Week 3 ORWBL Recap

The ORWBL regular season continued on Sunday as we are already 9 games into the season. After sweeping the previously unbeaten Truffle Butter, the Union Mills Goon Squad are the talk of the league as they are off to a 7-2 start here in their 3rd season in the league. Starting with the action in Union Mills let's take a brief look at what happened around the league in Week 3.

South Bend Truffle Butter @ Union Mills Goon Squad

GM 1: UM, 8-4

GM 2: UM, 23-11

GM 3: UM, 17-5

The South Bend Truffle Butter made their first road trip of the season as they brought a 6-0 record into Union Mills to take on the Goon Squad. After taking one game from the Panthers last week, this Goon Squad team was eager to show that it was no fluke. The Union Mills players brought the energy from start to finish as the Truffle Butter were no match for the Goon Squad on this day as the majority of the Truffle Butter lineup seemed to struggle after playing in the GBL league in the morning. Regardless, the Goon Squad was definitely the better team on this day as this series sweep is certainly turning some heads around the league. 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Josh Trim continued his fantastic start to the season as he sits 2nd atop the Home Run leaderboard after nine games. Trim was also named Wiffle Talk's Week 3 National League Player of the Week after hitting 10 HR to go along with 12 Runs and 15 RBI. The Goon Squad will now head on the road for the first time this season after finishing the nine game home stand with a 7-2 record. After winning five games in each of their first 2 seasons, it looks like Union Mills is taking that next step in the right direction.

Notable stats from the series:

(UM) Josh Trim: 13-20, 12 R, 15 RBI, 10 HR

(UM) Jake Osburn: 13-22, 12 R, 7 RBI, 3 HR, 16 IP, 19 ER, 1 SO, (3-0)

(UM) Camden Bradshaw: 12-20, 7 R, 9 RBI, 5 HR

(SB) Kyle Gagliardi: 6-15, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR

Week 4 matchups:

Goon Squad @ Meatspins

Truffle Butter @ Godfathers

New Carlisle Newts @ Glen Lee Skeeters

GM 1: NC, 21-7

GM 2: GLEN, 5-4

GM 3: NC, 9-3

The New Carlisle Newts made the trip out to Granger to take on the Skeeters to close out a 9 game road trip to start the season with the Skeeters in search of their first ever ORWBL win. New Carlisle came out of the gates hot as the Newts scored 21 runs, winning the game by the score of 21-7. Skeeters pitcher Ethan Simper was then able to contain the dangerous Newts lineup in Game 2 as the Skeeters won a tight one 5-4, clinching their first win in franchise history. The Newts were able to bounce back to win the rubber match for the 3rd consecutive week as the Newts have now taken two out of three in each of their first three series. Former NL MVP Aidan Cotter made his return to the Newts lineup and ended pitching all three games as he returns to the area after graduating from the University of Dayton. Newts slugger Matt Soos continued his hot start to the season as he hit four more homers to add to his season total of 20 which leads the Newts. New Carlisle will now return home to the friendly confines of Migley Field as five of their last seven series' will be played on the hallowed grounds. Meanwhile, Glen Lee will now look to build off of this win as they have to be feeling good after taking a game from one of the greatest franchises in ORWBL history.

Notable stats from the series:

(NC) Scott Soos: 7-13, 5 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR

(NC) Matt Soos: 6-14, 5 R, 9 RBI, 4 HR

(GLEN) Kade Stone: 6-13, 5 R, 7 RBI, 5 HR

Week 4 matchups:

Panthers @ Newts

Leprechauns @ Skeeters

Great Lakes Godfathers @ Mishawaka Meatspins

GM 1: MM, 9-8

GM 2: MM, 6-3

GM 3: MM, 7-6

The Great Lakes Godfathers traveled to Mishawaka to take on the Meatspins in what looked to be a very eve matchup on paper. All three games were extremely competitive with two of them ending as one run games. The Meatspins were able to do just enough in all three games as they look to move past their shaky start to the season. After picking up 3 wins, Mishawaka is now just one game below .500 while the toughest part of their schedule is already in the rear view mirror. They have a very intriguing matchup coming up this week as they will take on the red hot Goon Squad. Meanwhile things won't get much easier for the Godfathers who will take on the Truffle Butter in a matchup where both teams will be looking to bounce back after getting swept in Week 3.

