2025 World Championship Series - Stade Maples (90-72) vs. Brooklyn Knights (101-61)

Game 1: Brooklyn 7, Stade 0
Game 2: Brooklyn 4, Stade 1
Game 3: Stade 6, Brooklyn 4
Game 4: Brooklyn 8, Stade 0
Game 5: Stade 4, Brooklyn 3
Game 6: Stade 3, Brooklyn 2
Game 7: Stade 2, Brooklyn 1

Series MVP: C Lorenzo Torres (Stade Maples)

For the second straight season, the underdog Stade Maples emerged as NALB World Champions. They faced the same formidable opponents as last year—the St. James Crusaders and the Brooklyn Knights. They dispatched the Crusaders, a team that won 95 games in the regular season, in a five game League Championship Series. In the World Championship Series, they needed a full seven games to defeat NALB's top team, the Brooklyn Knights. It was a particularly impressive performance considering the Maples lost the first two games and trailed 3-1 after four games. They won the final three games by a single run, however, to take the title once again. The Stade Maples are building quite a dynasty, having won the championship three times in the last four seasons.



Click the image for the NALB 2025 World Championship roster

Game 7. Winner take all. After a hard fought series, the Maples and Knights squared off in Brooklyn for this decisive game. The starting pitchers were two of the very best. Stade's Renato Balcazar won 14 games in the regular season and led League 2 with an ERA of 2.08. Brooklyn's James McKinning was a 13 game winner who led League 1 with a 2.56 ERA.

The Maples were in hostile territory and faced a fired up Brooklyn crowd. They never looked rattled, however. Stade scored the game's first run in the second inning off of a Lorenzo Torres double. An RBI single by Ramiro Vázquez in the fourth inning put the Maples up 2-0. The Knights got on the board in the fourth with a solo home run by Dick Gosden. Both teams had some base runners down the stretch but neither team could deliver another run against such great pitching.

The Stade Maples held on to win and became back to back champions.

Final score: Stade 2, Brooklyn 1

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Stade        0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0   2  9  1
Brooklyn     0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0   1  6  0

W: R. Balcazar
L: J. McKinning
S: Y. O'Croly

Player of the game: Renato Balcazar

Down three games to two, the Maples traveled to Brooklyn to face the Knights in another elimination game. The starting pitchers were the same as game two. The Maples turned to Braulio Crame while the Knights had Marcos Delgadillo on the mound.

Stade caught a break in the first inning. With two men on and two out, a throwing error by shortstop Frank Brunson caused a run to score. The Knights evened the score in the bottom of the second inning when Grayson Currall led off with a home run. The score remained 1-1 until the sixth. Alfredo Germán led off with a single and Ramiro Vázquez laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance him to second base. Catcher Lorenzo Torres hit an RBI single to put the Maples up 2-1. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Brooklyn got a hit and a walk. They later scored a run due to an error by Stade second baseman Bobby Eizaguirre. The game went into extra innings tied 2-2. In the tenth, the Maples had men on first and third with two outs. Knights' closer Ken Hannah threw a wild pitch and the runner on third scored. Brooklyn started to mount a comeback in the bottom of the tenth. Catcher Nick Koche singled and Grayson Currall got a hit as well. Currall tried to stretch the hit into a double but was cut down at second base by a tremendous throw by center fielder Ramiro Vázquez to end the game.

Final score: Stade 3, Brooklyn 2

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10   R  H  E
Stade        1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1   3 10  2
Brooklyn     0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  0   2  8  2

W: B. Sarzoza
L: P. Johnstone

Player of the game: Braulio Crame

The Stade Maples faced elimination down three games to one. Game five was a rematch of game one's starting pitchers with Brooklyn's Tony Tamayo vs. Stade's Yusuf O'Croly. That game was a 7-0 loss for the Maples but they hoped to change their fortune playing at home.

