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2014 Roswell Invaders Season Recap - One of Roswell's Most Talented Teams Falls Short Under Rob Warnock
The 2014 Roswell Invaders may have been one of the most talented teams in franchise history to leave the season without a championship. The final record doesn't immediately suggest that. Roswell finished 38-27, finished behind the Alpine Cowboys in the Southern Division and saw its season end when Alpine defeated the Invaders two games to one in the playoffs.
But a closer look at the roster tells a much different story. The Invaders had one of the best starting pitchers in the Pecos League in Josh Mooney, another high-level starter in Tyler Garkow, Josh Wright pitching to a 2.07 ERA and Ernie Zaragoza giving the club another quality starting option. Ryan Retz produced 85 hits. Sam Montgomery hit at an extraordinary rate before his season ended. Jordan Johnson created havoc on the bases. Ryan Normoyle returned after helping Roswell win the 2013 championship.
There was talent all over the roster. That is why, years later, the 2014 season remains one of the more frustrating "what if" seasons in Roswell Invaders history.
Some players from that team came away believing the Invaders had enough talent to win another Pecos League Championship. Some also felt manager Rob Warnock had become homesick during the summer and was ready to return to Georgia by the time the playoffs arrived. Whether that actually affected baseball decisions is impossible to establish from the public record, but the perception existed among players and became part of the story surrounding a team that seemed capable of much more than its final result.
The 2014 Invaders were talented enough to win the Pecos League. They never got the opportunity.
Expectations could hardly have been higher entering 2014. The previous season had produced one of the greatest teams in the early history of the Pecos League. The 2013 Invaders went 50-17 under Chris Ebright, swept Alpine in the Southern Division playoffs and then swept Las Vegas in the Pecos League Championship Series. Roswell did not lose a postseason game.
The Invaders had restored themselves as the dominant team in the Pecos League, but Ebright would not return. His coaching career took him into college baseball, creating another managerial transition in Roswell.
For 2014, the Invaders turned to Rob Warnock. Warnock inherited the defending Pecos League champions and a franchise that had already won two titles in the league's first three seasons. The standard was obvious. Roswell expected to contend for another championship.
The Bright Lime Green Invaders
Visually, the 2014 team became one of the easiest Roswell clubs to identify. The Invaders wore bright lime green uniforms throughout the season. It was an unmistakable look, and the official franchise history still specifically mentions the lime green uniforms when describing the 2014 team.
On the field, the Invaders were also distinctive for something much more important: pitching. Roswell had a group of starting pitchers capable of dominating Pecos League hitters, and nobody was better than Josh Mooney.
Josh Mooney Has a Dominant Season
Josh Mooney put together one of the best pitching seasons in Roswell Invaders history. Mooney went 9-2 with a 2.63 ERA, appeared in 13 games, made 12 starts and threw 88.2 innings. He completed four games and struck out an incredible 111 hitters.
Mooney allowed only 66 hits in nearly 89 innings and posted a 1.11 WHIP. For a league known for offense, those numbers were extraordinary. Mooney was not simply eating innings. He was dominating games.
On May 28, he struck out 11. On June 12, he struck out 12. On June 17, he struck out another 12. On July 15, he threw a complete game, allowed only one earned run and struck out 13.
Then, when Roswell needed him in the playoffs against Alpine, Mooney delivered again.
Tyler Garkow Gives Roswell Another Front-Line Starter
Tyler Garkow gave Warnock another pitcher capable of taking over a game. Garkow went 4-5, but his record did not tell the story of how well he pitched.
He posted a 3.64 ERA in 13 appearances and 12 starts, threw 79 innings, completed four games and struck out 92 hitters while walking only 21.
On May 25, Garkow threw a complete game and did not allow an earned run while striking out 15. On June 4, he threw another complete game and struck out 14. On July 2, he struck out 11.
The combination of Mooney and Garkow gave Roswell something every postseason team wants: two starting pitchers who could win a series almost by themselves.
The pitching depth did not stop there. Josh Wright went 4-0 with a 2.07 ERA. He appeared in 13 games and made five starts, threw 43.1 innings and recorded three saves.
Wright allowed only 10 earned runs all season. Roswell could use him as a starter, in relief or to finish games. That versatility gave Warnock another major postseason weapon.
Ernie Zaragoza made 11 starts and went 4-3 with a 3.70 ERA. He threw 77.2 innings, struck out 93 hitters and completed three games.
That meant Roswell had four pitchers who combined to provide a remarkable amount of quality starting pitching. Mooney posted a 2.63 ERA. Garkow finished at 3.64. Wright was at 2.07. Zaragoza was at 3.70.
Jordan Kraus added a 2.48 ERA over 29 innings. Hobie McClain posted a 3.14 ERA in relief and struck out 38 hitters in only 28.2 innings.
From a pure pitching standpoint, this was one of the strongest groups Roswell had ever assembled. That is a major reason some people around the club believed the 2014 Invaders should have won more than they did.
Ryan Retz Leads the Everyday Lineup
Ryan Retz became Roswell's most consistent everyday hitter. Retz played 62 games and collected a team-high 85 hits in 236 at-bats.
