Standings of the Elyrian Baseball League after 40 games
Trinidad City top NL standings, Clayton and Ladue battle, Bucs and Outlaws top Continental League standings
News from around the EBL
Mashburn Dominates Bonhomme: In an outstanding mound performance, Clayton Crows starter John Mashburn fired a complete-game shutout against the Bonhomme Raiders at Bonhomme City Grounds today.
Mashburn was the key to the Crows's 5-0 win. The 28-year-old right-hander was in high spirits on the mount for much of the game, his mood largely undented by the 3 hits and 1 walk he allowed.
"3 hits?" he said with a laugh following the game. "Listen, I'd be happy with a 30-hitter as long as it was a shutout."
So far this season Mashburn has a 4-1 record with a 2.51 ERA.
EBL News: Draft Pool Revealed: Elyrian Baseball League divulged the 2157 list of eligible draftees today. It got little play in BNN coverage and why should it? Most players drafted in thirty days won't be on a big league club for years, if at all. Some will languish listlessly at the minor league level. Others will suffer a series of misfortunes, never quite making their mark, but always wowing scouts with their potential. And yet, some lucky team will draw a needle out of a haystack, send him off to the minors and forget about him for a while, only to realize they've got a Hall of Famer on their hands.
At any rate, teams now have thirty days to scout the draft pool prior to the draft. The Transactions page also gets a new section dedicated to the pool.
The top players available (in no particular order) seem to be:
1. Jake Willis, 21 year-old SS out of college.
2. Karl Cauley, 18 year-old RF out of high-school.
3. Steve Campbell, 18 year-old CF out of high-school.
4. Nate Troughton, 21 year-old RHP out of college.
5. Austin McCleary, 21 year-old CF out of college.
6. Glen Fegan, 18 year-old CF out of high-school.
7. Luke Pogue, 21 year-old CF out of college.
8. Jeff Doerr, 18 year-old SS out of high-school.
9. Josh Bach, 21 year-old RHP out of college.
10. Pete Knudsen, 23 year-old 3B out of college.
LeCato Shackles Leyden: Nick LeCato kept the Leyden Seals hitters from doing any damage at Webster & Mitchell Ballpark today.
Leyden could only muster 1 hit and take 2 walks against the right-handed LeCato, who controlled them throughout the game as Ladue took the contest, 5-0. LeCato added 9 strikeouts in his complete-game effort.
"I don't know if I was on or if they were off today," LeCato told reporters after the shutout win. "But whatever it was, I hope it happens again next time."
To date this season, LeCato has a record of 1 win and 1 loss and a 3.62 ERA. He has appeared in 7 games and struck out 34 in 32.1 innings.
West Fires Shutout in Apache Victory: John West of the Soulard Apache spun his magic on the East Winslow Buccaneers today. He blanked them 9-0 on 2 hits, registering 12 strikeouts and 1 walk.
"The bottom line was I just kept the ball down," West said. "My breaking stuff was down. Everything was down."
Talking to reporters in the postgame interview, Soulard skipper Scott Zajac said the team "got solid pitching, good defense and took great team at-bats in a lot of different situations."
"John pitched really well but this was a solid performance by everyone," he said.
This season West has worked 36 innings with 38 strikeouts en route to a 2-2 record and a 4.25 ERA.
Myers Takes This Week's Trophy: So far in his young career, David Myers has kept a low profile, but after his performance at the plate last week, he attracted the notice of the rest of the Continentall League in a big way as he was named the Player of the Week today for his efforts.
The 22-year-old Melrose Park Centaurs center fielder hit at a torrid .308 clip as he collected 8 hits in 26 at-bats, 3 home runs, 8 RBIs and 4 runs scored.
Bethke Chosen #1 Player: 27-year-old Mike Bethke made a few Bonhomme headlines during this past week as the rookie left fielder proved he could compete at the plate with his high-school idols. He captured the attention of fans, journalists and National League officials last week and today took home Player of the Week honors for his effort.
He cracked 13 hits in 24 at-bats to put up a .542 average. Bethke collected 1 home run, 10 RBIs and scored 9 runs.
So far in 2157 Bethke is batting .384 with 5 home runs, 23 RBIs and 21 runs scored. He has 38 hits in 99 at-bats and a .404 OBP.
Old Town Whitewashed by Nebel: Today was Bill Nebel's turn in the rotation for the Elyria Continentals and he made the most of it, shutting out the Old Town Thugs on 5 hits.
The 24-year-old right-hander led the Continentals to an easy 7-0 victory, allowing 3 walks and tallying 8 strikeouts.
"I hope we miss him next time," Old Town manager Jay Doyle said. "Nebel certainly pitched a strong game against us today. He was in a groove, throwing everything for strikes. Throwing hard. Changing speeds."
For the season Nebel has compiled a 3-2 record with a 3.21 ERA.
Barrage of Hits Gets Aubuchon CL Award: At the age of 26, Alan Aubuchon might have some potential he hasn't realized yet -- if his success at the plate last week is any indication. The East Winslow third baseman put up some exceptional numbers the past seven days with a .550 batting average. For his efforts Aubuchon collected the Continentall League Player of the Week Award.
He racked up 11 hits in 20 at-bats, 2 home runs and 4 RBIs last week in 6 games.
This season Aubuchon has hit at a .299 clip with 18 RBIs, 7 home runs and 20 runs scored. He has played in 36 games.
NL's Top Player Named: This week's best performer in the National League was second baseman Jon Grissinger of the Clayton Crows.
He slashed out a .625 average and was voted the Player of the Week. Over the last week Grissinger stroked 15 hits in 24 at-bats and no home runs, drove in 3 runs and scored 6 times.
Presently Grissinger is hitting .333 with 1 home run and 17 RBIs. He has played in 35 games and scored 20 times.
Weekly Team Power Rankings: Here are the current team power rankings for Elyrian Baseball League:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Trinidad City Jets (151.1, o)
2) Emmaus Pelicans (111.9, o)
3) Alameda Outlaws (102.5, ++)
4) Soulard Apache (101.9, +)
5) East Winslow Buccaneers (100.2, -)
6) Tamarac Unforgiven (94.5, -)
7) Ladue Ducks (90.7, -)
8) East Winslow Stags (87.5, ++)
9) New Charleroi Vipers (86.3, -)
10) Clayton Crows (85.3, +)
11) Bonhomme Raiders (83.5, -)
12) Elyria Continentals (80.0, +)
13) Melrose Park Centaurs (75.5, --)
14) Oakdale Park Ravens (69.1, +)
15) Old Town Thugs (66.1, -)
16) Leyden Seals (52.6, o)
Batting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
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