2025 St. Louis River Walkers -- Here we go again

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St. Louis put up back-to-back three spots in the seventh and eighth innings to wipe out a 1-0 deficit and defeat Chicago 8-3 in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field (1979).
The victory gives the River Walkers a 2-0 lead with the series heading back to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4.
The G-Men's Cruz Calderon led off the bottom of the fourth with a single off Walkers starter Argenis Batista.
A Jarred Kelenic double moved him to third and Gleyber Torres scored him with a ground out to make it 1-0.
That's where it stood going into bottom of the seventh.
Jared Thomas opened things with a single off Chicago starter Jake Mullholland but was eliminated when Tanner Kohlhepp hit into a fielder's choice.
That's when G-Men manager Kichibel Suitani decided to go to his bullpen,
First, he went to his closer James Pazos who walked the only batter he would face, Larry Ernesto.
Taylor Rogers took over and Andrew Benintendi came through with a single to score a run.
The next batter, Jean Carmona, duplicated that with another single to put the Walkers up 2-1.
Pinch-hitter Johan Camargo followed with a double, and all of a sudden St. Louis led 3-1.
It was one big swing which did most of the damage in the eighth, Ernesto blasting a three-run homer off Tony Cebero.
St. Louis continued to pile it on in the ninth with two more runs.
Both runs scored with two outs.
Taylor Kohlhepp chased home the first with a double off Jake Junis.
Benintendi did the second with a single.
Down 8-1, Chicago did score twice in the ninth when Kelenic hit a two-run homer off Willams Jerez but it didn't really matter.
Batista earned the win allowing one run on five hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out eight and walked none.

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The Fort Wayne Mad Men jumped out to a 7-2 lead and held on to down Akron 7-5 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Ebbets Field (1948).
Ha-Seong Kim hit a two-out solo homer off Akron starting pitcher Gerrit Cole in the second inning to open the scoring.
That lead was 6-1 after five inning, as Darlin Guzman (off Cole), Josh Friedman (off Cole) and Kim (off Casey Mize) all hit solo homers in the frame.
Tim Tawa collected a solo blast in the sixth off Mize to make it 7-2.
Corey Seager ripped a three-run homer off reliever Eric Warren in the eighth, as the Flying Feet pulled within 7-5.
Fort Wayne starter Jose Berrios allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked a pair.

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Akron pounded out six runs between the second and third innings to fuel a 7-2 win over Fort Wayne in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series at Ebbets Field (1949).
The victory sends the series back to Akron tied 1-1.
(Cannot do a full recap as the game log is glitched and features a game between the Fort Wayne Tin Caps and Clinton Lumber Kings).

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That's was quick.
Steven Brault recorded 26 of 27 out without allowing a run and St. Louis completed an impressive sweep of Chicago with a 9-0 win in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium (1997).
Brault threw eight shutout innings and got the first two outs in the ninth before hitting the wall following a two-out walk to Matt Wallner which put runners at first and second.
Closer Edwin Diaz got the call and he quickly ended it, getting Cruz Calderon to fly out on the third pitch he threw.
The River Walkers seized command with a four-run bottom of the second against G-Men starter Josh Hader.
Andrew Benintendi drew a one-out walk and Jean Carmona folllowed with a single.
Brault, who would finish 3 for 4 at the plate with two RBIs, drove in his first run with a double.
Bo Bichette plated the other three with his second homer of the series.
Carmona led off the bottom of the fourth with a homer off Hader, making it 5-0.
Carlos Vidal singled with two outs off Tony Cebrero in the sixth to score Carmona, making it 6-0.
Three more runs in the seventh made it 9-0.
Kohlhepp (with a double), Carmona (with a triple) and Brault (with a single) all earned RBIs with Jake Junis on the mound for Chicago.
Brault's line for the game was no runs on three hits. He struck out eight and walked one in his 8.2 innings.

