Giants Win 15th Division Championship By Sweeping Astros
Regular Season Summary
The 2014 Giants completed an undefeated march through the Dunn division playoffs by sweeping the Astros for their 15th division championship. Manager Mike Boesch guided the Giants to an impressive 13-6-1 regular season record in the very competitive Dunn division and then the Giants won all four playoff contests to put an exclamation point on their 2014 championship season.
Great pitching was the backbone of the Giants success. During the regular season the Giants allowed only 52 runs in their 20 game regular season. Only 42 of the runs were earned giving the Giants a gaudy 1.97 team ERA.
In the playoffs the pitching was even better! Giant’s pitchers only allowed seven earned runs in four games for a team ERA of 1.75.
The Giants proved to be formidable hitters also with seven different players swatting home runs during the 2014 season.
The Giants brought in several newcomers this year to compliment a veteran team which included Mike Denevi, Rich Zuvella, Mike Boesch, Huck Hibberd, Don Chambers, Chris Denevi, Steve Chase, Noah Sweeters, Nick Caravelli Sr, Erick Raich, Cameron Radonich, Spencer Maltbie, Scott Ganz, Jared Aochi, Dave Evans, Mark Sarpa, and Paul Tomini.
Last year a few new faces were added to the team with Matt Zuvella, Chris Chambers, Nate Harbarger, Sheldon Perry, and Mike Oliverio joining the team.
This year's Giant rookie class included some very talented players — Jared Berrier, Nick Caravelli, Jr, Brent Osborn and Will St Clair. The rookies injected new energy and talent into an already strong Giants team.
The battle for the regular season title was hard fought between the Giants, Astros, and Brewers. The turning point of the season was a doubleheader sweep of the Astros on August 3rd at Willow Glen. A short-handed Giants team came away with a 5-4 and a 4-1 win. Dave Evans and Steve Chase combined for the game one win while Jared Berrier came through again with a 4-1 victory in game two. The Giants jumped into the top spot in the Dunn division for the rest of the season finishing one point ahead of the Brewers and two points ahead of the Astros to secure the #1 seed in the playoffs.
Playoff Summary
Semi-Final Series
Semi-Final Series - Game 1
The #1 seeded Giants traveled to Gavilan College to face the Indians who had eliminated the Tigers 4-0 in the play in game. Jared Berrier threw a complete game while striking out 20 Indians to open the playoffs. At one point, Berrier struck out 8 consecutive hitters. The Giants scored two runs in the bottom of the first on a Nick Caravelli Jr 2-RBI single. The Indians scored an unearned run in the 2nd to cut the lead in half. The scoring slowed until the 6th when the Giants added two more runs on a deep Chris Chambers sac fly and another RBI single by Nick Caravelli Jr. The Giants scored four more times in the 9th to put the game away capped by a two-run pinch-hit big-fly by Jerad Aochi.
Semi-Final Series - Game 2
In Game Two, Will St Clair scattered five hits over seven innings while giving up just three runs. Mike Denevi gave up one hit and struck out four in the final three innings. The Indians had a 3-2 lead going into 8th when the Giants tied the score on a bases loaded walk. The Giants scored the winning run in the 10th to eliminate the Indians and advance to the Championship Series.
Championship Series
Championship Series - Game 1
In the championship series opener, Jared Berrier took the mound once again and went six solid innings allowing only one run and striking out seven to get the win. Sheldon Perry and Erick Raich threw the final three frames to preserve the Giants 7-2 win. The Giants opened up the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd when Huck Hibberd drove in Nick Caravelli Jr with a sac fly to left. The Astros battled back and tied the score in the 3rd. The Giants took the lead for good when Jared Berrier drove in Don Chambers with a solid base hit to right center. After Mike Denevi drew a walk, Chris Chambers broke the game open with a three-run bomb over the right field fence. The Giants scored single runs in the 6th and 8th to finish off the scoring in the 7-2 series opener win.
Championship Series - Game 2
Will St. Clair took the mound for the Giants. The Saint delivered once again and shut out the Astros for 5 innings. Chris Chambers, Erick Raich, and Mike Denevi took it from there. The Giants also scored nine runs in the final game with RBI hits from Mike Denevi, Chris Chambers, Nick Caravelli Jr, Erick Raich, and Noah Sweeters. The Giants were never in danger of losing the final contest with contributions from the whole team. The win clinched the 2014 San José MSBL Dunn Division Championship — their 15th overall Championship and 4th in the last seven years.