Editor Remarks

October games are underway, unfortunately not with the pleasant weather we were expecting (late matches were in the low 90’s), but as mentioned in the last article, this is Texas, so let’s get ready for some low 50’s games next week!

A couple of teams that can get ready as well, but to celebrate, are the Padres and Storm Chasers, who if sweeping this coming Sunday plus a combination of results, could secure a playoff berth for this November. The other 14 teams (including the Leones) are in a tight fight for one of those 8 ‘golden tickets’ to represent their respective divisions at the TSSL Fall Classic

Speaking of celebration, and as you might know already, this weekend was far away from that sentiment for a few of the Leones players (Captain included) as unfortunately some of their most loved ones passed away during the week unexpectedly. We all know this is part of life, and during those difficult times only the companionship of family and friends serve as comfort to overcome the situation, and this is why the TSSL is so special in so many ways, as before the game between Leones and Aguilas started, the entire Aguilas team, led by captain Ariel Rodriguez, approached the Leones dugout and gave their condolences to the team along with some well-thought prayers to lift the spirit of affected ones. It goes without saying that this is one of the better examples of the brotherhood of this league and its members. On behalf of the Leones squad, just want to say thank you very much Aguilas!

 At the diamond

If by any chance you had the opportunity to watch a Leones game, rest assured that you will have the opportunity to enjoy a close and intense affair. This has been the history of this team during the entire tournament and week 5 wasn’t any different. Allow me to recap what happened on this Leones Sunday split…

At 8 am, and after the aforementioned tribute on the editor remarks section, Leones and Aguilas entered Field 3 to fight over the first edition of the TSSL Caribbean Title (see fun facts for more details) and the match was in line (or even exceeded) the expectations of such affair.

The game started with a quick 2-run attack by the Aguilas, which was countered by the Leones at the bottom of the 1st led by Mabry’s triple and 2-run bomb from Cova to take a 3-2 lead. A lead that will vanish in a heartbeat as the Aguilas capitalized Leones' errors on routine plays to score 7 at the top of the 2nd. Leones fought back at the bottom of that inning with 4 more runs led by consecutive hits from Shwarts.A, Mabry, and Leonard plus a 2-rbi double from Shwarts.M to cut the lead in half.

Fast forward to the 4th, and after holding Aguilas scoreless in 2 consecutive innings (not an easy task when you face Driggers, Henry, and Rodriguez) Leones took the first lead of the game with a 3-run inning led by back-to-back bombs from Leonard and Manz. Once again, that lead will not last long, as Aguilas tied the affairs at 10 at the top of the 5th and Leones weren’t able to reply back at the bottom of that inning, creating another dramatic ending fashion on a Leones game. A scoreless top of the 6th gave the Leones the opportunity to wrap up the match with a walk-off winning but after consecutive walks Leones couldn’t materialize any runs, pushing the need to go into extras.

Extras were in favor of the Aguilas, as their top was due up, but the Leones managed to hold that part of their line-up scoreless thru once again a fantastic defense, heading to the bottom of the 7th and with 2-out on the board and Leonard at 2b, Cova hit his first career TSSL walk-off bomb to win in a dramatic fashion 12-10 against one of the best teams in the league, the Aguilas

With the momentum on their side, Leones traveled to Field 1 to face another tough adversary, the Dragons, with the hopes of capture a sweep but destiny will have another history for the Leones, not without fighting until the last minute.

Dragons fantastic hitting scored a total of 5 runs in the top of the 1st which was countered by 3 runs thanks to Leonard's hit, Cova 2-run blast, and Mort’s rbi-double. But Dragons bats were spitting ‘fuego’ and score 4 more runs at the top of 2nd that was slightly mitigated by the Leones 1-run during the bottom of the same inning thanks to Barth and Ovalle’s singles

Fast forward to the 4th (again – 3rd innings were quiet for the Leones this week), Dragons added 3 more runs, which was countered by the Leones thanks to Mort single, Holtmann double and Barth’s 2-rbi sac fly to push the affairs 12-6 in favor of the Dragons.

After one 1-run in the 5th from the Dragons, Leones pushed back with 2 runs in the 5th thanks to Mabry’s 2-rbi blast, but then again Dragons will strike back with 1 more run in the 6th and the Leones began their late comeback attempt with 3-more runs thanks to consecutive hits from Shwarts.M, Mort, Holtmann, and Barth but ran short losing 14-11 against the powerful Dragons line-up

Outstanding Leones

· Ashley Mort – 5/6, 2R’s, 2B, RBI

·  Andy Mabry – 4/7, 4R’s. 2B, 3B, HR (hit for the cycle!), 3RBI’s

· Reese Leonard – 4/7, 4R’s, HR (inside the park!), 3RBI’s

· Leonardo Cova – 3/7, 3R’s, 3HR’s, 6RBI’s

Fun Fact

Did you know, that annually in early February an event named “Serie del Caribe” (in English known as Caribbean World Series) is hosted across the Caribbean winter leagues, in which the domestic league champions of Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela compete in a 6-days round-robin series to claim supremacy as the best league of the sub-hemisphere?

The TSSL version of this rivalry started this Fall between the Leones, Tiburones, and Aguilas, having the Leones claiming the first-ever TSSL Caribbean Championship, as they were able to beat both squads during the regular season.

In reality thou, the Dominican Republic is the clear leader of this tournament with 21 titles, closely followed by Puerto Rico with 16 and the Aguilas are the reigning champions and have won it a total of 6 times (Leones had won it on 2 occasions, 1982 and 2006)

Top - Aguilas del Cibao celebrating their 6th title at the 2021 Serie del Caribe hosted at Mazatlan, Mexico

Bottom - Leones del Caracas celebrating their 2nd title at the 2006 Serie del Caribe hosted at Maracay, Venezuela