#wpbl — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #wpbl, aggregated by home.social.
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Told ya so!
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Whoever is running social media for the #WPBL needs to study the official scoring rules:
"REGULATION GAME
A game is considered a regulation game -- also known as an "official game" -- once the visiting team has made 15 outs (five innings) and the home team is leading, or once the home team has made 15 outs regardless of score...
If a regulation game is terminated early due to weather, the results are considered final if the home team is leading. If the home team is trailing, the results are considered final if the game is not in the midst of an inning when the visiting team has taken the lead."
In last night's contest, the Heights had pushed their 11th run across in the top of the sixth, but had taken the lead an inning earlier. When rain forced the game to end in the bottom of the sixth, the Heights final run absolutely counted and the score should have been reported as 11-8.
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Weather and a questionable call from the umpiring crew combined to douse the SF Firebells three game winning streak, as the "visiting" NY Heights prevailed 11-8 in a rain-shortened contest. Kelsie Whitmore and Denae Benites both left the yard in spectacular fashion, continuing their highly entertaining home run race. Benites gets the opportunity to extend her lead Thursday night against the Boston Hunters while Whitmore and the Firebells have the night off.
The Heights started the scoring early. Natsuki Yonetani drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, coming home three pitches later on a Benites single. The hit train continued: Val Perez single, London Studer single scoring Benites, and a Kylee Lahners double that scored Perez and Studer. Lahners would later score on a Elodie Ciamarro two-out single. Ninth batter Claire Eccles flied out to center to end the inning.
The red-hot Firebells were not going to let something like a five-run deficit ruin their evening. Amanda Gianelloni drew a four pitch walk. Kelsie Whitmore came to the plate one homer behind Benites in the home run chase and quickly evened things up with an absolute moon shot to straightaway center. Jill Albayati walked and Andreanne Leblanc singled to put runners at the corners with nobody out.
This set the table for Alexia Jorge to notch an RBI by hitting the ball pretty much anywhere but the left side of the infield. So of course Jorge hits a worm burner right to Heights 3B Alyssa Zettlemoyer, who looked the runner back to third and threw to second to get Leblanc. Riding a wave of torrid hitting, Skylar Kaplan picked up her teammate by working the count full and then yanking a ball out to right to tie the ballgame with her first league home run.
Joely Leguizamon doubled into the gap and then advanced to third on a wild pitch to Jua Park. Again, with only one out Park just needed to put the ball in play anywhere but the left side of the infield to score Leguizamon. Leguizamon decided to leave nothing to chance, so when Park hit a slow bouncer to 3B Leguizamon was already most of the way to home plate, giving Zettlemoyer no choice but to record the out at first while the run scored. Good outcome, but Firebells manager Matt Williams may have something to say to his team about situational hitting. Ninth batter Ela Day-Bedard tapped back to the mound to end the inning with the Firebells now on top 6-5.
Unfortunately, the Firebells let the lead slip away in the top of the second. Once again Yonetani walked. She advanced to second when Benites hit into a fielder's choice. After Perez flied out in foul territory, it looked like the Firebells might get out of the inning with no damage. With London Studer at the plate, Yonetani forced the action by stealing third. Catcher Alexia Jorge's throw to third was offline and the ball rolled into the outfield. Yonetani got a great read and scampered home to tie the ballgame. Studer would eventually tap back to the mound, but the damage was done.
The relentless Firebells came back in their half of the second. Gianelloni ripped a hot shot to the center field wall, but was robbed by a highlight reel over the shoulder catch by Claire Eccles. Whitmore settled for a single and Albayati walked. Leblanc hit a ground ball to Heights 1B Rakyung Kim, who kicked the ball around for a bit before gloving the ball and stepping on the bag while both base runners advanced. Jorge singled in Whitmore and Kaplan singled in Albayati. Leguizamon flied to center to end the inning with the Firebells back on top 8-6.
The third and fourth innings passed with base runners aplenty but no scoring. Firebells reliever Ela Day-Bedard had come on to get the final out of the 4th inning and remained on the hill for the Heights 5th inning. Zettlemoyer grounded to second, Kim singled, and Ciamarro flied out to center. Eccles came to the plate and missed the bunt on the first pitch. Noting that Kim had strayed too far off first, Firebells catcher Jorge threw a laser to Leblanc at first who clearly applied the tag to Kim as she slid back into the bag. Unfortunately the umpire didn't see it that way and Kim was ruled safe. Jorge and Leblanc protested strongly, but with no video review in the league, the on field call had to stand, prolonging in inning.
The extra out was pivotal, as Eccles doubled and Yonetani drew her third walk of the night to put two base runners on in front of Benites. Benites is such a dead pull hitter that the Firebells had been employing a defensive shift on her all night. So of course she hits an absolute missile to the opposite field on the second pitch she saw, her first opposite field home run this season to put her back on top as the league leader in home runs. You run out of superlatives to describe Benites' hitting at the moment.
