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Tritons Reclaim Title With Sweep Of Sunsets

September 22, 2018 (Federal League Wire Service)

              For the third time in the past four seasons, the Tri-Cities Tritons reign as the best baseball team in South Florida. The Water Dwellers completed a three game sweep of the Sunrise Sunsets with an 11-5 win in Game 3 of the Championship Final Series.
              The Tritons broke a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning on an RBI double by Mike LaManna, and then added five insurance runs in the eighth to salt the game away.
              John Hardardt started for the Tritons against Zach Margules for the Sunsets.
              The Tritons opened the scoring in the top of the first as Jay Warman led off the game with a ringing double and scored on a one out single by Zac Miller.
              The score remain unchanged until the fourth, largely due to the fine defensive work of Tritons' center fielder Agner Martinez. In the top of the fourth, the Tritons picked up two runs when Adrian Roznowski and Eric Silverberg both got a board on consecutive singles and then scored when John Haritan reached on a two out error.
              Trailing by three, the Twilighters pulled to within a run as Chris Craig drilled a two run home run to left, but the Tritons restored their three run advantage in the top of the fifth. LaManna had a sacrifice fly and Eric Silverberg was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Tritons a 5-2 lead.
              In the bottom of the fifth, the Sunsets responded by tying the score. Two errors and a run scoring single by Anthony Garcilazo knotted the score at 5-5.
              In the seventh, the Tritons took the lead for good. Miller singled and then scored on an RBI double by LaManna.
              The Sons of Poseidon erupted for five insurance runs in the eighth. Warman crushed a two run home run, Miller had an RBI double, and Calvin Rayburn singled in a run.
              Rayburn, who pitched the final four and a third innings for the Tritons and earned his second win of the series. Rayburn did  not surrender a run, allowed only one hit, and struck out five without issuing a walk. Margules was charged with seven runs, four earned, on 12 hits in seven and a third innings and took the loss.
              Warman, Miller, and Roznowski led the Tritons with three hits a piece. Brandon Hull had to hits for the Sunsets.
              Miller, who went nine for 15 with six RBI in the series, after going eight for nine in the semi-finals for a playoff average of .708, and Rayburn, who had two wins on the mound and the Game 2 walk-off grand slam, were named co-MVPs of the playoffs by the editors of South Florida Baseball Report.
              The Tritons outscored the Sunsets by a margin of 35-21, leaving no doubt as to their supremacy.
              Game 2 Highlights-Tritons Win On Rayburn's Walk-Off Slam: Some things need to be seen to be believed, but the crowd who stayed until the end of Game 2 of the Championship Final Series might still not believe its ending. Calvin Rayburn hit a walk off grand slam with two out in the bottom of the ninth to give the Water Dwellers an 11-9 win over the Sunrise Sunsets. The Tritons hold a two games to none lead and are one win away from reclaiming their crown from the 'Sets.
              With the Twilighters holding an 9-7 lead and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Jay Warman kept the Tritons alive with a sharp double. Brant Spring, who heroically went the distance for the 'Sets, induced Chris Marrero to hit a grounder to third. Sunsets' third sacker Nick Arata made a diving stop of Marrero's drive, but instead of getting the sure out at first, Arata trapped Warman off of second, but during the rundown, Warman was hit in the back by a throw and both runners were safe.
              With still only one out and runners on first and second, Spring got Zac Miller to lift a fly to short center field. The ball fell in for a single as center fielder Chris Price got a bad jump on the ball, and the bases were loaded.
              Spring refused to bend and fanned the dangerous Mike LaManna for the second out, but, on the first pitch of the at bat, Rayburn hit a mammoth blast over the left field fence as the Tritons burst from their dugout to celebrate the comeback win.
              Matt Arlick started for the Sons of Poseidon and was sharp early, but was lifted with two out in the fifth and the Sunsets ahead, 5-3. Arlick was charged with four earned runs on seven hits. Andrew Pierson pitched four and a third innings of relief, allowing one earned run on six hits, and earned the win.
