And, against all odds, the underdog Detroit Falcons, who for almost their entire existence have languished in the second division, are just a single win away from capturing their first WPK championship, in their very first trip to the post-season.
Chicago starter Mike Fritzsche, who was 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA in the regular season and who last postseason was 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA in his two starts, has been having a disastrous 1986 post-season. Fritzsche allowed 6 runs on 8 hits, and most tellingly 6 walks, in his 5 1/3rd innings pitched and now is 0-2 with a 14.14 ERA, having been demolished by Jacksonville in Game 4 of the SJL League Championship Series. In that series, Chicago was up 3 game to none going into Game 4 so the Fire were able to recover. But this time they find themselves now down 3 games to 1 and with one more game to be played in the motor city and things are looking very dire for the reigning champs.
The Detroit Falcons got a surprising star turn from 30 year old lefthander Terry Dubiel (a former Denver Brewer), who scattered 9 hits over 7 innings pitched, allowing just 3 runs to the Fire. And veteran first baseman Bryant Polley, who hit a career-high 22 homers during the regular season, hit his 4th bomb of this post-season to help lead the Detroit offense.