Did every owner fill out their power rankings?
No chance.
The ONES with only 6 wins and not one but 2 teams with more than 40 wins!
Folks, when the league was a LOT more top heavy, teams were only winning at a maximum .790 (see The ONES season 2) and the Cajuns won 40 games last season (a .740 clip) with arguably the best 1-2 pitching punch this league has ever seen with Ledet and Cy Young Award winner Mr. Ryan Ruesch.
PLW Nation, I am going on the record right now! We will not have 2 teams win more than 40 games, probably not even 1 team. And The ONEs will easily be approaching 20 wins by seasons end. And secondly, this Preseason Power Ranking will be wrong on at least 3 teams.
See Season 5 Preseason Power Ranking (Cajuns predicted 7th with 25 Wins, Lightning 5th with 27 Wins, The Ones 2nd with 34 Wins and the Snappers 1st with 35 Wins). So, to say we don’t know anything just yet is a huge understatement.
Week 1 Recap –
#5 Pharaohs vs. #10 The Ones
Season 6 started on April Fool’s Day (Happy Anniversary Mrs. Ogden) with the upstart Pharaohs and manager/owner Logan Christie came into the opening series with a lot of hype around the league and some well-deserved confidence after storming through the PCL and kept the momentum going sweeping their way into the PLW through the Relegation Tournament.
While the retooled Ones look a lot different from that juggernaut of a lineup that is just a couple of seasons removed from back-to-back championship series appearances, winning the Season 2 Championship. Taking on the role of manager this season, perennial all-star Adam AK Koutz, put together a roster of holdovers from the Season 5 Ones, with some PCL rookies and a PLW original, Jamie Chhay (go Tomahawks).
Game 1
The 1st inning has a patented diving catch by rookie Richard Parsons and leadoff hitter Spencer Barrick gets the party started with a bomb off the 1st pitch he sees, and The Ones take an early 1-0 lead. And it looks like The Ones will spoil the Pharaohs coming out party.
But Not So Fast. Parker Trask hits a bomb to even the score in the 2nd inning, rookie Rylee Baxa settles down looking like a Game 1 Starter (4.2 Inn, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 2 BB) and another rookie Seth Barden hits 2 HR’s in the 3rd inning, including a Grand Slam and the rout is on. Pharaohs club 5 HR’s score 10 runs through 5 innings and cruise to a 10-3 win. (Tidbit Ones get 2 in the 6th).
Game 2
Trench hits the booth and gives us a little foreshadowing. Are the Ones bad or are the Pharaohs good? We are going to find out with veteran James Stein on the mound for the Ones, and manager Logan Christie calls his own number to pitch Game 2. But it’s Logan’s bat that starts the game off with a bang, as he hits one of the longest homeruns in the history of the Castle and the Pharaohs take an early 1-0 lead.
But in the bottom of the 1st the Ones get a couple of couple of singles, a fielder’s choice and a crucial error by Baxa and the Ones tie the game at 1-1. The Ones get the bats going in the 3rd inning, with help from some more fielding woes by the Pharaohs and drop a 5 spot without hitting a HR and go up 7-1 after 3.
The Ones added 2 more on a Tyler Pete HR, James Stein scatters 4 hits, striking out 10 with ZERO walks over 6 innings for the win. One bright spot for the Pharaohs, late arrival Josh Bosnos hits his 1st career HR and the Ones even the series 9-2.
Game 3
Rubber match! And we all love a good rubber match. Game 3 sees the Pharaohs go with Parker Trask to start game 3 and AK calls his own number to toe the slab and see if the Ones can take this 1st series of the season.
Pharaohs jump on AK early as the Pharoah’s Josh Bosnos hits a 3-Run bomb, his second in consecutive at bats and the Pharaohs jump out to an early 3-0 lead. Bottom of the 1st sees Spencer Barrick do it again, hitting a leadoff HR for the Ones and cuts the lead to 3-1 after 1 inning.
AK hits his 1st HR of the season in the second inning and the One score a single run-in innings 2, 3, 4 & 5 and the Logan Christie hits his 2nd HR of the series in the 5th and Seth Barden hits our 1st Sac Fly in 2 seasons and we go to extras, all tied 5-5. Extra’s start with a runner on 2nd base.
