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Bourissa Hills finishes above .500 for first time since 2010
BOURISSA HILLS- Despite starting the season 2-10 at home, the Bourissa Hills Wildcards managed to climb their way back and finish above .500 for the first time since 2010.
After playing for 11 seasons under the Bourissa Hills Pterodactyls name, Manager Zach Rehlander decided it was time to make a change heading into the 2018 season. Rehlander felt the Wildcards name suited his team better "because you never know what you're going to get!"
Rehlander's statement was true for quite some time as this Wildcards team was either hit or miss. However, it seemed like this group was getting too comfortable being a team under .500 year in and year out.
Enter 2020 Rookie of the Year and MVP candidate DJ Hill. Rehlander made what would be a big splash right at the conclusion of 2019 as he brought DJ aboard.
Hill played one series last year before going on to help the Wildcards make a run to the ALDS, winning the Play In game and Wild Card game before falling to the Maple City Magic.
Hill got a taste of success and clearly wanted more. The addition of DJ Hill has been a game changer for this franchise as he has provided an elite bat to go along with Zach Rehlander, Cody Carlisle, and Allen Ament.
Hill's presence on and off the field changed the entire attitude surrounding the Wildcards as it was evident that these guys were hungry to compete.
With those 4 hitting like they have been all season long, the Wildcards simply needed some stability at pitcher. After starting the season with DJ Hill as their primary pitcher, Rehlander made the switch to long time crafty hurler Evan Layman. This would end up being an incredible managerial move that would really pay off.
Layman has had his share of struggles on the mound over the years but has not had a shortage of opportunities. After starting the season as their #2 pitcher, Rehlander made the mid season switch to Layman which would pay huge dividends.
Layman put together a remarkable season on the mound this year as his late season surge certainly put him smack dab in the middle of American League Cy Young discussions.
He finished the season with a 12-4 record to go along with a very respectable 6.47 ERA in 89 innings of work. Considering some of that pitching was done at the hitter friendly Palace, his numbers are even more impressive.
His 12 wins ranks 2nd in the American League and 3rd overall as he turned out to be everything that this team needed on the mound.
Overall, this team was able to get major production from both sides of the plate. While DJ Hill put up great numbers across the board, Manager Zach Rehlander also deserves a lot of credit.
While Rehlander has a fantastic shot to win AL Manager of the Year, the skipper also put himself together a fantastic season.
Rehlander who batted .587 had 91 total hits this season with 13 of them being Home Runs. That means that Rehlander was a base hit machine as he recored a league high of 78 hits that were not Home Runs.
Having that type of player in front of this loaded lineup meant that there were usually guys on base for the heart of their order.
All in all, not enough can be said about this team as they are arguably the hottest team in ORWBL as we head into the postseason. Their 3 game sweep over the Newts at Migley shows that these guys can take it to anyone.
This Wildcards team could certainly be rewarded when it is time to present the 2020 awards as this team really put together a memorable regular season.
Bourissa Hills will now look to make some noise in the postseason as they will take on the Mishawaka Meatspins in the Wild Card game out at Magic Park. It is safe to say, these guys are in midseason form!
