[Westheim]

2054 WORLD SERIES
Portland Raccoons (94-68) @ Sioux Falls Warriors (97-65)

These two teams had met in this town in August, when the Raccoons took two out of three games in a generally low-scoring series (hear, hear).

Game 1 – Jason Wheatley (14-10, 3.64 ERA) vs. David Concha (16-6, 3.28 ERA)

Neither of these two starters had appeared in that August series, but in any case the Warriors brought up the first of their two available left-handers. In fact, we could expect to face left-handers up to four times, since Montoya’s replacement, good old Jason Palladino, was not expected to appear more than once. So it was Concha twice, Shane Knox twice, and they had 30 wins between them, although Concha had been roughed up in the FLCS.

The Coons stuck to what had gotten them this far, except that Matt Waters replaced the valiant but mediocre Matt Knight at second base.

POR: 1B Crum – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – C Gowin – CF Puckeridge – 3B Venegas – 2B Waters – RF Cox – P Wheatley
SFW: CF Marroquin – 3B Moriel – LF M. Villa – C Samuel – 1B Schaack – RF Rodriquez – 2B DeFusco – SS R. Harris – P Concha

Lonzo and Brassfield reached base in the first inning, but were stranded with two groundouts by the 4-5 batters, and while Matt Cox hit a double to left in the second inning, he was left on base with a K to Wheatley. Lonzo and Brassfield were back on base in the third inning… but not together, as Lonzo reached on an infield single before being forced out by the rookie. Chris Gowin got drilled (as Lonzo had been in the first inning), and Pucks objected noisily, belting a 3-run homer to right-center that opened the scoring.

Meanwhile, I soon had my doubts as to whether Wheats was 100% or even 90%. He lacked stuff, and he occasionally missed the zone quite badly. He issued a walk in the second, third, and fourth innings, but the Warriors landed only one base hit and once hit into a double play, never gaining traction in the first half of the game. He didn’t strike out anybody, though, not even the pitcher Concha…

Jose Marroquin opened the bottom 6th with a single to center, which was only the second Warriors base knock off Wheatley and the sixth hit in the game. Julio Moriel and Mario Villa both grounded out, moving the runner to third base. Wheats was only on 59 pitches, but I *definitely* didn’t like how he looked on the hill. Nick Samuel was batting .154 in the playoffs, and was a right-hander, so Wheats would still see him, but if Samuel reached, it’d be curtains. It was curtains indeed – but for Samuel, who struck out, the first K for Wheats. He returned an inning later, gave up another leadoff single to the switch-blasting Schaack, but Tony Rodriquez, a really slow runner for an outfielder, hit into a fielder’s choice. Here we were, tip-clawing around an issue again. Mike DeFusco popped out, and Ryan Harris grounded out poorly in front of the plate, with a good zinger to first by Chris Gowin. Wheats retired Bobby Rivera to begin the eighth, but when Marroquin singled again, he was lifted for Lillis, who got Moriel, but not Villa, and on the 2-out single the Warriors occupied the corners. Kevin Hitchcock was called out, and got a grounder up the middle that Lonzo took to second base himself to end the inning.

The Raccoons never tacked on – or hit much of anything in the last four innings – and it was still 3-0 in the bottom 9th. The Raccoons stuck to Hitchcock for now, wary of left-handed pinch-hitter Matt Wartella (102 games, 97 at-bats) on the Warriors bench – but he would never appear in this game. Schaack grounded out, but Devin Tarver drew a walk off Hitchcock with one out. DeFusco grounded out. Harris, hitting .217 in the postseason, was up with two down, whiffed, and the Coons put the opener away.

Raccoons 3, Warriors 0 – Raccoons lead series 1-0

Puckeridge 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; Wheatley 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K, W (1-0); Hitchcock 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, SV (1);

That was one big wobble from start to finish, but a win is a win is a win, thanks to a 3-run homer by Zero Pucks Given!

