2023 Championship Tournament

Rockies win third straight championship

Garbarino drives in 4, holds Braves to 3 runs to lead Rockies to title

Sean Garbarino drove in four runs and Bill Little hit a three-run home run as the Rockies beat the Braves, 14-3, and took the ECABL Championship title for the third year in a row.

HIGHLIGHTS

Key to the win: Sean Garbarino held the Braves scoreless until giving up three runs in the top of the seventh. Garbarino struck out four and walked three.

Winning pitcher: Sean Garbarino

Losing pitcher: Rick Castro

Game MVPs: Garbarino went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Bill Little went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Adam Amerson went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Sam Ward went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI.   

Noble Effort: Dakotah Thomas went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Rick Castro went 1-for-2 with a run scored. John Peterson went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Tanner Brown went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.  

Miscellaneous Notes: The game was originally scheduled for Aug. 27, but was postponed by rain.

Braves pound out 17 hits to beat Red Sox and advance to championship game

With a 7-0 lead going into the seventh inning, the Braves erupted for 10 runs to beat the Red Sox, 17-0, and advance to the championship game against the top-seeded Rockies.

HIGHLIGHTS

Key to the win: The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Braves managed to get three straight outs and get out of the inning unscathed. They built a comfortable lead through six innings, but a Michael Mauch three-run homer in the ended any chance of a Red Sox comeback.

Winning pitcher: Pablo Hernandez

Losing pitcher: Josh Edwards

Game MVPs: Dakotah Thomas pitched four innings of shutout baseball. He gave up one hit, one walk, no runs and struck out nine. Tanner Brown went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Michael Mauch went 2-for-5 with a home run, five RBIs and a run scored.   

Noble Effort: Josh Edwards pitched 4 1/3 innings, gave up four hits, four walks, three earned runs and struck out five. Jacob Lawrence went 1-for-3.  

Miscellaneous Notes: Pablo Hernandez hit the first three batters with pitches, but got out of the inning without giving up any runs. How did he get a win after only pitching 1 2/3 innings? Because of our shortened games and the way we use relief pitchers, we have no minimum number of innings for starters to earn a win.

Next Up: The Braves will visit the Rockies at 4 p.m. Sunday in the championship game.

Little, Garbarino lead Rockies to 6-2 win over Mets; Rockies advance to championship game

Bill Little and Sean Garbarino held the Mets to six hits and no earned runs as the Rockies beat the Mets, 6-2, and advanced to the championship game on Sunday.

HIGHLIGHTS

Key to the win: The two teams traded runs in the first and second inning, but the Rockies scored three in the third inning on an RBI-single by Gabe Pierre and an RBI-ground out by Brandon Bowden.

Winning pitcher: Bill Little

Losing pitcher: Alex Calabrese

Game MVPs: Bill Little gave up five hits and two unearned runs in four innings. He walked two and struck out seven. Sean Garbarino gave up one hit and one walk in three innings. He struck out two. Little also went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Garbarino went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Pierre and Landon Vick went 1-for-2 with an RBI.   

Noble Effort: Dan Ventry went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Chris Fletcher went 1-for-3 with a run scored. Alex Calabrese gave up six hits and three earned runs over six innings. He walked four and struck out seven. Scott Shaffer went 1-for-2.

Miscellaneous Notes: The Rockies return to the championship game for the third year in a row.

Next Up: The Rockies host the Braves at 4 p.m. Sunday in the championship game.

Thomas strikes out 11 as Braves advance in tournament with 5-1 win over Marlins

Following a devastating injury to Braves' starter Armando Estrada, Dakotah Thomas pitched 6 2/3 innings of relief, holding the Marlins to four hits, two walks and one run while striking out 11.

HIGHLIGHTS

Key to the win: The Braves scored an unearned run in the second inning, and padded the lead with two runs in the fifth inning on an RBI-sacrifice bunt by Tanner Brown and an RBI-double by Travis Morton.

Winning pitcher: Dakotah Thomas

Losing pitcher: Doug Henderson

Game MVPs: Aside from Thomas; pitching, Ian Trent went 1-for-1 with two runs scored. Rick Castro went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Alberto Sosa went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Travis Morton and Nathan Johnson each went 1-for-3.   

Noble Effort: Doug Henderson held the Braves to five hits and two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one. He also went 1-for-3 at the plate. Dario Carballo went 2-for-3 and Tomas Hernandez Jr. went 1-for-3.  

Miscellaneous Notes: Good thoughts go out to Armando Estrada. Estrada started the game for the Braves, but left after breaking his arm throwing a pitch to the second batter of the game.

Next Up: The Braves will visit the Red Sox at 1 p.m. Sunday in the second round of the championship tournament. The Marlins' season comes to an end.

Yankees comeback falls short as Mets advance in the tournament with 7-5 win

Patrick Ventry held the Yankees to one hit and one run over six innings, and the Mets took advantage of errors with timely hits to beat the Yankees and advance to the second round of the championship tournament.

HIGHLIGHTS

Key to the win: Despite giving up five runs in all, Patrick Ventry held the Yankees to one hit and one run through six innings. Alex Calabrese picked up the final two outs with the bases loaded for the save.

Winning pitcher: Patrick Ventry

Losing pitcher: Teddy Cardenas

Game MVPs: Patrick Ventry pitched 6 1/3 and gave up four hits and five earned runs. He struck out nine and walked six. Dan Ventry drove in two runs in the first with a single. Mike Parziale went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Heath Henson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.   

Noble Effort: Jayson Melendez went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. Micah Caroon went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. Tyler Moore went 1-for-3 with an RBI.  

Miscellaneous Notes: Teddy Cardenas tossed a complete game for the Yankees. None of the seven runs he gave up was earned. He gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out two.

Next Up: The Mets will visit the Rockies at 4 p.m. Sunday in the second round of the championship tournament. The Yankees' season comes to an end.