SeaWolves sweep to second straight Eastern League title

The Erie SeaWolves are the cream of the crop of the Eastern League once again.

The Tigers' Double-A affiliate secured its second straight crown after sweeping the best-of-3 Championship Series with a 3-2 victory over Somerset on Tuesday at TD Bank Ballpark. After notching their first title last season, the SeaWolves went back-to-back with another under third-year manager Gabe Alvarez.

“It’s rare to see guys pulling for each other so much,” Alvarez said. “They deserved it.”

The first-half champion of the circuit's Southwest Division, Erie bested the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) in three games in the semifinals before taking down the Patriots (Yankees) for the second consecutive year in the Championship Series.

The Game 1 victory was paced by Chris Meyers' two-run homer and a game-breaking three-RBI double by Carlos Mendoza as the SeaWolves rallied to victory with a four-run eighth inning.

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Meyers provided offense again in Game 2, notching run-scoring hits in the first two innings, and he also made a sparkling catch on a fly ball to left field by Yankees No. 2 prospect Spencer Jones in the sixth.

Right-hander Austin Bergner made the early runs on the scoreboard hold up by pitching six scoreless innings, striking out eight while allowing just two hits and a walk in his second dominant start of the postseason. All told, Bergner struck out 17 in 12 shutout frames across his two playoff starts.

"We just couldn't have asked for everything more," Alvarez said. "And we absolutely needed it."

Right-hander Tyler Owens secured the final six outs of Game 2 after Somerset inched closer with two runs in the eighth.

The SeaWolves roster was headlined by four of Detroit’s Top 30 prospects: infielders Hao-Yu Lee (No. 8), Max Anderson (No. 17) and Gage Workman (No. 30) and right-hander Troy Melton (No. 11). Tigers’ top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe and Ty Madden (No. 14) also contributed during the season as Erie finished the year with a 77-58 record. During his three-level ascension to the Show this season, Jobe -- MLB's No. 6 prospect -- posted a 4-2 record with a 1.95 ERA with 81 strikeouts over 73 2/3 innings for the SeaWolves.

Workman paced the entire circuit with 135 hits and 89 RBIs in 126 games during the regular season. His 85 runs were topped only by Mendoza's 86 on the circuit, and Workman stood in a four-way tie for third in homers (18) with Meyers, Binghamton's Ryan Clifford and Bowie's Jud Fabian. Mendoza finished tied for third in stolen bases (32) with Hartford's Braiden Ward while Workman was sixth with 30.

"I'll remember guys not giving up after some guys had key injuries, and how they kept pulling for each other," Alvarez said. "I don't know if I've ever been around, at least in my coaching days, a closer team. These guys really enjoyed being on the field together every day."