As the FMBA approaches our AGM on November 21st, 2020 (via video conference this year), all players and stakeholders across the league are now invited to take part in our 2020 State of the League Survey! Each person can only take the survey once, so please be thoughtful in providing your answers.

This is an opportunity for everyone in the league to submit feedback and make their voices heard (anonymously if desired) leading up to the AGM so the Executive can identify issues that are important to our members, please feel free to send in your feedback to help guide the conversation on how we can improve the league moving forward!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FMBA2020

Sidearm Nation take series, division lead from cardinals

In what would end up being the only full series that was played this week, Sidearm Nation took two games and the season series from the Cardinals. Sidearm Nation received big production at the plate from Jake Hesselink and Jordan Smith this week, who tallied a combined twelve hits (four of which went for extra bases) through nineteen at-bats. They crossed the plate six times and knocked in five runs between the two of them as well. The Cardinals were able to salvage one game in the series on the back of Aren Nelson’s complete game victory on the mound in Game 2. Nelson only allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five during the gem. The Cardinals start their final series of the season on Monday when they take on the Calgary Wolfpack coming off of their bye week. Sidearm Nation has a single game with the Guns prior to the August Long weekend.

white sox olson back in the win column, sox take only completed game this week

The White Sox and Guns suffered a Game 2 rain out during this series, and Game 1 on Tuesday night was suspended due to darkness in the midst of a 4-4 tie in the twelfth inning. Game 3 was able to be played as originally scheduled, however, and the White Sox took the game by a score of 4-2 over the Guns. Sox ace Tony Olson got the start and bounced back from a loss his last time out with a strong complete game outing to give the Sox a chance to sweep a series for the first time this year. Olson struck out nine in the contest, pushing his league-leading total to thirty-two. Sox OF Brendan Rose stayed hot going 3-3 with a double, and Dan Chappel cranked his first home run of the year with a three run shot in the third inning.

diamondbacks split two with canadians, sergent shoves

The Diamondbacks and Canadians also lost a game to rain this week, but were able to play two on Sunday in which the Canadians took Game 1 with a 6-5 extra inning victory. FMBA Player of the Week Joe Sergent followed that with a complete game in a 9-1 Game 2 win, evening out the series at a game a piece. Sergent allowed no earned runs while striking out ten and only surrendering three hits and one walk. Josh Trybuch stood out offensively for the Canadians this week going 3-8 and smacking his first home run of the season, while Brendan Sutherland and JP Willner did most of the damage at the plate for the Dbacks. JP was a ridiculous 6-9 across the two games with three doubles and a triple while driving in a team leading five RBI. Sutherland chipped in with a 4-7 line and two RBI of his own.

Longhorns win their first of the year in two-game split with dukes

This was the closest series of the week, with both games being decided by a single run. The Longhorns took the early game behind a complete game effort on the mound Ted Eisthen. Jade Alberts was the only Horn with multiple hits in the game, one of which was a double, but the story of this game was the eyes at the plate for the Longhorns. They drew nine walks from the Guns pitching staff which helped keep the traffic heavy on the bases for the handful of base hits they did have. Game 2 was the opposite story, as the Dukes won the nightcap with a strong pitching performance from Lucas Silva, who struck out nine Longhorns in only six innings on his way to earning the victory. He only allowed two hits and didn’t allow an earned run in the start either. Star Dukes OF Miles Hunter had a monster game at the plate going 3-3 with two doubles and two RBI while scoring once himself.

Cardinals edge out guns in back and forth series

Big weeks offensively from Cardinals Jeff Breen, Jared Hendry, and Darren Low along with a strong week on the mound from Tom Sidorkewicz helped the Cardinals take two of their three games against the Guns this week. This was a close series the whole way, as two of the three games were decided by one run, and momentum never spent too much time on one side over the other. The Guns received strong output Mitch Murphy and Tyler Mathieu throughout the series, but it was a lead off triple in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 3 by Nick Taylor that proved to be the clutch hit that allowed the Guns to salvage a win and avoid the sweep. The Cardinals head into their series with Sidearm Nation this week as the Guns prepare for the White Sox.

Wolfpack take series from white sox with big seventh inning in game 2

The Wolfpack won the first two games of this series before dropping Game 3 to settle at a 4-2 record on the season while the White Sox head into Week 4 action at 3-6. Russell Strilchuk had a monster series going five for eleven with two home runs and six runs batted in to lead the Wolfpack offense, while Christian Lapointe carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning with eight strikeouts during Game 2 of the series in what turned out to be a stellar outing despite being saddled with a no-decision when it was all said and done. Jeff Derks did his best to fuel the White Sox offense batting .625 with a homer and a couple doubles, but the rest of the offense struggled to get much going behind him this week. The Wolfpack head into their Bye this week while the White Sox gear up for the Guns starting Tuesday night.

diamondbacks offense continues to roll, complete sweep of giants

The potent Diamondbacks offense had several players seeing the ball well at the plate this week, but none more so than Player of the Week Zach Rhodes who smacked two home runs and tallied five runs batted in to go along with four runs scored en route to a .571/.571/1.429 triple slash. Andrew Malone and newcomer Jesse Sawyer also joined the homer parade, each knocking one of their own in a series which saw the Dbacks score thirty-five runs through three games. Diamondbacks pitcher Joe Sergent pitched the league’s first complete game shutout in their Game 3 diming of the Giants. Giants Kale Seitz and Steven Latos had solid weeks at the plate, but just weren’t able to lift the rest of the offense enough in the sweep. The Giants head into their Bye week at 2-5 while the Dbacks roll into their series with the Canadians at 4-2.

canadians drop first game of the season in two-game split

With the third game being postponed due to rain, this week’s series between the Canadians and Dukes ended up being a two game split. The Canadians saw Josh Trybuch and Mike Ozga step up at the pate this week while the Dukes saw Colin Rintoul and Andrew Doyle pitch in with a home run each in the shortened series. A reschedule date for Game 3 will be announced shortly for this series to wrap up.

