Around the ABL: September 6-September 19

Stephen Jackson

September 6: Montgomery 0, South Carolina 2. Montgomery's Marc Murphy pitches a shutout, striking out seven and surrendering three hits, all singles. Unfortunately, Jeremy Rogers and four Bombers relievers match him, also allowing only three hits over nine shutout innings. The 10th inning comes and goes without any runs. So does the 11th. In the 12th, the Bombers manage to get a runner into scoring position for the first time all game, but Francisco Alfonso strikes out with Stephen Jackson on third. The 13th is scoreless. Finally, in the bottom of the 14th, Action Jackson comes to the plate with a man on. He hits a 2-2 pitch to deep into the right-field bleachers—a walk-off home run and the only runs in the game.

Joe Fuller

September 6: Washington 0, Jacksonville 1. Joe Fuller (7-8) allows a second-inning single to Ron Hamm then retires the next 15 batters. He ends up allowing only the one hit and two walks over 7 2/3 innings of work. Nick Parks scores the game's only run.

September 8: San Diego 5, Cabo San Lucas 4. In the 12th, John Doré singles, steals second, and comes home on a Miguel Angel Ortíz single.

Roberto Guzmán

September 8: Ann Arbor 16, Las Vegas 15. The Barn Owls and Jokers slug it out. Robeto Guzmán goes downtown in the second, pulling a three-run homer to right. Phillip Smith, Dave Lewis, and Gordon Thornton homer for Las Vegas—with Thornton's eighth-inning two-run homer tying the game, 15-15. In the 10th, it's Guzmán again: the left-fielder hits a solo home run to win it for Ann Arbor.

Jorge Mora

September 10: Las Vegas 8, New York 10. The Jokers come back from a five-run deficit with a five-run seventh. Gordon Thornton ties the game with a two-run single. In the bottom of the ninth, Jorge Mora once again comes through for the Mafia, hitting a three-run walk-off home run.

Aurelio Ramírez

September 11: Jersey 3, Carolina 9. Aurelio Ramírez (16-8) strikes out 15 Jesters! The young southpaw joins Raul Pérez and Maurice Gould as the only three pitchers to achieve the feat. In a complete game effort, Ramírez strikes out at least one batter in each inning—though, surprisingly, he never strikes out the side. He allows three runs: in the second, Stan Cheslin singles, and John Woodard and Bill Parker hit back-to-back homers. The Carolina bats give Ramírez plenty of support: in the first, Jeremy Gleave triples in two runs, and Doug King hits a three-run homer. The 15 strikeouts also push Ramírez past the 200-strikeout mark for the second season in a row.

September 11: San Francisco 4, Seattle 3. Seattle's Oliver Davis hits a solo home run in the sixth, then ties the game, 3-3, with a solo home run in the eighth. In the ninth, with runners on the corners, Tom Klein singles in the game-winning run. Klein, only 25, is batting .306 with 26 home runs, 86 RBI, and 36 stolen bases—all while playing excellent defense in center and right field.

September 11: Eureka 5, Ann Arbor 3. The Barn Owls tie it in the bottom of the ninth when, with two outs, Héctor Ramírez hits a two-run homer. The Hornets win it in extra innings as Joe Sharpe leads off the 11th with a solo home run.

September 13: Dallas 1, Maple 5. The Maple Marauders clinch the Billy Martin Division! For the second year in a row, the Canadians are going to the playoffs. In the third, Alfredo Valdéz and Eric McSwan homer. Ace Roberto Martínez (19-6) pitches seven innings of shutout baseball before finally allowing a run in the eighth.

Willem Watkins

September 13: So Cal 3, Georgia 4. Ghost Buster Willem Watkins gets his 16th major-league at-bat when he pinch hits in the eighth. All he does with that at-bat is single in the tying run, then steal second base and race home on an error.

Orlando
Carranzo

September 14: Washington 0, Eureka 12. Orlando Carranzo hits three home runs! He leads off the third by crushing one to center. In the sixth, he hits a two-run homer to right. In the seventh, it's back to center with a three-run homer. Paul Green (13-11) tosses 7 2/3 shutout innings. Carranzo now has 22 home runs and 91 RBI on the year.

September 14: Montreal 8, Las Vegas 9. In a rematch of last year's World Series, the Bandits and Jokers square off in an exciting battle. Tom Becker gives the Bandits the early lead by hitting his 40th home run of the season. In the sixth, the Jokers come back, scoring five runs: Troy Tracy singles in two runs, Erik Bennett singles in another, and Gordon Thornton doubles in two more. Montreal comes back: Jordan Borlase and Robert Carr each hit a two-run homer, giving Montreal the lead, 8-7. In the bottom of the ninth, Joker pinch-hitter James Kernaghan ties the game with a bases-loaded single, and José Ortíz wins it for the Jokers with a bases-loaded single.

