Post-game celebratory dogpile

The Humboldt Crabs are champions after winning five straight games in four days in the inaugural Humboldt Invitational Tournament, their final victory a resounding one against the Auburn Wildcats by the score of 11-1.

Sunday night’s crowd, which established a new season-total record for Crabs summer baseball, was treated to some sterling Crabs defense early and thunderous offense late, with elite pitching throughout.

Humboldt’s ace Drew Weston was given the rock on Sunday night to seal the biggest win of the season for the Crabs and did so with remarkable poise. Pounding the strike-zone low all game long, Weston garnered the vast majority of his outs via the groundball, specifically to shortstop Ryan Dobson, who accounted for eleven putouts in the game on his own.

Dobson titillated the crowd with his masterful defense on a few occasions, displaying astounding range on plays to his left and right, and showing off his arm strength on a double play in the top of the fourth inning.

The story of the evening was undoubtedly the performance of Weston, however. Growing stronger as the game progressed, arguably his finest inning of work came in his final frame on the mound, as he set down the Auburn hitters in order to close the book on his night and season. All told, the right-handed slinger pitched 7 innings, allowed just 5 hits while walking none and yielding just a lone run to cross the plate.

Testifying to Weston’s efficiency after the game, Crabs pitching coach Eric Giacone said, “He threw a good game. He’s always going to throw strikes and compete. He works quickly so our defense can play behind him. He did that again tonight, he had a good outing.”

Crabs bats were dormant in the early portion of the bout, as it took until the fourth inning for them to throw a number up on the score board.

A single up the middle by Crabs catcher Dillon Kelley set the tone for the inning, as third baseman Brad Pluschkell followed with a tailing screamer to right field, sending Kelley scampering into third base. Two batters later, the slick-fielding Dobson showed he’s no chump with the stick either, bounding a ball deep in the six-hole, scoring Kelley as Pluschkell slid into second base safely before the Wildcat shortstop’s throw reached the bag.

After that, things came a little easier for the Crabs offense, as they would go on to score ten runs in the next three innings.

The bottom of the fifth inning spelled disaster for Wildcats starting pitcher Kevin Bevilacqua, as the first four batters of the inning wound up tapping the dish to bring the score to 5-0 in favor of the hometown team.

Second baseman Jesse Medrano sent a booming double into the left field gap to initiate the offensive festivities, attaining sweet revenge after being plunked in his first two at-bats by Bevilacqua. Two singles, a double and a sacrifice fly later, the Crabs found themselves up by five, a margin that would prove to be insurmountable for the Mudcats, who additionally found little continuity from their defense in the game, committing five fielding errors.

Relievers Scott Parker and Austin Root would finish off the Wildcats in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, securing Weston the win and the Humboldt Crabs a championship.

Following the game, Weston was expectedly awarded Pitcher of the Year for the 2015 Crabs.

“The guy was his typical self in terms of what he expects and what I expect from him, he gave us a big performance in the biggest game so far.” Said Crabs head coach Tyson Fisher when asked about Weston’s championship game efforts.  

Crabs all-world first baseman Allen Smoot, who finished the game 2-5 with two singles, capped off one of the finest offensive season in Crabs history, taking home the much-deserved MVP award.

“To see what he (Smoot) did this summer, it is hard to put hit streaks together of 20 games, let alone 31. The type of numbers he put up just shows the clutch type of guy he is and how he approaches the game.” Fisher said in regard to Smoot’s unprecedented hot streak in the final month-plus of the Crabs schedule.

Outfielders Beau Bozett and Blake Edmonson were given the Coaches Award for both exemplary conduct and passion for the game of baseball throughout the season. The award is named in honor of former Crabs pitchers Kevin Morsching and Scott Heinig, who have since tragically passed away, though their spirits remain as vivacious as ever within the entire organization.

The 2015 Humboldt Crabs finished a stout 41-9, staving off a ten-loss record in grand fashion, a lofty mark that Fisher believed possible prior to the beginning of the season with such a clearly talented team, and one that is rarely accomplished.  

This particular Crabs roster was a special collection to Fisher and his staff, as he stated after the game, “This group is the best I’ve ever been around, as an entire group and what they’ve accomplished. This summer’s been tremendous.”

With that, a curtain is drawn on the 2015 Humboldt Crabs season, yet another in the longest continuously operated summer collegiate baseball program in America.

The Crab Grass Band members have put their instruments away, the cute 50-50 ticket girls have stopped their incessant screaming for your money, and the fans have finally stopped booing the last call for alcohol, at least for this campaign.

But, as it has been for over 71 years with Humboldt Crabs baseball, there’s always next year.