[PrinceofKirkland]

Post Season:
All along the west coast, excitement was brewing. Even if their team wasn’t playing, fans were thrilled that playoff baseball was back in America. On paper, the series was relatively one sided. Everyone from casual fans to Vegas seemed to be siding with the Seagulls. And that was before the injuries to two of the most talented Cannons (Ervin and Morales). However, Rafael Bautista, Oil Baron and owner of the Cannons went on Salt Lake City Radio the day before the series and claimed “My Cannons are going to win. I’m not going to promise you a win in 4 or 5. But I will tell you that the Cannons will be the champions of the league.” On the eve of game one, the media asked Seagull star pitcher Zane Davis what he thought about these comments. “They have seven chances to prove him right. That’s all I’m going to say about it.” Not many fans follow the oil business but the rivalry between these teams went beyond ball. Both owners were bitter rivals in Oil, and both personally went to each of there players and told them how important this championship was to them. Tensions were boiling and soon they would be on the big stage. It was time for Game one of the first ever New Frontier Baseball Association!

Game One:
Seagulls #2 pitcher Chung Cheng took the mound against Cannons “ace” Domingo Gutierrez. Cheng overachieved and had an incredible season with 3.01 ERA. Gutierrez could not fill the shoes of former Ace “Entertainer” Roberts after the Cannons shipped him to Portland and pitched to a 5.03 ERA.

Despite all expectations, the in the top of the second second inning, Salt Lake Journey man Ricardo Justavo hit a two-run shot off of Cheng to give the Cannons a two-run league. Until the fourth, Cannons fans were elated with Gutierrez. Felipe Cervantes hit a one out single. Then Gutierrez gave up a walk. Then another walk. With the bases juiced, deadline pickup Joe “Soupy” Howell strolled up to the plate and hit a two-run double. Another walk, bases juiced again. Joey Grimes, a Seagull hitter who hit .197 on the year broke the game open with a second double scoring two more. The fourth inning ended with the Seagulls up 5-2 and Gutierrez pulled.

The Seagulls tacked two more runs on in the 5th off of Cannons reliever Gonzalo Garcia (6.15 ERA in the regular season) and Cheng cruised into the seventh. In the seventh, Cannons hero Justavo suddenly injected new life into Salt Lake, hitting a solo Bomb off of Cheng. 7-3 Seagulls. Cheng, ever the professional, induced two ground outs and a strikeout.

Cannons reliever Jerry Barnet pitched 2.2 scoreless innings but by then it was too late as Seattle reliever Jesus Venegas and star closer Ricky Ward shut the Cannons down, each only allowing one hit.

Final Score: 7-3 Seattle Seagulls
Series: 1-0 Seagulls
Player of the Game: SEA Cheng Chung: 7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2 HR


Game Two:
Seattle ace and Pitcher of the Year favorite Zane Davis took the mound against Cannons pitcher Andre Walton. Again, the Cannons struck first, with Davis giving up back to back doubles in the first to SLC catcher Pat Carter and center fielder Steven McCullough. The Seagulls let Davis down in the second as well and two errors led to three more runs crossing the plate on Salt Lake star Nelson Frank’s first hit of the series.

It didn’t take Seattle long to start to close the gap. In the bottom of the third speedster Seattle Seagull shortstop Sean Ward sprinted from second to home on a single by Ray Connor. Felipe Cervantes followed that up with a two-run bomb bringing the score to 4-3 Cannons.

The fourth went by scoreless. In the fifth, Sean Ward and Ray Connor struck again for the Gulls. Ward hit a lead off double off of Walton and Connor took a 1-2 fastball deep to Left Center to give the Gulls a 5-4 lead and knocking Andre Walton off the mound.

The Cannons sent in long reliever John Bradshaw. Bradshaw and Davis took the game into the seventh at 5-4. In the bottom of the seventh, who else buy Ray Connor strode up to bat and took Bradshaw deep for his second home run of the night, further extending the Seagulls lead.

The Seattle bullpen worked as a team, with four separate pitchers coming on in the bottom of the ninth to put Seattle up two games to none. Ricky Ward got the final out and his first save. Things looked grim for the Cannons as the series shifted to The Captain’s Deck for the next three games.

