The second week of the 2025 season saw teams begin to settle into more consistent play.  Teams like the Possums, Goofballs, and Hares rose to the challenge, while early winners struggled to keep up their hot starts.  At the end of the week, only the PhoeGnomes managed to keep a perfect record intact.  Time will tell whether or not Heather’s team can contend, but the mixed results from the early leaders shows that any team can still win this year.

LK Armadillos (1-0) vs. RK Possums (0-1)

The defending champions looked to keep their hot start going.  However, the Possums proved they were more than up to the task and captured the week thanks to a dominant pitching performance.

Spencer Schwellenbach was the best of the week for Rick with a beautiful 8.0 IP, 2 hit, 10 strikeout showing.  Tyler Mahle, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Matthew Boyd combined to throw 17.0 IP and not allow a single earned run.  Robert Suarez contributed 2 critical saves.  The Armadillos struggled with ERA for the entire week, with many starters throwing middling efforts.  This also limited the innings pitched, and thus strikeouts.  A poor showing from Larry’s bullpen gave the Possums a five-category sweep.

The Armadillos were much better on offense.  They were second in the league in home runs and OPS.  Veterans Pete Alonso and Jose Ramirez each had 3 home runs, and Alonso added a whopping 11 RBI.  The team collected 9 steals for the week, and seemed poised to dominate in all offensive categories.  The Possums struggled to get much going for a second straight week, but they did have one bright spot – a strong showing on the base paths. Manny Machado and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each had 3 steals.  Machado’s final steal on Sunday clinched a tie for the category and thus a win for the week.  The loss will sting for the Armadillos, who left three steals on the bench.  This now puts both teams at 1-1 records, and the Possums showed they are a threat to bring down the league leaders.  The Armadillos’ one vulnerability remains pitching, and the team will have to sort this out if they want to cruise to another title.

JK Hares (0-1) vs. KK Wolf Spiders (0-1)

After an atrocious start to the season, the Hares looked to rebound against the Wolf Spiders.  Like the Possums, the Hares responded to the challenge with arguably the league’s top overall performance.  The Hares enjoyed a rare sweep of all five offensive categories.  The surge came from two players – Riley Greene and Elly De La Cruz.  Cruz destroyed the Rangers with 2 home runs, 9 RBI, and 2 steals for the week.  Greene added 3 home runs, which paired nicely with 3 steals from Trea Turner and 2 shocking steals from J.T. Realmuto.

Both teams had quality pitching showings.  They tied for the league lead in strikeouts.  The Wolf Spiders tied for the lead in saves and IP.  The Hares were second in ERA, and both teams had great WHIPs.  There was a slight chance for a tie for the week thanks to the Hares suffering a bad Corbin Burnes start and a bullpen blow-up.   Fortunately for Jeff, Tyler Glasnow was equally bad, and Kyle settled for one too few strikeouts and a microscopically higher ERA.  This gave the Hares their first win of the season and continues the frustrating start for the Wolf Spiders.

KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1) vs. CP Kraken (1-0)

The Goofballs/Kraken match promised some offensive fireworks, but no one was prepared for the Goofballs’ explosion.  Kevin’s squad led the league in runs, home runs, RBI, and OPS.  They tied for second in steals.  The Kraken did their best to keep up.  Chris tied for second in runs and steals and was third in RBI.  It wasn’t enough to overcome the monstrous production the Goofballs mustered, though.  Four Goofballs had 3 home runs – Jackson Merrill, Seiya Suzuki, Corbin Carroll, and CJ Abrams. Nico Hoerner added an incredible 6 steals for the squad.  The Kraken got a nice week from Kyle Tucker with 3 home runs and 8 RBI.  Chris managed a good balance of steals up and down the lineup, but it was only good enough to tie the category.  This put Chris in a difficult position  before considering pitching stats.

The Kraken did their best to close the gap, but it wasn’t quite enough.  The team had a few decent starts, including a good effort from Nick Lodolo.  However, others let the team down with the type of 5.0 IP / 4ER starts that kill a team’s rate stats, but also torpedo their ability to get high strikeout and innings totals.   The Goofballs’ bullpen was able to record 3 total saves and tie the category, and secure the win.  The team’s “less is more” approach to starts gave them the nod in WHIP as well, and Kevin earned a solid win for the week.  This leaves both teams at even 1-1 records.  The battle also raises questions about each team’s ability to produce consistent results week-in and week-out.  Both squads can (and often do) put up massive stats in all categories.  If either team could do it consistently, they could challenge the Armadillos for the title.

HP PhoeGnomes (1-0) vs. CM Skyline Sluggers (1-0)

The week’s final match saw the PhoeGnomes rise to be the only team with a 2-0 record to start the season.  Heather’s team didn’t put up the best numbers for the week, but they were able to do just enough to secure the victory.  The PhoeGnomes’ pitching was strong.  They were near the top of the league in strikeouts despite a modest IP total.  Logan Gilbert and Cole Ragans did the hard work here – each recorded 10 strikeouts in just 5.0 IP each! No other pitcher had a meltdown, and Heather won both ERA and WHIP.  Charlie took saves in a 4-0 no-contest.  He also win IP, but was not close in the rate stats.  This gave Heather a 3-2 lead.

Neither team thrived on offense, but Heather did enough to earn four categories and thus a win for the week.  They were led by Teoscar Hernandez, who had 3 home runs, 7 RBI, and 2 steals.  The Skyline Sluggers didn’t have any players with more than one home run, and the team generally failed to get into a groove for the week.  This led to Heather earning a victory for the week, and moving into first place on the season!

Next Week

Things start to get serious in Week #03.  The Goofballs hope to bring down the defending champion Armadillos.  Kevin’s squad showed up to play last week, and the Armadillos look slightly vulnerable.  Can Kevin bring down his nemesis?  The Kraken also face a strong test against the PhoeGnomes.  Despite better season totals, Chris finds himself down in the standings.  Can Heather keep up the pace?  The Possums also face off against the struggling Wolf Spiders.  Rick has to take advantage of the opportunity to challenge a stronger team that is struggling.  Finally, the Skyline Sluggers have to face off against the bizarre and unpredictable Hares.  No one knows what the Hares will do from one week to another, so Charlie will need to bring a strong attack to win.