Cubs Minor League News: Solar Sox fall short in AFL semifinal battle

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 6 hours ago

SALT RIVER - If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, which is what the Mesa Solar Sox were up against on Thursday. Fresh off their 3-0 win to kick off the Arizona Fall League Playoffs, the Solar Sox were just one win away from advancing to the League Championship game.

Unfortunately for them, it was the Surprise Saguaros standing in their way as they were looking to punch their ticket to a sixth straight AFL Championship game. When it comes to the standard of AFL baseball, Surprise is the standard, as every team strives to knock them off at this point in the season.

Despite being down 3-0 five innings into the game, Mesa refused to go down without a fight as they battled back to push across three runs in their half of the sixth to pull even 3-3. That is where things stood until the ninth inning, as things were teetering on extra innings. That was until Blake Mitchell came through with a long single off the top of the wall, bringing home the winning run to give the Saguaros the walk-off 4-3 and their sixth straight AFL Championship appearance.

As has been the case all season long, Owen Ayers was not only a pivotal part of the Mesa offense, but he continued to wreak havoc as he reached base three more times in this one, working a pair of walks while also picking up a single. It was his single that broke the shutout bid for Surprise, as the sixth-inning single from Ayers scored the first Solar Sox run.

He would come home to score later in the inning to help tie things up as his impressive Fall League season came to an end on a positive note. The same can't be said for Cole Mathis, who has been stuck in what has seemed like an endless slump after putting up massive numbers out of the shoot.

Mathis was right up there with Ayers as one of the top hitters in the AFL league the first three weeks, but has since cooled off to the point where he has become a liability. Despite reaching base with a walk in this one, Mathis continued to struggle as his season came to an end with another hitless night, as he will look to turn the page on 2025 and get ready for a massive 2026.

Moving to the pitching side of things, and once again, a Cubs prospect played a massive role in the team's success, with Koen Moreno getting some work on the mound. After his first two starts, Moreno was by far the best pitcher in this league, as his ability to limit contact and strike out batters was on full display.

Then came a few rough outings, followed by a good outing to end his season as Moreno could be someone to watch next year in the Cubs system. Moreno was far from his best in this one, walking four and striking out five across three innings, but with only one run allowed on one hit, he did a phenomenal job of limiting the damage, which was something he did all season.

With the loss, the Solar Sox season comes to an end one game away from the championship as they finished the 2025 season with a 14-14 regular season mark and 1-1 in the postseason.