NALB 2017 World Championship Series - Game 1

The defending champion Brooklyn Knights (100-62) are playing in the World Championship Series (WCS) for the fourth straight year. The Vancouver Wild (80-84) are appearing in their second WCS. The first time was 2008 when they emerged as NALB champions by defeating the Brooklyn Knights. With a regular season record of 80-82, the 2008 Wild were quite a surprise. This year’s WCS features another David vs. Goliath matchup.

In game 1, Vancouver started Mexican sinker ball pitcher Ernesto Estero (10-10, 3.19 ERA). Brooklyn started Tony Tamayo (12-12, 2.94 ERA), who led all NALB pitchers with 280 strikeouts. The Wild scored early when right fielder Darwin Soto hit a two run homer in the second inning. Center fielder Ed Gillum added a solo blast in the fifth to give the Wild a 3-0 lead. Vancouver called on closer Matt Genge to deliver a two out save. Genge had seen plenty of action recently by pitching in five of the six League 2 Series games. The Knights scored a run off of the tired reliever in the eighth inning and Genge was lifted in the ninth. Lou Sherston came in to finish the game. Brooklyn loaded the bases but was unable to score another run.

Final score: Vancouver 3, Brooklyn 1

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

W: E. Estero
L: T. Tamayo
S: L. Sherston