WPBL Weekly Recap: Boston Falters, Queens Soar

This is the first in a weekly recap of the Women’s Professional Baseball League. If you have things you would like to see here or suggestions, please comment or use the Contact Us page. 

The Results

Wednesday, August 5th
Boston Hunters 4, Los Angeles Queens 12

Thursday, August 6th
New York Heights, 13, San Francisco Firebells, 8

Friday, August 7th
Firebells, 3, Hunters, 12

Saturday, August 8th
Hunters, 9, Heights 6
Queens, 3, Firebells 10

Sunday August 9th
Heights, 7, Hunters, 6 (extra - 8 Innings)

Breakdown

The Boston Hunters will have a long way to recover this season, dropping two of its three games and losing its manager in the process (more on that below). The Queens offloaded on pitcher Alli Schroder early on Wednesday, who gave up 10 hits and 3 runs while only striking out one. While the Hunters loaded the bases in the top of the seventh to make it interesting, Second Baseman Kate Blunt lined into a double play to stop the threat. Things improved on their Saturday game against the Heights with a seven-run sixth inning that included five walks, but they fell on Sunday in extras. Right fielder Natsuki Yonetani lined a double to take a two-run lead that Claire O'Sullivan protected thanks to two base-running errors and a nice scoop by London Studer at first to close it out. Currently, the Heights are hitting under the Mendoza Line as a team, and their pitching ERA is over 9.

After winning their inaugural game, the San Francisco Firebells came back down to Earth with two losses while edging a win against the Queens on Saturday. Despite an early lead, the Firebells had bases loaded in the second against Heights pitcher Jaida Lee on Thursday but only managed to score on a wild pitch. The New York offense then took batting practice against the pitching staff, including two home runs from Keira Izumi (who pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 IP to close the game) and battery mate Denae Benites. The Firebells then split their back-to-back games against the Queens in both lopsided affairs. Savanah Bananas alum Kelsie Whitmore looked particularly shaky after allowing 7 earned runs over 3 IP. Whitmore got her revenge on the plate, scoring two runs against the Queens. The best performance came from Jill Albayati, who threw four innings with four strikeouts as well as managed two singles and a walk at the plate.

Despite getting their first loss on Saturday, the Queens have emerged as the league’s dominant team with a +13 run differential in their first four games. Michell Roche threw 8 2/3 innings over two of the three games, only for three earned runs (though errors resulted in an additional seven in her total). Jamie Mackay homered in back-to-back games while shortstop Thaima Maximiliana went 4-for-7 from the plate, including two for extra bases. In total, the Queens are hitting .361, and their pitchers have a 1.85 WHIP over their first handful of games—the lowest in the league.

The Heights edged out their Sunday night win as mentioned above and otherwise looked solid thanks to catcher Denae Benites’ massive start to the season. Keira Izumi has managed well at the plate but had a whirlwind week on the mound. In her game against the Firebells, she kept them to three runs—all scoreless—over five innings and notched three hits. But her Saturday game against the Hunters did her no favors, allowing a single and three straight walks without recording an out in relief. Thankfully, the aforementioned Yonetani also continues to put on a show with three doubles and nine runs scored to start the season. The Heights go into Week 3 while just nudging into a positive run differential.

MVPs of the Week

Heights catcher Denae Benites has become an unstoppable force at the plate in her brief 18 plate appearances, including four dingers and five steals this week (not to mention. Her OPS+ of 296 is over 50 points higher than the next hitter (Jamie Mackay of the Queens). 

On the mound, Ayami Sato currently leads pitchers over her eight innings with the best single appearance of the week with her five innings against the Firebells.  While she has an inflated 4.50 ERA, her 3.52 FIP leads the league. 

Off the Field

In a perhaps stunning move, Hunters' manager Keith Foulke has been removed. Reporting from Howard Megdal suggested this was for baseball reasons “only” rather than any impropriety or any other unwanted reason. Jemile Weeks has taken over in the interim and is expected to manage the rest of the season.

Loren Foxx appeared on Sunday’s broadcast to do play-by-play. He is Queens catcher Maggie Foxx’s father and has worked as an official scorer for the Red Sox. 

The first two games from last week featured Trackman data. Jaida Lee leads the league in pitch velocity, averaging 76.2. Benites smashed a line drive at 104.3mph.

Thanks to Evan Davis of Expected Own Goals for collating stats for the league. You can find his data here.