Championship Final Series: Cubs Defeat Tritons, 5-2, In Game 5 To Claim Title

                After squandering a two games to none series lead, the Broward Cubs overcame an early 2-0 deficit in Game 5 and won the 2015 Spring/Summer season championship with a 5-2 win over the Tri-Cities Tritons in the deciding game.
                Ryan DiGiose got the Game 5 start for the Cubs and responded with a complete game three hitter. DiGiose permitted one earned run, walked two, and struck out six.
                Frank Paul, who got the win for the Tritons in Game 3, went the distance for the Water Dwellers, but came out on the short end after allowing three earned runs on 12 hits. Paul walked one, hit two, and fanned one.
                Mickey Tanyi was the Cubs leading hitter, going three for three. Nelson Montalvo, Ray Pereira, and Mitchell Kean added two hits each for the Baby Bears. 
                The Tritons opened an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Silverberg led off the game and worked out a walk. After Silverberg stole second and went third on a ground out, Jay Warman lifted a routine flyball to centerfield that may have been deep enough for Silverberg to tag and score, but Amed Martinez misplayed the ball and, when the dust had settled, Silverberg scored easily and Warman wound up on the third. A two out single by Adrian Roznowski plated Warman.
                In the bottom of the third, the Bruins captured the lead for good. 
                Danny Hernandez led off with a single and went to third on a base hit by Tanyi. Paul got Mitchell Kean to hit into an apparent double play, but this is where things unraveled for the Tritons. Paul fielded Keans tapper to the mound and fired to Warman at second to force Tanyi, but instead of completing the double play, Warman threw to third in attempt to catch Hernandez drifting off the bag. Instead, Hernandez scampered back to third ahead of the tag, and the Cubs had runners on first and third and only one out. 
                The gravity of the situation was magnified when Omar Garcia hit a fly ball to left that, instead of being the third out, turned into a sacrifice fly that enabled Hernandez to score. An error and an RBI single by Pereira helped put the Cubs ahead, 3-2. 
                In the top of the fourth, Magdiel Sanchez led off and hit a soft foul pop up wide of third on an 0-2 pitch. Third baseman Don Burgess tried in vain to make the play, but along the way, ran into John Hardardt, who was coaching third. After a brief consultation, the four umpires ultimately ruled that Hardardt was guilty of interference and that Sanchez was out. Two innings later, another Sanchez pop up would have some additional ramifications.
                In the fifth, however, the Cubs increased their advantage to 4-2 as Montalvo lifted a home run to centerfield after two were out.
                With one out in the sixth, Sanchez popped up in the infield and DiGiose bounced off the mound and made the play along the first base line. As he did, Sanchez crashed into the pitcher and sent him sprawling. DiGiose held on to the ball for the out, but second baseman and team captain Keith Nicoll took exception to Sanchez's actions and berated the Tritons' first sacker and he trotted back toward his dugout. Second base umpire Francis Eckert intervened and ejected Sanchez for, what Eckert deemed to be, malicious contact. 
                DiGiose was completely unaffected by the occurrence and retired 11 of the next 12 batters. In all, DiGiose set down 15 of the final 16 batters that the Tritons sent to the plate.
                The Cubs closed out the scoring in the bottom of the sixth. Tanyi crushed a one out double to center and Kean drilled an RBI double to right. 
                In the ninth, with two outs, DiGiose got ahead of Denzel Nickerson and then induced the Triton second baseman to pop up to short center field. Nicoll, drifting out from second base, called everyone off and made the play for the final out. When the ball settled in his glove, the Cubs had won their second league championship, and Nicoll had captured the 16th title of his storied career. 
                After the game, the jubilant Cubs treated their fans to a fireworks display to commemorate their newly won crown. 