Day-Bedard plunked Perez but then got Studer to ground out to second to end the inning. The Firebells went quietly in the bottom of the fifth. Peyton Coria was the third reliever of the night for the Firebells and opened the top of the sixth inning striking out both Lahners and Zettlemoyer looking. But Kim walked and scored on back-to-back singles by Ciamarro and Eccles. Yonetani lined out to short to end the threat.
The Firebells may have had something cooking in their half of the sixth when Whitmore reached on an error to lead off the inning. Albayati flied out to right. Before Leblanc could come to the plate, the umpiring crew cleared the field due to lightning in the area. The lightning delay turned into a rain delay as the tarp came out. Eventually the game was called with the final score 11-8, leaving the Firebells wondering what might have happened had Kim been called out at first to end the fifth or if they had managed to get their at-bats in the sixth and seventh innings.
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On August 21st, the 1st place San Francisco Firebells face off against the 2nd place Los Angeles Queens, in a Women's Pro Baseball League match-up. Available on ESPN+.
This is their inaugural season. All games are played at the same ballpark in Springfield, Illinois.
https://www.womensprobaseballleague.com/teams/san-francisco/
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There is a Women's Professional Baseball League, and the SF Firebells have jumped into 1st place early.
Good article. Being mostly bros, the commenters quickly shift from the Firebells to the Giants and their prospects. 🙄 ⚾
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@crash Yes, the scorebug not correctly representing the runners on base is another pet peeve of mine. We were wondering if somebody is multi-tasking the updates with other telecast duties. But this is definitely something that should be a priority.
And I agree that the on-air talent should be women. Representation matters both on and off the field. Surely as well connected as Justine Seigel, Rocky Henley, and the rest of the crew are, they should be able to network and find some decent play-by-play at the college or minor league level. At worst hold open try-outs like they did for the players!
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[Sent to the #WPBL media email address]
We love the new league! The games are exciting and the players are talented, engaging, and joyful. It's been wonderful getting to know them through the games and social media and starting to follow their stories.
But the telecast is doing the league, players, and fans a grave disservice. With all of the games being played in Springfield, the telecast is your primary channel for growing the fanbase for your new league. And frankly, it's becoming unlistenable. We've had to start muting the sound when watching the game, but I wonder how many casual viewers are simply electing to watch something else?
Clearly finding the right play-by-play combo has been a struggle. But at the moment the telecast is Ms Beccera and Ms Andrews jibber-jabbering about almost anything but what is occurring on the field. The play-by-play is vital for casual fans who are multi-tasking while watching the game. The announcer's delivery--pacing, tone, excitement--are critical for pulling watchers back to the game at important moments. Beccera and Andrews are a monotone mush of trivia, with occasional calls about the game action roughly around the time the replay is running.
Andrews may be a gold glove outfielder (as we are reminded constantly on the broadcasts), but she is a sub-standard interviewer. She asks meandering, long-winded questions and doesn't appear to be particularly listening to the answer. She fails to follow-up appropriately with the subject's response. All too often the interviews seem to be about her, her outfits, and how charming she tries to be.
We're hoping that the new league succeeds for these talented, hard-working women and the young girls watching hungrily from the stands and on the telecast. Finding on-air talent that matches the talent on the field is the least they and all of us deserve.
Wishing you and all the players the best!
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The #WPBL telecasts are becoming a horror show. They’ve struggled from the beginning with play-by-play. But at this point it just seems to be Jenna Beccera and A.J. Andrews nattering on about everything except what’s happening on the field.
The telecast is literally the only way they have to grow fan interest in the game and it seems like nobody in the WPBL brain trust cares. The players deserve better. The fans deserve better. It needs to be fixed.
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The other #WPBL teams have got to fear facing the Firebells offense at the moment. They're getting timely hits throughout the lineup and for the second game in a row every player in the starting lineup ended the game with at least a run scored or and RBI. The top four hitters in last night's lineup-- Gianelloni, Whitmore, Albayati, Leblanc-- are all OPSing over 1000.
After winning again Saturday afternoon, they don't play again until Wednesday night. Hopefully they won't cool off during the break!
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The NY Heights got on the board in the home half of the first inning but a relentless SF Firebells offense responded with six unanswered runs over the next three innings and never gave up the lead on their way to an 11-6 victory in the matinee game of Saturday's double-header. The head-to-head matchup of league home run leaders Kelsie Whitmore and Danae Benites did not disappoint, with both players leaving the yard in what is shaping up to be an entertaining home run chase.
