Canadians (16-6) vs. Longhorns (11-11)

Season Head to Head
Teams split season series, Canadians won 21-12, Longhorns won 7-3

2023 Leaders
Canadians:
Nathan Damiani .500 Avg, .712 Slug%, 2HRs, 13 RBI, 16 R
Alex Tello .440 Avg, .576 OBP%, 8 SBs, 15 RBI, 21 R
Ethan Bromley 4-0, 28.0 IP, 36 Ks, 1.00 ERA

Longhorns:
Travis Gaudet .447 Avg, .776 Slug%, 3 HRs, 15RBI, 17 R
Aaron Pepin .444 Avg, .750 Slug%, 4 3Bs, 13 RBI, 12 R
Jaime Whitehead 5-1, 49.1 IP, 50 Ks, 2.70 ERA

Preview: This matchup features two of the better offenses in the league, and their two regular season matchups exemplified that.

The Canadians have been a well oiled machine all season and secured their first FMBA President’s trophy earning the #1 seed. Finalists the past two seasons, will this be the year they bring home the hardware?

The 8th seeded Longhorns meanwhile enter the playoffs having won 7 of their past 10 after a rough start to the year. No team boasts more FMBA titles than the Longhorns. Can they get on another title run for their first since 2015?

This series might come down to who plays crisper defense.

Diamondbacks (16-6) vs. Twins (11-11)

Season Head to Head
Diamondbacks won series 2-1. Twins won 6-5, Diamondbacks won 6-0 & 10-0

2023 Leaders
Diamondbacks: 

Andrew Malone .452 Avg, .667 Slug%, 1HR, 18 RBI, 10R
Alex Bishop .449 Avg, .633 Slug%, 2HR, 17 RBI, 22 R
JP Wilner .426 Avg, .681 Slug%, 3HR, 18RBI, 16R

Twins:
Blake Nelson .323 Avg, .511 OBP%, 10 RBI, 13R, 7 SB
Brett Czarkowski .304 Avg, .381 OBP%, 17H, 13R, 4SB
Aiden Orsted 1-2, 43.0 IP, 35Ks, 4.23 ERA

Preview: This matchup features the team with the most runs vs the team who allowed the second fewest runs.

The Diamondbacks managed to secure the #2 seed despite a rash of injuries, and a new lineup nearly every night. They enter the playoffs as the hottest team, will their bats carry them to a fourth straight FMBA title?

The Twins enjoyed a solid bounce back year, improving by 5 wins from their 2022 season total and improving their runs against by a whopping 122 runs (that is an average of 5.5 fewer runs allowed per game!). Can they continue this trend against the 5-time champion Diamondbacks?

It is worth noting the Diamondbacks could be without 6 of their starting players due to commitments at Senior Nationals. This matchup could come down to whether the Twins are able to cool off the remaining Diamondbacks. 

Giants (14-8) vs. Wolfpack (11-11)

Season Head to Head
Giants won series 2-0. Though Wolfpack won 5-2 & 16-6, but forfeited both games due to ineligible players.

2023 Leaders
Giants:
Derek Palmiere .591 Avg, 1.000 Slug%, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 13 R
Ben Swennumson .400 Avg, .480 Slug %
Andrew Grieder 3-0, 29.2 IP, 43 Ks, 2.83 ERA

Wolfpack:
Mitch McGeein .459 Avg, 1.000 Slug%, 12XBH, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 15 R
Fraser Armstrong .400 Avg, .600 Slug%, .619 OBP%, 11 R
Michael Goldade .333 Avg, .630 Slug%, 3HR, 18 RBI, 18 R, 4 SB

Preview: These two teams met in the first round of last year’s playoffs with the Wolfpack taking that series 2-0.

The Giants had a solid season, improving their win total by 5 games from 2022 and earning the #3 seed. They feature some of the top arms in the FMBA, paired with a well rounded offense. The squad will look to get past the quarterfinals round for the first time since 2017. 

The Wolfpack started out of the gate slowly this season before streaking wins in 5 of their final 6. With usual ace Curtis Smith pitching heavily in the Sunburst League, we saw other arms step up for them with Dirk Dembroski & Brock Lenhardt leading the team in innings. Can the Pack continue their recent trend vs the Giants?

This series looks pretty evenly matched and may come down to which team plays better defense.

Dukes (11-11) vs. White Sox (11-11)

Season Head to Head
Dukes won series 2-0. Dukes won 17-0 & 4-3

2023 Leaders
Dukes: 

Colin Rintoul .438 Avg, .625 Slug%, 21 H, 17 RBI, 18 R, 8 SB
Cal Tecklenburg 3-3, 32.0 IP, 38 Ks, 2.41 ERA
Dylan Jacober 2-1, 36.1 IP, 42 Ks, 2.89 ERA

White Sox:
Jason Arnason .453 Avg, .547 Slug%, 29 H, 13 RBI, 13 R
Brett Brittany .439 Avg, .805 Slug%, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 14 R
Taylor Kipnes .357 Avg, .571 Slug%, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 9 R

Preview: This is a matchup of two teams that trended in opposite directions in 2023.

The Dukes had a rough start to the year, but their bats woke up in July and they have been on a roll ever since. In addition to the hot bats, their pitching staff lead the FMBA in fewest runs allowed. Can this trend continue for them in the playoffs?

The White Sox at one point were 11-5 on the year before losing their final 6 league games. Despite this, the team still had a +18 run differential so they were losing a lot of close games. Will they be able to snap their losing streak vs the Dukes?

As with every series it seems, whichever team can make more plays than the other often will come out ahead in close games. That is no different here in a close matchup.