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April 6 – Game 5
Once again, its cloudy and hot in the Western plateau as Pulberry and Sherburn play the rubber match after the Tigers tied up the Series in Game 4.
Pulberry returns to their ace, LHP
Bart Ohara (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.1 IP, 136 PI) in an attempt to get back in the win column. The Tigers counter with their own ace, RHP
Jesús Chapa (0-1, 1.17 ERA, 7.2 IP, 116 PI), who took a tough loss in Game 1.
Top of the 1st:
Ellis Dibble jumps on the first pitch of the game and pummels it hard toward the gap in right centerfield. RF Albert Sulley sprints after it but it falls in and bounces off the wall. Dibble races around second and slides hard into third, beating out the throw for a lead-off triple. Jesús Chapa gets two quick outs, but Cooper Tyson belts a 1-0 fastball to leftfield. Dibble comes into score as it falls in for a base hit.
Pulberry 1 – Sherburn 0
Top of the 5th:
Joe Riding rips one hard up the middle and into centerfield for a lead-off base hit. After four failed pick-off attempts, Riding breaks for second as Francis Jones drives a full-count grounder to the right side. 2B Vic Lewis dives for it but can’t find the grip and doesn’t risk the throw as Jones reaches safely on an infield single as Riding moves up to second. Sean Abercrombie then smashes an 0-2 fastball to deep centerfield. CF Leon Albrecht reaches for it but is sails past him and bangs off the wall. Riding scores while Jones moves up to third. Abercrombie comes through with an RBI double.
With one out and Ellis Dibble up to bat, Jesús Chapa unleashes a wild pitch. C Robert Kersey pivots and chases after it as Jones comes home and Abercrombie moves up to third.
Dibble then launches and 1-0 slider out toward deep center. CF Leon Albrecht tracks it down, but Abercrombie tags up and scores Pulberry’s fourth run of the game without a throw.
Pulberry 4 – Sherburn 0
Bottom of the 5th:
Robert Kersey unloads on Bart Ohara’s first pitch, sending it opposite field into deep leftfield. LF Aidan Thirkettle chases after it, but it bangs off the wall as Kersey accelerates around second. Kersey slides into third safely, beating out the throw for a lead-off triple. After Ross Shewman strikes out swinging, Albert Sulley launches one into dead centerfield. CF Cooper Tyson back peddles and hauls it in. Kersey tags up at third and scores without a throw to get Sherburn on the board.
Pulberry 4 – Sherburn 1
Bottom of the 9th:
Jay Durham leads off and scorches Bart Ohara’s first pitch out toward the left side. 3B Francis Jones lays out and knocks it down. He throws it to first but its off the mark. Durham reaches safely on the error. Bart Ohara is then relieved by RHP Quintiliano Galeo.
But Robert Kersey smacks a 1-0 slider down the line into deep leftfield. LF Aidan Thirkettle sprints back but it carries all the way into the corner. Thirkettle spins and whips it to second but Kersey cruises in with a stand-up double as Durham takes third. PH Carlos Cuevas battles Galeo to a full count before smacking a grounder into rightfield for a base hit as Durham scores on the play and Kersey moves up to third.
Albert Sulley hits a hard grounder to the right side. 2B Wade Billyard pounces on it and flips to second to get Cuevas and then on to first as they nail Sulley for the double play. However, Kersey comes into score on the play to get Sherburn to within one.
PH Brendan Blowers then draws a walk to put the tying run on base. But PH Quincy Woolescroft strikes out looking to end the threat. The Trolleys hang on to win to retake the lead as the Series heads back to Pulberry.
FINAL: Pulberry 4 – Sherburn 3
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April 8 – Game 6
The Series shifts back to the south-west coast and Trolleys Stadium, where the skies are partly cloudy and warm with Pulberry just one win away from winning the Series.
RHP
Taylor Folkard (0-0, 4.91 ERA, 7.1 IP, 106 PI) looks to clinch the Pennant for Pulberry. Meanwhile, RHP
Kieran Bunce (0-0, 2.57 ERA, 7.0 IP, 112 PI) is called upon by Sherburn to try and extend the Series.
Top of the 2nd:
Taylor Folkard runs into some trouble in the 2nd. Robert Kersey absolutely crushes a 1-1 fastball to deep right center. RF Joe Riding races for it but it sails 446 ft. into the stands for a lead-off home run. Folkard then hits Dwayne Vick, who takes first base.
Albert Sulley drives a fastball back up the middle into centerfield for a base hit. Vick swings around second and pulls up into third to put runners on the corners. Ross Shewman grounds one to the right side. 1B Ellis Dibble scoops it up and throws out Sulley at second but SS Sean Abercrombie is unable to complete the double play as Vick comes into score Sherburn’s second run.
Sherburn 2 - Pulberry 0
Bottom of the 2nd:
Paul England gets a run back when he pounces on a 1-2 curveball, sending it 400 ft. into the leftfield bleachers for a
lead-off home run.
Sherburn 2 - Pulberry 1
Bottom of the 4th:
Lighting strikes again as Paul England leads-off and jumps on Kieran Bunce’s first offering, sending it 460 ft. into the centerfield stands for a solo home run to tie the game.