The starting pitchers were on their respective games and delivered a pitchers' duel into the middle innings. Tamayo pitched a four-hit shutout through 5.2 innings. Likewise, O'Croly took a shutout into the sixth inning. In the top of the sixth, the Knights scored a run thanks to a Dave Crayton double and a single by Clement Barrows. The Maples' bats finally came alive against the Knights' bullpen. In the bottom of the seventh, they delivered three hits and scored three runs. Stade's lead was short-lived, however, as the Knights scored two runs in the eighth off of a pinch hit double by Bruno Lavigne. The score was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth when pinch hitter Min-zhong Xie delivered the knockout blow with a walkoff home run. Maples' magic struck again as it did in game three!

Final score: Stade 4, Brooklyn 3

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Brooklyn     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0   3  7  0
Stade        0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1   4  9  0

W: B. Sarzoza
L: K. Hannah

Player of the game: Yusuf O'Croly

The Knights' Aaron Patterson (10-6, 3.13 ERA) and the Maples' Aricin MacKerricher (3-5, 2.87 ERA) were the starting pitchers for game four.

The Brooklyn Knights came to play and the Stade Maples could do nothing to stop them. Patterson threw six innings of shutout ball and Brooklyn's offense looked impressive as well. The Knights scored eight runs on thirteen hits with multi-hit games from Shimohira, Currall, Koche, Gosden, and Brunson. Six of their hits went for extra bases, including a fourth inning home run by center fielder Namboku Shimohira. Takanobu Kishita pitched the last three innings to complete the shutout.

Final score: Brooklyn 8, Stade 0

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Brooklyn     2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1   8 13  1
Stade        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0  3  2

W: A. Patterson
L: A. MacKerracher
S: T. Kishita

Player of the game: Aaron Patterson

Game three featured a pair of elite starting pitchers—Brooklyn's James McKinning (13-3, 2.56 ERA) and Stade's Renato Balcazar (14-7, 2.08 ERA).

The Knights got a couple of hits in the first inning that led to two runs. Third baseman Dave Crayton smashed a solo home run in the second inning to make it 3-0 Brooklyn. The Maples came right back, however. In the bottom of the second, a walk and three singles scored three runs. Stade added another run for a 4-3 lead. That was how the scored remained until the ninth. The Knights tied the game thanks to a solo homer by Clement Barrows. Brooklyn's excitement was short-lived. With one man on base, Alfredo Germán came on to pinch hit in the bottom half of the inning. He crushed a walk-off home run to win the game.

Final score: Stade 6, Brooklyn 4

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Brooklyn     2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1   4  6  0
Stade        0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2   6 10  0

W: B. Sarzoza
L: P. Johnstone

Player of the game: Renato Balcazar

For game two, the Maples had lefty Braulio Crame (12-10, 2.78 ERA) on the mound. The Knights started 38-year old right-hander Marcos Delgadillo (10-8, 3.56 ERA).

The Brooklyn Knights fed off of the home town crowd's energy. They quickly scored four runs in the first inning thanks to consecutive hits by Koche, Kakuta, Gosden, and Brunson. Delgadillo, known for his impeccable control, cruised through five scoreless innings. The Maples got a run off of him in the sixth but that was all they could manage. The Knights had to work out of trouble in the top of the sixth. The score was 4-1 Brooklyn with two out. Stade mounted a threat by loading the bases. Min-zhong Xie dug in at the plate but popped out to end the inning.

Final score: Brooklyn 4, Stade 1

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Stade        0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0   1  5  0
Brooklyn     4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X   4  9  1

W: M. Delgadillo
L: B. Crame
S: K. Hannah

Player of the game: Marcos Delgadillo

The World Championship Series is a rematch of last year's teams. In 2024, the Brooklyn Knights won an impressive 108 games and faced a Stade Maples team that won a mere 80 games. Despite the mismatch, the Maples won the series in six games. In 2025, the defending champions won 90 regular season games while the Knights won 101. Will the Maples repeat as champions or will the Knights win their first NALB Championship since 2018?

The starting pitchers for the opening game were Yusuf O'Croly (10-3, 1.58 ERA) for Stade and Tony Tamayo (16-5, 3.36 ERA) for Brooklyn.