The Ones escape a based loaded jam of their own making as Adrian Gutierrez strikes out Seth Barden to end the inning. And in the bottom of the 7th, James Stein singles to right off Logan Christie and the Ones win the game 6-5 and take the series 2 games to 1.
Player of the Series – James Stein (.462 6 for 13, 4 RBI’s – 1-0, 2.67 ERA, 9 INN, 15 K’s)
#6 Night Owls vs. #7 Bombers
The second series of the season sees the Night Owls with all their new players and the “Family Affair” Bombers. Night Owls owner Beau Evans added former Warbird Alex Holligan in the “Warbirds” draft. Pre-draft video phenom and #1 overall pick Kyle Silva joins #5 pick PCL all-star Malik Ogburn to a lineup with potential all-stars Kiefer McClendon and Andrew Miller and the Owls, 2-Way star Levi Lawrence.
While the Bombers were quiet in the off season, adding defensive specialist Raul Salazar (he may get some gold glove votes) in the draft. The Bombers are more of the same. A steady diet of TB52, the Fernandez trio, all-star 3B Hollis Hale and Kenny Santiwan. A slug fest is what the forecast calls for.
Game 1
The Owls look to ace Levi Lawrence in game one and with Trevor Bauer running a little late to the field manager Alex Fernandez goes with Knuckleballer Kenny Santiwan.
All is going well until Levi walks in front of manager Beau Evans throw from 3rd and Mateo Fernandez hits a 2-2 pitch onto The Berm for an early 2-0 lead, both unearned.
The Owls had traffic in every inning but could not come up with that key hit. Mateo adds his 2nd HR of the game off Levi in the 4th inning and the Bombers extend their lead to 3-0 after 4. Levi goes 4.2 innings by eventually walks out.
Keifer is ineffective as he walks out after 2 batters, but the newest Owl arm Alex Holligan comes in and shuts the door getting out of a bases loaded jam by getting reigning MVP Trevor Bauer to pop up to short.
Owls take that momentum and get 2 runs in the bottom of the 5th when #1 pick Alex Silva gets his first career PLW hit, PLW veteran Barry Hutter and Kiefer McClendon take a walks to load the bases and Owls owner Beau Evans hits a ground ball to short that gets away from Alex Fernandez at short and 2 runs score, the Bombers wiggle out of a tough spot at TB52 get Silva to swing at a nasty screwball. Bringing the score to 3-2 after 5.
The 6th saw the Bombers go scoreless. The Owls got 2 runners on after back-to-back singles by Levi and Keifer, but the new rule comes into play as Hartwell makes a good throw to 3rd to hold the runners at 1st and 2nd. Bauer got Beau Evans to ground back to the mound and the 3 to 2 double plays ended the game. Bombers win 3-2 with only 2 hits, both homeruns by Mateo Fernandez.
Game 2
Sees Max Fernandez take the mound for the Bombers and newly added Alex Holligan on the bump for the Owls who look to even this series. Game 2 starts a little slow as both teams manage to scratch across a run a piece in the 2nd inning.
The Owls score on a McClendon single and the Bombers Hollis Hale hits ‘em with the Euro step in his first at bat of the season and we are 1-1 after 2. Starting at the top of the 3rd we have some fireworks from both teams. 5 Runs in the 3rd from the Night Owls as capitalize on a couple errors off some of those spinning wiffle balls, Holligan hits a RBI single, Levi hits a sacrifice fly, Andrew Miller hits a HR off of Bomber outfielder Zach Hartwell, Malik Ogburn collects his 1st career PLW hit, Silva singles and Alex Holligan collects his 2nd RBI single of the inning and the Night Owls go up 6-1 after 2 ½. Bomber’s manager Alex Fernandez hits a solo in the bottom of the 3rd, and we are 6-2 Owls after 3.
