Orioles fall in best-of-3 opening playoff series to Scouts 2 games -1.

Unfortunately, the Orioles 2023 MVABL season ended at the hands of the Scouts on Sunday as the Scouts took the rubber match of the 3-game set. The Orioles kept it close and snagged a game on Saturday but did not have much left in the tank Sunday to win the series.

Game 1: Orioles win 5-2. The Orioles came into the series having lost all 3 games in the regular season to the Scouts but quickly changed that trend. It began with a leadoff HBP and Walk to the Orioles first 2 batters and both came around to score for the Orioles to jump out 2-0. They would add 3 more in the 2nd inning to stake ace pitcher Noah Baer to the 5-run lead.

Baer was top 10 in the league in: wins, games pitched, innings, and strikeouts. He pitched like that ace on this day throwing a complete game while allowing just 2 runs in the late innings. Things got a little dicey in the final 7th inning with the bases loaded but he got out of it to get the win. Orioles 5- Scouts 2. Orioles take a 1 game lead in the best of 3 series.

Game 2: Scouts 10 - Orioles 6. Orioles turned game 2 over to All-Star starter Matt Boyd. Boyd, coming off several injuries limiting his appearances this season, would go 4 strong innings allowing just 3 runs on a couple of clutch Scouts 2-out hits. From there the Orioles bullpen got hit around as the Scouts added on 7 more runs in the following innings. Scouts Starter Josh Cvetkovich dominated the Orioles batters and left with a large lead. Facing a 10-1 deficit in the final inning the Orioles rallied to make it a close game. They would go on to score 5 times and load the bases. Starter Matt Boyd would represent the tying run at the plate with 2 outs and the bases loaded and hit a gap shot that the Scouts leftfielder made a great play on to track down. Scouts 10- Orioles 6.

Game 3: Scouts 12 - Orioles 0. The Orioles came into game 3 Sunday looking to pull off the upset and move on in the playoffs. Unfortunately, it was not to be and their season would end in an unfortunate run-rule. Starter Vinny Sarno pitched well into the 4th but walks and errors behind him sealed the Orioles fate. The Orioles bats disappeared against Scouts ace Alex Schulke (pitching for the second time in 2 days after throwing the final 5 innings of game 1) as they could only muster 3 hits on the day.

The Scouts move on to face the top-seeded Rangers in the second round of the playoffs.

The Orioles were able to push the Scouts to the brink but were unable to get the job done. However, a massive improvement over last season sees the Orioles moving in the right direction and gives hope for the future.

The Orioles will look to add to the roster while returning most of today's team. Unfortunately, Darel "Big Country" Carnahan will not be returning. An All-Star in his rookie season and one of the Orioles biggest contributors, Darel enlisted in the Army and is training to be an M1A1 Tank Crewman. While we honor his incredible decision to join our nation's armed forces, he will be sorely missed by the Orioles.

Thank you all for following along this season and we cannot wait to return to baseball in 2024!