There's no way that just happened. But it did. There's no way the Lumberjacks took down the mighty Bluebirds. But they did. There's no way that Portland is returning to the Brewster Series. But they are. By virtue of one of the biggest upsets in BBA history, the Portland Lumberjacks defeated the Nashville Bluebirds in five games and are heading to their third Brewster Series in eleven seasons. There they will meet the defending champions from Charm City.
"I can't believe this" shouted Greg Squires, who for the second consecutive series was named the MVP. "Not many people gave us much of a chance against Nashville. Most pundits said they were just too good. And trust me, they were very good. You don't win as much as they did and not be. But heck, we have a good team over here in this clubhouse as well and I think we're showing people we can win this thing."
Game 1
By virtue of his game 5 start last series versus Bikini, Portland manager Mons Raider was forced to use Murali Patachli in game 1 over Alaric Wullenweber. Portland looked ready to go early when Squires' 2-run double in the first off Lolololo gave the Lumberjacks the early lead. But Nashville roared back with a pair in the first and 2 more in the second to take the lead. The pair in the first came at the delight of the Nashville faithful when Tony Frost made an error that would have ended the inning. bin Nawaf, the next better, made Frost's error hurt as he hit a 2-run blast that tied the game. Portland cut into the lead with a run in the 3rd and the score remained 4-3 heading to the 9th inning. With 1 out in the 9th, Nashville turned it over to Nothard who immediately surrendered a homerun to... who else but Greg Squires and suddenly the game was tied at 4-4. Frost would single but get stranded at first. Portland then turned it over to their closer Frank Wilson. This was Wilson's first post-season action as he never pitched against Bikini and the nerves showed. Frank walked the leadoff man then gave up a single to Elliott. Ramos, the man who walked, advanced to third and then two pitches later Frank hurled a wild pitch to the back stop that ended the game.
"I didn't feel nervous" said Wilson after the game. "I just didn't execute out there. I feel I let the team down tonight."
Game 2
If Portland was deflated and fearing the inevitable, it didn't show in game 2. Greg Squires' solo shot in the 2nd gave Portland another lead. Dares played add on in the inning and after 1.5 Portland led 2-0. Portland scored again in the 3rd but Tingle negated that run with a run scoring double play in the bottom of the inning. Leading 3-1 going to the 5th, Portland bust the game open. Alvin Conley's double that inning gave Portland a 5-1 lead. He'd later score on a ground out and Portland would add another and suddenly they led 7-1 after 5. That was all Wullenweber needed. After a shaky series versus Bikini, Alaric turned to true Nebraska form. Alaric went 8.1 in the game, throwing 109 pitches. He did allow 3 runs on 8 hits but that was all he needed to do as Portland cruised to an 8-3 victory to even the series at 1-1.
Game 3
Game 3 was an intense one. For the third straight game, Portland score first thanks to a Conley single, Squires double, and a Frost sac fly. Portland led 1-0 after 2. Juan Marroquin was on point and made that score hold up through 5 innings of play. But Nashville finally broke through in the 6th when a bin Nuwaf double plated a pair and gave the Bluebirds the 2-1 lead. Marroquin finished the night going 7.1 innings of 2 runs on 4 hit baseball. He walked a pair and struck out 7. Note he left in the 8th because that meant he was leading when he vacated the mound. That's because Portland rallied in the bottom of the 7th off Molina. After a walk and a single, Bill Morley's 1-out single tied the game at 2-2. Rich Dares' sac fly gave Portland the lead and then former Bluebird Sammy McNeill provided the big blow with his single that scored yet another run and suddenly the Lumberjacks led 4-2. Erasmo Gonzalaze retired the final 2 batters of the 8th and then Raider turned it back over to Frank Wilson for the save. Wilson was met with very little resistance. He retired the side in order, including a strikeout of Joffer to end the game. Portland led the series 2-1.
Game 4
Game 4 is what you expect in your post-season contests. Close and little scoring. Portland called upon Rule 5 Rookie Bill Beals yet again and he delivered. But not before Nashville took the first lead in the 5th inning with a Bishr two run blast. It was the only runs allowed by Beals who went 6 innings, scattering 7 hits and a pair of walks. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the inning, Portland clawed back to tie it when Portland's 8 and 9 hitters each tallied RBI hits in Uecker and Morley and the game was tied at 5-5. In the 6th, its almost like we've said this a million times this post-season, but Conley doubled with 1 out and then scored one batter later when, GUESS WHO, Greg Squires singled him home. Portland now led 3-2 and called to its bullpen to complete the win. Eng-hee Kin retired the Bluebirds in order in the 7th but met resistance in the 8th. A leadoff walk to Bishr was followed by a single by Rivera and suddenly Nashville was cooking with no outs. Kin got bin Nawaf to fly out to center and induced a weak tapper from Joffer that forced a runner out at 2nd for out 2. Nasvhille now had runners on the corner with 2 outs Kuo at the plate. Kin got Kuo behind in the count 1-2 before finishing him off with a swinging strike to end the threat. Two on, no outs and the Bluebirds failed to score. On in the 9th was Frank Wilson. It looked bleak yet again in the 9th when Wilson walked Cano to lead off the inning. But on a 2-2 pitch, Wilson got Brooks Eliot to ground a double play ball to McNeill at short and the threat was erased. Rodriguez singled on the next pitch and yet again Nashville had the tying run aboard. A Frost error off the bat of Tingle had the Portland fans uneasy as Bishr strolled to the plate. Bishr, owner of a 6.5 WAR and 31 homeruns this season, could break Portland's heart. He did not. Wilson got Bishr out in front of an off-speed pitch and Bishr lofted a harmless pop up to Dares at second base that the all-star secured, giving the Lumberjacks the 3-2 win in the game and a 3-1 series lead.
Game 5
Back to rookie Murali Patachli in game 5. I state that first because this could go down as his finest effort to date. Let's skip the fluff. Patachli pitched 6.2 shutout innings in game 5, scattering 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. Nashville never got a runner to 3B off Murali and twice Patachli induced ground ball double plays to eliminate any threats. He left in the 7th with his team up thanks to an Ohayashi RBI triple in the 4th and a McNeill RBI double in the 5th. Portland led 2-0 going to the 8th when they tacked on 2 insurance runs and took a 4-0 lead to the 9th inning. In a non save situation, Raider turned to another rookie in Erasmo Gonzalez to finish the deal. He allowed a hit, but that was all and 3 outs later Portland had punched their ticket to the Brewster.
"What can I say about some of these guys, especially the rookies" stated Raider after the clinching win. "Murali isn't going to win the Gillstrom Award but he's clearly our rookie of the year. And that's not a knock on Bill, or Erasmo, or Mynorli. To go out there as a rookie, in a series clinching game against a juggernaut like Nashville and do what he just did, that takes guts. Murali has guts. What a performance. What a game. What a series!"
Portland must now figure out how to defeat the defending champions in Charm City. Not likely to happen.
