“2003 SEASON COMES TO AN END”

View from the top of the Grosche Field Press Box:

The setting is Waukegan, Grosche Field Saturday morning, cold but the sun shinning brightly. I’m proud to say we are holding our championship series here. The field is beautiful, the facilities great, and the press box with P.A. system and scoreboard just adds to the atmosphere of the series. But how deceiving the field that Saturday morning. Friday produced a substantial amount of rainfall in the area. I had the field checked at 9:00pm Friday night; no standing water was the report. However I called Van’s in Mundeline and ordered 20 bags of diamond dry for pickup at 6 am in the morning. Checking the weather report for the week I called the Waukegan Park District on Wednesday to procure the use of tarps for the mound and plate and ensure that the grass was cut. Arriving at the field at 6:30 and stepping on the field, I realized I was in for some hard work!!! The equipment I brought from home and the diamond dry got the job done.

My thanx go out to the members of the Stingrays and Swingers for pitching in and helping ready the field for play. My thanx also go out to the members of the Lookout’s and Seminoles who arrived early at Barrington to ready that field for play. By the second game the field was in mint condition. I continued to drag and maintain the field after each game to ensure it stays that way.

10:30 am First Pitch AA

Ten year plus veteran manager Bob Cannella’s Stingrays swept the Division Champion Swingers in two games. With only one remaining player from his original Stingray’s Bob rebuilt his team into a championship team. Two of his new players were the catalyses to the sweep. Oscar Jimenez-Flores went 8 for 9, 2 hr’s, 10 rbi’s. Juan Hernandez went 5 for 9, 2 hr’s, 5 rbi’s to lead the Stingrays to 16-9 and 13-9 victories.

In the night games the Diablo’s and Rockies split their games with the Rockies winning the first in dramatic fashion with a bases loaded triple by Rockies catcher Noel Rios in the late innings. The Diablo’s winning the second easily behind the pitching of Eric Ricken. The scores where 11-10 Rockies and 15-10 Diablo’s. Sunday night the two teams returned for the third and final game. Rick Trausch on the mound for the Rockies K’d 17 Diablo players, but with one out in the ninth and the Diablo’s trailing 3-2 the Diablo catcher Dave Blust went yard on a 0-2 pitch to tie then game and send it into extra innings. In the top of the 10th Rick got into trouble with two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd the third pitch of an intentional walk got away from the catcher allowing the go ahead run to score for a 4-3 Diablo win. I would like to congratulate these two teams on one of the most exciting games I have ever watched. This compares with the Mudcats, Bandits game in last years championship series. The play of the two third basemen Cole

Graveen and Dave Geuden deserve honorable mention for their outstanding play.

In the afternoon the Lookout’s and the Seminoles continued their series after a 4-3 Seminoles victory on Saturday at Barrington. Aaron Taylor was the story for the Lookout’s winning the first game 7-3 and coming back in the second and pitching the Lookouts to 15-4 win. Taylor also contributed with a 3-run homer.

Click on the following photos for larger versions:

2003 MSL Championships

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Top 4 teams from each division
 

*subject to time change pending Saturday results

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Top 3 teams from each division

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Division Winner + 4 Wild Card Regardless of Division