New Jersey Trash Heap Rookie of the Year candidate Joey Votto (.298/25/98) not only survived his grueling 1st year of NASBL play, he also had enough left in the tank at the end of the season to power NJT to a hard-fought victory over Doug Sherlag's perennial powerhouse Springfield Isotopes. The young Canadian-born slugger led his team in virtually every offensive category: 5 hr, 10 rbi, 7 runs scored, and 8 base hits. His left-handed fireworks were complemented from the right side by those of 2nd year man Chris Iannetta, whose 4 hr and 9 rbi gave the Heap a difficult to control lefty-righty dynamic duo.
While he struggled in games 1 and 4, allowing 6 runs in each outing, franchise pitcher Tim Lincecum showed why he is the New Jersey ace in game 7. The youngster went 6.2 IP, striking out 12 and outdueling Springfield #1 C.C. Sabathia in the deciding game.
New Jersey will now advance to face Mark Hildebrandt's Outlaw Josey Wales, a squad which the Heap has traditionally struggled against. 2009 was no exception, as NJT posted a 5-9 regular season mark against the pitching-tough Outlaw squad (.232 opponent's batting average, lowest in the league).
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