Bart’s Ninth-Inning Blast Lifts Friars to Game One Victory

The October air hung with that familiar weight, the kind that makes every pitch feel like a promise and every swing sound a little louder. Game 1 between the San Diego Friars and the Miami Hawks carried that feeling from the very first inning, and by the end of the night, it belonged to the Friars, 4–3, in a game that reminded everyone how fine the line is between victory and regret.

The Hawks came ready. In the top of the first, Corey Seager’s single and Christian Walker’s soft double down the line gave Miami a quick two-run lead. They added another in the third, when José Ramírez doubled and came around to score after a misplayed fly ball in left, a tough break that stretched the lead to three.

But San Diego never looked rattled. In the second inning, Isaac Paredes got the Friars on the board with a no-doubt home run to straightaway center. Two innings later, Michael Massey’s sacrifice fly trimmed the deficit to one. By the fifth, the Friars had tied it, Shohei Ohtani worked a walk, moved to third on a Bryce Harper single, and crossed the plate on Carlos Correa’s deep fly to right. Just like that, it was 3–3, and all the tension that had filled the ballpark early began to shift.

From there, it was the bullpens that took over the story. Miami’s Carlos Rodón lasted 4⅔ innings, his stuff electric but inconsistent. San Diego’s Zac Gallen steadied himself after a rough start, retiring 10 of his last 12. The relievers followed suit, Kevin Ginkel and Tyson Miller for the Hawks, Griffin Jax and Buck Farmer for the Friars, each holding their ground as the innings quietly slipped by.

Then came the bottom of the ninth — and the moment no one could have predicted. With two outs and the score still tied, backup catcher Joey Bart stepped to the plate against left-hander Matt Strahm. Bart had been thrust into the lineup due to an injury to Salvador Fermín, a late-season substitution just trying to contribute. On the first pitch he saw, he turned on a fastball and sent it soaring toward left field. The crowd rose as one.

When the ball cleared the wall, the sound was pure October — the kind of cheer that starts deep and rolls through a city.

Bart’s walk-off home run ended the night and gave the Friars a 4–3 win in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.

For San Diego, it was a win defined by balance and resilience. For Miami, it was a reminder that no lead is safe and no out is easy.

The Friars take the early edge, one game to none, with Game 2 set to continue the story — same stage, same pressure, and the same truth that makes postseason baseball what it is: one pitch can change everything.

W – Farmer

L – Strahm

SV – None

HR – Paredes (SD), Bart (SD)