                For his efforts, DiGiose was awarded the Playoff MVP by the editors of South Florida Baseball Report. In the post season, DiGiose was 3-0 with two series clinching wins, two complete games, and a shutout. In 21 and two thirds innings, DiGiose permitted two earned runs on 11 hits, good for a 0.83 ERA. The lefty walked seven and struck out 14. Nelson Montalvo and Mitchell Kean, both of the Cubs, also merited consideration for the honor.
                Game 4 Capsule-Tritons Edge Cubs To Even Series: The 2015 Spring/Summer season Championship Final Series will come down to a fifth and final game as the Tri-Cities Tritons held on for a 5-3 win over the Broward Cubs to square the series at two wins a piece.
                John Hardardt fired a complete game, scattering nine hits, for the win. Hardardt walked two and struck out five.
                Chad Volbert went the distance for the Bruins and suffered the loss. Volbert allowed three earned runs on 11 hits, walking three and fanning six.
                Eric Silverberg, Frank Paul, Jay Warman, Magdiel Sanchez, and Denzel Nickerson led the Water Dwellers with two hits each. Nickerson had two RBI. Roberto Galvez was the Cubs' leading hitter, going three for four with a run scored. 
                The Tritons got an early lead, scoring a run in the second inning. Sanchez led off with a base hit, but was erased at second when Adrian Roznowski bounced into a force play. Roznowski moved himself into scoring position by stealing second and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. With the Cubs playing the infield back, Nickerson hit a grounder to second that enabled Roznowski to score.
                In the fourth, the Tritons added three runs to open a 4-0 advantage. Once again, Sanchez started the rally with a base hit. Roznowski followed with a single to right, and Nickerson reached on an infield single that loaded the bases. Mike Whittaker's slow roller to third permitted Sanchez to score and two more runs came plateward on a Cub error. 
                The Tritons increased their lead to 5-0 in the fifth as Jay Warman singled, stole second, and scored on a one out single by Nickerson. 
                The Cubs finally broke through in the top of the eighth. Omar Garcia led with a base hit and promptly stole second. A two out single by Albie Santiago  scored Garcia, but Hardardt escaped any further damage when induced Amed Martinez into an inning ending ground out to first. 
                In the ninth, the Cubs mounted a desperate rally. Galvez led off with his third hit of the night, a solid single to center. Nelson Montalvo followed with a single that sent Galvez to third, but Hardardt got Ray Pereira to bounce into a force play that cut down Montalvo at second. The relay to first was wild, allowing Pereira to head to second. Galvez had scored on the play. After Don Burgess grounded out to short for the second, with Pereira moving to third, Ryan DiGiose beat out an infield as Pereira scored to make it a 5-3 ballgame.
                After Garcia drew a walk to put the potential tying run on base, Hardardt bounced back to strike out Danny Hernandez to end the game.
                The fifth and deciding game is scheduled for Saturday. The Tritons will bring back Game 3 winner Frank Paul, while the Cubs are slated to send DiGiose to the mound in the season's final contest.
                Game 3 Review-Tritons Rally Past Cubs: The Tri-Cities Tritons, with their backs to the proverbial wall, scored four runs in the top of the eighth as they defeated the Broward Cubs, 10-7, in Game 3 of the Championship Final Series. The Cubs still lead the series, two games to one.
                RBI singles by Denzel Nickerson and Mike Whittaker highlighted the winning rally.
                Frank Paul started for the Water Dwellers and went the distance for the win. Paul was charged with three earned runs on 11 hits. The veteran righty walked one and fanned seven. Danny Hernandez started for the Cubs and allowed six runs on eight hits in six innings. Amed Martinez permitted three runs on two hits and two walks in an inning and two thirds of relief and took the loss.
                Nickerson and Eric Silverberg led the Tritons with three hits each. Silverberg, who sat out of Game 2, scored three runs. Jay Warman had two hits and also scored three runs. Amed Martinez's two hits paced the Cubbies. 
                Things appeared to start off well for the Tritons as Warman sacrifice fly scored Silverberg with the game's first run in the top of the first, but two consecutive errors to lead off the bottom of the first helped the Bruins assume a 2-1 lead after one inning. 