Sherburn 2 - Pulberry 2
Top of the 6th:
Robert Kersey drives a 3-1 slider back up the middle into centerfield for a lead-off base hit. Dwayne Vick draws a walk as Kersey takes second. After Albert Sulley advances the runners on a sac bunt back to the pitcher, PH Carlos Cuevas hits a grounder to the right side. 2B Yoshima Sekozawa snags it and throws home to cut down Kersey. Cuevas reaches first base safely on the play as Vick moves up to third.
But PH Brendan Blowers leaps on a 0-1 fastball from Folkard and crushes it into deep right center. CF Cooper Tyson races back to the wall and leaps but it just clears the wall for a 442 ft.
3-run home run, giving the lead back to Sherburn.
Sherburn 5 - Pulberry 2
Bottom of the 6th:
Francis Jones leads off and lines a 1-1 slider into centerfield for a base hit. Although Kieran Bunce gets the next two batters out, manager Lee Ayling elects to bring in LHP Shane Gledhill to relieve.
But Gledhill immediately walks Ellis Dibble as Jones moves up to second. Yoshima Sekozawa then laces an 0-2 fastball past the mound and into centerfield. As CF Leon Albrecht fields it, Jones races around third and heads for home. The relay is off target as Jones slides home safely on Sekozawa’s RBI single.
Sherburn 5 - Pulberry 3
Bottom of the 8th:
With one out, Ellis Dibble sends a 2-1 fastball soaring out to left centerfield. LF Carlos Cuevas chases after it but the ball reaches the wall on a bounce as Dibble heads for third. Cuevas whips the long throw but Dibble slides in safely for a triple.
Yoshima Sekozawa then sends a towering fly ball to dead centerfield. CF Leon Albrecht hauls it in, but Dibble tags up and scores without a throw as the Trolleys get to within one.
Sherburn 5 - Pulberry 4
Bottom of the 9th:
LHP Shane Gledhill remains in the game. PH Nicky Fernyhough battles Gledhill to a full count but lines one straight to 2B Jack Burt for the first out. Paul England then pops one up to the left side as SS Dwayne Vick pulls it down for out number two. Gledhill then gets Ángelo Ríos to strike out looking to end the game. Sherburn ties the Series up at 3 games apiece to force a Game 7.
FINAL: Sherburn 5 - Pulberry 4
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April 9 – Game 7
The weather will not be a factor as a packed Trolleys Stadium is set to watch the two Western League combatants square off in the winner-take-all Game 7.
Pulberry’s LHP
Dermott Rathbone (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 106 PI) looks to bounce back from a rough Game 3 outing, while Sherburn prevails upon RHP
Paul Woodruff (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 127 PI), who was sensational in blanking the Trolleys in that same game.
Top of the 3rd:
Albert Sulley battles Rathbone for nine pitches before drawing a lead-off walk. Vic Lewis then lofts one over the head of SS Sean Abercrombie and into short centerfield for a base hit as Sulley takes second. With Paul Woodruff at the plate, Dermott Rathbone uncorks a wild pitch where it skips toward the on-deck circle. The runners advance without a throw. After Woodruff strikes out swinging, Leon Albrecht draws a walk to load the bases. Dwayne Vick then raps a grounder to the left side. SS Sean Abercrombie scoops it up cleanly and rifles it home to cut down Sulley. But Vick reaches first safely to keep the bases loaded with two out.
Adrian Flynn then slashes Dermott’s first pitch to opposite field, down the rightfield line. RF Joe Riding hustles over but cannot get there in time as it bounces into the corner. Lewis comes into score with Albrecht hot on his heels. Vick moves up to third and races home without a throw as Flynn pulls up into second for a bases-clearing double.
Sherburn 3 - Pulberry 0
Top of the 7th:
Vic Lewis leads off and walks on four-straight pitches. After Paul Woodruff strikes out swinging, Leon Albrecht slices one to the opposite field down the leftfield line that just stays fair. Lewis takes third on the play while Albrecht easily beats LF Aidan Thirkettle’s throw for a stand-up double. Dwayne Vick then jumps on Rathbone’s first pitch and sends a hot grounder past a drawn-in infield and into centerfield. Lewis crosses the plate while Albrecht takes third. Albrecht heads for home and just beats out the tag from C Paul England as Vick takes second on his two-run single. That ends Dermott Rathbone’s day as RHP Damon Pinney comes on in relief.
Sherburn 5 - Pulberry 0
Bottom of the 9th:
RHP Paul Woodruff stays on in the 9th to try and finish out the Trolleys. But Cooper Tyson pounces on a 2-1 changeup and smacks it hard toward deep rightfield. RF Albert Sulley races to the warning track and leaps but it sails over his head 392 ft. into the bleachers for a
lead-off home run as the Trolleys finally get on the board. Paul England then works the count full before drawing a walk.
Joe Riding launches a 1-1 pitch out toward deep rightfield. But RF Albert Sulley is right there to haul it in. Francis Jones then hits a slow bouncer back to the pitcher. Woodruff scoops it up and throws it to 2B Vic Lewis to cut down England at second. But England breaks up the potential twin-kill with a hard slide as Jones reaches first.
Sean Abercrombie then lifts Woodruff’s first offering out to shallow leftfield. LF Ross Shewman bears down on it while waving off CF Leon Albrecht and pulls it in for the final out. The Sherburn Tigers close out the game and Series to win their
first Western League Pennant in franchise history!
FINAL: Sherburn 5 - Pulberry 1
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