The Banana Ball Championship League has its first champion, and it isn't the Savannah Bananas. The Texas Tailgaters beat Savannah 2-1 on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., to win the inaugural Banana Bowl.
It came down to the Showdown. The teams were tied at one point apiece after nine innings, which sent the title to Banana Ball's one-on-one tiebreaker. Nick Lopez scored against Savannah's Danny Hosley, and Texas reliever Chris Clarke struck out Dan Oberst to seal it.
Kyle Martin gave Texas its biggest swing in regulation, a late two-run homer off Savannah starter Austin Drury, who was outstanding with eight strikeouts and just one hit allowed over eight innings. T. Jackson homered for the Bananas in the third. It's a good reminder of how Banana Ball scoring works: each inning is worth one point to whoever scores more runs in it, so five total runs still added up to a 1-1 tie.
This was a full-on show, too. John Cena delivered the game ball, the Jonas Brothers played a ninth-inning medley, and all six league teams took part. Former Washington Nationals teammates Jordan Zimmermann and Ryan Zimmerman even returned to their old ballpark on opposite sides, with Zimmermann pitching for the Tailgaters and Zimmerman appearing for the Bananas.
Texas got to the final by beating the Loco Beach Coconuts, while Savannah topped the Party Animals. Now the Tailgaters have a crown to defend, and their 2027 season opens Feb. 25 against the Indianapolis Clowns at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.
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