Flashback: September in the Midwest League
Sept. 3 -- Despite suffering a 7-2 loss to the Peoria Chiefs, the South Bend Silver Hawks secured a spot in the Midwest League playoffs when Lansing beat West Michigan, 5-1, giving South Bend the Midwest League's Eastern Division crown for the second straight year.
Sept. 4 -- Brent Carter was only with the Fort Wayne Wizards for the last week of the season, but he impressed enough people to win the Midwest League's final Pitcher of the Week award. After allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts over six innings to beat the Lugnuts, 3-1, for his first MWL win, the 23-year-old southpaw turned in an even stronger start against Dayton, striking out eight batters over six scoreless innings while giving up just three hits and a walk.
Sept. 5 -- Home runs from Johnny Woodard and David Winfree helped power Beloit to an 8-1 win over Wisconsin, giving the Snappers a spot in the playoffs on the last day of the season. Woodard collected his second multi-homer game of the year as he led off the third inning with a homer to right, then smacked a two-run shot in the sixth. Winfree slugged a three-run dinger in the eighth.
Sept. 7 -- Adam Rosales rode his .579 batting average over the final week to the league's last Offensive Player of the Week award of the season. The Dayton Dragons shortstop also had two home runs -- both on Aug. 31 -- along with six RBIs and three doubles over the final five games of the year.
Sept. 7 -- Southpaw Kellen Raab used his array of arm angles to shut down the Devil Rays for seven innings as South Bend beat Southwest Michigan, 3-2, in Game 1 of the first-round Midwest League Eastern Division playoffs.
Sept. 7 -- Former Beloit closer Kyle Aselton turned in his best start of the year for the Snappers, striking out a career-high 10 batters as he took a no-hitter into the eighth on the way to a 5-0 win over Wisconsin in Game 1 of the first-round Midwest League Western Division Playoffs.
Sept. 7 -- Jair Jurrjens and two relievers combined combined on a three-hit shutout as West Michigan blanked Fort Wayne, 4-0, in Game 1 of the first round Midwest League Eastern Division playoffs. The Whitecaps provided Jurrjens with all the run support he would need in the first inning, touching up Wizards starter Michael Ekstrom for three runs.
Sept. 7 -- Emerson Frostad continued to batter Quad Cities pitching as Clinton drubbed the Swing, 11-2, in Game 1 of the first-round Midwest League Western Division playoffs.
Sept. 8 -- South Bend advanced to the Midwest League Eastern Division Championship Series by beating Southwest Michigan, 11-7, to complete a sweep of the clubs' best-of-three first-round series. South Bend won a pitchers' duel in Game 1, but when more muscle was needed in Game 2, the Silver Hawks unloaded on three Southwest Michigan pitchers and took advantage of six Devil Rays errors.
Sept. 8 -- Dallas Trahern pitched six strong innings and Nick McIntyre contributed a two-run double as West Michigan swept Fort Wayne with a 7-2 victory to advance to the Eastern Division Championship Series. The win set up a meeting between West Michigan, the Midwest League's second-half Wild Card winner in the Eastern Division, and second-half Eastern Division winner South Bend.
Sept. 8 -- Behind Kae Kometani's gem, the LumberKings tossed a combined two-hitter against the Swing of the Quad Cities. The 10-0 Game 2 win gave Clinton a first-round sweep and entry into the Midwest League Western Division Championship Series. Living up to their name, the LumberKings were decidedly better at the plate, having opened the series with an 11-2 rout.
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Sept. 8 -- Oswaldo Navarro recovered from a rough Game 1 and delivered four RBIs as Wisconsin came to life and beat Beloit, 9-1, to set up a decisive third game in the first-round Western Division playoffs. Aaron Jensen befuddled the Snappers through seven innings. The 21-year-old right-hander scattered two hits while punching out five and walking four.
Sept. 9 -- Michael Wilson's 10th-inning homer gave Wisconsin a series-clinching 4-2 victory over Beloit in the first round of the Midwest League Western Division playoffs. The home run came off Jonathan Martinez, who did not allow a single run to the Timber Rattlers over 15 innings, racking up three saves and a win in nine regular-season appearances.
Sept. 10 -- South Bend got seven shutout innings from Koley Kolberg in a 5-0 win in Game 1 of the Midwest League Eastern Division Championship Series. The Silver Hawks scored all their runs with two-out hits.
Sept. 10 -- Jeff Clement blasted a pair of home runs, including the go-ahead solo shot in the top of the 10th inning, as Wisconsin squeezed past Clinton, 8-7, in Game 1 of the Midwest League Western Division Championship Series.
Sept. 11 -- South Bend completed its second sweep of the postseason, beating West Michigan, 6-3, to advance to the Midwest League Championship Series. Chris Kinsey gave the Silver Hawks 5 2/3 scoreless innings, while Esmerling Vasquez picked up the win in 1 1/3 innings of relief.
Sept. 11 -- Wisconsin's Michael Wilson and Oswaldo Navarro pounded Clinton hurlers for 11 RBIs as the Timber Rattlers took apart the LumberKings, 16-0, to sweep into the Midwest League Finals. Wilson collected six RBIs going 2-for-4 with a grand slam and a double, while Navarro collected five RBIs on a pair of doubles.
Sept. 13 -- South Bend extended its postseason winning streak to five by opening the Midwest League Championship Series with a 6-4 win over Wisconsin. Silver Hawks leadoff man Emilio Bonifacio drew a walk and came around to score in the first inning, then homered in the second.
Sept. 14 -- The Silver Hawks continued their dominating run through the postseason, beating the Timber Rattlers, 4-1, to give South Bend its sixth straight playoff victory. Cesar Nicolas was the hitting star, going 2-for-3 with a homer and scoring twice.
Sept. 15 -- Rob Rohrbaugh and Chris Colton made sure that the Silver Hawks' run through the playoffs did not go unblemished as Wisconsin beat South Bend, 1-0, in Game 3 of the Midwest League Championship Series. It was the first loss of the 2005 postseason for South Bend. Timber Rattlers starter Rohrbaugh pitched eight scoreless innings for the win, while Colton delivered the only run of the game by drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth.
Sept. 16 -- Michael Wilson's three-run homer kept Wisconsin's season going as the Timber Rattlers forced a decisive Game 5 by beating the South Bend Silver Hawks, 11-6.
Sept. 17 -- The 2005 Midwest League season concluded with the South Bend Silver Hawks blanking the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 4-0, to break a 12-year title drought. Steven Jackson was brilliant in his final start of the season, needing only 90 pitches to get through eight innings. Jackson allowed five hits while fanning nine without walking a batter.