The CT Outlaws saw a great run through the Mickey Mantle World Series end with a 3-2 loss to Knights Baseball of Nashville, Tenn., this afternoon in the championship game at Municipal Stadium’s Bob Palmer Field.
The Outlaws had to win three elimination games over less than two days just to reach Sunday’s final. That stretch included a 6-1 win over the D-BAT Elite Gowins of Dallas earlier today behind a complete-game effort from Fran Phelan Jr. (Holy Cross High School). The Outlaws started Saturday with a 2-1 win over the Midland Tribe. In Saturday’s second contest, the Outlaws beat D-BAT 10-2.
A draw between the one-loss Outlaws, Knights and D-BAT gave the Knights a bye to Sunday’s final. That meant a rematch between the Outlaws and D-BAT, which the Outlaws won.
In the final, the Knights tallied their three runs on a bases loaded walk, a catcher’s interference and a sacrifice fly. The Knights held that 3-0 lead going into the top of the seventh.
The Outlaws had just two hits until the seventh inning, but began to attempt yet another late rally in the World Series. Southington’s Jeremy Mercier led off with a single, then was replaced by Naugatuck’s Joel Guzman (Sacred Heart High School). Charlie Rhodes III (Notre Dame-West Haven) followed with his own single, then Watertown’s Adam Razza (Holy Cross) walked with one out to load the bases. A single by Watertown’s Justin Guerrera scored Guzman to make it 3-1. John Nolan (Amity Regional) walked to score Rhodes III and cut the Outlaw deficit to 3-2.
The Outlaws had Razza 90 feet away from a tying run, but Knights reliever Jacob Pennington struck out two straight batters to close the game.
The Outlaws finished the series with a 6-2 record.
Sunday’s championship game information obtained from the GameChanger account of the CT Outlaws.
