2011 Statistical Leaders

Take a look at the Key West Ramblers' 2011 statistical leaders. Rate statistics for hitters require at least 100 plate appearances to qualify for the team lead. Rate statistics for pitchers require at least 40 innings pitched to qualify for the team lead. An asterisk (*) denotes a team record.

Hitting:

AVG: Chris Briggs - .372

OBP: Briggs - .453

SLG: Briggs - .526

HR: Tim Carty/Cory Davidson - 4

RBI: Briggs - 30

Hits: Dan Spain - 61*

Doubles: Briggs - 11

Walks: Briggs - 20

SB: Spain - 23*

Runs: Spain - 39*

PA: Spain - 190*

Games: Spain - 45*

Pitching:

ERA: Sean O'Connor - 2.36

Wins: O'Connor - 10*

Strikeouts: O'Connor - 71

WHIP: Cottrell/O'Connor - 1.24

IP: O'Connor - 80

CG: O'Connor - 8*

BAA: Cottrell - .186

Games: O'Connor/Spain - 15

GS: O'Connor - 11

Photo Finish

Above: The Ramblers pose after defeating Farley 6-5 in Friday's Prairie League Championship game at Farley Park.

Front row (left to right): Matt Knabel, Cam Stewart, John Knabel, Tanner Denlinger, Jared Munson.

Back row: Tim Carty, Justin Kuhle, Ben Cottrell, Chad Crabill, Dan Spain, Sean O'Connor, Paul Carty.

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"It was probably the craziest, most unreal way to finish the year. I knew it was gone as soon as I hit it, but I still can't believe it happened."

--Ben Cottrell (from the Telegraph Herald) on his walk-off grand slam in the Prairie League Championship.

Cottrell's epic slam gave the Ramblers a second-straight walk-off win at the Prairie league Championships after having beaten Epworth 2-1 in the semifinals when Dan Spain was hit by a pitch to force in the game-winning run. The Ramblers ended their season at 35-13 overall (.729 win percentage) - the best mark in team history.

Cottrell's dramatic grand slam lifts Ramblers to Prairie League title

With the bases loaded and the Ramblers down 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh and final inning of Friday's 2011 Prairie League championship, Ben Cottrell delivered with the most dramatic hit in the history of the Key West Ramblers' franchise. Cottrell's one-out grand slam broke the hearts of Farley and gave Key West (35-13) its second Prairie League championship in four years.

Cottrell, who came into the game 14-for-24 at the plate on the season, crushed the back-breaking homer off Farley pitcher Brian Miller, who took the loss. Cottrell's blast set off a celebratory mob at home plate. The improbable finish created a frenzied atmosphere that will no doubt live as the lasting image of the 2011 season.

With the Ramblers down 5-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, Dan Spain started the inning with a single. Tim Carty was then hit by a pitch prior to Justin Kuhle grounding into a fielder's choice in which the shortstop made a great play to rob Kuhle. Tanner Denlinger followed by drawing a walk to load the bases with one out. Up to the plate stepped the red-hot Cottrell who smoked a line-drive to left-center that carried over the wall for a walk-off grand slam and a 6-5 championship victory.

Cottrell's heroics awoke a team that had not scored since the first inning when Carty cracked a two-run double. Cottrell's second home run of the season brought one side to a state of jubilation and the other to one of disgust.

Friday's win gave the Ramblers their third tournament championship this season after winning the EIHL preseason tournament and the Farley Tournament. Key West completed the 2011 season with a record of 8-0 at Farley Park and a 12-6 record in games decided by a single run.

Meanwhile, starting pitcher Sean O'Connor threw all seven innings for the Ramblers and notched his 10th win of the season, good enough to tie a franchise record also held by Cottrell and Ned Schauff.

Spain finished the season the way he started it - by spraying hits everywhere. The Ramblers' star shortstop went 4-for-4 to cap another outstanding season. Outfielder Jared Munson went 2-for-4 on the night to bring his season average to just below .300.

Friday's classic marked the final game for the Ramblers in 2011. Check back in the coming weeks for more coverage of the 2011 season.

