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Rome Braves awarded 2016 SAL Championship Rings in Ceremony

By Blake Silvers

Feb 25, 2017; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; A general view of Champion Stadium prior to a game between the Atlanta Braves and the Toronto Blue Jays. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2017; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; A general view of Champion Stadium prior to a game between the Atlanta Braves and the Toronto Blue Jays. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports /
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In a season that saw four of Atlanta’s six farm system teams make playoff runs, the low-A Rome Braves rode a strong second-half push last season to snag the South Atlantic League Championship.

To the victors go the spoils, and on Monday the 2016 South Atlantic League Champion Rome players got their title rings in a ceremony at Champion Stadium at the Atlanta Braves spring training complex in Orlando.

Rome, led by perhaps the best rotation in all of Minor League Baseball last season, got off to a slow start, but got red-hot down the stretch and brought home the hardware for the team’s second-ever championship since moving from Macon to Rome in 2003.

Names like Touki Toussaint, Kolby Allard, Max Fried, Patrick Weigel, Mike Soroka and Matt Custred saw time on the mound for Rome last season, and got better as the year went on.

On offense, Austin Riley, Carlos Castro, Ray-Patrick Didder,  Anfernee Seymour, and Jonathan Morales provided the run support.

Rome went 27-42 to finish next-to-last in the South Atlantic League Southern Division first half standings, but won the second half with a nearly mirror image 43-27 run, earning a spot in the playoffs, and it was all but over from there.

The low-A club beat Charleston in the semifinals two games to one, and then took out Lakewood three games to one to win the title, leaning on that strong rotation throughout the playoffs.

See the full ring ceremony via the Rome Braves on Facebook below:

South Atlantic League hall of famer Randy Ingle will once again take the lead as Rome Braves manager for the upcoming season, and will be looking at another potentially solid rotation coming out of spring training.

Next: Atlanta Braves Prospects, Coaches and Executives Talk Rebuild at Hot Stove Event

The Rome Braves open up their 2017 season on the road at West Virginia on Thursday, April 6 at 7:05 p.m., with the team’s home opener on Thursday, April 13 at 7:00 p.m.

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