#1 University Point Deathclaws (67-41) vs #3 Atom Cats (64-44)
Game 6: University Point 2, Atom 0
Raucous Gwinnett Brewery Park Crowd Propels Deathclaws to 2-0, 1-Hit Victory; Series Tied at 3
The University Point Deathclaws and the Atom Cats will take the Association Championship to a decisive 7th game. Facing a must-win situation today, the Deathclaws shut out the Cats 2-0 at Gwinnett Brewery Park to force the series into what will essentially be a one-game playoff. University Point left-hander Phlip Wallace did his part. He threw 9.0 innings of shutout ball.
Wallace went the distance for University Point, allowing no runs on 1 hit, while striking out 5.
"Our guys are never satisfied," said University Point manager Woody Lumpkin.
The next game is set to be played tomorrow at Gwinnett Brewery Park in Boston.
Game 7: Atom 4, University Point 3
Atom Takes Association Championship in Deciding Game
A classic and dramatic Association Championship has wrapped up, with the Atom Cats outlasting the University Point Deathclaws to advance to the Sole Survivor Series.
Atom won the final game by a score of 4-3 and took the series 4-3. Kareem Caravan's 9th-inning solo home run off Deathclaws reliever Matt Suds spelled the difference.
"We can enjoy this one tonight, but then it's back to work and thinking about the next win," said Atom first baseman Will Ashfire, whose standout performance earned him the nod as series MVP.
Ashfire hit .360 with a .433 on-base percentage. He had 2 home runs, drove in 6 RBI and scored 4 runs.
The Atom Cats will play against the Nordhagen Beach Party Boys in the next round. Nordhagen Beach won their series against the County Crossing Bloodbugs 4 games to 0. The Sole Survivor Series schedule will be announced after the Association Championship finishes.
Analysis
This series will go down as a classic in South Charles Association lore, with the undercat Atom Cats coming away with the series in seven games.
After Phlip Wallace's dominating one-hit shutout of the Cats in Game 6, it looked like all momentum would go the Claws' way in Game 7. However, with the big bats of MVP Ashfire and RF Caravan, Atom did what few expected them to do: earn their way to the Sole Survivor Series against the best regular season team in CBO history.
University Point manager Lumpkin must be heavily disappointed in his team's offense in the SCA Championship. Tomas Jones flexed his star power, including hitting a home run in Game 7, but few others contributed to the Deathclaws' chances to win a championship in 2301. Now they need to regroup for the 2302 season, and their talent should keep them in contention.
We are still not convinced the Cats are as good as they have been and wonder if this season is an outlier. Though they are nowhere near the talent level of the Party Boys, the Cats have shown good pitching throughout the 2301 season, which is the reason they have gotten this far and still have a chance in the Sole Survivor Series. But we'll save that information for the SSS preview. In the meantime, Atom is excited to be in the Sole Survivor Series, and they will fight hard to take it.
Updated Playoff Tree