Notable stats from the series:

(MM) Joey Schuster: 10-15, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR

(MM) Randy Shuster: 6-14, 4 R, 5 RBI, 3 HR

(GL) Mark Haase: 5-13, 4 R, 4 RBI, 4 HR

Week 4 matchups:

Goon Squad @ Meatspins

Truffle Butter @ Godfathers

Lynn Street Leprechauns @ Granger Panthers

GM 1: GR, 12-2

GM 2: GR, 19-2

GM 3: GR, 13-4

The Granger Panthers returned to their normal regular season dominance in Week 3 after dropping a surprise game to the Goon Squad last week. The Panthers were not messing around this week as they were able to dominate the series from start to finish. Tyler Serosynski started all three games on the mound as they continue to move away from having Griffin Smith eat up all of their innings. "Tiki" shut down the Leps lineup all day long and he received plenty of run support as the Panthers bats put up 44 runs in the series. Granger will now shift their focus to the New Carlisle Newts whom they will take on in Week 4 at Migley Field in what will certainly be the series of the week. Meanwhile Lynn Street will look to get things going in a favorable matchup against the first year Skeeters.

Notable stats from the series:

(GR) Seth Campbell: 13-16, 12 R, 9 RBI, 8 HR

(GR) Griffin Smith: 9-16, 7 R, 12 RBI, 6 HR

(GR) Alex Zarazee: 8-17, 7 R, 9 RBI, 6 HR

(GR) Tyler Serosynski: 6-9, 4 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 16 1/3 IP, 8 ER, 1 SO, (3-0)

(LS) Jordan Peck: 7-10, 3 R, 3 RBI, 3 HR

Week 4 matchups:

Panthers @ Newts

Leprechauns @ Skeeters

Maple City Magic @ County Line Kings

GM 1: MC, 22-17

GM 2: MC, 19-7

GM 3: MC, 23-22

The Maple City Magic made their first ever trip to the Garage to take on the County Line Kings in a rematch from last year's American League Championship Series. With the wind blowing out, both teams knew that they would need to score a lot of runs to come out on top. After falling behind early, the Magic were able to pull out the Game 1 victory after a seven run 6th inning propelled them to the win as Caleb Jonkman led the charge, homering five times in the game. In Game 2, Magic skipper Alex Friedman returned to the lineup just 12 days after dislocating his shoulder as he provided the Magic with some extra spark as he homered 4 times while leading the Magic with 7 RBI in their Game 2 victory. Caleb Jonkman also remained red hot as he hit five more HR in the 2nd game. It looked as though County Line was going to salvage the series with a Game 3 victory as they jumped out to a 17-9 lead after the 2nd inning. After the Magic put up an 8 spot in the 3rd, they were right back in the game. Wes Ellis returned to the mound after a tough start but he was able to shut down the Kings bats over the final 3 innings, allowing only 1 run over that span. Meanwhile, the Magic offense did just enough as they took a 23-21 lead into the bottom of the 6th. After a couple of Magic errors, the reigning AL MVP JP Kehoe came up to bat with a chance to be the hero. After a long at bat, Kehoe popped one out to right where Shane Anderson secured the final out to clinch an impressive sweep for Maple City. Wes Ellis had a big game at the plate in the finale as well, homering six times. This was definitely a very competitive series between the two teams as we may just see another matchup in the postseason.

Notable stats from the series:

(MC) Caleb Jonkman: 14-23, 14 R, 15 RBI, 13 HR

(MC) Wes Ellis: 15-22, 14 R, 13 RBI, 11 HR, 15 1/3 IP, 30 ER, 1 SO, (3-0)

(MC) Drew Luther: 12-21, 12 R, 14 RBI, 10 HR

(MC) Jared Jonkman: 10-21, 9 R, 8 RBI, 6 HR

(MC) Alex Friedman: 6-11, 6 R, 8 RBI, 5 HR

(CL) Michael Forrester: 13-21, 9 R, 11 RBI, 8 HR

(CL) JP Kehoe: 11-20, 8 R, 8 RBI, 7 HR

(CL) Kody Webb: 12-21, 12 R, 8 RBI, 6 HR

Week 4 matchups:

Billy Goats @ Magic

Wildcards @ Kings

Twin Branch Billy Goats @ Mill Pond Pink Pandas

GM 1: TB, 24-16

GM 2: TB, 19-2

GM 3: TB, 20-5

The Twin Branch Billy Goats made the trip out to Union Mills to take on the Pink Pandas in a matchup between two teams hungry for a series win. The Billy Goats looked like the Billy Goats of old this week as they controlled the series from start to finish as their bats definitely woke up when they needed them the most. The lineup received quality production from top to bottom which is something that they have struggled with so far. Andrew Doran's performance ended up earning him Wiffle Talk's Week 3 American League Player of the Week honors. The Billy Goats are now just 1 game below .500 as they are looking to move past their shaky start. It will be another tough matchup next week for the Pink Pandas as they will host the unbeaten Flat Rock Cyclones as they will certainly be looking to hand them their first loss of the season.

