March 29, 1921
There was certainly shenanigans on opening day.
The main event was Sharks-Penguins with Jaxon Darnall going up against Jared Way. Both pitchers had good games going into the 7th. Darnall giving up 6 hits for 3 runs, and Way giving up 4 hits for 1 run. Way was pulled -- 122 pitches in at this point -- and Tommy Taaij was bought in close the game out over the next two innings but the Sharks sensed blood in the water.
Taaij gave up a walk to start the inning and then a single to C Kian Lehn. CF Sid van Kranenburg watched the first pitch he got go for a strike and then hit the next one for a home run. He didn't strike it well at all, but it had just enough juice on it.
Darnall just had to get the final three outs in the bottom of the 9th but a fielding error from the defensive sub at Second Base got a Penguin runner on base and a triple in the next at-bat tied the game up and forced the extras.
The game would go to the 12th, when Salt Quarter put out James Cantley who eventually gave away a bases loaded walk to get the winning run home. Cantley gave up 4 walks and a wild pitch in that inning.
The Polar Bears-Broncos matchup also went into extras with the Broncos get the walk-off victory in the 11th. The Port Magnolia Dolphins were 4-1 down against Unicorn Point at the top of the 7th but came away with a 7-4 victory to take it out.
And finally, Max Steel is right back to where he left off. He picked up 17 K's in the Rooster's win over the Crimson Forest Falcons. That's his highest ever K total in a game and ties the record.
March 30, 1921
It was the Elephants turn for walk-off heroics today when 2B Glenn Reinhard whacked a single with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the bottom of the 10th against the Whiskeytown Ducks. Particularly notable about that game was former Duck 1B Vladik Zavalin smashing a 425ft home run against his old team.
April 1, 1921
Even Amelian baseball nerds wouldn't often be able to name Mick Sherman if they were pressed to name the backup catcher for the Amelia City Metros but he put on a show with a 5-hit performance including the walk-off hit needed in the bottom of the 10th to give them the win over the Dolphins.
April 2, 1921
The script sure felt familiar for Jared Way as the Penguins took on the Saffron Turtles. By the end of the 7th, the Penguins had a 2-0 lead as he handed the ball over to Tommy Taaij, and again, the stopper blew it. This time giving up a grand slam home run to pinch hitter Hollie Huckabee.
April 3, 1921
Last year's #1 draft pick CF Christian Tiggs got his first start today for the Crimson Forest Falcons and he got a rather painful welcome. With the game tied in the top of the 8th, he came up with the bases loaded. Down 0-2 in the count, pitcher Dmitri Balanchin blasted him in the hand to force in the winning run via hit-by-pitch.
Tiggs will be day-to-day for the next few days but the team says he'll be alright.
April 4, 1921
Back-to-back home runs in the 1st got the Whiskeytown Ducks off to a flying start against the Spice District Roosters but they wouldn't score again. A timely home run by LF Odin Bendig in the bottom of the 9th tied the game up and then a lot of back-and-fourth before RF Roman Karabanov sent a single down to the Right Fielder that gave CF Conor Meadows enough time to get from 2nd to home for the walk-off win in the 13th.
One week in and here's where we're sitting. The Roosters and Sharks getting an early lead.
