They reached the playoffs thanks to a superb climb in the standings, then they made a dramatic comeback in the last meeting of the regular season to finish the campaign at the top in the East. And clearly, the Capitals did not intend to stop there.
Two days after undergoing a heartbreaking setback at the hands of the New Jersey Jackalsa defeat which forced them to play only one-on-one games for the rest of this type two of three series, Quebec reached the Frontier League final on Sunday for a second year in a row.
Patrick Scalabrini’s protégés did not offer an electrifying performance like that of Saturday, during which they scored 10 points in a single inningincluding four thanks to a grand slam from former Yankee Greg Bird.
But they gave their approximately 3,800 fans gathered at Canac Stadium another offensive performance as a gift, triumphing 15 to 6 to give themselves the chance to defend their title at the expense of the winner of the series pitting the Evansville Otters later Sunday against Gateway Grizzlies.
The beautiful “vibe” remained
The day before, Scalabrini said his players were smart enough to keep the “vibe” of their 14-2 victory, while quickly getting back on their feet.
The manager was not mistaken. That’s exactly what the Capitals did.
In a collective effort – every player except TJ White produced a point in this game – they responded to each of their rivals’ offensive pushes.
A feat of arms that they achieved in fine fashion in the second and fifth innings, during which they each time went around the plate on five occasions, notably thanks to two RBIs from Bird, then a home run from two points from Jesmuel Valentin.
Jesmuel Valentine.
Photo Didier Desbusschere
The first and second matches of the final series will be played Tuesday and Wednesday at Stade Canac. Tickets are on sale on the team’s official website.
More details to follow.