Mavericks advance to Cal League Finals

Whatever happens over the next week or so, the High Desert Mavericks have made their final year one to remember.

"It's been a wild season, with some ups and downs but mostly ups, to be honest," Mavericks manager Howard Johnson said. "The Rangers have done a great job promoting players and keeping certain players [with High Desert]. I didn't know we'd be able to get this done, but now we want to win three more and get a championship for the organization."

Rangers No. 12 prospect Jairo Beras was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in support of David Ledbetter as the Mavs beat Lancaster, 7-2, to win the best-of-5 California League North Division finals in four games. It High Desert's second straight victory at Lancaster and propelled the Mavericks into the Championship Series.

"I couldn't be more proud. These guys played really, really well. They played very hard in a difficult series," Johnson said. "We knew going in it was going to be tough because [Lancaster] has been playing hard, really putting the hurt on Rancho [Cucamonga in the mini-series]. They knew it was going to be tough, and they responded well."

Beras scored High Desert's first run in the second inning and his RBI single to center field came in the middle of a three-run eighth that broke a 1-1 tie. The 21-year-old outfielder hit .239 with eight homers in the first half of the regular season but got those numbers up to .262 and 22 by the end of the year.

"Jairo's been one of our better hitters, especially lately. When he puts his mind to it, he can be a superstar. And lately, he's been the player we all thought he could be," Johnson said. "He had a good second half. He was the Player of the Month for the Rangers organization for August and he's extended that into the playoffs. He's been putting together really good at-bats, being a really tough out." 

Ledbetter, a 24-year-old right-hander, worked 6 2/3 innings and held the JetHawks to a run on six hits and three walks while striking out five. Matt Milroy (1-0) got the last out in the seventh for the win and Nick Gardenwire struck out two and walked one over the final 1 1/3 innings to record his second postseason save.

"Ledbetter was gutsy," said Johnson, the Cal League Manager of the Year. "We had the right guy on the mound, for sure, because we didn't want to go to Game 5. We needed Dave to keep us in the game and give us the chance to win late because we had the bullpen set up the way we wanted it. If Dave could hold them down for a while and we could get a lead ... and he did. He did exactly what we needed and the bullpen came in and did the job it's been doing all year. I wish we could have gotten a win for [Ledbetter], but he's satisfied with the job he did."

Second-ranked Astros prospect Kyle Tucker was 2-for-5 with a stolen base and two runs scored for Lancaster, while starter Jose Hernandez allowed an unearned run on six hits with one strikeout over seven innings.

The Mavericks face Visalia in the best-of-5 Championship Series beginning Thursday at Rawhide Ballpark.