                The Tritons took a 4-2 lead in the third as both Paul and Warman scored on Adrian Roznowski's ground out to short. On the play, Paul scored from third, but Warman, never hesitating sped home from second as Roznowski was out at first. 
                An RBI single by Roberto Galvez in the home half of the frame made it 4-3. The cubs took a 5-4 lead in the fourth on RBI singles by Omar Garcia and Mickey Tanyi, but the Tritons tied the score  in the fifth as Warman scored in a more conventional method, from third this time, on Roznowski's RBI ground out. 
                In the fifth, the Cubs took a 7-5 lead on an RBI ground out by Galvez and a run scoring single by Nelson Montalvo. A two out RBI single by Paul in the sixth made it 7-6, setting the stage for the Tritons' game winning rally in the eighth. 
                In the fateful frame. Silverberg got things started with a one out single. Warman singled with two out and Magdiel Sanchez walked prompting the Cubs to replace Martinez on the hill with Ryan DiGiose. After Silverberg scored the tying run, Warman scored the go ahead run as DiGiose uncorked a wild pitch. After Roznowski singled, Nickerson drove in Sanchez with a base hit, and Whittaker plated Roznowski with another single. 
                Armed with a three run cushion, Paul easily dispatched the Cubs. In fact, after surrendering a lead off single in the sixth, Paul retired 12 of the last 13 Cub batters.   
                The Cubs will hope to regroup as they seek to end the series with a win in Game 4. The Bruins will send ace Chad Volbert to the mound in the potential clincher. The Tritons, meanwhile will counter with John Hardardt as they hope to extend the series to a fifth and final game. Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday night.
                Game 2 Recap-Cubs Blank Tritons: The Broward Cubs moved to within one win of recording the second championship in club history as they shutout the Tri-Cities Tritons, 8-0, in Game 2 of the Championship Final Series.
                Chad Volbert tossed eight strong innings, limiting the Water Dwellers to four hits, and Omar Garcia and Danny Hernandez led the offense with two hits each.
                John Hardardt started for the Tritons and suffered the hard luck loss, permitting no earned runs on seven hits in seven innings.
                The game was scoreless through the first six innings, but the Bruins took advantage of an error on the way to scoring five runs in the top of the seventh. After breaking the deadlock, the Cubbies added a run in the eighth and two more in the top of the ninth. 
                In the early innings, the Tritons kept the game scoreless with strong defense, but in the top of the seventh, Hardardt induced Amed Martinez into a grounder to third to leadoff the frame. Frank Paul easily handled the chopper and fired to first, but normally sure handed first sacker Magdiel Sanchez could not hold on to the throw and Martinez was safe. 
                Roberto Galvez followed with a solid single to put runners on first and second with none out. Nelson Montalvo lifted a short fly to right field that was caught on the run by Pat Keane. When Keane noticed Galvez too far off of first, he fired to Sanchez, doubling Galvez up. 
                With two out, Hardardt hit Ray Pereira with a pitch before tossing a wild pitch that let Martinez score. Hardardt then got Don Burgess to lift a fly to medium-deep right field. This time, however, Keane misjudged the ball and allowed it to fall. Pereira easily scored from second on the play. Hernandez followed with an infield single and Mike Robbins walked to load the bases. 
                Garcia worked a walk to drive in Burgess, Ryan DiGiose walked to force home Hernandez, and Robbins scored the fifth run of the inning on another wild pitch. 
                The Tritons put two runners aboard with only one out in the top of the second, but Volbert bore down and retired Paul on a grounder to first, and Adrian Roznowski on a pop up to second.
                The Cubs made it 6-0 in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Pereira against reliever Zac Chernin. In the ninth, Jamie Bobrow had a pinch hit RBI single and Albie Santiago drove in the game's final run on a fielder's choice.