Final Score: 6-4 Seattle Seagulls
Series: 2-0 Seagulls
Player of the Game: SEA Ray Connor: 3-4, 3 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI


Game Three:
As the series shifts to Salt Lake, there is some reason for hope for Cannons fans. They have home field now and for the first time they will face a pitcher not named Cheng or Davis. 36-year-old Christos Vantassell got the call for the Seagulls and he had been cold in July, his ERA going from 3.35 to 3.85. The Cannons sent Artie Wood to the mound, the leagues leader in wins with 15 and the most consistent pitcher for the Cannons all year long. This was the opening the Cannons needed.

Everyone was on the edge of their seat as both pitchers started strong. Vantassell retired the first six batters he faced, and Woods was also solid, allowing a walk (to Ray Conner) and a hit in the first two innings. When the Seagulls came up in the third, Ray Conner walked again. Cervantes then took Woods deep for two. Woods got out the inning without any more damage.

But it seemed like it would be enough. Vantassell cruised through the first six innings with only one hit. Woods also limited the damage to those two runs. But in the bottom of the seventh, Vantassell finally cracked. He got a ground out but then gave up back to back singles to Cannon second baseman Jim Pritchard and Ricardo Justavo. He walked the next batter to load the bases. With Cannons fans on the edge of their seat, Jose Lopez came to bat and… he walked. A run scored and Vantassell’s night was over.

Seagulls Manager John Delgado sent out Jesus Venegas for the third straight game, a clear mistake as he immediately gave up a single. Somehow only one run scored. With the score knotted at two, the game went into the eighth.

Cannons reliever Luis Silva sent the Gulls back to the bench in order in the top of the eighth. Then for some unknown reason, Jesus Venegas went back up on the mound to pitch another inning. Hit leader Nelson Frank slapped a single but went back to the dugout when Pat Carter hit into a fielder’s choice. Center Fielder Steven McCullough then took a 2-2 pitch to the wall to put runners on first and third. After a ground out, Ricardo Justavo, the postseason machine for the Cannons hit a soft single over the shortstop to give the Cannons a 3-2 lead. McCullough opted not to risk going home, which turned out to be the wrong choice as a strike out ended the inning.

In the top of the ninth, Closer Mike Wilson took the mound and completely mowed down the final three Seagull batters with back to back to back strikeouts and the Cannons scraped out on of their trademarked one run wins.

Final Score: 3-2 Cannons.
Series: 2-1 Seagulls
Player of the Game: SLC Artie Wood: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K


Game 4:
Chung Cheng was rested and got the call for game four for a rematch against Domingo Gutierrez. However, Salt Lake Manager Maximo Sosa got cold feet and ended up giving the ball to Mike Miles, who only made 12 starts in the season but was serviceable. The media was all over Sosa’s lack of trust in his ace and everyone was waiting to see if his gambit would pay off.

It didn’t. In the top of the second Seattle Center Fielder Jose Gutierrez took Miles deep with a lead off home run. In the top of the third the bleeding continued. Ray Connor hit a lead off single then Felipe Cervantes hit a two-run shot to bring him in, his third of the postseason. Reynaldo Torres followed up that up with triple which scored on a wild pitch. Joe Howell hit a single before Miles mercifully ended the damage with a strikeout. The Seagulls held a 4-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third the Cannons got one off of Cheng. Ron Banfield hit a single and Nelson “slick” Frank knocked him in with another single to bring the score to 4-1. Sosa decided to stick by with his pitching choice and Miles got through the fourth without damage. The fifth, however was different. Two outs in, Jose Gutierrez hit a second solo shot. Joe Howell followed that up with a single and Ed McGhee walked before Sosa finally pulled Miles. Cannons reliever Jerry Barnett got the Cannons the last out of the inning. 5-1 Gulls.

The Cannons, who had been scrappy all year, struck back in the bottom of the inning. Cannons hero Justavo hit a lead off single which the Cannons followed up with a double, then a single to bring one in. Banfield then hit a single to bring in another to make it four consecutive Cannon hits off of Cheng. But Cheng was able to get three straight outs to end the threat leaving the score at 5-3. But the Cannons struck again in the 6th with McCullough hitting a lead off double and Justavo knocked him in with another clutch hit. Two more consecutive singles (by Todd Johnson and Jose Lopez) led to Cheng getting pulled. Seattle Reliever Sherwood Mitchell ended the threat, not letting either base runner score. The game was tantalisingly close at 5-4.

