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Perhaps it was first-time post season jitters for some of the boys, or just the fact that their opponent was the 105 win, top ranked team in the league; but whatever it was, the Syrups looked completely outmatched in the first two games of the LDS; dropping game 1 by a score of 8-0; and game 2 by an even bigger margin of 13-3.
The team had a players-only meeting after their shellacking in game 2 to clear the air and get their heads on straight for game 3 back home. Newest addition to the staff, Claude Passeau, took the mound in the win-or-go-home game and pitched well enough to earn the 4-3 win.
The ball was handed to another newcomer in game 4 as Willis Hudlin toed the rubber and equaled the game 3 performance of Passeau, leading the club to another 4-3 win. The team boarded the bus and headed back to Bowling Green for the winner-take-all match.
Game 5 was a similar duel of clones as Mel Harder faced off against Mel Harder (same as game 1); and like game 1, it was an 8 run differential.... but unlike game 1, this time the Syrups prevailed with a 9-1 victory and a birth in the LCS.
Waffletown will face off against their division rivals, the Kansas City Athletics. The two teams met 19 times during the regular season, with KC handily winning the series 13-6; so the Syrups know they will have a monumental task ahead of them if they hope to reach the World Series.
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