Hartford wins ELCS, Whalers to face Bums October 21, 1997
Hartford (AP)- With Greg Maddux nursing a sore arm and the rest of the rotation quite spent, reliever Aaron Sele (6-6) became the savior and the hero today.
Pitching 6 strong innings, Sele and the rest of the battery combined for a
2-hit shutout of Brooklyn, 4-0. Hartford defeated Brooklyn 4 games to 1 to
advance to the first ever PVBL World Series.
The Whalers were ecstatic, especially Manager Jeremy Chrabascz who had stated
earlier that "We'll (the Whalers) be lucky to get past Motor City but we'll
give it a shot." After today's domination of Enterprise League foe, Brooklyn,
Chrabascz commented, "You have no idea how happy and excited I am for the
guys, the organization, and the fans. This has truly been a fairy tale
inaugural season and we've already secured ourselves a happy ending." When
asked about the upcoming matchup with Vero Beach, Chrabascz said, "To be
honest, I haven't thought about it much at all. I knew if we won we'd be
facing them but I'd like us all to simply enjoy this moment for awhile.
Because frankly, we don't know a whole hell of a lot about Vero Beach. I'm
sure Dennis (Lamp), Jim (Rice) and Dewey (Evans) will all be doing a ton of
scouting tonight for me, though."
It was sheer pandamonium at Travellers Park as Sele and the Whalers cruised
past the Skulls. Fans rushed the field, despite security's efforts, and the
park was drowning in sheer mayhem. Players were carried around on their
shoulders, champagne rained everywhere, fans pulls up grass and stole the bases
while the Brooklyn Skulls sank and disappeared quietly into the depths of the
visitor's dugout. League Commissioner Matthew Peck was on hand to present
Hartford with the first-ever ELCS trophy. Aaron Sele was named ELCS MVP and
was presented with a similar momento while Greg Maddux was chosen to speak for
his comrades, "How does it feel, people? There may be no more hockey team in
town but the New England curse of the Bambino sure doesn't seem to bother us!
It's been a long, hard battle to get here but let me tell 'ya...we're not done
yet! New England WILL have a World Champion in town if I have to play every
position myself." We're sure that won't be necessary.
Game 1 of the World Series will be hosted by Hartford. The projected Hartford
pitching rotation will be as follows: Greg Maddux, Kevin Brown, Ben McDonald,
John Burke, and Aaron Sele. Meanwhile, few batting order changes were made,
although Harold Reynolds has been inserted as DH to try to help increase run
production with his speed. Catcher Hector Villanueva has been benched for
hitting poorly of late and allowing a ton of SB's against Motor City and
Brooklyn. Joe Girardi will get the start.
Greg Maddux (21-7) is reportedly at full strenght/health once again and will
open the series. Greg was pulled in the 2nd inning in Game 1 against Motor
City due to injury and did not appear against the Flaming Skulls.
All games in Hartford were sold out within 45 minutes of the Box Office opening
late this afternoon, including 5,000 standing room only and obstructed view
seats.
Also, win or lose, an enormous celebration has been scheduled in Hartford
following the series, including a parade and a rally/concert festival in the
Civic Center.
