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Wichita Wranglers Report- 2017 Season, Week 1 Review

Wranglers under .500 after opening week of USBL2 season

It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times for the Wichita Wranglers this week. Hey, seems to me part of that was a quote for a very famous, best selling book. Hmm. Anyways, Wichita ended the week 3-4, giving them a 3-4 record on the season, 15th place in the USBL2, 4 games out of 1st place, and 3 games out of promotion contention. They ended the week with a power ranking of 75.1, good for 14th in USBL2.

The Wranglers opened the season in Tulsa, as the bullpen faltered, with Allan Lester and Tony Smith giving up 3 runs combined in the 8th inning as the Wranglers lost their season opener 4-3. Game 2 in Tulsa had much the same result, as John Beckham had a hot bat, going 2-4 with 3 RBIS, but it wasn't enough as the Wranglers fell short, 5-3. The Wranglers would try to salvage a win in game 3 of the series, but controversy ensued. Tyler Anderson gave up 4 runs, but only 2 of them earned, although he did walk 5 and throw 2 wild pitches. Now to the controversy, as with the Wranglers down 4-3 and a runner on first in the top of the 9th, heavy rains came, forcing a long postponement. After much deliberation, umpires decided to call the game, giving the Wranglers a 4-3 loss before they had a chance to complete their at-bat in the 9th.

With that sour taste in their mouths, the Wranglers headed home to host the Burlington Hunters in a 3 game series. Game 1 needed 10 innings, but a Bobby Dissmore walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th gave the Wranglers their first win of the season, and the first win of their existence, 3-2. Game 2 of the series also went the Wranglers way, as they scored 2 in the 5th and 2 in the 6th to snatch a 5-4 victory. They would go for the sweep in game 3, and an incredible pitching performance from Marvin Lowe would put them in position. Lowe went 8 1/3 innings and gave up just 3 hits, and Mike Nease came on to get the last 2 outs. Nick Hollstein went 3 for 4 and drove in the only run of the game as the Wranglers won a 1-0 pitching duel.

Back to .500 on the season, the Wranglers ended the week with the start of a 3 game series, travelling to take on the Baton Rouge Bears. Game 1 of the series would end the week, and once again the bullpen faltered. Dave Davis and Tony Smith combined to give up 3 runs in the 8th inning, costing the Wranglers in a 5-4 loss.

Who's Hot, Who's Not

Hot Weeks

LF Jonathan Jennings -- Jonathan had a solid week, batting .280 with 2 HR and 4 RBI, and he also stole 3 bases.

3B John Beckham -- Don't spend so much time looking at the .258 average for the week, John leads the team by a wide margin with 9 RBIs, meaning when he had runners in scoring position, he got them in.

SP Marvin Lowe -- A great week for Marvin, who didn't give up a run in 2 starts. 14 1/3 innings of work, but unfortunately because of the lack of run support, he didn't get a win to show for it.

CL Mike Nease -- Mike was sensational in his closing role, not allowing a run in 3 1/3 IP, and notching 2 wins and 1 save.

Cold Weeks

1B Nick Hollstein -- A week to forget for Nick, who many think should be the best player on the team. He batted just .208 with 12 stikeouts.

C Adan Vergara -- Adan is 1 of 2 free agent signings that struggled this week, as he batted just .190 with 9 strikeouts.

3B Ayden Pitts -- Ayden was the pits this week, batting just .105, and getting just 2 base hits. He did walk 5 times, but it's not good when 2 of the 3 free agent pick-ups both have bad weeks.

RPs Tony Smith, Dave Davis, Allan Lester -- These 3 get lumped together because they are the main reason the bullpen ERA was 23rd out of 24th this week. Tony had an 8.10 ERA with 2 losses, Dave had a 9.00 ERA, and Allan had a 10.80 ERA. Although to be fair to Allan, that damage was done in his first appearance, and he didn't allow a baserunner in his last 2 appearances.

Around the League

Awards

USBL2 Player of the Week: Chris Baarstad (Tulsa)- .452, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 5 runs scored.