18-Grip Shield Glory Days

FALL 2005-TIGRES WIN 2005 NATIONAL TITLE IN PHOENIX Jose Espino's walk off home run in the bottom of the 13th inning Sunday gave the Palm Beach League's Los Tigres their first ever title in the NABA's prestigious National Championship Series in Arizona. Espino's game winner at Ho Ho Kam Stadium in Mesa, the spring home of the Chicago Cubs, gave Los Tigres a 3-2 victory over the Sacramento (CA) Firebirds in the title game of the tournament's 18AA division. Los Tigres, managed by Santos Adames and Arrigo Dodgers' manager Rick Brescia, finally brought a national title back on their fourth try. Earlier in the day, Los Tigres defeated the Northern Rage 9-1 at the Maryvale Complex in Phoenix, spring home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Sacramento, meanwhile, defeated the pool champion Denver Bulls in the other semifinal to earn their berth in the championship game. Carlos Dominguez of the Dodgers pitched nine brilliant relief innings to earn the victory. Los Tigres also pulled off a triple play in the 18AA finale. Los Tigres also won a national tournament earlier this year when they copped the Citrus Classic in Palm Beach county for the second time. The only other national title collected by a Palm Beach team out of the area was in 2000 when the Rockets took the crown at the Hall of Fame Wood Bat tournament in Cooperstown, New York. The championship also took the bitterness out of a Palm Beach spring season in which Los Tigres had to be expelled from the league for the rest of the season after an incident during a league game. Four players from that team have been permanently banned, and Manager Adames has indicated that Los Tigres will change their team name back to Caribbean Stars, the original name of the squad, when they enter the 2005 Fall League season. POOL PLAY-SATURDAY RESULTS A 10-7 victory over the Sacramento Firebirds yesterday at Maryvale, coupled with a 5-4 win by the Rage over the Colorado Reds at the Peoria Complex (San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners) assured Los Tigres of a bye past the Saturday night quarterfinals at Fitch Field (Chicago Cubs' minor league complex) in Mesa. The Denver Bulls outslugged the previously unbeaten Orange County (CA) Twins 15-11 at Maryvale to take pool honors with a record of 4-1. In Saturday night's semifinals at Fitch, the Rage downed the Orange County (CA) Warriors 8-3, while the Firebirds edged the Orange County Twins 6-5. POOL PLAY-FRIDAY RESULTS Los Tigres lost a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to the then undefeated Denver Bulls at the Maryvale Complex in Phoenix, spring home of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Palm Beachers were forced to play the game without six players from the Phoenix area who could not make the morning contest. However, the afternoon proved to be much better for the Tigres. They walloped the Colorado Giants 14-3. At the same time, the Bulls suffered their first defeat of the tournament, a surprising 5-2 loss to the Orange County Warriors (2-2), a team Los Tigres had demolished 17-4 on Friday. So, the two day results left Los Tigres in fourth place in the ten team pool--a good position since six teams make the playoffs in the 18AA division. Los Tigres has allowed only 19 runs in their four games, the fewest number allowed by any team in their pool. The Orange County Twins were the pool leaders through Friday, with three wins and a tie. The Sacramento Firebirds (3-1) were in second place, having allowed three fewer runs than the Bulls, who are also 3-1 through the first two days. POOL PLAY-THURSDAY RESULTS After being held to an 8-8 tie in the morning by the Northern Rage, Los Tigres crushed the Orange County Warriors 17-4 on the first day (Oct.6) of the NABA's National Championship Series. Both games were played at the Surprise (AZ) complex, the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. The Denver Bulls and Sacramento Firebirds were the only two teams to come through opening day undefeated in the 18AA division. One of the Bulls' wins was a 15-14 victory over the Rage, leaving the Rage with an 0-1-1 record after the first day. FALL 2005-TWINS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT TITLE, ANGELS BEAT CARDS FOR FIRST 18AA CROWN The Estilo Twins became quadruplets on Sunday, winning their fourth straight 18AAA championship, 8-1, over the Arrigo Dodgers at the Lantana Sports Complex. The Angels took the 18AA championship 10-7 in the morning title game against the Cardinals. The Twins, behind the strong pitching of Most Valuable Player Jose Acuno, made it look easy. Acuna went the distance, giving up only four hits and striking out fifteen. He also added three singles and scored a run. The Twins scored two runs in the second and another in the third, all with no hits. The Dodgers committed three errors in the second and another in third inning. The Twins added single runs in the sixth and seventh and run scoring doubles by Alberto Lambis and Miguel Cuello and three more in the ninth on an RBI hit by Francis Dinzey, a run scoring double by Ricky Dominguez and a wild pitch. The Dodgers bunched together three of their four hits, and their only run in the fourth inning. Their only other hit came in thed 7th inning, and was followed by a hit batsman, but Acuna struck out the side to take care of that threat. The Twins won the spring and fall league titles in both 2004 and 2005. The Angels scored three runs in the third and five more in the fifth and were never headed in their title bout against the Cardinals. Perry Menschel, who pitched five innings for the win, added a pair of run scoring doubles to cinch MVP honors. Jeff Schector drilled a solo homer for the Angels, leading off the bottom of the first inning after the Cardinals' Jackson Munoz led off the game with a solo shot in the top of the first. Munoz had three hits and two runs batted in for the Cardinals. The Angels also beat the Cardinals by a half game during the regular season. SPRING 2005-RANGERS ROAST POTROS FOR 18A LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP The second seeded Texas Rangers, behind the three hit pitching of Rick Mullan, knocked off the top seeded Los Potros 10-1 at the Santaluces Complex August 28 to win the first ever 18A League championship. The Rangers never trailed in the game, which was called by the umpires after a second Los Potros was ejected and refused to leave the field. The incident marred an otherwise fine season by Los Potros, who finished with the same 15-5 record as the Rangers, but were declared regular season winners on a "head to head runs allowed" tiebreaker. The Rangers posted two runs in the first inning when Drew Fariello doubled in both Gabriel Valenzia and Bobby Brink, who drew walks off starting pitcher Abner Elias. Los Potros countered with their only run of the second in the second inning. Alex Larrin reached on an error, went to third on an infield hit by Edwin (O'Neill) Ramos and scored on Javier Agosto's sacrifice fly to left. Brink doubled in Valenzia in the third inning for the first of three Rangers' runs. Brink scored when Bryan Ready reached on an error, and Ready scored on a single by Scott Heissenberg. The Rangers made it 8-1 with three more in the fourth. Andrew Orndorff doubled, went to third on an infield hit by Wilford Baez and scored on an RBI single by Tom Brodrick. Valenzia then tripled to score Brodrick and scored himself on a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of Brink. The Rangers closed out the scoring with two in the sixth on a RBI double by Brodrick and an infield out by Valenzia. The game ended in the home half of the seventh when Larrin was ejected after taking a called third strike and refused to leave the field. Earlier, Elias was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Los Potros had only three hits off Mullan, who was the game's Most Valuable Player. Raul Villanueva had a double, Edwin Ramos and Eddie Lopez had singles. Mullan did not walk a batter and posted four strikeouts. Brodrick led the Rangers' nine hit attack with a double, single and two runs batted in. Valenzia also drove in two runs and had a triple. Brink and Orndorff had two baggers, with Brink getting two RBIs. Fariello had a two run single, Heissenberg had an RBI single, with Mullan and Baez getting one hit apiece.