October Progress Report

With the season winding down, the Hunters are 96-58 with eight games to play: 5 versus the Wizards and 3 versus the Turkeys. It is all but assured they will head into the playoffs as the number two seed and face off against the Jabberwocky, who they finished 9-9 with on the season.

September 30, 2006

Hunters Progress Report

The Hunters have been busy lately, playing 29 games in the last two weeks after a month-long hiatus. They started out by taking 4 of 6 from the Bimbos, but then dropped 3 of 4 to the Wizards. They then turned it around, however, taking 4 of 6 from the RoadRunners, 6 of 8 from the Insan-Eddy, and 3 of 5 from the Jabberwocky. They went 18-11 in the two weeks, and have improved their record to 71-47.

July 23, 2006

Hunters Continue Swoon, Drop 3 of 5 to Insan-Eddy

The Hunters faced the Insan-Eddy in a 5-game set.

In the first game, Hampton went up against Jason Vargas. The Hunters got off to an early 2-0 lead before breaking it open in the fifth with a 3-run Matt Murton homer. Hampton goes 6 innings giving up only 1 earned run as the Hunters take Game 1 7-3.

Game 2 pit staff aces Barry Zito and Dontrelle Willis against each other. Each team would score two early runs and then go silent. The game goes to extra innings when the Insan-Eddy score an unearned run off a Michael Young error in the top of the 10th and take the game by a score of 3-2.

Game 3 saw Oswalt going up against Haren. Oswalt pitched a stellar game, giving up only 1 run in 7 innings, but the Hunters trailed going into the bottom of the 7th. The bats would wake up then, as the Hunters scored 3 to take a 3-1 lead after 7. It wouldn't last, however, as the Insan-Eddy tag Seanez for 4 in the 8th and Ohman for 2 in the 9th. The Insan-Eddy take it 7-4.

Kenny Rogers faced Tim Hudson in Game 4. Each starter gave up only 1 run as the teams were tied 1-1 after 7. The Hunters would take the lead in the bottom of the 8th, though, with a ballpark solo homer by Cliff Floyd. Wheeler came in to try to nail down the save, and retired the first two batters before running into trouble. He gives up a base hit, then an open double gives the Insan-Eddy a chance to tie it on a 1-12 chance. A 12 is rolled, and the catcher tries to block the plate but fails as the Insan- Eddy score to tie the game. The next hitter his a SSx single off Michael Young to give the Insan-Eddy the lead. Wheeler finally gets out of the inning but the Hunters are down 3-2. Cabrera led off with a ballpark homer chance but he missed. However, the next batter, Branyan, got a ballpark chance of his own and he nails his to tie the game at 3 as we once again head to extras. The score stayed the same until the top of the 12th, when an error by, you guessed it, Michael Young, leads to 2 unearned runs and a 5- 3 Insan-Eddy victory.

The Hunters entered Game 5 looking to avoid a second straight 1-4 series. The pitching matchup didn't look good - Lidle vs Prior. The Hunters offense got started early, though, with a 2-run shot by Cabrera in the first and a solo shot by Giambi in the third. The Insan-Eddy bounced back with 2 in the 5th to cut the lead to 1. Lidle was done after 5. The Hunters extended their lead with a 3- run shot by Floyd in the 6th. The Hunters kept the 6-2 lead heading into the 9th, and put in Trevor Hoffman. A leadoff homer but the lead to 3 and the Hunters pulled Hoffman and put in Wheeler. Wheeler didn't fare much better as he gives up 3 runs including a Francoeur homer. Tied 6-6, heading into the bottom of the 9th, the Hunters quickly load the bases with a hit and 2 walks. Beltran stepped up to the plate and hit it back to the mound for the fielder's choice at home. Murton pinch hit in the pitcher's spot and hit one to the outfield. Counsell has a 1-17 chance to score and an 18 is rolled - catcher blocking the plate. Counsell converts this time and the Hunters win it 7-6.

After going 2-3, the Hunters fall to 53-36. With the two extra innings losses in the series, the Hunters are now 1-8 in extra inning games on the year.

June 8, 2006

Hunters Get Run Over By Rolling Jabberwocky

The Hunters fall to 51-33 after going 1-4 against the Jabberwocky.

Only 1 starter was kept in longer than 5 innings in the series as the Hunters used 28 innings of relief in the 5 games. In Game 1, Hampton was pulled after 3 2/3 and the game went 13 innings. Wheeler came in to start the 10th as the last Hunter pitcher and so was dotted starting the 13th. Sure enough, a dot single was hit and ended up being the winning run. The Hunters got their only win of the series in the last game, as Fuentes and Julio Santana walked in 3 batters in the 8th to give the Hunters a 7-5 victory.

June 6, 2006

Hunters Run Over RoadRunners

The Hunters and RoadRunners face off in a 6-game set.

The RoadRunners won the first game 5-4, but after that it was all Hunters. The Hunters win Game 2 9-5 with a 4-run 8th inning. Then in Game 3, they are down 4-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th but rally off Isringhausen to win 5- 4. Game 4 was all hitting as the Hunters won 19-8. In Game 5, the Hunters are down again heading into the bottom of the 9th, this time by a score of 2-0. But they rally off Isringhausen again with 3 runs in the ninth to win it 3- 2. The Hunters then take Game 6 by a score of 5-3.