He scored 59 runs, hit 16 doubles, two triples and seven home runs while driving in 38. Retz drew 31 walks, was hit by 31 pitches and stole 15 bases.
He could hit. He could reach base. He could run. And he stayed in the lineup for almost the entire season.
Sam Montgomery played only 33 games, but his production was extraordinary. Montgomery collected 54 hits in only 121 at-bats, scored 34 runs and hit eight doubles, three triples and two home runs.
Most impressively, Montgomery drove in 43 runs in only 33 games. He drew 29 walks, struck out just 14 times and stole nine bases.
Had he been able to play the entire season at that level, his final numbers could have been among the best in the league.
Jordan Johnson played only 35 games but scored 54 runs. That alone illustrates how frequently he was creating offense.
Johnson collected 64 hits in 150 at-bats, drew 20 walks and was hit by 10 pitches. Then came the speed. Johnson stole 28 bases.
His ability to reach base and immediately pressure defenses gave the Invaders another dimension.
Jeff Eubanks Brings Power and Patience
Jeff Eubanks played 42 games and collected 56 hits. He scored 40 runs and hit 10 doubles, five triples and four home runs while driving in 34.
Eubanks also drew 37 walks. His five triples led the primary Roswell hitters and demonstrated the athleticism throughout the lineup.
Chris Dunn and Mike Kerns Produce Identical Numbers
One of the stranger statistical features of the 2014 team appears in the official Roswell records. Chris Dunn and Mike Kerns are each listed with identical offensive totals.
Each played 49 games. Each collected 63 hits in 167 at-bats. Each scored 38 runs. Each hit eight doubles, two triples and two home runs. Each drove in 37.
Regardless of the unusual symmetry in the database, the important point is that Roswell had consistent production throughout the lineup.
Ryan Normoyle Returns From the Championship Team
Ryan Normoyle had been one of the important pieces of Roswell's dominant 2013 championship club. He returned in 2014 and continued producing.
Normoyle appeared in 23 games and collected 32 hits in 85 at-bats. He hit five home runs and drove in 27. His presence provided another link to the team that had gone 50-17 the previous summer.
Joey Miller Arrives in Roswell
Joey Miller also appeared in 33 games and collected 41 hits. He hit five doubles, a triple and three home runs.
Miller would become an increasingly important player in Roswell during the seasons that followed. The 2014 season represented the beginning of that relationship.
On paper, Roswell's 38-27 record was good. It was not historically great. The 2013 Invaders had gone 50-17, and future Roswell clubs would win more than 40 games.
But the argument for the 2014 team isn't based solely on wins. It is based on personnel.
How many Pecos League teams could enter a playoff series with Josh Mooney, Tyler Garkow, Josh Wright and Ernie Zaragoza available on the mound? Mooney struck out 111 hitters. Garkow struck out 92. Zaragoza struck out 93. Wright had a 2.07 ERA.
The offense had Retz, Montgomery, Johnson, Eubanks, Normoyle and Miller. There was speed, experience, pitching depth and players from the previous year's championship culture.
From a pure roster standpoint, there was enough talent to make the argument that the 2014 Invaders could have been one of the best teams Roswell ever fielded.
But there was one team they could not solve.
The Alpine Cowboys.
Alpine Wins the Southern Division
Alpine finished the regular season 48-20 and earned the No. 1 seed in the Southern Division. Roswell finished 38-27, sending the Invaders to Kokernot Field for the playoffs.
It was an appropriate matchup. During the early years of the Pecos League, no rivalry meant more than Roswell against Alpine.
The Invaders had defeated the Cowboys on their way to the 2011 championship. Roswell had swept Alpine in the 2013 postseason on its way to another championship.
Now they were meeting again. This time, Alpine had home-field advantage.
The deciding game became one of the most painful endings in Invaders history. Roswell and Alpine went into the final innings with the series hanging in the balance.
The Invaders were close. They were not overmatched. They were not blown out. They were right there.
Then Alpine ended it with one swing. The Cowboys hit a walk-off two-run home run and defeated Roswell 6-4.
That is part of what makes the 2014 season so frustrating to evaluate. Roswell did not get embarrassed in the playoffs.
The Invaders lost Game 1 by two runs. They won Game 2 behind Mooney. They reached the deciding game. Then their season ended on a walk-off home run.
One swing.
A team with championship-caliber pitching was suddenly done. There would be no championship rematch, no opportunity to defend the 2013 title and no third championship in four years.
Alpine advanced.
Santa Fe Ultimately Wins the Championship
The Cowboys didn't win the Pecos League Championship either. Santa Fe eventually defeated Alpine in a difficult three-game championship series.
The Fuego finished the regular season 48-24 and became the 2014 Pecos League Champions. It was the first time a road team had won the Pecos League Championship Series.
For Roswell, watching the season continue without them only reinforced how close the Invaders had been. They had played Alpine evenly enough to force a deciding game. Alpine then went on to play for the league championship.
Roswell had the roster to be there. It simply wasn't.
The Rob Warnock Question
The end of the 2014 season has always carried another layer inside the history of that Roswell team. Rob Warnock served only one season as manager of the Invaders.
