FRANKFORD -- The fairytale season had a storybook ending. For a team that had not won a postseason series or had one winning season in its first three years of existence, the Sussex County Miners could not have had Hollywood script a better conclusion.

FRANKFORD -- The fairytale season had a storybook ending.

For a team that had not won a postseason series or had one winning season in its first three years of existence, the Sussex County Miners could not have had Hollywood script a better conclusion to the 2018 season.

The amazing thing is that if you had watched this team all season, you're not surprised. The Miners made an art form out of walk-off wins and not losing at home. Their final game was a microcosm of their season. Even down, 5-3, with nobody on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 4 of the Can-Am Championship series, the Miners were not about to quit.

Singles by Audy Ciriaco and Daniel Mateo kept hope alive to bring up Martin Figueroa, who had already homered once earlier in the game. It only took him one pitch against Quebec closer Trevor Bayless to bring pandemonium to Skylands Stadium.

Figueroa hit a booming blast into the night sky over the right field fence to deliver Sussex County its first Can-Am baseball championship. For a team known for stolen bases, it was a home run that closed the season out. It was their first and only lead.

"It's one of those wild moments," Sussex County Miners manager Bobby Jones said. "I've been involved in a lot of playoffs in my life, and that's the ultimate �wow.' We were at the right part of our lineup to get something done. He's been big for us all year. You don't get rookies like that. He was probably MVP of these playoffs."

�"It means a lot," Figueroa said. "I've gone through a lot this year. Coming from pro ball to here, grinding it out, getting hurt and then getting the job done, I've been blessed. It's been a great year. It's a great group of guys, great manager, great field and a great crowd. It's a great atmosphere to be in. I'm just happy."

Figueroa only came into the game with five home runs on the season. He certainly wasn't expecting to hit a second one of the game in that spot.

"I was just thinking to stay simple, try to get it to the next guy to keep the line moving, Figueroa said. "I put everything in God's hands and a home run happened. I'm just blessed."

Jones had been working tirelessly to bring a championship to Sussex County. Being a former MLB pitcher, his competitiveness was not going to accept losing.

"You knew it wasn't going to happen in year one," Jones said. "Year two got a little better, and now we're the champs. It's a blessing. Many prayers were answered tonight. I always believed we were going to build a winner here. I believe I'm a winner. I really don't associate myself with losing. For it to happen so soon is definitely a blessing."

The Miners had to feel pretty good matchup going into Game 4 with their postseason ace Cory Jones going up against Bobby Blevins, a 33-year old independent baseball veteran who only pitched for Quebec three times in the regular season and twice in the postseason after he was signed very late in the year.

In more than 1,000 innings pitched in indy baseball, Blevins came in with a 4.01 ERA.

Jones was coming off postseason outings where he threw 156 and 155 pitches, respectively, while pitching the Miners to two of their three wins in the semifinals over the Trois-Rivieres Aigles in dominating fashion. His performance in Game 5 on short rest will live in infamy.

Early on against the Capitales, the usage finally seemed to be having an impact, as Jones was giving up hard contact not seen against him previously. In the top of the second inning, Quebec scored the first two runs of the game.

Zach Wilson began with a single through the left side of the infield, which was followed by a double to the right-center gap by Nick Van Stratten. A walk to Brad Antchak loaded the bases, and Yordan Manduley's sac fly to right posted a run on the scoreboard.

A cue shot that landed just right of the foul line in right field by David Salgueiro with one out drove in Van Stratten. Jones induced a much-needed double play by Maxx Tissenbaum to end the trouble.

The Miners responded with a run in the bottom of the second, but felt they could have gotten another on a controversial call.

After Quebec inexplicably let a routine infield popup by Martin Figueroa fall to the grass in between three players, Christian Correa hit a shot off the left field wall that was ruled a double.

It scored Figueroa, but Miners manager Bobby Jones argued from his view from the third base coaching box that the ball had hit the second fence, which would be a home run per the ground rules. His protest did not get the call changed.

That hurt even more when T.J. White led off the top of the third inning for Quebec with a home run that did count, leading to a 3-1 lead for the Capitales.

The struggles for Jones continued when Quebec scored in its third consecutive inning. A one-out double by Antchak started the top of the fourth inning. That was a hard hit ball, but what followed was the opposite. Manduley threw his bat at and outside pitch and flipped it the other way to right field, moving Antchak over to third.

A walk to Salgueiro loaded the bases with one out, but Jones got Tissenbaum to pop up. Against the dangerous White, who had already homered, Jones got up, 0-2, on the count before throwing four straight outside the strike zone to walk in the fourth run of the game for Quebec.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Miners blew a chance to get right back in the game with their two hottest hitters at the plate up. Coming into Game 4, Mateo was hitting .514 (18-for-35) in the postseason with three home runs and 13 RBI, and Ciriaco was 13-for-32 (.406) with nine RBI.

With runners on first and second and one out, Blevins was able to use his veteran savvy to navigate the difficult duo. Ciriaco hit a shallow fly ball to center, while Mateo hit a weak grounder to shortstop.

The Miners did get a run back in the sixth when Martin Figueroa hit a deep over home run out over everything in right field to cut the deficit to 4-2. Sussex County seemed to figure out Blevins more with hard hit balls by Jayce Ray and Correa, but they both got caught for outs.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ciriaco and Mateo redeemed themselves. Ciriaco recorded a two-out single that put Mikey Reynolds in scoring position for Mateo, who hit a bouncer through the left side of the infield to make the score, 4-3, in favor of the Capitales.

Mateo's single came against reliever Brett Lee after he replaced Blevins following the Ciriaco at-bat. Blevins pitched 62/3 innings with three earned runs allowed on nine hits.

Jones managed to settle down and throw up three straight zero's before being taken out for Kevin Grendell in the top of the eighth inning. Jones allowed four earned runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and five walks over 71/3 innings.

A solo home run by Van Stratten off Grendell gave Quebec a 5-3 lead headed into the ninth, before the magical Miners delivered one more special moment.