Signing off

It was fan appreciation night. Speeches were given, the players were honored and team awards were handed out.

Oh yeah, there was a little bit of baseball mixed in, too.

The Marysville Gold Sox played their final game of the summer on Sunday night, capping a record-breaking season that saw the team win the Horizon Air Summer Series McCullough Division title for the first time since 2006.

And when the final out was made at Appeal-Democrat Park, "Celebration" emanated from the stadium P.A. system and the Gold Sox tipped their hats to the crowd one last time.

Did they ever go out in style.

Brock Neil and Casey Coy both belted home runs, Tyler Deetjen tossed 8 1/3 dominant innings and the Gold Sox ended the season in impressive fashion by cruising to their 20th consecutive victory, a 9-1 win over the Solano County Bluebirds.

It was the perfect ending to a remarkable season for the Gold Sox, who left the field to a standing ovation from the 1,630 fans who attended a memorable season finale.

"I've never seen anything like this," Marysville manager Jack Johnson said of the winning streak. "What they accomplished is special and I don't think they'll ever forget it."

The outcome of the game was never in doubt as the Gold Sox (39-8-1, 31-8-1) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the third inning and rode the left arm of Deetjen the rest of the way for yet another easy victory.

Brent Hottman drove in the game's first run in the second inning with a double that landed just in front of a diving Ray McIntire in center. Mark Shannon followed with a sharp single to right to plate two more runs and the Gold Sox took a 3-0 lead.

Tyler Kuresa lined an RBI double in the third and Neil brought the crowd to its feet by crushing a ball high over the net and onto 14th Street for a two-run homer.

The Gold Sox added another run later in the third and Coy clubbed a two-run homer into the net in left to make the score 9-1 in the sixth.

It was the Gold Sox's 21st home run of the season, a team record, and it was only fitting that Coy was the one who did the honors.

"It's something very special. There's a lot of relationships built out here," said Coy, who was named the team's MVP during the pregame festivities. "There's nothing like winning. That's why we play the game."

While the offense had no problem putting runs on the board, Deetjen put things in cruise control and motored through the Bluebirds' lineup all night long. He allowed four hits, struck out four and didn't allow an earned run to earn his team-best seventh win of the summer.

Named the club's Outstanding Pitcher before the game, Deetjen left to a standing ovation with one out in the ninth. He tipped his hat to the crowd and was mobbed by his teammates when he entered the dugout.

Brandon Creel then got Alex Crosby to ground out to Neil at first, who stepped on the bag and fired a strike to shortstop Mitch Wilhite at second for a game-ending double play.

When the game was over, the Gold Sox gathered around home plate and tipped their hats to the crowd one final time, earning yet another ovation.

It was a lovefest at the ballpark, and the players were certainly thankful for the cheers.

"It's been a blast. They make the summer fun for us," Coy said of the crowd. "You can't say enough about the support they give us. Some of those 20 wins go to the fans, too."

For Johnson, seeing his players improve and support each other is what made this season special.

"I've never seen a group of players put in this type of effort," he said. "They never took things for granted and they didn't think they were above the game.

"They accomplished so many great things this year. They were great friends and they were great in the community."

The Gold Sox handed out awards before the game. Center fielder Brent Ohrman won the Coaches' Award, relief pitcher Kenton Bevacqua was named the team's Most Inspirational player and Shannon won the Gold Glove award.