Worcester Tornadoes Are Can-Am Champions

September 16, 2005 - Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Worcester Tornadoes News Release


Worcester, MA (September 16, 2005) - The Worcester Tornadoes downed the Quebec Capitales by a score of 9-4 Thursday night, completing a three-game sweep of the Can-Am League Championship Series to take the league title. Playing before an enthusiastic crowd that endured a two-hour rain delay before the game, the Tornadoes captured the league crown in their very first year of existence.

Quebec jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first, but the Tornadoes captured the momentum with four runs in the second inning. Yet again, as was the case throughout the series, Worcester was able to capitalize on Quebec mistakes. All-Star catcher and team leader Yohanny Valera, playing Thursday at first base, walked to lead off the inning. Valera moved on to second when a pickoff attempt by Capitales starter Danny Prata was off the mark. Andy Brown took first when he was hit by an 0-2 pitch, then he and Brown advanced a base on a Prata wild pitch. Chris Colabello gave the Tornadoes their first lead of the night with a solid single to left field. Singles by Danilo Reynoso and Alex Nunez scored Colabello, and a base hit by Lucas Taylor plated Reynoso.

Quebec charged back in the top of the third by using the league's most dangerous weapon - third baseman and league MVP Eddie Lantigua. After a single and a double put a pair of runners on base with one out, Lantigua sent a Junior Guerrero offering into the trees in left-center field. Just like that, the game was tied, and an exuberant Worcester squad - not to mention its fans - was now a bit anxious.

The anxiety proved short-lived. Having knocked Prata from the game, third baseman Zach Strong began work on the next victim, reliever Julien Tucker. Strong sent a 2-2 Tucker pitch over the center field fence for a leadoff solo home run, giving the Tornadoes a 5-4 lead they would never relinquish. It was the fourth home run and ninth RBI of the postseason for Strong, who led the league in both categories.

The sixth inning proved to be a microcosm of the series, with an aggressive Tornadoes offense forcing Quebec into more bewildering mistakes. Josh Beauregard led off with a single, and Omar Pena dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance him to second. But Tucker's throw to first on the bunt was wide and sailed up the line. Beauregard came all the way around to score, and Pena was left standing on third. The next pitch was a routine grounder that first baseman Todd Leathers mishandled, allowing Pena to score and sending the Capitales into a downward spiral of mistakes and blame. Valera moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third two batters later on another wild pitch, then trotted home when catcher Olivier Lepine's throw to third sailed into left field.

The Tornadoes had now built an 8-4 lead with three more runs in the sixth, aided by three Capitales errors. Quebec registered four errors on the evening, bringing their total in the three-game series to a whopping twelve; the Tornadoes had only two errors the entire series. The Capitales also uncorked eight wild pitches in three games, while Worcester had only three. 13 of the 22 runs the Tornadoes scored in the series were unearned.

Guerrero gave way to Greg Montalbano after five innings of work, earning the win. Montalbano pitched three stellar innings, giving up two hits, a walk, and no runs while striking out four. The four scoreless innings worked by the bullpen on Thursday gave the pen six shutout innings for the series. In 22 innings in the postseason, Tornadoes relievers surrendered just three runs, good for a 1.23 ERA.

The Tornadoes extended the lead to 9-4 in the eighth inning. Strong nailed a one-out double to left field. Two batters later, Reynoso hit a single through the left side to plate Strong.

When the P.A. system began to play DHT's "Listen To Your Heart" before the ninth inning, it meant that closer David Byard was taking the hill to finish off the Capitales. When he coaxed a groundout from Ben Rosenthal, the fans rose to their feet. The crowd - and the Tornadoes bench - reached a fever pitch when pinch-hitter T.J. Shimizu grounded back to the pitcher. And when Byard struck out Dany Scalabrini, the celebration began.

The three-game sweep turned the tables on a Quebec squad that advanced to the Championship Series by virtue of a sweep themselves. The Capitales defeated the Brockton Rox three games to none in the North Division playoff series, while the Tornadoes dispatched the New Haven County Cutters in four games to take the South Division playoff series.

Fans endured a two hour delay at the beginning of the evening as the Tornadoes grounds crew worked feverishly to erase the remnants of a full day's hard rain. Though the game was scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m., first pitch wasn't until 9:15. Still, more than one thousand loyal fans remained for entire game and enjoyed the post-game festivities, which included on-field trophy presentations by league commissioner Miles Wolff, the awarding of the league championship pennant, and the distribution of Can-Am League championship T-shirts to the players. The same T-shirts the players wore will be available at the team's souvenir store at the main office located at 303 Main Street.

The championship is a fitting cap to a storybook season for the Tornadoes. The team was born at a January 24 press conference at City Hall, becoming the first pro baseball team in 71 years to call Worcester home. Worcester native and former Red Sox All-Star Rich Gedman enjoyed a homecoming as the team's first manager, ultimately earning the 2005 Can-Am League Manager of the Year award. In just four months, the entire organization was built, from players to front office, season ticket holders to sponsors. Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field was constructed around the legendary playing grounds at the College of the Holy Cross in less than two months, just in time for Opening Day. In their first half of play in team history, the Tornadoes went out and captured a South Division title.

And now, just two months later, capping off their inaugural season, the Worcester Tornadoes are champions.



Canadian American League Stories from September 16, 2005


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