Notable stats from the series:

(TB) Lucas Oletti: 16-23, 15 R, 12 RBI, 5 HR

(TB) Andrew Doran: 15-23, 13 R, 17 RBI, 10 HR, 5 IP, 2 ER, 1 SO, (1-0)

(TB) Frankie Minerva: 13-23, 12 R, 16 RBI, 9 HR, 3 IP, 1 ER, 1 SO, 3 SV

(TB) Justyn Fox: 8-12, 7 R, 1 RBI

(TB) Riley Smith: 8-13, 6 R, 5 RBI, 3 HR

(MP) Zachary Christy: 7-16, 6 R, 6 RBI, 6 HR

(MP) Todd Snyder: 8-17, 7 R, 7 RBI, 6 HR

Week 4 matchups:

Billy Goats @ Magic

Cyclones @ Pink Pandas

Hudson Lake Heat @ Bourissa Hills Wildcards

GM 1: BH, 5-1

GM 2: BH, 4-2

GM 3: BH, 10-2

The Wildcards returned home to close out a 9 game home stand to open up the season as they hosted the Hudson Lake Heat. After getting swept by the Cyclones last week, the Wildcards were able to pick up three bounce back victories to move them into 3rd place in the American League through the first 9 games. The Wildcards made a notable change on the mound as they went in favor of Luke Stanisci over last year's AL Cy Young award winner Evan Layman. The veteran Stanisci was fantastic all series long as he allowed only 5 runs in 18 innings of work. If Stanisci is able to keep it up it seems as though the Wildcards have found another quality pitching arm which could be very beneficial later on come playoff time. After picking up a bounce back sweep the Wildcards will now look to make a statement next week as they will make the trip to The Garage to take on the County Line Kings.

Notable stats from the series:

(BH) DJ Hill: 10-15, 8 R, 4 RBI, 4 HR

(BH) Cody Carlisle: 8-15, 6 R, 5 RBI, 1 HR

(BH) Luke Stanisci: 4-14, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, 18 IP, 5 ER, 1 SO, (3-0)

Week 4 matchups:

Wildcards @ Kings

OTF @ Heat

Crown Point OTF @ Flat Rock Cyclones

GM 1: FR, 16-9

GM 2: FR, 17-6

GM 3: FR, 7-3

The Flat Rock Cyclones continued their early season dominance on Sunday as they moved to 9-0 on the season after sweeping the first year OTF franchise. Walter Griffin III took over pitching duties, filling in for Mark Richards as he did a good job limiting OTF to just 1 run per inning as he picked up all three wins on the bump. Crown Point hung in there in Game 1 but Flat Rock pulled away in the second game to clinch the series win. OTF also made the series finale competitive as they only lost by four runs so there is still plenty to be optimistic about as OTF has already faced Maple City and Flat Rock who have a combined record of 18-0 so far. OTF will be hoping to pick up their elusive first victory next Sunday when they take on the Hudson Lake Heat. Meanwhile this Cyclones team continues to roll as they have outscored their opponents by a whopping 105 runs through the first nine games. Tyler Super continues to put up gaudy numbers as he now has 28 HR on the season which is tops in all of ORWBL. Flat Rock gets another favorable matchup in Week 4 as they will have a great opportunity to keep things rolling as they will travel to take on the Mill Pond Pink Pandas.

Notable stats from the series:

(FR) Brandon Terry: 11-16, 10 R, 10 RBI, 7 HR

(FR) Tyler Super: 11-16, 10 R, 7 RBI, 7 HR

(FR) Walter Griffin III: 9-16, 6 R, 10 RBI, 6 HR, 18 IP, 18 ER, 2 SO, (3-0)

(CP) David Ooms: 6-13, 4 R, 5 RBI, 3 HR

(CP) Andrew Ooms: 5-13, 5 R, 5 RBI, 4 HR

Week 4 matchups:

Cyclones @ Pink Pandas

OTF @ Heat