NALB 2009 Playoffs - League 2 Series

K. Fields
2010-10-23T14:37:47-04:00
Baseball

2009 League 2 Series - Phoenix Rattlers (85-77) vs. Stade Maples (104-58)

Game 1: Stade 5, Phoenix 1
Game 2: Phoenix 4, Stade 2
Game 3: Stade 3, Phoenix 1
Game 4: Stade 9, Phoenix 8
Game 5: Phoenix 9, Stade 8
Game 6: Phoenix 8, Stade 2
Game 7: Phoenix 8, Stade 6

The Phoenix Rattlers and Stade Maples are rivals with some playoff history between them. This was the fourth time these two teams played for the League 2 Championship. The Rattlers won the first LCS meeting in 2003 while the Maples beat them in 2004 and 2006. In 2009, they played each other nine times during the regular season. Phoenix won the series, 5-4.

Stade’s pitching ace, Max Brown, hurt his shoulder in the last week of September. He was unavailable for the first two games of the LCS. Also unavailable was the Maples’ first baseman, Travis Araoz. In the final game of the regular season Araoz strained an oblique. He was expected to miss a week.

Simon Sanchez (5-8, 5.49 ERA) was named the game one starter for the Rattlers. Pitching for the Maples was Martin Claunch (12-7, 4.61 ERA). The scoring started in the fourth inning when Stade’s Shayne Kimpel hit a solo home run. The Maples added two more runs to build a 3-0 lead. Phoenix got on the board with a run in the top of the eighth but Stade answered with two more runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 5-1 win.

The Rattlers started hard throwing Rey Wilkins (17-9, 3.51 ERA) in game two. Rookie Iván Urías (3-1, 1.85 ERA) got the start for the Maples. Wilkins got the better of his young opponent. The Rattlers struck in the second, with a two-run homer by veteran second baseman Wayne Flanagan. The Maples strung together some singles in the third to even the score. Stade score a run off of Urías in the fourth and another run in the sixth. The Maples bullpen preserved the 4-2 win.

As the series moved to Phoenix, Max Brown (19-5, 2.81 ERA) was healthy enough to start game three for the Maples. Don Jordan (15-8, 3.31 ERA) had the difficult task of pitching against him. Both starters pitched well, but Max Brown was a cut above. In seven innings, Brown gave up only one run. That run came in the seventh inning, when Stade had already built a 3-0 lead. The Maples gave the ball to Earle Seaman in the eighth and Rob Muncy pitched the ninth to close out the 3-1 win.

After some great pitching efforts, the hitters got the upper hand in game four. The Maples’ Luis Hesterfer (17-8, 4.45 ERA) and the Rattlers’ Cipri Henriquez (9-6, 3.53 ERA) were helpless to stop the offensive onslaught. Henriquez gave up four runs and lasted only two innings. The Rattlers’ bullpen was equally ineffective. Hesterfer faired a bit better. He had a 7-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning. The bottom of the seventh was big for the Rattlers. The inning was highlighted by an Anthony Staley triple and a three-run home run by Steamboat Schultz. Schultz’s second homer of the game tied the score 7-7. Both teams scored again and it was 8-8 as the game headed into extra innings. Closer Rob Muncy scored the go-ahead run in the tenth inning with a sac fly. He stayed on to complete the save in the bottom of the tenth.

Game five was another slugfest. The pitching matchup was Martin Claunch vs. Rey Wilkins. Claunch was pitching a no-hit shutout through 2.2 innings when he left the game with a sore elbow. That was a turning point in the game. In the fourth inning, the Maples got out to a 3-0 lead behind home runs by Leslie Hubbard and Topper Blefary. The Rattlers responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own. The game was tied after five innings, when Dan Kelly homered for Phoenix. The runs kept coming and Stade carried an 8-4 lead into the ninth. Brian Hanson was unable to hold that lead, however. After a couple of walks and an error, the Rattlers were still losing 8-5 and down to their last out. Cleanup hitter Steamboat Schultz came up to bat. The crowd went crazy after he won the game with a walk-off grand slam.

Back in Stade for game six, the Maples only needed one win to take the League 2 Series. The team felt very confident with Max Brown on the mound. The Rattlers had their game one starter, Simon Sanchez. Pitching on short rest, Brown struggled early. He was pulled in the third inning after giving up five runs. In contrast, Sanchez pitched a strong seven innings. Phoenix had plenty of offense thanks to home runs by Outlaw and Schultz, as the Rattlers cruised to an 8-2 win.

The Stade Maples had blown a 3-1 series lead and were facing elimination. Game seven featured a pitching showdown between Don Jordan and Luis Hesterfer. The Rattlers didn’t wait long to grab the momentum. In the first inning, Peaches Treacey hit a three-run homer and Wayne Flanagan tripled. Phoenix was quickly out in front, 4-0. The Maples didn’t panic. They scored two runs of their own in the first inning. With Marc Giel pitching in the top of the fourth, the Rattlers added three more runs. Another Phoenix run made in 8-2 in the top of the fifth. Ted Rambo narrowed the score to 8-3 with a 379 foot home run in the bottom of the fifth. The crowd came alive in the bottom of the seventh. A walk, a pair of doubles, and a pair of singles brought Stade to within three runs. That was as close as they would get. The Rattlers defeated the Maples 8-6.

After missing three playoff games due to injury, Maples’ superstar Travis Araoz had only one hit in ten at bats.

The Phoenix Rattlers won the League 2 Series. They will make their first World Championship Series appearance since 2003. Steamboat Schultz hit .333 with 4 HR and 10 RBI. He was the League 2 Series MVP.