Hold My Log 54.12 - Alpine Valley Claims Final Judgement

[7teen]

While things were bleak for most of the season in Portland, that wasn't the case for many of the Portland farm system. Taking advantage of the final season of the current rules system, the Lumberjacks front office stock piled its farm teams with veteran players who would not have met the new age standards for next season. Those veterans paid huge dividends for much of the minor league teams for Portland, especially in Alpine Valley.

The Snow Creatures completed the regular season with a 98-42 overall record, good enough for an 18 game division clearing season. It was also 1 game better than Duluth for the best record in the Double A Division. With homefield advantage, Alpine Valley swept through the opening round of the post-season, disposing of Trois-Rivieres in a 2-game sweep.

In the Series of Accountability, Alpine Valley was met with a worthy opponent in Medicine Hat. The Flaming Nukes shocked the league by taking game 1 of the series thanks to a 5 run 9th inning to win game 1 6-5. Game 2 witnessed one of the greatest post-season games of any level of all-time. Trailing 3-2 in the 8th, Medicine Hat tied the game at 3-3 with a run that set up a marathon 22 inning contest!! Neither team would score again until the bottom of the 22nd inning when Alpine Valley finally claimed victory. The teams combined for 36 hits and used 42 different players on their roster. The deciding game was somewhat anti-climactic in the series as Alpine Valley claimed a 4-0 win to advance to the Final Judgement Series where they'd face Duluth.

The squads split the first 4 games with Alpine Valley claiming games 1 and 3 to set up a deciding game 5 for the Championship. Much like the series with Medicine Hat, the deciding game was anti-climactic. The Snow Creatures scored 4 runs in the 3rd inning and never looked back. Pierangelo Ferri capped off an outstanding season by hitting a 3 run homer in the 3rd. The 34 year old veteran hit 29 homeruns over the course of the season and posted a 4.2 WAR. "This was a lot of fun" said Ferri after winning the Series. "I know with the age restrictions next season my odds of finding a squad may be slim, but perhaps a Triple-A team out there wants my services and I can keep playing the game. This championship run reinvigorated me somewhat. I'd like to make another run at it."

Oddly enough, it was 22 year old centerfielder and 2nd round pick by the Lumberjacks Mauro Herrera who was named MVP of the Final Judgement Series. He went 7 for 18 against Duluth while scoring a run.

This marks the 2nd championship for Portland's AA team in Alpine Valley.