Sluggers Advance

This was not the first time the Utes and Sluggers have matched up in the playoffs. The mighty Ute dynasty of the late 1990's often had to go through Louisville to get to the world series. This series, though, may have been the closest between the two greatest hitting franchises in Superior League history.

Steve Jacobson took the mound for Louisville. In the game 3 loss, Jacobson came out of the bullpen in mopup work after Rusty Miller was knocked out, and pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and striking out 7. In game 7 he got the nod to start over Miller. For Utah it was Armando Morales, who threw 6 innings of 1 hit ball in his game 4 win.

Hal Glover started things with a first inning homer. Louisville scored 4 more times in the second, knocking Morales out of the game. In the 3rd, Josh Block and Juan Biras hit back to back homers to put the Sluggers up 7 to 0. They added another run later that inning.

In the bottom 3rd Utah finally got on the board, scoring 2 runs. Frank Lewis homered in the 5th to make it 8-3. The Sluggers scored a pair of Blocks in the 6th on a Juan Biras double. Despite repeated calls for "The Greatest Inning in Ute History" Utah kept coming up short.

Jacobson lasted 7 innings, allowing 3 runs before turning it over to the bullpen. In the 8th, Rob Block homered for the 6th time in this series. He had the worst season of his career in 2006, but is playing like an MVP in the playoffs.

In the bottom 9th Utah put two runners on with one out before Lou Zamuda doubled. Both runners scored, but Zamuda was caught between 2nd and 3rd and tagged out, a horrible mistake when you need 6 runs and have only 2 outs left. After Ryan Ballard walked, Louisville manager Jake Taylor would take no more chances. He summoned closer Chad Anderson from the pen to face Carlos Merejo. Carlos flew out to center, and the Sluggers celebrated in the Popcorn Dome.

Rob Block hit .400 for the series, with 6 homeruns and 12 RBI.