by Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer

October 18, 2019: Aurora, Colorado – As Miguel Salinas strolled to the plate in the bottom of the 10^th, with José Rivera standing at third with one out, in the 7^th and deciding game of the Sovereign League Alliance Championship, he had ample history to fall upon. For all eight years of his Big League career, the big left-handed slugger, out of Iowa, had played in the PEBA playoffs – the first seven of which were for Bakersfield. His 103 post-season games is by far more experience than any other player on the team (Pierce has 73), and he has something no other member of the Borealis can claim to have – a PEC ring.

The Borealis have had a long history of putting up big numbers during the season, but disappearing during the playoffs, so when Salinas and his experience became available during the offseason – and come spring training, no one had signed him, Aurora jumped at the chance to add that experience from their most heated rival.

Salinas started the season slowly, as most who miss the spring will do, but as the season wore on, it was Miguel who arguably drove the bus – and drive that bus he continued to do as in the 10^th, and the season on the brink, he lined a ball deep and over the head of RF Frank Murphy, and off the bricks of the right field wall, as Rivera walked home with the winning run, giving Aurora their fourth Sovereign League Title. With Salinas hitting .354 with runners in scoring position this year, one has to wonder why Reno manager Júlio Carrillo didn’t walk him to face the struggling Mike Britt with a force at every base.

Aurora’s burly left-hander Anastasio López took the mound to face-off with the Zephyrs young ace, ‘Earthquake’ Kong. After a pair of outstanding seasons to begin his young PEBA career, Kong missed 9 weeks this year with shoulder problems. That said, he showed during the regular season (and in Reno’s 4-0 win in Game 3), that he would continue to trouble the Borealis. Both pitchers allowed a runner in the first and both pitched a 1-2-3 second inning, but in the third, things began to look dicey for Aurora.

Dale Griffith, the former Aurora farm hand, who has harassed Aurora since his debut in The Biggest Little City, led off with a single. Leon Brunelle fought off a tough 2-2 pitch from López and then drilled a ball to the deep alley in right-center, looking for all the world as to score Griffith from first, but Matt Ferrell got to it quickly and fired a strike to Rivera, whose relay home was perfect and, in a bang-bang play at the plate, Scott Vinson made the tag and Dale was out. With the aide of hindsight, the play could not be any bigger, as four pitches later António Morales popped a ball high down the right field line, into the arcade seating, for a 2-run HR and a Zephyr 2-0 lead.

Hindsight. If Ferrell doesn’t make that play, perhaps it’s the Zephyrs playing in their second straight PEC.

López would settle down and hold Reno in check through 6. Meanwhile, Kong was mowing the Borealis down. Only a pair of doubles – one in the 4^th and the other in the 5^th, marred his performance. But in the 6^th, Cory Pierce turned on a 1-0 pitch and crushed it high and deep to right field, clearing the 23’ wall and settling in the Cherry Creek Reservoir.

And, just like that, Kong’s day was over and Oscar Jackson took over. He surrendered a one-out double to Britt, but Nick Giles and Richie Norman went down swinging. López’s day was looking as if it, too, was soon to end as Murphy and Carmona led off the 7^th with singles, but then he got a little help from his friends. Donald Eldridge hit a grounder to short that Giles turned into a 6-4-3 double play, sending Murphy to 3^rd. López then hit Griffith – unbeknownst to him, his last batter as, on a 1-0 pitch, Griffith took off for second, but Vinson made the strong throw, Rivera applied the quick tag, and just like that – potential doom had been averted.

Jackson remained in the game for Reno and on the first pitch of the bottom of the 7^th, Mike Hale singled, only to have Aurora return the double-your-pleasure favor as Vinson bounced one right back to Jackson for the 1-6-3 double play, bringing up the Aurora second baseman. José Rivera is known for a lot around the PEBA – his slick glove that has played all over the infield for Aurora – and brought home All-Leather awards for 3B and SS, his solid – if not spectacular bat (and career .291 average), his mega-contract that will pay him $18.6M next season. But what many an Aurora fan will tell you is that he has a penchant to come-up with a clutch HR from time to time.

This would be one of those times.

Rivera drove a 1-1 pitch into the deepest recesses of right-centerfield, well above the 420 sign, giving Aurora their second run and squaring the game at 2. Rivera hit .298 on the season with 7 HR, but clearly none as big as this – ever.

The ‘Stork’ come on for Aurora in the 8^th and pitched a perfect 8^th and 9^th, while Joe Rainville pitched the 8^th (a lone Salinas single) and Chesney pitched a perfect bottom of the 9^th for Reno. Holbrook would stay on in the 10^th, giving up a 2-out double to that pesky Griffith, but ‘Stork’ coaxed Brunelle to pop-up to Giles behind short for the final out.

Before you knew it, Rivera singled, Ferrell singled, and after Pierce struck out chasing a borderline pitch, there was Salinas, there was the ball ricocheting off the right field wall, there was Rivera walking home with Aurora’s fourth SL title, and there were the fans – all 49,801 who stayed to the bitter end, cheering wildly. Fans who had trouble believing in this club through the better part of the year, and yet stuffed Northern Lights Park to the tune of over 3.9M fans – an Aurora record.

Somewhere, a justified Will Topham is smiling. Under intense scrutiny over the past couple of seasons, the Aurora GM has made very few impact free-agent signings during his tenure – but the one biggie he did make, Miguel Salinas, sure has paid off, and paid off big. Now Aurora has a chance to do something special or something ignominious: They will either win their first title in the 9-year Topham era or they will be the first PEBA team to lose in the PEC three times (only Aurora and Crystal Lake have lost twice). Either way, the Connecticut Nutmeggers – making their first appearance in the PEC, stand in their way.

We shall find out tomorrow as Michael Provost, 16-6, 1.52 ERA during the regular season (but 0-3, with a 4.22 during the playoffs) looks to square-off with either Carlos Rivera (21-9, 3.38; 0-2, 6.08) or Clayton Lewis (10-4, 1.80; 3-0, 3.86). Only one member of the Borealis has a history with Connecticut – Game 3 starter… Anastasio López. A number of Nutmeggers have Sovereign League experience – including former-Aurora star En-guo Guao