The 4th inning had even more fireworks than the 3rd inning! The Night Owls got 2 runs in their half of the 4th from a mammoth homerun by Malik Ogburn to go up 8-2 after 3 ½. And the Bombers not to be outdone, decide to flex the PLW smarts. 3 consecutive walks load the bases with no one out and the Owls turn to Levi, and he promptly spikes ball 4 to walk in a run, Alex Fernandes hits a 2 run single, Mateo collects an RBI single to right and Kenny Santiwan rounds out the scoring in the Bombers half of the 4th with a 2 out, 2 RBI double.
And after we are all tied at 8-8 and we stay tied until we get to the 7th, free wiffle! Extra innings, start with a runner on 2nd and Miller leading off the inning for the Owls. TB52 takes the mound for the Bombers and his screwball mows down the Owls in the top of the 7th. The Owls got 2 quick outs in their defensive half of the inning.
Hollis works a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd, the Owls look to Malik Ogburn to get them out of this tough spot against Alex Fernandez. Fernandez hits a 3-run walk off HR on the first pitch he sees, and the Bombers take the 2nd game 11-8 and go up 2-0 in the series.
Game 3
Reigning League MVP Trevor Bauer takes the bump for the Bombers as they look for the series sweep, while the Owls go with Kiefer McClendon to try and get the win and the bad half of the split.
Game 3 start off like a lot of Bomber games with home run, this one a solo BOMB by Hollis Hale, his second of the series. The game was quiet until the 3rd inning when the Night Owls struck with a solo shot from rookie Malik Ogburn, his 2nd of the series.
The Bombers answer in the bottom of the 4th with a moon shot from Season 5 HR Champ Mateo Fernandez, his 3rd of the series and the Bombers lead 2-1 after 4. The top of 5th inning sees Levi Lawrence hit a solo and the Night Owls answer to tie the game at 2.
But the bottom of the 5th inning sees that man again, Mateo Fernandez with a 2-Run homerun, his second of the game and 4th of the series and the Bombers doing Bomber things and lead 4-2 after 5 innings.
Did I mention that there were more fireworks? Well, there were. This time from the Night Owls and off TB52! Holligan, Lawrence, McClendon, Miller reaches on an error to tie the game at 4. And then with 2 outs, Levi Lawrence hit a 2-1 pitch for a Grand Slam, his second HR inning and of the series and the Owls take an 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the 6th.
The Owls look to Levi to close out the game, but after getting the second out of the inning, TB52 works a second walk of the inning from Levi and now the Owls hopes for a series split fall to rookie Alex Silva, who promptly walks the bases loaded only to get a ground out from Hollis Hale to end the game. Owls hold on and win the game 8-4, but the Bombers take the series 2-1.
Player of the Series – Mateo Fernandez (.583 7 for 12, 4 HR’s, 7 RBI’s, 1.667 Slug & 2.333 OPS)
#4 Sandvipers vs #3 Vaderz
The nightcap for the first Saturday of Season 6 pits two of the top teams in the Preseason Power Rankings, the fan favorite, resident Sandvipers led by the Commish himself Adam Tanic and the title hopeful Vaderz led by former Cy Young Award winner Billy Santiwan and Owner Sesai Alarcon.
The Vipers run out a line up that strongly resembles the same powerhouse team that made the playoffs in Season 5, with one glaring exception.
No Tom Gannon. How much will they miss one of the true “3-way” all-stars in this league? Only time will tell. And the Vaderz, much like their series opponents, roll with almost the same roster as the Season 5 wildcard team, led by the Santiwan and MVP candidate Kyle Eder. If there is going to be a theme for this series, it’s OFFENSE!
Game 1
The Vaderz go with Kyle Eder in game one, going against Adam Tanic as the Commish calls his own number hoping to set the tone in this opening series.
And it does not take long for Eder to walk out of the game as he walks Tanic and Keegan to start the top of inning #1. Manager Alarcon goes right Santiwan, but Kenny McDowell squeezes a single through the infield and the Vipers strike first taking a 1-0 lead and Santiwan gets out of the inning with no further damage. Vaderz do not waste any time flexing their offensive muscle as Eder hits a solo bomb and Tanner Roundy hits a 2-Run blast and Vaderz go up 3-1 after 1.