NY leadoff hitter Natsuki Yonetani grounded out to begin the first. But Elodie Ciamarro and Danae Benites notched base hits against Firebells starter Jill Albayati. NY 1B Kylee Lahners grounded into what appeared to be an inning-ending double play, but SF 2B Amanda Gianelloni air-mailed the throw to first, allowing Ciamarro to score the first run. Albayati struck out NY 3B Keylee Lahners looking to end the inning.
Joely Leguizamon led off the Firebells second inning by flying out to left. In what was to become a theme for the afternoon, Heights starter Jaida Lee plunked Ela Day-Bedard. Jua Park struck out swinging. SF catcher Samantha Gutierrez fouled off the first pitch and then watched two wild pitches roll to the backstop as Day-Bedard took second and then third. Day-Bedard scored the tying run easily when Gutierrez singled on the next pitch. SF leadoff hitter Amanda Gianelloni flied out to center for the last out.
Albayati got herself in and out of trouble in the NY half of the second. She hit the first batter and gave up a single to London Studer. She struck out opposing pitcher Jaida Lee swinging, but then plunked Keira Izumi to load the bases with only one out. Albayati coaxed Natsuki Yonetani to tap back to the mount and threw home to get the lead runner. Albayati then struck out Elodie Ciamarro looking on four pitches to strand the three baserunners.
Albayati also helped herself at the plate in the third inning. Whitmore singled to start the inning, and Albayati hit a two-run rocket nearly to the scoreboard in left field for her first homerun of the young season. Albayati also leads the team in doubles. When your best starting pitcher also has the second best OPS on the team and hits third in the batting order, it's going to be problematic for opponents.
Andreanne Leblanc flied out to left for the first out of the inning. But Skylar Kaplan and Joely Leguizamon both singled. Niki Eckert struck out swinging, and Jua Park walked to load the bases. After freezing Gutierrez two pitches on the outside of the plate, Jaida Lee had a breaking ball slip out of her hand and plunked Gutierrez in the back to score the run from third. Gianelloni continued her night of frustration, striking out swinging and leaving the bases loaded.
The Heights loaded the bases again in their half of the third on a two-out walk and back-to-back singles. This brought Heights pitcher Jaida Lee to the plate. Albayati struck her out swinging on four pitches, bringing the Heights total to seven stranded base runners in the first three innings.
Looking for some redemption, Lee struck out Whitmore looking in the top of the fourth, but then threw a scary pitch right into Albayati's helmet. Albayati was checked out by the trainer and remained in the game as the runner at first. Leblanc hit a moon shot to left center that wedged under the outfield fence for a double. That ended Lee's night.
Heights reliever Claire O'Sullivan walked Kaplan to load the bases. A single to Leguizamon scored Albayati, but Day-Bedard popped out harmlessley to second, freezing the runners. Jua Park singled to left score Leblanc, but a strong relay resulted in Kaplan being easily tagged out at home by a fired up Denae Benites. Probably a bad call by the third base coach to send Kaplan on a shallow single to left, and certainly a bad call to get Benites pumped up.
Albayati got two quick outs in the Heights half of the fourth. But a walk to pinch hitter Jacqui Raynolds brought up Denae Benites. Albayati simply hung her head as Benites golfed the second pitch over the left center wall for a two-run homer, briefly giving Benitez the league lead in homers. Lahners popped to second to end the inning.
Gutierrez greeted O'Sullivan with a single to start the Firebells fifth. Gianelloni shook off her rough start to single and to bring up Kelsie Whitmore. Not to be outdone by Benites, Whitmore cranked a ball into the parking lot beyond the left field wall for her sixth home run in three games. The ball got out so fast that the outfielders didn't even have a chance to move.
Albayati singled after Whitmore but was left stranded when the next three batters failed to reach. The Heights went quietly in their half of the fifth against Firebells reliever Niki Eckert.
O'Sullivan got two quick outs in the Firebells sixth, but then let loose a wild breaking pitch at designated pinata Gutierrez. Gutierrez clearly looked disgusted as she took first base on her second hit by pitch of the night. Gianelloni singled to give O'Sullivan the unenviable choice of pitching to Kelsie Whitmore or giving Whitmore the free pass and facing Albayati. Whitmore received the courtesy four-pitch pitch-around to load the bases. The Heights strategy paid off as Albayati grounded to third to end the threat.
The Heights made some noise in their half of the sixth. O'Sullivan lined out to second, but Izumi and Yonetani hit back-to-back doubles, scoring Izumi who had stolen third during Yonetani's at-bat. Defensive replacement Madison Willan worked a walk to bring up Benites. Eckert kept Benites in the yard, but gave up a single to score Yonetani. Perhaps feeling bad being the only pitcher not to hit a batter on the night, Eckert plunked Lahners on the leg to load the bases.
