The finale of the game was not without its controversy. That single hit the Serinca outfielder David Gonzalez's glove square in the pocket of the glove, and bounced in and out of his control despite it looking as if he caught or trapped the ball. The play could have resulted in either an out or an error, or ultimately the single it was ruled to be by the umpires. Serinca fumed as Miami JC celebrated their fall 2022 championship.
The game was tied at one in the seventh inning after Juan Carlos Llerena took the seventh pitch of the at bat from Ruben Sanchez and lined a RBI single to center. In the bottom of the 10th when Rodnney Rodriguez singled on a fly ball to the warning track in left field, scoring ghost runner Yasmani Prieto from 2nd with the go-ahead run and ultimately the winning run.
Timely hits and some unfortunate defensive miscues by the Yankees cost them dearly. The Nationals led 17-11 late and the Yankees scored two runs in the 8th to make it 17-13. Reliever Reidy Oliva was holding the Nationals down and keeping the Yankees within striking distance. The Yankees scored 2 more in the 9th to make it 17-15 and had two runners on base in scoring position, but the comeback fell just short. Hats off to Player/Manager Orbeta and the his talented, resilient team as they prevailed in a game for the ages 17-15. The Southern Yankees scored 15 runs and lost. How often does that happen between two titans of SFBL baseball?
Usually when a team takes a six run lead early, it kind of deflates the balloon of air on the other side. In case one was wondering, that aforementioned other side was the Dade Nationals, who are quite accustomed to playoff baseball. And instead of wondering what the heck hit them, their mantra instead seemed to be, simply, "Get up there and slug."
The Nationals scored five times in a heartbeat, something their lineup constantly can do in the blink of an eye, and then exploded for 11 runs in the sixth, batting around twice. Alex Batista doubled twice, Ruben Peralta tripled, singled and doubled and was 3/4ths of the way to the cycle. Juan Batista singled twice and doubled. Angel Correa tripled and doubled and singled twice. Larry Hernandez and Ramon Alfonzo both went 4-6 and doubled twice. Robert Rodriguez and Ramon Alfonzo pitched and combined for the win, but their bats did most of the talking. The two combined for 6 hits in the offensive explosion.
The championship trophy was hoisted by the Dacar Senators (7-6) over the Miami Amigos at Flamingo Park in Miami on July 16th, 2023. In the 28+ division championship matchup between the two SFBL ball-clubs, the final score was 10-2. The Amigos were favored going into the game with a 10-2 record. Managed by Hernan Mejias, the Dacar club responded brilliantly. Robert Palencia, the starter tapped by Meijas for the title game, was simply dominant. The righty starter pitched a complete game, allowing just one earned run over 9 full innings, easily being the MVP of the game for Dacar.
"Sometimes you win games you weren't expecting to win. Give all the credit to those guys over there," said Amigos manager Eddie Cabrera. "They played a hell of a game. They were more thoroughly prepared and they had a great game out there. Sometimes, you gotta tip your cap and say good game, boys. You got us. But we'll get you next time."
It's a situation a player can dream on. The bases loaded, no one out in the bottom of the 9th, down three runs, and then suddenly, two outs, full count, runners in scoring position and the championship one swing away either way. Eddie Cabrera would find himself in this situation, and would take full advantage of his opportunities and make his impact known on the base-paths, inserting his name in SFBL championship lore.
"It was a good game. Weβve always have good competition against them. They beat us in the regular season. It was kind of a heated exchange. I was injured for that regular season matchup. I wanted the revenge. Weβve knocked them out of the playoffs 3 out of the last 4 seasons. Our games with them always come down to the bottom of the 9th, and controversy is typically how these games ends. They have not been able to beat us in the playoffs. We look forward to our future games with those guys, and beating them is the best feeling in the world," said the MVP and manager Eddie Cabrera.