[Westheim]

Raccoons (36-27) @ Stars (25-37) – June 15-17, 2026

These teams had most recently met in 2024, when the Raccoons had won two of three games from Dallas, and maybe, just maybe, the Coons could find some ****ing offense in the most offensive park in the league. But probably nah. But not even the Stars could utilize their ballpark in any remotely happy way, ranking second from the bottom in runs scored in the Federal League with only 3.7 runs per game (!!), while they were conceding the absolute most runs in the league, giving them out like candy and 5.1 treats per game in total.

Projected matchups:
Mark Roberts (8-3, 2.31 ERA) vs. Brian Simmons (5-5, 5.17 ERA)
Rico Gutierrez (7-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. Jonas Mejia (4-6, 4.60 ERA)
Kyle Anderson (4-3, 3.72 ERA) vs. Jeff Dykstra (5-3, 2.73 ERA)

Their sole southpaw was coming up right at the start of the series.

Game 1
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – LF Gomez – C O'Dell – RF Kopp – 3B Gerster – P Roberts
DAL: 2B Clooken – LF I. Suarez – CF St. Germaine – 1B Hollar – SS Rock – C Wool – 3B C. Padilla – RF L. Gross – P Simmons

The Coons moved Spencer and Mora into scoring position in the first inning and then Gonzalez grounded out to the pitcher while Gomez' fly to deep right was hauled in by Luke Gross, which was really how it was always going with this nerve-tearing team. The game was scoreless in the early innings, with Roberts fanning four the first time through the Stars' order while drilling Chris Hollar to begin the bottom 2nd. He looked damn right spot on – even if as usual nobody else was. On to the fourth, where Mora and Gonzalez led off the inning with a pair of singles. Infield singles at that, two of 'em! Brian Simmons' next pitch was ticked into left-center by Rafael Gomez for another single, and that one brought in the first run of the game as Abel Mora ably scored from second base. That was it already, though, O'Dell lining out to Ivan Suarez in leftfield and Terry Kopp bouncing a ball to Silvio Clooken for a double play. When Butch Gerster led off the fifth with a single, Roberts bunted him over, but neither Ramos nor Spencer could hit the ball further than 50 feet – in fact, they both popped out. That had to come back to bite, it just had to. Josh Wool drew a 1-out walk in the bottom 5th, a spot in which Roberts was still pitching a no-hitter. Well, not much longer! Carlos Padilla tripled into the gap to tie, then scored on Gross' single to left to put Dallas in front. That misery had started with Wool, with whom it would also end for Roberts in the sixth. Roberts had just issued hits to Hollar and Trey Rock when Wool rocked him woolly deep with a 3-piece to right. Dallas: five hits, five runs. Portland: six hits, blech. While the Coons got two more hits, including a triple, in the eighth inning, that was not good enough for another mercy run. Ramos led off with a single, and Mora tripled, but in between Spencer had already smacked a Simmons pitch into a double play. Even more astonishing was the fact that the Raccoons would bring up the tying run in the ninth inning even after Ivan Suarez homered off Josh Boles in the bottom 8th. Down by five and now facing left-hander Chris Rountree, there were already two down when singles by Stalker and Gerster and a walk drawn by Cookie Carmona loaded the bags. Ramos' 2-run double between Gross and ex-Titan Adam St. Germaine brought up Spencer as said tying run, and Trey Rock couldn't reach his sharp grounder up the middle that became a 2-run single. The Stars scrambled for new relief in Eric Davidson, who was to face a 3-for-4 Abel Mora, who was the go-ahead run, and who also grounded out quite definitely to Silvio Clooken. 6-5 Stars. Ramos 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Spencer 2-5, 2 RBI; Mora 3-5, 3B; Stalker (PH) 1-1; Gerster 2-4;

How on earth do you lose to a team with a leadoff man named SILVIO CLOOKEN??

HOW??