Both teams have clean innings in the 2nd, and we go to the top of the 3rd with the Vaderz leading 3-1. Now for the fireworks! Multiple errors and a couple of walks, a Kenny McDowell Grand Slam and suddenly, it’s 8-3 Vipers and still no outs in the top of the 3rd.
AJ Petrovsky adds a 2-Run bomb, and the Vipers extend the lead to 10-3, still with no one out. That’s all for Billy and PLW journeyman Scott Burley comes in to try and save innings as it is still a long series. The Vipers are still not done as Hicks hit a 2-Run HR and McDowell go back-to-back and the lead is now 13-3. Vaderz go silently in the bottom of the 3rd and the mercy rule is in effect. Vipers took game 1, 13-3.
Game 2
For game 2, the Vaderz call on Santiwan to try to even the series and the Vipers go with lefty Jordan Keegan.
Santiwan keeps the Vipers off the board in the top of the 1st, then takes it upon himself to do some scoring, as hit leads off the bottom of the 1st with a solo homerun to left and the Vaderz lead after 1, 1-0.
Middle innings see each team scratch 2 times with single runs, Vipers behind a solo from Petrovsky in the top of the 2nd and a Jordan Keegan solo homerun to right off Roundy, while the Vaderz tally single runs courtesy of an RBI single from Battistoni in the bottom of the 2nd and sacrifice fly from Santiwan after a Hutt leadoff triple.
And we go to the top of the 5th, with the Vaderz leading 3-2. The top of the 5th saw Kenny McDowell hit his second HR of the series with a 2-Run blast to left to give the Vipers the lead 4-3. Vaderz answered it the bottom of the 5th, with 3 runs of their own thanks to a rare Viper miscue, a walk, a Tanner Roundy RBI single and a 2-Run double by Alec Hutt and we go to the top of the 6th with Vaderz leading 6-4.
The Vipers got 1 run in the top of the 6th on a 2 out double by Keegan, but Roundy closes the door and the Vaderz take game 2, 6-5 and we go to Game 3 with the series tied at 1.
Game 3
The Vaderz call on veteran Jason Walker to start on the hill in this rubber match, while the Sandvipers go to AJ Petrovsky.
This game has runs early and runs late. The Vipers get the party started with homeruns from McDowell, his 3rd of the series, a 2-Run tank off the fair pole from Tavano and another 2-Run opposite field homerun from Tanic and the Vipers jump out to a quick 5-0 lead as the Vaderz have a quiet bottom of the 1st.
Tanner Roundy got the Vaderz on the board in the bottom of the 2nd with a solo to left, his second homerun of the series.
The middle innings rolled off quietly and we to the bottom of the 4th with the Vipers leading 5-1. It is in the 4th inning where the Vader bats come alive, with Kyle Eder hitting a 2-Run moonshot, Roundy adds his 2nd solo homerun of the game and leadoff hitter Billy Santiwan not to be outdone launches a 3-Run bomb to cap off a 6-run bottom of the 4th and Vaderz get a lead change 7-5 and we head to the top of the 5th.
Vipers answer quickly with a RBI single from Marc Tavano following a Jordan Keegan leadoff double, and the Commish himself hits another homerun, this one of the 3-Run variety. Vaderz avoid allowing any more runs in the top of the inning and we went to the bottom of the 5th inning with another lead change Vipers lead 9-7.
Vaderz added 1 run in the bottom of the 5th thanks to an Alec Hutt solo nuke to left center to bring the score to 9-8 as we go to the last inning. McDowell hits an RBI triple and an unearned run off the bat of Tavano to take the scope to 11-8.
Vaderz added a single run-in bottom of the 6th thanks to another Billy Santiwan homerun, but it is not enough and the Sandvipers take game 3 11-9 and win the series 2-1.
Player of the Series – Kenny McDowell (.533 8 for 15, 4 HR’s, 10 RBI’s, 1.6 Slug & 2.133 OPS)
#9 Snappers vs. #8 Legends
Sunday brings us the 4th series of opening weekend and it pits two teams that are looking to prove the preseason voters wrong as both teams are going to fighting to stay out of relegation.
