SeaWolves clinch first championship in front of home crowd

Alex Topor, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·3 min read

Sep. 27—ERIE — For the first time in franchise history, the Erie SeaWolves are Eastern League Champions.

The SeaWolves thumped the Binghamton Rumble Ponies 10-0 in Game Two of the Championship Series on Tuesday night.

UPMC Park was rambunctious as 6,113 fans cheered, swung their howl towels and watched Erie power its way to a win.

A fired up Greg Gania, assistant GM, communications manager and announcer, addressed the fans before the trophy presentation.

"Your Erie SeaWolves are Eastern League Champions for the first time in franchise history," Gania yelled into the microphone. "What a tremendous crowd, Erie showed up in a big way."

The first person to hold the trophy, SeaWolves owner Fernando Aguirre, also spoke to the Erieites.

"This is as good as it gets," Aguirre said. "There is nothing better than winning a championship."

The shut out was led by Erie's pitching staff and the defense behind it. Erie turned three double plays on the night and had no errors.

Starting pitcher Brant Hurter was dialed in from the start. Hurter fanned seven batters across seven scoreless innings. He only allowed three runners on base and 50 of his 83 pitches were strikes.

Hurter, a 6-foot 6-inch tall seventh round pick from Canton, Georgia, also addressed the crowd after the win.

"I don't know what's going on, but I love Erie, Pennsylvania," Hurter bellowed into the microphone. His words were well received by the crowd.

In relief, Adam Wolf and Andrew Magno allowed just one hit over the final two innings. The final out of the game was pitched by Magno. A Binghamton batter hit a high foul ball that looked as it would end up in the stands, but Erie right fielder Ben Malgeri caught the ball in Binghamton's bullpen to secure the win.

At the plate, Erie out-hit Binghamton 10-4. Jake Holton and Gage Workman were each 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Holton hammered two homers, which received voracious applause as more than 6,000 eager fans "pumped their fist," as is custom after an Erie run. His solo shot in the second inning was the first run of the night. His second home run, this one in the seventh inning, also scored Jace Jung, which was his second, and advanced the Erie lead to 8-0.

Workman's homer in the eighth scored Eliezer Alfonzo and gave the SeaWolves even more of a cushion, 10-0.

Also scoring runs on the night were Trei Cruz, Daniel Cabrera and Malgeri.

The title also capped off what has been an incredible two-year run for manager Gabe Alvarez. Last year, in his first season as SeaWolves manager, he led the team to a championship appearance.

Alvarez was named the Eastern League Manager of the Year on Tuesday and he got to cap off his milestone with a victory.

"What a turn out. We want to thank you guys for your support all year long," Alvarez said. "You guys made us go. This is for you."

Other SeaWolves named to the Eastern League All-Star team on Tuesday were infielder Colt Keith, Hurter, Magno and outfielder Justice Bigbi.

Alex Topor can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at atopor@meadvilletribune.com.