Game 2
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – RF Kopp – C O'Dell – LF Carmona – 3B Bullock – P Gutierrez
DAL: 3B C. Padilla – 2B Neubecker – CF St. Germaine – 1B Hollar – SS Rock – C Wool – LF Cooper – RF L. Gross – P J. Mejia

Vague signs of intelligent life against the omnipresent background garble were a 3-run homer by Jon Gonzalez in the first inning and two more runs plated with 2-out singles by Ramos and Spencer in the second inning, although those were unearned after the two preceding errors by Phil Neubecker. All could have been merry if Rico Gutierrez hadn't been beaten into a bloody pulp by the second inning as well. His line was utmost disgusting; 3.1 innings, seven runs, all earned, including three homers mashed by Gross and Padilla in the second as well as Hollar in the third. The Stars didn't stop there, of course, because these punching bags would not come back so soon. Josh Wool hit a 2-run double off Surginer in the fifth inning – making it five innings of scoring for Dallas in this game – and only Alvin Smith made them shut up in the sixth inning, retiring reliever Matt Diduch, Padilla, and Neubecker in order.

Retired not quite in order, but rather orderly were the Raccoons after the early 5-run onslaught that had sent Mejia for an early shower. Singles by Bullock and Gerster showed some signs of activity in the sixth, but the top of the order wouldn't be of any help, and when Mora's leadoff walk and Gonzalez' single off Diduch put two aboard with nobody out in the top 7th, the next three batters outdid each other in who could deliver the most anemic out. Top 8th, singles by Bullock and Ramos put them on the corners with one out, and finally one of the suckers came through as Spencer singled up the middle to shorten the gap to 9-6 and evict Diduch from the game after 3.1 innings a.k.a. a decently-sized start for Rico Gutierrez these days. Lefty Tom McGuire faced only Abel Mora and surrendered an RBI single, bringing up Gonzalez with the tying runs on and Chris Brooks the new batter. Brooks, 30, and with only 89 innings of major league experience of the 4.74 ERA caliber was a weird choice in this crucial spot, but even weird choices could get a double play any time from these Raccoons. Gonzalez to Neubecker to Rock to Hollar, inning over. Nobody else would reach base anymore in the game. 9-7 Stars. Ramos 2-5; Spencer 2-5, 2 RBI; Mora 3-4, BB, 2 RBI; Gonzalez 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Bullock 2-4; Gerster (PH) 1-1; Smith 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Game 3
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – LF Gomez – RF Kopp – C Burrows – 3B Bullock – P Anderson
DAL: 2B Clooken – RF I. Suarez – CF St. Germaine – 1B Hollar – C Galan – SS Neubecker – LF Cooper – 3B J. Navarro – P Dykstra

Jon Gonzalez drove in a run in the first inning with a 2-out single that chased home Abel Mora after a single and a passed ball, so the Raccoons were probably doomed to lose again, and doomed in general. The Stars were certainly knocking on the door right from the start, stranding pairs in the first two innings and having Ivan Suarez caught stealing in the first inning, before the Raccoons loaded the bases on singles by Anderson, Spencer, and Mora in the third inning to bring up Jon Gonzalez once more with one out and all bases covered. In just two pitches, the inning ended; Gonzalez popped out to short, and Gomez flew out to center. The fourth then saw Terry Kopp thrown out at third base by St. Germaine on his leadoff DOUBLE and no Coons tally, while the Stars put Neubecker aboard, and their guy stole second base. Andrew Cooper's groundout moved the runner to third base, prompting a 2-out intentional walk to Jose Navarro to bring up the pitcher. Dykstra of course singled to tie the game. Clooken grounded out to Spencer.