                Denzel Nickerson paced the Tritons with two hits, and Jay Warman, who moved to the leadoff spot, reached base five times with a single, a hit by pitch, and three walks.
                The Cubs can complete the sweep in Game 3, scheduled for Tuesday. The Bruins are expected to send Hernandez, the Game 1 winner, back to the hill. The Tritons, who hope to extend the series, are anticipating giving Eric Silverberg the start.
                Game 1 Highlights-Cubs Crush Tritons: The Broward Cubs took the first game of the best of five Championship Final Series with an 11-4 win over the Tri-Cities Tritons.
                Danny Hernandez, the league's ERA champ, went the distance for the Bruins, scattering six hits. Hernandez walked six, but fanned nine en route to the win.
                Frank Paul started for the Water Dwellers, but only lasted three innings. Paul surrendered six runs on seven hits and took the loss.
                The Cubs got a pair of three run doubles as they grabbed a 6-0 lead in the third inning. First, Nelson Montalvo cleared the bases with a double to right center to give the Cubbies a 3-0 advantage. Then, later in the frame, Ray Pereira sent three teammates home with a double to almost the same spot, giving the Bruins an early six run bulge.
                In the fifth, the Tritons clawed their way back into the game, scoring three runs, but, perhaps, losing the opportunity for an even bigger inning. 
                Jon Goldsmith led off the frame and worked out a walk. John Hardardt followed suit, drawing a free pass, and Eric Silverberg bunted for a single that loaded the bases. However, Goldsmith was nabbed at the plate trying to score when a pitch eluded Cubs' catcher Mike Robbins. As Goldsmith broke for the dish, Robbins recovered the pill and fired a strike to Hernandez covering, in time to cut down the lumbering Triton catcher. 
                With two out, Jay Warman singled home a pair of runners, and after Adrian Roznowski reached on an error, Warman scored on a wild pitch.
                In the sixth, the Cubs increased their lead to 7-3 when Amed Martinez walked, Roberto Galvez was hit by a pitch, and Montalvo ripped another double to left center. Martinez scored on the play, but Galvez was out at the plate, trying to score from first on Montalvo's hit. 
                The Tritons made it 7-4 in the seventh as Silverberg singled to right, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a passed ball. Later in the frame, with two out, Roznowski walked and Magdiel Sanchez singled, but Hernandez recovered to pitch out of the jam, preserving the Cubs' lead.
                The Cubs then added three runs in the bottom of the seventh as Hernandez contributed an RBI single and Mickey Tanyi had a sacrifice fly. The Cubs closed out the scoring in the eighth when Martinez singled, stole second, and later scored on a ground out by Galvez.
                Hernandez led the Bruins with three hits. Montalvo had two hits and drove in four. Silverberg's two hits paced the Tritons.
                Neither team has announced a starter for Game 2, scheduled for Thursday, but the Cubs are expected send Chad Volbert to the hill, while the Tritons might counter with John Hardardt.
                Series Preview: The 2015 Spring/Summer season Championship Final Series pits two teams that have not had glorious pasts, but hope to build bright futures. The Broward Cubs have one championship banner to their credit and the Tri-Cities Tritons have yet to claim a league title.
                The Cubs won the Original Division championship in the 2012-2013 Fall/Winter season. The Tritons made it to the finals twice, falling both times.
                This season, both clubs finished in first in their divisions. The Cubs completed a worst to first reversal. The Tritons, who suffered through the worst campaign in league history during the same season that the Cubs won their lone title, claimed the Expansion Division pennant for the first time, leading from wire to wire.
                The two teams met once during the regular season, in an inter-divisional contest played on June 13, with the Bruins taking a 7-6 decision over the Water Dwellers. In that game, the Cubs rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth as their ace Chad Volbert defeated nominal Triton ace Frank Paul. A one out double by Nelson Montalvo in the final frame delivered Roberto Galvez with the tying runs, while Don Burgess' two out RBI single provided the Bruins  with the margin of victory.
