Around the ABL: May 7-May 20

It's a giant-sized edition as we look at some of the highlights of the past two weeks in the ABL. If we missed anything (and we missed plenty), let us hear about it in the comments.

• Craig O'Day of the Montgomery Mountain Cats stood in the on deck circle as teammate Juan Ramirez grounded to first for the game's final out. Dallas rallied in the eighth to beat Montgomery 7-6, and O'Day's hitting streak was snapped at 23 games. During the streak, O'Day hit .344: 93 AB, 15 R, 32 H, 4 D, 5 HR, 9 BB. His was the second 20-game hitting streak of the season. The first streak is still going but has been "on hold" as Brian Adams recovers from straining a rib cage muscle. Adams returns to action this week and will look to extend his 21-game hitting streak.
• Only the most faithful of fans were left in the Greenville stands as the clock struck midnight. Who knew that when New York tied the game in the seventh inning, that the game was only just beginning? Nine innings of scoreless baseball later, and the game was still tied 4-4. To the relief of everyone who had to go to work in a few hours, the home team broke through in the bottom of the 17th. Luis Rocha singled home Brad Rice for a 5-6 win.
• On May 18, the Eureka Hornets hurling committee out-dueled Cabo's Wilfred Brooks. After pitching nine innings of scoreless ball, Brooks allowed a solo home run to Claude Knight to lead off the tenth. That was all that Eureka needed as they won the game 1-0. Five Hornets pitchers combined on the shutout, with spot-starter Nick Hawkins going only 2⅔ innings. Hawkins is having a rather interesting season: he has pitched in 18 games, starting 6 of those, and has a .96 ERA in 47 IP. His best start came against Kansas City on May 8, when he pitched 7⅓ innings of scoreless ball on only 84 pitches.
• On May 19 against Nottinghamshire, So Cal scored 12 runs in the first inning. The Republic sent 16 men to the plate, and the Outlaws' first two pitchers headed back to the showers without recording a single out. Against starter Milton Fisher: single, hit by pitch, walk, walk, single, single, single, single. His replacement, John Ward, fared no better: single, walk, single, walk, double. Finally, Matt Hall came in and calmed things down: sac fly, ground out, ground out. Final tally: 1 inning, 12 R, 8 H, 4 BB, 1 HBP.

Top Performances:

• Rich Bussell of Dallas has been the best pitcher in the ABL thus far, and he showed why in a game against Ann Arbor on May 9. His line for the game: 8⅓ IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 11 K. On the year Bussell is 6-1 with a .62 ERA.
• On the same day, Maple's aging ace, Dave Krause, rose to the occasion against the league's top team, San Francisco. His line: 8⅓ IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K. Not only were the Earthquakes shut out, the Marauders tagged them for 10 runs—easily the Quakes' worst loss of the season. The 36-year old Krause, meanwhile, has been having himself a nice season, going 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA.
• On May 11, Montreal's Gordon Thornton led the Bandits to a 13-4 victory over the Carolina Crush. Thornton's line on the game: 5 AB, 2 R, 4 H, 1 D, 1 HR, 7 RBI. In his final at bat with the bases loaded, Thornton crushed a hanging curveball to deep center field for his first career grand slam.
• Jersey's Patrick Goff made light of Eureka's pitching on May 15: 5 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI. Goff has been provided solid slugging for the Jesters this season, quietly hitting 14 HR.
• As the first player drafted, Las Vegas's Maurice Gould has had to pitch with the pressure of extreme expectations. His season has been up and down, and he currently sports a 4-2 record and 3.00 ERA. Those numbers would be good for most pitchers, but for him they are somewhat disappointing. However, on May 16 against Los Angeles, Gould threw one of the best games of the year: 8⅔ IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 13 K. As impressive as that strikeout total is, it's actually an average performance for Doughboy: his K/9 this season is 13.35.
• It's not often that a shutout might be the second most remarkable pitching performance of the game. Mile High's Manuel Ruiz continued his superb season by pitching a shutout against Jacksonville on May 17. His line: 9 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K. The losing performance might have been more remarkable. The Jacks' Jim Thompson began the game by walking Jeff Wade and, two batters later, allowing a 2-run home run off the bat of Fernando Garza. That home run would prove be Mile High's only hit: Thompson and two relievers combined to no-hit Mile High the rest of the way. Tough luck.
• Minnesota's Peter Blanchard continues to prove that he is one of the game's most exciting young stars. On May 18, the 18-year old slugger went to town against Carolina: 4 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 1 D, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB. For the season, Blanchard is hitting .374/.461/.669.
• Line of the week? How about Boston's Will Bauer on May 19 against Kansas City: 2 AB, 5 R, 2 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB. He hit a solo shot in the first and a 2-run homer in the second. Tornado pitchers didn't want anything to do with him after that and proceeded to walk him the next 4 times he came to bat—including with the bases loaded in the fifth. The Cardinals routed the Tornadoes 21-5.
• Ann Arbor's Jeffrey Coffman proved that Lorenzo Rodriguez isn't the only Barn Owl who can hit. On May 20 against Greenville, the leadoff hitter had the following line: 4 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB. The Owls beat the 84's by a score of 7-1 and currently sit a ½ game behind the Texans in the Tommy Lasorda Division.
• San Francisco's Ken Wade drove in 8 runs on May 20 against Jacksonville: 4 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI. A 3-run homer in the third and a sac fly in the 7th accounted for the first 4 RBI. The last 4 came on a grand slam in the ninth hit to deep left-center field.

Players of the Week:

• So Cal has had a rough go of it this season, but Alfredo Yánez and Jeffrey Hensley have been two bright spots. The pair won the RCL Player of the Week in consecutive weeks. Batman demolished Seattle and Ann Arbor pitching: 29 AB, 7 R, 11 H, 6 HR, 9 RBI, 4 BB. Hensley (perhaps we should call him Robin?) hit .636 and scored 7 runs.
• Troy Tracy of the Las Vegas Jokers wins this week's TML Player of the Week. The highlight of his week was a 5-6 performance against South Carolina, a day after going 4-6 against Los Angeles. His line on the week: 30 AB, 6 R, 14 H,  2 D, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB. He currently owns an 11-game hitting streak.
• The previous week's winner in the TML was Víctor Ramirez of the Cabo San Lucas Toreros: 30 AB, 3 R, 14 H, 2 D, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 4 BB. The Bullfighters' third baseman is having a solid season, batting .348/.412/.464.