Contenders separating from Pretenders
We are getting close to the halfway mark of the season already it what has been a great and growing year. This week we had our 92nd player participate in a game in Leroy’s history as well as a record breaking 60th player in 2018. Some drama ensued when team’s had 5 players show up after expansion rosters were allowed. With only 4 players being allowed to play at once, players were left sitting and not very happy. Bo Hofstra made a return to the Leroy Complex after finishing his season pitching for the Purdue Boilermakers helping the Badgers grab 2 wins. The Liners and Hawaiians decided to change the schedule and switched home and away. With all that being said after 9 games played we have 5 teams within 1 game of the lead, but let’s get into the ins and outs of Week 5.
Batting Average: 0.395 (5th) Season Average 0.413
Slugging Percentage: 0.861 (2nd) Season Average 0.865
Homers: 68 (2nd) Season Average 62.6
Runs: 133 (4th) Season Average 134.0
Strikeouts: 151 (2nd) Season Average 140.2
Hits: 199 (3rd) Season Average 203.8
At Bats: 504 (2nd) Season Average 493.6
E.R.A.: 7.82 (2nd) Season Average 8.22
Innings Pitched: 102.00 (1st) Season Average 97.8
We had the worst batting average of the year so far at a 0.395 clip, but that didn’t stop the long ball just barely beating our record this year at 70 Homers in week 1. Some Big Milestones for the league include reaching 3,500 Runs scored this week. We also surpassed 4,000 strikeouts as a league! The last big one is surpassing 5,500 hits as a league this week, some big numbers!
Let’s dive into some personal milestones. First off Erik Detmar had his 500th career at bat this week as he sits 8th all time. Caleb had his 250th Run Scored this week which sits 1st all time and is the first player to do so. Kevin Vroegh played just one game, but got 4 runs to get his 100th run scored in his career, he sits 11th. Robby Zandstra and Jordan Mosel both passed the 200 hit mark in their careers as they sit 8th and 9th on the year. Jeremiah Wiltjer grabbed his 100th career hit, he sits 22nd all time. Jack Hillegonds powered out his 75th career homer this week for the Truckers he sits 5th on the all time list. Wes Ellis had 3 Homers this week including the last one being his 25th career homer, he sits 21st all time. Now for some pitching Milestones, Matt Dykstra pitched his 100th career inning this year the 8th player in Leroy’s History to hit the mark. Brett Detmar grabbed his 300th career strikeout which sits 2nd all time.
Player of the Week - #3 Erik Detmar (Squints Sluggers)
Erik had his full team this week for the first time this season and he and his squad shined. Erik put up 5 Homers with 11 RBI’s and went 12 for 15 on the night. He pitched 3 innings of scoreless work letting up 1 hit and had 7 k’s. He wins player of the week for the 2nd time this season, the only one to do so.
Batter of the Week - #1 Wes Ellis (Bushleague Badgers)
Wes gets his first honors of the year helping the star-studded Badgers grab 2 victories on the night. He erupted on the night with 5 Homers and 8 RBI’s and with 8 for 13 on the night.
Pitcher of the Week - #13 Caleb Jonkman (Lake County Liners)
Caleb grabs his 3rd Pitcher of the Week award this year with yet another stellar night on the mound. He still hasn’t given up a run this year and pitched 3 more scoreless innings giving up a hit with 8 k’s.
Hot or Not …
Let’s dive into hot and not babyyyyyyy.
Hot
#33 Jared Jonkman (Bushleague Badgers)
Although Wes won batter of the week, Jared was not far off. He had 4 Homers and 7 RBI’s himself this past week as they beat the Truckers by 9 and the Clams by 4. He had 6 k’s on the mound in 3 innings pitched giving up just 1 run.
#19 Jordan Mosel (Backdoor Sliders)
This season hasn’t been going as planned from a team or individual perspective. He got hit with more penalties after Jon Gibson bowed out due to a hamstring injury in this week’s games. Jordan didn’t even have himself in the lineup, but had to insert himself to meet team requirements. He shined from the mound for the first time this season pitching 2 scoreless innings with 5 k’s and allowing just 1 hit.
Not
#22 Lucas Miedema (Leroy Clams)
I hate doing repeats, but this one had to be done. Last time Miedema was a not, he was with the Sultans. He was then traded to the Clams and things haven’t changed. Lucas went 0 for 9 from the plate with 5 k’s on the night as the Clams lost both games in the night for the first time all year.
#10 Kyle Schaaf (Sultans of Soy)
Kyle needs to shine for the Sultans to perform and he struggled this week. He blew a save in the matchup against the Narwhals forcing extras. He had no Homers or RBI’s on the night as well.
