Series 12: Part 4: So it Comes to This...

TEN - 4   MEL - 6   F
W - Politte (1-1)   L - Foulke (1-3)
MEL: Beckett: 4 1/3 IP, 4 ER
TEN: Ishii: 5 IP, 3 ER
MEL: Jeter: GW HR (4), 2 RBI (10), SB (3)
TEN: Drew: HR (6), 3 RBI (13)
MEL: Groom: 2 2/3 IP, BB, 0 H, 0 ER

The tension could not be thicker as both teams stared down elimination in the ultimate contest of do or die in their last game of the season. The nervous energy could be felt in the packed crowd at Melmegetia Municipal Stadium in which every seat was filled this evening. Nerves certainly seemed to be an issue for both starting pitchers, as neither seemed comfortable throughout the evening. Veteran Josh Beckett was the first to stumble, rocked by a J.D. Drew three run home run in the third inning. Beckett stumbled again in the fourth, surrendering a leadoff triple to Omar Vizquel, his league leading sixth of the year. Magglio Ordonez brought him home with a single on the next pitch, expanding the Green Sox league to 4-0. Beckett did not survive the inning, resulting in a very disappointing 4 and a third inning performance. He was relieved by Buddy Groom who was dominant in his first appearance in a while, not surrendering a hit in almost three innings and being a solid bridge to the late innings. On the other side of things, Tenbil Town starter Kaz Ishii ended up in some hot water himself in the bottom of the sixth. After a leadoff single from catcher Miguel Olivo, team captain and manager Adam Kennedy made things interesting by crushing a double and moving himself and Olivo into scoring position. The Marauders then finally got on the board with a Scott Rolen single; this ended Ishii's night as Emerick Jones called in Paul Shuey from the bullpen. But Shuey had a bit of a choking incident; Kennedy scored on a Brandon Larson single, Scott Rolen scored on a Fred McGriff double, and Larson scored on a Frank Thomas single. But the time Shuey finally ended the inning, the Marauder rally had brought the score to 4-4. Both bullpens kicked into high gear, and neither offense had any spark in the seventh and eighth innings. As the game went to the bottom of the ninth, the entire stadium held their collective breath as it looked like they were in for a long night. But there was to be drama before regulation was over. In the bottom of the ninth, with a runner on first, hot hitting Derek Jeter stepped to the plate. Tenbil closer Keith Foulke dealed a  fastball that hung just enough over the plate for Jeter to connect. The ball then sailed over the right field wall, and just like that, the Tenbil Town Green Sox season was over. While Melmegetia celebrates for the time being, their fate now rests in the hands of the Red Clay Aces. If the Aces when, then the Marauders punch their ticket to the playoffs...
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RED - 1   MAX - 3   F
W - Daal (2-2)   L - Fogg (1-2)   S - Rivera (6)
MAX: Daal: 7 IP, ER, QS (3)
RED: Fogg: 7 IP, 3 ER, QS (4)
MAX: Koskie: 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI (5)
MAX: Martinez: 1-3, 2B, RBI (17)
RED: Walker 04: 2-3, HR (2), RBI (7)

The last game of the season had so much riding on it. Would the Aces win the division? Could the Bombers pull off an incredible second half of the season turnaround and secure a playoff spot? Would they fail and allow the equally incredible story of the Marauders to have the Cinderella ending? Both teams threatened early, with both offenses getting runners on second and third in the first inning. Neither team capitalized on this chance, nor on the other opportunities in the early innings. Both starters indeed seemed nervous and were working in and out of trouble most of the evening. Huge double play balls saved each respective starter in the fourth inning; very tough rolls were achieved by the Maxion defense thanks to a very tough turn by second baseman Jeff Kent, while the Aces were able to emerge unscathed from a bases loaded situation with only one out when Bomber LF Hideki Matsui grounded out into a double play. But the Maxions bats finally hit pay dirt in the fifth inning, when the first three men of their lineup, Richie Ashburn, Corey Koskie and Edgar Martinez, hit three consecutive doubles. The Aces answered back in the sixth with a Larry Walker solo homerun, bringing the score to 3-1. Both starters pitched the seventh without incident before turning it over to their bullpens. The Maxions went to normally solid setup man Ugueth Urbina who started off the inning with two quick strikeouts. But two walks and a single lead to a bases loaded situation where they called in the closer Mariano Rivera. Using his signature cutter fastball, he struck out Jose Cruz to end the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Aces reliever Paul Quantril struggled but managed to get out of a jam without any bloodshed. In the top of the ninth, Rivera was to face the top of the Aces order. After surrendering a walk to leadoff man Tom Goodwin, the Bombers could not capitalize on a ground ball from the next batter. The number three hitter, Paul Konerko, then singled, moving a runner to scoring position and allowing the go ahead run to come to the plate. But Rivera did not falter. After popping up the hot hitting Alfonso Soriano, he put the game to rest but catching Jason Giambi looking and sending the Maxion Bombers to the playoffs!

What an incredible run for this team, who bounced back after a 1-9 start to finish the year with a record of 10-12. They will play in the first round of the playoffs against the Red Clay Aces, a rematch of this epic series where they were able to secure the third Pee Wee League playoff spot.

So ends the regular season of Season 6. With the playoff picture decided, stay tuned for the All Star Team announcements.