WRVR – NORDHAGEN BEACH PARTY BOYS (4-5) AT SALEM WITCH HATS (4-5)
KNOW THE STARS
NB: RF Tomas Jones – The hope of the Boys bats fifth behind slugger Michael Fogcrawler, but Jones has been cleaning up what Fogcrawler has not. In just nine games, Jones leads the team in batting average (.405). He also is tied for the team lead in homers (4) and RBI (7). While the Party Boys’ offense has not taken off, Jones is doing his part.
SAL: SP Terrence Artman – For reasons beyond our understanding, the Witch Hats have their best pitcher and firt-round pick Artman pitching in Game Two. Player-coach Josh Historybuff calls it “maximizing wins,” meaning acting ace Josh Hugs (0-1, 7.88), the Witch Hats’ second-round pick is facing a tougher matchup. In the first series, Artman acted as the team’s ace and 3rd pitcher, going 2-0 on the weekend. For the season, he is 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA, giving him the most wins in the Brotherhood League and the fifth-best starters’ ERA.
PLAYER VS PLAYER – GAME ONE LINEUPS AND STARTING PITCHERS
TEAM ANALYSIS
Nordhagen Beach is only game behind, and it has its pitching to thank for being competitive. The Party Boys lead the Brotherhood League in runs against (41), while they have scored a league-low 37 runs. While the pitching has been the best in the league, you would not know that from seeing ace Melvin Rude’s numbers. He has had the worst luck with team performance, posting an 0-3 record with a 5.94 ERA. The other two starters, Casey Diehl (2-1, 2.63 ERA) and Ray Human (2-1, 4.91).
As mentioned above, Jones has been a great asset for the Party Boys. To get their offense going, the top of the lineup will need to produce for the first time this season. Brian Masterson (.212/0/3), Steve Gunkill (.314/0/2), and Dustin Mart (.270/0/2) have to find a way to help their team score more than four runs a game. The sky is the limit for this team if it can find its offense.
Salem has not shown much of a particular strength or weakness. That in itself is probably a weakness. In time, they will either stick around the middle or just start falling far behiind. While Artman has been a star pitcher for the team, Hugs and Roy Syme (0-2, 13.94) have not shown that they can consistently win.
At bat, there are a few batters hitting for average, but only first baseman Antonio Toeclaw (.324/3/12) has been truly productive, driving in a quarter of the team’s runs (49) and 37.5% of their home runs (8). Leadoff hitter Sean Koester and fifth batter Pistol Schmidt have been hitting well, but the Witch Hats will need to convert those hits into more runs. They may have a tough time, though we at WRVR are predicting surprises and high scores.
PREDICTIONS
Party Boys 7, Witch Hats 3
Witch Hats 10, Party Boys 6
Witch Hats 8, Party Boys 7
CBO FULL SCHEDULE
