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Champions Again! Ports Win 11th Cal-League Crown With 9-3 Win Over Lancaster

STOCKTON, Calif.- Not since Ernest Thayer’s poem about Mighty Casey has there been a tale so worthy of telling on the banks of the Delta as that of the 2008 Stockton Ports. On Sunday night at Clear Channel Stadium in Lancaster, the incredible playoff run of the Boys from Banner Island met its ending with a champagne shower as the Ports won their 11th Cal-League title in franchise history, beating the Lancaster JetHawks by a count of 9-3 and winning the best-of-five championship series 3-1. The championship is Stockton’s first as an Oakland A’s affiliate, and their first in six years.

Game 4 began as a pitcher’s duel between Ports starter Carlos Hernandez and JetHawks starter Blake Maxwell. The two had near identical numbers through the first four innings. It was Lancaster, however, that would come through with the game’s first run in the bottom of the fifth. After back-to-back singles from Aaron Reza and Matt Sheely to start the inning, Kris Negron bunted the baserunners over to second and third, and Yamaico Navarro hit a sac-fly to right to give the JetHawks a 1-0 lead. It would be the only run given up by Hernandez, who went 5.1 innings and allowed six hits while walking two and striking out four.

Stockton would get the run right back in the top of the sixth. Following a leadoff double from Archie Gilbert, Josh Horton tied the game with an RBI single to center off Maxwell. Chris Carter followed with an infield single to third, and the throw from third baseman Zak Farkes skipped in the dirt and past first baseman Michael Jones, allowing Horton to go to third and putting runners at the corners with nobody out. Maxwell would bear down and get Spencer to fly to shallow center and Josh Donaldson to strike out. Derrick Loop (0-2) was brought into the game to face Corey Brown, but Brown wouldn’t get a chance to swing the bat. On a pitch that got away from catcher Luis Exposito, Horton tried to score from third. Exposito, however, would recover quick enough to flip the ball to Loop covering the plate and Horton would be tagged out to end the frame. Maxwell would go 5.2 innings and allow just the one run on seven hits while striking out six. He did not walk a batter on the night.

The score would remain tied until the top of the seventh, the inning in which the Ports would wrap up the game and the series. With Loop still on the hill, Brown worked a leadoff walk. Two batters later with one out, Jermaine Mitchell walked and Mike Massaro singled to left to load the bases with one out. Gilbert, who would later be named the series MVP, put the Ports ahead to stay with a single to left on a 3-2 pitch, giving the Ports a 2-1 lead. Horton followed with a bases-loaded walk, giving the Ports a 3-1 edge. Loop was then replaced with right-hander Craig Molldrem who came on to face Carter. On an 0-2 pitch, Carter hit a towering grand slam over the scoreboard in left, giving the Ports a commanding 7-1 lead. Five of the six runs that scored in the inning were charged to Loop, who took the loss after just two-thirds of an inning of work.

The Ports would be in cruise control from there on out. Pat Currin (2-1) would pitch 2.2 scoreless frames starting in the bottom of the sixth to carry the game into the ninth inning. Currin would get the win, allowing three hits while striking out two.

Stockton added two final runs in the top of the ninth. In a fitting twist, Carter would lead off the inning with a home run in his final at-bat of the season off Josh Papelbon. Carter, the Ports all-time single-season home run leader, would finish the playoffs with five home runs and homers in his final two at-bats. Two batters later, Donaldson tripled down the line in right, and Brown, who had been 0-for-12 in the series, got his first hit--an RBI double to right-center to give the Ports a 9-1 lead. Brown was thrown out at third trying to stretch his hit to a triple.

Sam Demel would come on for the bottom of the ninth to close out the game. With two on and two out, the JetHawks got a pair of runs on a two-run double from Jon Still to make it 9-3. Demel would get Jones to fly out to Gilbert in left for the game’s final out, and the Ports celebrated with a dog-pile off to the first base side of the mound.

Following the game, Gilbert was named MVP of the championship series. Gilbert drove in eight runs during the series, including the go-ahead run in Game 4 and six RBI in Game 1.

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The Stockton Ports, Tickets.com client, were one of the founding members of the California League. The Ports gained their unique name from the cities own rich history and strong resource as the states only inland Port. Over the course of the Ports' 55 years as a member of the California League, they have won 10 titles (most by any active team, Reno franchise has 11) and have posted the highest winning percentage in California League history with a .527 mark (4,051 - 3,629). The Ports are the fastest team in California League history to reach the 4,000 win plateau.