Wolfpack clinch their series with guns

Week 2 of the modified COVID schedule saw the Wolfpack get their season started with the Guns. Both teams had yet to play a game coming into the series with the Wolfpack getting rained out last week and the Guns on their bye week to start the year. There was lots of offense, some good pitching, and a whole lot of errors as both teams struggled to get their defenses dialed in. Offensively Carlos Charmell stood out for the Wolfpack, despite battling a nagging groin injury. Charmell led the series, and the Pack’s season, off with a lead off home run in their first game on Tuesday night sparking the offense for the rest of the series. Luke Carmichael and Tim Hayward paced the Guns offense and proved to be tough outs the entire series. The Wolfpack move on to the White Sox beginning Wednesday July 15th while the Guns take on the Cardinals on Tuesday July 14th to kick off that series.

WHITE sox fall just shy of clinching season series with sidearm nation

Sidearm Nation was able to get their season started this week by taking their season series with the White Sox, but it came down to the wire in Game 3 as they had to hold off a strong comeback attempt by the Sox to clinch the series. Michael Clapperton was the story of the week around the league, as his offensive display earned him Player of the Week honors going a ridiculous 5 for 8 at the plate with a double and two bombs. Good for a .625/.727/1.500 slash line. Soren Graverson earns and honourable mention in this series batting an even .500 on the week, as well as Sid Gillies from the Sox who paced their offense going 4 for 9 with a couple doubles of his own. The Sox prepare for the Wolfpack this week as Sidearm Nation heads into their bye week.

Giants mount huge comeback over longhorns with 9-run 6th inning in game 1

The Longhorns’ uncharacteristic struggles continued this week, as they had a Game 1 win slip through their fingers thanks to a huge nine run sixth inning by the Giants on Friday night to open the series. The Giants carried that momentum into Game 2 with them and clinched the series with a 9-4 win on Sunday afternoon before Game 3 was suspended due to rain in the third inning with the Giants up 6-2. The Giants didn’t have a lot of “slug” this week, but they had timely hitting leading to run production, and Riki Enquist led the way in that respect going 3 for 8 and knocking in 3 RBI while scoring 3 runs himself. Longhorns catcher Travis Gaudet had an outstanding week as well, despite not being able to get his team into the win column. He did everything he could, however, going 5 for 9 with a double, a triple, and five RBI to go along with four runs scored.

With the short first week of the 2020 season in the books, let’s take a look back at results and stories from the handful of games that weren’t washed out by rain these past few days.

Cardinals Take Season Series From White Sox

The only series to completely finish with all the rain we had this past week was the Cardinals taking two games out of three from the White Sox. Despite a stellar offensive performance in the series from White Sox outfielder Brendan Rose, who earned FMBA Player of the Week honors with his performance, the White Sox dropped the first two games in the series before getting their redemption in Game 3 in the form of a 14-4 drubbing of the Cardinals through six innings. Rose narrowly edged out Cardinals first baseman Matt Wenham for Player of the Week, as both players had great offensive showings, but it was Rose leading the league in Hits, Doubles, and RBI while drawing three walks and only striking out once this week that earned him the nod. Sox newcomer Jarvis Greiner pitched a complete game victory allowing no earned runs through six innings in the White Sox Game 3 win, establishing himself atop the major pitching leaderboards in the early going. The Cardinals are off for their upcoming bye week while the White Sox prepare to take on Sidearm Nation Wednesday July 8. Sidearm Nation will no doubt be restless as their entire opening series with the Wolfpack was washed out by rain and they have yet to play a game this season.

NEw Look Canadians Sweep Longhorns In Weekend set

The Canadians are off to a hot start as they took both of their weekend games against the Longhorns who struggled out of the gate offensively, only scoring three runs combined in both games. Some new faces on the Canadians roster seemed to make an immediate impact on their lineup as there were no individual standout performances, but they received moderate production from almost every spot in the lineup throughout their doubleheader. Their improved pitching staff showed up as well throwing a combined shutout during the second game, allowing their two runs to hold up as all they would need to clinch the season series. The third game of this series has been pushed back to August 6th, so the Canadians are heading into their bye week while the Longhorns prepare for a three game set with the Giants beginning Friday July 10 at 6:30pm.

Dukes Offense showing no signs of rust, take season series from giants

The Dukes scored a total of twenty-one runs in their doubleheader with the Giants Sunday evening, staking them an early lead in the B Division Standings. Several Dukes had productive weekends at the plate, but none more so than DH Eric Buckley, who popped his first home run of the season and cashed in a team leading four RBI en route to a .500/.667/1.000 slash line to kick off the year. Some new Giants got off to loud starts at the plate as well during the series despite dropping the two games, as Kye Seitz popped a homer of his own to go along with four RBI and a 1.500 OPS, while his younger brother Kale was four for eight and knocked in three RBI of his own. Ayden Makarus pitched in two doubles and a triple on the weekend, good for a small sample 1.500 OPS too. The Dukes now head into a three game series with the Diamondbacks on Thursday July 9th, while the Giants are preparing for the 0-2 Longhorns.