FARMINGTON – The 2023 Connie Mack World Series featured four first-round championship bracket games Monday at Ricketts Park.
In the opening game of the Monday session, the Colton (CA) Nighthawks rolled to a 10-4 win over the Albuquerque Baseball Academy.
Later in the day, the Mississauga Tigers earned a 5-3 win over Dallas-based D-Bat United, thanks to a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
In the Monday evening session, Dulin’s Dodgers outscored the Oklahoma Express by a final score of 12-7, while in the nightcap, the Southern California Renegades remain unbeaten in Farmington this summer, beating the host team 505 Panthers by a score of 11-3.
Here’s a recap of each of the Monday contests.
Eric Jeon, Logan Kelly and Trent Abel paced the Colton Nighthawks offense with seven hits and four runs batted in as they rolled to a 10-4 win over the Albuquerque Baseball Academy in the opening game of the championship bracket for both teams on Monday morning at Ricketts Park.
Kelly, with a pair of doubles and a pair of runs scored, got the Nighthawks’ offense rolling early as they scored three times in the top of the first inning.
Jeon and Abel jumped on ABA starting pitcher Regan Hall, who settled down after the opening frame to throw five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits before he was pulled from the mound in favor or reliever Seth Lee.
The ABA evened the game at 3-3 after one inning when Vascon Smith and Steve Solarzano each drove in runs to tie the score.
Nighthawks starting pitcher Braden Wauschek stymied the ABA offense after that opening frame, going four innings and allowing only a pair of hits. He earned the win when he was pulled in favor of Andrew Parker in the fifth inning with Colton leading 4-3.
“I tell these guys to go out there and throw strikes,” said Nighthawks coach Ruben Montano. “Especially against a team that’s got some talent in the lineup. I’m real happy with the way they performed and the way the defense stepped up for them.”
The Nighthawks put the game away in the later inning, scoring a run in the fifth inning before adding a pair of runs in the sixth and three more in the top of the seventh inning.
“Our philosophy has always been to get to the next guy in the lineup,” Montano said. “I thought we all had some really good quality at-bats today.”
The Nighthawks victory set up a second round game in the championship bracket on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Ricketts Park against the Mississauga Tigers.
“It doesn’t matter about the level of competition, getting that first win in the bracket means a lot here,” Montano said. “It gets the momentum going and keeps everyone focused on the next game.”
For the ABA, the loss drops them into the consolation bracket and a Tuesday matchup against D-Bat United. That elimination game is scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Farmington Sports Complex.
Lachlan Maude’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Mississauga Tigers to an emotional 5-3 win Monday afternoon at Ricketts Park over Dallas’ D-Bat United.
Maude, who came up with a man on first and one out, hit a rocket off the right arm of D-Bat reliever Griffin Lewis to give the Tigers the win, advancing the Canadian squad into a Tuesday second-round championship bracket game against the Colton Nighthawks, slated to begin at 1 p.m.
Maude, who works behind the plate for the Tigers, was also a major factor for Mississauga defensively, as he was calling pitches for starter Wes Johnston, who threw a complete game for the victory. Johnston threw 101 pitches, striking out six batters and allowing only eight hits and one walk.
“I wasn’t really worried about the hits. I wasn’t worried about guys getting on base, because I knew I had the defense behind me,” Johnston said. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to (Maude) because we have a good chemistry throwing to each other.”
Coach Greg Byron was emotional talking about the win.
“I can’t even come up with the words to describe it,” Byron said. “We’ve been together as a team now for three years and we’ve played every game like we’ve been building to this moment.”
D-Bat United fell behind early, giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. Mississauga’s David Stanley and Marc Nellis each drove in a run off D-Bat starting pitcher Bennett Fryman.
Meantime, the United squad also struggled offensively in the opening frames, thanks to an impressive performance from Johnston.
Johnston ran into some trouble in the fifth inning, giving up three runs and the lead in the process. Back-to-back RBI singles by leadoff hitter Jaxon Willits and Lathan Van Ausdall tied the game before Lane Allen’s sacrifice fly ball to left field scored Willits for a 3-2 D-Bat lead.
