Mormon Baseball

In the Omaha Storm Chasers playoff battle against the Albuquerque Isotopes, Mitch Maier homered as the Storm Chasers went up 2-1 in their quest for the AAA championship. Maier was 1 for 5 in the contest with 2 rbis and a strike out. Meanwhile, in the other PCL game, the Sacramento River Cats benched Stephen Parker again, and again lost when they did so. The River Cats now trail the Reno Aces 1-2 in their playoff.

Elsewhere in the minors, Taylor Cole and Blaine Howell both had rest days. Bryan Harper didn’t pitch and watched his Auburn Doubledays lose to the Tri-City ValleyCats. Derek Cone also didn’t pitch, but watched his team, the Ogden Raptors, beat the Grand Junction Rockies.

Here’s a run-down of the remaining Mormons in the minors who are on teams that will play in the league championships:

AAA teams:

Each of the two AAA leagues have league conference playoffs, championship series, and then the champions of each league then meet in a single game AAA championship, scheduled for September 18th in Durham, North Carolina.

• Mitch Maier, Omaha Storm Chasers, Pacific Coast League, American Northern Conference Champions
  * Storm Chasers lead the Albuquerque Isotopes 2-1 in a 5-game series held Sept. 5-9
  * If they win, the League championship is a 3-game series played Sept. 14-16.
• Stephen Parker, Sacramento River Cats, Pacific Coast League, Pacific Southern Conference Champions
  * River Cats trail the Reno Aces 2-1 a 5-game series held Sept. 5-9
  * If they win, they play in the 3-game League championship series Sept. 14-16.

A+ teams:

Each of the two divisions in the California League play division series between the winners of each half of the season to determine the division champions. The division champions then face each other in a championship series.

• Blaine Howell, Bakersfield Blaze, California League, Northern Division 1st half winner
  * Bakersfield Blaze next play a 5-game series Sept. 8-12 against the Modesto Nuts.
  * If they win, they play a 5-game series Sept. 13-17 against the South Division champion.

A teams:

Northwest League

Each of the two divisions in the Northwest League play division series between the winners of each half of the season to determine the division champions. The division champions then face each other in a championship series.

• Taylor Cole, Vancouver Canadians, Northwest League, West Division 2nd half winner
  * Vancouver Canadians lead the Boise Hawks 1-0 in a 3-game championship series played Sept. 6, 8-9.

New York-Penn League

The winners of each of the 3 divisions in the league play a two-round championship to determine the league champion. First the division leader with the best record plays a wildcard team (best record among teams who aren’t division leaders) while the other two division leaders play each others. The winners of these two series then face each other in a championship.

• Bryan Harper, Auburn Doubledays, New York-Penn League, won the Pinckney division
  * The Doubledays trail the Tri-City Valleycats 0-1 in a 3-game series Sept. 7-9
  * If Doubledays then win that series, they play in the League Championship Series Sept. 11-13

Rookie teams

The Pioneer league finishes play on September 6th, and the winners of the 2nd half have yet to be determined.
The winners of the first half play the winner of the second half in each division to determine the division champion. The division champions then meet in a league championship.

• Derek Cone, Ogden Raptors, Pioneer League, South Division 1st half leader and current 2nd half leader
  * Raptors lead the Grand Junction Rockies 1-0 in a 3-game series Sept. 7-9.
  * If thy win, the Raptors will then play the North Division Champions in a 3-game series Sept. 11, 13 & 14

I will try to keep us all up-to-date with the status of these Mormon minor leaguers over the next couple weeks. Enjoy the minor league post season!