              The Tritons picked up three unearned runs in the bottom of the first without benefit of a hit. The Sunsets got a run in the second on a sacrifice fly by Tommy Tritz. Anthony Garcilazo's home run in the fourth made it 3-2, and the 'Sets took a 5-3 lead in the top of the fifth as Jimmy Schariest crushed a three run home run.
              In the bottom of the fifth, the Tritons pulled to within 5-4 as Rayburn grounded into a force play that enabled Marrero to score.
              The Sunsets added four runs in the sixth. Arata had a two run double and Tritz had a run scoring single, but the Tritons cut the deficit to 9-6 in the home half of the frame as Marrero, Miller, LaManna, and Rayburn had consecutive two out singles. An RBI single by Miller in the seventh made it 9-7.
              In the top of the ninth, Garcilazo drilled a one out single, but the Twilighters lost an opportunity to add to their advantage as Chris Craig's long drive to right was caught just short of the fence.
              Miller had four hits to lead the Water Dwellers. Rayburn had three hits and seven RBI. Eric Silverberg also had three hits. Garcilazo's three hits paced the Sunsets.
              The Tritons are expected to send John Hardardt to the hill as they hope to sweep the series in Game 3, scheduled for Saturday. The Sunsets will hope to extend the series and will give the start to either lefty Zach Margules or righty Dustin Hanley.
              Game 1 Recap-Tritons Trample Twilighters: The Championship Final Series opened on a perfect Tuesday night and the Tri-Cities Tritons took the first step toward reclaiming the crown that they lost to the Sunrise Sunsets last season. The Water Dwellers pounded out a 13-7 win over the Twilighters in Game 1 of the best of five series.
              With both teams sending their nominal aces to the mound, Game 1 promised to be a pitcher's duel, but it was anything but. 
              Calvin Rayburn started for the Sons of Poseidon and Tommy Tritz got the assignment for the 'Sets. Rayburn got the win, but permitted four earned runs on eight hits in seven and a third innings. Rayburn walked four and struck out 13.
              Tritz took the loss after surrendering 11 runs on 14 hits in eight innings. Tritz walked two, but hit five batters, and struck out seven.
              The Tritons grabbed an early lead in the top of the first. Jay "Make Love Not" Warman opened the game with a loud double, and, with one out, Zac Miller reached when he was hit by a pitch. Both runners scored when Mike "Man Of" LaManna drilled a double to the gap in right center.
              In the bottom of the second, the Twilighters moved ahead, 4-2. Anthony Garcilazo led off by drawing a walk and Chris Price singled. After Garcilazo scored as the result of a passed ball and Chris Craig singled, Javier Aguilar doubled in a run, and later scored on a wild pitch.
              The lead was short lived as the Tritons tied the score in the top of the third. LaManna had another RBI double and Rayburn singled in a run.
              In the fourth, the Tritons surged ahead for good, scoring four times to take an 8-4 lead. Miller had a two run double, LaManna singled in a run for his fourth RBI, and another run scored on an error.
              The Sunsets pulled to within 8-5 in the sixth as Garcilazo singled in a run, but the Tritons countered with three more runs in the top of the eighth. LaManna drew a bases loaded walk. Rayburn had an RBI single, and Adrian Roznowski singled in a run.
              A pair of errors in the bottom of the eighth helped the Twilighters cut the gap to 11-7, but Andrew Pierson came out of the bullpen to stem the tide. The Water Dwellers added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth as Magdiel Sanchez and Miller both had RBI doubles.
              Pierson shut the Sunsets down without incident in the bottom of the ninth to seal the victory.
              LaManna led the Tritons with three hits and five RBI. Rayburn contributed three hits as well. Aguilar, Price, and Jimmy Schariest had two hits each for the 'Sets. 
              The Tritons are expected to send Matt Arlick to the hill, and the Twilighters will counter with Brant Spring, as the series continues with Game 2, scheduled for Thursday night.