The Snappers return 3-time MVP Taylor Bryner, Bash Brother Shane Webber and a couple of 1st round rookies looking to fill the shoes of All-Star Ryan Murphy, who will be only a partial attendee at best this season. And the Legends look very similar but added 3 rookies in the draft to breathe some life into this Legends team.
Attendance will be a talent this season for both teams this season. And if offense was the theme during the Saturday series, that will NOT be the same story for the Sunday series.
Game 1 – The Legends go with ace, Casey Taravella, while the Snappers go with their ace MVP candidate every season, TB7, Taylor Bryner. Top of the 1st, Bryner wastes no time with a leadoff double to the opposite field and Greg Kelley follows that up with an RBI single and rookie Austin Topel makes an immediate impact with his first PLW hit, an RBI single and the Snappers get out to an early lead 2-0.
Legends get on the board in the bottom of the second inning courtesy of a Hite single, a walk and an uncharacteristic Snapper error and we go to the top of the 3rd with the Snappers holding on to a 2-1 lead.
Both Bryner and Taravella settled in during the middle innings and the score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the 5th inning. Legends scratch 2 runs across in the bottom of the 5th thanks to a couple more Snapper errors a Cayd Watkins RBI double and an Ethan Wigfield RBI single and the Legends take the lead 3-2 going into the 6th. Snappers get Taravella to walk out in the 6th, but JT Church comes in and gets Jonathan Wilson on one pitch and the Legends take game 1, 3-2.
Game 2
Manager Brad Ogden turns to JT Church to start on the hill for the Legends in game 2, while the Snappers look to veteran Shane Weber to even the series. If you are looking for offense in this game, you are not going to get it.
Several balls were smashed to left and center field, but there was a wall of wind and nothing going out in this game. It is goose eggs through the first 3 innings, until the Snappers rookie Adam Kennedy collects his first career PLW with a double down the 3rd base line and TB7 smokes an RBI single up the middle and the Snapper take a 1-0 lead.
That score holds until the Snappers scratch again in the top of the 6th thanks to a Greg Kelley single, a fielder’s choice, and an RBI single from Chad Tomolo and the Snappers extend their lead to 2-0. Webber shuts down the Legends in the 6th and the Snappers take game 2, 2-0 and even the series at 1-1.
Game 3
PLW Original, Trench Picone, toes the slab for the Legends in game 3 and Snappers will turn the Jonathan Wilson as their starter in the critical game 3.
With runs at a premium, the Snappers jump on the Legends for the 3rd straight game taking an early 2-0 lead thanks to a Legends error, a Wilson single, a walk, and ground ball that sneaks under Taravella from Topel.
The Snappers are at it again in the 4th, Topel collects another hit, Kennedy follows suit with his 2nd hit down the 1st base line and Bryner hits a 2-Run double to right and the Snappers extend to 4-0. Wilson goes 4 plus strong innings before walking out, rookie Austin Topel make his inaugural PLW pitching appearance and in effective in his 1.2 innings before walking out and TB7 shuts the door and the Snappers take game 3, 4-0 and take the series 2-1.
Player of the Series – Taylor Bryner (.417 5 for 12, 3 RBI’s, 0-1, 1sv 0.00 ERA, 5 INN, 7 K’s)
#1 Cajuns vs. #2 Lightning
Yeah, I know my rankings are different than our precious Preseason Power Rankings, but honestly those predictions are crap!
This is a rematch of last season’s championship series that saw the Cajuns coming away with a 3-1 series win and the Season 5 Championship. These were the two best teams all season and stayed at the top of the table at either 1 or 2 for the entire season.
The Cajuns traded Championship Series MVP Logan Christie to the Pharaohs for PCL MVP Gavin Mansell in the off-season and added Devlin Daniel as part of the “Warbird” Draft. The Lightning also added a former Warbird 2-way player, Jaedyn Traut, and drafted Justin Atnip in the draft. These rosters are both stacked and poised for another playoff clash and to say there is some animosity, at least at the management level, in this rivalry is an understatement.
