NALB - 2025 League 1 Series

K. Fields
2025-09-14T15:30:51-04:00
Baseball

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.