Stallions (1-0) 4

Diamond Dogs (0-1) 2

May 11th @ Georgetown College

W:  Donnie Johnson     L:  Travis Smiley

The smell of the grass, the cool wisp of the wind, and the subtle kicking of dirt on your ankles can mean only one thing:  the LABL season is back.  In their first defense of their second LABL title, the Stallions rode all-adult-league pitcher Donnie Johnson (7 IP, 0ER, 8K) to a well-deserved two run victory.  Flamethrower Eric Sanders would close out the last two innings to earn the save in the Stallions’ win.  The Stallions were paced offensively by Dan Greenburg (2 hits, 2 RBI), Donnie Johnsons’ 2 hits and Justin Warner would pick up two walks and score twice as well.  Making his long-awaited return from injury and his tour of the Balkan Peninsula, Ethan McKiddy picked up 2 hits for the Diamond Dogs.  Chris LaPorte (2 hits, one of which was a triple), Caleb Gupton (1-4 including his first LABL career hit), Brad Shepherd (1 hit) and Derek Shepherd (first RBI on the season) helped put the Dogs on the board.  Daniel Kusakari came in and pitched 5 innings of shutout baseball, striking out 6, but the Dogs could not pull out the victory on opening night.

Bombers (0-1) 8

Smokies (1-0) 22

May 15th @ Georgetown College

W:  Matt Roberts    L:  Christian Vain

In the first Sunday game of the year, the Smokies would pummel the Bombers over the course of 9 innings to the tune of a 16 run victory.  The Smokies would tally an impressive 22 hits, with Wes Drinkard recording three of them, Stephen D’Addario picking up another two, Jesse Lane picking up two more including a home run on a inside the parker, and Evan Hackney hitting a ball that required a passport because it landed on the Virgin Islands, a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean…as well as drilling three other hits.  Winning pitcher Matt Roberts would pick up 2 RBIs himself, Mike Laswell (his first of his LABL career) as well as Josh Watts, a catcher out of Campbellsville University, would both contribute two more.  For the Bombers, Rob Franzen made his first appearance since having Tommy John surgery, showing impressive life on his fastball.  Austin Jones, Keith Duncan, Levi Christopher, and Michael Oaks (2 RBI), would pick up their first hits in the LABL.  The win moves the Smokies into a tie with perennial rivals the Stallions, while the Bombers are now tied for last place with the Diamond Dogs

Miners (1-0) 6

Stallions (1-1) 0

May 15th @ Georgetown College

W:  Lance Shelton     L:  Eric Sanders

Overcoming a dominating pitching performance from Eric Sanders (7 IP, 2ER, 13K), the Miners were all-too resilient, handing the Stallions only their second loss in the last 23 games in the LABL.  Lance Shelton from Berea College picked up the win, as he struck out 7 in 5 IP, while surrendering no runs.  Chad Brown (Berea College) and Jordan Smith would close out the game for the Miners first win on the year. Picking up their offense was Keith Trumbauer (2 hits, 1 RBI, and a double), the aforementioned Jordan Smith (double and first career LABL hit).  Carlos Armenteros would add in two RBI on the day and Justin Moran would pick up his first two LABL hits as well.  The Stallions were limited to only two hits on the day, which were picked up by Chris Owsley and Justin Warner (2 steals).  Hobie Hall picked up his first appearance for the Stallions in LABL action, striking out a hitter over his one inning of work.  The Miners are now tied with the Smokies for the league lead, while the Stallions drop to third

Bombers (0-2) 4

Miners (2-0) 6

May 22nd @ Georgetown College

W:  Austin Heilman    L:  Jared Long

Bursting on the scene is a name LABL fans are going to want to remember:  Austin Heilman.  In just under 5 innings pitched, the winning pitcher recorded 11 strike outs out of the possible 14 outs he could have gotten in that time frame all the while walking none.  Keith Trumbauer continued his nice offensive season with a pair of hits as did Carlos Armenteros.  Ryan Blevens of Berea College would pick up a hit and score twice as well for the Miners and Ketton Bowling, in an impressive display of strike-zone discipline walked twice.  For the Bombers, Jared Long made his first start of his LABL career after pitching at Lindsey Wilson and Rob Franzen struck out 5 in just 3 innings of work.  Offensively, Ryan Ellis would lace his second double of the young season, and Brenden Richardson, Evan Baker, Jason Ross, Levi Christopher and Austin Jones (2 hits) would find their away aboard with hits.  Even with the Bombers bats going late, it was Jordan Smith who came on in a difficult save situation to close down the Miners second win of the season.  They now stand alone in first place of the LABL and are perhaps the biggest surprise story of the year at this point.

Bombers (0-3) 8

Diamond Dogs (1-1) 9

May 22nd @ Georgetown College

W: Derek Shepherd   L:  Christian Vain

After the second game of their double header, the Bombers are still looking for their first win on the season.  Ethan McKiddy led the offensive charge today for the Dogs smashing 4 hits, including a double.  Justin Chlebowy also added a couple of hits on the day.  Did someone say pitchers can’t hit?  Don’t let Travis Smiley know you said that, as Smiley, usually known for his pitching, ripped a double in two at bats.  Chicks dig…the doubles?  Speaking of doubles, the Bombers got doubles on the game from Duke Gastos, Adam Bell (2 hits on the day), Ryan Ellis and Austin Jones.  Evan Baker would add 3 hits, Andrew Kling picked up his first hit of the season, Kevin Roe recorded his first RBI as an LABL player and Brenden Richardson extended his hit streak to two.  The Dogs had to hold on late in the game as the Bombers scored 4 in the 7th inning, but the Dogs would throw out Evan Baker at home, with a nice toss by SS Joel Katte to stop the bleeding.  Derek Shepherd would come in to close out the tight game and give the Dogs their first win on the year.  It was another hard fought win for the Diamond Dogs as they attempt to jump into a first place battle with the Miners.  The Bombers, despite being winless, are certainly beginning to find their legs.

Smokies (1-1) 4

Stallions (2-1) 12

May 22nd @ Georgetown College

W:   Donnie Johnson     L:  Chris Works

“And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go….and now the air is shattered by the force of Evan Charles’ blow…”  Unlike Casey at the Bat, the famous poem written by Earnest Lawrence Taylor about a mighty hitter striking out, Even Charles’ air-shattering blow resulted in a grand slam over the right field fence in the 8th inning.  This hit would put the cherry on top of the Stallions 12-4 victory over the Smokies.  Donnie Johnson struck out 9 hitters over 6 IP (and still yielding not a single earned run) and added three RBI offensively to be a jack-of-all-trades for the evening. The win for Johnson would mark his 20th of his career, the most in LABL history in less than 3 years. Finishing up the game was Eric Sanders, who struck out 5 hitters in 3 frames of work.  For the Stallions, Chris Thomas picked up his first hit on the year (a double), Brian Schallner doubled, Dan Greenburg had two hits and Erick Ignacio would tally his first ever RBI in the LABL.  Justin Warner, also, picked up 2 hits and 3 runs scored on the day.  For the Smokies, Chris Works had a strong start but got some bad luck, as he struck out 8 in just 5 innings of work himself but took a loss.  Offensively, Stephen D’Addario picked up a multi-hit game, Evan Hackney doubled, Jesse Tudor scored twice, Jesse Lane singled, and Sal Olivet got a hit and an RBI.  The win drops the Smokies down to 1-2 on the young season, while the win puts the Stallions back into second place, a half-game behind the 2-0 Miners.