Game 2 – He Shui (18-8, 2.48 ERA) vs. Shane Knox (14-11, 3.67 ERA)

Another game, another left-hander, as the Warriors would bring up Knox. Shui was going on regular rest and had been not stellar, but good in the CLCS, pitching to a 2.77 ERA. Knox, like Concha, had been roughed up in his sole start in the FLCS, but had won his game despite posting a 7.20 ERA.

These two pitchers had faced each other in the middle game of that August series, which the Raccoons won 5-3. Shui fell one out shy of a complete game, while Knox was knoxxed out in the fifth inning after having been dropped for five runs.

POR: 1B Crum – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – C Gowin – CF Puckeridge – 3B Venegas – 2B Waters – RF Cox – P Shui
SFW: CF Marroquin – 3B Moriel – LF M. Villa – C Samuel – 1B Schaack – RF Rodriquez – 2B DeFusco – SS R. Harris – P Knox

Shui stumbled out of the gate, conceding hits to Moriel and Villa, and a walk to Samuel, en route to having the bags full with one out in the bottom 1st. Schaack singled home a run, but Rodriquez rolled into a 4-6-3 double play to minimize the damage, and the Raccoons were on the corners to begin the top 2nd with hits by Pucks and Venegas. Matt Waters cleaned up the bases … by hitting into a double play, but at least he tied the ballgame…

Cox walked to clear the pitcher’s spot in the second inning, but Knox faced the minimum over the next three, walking Gowin before getting a double play grounder from Pucks. The Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the fourth, though, with Shui offering a 2-out walk to Rodriquez before surrendering a gapper in left-center to DeFusco for an RBI double, although the ball also sailed over the cut-off man there at some point, which allowed Rodriquez to score comfortably and DeFusco to reach third base, although Ryan Harris’ pop to second base ended the inning.

Ken Crum drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, but Lonzo flew out, and Brassfield missed on a hit-and-run call that saw Crum run, but not fast enough to not get thrown out at second base by Samuel. Brassfield doubled on the next pitch, but was then left stranded by Gowin. I gnashed my spiky teeth, which was something that really hurt the gums.

Seven at-bats removed from three-and-a-half months on the DL, Matt Waters CRUSHED a homer with two outs in the seventh inning to tie the score at two. The fiercest immediate answer to this was Knox doubling off Shui with two outs in the bottom 7th, but a K to Jose Marroquin ended the inning, and Shui’s day as well, given that his spot was leading off the eighth inning. Knight grounded out in his spot, but Crum dropped a single behind DeFusco to get the go-ahead run on base. Lonzo flew out. Brassfield grounded to short, but Harris threw the ball away, and the Raccoons got a pair into scoring position with two outs. Knox, slightly knocked up, remained on the hill. Gowin, going soft at .161 in October, wasn’t hit for either. The count ran full – and Gowin popped out to DeFusco.

Bottom 8th, and Sencion was brought out for the 2-3 hitters, but the Warriors batted Tarver for Moriel, only to pen a K into their scorecard. Instead, Villa singled to right, then was run for by Bobby Rivera. Still wary of a lefty answer if we went to a right-hander here, Sencion was left in the game and struck out Samuel. That brought up the .407 switch-rocketeer Schaack, and the Coons passed, preferring to draw up .125 Tony Rodriquez. The Warriors did NOT pinch-hit for him, and the Raccoons stuck to Sencion, but staged a mound conference. The count ran full – and Sencion missed badly on the 3-2 and walked the bags full. Now we needed somebody… Hitchcock was brought in to face DeFusco, fell behind, gave up a 2-run single, and the Raccoons lost the game. Ben Lussier retired the 5-6-7 in order in the ninth.

Warriors 4, Raccoons 2 – series tied 1-1

Too bad Matt Cox didn’t take the starter deep in this game, because I would loved – *loved* – to yell out “COX ROCKS KNOX!”

Also, you know, extra runs would have helped.