Dixie League Stunner: Miami Sweeps Black Hats In Two

Dixie – The Miami Pirates are the 2015 Dixie League Champions after sweeping the New Orleans Black Hats with back to back wins in the Dixie League Championship Series (DLCS), clinching the title with a 10-8 Game 2 victory.  Miami was clutch under the lights of prime time, scoring with 3 runs during Sunday Night Football for the come from behind win. This was a back-and-forth battle that saw the lead change hands three times, with the largest lead being 3 points after Thursday night.  The Pirates have been the only team to have played New Orleans well this season, improving on their 2-1 regular season head-to-head record with the post season sweep.  They won in Game 1 by a narrow 7-6 score to facilitate the sweep.

AF Pro Bowl nominee New Orleans struggled this post season after virtually dominating the league all year.  Even so, they were heavily favored in the championship series even after having trouble vs the Texas Confederates in the Western League Championship Series (WLCS), beating them in the final two games after losing the series opener. Miami on the other hand, never stumbled in the post season, sweeping in state rival Florida Jesters in two games in the ELCS, before pulling off their upset sweep of the Black Hats.  It marks the second consecutive season that New Orleans comes up short at the end, as they lost the championship last year while playing as the New Orleans Breakers, and also one more year that the West fails to claim the championship.  They have never done so in league history as Miami becomes the third consecutive league champion to come out of the East (Jacksonville, 2012 and Richmond, 2014) (league did not play in 2013).