Key West, Farley set to face off in Prairie League championship

An exciting 2-1 victory over Epworth in Wednesday's Prairie League semifinal game, which ended when Dan Spain was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, vaulted the Ramblers (34-13) into Friday's 7 p.m. championship duel with Farley at Farley Park. A win over Farley would give the Ramblers their second Prairie League title in four years.

To reach Friday's championship, the Ramblers relied on a season-long strength - stellar pitching. Ben Cottrell had masterful stuff on Wednesday against Epworth. The right-hander worked around five walks in six innings, giving up just one run and one hit. He baffled Epworth hitters to the tune of 12 strikeouts.

But Epworth starting pitcher Nick Schultz was up to the task. He held Key West scoreless all the way up until the fifth inning. That's when Cory Davidson led off with a double and scored three batters later when an error allowed Cody Leach to reach base. Davidson's run tied the score at 1-1.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the seventh. After Ryan Kelly flied out to begin the inning, Cottrell and Leach both singled and Jared Munson walked to bring up Spain, who was then nailed by a pitch to force home the game-winning run.

The walk-off victory made a winner out of Kelly, who relieved Cottrell in the seventh. Kelly continued his dominant work on the mound by retiring all three hitters he faced.

Munson and Tim Carty each went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles to lead Key West, which is now 11-6 in one-run games.

Wednesday's playoff game marked the fifth-straight year the Ramblers have advanced to the the Prairie League playoffs. Key West is the only team to have gone to the playoffs in both the Prairie League and the EIHL in each of the last five seasons.

Key West is 6-1 against Farley this season and 2-0 versus Farley in games played at Farley Park. Overall, The Ramblers are 7-0 at Farley Park in 2011, including the Farley Tournament, which the Ramblers won by trumping Epworth in the tournament title game.

Saeugling no-hits Ramblers at Peosta Tournament

After having an incredible run of success in one-run games in the first two weeks of July, the Ramblers' luck has run dry. Key West (33-13) has dropped three-straight one-run decisions, including Saturday's 1-0 loss to Dubuque in the first round of the Peosta Tournament. Dubuque standout Aaron Saeugling fired a eight-inning no-hitter and blasted a solo homer in the top of the eighth to lift the Blues.

After Key West starter Ryan Kelly delivered seven and two-thirds innings of shut out ball, Saeugling stepped up in extra innings and delivered the game-winning longball as he helped himself to a win on the mound. It was Dubuque's third-consecutive win over the Ramblers.

Key West managed only one baserunner the entire night. Cory Davidson reached first after being hit by Saeugling's pitch to lead off the bottom of the second. Saeugling struck out 14 hitters in perhaps the most impressive pitching display of the Eastern Iowa semi-pro baseball season.

Kelly threw a great game in defeat. The right-hander had given up only one hit until Saeugling's eighth-inning bomb. Kelly struck out seven in an eight-inning complete game of his own.

Saturday's loss came on the heels of an extra-inning loss to Bellevue in a road Prairie League game on Wednesday. The Ramblers blew a 4-2 sixth-inning lead before defensive gaffes allowed Chet Knake to score the walk-off run in the eighth. Chris Briggs (3-for-4), Tanner Denlinger (2-for-3), Cody Leach (2-for-4) and Kelly (2-for-5) all collected multiple hits in defeat.

The Ramblers will have their last chance to get back to their winning ways when the Prairie League playoffs begin Tuesday. Key West will take on Epworth at 8:30 p.m. at Farley in one semifinal match-up. The other semifinal game pits Dubuque against Farley at 7 p.m., also on Tuesday. The two winners will meet on Wednesday in the championship game.

Ramblers finish runner-up in EIHL for second-straight year

The Ramblers looked to avenge 2010's blowout loss to Dubuque in the EIHL championship game by reversing the outcome at the 2011 EIHL Championship on Sunday. Things looked good for Key West (33-11) when it jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two-and-a-half innings, but Dubuque battled back to grab the EIHL crown by a 3-2 score.

Dan Spain threw all six innings for Key West, turning in another solid performance on the mound. He allowed only one earned run to a hot-hitting Dubuque team which took advantage of a fourth-inning error that led off the inning. In that same inning, Brian Putnam delivered the game-winning bloop two-run single to cap all scoring.

