Mogadishu Pirates win 2033 IBC Championship

[Sandgnats]

CRYSTAL LAKE HERALD

SPORTS – GNATS NOW
Mogadishu Pirates win 2033 IBC Championship
Updated: December 10th, 2033 – 1:25 PM

By Howard Heskin, Gnats Beat Writer and ESPN PEBA Correspondent – Twitter @HowardHeskin1

A bit late on the news given the drama surrounding the Ellison and Dole family, it can not be lost that among the celebratory gun shots that could be heard all over Somalia for the 2 time out of 3 years today as the country celebrated their own Mogadishu Pirates 2033 Championship win at Nasra Agil Stadium verse Muju Naturalists.  This season the Pirates finished in first place behind with a record of 69-21. The Pirates defeated Port Sudan Tycoons  3 games to 0 in the first round and then won a the following series 3 games to 1 against Suwon Morning Swords before winning the best of 5 series 3 games to 2 in the championship round. Modagadish was lead by a duo of former star Gnats, manager Pepe Espinosa and pitching coach Francisco Robles with hitting coach Teinosuke Takeuchi. Impressive leadership by these former Gnats gives hope for a bright future to Gnats' fans on the other side of the globe in Illinois.

The Pirates led the way in almost every offensive statistic this season.   Crystal Lake farm system Minor league batter of the year António Cortéz lead the way with a batting average of .336 and 21 home runs. He was also supported by offensive superstars 3B Loflinger Gorz, OF Alberto Flores and Beniamino Buonaiuti.

The pitching staff lead the league in strikeouts with 833 and was second in walks allowed of 212. Both António Cuevas and Wilson Ramírez numbered over 100 strikeouts.

“It probably is down to this teams mental toughness, it's in the clutch moments where they all stepped up for the glory of Somalia over the last couple of months." stated Espinosa. "It's not easy to play here in the heat but I find that these boys turn into men here in Somalia in a few short weeks."

“You just have to take it and try your best and hope that the guys beside you are on the same level and they are trying their best as well." exclaimed Loflinger while riding in the back of a pickup truck with Beniamino Buonaiuti driving.

"When you play for championships, you have to play better than the team in the other dugout. We did that in this series, and all year. Now we're the best team in baseball," said Mogadishu center fielder Alonso Garza, who was named series MVP by the Crystal Lake Herald.  “There's plenty of players who could have got that role, there's plenty of leaders but it was a nice thing to receive this and I'm very proud of this moment,” he said.

Garza batted .422/.500/.556/1.056 with 4 doubles and 1 triple during the playoffs. Notably Garza was out with an injured Strained oblique for 6-7 weeks this season but found a way to come back strong for the playoffs. This championship was a fitting way for him to cap off and excellent season where on July 18th he hit for the Cycle, going 4-6 against the Addis Ababa Rifters, with 1 RBI and 4 runs scored.