NALB 2011 Playoffs - League 2 Series

K. Fields
2012-10-28T17:47:20-04:00
Baseball

2011 League 2 Series - Richmond Slam (90-73) vs. Stade Maples (95-67)

Game 1: Stade 6, Richmond 5
Game 2: Stade 14, Richmond 2
Game 3: Richmond 9, Stade 1
Game 4: Stade 11, Richmond 2
Game 5: Richmond 5, Stade 2
Game 6: Stade 13, Richmond 0

The Richmond Slam and Stade Maples met for the second consecutive year in the League 2 Series. Last season, the Slam had home field advantage but lost in five games. This season, the Maples had home field and hoped that advantage would send them to their fifth League 2 championship.

The Series opened as it did last season, with Richmond’s Harvey Fishback (10-12, 5.19 ERA) vs. Stade’s Earle Seeman (11-10, 3.28 ERA). Fishback was not the same pitcher he was in 2010. Last season, he went 17-5 with a 3.86 ERA. A Shayne Kimpel double quickly put two runs on the board for the Maples in the first inning. The Slam scored on a ground out in the third to make it 2-1. Several hits in the top of the fifth, keyed by a Matty Byers home run, put Richmond on top 4-2. Mark Huff answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth. Stade tied the game 4-4 on a sac fly in the sixth and Travis “The Beast” Araoz hit a monster 468 foot blast in the seventh to give Stade a 5-4 lead. The Slam tied it in the eighth but the Maples pulled ahead for good thanks to Wei-qiang Goei’s single in the bottom half of the inning. The Maples won a hard fought game one by the score of 6-5.

The Slam chose Pete Adams (3-5, 5.56 ERA) to start game two. The Maples countered with Max Brown (18-8, 3.52 ERA), arguably the greatest pitcher in NALB history with a record 202 career wins and counting. Adams kept his team close for six innings. Richmond only trailed 4-2. However, the Maples blew the game open in the next two innings. They scored five runs in the seventh and another five runs in the eighth. A Travis Araoz homer and two home runs by Leslie Hubbard helped power Stade to a convincing 14-2 win.

As the Series moved to Richmond for games three, four, and five, the Slam desperately needed a win. They had to face Jose Battista (16-10, 4.06 ERA), a crafty 27 year old lefty. Thankfully, the Slam had Joe Lehr (15-6, 3.90 ERA) on the mound. Lehr was very sharp over eight innings, allowing only five hits and one run. On the other hand, Battista only made it through two innings and the Stade bullpen struggled as well. The Slam got home runs from Yuan Li and Tony Rodarte. But third baseman Hector De Hecheverría led the Richmond attack with three hits and four RBI. The Slam cruised to a 9-1 victory.

In game four, Stade’s Luis Hesterfer (12-11, 5.03 ERA) faced fellow starter Markus Donovan (5-3, 5.08 ERA). In a battle of veteran pitchers, the 37 year old Hesterfer got the best of the 36 year old Donovan. Stade’s hitters jumped out early with five runs in the first inning. Araoz homered, Kimpel tripled, and Rentería homered. Donovan did not make it through the inning. Ozzie Valera came on in relief. Araoz took Valera deep in the second inning and Stade had a 6-0 lead. The Maples added two runs in the fifth and another two runs in the sixth. After six scoreless innings of two hit ball, Hesterfer turned the ball over to the Maples’ bullpen. Ed Winkelman, Bert Smith, and Chris Nelson pitched the final three innings on way to a 10-2 Maples win.

It was win or go home for the Richmond Slam in game five. Again, they had Harvey Fishback on the mound. Unfortunately, they were up against the legend, Max Brown. This time Richmond fared better with Brown pitching on short rest. After falling behind 1-0, the Slam strung together some hits in the bottom of the second and went ahead 3-1. The score remained 3-1 until the Slam knocked Brown out of the game in the sixth. A Tony Rodarte solo home run and four singles gave Richmond a 5-1 lead. The Maples scored one more run, but that was all they could manage. The Slam won 5-2 and forced a game six in Stade.

Stade hoped to finish the Series in game six. They were up against starter Joe Lehr, pitching on short rest. The Maples gave the start to a well-rested Earle Seeman. Seeman delivered a gem of a performance. He pitched eight shutout innings and gave up only three hits. Along the way, he struck out nine batters, while walking just one. Stade hitters battered Lehr, who only lasted two innings. The Richmond relievers fared no better. The Maples pounded the Slam with a 13-0 shutout to win the League 2 Series.

The Stade Maples will play for the World Championship for a fifth time. Their hitters looked very impressive, particularly Travis Araoz. After hitting .429 with 4 HR and 10 RBI, he was name the League 2 Series MVP.