Renegades stop 6 game skid vs Philly with commanding 17-6 victory
Game Summary
Traveling to Indianapolis, Boston computed a 33% chance it would take on the Philly Fire. When both teams finished 2-1 in their bracket, that became a reality. Philly started the weekend by getting 12-runned by the Gateway Archers 17-4. They then 12-runned the Indy Edge 16-7 and then beat Cleveland 11-7. Philly was missing two of their starters in John Margist and Justin Rhines but they also were seeing Tanner Gers in their lineup for the first time. The last time The Renegades beat Philly was in the 2022 World Series. Though there were some tight games including a Philly walk off in the 2025 World Series (10-9) and a 1 run loss on Long Island in 2025 (16-15).
Philly won the coin toss and the winner of this game would get third place in Indianapolis. For Boston Ron Cochran and Hunter Weissman would both pitch as Hunter had Shayne Cantan in the lineup. On defense, Nick Morin Tylock was calling the left side and Gina Devenish the right side. The weather was in the mid 60’s when the game started and the grass was slow and damp.
First inning
Tyler Mireault hit the first pitch as a weak dribbler up the middle. Mike Coughlin and Casey Krause both broke for the ball, but Casey hit the ground a tad too soon and lifted it right after Tyler hit first base. Christian Thaxton worked a 1-2 count and then hit a high pop fly that went higher than long as it dropped near 60 feet. By the time the defense broke for the ball, Thaxton was a few feet from the base and scored with ease. Shawn Devenish then took the 4th pitch into deep left field over the head of Melchion Wee Ellis in the third layer. Rob Dias then battled and came about 3 inches from scoring on a foul ball but eventually struck out. Shayne Cantan stepped into the box with Hunter Weissman taking the mound. Cantan took the first delivery hard to the left side to Casey Krause for the second out. Drew Crook then hit a first pitch bouncer up the middle right to Casey Krause for the third out of the inning. Boston scored three in the first.
For Boston Shawn Devenish played up front on the left with Rob Dias playing up front on the right. David Marcano got the start at the mid field slot. Drew Crook was at third with Shayne Cantan at first and Tyler Mireault deep in the third layer. Casey Krause led off for Philly against his dad, Pat Krause. Casey hit a full count on the ground bouncing up the middle. Shawn Devenish ranged backwards and up the middle to make a nice stop on the speedy Krause. Mike Coughlin, the lefty was next and hit the first pitch on a bounce right to Devenish who laid out and it rolled right to him for the second out. Scott Hogwood struck out to end the inning after blasting a bomb foul down the third base line. Boston maintained their three run lead.
Second Inning
The top of the order would start the second inning. Tyler Mireault fouled off the first two pitches and then struck out. Christian Thaxton was next and hit the first pitch hard to the left side and the ball was dead on contact. He then hit the next ball on the fly up the left side. Sean Walker hit the ground but could not get it in time to beat Thaxton’s speed. Devenish then it a hard line drive that went past all three layers. Rob Dias fouled off the first two pitches and then on the 4th pitch hit a grounder up the middle that hit Ron in the calves as he turned away on contact. He then struck out for the second time. Shayne Cantan then remained locked in and laced a hard low liner to the right side by Coughlin and Jace Russell for a run. Drew Crook fouled off four in a row before striking out to end the inning. Boston scored three again and led 6-0.
Tanner Gers fouled off the first pitch and then swung and missed at three and struck out. Sean Walker hit a weak ball that landed just past the 40 foot line. He hesitated for a second before taking off to third as Devenish hit the ground early and slid on the ground forward quickly and picked it clean for the second out. Melchion Wee Ellis was next, coming over to play for Philly from the New York Bombers. He hit a bouncer to the left side. Devenish hit the ground and scooted over to pick it up for the end of the inning. Boston maintained their six run lead.
Third inning
For the third straight inning, Mireault would lead off. He hit a bouncer to the right side. Coughlin laid out and it rolled past his feet and then past Russel and Tyler had his second run of the game. Thaxton struggled with his timing and struck out for the first out. Devenish battled with three fouls and on the 6th pitch struck out. Rob Dias then took the second pitch on the ground to Krause who didn’t line it up well and it got just past him. As he went backwards to get it Dias scored. Philly challenged the call and after the umps discussed it, the run stood. Cantan was next. He hit a high fly ball into the second layer. Hogwood came over and tried to make the play but Cantan was too quick. Crook then hit a hard grounder and killed the ball but Krause made the play without the beep in the ball to end the inning. Boston inched forward to 9-0.
Just how baseball works, when you make a great play on defense, the momentum carries into the at bat and Krause would lead off the inning. Krause slammed a low line shot into left center. Marcano was late to move on it and Tyler didn’t move and it got by both players as Philly broke the ice. Coughlin then lofted a pop fly in the air to the left side. Devenish dropped back, slid a few steps to the line and picked it clean for the first out. Hogwood then laced a shot over Crook’s head and Cantan did not move on the play as it rolled past him for the second run. Gers fouled off the first pitch and waived at 3 pitches and struck out for the second out and his second whiff. Walker then followed suit with a strike out. Philly got on the board and trailed 9-2.