With Zettlemoyer at the plate, Gutierrez worked out some frustration by throwing behind Benites who was straying too far off second base. Willan headed for home as Benites was caught in the middle. Gutierrez received the ball back from second and ran Willan out of the basepaths for the out. For those scoring at home, that's your basic 2-4-2 caught stealing, with a disgusted Benites left taking out her frustrations on a helpless third base bag. Zettlemoyer grounded to third to end what could have been a big inning.
In the seventh, the Firebells put up two more runs on another Leblanc ball wedged under the fence and RBI singles from Leguizamon and Gutierrez, who was probably just wanting to get into the clubhouse for some ice. Heights reliever Keira Izumi managed to pitch the inning without hitting a batter, so kudos to her.
O'Sullivan remained in the game after being relieved by Izumi. Her manager's faith was rewarded when O'Sullivan hit a two-out solo shot to left, her first home run in the league. With the score now 11-6, Izumi flied out to center for the final out. But hopefully the O'Sullivan dinger will give the team some life heading into their Sunday matchup with the Boston Hunters.
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Sorry, but I have to add one more #WPBL TV coverage gripe.
The outfield play coverage is just awful. Whenever a ball was hit into the outfield last night, the telecast switched to the long shot from the grandstand—behind the net and way, way back from home plate. These old eyes simply were unable to see whether the catch was made or not.
Do better, WPBL!
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In their second meeting in three days, the SF Firebells blasted LA Queens pitching, scoring 10 unanswered runs in the first three innings on their way to a 17-3 romp. Every Firebells starter either scored a run or collected an RBI. In a worrying development for every other team in the league, franchise player Kelsie Whitmore went yard with a two-run homer and a grand slam, bringing her two game HR total to five and tying the otherworldly Denae Benites for the league lead in homers.
After scoring three runs in the first via two walks and three straight two out hits from the middle of the order, the Firebells sent nine batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring five and putting the game out of reach.
Jua Park (2-5, run scored) flied out to center on one pitch to start the inning. Leadoff hitter Amanda Gianelloni (1-1 with a walk and two HPB, 4 runs scored) was up next and singled. Kelsie Whitmore (3-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 runs) grounded sharply to the left side and Queens shortstop Caitlin Eynon stopped the ball but failed to come up with it cleanly, allowing Whitmore to reach. Jill Albayati (1-2 with 2 walks, 2 runs) collected her second walk in as many innings to load the bases. Dangerous cleanup hitter Andreanne Leblanc (1-5, RBI, run) singled in Gianelloni from third. Catcher Alexia George (3-4 with a walk, HR, 4 RBI, 4 runs) followed with a single to short. Eynon made an ill advised throw to first, that went offline allowing an extra runner to score and the runners to advance to second and third. That was the end of the night for Queens starter Suzu Narasaki in her first outing on the mound.
She was relieved by Queens workhorse Jamie Mackay, who had started the night in the DH slot and ended up recording the Queens first RBI in the 4th. Right fielder Skyler Kaplan (4-4 with 2 2B and a walk, 3 RBI, run scored) greeted Mackay with a no doubt double, scoring inherited runners Leblanc and Jorge. Mackay then got Firebells shortstop Joely Leguizamon (1-4 with a walk and an RBI) to tap back to the mound, and center fielder Jordan Eyster (1-3 with two walks, RBI, run) to fly out to left. But the Firebells had a commanding 8-0 lead at that point.
Mackay seems to have become the go-to innings eater for the Queens, which was particularly important Friday night with the Queens facing Boston in the nightcap of the WPBL Saturday double-header. Mackay would go on to finish the fifth inning, giving up a two-run homer to Whitmore in the third, and five runs in the fourth on an Eyster RBI single and the Whitmore grand slam. Giving up a solo shot to Jorge in the fifth and escaping with no other damage may have felt like a victory for Mackay at that point.
In the sixth, Queens reliever Adelaide frank gave up a leadoff walk, which was erased on a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Leblanc. Frank then walked the next four batters, giving the Firebells their last run of the contest, before finally getting Jua Park to pop out to second to end the inning.
In addition to making noise at the plate, Kelsie Whitmore started for the Firebells on the mound. She faced only one batter over the minimum for the first three innings, including a five pitch third inning-- first pitch flyout to right, three pitch strikeout looking, and a first pitch roller to right with Whitmore covering first base.
Whitmore got into a bit of trouble in the fourth with a leadoff walk followed by a double from Queens 3B Ashton Lansdell, one of the few offensive bright spots for the Queens on the night. A wild pitch to reliever Jamie Mackay brought the runner in from third, and then Mackay's single scored Lansdell. After a two out single from Caitlin Eynon, Whitmore got left fielder Thaima Maximilliana to ground out to the right side. Whitmore beat Maximilliana to the bag in a bang-bang play for the final out of the inning.
