Gherkins win their first Wild Wild West League Championship, Kane Kiaunis Named MVP
The Portland Gherkins have won the 2022 Wild Wild West League championship after a 9-7 win over the Gresham Greywolves on Saturday night. They join the Portland Rosebuds as the only teams to win a Wild West League championship.
The Gherkins were the top seed of this season’s playoff after winning the regular season with an 8-2 league record. On the way to the championship, they fended off the scrappy 4-seed Rosebuds in the semifinal and talented 3-seed Greywolves in the title game. The final member of the 4-team League, the Willamette Wild Bills, who the Gherkins avoided in the playoffs, lost in the semifinal round to the Greywolves.
The Championship game was a back-and-forth affair to start, with the Greywolves jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first. The Gherkins followed suit in the bottom half, plating 3 runs of their own to take the lead. The Gherkins would stretch the lead to 9-2 by the end of the 5th inning before the Greywolves fought back. Gresham scored 1 run in the top of the 8th and 4 runs in the top of the 9th, but their comeback effort fell short, and the Gherkins held on to win 9-7.
After the game concluded, Gherkins player Kane Kiaunis was named 2022 Wild Wild West League MVP and presented with the MVP trophy. Kiaunis hit .343 this year for the Gherkins, highlighting a dominant season at the plate. You can view his full stats, as well as the league stats, here.
With the Gherkins’ victory, the third season of the Wild Wild West League has ended. The league saw significant growth in attendance and the Gherkins specifically saw many dedicated fans at games to cheer on their Pickles affiliate. Picklebot was once again the home plate umpire for every game this summer, calling balls and strikes over the PA system with tremendous accuracy.
The Gherkins will be hosting a championship parade in downtown Portland on Wednesday, August 24th. The parade will start at the Pickle Jar at 130 SW Taylor St. More details TBA.
The Wild Wild West League will return in 2023.
