Tritons three-peat as Federal League baseball champions
The Tri-Cities Tritons have established themselves as a dynasty of sorts in the Federal Baseball League after capturing their third consecutive championship.
The Tritons defeated the Sunrise Sunsets, 8-1, at the Pompano Community Park Baseball Complex and swept the best-of-five series in three games.
Tritons manager Mike Whittaker saw his club squeak out a 3-2 victory in game one of the finals, followed by an 8-7 comeback triumph in game two before closing out the series with the 8-1 result.
Whittaker was expecting a tough series from the Sunsets, who had defeated them earlier in the season.
“The playoffs bring out the best in our team and we were fortunate to come away with a couple of onerun victories,” Whittaker said. “To see where we are today after winning three in a row is really exciting.”
Tritons pitcher Jose Marcano strung together seven solid innings and gave up one run on three hits to earn the victory, The southpaw struck out seven and walked three. Matt Arlick came on in relief and pitched two scoreless innings to register the save.
The plate power was fueled by the timely hitting of Zac Miller, Eric Silverberg, Tre Dingus and Julian Faria. Miller had an especially strong day with four hits in five at-bats, while Faria contributed two hits and three RBI.
Calvin Rayburn, the onetime Philadelphia Phillies pitcher who endured a recent bout with cancer, showed he is back on the road to a full recovery by winning the Most Valuable Award at the conclusion of the playoff finals. Rayburn had an impressive series, earning a dominating win and a save in the sweep.
The Tritons boasted a tremendous hitting lineup that included Faria (Most Valuable Player), Miller (Batting Champion), Jay Warman (former Most Valuable Player) and Chris Marrero (All-Star). The pitching was bolstered by the new additions this season of Marcano and Rayburn. Teammates John Hardardt, Silverberg and Eric Wedoe rounded out the rotation.
For their part, the Sunsets were a formidable opponent that posted a season-best record of 15-3-1. Inopportune injuries to key members during the playoff run had an adverse effect on the fortunes of the ball club. — Mike Whittaker, Tritons manager
The pitching staff was led by Brant Spring, Tommy Tritz, Jason Van Tol and Ted Maceda, while Anthony Garcilazo, Demetrio Green and Justin Dages provided power at the plate and solid fielding.
The other ballclubs in the eight-team semi-pro league will be setting their sights on the Tritons in the upcoming winter/spring season.
—Emmett Hall