With the Firebells holding a commanding 10-2 lead coming into the 5th inning, the Firebells' veteran manager Matt Williams made the curious decision to allow Whitmore to start the inning. Yes, Whitmore had been efficient, throwing only 55 pitches through four innings. But she had also been exploding offensively and had to come off the mound cover first base to end both the 3rd and 4th innings. Given that Whitmore would be in the starting lineup for the day game of the Saturday double header, it would seem to make sense to give her the rest of the night off.
Whatever the reasoning, Whitmore gave up a leadoff single and a walk to start the 5th before Williams came and got her. Firebells reliever Ela Day-Bedard got Mo'ne Davis to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and Ashton Lansdell to fly out to left to end the threat, the only time Lansdell failed to record a hit on the night. Day-Bedard would go on to give up a run in the sixth after Queens catcher Maggie Foxx doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Sarah Edwards ground out to the right.
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@LilPecan @rckenned Yes, we watched the whole game last night on ESPN+. Not sure what was happening for you.
The other night we were out at a pizza joint/bar and asked for the #WPBL game on one of the TVs. But the bar didn’t have ESPN+, so that was a huge fail. We ended up watching the game on Danielle’s phone while eating our pizza.
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The home of the #WPBL, Robin Roberts Stadium, has a couple of unique park effects that have already shown up in the early games.
First is the lights. All but the weekly Saturday matinee are played under the lights, and the field is plenty bright enough. But both infielders and outfielders are regularly losing balls in the lights. It affects all teams equally, but if I were coaching, I'd have my players practicing under the lights on Monday and Tuesday nights (no games) until they worked out strategies for dealing with the problem.
Second is that Robin Roberts features a "turtle back" infield, the edges of which slope sharply downward into the outfield. This is a huge challenge for infielders on deep ground balls or outfielders coming in on shallow flies. Again, I think the only solution here is lots of reps until the defense learns to deal with this obstacle. But I wonder if it will mess up the players when they play on a more traditional diamond?
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After the Keith Foulke controversy ("First manager fired in the WPBL!", "How very Boston!"), the Boston Hunters pitching shut down a potent New York Heights offense. Meanwhile the Hunters capitalized on mistakes and picked apart Heights pitching on their way to a 6-1 win.
The Hunters got the scoring started in the top of the first. Single, flyout, hit by pitch, single loaded the bases for Ticara Geldenhuis. Geldenhuis slammed the first of her three doubles on the night, scoring two. But sadly the Hunters couldn't keep the hits going with two foul popouts to end the inning.
On the mound, the Hunters clearly had a plan of attack. Starting pitcher Alli Schroder went right after dangerous leadoff hitter Natsuki Yonetani, inducing a fly out to center on one pitch. After Madison Willan worked a walk and stole second, Schroder wanted no part of Hieghts captain Denae Benitez and her 2352 OPS and handed her a full count walk. Claire O'Sullivan singled to load the bases, but Schroder got Katherine Murphy to tap back to the mound for the out at home and Diana Ibarra to ground out weakly to first. Crisis averted.
For the rest of the night, the Hunters pitching attacked the top two batters in the Heights order, preventing Benitez from coming to bat with runners on base. Benitez led off the inning for her last three at bats, lining out sharply to short in the 3rd, receiving another pitch-around walk in the 5th, and singling to lead off the 7th to extend her hitting streak. But the Heights could never put together a big inning. Benitez showed her frustration in the 5th when she tried to score from second on a Claire O'Sullivan single but was tagged out at home on a crisp relay from right.
The Heights did manage to manufacture a run in the 4th against Hunters reliever Olivia Bricker. Jaida Lee led off with a walk and stole second. Alyssa Zettlemoyer singled to move Lee to third, an Keira Izumi hit a sac fly to left to score Lee. But Bricker got Yonetani to fly out to center, and Willan to roll over on a ground ball to first, leaving Benitez in the on deck circle yet again.
The Hunters had pushed a run across in the top of the 4th against Heights reliever Rakyung Kim thanks to a leadoff walk and two singles wrapped around the first two outs of the inning. But chased Kim in the 5th when her defense let her down.
Denver Bryant led off the 5th with a ground ball to the right side, which Heights 1B Claire O'Sullivan ranged far to grab. Unfortunately, O'Sullivan's hasty throw to Kim covering first was offline and the ball went to the dugout fence, allowing Bryant to reach second on the error. Geldenhuis hit a fly ball to center which froze centerfielder Diana Ibarra who lost the ball in the lights, allowing the ball to drop behind her for Geldenhuis' second double on the night. Bryant had to hold up on the play and only reached third, but scampered home on a passed ball to the next batter Kate Blunt, who eventually worked a walk.
Kim got Maika Dumais to line out to short, holding the runners at first and third. But Boston catcher Hyeonah Kim won the "Kim on Kim" matchup, doubling home Geldenhuis and ending Rakyung Kim's night for the Heights. Reliever London Studer struck out her first batter, walked the next, and struck out Edith De Leija to end the inning, but not before a wild pitch brought in Kate Blunt from third.
