Mount Pleasant vs Wichita

In what looks to be a great matchup on paper, the Leyland Division winning Wichita Bandits travel to the Mount Pleasant Train Wreck, winners of the Ausmus Division. Wichita led the regular season in batting average, on-base percentage, and steals while Mount Pleasant easily led the league in home runs and slugging. Both pitching staffs features heavy hitting aces and deep bullpens.

Game 1 – Wichita starts out with Cy Young runner-up Dylan Cease to face Mount Pleasant’s top left handed pitcher Shane McClanahan. McClanahan was the first to flinch in the sixth inning, serving up a meatball for Luis Robert to gobble up for a home run, giving Wichita a 2-0 lead. Mount Pleasant turned to the bullpen to get them out of the inning but that lead felt insurmountable with Cease living up to his billing.  A late pinch-slugger solo HR by Matt Carpenter made it closer than it looked, as Wichita immediately steals home field advantage with a 2-1 final score. WICHITA 1-0

Game 2 – The next night pitted Wichita’s Logan Gilbert against Mount Pleasant’s trade deadline acquisition Joey Cueto. Again, nobody can stroke their wood to locate the ball until Eugenio Suarez erects a towering 2-run bomb, giving Mount Pleasant a pair and a 2-0 lead. The Bandits respond with a Matt Champman RBI single to shrink the lead by one, but the Train Wreck respond by scorin two more on a single and an error. Cueto, after a strong 6.2 innings and 7 strikeouts, gave way to a strong bullpen who locked in the 4-1 score and tying the series. Amed Rosario went 4-4. TIED 1-1

                                                     Wichita's Alvarez stayed hot all series  

Game 3 – Looking to change the temperature of their offense, the series heads to Wichita. Mount Pleasant showcased their top pitcher, Triston McKenzie, while Wichita featured Ross Stripling, who did boast the lowest ERA on a strong rotation. Wichita attacked McKenzie early, including a 2-run blast from Tim Anderson. Stripling held down the fort, tossing 7 innings, 1 run, and 7 strikeouts. JP Crawford and Yordan Alvarez each hit a home run late to enter the 9th inning with a 5-1 lead. Mount Pleasant eventually showed some fight, scoring a run on an error before setting the scene for Seth Brown, previously waived by Wichita before the start of this season, to step to plate down three runs with runners on first and second base. Brown, thus far 0-10 in the series, had a chance to become the hero for Mount Pleasant against the very team who dumped him. With the Matt Stafford-Jared Goff parallels floating in his brain, Brown stared down closer Jimmy Herget and took a MIGHTY rip on a fastball, casually grounding out to second base, ending the game and giving Wichita a 2-1 series lead. WICHITA 2-1

Game 4 – The fourth game of any series is inherently critical in determining the outcome. Your ace is still sore from game 1 and your bullpen is being stretched thin, eyeing that off day after tomorrow. It’s here the teams have to reach deep into the stable and ride a workhorse into the second half of a game, do or die. Both Mount Pleasant and Wichita did just that, trotting out Lucas Giolito and Sonny Gray, respectively. Vlad Guerrero Jr. finally flexed some power, knocking a solo home run out of the ring. Yordan Alveraz tied it back up but in the 4th inning a Eugenio Suarez home run attributed to four runs galloping across home plate. Giolito checked out of a 5-2 game after 7 innings and 9 strikeouts. Just as Wichita started to climb back, Guerrero Jr. kept on flexing, and guaranteed the series to return to Mount Pleasant with a two run home run in the 9th, allowing Jovani Moran to secure the final outs in an 8-4 victory. TIED 2-2

          

    The Game 5 Porn 'Stache Showdown

Game 5 – With the series tied and the top of the rotation back on the mound for each team AND the series soon shifting back to frigid Mount Pleasant, game 5 was absolutely crucial. Mike Trout launched his first home run of the series and an RBI double from Suarez gave Mount Pleasant an early 3-0 lead. Dylan Cease came back in the second inning, toeing the rubber only to see Professional Pinch Hitter Matt Carpenter step to the plate from the 3-hole in a rare start for the slugger, finally ready to determine who had the better porn ‘stache. Cease fired and Carpenter licked his upper lip spotting a juicy fastball down the middle, cranking it into the upper deck, and giving the Train Wreck a 6-0 lead in the second. Shane McClanahan continued to deal, as the lefty baffled the Bandits lineup striking out 10 batters across 8 innings. Despite chipping away at the six run lead, the game never felt close, especially when closer Jordan Romano entered the game in the ninth to close out a 6-4 victory, giving Mount Pleasant a chance to clinch the series at home. MOUNT PLEASANT 3-2

