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This is the third year in a row the Big Train captured the regular season championship, only to fall just short in the postseason.

After a quiet first inning from both teams, the Redbirds exploded for two runs off of starting pitcher Luis Collazo (Virginia Tech). Will Golsan got the first hit for the Redbirds to allow Stuart Fairchild of the Redbirds to reach the plate with two runners on.

Fairchild’s two out single scored both runners and gave the Redbirds a lead his team would never relinquish. The hits by Golsan and Fairchild were the only two hits Collazo gave up through four innings, but those two hits would prove costly.

The Big Train would not go away quietly, however, as the team responded with a run of its own in the second inning. Chris Lewis (Sacramento State University) led the inning off with a double and then Harrison Crawford (Creighton University) advanced him to third with a single in the next at-bat.

Tim Yandel (Tulane University) grounded into a double play in the next at-bat, but with no outs on the board, it was enough for Lewis to reach home. Still, the Big Train faced a one-run deficit that it could never quite make up.

The Redbirds scored a run in the top of the fourth inning to extend its lead, but the Big Train responded quickly again, scoring a run of its own in the bottom of the inning.

Yandel was able to get on base with a two-out double, and reached home off of an error in the next at-bat made by Redbirds shortstop Logan Warmoth. Unfortunately for the Big Train, Yandel’s run was the last the team would score this season.

The Redbirds further extended their lead in the eighth inning with one unearned run after two Big Train errors. The Redbirds would get another insurance run in the ninth inning after starting catcher Nic Perkins singled to bring in Warmoth.

The Redbirds then brought in its closer Will Stokes, who struck out two of the four batters he faced while only allowing one hit to Cody Brown (Mississippi State University) to give his team the league championship.

Although the team did not get the win, the Big Train pitchers all pitched very well as Collazo, Tyler Loptien (San Diego State University) , Miller Trevvett (Radford University) , Walker Sheller (Stetson University) and Mike Rescigno (University of Maryland) only allowed four hits through nine innings.

Notes: This is the fourth time the Big Train won the regular season championship, only to fall just short in the postseason… The Redbirds became the first team in the CRCBL’s short history to win four straight postseason championships, topping the Big Train’s record of three straight from 2009-2011… Starting Redbirds pitcher Emerson Gibbs was awarded MVP of the postseason after dominating with a stellar 0.51 ERA through three games, over 13.2 innings.