For the first time since 2011, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats are champions of minor league baseball’s Double-A Eastern League.
After taking the first two games of the best-of-five series on the road against the Akron RubberDucks, the Fisher Cats completed the sweep in front of the home crowd in Manchester on Friday night, winning 8-5.
The Fisher Cat’s jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a double by the catcher Patrick Cantwell. The team scored again in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.
The game ended with an infield ground out, and then a dogpile at the mound as the Fisher Cats celebrated their third title in the franchise’s 15-year history.
“Unbelievable, can’t say enough about the team, the staff, the fans, the front office,” said first year Manager John Schneider after the game. “You don’t get to do this too often, so this is really, really cool, and something you don’t take for granted.”
The Fisher Cats were led this year by three sons of former Major Leaguers: Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr, who was promoted to Toronto’s Triple-A team in Buffalo in late July.
Losing Vlad Jr.’s big bat didn’t hurt the Fisher Cats down the stretch, as they finished second in their division. In the playoffs, they didn’t lose a game, sweeping the Trenton Thunder and then the RubberDucks.
