NALB 2008 Playoffs - League 1 Series

K. Fields
2009-10-24T18:51:02-04:00
Baseball

2008 League 1 Series - Cornfield Axemen vs. Brooklyn Knights

Game 1: Cornfield 11, Brooklyn 7
Game 2: Cornfield 6, Brooklyn 3
Game 3: Brooklyn 19, Cornfield 5
Game 4: Brooklyn 7, Cornfield 3
Game 5: Cornfield 10, Brooklyn 9
Game 6: Brooklyn 5, Cornfield 4
Game 7: Brooklyn 4, Cornfield 3

For the fourth straight year, the Cornfield Axemen (108-54) faced the Brooklyn Knights (113-49) in the League 1 Series. Cornfield was swept by Brooklyn in the last two League 1 Series. This year, however, they had ace Hap Bedford available. In 2007, he was unable to pitch in the playoffs due to an injury.

Hap Bedford (21-9, 3.48 ERA) took the mound for the Axemen against Bernard Gastelu (11-5, 3.55 ERA) for the Knights. Brooklyn’s young starter did not pitch well. Gastelu gave up five runs early and Lonnie Bennett struggled in relief. After five innings, the Axemen had a 9-0 blowout underway. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Knights did some scoring late but Cornfield held on for an 11-7 win.

The Axemen started hard throwing lefty Billy Martinez (17-7, 3.64 ERA) against the Knights’ crafty veteran Tracy Corkhill (10-4, 2.35 ERA). John Edwards and Dee Fletcher hit home runs to give Cornfield an early 6-1 lead. The Knights scored in the third and fourth but that was all they could muster. Martinez pitched eight innings and Pendarvis closed things out in the ninth for a 6-3 win.

Game 3 moved to Cornfield. The Knights started Bob Wiesner (17-7, 3.65 ERA) and the Axemen chose steady veteran John Watkins (14-9, 3.46 ERA) as their starter. The Axemen jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead. The Knights took a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning. That was their first lead of the series. Cornfield managed a run here and there while the Brooklyn bats caught fire. The Knights scored five runs in the sixth, two runs in the seventh, and an amazing eight runs in the ninth. Brooklyn’s Ted Pollet and Kid Detherage were perfect, going 4-4 and 5-5, respectively. Pollet alone accounted for 7 RBI.

The Knights desperately wanted to even the series with a game 4 win. Brooklyn made a somewhat controversial decision by starting Omar Cambra (3-4, 5.09 ERA). Cambra struggled in 2008 and spent much of the second half of the season down at AAA. Cornfield liked their chances at home with Bob Palmer (16-7, 3.38 ERA) on the mound. The Axemen struck first by scoring two runs in the bottom of the third. In the fourth, the Knights answered with a 3-run home run by Jeromy Bezanson. The big blow came in the top of the seventh when Michael Duhon hit a grand slam off of Hughie Grover. A late run by Cornfield did not change the outcome. Brooklyn won 7-3 and tied the series.

Game 5 was the final game in Cornfield. It featured a rematch of the Game 1 starters, Gastelu vs. Bedford. Gary Mccreery opened the game with a leadoff home run. Hooks Goetz blasted a 3-run homer in the top of the third to expand Brooklyn’s lead to 4-0. The Axemen came right back and tied the score, 4-4. In the sixth inning, Michael Duhon hit a 2-run home run, giving the lead back to Brooklyn. Cornfield struck again with a Fletcher home run and several more hits. After six innings, Cornfield led 8-6. Brooklyn scored three runs in the eighth and had the lead once again. The Knights sent closer Jeff Ramirez in for two inning save. He worked the Knights out of a jam by getting a strike out and a double play. Ramirez blew the save in the ninth when he gave up a solo home run to John Edwards. In extra innings, the game was decided in the 11th inning when John Edwards singled off of Fred Millard. The Axemen pulled out a 10-9 win.

Billy Martinez and Tracy Corkhill met again in Brooklyn for game 6. Shortstop Yale Burns opened the scoring with a 2-run homer for the Knights in the second inning. Cornfield scored one run in the fourth and two more in the sixth thanks to a double by Lou Larose. Tad Burridge hit a solo home run in the seventh and the Axemen had a 4-2 lead. Cornfield was only two innings from wrapping up the series when Brooklyn didn’t score in the seventh. The Knights worked their comeback magic in the eighth inning, however. After a series of hits, Brooklyn had retaken the lead by a score of 5-4. Ramirez closed out the ninth and 5-4 was the final score.

It seemed appropriate that this epic struggle between two tremendous baseballs teams should be determined by a game 7. Once again it was John Watkins vs. Bob Wiesner. The Axemen needed a much better start from Watkins than they got from him in game 3 if they had any hope of winning. Dick Moran hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning to put the Knights out in front, 1-0. In the top of the second, Edwards, Fletcher, and Larose all produced hits. Cornfield had the lead, 3-1. Singles from Moran, Kelley, and Goetz narrowed Cornfield’s lead to 3-2 in the third inning. The Brooklyn crowd was quite nervous as the Knights trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth. However, Dan Kelley brought the fans to their feet with a solo home run, tying the score 3-3. The game went into extra innings and both bullpens pitched well. In the bottom of the 12th inning with Lou Welch on the mound, Michael Duhon gave Brooklyn some hope with line drive double to right field. Hooks Goetz singled home the winning run with a walk-off single. The Knights won 4-3.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Brooklyn Knights are the 2008 League 1 champions and will play in the World Championship Series. Ted Pollet was 13 for 29 (.448) with a grand slam and drove in 9 runs. He was the League 1 Series MVP.