Lobsters Round 2 Playoff Recap (part 2)

[Alleghenies]

When you think of Maine two things come to mind, lobsters and the Lobsters. Since 2023 the Lobsters have been one of if not the best team in all minor leagues. The team hired Ian Quinn who from 2023 has gone 800-320, which is a .714 winning percentage. He has taken the Lobsters to the playoffs 8 years in a row and without any spoilers, won 4 championships without this playoff included. Coming into this season, the team knew it would be much better than the 88-52 (Ian’s worst season at Maine) from the previous year. Why? Well there was going to be a slew of top WV prospects all together for the first time and a few returnees. They were correct as the Lobsters won 101 games and finished in first by a comfortable amount. There was one team that the Lobsters did not want to face, and luck wasn’t on their side. In the 2nd round, the Lobsters got to face Santurce Castillos who while finished 20 games under the Lobsters went 4-5 against them and brought many challenges that the Lobsters didn’t want to face.
In game one the Lobsters had one of the leagues top prospects going Juan Guerrero. If you give Juan a lead especially in Maine, the game is 99% a win for them. In the bottom of the 1st Francisco Lucador (another top prospect), hit a 3-run homer to give the Lobsters and early 3-0 lead. From that moment Guerrero cruised through six innings giving up only one run. The Lobsters than threw in Swanson and Vale who pitched three perfect innings to finish the game as the final was 4-1.
In game two the Lobsters had another top prospect going Jose Tojeira and the fans figured this was going to be an easy win. In the 3rd inning Tojeira fell into some problems and ended up giving up 3 runs after a 2-run homer by Hirano. Not being too upset by being down in the bottom of the third Iikka Jarvela hit a 2-run homer, made possible by an error on SS Medina, to make it a 3-2 game. After that it was quiet until the 6th inning when Lucador hit a solo shot to tie the game to tie the game up. In the top of the inning Tojeira got 2 outs and then gave up a hit, so the team put in Swanson who then proceeded to give up a hit and then a walk. With the bases loaded, Swanson got the next player to strike out. In the bottom of the 7th, the Lobsters took back the momentum by getting another guy across the plate to get the lead 4-3. In the top of the 8th, Vale came in and got through it allowing no runs and in the bottom of the inning Pedro Sandoval hit a solo homer which gave them a cushion of 2 runs. Vale started the top of the 9th but could get more than 1 guy out after allowing 2 men on. The team called on Hujita to try and close it out, but unfortunately, he allowed a hit and a runner to score to make it a 1 run game. The good thing though is that he was able to get 2 more outs before another run crossed the plate and the Lobsters won 5-4.
In game 3 another top prospect Orlando Rubio was pitching vs Barney Stone. While the team likes it chances when Orlando is throwing, they were not looking forward to facing Mr. Stone. In the bottom of the first inning the Castillos jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but that was to be short lived. In the top of the second inning the Lobsters got two doubles and a 2-run home by the one of the team’s top 3b prospects Jose Contreras. That lead would prove to be more than enough as Rubio shut them down after and left after 6 innings with a 4-1 lead. Mr. Swanson would come in the 7th and 8th and give up another run as Hujita came in to get the last out of the 8th with a lead of 5-2 (thanks to Aldridge homer in top of 8th). In the 9th, the team put Brandon Vale on the mound to pick up his second save of the series and he did just that. 5-2 Lobsters win.
In game 4 the Lobsters had PEBA pitcher Alfredo Reyes starting on rehab assignment vs Jesus Luna. The Lobsters knew that Reyes was a better pitcher but being on rehab they weren’t sure what would happen but having a 3-0 cushion in series made everyone more at ease. In the second inning the Castillos would jump out to a 1-0 lead, but 2 innings later the Lobsters would strike back. In the top of the 4th, when Krelis Knippschid led off the inning with a home run and then later great fielding and decent hitting SS Manny Salazar hit a double scoring the 2nd run of the inning giving the Lobsters a 2-1 lead. There would be no more scoring until the top of the 6th when Knippschid would strike again hitting the ball out of the park for his second of the game and giving the Lobsters a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately, the one thing that has plagued Reyes all year is homers, and in the bottom of the 6th he gave up a solo shot to Ohayashi and then another solo shot to Ikarashi to lead off the 7th. With the game tied, former first rounder Tommy Taylor came in and got out of the 7th with no further damage. In the top of the 8th the Lobsters would score 1 off Jackson to get the lead back and call on Hujita who would pitch a perfect bottom of the inning. In the 9th the Lobsters added to their lead by scoring 1 more run, making it a 5-3 game. Going into the bottom of the 9th Brandon Vale was called upon again, but after 1 out he gave up a base hit. Ian had seen enough and called on SP Ryan Coyfe to get the save and that is just what he did getting the next two batters out. 5-3 Lobsters win.

While the series might have been a sweep, by no means was it easy. The Castillos were in every game and kept competing until the last out. The Lobsters were happy to get out of the series with the win let alone a sweep.