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MBL news: National League Championship Series statistics

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Fort Wayne jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 win over Akron in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Candlestick Park (1993).
Once again the game log appears to be from a Frontier League game, so I have not much of a clue how the game played out.l

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Note: Once again, the game log was missing, It appeared to be from some game played in Japan.
Akron's Trevor Canderia was hit by a Frankie Montas pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning to drive in the winning run, as Akron downed Fort Wayne in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Candlestick Park (1993).
The series is even at 2-2 with Game 5 to be played back in Fort Wayne.
Ha-Seong Kim hit a three-run double off Akron starter Jack Flaherty in the top of the first to stake the Mad Men to a 3-0 lead.
But the Flying Feet tied with a pair of runs in the second and another in the third.

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It'll be the Akron Flying Feet vs. the St. Louis River Walkers.
Akron completed its upset of Fort Wayne with a 6-4 victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Ebbet Field (1948)..
The victory advances the Flying Feet into the World Series where it will meet St. Louis.
The River Walkers will have home-field advantage after sweeping Chicago in the NLCS. The lower seeds prevailed in both series.
(Once again, no game log was available).
Fort Wayne jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and led 3-1 after three.
The Feet took command in the fourth, scoring four times.
Logan Davidson hit a solo homer off Mad Men starter Jose Berrios and Ben Shewmake had an RBI single.
Fort Wayne's Ha-seong Kim would tie it with a single off Akron starter in the sixth.
But Akron would score once in the eighth (Davidson's second solo homer of the game, this one off Eric Warren) and once in the ninth (Shewmake also with a solo shot off Warren) to seize command.
Chris Archer pitched the first six innings,. allowing four runs on eight hits.
Jesus Cervantes handled the final 1.2 of the game for his first save of the postseason.

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MBL news: American League Championship Series statistics

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MBL news: 2025 World Series Akron Flying Feet vs. St. Louis River Walkers

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2025 MBL World Series: Akron Flying Feet regular-season statistics

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2020 MBL World Series: St. Louis River Walkers regular-season statistics

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St. Louis wiped out a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the bottom of the third inning and added two more in the sixth as it downed Akron 4-1 in Game 1 of the Midwest Baseball League World Series at Busch Stadium (1997).
River Walkers starting pitcher Alex Faedo worked six innings, allowing just the one run on three hits.
The one run he did allow came in the top of the second on a lead-off homer from Robby Martin.
But the Walkers took control in the bottom of the third against Flying Feet reliever Donato Auguste.
Akron starting pitcher Gerrit Cole had to leave with two outs in the second inning with an undisclosed injusry.
Catcher Jared Thomas led off with a single and moved to second when Faedo got down a bunt.
Auguste then doled out consecutive walks to Bo Bichette and Carlos Vidal to load the bases.
Rhys Hoskins tied the game with a single.
Andrew Benintendi then put the River Walkers in front with a sacrifice fly.
Benintendi and Larry Ernesto cracked back-to-back doubles to open the bottom of the sixth. (Benintendi's double was off Jesus Cervantes while Ernesto's came against Taujuan Walker).
A wild pitch moved Ernesto to third and he scored on a Jean Carmona sacriifice fly and make it 4-1.
St. Louis shuffled through five relievers over the final three innings.
Tim Hill (0.2 IP), Danny Grigg (0.0) and Nick Lodolo (0.1) all pitched in the seventh.
John Curtiss was spotless in the eighth.
Jake Brentz handled the ninth for his first save of the postseason.

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Akron scored in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead and went on to defeat St. Louis 4-2 in Game 2 of the Midwest Baseball League World Series at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory by the Flying Feet evened the series at 1-1.
Most of Akron's offense was provided by the long ball.
Braden Shewmake homered off River Walkers starter Argenis Batista in the first inning and reliever Nick Lodolo in the third.
Robby Martin hit his second homer of the series in the third inning,it was off Batista, to make it 3-0.
The Feet also got a run in the second when Logan Davidson and Matt Chapman hit back-to-back doubles off Argenis Batista to open the inning.
Akron starting pitcher Mathew Libratore worked five innings, allowing one run on six hits.
Scheduled Game 4 starter Jack Flaherty worked the sixth and seventh innings.
AJ Minter and Victor Vodnik pitched an inning apiece to close it out.
Vodnik earned his first save of the season.

