Arkansas walks it off to nab first Texas League crown since 2008

The Arkansas Travelers came one win away from their first Texas League title in more than a decade in 2023, falling just short when they lost their winner-take-all Game 3.

This year, they found themselves in another winner-take-all scenario, and history did not repeat itself. This time, the Travelers got their storybook ending.

Alberto Rodriguez drove Mariners No. 2 prospect Cole Young home with the game-winning run and the Travelers secured their first title since 2008 in dramatic fashion with a walk-off 5-4 win over Midland in the best-of-3 Championship Series at Dickey-Stephens Park. Mariners No. 10 prospect Logan Evans worked six innings of one-run ball before Midland battled back to tie things up in the eighth, and Travelers ace Danny Wirchansky worked a scoreless ninth in relief before Rodriguez’s dramatics.

“What a fight!” manager Mike Fransoso said. “This group never quit all year. ... We knew the group of guys that we had in that dugout and in that bullpen, and we knew we could get it done.”

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Throughout their title run, the Travelers excelled with their backs against the wall. They dropped their semifinal opener to Springfield before winning the next two to advance to the finals. They then lost a slugfest 10-8 decision to Midland in Game 1 of the Championship Series before storming back with consecutive wins to claim their 10th Texas League crown in team history. They won nine consecutive series to close out the year.

All season, they leaned heavily on Wirchansky and Evans, as they did in the title-clincher. An independent league veteran, Wirchansky topped the Texas League in ERA (2.84) and WHIP (1.06) in his first year in the Minors, and Evans went 9-5 with a 3.20 ERA across 32 regular-season games (22 starts). The Travelers also had dependable arms in righty Juan Mercedes (10-5, 2.87 ERA) and reliever Troy Taylor (1.17 ERA, 16 saves), the latter of whom has made 19 appearances out of the bullpen for the Mariners as a rookie.

"You want to win championships, you want to win with your brothers like that," Evans said. "It's a great feeling."

On the offensive side, Young, MLB's No. 34 overall prospect, ranked fourth on the Texas League circuit in hits (127) and on-base percentage (.369). No. 4 prospect Harry Ford ranked second in the league in OBP (.377), and No. 15 prospect Ben Williamson, who had two run-scoring hits in the clincher, ranked fifth (.365).

All told, the Travelers' roster featured 10 of Seattle’s Top 30 prospects. Seattle's No. 6 prospect Tyler Locklear also opened the season with the team, before earning promotions to Triple-A and then the Majors.