Cam Stewart put the Ramblers in front, 1-0, in the top of the second with an RBI single to score Tanner Denlinger, who is set to play baseball at Clarke University. Key West made it 2-0 in the third after Tim Carty drove in Ryan Kelly with a sacrifice fly to center field. Jeff Hoerner cut Dubuque's deficit to a single run with an RBI single in the bottom of the third.

Dubuque starting pitcher Nick Kirk went five innings to pick up the win. Kirk and reliever Ryan Doty gave up only two hits combined.

The Ramblers advanced to the championship game with Dubuque by defeating Cascade in the semifinal game earlier on Sunday at Petrakis. Ryan Kelly starred for the Ramblers, tossing a seven-inning complete-game to notch the victory. Kelly struck out nine and limited Cascade to three hits on the afternoon. At the plate, Kelly was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored.

Stewart went 2-for-3, knocked in all three runs and stole a pair of bases. Carty also went 2-for-3 as the Ramblers returned to the EIHL championship for the second year in a row.

The Ramblers have completed play in the EIHL, but return to action Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Bellevue in what will be the team's final Prairie League regular season game of 2011. The Ramblers will get another shot at Dubuque on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the Peosta Tournament.

Update from Petrakis

6:22 p.m. - Congrats to Dubuque - 2011 EIHL champions. Dubuque prevailed 3-2 over the Ramblers in Sunday's championship game.

3:36 p.m. - Dubuque has beaten Farley. The Ramblers are set to take on Dubuque at about 3:45 in the EIHL Championship.

2:08 p.m. - The Ramblers defeated Cascade 3-1 in Sunday's EIHL semifinal game with Ryan Kelly earning the win on the mound. The other semifinal between Dubuque and Farley has just gotten underway. Key West (33-10) will meet the winner of that match up at 4 p.m. today with the EIHL crown on the line. More coverage coming.

Ramblers will try to re-capture magic at Sunday's championships

Saturday afternoon's 15-2 loss at the hands of Bernard was a tough one to swallow for a Key West team that enters Sunday's EIHL championships as the No. 2 seed. The Ramblers will look to quickly forget that drubbing as postseason play gets started on Sunday. The No. 2-seeded Ramblers (32-10) take on No. 3 Cascade at 12 p.m at Petrakis Park.

Ryan Kelly will take the mound for Key West. The right-hander, who has played college ball at Clarke, has been near perfect in his appearances so far. The Ramblers will rely on Kelly to help get them back to the lofty status they enjoyed at the beginning of 2011. Key West won two of the first three semi-pro tournaments (EIHL Preseason and Farley), but have struggled in recent tournaments as the team's pitching depth has been depleted.

The Ramblers 14-1 start set the bar at a near unattainable level, making an 18-9 stretch and no tournament championships since June 18 feel like somewhat of a letdown. But being disappointed about the most successful season in team history makes little sense.

The Ramblers' 32-10 mark in 2011 has set a new team record for victories in a season, also good enough to break the franchise's best single-season win percentage. This year's edition of the Ramblers has also set a new team-high for home runs (18) and has seen Dan Spain (.374 BA), Chris Briggs (.384 BA) and Cory Davidson (.356 BA) post all-league-type seasons at the plate. Throw in the contributions of Tim Carty, Sean O'Connor, Jared Munson, Ben Cottrell, Matt Knabel and company, and you get one of the best teams in the area.

Now that nucleus has its sights on the franchise's first-ever EIHL Championship. Should the Ramblers prevail over Cascade in the semifinals, they will play in the championship on Sunday at approximately 4 p.m. versus the Dubuque/Farley winner.

Ramblers defeat Worthington, prepare for EIHL playoffs

The Key West Ramblers scored three runs in the final three innings to pull away from Worthington and grab a 7-4 road win on Thursday night. The win pushed Key West to 31-9, tying the 2010 Ramblers for the most victories in franchise history.