Fourth Inning
For the fourth straight time Mireault would lead off. He hit another bouncer to the right side. This time Coughlin got his body on it but he booted it about 10 feet away from him toward the middle of the field. Mireault scored with ease on that error. Thaxton then lofted a fly ball up the middle of the field. Walker moved backwards, hit the ground, missed it and then made the play as Thaxton was a bit slow down the line as he was nursing a minor back injury. Devenish then lofted a bomb into left field for his third run of the game. Rob Dias then hit a grounder up the middle that died. Krause hit the ground early and crawled quickly to the ball and just nabbed Dias by a step for the out. Cantan then hit a great beep baseball hit off Hunter Weissman that went higher than far and Krause was frozen waiting for it to land. Cantan beat it out for his third run. Crook then hit a ball off the end of the bat into the second layer of the defense. Walker laid out and made the stop. Boston continued the trend and led 12-2.
Cesar Lezcano entered the game to pinch hit for Wee Ellis. He hit a line drive off the chest of Pat Krause and ran all the way to the base before finding out he almost took his pitchers face mask off. The end result of his at bat would be a strike out, Krause then hit a line drive over Crooks head down the line for an easy run with his speed. Coughlin then hit a weak bouncer to the right side. Rob Dias was there waiting for it and scooted forward to make a clean stop. Hogwood then lifted a fly ball up the middle of the field. Dias ranged over and backwards but the ball hit the ground and spun away from Dias. Rob gave chase and made the stop to nail Hogwood. The lead was now 12-3.
Fifth inning
Tyler was getting value out of his leadoff spot as he led off an inning for the 5th time in a row as the Renegades batted 6 in each of the first four innings. Tyler hit a hard grounder to the right side that got past Jace Russell who moved to play the right short position. It also slid past Lezcano as well but Mireault missed third base which gave Lezcano enough time to find the ball and Tyler was out. Thaxton was next and hit a hard grounder up the left side past Krause and Mike Coughlin (who switched positions) made the stop in the second layer. Devenish then hit a ball that rolled a few inches over the forty foot arc and Krause flew in and slid and picked it. The call on the field was safe, but it was challenged and the call was overturned. It could not have been a closer play but the tie goes to the fielder and the Fire had their first 1-2-3 inning of the game. The score remained 12-3
Philly removed their DH and allowed Jace Russel to move from the DF to a spot in the lineup. He hit a fly ball deep into right field. Cantan gave up on the play early and Russel had a big run in his first at bat. Walker and Lezcano both struck out. Krause had an at bat where he broke a ball that traveled about 45 feet, then launched a bomb near 170 foul. His at bat ended with a fly ball to the right side that spun away from Rob Dias for a run , his third of the game. Coughlin was next and hit a grounder up the right middle of the field. David Marcano ranged to his left and angled backwards and made a stop in the second layer. Boston led 12-5.
Sixth inning
Rob Dias would lead off, the first time anyone other than Tyler had led off all game. He hit a line drive into right field past Russel. Lezcano laid out but could not find it and it went by him for Rob’s second run of the game. Cantan then lofted a second pitch offering from Hunter Weissman to the right side. The ball came to rest between Russel and Lezcano and he scored for the fourth time. Weissman went to the bench to hit for Crook and brought in Jen Morin-Tylock. Jen fouled off the third itch and struck out. Tyler came back to the plate for the 6th time. After fouling off three pitches in a row and on the 5th pitch he laced a hard grounder down the first base line and scored with ease. Thaxton struck out for the second time. Shawn Devenish then took the first pitch he saw deep into center field for a no doubter and his fourth run of the game. Dias then hit a grounder up the middle and Hogwood missed it and Dias scored his third run of the game. Shayne Cantan was next with the goal to get Jen back up. The Renegades failed on that goal as Cantan hit a dribbler up the middle and Krause stopped him with ease. Boston led 17-5.
As Boston took the field, Elana Regan checked in to play third base for the pinch hitter, Jen Morin-Tylock. Scott Hogwood led off the inning and hit a high fly ball to the left side. Regan slid three steps to her left and then one back to her right, hit the ground, picked it clean for the first out. Jace Russell then hit a line drive to the left side. Regan hit the ground and it got by her and Russell scored. Joe Aragon, a rookie then was called on to pinch hit for Walker. He made contact with a flare up the middle. Devenish moved to the middle of the field and in and picked the ball for the second out. Lezcano ended the game with a 50 foot grounder down the left side. Devenish was quick to the spot and lifted the ball in time for the win. the Final score was 17-6. This was the largest run differential in Renegade history against the Philly organization (11 runs).
Wrap Up
With the win, the Renegades took 3rd place in the Indy Bonanza with a 3-1 record. For Philly, the player of the game would be Casey Krause who went 3-4 and made 6 stops on defense. For the Renegades, Shawn Devenish was 4-6 with 7 stops on defense. Tyler Mireault and Shayne Cantan also pitched in 4-6 games
As the tournament came to a close, Shayne Cantan was named to the All-tournament team tied for 5th hitting .667 (8-12). This was the first time in Renegade history a player was named to an all-tournament team with a pitcher other than Ron Cochran throwing. Hunter Weissman had an amazing tournament and helped Shayne with that honor. Shayne had not seen an all-tournament team on offense since 2010 when he made it in both Boling brook and Long Island. Shayne also should have been named to the all-tournament team on defense in the third layer as he made two stops there but due to an error on Rob Weissman he was not credited with both deep stops.
Game Highlights