Beacons Walk Away With Championship

September 17, 2014 (Federal League Wire Service)

                The fifth and final game of the Expansion Series was a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world, and, in the end, the Lighthouse Point Beacons rallied to earn a big W (a big W, I tell you.) The Beacons defeated the Margate Sentries, 10-9, in the final game, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a walk off walk drawn by Ryan DiGiose.
                After falling behind, 7-0 through five innings, the Illuminators rallied for four runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh, taking a 9-7 lead. The Gatekeepers got a clutch two out, two run, single from Andres Libran in the top of the ninth to tie the score, but the Beacons pushed across the winning run with two out in the bottom of the ninth.
                Brant Spring, perhaps the most successful playoff pitcher in league history started for the Beacons against Jason Jones for the Sentries. Spring was not his usual sharp self and allowed an RBI single to Libran in the first, and a two run single to Casey McCarthy in the Sentries' three run third inning.
                When Jeff O' Kelley stroked a two run single in the third to put the Gatekeepers ahead, 6-0, Spring was removed in favor of Nick Mirto. Libran greeted Mirto with an RBI single, but the righty shut the door on the Sentries until the ninth.
                With Jones tossing nothing but zeroes, the Beacons looked like they were headed for only the second Game 5 loss in their history. However, a four run rally in the sixth, started in the most innocuous of ways, began the comeback. Jones opened the sixth by hitting Jamie Siragusa with a pitch and followed by hitting DiGiose as well. After recovering to retire Ryan Scott on a pop up, Jimmy Efre doubled to right to score Siragusa and break the string of goose eggs. Jeff Fazio followed with a slicing two run double to left center that drew the Beacons to within 7-3.
                The Sentries lifted Jones and replaced him with Kevin Druckman, but Chris Basso lined an RBI single to pull the Illuminators to within three. Druckman recovered to strike out the next two batters to preserve the Sentries' lead.
                In the seventh, Siragusa started the trouble again, this time, with a one out single. Di Giose followed with a base hit and then Scott walked to load the bases. After a pitching change, a wild pitch allowed Siragusa to score and then Efre walked to reload the bases. Fazio struck out for the second out, but Basso kept the inning alive when he reached on an error. Cory Gammons followed with a two run single that gave the Beacons the lead and an RBI single by Spring added an insurance run.
                Holding a 9-7 lead, Mirto kept the Sentries at bay in the eighth, but got into trouble in the ninth after issuing a one out walk, and then a pair of two out walks to load the bases. The Beacons brought in Efre to pitch to Libran, but the plan went awry as Libran singled to right to score the tying runs. Efre fanned McCarthy with the go ahead run on third to send the game into the bottom of the ninth, tied at 9-9.
                Basso led off and singled to left off of reliever Bob Westheimer, but the veteran lefty induced Gammons to bounce into a force play for the first out. Naz Rosario, who had pinch run for Spring in the seventh, drew a walk, and, when Gammons stole third, the Gatekeepers elected to walk Guy Bitchatcho intentionally to load the bases. The move paid temporary dividends as Westheimer got Jose Morales to fly out to shallow left for the second out, with the runners holding their bases..
                At this point, the Sentries turned to Libran to get the final out of the inning, but Libran issued four straight balls to DiGiose and Gammons trotted home with the championship clinching run.
                Efre, who only pitched a third of an inning, got credit for the win. Westheimer was charged with the loss after permitting one run on one hit in two innings.
                Basso and Gammons led the Beacons with two hits each. Libran had five hits in six trips for the Sentries. Jones went four for five.
                After the game the editors of South Florida Baseball Report chose Ryan DiGiose as the winner of the Playoff MVP Award. DiGiose hit a solid .467 in the post season with a home run and five RBI, including the title winner, as well as, pitching and winning the pivotal third game of the Expansion Series.
                Sentries Solve Beacons In Game 4: The Margate Sentries, facing elimination, tied the Expansion Series at two wins a piece after notching an 8-5 victory in Game 4.
                The main reason for the Gatekeepers' success was the brilliant work of starting pitcher Cody Stauble. The youthful righty pitched eight strong innings and allowed two earned runs on eight hits. Stauble walked seven and struck out 10.
                Kevin Druckman, who started Game 2 and took the loss, pitched a scoreless ninth, despite loading the bases, and earned a save.
                Jose Estevez started for the Beacons and took the loss after permitting five runs, three earned, on eight hits in three innings. Last season, the Beacons used Estevez as a surprise starter in the series clinching game. This time, the strategy did not produce the desired effect.