Game 1
The final series of the week, pits two of the very best pitchers in the PLW as the Cajuns Owner, Andrew Ledet calls his own number, and the Lightning will turn to strikeout artist Jayk Purdy. And the evening series mirrors the afternoon series, especially with these pitchers, and runs come at a premium.
The Cajuns, Andrew Ledet looks in mid-season form, allowing only 2 hits and striking out 4 before walking out after 4.2 innings. And he goes immediately to reigning Cy Young and 20 game winner, Ryan Ruesch who gets out of the 5th.
Not to be outdone Jayk Purdy looks even better than Ledet, if that is possible and has kept the defending champion Cajuns off the board also through 5 innings. In the top of the 6th, Cajun Cody Runnalls goes flying into the bullpen, ala Derrick Jeter, to make a diving play. After a couple of tense moments, Runnalls is up, but that level of effort just shows us what this 1st game and series means to these teams. And with Ruesch and Purdy dealing we go to extras with the score still tied at 0-0. Free Wiffle.
The 7th inning both Purdy and Ruesch retire the side without allowing the automatic runner on second to score and we go to the 8th. Purdy pitches into the 8th and keeps the Cajuns off the board, striking out 11, walking 1 and scattering 3 hits through 8. But in the bottom of the 8th, after previously walking Justin Spurrier in a similar situation, Ruesch is forced to pitch to Spurrier, since he as 1 walk already, and advantage Spurrier who hits the second pitch of the inning through the wind and homers to left and the Lightning walk it off 2-0 and take game 1.
Game 2
The middle game in the series has a pair of lefties takes the hill. 20 game winner Ryan Ruesch goes for the Cajuns and Justin Spurrier coming off his game 1 walk off goes for the Lightning.
Cajuns go silently in the top of the first, the Lightning on the other hand get the party started right away as Lightning leadoff hitter and team spark plug Bruce “the Juice” Huson hits line drive leadoff HR off Ruesch to left center and give the Lightning a quick 1-0 lead. Ruesch settles down and gets out of the inning with no further damage.
Second verse, same as the first. Runs are hard to come by as the weather plays a large role as some of the hardest hit balls get caught in the wind and fall harmlessly into the hands of fielders on both teams. Spurrier goes 2.2 innings before he walks out, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 4.
Manager Chad Phillips looks to reigning Rookie of the Year, Tyler Hallead to hold this slim 1-0 lead. Hallead matches Ruesch’s doughnuts until the bottom of the 6th. Chad makes the call to the bullpen and goes to game 1 winner Purdy.
And after going 8 strong innings in game 1, only have 1 inning left before he is done on the mound for the series, Phillips is looking to his ace to close out the game, get the save and secure the series win for the Lightning.
The plan works to perfection as Purdy gets the save, walking 1 and striking out 2. Ruesch shows his Cy Young form, but the Cajuns bats do not show up. And the Lightning win 1-0 and take a 2-0 series lead.
Game 3
Manager Andrew Ledet turns to Comeback Player of the Year Cody Giordano to start game 3 as the Cajuns look to salvage a “bad split” and win game 3.
While the Lightning hand the ball to Tyler Hallead, as he will need to eat some innings with Purdy’s inning all gone after the first 2 games and the Lightning are looking for the first sweep on Season 6. Top of the first, sees the Cajuns offensive struggles continue.
The bottom of the 1st sees the Lightning strike again (see what I did there?) as they score 2 runs thanks to a leadoff walk, a Spurrier RBI triple off the wall and new Lightning addition Jaedyn Traut sneaks a ground ball single under the diving Cody Runnalls.
That ended the scoring the first and Lightning jump out to 2-0 lead. The Lightning are at it again in the bottom of the 4th, this time it is an unfortunate error from Devlin Daniel in a tough sun field, a fielder’s choice by Spurrier and after a Giordano strikeout of Huson, Tyler Hallead smashes a homerun to left and the Lightning extend their lead to 4-0. Hallead keeps the Cajuns out of the run column in the top of the 4th inning and we go to the bottom of the 4th inning.
Again, the Lightning offense finds a way to tack on 3 more runs. A leadoff walk ends Giordano’s night on the mound and Ledet calls his own number with game still in doubt when he grabs the ball.
