Philadelphia Ringers had seen their hopes at a repeat division title abandon them, falling 8 games back.
Boston lost Steve Carlton to injury down the stretch
The Racers had taken the first two games of a 4-game set in New York. Joe Coleman the starter, acquired at the deadline, went 8 solid innings in the series opener. Joe Coleman the reliever - yes, the Racers have
both Joe Coleman's - got the win, after a Joe Jackson 10
th inning SAC Fly off Rick Sutcliffe broke a 7-7 tie.
Dick Allen then walloped a homer in the 10
th the next day off the virtually untouchable Tom Niedenfeur to give the Racers back-to-back extra inning wins.
But the Heroes took the final games of the set, riding a 2-homer game from Sam Wise to win Game 3 and a pinch-hit 8
th inning 2-run shot from Bill Hinchman off Eppa Rixey for a 3-2 win in the finale to keep Louisville from gaining any ground.
The Heroes then swept the Sacramento Stingers leading into their 4-game set with the Boston Riders, while Boston dropped 2 of 3 at home to Philadelphia, now relegated for all intents and purposes to the role of spoiler. Boston was shutout by Ed Walsh and Red Munger in the final two games of the series.
That week’s events made Boston’s taking 3 of 4 against New York a necessity for the Riders, and a disappointment but not a disaster for the Heroes, who still held a two-game lead at the series’ end.
Boston went on to drop 2 of 3 at Louisville, while New York took 2 of 3 in Philadelphia to give the Heroes a 3-game lead with four remaining.
Both New York and Boston won the openers of their series against Charlotte and Chicago, respectively. But on Sept. 27, behind a John Lackey 3-hitter and a 16-hit attack, the Heroes knocked off Charlotte 12-0, and in so doing clinched their first division title since 2014.
John Lackey clinched the division for New York
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PENNANT RACES
Like the Northern League, the West division was all taken care of. The Los Angeles Idols’ 25-4 run in August cinched the division, and the San Antonio Sheriffs’ hopes were eviscerated.
That left us in the East, where the four-team margin was 7 ½ instead of the 5 up North, but tight nonetheless.
The Alabama Airmen swept Oklahoma City and took 2 of 3 in Los Angeles to start the month, serving notice they were not about to relinquish their division lead without a fight. They had gained 3 games on the St. Louis Tides, opening their lead up to six games over St. Louis, which was battered in a 3-game sweep in Las Vegas by Lou Gehrig (8-for-14, 6 runs, 8 RBI) and Jackie Robinson (4-for-12, 3 runs, 5 RBI).
Jackie Robinson interrupted St. Louis' run at the division crown
But in that opening week, St. Louis had been leapfrogged by the young upstarts in Orlando, where the Orcas opened the month 6-2 to get within 4.
The Memphis Strummers, holding on to their longshot hopes, we done by mid-month, going 5-8 over the first two weeks to fall 10 games back with 3 teams to leap.
The St. Louis Tides swept Alabama in a 3-game set as part of a 5-game win streak that thrust them back into the forefront, as Orlando went cold at the same time, getting swept in Oklahoma City before dropping 3 of 4 at home against the Airmen.
With 7 games left, Alabama held a 2 game lead over St. Louis and a 5 game lead over Orlando.
Alabama got exactly what it wanted when Orlando took 2 of 3 against the visiting Tides, while the Airmen took 2 of 3 in New Orleans.
Orlando had run out of time despite an inspiring late-season surge. But the Tides hung tough and, when Orlando dropped the first two of their season-ending four game set hosting last place Arizona, the Tides responded by taking the first two in New Orleans to get within one.
On Sept. 28, the Tides fell 10-3 as Virgil Trucks was blasted for 7 runs and the Knights clubbed four homers, including two by Chad Tracy. The Tides then retreated to the TV set to watch Alabama host Arizona, where Kyle Lohse threw 8 innings of 3-run ball and Buddy Kerr picked up 3 hits as the Airmen knocked off Arizona 7-4 to eliminate the Tides and claim their first division title in franchise history.