Blazers Sweep Sentries With Late Rally

February 13, 2015 (Federal League Wire Service)

                Few teams have had the recent championship success similar to that of the Fort Lauderdale Blazers, and no team has had the recent late inning championship heartbreak that has plagued the Margate Sentries. Those two forces met head on at Pompano Municipal Stadium on Thursday night as the Blazers rallied in the late innings to send the game into extra innings before winning a 17-12 slugfest in the 11th frame. The win enabled the Blazers to win their fourth consecutive league title.
                A two out RBI infield single, that deflected off of pitcher Jeff O' Kelley's glove, permitted the Blazers to tie the score in the top of the ninth. An RBI single by Ryan Toimil in the top of the 11th put the Blazers in front for good. The Blazers had trailed by two heading into the ninth, and by seven runs, 11-4, after five frames.
                Enrique Ortega started for the Blazers against Jason Jones of the Gatekeepers and, as one would expect in a game that took 11 innings to decide, neither factored in the decision.
                In fact, Ortega was lifted in the second inning, despite not allowing a hit. The rookie righty had walked five batters before being replaced by Dominick Ficarra. Jones tossed six solid innings, yielding three earned runs on seven hits.
                The Blazers opened the scoring in the top of the first on RBI singles by Joe Iacobucci and Ficarra. An error opened the door for the Blazers in the second and they made it 3-0 as Iacobucci drew a bases loaded walk. The Sentries responded with six runs in their half of the second. Casey McCarthy and Jeff O' Kelley had RBI singles, and Tim Hopkins delivered a key two out, two strike, two run single as the Fightin' Phils took a 6-3 lead.
                In the fourth, the Sentries added four more runs. Andres Libran singled in a run, Sergio Perez drew a bases loaded walk, a run scored when Kevin Druckman reached on a fielder's choice, and Marc Morrow had an RBI single.
                The teams traded runs in the fifth. The Blazers scored on an RBI single by Ficarra, but the Sentries restored their seven run advantage in the bottom of the frame when Libran doubled in a run. 
                The Blazers crept to within 11-6 in the sixth as Iacobucci delivered a two run single. In the bottom of the sixth, the Sentries put the first two runners aboard as Paul Gonzalez singled and Druckman drew a walk. A pivotal shift in the momentum of the game occurred when the Sentries eschewed the sacrifice and Ficarra induced Morrow to ground into a rally killing double play. The Sentries squandered the opportunity to pad their lead and would not score again until they trailed by six runs in the bottom of the 11th.
                The Blazers kept chipping away. With O' Kelley on in relief for the Gatekeepers, the Blazers picked up a run on a pair of errors in the seventh, two runs on RBI singles by Ficarra and Maceda in the eighth, before tying the score in the ninth.
                Trailing 11-9 heading into the ninth, the Blazers appeared to be headed for defeat as O' Kelley retired David Leon and Iacobucci for the first two outs. Down to their last out, John Spellman kept the Blazers alive with a two strike single to left. O' Kelley walked Ficarra and Jorge Correa singled in Spellman with a flare to short center field. O' Kelley hit Toimil with a pitch to load the bases, and Maceda lined a one hopper to the mound that O' Kelley got a glove on, but could not corral. The ball deflected toward third base and all hands were safe as Ficarra scored the tying run. O' Kelley got the third out, but the damage was done.
                The Blazers brought in ace pitcher Michael Cimilluca to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Cimilluca kept the Sentries from threatening. Libran came on in relief for the Gatekeepers and worked a 1-2-3 10th inning. In the bottom of the 10th, Cimilluca struck out the side.
                Spellman, who started the ninth inning rally, opened the 11th with a single and Ficarra drew another walk. Correa singled up the middle, loading the bases with none out. Toimil followed with an opposite field single to left that scored Spellman with the go ahead run. Ben Siegel's two out single, Leon's two run double, and Iacobucci's RBI single gave the Blazers a six run lead.
                The Sentries tried to rally in the bottom of the 11th, O' Kelley and Jones drew back to back one out walks with O' Kelley scoring when Libran bounced into a force play, but it was much too little, much too late. Cimilluca retired Hopkins on a ground out to short to end the game and begin the celebration. 
                Cimilluca was the winning pitcher, while Libran took the loss.
                Iacobucci had three hits and five RBi for the Blazers. In the series, Iacobucci had eight hits and 11 RBI in three games.
                Siegel and Ficarra had three hits each for the Blazers. Ficarra had three RBI, Siegel had two.
                Libran, Hopkins, and Morrow led the Sentries with two hits each.
                Cimilluca, who went 5-0 in the layoffs with four complete game victories, was named Playoff MVP by the editors of the South Florida Baseball Report. It was the tenth time in his illustrious career that Cimilluca has been so honored.
