Charros de Jalisco, new king of the LMB's Northern Zone

After 54 years, the Charros de Jalisco will once again have the chance to win the Mexican Baseball League title. This Friday, in a dramatic fifth game that stretched into the tenth inning, Benjamín Gil's team conquered the Northern Zone and became the first guest in the 2025 King Series, after defeating the Sultanes de Monterrey by a hard-fought 6-4 scoreline at Walmart Park.

As has characterized this Championship Series, the tension was palpable throughout, and the final game between Jalisco and Monterrey was so hotly contested that the play that determined the winner had to be thoroughly reviewed by the umpires, as Esteban Quiroz was close to reaching base, but a double play and a timely catch by Kyle Garlick gave the visitors the victory.

The road for Charros was not easy, as Josh Lester debuted in the game with a solid home run that brought a man aboard in the third inning, which meant the home team took the lead.

But the joy was short-lived for the Gray Ghosts. For the second consecutive night, Willie Calhoun led the offense and blasted a home run out of bounds to even the score, as Mateo Gil also scored on the Bear's blast, adding his third home run against the Sultanes.

Jalisco's response didn't end with just a tie, and Josh Fuentes added an RBI double that led to Garlick scoring. As if that weren't enough, in the fifth inning, Jalisco benefited from a wild pitch that "el hijo del padre" took advantage of to increase the lead.

For his part, starting pitcher Zac Grotz left the mound, leaving the game won after six complete innings, in which he allowed five hits, one home run, two runs, one walk, and struck out two opponents.

Miguel Aguilar replaced him, but after allowing two hits, he had to give way to Rafael Córdova, who was tasked with closing out the seventh inning. Confident of having controlled the opposition, Córdova continued working in the eighth inning, but things got complicated there, as Ramiro Peña surprised him with an RBI home run that allowed Monterrey to tie the score again.

Without the two teams hurting each other in the ninth inning, everything had to be resolved in extra innings , where Fuentes appeared again with a double that drove Gil and Calhoun to the promised land, and thus Jalisco was three strikeouts away from victory.

Trevor Clifton shouldered the responsibility of saving the game, and although he allowed two bases to be loaded, he accomplished his mission to help the Charros secure their place in the King Series.