NABL a History

[JayW UK]

2039 Playoffs

Championship Round

The Eastern League Championship Series was the third season in a row that Boston would take on Indianapolis in the playoffs (but was their first meeting at this stage). Between them the two teams had been the EL representative in seven of the last ten World Series (IND 5, BOS 2), for Indianapolis this was their tenth appearance in the Pennant series whilst for Boston this was number five with the Pilgrims unbeaten in their four previous appearances. Game one was an interesting study of the two teams different offensive philosophies, Indianapolis out hit Boston 12-6 but where all twelve of the Racers hits were singles resulting in just three runs, half of Boston’s six hits were homeruns (one each for Jared Guest, Eduardo Moreno and Rob Penney) as the hometown Pilgrims blasted their way to an 8-3 victory in the series curtain raiser. The feast or famine nature of Boston’s offense showed itself during game two as once again the Pilgrims were out hit (10-7) but this time none of their hits went over the fence and Indianapolis used their speed on the bases to eke out a tough 4-2 win. With the series tied and the next three games in Indianapolis the advantage was firmly in the hands of the Racers, game three was a pitching duel between Dave Lockhart (IND) and Gerald Helton (BOS) with neither team able to break through until both were back in the dugout. An RBI single from Jose Villalobos and a bases loaded walk gave Indianapolis a 2-0 lead entering the ninth but a disastrous outing from Pedro Rosario (0.1 IP, 2BB, 3H 4R) put Boston in the driving seat. Despite Randy Harrington hitting a solo homerun to give the Racer fans hope, Armando Cuzzocrea stood firm as Boston stole ahead 2-1 in the series. Boston’s Steve Raines had a night to remember in game four, blasting a pair of homeruns and driving in six of the Pilgrims nine runs, a late rally from Indianapolis (sparked by a Jim Mailes homer) almost snatched the game away from Boston but Armando Cuzzocrea came out of the bullpen to save the day, and secure the 9-7 Pilgrims victory. Facing elimination, Indianapolis turned to veteran pitcher Ramon Schoof to matchup against Boston ace Brett Knight, entering the seventh with the Racers holding a 2-0 lead and Schoof proving difficult to score against the decision looked to be a good one. At that point Boston’s dormant offense woke up, battering Schoof and reliever Barry Hayden for six runs, keyed by a 2-RBI homerun from 41-year-old 2B Jack Underwood. Indianapolis tried for one last rally cutting the lead to two on Pancho Sousa’s 2-run homer, but Armando Cuzzocrea and Ralf Conrad saw Boston safely home as the Pilgrims secured their place in the World Series for the third time in four years and kept alive their 100% record in EL pennant series (now 5-0).

The Western league pennant series saw playoff newbies Omaha continue their dream postseason debut with a matchup against 98-win Houston. Pitching dominated game one with both starters hurling seven innings of one-run ball, Omaha LF Vincent Drew's eighth inning homerun off Houston reliever Alex Allenby proved the difference in a cagey 2-1 Braves victory. Houston RF Wolfgang Worns' first inning homerun set the tone for game two as Omaha starter Jacobie Harksdale imploded early, surrendering six runs before exiting after four innings. Houston's starter, Wes Pierson on the other hand was masterful before he left the game with an injury, as the Stars cruised to 9-4 win. With the series finely balanced at one apiece and the next three games all in Omaha, the Stars would need to win at least one road game to take the series back to Houston, something they had not accomplished in the last two regular seasons (0-8 in Omaha during that spell) and that record duly became 0-9 as a late 2-RBI Luis Ortiz homerun propelled Omaha to victory in game three. The following night Houston starter Dave Martinez was pitching well until a mistake in the seventh (he surrendered a go ahead 2-run homer to SS Sixto Castro), turned the game in Omaha's favour. With the home fans daring to dream of a World Series appearance the two teams took to the field for game five, Houston starter Jose Vasquez struggled through 4.2 innings, giving up six runs including homeruns to 1B Carl Stokes and SS Sixto Castro before being relieved, leaving Houston with a mountain to climb. Led by Bryant Deshields and Hector Soto Houston mounted an impressive rally cutting the lead to just one run entering the ninth inning, where after putting two men aboard and with the home fans getting decidedly nervous, Omaha pitcher Sergio Olivarez held his nerve to close out the game and send Omaha to their maiden World Series.

