NALB 2013 Playoffs - League 1 Series

K. Fields
2014-10-04T15:50:15-04:00
Baseball

2013 League 1 Series - Nashville Firecats (90-72) vs. St. Rock Mudcats (110-52)

Game 1: Nashville 6, St. Rock 2
Game 2: Nashville 4, St. Rock 1
Game 3: St. Rock 17, Nashville 0
Game 4: Nashville 8, St. Rock 3
Game 5: St. Rock 10, Nashville 8
Game 6: Nashville 5, St. Rock 0

For the first time in NALB history, the Brooklyn Knights failed to make the playoffs. Instead, the St. Rock Mudcats emerged as the league’s best team with 110 wins. Facing the Mudcats in the League 1 Series was the Nashville Firecats. No strangers to the postseason, the 2009 NALB champion Firecats won their division for the third straight year. This was a clash of the two best offenses in League 1. The Mudcats scored 1004 runs and the Firecats scored 900 runs during the regular season.

Game one opened in St. Rock with hard throwing Noriaki Momotami (14-4, 3.60 ERA) on the mound for the Mudcats. Momotami led the NALB in strikeouts with 249. The Firecats started Chilean left hander Francisco “Icon” Rodil (9-9, 4.24 ERA). The visiting team struck first when 3B Pete Chavez hit a three run homer. Nashville added another run in the fifth inning courtesy of a solo home run by RF Dan Kelly. Also that inning, St. Rock’s Marvin Marini sprained his thumb in a collision while covering second base. That was a big blow to the Mudcats as Marini hit a career high 37 home runs this season. He would miss the rest of the series. In the top of the sixth, 1B Raúl Mendoza homered and put the Firecats up 5-0. A couple of hits by the Mudcats in the bottom half of the inning made the score 5-1. The NALB’s most dangerous hitter, Travis Araoz, went deep in the eighth. St. Rock was down 5-2. Facing reliever Rob Muncy, Nashville added an insurance run in the ninth to seal the win at 6-2.

Game two featured a great pitching matchup. The Mudcats had its 27 year old star, Tyler Stivers (17-10, 3.86 ERA), while the Firecats had 37 year old Fred Millard (12-6, 3.26 ERA). Millard is a career 200+ game winner. This season, he looked as good as he has in years. Expectations of a pitching duel were momentarily dashed when John Edwards hit a two run home run off of Stivers in the first inning. In the bottom of the third, consecutive singles by Anthony Staley, Miguel Gaytán, and Osacr Barrientes scored the Mudcats first run of the game. The next inning put another run on the board for Nashville, however. Pete Chavez’s hot bat delivered a solo homer to extend the lead to 3-1. John Edwards tripled and scored in the eighth. The Firecats bullpen held on for a 4-1 win.

After losing the first two games at home in St. Rock, the Mudcats viewed game three as a must win. St. Rock pinned its hopes on Canadian Vincent Cadieux (17-5, 3.38 ERA). The Firecats felt confident at home with their ace, Robert Givens (17-6, 3.36 ERA), on the mound. Unfortunately for Nashville, the change of venue seemed to invigorate the Mudcats. Travis Wen’s double in the second inning put St. Rock on top 1-0. They would not look back. As with last game, consecutive hits by Staley Gaytán, and Barrientes led to more runs in the third inning. The score remained 3-0 until the top of the sixth when the Mudcats blew the game wide open. It was a five run inning highlighted by Gaytán’s three run homer. St. Rock matched the feat in the next inning by scoring five additional runs. This time, the big hit was a grand slam by Oscar Barrientes. Already up 13-0 in the ninth, the Mudcats once again showed why they led the league with 254 home runs this season. Gary Cooper capped a four run inning by hitting a three run blast into the right field seats. St. Rock destroyed Nashville 17-0.

After suffering a 17-0 drubbing in the previous game, Nashville looked to Terrence Steinman (14-8, 4.98 ERA) to get things back on track in game four. Mudcats manager Raul Pieh opted to go with game one starter Momotami on short rest. That decision did not work out well. Things began well for St. Rock when the Mudcats scored two quick runs in the second inning. John Edwards cut the lead in half with a solo bomb in the bottom of the inning, however. Catcher Ben Stamp added another run for the Mudcats with an RBI single in the top of the third. Once again, John Edwards answered. He hit another solo homer in the fourth and Nashville was only down 3-2. The sixth inning put the Firecats ahead for good. Four hits, two bases on balls, and a wild pitch led to four runs for Nashville. Pete Chavez took Rob Muncy deep in the seventh to cement the 8-3 win with another two runs.

Down three games to one, the Mudcats could not afford another loss. The starting pitchers for game five were Tyler Stivers and Francisco Rodil. St. Rock’s bats came alive once again. The Mudcats put three runs on the board in the top of the second inning. Nashville’s John Edwards continued his fine series in the bottom of the second. He nailed a Stivers fastball over the left field wall to score Nashville’s first run. The Mudcats strung together some hits in the third and extended their lead to 5-1. The Firecats kept it close in the fourth when five straight singles scored two runs. With Luis Hesterfer on in relief for Rodil in the top of the fifth, Travis Wen hit a two run home run and the Mudcats were solidly ahead 7-3. Gaytán’s solo homer in the sixth made it 8-3. Just when the game appeared out of reach for the Firecats, they struck back. In the bottom of the sixth, a grand slam made it a one run deficit for Nashville. Who else? It was John Edwards again. The Mudcats looked like a team that refused to lose, however. Gaytán and Barrientes came up with hits in the seventh and St. Rock was on top 10-7. The Firecats scored a run in the bottom of the seventh but they fell a bit short. The Mudcats forced a game six back in St. Rock thanks to a 10-8 win.

In game six, 37 year old Jose Smith (14-8, 5.32 ERA) got the first playoff start of his career. He struggled at times this season but was an effective winner thanks to solid run support by St. Rock’s hitters. The Firecats hoped their ace, Robert Givens, would finish off the Mudcats in his second start of the League 1 Series. Nashville got just what it wanted and more out its pitchers. Givens pitched masterfully. He held the league’s top offense to only four hits in six innings. The Firecats bullpen gave up but one hit in the final three innings. Nashville put St. Rock on its heels by scoring three runs in the second inning. Pete Chavez put the Firecats up 4-0 with his solo home run in the third. Dan Kelley and Dacey Rager contributed hits in the fourth inning leading to another Nashville run. Percy Martinez, Casey Gayford, and Steve Towell came out of the bullpen to complete the Firecats 5-0 shutout of the Mudcats. The Firecats are heading to the World Championship Series for the second time in franchise history.

John Edwards was the League 1 Series MVP. He hit .320 with 5 HR and 9 RBI.