Battle of Baltimore Game 1:  BrewCrew Open Season with Win Over Flying Dogs

The Frederick Flying Dogs and the Baltimore BrewCrew each opened their season in the Battle of Baltimore Preseason Tournament. The BrewCrew won the tournament in 2015 with Steve Cooke winning Cy Young and Brandon Eady winning MVP. The BrewCrew would be without Eady for this tournament but that did not stop them in this tournament opener.

EJ Nadolny started for the BrewCrew and went a complete game. He finished with six strikeouts which was the biggest difference between him and the starter for the Flying Dogs. The opposing starter only went four innings allowing 11 walks and an equal amount of runs.

The BrewCrew jumped ahead with a bases loaded walk by Kenny West followed by a two run double by Johnny Bandzwolek before an out was recorded. Zach Nadolny knocked in two more with a double in the fourth and Troy Mahoney had a two RBI single.

The game finished on a error off the bat of Zach Nadolny to reach the ten run slaughter. Bandzwolek finished 3/4 just a homerun short of the cycle with two runs and two RBIs.

BrewCrew Slaughter Angels to Seal Spot in Semis

The BrewCrew finished their first day of baseball with a slaughter of the Chesapeake Angels allowing them to advance to the semi-final in the Battle of Baltimore for the second straight year. Travis Alwine got the start for the BrewCrew.

The Angels were able to push to an early 2-0 lead after Alwine walked four in the first. The BrewCrew bounced back in the bottom of the first with four runs off of two 2-run singles. One by Johnny Bandzwolek and one by Dan Fama. Alwine went back to the mound in the second but was not able to record an out and left them loaded. Justin Fox came in to pitch the final four innings completely stifling the Angel bats only allowing no hit and two walks with eight strikeouts.

As Fox cruised through the Angel lineups, the BrewCrew bats continued to mash Angel pitching. Kenny West had an RBI double in the second and followed it up with an RBI single in the third. Also in the third was a three run triple by Matt Childress and a two run single by Bandzwolek.

To really finish off the game, Alwine had an RBI walk to reach the slaughter rule and Alex Lenovitz extended it with a two run single. The BrewCrew finished their first day with two slaughter rule games and look forward to making a run at their second consecutive Battle of Baltimore Championship.

Red Sox Stun BrewCrew

Since the beginning of the 2015 Battle of Baltimore, the Baltimore BrewCrew have been undefeated in the tournament. The streak of six in a row ended in the third game of pool play to the Chesapeake Red Sox. The Red Sox needed the win to have an opportunity to advance and the BrewCrew had essentially clinched the number one seed in the North Harford Division.

Jack Issennock took his first career start for the BrewCrew. Issennock was able to advance to the third inning in his first outing since he was seven years old. It went well for the first two innings but control issues got the better of him in the third. Dan Fama entered the game in the third but he had issues finishing the third as well. After completing the third Fama pitched the 4-5-6-7 with little trouble. But the damage was insurmountable.

Kenny West and Fama added two singles each for the BrewCrew. Since the 'Crew allowed less than eleven runs they clinch the one seed in the North Harford Division and will take on their rival Chesapeake Dodgers in the semis.

Cooke Leads the BrewCrew to Battle of Baltimore in Classic

Once again these big rivals square off in a big game. The Chesapeake Dodgers are fresh off their Championship run in Sarasota Florida where they smoked the competition and won the championship in the Spring Training Invitational.

In 2015, the BrewCrew squared off with the Chesapeake Dodgers in the Championship of the Battle of Baltimore behind an MVP performance from Brandon Eady and pitching performances from EJ Nadolny and Kenny West. This season, the Baltimore BrewCrew were lead by MVP Johnny Bandzwolek and dominant pitching from Steve Cooke.

The pitching matchup was as good as we will see this season, with Steve Cooke of the BrewCrew and Ryan Mattes of the Chesapeake Dodgers. Each one of these pitchers would go complete games in eleven inning efforts. Cooke is entering his first full season as a member of the BrewCrew. He has pitched for the BrewCrew for the last two seasons in tournaments and fall season. He has composed a 6-2 record with sub one ERA and almost two strikeouts per inning.

