By Jonas McPhee

Friday, July 31, 2009

While the PEBA fanatics were arguing over who should and shouldn’t be an All-Star, the Alianza Béisbol Al Sur de la Frontera was concluding its season with a tremendous seven game series, one which is just now getting the press time it deserves.  The matchup was one of David vs. Goliath, with the Tlalnepantla de Baz Progresivos coming in with a .500 record and playing the part of the diminutive man to the Naucalpan Café Tacvbas 73-37 giant.

Game one featured an offensive battle with the Progresivos coming out one run ahead, boosted by José Yepe’s 4-5 night (Yepe scored 3 of the team’s 8 runs).  Tacvbas’ pitcher Armando Tapia, #2 in the rotation, had one of his worst outings ever, lasting only 2.2 innings before being chased.  Progresivos 1, Tacvbas 0

Game two was familiar ground for the Tacvbas as they cruised to an easy victory 7-1.  Rafael Aragón helped the cause by driven in four runs on two doubles.  Progresivos 1, Tacvbas 1

Game three went easily to the Tacvbas as their ace Bartolo Marín pitched a 4-hit shutout and got the win 6-0.  Tacvbas 2, Progresivos 1

Game four seemed to be a stepping stone to the final nail in the coffin.  The upstart Progresivos had taken game one, but it looked like that was pure luck as the Tacvbas cruised to a nine to one victory and now needed only to win one of the next three games to clinch the Alianza Béisbol Al Sur de la Frontera Gran Final de Mejico.  Tacvbas 3, Progresivos 1

In game five, with their back against the wall the Progresivos’ starting pitcher Ronald Dennis (a former Reno Tenpinner) stated that, “We were really just playing relaxed.  We really had nothing to lose, no one expected us to win, except for the guys in our clubhouse.”  Dennis pitched six innings, allowing only one run, and the Progresivos touched up the Tacvbas’ closer in the eighth inning for the one run victory.  Tacvbas 3, Progresivos 2

In game six the Progresivos scored three early runs, and added a fourth in the seventh, as Gabriel Letona (former Duluth Warrior and Arlington Bureaucrat) pitched eight strong innings.  The Progresivos pulled out another one run victory, 4 -3.  Tacvbas 3, Progresivos 3

So this is it, game seven, and not even Hollywood could have scripted a better conclusion.  Tacvba ace Marín gets the call and the hopes seem pretty dim for the upstart Progresivos.  However, the Progresivos strike first and take a one to nothing lead into the bottom of the second.  Then the Tacvbas answered with three unearned runs.  However, those three runs would be all that the Tacvbas would score.  The score remained 3 to 1 until the seventh, where the Progresivos added another run to narrow the lead.

The score would remain the same until the top of the ninth, where an error, two walks and two hits translated into two runs and a one run lead for the Progresivos.  A perfect nine-pitch bottom of the ninth inning concluded the game and the series.  Amazingly, the Progresivos had eked out four one run game wins against the mighty Tacvbas.  A series that many shouldn’t have missed but most did.  Congratulations to the Progresivos and their triumph as the 2009 winners of Alianza Béisbol Al Sur de la Frontera Gran Final de Mejico.