“Coach Byron came over to me after that inning and told me to just take a breath,” Johnston said. “My emotions were starting to get the better of me, so it helped get me back and get me to calm down.”
D-Bat’s troubles on the mound continued into the bottom of the sixth inning, when relievers Brad Pruett and Bryce McCain combined to hit four consecutive batters. After Pruett plunked Keshav Tebeck and Seth Hedges, Pruett was replaced by McCain, who promptly loaded the bases when he hit Anderson Fenwick. Nathan Currah was the fourth straight batter to be hit by a pitch, scoring Tebeck and tying the ballgame.
Johnston again got into trouble to start the seventh inning for the Tigers, but battled through despite loading the bases with two outs. Facing Ryan Alexander, who was hitless all afternoon, Johnston escaped the jam when Alexander grounded out to the shortstop.
All of which led to the dramatic moment in the bottom of the seventh. Lewis was brought onto the mound by D-Bat to help send the game into extra innings. Maude’s home run changed all of that.
“Honestly, that moment, this game, it couldn’t have happened to two better individuals,” Byron said. “What it means for us, our program, our country is pretty indescribable.”
The loss drops D-Bat United into the consolation bracket, meaning they would need to win every game the rest of the way to earn the CMWS trophy. They’ll be in action at the Farmington Sports Complex Tuesday at 1 p.m. against the Albuquerque Baseball Academy.
A balanced offensive attack, punctuated by 11 hits on the night, spurred the Southern California Renegades to an 11-3 win over the 505 Panthers as the second day of championship bracket play wrapped up Monday night at Ricketts Park.
Matt Thomas hit a solo home run in the third inning, with the Renegades already leading 4-2. Thomas was one of seven Renegades players to record a base hit in the contest, along with Blake Wilson, Nate Norman and Hudson Story, each of whom had a pair of hits in the win.
Meantime, starting pitcher Nick Williams threw four solid innings, striking out three while walking a pair of hitters and giving up five hits in the contest before turning things over to Lucas Scott, who gave up only one hit and struck out a pair in two innings of relief.
The win keeps the Renegades’ record unblemished through their time in Farmington and advances the team into the second round of the championship bracket. The Renegades went 3-0 during pool play competition last weekend and will look to extend their win streak when they faceoff against Dulin’s Dodgers at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Both teams opened the game with run-scoring first innings. The Renegades opened with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning before the Panthers scored twice in the bottom half of the inning.
Elijah Long’s 2-RBI double to right scored Josh Wulfert and Keenan Bejar, equaling the score after one inning.
The Renegades came back with two more runs in the top of the second, followed by a run in the third inning, then opened up with three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, securing the win.
The Panthers loss means the team will face elimination at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ricketts Park when they face the Oklahoma Express scheduled.
Dulin’s Dodgers, last year’s Don Mattingly World Series winners and an automatic qualifier into this year’s Connie Mack World Series, took full advantage of some sloppy defense and nine free passes on its way to a 12-7 win over the Oklahoma Express on Monday night at Ricketts Park.
The Dodgers, which trailed 5-3 heading to the bottom half of the third inning, scored seven times in that frame, thanks to six consecutive plate appearances which resulted either in walks or hit batsmen. Those plays brought in a pair of runs before Express starting pitcher Cash Kuiper was pulled in favor of Luke Bourland.
That pitching change didn’t help matters. With bases loaded, Kendyl Johnson scorched a triple to center field which scored three runs and put the Dodgers in front by a final of 9-5.
In all, Oklahoma Express pitchers walked nine batters while allowing 12 runs on eight hits. Defensively, the Express committed three errors which also extended innings and further hurt the team’s cause.
On the opposite end, Dodgers pitcher Michael Catalano struck out 10 batters, walked only one and earned the win, which puts the team into the second round and a championship bracket contest at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday against the So Cal Renegades at Ricketts Park.
Johnson and Kyle Branch each recorded three RBI’s with the win, while Branch, Johnson, Matt Mainord and Dakota Howard each scored a pair of runs.
The loss drops the Express into the consolation bracket, and an elimination contest Tuesday at Ricketts Park against the 505 Panthers. Game time for that contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
For updated brackets, schedules and more, visit the official website for the Connie Mack World Series at CMWS.org.