                Blazers Blank Sentries In Game 2 Of Series: The Fort Lauderdale Blazers moved to within one win of securing their fourth consecutive league title as they whitewashed the Margate Sentries, 12-0, in Game 2 of the championship series.
                Michael Cimilluca won his fourth consecutive post season start, firing a complete game two hitter. Cimilluca walked none and struck out six.
                Kevin Druckman started for the Gatekeepers and was tagged with the loss after allowing nine runs on six hits and five walks in two and a third innings.
                Ben Siegel and David Leon opened the bottom of the first with back to back doubles, giving the Blazers a quick 1-0 lead. After Druckman issued consecutive walks to Joe Iacobucci and John Spellman, Dominick Ficarra blooped an RBI single to center to make it 2-0. Two runs scored when Jorge Correa grounded into an usual double play. Correa hit a two hopper to first baseman Tim Hopkins. Initially, Hopkins stepped on first to retire Correa as Iacobucci scored from third. Hopkins threw to second in attempt to nab the advancing Ficarra. A rundown ensued and, as Ficarra was tagged out, Spellman came around to score to put the Blazers in front, 4-0.
                In the third, the Blazers added six more runs, driving Druckman from the mound in the process.
                Walks to Iacobucci and Ficarra sandwiched around an infield hit by Spellman loaded the bases. Iacobucci scored on a wild pitch and Spellman scored on Correa's sacrifice fly to center. Ryan Toimil was hit by Druckman's final pitch of the game. Chris Delgado greeted reliever Bob Westheimer with a single that loaded the bases. Ben Siegel's two out double drove in two, with a third scoring on a wild throw.
                The Blazers capped the scoring in the fourth on an RBI single by Delgado and a sacrifice fly by Diego Maceda. 
                A fourth inning double by Lawrence Weissman, who was out trying to stretch the hit into triple, and a fifth inning single by Druckman were the Sentries' lone hits.
                The Blazers, seeking the series sweep, will send rookie right hander Enrique Ortega to the hill, while the Sentries will counter with lefty Jason Jones, in Game 3, scheduled for Thursday night.
                Blazers Rout Sentries In Game 1 Of Series: The Fort Lauderdale Blazers, seeking their fourth title in a row, lived up to their name in the first game of the League Championship Series as they pounded the Margate Sentries, 14-3.
                Joe Iacobucci led a 18 hit assault with four hits and six RBI. Iacobucci, who was a triple short of the cycle, has a two run home run to open the scoring and a three run double in the Blazers' six run ninth inning.
                Jorge Correa also went deep for the Blazers. Correa had three hits and three RBI. John Spellman added three hits as well for the Fort Lauderdalers.
                Chris Delgado got the game one start for the Blazers and did not disappoint, pitching six strong innings and getting the win. The Sentries' presumptive ace, Andres Libran, got the starting nod, but did not fare as well.
                The Blazers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as David Leon drew a one out walk and then waltzed home on Iacobucci's majestic shot over the right field wall. Correa's three run bomb in the third gave Delgado and the Blazers a five run cushion.
                In the sixth, Leon got on board with a two out single and then came all the way around to score on Iacobucci's double to left center.
                In the bottom of the sixth, the Gatekeepers finally broke through, scoring three runs. Libran drew a one out walk and Lawrence Weissman followed with a free pass of his own. Libran stole third and scored on Tim Hopkins' ground out to second. A base hit by Kevin Druckman brought in Weissman and, after Paul Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, and Phil Laufman walked to load the bases, Druckman scored on a wild pitch. 
                Delgado escaped further damage by inducing Casey McCarthy to ground out to short to end the inning.
                An RBI single by Diego Maceda in the seventh gave the Blazers a 7-3 advantage. In the eighth, Leon singled, stole second, and scored on consecutive wild pitches.
                The Blazers tacked on six runs in the top of the ninth. Iacobucci's three run doubled was bracketed by RBI singles by Ben Siegel and John Spellman.
                Delgado permitted three runs on four hits in six innings to garner the win. Delgado walked five, hit two, and struck out four. Dominic Ficarra earned a save with three scoreless innings.
                Jason Jones' three hits led the Sentries' disappointing output. In all, the Gatekeepers were held to eight hits. The Fightin' Phils left 12 runners on base and hit into three double plays.
                A key play occurred in the bottom of the seventh with the score 7-3. The Sentries put runners on the corners with none out. Libran lifted a fly to center and speedy Jeff O' Kelley tagged up from third, but a perfect throw from Iacobucci to Maceda arrived in time to cut down O' Kelley at the plate. O' Kelley, reminiscent of Lou Brock in Game 5 of the 1968 World Series, chose not to slide, thus depriving himself of an opportunity to avoid Maceda's tag.
                Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Thursday night. Kevin Druckman is slated to take the mound for the Sentries, while Michael Cimilluca, already 3-0 in the post season, will be on the hill for the Blazers.