                The Sentries opened the scoring in the top of the first. Jeff O' Kelley led off and was hit by a pitch. Jason Jones followed with a long double to left that sent O' Kelley to third, but Jones apparently did not see O' Kelley stop, and headed to third himself. The Beacons retired Jones after a brief rundown, but Andres Libran came through with a two out single to right to plate O' Kelley.
                In the second, the Fightin' Phils tacked on three runs. A walk to Tim Hopkins, a single by Stauble, and an error led to one run. Stauble scored when he stole third and the throw skipped into left field, and O' Kelley, who reached on the error, scored on an RBI single by Albert Quezada.
                A home run by Phil Laufman, his second of the series, leading off the bottom of the third, made it 5-0 in favor of the Sentries.
                In the top of the fourth, the Beacons reached Stauble for four runs. An error, a two run double by Ryan DiGiose, and a sacrifice fly by Naz Rosario accounted for the runs.
                The Sentries increased their lead to 7-4 in the fifth. RBI singles by Stauble and O' Kelley keyed the rally.
                The teams traded runs in the seventh. The Beacons picked up a run with a two out RBI single by Brant Spring, but the Sentries responded with an RBI triple by Stauble in the home half of the frame.
                The Beacons threatened in the top of the eighth, but did not score. Jose Morales led off with a walk and Juan Gonzalez pinch ran for him. DiGiose also walked, and Jimmy Efre delivered a one out single to right, but a perfect throw from right fielder Casey McCarthy cut down Gonzalez at the plate to squelch the rally.
                In the top of the ninth, the Illuminators brought the go ahea run to the plate, but Druckman induced Rosario to fly out to center to end the game.
                Stauble, in addition to garnering the pitching honors, paced the Sentries with three hits and two RBI. Guy Bitchatcho's three hits led the Beacons.
                The fifth and final game is scheduled for Saturday.
                Beacons Beat Sentries In Game 3: The Lighthouse Point Beacons took a two games to one lead over the Margate Sentries in the best of five Expansion Series as they posted an 8-2 win over the Gatekeepers.
                Ryan DiGiose started for the Illuminators and turned in, perhaps, the best performance of his career. When the Beacons needed him most, the mercurial lefty tossed six exquisite innings, allowing an unearned run on just five hits. DiGiose walked two and struck out four. Jimmy Efre pitched three innings of one run relief and earned a save. Efre permitted one run on one hit, struck out three and walked two.
                Andres Libran, the hero of Game 1, started for the Sentries and, again, pitched brilliantly before tiring in the seventh. Through six innings, the Beacons held a 3-1 lead, before erupting for five runs in the bottom of the seventh.
                The game started ominously for the Beacons. After getting two quick strikes on Jeff O' Kelley to lead off the first inning, DiGiose was hit by a ball tossed to him by home plate umpire Steve Birnburg. DiGiose, who was not looking toward home when Birnburg released the ball following O' Kelley fouling off a pitch, was incapacitated for several minutes. When play resumed DiGiose walked O' Kelley and, one batter later, issued his final walk of the evening when he passed Jason Jones. DiGiose escaped the inning without yielding a run, or incurring any other injuries to his person.
                In the meantime, the Beacons got on the board in the bottom of the first. Jeff Fazio was hit by a pitch and then scored on a loud double by Chris Basso. In the third, Fazio walked and then trotted home when Basso crushed a two run home run.
                The score remained 3-0 until the top of the fifth. An error, a double by Cody Stauble, and a sacrifice fly by Jones made it 3-1, but DiGiose slammed the door on the Sentries' rally.
                In the bottom of the seventh, James Carter led off with a solid single and went to second when Efre drew a walk. Libran walked Fazio to load the bases with none out, and Basso came through with an RBI single to right. Brant Spring followed with a two run single, and Guy Bitchatcho capped the outburst with a sharp single to center that scored Basso.
                The Sentries added a run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Stauble, but it was too little, too late.
                Basso went four for five with a home run, two doubles, and four RBI to lead the Illuminators. Stauble and Paul Gonzalez had two hits each to pace the Gatekeepers.
                Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night.
                Beacons Stop Sentries, Draw Even, In Game 2: The Lighthouse Point Beacons evened the Expansion Series at one win a piece with an 8-5 victory in Game 2 of the best of five series.
                In a game that was twice delayed by rain, including a 30 minute stoppage during the top of the third inning, the Illuminators built a 7-0 advantage before weathering a Gatekeeper rally in the late innings.
