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Maple City takes both games on the road to take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Heat
HUDSON LAKE- For the 4th time in 5 years, the Maple City Magic and Hudson Lake Heat are meeting up in the postseason as these two American League rivals once again kicked off another playoff series. However, for the first time these two teams are meeting up with a trip to the World Series on the line.
Maple City has taken two out of the three playoff series including their ALDS series win en route to their first ORWBL World Series Championship. The Heat had a much improved season after a down year last year as they finished with a .500 record. With the addition of Jasen Webb, the Heat were able to take it to the next level this year as they had their best regular season yet, finishing 15-9.
Webb's reliability, leadership, and lockdown defense has helped the Heat in so many ways as he has been about as reliable as they come. With the way that things are set up, the Heat were able to host Games 1 & 2 of the ALCS at the Pit in a torrential downpour.
However, both teams battled through the elements in a memorable day as both teams left the Pit soaked and the Right handed batters box an absolute mess. Despite a slow start, Maple City was able to gain some separation from the Heat in Game 1 as Wes Ellis belted out 3 Home Runs while also locking things down on the mound.
The defensive unit of Caleb Jonkman, Drew Luther, and Shane Anderson made it very hard on Hudson Lake to capitalize on much unless they were hitting the ball out of the park. Drew Luther also had himself a nice game as he went 3-5. The Heat struggled to get the bats going in Game 1 as the Magic took advantage as they picked up a 11-5 win.
With the rain continuing to fall, these teams played a fantastic back and forth Game 2. The Heat held the lead for the majority of the game but after a couple late inning clutch Home Runs by Caleb Jonkman , Shane Anderson, and Drew Luther, the Magic took an 11-7 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th.
The Magic defense picked up the first 2 outs before Hudson Lake belted 2 Home Runs to make it an 11-9 game. Desperately not wanting to fall down 0-2 in the series, Hudson Lake kept fighting but their rally fell just shy as Doug Benner grounded out to end the comeback hopes.
The defending ORWBL Champions will now head back home as they will look to clinch their 3rd straight American League Championship and are in complete control of the series after winning the first 2 games on the road. We will see if Hudson Lake has what it takes to pull of 3 straight wins at Magic Park.
