FB Rewind - Episode 1 (by Portland Venom)

The date is July 25th, 2020. The time is 8:38 EST. Reese Nelson is up to bat the biggest AB of his life. Soliz winds up on the 1-2 count, Nelson makes contact and----. First, Let’s Rewind.

Welcome to Franchise Ball rewind. It replays Franchise Ball’s greatest (or worst) moments.

Starting in Season 83, the Chicago Ohawks organization had great teams right out of the gate. In their first full season they won 38 games but took 2nd in their division. In Season 85, they won 42 games but still did not win their division. Their team improved even more in season 86, leading to 48 wins and finally a playoff berth. In those playoffs, the 1 seeded Ohawks breezed through their first round game with a 10-3 win over the Brothers of Warner. In the second round, they lost in a tight 11-7 loss to a San Diego Giants team that was on track to win their first world series. Before we tell you about season 87, we’ll jump to the massacre’s story.

The Peoria Massacre, a team founded in season 84 started their first season with a respectable 10-5 record. In their next season, they only won 33 games. Like the Ohawks, they had a breakout season in season 86, winning 47 games and their division. In the playoffs, the 3 seeded Massacre beat the Okanagan Heat 12-3 in the first round. In the second round, they faced the 2 seeded Wind Surge and won 12-4. In the conference championship versus the 1 seeded St. Johns Codfish in a crazy game that probably deserves a rewind of it’s own, The ending of the game turned out to be a Massacre win 7-6 due to a 4 run 8th inning rally. In the world playoffs, the massacre won a nailbiter against the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0. That set up a matchup against the Buffalo Bisons, in which the winner will get a bye in the next round to go to the World Series. In that game, the Bisons won on a walk-off to advance to the World Series.

In season 87, both teams excelled even more. The Ohawks were ranked 3rd in the world after a glamorous 52-8 season. Meanwhile, the Massacre got 49 wins and were placed 6th in the world. In the first round there was a big upset scare for the Massacre, who won 5-4 after scoring 3 in the 9th to secure the win against the Cincinnati chacaocr7. In the second round they won 14-6 against the 4 seeded Demo Yankees, and then breezed through the league final against the Osaka Orenji 10-1 and they were off to the world playoffs as back to back champions of Alta Canyon. The league playoffs were harder for the Ohawks than the massacre. In the first round they beat the always underrated Detroit Detroit, 8-5. In the second round, they barely beat the rbis 5-4. The game they had the most breathing room in was the league finals, where they beat the Nightcrawlers 13-7. They were also off to the World Playoffs. In the first round of worlds, the Ohawks beat a 31 win Dragon Shrimp team that had won 52 games the season before 15-11, winning a bye for the next round. The Massacre won 11-6 over the Louisville Colonels. That set up another great matchup with the massacre and Springfield Eagles playing. If the Massacre won they would be going to the World Series. The Eagles were up 3-1 heading into the 8th but the Massacre hit two huge homers to send the Eagles home. Since the Ohawks got the bye, they were going to be playing the River Rats in a match who’s winner would go to the World Series to face the Massacre. It was 4-4 in the bottom of the 8th when the Ohawks’ Reese Nelson hit a 2 run blast to send the Ohawks to the World Series. The series was great from the start. The massacre took game one in a nailbiter win 8-6. In game two, the game was tied 8-8 and the Ohawks needed to score. Which they did off of a RBI single from Santiago Whitcomb. Game three was a slugfest right from the started. After 2 innings it was Massacre 9, Ohawks 8. The offenses cooled down a bit but the massacre had the lead 13-12 and they were three outs away from their first championship. That all ended on a Fidel Razo solo shot to tie. Soliz walks one batter. The next one flies out. He walks another one. This leaves Reese Nelson up to bat. Nelson, 27, had been with the Ohawks for his entire career. So far that season he had hit 25 Homers and had had 68 RBI. The first pitch is high and away. The second pitch is a curve that barely hits the plate. The third pitch is a low slider that Nelson chases to make the count 1-2. Soliz winds up on the 1-2 count, Nelson makes contact AND IT’S INTO THE OUTFIELD, AT THE WARNING TRACK AND LAI REACHES UP AND HE CAN’T GET IT’S IN THE THIRD ROW AND THE OHAWKS WIN!!!!! OHAWKS ARE FRANCHISE BALL WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!! OHAWKS WINNNNNNNNNN!! -Portland Venom