                Brant Spring started for the Beacons against rookie left hander Kevin Druckman of the Sentries. Spring pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. Druckman permitted seven runs on 12 hits in six innings of work.
                The Beacons took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on RBI singles by Ryan Scott and Spring. The Sentries opened the bottom of the first with a leadoff double by Jeff O' Kelley, but Spring worked around that hit, and a two out walk to Andres Libran, before retiring the next 15 batters in a row.
                In the meantime, the Beacons added two runs in the third as Scott and Guy Bitchatcho had RBI singles. The Illuminators tacked on another run in the fourth when Scott singled in Jimmy Efre. Bitchatcho's solo home run in the fifth made it 6-0, and an RBI single by Cory Gammons in the sixth put the Beacons in front, 7-0.
                The Sentries began their comeback in the bottom of the sixth as Cody Stauble hit a long home run to get the Gatekeepers on the board. The Sentries pulled to within 7-4 in the seventh, but squandered an opportunity to get even closer.
                After Casey McCarthy led off the home half of the seventh with a single, Phil Laufman lined a two run home run to left to make the score 7-3. Tim Hopkins followed Laufman's homer with a ringing single and pinch runner Gian-Pierre Lopez went to second on pinch hitter Albert Quezada's ground out to short. Sergio Perez was hit by a pitch and O' Kelley walked to load the bases. Stauble then drilled a single to left, but Perez was out at the plate on a close play for the second out.
                In the eighth, the Sentries made it 7-5 as Lopez delivered an RBI single off of reliever Nick Mirto, but the Beacons reestablished a three run lead in the top of the ninth when Efre singled, stole second, and scored on a base hit by Jeff Fazio.
                In the bottom of the ninth, Mirto sent the Sentries down in order to earn the save.
                Scott led the Beacons with four hits and three RBI. Stauble, McCarthy, and Laufman paced the Sentries with two hits a piece.
                The pivotal third game of the series is scheduled for Monday night.
                Sentries Slam Beacons In Game 1: The Margate Sentries fired an opening salvo and took a one games to none lead in the best of five Expansion Series with an 11-7 win over the Lighthouse Point Beacons.
                Andres Libran pitched a complete game for the Gatekeepers and delivered the coup de gras when he crushed an eighth inning grand slam that provided the Fightin' Phils with all important insurance runs.
                Ryan DiGiose started for the Illuminators and battled with his control for four innings.
                The Beacons took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Cory Gammons poled an opposite field two run home run. Gammons was playing in his first game since missing four games with an unspecified ailment.
                In the top of the third, the Sentries took a 3-2 lead. Tim Hopkins led off and drew a walk. Hopkins scored as Sergio Perez delivered a one out RBI double. A single by Jeff O' Kelley scored Perez with the tying run, and, after Cody Stauble singled, Albert Quezada's base hit scored O' Kelley, putting the Sentries in front.
                The Gatekeepers lost an opportunity to increase their advantage when DiGiose picked Quezada off of first and, on the play, Beacon first baseman Ryan Scott nailed Stauble at the plate with a perfect throw to catcher Guy Bitchatcho as Stauble broke for home as Quezada was caught in a rundown between first and second.
                In the bottom of the third, the Beacons took a 4-3 lead. With one out, Scott got aboard as he beat out an infield single and then stole second. A two out seeing eye single by Brant Spring brought Scott home. After Bitchatcho drew a walk, Jamie Siragusa lined a single to right that scored Spring with the go ahead run.
                The Beacons' lead did not last long, however, as the Sentries scored three runs in the fourth. A two run single by Stauble and a wild pitch put the Gatekeepers ahead for good.
                In the fifth, the Beacons closed to within 6-5 on an RBI single by Spring, but would get no closer.
                After the Sentries tacked on a run in the seventh on a two out RBI single by Hopkins, Libran crushed an eighth inning grand slam. Gammons connected for a majestic two run blast in the ninth to close the scoring, but it was too little, too late.
                Libran, who capped the win by firing off one of Fernando Rodney's arrows after the final out, permitted 11 hits, walked four, hit one, and struck out eight. DiGiose took the loss, allowing five earned runs on eight hits in four innings. DiGiose walked four, hit a batter, and fanned three.
                Quezada paced the Gatekeepers with four hits. Stauble had three hits. Spring had three hits for the Illuminators.
                Neither team has announced a starter, as of yet, for Game 2.