MONTREAL - The Oakland Oaks are the inaugural Continental Series champions.
The Pacific Coast League pennant winners vanquished the Montreal Royals in six games to claim the title. Oaks hurler Jeff McCullough shut out the International League pennant winners to clinch the Series, scattering six hits while striking out two and walking one. It was the second victory in the Series for McCullough, who also went the distance in Game 3, a 3-2 victory at Oaks Park.
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| McCullough |
The victory capped off a remarkable season for the Collierville, Tenn. native. McCullough wasn't even expected to start the season for the Oaks, instead ticketed for their top farm club in Sioux City. But a spring training performance opened eyes, and McCullough broke camp headed for Oakland instead. On the season, the right-hander went 17-13 with a 3.67 ERA, good enough for second amongst Oaks moundmen for wins and ERA. His 85 strikeouts was third-placed on the team.
McCullough shares honors with center fielder and leadoff hitter Nicolas Fournier. The Canadian was cruel to his countrymen, hitting safely in all six games of the Continental Series. He compiled a .440 average for the Series and scored six runs, including the first run of the game that ultimately proved to be the Series-winner.
Troy L'Heureux performed admirably in a losing effort for the Royals. The Michigan native (despite his name, L'Heureux claims no Quebec ancestry) hit .429 in the six games with a home run and 5 RBI.
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| Fornier |
But the real news is with the Oaks and their monumental win. While their opponents were the pre-season favorites to win the International League, it was the Oaks' neighbor across the Bay, the San Francisco Seals, that was the consensus pick to win the first Major League pennant in the PCL. Instead, Oakland won the title by five games over the Seals, then jumped all over the highly-fancied Royals, taking the first three games of the Series, including two at Delorimier Stadium. The Royals bounced back in Games 4 and 5, but Oakland continued its dominance of the Royals in their own patch. To win three games of a championship series on the road - the Oakland Oaks are truly deserving champs.
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