Game 6 – With their back against the wall, Wichita turned to clean-faced Logan Gilbert while Mount Pleasant welcomed back Johnny Cueto. With everything on the line, Yordan Alverez found an opportunity to smash his fourth home run of the series, jumping out to an early 2-0 start. But Mount Pleasant answered immediately with another Mike Trout 2-run homerun, tying game. Cueto settled in, putting Wichita away 1-2-3. And then the Mount Pleasant offense found its groove; Suarez single, Brown double, Rutschman walk, Correa sac fly RBI, Guerrero Jr. walk, Carpenter double, and ANOTHER Mike Trout home run to cap off a six run inning. Mount Pleasant would tack on two more in the third inning, suddenly forcing Wichita to zoom out and look at their season in the hands of a 10-2 deficit. Yet they didn’t give up. A Chapman homer, Robert RBI single, and Kwan RBI double in the fourth cut the lead to just four. An Alvarez 2-run homer in the fifth renewed the game entirely. In the eighth inning, Chapman blasted another home run to nearly erase the massive lead, flashing a 10-9 score on the board. Mount Pleasant subbed in stud reliever Felix Bautista to attempt the four out save. After the heart of Mount Pleasant’s order went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Bautista steps back onto the mound with a chance to go to the championship. He starts by fanning Kwan. Crawford makes good contact but the ball dies in the outfield for out two. Finally, Sean Murphy, with the season on the line, whiffs on strike three to end the series! MOUNT PLESANT WINS 4-2

 

Mike Trout Celebrates with his Mount Pleasant Teammates

Mount Pleasant will move on to face Maine for a chance at their first championship. Wichita had a great season and Yordan Alvarez nearly won the series on his own. He batted an incredible 8-21 with 5 home runs, 8 RBIs and a comical 1.190% Slugging. Wichita’s offense couldn’t muster help elsewhere, Tim Anderson being the next best bat going 8-23 with one homer and three RBIs. Anthony Rizzo left a massive hole in the Wichita offense, registering a decent 5-19 but with next to no power - hitting four singles and just one double. Steven Kwan, Adam Frazier, and Sean Murphy combined to go 6-58.

The pitching for Wichita was a bastion early in the series, seeing Cease, Gilbert and Stripling mute the high-powered Mount Pleasant offense but they collapsed in the second half. Eli Morgan was the workhorse for their bullpen, pitching 8 innings, striking out 14, and allowing just one run. Four other Bandits who pitched relief in the series allowed no runs but by the time they entered the game, they were trying to put out the fires their starters set.

On the other end of the box score, Mount Pleasant got a very balance contribution down the lineup. Four different players had multiple home runs in the series, led by Mike Trout’s three home runs and leading 6 RBIs. Suarez, the second first round pick for Mount Pleasant in the draft this year, drove home 7 RBIs, going 7-20 with two homers and two doubles, making his case for Series MVP. Finally Matt Carpenter was absurdly efficient, batting 4-8 with two home runs, a double, two walks, and 6 RBIs.

Mount Pleasant’s pitching was the star, lead by series MVP Shane McClanahan. His two starts across 13.2 innings yielded 18 strikeouts and really beat down Wichita’s heavy left handed trio of Kwan, Alvarez, and Rizzo, holding them to 3-10 with six strikeouts. His 8 inning start in game 5 both won the game and rested the entire bullpen to be unleashed in the clinching game 6. The 8th and 9th inning combo of Felix Bautista and Jordan Romano partnered for 5.2 innings, 8 strikeouts, 1 earned run, and 3 saves.

With that, Mount Pleasant will head to Loggers of Maine for a showdown of the top two teams this season. Stay posted for tickets to that series as we will be planning a day to play in person and crown a champion to end the season.