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St. Louis scored four times in the top of the 10th inning and then held off a scare in the bottom of the inning to squeeze out an 8-5 win in Game 3 of the Midwest Baseball League World Series at Candlestick Park (1993).
The victory puts the River Walkers ahead 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The Flying Feet led 4-2 after Corey Seager connected for an RBI single and Logan Davidson followed with a run-scoring double, both off St. Louis reliever Danny Grigg, in bottom of the sixth.
Bo Bichette drew a lead-off walk from Feet reliever Donato Auguste to open the seventh and later scored on a throwing error by left fielder Michael Conforto on an Andrew Benintendi single.
The Walkers tied it in the eighth with Bichette, this time collecting the RBI with a single off Victor Vodnik to scored Jared Thomas.
St. Louis then busted loose in the 10th against Jack Flaherty, a starter who once again was asked to fill a relief role.
Jared Thomas led off with a single, and following a sacrifice bunt from Edmond Americaan, was perched at third following a single from Bichette.
Carlos Vidal drove in the first run of the inning with the third single of the inning.
Rhys Hoskins, who has struggled through most of the postseason, followed with a three-run homer to make it 8-4.
But Walkers reliever Jake Brentz failed to bring his good stuff to the mound in the bottom of the inning
He got the first batter to fly out, but the next three (Robby Martin, Michael Conforto and Gary Sanchez) went walk, single and single to load the bases.
Brentz then plunked Seager with a pitch to score a run and end his night.
Edwin Diaz got the call and got Kelvin Smith hit into a fielder's choice.
Matt Chapman grounded into another fielder's choice to end it.
Walkers starting pitcher Steven Brault worked five innings, allowing two runs on three hits.
Tim Hill (0.1 IP) and Grigg (0.2) combined in that sixth inning where the Feet scored wice.
Willams Jerez contributed a key scoreless seventh inning and John Curtiss did the same in the eighth and ninth.
Curtiss (1-0) came out it with the win. Diaz got his first save of the postseason.

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Dylan Cease and a quartet of relievers combined on a one-hitter as Akron downed St. Louis 1-0 in Game 4 of the Midwest League World Series at Candlestick Park (1997).
The win allowed the Flying Feet to even the series 2-2.
Cease handled the first five innings without allowing a hit. He did walk three but struck out seven.
Casey Mize and Victor Vodnik both pitched an inning apiece.
Mize did allow the only hit by the River Walkers, a lead-off double to Bo Bichette in the sixth.
A sacrifice bunt from Carlos Vidal moved Bichette to thiird.
Mize, however, struck out both Rhys Hoskins and Andrew Benintendi to keep him stuck at third.
AJ Minter worked a scoreless eighth inning and recorded the first out of the ninth.
Jack Flaherty handled the role of closer and earned his first save of the postseason.
And as for the lone run of the game, it came early in the bottom of the first.
Miguel Gerardo opened the inning with a single off St. Louis starter Aaron Civale.
Braden Shewmake followed with a double, putting Gerardo on third.
Robby Martin, with one out, got a ball deep enough into right field to score Gerardo with the only tally of the night.

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For the second consecutive game, Akron carried a no-hitter into the late innings, this time in a 4-1 win over St. Louis in Game 5 of the Midwest Baseball League World Series at Candlestick Park (1993).
In Game 4, the River Walkers didn't get their first hit until the sixth inning.
In this one, it didn't come until Andrew Benintendi led off with ninth with a ninth with a double off Jesus Cervantes.
By that time, the Flying Feet led 4-0 and although Benintendi would score when Larry Ernesto immediately followed him with another double, Akron would still get out of it with the win.
The victory put the Feet up 3-2 with the final two games of the best-of-seven scheduled to be played in St. Louis.
Rookie Seth Havlorsen (1-0) owned the Walkers on the mound and at the plate.
Working into the seventh inning, he didn't allow a hit while striking out seven and walking two.
He worked 6.2 innings altogether.
With the bat, he was 2 for 3 with an RBI.
His RBI single off River Walkers reliever Tim Hill in the bottom of the sixth made it 4-0.
Akron jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first, Robby Martin cranking a two-run homer off St. Louis starter Alex Faedo.
Michael Conforto went deep against Faedo in the fourth, making it 3-0.
After Halvorsen exited, Donato Auguste got the final out of the seventh.
Taiuan Walker worked a scoreless eighth for Akron.
Cerantes did his job in the ninth to send the Feet to St. Louis needing just one win to claim the championship.

