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2040 Division Finals - Central Coast Thunder vs Hobart Prospects

2040 was only the 2nd time in the Prospects’ 20-year history that they had finished the regular season above .500. Not coincidentally, this was also the 2nd time they would play in the postseason. It was the 1st time they had won over 90 games, and the 1st time they had won their division.

They got there based on strong pitching. They had the 5th-best offense, but the 2nd-best defense. They only allowed 431 walks while striking out 1110, and conceding only 137HR.

The Thunder were also a strong pitching team, their defense 4th-best in the majors, their hitting only 9th-best.

What everybody was most excited about however, was that this season marked the 20-year anniversary for both teams, and both teams had made the postseason and would be playing each other. For the Thunder, this was their 1st trip through the playoff gates since the 2036 season. The Prospects’ sole appearance was back in 2031.

Game 1

The Thunder would trot out Richard Avery (14-9, 4.08 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.24 WHIP) to face 20-game winner Jayden Guthrie.

Trent Parsons got the scoring underway in the 2nd with a solo HR, and Haechen Lee hit another in the 3rd to make it 2-0. Angelo Brewster responded for Hobart with a solo effort of his own in the 4th to make it 2-1, and that was how the score remained until the 8th.

Guthrie retired the side in order, on 8 pitches, in the top of inning. Avery hit Raymond Scammell 1st up in the bottom of the inning to put the tying run on-base. Brewster singled, and both runners advanced a base on Connor Rowling’s ground out. Avery went to the showers, and reliever Vinnie Acheson walked Beau Trew to load the bases. Acheson got yanked, but replacement Jose Cruz gave up a single to pinch-hitter Oliver Martin, bringing Scammell home and tying the game up. David Ewin, also pinch-hitting, hit one to the warning track at leftfield. It was an out, but deep enough to score Brewster.

Suddenly Hobart were in the lead, and Backhouse had no dramas in the top of the 9th, retiring the side in order to save the game and see the Prospects win 3-2.

Hobart’s Calvin Garland was taken from the field injured in the 5th. No immediate diagnosis was forthcoming.

Game 2

While Guthrie had won 20 games, most analysts were of the opinion teammate 25 y/o Luke Bodkin was the better pitcher. Nicknamed ‘Puppet’ because at times it seemed as if he had the ball on a string, Bodkin was maturing into a master. He was 16-7 on the year, with a 2.60 ERA (best in the game), 3.09 FIP (also best in the league), and a 1.08 WHIP (4th best). His 189 Ks in 225.0 IP was good enough for 3rd most in the AUNZBL, and his 6.1 WAR was only behind Takeuchi.

Bodkin would face off against Stephen Snell (7-14, 4.50 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.27 WHIP).

The Thunder had a horror day in the field, making 5 errors, 3 of them to Haechen Lee. While Niccolo Ciaro had been included on the playoff roster, and was an excellent SS, apparently manager Vaughan Snijders wasn’t confident in the Italian’s ability to handle the pressure of playoff ball, so was playing Lee, a catcher and a catcher only, in the SS position.

Not that errors accounted for the Prospects’ opening barrage. Rookie Larry Quine led off the bottom of the 1st with a 432-foot solo HR over left centre. An out later, Brewster thumped another solo HR. Later in the inning, Rowling scored off the back of a Lee error. 3-0 Hobart. In the 5th, Brewster hit his 2nd HR of the night, a 2-run effort. Connor Rowling then reached off another Lee error, made 3rd after a terrible throw on a steal attempt and came home when the 2B bobbled a routine pickup. 6-0 Prospects. In the top of the 7th the Thunder finally got on the board, and Buffey hit a solo HR in the 8th. The Prospects scored again in the bottom of the inning, and the final score was 7-2 Hobart.

Bodkin came out of the game after only 3.1 IP, having thrown 89 pitches. He gave up 4 hits and 2 walks, but struck out 7. Caspar Greenway was awarded a save after he pitched the final 3 innings. Snell gave up 7 hits and a walk in 4 innings, K’ing nobody. 5 runs were scored off him, 4 of them earned.

Connor Rowling limped off in the 8th, but was diagnosed with only a mild hamstring strain. The off day would likely be enough to see him right. The news wasn’t so good for Calvin Garland. He had torn ligaments in his ankle and would miss the rest of the postseason.

Off Day

A host of contract extensions were announced this day, all surrounding players still under club control. The biggest announcement was the 3-year deal signed by Guthrie which would see him potentially remain a Prospect past the 1st year of his free agency eligibility.

Game 3

Logan Neilson (14-14, 3.96 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.18 WHIP) would take the mound for the Thunder, while former Central Coaster Bernie Limeburner (16-11, 3.17 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) would do so for the Prospects.

When asked how he thought fan reception would be, seeing as he was pitching against his old team in a playoff game, Limeburner said, “A lot of booing to begin with, which will gradually decline. By the time the 8th comes around and I’m still on the mound, I reckon it’ll be pretty silent.”

Rowling showed no ill effects from his hamstring strain, crushing his 1-0 pitch in the 1st 445 feet over straightaway centre to put the Prospects up 2-0 (driving in Brewster who had walked).

In the bottom of the inning, Ciaro (selected for this game, and all smiles at batting practice) led off with an infield single. He advanced to 2nd when Guo-liang Liang got plunked, and then was lead runner in a successful double steal attempt, finally scoring off an error by the SS. 2-1 Hobart.

Both teams’ offense dried up at that point, and no further runs were scored until the 8th. Limeburner’s pregame prediction was eerily accurate, the Thunder crowd barely uttering a boo when he strode out to the mound in the 8th. In the top of that inning, the Prospects manufactured a 2-out insurance run as Logan Neilson tired and walked Brewster and Rolling. Reliever Acheson came in, got a groundball but Buffey couldn’t make the flip to the pitcher covering his base and the bags were loaded. Troy Orpen walked, bringing Brewster home to make it 3-1, before Acheson induced a 1st-pitch popup to get out of the jam.

Limeburner retired the side in order in the 8th, and even got a smattering of applause when he left at inning’s end. Backhouse came out to throw the bottom of the 9th and immediately struck out Buffey. Unfortunately, the ball got past Brewster and Buffey made 1st. Perhaps that was on Backhouse’s mind, because he offered up 2 over-the-plate fastballs in a row to Jesus Galindo. Galindo missed the 1st one, but made no mistake on the 2nd, sending it into the leftfield upper deck to tie the game up!

Neither side scored in the 10th or 11th. In the top of the 12th, Scammell led off with a single. Brewster also singled. Scammell headed for 3rd and the throw from the rightfielder was way off target. Scammell scored and Brewster took 2nd. However, while the Prospects were able to load the bases, they couldn’t bring any more home, ending the inning up 4-3.

But that was enough. Brock Blondell had pitched a scoreless 11th, and did the same in the bottom of the 12th, ending the inning, and series, on 10 pitches. 4-3 Hobart and they were off to their 1st Championship dance!

Limeburner was excellent through 8, allowing only 6 hits. While he only struck out 1, the majority of the contact off him was weak. The 1 run scored off him was unearned. Neilson was also good, allowing 4 hits and 4 walks in 7.2 IP, striking out 6. 4 runs were scored off him, 3 of them earned.

Hurler of the Series went to Limeburner.

Slugger of the Series was awarded to Brewster, who went .455/.600/1.273, with 3HR and 4BB.