Ramos being caught stealing took the teeth out of the Coons' 3-hit fifth inning, with none of those hits going for more than 90 feet of course. That made TEN hits for Portland in the ****ing Stars' ****ing shoebox and still only a single run… The Stars cobbled together three hits to take the lead, 2-1, in the bottom 5th, and despite knocking Dykstra up for ten hits in five innings, the Coons couldn't get him out of the game, and also couldn't get another hit until Mora's leadoff infield single in the eighth. Gonzalez, ever the slugger, bounced into a double play to Dykstra, and while Gomez singled after that, Kopp struck out. Tim Stalker's leadoff single was met with uninspired groundouts by Bullock and O'Dell in the ninth inning, but that brought up Ramos at least with the runner at third base, so maybe we could … and Kurt Evans snagged his lousy fly to complete the sweep. 2-1 Stars. Spencer 2-4; Mora 4-4; Stalker (PH) 1-1;

Haha, a sweep. Ha, that's funny. That is… that is… that is sooo…

…!

Raccoons (36-30) vs. Titans (39-27) – June 19-21, 2026

You blink and the Titans are already three games ahead of you (and we're not talking about the Elks even now), but maybe we can arrange so that we just hold very still and they won't make too much noise while they ravage us for the weekend. The season series was even at two, but I was very much sure it would not be for much longer. They ranked second in runs scored, fourth in runs allowed, and were definitely not half as bad a **** show as the Raccoons.

Projected matchups:
Dan Delgadillo (5-2, 2.38 ERA) vs. Dustin Wingo (5-4, 4.22 ERA)
Rin Nomura (0-0, 3.38 ERA) vs. Julio San Pedro (2-2, 3.47 ERA)
Mark Roberts (8-4, 2.63 ERA) vs. Guillermo Regalado (4-2, 2.03 ERA)

Left-right-right for the second straight time this week. Maybe this time it won't end with loss-loss-loss. Speaking of losses, we are 3-12 in June.

Game 1
BOS: LF W. Vega – C Leonard – CF Reichardt – RF Braun – SS Jam. Wilson – 2B R. West – 1B Elder – 3B Corder – P Wingo
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – CF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – LF Gomez – C O'Dell – RF Kopp – 3B Gerster – P Delgadillo

Willie Vega, the little pest, walked, stole second, then was thrown out trying to nip third base, too, to begin the game. Adrian Reichardt also kept being a royal annoyance. With the Raccoons having Gonzalez and O'Dell on the corners, Reichardt made two strong plays in the bottom 2nd, robbing Kopp coming in, and Gerster going out to end the inning. The Titans turned on Delgadillo in the top 3rd with singles by Jay Elder and Adam Corder to begin the inning, followed by a bunt. Vega lined out to a leaping Ramos for the second out, but Keith Leonard broke the ice with a sharp single into rightfield that conted for the first two runs in the contest. It was also all the runs off Delgadillo in his six innings, and Delgadillo was also the only Raccoon with an extra-base hit at that point, a leadoff double. Dustin Wingo was still on a shutout, though…

Not that all was rosy for the Titans, either. They had Ricky Ohl cornered in the seventh inning on an infield single by Adam Corder and walks drawn by Vega and Leonard, but then choked when Reichardt struck out in a full count and Adam Braun popped out foul in another full count. All of this kept the Coons tantalizingly close at 2-0, but they could just as well have trailed by 20. It took them until the eighth to be a vague, undefined threat again when Wingo allowed a 1-out single to Spencer that dropped into shallow right-center between three defenders. Nominally that brought up a slugger with the tying run, but (chuckles) come on. Be serious. Mora grounded out. Gonzalez walked, bringing up the go-ahead run. Rafael Gomez singled to left, Spencer went around third and was going to score with Gonzalez advancing to third base. Jamie Wilson cut off the throw home and instead fired to third, but late! The run scored and the Coons had them on the corners for O'Dell … except that we brought Tim Stalker to pinch-hit after some recent success at the plate. He flew out to Braun. To make things even greater Josh Boles and Jonathan Snyder allowed a walk and two hits in the top 9th to allow Wilson to get the 2-run lead back with a 2-out RBI single up the middle. Regardless, the tying runs were on in the bottom 9th against lefty Mike Stank, even if just with two outs after Burrows and Ramos both singled. Power was not yet near (and even if it had been, not likely). Stank got Spencer, hard to whiff, to 2-2, then missed the corner and instead gave Spencer a ball to drive up the leftfield line. That evil thing fell for a triple and tied the game! Javy Salomon then rung up Mora to bring about extra innings. The Titans didn't linger long, hitting Kevin Surginer for a double (Jay Elder) and an RBI single (Vega) in the top 10th, before Lorenzo Viamontes opened the bottom 10th with K to Gonzalez. Cookie batted for Surginer, singled, and Stalker singled just past Wilson to bring the winning run aboard. Terry Kopp remained no help whatsoever, grounding out and leaving the game to … Butch Gerster… He popped out on the first pitch. 4-3 Titans. Ramos 2-5; Spencer 2-4, BB, 3B, 2 RBI; Carmona (PH) 1-1; Burrows 1-1; Delgadillo 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K and 1-2, 2B;