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Hey #WPBL stop it with the "rivalry" nonsense. No fans feel any sense of rivalry after five bloodless games by four teams arbitrarily named for major media markets who play the entirety of their season in a small midwestern city. The players certainly don't feel it--they were playing on national teams together just a few weeks ago.
Also, each week has six scheduled games and there are four teams. A simple spreadsheet could make a schedule so that each team plays an even number of "home" and "away" games against each team during the week. So Why do we have two "Queens @ Firebells" contests in three days?
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Congrats to SF Firebells captain Kelsie Whitmore on her three homer night! 3-4, 6RBI. That’ll do, captain. That’ll do.
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With the first week of #WPBL action behind us, there are great player story lines developing for each team. And they're not always the players the pre-season marketing hype focused on.
NY Heights captain and catcher Denae Benitez is deservedly getting huge attention for her hot start. In 18 plate appearances she has 14 hits and five were homers. She leads the league in every meaningful offensive category, including stolen bases. Her "slash line" is absolutely ridiculous: 824/778/1706. Also her post-game interviews are terrific. Clearly she's going to be the face of the franchise, if not the league.
New York also has the #2 offensive threat in the early going, left fielder Natsuki Yonetani. Yonetani is a gap-to-gap hitter, hitting at the top of the order and scoring a ton thanks to Benitez. New York 3B Kylee Lahners ranks at #4 offensively, giving New York a potent offense.
The Boston Hunters have had a rough go in these early games, but center fielder Molly Paddison and utility player Gabrielle Haas (who has also been patrolling center field) have been the offensive standouts. Boston pitcher Maika Dumais has been a revelation, going 5.1 scoreless innings in two relief appearances. It's not always pretty-- she's allowed five hits and three walks in those innings-- but she's getting it done.
The LA Queens story may well be their pitching. Japanese legend Ayami Sato arrived with much fanfare and got torched by New York in her first outing (7 runs, 4 earned, in 3 innings), but then came back and pitched five innings against San Francisco giving up only a single unearned run. Michelle Roche has delivered two strong starts as well, though she was let down by her defense in one of them, leading to six unearned runs on her sheet. Roche is also no slouch at the plate, OPSing 1111 two RBI and four runs in nine at-bats. Veteran Meggie Meidlinger is slotted as the team's closer, pitching 3.1 innings in two relief appearances with three strikeouts, and getting the win in her first outing when LA came storming back in the 7th inning.
I've already posted my homage to LA two-way player Britt Apgar, whose story of battling to be an elite player with a limb difference (she was born without a right hand) is truly inspiring. LA team captain, catcher, and all-around Energizer bunny Maggie Foxx is getting it done at the plate--500/563/643 with seven hits, two doubles, two walks, four RBI, and five runs in 16 plate appearances. Curacao native Thaima Maximiliana is also lighting it up in the early going-- 429/429/715 on six hits with a double and a homer with 4RBI and 3 runs scored in 14 at-bats.
San Francisco's Jill Albayati is leading the league in pitching. She's given up zero earned runs in six innings (one start, one relief appearance)--five hits and one walk with five strikeouts. One of many "two-way" players in the league, she's got the best offensive numbers of any pitcher, with a 333/375/533 slash line in 16 plate appearances (five hits with 3 doubles, three runs scored and 4 RBI).
We've decided to root for San Francisco, so we're getting to know lots of players on the squad. Leadoff sparkplug Amanda Gianelloni and her wife are expecting a baby boy in January.
Switch-hitting 1B Andreanne Leblanc is the leading offensive threat for San Francisco, slashing 455/625/545 and has even pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Leblanc has been dealing with back spasms in the early going, and I'm hoping she can get past that and really start thumping. -
My last post was very negative regarding the #WPBL on-air team. But I'd like to write an appreciation piece for LA Queens center fielder Brittany ("Britt") Apgar. The women who are playing in the WPBL have all had to fight against challenges that I can't even imagine to get to where they are.
Apgar has done all that while also not having a right hand from birth. She has endured multiple, painful ligament transfer surgeries from her legs in order to gain as much arm function as she has. As a result of those surgeries, she wears special shoe inserts which reduce, but not eliminate, the pain she experiences while running the bases. Yet she's already stolen a base in the young season.
In four games she's had two hits and two walks with an RBI and two runs scored. Her "slash line" (AVG/OBP/SLG) sits at .400/.571/.400. At the plate, she has a specially designed prosthetic that cups the bat and allows her to use her right arm.
