After a wild pitch, Hullica and Garcia advanced to put runners on second and third. Nivar was up to bat and with 2 strikes, before smacking a single to left center for the walk-off win. Fans at Cooney Grauer field went wild, as players celebrated on the field. Parents cheered on the champs and the runner’s up. 

After the game, Nivar said that while he’s been on many championship teams, this one was special because of how hard his teammates pushed him. 

“I wasn’t nervous because I knew I was going to get a hit and win the game,” he said. 

Game two of the series, held on June 25, was also a nail bitter, with the Marlins coming out on top, 10–7.

Both teams were quiet for warm ups as the players focused and readied themselves. 

The Marlins were up on the board quickly when Gabriel Riollano hit a 2-out double to bring in Daniel Munoz who reached base on a hit-by-pitch. Riollano also scored on a hit by Hullica to put the Marlins up 2–0 at the end of a half inning. 

The Cards tried to narrow the margin in the bottom half of the inning. Brandon Fernandez stole second and third base and was later knocked in on a groundout by Ducasse.

The Cards came out strong in the second inning and tacked on 5 more runs. Noah Jimenez started a 2-out rally with a single to right that brought in Nikolas Dominguez, who reached on single earlier in the inning.

Carlos Rivera’s single brought in 2 more runs. Fernandez scored on a single by Rowe to add 2 more for the Cards, who led 6-2 after two.

In the top of the third, Manny Mauri scored for the Marlins to narrow the score 6-3. 

After two scoreless innings by both teams, the Marlins had a big inning after a pep talk by coach Mike Navarro.

In the fifth, the Marlins scored 5 runs to go on top 8 – 6. Three of the runs scored on bases loaded walks and 2 runs on singles from Munoz and Nivar, which brought in Mauri and Gabriel Riollano.

The Marlins scored 2 more insurance runs in the sixth and topped it off with a 1-2-3 inning, allowing them to maintain their momentum towards the end of the game. 

The exciting Minor Division series began with an 11-8 win by the lower-seeded Cardinals.