That's What Cheesehead - 00.21 - Wolves Down Crusaders

[7teen]

It's deja-vu all over again. Just like this time last year, the Wolves have managed to advance on to the Cartright Series in the Johnson League playoffs by disposing of the California Crusaders in the Doubleday Series. And for the 2nd straight season, the Wolves advance to the JL Cartright Series and will take on the defending Champions in Vancouver, who promptly swept the Wolves last season. But that is for another TN, this TN is dedicated to the Wolves disposal of the Crusaders.

Game 1of the series was never in doubt. The Wolves scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first, and then tacked 6 runs on in the bottom of the 3rd inning and held a 10-0 lead through 3. For Jessie Wright, that was more than enough. And perhaps Wright slacked off a little mentally after being spotted to such a comfortable lead. Wright pitched a complete game in game 1, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. The win was Wright's 3rd career post-season win. But the story of the game was the Wolves offense. An offense that scored 15 runs on 18 hits. Six of the Wolves 18 hits were of the homerun variety while 5 other hits were doubles and triples. The player of the game was Bolt Vanderhugen who was a perfect 5 for 5 at the plate with 2 homeruns, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI. John Catron and Bopper Kengos were also huge in game 1. Catron went 3-5 with 2 runs scored and 5 RBI while Kengos went 3-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. Both homered for the Wolves in the 15-4 victory.

Perhaps a feeling of invincibilty set in for Game 2. The Crusaders took the lead in the top of the 1st, their first lead in the 2 games. Madison tied it in the 2nd with a run of their own. But then 3 runs in the 6th off of 20 game winner Tyree Wills put the Crusaders up 4-1. Kengos' 2 run homer in the 7th brought the Wolves back to within 1, but that would be all the scoring. The Wolves outhit California 10-6, but lost the game 4-3.

Having gained home field advantage, the fact that the Wolves had outscored them 19-7 in the first 2 games didn't matter as now California had the momentum going to game 3. Game 3 would probably be the best game of the series. Guam Fantomhorsfligot the scoring underway in the top of the first. As the first batter of the game, Guam silenced the ruckus California crowd with a homerun in the first AB of the game. California would score a run in the 2nd off of Wolves starter John Rasmussen and then things settled down. In fact, they settled down so much that the game finished 9 innings, still tied at 1-1. In the top of the 11th, Bolt Vanderhugen managed his 2nd hit of the game, this one going for a homerun which gave Madison a slim 2-1 lead. Having already pitched 2 innings, Wolves closer Justin Marco wasn't fit for a 3rd inning, thus Damario Poso came on to record the save and preserve the Wolves 2-1 win.

Thus the Wolves had regained the advantage and looked to move a step closer to the next round in Game 4. The Wolves started out early with a run in the 1st. The Crusaders tied it up in the 3rd with a run of their own. In the 4th inning, Bolt Vanderhugen hit his 4th homerun of the series to put the Wolves back ahead 3-1. The Wolves tacked on an insurance run in the 6th to make the lead 4-1 With Wright on the mound, the Wolves liked their chances. However, the Crusaders fought back, scoring twice in the the 7th to cut the lead to 4-3. When Vanderhugen hit his 2nd homer of the game, and 5th of the series, in the 8th, the Wolves once again led by 2. But yet again, the Crusaders were not done. They scored another run in the 8th off of Wright, forcing the Wolves ace to leave the game with a 5-4 lead. With things still in doubt, Casey Martin's big 2 run homer in the 9th gave the Wolves some much needed breating room. With a 7-4 lead, Marco came on to close the door in the 9th, giving Madison a 3 games to 1 lead.

With their foot planted firmly on the Crusaders throat, the Wolves looked to go for the kill in game 5. The Wolves scored first yet again with 2 runs in the 3rd inning. The Wolves would never trail. The Crusaders would cut it to 2-1 after 4 innings before the Wolves opened up the flood gates. The Wolves scored 3 in the 5th and 3 in 6th and led 8-1 after 5 and a half innings. The Crusaders would tack on a few runs late in the game but the Wolves were never threatened, thus winning the series 4 games to 1.

The series MVP was a no-brainer. Hitting .500/.522/1.273 with 5 homeruns and 11 RBI in the 5 game series, the Doubleday Series MVP award went to Bolt Vanderhugen. In any other series, you could have made strong cases for Guam Fantomhorsfli (.455/.520/.955) and Bopper Kengos (.435/.458/.870), but neither had the series Vanderhugen had.