TUPPER LAKE, NY  –  On Tuesday, the #3 seed Plattsburgh Thunderbirds faced off against the #2 seed Saranac Lake Surge. Heading into the matchup, the Surge had a 1.5 game lead on the Thunderbirds with a record of 18-19 while the Thunderbirds sat at 18-22. Both teams came off of losing the final series of the regular season, the Surge to top seeded Tupper Lake Riverpigs and Plattsburgh to the #4 seed Japan Islanders.

Both teams threw out their best pitchers with the Surge relying on Cairo Selden and the Thunderbirds relying on Keyvan Grenald, and as expected both pitchers kept their teams in the game. Grenald came out firing, going seven strong innings in his start, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks while striking out 11 Surge batters. Selden also had himself a strong start going five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out seven batters. 

Unfortunately, Selden needed to leave the game in the hands of the bullpen. Kenta Tanaka, a player picked up from the Japan Islanders, came in and gave the Surge 1.1 scoreless innings before handing the game to Levi Parker, who was also picked up from the Islanders. However, Parker did not have the same success, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk, while striking out four. He would be credited with the loss. For the Thunderbirds, Emmanuel Brantly came into the game and led Plattsburgh to the Empire Baseball League finals with two scoreless innings in relief. 

On the offensive side, Katsuya Arai, one of the Japan Islanders pick-ups on Plattsburgh, showed why he was one of the more valuable players on the Islanders roster. Arai went 2-3 with two runs scored, two RBIs and three stolen bases. Marcos Estevez also gave the Thunderbirds some offensive production, going 1-2 with two RBIs. For the Surge, Taiga Sato was the main offensive force, going 1-4 with one run scored and two RBIs. 

Although their season is over, we congratulate the Surge on a fantastic season. For the Thunderbirds however, still have one more obstacle to overcome, the top seed Tupper Lake Riverpigs. They will face the Riverpigs in game one of the finals starting on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Article by Ben Diamond

TUPPER LAKE, NY – The Tupper Lake Riverpigs have clinched the number one seed in the Empire Baseball League standings.

What does that mean?

That means that the Riverpigs have clinched a first round bye directly into the Empire Baseball League Finals and will face the winner of the single elimination Wild Card Game between the numbers two and three seed!

The Empire Baseball League is currently a 4 team league in which the top seed advances to the finals, the 2nd and 3rd play a one playoff Wild Card to see who advances to the Finals to face the number one seed, and the 4th seed is eliminated from playoff contention.

The finals is a best of 5 series. The team that wins 3 games out of 5 will win the series and be crowned champions of the Empire Baseball League.

Finals will begin on July 27, 2022 at 7:00pm ET. Tickets will be available at the Gate. The games will all be played at Municipal Park in Tupper Lake as they are the #1 seed! However the teams will alternate from home and away.

Article by Empire Media

TUPPER LAKE, NY  –  The Empire Baseball League All-Star Game featured the top players so far during the 2022 season. Players from all four teams were selected to participate in the game and the teams were split into East and West squads. The East squad included players from the Saranac Lake Surge and Plattsburgh Thunderbirds, while the West squad included players from the Tupper Lake Riverpigs and the Japan Islanders. 

In the end, the West All-Stars took home the 6-1 victory over the East. The pitching on the West team was too much for the East to overcome, scoring their only run late in the contest. 

The player named MVP of the All-Star game was Tupper Lake’s own Khalyd Cox. Cox went 1-2 in the game with a lead off home run to start the game, two walks and three runs scored. He also had a stolen base. 

The pitcher of the game also came from the West All-Stars, starting pitcher Mizuki Akatsuka. Akatsuka started the game going two perfect innings, not allowing a single baserunner to reach from the East All-Stars. He struck out one batter in his two innings of work.

Fans from around the Tupper Lake area as well as fans of the EBL came out to make the 2022 All-Star festivities special for every player. Now, all eyes look towards the upcoming EBL playoffs that are looming right around the corner. 

