Blessed in the West

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 5 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Pilots Extend Lead
The Seattle Pilots continue to grow their division lead, as the Bombers fell to under .500. The two sides met in a thrilling 2-game series during the week, with Seattle taking an 8-5 victory in the first game, and Boise nearly holding Seattle hitless the following day.
With a scoreless tie going into the 9th, the Bombers used a leadoff double along with three singles to take the 3-0 lead. Seattle narrowly avoided being no-hit, as CF David Robertson singled on a 3-1 count off Matt Halcomb, the 15th overall pick, to leadoff the bottom of the 9th inning. Halcomb was removed from the game following the hit, concluding his 118 pitch outing.

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 6 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Sierras Running Away with Southwest
The Nevada Sierras lead the second-place Salt Lake City Alpines by 11 games, as the Southwest appears to have little-to-no competition.
Players of the Month (April) were announced, as follows:

Pacific Northwest Pitcher of the Month:


Pacific Northwest Batter of the Month:


Pacific Southwest Pitcher of the Month:


Pacific Southwest Batter of the Month:

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 7 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Pilots Win 6 Straight, All Stars Announced
The Seattle Pilots certainly were on a roll, capturing 6 straight W's. A couple of intriguing matches emerged during the week, including an 11-run 6th inning by the Pilots against the Claim Jumpers, as well as the PWL's first 3-homer game.



The 2000 All-Stars were announced:
Northwest:

Southwest:

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 8 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Southwest Takes All-Star Game 8-2
Seattle's Mike King hit a leadoff home-run for the North, but it wasn't enough, as the South stars took the game with ease.




The California Claim Jumpers pulled off a miracle comeback against the Bombers on May 15th. Down 10-0 in the bottom of the 9th, California strung together 10 runs on just 3 hits, tying the game at 10. They later won on Matt Greenough's walk-off single, 11-10.

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 9 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Nevada's Magic Number Hits 16
Statistics slightly over 50 games into the year:
Batting:

Pitching:

Fielding:

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 10 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Seattle Maintains Northwest Lead
The Nevada Sierras started off the season with a bang, and never looked back. Their magic number hit 9, and will clinch the Southwest title within a matter of weeks. While Seattle holds onto a 7 game lead over the .500 Montana Bears, the final two playoff spots - second place clubs - is far from decided. Both the Bears and Alpines hold onto a tight one game lead over their third-place competitors, as the final month of the season hits.
Helping out for Montana was a fantastic 2-homer performance by Rafael Rodriguez, who aided in avoiding being swept by Seattle, 2-0.

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 11 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Nevada Clinch Berth, Pennant Chase in Full Swing
Nevada clinched a spot in the 2000 postseason on June 5th, but their pennant sits 1 magic game away. The Bears, Bombers, Alpines, and Claim Jumpers continued to fight for second in their respective divisions, as the chase for the finish line has begun.

In other news, California's All-Star 1B Pat Boggs is out for the year with a torn ligament in his thumb. This news will surely not increase the Claim Jumper's odds of making the playoffs.

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 12 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Pilots Looking Strong in Final Push
The Pilots may be sitting 10 games behind the Sierras in the win column, but certainly have their number this season. Thus far, Nevada have gone 2-5 against the Pilots this year - the only team they have a losing record against. Seattle proved their strength once again, with a 14-4 beating on Nevada.

The Claim Jumpers attempted to show that they deserve to be in the postseason, with a tremendous 19-8 game against the Bears.

Players of the month (May) were released last week, as follow:

Northwest Pitcher of the Month:


Northwest Batter of the Month:


Southwest Pitcher of the Month:


Southwest Batter of the Month:

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 13 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Montana Falls
Both Seattle and Nevada officially clinched their respective divisions during the week. The Montana Bears feel greatly, going 2-8, as they fell into a tie with the Bombers for second. The Trailers jumped back into the race, with indicative results such as the 21-1 beating of the Bears. If Oregon were to pull off a postseason berth, it would have to come in the final push - with just 8 games remaining on the calendar.

[thorpegiovanni]

Week 14 Standings

Power Rankings

HEADLINES:
Northwest Gone Wild
The Northwest experienced several twists and turns during the week, with three position changes ranging from second to last. The Oregon Trailers had actually pulled it off for a day - taking sole control of runner-ups in the Northwest - a spot they had not achieved all year. But, they were unable to pass the obstacle of the Pilots, as Seattle swept them, pushing Oregon back into dead last. Meanwhile, things have not been much brighter in Montana, as they were swept by Oregon themselves, and lost 2/3 at the hands of Boise, falling into third.
With two games remaining in the season - anything is possible.

