It is
becoming a tradition: the teams of Scott Hatfield and Andrew Haynes squaring off
in the BARB playoffs. From their first meeting in the 2003 World Series through
2016, Haynes’ Santa Barbara Storm and Frostbite Falls Flying Squirrels were
masterful against Hatfield’s Delta V’s, Darwin Finches and St. Francis
Friars/Kansans, taking three World Series and one divisional-round title. The
2016 series was the first to go the distance, with Frostbite Falls escaping in
the fifth game of the best-of-five.
In 2017,
the Kansans flipped the script. After taking the Grapefruit division in
commanding fashion, Hatfield’s charges had little trouble with Haynes’ Cactus
wild card squad, sweeping the series in three games.
The 2018
regular-season series went the way of St. Francis, though not by much the Kansans
took eight of the 14 games between the two but only outscored Frostbite Falls
by six in those 14 matchups. Their seven-game difference in the standing was
somewhat deceiving, with the Flying Squirrels turning in a slightly better
margin of runs scored against runs allowed than their hosts. So how would this
series turn out?
GAME 1: FROSTBITE FALLS @ ST. FRANCIS
For Game 1 at The Monastery, the Kansans chose to start
crafty veteran Rich Hill, who had a history of solid playoff performances – as well
as a couple great starts in 2018 – against his former squad.
Immediately, the Squirrels put together a rally. Alex Bregman
singled to center and advanced on a swinging bunt groundout, then Nick Hundley
punched a seeing-eye single up the middle to score the speedy Bregman for a 1-0
lead.
Opposing Hill was hard-throwing James Paxton. With an early
lead, Paxton promptly walked Jose Altuve and went to a full count on Justin
Turner, but a double play erased the runner and ended the threat.
The Kansans went down quietly in the second, but Kike
Hernandez tripled to open the third. Surely, the hosts would tie the score,
right? Nope. Strike out, pop out, ground out and the Big Maple got his team off
the field with the lead intact.
Their pitcher stranding the runner gave momentum to the
Squirrels offense, and they capitalized with a two-run fourth. Josh Reddick was
nailed by Hill’s first offering of the frame, and with one out he stole second
base. A groundout put him at third, but the tally wasn’t confirmed until Elvis
Andrus hammered a 2-2 offering to left field – a 3-0 advantage for the
visitiors!
Frostbite Falls continued to put pressure on St. Francis
pitching, but they were unable to tack on insurance despite a leadoff triple in
the sixth and Mike Trout walk and stolen base to open the seventh.
Paxton, meanwhile, issued just two walks from the fourth
through the sixth, and he was under 100 pitches into the seventh.
That’s when the Kansans showed life with the bats. Turner
opened with a single, and with one out Eugenio Suarez lined a hit to center
field. Squirrels manager Mike Noakes went to the ‘pen, installing Justin Wilson
to face Wilson Ramos. There was no Improvement
for the Home-standing Kansans, as
Frostbite took the Wilson-Wilson battle thanks to a can of corn to right field.
Tim Beckham then grounded back to the mound in a pinch-hitting appearance to
strand both runners.
Turner tried to kick-start a last-ditch rally in the ninth,
but his leadoff double went for naught as Josh Fields and Corey Knebel finished
things off. There would be no St. Francis sweep of Frostbite Falls this time
around, and the Flying Squirrels had wrested home-field advantage from their
counterparts.
FINAL: FROSTBITE FALLS 3, ST. FRANCIS 0
GAME 2: FROSTBITE FALLS @ ST. FRANCIS, FROSTBITE FALLS LEADS
1-0
The second game started much the same as the first, with the
visiting Squirrels putting up a run before the Kansans even came to bat. In
fact, before any of the other 17 hitters starting the game stepped to the dish,
Mike Trout clobbered Walker Buehler’s second pitch of the game out of the park
to left-center, stunning a Kansans crowd that had yet to settle into their
seats.
St. Francis, facing another youngster in Jack Flaherty,
earned a pair of walks in the home half but couldn’t put either across.
A two-on, one-out situation in the third came up empty for
the hosts. In the fourth they did the same – but finally came up with a clutch
hit. Eugenio Suarez and Kyle Schwarber walked, and Wilson Ramos blooped into
left field. Suarez was sent around third as Adam Eaton’s throw came toward Gary
Sanchez. The normally stone-gloved Sanchez caught the throw on a hop, turned
and swiped at Suarez…OUT! The Kansans were held off the board once again, and
the Frostbite lead held.
Sanchez, apparently hyped up after his tag, found an extra
gear and beat out an infield single to start the fifth. With one out, he
motored to third base on and Elvis Andrus double. Trout was walked
intentionally to load the base with two down, and Eaton fell behind 1-2. That’s
when Buehler lost the handle on a slider, and it pegged Eaton in the thigh to
drive in a run and double the Frostbite lead!
