Mounting a dramatic comeback from an 8 run deficit, the Indianapolis Stallions won their third Labor Day Tournament Championship defeating the Columbus Ohio Pirates 15 to 13.

The #2 Seed Stallions got to the championship game by defeating the FW Marlins 7-1 and the Hoosier West Orioles 10-2.  Stallions ace Bruce Stanley shutting down the Orioles with help from a Grand Slam off the bat of Kurt Brabender, and Neal Walther getting the job done against the Marlins with a little relief help from Bryan Apolskis, who also chipped in with 4-5 at the plate.

The #8 Seed Pirates had a tougher road to the final.  In the first round they needed 11 innings to get past the Chicago Oaks 3-2 on a walk off hit by Jeff Walker, with a complete game performance by Andy Heimbach.  The Pirates then beat the #1 Seed Indianapolis Expos 7-5.  Facing Expos ace Pete Martin, they never trailed in the game and got some pay back for being shut out and sent home by Martin and the Expos in 2008.  Frank Graham logged a complete game to send the Pirates to the semi final for the second year in a row.   In the semi final the Pirates had to come back from a 5 run deficit in the 9^th inning to send the Fort Wayne Expos home 10-9 in 11 innings.  Jay Bartos came up with a game winning Home Run in the top of the 11^th and Brad Roser notched the win with 7 innings of relief.

The tournament was filled with late and extra inning heroics as well as dominant pitching.  The Hoosier West Orioles made it to their first semi final by defeating the hard-hitting Louisville Sluggers who lived up to their name by racking up 26 runs in their two previous games before falling victim to the arm of Matt Walker.          In a 2-1 pitchers duel against the Sluggers Kellen Marshall, Walker tallied 13K’s and allowed only 3 hits.  Bill Draper, who took the loss against the Stallions drove in the only runs the O’s needed on a solo Home Run and a Sac Fly.

The Fort Wayne Expos needed a walk off Home Run off the bat of Rich Berich to get past the Chicago Giants in 10 innings to get to their semi final match up with the Pirates.

In the Championship, it was two depleted pitching staffs going at each other.  The Pirates sent Andy Heimbach to the mound even though he had thrown 11 innings on Sunday.  The Stallions answered with Matt McLaren who, although he hadn’t pitched in the tournament, had caught two games.

The Pirates jumped out to the lead in the first when cleanup hitter “Moose” Allen drove in Mark Woodworth and Shaun Hausler who had reached on a leadoff walk and a fielders’ choice.  The Stallions answered in the bottom when Troy Drosche brought in John Smith with a two out single.  In the inning, the Stallions lost their leadoff man when James Pruett collided with Heimbach on a play at the plate and was ejected.

Both teams went quietly in the second and then started the scoring in the third.  The Pirates tallied two in the top of the frame when Hausler drove in his father Keith and Woodworth.  It looked like a big inning was on the way when the next batter was hit by a pitch, but then McLaren bore down and got a two ball off the bat of Brad Roser.  Down 4-1, the Stallions came back to tie it in the bottom with two Home Runs into the tall corn outside the left field fence at Trinity Ballpark.  A solo Home Run by Smith and 2 run bomb by Kurt Brabender.

Undaunted, the Pirtaes came roaring back with four runs in the top of the fourth on 5 consecutive singles, including a 2 RBI shot by the pitcher Heimbach helping himself out.  The Pirates lost their leadoff man when Woodworth was ejected for arguing strike two.

Bryan Apolskis relieved McLaren in the fifth and was greeted with Jay Bartos’ second double of the game.  Bartos advanced to third on a fly to right and then came in on a Sac Fly from Moose.

When the Pirates scored 3 more in the top of the sixth to go up 12-4, it was looking dim for the Stallions.  But then it was their turn for a big inning, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring 7 runs.  The Stallions had three doubles in a row to chase Heimbach and bring back Brad Roser for his second relief appearnce of the day.  The scoring was capped off by a monster shot to center off the bat of Stallions skipper Bryan Foster.

Apolskis logged two scoreless innings for the Stallions, and Roser held the lead for the pirates until the bottom of the eighth.

Drosche led off the inning with a single, went to second on a wild pitch and then scored the tying run on Apolskis’ second Double of the game.  Brabender followed with an RBI single to take the lead, and then the Stallions scored two more on bases loaded walks to Rod McKeemon and Smith to take a 15-12 lead.  In the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates answered with a run and brought the tying run at the plate but ran out of heroics.

Batting an incredible .818 for the tournament and toughing out 5 innings of relief to pick up the win in the Champioship, Bryan Apolskis was named Tournament MVP.

The participating teams for the 2009 tournament were:

Teams were seeded after the first two games, with all teams making the tournament.  The 7-10 teams had a play in round. 

Standings

Play in Round Results

First Round Results

Semi Final

Stallions 10

Orioles      2

Pirates 10

Expos    9 (11 innings)

Championship

Stallions 15

Pirates    13

E_Pirates: Wilson, Fleming 2  Stallions: Foster, Brabender 2  PB_Wrightsel, Drosche 2  LOB_Pirates 10, Stallions 7.  HR_Smith, Foster, Brabender.  2B_Stallions: Smith, Drosche, Apolskis 2. Pirates: Bartos 2, Whrightsel, Wilson. SB_Stallions: Apolskis, Brabender. Pirates: S. Hausler, Holt 2,  Fleming. CS_ Smith.  Sac Fly_Allen. 

HBP_Allen (By McLaren) Akins (By Roser) WP_Roser, Apolskis 4

Heimbach pitched to 7 batters in the 6th