[JayW UK]

2039 Playoffs

World Series

The 2039 World Series saw Boston making their fifth appearance face off against first timers Omaha, and despite the western league champs having the home advantage, Boston were seen by many as the favourites to lift the trophy. For the first six innings game one was a pitching duel between starters Jacobie Harksdale (OMH) and Gerald Helton (BOS) with both teams combining for just three hits and one run apiece. Then came the seventh inning, in the top half Boston turned four hits into four runs to take 5-1 lead before in the home half, the Braves battered Gerald Helton to the tune of six runs including back-to-back homeruns from CF Luis Ortiz and LF John Salazar putting Omaha on top 7-5. Neither team added to the score in the eighth before Omaha closer Sergio Olivarez took just eight pitches to wrap up the series opener in favour of the Braves. Game two was a similar story to the series opener with a single inning making the difference, this time it was the sixth. With Omaha holding a 3-1 lead Boston pummelled a trio of Braves pitchers for five runs including a Grand-Slam from George Shreeve to turn the game on its head as Boston went on to tie the series with a 7-4 victory. Two nights later back in Beantown, a sixth inning Rob Penney homerun put Boston ahead for good as the Pilgrims withstood a ninth inning Omaha rally to take game three. A pitching duel of the highest quality between Omaha's Pedro Flores and Boston ace Brett Knight was the story of game four, where despite allowing just four hits Knight ended up the loser as the Pilgrims dropped a tight one to leave the series once again all-square. Boston had the chance to put game five to bed early, entering the bottom of the fourth 3-1 to the good the Pilgrims proceeded to load the bases before anyone was out, but completely failed to take advantage allowing Omaha to escape the inning still only 3-1 down. Spurred on by stellar defense (including an unassisted double play by 1B Carl Stokes) and timely hitting culminating in 3B Sergio Romo’s ninth inning RBI double, Omaha turned the tables on their hosts with a come from behind 4-3 victory. After the disappointing way they lost game five Boston arrived in Omaha up against it, knowing they had to win both of the final two games on the road to claim their third World Series title, their hosts on the other hand were full of confidence after back-to-back road wins and were secure in the knowledge that they would have two bites at the cherry. Omaha had plenty of opportunities to wrap up the World Series in game six, they put men on base in all but the seventh inning and held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 but couldn’t find that knockout blow, Boston fought back to take the lead with homeruns from CF Weldon Render and 1B John Herman before closer Armando Cuzzocrea worked around a ninth inning Michael Hoover double to collect the save and ensure the series would go to a deciding game seven. In the biggest game in franchise history Omaha’s players seemed to freeze in the spotlight, coming up short in game seven, Boston starter Mike Mayfield went the distance holding the Braves to a single run on five hits while the Pilgrims offense blasted three homeruns (C Eduardo Moreno, CF Weldon Render and little used outfielder Won-Sub Park) on their way to a comfortable 6-1 series clinching win. The victory gave Boston their third World Series title putting them one behind Indianapolis for the most Championships in NABL history and to many people this had been their most impressive (recovering from disappointing home losses in games four and five to win the final two games on the road).

2039 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Boston 3-2 Chicago, Indianapolis 3-1 Atlanta
[B]WL: Houston 3-0 Sanfrancisco, Omaha 3-1 Las Vegas
Championship Series[/B]
EL: Boston 4-1 Indianapolis
WL: Omaha 4-1 Houston
World Series
Boston 4-3 Omaha