Tucson Sidewinders AAA Baseball World Champions

[Gary]

From SI.com

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Micah Owings was getting too far ahead of himself. Pitching at Double-A, he was getting ready to move to the next level.

A mid-May loss set him straight, and he never lost again.

 

Owings won his 13th straight decision and the Tucson Sidewinders broke open a close contest in the ninth inning, beating the Toledo Mud Hens 5-2 on Tuesday night in the Triple-A baseball championship game.

It was Owings' 22nd consecutive start without a loss. His last defeat came May 17, when he gave up six runs and 11 hits in Double-A Tennessee's 11-4 loss to Carolina.

"I learned a lot from that game. I think that game I was looking too far forward, wanting to come to Tucson to be a part of this club," Owings said. "I just kind of had to rechannel my focus."

Owings started pacing himself, concentrating on each start individually and found a groove. He won his final two decisions at Double-A Tennessee, and then went 10-0 after joining Tucson in June.

"Since he joined us, once he got that ball he did his job," Tucson outfielder Scott Hairston said. "I can't recall any moment where he backed off. He always beared down."

A third-round draft pick by the Diamondbacks in 2005, Owings pitched in relief last year after a full season at Tulane. He became a starter this season.

"Just remember this is his first full season in professional baseball. That's pretty impressive to do what he's done," Tucson manager Chip Hale said. "There was a reason he's our No. 1 pitcher."

Juan Brito led off the fifth inning with a home run, a line drive into the left-field bleachers that snapped a 1-1 tie and put the Sidewinders in front for good.

Brian Barden and Robby Hammock started the ninth with back-to-back singles, and Brito reached when third baseman Mike Hessman threw wildly to first after fielding his sacrifice bunt. Matt Erickson snapped an 0-for-20 slump with a two-run single, and Donnie Sadler added an RBI single to give Tucson a 5-1 lead.

"There's a lot of guys that came through at the end with clutch hits," Hairston said.

Toledo's David Espinosa drove in Max St. Pierre with a two-out double in the ninth, but Mike Koplove got Dustan Mohr to line out to first to end the game.

The Sidewinders -- the champions of the Pacific Coast League -- gathered between first base and the pitcher's mound to celebrate their title with hugs and high-fives. Tucson had the most wins in minor league baseball.

"We were all pulling for each other," Hairston said. "The team chemistry, I've never been a part of anything like this before. That's what it's all about."

Tucson, the Arizona Diamondbacks' top minor league affiliate, staked Owings to a lead when Sadler led off the first inning with a triple to the gap in right-center. He scored on Hairston's sacrifice fly.

Toledo, the International League affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, tied it in the fourth when Ryan Raburn doubled down the left-field line and St. Pierre followed with an RBI single.

Mike Schultz followed Owings with two hitless innings of relief. Koplove worked two frames for the save.

Toledo starter Eulogio de la Cruz took the loss after giving up two runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out three and walked three.

"This game doesn't feel like it takes anything away from our season. I think we did what we had to do [winning the International League title]," Toledo manager Larry Parrish said. "That's sort of the way we approached it, that this is more of, 'We're going to have fun."'

It's the first time there has been a Triple-A champion since Indianapolis beat Memphis in 2000 in the last of three best-of-five World Series between the Pacific Coast League and International League.

The championship game was reborn this season and will be played the next two seasons in Oklahoma City, the home of Texas' Triple-A affiliate.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Look out the Diamondbacks affiliate Tucson and the Diamondbacks themselves look pretty good for the next few years

[amare32]

Tucson, represent!

The title is all the more impressive when you consider the number of top prospects -- Carlos Quention, Miguel Montero, Chris Young, etc. -- already promoted to the bigs.

[Gary]

Tucson, represent!

The title is all the more impressive when you consider the number of top prospects -- Carlos Quention, Miguel Montero, Chris Young, etc. -- already promoted to the bigs.

What are the Diamondbacks future to playoffs Alec

[Shumway]

I watched most of that game on ESPN2...if I remember correctly, they didn't show any of the celebration(maybe I just wasn't paying attention, though). I honestly think it switched almost immediately to Baseball Tonight or poker or something.

[oz615]

That should've been us,oh well at least we had the oppotunity do defend our title in the post-season.But congratulation to Tucson on the victory.

[FiddySicks]

Honestly, I wouldnt be too excited on this one. sacramento won two, almost three, straight AAA titles and the A's havent done a whole lot since. Hopefully that changes this year though.