2001 Playoff Preview Round 1 Mechan Syndicate (105-57, Mantle division pennant winner) vs. Springfield 'Topes (89-73, League wildcard) The irresistible force vs. the immovable object. The league's best pitching staff vs. the league's best batting order. The Springfield 'Topes seemingly drafted behind the playoff contenders before a strong September pushed them into the playoffs. They traded slugger Luis Gonzalez before the season started, but their hitters still held up OK. CF Bernie Williams hit .307 with 49 doubles, 28 homers, and 117 runs scored. 2B Jose Video slugged .508 with 24 homers and 75 RBI. 1B Tino Martinez hit 25 homers with 96 RBI, and catcher Jorge Posada dinged out 26 big ones with 86 RBI. If the 'Topes' hitters could be described as "serviceable", their pitching could be described as "wow". Their 3.53 team ERA was the best in the league by nearly half a run. Mark Buehrle is a legit Cy Young candiate, going 20-7 with a 2.84 ERA. Andy Pettitte went 16-5 with a 2.66 ERA. Closer Kyle Farnsworth saved a league-leading 38 games. The Mechan Syndicate won triple digits in wins and the Mantle division pennant by one simple method: Pure, brute force. The Syndicate shattered all sorts of team and individual records for power and production. Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmero combined for 344 runs, 143 homers, and 358 RBI's. Shawn Green followed that up with 39 homers, 132 runs scored and 131 RBI. Robby Alomar hit 20 triples with 144 runs scored and 38 RBI. OF Gabe Kapler, 3B Eric Chavez and catcher Robert Fick hit at least 20 homers. They scored 1.7 runs a game more than they allowed, best in the league. As for their pitching .. well, most of the guys were really lucky to have the best offense of all time. Starter Eric Gagne kept his ERA to a 3.93 clip, and was rewarded with a 16-4 season. Tim Wakefield had a 5.05 ERA with a 13-5 record. Reliever Mike Trombley went 9-2 with 11 saves, while Byung-Hyun Kim went 7-8 with 14 saves. The Syndicate won the regular season series with Springfield 7 games to 5, and have home field advantage. ******************************************************************* GAME ONE -- 'Topes (Buehrle) vs. Syndicate (Park) -- Hold on to your hats, there's going to be some offense today! In the top of the 1st, the 'Topes jumped out to an early lead with a Posada solo homer. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Roberto Alomar tied things up with a solo shot of his own. Later in the inning, Bonds singled, Palmeiro singled, and Green brought them all home with a dinger. 4-1 Syndicate. In the bottom of the 4th, Chan Ho Park helped his cause by doubling in Alomar. In the top of the 5th, Posada doubled and scored on Vidro's single. 5-2 Syndicate. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Girardi incremented the lead with an RBI double. In the bottom of the 6th inning, with Eric Chavez at 2nd, Alomar singled, scoring another run. Robert Fick walked, and Barry Bonds POUNDS one over the wall. 3-run homer, 10-2 ballgame. For good measure, Bonds hit a 2-run homer in the 8th to make it 12-2. Mechan wins game one by a large margin. SYNDICATE LEAD 1-0. 10/5/2001, SPR01-MEC01, game 1, Olympic Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 'Topes 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 9 0 13 0 2001 Syndicate 0 0 4 1 1 4 0 2 x 12 14 0 5 1 'Topes AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Williams,B cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Posada c 5 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 5 0 0 0 Vidro 2b 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .333 1 4 0 0 Martinez 1b 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 11 0 0 0 Ibanez lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 2 0 0 0 Bell 3b 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 2 0 0 Damon rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 0 0 0 Gonzalez ss 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 0 2 0 0 Zaun ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Perez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Buehrle p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Little ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Speier p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Colbrunn ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Sabel p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 34 2 9 2 3 0 1 6 8 0 0 0 1 1 0 24 10 0 0 Syndicate AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Bonds lf 5 3 3 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .600 0 0 0 0 Palmeiro 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 5 0 0 0 Gibbons ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Green rf 4 1 2 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500 3 0 0 0 Dunn ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Owens rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Kapler cf 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 4 0 0 0 Bergeron ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Girardi c 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 4 0 0 0 Stein p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Gutierrez ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Sadler ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Chavez 3b 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 3 0 0 Alomar 2b 4 3 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .750 4 3 0 0 Crespo 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 Park p 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 1 0 0 Fick c 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 5 0 0 0 38 12 14 12 4 0 4 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 27 9 0 0 'Topes INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Buehrle L 0-1 5.0 8 6 6 1 2 82 53 24 2 0 0 0 0 10.80 Speier 2.0 3 4 4 1 2 36 23 10 1 0 0 0 0 18.00 Sabel 1.0 3 2 2 1 0 29 19 7 1 0 0 0 0 18.00 8.0 14 12 12 3 4 147 95 41 4 0 0 0 0 Syndicate INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Park W 1-0 5.2 7 2 2 5 3 111 58 28 1 0 0 1 1 3.18 Stein S 1 3.1 2 0 0 1 5 51 30 14 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 9.0 9 2 2 6 8 162 88 42 1 0 1 2 1 SPR: Little batted for Buehrle in the 6th Zaun batted for Gonzalez in the 8th Colbrunn batted for Speier in the 8th Perez inserted at ss in the 8th MEC: Fick inserted at c in the 6th Sadler inserted at ss in the 8th Gibbons batted for Palmeiro in the 8th Dunn batted for Green in the 8th Bergeron batted for Kapler in the 8th Crespo inserted at 2b in the 9th Owens inserted at rf in the 9th Gibbons moved to 1b in the 9th Bergeron moved to cf in the 9th GWRBI: Green Temperature: 70, Wind: none. ******************************************************************* GAME TWO -- 'Topes (Pettitte) at Syndicate (Gagne) -- The 'Topes struck back from their game one thrashing early, when Raul Ibanez hit a 3-run tater off of Eric Gagne in the 1st inning. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Bonds doubled and scored on a double by Green. In the bottom of the 2nd, Chavez doubled and Alomar doubled him in to narrow the lead to 1. In the 5th inning, Bernie Williams singled, but got to 2nd base when Bonds bobbled the ball. Williams scored on a single by Posada for a 4-2 game. The Syndicate narrowed it to a 1-run game again in the 5th inning on a solo home run by Gabe Kapler. In the bottom of the 7th, Barry Bonds tatered off of reliever Mike Matthews to tie things up at 4. In the top of the 8th inning, Jorge Posada broke the deadlock, homering off of Gagne, ending his day and making it 5-4 'Topes. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Eric Owens singled with 2 outs, bringing on Kyle Farnsworth. The next batter, Roberto Alomar, singled, moving Owens to 3rd. However, Farnsworth closed out the inning by striking out Angel Berroa. In the top of the 9th inning, Mike Trombley was pitching for the Syndicate. David Bell was issued a 0 out walk. Johnny Damon singled, moving Bell to 3rd. Alex Gonzalez hit into a double play, but Bell scored anyways. 6-4 'Topes. Kyle Farnsworth stayed on the mound in the bottom of the 9th. The Syndicate were down by 2 runs, and they had the top of the order coming on to hit. The first batter, Barry Bonds, popped out. Rafael Palmeiro walked. Shawn Green flied out. 2 outs. Gabe Kapler was issued a walk. 2 men on, 2 outs, and the winning run, Joe Girardi was the plate. Alas, Girardi is not as power-enhanced as some of his fellow teammates, and grounded out to end the game. Springfield wins game two by a score of 6 to 4. SERIES TIED 1-1. 10/6/2001, SPR01-MEC01, game 1, Olympic Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 'Topes 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 6 7 1 3 0 2001 Syndicate 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 9 2 10 1 'Topes AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Williams,B cf 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .143 2 0 0 0 Posada c 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .444 6 1 0 0 Zaun c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Vidro 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 1 2 1 0 Perez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Martinez 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 8 1 0 0 Ibanez lf 4 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 0 0 0 0 Matthews lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Bell 3b 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 1 2 0 0 Damon rf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 3 0 0 0 Gonzalez ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 1 4 0 0 Pettitte p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Matos ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Matthews p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Farnsworth p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 34 6 7 5 0 0 2 1 8 0 0 0 1 0 0 27 11 1 0 Syndicate AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Bonds