It is hard to find words. Or the energy to move at this point.

Game 2
BOS: CF Reichardt – C Leonard – LF Kuramoto – RF Braun – 2B R. West – 3B Corder – 1B Gasso – SS Kane – P San Pedro
POR: SS Ramos – 2B Spencer – RF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – C O'Dell – LF Carmona – CF Magallanes – 3B Bullock – P Nomura

Gus Gasso gave Boston the lead in the top 2nd with a 2-out RBI double past Abel Mora in rightfield, chasing home Adam Braun and his leadoff single, but Mora got his revenge on Mike Kane's following single to right, with Gasso turning third and finding himself thrown out at home plate to end the inning. While Nomura on his own was not allowing a lot of bad things to occur, the other Coons would kindly help him out once the time came. Jon Gonzalez had just tied the game with his 10th homer in the bottom 4th, 1-1, when Kane slapped a leadoff single in the top 5th. O'Dell misfielded San Pedro's bunt, badly, for a 2-base throwing error, and the Titans plated two runs on Reichardt's single and Leonard's sac fly. O'Dell allowed a passed ball the following inning that extended that inning and eventually stranded two Titans in scoring position when Spencer made a strong play on Kane. So Nomura's line stayed somewhat orderly… until the seventh. San Pedro led off with a triple (…!!), was doubled in by Reichardt, and a 4-pitch walk to Leonard ended Nomura's start in shambles. Another run would score on a sac fly against Jeff Mudge, not that it would likely matter.

In the middle of another 5-1 drifter, the Coons cobbled together a run in the bottom 7th, Cookie hitting a leadoff single and somehow scoring on Kopp's pinch-hit groundout, then had Spencer and Mora aboard with nobody out in the eighth. That got rid of San Pedro for sure, with Salomon going to face Gonzalez… who masterfully fouled out behind home plate. O'Dell grounded out, advancing the runners for Cookie, who would see lefty Brent Beene, grounded slowly near the mound, and was out on a bang-bang play, ending the inning… That was not the final time that the tying run came up; it did so also in the bottom 9th against Dustin Cory after pinch-hit singles by Gomez and Stalker (and the Coons were now out-hitting the opposition once more, 10-9), pulling up Ramos as the tying run with one down. Cory walked Ramos to increase tension. Spencer grounded to Corder, who had a play at second base, but that was all; Gomez scored, but Mora was now up with two outs, WALKED, and here came Gonzalez! First pitch, grounder to Corder… and out at first base……. 5-3 Titans. Mora 2-4, BB; Gomez (PH) 1-1; Stalker (PH) 1-1;

(is not moving at all, and curiously poked by Chad with the giant index finger of the Coons mascot costume)

Game 3
BOS: C Leonard – 1B Elder – LF Kuramoto – RF Braun – 2B R. West – 3B Corder – CF W. Vega – SS Kane – P Regalado
POR: SS Ramos – 3B Spencer – RF Mora – 1B Gonzalez – C O'Dell – LF Carmona – 2B Stalker – CF Magallanes – P Roberts

