SLCS: Charlotte vs Utah

 Game 1: 

The ceremony might have been a little over the top in this one. Kermit Holmes threw out the first pitch on the anniversary of the day his inside-the-park-homer walked off the Phoenix Autobots, sending Eddie's last Ute team on to the world series. 

The current Utes could not muster any offense. 

In the second inning, Bubba Donaldson homered off Fernando Hernandez Jr. for a 1-0 lead. In the 5th, Donaldson singled, stole second, and scored on a Simon Burgos single. Burgos added a solo homer in the 8th. Malcolm Sherman went 4 2/3 innings before being pulled for Paul Hayes. 5 Hawk relievers combined to hold Utah scoreless despite 8 hits. Adrian Banuelos pitched the 9th for a save.

Utah lost 3-0, leaving 9 runners on base. The Hawks? They only left 1 runner on base all day.

Game 2:

Miguel Tejawa homered in the first. The Utes briefly held a lead, scoring 2 in the bottom of the inning off Barret Cordova. Tied at 3-3 in the 6th, Luis Alfredo Garcia stole 2 bases and scored on a Tejawa sacrifice fly, the 4th run off Utah starter Juan Gutierrez. Both bullpens were perfect, with Banuelos picking up his second save.

Game 3:

Utah scored first off George Dixon on a Tufnel single. In the bottom of the inning, Troy Wyckoff hit a 2 run homer off Julio Caraballo, and that was the end of the offense for the day. Dixon went 6 innings for the win, and Banuelos struck out the side for his 3rd save of the series.

Game 4:

Angel Garcia led off the bottom first with a homer, and Utah starter Makowsky only pitched a single inning. Hawks added 4 runs later but didn't need any. Starter Arnie Henry went 5, Alex Munoz and Paul Hayes each threw a scoreless inning, and Antonio Rodriguez pitched out of the 8th and came back for the 9th. He got two outs, but loaded the bases with Utes. Banuelos came on for the last batter and got Mike Winters to ground to first, picking up his 4th save of the series and 8th of the playoffs.

The Hawks advance to the world series and will play Bay Area.