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Best Individual Performances of the 2015 Roswell Invaders Season
The 2015 Roswell Invaders season ended with the ultimate accomplishment: a Pecos League Championship. Roswell battled through the regular season, got stronger as the summer progressed and then delivered when the games mattered most, defeating the Alpine Cowboys in the postseason to capture the title.
The championship roster featured Nolan Meadows, Louis Martini, Brett Balkan, Danny Grauer, Jim Smith, Roche Woodard, Michael Morris, Aaron Carman and several other dangerous hitters. On the mound, Tyler Moore, Ryan Davis, Alex Pagano, Corey Lathram-Skillman, Lars Liguori and others gave Roswell the pitching necessary to make a championship run.
Here are some of the best individual performances from the 2015 Roswell Invaders season.
Nolan Meadows — Two Home Runs and Four RBIs in Championship Series Victory
Nolan Meadows saved one of his greatest performances for one of the biggest games of Roswell's season.
Against the Alpine Cowboys on July 30, Meadows went 3-for-5 with two home runs, four RBIs and two runs scored as Roswell defeated Alpine 6-2.
Meadows homered in the first inning and again in the fifth, giving Roswell the power it needed in a crucial postseason victory.
Nolan Meadows had already demonstrated his ability to dominate Alpine pitching before the postseason.
On July 22 at Kokernot Field, Meadows went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored as Roswell defeated the Cowboys 9-5.
Meadows homered in both the second and third innings, giving him one of his biggest regular-season games of the year.
The fact that Meadows later hit two more home runs against Alpine in the postseason made his success against the Cowboys one of the defining individual storylines of Roswell's championship season.
Louis Martini — Three Hits, Home Run and Three RBIs against Alpine
Louis Martini had one of his strongest offensive games on July 7 against the Alpine Cowboys.
Martini collected three hits and drove in three runs. He singled in the first inning, doubled in the eighth and homered in the ninth.
Roswell lost a wild 10-9 game, but Martini's combination of three hits, three RBIs and three different types of hits made it one of his best individual performances of the summer.
Nolan Meadows — Home Run and Two RBIs against Alpine
Nolan Meadows continued tormenting Alpine pitching on July 17.
Meadows collected two hits and drove in two runs, including a home run in the fifth inning. Although Roswell fell 7-5, Meadows again demonstrated the power that would become so important during the Invaders' championship run.
Lars Liguori — Six-Inning Road Victory over Alpine
Lars Liguori earned the victory behind Woodard's home run on July 18.
Liguori worked six innings as Roswell defeated Alpine 9-5. The victory was his third of the season and came at Kokernot Field during the important closing stretch of the regular season.
Alex Pagano was one of Roswell's most frequently used starting pitchers during the championship season.
Pagano made 14 appearances and 10 starts, throwing 65 innings. He finished 4-4 and struck out 59 hitters, giving Roswell an experienced right-handed option throughout the summer.
He also completed a game during the season, providing valuable innings to a pitching staff that needed depth throughout the long championship run.
Corey Lathram-Skillman — 83 Innings and 67 Strikeouts
Corey Lathram-Skillman carried one of the largest workloads on the Roswell pitching staff.
The right-hander appeared in 19 games, made nine starts and threw 83 innings. He struck out 67 hitters and completed three games.
Those 83 innings were extremely valuable during a season that ultimately extended deep into the postseason.
Nolan Meadows — One of Roswell's Most Dangerous Hitters
Nolan Meadows was one of the defining offensive players of Roswell's championship season.
Meadows hit .354 while collecting 46 hits in 130 at-bats. He scored 32 runs, hit five doubles, one triple and six home runs and drove in 34 runs.
His season numbers were strong, but his biggest games came when Roswell needed them most. Meadows hit two home runs in a late-season victory at Alpine and then hit two more against the Cowboys during the postseason.
Brett Balkan played an important role in Roswell's championship season and performed well enough to earn an opportunity at a higher level of independent baseball.
Balkan's two-hit performance in Roswell's 4-3 victory at Alpine was one example of his ability to contribute in important games.
His 2015 season ultimately resulted in his move from Roswell to the Sioux Falls Canaries, another example of the individual talent on the championship roster.
Danny Grauer — Championship Catcher Advances to Ottawa
Danny Grauer handled catching duties for Roswell during the championship season and emerged as one of the players who advanced after the season.
Grauer's work with the Invaders earned him an opportunity with the Ottawa Champions of the Can-Am League. He later became Ottawa's everyday catcher and helped that club win the 2016 Can-Am League Championship.
That meant Grauer went from winning the Pecos League Championship with Roswell in 2015 to helping Ottawa win another professional championship the following season.
Ryan Davis — Big-Game Pitching Down the Stretch
Ryan Davis provided one of Roswell's biggest late-season starts when he held Alpine to one earned run over seven innings on July 22.
Davis struck out five and earned the victory while Nolan Meadows supplied two home runs. The combination helped Roswell win 9-5 at Kokernot Field.
That victory came shortly before the Invaders returned to Alpine for the postseason and ultimately won the league championship.
The 2015 season increasingly became a battle between Roswell and Alpine, and several Invaders repeatedly delivered against the Cowboys.
Brett Balkan collected two hits while Tyler Moore struck out eight in a 4-3 victory on July 5.
Louis Martini went 3-for-5 with a double, home run and three RBIs two days later.
Roche Woodard homered as Roswell defeated Alpine 9-5 on July 18.
Nolan Meadows then went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs in another 9-5 victory over Alpine on July 22.
When Roswell returned to Alpine in the postseason, Meadows again delivered two home runs while Tyler Moore threw seven innings without allowing an earned run.
Nolan Meadows — Signature Player of the Championship Run
Few players had a more dramatic impact on Roswell's run to the championship than Nolan Meadows.
During the regular season at Alpine, Meadows hit two home runs and drove in three in a 9-5 Roswell victory. Then, with the season on the line in the postseason, he again hit two home runs against Alpine, this time driving in four as Roswell won 6-2.
Those two games alone produced four Meadows home runs, seven RBIs and six hits against the Cowboys.
Tyler Moore was at his best when Roswell needed him most.
After striking out eight in a 4-3 regular-season victory over Alpine, Moore took the mound against the Cowboys in the postseason and delivered seven innings of three-hit baseball without allowing an earned run.
He struck out seven and walked only one, giving Roswell a dominant starting performance during its championship run.
A Championship Season Filled with Individual Performances
The 2015 Roswell Invaders ultimately accomplished what every team begins the season hoping to do: they won the Pecos League Championship.
Nolan Meadows supplied some of the season's most memorable power performances, including two separate two-home-run victories over Alpine. Tyler Moore delivered eight strikeouts in a one-run victory and then dominated Alpine again during the postseason.
Louis Martini supplied runs, walks and power throughout the summer and produced a three-hit, three-RBI performance against Alpine. Brett Balkan contributed in close games before earning an opportunity with Sioux Falls, while Danny Grauer caught for the championship club before advancing to Ottawa.
Ryan Davis delivered seven strong innings in a late-season victory at Alpine. Corey Lathram-Skillman supplied 83 innings and 67 strikeouts, while Alex Pagano added 65 innings and 59 strikeouts.
The season was ultimately defined by what happened against Alpine. Roswell learned how to win at Kokernot Field during the regular season and carried that success into the postseason. Meadows' home runs and Moore's pitching became two of the defining performances of the championship run.
The 2015 Roswell Invaders did more than produce outstanding individual statistics. They combined those performances at the right time and finished the year as Pecos League Champions.
