Giants 2, Expos -8

The Expos were still trying to adjust to some of the rules that the BBL has in place, but had a rough time of it this game as they were swept away by the Giants’ AI. Luanne Lui pitched a lockdown performance, as the Expos couldn’t get their timing down and struck out eleven times. The Giants put up a modest effort themselves, with only 11 total bases in 22 at bats, but they didn’t have a very hard target to beat. Four hitters didn’t attain a single hit, but the other five were able to put together a couple of small rallies and get the job done. We expect that both teams will improve over the course of the season, and there should be considerably more fireworks when they face each other again for the final week of the season.

Player of the game: Mike Piazza got two of the Expos’ three hits of the game, but Libby Futterman of the Giants matched him, going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles that batted in three of the Giants’ four runs.

Monsters 50, D’Backs 4

The Monsters wasted no time in asserting themselves as the BBL’s dominant team for this season, recording the first-ever 50 under the Lulu ruleset in the first week of the season! There was nowhere to hide, as the least productive Monster still got on base four times, and the team as a whole nocked 60 hits, including 48 singles paired with 46 stolen bases. By comparison, no player on the Monsters even came up to bat four times! Stan Olafson and Stuart Sullivan headlined their effort with 3-for-3 days, but they couldn’t put much together on the whole. Dueling shutouts by Jody Palmer and Chris Milton provided the only similarity between the two teams’ performances.

Player of the game: Three Monsters went a ridiculous 9-for-9 on the game, but of the three Wally Evans far outpaced the others with 13 RBI on seven singles, a triple, and a home run, scoring six runs of his own as well.

Tapirs 12, Yankees 9

The Tapirs talked a small game before the season, but failed to live down to that in their initial outing, scoring 12 runs on 20 hits to win the contest. Only Gail Weinmann failed to get a hit, as five players on the team recorded 3 or more, that steady stream making up for the eight runners left on base. The Yankees were more efficient in their game, with only four runners left on, but got seven less hits overall and weren’t quite able to catch up. Still, it was a solid outing for them, especially Ray Tran who opened the season with a 3-for-3 day.

Player of the game: Derek McCattery was the most reliable hitter on the Tapirs, going 4-for-4 with 4 singles and scoring three times.

Marlins 7, Angels 7

The Angels were off and swinging on Opening Day, racking up 20 hits and drawing a walk to get 21 batters on base. Tony Delvecchio and Tonya Lesco especially shined, getting on base in every single at-bat. But the Angels had trouble converting all those hits into runs, leaving 14 runners on base for the game as they could rarely get better than singles. That opened up the door for the French fish, who got only 12 hits on the game, but were able to convert them to runs at a better rate thanks to a quartet of homes runs by Deschenes, Goodreau, Raquel, and Yvonne. The home team multiplier made all the difference in the closest game of Opening Week, boosting the Marlins’ 6-0 final score into 7-0 and giving them the win via tiebreaker.

Player of the Game: Stat-wise, there wasn’t much to differentiate the four Marlins who went yard, so the distinction goes to the one with the most total bases: Henri Deschenes, who also hit a double as he went 2-for-3 on the day.

Bombers 5, Mariners 4

Two teams built for defense struggled to get many hits against each other in this matchup. For most of the game, the Mariners did better, snagging extra bases on most of the hits that they did get and scoring 5 runs, boosted to 6 thanks to the multipler, while the Bombers got only a smattering of singles and couldn’t score, their game sent into extra innings. But the Bombers woke up in the seventh inning, putting together a clutch five-run rally to get right back into the thick of things. A two-run AI home run given up by Dominic Hoskins was the nail in the coffin, pushing the Mariners back just enough to give the victory to the Bombers in a true nail-biter.

Player of the game: Jillian Paine was not just the only Bomber to never record an out, going 3-for-3 with three singles – she also kicked off the team’s late rally, scoring the first of those five runs.

A’s 27, Red Sox 21

Two of the top four teams from last season were at it again, and put up a slugfest for the rest of the league to watch. Each Red Sox player put up 2-4 hits in their slugfest, with five of those as home runs to keep the momentum up. Parker Collum alone hit three home runs on a 4-for-4, 6 RBI game. But the A’s went even harder, with only a single player getting less than three hits, two getting more than four, and a total of twelve home runs to supercharge their effort. A series of powerups gave an extra boost to seal a strong victory even against Boston’s powerful performance.

Player of the game: Nomar Garciaparra went 5-for-6 with a double and four home runs, batting in a full third of the A’s runs at 9.