The Knights and Maples were NALB's top two defensive teams with outstanding pitching and fielding. Therefore, it was not surprising that the game was scoreless after four innings. Tamayo was almost unhittable but had trouble finding the strike zone. He gave up only one hit and struck out seven but walked four batters. After 4.2 innings, he was pulled for a relief pitcher. The Knights got things going in the bottom of the fifth. Don Hartz led off with a double and scored on a single by Clement Barrows. After DH Bruno Levigne walked, catcher Nick Koche cleared the bases with a three-run homer. Brooklyn padded its lead with another three runs in the eighth inning.

Final score: Brooklyn 7, Stade 0

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R  H  E
Stade        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0  3  0
Brooklyn     0 0 0 0 4 0 0 3 X   7 10  0

W: A. Alfaro
L: Y. O'Croly

Player of the game: Nick Koche

2025 League 1 Series - Nashville Firecats (87-75) vs. Brooklyn Knights (101-61)

Game 1: Brooklyn 5, Nashville 0
Game 2: Nashville 5, Brooklyn 4
Game 3: Brooklyn 4, Nashville 3
Game 4: Brooklyn 8, Nashville 2
Game 5: Brooklyn 7, Nashville 5

The Nashville Firecats won their division fairly easily. The Brooklyn Knights had no such luck as they battled the Dayton Grizzlies to the very end of the regular season. Nashville and Brooklyn last faced off in the League 1 Series in 2016.

Tony Tamayo (16-5, 3.36 ERA) and the Brooklyn Knights opened the League Series in brilliant fashion, shutting out the visiting Nashville Firecats at Neutral Fields, 5-0, and securing an early 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Tamayo, the Knights right-hander, threw 8.0 innings of shutout ball. Firecats starter David Bracy (13-9, 3.19 ERA) struggled and gave up all five runs.

Starters Paco Rivera (9-6, 2.99 ERA) and James McKinning (13-3, 2.56 ERA) were on the mound for game two in Brooklyn. Both starters surrendered four earned runs. The Firecats' Paco Rivera pitched six innings while McKinning didn't make it through the fifth. A Kakuta homer in the fourth inning put Brooklyn on top 4-2 but Nashville tied the game in the fifth. In the tenth inning, a Dave Groot double scored the go-ahead run. The Firecats held on for the 5-4 win.

Despite a great performance by Nashville starter Cory Gregory (6-2, 1.28 ERA), the Brooklyn Knights defeated the Firecats by the score of 4-3 in game three. Gregory threw 6.0 innings of two-hit ball, but he couldn't prevent the Knights from moving one game closer to the World Championship. Brooklyn got a timely hit from Dave Crayton to secure the win. The third baseman stroked a run-scoring double in the top of the seventh inning to put the Knights ahead, 3-2. Starter Marcos Delgadillo (10-8, 3.56 ERA) was credited with the win.

In game four, Brooklyn started Aaron Patterson (10-6, 3.13 ERA). Nashville countered with two-way player (1B/SP) Thane Leith (3-4, 4.25 ERA). Riding the 2-hit performance of shortstop Frank Brunson, the Brooklyn Knights got an 8-2 road win. Brunson was 2-3 with a home run and a walk, while adding 3 RBI and scoring once for the Knights. With the game tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh, Brunson had a key at-bat for Brooklyn. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Brunson hit a 3-run home run off Doug Green, making the score 5-2, Knights. Brooklyn padded 3 more runs in the ninth to coast to victory.

The Firecats faced elimination at home in game five. Game one starter David Bracy was back on the mound for Nashville. The Knights decided to start lefty Dan Courtlandt (5-3, 1.64 ERA). Courtlandt wasn't sharp but neither was Bracy. After four innings, Nashville was up 5-4. The Knights mounted and impressive comeback, however. They scored two runs in the sixth and another run in the ninth. Final score: Brooklyn 7, Nashville 5.