But a throwing error by the normally sure fielding Giordano puts runners on first and third, when Lightning leadoff hitter Bruce Huson lines a 2-run single up the middle to extend the lead to 6-0, with only 1 out in the bottom of the 4th.
Justin Spurrier’s RBI single tack on another run before the Cajuns get out of the 4th, with the Lightning holding a 7-0 lead.
Hallead continues to keep the Cajuns off the board in the top of the 5th and we go to the bottom of the 5th with the Lightning leading 7-0. The bottom of the 5th sees fan favorite Cody Runnalls take the mound and he is promptly greeted by a Purdy single.
Then Cody gets to face Lightning manager Chad Phillips and promptly goes 65mph over his head, that gives everyone on the field and reason to smile. But then does the unthinkable, he walks Phillips! Follows that by walking Huson and walking out. Ledet comes in to relieve Runnalls, and promptly gets Hallead looking for the 2nd out of the inning.
Ledet’s series in with a bases loaded walk to Spurrier to extend the lead to 8-0. The Cajuns turn to Sashi Bobba to try and get them another at bat in the top of the 6th, but no dice as he promptly walks the next 2 batters and the Lightning run rule the Cajuns in 5, 10-0 and take the first series sweep of the season 3-0.
Player of the Series – Jayk Purdy (.455 5 for 11, 1-0, 1sv 0.00 ERA, 9 INN, 13 K’s & .56 WHIP)
And also the Player of the Week – Jayk Purdy
Power Rankings Week 2
1) Lightning (3-0)
Holds at #1– Swept the reigning champs with 3 shutouts, their offense came around in the 3rd game of the series, scoring 10 runs. The pitching staff of Purdy, Hallead and Spurrier looked great in the opening series and the offense looked formidable even without stud Randy Dalbey in the lineup.
2) Sandvipers (2-1)
Up 2 Spots from #4 – Won their series from the Vaderz by scoring 29 runs and hitting 11 homeruns. The offense was balanced with 6 different Vipers hitting a long ball, led by 4 from Kenny McDowell.
But the pitching did not look as solid. Leaving the opening week with a 6.86 ERA as a team. No Tom Gannon leaves a huge gap in the Viper pitching staff. Who will step up to take the role of the team ace? Only time will tell.
3) Cajuns (0-3)
Down 1 Spots from #2 – The results were not what Owner Andrew Ledet wanted to see, but while the offense struggled to put runs on the board in their first series, the pitching and team defense was what carried them to the Championship last season and that looked to be in form.
Look for newly acquired PCL MVP Gavin Mansell to be in the lineup this week and the offense to score some runs. It is a long season, no panic in the Cajuns.
4) Vaderz (1-2)
Down 1 Spot from #4 – Vaderz bounced back from a mercy rule in game 1 to force a rubber match game after winning game 3. They were on the bad end of a slugfest in that game 3, but Owner Sesai Alarcon must be happy with the reemergence of Tanner Roundy who had a great start to the season both at the plate and on the mound after an injury riddled Season 5.
The offense will be there, Santiwan and Eder form at great 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation. If Roundy is back the PLW could be put on notice. Shh… did I hear there could be an Ethan Ibarra sighting?!?!
5) Bombers (2-1)
Up 2 Spots from #7 – This season started off right where last year’s regular season ended, Bombers hitting bombs. Led by last season’s HR champ Mateo Fernandez and his 4 HR’s and 2 each from Hollis Hale and Alex Fernandez the lineup found its footing early this season.
The rotation with reigning MVP Trevor Bauer and Max Fernandez looking like he may have found the pitching form of Season the 4 the Bombers looked poised to ascend to the top of the Power Rankings. Little side note, Zach Hartwell in the outfield and 2nd round pick Raul Salazar in the infield, we could be looking at a top 3 team defense.
6) Snappers (2-1)
Up 3 Spots from #9 – The low preseason ranking was directly tied to the rumors of lack of attendance from Snapper regulars Bryner, Webber and Murphy. And those rumors did not appear to be true in week 1, with Bryne and Webber leading the way to a series win.