Blue Jays 10, Orioles 5

A team built to rely on the long ball, the Orioles weren’t able to deliver much in their initial contest. Ken Griffey, Jr. hit two home runs to help the team’s effort, but nobody else was ever able to record better than a single, which bogged the O’s down at Sandy Flats. The Blue Jays recorded the exact same number of hits and two less walks on the game, but with more extra-base hits and a few stolen bases used them more efficiently to rack up several more runs and take the win. Betty Houston also pitched the season’s first perfect game for an auspicious start for the Jays.

Player of the game: While honorable mention goes to Jason Kendall, it was Rafael Hendrix who really seemed to be the backbone of the Jays’ efforts and made the bottom half of their lineup count. He went 3-for-3 with a triple, two home runs, and five RBI, scoring three runs of his own.

Tigers 13, Pirates 6

Both teams in this contest actually got almost an identical number of runners on base – 20 for the Pirates vs. 21 for the Tigers. But the Tigers were far more efficient with their hits, scoring double the runs and not seeming to mind the Pirates’ defense one bit. Hitting five home runs helped their case, as did the Pirates’ Karen Donato as a mediocre catcher who allowed six stolen bases. It was a good day for hitting, as every player on both teams recorded at least one hit and only four total got a single hit. Not such a good day for pitching, though, as the teams’ pitchers combined allowed four runs and struck out just six batters total.

Player of the game: Just a slightly more impressive statline than several of her teammates, but Sonja Hagen went 3-for-4 with two singles, a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI.

Devil Rays 3, Cubs -1

Two Frontyard League teams were getting warmed up for the new season, and weren’t at their best yet for the opening matchup. The Cubs did pretty well on offense, each player getting at least one hit and Jimmy Rollins leading the team with three singles, but Kenny Kawaguchi struggled to anchor effectively on the mound and gave up six runs to give them a loss in their own game. By contrast, the Devil Rays had a quiet, unremarkable game on offense with, but Ryan Vanderhoek pitched a shutout to give them the edge they needed to collect the win.

Player of the game: Leah Wayne led the Devil Rays yet again, going 3-for-4 with a single, triple, and solo home run.

Wombats 17, Melonheads 15

The first Super-Duper matchup belonged decisively to the Wombats, who came out of the gate strong and quickly built up a good lead. Each Wombat got on base at least twice during the game, with 27 hits and one walk total, leaving the result a foregone conclusion before long. They faltered later on, scoring only one run in the last two innings combined, but by then the damage was done, and even a powerup-fueled rally wasn’t enough for the Melonheads to make up the difference. As for the Melonheads, their early lineup hit well, but their last three hitters going just 1-for-8 plus two walks meant that they couldn’t keep up. One bright spot for them: Maria Luna was one of only two pitchers in the league to face the minimum number of batters this week.

Player of the game: Claudia Villatra was a monster at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a single, three homes runs, and a whopping 9 RBI that eclipsed the rest of the team combined.

Indians 25, Rockies 2

Full stats aren’t available for the Rockies’ side of this contest, but their score alone makes it clear that the Indians’ defense defused their group of hitters, leaving them struggling to score at all. Meanwhile, crazyei8hts picked up right where he left off last season, with another dominant performance the likes of which most coaches can only dream of. Each player got at least two hits, and four walks given up by the Rockies only helped their efforts. While the Indians didn’t do the most slugging this week, they still eclipsed most of the rest of the league with eight home runs, further boosting their score. Frank Thomas also pitched one of the best games of Opening Week, tying for the most strikeouts at 10 while giving up just two hits in a shutout effort.

Player of the game: Cheryl Reynolds gets the nod here, going 4-for-5 with two singles, two home runs, and six RBI.

Cardinals 2, Braves 1

The Cardinals’ first game was a rather quiet one, with just eight hits on the game, four players going hitless, and Mr. Clanky striking out 10 Braves en route to a shutout. They made a much bigger splash on the Braves’ side, pummeling Randy Johnson for fifteen hits and six runs and putting Atlanta in grave danger of losing to the AI. The Braves’ top four hitters went 11-for-15 on the game, but their bottom five went just 3-for-15, interrupting their rallies and setting them behind going into the bottom of the sixth. Lance Lambert saved the Braves’ game with a walk-off three-run shot, and normally their 7-6 final score would, with the multiplier, be good enough for the win. But since they did bat in the sixth inning, the multiplier was not applied, giving the Cardinals the win in a twist ending to cap off Opening Week.

Player of the game: 3-for-3 with a double and two solo shots, Marsellus Marx was the Cardinals’ offense in this matchup and took them to a win all on his own.