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The Layritz Rockies secured their franchise's first South Island Baseball title on August 21st at Lambrick Park.
The Rockies prevailed over the Layritz Reds with a 3 game sweep in the best of 5 series. Last night solidified the Rockies' remarkable underdog run in the 2023 SIBL postseason, knocking out the league's 4th place team in the quarter finals, the 3rd place team in the semi finals, and the 2nd place team in the finals.
"[We have a] group of guys who loved playing together and everyone contributed one way or another... we kept things simple and had great pitching performances from Dallas Patterson and Andrew Baxter. As well as timely hitting from Leo Jansch and Matt Sheeran." -- Jacob Bosence, Coach of the Rockies
The Rockies depended on their strong core of infielder Jake Bosence, catcher, Dylan Werrun, infielder Jesse Blackstock, and pitchers/utilitymen Andrew Baxter and Dallas Patterson to lead the way.
Andrew Baxter was a force in the playoffs, throwing 3 complete games, earning himself the nickname Mad Bax, a spinoff of MLB veteran Madison Bumgarner's historic 2014 postseason for the 2014 San Francisco Giants. Dallas Patterson also contributed with 2 complete games.
"Trusting our ability and our stuff… not being afraid to attack the middle of the lineup. I tip my cap to Baxter and Patterson for trusting my pitch calling, having that chemistry between pitcher and catcher is so crucial especially in big games like this." -- Dylan Werrun, Rockies catcher, when asked what the keys to their pitching success over the postseason has been
The Rockies pitching carried them to the finals, to say the least, with consistent timely hitting to match. If not for the Rockies capitalizing on their opponents, such as Matt Sheeran's game winning triple in Game 5 of the SIBL semi finals, the Rockies may have had a different story in 2023. However, their grit and determination never faded and they played every out until they were crowned champions.
“This year was a lot of fun. All the returning players, and new ones we picked up, all carried great attitudes and everyone knew their role. That is how we had this amazing run to win the championship together. “ -- Jesse Blackstock, Rockies infielder on the team chemistry of 2023