MAAC Baseball Alums Shine in NLCS
MAAC Sports
Edison, NJ - Closers Jason Motte of the St. Louis Cardinals and John Axford of the Milwaukee Brewers, both former MAAC baseball players, were dominant during the National League Championship Series (NLCS) won by the Cardinals in six games.
Motte was a catcher for Iona College from 1999-03. The Cardinals converted Motte into a pitcher during the 2006 season after a thumb injury hindered his progress behind the plate. In the NLCS, Motte made four appearances and earned two saves. In four and two-thirds innings Motte allowed zero runs and did not yield a single base runner. He struck out Milwaukee's Mark Kotsay to send St. Louis to its first World Series in five years.
Including the Division Series against Philadelphia, Motte has thrown eight innings in the 2011 postseason and allowed just one hit while striking out seven batters behind his sparkling fastball clocked at 100mph. Motte will be the first Iona player to appear in the World Series since Dennis Leonard with the 1980 Kansas City Royals.
Axford spent the 2006 season with Canisius College after earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. In his 14 starts with Canisius, Axford went 3-8 with a 5.01 earned run average and two complete games. In 70 innings pitched, Axford had 75 strikeouts and held opposing hitters to a .230 batting average.
Axford appeared in three NLCS games and registered saves in each of the Brewers wins. Like Motte, he did not allow a run in the series. Axford also picked up a save in Milwaukee's dramatic five-game NLDS victory over Arizona.
In the 2011 postseason the two MAAC baseball alums have pitched 16 combined innings and registered seven saves, while allowing just one run and striking out 16.
Links
Toronto Sun - "Finding closers is tough"
MLB.com - "Motte finds success as battery's other half"
MLB.com - "Axford's rise to prominence a movie-like story"
Keepin' Track of the MAAC - "Baseball's NL Closers came from MAAC"
MAAC Monitor - "Former Iona Catcher Making It Happen as Cardinals' Closer"
MAAC Monitor - "Former Griff Axford a Step Closer to World Series"