Printer Friendly Version - Astros Take the 2019 Deep River Horseshoe League Title

Cris Christensen and the Astros won their championship series with the White Sox by a 4-1 score to take the 2019 title in the Deep River Horseshoe League. With this victory, Christensen has been a member of three championship teams during the past four years. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The Deep River Horseshoe League finished up its 64th season by hosting its Playoff Tournament last week. The Astros won the tournament by defeating the White Sox in the final and were crowned the league champions for 2019.

The championship matchup featured the 7th-seeded Astros against the No. 8 seed White Sox in a best-of-7 series. Cris Christensen, Damin Roberts, and Karen Perna of the Astros took on their respective Division A, Division B, and Division C opponents in Joe Heery, Cody Layton, and Dave Atkinson from the White Sox.

Game 1 saw Christensen and Perna square off against Heery and Atkinson. Christensen scored 36 points, and Perna totaled 17 points to secure a 20-point win for the Astros that gave them a 1-0 advantage. In Game 2, Christensen and Roberts outscored Heery and Layton by the score of 98-94 for a 2-0 lead in the series.

In Game 3, Roberts and Perna picked up a 103-102 victory versus Layton and Atkinson to give the Astros a 3-0 lead. The White Sox took the next game with Heery and Atkinson outpacing Christensen and Perna by a 104-102 margin to stay in the series.

In Game 5, Christensen had one of his best performances of the season with a score of 50 points that included six doubles, including four in a row. Christensen recorded 16 total ringers for the Astros, who also saw Roberts have his best game of the day. The Astros won by a 127-109 margin to take the championship series 4-1. This marks Christensen’s second-straight league title and his third in the last four years.

Earlier in the playoffs, the top-seeded Yankees were swept by the White Sox the quarterfinals. The Astros defeated the No. 2 seed Royals in a five-game sweep behind a game of 45 from Christensen. The No. 6 seed Rangers swept the No. 3 seed Cubs, bolstered by a 49 from Mike Zanelli, Sr. The No. 4 seed Reds swept the No. 5 Pirates in the quarterfinal round.

In the semifinals, the Astros scored a 3-2 victory over the Rangers to play their way to the championship. The Rangers grabbed the first game, but the Astros notched wins in the second and third games for the 2-1 advantage. The Rangers battled back to knot the series at two games apiece. Ultimately, the Astros prevailed with a victory in the decisive Game 5 behind eight ringers, including two doubles from Christensen, who scored 45 points.

The White Sox advanced to the final by defeating the Reds in the semis. Both teams split the first two games, after which the White Sox took the next two games to punch their ticket to the championship.