In a gripping best-of-five NCBL Tier 3 Championship Series that delivered everything but controversy, the Padres outlasted the SweatSox three games to one, clinching their first title in franchise history with a 5-2 extra-inning win Thursday night in what most certainly was the longest game in NCBL playoff history.
After dropping Game 1 in a slugfest, the Padres stormed back with three straight wins, including a 10-inning Game 4 marathon that will be talked about for years in league circles.
“It was just baseball, plain and simple,” said Padres manager Brett Jelley. “No drama, no garbage—just two teams laying it all out there. Full credit to the SweatSox. They’re the only team in Tier 3 who ever really pushed us, and they earned our respect every time we played them.”
The Padres entered the series with a 2-1-1 edge in the regular season over the SweatSox, a head-to-head rivalry that previously featured multiple game-ending shenanigans. But this championship was all class—clean, intense, and worthy of the stakes.
Game 1 – SweatSox 10, Padres 8
September 20 – Nepean Sportsplex
The SweatSox opened the series with a statement, erupting for 10 runs—the most we’ve scored against the Padres since our first ever game against them (when they still sucked) . The offensive surge came against Padres ace Mike Howard-Smith, known as “Large Mike,” who cruised through four innings before the wheels fell off in the fifth.
The turning point came when the SweatSox finally solved Howard-Smith, tagging him for six runs and chasing the Tier 3 Pitcher of the Year frontrunner.
Nick Henderson and Mattingly Romanin led the charge, reaching base in nine of ten combined plate appearances. Starter Josh Ramage gave the Sox five solid innings, and Eric White closed the door for the save.
Andrew Hierlihy took home “Sweatiest Player” honours for striking out in his first three at bats, then avoiding the golden sombrero with a groundout to 3rd in the 5th.
Game 2 – Padres 9, SweatSox 2
September 22 – Kinsmen
Padres pitcher Ben Wells tossed a masterclass, going the distance in a complete game four-hitter. The SweatSox defense cracked early, with two errors in the second inning leading to unearned runs and a slow bleed the rest of the way—“death by 1000 cuts 4 multi-run innings.”
Nick Henderson’s five-assist game at shortstop was the lone defensive bright spot.
On the mound for the SweatSox, Eric White and Josh Ramage reversed roles from Game 1, with White starting and going five innings before handing things over to Ramage for the final two.
Jaspreet Sanghra had two hits, and Cory Bond sparked a brief rally as a pinch runner for the slightly slower Larry Pawelek, but the Sox offense fell flat otherwise.
Game 3 – Padres 6, SweatSox 0
September 24 – Nepean Sportsplex
Shota Yamamoto (Padres) was nearly-unhittable, throwing a walk-free, five-hit complete game with four strikeouts. The Padres did their damage early, scoring five runs in the first two innings off SweatSox starter Mark Bond, who settled down impressively giving up just 1 run over the final four.
Offensively, only the top three hitters—Henderson, White, and Bond—produced all 5 SweatSox hits. The rest of the lineup was held hitless (0/18).
Left fielder Jaspreet Sanghra once again shined on defense with three putouts and a SweatSox playoff-record two outfield assists, preventing the score from ballooning even further.
Game 4 – Padres 5, SweatSox 2 (10 innings)
September 26 – Kinsmen
The finale was one for the ages.
Deadlocked at 2-2 after seven, both teams refused to accept a tie as allowed under NCBL Bylaws, which apparently gives either squad the option (once the time limit has been reached) to pull the plug after each extra inning. Managers Cory Bond and Brett Jelley both agreed, over and over again: this would be settled on this day, on this field.
In the top of the 10th, a wicked hawp over third baseman Craig Cornell’s glove and head cracked the door open, and the Padres burst through like the Kool-Aid Man, plating three decisive runs.
For the Padres, Shota Yamamoto, pitching on just one day of rest, came out of the bullpen and dominated with five near-perfect innings of relief (0H, 0BB, 1HBP). Mike Howard-Smith held down the first five.
