After being shutout 5-0 by the Brew Crew in the regular season, the Vikings returned the favor by shutting out the Brew Crew 14-0 in the championship game at Pleasureville, with a 9-run 3rd inning being the catalyst.

Mike Freed opened the game with a double to center and scored on a 1-out Valentin Ramos single to give the Vikings the early lead.  The score stayed that way until the top of the 3rd when the first 11 Vikings reached base, blowing the game open.  Freed smacked his 2nd double to center with the bases loaded to open the scoring in the 3rd, knocking in 2 runs.  After Mark Vottero re-loaded the bases, Ramos would get his 2nd RBI single to make it 4-0.  The next 4 batters all extended the lead--Josh Reeser had a 2-run double, followed by Tim Steinhauer's RBI single, Adrian Ferrer's RBI double, and Gary Blaylock's RBI single.  The last hit knocked Barak Gohn out of the game with the score at 9-0.  Seth Hamill relieved to stop the onslaught, getting out of the inning only allowing a Josh Hill sac fly.  In the bottom of the inning, the Brew Crew loaded the bases with 2 outs, but Jose Vega got a strikeout to keep the shutout intact.  Neither team scored in the 4th as Vega completed four 2-hit innings, allowing 4 walks and striking out 3.  The Vikings would add runs in each of the final 3 innings to extend the lead.  Valentin Ramos followed Vega for the Vikings and pitched 3 shutout innings for the save, only allowing 2 hits, to complete the 4-hit shutout.  The Vikings finished with 23 hits and 7 doubles and became the only team to exceed 200 runs for the 2025 season.

Congratulations to the 2025 RL 35+ champions ... THE VIKINGS!

After 2 scoreless innings, the Royals broke through first, plating 4 in the top of the 3rd.  Tyler Heckard had the big hit in the inning, knocking in 2 with his single.  The Indians finally got to Andy Mumma after 3 scoreless innings, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th to cut the lead to 1 run at 4-3 after 4 innings.  After a scoreless 5th inning, the Royals added another run in the top of the 6th to extend their lead to 5-3.  But then the Indians bats came alive!  Starting with the bottom of the order, Jared Grim and Nate Emlet scored on RBI singles by Bryan Chase and Chaz Ruth, respectively, to tie the game and roll the lineup over to the top.  The Indians would take the lead when Ryan Scott reached on an error.  Eric McNeil immediately knocked in 2 more and Ryan Chataginer finished the 6-run inning with an RBI single, scoring McNeil.  The Royals were unable to get any closer in the 7th to make the final score 9-5.  Emlet pitched the final 4 innings and only allowed 2 hits and an unearned run, while striking out 5, for the win.  McNeil was the offensive star of the game, going 2-for-2 with a single, double, 2 runs, and 3 RBIs, also reaching when being hit by a pitch.  The Indians' Chase and the Royals' Tony Kelly both were also perfect at the plate, going 2-for-2 with 2 runs.

Congratulations to the 2024 INDIANS for defending their championship and winning in back-to-back years!

Box score

In the bottom of the 1st inning, Eric McNeil hit a 1-out double and scored when the next batter, Rick Thompson, hit a single to right field.  It turns out that would be the only run of the game as the pitchers took over the rest of the game.  For the Braves, Chris Archambault and Chris Kiehl only allowed 5 more hits and a walk over the final 5 2/3 innings while striking out 9.  But it wasn't enough for the Indians' combo of Ryan Chataginer and Eric McNeil.  Chataginer pitched 4 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 4 for the win.  McNeil closed the game with 3 1-hit innings, also striking out 4, to nail down the save.  The Indians' Bryan Chase was the only player with more than 1 hit, collecting a single and a double.

Congratulations to the 2023 RL35 Champion INDIANS!

Box score