Today in the CBO
News and Notes - Reports from around the Commonwealth
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
25 May 2298 - Ackerman Vows to Be Team Leader
Salem Witch Hats backup 1B/C Dan Ackerman said that he wanted to step up to help his team. Not considered the most selfless of players, Ackerman's announcement seemed to satisfy the Salem front office.
Ackerman arrived in Salem last December in a trade with University Point. Originally the 8th round pick by the Deathclaws in the 2296 Inaugural Draft, Ackerman never found his way as a full-time player, though he does have 58 starts in 117 appearances. Ackerman is considered to be both a 1B and a catcher, but he has only appeared defensively at 1B in his career.
"I am new to the team," Ackerman said this morning following batting practice at Tato Field at Abernathy Farm, "but it doesn't mean I have to sit back and let this team fall apart. I don't know if I am a natural leader or anything, but I know I work hard every day and I want that to be the way my teammates see me. We just need some hope right now, so I volunteer to step up and be that hope."
Salem has been in the news lately following a closed-door incident that the team has refused to speak about on record. Rumors have swirled that several players on the team have been a cancer to team unity, causing the entire team to feel uncomfortable around each other. Ackerman decided that wasn't OK with him.
Witch Hats manager Chase Stingwing had refused to speak to reporters since the weekend incident, but he did allow a few words today. "If Ack is going to take a leadership role, we'll welcome him to it," Stingwing said.
Stingwing is known to be an emotional manager who gloats when he wins and pouts when he loses. Players have seemed to pick up on that emotion with some players buying into Stingwing's system while others have been miserable because of it. Reportedly that misery led to the best Witch Hats' player, Pistol Schmidt needing to be dealt to FHE on Sunday.
25 May 2298 - Raybathers Drop Gun Fu, 7-3
The Mystic Pines Raybathers beat the Bunker Hill Gun Fu, 7-3. Mystic Pines pitcher and Lexington, Massachusetts, native Chad Sweet led the way. Sweet got the win, improving to 3-1. He allowed 7 hits and walked 1 over 7 innings. Sweet allowed 2 runs. The loss makes Bunker Hill 14-13.
Who knows how it might've ended, had it not been for Brett Commies? The Mystic Pines second baseman had a 2-run double in the top of the fifth inning to put the Raybathers on top, 5-1. For the game, Commies had 1 double and 1 single in 5 at-bats.
"We take it day by day here," said Sweet, "and today was a good one for us."
25 May 2298 - Rayguns Win Thriller, 6-5
Trinity Plaza third baseman Paul Middle had a terrific game, but it still wasn't enough to get his team a win. Middle hit 2 home runs, while scoring 3 times and driving in 2, even as Cabot House beat the Snipers, 6-5. George Agee got credit for the win, improving to 1-0. He allowed no runs on no hits in 1.2 innings. The victory puts Cabot House at 11-16.
Ryan Stephenson was the walk-off hero for Cabot House. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Rayguns pinch hitter hit a dramatic solo home run to send the teams home.
"This place was rocking at the end," Stephenson said.
25 May 2298 - 5-Hit Blitz by Arch
A jubilant Noah Arch joined the postgame press conference at The Stone House today to offer some unusual words of encouragement -- for the Quincy Gunners pitching staff he had just vanquished.
"It may not have looked like it," said the FHE Yao Guai center fielder, "but I saw some awful good pitches today. If luck hadn't been on my side it might have turned out a lot different."
That would not have been the conclusion of anyone who saw his dominant 5-for-6 hitting performance, which led the Yao Guai to a 9-8 win.
"He made it look easy," said Kevin Banner, manager of the Gunners. "We never figured out what to do with him. Obviously."
Noah Arch grounded out in the 1st, hit an RBI single in the 2nd, singled in the 4th, singled in the 6th, hit an RBI single in the 8th and hit an RBI double in the 10th.
This year Arch has 4 home runs and a .355 batting average.
25 May 2298 - Beach Now 7-1 After Subduing Silver Shroud
Nordhagen Beach got a strong outing from Tommy Beach as the Party Boys defeated the Fort Hagen Silver Shroud, 5-0, at Slocum's Joe Seaside Stadium. The win gives Nordhagen Beach a season record of 24-13.
Beach made it look easy. He scattered 4 hits over 8.2 innings, while racking up 8 strikeouts. The right-hander upped his season record to 7-1. Beach was chased in the top of the 9th when he allowed a single to Jim Tiller. Noodle Green pitched one pitch, a Sam Noob flyout, to end the game.
Beach told a Nordhagen Beach News reporter that he was "satisfied" with the win. "It was a good win, but I was just worn out. I told Bay [pitching coach Trevor Bayless] I couldn't go anymore. Don't blame Coach Craig [Robinson] for pulling me."
25 May 2298 - Deathclaws Roll to 16-3 Win Over Swatters
The University Point Deathclaws topped the Diamond City Swatters, 16-3, in South Charles Association action at The Great Green Jewel. The standout performance belonged to University Point pitcher and Littleton, Massachusetts, native William Radwater. Radwater, now 4-3, was the winner. In 9 innings, he gave up 5 hits, while striking out 7, walking 4, and allowing 3 runs. With the win, University Point upped its record to 23-14.
University Point used the bat of Kory Richardson to get the win. The right fielder hammered a 3-run home run in the top of the third inning to put the Deathclaws ahead, 5-0. It was his lone hit in 5 at-bats, but it did its damage.
"We swung the bats good throughout the lineup," said University Point skipper Woody Lumpkin.