The Metrowest Royals are the 2021 MSBL MetroWest champions, following a two-game sweep over the Metrowest Orioles in a rematch of last year's Finals.

The second-seeded Royals (14-4) defeated the top-seeded Orioles (15-3) by scores of 6-4 and 7-3 in the best-of-three series, winning their second consecutive title and repeating as MSBL MetroWest champions.

The Royals become the first MetroWest team in the Boston Men's Baseball League (BMBL) era to win back-to-back titles, producing a combined 8-0 undefeated postseason record in their historic back-to-back championship runs.

This marks the Royals' fourth title in seven years (2016, 2018, 2020, 2021) as a member of the BMBL, and their fifth title overall as a franchise.

The reigning MetroWest champs finished the 2021 regular season with a record of 14-4, clinching the No. 2 seed in the postseason and a guaranteed berth in the semifinals for a second straight year.

Offensively, the Royals ranked third in the division with a .372 batting average, fueled by Mike Power (18-28, .643 Avg.), who took home the MetroWest batting title for the second year in a row.

Six players in total batted .400 or higher on the regular season, including Ryan Bere (18-45, .400 Avg.), Jay Hussey (16-37, .432 Avg.), Brian Schools (12-25, .480 Avg.), Mike Feetham (26-45, .578 Avg.), and Miguel Gonzalez (11-18, .611 Avg.).

On the defensive side, the Royals' pitching staff ranked second in the division with a 2.05 ERA, once again spearheaded by their ace and last year's Cy Young Award winner Chris Dion, who posted an 8-2 record with a 1.70 ERA and a league-leading 82 strikeouts.

The Royals' 2021 postseason campaign began with a semifinal doubleheader versus the No. 3-seeded Northborough Cardinals, who matched the Royals with a 14-4 regular-season record.

The Royals claimed the regular-season series, defeating the Cardinals two out of three times, with all three games decided by two runs or less.

The two teams had just one prior meeting in the postseason, back in the 2019 semifinals, where the Cardinals swept the Royals in two games and went on to win the 2019 MetroWest championship.

This time around, Chris Dion (7 IP, 2 H, 12 K, 0.00 ERA) and Jon Shepard (8 IP, 6 H, 14 K, 2.63 ERA) would ensure the Cardinals did not stand in the way of another Finals berth for the blue and white.

The pitching duo combined to go 2-0 with 26 Ks in the series, while the offense combined for 11 runs on 19 hits, as the Royals secured their second-straight Finals appearance with a 6-1 win in Game 1 and a 5-4 extra-innings win in Game 2.

Their Finals opponent for the second year running was the top-seeded Metrowest Orioles, who composed a league-best 15-3 record in the regular season — marking the fourth straight year and the fifth time in six years the O's finished the regular season with the best overall record.

Offensively, the O's led the league in multiple categories, including average (.389), slugging (.514), OPS (.995), and OBP (.481), while also hitting a franchise-high 8 home runs.

MVP-candidate Paul Goodwin charged the O's offense with a team-best .627 batting average and a league-leading 32 hits.

Brian Lindsey once again anchored the pitching staff with a 9-2 record and a team-best 1.97 ERA. Lindsey, who is no stranger to a workhorse role on the mound, tossed 67% of his team's innings (74.2 IP) in the regular season.

The Orioles' postseason began with a best-of-three semifinal series versus the No. 5-seeded Marlborough Red Sox (6-12), who earned their spot in the semis with a 9-3 upset win over the 4th-seeded Douglas Tigers (12-6) in a first-round single-elimination matchup.

The Red Sox and O's faced off just once in the regular season, back on opening day, where the O's offense exploded for 18 runs on 22 hits en route to an 18-5 lopsided win.

A similar result would unfold in Game 1 of their semifinal series, as the O's No. 1 through 4 hitters combined to go 8-for-13 with 5 runs scored, leading to an 11-3 victory.

The Red Sox answered back with an 8-3 win in Game 2 to keep their playoff hopes alive and stretch the series to a decisive Game 3, where ultimately their Cinderella run would come to an end.

The O's defeated the Red Sox 7-2 behind a stellar performance from Steve Cadoret (7.1 IP, 3 H, 6 K, 1.91 ERA), who picked up the Game 3 win and helped secure the O's third straight trip to the MetroWest Finals, and a shot at redemption.

For the second time in two years, the Orioles battled the Royals in the MSBL MetroWest Finals, hoping for a different result after getting swept by their longtime rivals in the finals last season.

On the opposing side, the Royals looked to successfully defend their title and pull off the first repeat performance in MSBL MetroWest history.

In Game 1 of their finals doubleheader, the O's jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd on a sac fly from starting pitcher Steve Cadoret.

The Royals countered with four runs in the 4th and two runs in the 6th, highlighted by an Alex Wong (1-3, R, 3 RBI, 3B) three-run triple and two different steals of home, one by Mike Power and the other by Steve Robb.

Trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the 6th, the O's put up a 3-spot in the inning and trimmed their deficit to two, thanks to a double from Chris Deane (1-3, 2B) and a triple from Brett Manley (2-3, 3B, R, RBI); however, that was as close as they would come to pulling off the comeback.

Royals' starter Chris Dion (7 IP, 6 H, ER, 7 K, 1.00 ERA) was able to work his way out of the 6th-inning jam and then toss a scoreless 7th to earn the 6-4 Game 1 victory, bringing his team within one win of the championship.

In Game 2, the scoring came early and often for the Royals. Backed by a Jay Hussey (1-3, 2 RBI, 2B) bases-loaded 2-run double in the 1st and a bases-loaded fielder's choice by Miguel Gonzalez (0-2, RBI, SB) in the 3rd, the Royals held a 5-2 lead through three innings.

Pete Lankarge (4 IP, 4 H, 2 K, ER, 1.75 ERA) got the starting nod for the Royals and was able to keep the O's bats silent, allowing just one earned run on four hits in four innings of work.

Down 5-3 in the 4th, the O's once again threatened to spoil the Royals' lead. With two outs and a runner on first, Nick Dill (1-2, 2B) blasted a double over the head of right fielder Chris Perry, who was able to quickly track it down and fire it to his cutoff man Gonzalez, who threw a perfect relay home to nail out the runner trying to score from 1B, ending the inning and the threat.

The Royals would tack on two more insurance runs in the 6th for Alex Wong (2 IP, 3 H, 2 K, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA) and Jon Shepard (1 IP, 0 H, 0.00 ERA), who combined to throw three innings of shutout relief and help seal the 7-3 victory and the Royals second-straight MetroWest championship.

Lankarge earned the win on the hill in his only postseason start, while Lindsey was charged with the tough loss.

Congratulations to the Metrowest Royals on winning the 2021 MSBL MetroWest Championship and repeating as champions, and hats off to the runner-up Metrowest Orioles on another fine season and their third straight trip to the finals.