The Portage Padres are one step away from back-to-back Santa Clara Baseball League titles, but they’ll have to wait just a bit longer to seal the deal.
Game 3 of the SCBL final ended in a wild 13-13 tie Wednesday night at Republic of Manitobah Park after the umpires called the game due to darkness, leaving the Padres stranded with the potential winning run on third base.
The result shifts the remainder of the series to a points-based format, with two points awarded for a win and one for a tie.
Portage opened the best-of-five final in dominant fashion, starting with a 13-5 win in Game 1 behind a complete-game effort from Chad Melnic. Game 2 saw the Padres keep their momentum, taking a 9-3 victory Tuesday night in Plumas.
That left the Padres in position to sweep the series in front of a home crowd, but Plumas came out swinging in Game 3.
With the tie, Portage now leads 5-1 on points and needs just a win or a tie in either of the next two games to clinch the championship.
Game 4 is set for August 14 in Plumas, with Game 5, if needed, back in Portage on August 15.
The Padres are hoping to wrap things up without a repeat of last year’s tense Game 5 finish, where they edged Plumas to take the crown.
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