Connie Mack championship set: Southern California Renegades vs. Dulins Dodgers

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

FARMINGTON — The stage is set for an 8 p.m. Saturday night clash at Ricketts Park as the defending Connie Mack champions, the Southern California Renegades, square off against the Dulins Dodgers for the 2025 title.

Dulins had an opportunity to clinch their championship berth in Friday’s 4 p.m. semifinal but watched it slip away in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Midland Southwest Bulls. The Bulls rallied for five runs to win 8-5, forcing Dulins into a do-or-die rematch later that evening.

The Dodgers responded in convincing fashion, avenging their only loss of the tournament with a dominant 10-1 victory in the nightcap to punch their ticket to the finals.

Renegades edge DBAT United

The Renegades, which includes Piedra Vista High’s JW Bayless on its team, opened Friday’s action with a hard-fought 2-1 win over DBAT United Baseball from Texas. Pitcher Isaac Gutierrez pitched a perfect seven innings, giving up six hits and one run on 100 pitches with 61 strikes.

Right fielder Sean Green gave the Renegades a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning with a solo home run over the leftfield wall. DBAT tied it in the bottom half when second baseman Joshua Viars drove in shortstop Cole Koeninger on a grounder to third.

The deciding run came in the top of the seventh when shortstop Travis Curry laid down a bunt that rolled toward first base, allowing centerfielder Evan Thomas to score. DBAT stranded five runners on base, managing just one run on six hits, while the Renegades scored twice on four hits.

Bulls rally late to stun Dulins in afternoon game

Dulins struck quickly in the 4 p.m. game, plating two runs in the top of the first on RBI hits from designated hitter Anthony Del Angel and catcher Carson Sharp.

Midland answered with a run in the bottom of the inning before Dulins extended their lead to 5-1 in the fourth, highlighted by first baseman Logan Corley’s RBI single and Sharp’s two-run double.

The Bulls cut it to 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth, then turned the game on its head in the sixth.

Corley, on the mound, surrendered two hits and four runs before recording the second out. A walk to catcher Gunner Dillard forced in a run, third base Luke Hamm singled bring home two more runs, and a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded added another. Another bases-loaded walk capped the rally, and Midland held on for the 8-5 win.

Dodgers dominate rematch to reach finals

Given a second chance in the 8 p.m. game, Dulins left nothing to chance, rolling to a 10-1 victory over Midland.

Centerfielder Casey McGinnis led the way with four RBIs on two hits, while Del Angel added two RBIs on two hits. Dulins scored in five different innings, starting with Del Angel’s RBI-triple in the first. In the second, short stop Ashten Ballew singled in a run before McGinnis executed a sacrifice bunt to make it 3-0.

McGinnis singled in another run in the fourth, and Corley’s groundout pushed the lead to 6-0. A four-run sixth — including McGinnis’ RBI triple, Del Angel’s RBI double, and a bases-loaded walk to third baseman Kolt Larsen — sealed the win.

Midland scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth when third baseman Luis Malachi Perez grounded out to score short stop Ayden Stewart.

First pitch for the Connie Mack championship is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday at Ricketts Park, with Dulins aiming to dethrone the Southern California Renegades under the lights in Farmington.

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