COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – The Memphis Redbirds are the Pacific Coast League American Conference champions after a 13-10 win over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers) Sunday afternoon in Colorado Springs, Colo. The PCL Championship Series against the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) now begins at AutoZone Park Tuesday and Wednesday.
Field Box, Dugout, and Club Level tickets for each game cost $10, and all fans receive a hot dog/soda voucher while the first 5,000 get a new-logo Redbirds hat. There is also a specialty ticket option that includes an all-you-can-eat buffet, and select beers are $2 throughout the ballpark.
Memphis trailed the best-of-five series 2-1 and needed to win last night and today to keep its season alive. The Redbirds also trailed the 2000 PCL semifinal series 2-1 before winning that series and ultimately winning the PCL title. Manager Stubby Clapp played on that 2000 team, as did pitching coach Bryan Eversgerd.
The Redbirds hit three first-inning home runs Sunday afternoon to set the tone. Tyler O’Neill went deep for the third time in the series, followed by Adolis Garcia for the second time, and then Patrick Wisdom’s first blast of the set. Memphis led 8-3 until Colorado Springs scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-6, but a Wilfredo Tovartwo-run home run in the seventh was part of a three-run inning that essentially sealed the game.
Memphis scored two more in the eighth and led 13-6 into the bottom of the ninth, which proved important as the Sky Sox scored four times before the game arrived at its final score of 13-10.
Mike Mayers earned the win with 2.1 innings of shutdown relief, pitching in back-to-back games for the first time this season. Josh Lucas came on and got the final out of the game to record the save.
Aledmys Diaz, O’Neill, Wisdom, and Tovar all had three hits for the Redbirds, and Garcia and Jacob Wilson each added two hits for Memphis. Wisdom drove in four runs and scored two more, and O’Neill crossed the plate three times.
Diaz hit .348 during the series (8-23) with five doubles and two home runs. O’Neill ended at .320 (8-25) with three homers and 10 RBI.
Both PCL Championship Series games at AutoZone Park start at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.memphisredbirds.com/playoffs, over the phone at(901) 721-6000, and at the AutoZone Park Box Office.