Cory Bond delivered both with the bat and the glove—driving in our only 2 runs of the game with an RBI double in the 4th, and anchoring the defense with a team-high 14 putouts at first base. “Big-time players show up in big-time games,” said longtime SweatSox veteran I, Shaun Keay. “That’s exactly what CB did tonight—put the team on his back when it mattered most.”
But ultimately, it was Eric White who took the loss in relief, despite a strong showing after taking over from starter Josh Ramage.
NCBL Commissioner/Groundskeeper Bill Beelen earned a tip of the cap from both teams, after prepping the field with tireless effort throughout most of the morning and afternoon—squeezing in hockey between his work—to ensure the finale was played under the lights and on pristine turf.
Thanks, Bill.
After the game, a gracious Cory Bond tipped his cap to the new champions:
“The Padres earned this one. They’ve been the class of Tier 3 all year, and they proved it again in this series. We left it all out there, and I couldn’t be prouder of the way our guys competed.”
For the Padres, it’s the culmination of a remarkable season—and perhaps the start of a new Tier 2 journey.
Until we meet again.
Final SweatSox 2024 Playoff Run Notes/Thoughts:
- Mark doesn’t know many people, but he did know Sid Vicious.
- Evan Lett to the Mavs!
- Josh is permanently stuck in Hole 17 mode.
- Craig loves a good Labour Day soak.
- Don’t make Josh choose between Always Be Walking and Always Be Hydrating.
- There’s nothing like an unprompted Windows Update to stall productivity at work.
- Craig was not a Fatman Scoop guy.
- Oh great, Eric is in Kingston throwing a ton of innings for the Braves right before our playoff run.
- You have to pull out when you have a solid D.
- Our A.I. isn’t very i.
- There’s no crying in baseball, unless you’re Josh and the defense makes a bunch of bullshit errors and/or our manager makes a dumbass pitching change.
- Drugs and coffee heals all arm fatigue.
- Neither Sean, Shawn, or Shaun (me) is booked for physio yet.
- If you can walk, you can jog.
- Rob Harbic would be a top-3 outfielder on this team.
- $80 weed-infused solvents always make you feel great before a big game.
- Kent can’t do 8:30pm games, which is why we pushed so hard for 8:15pm.
- We could put Boisvert up for Finals MVP and he’d probably win it over any Padre, with Stu voting.
- Warming up only tires Cory out.
- Cop missed a finals game to go to the literal circus. Not since Groves missed a championship clincher to go cruising down the Ottawa River have we heard such a lame excuse.
- Kent’s gametime status is in Jesus’ hands now. Jesus is his neighbor who rubs him down.
- Nobody will ever forget the Gatineau Grizzlies and Gloucester Hornets, two of the NCBL’s all-time great franchises.
- A gout-relapse can strike at any time.
- Ross is always Chud #1.
- Cory is always up for a SweatSox foursome. He’ll also golf with 3 of us too if asked.
- Not wanting to drive to the Sportsplex is bullshit. Suck it up.
- Mark is complaining too much about his thumb. Pain heals. Chick’s dig scars. Glory lasts forever.
- Cory went with the Captain America speech this year.
- We’re split pretty evenly on whether or not T-Swify fellates.
- Mark’s HBP was not off the nub.
- The AI correctly assumes we are all weird ass mutant assholes.
- Kapowski vs OG Pink Ranger – who ya got?
- Why are my outgoing GIF’s all blurry?
- A steak sandwich with cheese is way different than a cheesesteak.
- You can’t just but garlic butter on a piece of bread and call it garlic bread, there has to be a heating element to it.
- Chuck’s ribs can be beat, but only temporarily.
- Josh’s evening meals include 1st dinner, supper, and then 2nd dinner to close it out.
- The best way to watch a game together is from opposite sides of the field.
- Shoutout to the Miller’s who have always been big fans of my work.