(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
  Arribas wins Single-A title with Black Bears
Nederlands
 STATEN ISLAND, New York City, New York (USA) -
Former Netherlands National Team-player Danny Arribas and his team West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh Pirates) have captured the championship-title in the New York-Penn League (Single-A Short Season) by winning 3-1 on Tuesday (September 15) vs. Staten Island Yankees (New York Yankees).
With this victory, the Black Bears swept the Yankees in the best-of-three Championship Final.
The Black Bears won the title in its inaugural season.
In its first season, the team captured the Wild Card to reach the Play-Offs, then went on to win the championship.
In the opener on Monday, the Black Bears won 4-3 and Arribas batted in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the eleventh inning.
In the second game on Tuesday, Arribas was 0-for-4.
At Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island (one of the five boroughs of New York City), the home team took an 1-0 lead in the fifth inning when Jhalan Jackson led of with a homerun.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Black Bears came alongside when Mitchell Tolman also led off with a homerun.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Black Bears decided the game.
With one out, Ke'Bryan Hayes singled, then Casey Hughston homered to give his team a 3-1 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, reliever Julio Eusebio began with two strikeouts.
A following grounder then ended the game to secure the win and the championship.
Danny Arribas participated with the Netherlands National Baseball Team in the 2012 European Championship, which was then held in the Netherlands.
At Hickory (North Carolina), the Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers), with Juremi Profar playing at third base, took a 2-0 lead in its best-of-five Championship Final of the South Atlantic League (Single-A).
The Crawdads won 3-1 vs. Asheville Tourists (Colorado Rockies) on Tuesday and Profar went 0-for-4, but scored one of the three runs for his team.
In the second inning, Hickory scored twice.
Edwin Garcia led off with a double, then Eduard Pinto singled with one out.
With runners on first and third base, Profar struckout, but hereafter Carlos Arroyo singled in a run.
A walk for José Cardona then loaded the bases and the next run was scored when Dylan Moore singled.
In the fourth inning, Hickory added another run.
Profar lead off and reached on an error.
He then moved on a sacrice bunt by Arroyo and reached third when Cardona singled.
Profar scored on a following grounder by Moore to make it 3-0.
Asheville then scored its lone run in the fifth inning.
The series now moves to Asheville for the next game and eventual fourth and fifth match-up.
At San Jose (California), the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants) evened their best-of-five North Division Championship Series in the California League (Single-A Advanced).
On Tuesday, the Giants won 5-4, thanks to a 2-out, walk-off homerun by Angel Villalona in the bottom of the 13th inning.
Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks, which led the series 2-1, initially had scored three runs in the first at bat.
The Giants then scored twice in the second and third inning to take a 4-3 lead.
But in the top of the ninth inning, Visalia came alongside, sending the game into extra innings.
Curaçao-born John Polonius entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning as pinch-runner for Brian Ragira, who had just walked.
Polonius moved to second base on a sarifice bunt, but then was left behind.
Polonius remained in the game as the new designated hitter.
In the bottom of the eleventh inning, Angel Villalona walked with one out, then Polonius moved him into scoring position with a single.
However, a following line drive ended in a double play, ending the at bat.
Two innings later, Villalona homered to give the Giants the victory.
(September 16)
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