BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
Above, Lakewood BlueClaw Clay Harris tries to break up the double play during his team’s loss to Augusta last Thursday in the South Atlantic League Championship series in Lakewood. Below, BlueClaws’ catcher Lou Marson takes a hit but holds onto the ball to record the out on Augusta’s Antoan Richardson. Since the franchise’s inception in 2001, one thing the Lakewood BlueClaws have never lacked is fan support.
The low Class A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies was an instant success, as fans from throughout the Shore area have embraced the team, win or lose, for six seasons, making the BlueClaws the leaders in total and average home regular season attendance in each of those six years.
This year the fans were rewarded for their support, as the BlueClaws have captured their first-ever South Atlantic League championship, after defeating the Augusta (Ga.) Greenjackets in the championship series.
And what a ride it was for this year’s fans, as they watched their beloved BlueClaws lose their first nine games of the season, only to bounce back with a strong first half, before emerging as the best team in the league throughout the second half and into the postseason.
MIGUEL JUAREZ staff The team’s success took many by surprise this season, including general manager Geoff Brown, who admits he had his doubts about this year’s championship potential in the early going, saying he didn’t necessarily see a championship-caliber team when he looked at his early season roster.
“I didn’t, but [manager] Dave Huppert did,” Brown said. “He said it from the very beginning. He knew how good our pitching staff was going to be, and obviously he was right.”
Lakewood’s pitching staff was indeed the difference, as the BlueClaws’ starting pitchers became a dominant force over the final three-quarters of the season.
“It was great to watch,” Brown said. “The team was tremendous, led by an unbelievably good starting pitching staff.”
With a staff headed by the likes of Matt Maloney, the SAL’s Pitcher of the Year, Carlos Carasco (12-6, 2.26 ERA) and Joshua Outman (14-6, 2.95 ERA), and strengthened with reliable relievers like Brett Harker and Andrew Barb, who had 17 and 18 saves on the season, respectively, the Blue Claws rode their pitching all the way to a title.
That’s not to say that Lakewood didn’t have some outstanding offensive performers as well. With players like the SAL’s batting title winner, Mike Spidale (.345, 108 hits), Jeremy Slayden (.310, team-leading 124 hits and 81 RBIs), and Clay Harris (120 hits including a team-leading 13 home runs and 81 RBIs) leading the attack, the BlueClaws used clutch hitting throughout the second half of the season to emerge as the division’s top team.
On Friday, the BlueClaws sent their all-time leader in wins, Maloney, to the hill in the clincher. Maloney led the SAL with 16 wins and 180 strikeouts while his 2.03 ERA was second best. The southpaw was also coming off a performance against the Lexington Legends in the final game of the Northern Division Championship Series where he struck out a career-high 11 batters and walked nobody.
That performance, as it turned out, was just a warm-up.
A lead-off single by Augusta’s Johany Abreu in the top of the first did not deter Maloney from having a great start to the ballgame. Abreu was doubled off and Eugenio Velez struck out to end the inning. Velez was also the first hitter in a string of five straight that Maloney sat down on strikes.
Lakewood gave Maloney the only runs he would need in the bottom of the first, when Avelino Asprilla took first base on a walk and swiped second base to move into scoring position. Spidale, who had struggled with just one hit through the first three games in this series, smacked a double down the line to bring home Asprilla, before Slayden brought home Spidale with a base hit to right field.
The GreenJackets had some opportunities slip away in the early innings, but Maloney held them in check, making big pitches when he needed them.
Asprilla started another rally in the fifth, when with two outs he reached on a fielder’s choice. Spidale singled for the third time in the game and Asprilla moved to third before Slayden ripped a ground ball past Pablo Sandoval at first base and into right field. Asprilla trotted home to move the BlueClaws ahead by three runs. Clay Harris then followed with a base hit up the middle and Spidale scored. GreenJackets pitcher Bryan Millikan, who had only one wild pitch during the regular season, threw two in a row, which brought Slayden around from second base to give the BlueClaws a 5-0 lead.
From there, it was all Maloney, as he continually pitched out of trouble to post the shutout.
In the ninth inning, after Maloney and his teammates received a rousing standing ovation from the appreciative BlueClaws fans, David Maroul led off the inning with a double to left field. Maloney came right back and struck out Barry Gunther and Ben Copeland to set a new career high with 12 strikeouts. The final out of the 2006 season was recorded when Pablo Sandoval popped out to Matt Thayer in right field.
The 5-0 win was the BlueClaws’ 20th shutout of the year, and Maloney threw Lakewood’s first nine-inning complete-game shutout of the season.
With the win, the BlueClaws finished with an overall record of 89-56, and their first SAL championship, becoming the first Phillies affiliate to win an SAL title since Spartanburg (S.C.) in 1988.
“It [the title] means a lot for this franchise,” Brown said. “People have been coming out here for six years, and to able to celebrate a league title with our fans was very special.”