9/30/2013

The Products closed out the Cudas last week to win their first championship since 2008. While the story all season for the Products was defense, holding opponents to nearly four runs per game, the finals were all about offense. The Products lost the first game of the final series 17-14, but bounced back and won the second game 20-16. They won the third and decisive game in style by mercy rule 16-4 in the fifth inning.

The first week of the finals contest was a double header, with eight Products players taking on a full squad of 11 Cudas. The Products were constantly shifting in the field defensively to try and make up for their lack of players. Jim Rose covered both first and second base, Tom Rosborough shifted from shortstop to short field to right field, Megan Rosborough shifted between second base and right field, and Eddie Jameson covered both third base and shortstop at times. This left Dave Proctor and Jarret Miller to cover a lot of open ground in the outfield. The stat books won’t show that Pat Pizzimenti pitched an excellent game, but that is only because of the lack of fielders behind him as the Cudas continually tried to aim their hits away from the defensive shifts. The stat books do show, however, the three tag outs Brett Wheeler was able to make at the plate. The effort shown in the field by the Products team was tremendous all night.

Leading the playoff offensive surge were Eddie Jameson and Brian Middaugh. Over the final three games Eddie Jameson went 14-15 from the plate with two home runs, three triples, 10 runs scored, and 15 RBIs. Brian Middaugh launched three home runs in the first series against the Eagles and then added two more in the final game against the Cudas. Brett Wheeler shined in the final game going 2 for 3 with a bases clearing double and game leading 4 RBIs.