Brewers, Pirates to play for title

The 20th season of the Maui Adult Baseball League will feature a matchup between the West Maui Brewers and the La Perouse Pirates in the Championship Series. The Brewers are returning to the Championship Series for the second consecutive season after finishing the regular season in 1st place with a franchise best 12-2 record; they earned a first round bye and defeated the Upcountry Dirtbags 2 games to 1 in the second round of the playoffs. After starting the season 0-3, the Pirates got hot, finishing the regular season 9-5, good for a 3rd place finish. Winners of 7 straight (5 of which they allowed only 1 run), the Pirates bested the Makena Royals in the 1st round of the playoffs, before defeating the Central Rays to return to the Championship Series for the first time since the Spring 2017 season.

Following losses in the Championship Series of the Spring 2011 and Spring 2018 seasons, the Brewers are going for the first MABL title in their 18 season history. The league’s second best offense was lead by reigning league MVP Enmanuel Yajure Peña (league best .564/.653/.897 AVG/OBP/SLG, 18 R, 22 H, 2 HRs, 16 RBI), center fielder Mike Abercrombie (.467 AVG, 21 H, 15 R, 10 RBI), and rookie catcher Kirk Bender (.409 AVG, 14 R, 18 H). Rafael Fuentes (3-1, 1.69 ERA in 26.2 IP), Ty Roberts (5-0, 2.25 ERA in 32.0 IP), original MABL member Andy Michaels (2-1, 3.81 ERA in 26.0 IP), and Yajure Peña (1-0, 3 SV, 2.75 ERA, 25 Ks in 19.2 IP) lead the Brewers’ pitching staff to a league best 2.94 ERA, .234 opponent batting average, and 1.39 WHIP during the regular season.

After 4 consecutive Championship Series losses from the Summer 2012 to the Spring 2014 seasons, the Pirates followed their fifth Series loss (Spring 2016) with their lone MABL title, capping off the only undefeated season in league history by defeating the Royals in Spring 2017. Led by the September 2018 MABL Player of the Month and MVP finalist, Austin Beesley, the Pirates featured the league’s third best offense and pitching staff during the Summer 2018 regular season. Beesley finished among the league leaders in runs (13), hits (18), RBI (13), BB (11), and SB (12) while posting a .419/.554/.488 AVG/OBP/SLG line and going 4-1 with a .249 opponent batting average and 31 Ks over 38.2 IP. Jose Velasco (.405 AVG, 15 H, 14 RBI) and original MABL member Mike Marcotte (.346 AVG, 13 R, 13 RBI, 8 SB) helped power the Pirates offense, while Joseph McFarlin (2.77 ERA, 14 K in 13.0 IP), Dusty Newkirk (2-1, 3.31 ERA in 16.1 IP), and Jay Rigsby (1-3, 4.44 ERA, 24 K in 24.1 IP) carried the remaining bulk of the pitching load.

The Brewers and Pirates split the Summer 2018 regular season series, with the Brewers taking their September 25 matchup at Maehara Stadium by a score of 5-2, and the Pirates winning 6-1 in Lahaina on October 21. The MABL Championship Series will begin on December 2 at Maui High, with the best-of-three series concluding the following week. Come out and enjoy the action, as the Brewers and Pirates vie for the title of 20th Champion in Maui Adult Baseball League history.