[thorpegiovanni]

Final Standings

HEADLINES:
THREE-WAY TIE IN NORTHWEST
It happened. All they needed was one win.
Boise. Defeat Oregon = Playoff berth.
Montana. Defeat Seattle = Playoff berth.
Oregon. Defeat Boise AND Montana Loses = Tied for Playoff berth.
Only one of the three clubs met their requirements - the Oregon Trailers. As the name indicates, the Trailers trailed all season long. But the end result is all that matters. Neither Boise or Montana could gain control of second, putting the Bombers, Bears, and Trailers in a three-way draw.

June record: 9-15

June record: 8-16

June record: 11-13

As for the Southwest, the Claim Jumpers needed to beat the Venoms and pray for Nevada's victory over Salt Lake City on the final day. Nevada did their part in defeating SLC 5-4 (completing the sweep), but California did not do theirs, as they fell to Phoenix 2-5, ending their 2000 campaign. The day before, Justin Turner of the Venoms had a noteworthy performance, pitching 10innings in the ND.

[thorpegiovanni]

Tie Breakers
Boise holds tiebreaker over Montana and Oregon.
Bye
Oregon holds tiebreaker over Montana.
Host Montana at 08:00 AM.
Oregon defeats Montana 9-8.
The Trailers used a 4-run 7th to overcome a 6-2 deficit, and never looked back.


Boise host Oregon at 08:05 PM (same day).
Oregon defeats Boise 11-2
If the Trailers were tired, they certainly didn't show it. Adrenaline must've kicked in, as they absolutely destroyed the outplayed Bombers.

[thorpegiovanni]

Playoffs

[thorpegiovanni]

Northwest Semi-Final
Trailers 4 - 2 Pilots

Summary
The Oregon Trailers were the hottest team in the PWL going into their series against the Pilots, and it showed. After dropping a close game 1 by a final of 2-5, and being blown out in game 2, sending their season record against Seattle to 5-13, Oregon bounced back strong. With a 4-4 tie in the 8th inning of game 3, the Trailers tacked on 4 runs to win it, and used the momentum to take the series. Oregon won their next two home appearances, 3-1 and 8-3, pushing the Pilot's backs against the wall. A triple in the top of the 1st inning of game 6 was enough offense for Lindsay and the Pen, as they capped off the upset, winning the series 4-2.

[thorpegiovanni]

Southwest Semi-Final
Alpines 4 - 3 Sierras


Summary
The Nevada Sierras thought nothing could stop them, but they were wrong. The Alpines went 2-14 against the Sierras in the regular season. If you remove the games played on June 16-17th, then it's 0-14. Salt Lake City put all this behind them, taking a nail-bitter in 7 games. Nevada won game 1 12-11 in comeback fashion, which proved to be a minor setback for the Alpines. Salt Lake City quickly took the 3-1 lead in the series, and while Nevada fought back to knot it up at 3, they stood no chance in game 7, as the Alpines advanced to the Pacific Series in a 17-7 upset.

[thorpegiovanni]

Pacific Series
Trailers 4 - 0 Alpines

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4




Summary
Oregon may have been under .500 for the entire regular season, but they proved once again, that it isn't the best teams that win championships - but the hottest. The Trailers finished their entire year with a record of 48-48, as the Alpines stood absolutely no chance against Oregon's stellar pitching. They defeated Montana, Boise, Seattle, and Salt Lake City in their playoff run. Things may've been different if the Sierras had defeated the Alpines, however, as the Trailers went 0-9 vs them this season. Just a month before the season's conclusion, this would've appeared as a nearly impossible feat for the Trailers, but they pulled it off.

The PWL Champions are the Oregon Trailers.

[thorpegiovanni]

[thorpegiovanni]

[Sizeman21]

Great season for the Trailers! Good coverage as well Thorpe. I am really getting to know these teams better!

[thorpegiovanni]

August. The Pacific West league ceases operations after an abrupt bankruptcy following the inaugural 2000 season. While Benjamin was devastated, the memories he took from the year will never be forgotten. Long reign, the Oregon Trailers!