Article by Ben Diamond

TUPPER LAKE, NY  –  One of the staples of any All-star weekend is the Home Run Derby. It is no different for the Empire Baseball League.

This year had many strong participants set to put on a show for the fans in Tupper Lake. Yordi Francisco, Takuto Hasegawa, Sean Guida, Taisei Shinmen, Zack Fowler, Jake Sisto, Olivber Moreno and Bramdon Perez, all got a shot at the title of EBL Home Run Champion.

Ultimately, Yordi Francisco took home the title beating out Taisei Shinmen in the finals. Francisco hit six home runs throughout the contest. 

The Home Run Derby led into the main event, the EBL All-star game which featured many of the leagues top stars and those with aspirations with moving to the next level.

Article by Ben Diamond

TUPPER LAKE, NY  –  The Saranac Lake Surge came into the series versus the Tupper lake Riverpigs ready to play. In game one, the Surge offense exploded in the third innings, putting up five runs and the pitching was able to hold off the Riverpig offense just enough to squeak by with the 7-6 victory.

Mark Berryman got the start for the Surge and did not have his best stuff. But he was still able to end his outing in line for the win, which he would earn after the games conclusion. Berryman threw seven innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and three walks, while racking up five strikeouts. Steven Adamson relieved Berryman and allowed one run making the score 7-6, but Jordan Rhodes and Ryan Evans were able to complete 1.1 scoreless innings to close out the game.

Jared Dingus started for the Riverpigs, going six innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. He was relieved by Zach Goree who threw three innings in relief, allowing one run, which would be the difference in the game, on one hit and five walks. He struck out five in his appearance.

For the Surge, Yordi Francisco, Javon Martin and Douglas Carter Jr. all had two RBIs apiece, powering the Saranac offense to victory. For the Riverpigs, Bobby Garbuio went deep in a 2-3 effort with one run scored and three RBIs. Chandler Kazele had a home run of his own, as well as two runs scored and two RBIs in the loss. 

Game two started the same way as game one, with the Surge taking a large lead in the third inning, before the Riverpigs would eventually come back making it a close game. But once again, the Surge came out on top scoring the winning run in the top of the ninth inning. Cairo Selden started for Saranac, allowing seven runs, only four earned, in 5.2 innings pitched with three hits, six walks and eight strikeouts. He was relieved by Jordan Rhodes who threw two scoreless innings, walking two and striking out two. He would be awarded the win. Max Peterson would make his first Empire Baseball League appearance, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings to close out the game. 

Jose Mieses had a rough start for the Riverpigs, allowing seven runs in 4.1 innings pitched. He allowed five hits and six walks while only striking out two batters in his outing. The three relievers who entered for him, Hector Martinez, Johsson Arias and Randy Alcantara combined for 4.2 innings of one run ball as Alcantara allowed the winning run to score in the ninth inning. 

Carter Jr. had another two RBI game for the Surge. Dominiq Moore and Zack Fowler also helped  power the Saranac offense with two RBIs of their own. Mikey Edie was the offensive powerhouse for Tupper Lake, going 2-4 with a double, a run scored and four RBIs.

The Riverpigs completely flipped the script in the final game of the series. They scored two runs in the first inning, piling on 13 runs, en route to a mercy rule seven inning victory in the series finale. Shawn McFeggan started for the Surge, allowing seven runs in five innings on nine hits and six walks. Johampher Arrendol entered in relief and had a rough outing in his one inning of work, allowing six runs on two hits and four walks. 

Dimitri Nunez had a stellar outing in his EBL debut throwing a complete game shutout, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out seven batters. 

Yordi Francisco was the biggest offensive producer for the Surge going 1-3 with a double. On the other side, Malik Blaise had a big day for the Riverpigs, going 3-3 with three runs scored, a home run and three RBIs. Taisei Shinmen also had himself a day going 2-3 with a home run and three RBIs in the 13-0 victory, avoiding the series sweep.

Next, the Riverpigs welcome back the Japan Islanders for a three game set, while the Surge head back to Saranac for a three game series versus the Plattsburgh Thunderbirds.

Article by Ben Diamond