NALB 2016 Playoffs - League 1 Series

K. Fields
2017-09-21T17:24:19-04:00
Baseball

2016 League 1 Series - Nashville Firecats (88-74) vs. Brooklyn Knights (105-57)

Game 1: Nashville 8, Brooklyn 5
Game 2: Brooklyn 3, Nashville 2
Game 3: Brooklyn 11, Nashville 6
Game 4: Brooklyn 8, Nashville 5
Game 5: Brooklyn 4, Nashville 3

Last year, these same two teams competed for the League 1 title. The Firecats won the first three games but the Knights came roaring back to win four straight games and take the series. This season, the teams were quite evenly matched. Out of 23 regular season match ups, Brooklyn won 12 and Nashville won 11.

The Nashville Firecats started the League Series in style, winning on the road against the Brooklyn Knights by a score of 8-5 to take an early 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Firecats right fielder Chris Lee was named player of the game after he went 3-5 with a home run and 2 singles, while adding 6 RBI and scoring once. The Firecats took a 8-5 lead in the top of the eighth inning. Facing Brooklyn hurler Cristófor De Jesús with two outs, Lee hit a 2-run single.

In game two, the Brooklyn Knights topped the Nashville Firecats by the score of 3-2 and moved into a 1-1 tie in the League Series. The largest share of the credit went to player of the game and Brooklyn starter Aaron Patterson, who threw 7 innings of 3-hit ball in the win. Catcher Andrew Strain aided the Brooklyn cause with a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth. His pinch hit RBI was the game’s deciding run.

Riding the 3-hit performance of right fielder Maurílio Godim, the Brooklyn Knights got a road win against the Nashville Firecats, 11-6, in Game 3 of the League Series. Godim slugged 2 home runs, while scoring 3 runs and driving in 5 for the Knights, who took a series lead of 2 games to 1. Godim had a big at-bat with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the top of the third inning, when he hit a 3-run home run. Leading 9-2 after five innings, the Knights held off some late scoring by the Firecats to secure the win.

With shortstop Lariel Gómez leading the charge, the Brooklyn Knights got past the Nashville Firecats, 8-5, in extra innings in Game 4 of the League Series today. Gómez went 3 for 6 with 2 home runs, while adding 3 RBI and scoring twice at Neutral Fields as Brooklyn managed to take to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. The most crucial at-bat for Brooklyn came in the top of the 12th inning. That's when Gómez stroked a 3-1 splitter to left for a 2-run home run, putting Brooklyn up, 4-2.

The Brooklyn Knights have beaten the Nashville Firecats and will advance to the World Championship. Brooklyn won the final game by a 4-3 count to take the series 4-1. The Knights triumph was no doubt in large part because of the performance of shortstop Lariel Gómez, who was named MVP of the series. Gómez hit a solo homer in the first inning. It was his fourth home run in the League 1 Series.

Series MVP: SS Lariel Gómez (Brooklyn Knights)