However, in the next inning the Seagulls re-extended their lead off of the bats of Gutierrez, McGhee and Ward who each hit a single. A walk Joey Grimes made it 6-4, and a second walk to Ray Connor made it 7-4. A Reynaldo Torres solo shot in the top of the eight put the game completely out of reach and the Seattle Bullpen cruised to the end of the game and held on to the 8-4 lead.

Final Score: 8-4 Seagulls
Series: 3-1 Seagulls
Player of the Game: SEA Jose Gutierrez: 2-3, 2 H, 2 HR, 1 BB, 1 K


Game 5:

Brock Benningham: “And strike…three…called. Grimes is not happy. That is two outs in the top of the 14th. Augusto Flores shifts the dirt around; he hasn’t pitched three innings in a game all year. Sean Ward is up next. Flores is wasting no time. Ball one, not even close.”

Jim Thortan: “No, not at all, three innings are really taking their toll.”

Benningham: “Here’s the pitch and WARD HAS BARRELLED IT UP, ITS LINE DRIVE TO DEEP LEFT AND… ITS OFF THE TOP OF THE WALL! ITS STILL IN PLAY! WARD THOUGHT IT WAS A BOMB! He is only gonna get to second on that one. Absolutely bonkers, everyone thought the Seagull were champs. I’ve never seen a crowd more excited about the other team hitting a double. Ray Connor is walking to the plate. Before he even gets there, Sosa has given him a free pass.”

Thortan: “Risky move Brock.”

Benningham: “Definitely, McMillian has certainly been cold in this series but Delgado has kept him second in the lineup for a reason. Seems Sosa is taking out Flores and sending out his last reliever Raoul Wils.”

Thortan: “We’ll be back after this.”

Benningham: “And we’re back! You missed a ball to McMillian and Wils is getting ready for another pitch. Here’s the pitch and McMillian gets under it! IT’S A SOFTY! IS IT GONNA GET DOWN?? IT DOES! RUNNERS ARE GOING AND…WARD GETS THE STOP SIGN AT FIRST. The game is still tied. Bases Juiced for FELIPE CERVANTES. Here he is, the star of Seattle, three bombs in the post season. Here’s the first pitch, and it’s a ball. Wils works fast, but Cervantes calls for time. He’s back. There’s another Ball. Favourable count for Felipe. Here’s a pitch, and Felipe GETS IT! NELSON FRANK IS ON THE MOVE IN LEFT, HE DIVES AND IT’S OFF HIS GLOVE!!! WARD SCORES, CONNOR SCORES, MCMILLIAN IS ON HIS WAY AND THE THROW HOME IS… NOT IN TIME!!! 9-6 SEATTLE.”

Thortan: “There is no one else in the bullpen, the Cannons have to roll with Wils against Torres.”

Benningham: “Torres is up and he’s all smiles. All the tension is broken, the Salt Lake fans are crushed. SPEAKING OF CRUSHED, TORRES TAKES THE FIRST PITCH DEEP. THAT my friends is a NO DOUBTER. THE BAT FLIP!! THE DISRESPECT! 11-6 SEAGULLS. Torres has smashed it wide open! The bench is going wild!! Cannons have a tall order in the bottom of the inning that’s for sure…”
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Benningham: “Jose Lopez, in a bad count. Wayne Drake throws a change up in an 0-2, 93% of the time. Here’s that change up, and that’s a dribbler to third! COULD THIS BE A DOUBLE PLAY!!! SOUPY HOWELL WITH THE SCOOP AND HE TOSSES IT TO SECOND, JOHNSON IS OUT! CONNOR MAKES THE TURN! THE THROW TO FIRST AND…THE UMP PUMPS HIS FIST! HE…IS…OUT. The GULLS win the marathon and the FIRST EVER CHAMPIONSHIP!!! THE BENCH CLEARS! CONGRATULATIONS SEATTLE!!!”

Final Score: 11-6 (14)
Series: 4-1 Seagulls WIN
Player of the Game: Joe “Soupy” Howell: 4-6, 4 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR

The Seattle Seagulls are your first ever New Frontier Baseball Association Champions! Joe Howell was named MVP of the series. The trade deadline acquisition from Santa Fe hit .435/.485/.739 in the series with 4 doubles and one home run. None of his hits were particularly clutch, as he only had four RBI’s, but he was a threat every time he went up to bat. But as one of the free agents, the second the series ended, the focus shifted from his play on the field to his next contract. Which brings us too…