Game Date: May 31st, 2058
Williston Pioneers
Team: Williston Pioneers [ID #112] 
Location: Williston, ND (Plains)
League: III.2 - West
Owner:
crash_davis
[since June 04th 2021 | last seen January 27th 2023]
Manager: Gordon DiMaggio
Ballpark: Williston Field
Rank: #45 - Rating: 178.00
Fan Mood: 115.64
Prestige: 44
Color: Brown & Yellow
Team Notes:
• Mar 16 2058: Orlando Regalado was claimed off of waivers.• Jan 22 2058: Ryan Buckley was released.
• Jan 22 2058: Chad Rushing was signed as a free agent.
• Jan 13 2058: Leonardo Duenas was released.
• Jan 13 2058: Olawale Olayemi was selected to the national team of Nigeria.
• Jan 13 2058: Thomas O'Rourke was selected to the national team of Ireland.
• Oct 30 2057: Horacío Barrera was released.
• Sep 24 2057: Jake Brambilla was inducted into the team Hall of Fame.
• Apr 18 2057: Xavier Ledesma was claimed off of waivers.
• Mar 10 2057: Gonzalo Mesa was signed as a free agent.
League Record:
Wins: 21 Losses: 22 Pct: .488 Last10: 7-3 Streak: L3Ave: 4.2 - 4.0 RS: 180 RA: 173 DIFF: +7 Power Index: 101.1
Cup:
Group 45 [2 | Still Alive]Press Releases:
Oct 30 2057: Pioneers Slam way to second consecutive World Series Title - by crash_davis on December 21st, 2022The Williston Pioneers broke out the big sticks in their 4-1 World Series win over the Hampton Isotopes connecting on seven home runs including three grand slams.
In the recent past, it was the pitching that highlighted the Pioneers' championship teams and again, the pitching staff played a big role in getting the team another division title. But this time the offense picked up the slack in a big way, and it all started in Game 1. The staff ace Johnnie "Bagels" Beasley got roughed up early against the Isotopes surrendering 2-run first and second innings creating a 4-0 hole. Enter breakout star candidate Albert DeJesus who responded with the first grand slam of the series to tie it back up. DeJesus would go on to hit a triple and two doubles going 4/5 with 7 RBIs in the game. Hampton took the lead back, but then the Pioneers really came alive after DeJesus tied the game again with a double and Rudy Romero connected on the second grand slam of the game for a 14-7 win.
The Pioneers got a bit more help from the pitching staff in Game 2 as Juan Manuel Saenez gave six solid innings of three-run baseball. The offense this time came from Jesus Villasenor with a 3/4 day and two runs scored and "Big" Dirk Cody who also went 3/4 with two RBIs and a home run pushing the lead to 5-1 before the Isotopes closed the gap to 5-3.
The Isotopes stopped the skid by getting after Lefty Lombardi in Game 3, chasing him after 2 1/3 ineffective innings jumping ahead 6-0. Behind the 3-run HR by Ernesto Ibarra, the Pioneers narrowed the gap to 6-4 and stayed within striking distance until Hilário Viciedo hit a 3-run HR in the 8th to cement the 9-5 win.
Game 4 was an anomaly for the series, the rare pitcher's duel. Villasenor led the bottom of the first with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and worked his way home on consecutive ground outs for a 1-0 lead. After that, both starting pitchers got down to business. But Sonny Perry was masterful, continuing off last year's impressive World Series' performance, throwing 8 innings of one-hit baseball, walking three and striking out five and the Pioneers won the pivotal game 1-0 to go up 3-1 in the series.
Game 5 saw the return of the offensive onslaught as the Pioneers looked to end this in their home stadium. The Pioneers jumped first with two runs in the first inning, but ended on a double play when Ernesto Toledo was caught at home tagging up. A few innings later, when the Isotopes tagged Beasley for four runs in the third, that failed sacrifice fly loomed large. Then entering the sixth inning down 4-3, Pedro Aguilar connected for a grand slam, the third of the Series, to put the Pioneers ahead for good at 7-3. But they didn't take the foot off the pedal as Ryan Buckley added a 3-run home run in the seventh and Toledo hit a solo shot in the eighth for an 11-5 clinching win.
Toledo had a strong Series going 7 for 19 with 3 RBIs and runs. But it was that last at bat that could be a fitting end to the future Hall of Famer, hitting a home run in possibly his final at bat in the playoffs. Barring retirement, the team figures to bring him back to see how much gas is left in the tank, but he will be 35 next season and already saw a bit of drop in his power numbers, though still was among the team leaders offensively with a .284/.379/.507 slash and 27 HRs, 89 RBIs and 93 runs.
May 10 2057: Pioneer win streak halted at 18 - by crash_davis on November 6th, 2022
Williston is off to blistering start to the season with 25-6 record and a large early lead in the standings.
The season began with a 5-game win streak, but that was just an appetizer for the main course. A tough seven game stretch left the Pioneers at 7-5, but then the team reeled off 18 consecutive wins before dropping a 1-0 decision.
"The key is to not let this start a losing streak to pull us back down," Manager Gordon DiMaggio stated. "And while the win streak is over, we still have won all but one series so far this season, and that is a streak we want to continue. Winning series."