Defensively you should note that the Queens didn't stash their one-handed hitter in left field. Instead she's controlling the outfield defense for the Queens from center field, the premium outfield defensive position. When making plays she catches the ball in the glove on her left hand, then tucks the glove against her chest with her right arm while freeing her left hand to grab the ball and throw it in. She does it so quickly and smoothly that you wouldn't even notice unless you were specifically looking for it.
Oh, and she pitches too. It's ridiculous how talented this young woman is. She and her father studied MLB pitcher Jim Abbot, who was also born without a right hand, to figure out how Brittany could pitch effectively and field her position.
There's a great AP piece on her journey to the WPBL, but frankly this should be a much bigger story. Cheers to Brittany!
https://apnews.com/article/wpbl-britt-apgar-cd5a4127e8fa2d7dc46143143532df36
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Last night's #WPBL contest saw a guest announcer in the booth-- veteran announcer Loren Foxx, who also happens to be the father of Queens catcher Maggie Foxx. Loren Foxx had charming anecdotes about his daughter and many of the WPBL players who he obviously knew personally.
I strongly believe that the primary announcers for the WPBL should absolutely be women--representation matters, both on and off the field. But Foxx's smooth, professional style also really showed up how much work the regular announcers need in order to be more effective calling the games.
For example, Foxx could be mid-anecdote and still manage to work in the game action cleanly in the middle of the conversation. "I remember one game where Maggie... as she grounds out to short to start the inning. Darn it, Maggie, don't be first ball swinging if you want me to talk about you on air!" The regular WPBL announcers just bull through their pre-prepared factoids and sometimes fail to cover what's happening on the field.
Because the WPBL features a lot of two-way pitching, there are frequent defensive shake-ups as the strarting pitcher gives way-- often taking up a position while a position player comes on in relief, and players move around the diamond. I haven't watched every inning of the new league, but it seems the regular announcers have NEVER announced the defensive realignments. Foxx smoothly called the changes while the new reliever was taking their warm-ups. This is standard for professional broadcasts--often with a graphic showing the new defense. Make it happen, WPBL!
I must say I've developed a special hatred for on-field talent AJ Andrews. She's a terrible interviewer and frankly doesn't seem to know much about baseball or the players. Yet she bulls ahead with fluff pieces completely ignoring the action on the field. Her in-game interview last night with the parents of Queens center fielder Brittany Apgar was especially egregious, as she continued interviewing Apgar's father while his daughter was at the plate. The poor man looked like he was going to have an aneurysm while gamely smiling for the camera.
After the interview, Foxx came back on and smoothly described what had happened in the inning during the Andrews interview. It was a brutal contrast and really put Andrews in a bad light.
It may seem like I'm making a big deal about this, but it matters. A LOT. It matters to people who cannot see the game action. It matters to people who are doing other chores and only half paying attention to the game. The emotion, the speed of delivery, the rise of excitement in the announcer's voice, get people to focus their attention and catch critical moments of the game. Foxx gave fans a glimpse of what the game call should be.
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Saturday's #WPBL night contest saw the SF Firebells pitching douse a potent LA Queens offense, winning 10-3. SF starting pitcher and player of the game Jill Albayati only gave up two unearned runs in four innings and helped herself at the plate, collecting two hits and a walk with two RBI and a run scored in three plate appearances.
The Firebells got the scoring started in their bottom of the first inning. Amanda Gianelloni led off with a walk and Kelsie Whitmore singled. Albayati singled in Gianelloni for the first of her RBIs. After Leblanc grounded into a 6-3 double play, Joely Leguizamon singled, scoring Whitmore at a contested play at home plate. While ruled safe by the home plate umpire, replay from the first base camera shows Whitmore being tagged before reaching the plate. There is no video review in the WPBL, so the umpire's call stands.
After going quietly in the second and stranding two runners in the third, the Firebells unloaded on the Queens in the fourth, capitalizing on some defensive miscues. Jua Park led off the inning for the Firebells with a walk. Samantha Gutierrez hit what appeared to be a double play grounder to third. The Queens got the out at second, but Queens 2B Samaria Benitez air-mailed the throw to first allowing Gutierrez to reach second.
Jordan Eyster singled, putting runners at the corners for Amanda Gianelloni's sac fly to right. Kelsie Whitmore singled, Jill Albayati walked, loading the bases for Andreanne Leblanc's two run double. Joely Leguizman singled in two more runs, ending Michelle Roche's night. Had the double play been made behind her, she could have been out of the inning with no damage on the Gianelloni fly ball.
Two-way player Jamie Mackay came in from first base to try and get the final out of the inning. Mackay plunked the first batter and then induced a ground ball to third from Jua Park as the Firebells batted around. Unfortunately, the grounder was bobbled by Queens 3B Ashton Lansdell and Park reached safely on the error to load the bases. Mackay then gave up two bases loaded walks, scoring the inherited runners, before finally getting Amanada Gianelloni to ground out to short. But the damage was done-- seven runs scored on four hits, four walks, two errors, and a hit by pitch.