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The St. Louis River Walkers tied it with a two-out solo homer from Carlos Vidal in the bottom of the ninth and won it on a two-out single from Alek Thomas in the 10th inning, as they forced the World Series to a Game 7 with an 8-7 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
A three-run bottom of the eighth seemed to have the Walkers poised to win the game in regulation.
Jared Thomas had hit his second two-run homer of the game in that inning and Johan Carmona later coaxed a bases-loaded walk from Victor Vodnik to put St. Louis up 6-4.
But the Walkers co-closers not only could not seal the deal, they buried their team in a 7-6 hole.
Edwin Diaz got the initial call to close the game, but gave up a lead-off double to Miguel Gerardo, then after inducing a ground out which moved the base runner up he unleashed a wild pitch to make it 6-5.
Jake Brentz took over and walked Robby Martin struck out Michael Conforto for the second out.
Gary Sanchez, however, followed with a double to tie it.
Pinch-hitter Freudis Nova then singled to plate Sanchez and put the Flying Feet in the lead.
Primarily a starter but a reliever in this series, Jack Flaherty got the call to clinch the title for Akron.
He started off great getting Rhys Hoskins to ground out and Jared Thomas to fly out.
But Vidal, who had entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth drove a 2-2 pitch 416 feet over the wall in right field to send it to extra innings.
Brentz retired the Feet in order in the 10th.
In the bottom of the inning, Taijuan Walker replaced Flaherty for Akron.
Andrew Benintendi got to him for a one-out single before Johan Camargo struck out for the second out.
Walker issued a walk to Bo Bichette to bring Alek Thomas the plate.
Already 2 for 4 with two doubles, Thomas laced one down the right-field line to bring home Benintendi.
Things started rough for the Walkers as starting pitcher Argenis Batista exited after just two batters with an undisclosed injury.
Steven Brault stepped in and pitched into the sixth inning without allowing a run.
Jared Thomas' first homer of the game, off Feet starter Matthew Liberatore, had given St. Louis a 2-0 lead.
Akron got its first run after Brault walked Miguel Gerardo to open the sixth.
He then exited and Downs greeted Luis Palomo with an RBI double.
Akron tied it in the seventh when Logan Davidson led off with a homer off Tim Hill.
The Feet then took the lead in the eighth.
Sanchez, who had three doubles in the game. scored the first with a two-bagger off Nick Lodolo.
Matt Chapman later connected for a sacrifice fly off Danny Grigg.
With Batista's early exit, St. Louis shuffled through nine relievers including eight members of its bullpen.
That leaves their pitching choices very much in question for Game 7.
Brault was the scheduled starter, meaning Aaron Civale will probably have to take the ball on short rest.

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Game 7 -- St. Louis 10, Akron 0

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After the drama of an extra-inning Game 6, Game 7 was a cakewalk for the St. Louis River Walkers who routed the Akron Flying Feet 10-0 to claim their first Midwest Baseball League title since its inaugural season in 2018.
It seemingly was over early as the Walkers pounded Feet starting pitcher Chris Archer for five runs in the bottom of the first inning.
World Series MVP Jared Thomas drove in Bo Bichette with an RBI single for the game's first run.
Andrew Benintendi did the rest with a two-out grand slam.
Larry Ernesto made it 6-0 an inning later with a homer off Fernando Fernando.
Rhys Hoskins belted a two-run homer off Jesus Cervantes in the fifth.
Bo Bichette put the Walkers into double digits with a two-run homer off Taijuan Walker in the eighth.
The early outburst seemed to take the life out of the Feet, but Aaron Civale was still impressive after being pressed into making the start after Steven Brault was forced to pitch in Game 6.
Civale, who came out the loser in a 1-0 loss in Game 4, worked six innings allowing five hits. He struck out seven and walked none.
Nick Lodolo and John Curtiss both worked spotless innings.
Despite the big lead, Edwin Diaz got the call in the ninth.
He allowed a couple of base runners but got Logan Davidson to fly out to end the game and clinch the championship.