FARMINGTON – The fourth time was the charm for Dulins Dodgers, who captured their first Connie Mack World Series championship Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Ricketts Park with a dominating 5-2 win over the defending champion Southern California Renegades.
Led by a stellar pitching performance by Landon Collins, as well as timely hitting from Tommy Baker and John Clark, the Dodgers grabbed command of the scoreboard in the second inning and never trailed in the final game of the tournament, giving the team from Gunter, Texas, their first championship in one of the nation’s most prestigious amateur baseball tournaments.
“It’s such a hard event to win, and it’s hard to win in general, but everyone talked about how young we were, but they played like veterans,” said Dodgers head coach Chris Godwin. “They’re resilient, selfless, and they’re unbelievable teammates. When you look at championship teams, everybody is for each other, everybody wants the next guy up and that’s why we won this game.”
Collins pitched a complete game, striking out six Renegades hitters while allowing just two runs on six hits and a pair of walks over seven innings. The Texas Tech University commit threw just 97 pitches and had the Renegades offense on its heels much of the night.
“You can’t ask for a better kid. I don’t know if there’s many out there who work harder than him,” Godwin said. “I’m so proud of him, and he’s going to be a big time arm in the future.”
The Dodgers struck first, taking advantage of a fielding error in the top of the second inning. Renegades starting pitcher Stephen Michalsky threw offline trying to get Kolt Larsen out at third on a bunt attempt from John Clark. The errant throw allowed Larsen to score and gave the Dodgers a 1-0 advantage.
Michalsky threw 2 2/3 innings before he was replaced by Tyler Onofre. Michalsky left with the bases loaded but Onofre got Dodgers second baseman John Clark to ground out to end the top half of the third inning.
The Dodgers got some defensive help in the bottom of the third inning when Collins took a grounder off the bat of Evan Thomas, leading a double play to first baseman Logan Corley, who threw across the infield to nab Isaiah Munoz, who led off the frame with a single.
Onofre was replaced on the mound by JW Bayless. Onofre gave up a walk and a single to start the top of the fourth inning. Bayless then struck out two of the next three batters to end the Dodgers threat.
The Renegades offense had an golden opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth, while Collins showed the first signs of trouble on the mound. The Renegades loaded the bases with a double by Tomas Cernius, followed by a sharply hit single by Travis Curry and a walk to Sean Green. Collins responded by striking out Tyler Peshke before Munoz bounced out to the shortstop. The Renegades stranded five baserunners in the contest.
Dulins Dodgers Road to CMWS Championship
Dodgers 6, Zinger Prospects 0
Dodgers 5, White Sox Scout Team 4
Dodgers 9, So Cal Renegades 6
Midland Southwest Bulls 9, Dodgers 6
Dodgers 10, Midland Southwest 1
Dodgers 5, Renegades 2
Bayless returned to the mound in the top of the fifth inning and surrendered only one hit. The Piedra Vista High product has been one of the most efficient pitchers in the tournament, with a three-inning shutout performance out of the bullpen earlier this week in a Renegades win over the Midland Redskins.
The Dodgers broke the game open in the top of the sixth, scoring three times. Clark and Ashten Ballew both scored, followed by Austen Allen. Those three runs gave the Dodgers a commanding 4-0 edge.
The Renegades closed the gap in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ben Finnegan led off the frame getting hit by a pitch, then scored on a double down the right field line by Curry. Green then doubled in Curry to cut the Dodgers lead in half, but then proceeded to leave a runner on base to end the threat.
The Dodgers added a run in the top of the seventh when Baker led off the frame with a single and later scored from second on a base hit from Clark to add some leverage for Collins, who shut the Renegades down with a flawless final inning to complete the win.
“Everything was working for me tonight, I got myself into a lot of 2-strike counts and had myself in the drivers seat,” Collins said. “I had a lot of faith in my defense and they executed so well in getting us out of jams.”
The Dodgers made their CMWS debut in 2022 and have been a return visitor each of the last three years. In 2022 and 2023, they earned automatic bids to the tournament having won the Don Mattingly World Series the prior year.
This year, the Dodgers won the Ozarks qualifying tournament in Joplin, Missouri to earn their spot in the event. The Dodgers finish the CMWS with a record of 4 wins and one loss, dropping their only game in bracket competition to the Midland Southwest Bulls.
The Renegades, who were hoping to become back-to-back CMWS champions, never appeared to overcome Collins’ performance on the mound.
“The kid threw strikes and we just couldn’t capitalize on them at all,” said Renegades head coach Si Pettrow. “Even when we made that run in the fourth, we still couldn’t keep that momentum going.”
This was the second meeting between these two teams during the Connie Mack World Series. On Thursday, the Dodgers outscored the Renegades by a score of 9-6.
“The more you see a team, the more you get to scout their tendencies and so we focused on that a little bit coming into this game tonight.
The Renegades finish the tournament with a record of 4-2, with both of their losses coming at the hands of the newly crowned champions.