The Queens offense never really got clicking, stranding three runners on base in the second when Caitlin Enyon struck out looking. After an error by Firebells 1B Leblanc prolonged the inning, Albayati gave up a no-doubt two run homer to Jamie Mackay. But that was all the offense for the Queens until they pushed across a late run in the top of the 7th on a pair of leadoff walks and a single by Sarah Edwards. Reliever Niki Eckert faced off with Mackay with two runners on and got her to fly out to center for the final out of the game.
Final score 10-3 Firebells, continuing a string of double-digit scoring and big innings in the early WPBL action.
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I’ve seen people speaking negatively about the #WPBL allowing aluminum and composite bats. I’m not fussed by this, because I think I understand the reasoning: offense keeps casual fans interested.
What does impress me is the pitching. LA Queens starter Michelle Roche went five innings against the Boston Hunters lineup with those bats and only gave up two runs. She only recorded a single strikeout. She pitched to contact, controlled that contact, and trusted her defense to make the plays. That is pitching.
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The Women’s Pro Baseball League Will Eventually Need To Escape The Past
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@DemonHusky @thomasconnor @my_roxbury Choosing “home cities” for the #WPBL teams from the major sports media markets—even though all games are in Springfield, IL—is kind of cheesy. But I hope it is successful in generating fan interest.
I’d be happy for ESPN to move the games to their “ESPN zone” ballpark here at Orlando Disney World though. It’s a beautiful little park and much more convenient to me!
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The second game of the WPBL season saw the "visiting" San Francisco Firebells torching the Boston Hunters starter Raine Pagham for ten runs, on their way to an easy 11-3 win. The Hunters defense did flash some leather in the later innings, but their offense was smothered by Firebells pitching.
Pagham struck out the first batter she faced, and induced Firebells franchise player and starting pitcher Kelsie Whitmore to ground out to third. But then Jill Albayati doubled and scored on an Andreanne Leblanc single before Pagham could record the final out.
Pagham walked the first batter to start the second and then gave up a double to Skylar Kaplan. After a groundout, Pagham gave up back-to-back base hits and two runs. Pagham closed the inning with Jill Albayati taking a called third strike.
Pagham's third inning started with the first two runners reaching on a walk and a hit by pitch. It only got worse from there, with the next five batters all reaching base. By the time Kelsie Whitmore made the first out of the inning with a sac fly to left, all of the Firebells starting lineup had either scored a run or collected an RBI. A strikeout and a hit by pitch ended Pagham's evening, facing ten batters in the third and collecting only two outs.
Hunters manager Keith Foulke called on Maika Dumais to get the final out in the third. Dumais gave up a single to Alexa George, scoring inherited runner Amanda Gianelloni, and then hit the third Firebells batter of the inning. Dumias finally got Skylar Kaplan, the 13th batter of the inning, to fly out to left. But the Hunters found themselves looking at a 10-1 deficit. The Firebells would go on to manufacture another run in the sixth against the Hunter's third reliever Alli Shroder, but the outcome was never in doubt.
Kelsie Whitmore started for the Firebells and only got into trouble when she walked the first two batters in the second inning. She was able to limit the damage and escape with only a single run scoring. Whitmore worked efficiently and only faced 12 batters in three innings of work, throwing 52 pitches with one strikeout and two walks.
Niki Eckert followed. Hyeonah Kim reached on an error and Ticara Geldenhuis doubled in front of friends and family who had traveled from Australia to watch Geldenhuis' pro debut. Both runners were to come home on balk calls as Eckert delivered three strikeouts in the inning and one walk. Eckert pitched the fifth and collected another strikeout, but also a walk and a hit by pitch. Jill Albayati sent down the Hunters in order in the sixth and seventh.
The Hunters did turn in two impressive defensive plays. In the fourth, Hunters center fielder Gabrielle Haas made a snow cone catch laying out with full extension to rob Jua Park of a double. In the sixth, third base spark plug Denver Bryant ranged deep and made a strong throw to Sabrina Robinson at first who did a full split at first to snag the ball just ahead of speedster Amanda Gianelloni's arrival. The Firebell's 11th run scored on the play, but the web gem may have blunted the sting somewhat.
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"We’re happy the girls are finally getting another league of their own,” said Dolly Vanderlip “Lippy” Ozburn, at an event in Springfield honoring the history of women’s baseball before the #WPBL launch. She pitched for two years in the 1950s under legendary manager Jimmie Foxx as part of the All-American Girls."
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2026/0731/women-s-professional-baseball-league-springfield?j=1624820&sfmc_sub=237904751&l=3655_HTML&u=61568576&mid=10979696&jb=30006&cmpid=ema:MonitorHighlights:20260803&src=newsletter
