57.33 Blazers Take Doubleday Round in Seven

[Bob Breum]

It wasn't easy, but the Blazers survived a hard fought series with Frontier Division champion Mexico City to advance to the Cartwright Cup. It included a walk-off loss, a pitchers' duel that ended with a 1-0 loss, another pitchers' duel that was scoreless for the first ten innings before the Blazers finally won 2-1 in the 14th, and another extra innings contest that the Blazers won 6-3.

It all came down to a game seven in Mexico City. Aztecs starting pitcher Carlos Olivas, after a rough start in game three that saw him getting chased in the first inning of game three after surrendering 5 earn runs and two home runs, took the hill for the deciding game. This time he pitched well, but he was replaced with two outs in the fourth inning after a long rain delay. A parade of relievers from the Aztecs proceeded to surrender nine runs in the next two innings, and the Blazers held on to win, 11-4.

Second baseman Miguel 'Thrillseeker' Martínez was named series MVP, hitting .333 with four home runs, eleven RBIs, and six runs scored. First baseman Lineu Aldo, in his return from a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for two months, picked up where he left off, hitting .370/.400/.519 with three doubles and six stolen bases. Shortstop Qutuz Mahdi broke out of his 0 for 15 slump in the Geoghegan Round to hit .500 with three doubles against the Aztecs.

The Blazers will play host to the Las Vegas Hustlers in the Cartwright Cup, after they upset heavy favorite Charm City in seven games. Montreal won the regular season series with the Hustlers, 5-3.