MEXICO CITY – The best laid plans of mice, men, and some of the best managers in baseball often go awry.
Just 16 hours after the absurd slugfest between the Diablos Rojos del Mexico and the Cocodrilos de Matanzas that sent the Diablos to the 2026 Baseball Champions League final, the Diablos and the Kane County Cougars battled it out for the title, with the Cougars taking the crown with a 7-3 win.
Diablos manager Lorenzo Bundy had planned for starter James Kaprelian to throw four innings, Justin Courtney to follow him for four more, and then hand the ball to Tomohiro Anraku, last year’s reliever of the year in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.
Kaprelian went four innings and allowed just one run on a solo homer before Courtney came on, but the University of Maine product struggled in the sixth inning, allowing six runs on six hits before leaving after just 1 1/3 innings, spoiling Bundy’s pitching plan and ultimately sinking the Diablos hopes of a repeat title at the Baseball Champions League.
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Dillon Thomas sent the first pitch he saw from Kaprelian, the former Oakland A’s starter, into the right field bleachers for a 1-0 Cougars lead.
Dillon Thomas hit a solo homer off James Kaprelian to give the @KCCougars a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. No help needed from the wind, which is relatively calm at the moment.pic.twitter.com/dQJCpaQyr2
— @leifskodnick.bsky.social (@LeifSkodnick) March 29, 2026
“It was just an off-speed pitch that I caught out front, and in this ballpark, if you catch it out front in the air, it’s got a chance,” Thomas said. “So with him, I was just trying to get ready to hit a fastball. And luckily, like I said, I caught a changeup out front and was able to stay through it. And it carried.”
Staked to a 1-0 lead, Cougars starter Konnor Ash cruised against a potent Diablos lineup.
“They’re about as good as the lineup you’re going to get,” Ash said of the Diablos. “Just kind of had to attack, trust my catcher Juan [Fernandez], and good things happened. And I was able to keep us in the ball game, and our hitters came through, so it was awesome.”
The Diablos didn’t threaten until the fourth, when a walk to Jon Singleton and a single by Maikel Franco gave them runners at first and second. Francisco Mejia hit a hot grounder right at Cougars first baseman Josh Rehwaldt, who booted the ball, but second baseman Josh Allen fired home in time to get the slow-footed Singleton, who was inexplicably sent home, at the plate.
Dillon Thomas hit a solo homer off James Kaprelian to give the @KCCougars a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. No help needed from the wind, which is relatively calm at the moment.pic.twitter.com/dQJCpaQyr2
— @leifskodnick.bsky.social (@LeifSkodnick) March 29, 2026
Kaprelian left after four innings, having allowed a run on four hits, walking one and striking out three, and Courtney came out of the bullpen.
In the top of the fifth, facing Kane County starter Konnor Ash, Bryan Gonzalez hit his tournament-leading third homer, a solo shot to right field to tie the game at one apiece.
With Kyle Crigger on the mound for the Cougars in the top of the sixth, the Diablos got a lead-off single from Singleton, who advanced to third on a one-out single by Ramon Flores, but couldn’t get the go-ahead run home, as Francisco Mejia grounded out to short and Rio Ruiz fanned to end the inning and end the threat.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Cougars broke the game open against Courtney. Josh Allen led off the frame with a double off Justin Courtney, who entered the game to start the fifth for the Diablos, and Dillon Thomas followed with a single that got Allen home for a 2-1 Kane County lead. Another single by Todd Lott gave the Cougars runners at the corners with no outs, and yet another single, this time from Josh Rehwaldt, got Thomas home.
“With all of us, I mean, that was probably the best lineup I’ve been a part of, for sure,” said Allen, who was named the BCL MVP after going 8-for-16 with eight runs scored, two homers, and seven RBIs in the round robin and 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the final. “Just knowing that, you know, it just takes a lot the pressure off. If you don’t get the job done, you know, there’s a heck of a lot of firepower behind you that will get it done for you. So it definitely… it definitely helps a lot.”