Cooke would finish with 17 strikeouts and 3 earned runs while Mattes finished with 19 strikeouts and 3 earned runs as well.

Each pitcher cruised into the fourth inning, where the only hit by both sides was a first inning single by Johnny Bandzwolek. The bottom of the fourth inning got started with a Kenny West double down the left field line and then scored on a wild pitch in the dirt to put the BrewCrew ahead 1-0.

The Dodgers bounced back the top of the fifth when they knotted the game at one when a hard hit ball to short with two outs resulted in a error and a run. The BrewCrew went quietly in the bottom of the fifth. The Dodgers got back to it in the sixth. A hit through the hole with second and third scored the go ahead run but left fielder Alex Issennock gunned down the next runner at the plate with a great throw to keep the Dodgers lead at one.

When the BrewCrew were left down to their final five outs there was much hope for the Brews. But Johnny Bandzwolek has always had a flare for the dramatic. In the 2014 Reno Powell, Bandzwolek hit a walk-off homerun to push the BrewCrew to the semi-finals. In the 2014 Playoffs, Bandzwolek hit a two run homer with two outs in the 7th when down by two. In the 2015 Playoffs, Bandzwolek had 7 RBIs, homerun and triple in the same game. And he came through again. With a rocket that cleared the wall in centerfield of his bat the BrewCrew found themselves poised for extra innings.

The Dodgers loaded the bases in the top of the seventh but could not scratch across a run because of a diving catch by Bandzwolek in center with two outs. The BrewCrew mounted a rally in the bottom of the eighth loading the bases with one out. Dan Fama stepped to the plate and hit a ground ball to first base which resulted in a close play at the plate. It appeared that Bandzwolek slid in prior to the catcher made the catch but the umpire made the out call and the game continued.

The next eventful inning was in the top of the 10th. The Dodgers struck for two runs to take the lead on a seeing-eye single to left field. But once again the BrewCrew would not stop. Zach Nadolny lead off the bottom of the tenth with a single and then in stepped Bandzwolek once again. And Bandzwolek stung a double to left field to put the tying run into scoring position. Troy Mahoney was next up after pinch running for Kenny West in the sixth. Mahoney laced a Mattes pitch to right to score both runners but the rally stopped there.

In the tenth, Cooke settled in to put the BrewCrew in position for the win. Matt Childress lead off the 10th with a single and advanced on stolen bases and pass balls. Then Bandzwolek stepped up. Although he did not have another hit in the bat, his hustle on a dropped third strike forced a wild throw in to right field allowing Childress to score the game winning run.

The win for the BrewCrew puts them into their second straight Battle of Baltimore Championship.

BrewCrew Win Championship, Bandzwolek and Cooke Honored

The Baltimore BrewCrew seemed destined to win the championship after the eleven inning marathon but the Frederick Flying Dogs stood in the way. These two teams had met in two previous matchups, once in the Reno Powell semi-finals and earlier in pool play with the BrewCrew winning both previous match-ups.

This one would not be different as the BrewCrew controlled throughout. Zach Nadolny started and finished the game, with nine strikeouts and four hits. Only one player reached second base and that was in the first inning.

The BrewCrew's early strikes in the first set the tone and Nadolny took it from there. Alex Lenovitz hit a ball off the wall for a one out double in the first. Nadolny singled to score the first run and Kenny West tripled to take the 2-0 lead. A fielding error put the BrewCrew ahead 3-0 and then Nadolny carried the Brews from there to their second consecutive Battle of Baltimore Championship.

Johnny Bandzwolek was honored for his 8-17 tournament including 2 doubles, a triple and a homerun. He also played superb centerfield and had several clutch hits. Steve Cooke took home the Cy Young Award for his marvelous pitching performance that will not be forgotten in Semi-Pro baseball lore. He threw all eleven innings in the semi-final and in a tournament full of astonishing individual performances, this was the best.

Congratulations to the BrewCrew and their second Battle of Baltimore Championship!