Batavia Muckdogs 100-62 vs.
San Diego Tigersharks 110-52

Game Location Results Win Loss Save
1 at San Diego Muckdogs 6, Tigersharks 4 Z.Wheeler(1-0) J.Ryan(0-1) M.Vasil(1)
HR – M.Trout 2 (2), J.Polanco(1), G.Moreno(1)
2 at San Diego Tigersharks 4, Muckdogs 3 (18) J.Latz(1-0) R.Yarbrough(0-1) None
HR – J.Ramirez(1)
3 at Batavia
HR –
4 at Batavia
HR –
5 at Batavia
HR –
6 at San Diego
HR –
7 at San Diego
HR –

(click game # for boxscore)

series 1-1

Game 1 – It was a heavyweight National League showdown at Great American Ballpark, where the defending NL pennant-winning Batavia Muckdogs showed the San Diego Tigersharks why October baseball is earned one pitch at a time, hanging on for a 6–4 victory despite San Diego’s imposing 110-win regular season. Jorge Polanco got Batavia off to a flying start with a 386-foot solo homer in the first, and Mike Trout followed with a solo shot of his own in the second to make it 2–0. But the Tigersharks came roaring back in the bottom half, sending nine men to the plate and scoring four times, with Wyatt Langford’s run-scoring double, Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly, Javier Báez’s groundout, and Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single turning the ballgame upside down. For a moment, San Diego looked ready to take command, but the Muckdogs had a response worthy of a pennant winner, and they delivered it in the fourth inning with a four-run eruption of their own. Trout was the man in the middle of the storm, launching a three-run blast 346 feet down the left-field line to put Batavia back in front, 5–4, before Gabriel Moreno added a solo homer to stretch the lead to two. Zack Wheeler battled through seven innings to earn the win, and while San Diego managed six hits and threatened late, Batavia’s bullpen found a way to keep the door shut. Mike Vasil was especially cool under pressure, retiring the final batters to complete 4⅔ innings of shutout relief and earn the save. Ohtani had two hits, two RBIs, and a pair of walks for San Diego, but even his efforts could not overcome the four-homer power display from Batavia. The Tigersharks were held scoreless over the final seven innings, a frustrating finish for a club that had won 110 games and entered with the second-best record in the SWBA. So the Muckdogs take the opener, 6–4, reminding everyone that a pennant may be won over six months, but in the postseason, the next big swing can change everything.

Game 2 – ​What a night for postseason baseball, folks, as the San Diego Tigersharks and the Batavia Muckdogs battled through 17.2 innings before Shohei Ohtani delivered the decisive blow in a 4–3 San Diego victory! Batavia came out swinging in the first, when José Ramírez launched a two-run homer and Gabriel Moreno added a ground-ball RBI to give the Muckdogs a 3–0 lead. But the Tigersharks began clawing their way back, with Wyatt Langford bringing home San Diego’s first run before Ohtani tripled home Javier Báez in the fifth and Alex Bregman grounded in the tying run. From there, the scoreboard stood still for inning after inning, as both clubs squandered opportunities and the bullpens turned this contest into a test of endurance, nerve, and sheer determination. Batavia threatened to break the deadlock in the ninth, loading the bases with nobody out, but Kyle Schwarber struck out, Byron Buxton followed with another strikeout, and Jorge Polanco’s deep fly ended the rally without a run crossing the plate. San Diego had its own golden chance in the ninth, putting runners aboard, only to see Corey Seager’s fly ball turn into the final out when Báez was thrown out at home. The drama continued into the eleventh, when the Tigersharks loaded the bases with one out, but Mike Vasil and the Batavia defense somehow escaped without surrendering the lead. Every inning brought another chance, another near miss, and another reminder that in October, the last out is often the hardest one to find. Then came the bottom of the eighteenth, when catcher Heineman doubled to left-center, moved to third on a groundout, and stood just 90 feet away with two outs and the game hanging in the balance. Ohtani stepped to the plate and lined a single between first and second, sending Heineman home and sending the Tigersharks pouring onto the field in celebration. Ohtani finished an extraordinary 5-for-8 with a double, a triple, two RBIs, and two runs scored, earning Game MVP honors, while Jacob Latz picked up the victory with a scoreless eighteenth. The 18-inning marathon now stands as the second-longest game in SWBA playoff history, surpassed only by San Diego’s own astonishing 19-inning victory over the Dobson Ranch Bashers in 2019—and if this game proved anything, it’s that these Tigersharks know a thing or two about surviving until the very last pitch!

Game 3 –

Game 4 –

Game 5 –

Game 6 –

Game 7 –