Revitalized Billy Goats Off To Hot 10-2 Start

TWIN BRANCH- It was just a few short years ago that the Twin Branch Billy Goats were within one win from a trip to the World Series. Twin Branch made the NLCS in their first season in the league in 2018 before switching over to the American League in 2019. After falling in the 2019 ALCS to the Maple City Magic, three games to two, Twin Branch had their share of struggles.

They posted back to back losing seasons in 2020 and 2021 to go along with early playoff exits. With all the talent on this roster, the Billy Goats players and fans were not the only ones confused at their struggles.

As the league looked for parity within the AL and NL along with keeping geographical locations in mind, the Billy Goats were moved back to the National League where they originally played their first season in the league in 2018 in which they went 15-9.

Over the offseason, Twin Branch was able to keep their entire core together in hopes of turning things around over in the National League. Just as the offseason was winding down, Twin Branch began tweeting cryptic Roger Federer GIF’s (Koch's favorite athlete).

After hinting the Koch signing on twitter for a while, Twin Branch made the official announcement that they had signed ORWBL legend and former MVP winner, Tony Koch, turning the speculation into a reality. Heading into the season, Koch knew that he would have a large role whenever he is able to make it.

Through 12 games, Twin Branch sits with a 10-2 record as they are only one game behind the Granger Panthers for first place in the National League. Offseason addition Tony Koch has played in 6 of those games as the Goats are 5-1 when he plays. After missing the last 3 seasons due to retirement, it looks like Koch remains a force to be reckoned with as he has gone 19/33 with 9 HR while sporting a .575 Batting Average.

On top of his solid play out of the gates, you have to imagine that Koch has brought some positive energy and vibes to a struggling team with loads of talent. Things just feel different this year with Twin Branch as they will now get a chance to pick up a statement series win in Week 5 against the defending World Series champion, Granger Panthers.

We got the chance to sit down with ORWBL legend Tony Koch as he took part in some Q&A to talk about his return and Twin Branch’s early season success:

Q: You have been a major part of the Billy Goats early season success. Why is this team off to such a hot start and is it sustainable?

A: It’s no secret looking at our schedule that thus far we haven’t truly been tested, so basically we have taken care of business in series we feel we should. But I believe this team is quite deep which has really helped us out early on and should continue to do so. The core Goats guys have wiffled for awhile now and understood the game and how to win. Lucas seems to have really taken a big step forward as en elite hitter. They’ve all had success in tourneys and within ORWBL. By having two vets like myself and J-Law around sometimes only helps things, to boost the team whether it be on the field or just by giving some words of encouragement to the rest of the team.