CYCLONES BACK IN MSBL WS
After success in '24, Cyclones return to Phoenix again

Nov 9, 2025 - After the success the Cyclones experienced in last year's MSBL World Series, the Cyclones were primed to return to make another run at the 40+ title that eluded them last year. However, circumstances dictated that this year, the Cyclones would try their hand at 45+ instead. Those circumstances led to almost half the roster needing to be overhauled. Roster changes are nothing new and for a tournament such as this one, it's expected. Sometimes though, the roster welcomes back players from previous years who weren't able to continue the following year for one reason or another.  Other times, you new players are recruited in the hopes that they are equal or better than what was previously there. And sometimes, you simply have needs to fill. In the case of 2025, 2 players returned who had previously played with the Cyclones in Phoenix and 7 other players were new to the roster. One thing for sure, the chemistry from 2024 was still there in 2025 but with different competition, different results happened.

The Houston Cyclones went 3-3-1 overall (3-2-1 pool play, 0-1 playoffs) for the week, but if not for a misplayed bunt, their record could have looked much better.  The misplayed bunt came during the 10th inning against the Utah Rockies, a game in which at one point looked as though the Cyclones would go down in defeat due to the game being a fairly lopsided affair. The Rockies were ahead 6-1 going into the 6th inning when the Cyclones erupted for 6 runs to take a 7-6 lead going into the 7th. The Cyclones promptly coughed up the lead allowing 4 runs in the top of the 7th. Not to be outdone, the Cyclones roared back with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 8th to take a 11-10 lead into the 9th.  After securing the first 2 outs of the inning, the Cyclones allowed the game tying run to score making it a 11-11 tie. By rules, if there is time left on the clock, the game continues for one more inning using "California" rules (ghost runner on 2nd to begin extras). The Cyclones, knowing the situation at hand and moments earlier having a mound meeting to discuss said situation, prepared for a bunt. The bunt was pushed hard towards the mound where manager Dean Cosme played the ball and was going to throw promptly to third when he heard "One, One" and turned to first where he was about to fire the ball but the second baseman was late covering and while trying to lead the second baseman to the bag, threw the ball into right field allowing the go ahead run to score and the lead off runner to reach third base. A single later and the score was now 13-11. Not to be outdone, the Cyclones scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 10th inning as well scoring the tying run on a bases loaded HBP, which meant the Cyclones had a golden opportunity to win the game. But the Rockies pitcher induced a ground ball double play to end the game at 13-13.

Other highlights during the week included Game 1, where the Cyclones were down 13-8 going into the 6th inning and roar back to finish the game 20-13.  Game 3 was the team's stadium game that pitted the Cyclones against their rivals the Baseball BBQ Forkballers. The Cyclones consider the Forkballers their rivals for several reasons including the fact the Forkballers are closely associated with several players on the Cyclones who hail from the same northeastern region of the US, as well as the fact this is the 3rd time in 5 years that the Cyclones will play the Forkballers. Not to mention some disparaging remarks said by the Forkballers manager regarding the Cyclones. The first two meeting between the Forkballers and Cyclones went the way of the Forkballers, so the Cyclones had a lot on the line going into this game. Manager Dean Cosme had the start and knew deep down he had to pitch a good game in order to defeat the Forkballers. Cosme did just that, going 5 innings, allowing 6 runs (3 earned) on 12 hits, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. It helped a whole lot that the Cyclones exploded for 12 runs to back up Cosme's performance that day. At that point it was just a matter of adding to the lead and hoping to hold onto the lead as well. The Cyclones did just that, adding 8 more runs while only allowing 7 more runs to the Forkballers.  Final score 20-13 Cyclones.

Another big highlight during the week came from Frank Manfredy, who besides batting .500 for the week, leading the team in hits (12), tied for the lead in doubles (2) and triples (1) and also lead the team in walks (4), also pitched a complete game against the Colt 45's in a much needed victory for the Cyclones at that point in the week. It was Wednesday and the Cyclones faced a daunting double header the next day, the last day of pool play, and knew that pitching was going to be in short supply for Thursday. But Manfredy delivered a gem of a game. It was the best pitching performance since last year's Game 2 performance by Jim Marconi against the Seattle Royals. A game in which we saw Marconi only allow 2 runs and come up on the wring side of a 2-1 loss. In this game however, Frank Manfredy was brilliant as he only allowed 3 runs (all unearned) in the first inning and nothing the rest of the way. It was a game the Cyclones needed to win and a pitching performance needed at the right time. That game and his performance on offense the entire week earned Frank Manfredy Team MVP honors for the 2025 MSBL World Series Tournament. Congratulations Frank! Well deserved.