The pitching looked true to Season 4 form as the trio of Bryner, Webber and Wilson ate up most of the innings with rookie Austin Topel looking solid in his PLW pitching debut. The offense did enough to win the series, the defense was spotty at times but both rookies Topel and Adam Kennedy look like 1st picks on the field and at the dish and the Snappers are the biggest climbers in this week’s poll.
7) Night Owls (1-2)
Holds at #7 – Night Owls got off to a slow start losing a close one to the Bombers in their first game of the season and a slug fest in game 2.
But found something that we have not associated with the Owls for a few seasons, a little fight. Levi Lawrence looked good on the mound and so did former Warbird, Alex Holligan. In fact, all the new Owls looked good, Malik Ogburn hit a couple of bombs, #1 draft pick Alex Silva looked like a #1 pick and the previously mentioned Holligan. Team them with 2nd year Owl, Andrew Miller and Owner Beau Evans and the Owls will be in the playoff mix all season.
8) The Ones (2-1)
Up 2 Spots from #10 – The shock of the opening week happened on April Fool’s Day, as The Ones showed the newbies that nothing is given in the PLW.
They were spanked pretty good in game one. But this veteran team bounced back behind the arm of wiffle veteran James Stein as he shut down the Pharaohs in game 2.
And in a back-and-forth game 3 the veteran Ones found a way to get that series win and give all the predictors some crow to eat. But how many times will this lineup have Barrick, Stein, AK, Bull, and Pete in the lineup? Chen and Schmidt still have roster spots, but attendance will still be this team’s biggest challenge.
9) Pharaohs (1-2)
Down 4 Spots from #5 – A tumble for the PCL champs in the first week, as they lose a series to the Ones. Even with the tumble, there were some bright spots for Owner Logan Christie.
Riley Baxa is a top of the rotation pitcher, Josh Bosnos and Seth Barden will each hit around 20 HR’s this season providing they play around 40 games. And Logan looks like a top 10 player in the league with his true 3-Way ability. T
he defense needs to tighten up significantly, errors cost them at least 5 runs in their first series and owner Logan Christie I am sure is emphasizing, you simply cannot give these 6-man lineups that many opportunities. And there are no series versus the Regulators on the horizon.
10) Legends (1-2)
Down 2 Spots from #8 – Nothing new for this team, another slow start. The offense struggled to score in the conditions in Week 1 and the Snappers pitching was also a huge reason for the struggle.
But pitching looked good, even without Legends all-time wins leader, Billy Osgood pitching in the series. Rookie Cayd Watkins struggled, but the whole lineup struggled. Look for some better production as the attendance in the coming weeks looks like a more complete lineup, with some of the stalwarts making and appearance and the addition of Brendan Hite, look for more than 3 runs this week from the Legends.
My Week 2 Predictions vs. Guest Picker (ADAM TANIC)
Ones vs Owls – I like the Owls here. Not guaranteed Stein is coming into town for this series and the Owls should have a similar lineup from Week 1. (OWLS win 2-1) Tanic (OWLS)
Vaderz vs Pharoahs – Vaderz for me. Too much offense for the Pharaohs to overcome and they have never seen anything like the pitching the Vaderz will throw at them. But I can see the Pharaoh getting one game and then you never know. (VADERZ win 2-1) Tanic (VADERZ)
Sandvipers vs Lightning – This is a tough one for me, because I truly feel that this is a toss-up. So much offense and the Vipers will have to win a slugfest, their pitching is not in the same category as the Lightning. (LIGHTNING win 2-1) Tanic (SANDVIPERS)
Cajuns vs Legends – I am picking against my Legends here. Historically, the Cajuns have owned the Legends. But our line up should be complete, and the Cajuns are still good. (CAJUNS win 2-1) Tanic (LEGENDS)
Snappers vs Bombers – Two original teams here, and 4 of the 5 league MVP’s are playing in this series. I am going with the assumption that the attendance will be the same as Week 1. So, I like the Snappers here, those rookies are good and well TB7 is NOT in a sling. (Snappers win 2-1) Tanic (BOMBERS)
