Complete Challenger League Coverage weeks 1 and 2
Racers, Archers, living up to hype so far
The season is still young, but the Olympia Racers and Tawa Arches are right where the computers projected them to in the pre-season. Both squads had great opening and second weekends, and sit in the logjam at the top of the standings through two weeks. Olympia did it with pitching, as their staff currently ranks first in the league in ERA, while the Archers did it with offense. Their power numbers put them near the top of the league rankings.
Panthers not returning to form
Their lack of moves in the offseason led many pundits to worry about the future of the Pailyn Panthers in the Challenger league, but even they didn’t expect it to be
this bad. Last year’s regular season champions are just 1-7 after an opening weekend sweep by the Prometha Pirates and a few uninspired performances against the Hedon Lions. The Panthers pitching staff, once its bright spot, has given up the most runs in the league through 8 games. They’ve allowed 52 runners to cross the plate, good enough for a 5.06 ERA, also the worst in the league.
Vipers struggling in the Challenger League too
Joining the Panthers at the bottom of the barrel are the Landson Vipers. The former Premier Leauge team opened its Challenger league campaign by being swept by the Archers, then dropping 3 of 4 to the Thunder. Landson is in full on rebuild mode, and it looks like even playing in the Challenger League won’t change that.
Matchup of the Week
With the lack of separation in the early going, there are a lot of teams with similar records matching up this week, but we’ll specifically focus on the Olympia Racers vs the Opadea Galaxy. The Racers are expected to win the Challenger League, but they’ll get a test from a team that is a perennial frontrunner. Also, the Galaxy get Michael Atrill back for this series. The Globe of Atlas winner missed the first two weeks of the season due to injury.
CCL standings through week 2 of 19