Team Power Rankings
1st – 156.27: Lake County Liners (7-2) The Liners stay on top again after a split this week. They lost an important game to the Sluggers this week, it was the first time in Liner history they lost the first matchup to a franchise. They were 11-0 up to that point. They got things going against the Hawaiians in the second game to stay ahead in the standings and continue to have the best pitching stats in the league from a team perspective. Last Week: 1st
2nd – 149.92: Bushleague Badgers (6-3) The Badgers brought in some D-1 talent this week to make a statement in their first Facebook Live game of the year. Bo Hofstra made a big debut for the Badgers including 3 Homers in a row at one point against the Truckers. Last Week: 2nd
3rd – 142.69: Squint’s Sluggers (6-3) The Sluggers looked unstoppable this week and had all the momentum rolling. They took out the Liners and beat a good Clams team by 9. They had their full team for the first time this year and all cylinders looked good for the Sluggers. Last Week: 3rd
4th – 131.93: Sultans of Soy (7-3) The Sultans will finally have their first bye this week, they are the only team to play 10 games so far and had a great first half to the year piling up 7 wins. They picked up Jeremiah Wiltjer for the week and still have question marks at the 4 slot. Last Week: 4th
5th – 128.29: Diamond Dusters (6-3) The first move in the Rankings since last week, the Dusters played just one game and beat the team right above them, the Sultans. Jason Hillegonds had a great return to the Dusters and we saw newcomer Griffin Govert fit right. Last Week: 7th
6th – 125.14 Leroy Clams (5-4) The Clams drop out of the top 5 for the first time all year with a sweep. Matt had some managerial mistakes bringing 5 players to the field and had to play Sitter one game and Grant the other. Things looked dysfunctional at times and many wonder if Matt’s arm can get back to normal with another struggling performance from the mound. Last Week: 5th
7th – 114.69 Leroy Truckers (3-6) The Truckers won a big game in extra’s against the Bombers, they looked exhausted and dominated in Game 2 getting destroyed by the Badgers. All 4 Truckers gave up runs against the Badgers and gave up double digit runs for the first time since opening night. Last Week: 6th
8th – 108.34: Backdoor Sliders (3-6) The roller coaster season continues for the Sliders, after a dismal start going 0-4, they strung together 3 straight wins. Then Jon Gibson pulled a hamstring in a softball game Tuesday night forcing Jordan to make lineup changes again. The Sliders are now 0-5 without Gibson and many wonder how long he will be out. Last Week: 8th
9th – 106.42: Corn Bombers (2-7) The Bombers move up a slot after grabbing a much needed win against the Sliders. Colin blew another game late for the Bombers on the mound as they lost in extra’s to a team they are looking to chase down to get out of death bracket talk. Brett also fielded 5 players to the field leaving his teammates confused and angered having to show up for one game. Last Week: 10th
10th – 92.92: Flyin’ Hawaiians (3-6) As Austin continues to tour the world his team continues to free fall down the rankings. Ever since his controversial transactions the team has gone 0-3 and looks lifeless. They have the 2 best fans in the game and they need to start giving them something to root for. They go into the second half of the season looking up. Last Week: 9th
11th – 79.89: Noble Narwhals (2-7) They pulled out a much-needed win and kept both games under double digits. They need to string a couple games together and really make some noise in the next couple weeks and let team’s know they have some potential. Mitchell Gerlach was signed last minute, time will tell if he stays with the squad. Last Week: 11th
Facebook Live Games
Opening Slot (6-3) Bushleague Badgers at (3-6) Flyin’ Hawaiians
For the first time we will have 2 teams going up against each other for the 2nd time this year. These 2 teams played on opening night and the Badgers obliterated them 12-1. Sam Staal and Austin Warner are the only players left from that night for the Hawaiians, Jared Jonkman and Wes Ellis are the only two from the Badgers, while 2 players will switch rosters. Cameron Varlan was on the Badgers for this one, a game that showed Austin what he was made of ultimately leading to him being signed by the Hawaiians. Shane Anderson was on the Hawaiians roster opening night and was released for the signing of Cameron Varlan. The Badgers signed Shane and he looks to get his revenge on Warner. The Badgers scored in every single inning in the first matchup of these 2 and we can’t wait to see what happens in round 2 of Staal vs. Jonkman former teammates who went all the way to the Championship last year.
Second Slot (2-7) Corn Bombers at (5-4) Leroy Clams
These two teams have yet to face off this season and it will be the last Facebook Live Game for the Clams and the first the Bombers. The Clams have been red hot 3-0 on Facebook and look to finish undefeated this year against a very under performing Bomber team. The Sultans will be on the mic for this game.
A big Fireside Chat tomorrow with the Sheriff himself. Jared Jonkman will join the show as we talk about each team. We will give a fun fact, ask a tough question, and break down Wednesday’s lineups and games for each team. Don’t Miss it!!!