                Although one game, played five weeks ago, is certainly not an accurate barometer of the upcoming series, it should be noted that the tight nature of that particular contest is inline with the relative closeness of these two squads. In fact, both clubs finished the season with identical records.
                The strength of both teams lay in their pitching staffs. The Cubs boast an outstanding rotation featuring Volbert, Danny Hernandez, Amed Martinez, and Ryan DiGiose. Manager Ken Brown will choose three of these pitchers as series starters with the fourth joining Mike Kean and Burgess in the bullpen. Catcher Mike Robbins can also give the Cubs some relief innings if needed. The Tritons counter with a rotation of the aforementioned Paul, along with John Hardardt and Eric Silverberg. Hardardt and Volbert were tied for the league lead in wins this season. 
                Although the Tritons' staff worked to a slightly better ERA, besting the Cubs' staff, 3.86 to 3.91, the edge has to go to the Bruin staff on the basis of having more proven options.
                With the bats in their hands, the Tritons hold a slight advantage. 
                On the season, the Water Dwellers led the league in batting average, runs, home runs, and slugging percentage. The Cubs were second in runs scored, tied the Tritons for the home run lead, and were second in on base percentage and slugging.
                The Tritons showed more team speed. stealing 46 bases, which was middle of the pack this season. The Cubs only swiped 27 bases, which was the second lowest total in the league.
                Individually, the Tritons' offense is led by MVP candidate Jay Warman. The Triton shortstop led the league in RBI, was third in slugging, and finished tied for the league lead in runs scored. Silverberg, who batted leadoff for most of the season, tied Warman in runs scored and finished third in the batting race and second in stolen bases.
                Other Tritons of note include player/manager Mike Whittaker and rookie second baseman Denzel Nickerson, both of whom had solid seasons as run producers.
                Three Tritons who had disappointing offensive campaigns, Agner Martinez, Adrian Roznowski, and Magdiel Sanchez, should not be overlooked. Although their numbers were down during the season, all three players are capable of breaking out during the series. 
                The Cubs offense is a little more nuanced. Burgess led the team in batting among the regulars, but Montalvo, who had an uneven campaign, enter the series as the Cubs' hottest hitter. Ray Pereira was the Bruins' best overall batsmen, but the veteran slugger missed over half the season with a broken hand, although, Pereira should be good to go for the finals.
                Albie Santiago and Roberto Galvez had solid campaigns for the Cubs and will need to repeat that level of performance in the series. Robbins, Martinez, and Hernandez enter the series hoping to break late season slumps, but all have proven that they can be dangerous with the bat. Omar Garcia and Mickey Tanyi both did an excellent job of getting on base for the Cubs, and the veteran presence, and overall clutchness, of Keith Nicoll should not be understated.
                Defensively, both teams played well most of the season, with Warman at short for the Tritons, and Cubs' outfield of Santiago, Martinez, and Mitchell Kean, standing out.
                An interesting battle should emerge as Cubs' catcher Robbins will be tasked with slowing down the Tritons' running game. Conversely, will Triton catcher Jon Goldsmith, who threw out runners at a high rate last season, but whose numbers tailed off this season, become a target for the Cubs' baserunners. A quick reversion to last season's form by Goldsmith might disabuse the Cubbies from freewheeling on the bases.
                The Tritons showed more team speed. stealing 46 bases, which was middle of the pack this season. The Cubs only swiped 27 bases, which was the second lowest total in the league.
                Individually, the Tritons' offense is led by MVP candidate Jay Warman. The Triton shortstop led the league in RBI, was third in slugging, and finished tied for the league lead in runs scored. Silverberg, who batted leadoff for most of the season, tied Warman in runs scored and finished third in the batting race and second in stolen bases.
                It is difficult to imagine two teams competing in a Championship Series that are, on paper at least, more even, but the Cubs' deeper bench and slightly deeper pitching staff tilts the prediction in the favor: Cubs in five. 

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