Knights shortstop Frank Brunson was named series MVP, as he hit .294 with a .368 on-base percentage. He had 2 home runs, drove in 6 RBI and scored 2 runs.

2025 League 2 Series - Stade Maples (90-72) vs St. James Crusaders (95-67)

Game 1: Stade 2, St. James 0
Game 2: Stade 6, St. James 1
Game 3: St. James 6, Stade 0
Game 4: Stade 3, St. James 2
Game 5: Stade 4, St. James 2

The Stade Maples of 2024 were truly a cinderella team. With only 80 regular season wins, they were an unlikely division winner. After losing the opening game of the 2024 League 2 Series to the St. James Crusaders, they won four straight games to advance and eventually win the World Championship Series. They returned to the League 2 Series this year with a stronger team anchored by tremendous pitching and fielding. Once again, their opponent was the St. James Crusaders. As they did last year, the Crusaders won 95 games thanks to great offense and defense. They have many strengths and few weaknesses. Along with home field advantage, they came in as the favorites.

The opening game starters were Stade's Renato Balcazar (14-7, 2.08 ERA) and St. James' Eddie Rodríguez (13-7, 2.70 ERA). It was a classic pitchers' duel. The deciding moment came in the top of the eighth. Jamie Nieto blasted a pinch hit two-run homer to give the Maples a 2-0 win.

Game two featured starters Yusuf O'Croly (10-3, 1.58 ERA) for the Maples and Bobby Kirkup (12-6, 2.93 ERA) for the Crusaders. Kirkup struggled while O'Croly shined. Although not known for their hitting, Stade's batters pounded Kirkup for six runs in 4.1 innings on way to a 6-1 win.

The Crusaders came to play in game three. With Gutierre Jiménez (3-6, 2.14) getting the start, St. James looked like a different team. The Maples' starter, Braulio Crame (12-10, 2.78 ERA) didn't stand a chance. The Crusaders got hit after hit, 16 in all. St. James won 6-0 but the score could have been even more lopsided.

For game four, the St. James started Ángel Martínez (4-11, 2.52 ERA). Stade started Alex Mobley (10-6, 2.99 ERA). Both pitchers lasted six innings and gave up two runs. The bullpens were effective and the game went into extra innings. In the bottom of the 12th inning, the Crusaders had 37-year old veteran reliever Joe Farrell on the mound. Jordan Blanchard hit a walk-off solo home run to give the Maples a 3-2 victory.

With a 3-1 series lead, the Stade Maples had a chance to close things out at home in game five. That is exactly what they did. The starting pitching was a rematch of game one—Rodriguez vs. Balcazar. Both pitchers were sharp again. After six innings, the score was tied 1-1. It was a battle of the bullpens the rest of the way and the Maples had the edge. They took a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning only to see the Crusaders come back to tie it 2-2 in the eighth. Stade came through in the bottom of the eighth, however. Kurt Johnson was hit by a pitch and Mead Ward doubled. Aluino Zúñiga's single provided the clutch hit that scored two runs. Stade prevailed 4-2.

Although the St. James Crusaders had the deeper and more well-rounded team, they could not solve the Stade Maples. The Crusaders were 8-15 against the Maples in the regular season and 1-4 against them in the playoffs.

"This isn't the big one, but of course we need to get through this before we can win a World Championship, so it's an important step," said Stade's Justyn MacLugash as he took a break from celebrating. "Our guys are happy and excited to be moving on."

MacLugash was named series MVP, as he hit .357. He had 2 home runs, drove in 4 RBI and scored 3 runs.

The NALB 2025 regular season is over. Only the Nashville Firecats cruised to a division title. The Brooklyn Knights edged out the Dayton Grizzlies by three games. In League 2, the Maples and Crusaders each won their divisions by a four game margin. Three teams with over 90 wins failed to make the playoffs: Grizzlies (98), Slam (91), and Wild (91).