              Series Notebook: For the fourth consecutive season, the Sunrise Sunsets and the Tri-Cities Tritons will meet in the Championship Final Series. The Tritons have won two of the three previous meetings, the defending champion Sunsets won the series last season in a three game sweep.
              This season, the teams spilt their two games. The Sunsets defeated the Tritons, 10-3 on May 12, and the Water Dwellers edged the Twilighters, 1-0 on June 26. 
              On May 12, Tommy Tritz picked up the win against Matt Arlick, but on June 26, Calvin Rayburn and Brant Spring both twirled complete games with Rayburn getting the better of it. Rayburn hurled a two hitter, striking out 10, while Spring scattered nine hits while fanning eight.
              During the season, the Sunsets led the league with a .319 team batting average, leading the loop in runs scored by a wide margin. The Tritons were fourth in team batting, compiling a .301 mark while scoring 41 fewer runs than the 'Sets.
              The teams were virtually deadlocked in total hits, the Twilighters had eight more, but the Sunsets had 10 more walks, 30 fewer strikeouts, and outslugged the Tritons by a margin of 123 points. The Twilighters more than tripled the Tritons' home run output, had more than twice as many doubles, and led the league in triples. 
              The Tritons led the league in stolen bases by a wide margin, stealing 40 more bases than the Sunsets, but the Twilighters had a slightly higher success rate.
              On the mound, the Tritons had the league's lowest team ERA at 3.09. The Sunsets were second at 3.43. Tritons' pitchers led the league in strikeouts and fewest hits allowed. The Sunsets' staff was sixth in strikeouts, second in hits allowed, and the two teams tied for second in issuing the fewest walks.
              The Tritons' mound corps is led by two time Best Pitcher Award winner Calvin Rayburn. This season, although limited by shoulder issues early in the season, Rayburn went 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA and one save.
              Matt Arlick was 6-2 with a 2.75 ERA and one save. John Hardardt had an up and down season by his standards, but rebounded to finish 4-2 with a 4.34 ERA. Lefty relief specialist Andrew Pierson worked to a 1.80 ERA out of the bullpen.
              Tritz paced the Twilighter staff by going 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA. Spring was 6-1 with two saves and finished with a 2.76 ERA. Lefty Zach Margules was 3-0 with a 3.25 ERA, and Dustin Hanley was inconsistent at 5.60 in 17 and two thirds innings. 
              The Tritons' staff has to be given the edge.
              With the bats in their hands, the Sunsets might hold a slight advantage.
              Reigning league MVP Anthony Garcilazo saw his numbers decline from last season, but still led the Twilighters in average and home runs. Shortstop Justin Dages led the league in RBI, and Jimmy Schariest, Javier Aguilar, and rookie Anthony Izquiel all turned in fine seasons. 
              Ted Maceda, Nick Arata, and former all-stars Chris Price and Chris Craig all got off to slow starts this season, but all finished strong.
              For the Tritons, Rayburn fulfilled the Shoei Otani role and led the team in batting, home runs, and RBI.
              Chris Marrero, Mike LaManna, Zac Miller, Adrian Roznowski, John Haritan, Eric Silverberg, and Jay Warman all finished the campaign above .300.
              Both teams have strong defensive infields, but the Sunsets played with more consistency. The Twilighters have an advantage on defense in the outfield, with Agner Martinez in center being the Water Dwellers best defender.
              Chris Craig is a top flight defensive catcher for the Twilighters. Rookie receiver Griffin Sennett displayed solid defensive skills. Pat Murphy, who will miss Game 1 due to a suspension, and Jon Goldsmith, back up Sennett. 
              Tritons' manager Mike Whittaker and Sunsets' skipper Brandon Hull are two of the most accomplished and respected field generals in the league, so, neither team has an advantage there.
              For the Tritons, Miller heads into the series on a tear, going eight for his last nine in the playoffs. Garcilazo, Arata, and Price are all swinging hot bats for the Sunsets. 
              Anthony Garcilazo, Nick Arata, and Chris Price led the Twilighters with three hits each. All three players homered. Price drove in five runs in all.
              The two teams are close enough to expect the series to go the full five games.
              

            
              

                   
                

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