DeCriscio Helps Lead Peoria To AFL Semifinal Victory

It appears that the fans of the Arizona Fall League knew what they were doing.

A week after they sent San Diego Padres' infield prospect Justin DeCriscio to the annual AFL Fall Stars Game via the fan-based "Final 2" vote - where DeCriscio plated the game-winning run in the National league's 7-4 defeat of their American League counterparts - he swung a hot bat on Friday for the Peoria Javelinas as they held off the Salt River Rafters 6-5 to advance to the AFL championship game.

On Saturday, the Javelinas, the AFL playoffs' No. 2 seed, will face the top-seeded Surprise Saguaros, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. PT and the game airing live on the MLB Network.

DeCriscio, who started at second base, checked multiple offensive boxes in the semifinal contest, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored, a double, walk, hit by pitch and stolen base.

When he scored in the third inning it gave the Javelinas a 4-0 lead and with starting pitcher Patrick Reilly dealing, it looked like a no-muss, no-fuss win was on tap, but the Rafters battled back with a four-run fourth to knot the score.

DeCriscio, who the Padres signed as an undrafted free agent in 2024, then made his presence felt in the bottom of the fourth. His one-out single was followed by a stolen base before he advanced to third on Tai Peete's base hit and scored on Ike Irish's sacrifice fly for a 5-4 lead the Javelinas would not relinquish.

The Peoria advantage grew to 6-4 in the seventh when San Diego outfield prospect Alex McCoy's RBI groundout plated Carter Graham. McCoy, who also participated in the Fall Stars Game along with the league's Home Run Derby, finished the night 1-for-4 with that RBI.

One final Padres' farmhand appeared in the game and it was in a big spot. Pitcher Francis Pena was called into the contest with one out in the top of the eighth and a Salt River runner at third. After getting Teo Banks to pop out, he allowed a run-scoring single to Core Jackson to make it a 6-5 game, but he buckled down to induce a threat-ending groundout from Demetrio Crisantes.

The championship matchup between Peoria and Surprise seems almost scripted. They went into the final regular-season game on Wednesday with identical 17-10 records and the Saguaros came away with the playoffs' top seed courtesy of an 8-4 victory.

That's the only time, however, they were able to get the best of the Javelinas during the season, as Peoria won their other three matchups while outscoring Surprise by a combined 33-18 and not scoring fewer than 10 runs in any of those games.

Now it comes down to a one-game, winner-take-all contest between the AFL's two best teams to determine who the 2026 champion will be.