Never before were all three playoff games decided by one run, and one game actually went to twelve innings. It was a very fitting end to DRESL’s 35th stellar season.

SEMI-FINALS

Field 1 – DTZ 6, Golub 5: This game was the gold standard for barnburners, an instant classic and a defensive duel to the last out. Flawless outfield play by DTZ’s Matt Kapusta and Greg Moy sent the game tied into the bottom of the 12th. Defensive stars for the Goo Goos, who did not make an error in 12 innings, were Alex “Alice” Cooper and short center field Soup Campbell (who was suffering from a pulled quad, as was left fielder Brandon Barry). By the way, Vegas had DTZ by two.

Field 5 – Colliers 2, JLL 1: The other Semi was no less intense, with both teams playing sparkling defense. JLL drew first blood until the bottom of the 5th, when Colliers’ Mark Breithaupt striped a laser to the right center gap, sending Rick “RickMo” Morris scurrying home with a head-first slide and knotting the game at one apiece. Then Wes McGowan put JLL out of its misery with a clutch hit, just barely over the outstretched arms of JLL’s shortstop. Again, Vegas missed by one.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

DTZ 4, Colliers 3: Defense was the word of the day with base knocks coming at a premium. Both pitchers threw flawless games, Jordan Decker for DTZ and Zach Weiner for Colliers. For DTZ, Kapusta, Moy, and Aloisio played airtight outfield for another consecutive game. For the third time that day, the home team won in its last at bat. Matt Kapusta led the inning with a double. A base hit by Jeff Laski and an intentional walk by Boom Boom Tamillo loaded the bases for Tim Lisy’s walk-off championship base hit to win the game. Congrats to DTZ and team captains Tim Lisy and Jeff Goad!