In one of the most evenly matched Championship Series in recent history, it was only fitting that the series-deciding game of the 2019 MetroWest Finals came down to extra innings.

The Framingham Orioles and Northborough Cardinals left it all on the field and battled until the very last out, in what Cardinals manager Kevin Donfield described as an "epic series" between the top two seeded teams.

While both teams were equally deserving of winning the series, ultimately the Northborough Cardinals would come out on top in the series-clinching game — walking off with their first MSBL MetroWest title.

After suffering an early exit in last year's semifinal round, both the Orioles and Cardinals each came into the 2019 season with a little chip on their shoulders.

They would use that as a source of motivation throughout the 2019 season, and before long, the two sides would find themselves sitting atop the 2019 MetroWest standings with matching 16-2 records.

Each team was responsible for one of their opponent's two losses, after splitting their 2-game regular-season series.

Offensively, both squads put up nearly identical numbers in the regular season, with at least one of the two teams leading the league in nearly every offensive category, most notably the Orioles .379 batting average and the Cardinals .373 batting average.

The Cardinals were led by MVP and Cy Young candidate Andrew Quinn, who took home the 2019 MetroWest batting title with a .632 batting average, while also assembling a perfect 7-0 record on the hill with a league-leading 0.81 ERA.

The Orioles pitching staff, led by last year's Cy Young Award Winner Brian Lindsay (8-2, 2.05 ERA), finished with a league-best 1.50 team ERA.

In the 2019 postseason, the No. 1-seeded Cardinals and No. 2-seeded Orioles each swept their opponent in both the first and second round, setting up a best-of-three Finals matchup between the top two seeded teams.

After splitting the first two games of their series, the 2019 MetroWest championship all came down to a decisive Game 3.

In the 9-inning 'winner-take-all' game, the Orioles jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st, only for the Cardinals to answer right back with three runs of their own in the bottom half, tying the game at 3-3.

In the 3rd, the Orioles drew three straight walks to start the inning, loading the bases for Steve Paddock, who followed with a laser beam single that drove in two runs.

The O's would put up four runs in the inning and another in the 5th to go up 8-4, however, the Cardinals once again showed their resiliency as they slowly chipped away and eventually came back to tie the game at 8-8 heading into the final frame.

After a scoreless 9th, the game headed into extra innings, where in the bottom of the 11th with two outs and the winning run on first, the Cardinals player/manager Kevin Donfield stepped up to the plate with a chance to play the role of hero.

Donfield was up for the role — lining a double over the centerfielder's head that drove in long-time BMBL veteran AJ Bucciarelli all the way from first, giving the Cardinals the walk-off victory and their first MetroWest title.

Congratulations to the Northborough Cardinals on winning the 2019 MSBL MetroWest Championship, and to the runner-up Framingham Orioles on a fantastic series. Hats off to the Orioles for the tremendous class and respect they showed in defeat.