HISTORY 2018
2018 Record: 42-18, Monday Night League Champions, 8.0 GB out in Tuesday Nights, 6.0 GB out in Friday Nights, Finished with a 5 – 4 record during playoffs.
Not many expected the WHAT? Sftbll to win a league night at the start of the regular season, mostly due to their unreliable starting line-up. In the offseason, the Club did manage to bring back infielder Matt Cross, but some of his peripheral stats dictated that he was due for some regression this season. WHAT? Sftbll also penciled in two rookies the likes of Drake Larriuz, Vic Tuccy and the ever inconsistent Dan Leganger. While there was some upside there with Larriuz having played organized baseball under his belt in combination with his speed.
Still, softball pundits were skeptical that this line-up would stay afloat through a long 60 game season at the very least.
But the Club lived up to their own lofty skeptic, chasing the Henny Monstas club down the stretch for their first Monday league title since 2014, seventh overall, while tying that same 2013 team for most regular season league night victories in franchise history (17). During the season, the WHAT? Monday Squad strung together a few extended periods of winning, including an eight-game win streak to close out the season and several three-game winning streaks as well.
By just about any measure, the 2018 season was a big success for the WHAT? Sftbll. Sure, they did lose out in the All-City
tournament in five games, but there’s no reason to be ashamed of 42 victories during the regular season and a trip to the Summer and Fall league Semi-Finals rounds. Given their high-end young starters, there was every reason to believe 2018 was the beginning of a sustained run of contention for the WHAT? Sftbll.
Third basemen Ryan Siembal has always been seen as a flawed player somewhat along the lines of an elite ball player. He’s a definite power threat that walks more than one would be amazed by and is reliable on the field. Siembal re-wrote this history books down the stretch en route to the League's Most Valuable Player award while batting .640 / 1.934 OPS with 155 base hits, 157 RBIs and 78 XB in 74 games played.
The WHAT? Softball offense ran hot and cold, particularly in the first half of the season when they were bopping home runs with the best of them – they finished with 85, seventh in franchise history – but situational hitting was an issue.
They were rank 8th in franchise history with a .516 batting
average with runners in scoring position and 11th hitting with the bases loaded (.510). Siembal, Tommy Dubicki .622 / Drake Larriuz .620 / Brad Callahan .611 and Cooper Trodler .601 rounded out the top five. Accordingly, at times they had trouble sustaining rallies and had to rely on fielding errors to score.
Outfielders Nick Krocker and Kyle Risinger regressed so much offensively that they were dispatch to the Lower Squads. GM Rusty Shackleford tried to goose the offense down the stretch by adding Cooper Trodler, Dan Leganger and Warren Egan. The Club finished in the middle of the pack with 1069 runs scored, the lowest total of the eight playoff teams.
The prodigal son returns;
The off-season re-acquaintance of veteran infielder Matt Cross, who became an on-base machine, was exactly what was needed in the middle of the lineup to ignite the offense.
Along the way, the Gold Glover Matt Cross helped redefine the concept of a modern defense, Cross the Come-Back Player of the Year also won the Player of the Month in June and August, emerge from years of dealing with injuries into an All-Star shortstop who batted .535 / 1.323 OPS with 107 base hits and 92 RBIs.
The Legend of Lozano;
Ralph Lozano is the gift that keeps on giving in the world of softball. The Tall Man on the Mound, Lozano is essentially a human gif waiting to happen, someone that can cause a great deal of amusement at a moment’s notice. And yet, the Tall Man from the Mound continued to exceed expectations.
Lozano is more than a threat on the mound over the years as he connected for over 330 home runs in his playing career. Those home runs, and the over 40 second jog around the bases, should be replayed over and over on the highlight shows.