lf 4 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .556 6 0 1 0 Palmeiro 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 4 0 0 0 Green rf 5 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 3 0 0 0 Kapler cf 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 3 0 0 0 Girardi c 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 8 0 0 0 Gutierrez ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 3 0 0 Chavez 3b 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 0 1 0 0 Owens ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Sadler 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Alomar 2b 4 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .750 2 1 1 0 Gagne p 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Bailey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Berroa ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Trombley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 37 4 9 4 4 0 2 4 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 5 2 0 'Topes INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Pettitte 6.0 6 3 3 2 6 102 61 27 1 0 0 0 0 4.50 Matthews BS 1, W 1-0 1.2 2 1 1 0 2 27 16 7 1 0 0 0 0 5.40 Farnsworth S 1 1.1 1 0 0 2 1 31 16 7 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 9 4 4 4 9 160 93 41 2 0 0 0 0 Syndicate INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Gagne L 0-1 7.0 6 5 4 0 6 92 65 29 2 0 1 0 0 5.14 Bailey 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 13 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Trombley 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 12 6 4 0 0 0 0 1 9.00 9.0 7 6 5 1 8 117 78 36 2 0 1 0 1 SPR: Matos batted for Pettitte in the 7th Zaun inserted at c in the 8th Perez inserted at 2b in the 8th Matthews inserted at lf in the 8th MEC: Owens batted for Chavez in the 8th Berroa batted for Bailey in the 8th Sadler inserted at 3b in the 9th GWRBI: Posada Temperature: 70, Wind: none. ******************************************************************* GAME THREE -- Syndicate (Wakefield) at 'Topes (Castillo) -- Tied at one game apiece, the series shifted back to Springfield. In the top of the 3rd, with Wakefield at 1st, Roberto Alomar doubled, moving Wakfield to 3rd. Barry Bonds walked to load the bases with 1 out. Rafael Palmeiro hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the 1st run of the game, but that's all the Syndicate got for the inning. 1-0 Syndicate. In the bottom of the 3rd, Alex Gonzalez started the inning with a walk. Pitcher Frank Castillo bunted his way to first, and Bernie Williams hit an infield single to load the bases with 0 outs. Wakefield walked Posada, tying the game at 1. Jose Video hit into a double play, but another run scored from 3rd to give Springfield the lead. In the bottom of the 4th, Johnny Damon walked and Alex Gonzalez homered, making it 4-1 'Topes. In the 6th inning, Tino Martinez walked, moved to 2nd on a Steve Cox groundout, and scored on a Johnny Damon single. 5-1. Without answer from the Syndicate, the 'Topes scored yet again in the 8th on a solo home run by Vidro. 6-1 Springfield. With Mike Matthews on the mound for Springfield, the Syndicate faced a 5 run deficit in the top of the 9th. First batter up, pinch hitter Eric Owens, homered. 6-2. Gabe Kapler made it back-to-back dingers. 6-3 Syndicate. Matthews gave way to Giovanni Carrera. Next batter, Robert Fick walked and moved to 2nd on Gutierrez's groundout. 1 out. Pinch hitter Joe Girari flied out, but failed to advance the runner. 2 outs. Roberto Alomar was next up. Alomar hits a line drive, but it is caught by the third baseman. Springfield wins game 3 by a score of 6-3 and take the series lead. 'TOPES LEAD 2-1. 10/7/2001, MEC01-SPR01, game 1, Qualcomm Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 Syndicate 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 1 7 1 2001 'Topes 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 x 6 8 0 3 0 Syndicate AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Alomar 2b 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .583 1 3 0 0 Bonds lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .417 1 0 1 0 Palmeiro 1b 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .091 6 1 0 0 Green rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 1 0 0 0 Chavez 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 1 1 0 0 Owens ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Kapler cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 1 1 0 0 Fick c 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 11 1 0 0 Gutierrez ss 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 1 3 0 0 Wakefield p 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 1 0 0 0 Gibbons ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Stein p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Girardi ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111 0 0 0 0 32 3 6 3 1 0 2 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 24 10 1 0 'Topes AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Williams,B cf 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273 4 0 0 0 Zaun c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Posada c 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .417 3 1 0 0 Matos cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Vidro 2b 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273 0 3 0 0 Matthews lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Martinez 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 10 2 0 0 Cox lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Perez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Bell 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083 1 2 0 0 Damon rf 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300 4 0 0 0 Gonzalez ss 2 2 1 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 1 2 0 0 Matthews p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Carrara p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Farnsworth p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Castillo,F p 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 1 0 0 0 Cabrera ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 30 6 8 5 2 0 2 3 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 11 0 0 Syndicate INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Wakefield L 0-1 6.0 6 5 5 3 9 100 59 26 1 0 0 0 1 7.50 Stein 2.0 2 1 1 0 1 26 18 7 1 0 0 0 0 1.69 8.0 8 6 6 3 10 126 77 33 2 0 0 0 1 'Topes INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Castillo,F W 1-0 6.2 4 1 1 3 2 109 60 27 0 0 0 0 0 1.35 Matthews H 1 1.1 2 2 2 0 1 18 13 6 2 0 0 0 0 9.00 Carrara 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 7 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Farnsworth S 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 11 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 6 3 3 4 3 145 83 37 2 0 0 0 0 MEC: Gibbons batted for Wakefield in the 7th Owens batted for Chavez in the 9th Girardi batted for Stein in the 9th SPR: Cabrera inserted at ss in the 7th Zaun inserted at c in the 8th Matos inserted at cf in the 8th Matthews inserted at lf in the 9th Perez inserted at 2b in the 9th Temperature: 69, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 1 MPH. ******************************************************************* GAME FOUR -- Syndicate (Eaton) at 'Topes (Johnson) -- Game four would be one of tense situations and missed opportunities for both teams, culminating in a marathon game. In the top of the 1st, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmerio and Eric Chavez were walked to load the bases with 2 outs. Gabe Kapler couldn't drive in some runs, hitting a fly out to end the inning with the score still at 0. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Raul Ibanez hit a 1 out double. Jose Vidro singled, moving Ibanez to 3rd. Tino Martinez drove in the 1st run of the game with a single of his own. Steve Cox hit a deep fly ball, deep enough for Vidro to try and score from 3rd. Shawn Green tries to throw him out, but Fick can't handle the errant throw. Vidro scores, and Martinez moves to 3rd. 2-0 Springfield. David Bell singled in Martinez for a 3-0 'Topes contest. The Syndicate put themselves on the board in the 3rd inning with a solo home run by Barry Bonds. In the top of the 4th, Eric Chavez doubled, and was doubled in by Gabe Kapler. 3-2 Springfield. Rickey Gutierrez was plunked by a pitch, and pitcher Adam Eaton was walked to load the bases with 1 out. Robert Alomar hit a sacrifice fly to tie up the game. Gutierrez tried to go to 3rd on the sac fly, but was thrown out to end the inning. 3-3 ballgame. The next scoring opportunity would be for the 'Topes in the bottom of the 8th. The bases were loaded with Springfield hitters, 1 out, with Syndicate reliever Cory Bailey on the mound. Greg Zaun was the batter at the plate. Zaun hit a grounder to Alomar, who got the force at home. Fick tried to throw Zaun out at first, but the throw hit him, making the bases loaded again with 2 outs. Alex Gonzalez grounded out to Alomar to end the inning with the game still tied at 3. In the top of the 9th, with Giovanni Carrera on the mound for Springfield, the first batter up, Robert Fick, popped up for out #1. Rickey Gutierrez grounded out for the second one. Pinch hitter Cesar Crespo singled with 2 outs. Roberto Alomar struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Cory Bailey remained on the mound for the Mechan Syndicate. DT Cromer struck out, Jorge Posada grounded out, and Raul Ibanez struck out to end regulation innings with the game tied at 3. The next several innings saw various Syndicate & 'Topes relievers shut down the opposition with relative ease. Nobody could put more than a man on in an inning through 13. Byung-Hyun Kim of the Syndicate pitched especially well, throwing 3 innings of shutout ball, issuing only 1 walk and no hits during that time. In the top of the 14th inning, Justin Speier was pitching into his 3rd inning for