Dulin’s Dodgers win 60th Connie Mack title, top defending champs 5-2

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

FARMINGTON

The 60th Annual Connie Mack World Series came to a close Saturday night with the Dulin’s Dodgers defeating the defending champion Southern California Renegades, 5-2, to claim the title before a packed crowd at Ricketts Park.

The game featured two players from New Mexico taking the field on championship night—Piedra Vista senior JW Bayless and Cleveland High’s Anthony Del Angel—representing the state on opposing sides of a high-stakes finale. But the night ultimately belonged to Dulin’s pitcher Landon Collins, who tossed a complete game and delivered when it mattered most.

Collins kept the Renegades scoreless through the first five innings, working around several jams and benefitting from two timely double plays. He finished the game with a commanding performance on the mound, stranding baserunners in key moments and recording multiple strikeouts in clutch situations.

Dulin’s opened the scoring in the second inning without recording a hit. Third baseman Kolt Larsen drew a walk, advanced on a wild pitch, and then scored when second baseman John Clark laid down a bunt that turned into a two-base error by the pitcher. The unearned run gave the Dodgers a 1-0 edge.

In the top of the fourth, the Dodgers loaded two runners via a walk and a single, prompting the Renegades to bring in Bayless. The senior right-hander from Piedra Vista responded by inducing a groundout from right fielder Austin Allen and striking out the next two batters to end the threat.

The Renegades mounted a counterattack in the bottom half of the fourth. First baseman Tomas Cernius led off with a double, and shortstop Travis Curry followed with a single to put runners on the corners. After a walk loaded the bases, Collins calmly struck out two consecutive batters and forced a fly out to escape the inning unscathed, stranding three Renegades on base.

The top of the sixth turned the game on its head. With runners on, a bunt by short stop Ashten Ballew drew a rushed throw from Cernius, which got past the second baseman and allowed Clark to reach third. Two batters later, Bayless attempted to field another bunt, this one by Allen, but he underthrew the ball to catcher Isaiah Munoz, allowing Clark to score. As the ball rolled to the backstop, Allen dashed home for a second unearned run, pushing the lead to 3-0.

Landon Corley then drove a deep shot to left field that scored Allen, giving the Dodgers a 4-0 cushion before Del Angel struck out to end the inning.

The Renegades answered in the bottom of the sixth, sparked by a double from Curry that brought home Cernius. Right fielder Shane Green followed with a double of his own, plating Curry to make it 4-2. But Collins again shut the door, striking out a batter and stranding a runner on second.

In the top of the seventh, Clark singled to right, scoring left field Tommy Baker to extend the lead to 5-2 for the Dodgers. Bayless, who threw 55 pitches over three innings (37 for strikes), was relieved by Jaxon Baker. He became just the second player from San Juan County to appear in a Connie Mack final since 2018.

Speaking after the game, Bayless described how he joined the Renegades.

“They called my dad and told him they wanted me to play for them,” Bayless said. “At first, I didn’t really know the guys, but as I got to know them, we started playing better as a team. Compared to being on the host team, which would’ve gone 0-2 in the previous years, we got into the finals—which is awesome.”

Bayless added that the Albuquerque Baseball Academy reached out a day after he had already committed to the Renegades. “Albuquerque called the next day after I agreed to play. I told them I’d already been picked up,” he said. “The players from Texas and California are just a little bigger and better equipped to play at a higher level than the local teams. The experience was great, and now I know what kind of competition I want to qualify against next year.”

This year, the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) revised the host team qualification process. For the first time, a New Mexico-based team could earn the host bid. If a non–San Juan County team won the host tournament, six local players would be added to the final roster. The change was intended to help field a more competitive team. However, Albuquerque Baseball Academy, which earned the host bid, went 0-2 in tournament play.

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