While Abel Mora hit a 2-run homer in the first inning (!!!!!) to give the Coons an early lead (….!!!!), Mark Roberts would find a way to get on the road to losing some more, issuing a hit and three walks in the second inning, including a bases-loaded walk to Keith Leonard to get the Titans right on the board. Bottom 2nd, Cookie singled, even Magallanes singled, Roberts was nicked, and then … Ramos and Spencer BOTH popped out to strand a full set. It always was and still remained unbelievable. Roberts remained a mess for all of this start, issued a fourth walk the following inning, then blew the 2-1 lead in the fourth on singles by Kane, Leonard, and Yasuhiro Kuramoto. He had NOTHING. Oh he actually had worse than nothing. He walked Rhett West to begin the fifth inning, then threw away Corder's bunt, and walked Vega. Three on, nobody out, and here came the hook – lefty for lefty, Billy Brotman coming in. He held the Titans to a Mike Kane sac fly, which meant the Coons would maybe only lose by that one run rather than six.

Bottom 7th, Tim Stalker opened with a single against Regalado, who then got Magallanes to ground to the right side. West cut off the ball, but it had been hit with some spin and bounced back out of his glove. That one time reaching for the ball again cost West the play, and the tying and go-ahead runs were aboard with nobody out in a 3-2 game. Butch Gerster grounded out, advancing the runners – but here was a kink. Gerster had pinch-hit the previous time through the lineup and had then replaced Spencer in the game so the Coons could get multiple innings from Kevin Surginer; and that singles bat in the #2 hole was sorely missed now. Oh, I was sure Ramos could get it done, too! Well, not really, but then … eh. His grounder was hustled for by Regalado, but he bobbled it and chased it all the way into foul ground, putting Ramos on with an error, and the tying run scored with Stalker, levelling the score at three. Kopp batted for Surginer, and knocked a 2-2 pitch up the middle for an RBI single, 4-3, Regalado walked Mora to fill 'em up for Gonzalez, and Gonzalez struck out. But the Titans were becoming unglued now. Regalado faced only one more batter, conceding two runs on an O'Dell single, and then Cookie hit an RBI single against Beene, running the score to 7-3 with a 5-run seventh. Even more stunning, Ricky Ohl and Jonathan Snyder allowed no base runners in the last two innings to put the game IN THE WIN COLUMN. 7-3 Coons. Spencer 2-3; Kopp (PH) 1-1, RBI; Carmona 2-4, RBI; Magallanes 2-4; Surginer 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, W (4-3);

In other news

June 15 – TOP C Victor Ayala (.281, 1 HR, 6 RBI) ends an 11-inning game with the Loggers with a pinch-hit walkoff grand slam off MIL CL Joe Moore (3-2, 2.62 ERA, 19 SV).
June 16 – LVA OF Danny Serrano (.385, 6 HR, 31 RBI) doesn't save on the hits, knocking out three in a 6-5 win over the Wolves to extend his hitting streak to 38 games.
June 16 – PIT SP Bobby Morris (5-5, 4.75 ERA) will be out for the rest of the year after tearing his labrum.
June 17 – The Aces trade 1B Allen Retzer (.206, 1 HR, 12 RBI) to the Pacifics for 37-year-old SP Samuel McMullen (5-5, 3.50 ERA).
June 17 – IND SP Chris Munroe (2-1, 2.70 ERA) 3-hits the Rebels in a 2-0 shutout.
June 19 – Hitting streak over: LVA OF Danny Serrano (.379, 6 HR, 31 RBI) goes hitless in a 9-5 win over the Falcons, ending his hitting streak at 39 games, the third-longest streak in ABL history.

Complaints and stuff

Monday in Dallas was our 3,900th regular season loss … THIS YEAR ALONE.

Aahhh…

In AAA Elias Tovias hit a few homers, then went on the DL with a rib cage thing. Omar Alfaro however looked very dead in his eyes even with the Alley Cats. Then he strained an oblique.

Misery, misery everywhere.

Fun Fact: Before the Raccoons lost 16 games this season they had already tallied up 32 wins. In between their next 16 losses they won just four games.

That one stands for itself.