| 1 vs. 8 | ||||
| Sunday August 5th 3 PM Knockout Park Manchester, MI | ||||
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3 | Game 1 | 0 |  |
| Commandos forfeit | ||||
| 3 | Game 2 | 0 | ||
| Commandos forfeit | ||||
The Punchouts ride a 25 game win-streak into the playoffs, and with the elite level of play both hitting and pitching most people do not see that streak ending anytime soon. Bortmas and LaDoucueur are beasts in the batters box: both slugging over .800 with 20 HR a piece and 119 RBI between them. Hatt and Bortmas have similarly been monsters on the mound: 138 and 136 K, 0.95 and 0.94 ERA, and 0.27 and 0.70 ERA, respectively. It has been a hot-and-cold season for the Commandos, tapping into talent of players only to have them unavailable a few weeks later. It is hard to find consistency like that, but Linebrink has been their most reliable player - hitting .260 and slugging .427 with 5 HR. He has also had moments of greatness on the mound. For the Commandos to pull off this upset it will take a few more of those moments of greatness strung together as a team.
| 2 vs. 7 | ||||
| Sunday August 5th 5 PM The Swamp Trenton, MI | ||||
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6 | Game 1 | 2 |  |
| WP: Pearson (1-0) | LP: Seto (0-1) | |||
| 1 | Game 2 | 2 | ||
| LP: D. Braden (0-1) | Probable Starters | WP: Murtha (1-0) | ||
| 2 | Game 3 (if necessary) | 1 | ||
| WP: Pearson (2-0) | Probable Starters | LP: Seto (0-2) | ||
The Ducks seem to have returned to their 2011 champion form, charging hard over the final weeks of the season (going 8-4) to take the Garcia Division title with a 17-11 record. They are still laughing, but the D & D boys are crushing the ball at the plate and delivering on the mound like was expected from them all season. Nagorski and Nick Braden are also supplying good at bats. So long as their defense holds up, they are poised to do well this postseason. The Donkeys come into the playoffs in exact opposite fashion; they have lost the last eight times they took the field and finished the season last in Ringler at 11-17. The Donkeys are also without star player Alex Shore, who had season ending surgery earlier this month. They will rely on aggressive baserunning, and the arms of Seto, Shaw, and Murtha to dig out wins in this series. The Ducks won the season series decisively 2-0.
| 3 vs. 6 | ||||
| Sunday August 5th 4:30 PM Poolside Park Ottawa Lake, MI | ||||
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4 | Game 1 | 0 |  |
| WP: A. Bischoff (1-0) | Probable Starters | LP: Hewlett (0-1) | ||
| 2 | Game 2 | 1 | ||
| WP: E. Bischoff (1-0) | Probable Starters | LP: Cosby (0-1) | ||
The Aces went 4-0 against the Seals this season, but they did so with three 1-0 games and a single 2-1 game. This series should be tightly contested and Poolside Park is the perfect place to play a series where one lucky bounce or good swing can decide the game. The Seals concluded their season with an 18 and 23 inning game, and more long games may well be coming this first round match-up. They did lose two pitchers for game one due to those long games, but Hewlett, the longest tenured Seal, will get the ball in game one and has proven he can go toe-to-toe with pitchers like the Bischoffs. The Aces have lived up to their name throwing 3 perfect games, allowing only 32 runs and 63 hits over 28 games, and striking out 365 (the league high). The prevailing assumption is this series will be won on either a ballsy attempt to go from second to home on a little dribbler, or the first home run of the year to be hit into the pool.
| 4 vs. 5 | ||||
| Thursday August 2nd 6 PM The Drey Romulus, MI | ||||
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0 | Game 1 | 1 |  |
| LP: Consanti (0-1) | WP: Corbett (1-0) | |||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||
| LP: Skinner (0-1) | WP: Castle (1-0) | |||
A rematch of last year's 4 vs. 5. Belgian took this season's series 3-1. In the most shocking development leading up to this series, Coffee and Buhr inked a deal sending pitcher Craig Skinner to the Squirrels for pitcher Brandon Corbett. The two have similar stats with batting averages near .200 and ERAs below 1.00. Skinner brings more strike outs on the mound, though, while Corbett supplies more extra base power at the plate. The Constanti/Skinner rotation will be very formidable for a Squirrels team that has always been built around pitching; the key to success for them will be giving them run support. Belgian already had two hitters with good power; Phillips and Tomlinson both have six HR and Corbett adds another five, putting together a dangerous lineup to support a strong pitching staff.
Unavailable Pitchers:
1 Game: Castle (BW), Linebrink (CC), Shaw (DK), Bullard (FS), Cosby (JM), Bortmas (MP), D. Braden (TD), E. Bischoff (WA)
2 Games: Phillips (BW), Paquin (JM)
