[trman73]

The Warlocks face the Houston Reapers, with the winner earning promotion to Diamond next season. We finished two games better than these guys and have a statistically better offense and pitching staff. They start Maddux and four lefties in their rotation, and we’ll see Peak Fernando Valenzuela, Peak Newhouser, and Peak Matt Kilroy. We do well against lefties (32-22), so we’ll see. We lost four of six to these guys during the season.

We take Game 1, 6-2, thanks to a solid pitching performance from Greg Maddux and some timely hitting off Valenzuela. But Seaver is shaky in Game 2 and we lose, 5-3, to even the series.

Lefty Grove is equally ineffective in Game 3, and they blow it open late on us, winning 13-6. Our backs are against the wall with Dizzy Trout on the mound in Game 4, and we have a 5-4 lead after seven. We send Trout back out for the 8^th, and that proves to be fatal. He gives up a run and leaves men on 1^st and 3^rd for Blyleven to clean up, and Blyleven can’t, as he gives up a two-run double to put Maine up 7-5. We go down meekly in the 9^th, and that’s it. We fall three games to one, and it’s back in Gold for us in 2041. So we’ll have three teams in Gold next season.

Very disappointed with this result.