2 days Ago By Mike McIntyre
They showed plenty of fight, but ultimately the Winnipeg Goldeyes just didn’t have enough bite when they needed it most. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * They showed plenty of fight, but ultimately the Winnipeg Goldeyes just didn’t have enough bite when they needed it most. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? They showed plenty of fight, but ultimately the Winnipeg Goldeyes just didn’t have enough bite when they needed it most.
As a result, it was the Kane County Cougars who reeled in an American Association championship on Tuesday night at Blue Cross Park. The visitors from Illinois beat the Fish 5-3 in front of 5,828 fans to sweep the best-of-five series. You can mark the Miles Wolff Cup as a disappointing swing-and-a-miss for Winnipeg, which was seeking a fifth title in franchise history and seemed to be firing on all cylinders at the perfect time.
Instead, the bats went silent and proved to be their undoing. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Goldeyes third baseman Dayson Croes is tagged out at home by Kane County Cougars catcher Simon Reid Tuesday in game three of the American Association championship. “Fight has never been a question with these guys.
We were in every single game this year,” manager Logan Watkins told the in a subdued Winnipeg clubhouse. “We had the two top pitching staffs in the league going at it, and there wasn’t a lot of offence. They came through a couple more times than we did.
That’s kind of why it hurts so much. You know you were that close.” The Goldeyes needed an epic comeback after losing the first two games in Illinois by scores of 2-1 (in 11 innings) and 1-0.
They quickly dug themselves a hole in this must-win, falling behind 2-0 in the second inning. It must have seemed more like a crater considering the Winnipeg’s first nine batters all went down quickly and quietly. This, after the Fish were no-hit until the ninth inning in Sunday’s loss.
“Offensively this year we’ve been a bit hot and cold. And unfortunately, it kind of got cold at the wrong time,” said Watkins, who could feel his struggling sluggers really pressing. None moreso than top home run and RBI man Max Murphy, who went 2-for-31 in the playoffs.
“Going through struggles offensively is part of the game. Unfortunately, it’s even harder when you’re facing a pretty good pitcher on the mound. Some of our better hitters, going into the playoffs, kind of went cold.
” The first sign of life for Winnipeg came in the fourth, when Ramon Bramasco drew a leadoff walk, which was immediately followed by a Dayson Croes single in which Kane County centre-fielder Trendon Craig misplayed the ball and allowed Bramasco to come all the way home to score. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
Croes reached second, then tried to score when Edwin Arroyo hit a sharp single in the next at-bat. That turned out to be a terrible decision, as he was easily thrown out at home plate. Rather than have runners at the corners with nobody out, the Goldeyes gifted their opponent a free out and quickly followed it with two more.
Kane County wasted no time getting it back, starting off the fifth with a double — the fifth straight inning the leadoff batter reached base — and then quickly following that with another two-bagger to make it 3-1 Cougars. That was the end of the night for Goldeyes starter Travis Seabrooke, who gave up three runs on nine hits in his four innings of work. Winnipeg received a payback present in the bottom of the fifth as Bramasco hit what should have been an inning-ending ground ball to Kane County shortstop Galli Cribbs Jr.
But his errant throw to first allowed Goldeyes catcher Rob Emery — who began the inning with a 10-pitch walk — to come home and score. Finally with a bit of momentum on their side, the Goldeyes tied it up in the sixth as Emery, at the plate with runners on first and third and one out, laid down a perfect safety squeeze bunt to cash in teammate Miles Simington. The deadlock was extremely short-lived.
Kane County began the seventh with four straight hits — a single, double, single and single — to push across two runs and seize control of the game right back. Winnipeg brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth and ninth innings, but weren’t able to string together key hits. The story of the series, really.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS The Cougars’ Tyler Beardsley (left) and Simon Reid celebrate winning the American Association Championship in Winnipeg Tuesday. “Lost three games by a combined four runs,” said Watkins. “We were pretty damn close.
We were very capable of pulling those out. But it’s baseball and it didn’t happen.” This was a stellar season for Winnipeg, which finished dead last in the division in 2023.
They finished on top of the West with a 56-43 record led by first-year skipper Watkins, who was named manager of the year. Ace starter Joey Matulovich was named the pitcher of the year, while GM Andrew Collier took home executive of the year honours. They beat the Sioux Falls Canaries and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the first two playoff series — scoring 33 runs in six combined games.
Facing Kane County, which had the league’s second-best team earned-run-average during the regular-season, Winnipeg could only muster four runs. That simply wasn’t enough, even for the American Association’s top pitching staff, which had really no margin for error. “It kind of just felt like we played two emotional series versus Sioux Falls and Fargo and had a pretty quick turnaround.
Maybe it just never felt like we got a chance to settle down,” said Watkins. The Goldeyes were trying to become the first team to “reverse sweep” — winning three straight after losing the first two — since the St. Paul Saints did it in 2019.
That team was led by manager George Tsamis, who is now at the helm of Kane County. The Cougars were perfect in the playoffs, going 7-0 after sweeping Lake Country and Chicago in the first two rounds. This is the first AA championship for the organization, while Winnipeg is left to think about what could have been.
“I could tell this organization and the players that were on this team last year and the fans and the city of Winnipeg wanted to win this,” said Watkins. “That kind of adds to the magnitude of the disappointment. I wanted that for them.
I wanted it for myself, as well.” mike.mcintyre@freepress.
mb.ca X: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the before joining the in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016.
. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and .
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism.
Thank you for your support. Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the before joining the in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016.
. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and .
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism.
Thank you for your support. Advertisement Advertisement Updated on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 10:44 PM CDT: Adds photo.