Cam Stewart made his first career start on the mound, narrowly missing out on his first career victory. Stewart was pulled from the game after facing three batters in the sixth-inning. He left with men on first and second, the latter scoring to tie the game at 4-4 in the sixth.

Key West put up four runs through six innings by way of run-scoring RBI singles by Jared Munson and Cody Leach in the second before Leach's two-run single in the sixth gave the Ramblers a 4-3 lead.

Ryan Kelly notched an RBI single in the seventh, proving to be the game-winner. The Ramblers then added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth, keyed by a Matt Knabel double.

Kelly relieved Stewart in the sixth and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings and earned his second win of the season. Dan Spain pitched the ninth and picked up his second save.

The Ramblers now look forward to Bernard on Saturday at 12 p.m. before the EIHL playoffs get under way on Sunday. Key West earned the No. 2 seed in the league and drew No. 3-seeded Cascade. In the other match-up, No. 1 Dubuque will take on No. 4 Farley. All games will be played at Petrakis Park - homefield of the top-seeded Dubuque Blues.

Key West will battle Cascade at 12 p.m. with Dubuque and Farley set to follow. The two semifinal winners will meet in the championship game at approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Ramblers fall to Dubuque once again

Lack of control from starting pitcher Ben Cottrell and a sloppy defensive effort gave the Ramblers little chance of competing with red-hot Dubuque in Wednesday night's quarterfinal match-up at the Dyersville Tournament. Dubuque beat Key West for the third time in five meetings this season, this time coming by a 9-2 score to advance Dubuque to the semifinals.

Cottrell looked sharp in a 1-2-3 first inning that included strikeouts of Ben Tressel and Aaron Saeugling, but struggled in the bottom of the second. Two of the first three Blues' hitters walked in the inning, leading to both runs after Matt Asche cracked a two-run single for the first runs of the game.

After a Kevin Carkeek RBI single in the third, the Ramblers (30-9) chipped a run off the lead in the fourth when Jared Munson scored Chris Briggs with a single. But Dubuque put up four runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to make it 9-1. Both rallies began with an error on the shortstop. The Blues took advantage and scored six unearned runs to put the game out of reach.

Munson's second run-scoring single, which occurred in the sixth was far too little, too late as Dubuque pitcher Ryan Doty earned another victory. Cottrell went 4.1 innings for Key West, allowing four hits, six walks and three earned runs, along with five strikeouts.

Munson and Briggs both went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles to lead Key West, who will return to action Thursday at 7 p.m. at Worthington.

Ramblers grab win No. 30 at Dyersville Tournament

The Ramblers continued to make themselves at home at Dyersville's Jenk Field on Sunday night as they notched a 4-1 win over Farley in the first round of the Dyersville Tournament and improved to 30-8 on the season.

Few places have been friendlier to Key West this season than Dyersville - the site of the team's EIHL preseason championship back in May. It was May 21 when the Ramblers defeated Farley 7-1 in the championship game and took home the season's first tournament crown.

In a battle of top-area hurlers on Sunday, the Ramblers' Sean O'Connor got the best of Farley's Andy Seabrooke. O'Connor allowed five hits and only one run, while striking out six in a seven-inning complete game. With the victory, O'Connor moved to 9-1 on the season, placing him just one win shy of the team's single-season record (held by both Ben Cottrell and Ned Schauff).

At the plate, the Ramblers managed just four hits on the night, but made all of them count. Key West drew first blood immediately with a pair of runs in the top of the first. Dan Spain's RBI double scored Tanner Denlinger, who led off the game with a walk. Chris Briggs then connected on an RBI double of his own to plate Spain.

Key West added a tally in the third when Cory Davidson stole second and Spain swiped home on the throw to second. The Rambler lead held at 3-0 until Farley got its lone run in the fourth inning.

Denlinger followed that up with a solo shot to lead off the top of the fifth to make it 4-1. It was Denlinger's first career semi-pro home run.

Farley attempted to mount a rally in the bottom of the fifth as it put runners at second and third with only one away. O'Connor struck out Seabrooke before intentionally walking Chris Kerper to load the bases with two outs. Farley's Scott Harris then hit a dribbler in front of the plate. Catcher Matt Knabel pounced and beat the runner from third to the plate to get the force out and end the inning.