the 'Topes. The first batter up, Gutierrez, struck out, as did Cesar Crespo. Up came Roberto Alomar, who had struck out with a man on base in the bottom of the 9th. What would his 14th inning 2 outs at bat bring? A solo homer! Alomar put Mechan ahead by a run. 4-3 after 13 1/2 innings. In the bottom of the 14th, Mike Trombley came on board for the Syndicate to try and save the game. First batter up, Gary Matthews, hit an infield single. Next batter up, pinch hitter Ruben Rivera, singled, moving Matthews to 3rd. 0 outs. Jorge Posada hit a shallow fly out, not deep enough for the sacrifice fly. 1 out. Next batter up, Raul Ibanez, hit a shallow fly out to Bonds, again not deep enough for the runner at 3rd to score. With 2 outs, it was now up to Jose Vidro to try and continue the game for Springfield. Vidro hit a dribber at the front of the plate. Fick picked up the ball, and gunned it to first for the final out. The Mechan Syndicate win a marathon game, 4 to 3, and tie up the series. SERIES TIED 2-2. 10/8/2001, MEC01-SPR01, game 1, Qualcomm Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 2001 Syndicate 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2001 'Topes 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 14 R H E LOB DP 2001 Syndicate 0 1 4 9 2 10 0 2001 'Topes 0 0 3 12 0 12 2 Syndicate AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Alomar 2b 6 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .444 4 4 0 0 Bonds lf 6 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .389 4 0 0 0 Palmeiro 1b 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .063 12 1 0 0 Green rf 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .211 2 0 1 0 Chavez 3b 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 1 1 0 Owens ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Sadler 3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 1 0 0 Kapler cf 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 0 0 0 0 Bailey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Girardi ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 0 0 0 0 Kim p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Dunn ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Ryan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Trombley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Fick c 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 15 1 0 1 Gutierrez ss 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .118 3 5 0 0 Eaton p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 Crespo cf 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500 1 0 0 0 48 4 9 4 4 0 2 6 12 1 0 0 1 0 1 42 15 2 1 'Topes AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Posada c 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .368 12 0 0 0 Ibanez cf 7 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .214 4 0 0 0 Vidro 2b 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222 1 1 0 0 Martinez 1b 6 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278 11 1 0 0 Cox lf 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .111 1 0 0 0 Bell 3b 6 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 2 1 0 0 Damon rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 4 1 0 0 Zaun ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Matos cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 4 0 0 0 Little ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 1 0 0 0 Gonzalez ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 1 4 0 0 Pickering ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Perez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Matthews ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Johnson p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Colbrunn ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Matthews p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Carrara p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Cromer ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Farnsworth p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Yan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Schneider ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Speier p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Rivera ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 54 3 12 3 1 0 0 2 14 0 0 0 0 0 1 42 10 0 0 Syndicate INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Eaton 7.1 8 3 2 1 7 112 72 32 0 0 0 0 0 2.45 Bailey 1.2 1 0 0 0 2 25 16 6 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Kim 3.0 0 0 0 1 4 42 26 10 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Ryan W 1-0 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 16 11 4 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Trombley S 1 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 17 12 5 0 0 0 0 0 4.50 14.0 12 3 2 2 14 212 137 57 0 0 0 0 0 'Topes INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Johnson 7.0 4 3 3 5 4 111 57 30 1 0 1 1 0 3.86 Matthews 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 