SGP Warriors

The SGP Warriors of the I-75 League have captured the league title for the second year in a row. Manager Garth Lewis took a team that just squeezed into the playoffs with a record of 80-80 and the 6th seed, then won three straight best-of-sevens to defend their 2006 championship.

The Warriors were led by a rotation of Webb, Lackey, Wang, and Willis; a bullpen of Putz, Street, C.Cordero, and Shields; and an offense of N.Johnson, ARod, Guillen, Swisher, F. Sanchez, Kent, Damon, and Wells. But a key to the romp thru the post-season was the play of part-time studs Lind, Theriot, Escobar, Scott, and S.Drew.

Here are the game summaries from the World Series. Take note of the All-Star roster playing for Margaritaville.

Game 1: SGP 3, Margaritaville 2. WP-Webb, LP-Halladay, Sv-Putz.

Vernon Wells hit a 2-run homer in the second inning and the Warriors rode 8.1 innings of Brandon Webb to victory. The Volcanoes scored on an Abreu sac fly in the eighth and Darryle Ward HR in the ninth, but J.J. Putz closed things out.

Game 2: Margaritaville 5, SGP 4. WP-Heilman, LP-Thornton.

Lance Berkman hit two solo HRs for the Volcanoes, including the winner in the eighth off Thornton. SGP jumped to an early 3-0 on a Nick Johnson HR and an A-Rod RBI double. Things seemed to fall apart against starter Chien-Ming Wang in the fifth, however. David Wright, Bobby Abreu, and Grady Sizemore all had singles along with 2 SBs mixed in. SGP scratched back to tie in the seventh, but Berkman was too much.

Game 3: Margaritaville 8, SGP 7. WP-Oswalt, LP-Lackey, Sv-Saito.

This time it was Margaritaville jumping to a 3-0 early lead. The first inning saw Sizemore scratch out a single before Manny Ramirez rolled a 1-4 clean shot. Abreu added an RBI single in the 2nd. SGP used 3 singles and a walk to get on the board in the second. In the 4th the Volcanoes erupted for 5 runs -- highlighted by a Manny Ramirez 3-run shot. It was far from John Lackey's night. SGP scored 2 runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth to close the gap. But the Warriors blew a shot in the ninth when, after Freddy Sanchez reached on a 2-base error by Abreu and Swisher walked, Wells struck out and Damon bounced into two to end it. The Warriors did take comfort in hitting a HR off Wagner's card in the eighth.

Game 4: SGP 5, Margaritaville 0. WP-Webb, LP-Halladay.

Brandon Webb was the story of this one. 7 hits. 1 walk. 7 Ks. Would have finished it, but the Warriors still had dreams of a Game 7 and didn't want to waste any innings. SGP jumped out quickly with an A-Rod HR to lead off the game. Nick Johnson and Carlos Guillen doubled followed by a Theriot walk. With one out Luke Scott had an RBI single. SGP added two more runs in the third to close things out.

Game 5: Margaritaville 4, SGP 1. WP-Carpenter, LP-Martinez, Sv-Saito.

In his first start of the entire postseason, Pedro Martinez pitched well to everyone but Jeff Baker. In seven innings he walked three (including the first two hitters of the game), struck out 11 and allowed four hits. Baker followed the walks in the first with a 3-run HR. He added an RBI double in the third to close out the Volcanoes scoring. The Margaritaville bullpen was outstanding -- 1 hit 4 innings.

Game 6: SGP 9, Margaritaville 8. WP-Beimel, LP-Saito, Sv-Putz.

A classic heavyweight bout. John Lackey and Roy Oswalt both struggled early, and things never really improved for either. Each team scored a pair in the first, highlighted by a Carlos Guillen triple for the Warriors and Grady Sizemore 2-run HR for the Volcanoes. The Warriors legged out two more triples (Alex Escobar and Luke Scott) in the third to score three more runs. SGP took a 7-4 lead into the seventh inning. In the seventh, a walk, a single, and an out started the inning for the Volcanoes. SGP brought in Scot Shields to face PH Darryle Ward. He promptly tied the score with a big blast. The Warriors went quietly in the eighth. Then, SGP made perhaps its most questionable decision of the season by leaving Shields in to face David Wright. He homered on Shields' card to take the lead and leave the Warriors facing quite a climb to force a Game 7. But in the ninth, Carlos Guillen lead off with a HBP. Alex Escobar hit a groundball C to move Guillen into scoring position. But with Saito pitching, getting him home would be easier said than done. After Freddy Sanchez whiffed, Ryan Theriot pinch hit and was intentionally walked. That brought up Vernon Wells. In the clutch. Against a fantastic RHP. Uh oh. He rolled 1-10 -- Triple 1-4/double. It was a double, but Theriot beat the throw home to take the lead. The inning ended 9-8. The Volcanoes, with Dave Roberts in Manny Ramirez's spot, didn't stop. Roberts lead off with a single against Putz and stole second. But Berkman (who finished with a couple of hits) and Ward both grounded out and Jamey Carroll (a ninth-inning defensive replacement) flied out to end the threat... bring up Game 7...

Game 7: SGP 9, Margaritaville 5 (11). WP-Putz, LP-Saito.

It was Brandon Webb-Roy Halladay, Round 3. Webb was good again, this time allowing one run in the first six innings. He gave up another run when pinch hitter Jeff Baker had an RBI single off Matt Thornton in the 7th. But with J.J. Putz having plenty of innings left, the Warriors brought him on in the seventh with a 4-2 lead. The Warriors added a run in the eighth on a Theriot triple and Sanchez single. That extra run would be vital. In the ninth, still against Putz, Sizemore led off with a single. Manny Ramirez struck out, but Berkman rolled 2-4 for a homer. That left Putz vs. Jeff Baker... Gone. Baker homered to tie the score. That sent the game to the 10th inning. The Warriors squandered a lead off double from Nick Johnson against B.J. Ryan. The Volcanoes went quietly. Then in the 11th off Saito, Johnny Damon hit a one-out single and stole second. Ronny Paulino struck out to leave it up to A-Rod. He ripped a go-ahead single for the lead. After stealing second, he scored on a Nick Johnson double. With Billy Wagner pitching, Carlos Guillen singled in Johnson. Jeff Kent pinch hit for Ryan Theriot -- who hit the floor on ABs -- and doubled off Joaquin Benoit. Four runs scored in all. But the Volancoes, facing Huston Street with two outs put a scare into things thanks to an error by Street. Then Jeff Baker rolled in the 1 column, but flied out to end the game.

For the series, SGP outscored the Volcanoes: 38-32. Carlos Guillen hit .355 in the series. Vernon Wells hit .310 with the biggest hit in team history. But Brandon Webb -- who allowed 4 runs in 22 2/3 innings -- was selected as the MVP of the series.