2016 Federal League Divisional Playoff Series
Louisville Colonels (93-71) vs. San Francisco Seals (101-61)
GAME 4 @ Louisville: Bruno Maurin vs. Michael Bowles (11-10)
Key Moment: The game was scoreless in the top of the seventh. Bowles walked Chris Price with one out. Catcher Manuel Ortiz pulled a tailor-made double play ball right at Gillespie, but the Gold Glove third baseman couldn’t find the handle and everybody was safe. Bowles hit the next batter to load the bases. Salas flied deep to left field, allowing Price to tag up and score the only run of the game.
Final score: San Francisco 1, Louisville 0
San Francisco wins the series 3-1.
WP: Maurin, LP: Bowles, SV: Staten
HR: none
Star of the Game: Bruno Maurin (SF) 8.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 113p/67s
Other games:
Milwaukee 8, Salt Lake City 7 [12] (Milwaukee wins series 3-1)
New York 7, Atlanta 4 (Series is tied at 2)
Providence 3, Cleveland 2 (Providence wins series 3-1)
Providence scored 1 in the eighth and two in the ninth to pull off the upset over the heavily-favored Rockers. Cleveland was uncertain about bullpen roles all season and that may have cost them in the finale as sometimes-closer and all-star reliever Carlos Pereira (7-2, 2.82, 29 SV) never got into the game. Instead, Pepe Saldana (7-6, 1.97, 17 SV), an electric but inconsistent fire-baller, was charged with the blown save and the loss.
Organization News:
The last remaining coaching vacancy in Evansville was filled when 50-year-old Bill Edgar accepted a five-year contract at $450K to be the pitching coach for new manager Duncan Bland. Edgar is an outstanding pitching coach coming in from the college ranks, and he will be an excellent addition to our player development staff at this key level in the organization. He is highly paid for a Class A coach, but so is our manager. We think this relatively meager investment will pay big dividends down the road.
We still need to hire a pitching coach and a hitting coach for our Rookie League team.