LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – The Snappers played a pair of doubleheaders on Monday night against the Stone Men and Warbirds. Rookie of the Year favorite and MVP candidate Taylor Bryner pitched in three of the four games, and he was the winning pitcher in each game. The Ones and Sandvipers finished out their season series to end the night, and a sweep would make the Vipers 6-0 on the season against a streaky Ones team.
In the first game of the night Joseph Carpenter hit an RBI double off Snappers manager Peter Mavro in the first, but the Snappers would answer with four runs in the bottom of the inning, capped off by a two-run shot from Bryner. Jimmy Talamantez hit a two-run shot of his own in the top of the second to tie the game, and Dylan Martin was able to hold the Snappers for the next two innings. In the bottom of the fourth Manny Santillanes Jr. hit a grand slam to put the Snappers up 8-4, and Bryner would close it out in the fifth.
In the second game the Snappers gave the ball to Shane Weber, and the Stone Men went with Alan Sharples, who has made a pair of recent starts in the Taco League to work on his pitching prowess. Going down to the Taco League on Tuesdays appears to have paid off for Sharples, as he would go the distance in the 2-1 win, and the only run he allowed came on a home run from Bryner. Sharples also hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the third to break a 1-1 tie, and that’s all he would need.
The Warbirds matched up with the Snappers in the second doubleheader of the night. Santillanes hit an RBI double in the top of the first, and that’s all Bryner would need, as he would shut the Warbirds down, allowing just two hits in a complete game effort. The Snappers would give Bryner some insurance in the second inning, as Santillanes hit an RBI single, followed by a three-run shot from co-manager Jesse Capps a few batters later. Bryner only struck out three, and the Snappers defense just made one error in the 5-0 victory.
Bryner would hold the Warbirds to just two hits again in the second game, and yet again he would have a low strikeout total with just five. Santillanes hit a solo shot in the bottom of the first to give the Snappers a 1-0 lead, and that’s all they would get off Warbirds’ starter Matt Petrikas. Jonathan Wilson was the only batter that Petrikas seemed to struggle with after the home run, as he went 3-3 with two singles and a double, but was stranded all three times in the 1-0 win.
The Ones faced off against the Sandvipers in the final series of the night. In game one The Ones walked Sandvipers starter Jason Walker out of the game after just three batters, but manager Adam Tanic was able to get out of the inning without allowing a run. Tanic and Cody Schmidt would trade zeros until the top of the fifth, when Tom “Dr. Winkly” Gannon broke the tie with a two-run homer. The floodgates opened after that home run, and the Sandvipers would put up nine runs in the inning. Casey Herzog came in to pitch the final frame, and he sat The Ones down in order.
In the final game of the night Trench Picone got the start for the Sandvipers, and he would allow just three hits in a complete game effort, but one of those hits was a solo shot off the bat of Schmidt in the top of the third. In the bottom of the inning Picone worked a walk to chase Schmidty from the game, and Tanic hit a two-run shot to give his team the lead. They would tack on another run in the bottom of the fourth, getting the 3-1 win, and completing the season sweep of The Ones.
The next Premier League Wiffle® action will be on Monday, April 5th. There will be a full slate of doubleheaders starting with Warbirds vs. Stone Men at 4:30pm PDT, followed by Bombers vs. The Ones at 6pm, Sandvipers vs. Tomahawks at 7:30pm, and Calicos vs. Snappers at 9pm. Tune in LIVE on Twitch!
