Good luck to Ted Poleto's Inland Angels (with Tom Maney and Jeff Madden on the roster) as they play today in Arizona at 9:30 a.m. (Pacific time) in the 60s Cactus Championship game against the Colorado Stars.
The defending champion Angels dominated pool play with a 5-1 record, allowing only 12 runs in 54 innings. But they found themselves down 10-2 in the eighth inning of yesterday's semifinal game to the Sacramento Giants. They rallied in the eighth and ninth to tie the game, and won in extra innings, 12-11. The Colorado Stars, who have Terry Barton on their roster, took down the previously undefeated Mid South Warriors by a score of 10-1 to earn their finals appearance. Many of us in the CDMSBL have played with Terry in the past in MSBL and Roy Hobbs tournaments. A great teammate.
The championship will be a rematch of a game played during pool play, in which the Angels won 4-2. Maney was a member of the Angels championship team during his MSBL Hall of Fame induction season last year, and it would be fitting for Teddy to get another ring during his MSBL Hall of Fame induction week this year. These two Albany warriors, and best friends, are truly Lords of the Rings. It would also be a fitting ending to a memorable week for Teddy, who will miss today's finale to give away his daughter at her wedding today. You can't make this stuff up.
Good luck Angels, and best of luck to Lex's Bombers, and Weber and his Albany boys, whose teams are both heading south to Florida for the 45s next week. Keep us updated to give us our baseball fix.
