The first cycle of the season ended with several interesting match-ups this week! Three teams earned dominant victories and two had to settle for a frustrating tie.

JK Hares (4-2) vs. RK Possums (4-2)

The Hares and Possums met in an interesting match of 4-2 teams. In the end, the Possums won with ease, and the Hares are left to consider their teams’ ongoing offensive struggles.

Rick led the league in home runs and RBIs by a wide margin. The team posted a good steals total and a solid OPS. Christopher Morel had an incredible week with 5 home runs, 10 runs, 8 RBI, and a 1.447 OPS over 25 at-bats. Adolis Garcia added 4 more home runs, 9 runs, and 7 RBI. The Hares enjoyed good production from Max Muncy and Mike Trout, but no other players were able to contribute. The Possums won all five categories with ease.

The pitching match-up wasn’t much better for the Hares. Most of the starters struggled, especially when it came to WHIP. The Possums were not that much better, with few starters going more than 5.0 innings. However, they were able to generate more strikeouts and a better pair of rate stats. This was enough to win the week, and the outcome was never really in doubt. The Possums are now in second place just one game back, and the Hares fall to two behind.

CM Skyline Sluggers (2-4) vs. LK Armadillos (5-1)

The Armadillos delivered a complete performance against the Sluggers, dominating on both offense and defense. Cedric Mullins led the way with 2 home runs, 7 RBI, 4 runs, and a steal. Pete Alonso had 3 home runs. Many other players contributed as well, and the team boasted solid, if not dominant, stats.

On pitching, there was controversy. The Armadillos won three categories, mostly thanks to a good start from the Bassitt Hound. Howvever, this was all moot since the Skyline Sluggers started an incredible 10 pitchers! Even if the team had not lost several categories, this would have earned the team a forfeit for the week. It’s important that no team start more than 8 pitchers in a given week unless it’s one of the pre-designated long weeks (typically the first week and the All-Star break).

With the win, the Armadillos retain a hold on first place. The Sluggers drop back, but still have some potential to put together a run.

KK Wolf Spiders (3-3) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (2-4)

The Wolf Spiders needed a win to return to form after some tough losses. The Goofballs were in the same position. Ultimately it was the Wolf Spiders who came out on top, but the match-up was closer than the score indicated.

Kyle benefited from the return of Corey Seager, who was 7/13 with 2 home runs. This is a huge boost to Kyle’s offense. Josh Lowe added 2 home runs and 3 stolen bases, and this was enough to take four categories. Kevin was able to win steals, thansk to Taylor Walls and Corbin Carroll. Kyle Schwarber had 2 home runs and 5 RBI, but went 2 for 15 for the week. To make things even more strange, he walked 9 times. Despite all these walks and 2 home runs, he only scored 5 runs. This was truly a bizarre week for the Goofballs’ offense.

Pitching is where the week was decided. The two teams were quite close throughout the week. Kyle held a miniscule lead going into Sunday. Justin Verlander had a great start on Sunday, which helped to mitigate a poor start earlier in the week. He pitched 8.0 innings with 1 earned run and just 3 hits. This was enough to swing both rate stats, along with IP and strikeouts.

Kevin had scoreless starts from Andrew Heany, Logan Webb, and Justin Steele. All through 6.0 IP and gave up no runs. However, Alex Manoah suffered yet another blow-up, and this ultimately doomed the team thanks to Verlander’s clutch performance.

Kyle now moves back in the right direction toward the top of the standings. The Goofballs have to endure another week of questions, and hope they can avoid falling into irrelevancy.

HP PhoeGnomes (3-3) vs. CP Legion (1-5)

The final match of the week was close, and ended in a tie! Each team was able to win four categories on on either the hitting or pitching side of the scoreboard. Heather was better offensively. Nolan Arenado continued to stay hot with 3 home runs and 8 RBI. Nolan Gorman and Aaron Judge had monster weeks as well. Gorman had 4 home runs and 11 RBI. Judge posted 5 home runs, another 11 RBI, 7 runs, and a steal. This was more than enough to dominate for the week, though the Legion took steals by one.

Pitching favored the Legion. Seth Lugo’s short start inflated the PhoeGnomes ERA and also limited her potential to win IP and strikeouts. The Legion boasted several good starts for the week. Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Bailey Ober each had 6.0 starts with 1 earned run. They totaled 20 strikeouts. This group effort was enough to win four categories. The Phoegnomes were one steal and one save short of a dramatic win.

Players of the Week

This week’s players of the week are Aaron Judge for the PhoeGnomes and Justin Verlander for the Wolf Spiders. Without these players, each team would have suffered a loss this week.

Next Week

This week begins the second cycle for the season! This is the time when teams can start to make headway to the title. Please remember the pitcher limits, and good luck to everyone!