The Salt River Rafters stifled the Surprise Saguaros attempt at an AFL three-peat with a 3-2 victory in the championship game on Saturday. The win secured the Rafters’ first title since 2019.
Despite not registering a home run, the Rafters had five different players collect an extra-base hit in the contest. The biggest hit came off the bat of Twins prospect Kala’i Rosario, who broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI double in the third inning. In all, the Rafters tallied six hits and scored three runs against Rangers starter Josh Stephan, who came into the game sporting a 2.25 ERA.
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Nationals left-handed Dustin Saenz was the surprising victor in this contest after allowing just one run in four innings despite not striking out a batter. Though the real stars of the pitching staff were the Rafters’ bullpen, as four different pitchers combined to strike out six and allow just one run over the last five innings. Rockies left-hander Evan Justice earned the save by delivering his tenth scoreless appearance of the fall.
Although the Saguaros offense as a whole was held in check, Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone once again impressed to close out his first AFL season. The 2024 first-round pick collected three of the team’s six hits and reached base four times in all.
The River Rafters carry young players from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, and New York Yankee organizations. This young talent helped the team win their sixth ever Arizona Fall League title to wrap up an exciting 2024 AFL season.
WBN AFL: https://worldbaseball.com/league/arizona-fall-league/
