California League

Stockton 9, Lancaster 3 (Stockton wins best-of-five series 3-1)

Stockton won its eleventh California League Championship and first since 2002 on Sunday night. Chris Carter led the Ports blasting a grand slam in a six-run seventh that broke up a 1-1 tie. Carter added a solo shot in the ninth to cap a season that saw him hit 39 regular season and five postseason home runs. The Ports offense also saw Archie Gilbert (3-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI) and Josh Horton (3-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI) have big nights. Ports lefty Carlos Hernandez had another solid start going 5.1 allowing only one run. Right-hander Pat Currin (2-1) got the win going two scoreless in relief. JetHawks starter righthander Blake Maxwell pitched well through 5.2, but was let down by his bullpen as lefty Derrick Loop (0-1) gave up five in 2/3 innings for the loss. Lancaster’s offensive star Yamaico Navarro (3-for-3, 1 RBI).

Carolina League

Potomac 8, Myrtle Beach 2   Friday 8/12/08  (Potomac wins best-of-five series 3-1)

Potomac captured its first ever Mills Cup Championship in easy fashion defeating regular season champ Myrtle Beach 8-2. Nats starter righty Erik Arneson (1-0) defeated the Pelicans with a strong 6.2 innings, allowing just two runs. Arneson got more than enough offense early as they put runs on the board in the first four innings to go up 7-1. Dee Brown got the Nats off to a good start hitting a two-run homer in the first. Boomer Whiting added his own two-run shot in the second and the game was effectively over. The Nats got five (four earned) of their early runs off of Pelicans ace left-hander Cole Rohrbough (1-1) who lasted on 2.2. Myrtle Beach got its only offensive production from first-baseman Ernesto Mejia who hit two solo-homers in the game for the Pelicans. Myrtle Beach falls short in the playoffs despite a regular season that saw them win eighty-nine games. However, Potomac was dominant in the playoff outscoring opponents 41-16 en route to the Carolina League Championship.