The League Series match-ups:
Nashville Firecats (87-75) vs. Brooklyn Knights (101-61)
Stade Maples (90–72) vs. St. James Crusaders (95-67)

Head to head this season:
The Firecats were 14-9 against the Knights.
The Maples were 15-8 against the Crusaders.

Both series feature intriguing matchups. The lower seeded teams did very well against the higher seeded favorites. The League 2 Series is a rematch of the same teams from 2024. Last year, the Maples defeated the Crusaders in five games and went on to become World Champions.

Playoff injury report:

Brooklyn's lefty starter Dan Courtlandt tweaked his back a bit in his last start but he is expected to be available in a few days.
Nashville has a number of players on the injured list: LF Graviel Estado, SP Carly Bausermann, LF Oscar Barrientes, SP Bryan Murphy, LF Chris Lee, and RP K.J. McKilligan. Some of these players were injured a while ago so the Firecats have been playing and winning without them for some time,

St. James has RP Félix Oralle and RP Jesús Montufar on the IL.
Stade has a number of pitchers on the IL: RP Johan Gaier, SP José Trujilio, SP, Eriq Barber, SP Sosuke Nakamura, and CL Michael Tadlock.

September 2025 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Zacarías Marquis (Dayton Grizzlies)
Pitcher of the Month: Fernando Villazana (Dayton Grizzlies)
Rookie of the Month: Lúcio Betancourt (St. Rock Mudcats)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Yves Provençal (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)
Pitcher of the Month: Ximen Palmeiro (Vancouver Wild)
Rookie of the Month: Adolph Hoch (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)

In addition to DiRT: Showdown, I've recently been playing Ticket to Ride. This is the video game adaptation of the board game from Days of Wonder. I played the board game a few times but it was quite a few years ago. I've enjoyed playing it again, even solo against computer opponents. I think I have all of the DLC so there are plenty of options. I have played the standard USA map as well as USA 1910. I've also tried the Pennsylvania map and some European ones as well. There are some slight variations in gameplay between maps and game expansions so that keeps it fresh. I'm definitely going to keep this game installed for a while. It is great if you have a little time and just want to play a quick game from start to finish.

As I make my way through another baseball season, I've been playing some other computer games as well. DiRT: Showdown is one of those games. Although I previously played a bit of DiRT 2 and DiRT 3, Showdown has a different style. This one is much more of an arcade racing game and doesn't aim for hardcore realism. For someone who isn't a racing fan, that suited me just fine. I used my Logitech RumblePad 2 controller and pretty much got the hang of driving. In the Tour Showdown, I enjoyed the racing events (race off, eliminator, and domination) and the demolition events (rampage, knock out, hard target, and 8 ball). What I didn't enjoy were the Hoonigan events (head 2 head, trick rush, and smash hunter). I was horrible at that style of trick driving. There are several tour levels: Pro, AllStar, Champion, and Legend. You need podium finishes in all of the events to move up to the next tour level. So far, I've completed the Pro and AllStar tours. I am currently in the middle of the Champion tour but my poor finishes in the Hoonigan events will probably keep me from advancing to the Legend tour.

I've had more fun with DiRT: Showdown than any auto racing game in a while. It was enjoyable to earn prize money, upgrade your cars, and purchase new cars. I also appreciated a game that not only tolerated ramming and banging other cars but actually encouraged it.

Despite a 16-12 record in August the Brooklyn Knights lost some ground to the Dayton Grizzlies. The Nashville Firecats had no such problem, however. They extended their lead to 11 games over the Dunedin Otters. The League 2 division races are very close. The Stade Maples cling to a 1.5 game lead. The St. James Crusaders looked very beatable in August. Their 12-17 record for the month dwindled their lead to just 2 games.

August 2025 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Zacarías Marquis (Dayton Grizzlies)
Pitcher of the Month: Eric McEachran (Dunedin Otters)
Rookie of the Month: Lúcio Betancourt (St. Rock Mudcats)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Rico Gómez (Richmond Slam)
Pitcher of the Month: Iemitsu Kanemitsu (Phoenix Rattlers)
Rookie of the Month: Adolph Hoch (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)