8 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 8.10 Carrara 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 18 12 5 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 Farnsworth 1.2 2 0 0 1 2 24 15 8 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Yan 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Speier L 0-1 3.0 1 1 1 0 4 36 25 10 1 0 0 0 0 9.00 14.0 9 4 4 6 12 202 118 56 2 0 1 1 1 MEC: Owens batted for Chavez in the 8th Sadler inserted at 3b in the 8th Crespo inserted at cf in the 8th Girardi batted for Bailey in the 10th Dunn batted for Kim in the 13th SPR: Colbrunn batted for Johnson in the 7th Zaun batted for Damon in the 8th Matos inserted at cf in the 9th Ibanez moved to rf in the 9th Cromer batted for Carrara in the 9th Pickering batted for Gonzalez in the 11th Schneider batted for Yan in the 11th Perez inserted at ss in the 12th Little batted for Matos in the 13th Little moved to cf in the 14th Matthews batted for Perez in the 14th Rivera batted for Speier in the 14th GWRBI: Alomar Temperature: 55, Sky: clear, Wind: none. ******************************************************************* GAME FIVE -- Syndicate (Park) at 'Topes (Buehrle) -- Game five was going to be a big test for 'Topes pitcher Mark Buehrle. Buehrle was an elite pitcher during the post-season, but got trashed by the Syndicate hitters in a game one blowout. The Syndicate seemed to be feeling right at home in the 3rd inning. Roberto Alomar and Barry Bonds each hit solo homers off Buehrle for a 2-0 Syndicate lead. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Buehrle got a leadoff walk. Bernie Williams hit a grounder to 1st, and almost beat it out ... almost. The out advanced Buehrle to 2nd. Jose Vidro drove him in with an RBI single. Tino Martinez walked, and Steve Cox walked to load the bases with 2 outs. Up now was David Bell. Would Bell make the most of this opportunity? This time, yes! Bell gets a big base hit, driving in 2 runs to give the 'Topes the 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Johnny Damon walked. Neifi Perez hits a DP ball to Eric Chavez, but Chavez's initial throw to 2nd winds up in the outfield. Perez reaches first, and Damon is safe at third. 1 out. Buehrle strikes out for out #2. Bernie Williams singles to drive in a run. 4-2 'Topes. Jorge Posada doubles, driving in 2 more runs. 6-2 'Topes. Jose Vidro makes it a 4 run inning with an RBI single. 7-2 'Topes. Mark Buehrle would pitch the entire game, giving up only 4 hits and 2 runs. Springfield makes game five a final 7 to 2 ballgame. The 'Topes are just 1 win away from advancing to the MK conference finals. 'TOPES LEAD 3-2. 10/10/2001, MEC01-SPR01, game 1, Qualcomm Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 Syndicate 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 1 1 2001 'Topes 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 x 7 7 1 7 3 Syndicate AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Bonds lf 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .381 4 0 0 0 Palmeiro 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 6 1 0 0 Green rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .174 1 0 0 0 Kapler cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 3 0 0 0 Girardi c 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077 6 0 0 0 Gutierrez ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 0 0 0 0 Chavez 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 2 1 0 Alomar 2b 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 3 3 0 0 Park p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 0 0 0 Stein p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Berroa ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Roberts,W p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 29 2 4 2 0 0 2 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 24 6 1 0 'Topes AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Williams,B cf 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 0 0 0 Matos cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Posada c 5 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 3 2 0 0 Gonzalez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 0 1 0 0 Vidro 2b 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .286 1 4 0 0 Martinez 1b 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 11 1 0 0 Cox lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083 0 0 0 0 Matthews lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 2 0 0 0 Bell 3b 4 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182 1 2 0 0 Damon rf 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 3 0 0 0 Perez ss 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 3 1 0 Zaun c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Buehrle p 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 31 7 7 7 1 0 0 6 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 27 14 1 0 Syndicate INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Park L 1-1 5.2 7 7 3 5 5 108 59 30 