NALB 2008 World Championship Series - Game 1

K. Fields
2009-10-25T17:40:44-04:00
Baseball

The NALB 2008 World Championship Series features a first ever meeting between the Brooklyn Knights and the Vancouver Wild. The Knights won 113 games in the regular season. With only 80 regular season wins, the Wild have the worst record of any team to play for the title except for the 2005 Richmond Slam (78-85).

Vancouver had its ace, Tony Martell (19-9, 3.39 ERA), ready for game 1 in Brooklyn. Martell pitched 15 scoreless innings in the League 2 Series. The Knights once again decided to start struggling Bernard Gastelu (11-5, 3.55 ERA) in a playoff series opener.

Spud Naktenis put the first run on the scoreboard with a solo home run to left-center field. Heavy rain was in the forecast. The forecast was right on the money as a downpour occurred in the third inning. After a 60 minute rain delay, the starting pitchers gave way to the bullpens. After three scoreless innings from Martell, Brooklyn’s hitters found success against the Vancouver relievers. The Knights scored three runs in the fourth inning, three runs in the fifth inning, and four more runs in the sixth inning. Extra base hits were plentiful. Mccreery doubled and Detherage tripled. Home runs came from Burns, Goetz, and Detherage. Fred Millard came on in relief of Gastelu and he was in total command of the game. Only a Jason Walton home run in the ninth marred his otherwise terrific 5.2 shutout innings.

Final score: Brooklyn 11, Vancouver 2