With an 0-1 count to Max Murphy, Courtney’s pickoff throw to first went wide, allowing Lott to score from third and Rehwaldt to take second.
After striking out Murphy and inducing a fly out to center from Juan Fernandez, Claudio Finol sent Courtney’s 0-1 offering 478 feet over the wall in left center for a two-run homer to make it 6-1, drawing hearty boos from the crowd of 4,243. After Armond Upshaw doubled to the right field corner, Bundy had seen enough and lifted Courtney for Nick Vespi. Elvis Peralta, the ninth batter of the inning for the Cougars, doubled off Vespi, the ball just getting over the outstretched glove of Gonzalez in left field, scoring Upshaw to make it 7-1.
Claudio Finol launched this ball 478 feet and now it's 6-1 Cougars. pic.twitter.com/RDOUEpIfLH
— @leifskodnick.bsky.social (@LeifSkodnick) March 29, 2026
Walks to Bryan Gonzalez and Carlos Sepulveda started the top of the seventh for the Diablos, and then a one-out double by Jose Marmolejos scored Gonzalez to make it 7-2 and give Mexico runners at second and third and sending Cougars reliever Art Warren to the showers. Jordan Martinson came on and got Singleton to pop out, and Martinson yielded to Derrick Cherry, who got Maikel Franco to fly out to left and squelch the rally.
Francisco Mejia’s single to center with one out in the eighth turned into a triple when Cougars center fielder Armond Upshaw lost his footing on the artificial turf, allowing the ball to roll to the wall and Mejia to take two extra bases while he regained his footing and retrieved the ball. Rio Ruiz followed with a double to right center, scoring Mejia and cutting the Cougars lead to four.
Anraku came on and threw a scoreless eighth, but the Diablos never got closer. Jake Gozzo came on for the ninth for the Cougars to face the Nos. 2, 3, and 4 hitters in the Diablos lineup and retired the side in order, getting Moises Gutierrez to fly out to left, fanning Marmolejos swinging, and battling back from a 3-0 count to get Singleton to fly out to left and give the Cougars the title.
For the Cougars, who assembled last Sunday to fly to Mexico City and first hit the field together for practice on Monday, the win capped an undefeated run and provided a bonding experience over a month in advance of the start of the American Association’s regular season.
“It definitely speaks a lot to, you know, the talent level of our guys. I mean, we’re coming right off the couch. We haven’t been to spring training yet,” said Allen. “We were on a mission, when we came down here, to kind of prove that we belonged with [the Diablos]. So I definitely think not only beating them once, but beating them twice, I definitely think we accomplished that.And it means a lot being able to come down here and experience success.”
On May 9, the Cougars begin their defense of their back-to-back Miles Wolff Cups at home against the Gary Southshore RailCats, and after this week, and Tsamis sees good things ahead after this week.
“The guys wanted to be here. They were excited to be here. And they got it done. And like I said, we got here. We flew in on Sunday, practiced Monday, and then started the tournament. And the thing is, we played well all week. We played good defense all week long, and we swung the bats all week. So proud of these guys and so happy for every one of them,” Tsamis said.
2026 Baseball Champions League Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
All games at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, Mexico City
March 24
Dantos de Managua 17, CTBC Brothers 5
Kane County Cougars 14, Diablos Rojos del Mexico 7
March 25
Cocodrilos de Matanzas 9, CTBC Brothers 8
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 10, Dantos de Managua 6
March 26
Kane County Cougars 16, CTBC Brothers 10
Dantos de Managua 16, Cocodrilos de Matanzas 6
March 27
Kane County Cougars 9, Cocodrilos de Matanzas 0
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 12, CTBC Brothers 4
March 28
Kane County Cougars 9, Dantos de Managua 7
Diablos Rojos del Mexico 36, Cocodrilos de Matanzas 13
March 29
Kane County Cougars 7, Diablos Rojos del Mexico 3
Photo: Claudio Finol of the Kane County Cougars hit a two-run homer 478 feet to give his club a 6-1 lead in the Baseball Champions League final. (Photo courtesy of the American Association)
