NALB 2005 Playoffs - League 2 Series

K. Fields
2006-11-05T18:41:49-05:00
Baseball

League 2 Series - Richmond Slam vs. Stade Maples

Game 1: Stade 4, Richmond 0
Game 2: Richmond 5, Stade 4
Game 3: Richmond 7, Stade 1
Game 4: Richmond 15, Stade 7
Game 5: Stade 9, Richmond 0
Game 6: Richmond 8, Stade 3

The heavily favored Stade Maples played host to the Richmond Slam for the first two games. The Maples sent staff ace Max Brown (20-4, 2.08 ERA) to the mound for Game 1. He did not disappoint. Brown was almost unhittable and pitched a three-hit shutout with no walks and eight strikeouts. In Game 2, Richmond jumped on Maples' pitcher Mario Fisher early. They scored four runs against him in the first inning and held on to win the game 5-4. The Slam seemed energized as the series moved to Richmond for Game 3. Once again, they struck early against Maples' pitching. The Slam scored an amazing seven runs against Chris Rodriguez and knocked him out of the game in the first inning. Richmond coasted the rest of the way behind strong pitching from Dick Colbert. Things went from bad to worse for Stade in Game 4. The Maples had no answer for the Slam hitters and were pounded in a 15-7 loss. Facing elimination, the Stade Maples turned once more to ace Max Brown for a win in Game 5. Brown delivered the goods by pitching seven shutout innings. Phil McGinn provided excellent relief pitching and nailed down a 9-0 win for the Maples. It was back to Stade for Game 6 and the Maples needed two wins to pull out the Series. It was not to be. Despite falling behind 3-0 early, the Slam came roaring back with timely hitting. It was Richmond's day as they won the game 8-3.

The Richmond Slam shocked the world by defeating the Stade Maples four games to two. They are headed to the World Championship Series for the first time since 2001.