Some players from the club later felt that by the end of the summer Warnock was homesick for Georgia and ready for the season to end so he could return home. Some took that feeling further and questioned whether the same urgency to chase a Pecos League Championship existed in the dugout that existed among the players.
Those were player perceptions, not something that can be established as fact simply from the box scores. There is no statistic that measures how badly a manager wanted to stay another week, and there is no public record capable of proving what Warnock was thinking as the season wound down.
Roswell also competed hard enough in the postseason to push a 48-win Alpine team to the final inning of the deciding game. But those feelings among players became part of the legacy of the season because of just how talented they believed their team was.
They thought they could win. They thought they had the pitching to win. They thought they had the roster to win.
When the season ended suddenly in Alpine, the frustration wasn't simply that the Invaders had lost. It was the feeling that an opportunity had been left on the table.
Warnock Returns to Georgia
Warnock's time managing the Invaders ended after the 2014 season. He had guided Roswell to a 38-27 record and another playoff appearance. Those were respectable results.
But he would not return to manage the club in 2015. Roswell would make another change in leadership.
The next season ultimately began with Dave Ramsey expected to manage before Chris Treibt took over as field manager. That change would produce a dramatically different ending.
The 2015 Invaders would go all the way.
2014 Roswell Invaders - By the Numbers
Regular Season Record: 38-27 Winning Percentage: .585 Southern Division: Playoff Qualifier Playoff Opponent: Alpine Cowboys Game 1: Alpine 3, Roswell 1 Game 2: Roswell 4, Alpine 1 Game 3: Alpine 6, Roswell 4 - walk-off two-run home run Playoff Result: Lost series 2 games to 1 Pecos League Champion: Santa Fe Fuego
Josh Mooney: 9-2, 2.63 ERA, 88.2 IP, 111 SO, 4 complete games Tyler Garkow: 4-5, 3.64 ERA, 79 IP, 92 SO, 4 complete games Josh Wright: 4-0, 2.07 ERA, 43.1 IP, 3 saves Ernie Zaragoza: 4-3, 3.70 ERA, 77.2 IP, 93 SO, 3 complete games Jordan Kraus: 2.48 ERA in 29 IP Hobie McClain: 3.14 ERA, 38 SO in 28.2 IP
Ryan Retz: 85 H, 59 R, 16 2B, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 15 SB Sam Montgomery: 54 H, 43 RBI, 29 BB in only 33 games Jordan Johnson: 64 H, 54 R, 28 SB in 35 games Jeff Eubanks: 56 H, 40 R, 10 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 34 RBI, 37 BB Ryan Normoyle: 32 H, 5 HR, 27 RBI in 23 games Joey Miller: 41 H in 33 games
There have been Roswell teams with better records. The 2013 team went 50-17 and won the championship without losing a playoff game. The 2016 team produced historic offensive statistics. The 2017 and 2018 clubs each won 41 games.
But the 2014 Invaders deserve to be part of any discussion about the most talented rosters in franchise history. The reason is pitching.
Josh Mooney was a legitimate ace: nine wins, two losses, a 2.63 ERA and 111 strikeouts. Behind him was Tyler Garkow with 92 strikeouts and a 3.64 ERA. Behind him was Ernie Zaragoza with 93 strikeouts and a 3.70 ERA. Behind them was Josh Wright at 4-0 with a 2.07 ERA.
A Pecos League playoff team with that type of pitching should be dangerous against anybody.
Roswell was.
The Invaders simply ran into the league's No. 1 Southern Division seed and came up one swing short.
The Championship That Got Away
That may ultimately be the best description of the 2014 Roswell Invaders: the championship that got away.
The talent was there. The pitching was there. The experience was there. The Invaders were the defending Pecos League Champions, and they had players who believed they were capable of doing it again.
But the season never completely came together the way the roster suggested it could. Roswell finished 38-27 instead of dominating the Southern Division. Alpine finished 48-20 and took the No. 1 seed. That forced Roswell to go through Kokernot Field.
The Invaders lost Game 1. Josh Mooney saved the season in Game 2. Then Game 3 came down to the end.
Alpine hit a walk-off two-run home run. And just like that, one of the most talented teams Roswell had assembled was finished.
For some players, the frustration surrounding the ending went beyond the scoreboard. They felt Warnock was ready to return to Georgia and questioned whether the manager and players were approaching the final days of the season with the same mindset.
That perception became part of the team's history, even though Warnock's internal motivation cannot be established from the public record.
What can be established is what happened on the field. Roswell had a very good team. It had exceptional pitching. It reached the playoffs. It pushed the best team in the Southern Division to a deciding game.
And its season ended on a walk-off home run.
Rob Warnock's only season managing the Roswell Invaders was over. So was Roswell's attempt to defend its 2013 Pecos League Championship.
A year later, many of the lessons from 2014 would help shape a different Invaders team under Chris Treibt. That team would finish the job. The 2015 Roswell Invaders would win the franchise's third Pecos League Championship.
But for the players who believed the 2014 roster was good enough to win one itself, the question would always remain.
