In their playoff debut, the Empire City Trojans ran the gauntlet
through a full complement of games in three rounds of playoff,
culminating in a 3-1 comeback in the finals to secure their first-ever
DMBL title.
Liam Hendriks ran away with the 2021 Eck Award, winning by one of the widest margins in recent memory and quietly putting together one of the highest Eck's scores in almost a decade.
Mike Minor tossed a five-hitter for his 2nd win of the DMBL semifinals, bringing No. 2 Allentown back from a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7 versus No. 3 Tucson.
There was no 20-game winner in 2019. There was no historic season by a relief pitcher. It seems like the race for the Ben McDonald Award is much more wide open than in years past.
Tucson limited the highest-scoring offense in the league to just a 1st-inning single and shut out Hopatcong, 7-0, in Game 5 on Thursday in Hopatcong to win their second DMBL championship in three seasons.
Hopatcong followed its typical formula on Friday night. The Fish got 6 strong innings from Stephen Strasburg and three relievers combined to allow one hit over the final three innings., followed by scoreless three innings from its bullpen for a 6-3 win over Tucson in Game 1 of the best-of-seven DMBL Series.
Tanner Roark scattered 4 hits and 1 run over 8 innings and the Tucson offense took care of the rest, cruising to an 8-1 win over Sardine City in Game 4 on Thursday night.
Max Scherzer struck out 11 over 7 innings and Marcell Ozuna slammed a first-inning homer and drove in three runs to lift Tucson past Marietta 5-3 at home in Game 5 on Thursday night, taking the 1st round series, 3-2.
Justin Turner and Giancarlo Stanton homered for the second straight game and Mike Clevinger overcame 5 walks to earn the victory in Marietta's 8-4 triumph at Tucson on Saturday night.