September 15: Nottinghamshire 6, South Carolina 4. Young ace Dave Nicholson (10-8) was cruising and the Bombers were leading, 4-1, but the Outlaws throw a wrench into things by scoring five in the eighth. Byron Bryant ties the game with a two-run single, but it's Nicholson who gifts the Outlaws with the winnings runs. He throws a pair of splitters in the dirt—two wild pitches on back-to-back pitches, each allowing a run to score.

September 16: San Francisco 6, Maple 4. Maple's Doug Smith's seventh-inning home run ties the game, 5-5. The game goes to extras, where San Francisco's Haden Boyd wins the game with a two-run home run.

Cornel Pîrcalab

September 17: Minnesota 2, San Diego 17. The Hops explode for 12 runs in the first inning! Facing Minnesota ace Jim Brady (10-16), Stan Sanders leads off with a single, and Cornel Pîrcalab hits a two-run homer. A double, walk, and single load the bases for Steve Cherry, and Cherry hits a grand slam. Brady leaves the game: zero outs, six runs. Arnold Hall replaces him and gets the first out of the inning, a fly out to center, but a single, double, and walk load the bases for Pîrcalab. Pîrcalab doubles in two runs, Miguel Angel Ortíz doubles in two more, and Hall gets the hook. The third pitcher of the inning, J.J. Harrison, comes in. He gets a ground out and fly out to center—but Rich Fraser drops the ball, allowing an 11th run to score. Cherry doubles in the 12th run, and Bryan Caldwell, the 16th batter in the inning, finally ends the inning by grounding out to second.

Alex Austin

September 17: Jacksonville 6, Boston 7. The Jacks take a lead, 6-3, into the bottom of the ninth. Javier Ramón doubles in one run. With two outs, Will Bauer walks, and Alex Austin comes to the plate. Austin hits a three-run, walk-off home run!

Mike Bergeron

September 18: Eureka 2, Las Vegas 3. Mike Bergeron makes ABL history by hitting his 40th home run, in the process achieving the first 40/40 season in ABL history. Bergeron stole a base in the first inning, his 48th steal of the season, and led off the ninth inning with a home run. The clear favorite for the Munson League Silver Slugger Award, Bergeron is batting .344, and leads the league with 121 runs scored and a 1.033 OPS. However, his efforts aren't enough to win the game: Bob Magee (11-16) pitches eight shutout innings, and Phillip Smith and Ray Stevens hit home runs, leading the Jokers to victory. Eureka's lead in the Sparky Anderson Division is down to one game over Kansas City, and the two face off in a huge series next week.

September 18: Washington 0, Montreal 13. The best team in baseball wallops the league's worst. Bob Rudyard (12-3) pitches seven shutout innings and wins his eighth straight game since joining the Bandits. Eric Ware goes 3-for-4 with a bases-loaded double and a two-run home run (his 30th homer of the year), and he drives in seven runs. Impressive numbers for Ware, but they prove to be only his warmup act.

Eric Ware

September 19: Washington 5, Montreal 11. Eric Ware hits three home runs! Ware, a 6'7" Goliath of a man, leads off the second with a home run. In the fourth, he hits a three-run home run to deep right-center. Finally, he and Stanislav Izyurov lead off the sixth with back-to-back home runs. Ware now has 33 home runs and 103 RBI on the season.

September 19: Cabo San Lucas, 1, Boston 6. The top teams in the Earl Weaver Division begin a four-game series—their last meeting of the year—and the Cardinals are red hot. Adam Thomas (16-9) pitches 6 1/3 shutout innings, Alex Austin triples in two runs, and Boston wins their seventh straight game. The Cardinals trail the Toreros by four games.

Steve Frend

September 19: Carolina 5, Seattle 7. The Sasquatch and Crush came into their three-game series tied atop the Bobby Cox Division, but the Sasquatch leave the series with a three-game lead. Seattle completes a sweep tonight. Steve Frend singles in two runs in the first inning, then hits a three-run homer in the seventh. Frend is making a case to repeat as the league's Most Valuable Player: he is batting .376 with 39 home runs and 134 RBI. With nine games to go, Carolina leads in the wild card race. Dallas is three games back, and Nottinghamshire and Montgomery are four games back—and Montgomery visits Carolina for a four-game series next week.