During the streak, veteran DH Ernesto Toledo launched his 400th career home run. At 35, it was not clear how much he had left in the tank.
"Everyone is happy for Ernesto, but he is more excited about competing for another championship then personal records," DiMaggio said. "He's not just here for milestones; he's still contributing at a high level and as long as that continues, he will get at bats."
Nov 02 2056: Perry, Pitching Pace Pioneers to World Series Victory - by crash_davis on October 5th, 2022
The Williston Pioneers capped an incredible end of the season run with another World Series title, 4-2 over the Savannah Titans.
After a slow start the season during which the offense struggled throughout, the pitching kept the team within reach until everything clicked resulting in a 35-12 record to clinch the pennant and homefield advantage in the World Series.
Just like the regular season, the Series started off rocky with the offense mustering a single run off six hits against Darren Lance. It was enough for seven innings before the Titans finally broke through against Johnnie "Bagels" Beasley, downing the Pioneers 4-1.
But games two and three saw the offense spark back to life coupled with lights out performances from Sonny Perry and Juan Manuel Saenez in a 12-1 and 9-2 victory. OF Jesus Villasenor, who led the offense throughout the playoffs, was particularly destructive in the game three win going 4 for 5 with a home run and three doubles.
Looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead, Lyle "Lefty" Lombardi struggled in his lone start. After building a 4-1 lead, the Titans rallied for two runs in the sixth and four runs in the eighth for a series saving 7-4 win.
But that was as close as the Titans would get as Beasley and Perry shut down the Titans in games five and six to the tune of 7-1 and 5-1 to win the team's second title in three seasons. Perry was magnificent leading the rotation, which featured four all stars, going 15 2/3 innings with a 1.15 ERA and 18 strikeouts. The offense was much better in the playoffs than the regular season with every player getting at least one hit but Villasenor was the clear standout hitting .429 with two homers, four doubles and eight runs and RBIs.
Nov 02 2054: Pioneers Prevail in 6, win World Series - by crash_davis on May 5th, 2022
Let the champagne flow! The Williston Pioneers have won their first World Series since 2028, and they did it behind the leadership of first-year manager, Gordon DiMaggio, 28.
After winning the West division with a 99-61 record, the Pioneers had home field advantage against East champs, Kingsport Kings. Reigning Cy Young winner Johnnie Beasley was lights out throwing 8 shutout innings (7Ks) and vet 2B Brett Giordano provided a sixth inning solo home run in the 2-0 victory.
The Kings struck back against rookie sensation Lyle Lombardi, tagging him for 7 runs (5 ER) behind the mighty bat of Joel Burgess's two home run game, and the series evened at 1-1. Game 3 saw Sonny Perry take the hard-luck loss (8 IP, 2 ER) as Kings' Ramon Rios baffled Pioneer hitters in the 2-1 loss.
With their backs against the wall, Beasley was asked to come in for Game 4 and was nearly as good going 7 2/3 innings (3 ER, 9Ks) and the bats came alive punctuated by Ernesto Toledo's fifth inning grand slam breaking a 1-1 tie, and the Pioneers won 9-3.
The offensive barrage continued in Game 5 as the Pioneers slugged 17 hits for 10 runs in the 10-3 run giving young pitcher Juan Manuel Saenez all of the support he needed.
In Game 6, DiMaggio opted to give Perry the start and had Beasley resting for a potential Game 7. Kingsport struck first, going up 1-0, but Omar Zepeda evened the score at one with a fifth inning home run. The Kings rallied for two in the seventh to take a 3-1 lead and it looked like they were headed for a series-tying win. But in the eighth inning, with bases load and two outs, a wild pitch cut the deficit to one and put the go ahead run on second. 1B Dirk Cody followed up with a two-run single to right field to go up 4-3! And the World Series was won!
Jul 19 2054: Williston All-stars make key contributions in winning effort - by crash_davis on April 9th, 2022
For a second consecutive season, Williston sent several starters to the All-Star game with many of last year's players making an encore performance in the 3-1 win.
Starters:
OF Horacío Barrera (1st appearance): .338 AVG, .413 OBP, .530 SLG, 44 runs, 10 HRs, 33 RBIs
OF Ricardo Rangel (9th appearance): .313 AVG, .397 OPB, .490 SLG, 59 runs, 38 RBIs, 10 SBs
2B Brett Giordano (6th appearance): .292 AVG, .351 OBP, .575 SLG, 58 runs, 20 HRs, 74 RBIs
1B Dirk Cody (3rd appearance): .286 AVG, .316 OBP, .536 SLG, 43 runs, 16 HRs, 58 RBIs
P Johnnie Beasley (4th appearance): 3.49 ERA, 9-6 Record, 122 Strikeouts (139 ⅓ IP)
Reserves:
Sonny Perry (2nd appearance): 3.46 ERA, 9-6 Record, 123 Strikeouts (137 ⅔ IP)
Beasely and Perry combined for 3 ⅓ shutout innings and tallied 4Ks. The Williston bats came alive in the 3rd inning providing all of the scoring the West needed to win 3-1 when Rangel and Barrera hitting back-to-back running scoring doubles.