0 0 1 0 1 3.97 Stein 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 14 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 1.35 Roberts,W 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 12 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 8.0 7 7 3 6 6 134 74 38 0 0 1 0 1 'Topes INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Buehrle W 1-1 9.0 4 2 2 0 6 107 66 30 2 0 1 0 3 5.14 9.0 4 2 2 0 6 107 66 30 2 0 1 0 3 MEC: Berroa batted for Stein in the 8th SPR: Matthews inserted at lf in the 8th Zaun inserted at c in the 9th Matos inserted at cf in the 9th Gonzalez inserted at ss in the 9th GWRBI: Bell Temperature: 59, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: none. ******************************************************************* GAME SIX -- 'Topes (Pettitte) at Syndicate (Gagne) -- The Syndicate had won over 100 games in the regular season, but if they didn't win this one, their season would be over. In the top of the 3rd inning, with Alex Gonzalez of the 'Topes on first, Bernie Williams took Eric Gagne deep, giving Springfield an early 2-0 lead. In the top of the 8th inning, Williams went deep again, a solo shot to make it 3-0. Jorge Posada made it back to back homers. The 'Topes would load the bases with 0 outs, and by the end of the 8th inning would score 5 runs in total to make it a 7-0 Springfield lead. Andy Pettitte remained on the mound in the bottom of the 9th. The batting order would have to make up at least 7 runs with 3 outs. The first batter up, Shawn Green, singled. Gabe Kapler hit a ground ball, getting Green out at 2nd but Kapler was speedy enough to avoid the DP. Joe Girardi struck out for out #2. For the Syndicate, it was now all up to Ricky Gutierrez to extend their season. But it was not to be. Gutierrez hit a grounder to David Bell, who threw to 2nd to get Kapler out. Springfield does the improbable, beating the Syndicate 7-0 in game 6 and winning the round 1 series in 6 games. The 'Topes will now advance to the MK conference finals to play for the right to be in the 2001 CFOD world series. 'TOPES WIN 4-2. 10/11/2001, SPR01-MEC01, game 1, Olympic Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 'Topes 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 7 9 0 7 0 2001 Syndicate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 6 0 'Topes AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Williams,B cf 5 2 3 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 1 0 0 0 Matos cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Posada c 5 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .345 7 0 0 0 Zaun c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Vidro 2b 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280 1 2 0 0 Perez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Martinez 1b 5 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 4 1 0 0 Cox lf 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .063 3 0 0 0 Matthews lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Bell 3b 4 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .192 3 1 0 0 Damon rf 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 4 0 0 0 Gonzalez ss 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 2 0 0 Pettitte p 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 36 7 9 7 2 0 3 4 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 27 6 0 0 Syndicate AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Bonds lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .360 1 0 0 0 Palmeiro 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083 10 0 0 0 Green rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .185 2 0 0 0 Kapler cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .211 7 0 0 0 Girardi c 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .059 4 1 0 0 Gutierrez ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 0 3 0 0 Chavez 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222 2 2 0 0 Alomar 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .375 0 1 0 0 Stein p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Bailey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Gagne p 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 1 1 0 0 Crespo 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0 0 0 32 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 8 0 0 'Topes INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Pettitte W 1-0 9.0 5 0 0 1 8 121 81 33 0 0 0 0 0 1.80 9.0 5 0 0 1 8 121 81 33 0 0 0 0 0 Syndicate INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Gagne L 0-2 7.0 4 3 3 2 3 90 56 28 2 0 1 0 0 4.50 Stein 0.0 2 4 4 2 0 15 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 6.75 Bailey 2.0 3 0 0 0 2 32 22 9 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 9 7 7 4 5 137 83 41 3 0 1 0 0 SPR: Matos inserted at cf in the 9th Zaun inserted at c in the 9th Perez inserted at 2b in the 9th Matthews inserted at lf in the 9th MEC: Crespo inserted at 2b in the 8th GWRBI: Williams,B Temperature: 70, Wind: none.