EDITORS NOTE: Due to a power outage, this edition of the NLN, originally set for publishing on October 23, is brought to you today.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

NLN: Exclusive

by Francis Ferry, NLN beat writer

10/23/2011: Aurora, CO – The 2010 season ended in disappointment as the defending PEBA champion Aurora Borealis took a 3-2 lead over the Crystal Lake Sandgnats home to Aurora with their sights on a second straight Rodriguez Cup.  Aurora’s hopes were dashed as the Gnats won both games on Colorado soil, sending the Sandgnats to their second Planetary Extreme Championship and the Borealis home to wonder what went wrong.

The rollercoaster ride for the Aurora franchise just began with those fateful October loses.  The illness and subsequent death of owner/commissioner John Rodriguez, Sr. put into doubt the future success of the team.  The sudden death of Rodriguez on the eve of the season opener and stunning sale of the team to Michael Topham and Golden Entertainment sent shockwaves through the Aurora community, as well as the PEBA community.

Bickering within the organization between the Tophams and Chris Rodriguez, questions about the true state of the teams ownership (which, amazingly, the Tophams have yet to address) and a rash of injuries during the season that have continued into the postseason have not stopped Aurora from finishing what they started last year: winning the Sovereign League pennant and getting a shot at a second Rodriguez Cup.

With a rotation in tatters and an All-Star who isn’t even hitting his weight, the Borealis limped home from Crystal Lake with a single victory that the experts are speechless about.  After the bullpen saved the day in Game 2 when Kojima left with an injury in the first inning, the same said pen was taxed in Games 3 and 4 when George Thompson and John Roach pitched extremely poorly, leaving Ángel Lara to come out of the pen to start Game 5 with only Francisco Garza and Juan Suárez as rested arms.  Those three did the job.  Lara pitched 4.2 innings with only 4 hits.  Garza pitched 1.2 innings and gave up the only Sandgnat run on back-to-back doubles by Murdock and Morse.  Suárez pitched beyond his customary inning, going 2.2 innings.  He was the benefactor of Aurora’s 3-run 9^th, highlighted by John Knight’s 2-run double.  Aurora stole the one game at Crystal Lake that they needed and headed home with the same 3-2 lead they had last season.

Artie Tillman – the forgotten man on the Aurora staff, the man who was targeted for bullpen use until Miguel García’s injury – has been a savior for the Borealis staff.  Tillman would not get the ‘W’ in this game, but what he did was shut the Gnats down just enough.  His 7 IP, 8 H, 4 R performance won’t be winning any Golden Arms, but in the eyes of Aurora management, Artie may very well be the teams postseason MVP.

Rookie Bryant Burris calmed the Gnats bats in the 8^th, allowing Aurora to once again win a game in the late innings against the Crystal Lake bullpen.  With one out in the bottom of the 8^th, Merlin Peters came on and instantly walked Cory Pierce.  Pierce was only in the lineup due to the injury to Salvador Bernal.  Bernal was Aurora’s hottest hitter and Pierce did not let that spot in the lineup cool, as he was 2-2 in the winning cause.  Steve McDonald drove a 1-1 pitch for a run-scoring double, which Jim White followed with a RBI single, and Aurora had the 2-run lead they needed with Suarez coming in.  The “Vulture” shut the door on the Gnats, ending all hopes they had for a repeat of 2010.

Aurora hopes that the home cooking will continue to smile on the Borealis.  Next up, the Florida Featherheads, who, like Aurora, were runners-up in the Imperial League last season and gained a measure of revenge on their personal nemesis, Charleston.  Like the two teams that the Borealis have already banished, Florida has a strong rotation.  They are similar to Aurora in that they are a balanced team, home and on the road.  One hope for the Borealis is that a return to his old stomping grounds will motivate Mark Richardson.  Despite an early HR in the clinching Game 6, his average still sits well below .200.  Aurora will need his bat to beat the team with the second-best record in the PEBA this season.