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Prune Packers clinch top seed, home field for PEL finals after dominant regular season
The Prune Packers closed the regular season on top of the Pacific Empire League and will open the best-of-three championship with Game 1 at Lincoln before bringing the series home to Rec Park for Games 2 and, if needed, 3 [2]. By July 28 they stood 19–6 in PEL play and 36–7 overall, securing the top seed and home-field for the decisive games [2].The push was built well before the final week. On July 22, Healdsburg held an 18–5 league mark (33–6 overall) and a two-game lead after taking six of seven, a stretch that included a 10th-inning walk-off [1].Few teams in the PEL matched Healdsburg’s production. The Packers led the league in home runs (45), extra-base hits (108), total bases (472) and slugging (.539), while their staff held opponents to a .209 average [2]. Key contributors across the run included bats and arms from Rex Watson, Dane Morrow, Jake McCoy, JC Osorio-Agard and Will Van Wie [2].A potential decider looms tight: Healdsburg edged Lincoln 3–2 in the season series, setting up a finely balanced championship matchup with the Potters [2].