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Ravaged by Injuries, Royals Win Epic Elimination Playoff Game and Advance to Playoffs

By Larry Lachman, 10/13/20, 6:45PM CDT

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Donnie Holtmann singled home Sheldon Fulton with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Royals defeated a spirited Braves team in thrilling, walk-off fashion, 17 – 16, to advance to the TSSL Playoffs.  Holtmann lined the second pitch he saw off Braves’ pitcher, Matt Brumley into left field for the game winner, sending the Royals’ faithful into a frenzy.  In a game where the lead changed hands six times, the Royals pounded out 22 hits, 11 of which were of the extra base variety, and punched their ticket into the TSSL Playoffs as the 5 seed in their division.

The Royals entered the game having swept the season series from the Braves 14 – 3 and 17 – 9, but down the stretch, heading into the minis, the upstart Braves were the most improved team in the league under Captain Brumley’s leadership, and certainly the most dangerous team the Royals could face in the single elimination tournament.

With a gentle 8-mph breeze blowing out to left field, the two teams combined to blast eight homeruns in the game; four by each team.  The Braves – fresh off of routing the Grasshoppers 22 – 5 in the opening round of the mini-playoffs – jumped out to an early 2 – 0 lead courtesy of Brumley’s 2-run, no-doubt about it bomb over the left field fence.

The Royals quickly erased the lead with a huge 7-run explosion in their half of the frame.  Arevalo Gonzalez and Max Henry singled and scored as Tim Jamieson and Sheldon Fulton inaugurated the postseason by launching back-to-back rockets that landed roughly 40-feet beyond the left field fence.  In a blink of an eye it was 4 – 2.  Still with nobody out, Chad Leksan and Holtmann hit back-to-back doubles, with Holtmann coming home on Robert Garcia’s triple.  Garcia scored the seventh run on Mike Anders’ sacrifice fly, the first out of the inning.

After holding the Braves scoreless in the top of the second, the Royals padded their lead to 11 – 2 in the bottom of the second.  Henry’s 2-run single and Jamieson’s second homerun of the game keyed the inning.  While Jamieson’s first homerun looked like it had been shot out of a rocket launcher, this one was a towering shot that caught the jet stream, and just kept on going, as the Braves right center fielder, Gustavo Chirinos – who appeared to have a beat on it, tracking it to the fence – just ran out of room, as Jamieson’s blast kept sailing, finding a home over the right center field fence.

At this point, it looked like the game would be a blow-out.  The Braves, however, refused to roll over, and displayed the same amount of character, heart, and resilience that they showed the last six weeks of the season. 

Braves’ slugger, Tim Kaminski’s grand slam pulled the Braves to within five in the top of the third, while the Royals plated one in the bottom of the frame on Asher Feltman’s RBI triple.  Both teams went scoreless in the fourth.  In the top of the fifth Brumley and Kaminski hit back-to-back dingers – their second homeruns of the game – Brumley’s a 3-run shot – to key the Braves’ 5-run fifth.  Suddenly, the Royals' 9-run lead had evaporated, and was now down to one, 12 – 11. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Leksan restored the lead back to three runs with a 2-run blast to dead center field.  14 – 11.

Final

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

Braves

2

0

4

0

5

4

1

16

21

Royals

7

4

1

0

2

2

1

17

22

 

Just like the Royals used two big innings early in the game to take a big lead, the Braves used two big innings late in the game to retake the lead.  After scoring five in the fifth, the Braves completed the comeback with four in the sixth.  Karlos Rodriguez smashed a 2-run shot off the scoreboard in left, and the bottom of the Braves lineup – Dustin Madlock, Jerry Rogers, and Tony Lowery reached base on consecutive hits, setting the table for Kaminski to drive in two more with a double off the left center field fence, catapulting the Braves back into the lead, 15 – 14.  Kaminski (4 – 4, with a slugging percentage of 2.75) was a one-man wrecking crew for the Braves, accounting for 10 of the Braves’ 16 runs in the game.  It could have been far worse – with the heart of the Braves lineup coming up, the Royals ended the inning only down by one.

With the Braves having regained the lead, at this point things looked bleak for the Royals.  The momentum had clearly shifted, and with six outs remaining and the Royals’ bottom half of the order due up, the Braves had the potential to close things out and win the game.

The bottom of the order often gets overlooked, but they were crucial in the Royals' 2-run sixth.  Consecutive singles by Feltman, Larry Lachman, Scott Elfenbein, and Irwin Kaufman tied the game at 15, and Henry’s third hit of the game put the Royals back in front by one, 16 – 15.  However, the lead was short-lived as Madlock came up big for the Braves in the top of the seventh with a clutch two strike, two out RBI single to tie the game at 16 – 16.

Fulton doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh for his third hit of the game.  Leksan was then intentionally walked, setting up a force at second and third, and setting the stage for Holtmann’s heroics.

Playoff Game Offensive Stars

Tim Jamieson  2 – 4, 2 Runs, 5 RBI,  2 HR
Max Henry  3 – 4, 3 Runs, 3 RBI
Sheldon Fulton  3 – 4, 2 Runs, 1 RBI, 2B,
HR 
Donnie Holtmann  3 – 4, 1 Run, 2 RBI, 2 2B, GWRBI
Chad Leksan  2 – 3, 2 Runs, 2 RBI, BB, 2B,
HR
Asher Feltman  2 – 3, 1 Run, 1 RBI, 3B
Arevalo Gonzalez  2 – 4, 2 Runs, 2B

Ravaged by Injuries, Royals Win Epic Elimination Playoff Game and Advance to Playoffs