At no point in the past 40 years has a Cape Cod Baseball League team won more than two championship titles in a row. But that changed on Saturday, when the Yarmouth Dennis Red Sox honored their ‘Road to the 3peat’ motto by winning their third straight championship in three years.
Keeping with the number three: they won the game three to nothing, scoring all their runs before the third inning. And, fittingly, they ended the game on a third strike.
In the regular season, the Red Sox overcame a rocky start to become the leading contender in the East division. In last week’s 3-game championship series, the Sox lost the first game to the Falmouth Commodores. But the Sox bounced back to take the second game.
In the final championship game Saturday, the Sox were up by three in the bottom of the 9th with only one out to go. The final pitch flew across home plate, and as the umpire called it a strike, the players and the crowd erupted and stormed the pitchers mound.
When the crowd died down the championship trophy was presented to General Manager Steve Faucher and Manager Scott Pickler. Faucher credited their winning streak and consistency to Pickler, who made this win his sixth championship in the last 12 seasons.
“He’s the guy he’s the man who recruits all these guys and brings these guys to the Cape every single year and that is the constant in this organization and this is why we are so successful today,” Faucher said.
But Pickler, like any good coach, said he could only do so much. It’s the players who give their all every day to get to this moment.
“I had good players and they played good games and they came to play every day,” he said. “And that’s the secret when you get guys who play hard every night.”
The players couldn’t have been more excited. Dogpiling on the pitchers mound, passing around the trophy, and celebrating with everyone from teammates to host families, this is the moment they’ve waited for all season.
Not only are they Champions, but they are continuing what teammates from previous seasons started for them. Yarmouth-Dennis 3rd baseman Will Toffey said that being a part of that tradition is something special.
“It’s awesome to think about all the players who have played here before us you know to keep that legacy going,” Toffey said. “It’s pretty awesome.”
And with the monumental ‘3peat’ complete, fans can look forward to the excitement next season will hold for not only the defending Champions, but every other team in the Cape Cod Baseball League looking to take the title.