Here is the standings after 10 games played in the regular season
Tamarac and Trinidad City jumping out to early leads in their divisions, New Charleroi and Elyria lagging behind so far.
League news
: Justin Kulesza of the Trinidad City Jets spun his magic on the Old Town Thugs today. He blanked them 8-0 on 5 hits, registering 9 strikeouts and 3 walks.
"The bottom line was I just kept the ball down," Kulesza said. "My breaking stuff was down. Everything was down."
Talking to reporters in the postgame interview, Trinidad City skipper Mike McPherson said the team "got solid pitching, good defense and took great team at-bats in a lot of different situations."
"Justin pitched really well but this was a solid performance by everyone," he said.
Wylie Fires Shutout in Ladue Win: The Ladue Ducks rolled to an easy 6-0 win over the Bonhomme Raiders at Webster & Mitchell Ballpark today. Leading the way to victory was starter Tom Wylie, who shackled the Bonhomme Raiders and held them scoreless on a 2-hitter.
"This is what every pitcher wants to do when they go out there," Wylie said in his postgame press conference.
Kaitz Befuddles Soulard: Today was Danny Kaitz's turn in the rotation for the New Charleroi Vipers and he made the most of it, shutting out the Soulard Apache on 3 hits.
The 26-year-old left-hander led the Vipers to an easy 8-0 victory, allowing 1 walk and tallying 9 strikeouts.
"I hope we miss him next time," Soulard manager Scott Zajac said. "Kaitz certainly pitched a strong game against us today. He was in a groove, throwing everything for strikes. Throwing hard. Changing speeds."
Tamarac-East Winslow Brawl, Gage and Laitala Suspended: You would have thought you were at a hockey game yesterday at Schmidt & Marrah Ballpark. A free-for-all broke out when Kevin Gage of Tamarac and Taylor Laitala of East Winslow rushed one another on the field and had to be restrained by umpires and teammates. Few blows landed, but it was enough for them to be ejected from the game.
Today both teams received notification from the league office that the two players would be suspended for 8 games.
Latest Injury News for Bannister: The East Winslow Buccaneers have made it official: Danny Bannister is headed to the disabled list. The 31-year-old left fielder has been out since 04/06/2157 with a strained hamstring. He is expected to miss 3-4 months.
Elyria No Match for Schreiber: Andrew Schreiber of the Clayton Crows humiliated the Elyria Continentals at Sizemore Park today, spinning a complete game shutout and holding the visitors to 4 hits.
"He stayed aggressive and his ball was really moving," said Elyria manager J.J. Hudson, after the game.
Schreiber whiffed 10 and walked 2 in the 5-0 win.
"If I make good pitches, I'm going to get some outs," Schreiber said. "I was making good pitches the entire game."
Continental League Names Best Player: At the age of 31, Kyle Kunkel might have some potential he hasn't realized yet -- if his success at the plate last week is any indication. The East Winslow shortstop put up some exceptional numbers the past seven days with a .500 batting average. For his efforts Kunkel collected the Continentall League Player of the Week Award.
He racked up 12 hits in 24 at-bats, 3 home runs and 13 RBIs last week in 6 games.
Howard of Ladue Crowned Best Player: It's always a thrill for fans of the team and students of the game alike when a superstar in the making shows what he's got. Jamie Howard, the Ladue Ducks 25-year-old left fielder, put himself in the spotlight last week making him the clear-cut choice for National League Player of the Week honors.
He ripped 12 hits in 28 at-bats, compiling a .429 average with 1 home run and 5 RBIs.
BNN Stats: Rookie Batting Leaders: Which rookie is leading the Elyrian Baseball League in on-base percentage?
Jeff Kisner, MP, .556
Joe Duncan, NC, .542
Jon Marinakis, CLA, .517
Brent Nyren, LAD, .500
Aaron Dutton, TC, .481
Troesch Gets Injury Report: The Tamarac Unforgiven have made it official: Tom Troesch is headed to the disabled list. The 26-year-old reliever has been out since 04/10/2157 with a torn labrum. He is expected to miss 4 months.
Tamarac Shuts Out Centaurs, Tucker Winner: Andy Tucker bent a little, but he didn't break against the Melrose Park Centaurs. The Tamarac Unforgiven pitcher hurled a 4-hit 3-0 shutout in a fine performance, surrendering no walks and tallying 9 strikeouts.
"Andy is good at getting out of jams," Unforgiven manager Tim Riley told reporters after the game. "He's almost more effective when he gets guys on base or gets behind in the count, because he uses your aggressiveness against you."
Cochran's Treatment Not Going Well, Suffers Setback: All is not well with John Cochran in his recovery from a strained back muscle.
The 31-year-old Ravens starting pitcher has already reached some significant steps in his rehabilitation, but his manager said that the team will continue to be cautious with Cochran and take his progression one day at a time, especially after the setback yesterday.
"Yesterday he was feeling good but he didn't do a lot on the field," he said. "Today he was supposed to be on the field doing light stuff and then gradually start working right back up. I think he overdid it."
A post-workout examination revealed that Cochran had re-injured himself and would now miss at least 1-2 weeks because of it.
Defoe Set to Miss 4 Months: The East Winslow Stags have made it official: Jimmy Defoe is headed to the disabled list. The 27-year-old right fielder has been out since 04/09/2157 with torn ankle ligaments. He is expected to miss 4 months.
Presently Defoe is batting .438 with 1 home run and 5 RBIs. He has played in 6 games and scored 3 times.
Season Done for Young: Team officials for the Oakdale Park Ravens confirmed that a torn anterior cruciate ligament will force Ron Young to miss the rest of the season. Young sustained the injury on 04/11/2157. It remains to be seen who will replace Young on the active roster.
During the current season Young is batting at a .269 clip with 1 home run and 3 RBIs. He has played in 7 games and scored 3 times.
Beckman Belts 5 Hits: Junior Beckman was on fire today and sparked his club to a 4-2 victory over the Ravens. The Soulard third baseman was a tough out and went 5-for-8 against Oakdale Park in a fine hitting display.
"I got my pitches and I connected. They all found the right holes on the diamond. Some days you hit shots and they're right at somebody and some days they fall in."
Junior Beckman singled in the 2nd, grounded out in the 4th, singled in the 7th, singled in the 9th, struck out in the 10th, singled in the 13th, doubled in the 16th and grounded out in the 18th.
So far on the season Beckman is hitting .333 with 5 home runs, 7 RBIs and 7 runs scored. He has 13 hits and played in 10 games.
Batting leaders after 10 games
Pitching Leaders after 10 games
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10 more games and news in next update