Maple City Magic Win 6th Straight ALCS as they Seek 5th Consecutive World Series Title

The Maple City Magic squared off against the Bourissa Hills Wildcards in the American League Championship Series as ALCS wiffleball returned to the storied Palace of Bourissa Hills. For the majority of the season it appeared as though the Maple City Magic would be meeting up with the Flat Rock Cyclones who won the American League regular season title as they finished with a 26-4 record.

That all changed at the trade deadline when MVP candidate Tyler Shupert requested a trade from Flat Rock to Bourissa Hills. Flat Rock skipper Mark Richards granted Shupert's request as the Wildcards made a huge trade deadline splash by acquiring the MVP candidate.

Things got very interesting in the ALDS when the Cyclones and Wildcards met up as it was Tyler Shupert who got the last laugh as the Wildcards pulled off the upset in two games. For Bourissa Hills, this was the first time making it to the American League Championship since changing their name from the Pterodactyls to the Wildcards.

The Wildcards headed into the ALCS with a lot of momentum after taking down the Cyclones as they hosted the first two games of the series at the Palace of Bourissa Hills.

Bourissa Hills came to play in the opener as they took an 11-9 lead into the top of the 6th. After Caleb Jonkman and Wes Ellis opened the inning with base hits, it was Maple City's Jared Jonkman who hit the 3 run Home Run that would put the Magic up for good.

Maple City picked up a pair of insurance runs in the 6th as they took a 14-11 lead into the bottom of the 6th. The Wildcards were able to score 2 runs but they came up just short, dropping Game 1 of the ALCS by the score of 14-13.

The Magic carried their momentum into the 2nd game as their trio of Caleb Jonkman, Wes Ellis, and Jared Jonkman each recorded 5 hits and 2 Home Runs in what turned out to be a 19-8 final score as Maple City moved within 1 win of their 6th consecutive American League Pennant. The Magic's 1-2 punch at the top of the order was on fire at the Palace as Caleb Jonkman and Wes Ellis combined to go 24-32 on the night with 10 Home Runs.

On the following day the series shifted to Magic Park where the wind was howling in, making runs tough to come by. American League Cy Young runner-up Jared Jonkman took the bump after Wes Ellis pitched the first two games of the series.

The Magic used some small ball to take the lead early and they never looked back as they added another run in the 3rd, two more runs in the 4th, along with one more run in the 5th. After the first inning, Jared Jonkman retired 14 straight Wildcards before they managed to hit a solo shot in the 6th inning to cut the deficit to four runs.

Jared Jonkman was able to shut the door on the Wildcards season in the 6th inning as Maple City capped off the sweep, clinching their 6th consecutive American League Pennant.

For Bourissa Hills, 2021 served as a statement season for the franchise as they have now put together back to back winning seasons while also reaching the ALCS for the first time under their new name. Manager Zach Rehlander has done some great things with the franchise and he was awarded with his 2nd consecutive American League Manager of the Year.

Shortly before the ALCS began, Bourissa Hills' star DJ Hill was named the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player. Tyler Shupert also finished in 2nd place as Hill narrowly won the vote 28-26 in what was the tightest MVP vote yet to date.

You can expect the Wildcards will continue to improve next year as Zach Rehlander and company have really hit their stride over the past two seasons.

Meanwhile for Maple City, they will now prepare for the Granger Panthers as they will look to win their 5th consecutive ORWBL World Series championship. The Magic finished with the better record so they will have home field advantage in the World Series as they will host Games 1 and 2 out at Magic Park on Sunday, August 22nd with first pitch slated for 1:00pm ET.

Stay tuned in the next few days as we will preview the 2021 ORWBL World Series matchup between the Granger Panthers and the Maple City Magic.