The Ramblers now advance to Wednesday's 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal game in Dyersville as they renew their rivalry with Dubuque. The two teams have split the first four games in the season series with three of those contests decided by a single run. Ben Cottrell and Ryan Doty are the expected starting pitchers for Wednesday night's duel.

Carty, Spain go deep in 7-4 win at Rickardsville

Tim Carty got the Ramblers on the board with a first inning solo homer and they never looked back on the way to a 7-4 road win over Rickardsville on Friday night. Dan Spain also popped a home run, giving him his first longball of the season.

Even more impressive was Spain's effort on the mound. He turned in his best pitching peformance of 2011, going seven innings and giving up only two hits and one unearned run. He tallied six strikeouts on the night.

After Carty's first-inning blast, Key West (29-8) continued to tack onto the lead against Rickardsville starter Ryan Mabe. The Ramblers got two in the second inning, highlighted by a Chad Crabill RBI single. Spain's two-run homer in the sixth made the score 5-0. Rickardsville got its first run in the bottom half of the sixth but the Ramblers added two more in the seventh on a two-run Cory Davidson single.

Jared Munson relieved Spain in the eighth inning. Munson's wildness and an error aided Rickardsville's three-run eighth as the scored tightened to 7-4. After the Ramblers failed to score in the ninth, Rickardsville made it interesting by loading the bases with three singles. But Munson coaxed a strikeout and a fly out to end the game and put Key West within two victories of the team record, set back in 2008.

Four Ramblers collected at least two hits in Friday's affair. Ben Cottrell remains the team's hottest hitter as he went 3-for-4. Spain also posted three hits and two RBIs. Carty and Davidson both went 2-for-5. Tim Felderman paced Rickardsville with a 2-for-4 night.

Saturday's scheduled game with East Dubuque was postponed, meaning the Ramblers next game is Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Dyersville Tournament against Farley.

Ramblers split pair of home games

The Ramblers split a pair of EIHL home games in Peosta this week, falling to Cascade 7-4 on Tuesday before rebounding with a 4-1 win over Dyersville on Wednesday. Key West (28-8) got stellar pitching performances from its starters on both nights.

Curt Dixon, making his last start of the season for the Ramblers, went six strong against Cascade and departed with a 2-1 lead. He gave up just five hits and one walk before turning it over to Dan Spain, who threw the last three innings in relief.

Spain would allow six runs but was let down by his defense. Two Key West errors in the seventh helped Cascade put up two unearned runs to take a 3-2 lead. The Ramblers would regain the lead in the bottom of the eighth after a Ben Cottrell RBI single and a passed ball that scored Chris Briggs made it 4-3.

But the Ramblers again struggled defensively in the ninth inning. Regan Tekas led off with a walk and was followed by a Tom Andrews double. Andrews should have been retired earlier in the at-bat, but his foul pop up was dropped and gave him a second life. After back-to-back walks issued by Spain, Nate McQuillen's sacrifice fly gave Cascade a 5-4 lead before the Reds tacked on two more. Pat Weber earned the win in relief for Cascade.

Cottrell continued his hot-hitting, going 3-for-4, making him the only Rambler with two or more hits. Tuesday's loss was the first of the season versus Cascade. Key West is now 3-1 against Cascade.

The Ramblers got back to action Wednesday and defeated Dyersville 4-1 on the strength of a seven-inning, complete game performance by Cottrell on the mound. The right-hander struck out five and gave up six hits and one walk. He improved his mark to 4-1 on the season.

Dyersville led 1-0 after the second inning and held that lead until the bottom of the sixth when the Ramblers got all four of their runs. Tyler Sincock led off with a walk, Spain reached on an error and both moved up after a wild pitch. Jared Munson then came through with a two-run single and was followed by an RBI double by Briggs and a run-scoring single by Matt Knabel.

Briggs and Spain each went 2-for-3 to lead Key West.

The Ramblers now look forward to Friday's 7 p.m. EIHL match up at Rickardsville. Key West lost the only meeting between the two teams this season back on June 21.