I don't think you could have scripted a better Banana Ball playoff weekend. Both series went to a Showdown, and we had a weekend full of amazing games. The inaugural Banana Bowl will feature the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
The Savannah Bananas advanced Saturday, beating the Party Animals in a Showdown. On Sunday, after the Loco Beach Coconuts took Game 1 and the Texas Tailgaters answered with a Game 2 win that afternoon, the series went to a deciding Showdown. The Tailgaters won it to clinch a spot in the first Banana Bowl.
Sanchez and Clarke Lead on the Mound
Pitching set the tone for the Tailgaters in Game 2, starting with right-hander Brett Sanchez.
Sanchez threw 7.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits, issuing two Ball Four Sprints and striking out three for a 1.29 ERA on the day. He previously lowered his regular-season ERA to 3.87 after a strong outing in Arlington, which ranked sixth in the league. Sanchez also finished second in the league with 111.2 innings pitched.
Reliever Chris Clarke finished the game with 2.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits with two Ball Four Sprints and one strikeout. Clarke finished the regular season second in the league with a 2.64 ERA.
Stanley Scores, Martin Homers
In Banana Ball, the team that scores more runs in an inning wins that inning and earns one point.
In the sixth inning, Indiana Stanley put the Tailgaters on the board, sliding around a tag at home plate.
An inning later, league home run leader Kyle Martin hit a two-run homer to win the seventh and stretch the Tailgaters' lead to 2-0. It was his second home run of the postseason, bringing his playoff line to 2-for-5 with 2 HR and 5 RBI. Martin led the league in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and OPS during the regular season, which puts him among the leading candidates for league MVP.
Lopez Wins the Showdown
With each team taking one game, the series moved to Banana Ball's sudden-death Showdown tiebreaker. Nick Lopez won the Showdown for Texas, eliminating the Coconuts and sending the Tailgaters to the championship.
Final Regular Season Standings
Savannah Bananas (36-25): Clinched the No. 1 seed and beat the Party Animals in the playoffs to reach the Banana Bowl.
Texas Tailgaters (32-29): Clinched the No. 2 seed and compiled 776 team trick plays. Infielder Jonathan "Sunshine" Luders set a single-season record with 211 trick plays.
Loco Beach Coconuts (30-31): Finished their inaugural season two games behind Texas and six games behind Savannah.
Party Animals (30-31): Finished tied with the Coconuts and lost to Savannah in the playoffs.
Firefighters (29-32): Did not qualify for the playoffs.
Indianapolis Clowns (26-35): Did not qualify for the playoffs.
The Savannah Bananas and Texas Tailgaters will meet Oct. 10 at Nationals Park to decide the first Banana Bowl champion.
