The Reading Fightin Phils are Eastern League champions again. Reading, the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, beat the Erie SeaWolves 13-4 on Tuesday night, at FirstEnergy Stadium to sweep the best-of-three Eastern League Championship Series. It is the franchise’s first outright league title since 1995, a gap of 11,332 days. Not a single player on Reading’s championship roster had been born the last time Baseballtown won an outright crown.
The victory capped a perfect 4-0 postseason. Reading outscored its opponents 40-12, and scored 34 of those runs in two home playoff games.
Erie Strikes First, Reading Answers
Erie came in with plenty of championship experience. The Detroit Tigers affiliate won Eastern League titles in 2023 and 2024 and was making its fifth straight appearance in the championship series. The SeaWolves jumped in front right away when Peyton Graham drew a leadoff walk against Reading starter Ryan Dromboski and Zyhir Hope, the Tigers’ top prospect, lined a two-run homer over the right field wall.
Falling behind early was nothing new for this Reading club, which had piled up 26 come-from-behind wins. The Fightins drew even in the fourth when Dante Nori singled to open the inning and Aidan Miller doubled him home. Miller later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 2-2. Erie retook the lead 3-2 in the fifth when a two-out throwing error allowed Izaac Pacheco to score.
Caleb Ricketts‘ Grand Slam Changes Everything
The sixth inning decided the championship. Nori, Miller and Raylin Heredia opened with three straight singles to load the bases and chase Erie starter Lucas Elissalt. Carson DeMartini walked on four pitches against reliever Colin Fields to force in the tying run. After Aroon Escobar struck out, catcher Caleb Ricketts crushed a grand slam to give Reading its first lead of the night. Bryan Rincon later singled home Pedro León to finish a six-run inning and make it 8-3.
For Ricketts, the 26-year-old backstop, it completed a remarkable series. Two nights earlier in Erie, his ninth-inning sacrifice fly produced the only run in a 1-0 Game 1 win. In four playoff games, Ricketts hit .333 (5-for-15) with four runs scored, a double, a home run, and seven RBI. He also walked twice and did not strike out in his 15 at-bats. His full slash line was .333/.389/.600 with a .989 OPS.
Mavis Graves escaped a sixth-inning jam by striking out Hope and Tigers prospect Thayron Liranzo.
Escobar tripled off the right field wall in the seventh to score DeMartini and push the lead to 9-3. In the eighth, DeMartini provided the knockout blow. With the bases loaded, he drove a 2-1 fastball out of the park for Reading’s second grand slam of the night, sending more than 7,000 fans into celebration mode at 13-3.
DeMartini’s night was the payoff for a difficult year. The Phillies took him in the fourth round of the 2024 draft out of Virginia Tech. A hamstring injury cost him nearly three months this season, but after returning he hit .298 with five homers and 12 steals over his final 31 regular season games.
Estibenzon Jimenez allowed a solo homer to E.J. Exposito in the ninth before striking out Seth Stephenson to end it. Sam Carlson earned the win with a scoreless sixth inning. Elissalt took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits over five innings. Every Reading hitter reached base at least once, and Nori, Miller, Heredia, Escobar and Ricketts all had multiple hits.
A Prospect-Loaded Roster Comes Together
Reading was one of the most prospect-heavy rosters in the minor leagues. Rincon, the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect, broke out with 26 home runs to tie teammate Alex Binelas for the Eastern League lead, along with 30 stolen bases. He added seven RBI in the postseason. Miller, the organization’s No. 2 prospect and a 2023 first-round pick out of J.W. Mitchell High School in Florida, returned from a back injury in time for the playoff run. Nori, the Phillies’ first-round pick in 2024 out of Northville High School in Michigan, was a constant presence at the top of the order.
The pitching staff featured Gage Wood, the Phillies’ top prospect. The 2025 first-round pick out of Arkansas, who threw a no-hitter in the College World Series, jumped from High-A Clearwater to Reading this season and struck out 99 batters against just 18 walks in 68 2/3 Double-A innings.
From Under .500 to Champions
Manager Al Pedrique‘s club was under .500 at the midpoint of the season. The Fightins turned it around with a 40-28 second half, the second-best mark in the league, and clinched the second-half title with an 11-10 win over Erie. It was Reading’s first playoff berth since 2019.
The Fightins announced themselves quickly in the postseason. They crushed the Hartford Yard Goats 21-4 in the opener of the division series, tying a franchise record for runs in a game with a 12-run second inning. That was Reading’s first playoff win since 2016. They closed out Hartford with a 5-4 win in Connecticut to reach the championship series for the first time since 2015.
Reading’s Championship History
The Phillies have been affiliated with Reading since 1967. Their Reading clubs won Eastern League titles in 1968 and 1973. The 2000 team won the Southern Division but fell to New Haven in the championship series. In 2001, Reading shared the title with New Britain after the championship series was canceled following the September 11 attacks. Before the Phillies arrived, the 1957 Reading Indians also won an Eastern League crown.
Remembering the 1995 Reading Phillies
The last outright champions were managed by Bill Dancy, who was named Eastern League Manager of the Year that season. It was his second time winning the award in Reading after guiding the powerhouse 1983 club. Former Phillies and Pirates outfielder Bill Robinson served as hitting coach.
The 1995 Reading Phillies went 73-69, matching Trenton for the best record in the Southern Division. Fred McNair led the team with 23 home runs, David Doster drove in 79 runs, and Mike Grace went 13-7 with a 3.55 ERA. The roster featured several future big leaguers, including Scott Rolen, Bobby Estalella, Wendell Magee, Carlton Loewer, Wayne Gomes, Gary Bennett and Kevin Sefcik.
That club swept Trenton 3-0 in the first round and then beat the New Haven Ravens three games to two, winning the decisive game at home on September 13, 1995. Reading hit .299 as a team and belted 21 home runs in eight playoff games that postseason.
Thirty-one years later, a new generation of Phillies prospects has put Reading back on top of the Eastern League.
Please scroll down to comment on this story or to give it a rating. We appreciate your feedback!
Disclaimer: Some of the products featured or linked on this website may generate income for Philly Baseball News through affiliate commissions, sponsorships, or direct sales. We only promote items we believe in, but please assume that PBN may earn a cut from qualifying purchases that you make using a link on this site.
© 2026 LV Sports Media. All rights reserved.
