They qualified for the playoffs thanks to a superb climb up the standings, then staged a dramatic comeback in the final game of the regular season to finish the campaign at the top of the East. And, clearly, the Capitals did not intend to stop there.
Two days after undergoing a heartbreaking setback at the hands of the New Jersey Jackalsa defeat which forced them to play only one-on-one games for the rest of this type two of three series, Quebec reached the Frontier League final on Sunday for a second year in a row.
Patrick Scalabrini’s protégés did not offer an electrifying performance like that of Saturday, in which they scored 10 runs in a single inningincluding four thanks to a grand slam from former Yankee Greg Bird.
However, they gave their approximately 3,800 fans gathered at Canac Stadium another offensive performance as a gift, triumphing 15 to 6 to give themselves the chance to defend their title at the expense of the winner of the series which opposed the Otters later on Sunday. Evansville at Gateway Grizzlies.
Photo Didier Debusschere
An unequivocal victory, which the Capitals celebrated to the sound of their traditional fireworks, while, a few minutes earlier, in the last moments of the match, their very vocal fans had chanted “Olé, olé, olé” felt good.
“It’s huge from our sticks! their manager said. […] It would have been easy, after a very emotional defeat [celle de vendredi], to come back here without energy. But the guys remained focused, down to earth.”
“We had such a difficult time in the first game, losing in the 10th inning,” added shortstop Jesmuel Valentin. But we knew we would be back. […] When we got up the next day, we knew something good was going to happen.”
Photo Didier Debusschere
Proud of his warriors
The Capitals have a tradition of winners and one might believe that a sectional championship, while the ultimate title is not acquired, is in some way only a necessary step for the team.
But on the field, while many fans were still shouting in the stands, Scalabrini never stopped smiling. At one point, this opportunity to play in the playoffs once again seemed very far away, even inaccessible.
In June, the coach told a few people that he did not see his club getting there. And on Sunday, he was able to taste the traditional shower of Gatorade, which came to “clean up” the one of beer that his players had served him a little earlier.
Photo Didier Debusschere
“The way we started the season, everything was crooked, after winning the championship… we were able to get back on track thanks to a couple of warriors that we have on this team,” said Scalabrini. I’m really proud of some of these warriors who gave a lot more than I would have expected in the last few weeks.
The beautiful “vibe” remained
The day before, Scalabrini said rightly that his players were intelligent enough to keep the “vibe” of their 14-2 victory, while quickly getting back on their feet.
The manager was not mistaken. That’s exactly what the Capitals did.
In a collective effort – all players except TJ White produced a point in this match – they responded to each of the offensive pushes of their rivals, who had nevertheless been a formidable attacking machine during the season.
A feat of arms that they achieved in fine fashion in the second and fifth innings, during which they each time went around the plate on five occasions, notably thanks to two RBIs from Bird, then a home run from two points from Valentine.
Jesmuel Valentine. Photo Didier Debusschere
Quebec also took advantage of the largesse of the opposing gunners in a second straight game, while their starter, Ruben Ramirez, contained the threat by giving up nine hits, but only two earned runs, in five innings.
“No choice to believe it”
The Capitals will therefore continue their journey in the playoffs on Tuesday and Wednesday, at Stade Canac, before heading west. A Canac stadium in which they have not lost in the playoffs since last year.
Photo Didier Debusschere
And they intend to take advantage of this unconditional love from their fans in order to continue their momentum.
“The atmosphere here is electric. [Samedi]it was sick, the guys were still talking about it [dimanche] to what extent it is something that is not experienced anywhere else,” emphasized Scalabrini.
“We have this confidence, series or not. Throughout the year, we came back late in matches, we believed in it from start to finish. People are so upset that it seems like we have no choice but to believe it until the end.”
2023-09-11 01:01:49
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