Munson League Wild-Card Series

Maple vs. Boston

October 2: Maple 8, Boston 9. Complete coverage here. Boston leads the series, 1-0.

October 3: Maple 5, Boston 4. Over 92 1/3 innings this season, R.J. Lukies allowed only 10 earned runs and four home runs. After giving up a two-run homer in game one, he gives up a pair of two-run homers in the seventh inning of game two. Jorge Rodríguez and Anthony Shelton deliver the blasts. Boston nearly comes back. Dave Lane hits a two-run homer in the eighth, and the Cardinals score another in the ninth, but John Everhart ends the game by grounding out with the tying run on third base. Series tied, 1-1.

Alex Austin

October 5: Boston 7, Maple 5. Alex Austin doubles in two runs in the first, then doubles his pleasure in the second by doubling in two more. Marshall Hamilton gives a workmanlike effort, giving up four runs over eight innings. Boston leads the series, 2-1.

Anthony Lewis

October 6: Boston 12, Maple 7. The Marauders come out swinging and score five in the first. Anthony Shelton doubles with the bases loaded. In the fourth, Tom Hunter, Anthony Lewis, and Frank Powers each hit a solo home run, staking Maple to a big lead, 9-0. Boston rallies for seven runs behind a pair of home runs from Game One hero, Jasper Williams. Lewis puts the game out of reach in by homering a second time: his 440-foot moonshot to deep right drives in three. Series tied, 2-2.

Roberto
Martínez

October 7: Boston 3, Maple 6. Roberto Martínez out-pitches Norm Jackson. Martínez allows two runs over 7 2/3 innings, striking out eight. Anthony Shelton slugs a pair of two-run homers off of Jackson to lead the Marauder offense, and Maple takes the lead in the series for the first time. Maple leads the series, 3-2.

October 9: Maple 2, Boston 4. With the Cardinals facing elimination in front of their hometown fans, Adam Thomas hooks up in a pitchers' duel with Jesse George. Neither starter allows a runner past first base over the first four innings. In the fifth, Boston is the first to break through: George White hits a two-run home run. Maple comes back: Anastasio Rincón hits a solo home run, and the Marauders tie the game when Thomas balks in a run. In the eighth, pinch-hitter John White puts Boston ahead for good when his sac fly to left scores Abel Baker. Series tied, 3-3.

Jasper Williams

October 10: Maple 2, Boston 3. Jasper Williams, the unknown young player who won Game One for Boston with a walk-off home run, wins a tense Game Seven. Williams comes to bat in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, runners on first and second, and the game tied, 2-2. He lines a Brandon Wilson fastball to right for a single. Lead-footed Will Bauer chugs around third base, Sid Bream-like. Michael Anderson's throw home is just late. Bauer slides under the tag and gives Boston a 3-2 lead. Brock Maddox retires the side in order in the ninth, and the Canadians are sent home. Boston wins the series, 4-3.

Los Angeles vs. Las Vegas

October 2: Los Angeles 3, Las Vegas 8. Complete coverage here. Las Vegas leads the series, 1-0.

October 3: Los Angeles 10, Las Vegas 1. Tommy Harris and Steve O'Donnell hit solo home runs early. In the fifth, the Empire bats send Professor Magee back to high school. Three singles load the bases, and Andy Miller clears them with a double down the left-field line. Joseph McKee adds a pair of runs with a homer in the sixth. Kent Rose scatters nine hits en route to a complete game victory. Series tied, 1-1.

Ray Stevens

October 5: Las Vegas 6, Los Angeles 4. Ray Stevens comes up big for the Jokers. He comes to bat in the ninth with runners on the corners and Vegas trailing, 4-3. Stevens strokes a single to left off a slider from closer Gary Payne. The hit drives in Kevin Carey and ties the game. In the 11th, Colin St. John singles and Ray Stevens hits a two-run homer. Las Vegas leads the series, 2-1.

October 6: Las Vegas 7, Los Angeles 6. It's déjà vu all over again as Gary Payne comes into close a game that the Evil Empire lead, 4-3. The ace of the vaunted Empire bullpen, Payne saved 39 games during the regular season. Here in the playoffs, he gives the game away for the second night in a row. Kevin Carey triples in a pair of runs, then scores on a Vic Jennings sac fly. But Los Angeles returns the favor in the bottom of the ninth. A walk and a pair of singles leads to one run and puts runners on the corners. Young Ed Hill pinch hits with two outs, and he grounds a ball through the hole on the right side. Tommy McCauley scores, tying the game, 6-6. In the 10th, Phillip Smith hits a solo home run to put the Jokers up for good. Las Vegas leads the series, 3-1.

Evan Warner

October 7: Las Vegas 1, Los Angeles 3. After losing a pair of heart-breakers at home, the Empire get rewarded by facing the best pitcher in baseball, Maurice Gould. But luck finally goes their way. They score a pair of runs in the fifth, one on a balk and the other on an error. Evan Warner pitches a brilliant game, going eight innings and giving up only one run. After the blown saves of the previous nights, manager Phil Patterson elects to use Davey Holmes in the ninth. He gets the save, and Los Angeles staves off elimination. Las Vegas leads the series, 3-2.

Vic Jennings

October 9: Los Angeles 5, Las Vegas 6. Ray Stevens hits a solo home run in the second, Vic Jennings hits a three-run home run in the fifth, and the Jokers take the early lead, 5-0. The Empire strikes back: in the sixth, Elroy Anderson doubles in a pair of runs, then, a few batters later, Sean Bowman singles in two more. But Los Angeles never quite catches up. In the ninth, trailing 6-4 and down to their very last strike, the Empire's Tommy McCauley hits a solo home run. This brings the tying run to the plate in the person of pinch-hitter Charlie McCann. He strikes out swinging on a Rich Barrett slider. The Jokers win, and the Empire return to Los Angeles, their heads heavy with thoughts of what might have been. Las Vegas wins the series, 4-2.