After three tough innings in the first four, Flaherty settled
down and retired eight in a row. He issued his sixth walk with two out in the
seventh and was sent to the showers after 110 pitches while Brad Boxberger
finished the frame.
Still leading, 2-0, the Flying Squirrels tacked on one more
in the eighth. Trout singled against Josh Hader and then sprinted all the way
around on a Nick Hundley pinch-double.
Boxberger, Adam Morgan and Corey Knebel had little trouble
setting down St. Francis in the final two innings, and Frostbite Falls came
away with their second win on the road – giving them two chances to take the
series at home.
FINAL: FROSTBITE FALLS 3, ST. FRANCIS 0
GAME 3: ST. FRANCIS @ FROSTBITE FALLS, FROSTBITE FALLS LEADS
2-0
In need of just one win with two chances at Rocky Top @ Bullwinkle
Corner, the Flying Squirrels put veteran right-hander Jake Arrieta on the mound
to face Charlie Morton.
Despite a walk and an error in the top of the first, Arrieta
kept his composure and induced an inning-ending double play to extend St.
Francis’ scoreless streak in the series to 19 innings.
Frostbite Falls, on the other hand, continued their habit of
scoring in the first. Mike Trout singled and stole second base and Adam Eaton
walked. Paul Goldschmidt, silent in the series, continued his cold spell with a
force out – though his hustle kept the home team out of a double play. The
fruits of his hustle showed two batters later, as Alex Bregman soared a fly
ball deep to right with the bases loaded. It didn’t go out, but with one down
it was enough to bring Trout across with the game’s first run.
The game was quiet until the bottom of the fourth. Bregman
singled and stole second base, and with one out Morton was replaced in favor of
Cole Hamels with the Kansans in emergency mode on the brink of elimination.
Hamels did his job and induced weak contact…but it was TOO weak. Josh Reddick
beat out a 20-bouncer toward second base to put runners on the corners. Stephen
Strasburg entered and hit Elvis Andrus, loading the bases, but Yoan Moncada
struck out.
That turned the lineup over for Trout. Strasburg tried to
sneak a fastball by Trout on the outside, but the slugging righty went with it
and laced the ball into the right-field corner. All three runners scored, sending
the crowd into a frenzy with their team just innings away from a sweep.
The aforementioned scoreless streak turned in by Flying
Squirrels pitching continued on through the fourth, reaching 22 frames in the
series without allowing a run. That abruptly came to a halt in the fifth, when
Adam Duvall homered to bring the Kansans within three.
Two innings later, St. Francis struck again. Arrieta, clearly
tiring, gave up two singles around a strikeout of Duvall. Kyle Schwarber was
put in to pinch-hit for Wilson Ramos, but Justin Wilson trotted out of the
bullpen and struck out the slugger on three pitches.
Maybe Wilson should have remained in the game. Wilson’s job
done, erstwhile Kansans reliever Ken Giles entered prepared face a string of his
former teammates, all right-handed hitters. He hit the first, Justin Turner, to
load the bases, and Jose Altuve jumped on a hanging breaking ball. The line
drive dropped in shallow center field, scoring two runners. Josh Fields took
over and walked J.D. Martinez to load the bases, but Eugenio Suarez grounded
out to end the inning. The damage was done, however – St. Francis was right back
in the game, down 4-3.
Fields tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and after Josh Hader
walked Goldschmidt to open the bottom of the eighth Kenley Jansen made an
appearance. Goldschmidt, though, put himself in scoring position with a stolen
base, and he advance to third on a Matt Holliday fly out. Bregman then grounded
toward the right side. The infield was in, but Altuve had to lunge to his left
and was out of position to make the throw home. Goldschmidt scored, giving an
insurance run to Frostbite Falls as they went to the ninth.
The 8-9-1 hitters were due up for St. Francis. Andrew Heaney
got Didi Gregorius to pop out. Kike Hernandez was announced as a pinch-hitter
for Schwarber, but the Squirrels countered with Corey Knebel. A ground out and
a Turner strikeout followed, sending the underdog Flying Squirrels onto the
field in celebration while Scott Hatfield lamented the new league policy of
allowing the division’s fourth-best team into the playoffs – taking away what
would have been a bye for his squad. Instead, he would have to watch from home
a year after coming within a game of taking his first World Championship.
The Squirrels, meanwhile, celebrated their sweep and awaited
the winner of the Brownsville-Oakland series to find out who they would face in
an attempt to advance to the 2018 World Series.
FINAL: FROSTBITE FALLS 5, ST. FRANCIS 3.
FROSTBITE FALLS WINS SERIES, 3-0
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