The Hunters win 5 of 6 to improve to 50-29.

May 28, 2006

Hunters Get Split with Ducks

May 26, 2006

Hunters Continue Hot Streak, Take 5 of 6 from Pods

The Pods and Hunters face off in a 6-game set.

Roy Oswalt faced Victor Zambrano in Game 1. The Pods were up 5-0 heading into the bottom of the 7th, when a 3-run Mark Sweeney shot cut the lead to two. The score was still 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 9th, where Beltran singles, Conine walks, and Young singles to load the bases with no one out. Giambi comes up and pops up to second, and then Floyd hits a sac fly. Now with two outs, Miguel Cabrera comes through with a base hit to tie the ballgame. Russell Branyan then doubles home the winning run as the Hunters come from behind and win 6-5.

In Game 2, Rogers came up against John Patterson. All the offense happened early in this game, with the Hunters getting 4 runs in the first off Patterson and coasting from there to a 6-3 victory.

Cory Lidle went up against Kip Wells in Game 3. It was a rather uneventful game as an abysmal Hunter offense gets shut out and the Pods win 2-0.

Game 4 pitted Aaron Cook against Ryan Drese. It was all Hunters in this game, as they score 14 runs, and Cook loses a shutout in the 9th as the Hunters win 14-1.

It’s Zito versus Backe in Game 5. The Pods are up 5-2 after 5 and a half, but the Hunters break out in the 6th, to take a 6-5 lead and go on to win 7-5.

Oswalt goes up against Zambrano again in Game 6 and the Hunters win this one in a blowout. Oswalt loses a shutout in the 9th as the Hunters win 11-2.

The Hunters take 5 of 6 from the Pods and improve to 42-25.

May 21, 2006

Hunters Crush Bimbos, Taking 5 of 6

Game 1 pits Barry Zito, who entered the series on a 15 innings scoreless streak, against Mike Mussina. The Hunters get a couple early runs before busting loose in the 7th with 6 runs, including homers by Giambi and Cabrera. Zito continues his stellar pitching, getting the shutout and extending his scoreless streak to 24 innings in the 9-0 Hunter victory.

Oswalt faced Redman in a pitching duel in Game 2. Both teams scratch across an early run, and Miguel Cabrera gives the Hunters a 2-1 lead in the 6th with a solo homer. It would prove to be enough as the Hunters go on to win 2-1.

Rogers faced off against Dave Williams in Game 3. The Hunters get a 2-run shot early by Giambi, then two more in the 4th. Rogers pitches a stellar game, carrying a no-hitter through 6 1/3, and Giambi adds a second homer in the 7th as the Hunters go on to win 5-2.

Game 4 was Cliff Lee versus Cory Lidle. The Bimbos offense woke up against Lidle, getting 5 runs in 3 innings off him before the Hunters pull him. The Hunters bounce back to take the lead with a 6-run 5th highlighted by a Craig Counsell 3-run shot, but the Bimbos get one run each in the 6th, 7th, and 8th off Hoffman and Cortes to retake the lead and get the 8-6 win.

Game 5 pitted Clement against Aaron Cook. The Hunters offense crushes Clement as they 8-run him after 2 1/3 with 3 in the 2nd and 5 in the 3rd off Sweeney and Closser homers. The Hunters go on to win it 9-1 as Cook goes the distance.

A rematch of Game 1, Zito looked to extend his scoreless streak. Both offenses are abysmal as the game is scoreless until the bottom of the 8th, when the Hunters get 3 runs on the board and chase Mussina. We enter the top of the ninth with a 3-0 lead, and Zito’s scoreless streak at 32 innings. The scoreless streak would quickly end there as Andruw Jones pulls the first pitch of the 9th into the bleachers. The next batter comes up and hits it to short, where Michael Young makes his third error of the game. Zito gets pulled and in comes Wheeler. Wheeler gets a couple outs, gives up a single, and hits a batter to load the bases with two outs. The Bimbos get a single on a 2 to cut the lead to 3-2, but the final batter grounds out to end the ballgames as the Hunters hold on to win 3-2.

The Hunters go 5-1 to improve their record to 37-24. Barry Zito has been lights out since the Game 40 mark. He is 5-0 in 5 starts, giving up only 2 earned runs in 38 1/3 innings, including a 32 inning scoreless streak.

May 13, 2006

Hunters Take 3 of 4 From MadHatters In Offense-Packed Series

In Game 1, the Hunters broke open the game in third with 6 runs off Giambi, Cabrera, and Counsell homers, and then added 4 more in the 6th. Leading 10-4 heading into the ninth, the Hunters hold off a furious MadHatter rally and hold on to win it 10-9.

In Game 2, The Hunters have another monster 3rd inning, this time getting 7 runs as they 8-run Schmidt after 2 2/3 innings on their way to a 16-5 victory.

The offense flowed in Game 3, as the MadHatters score 4 off Lidle in the top of the 1st. The Hunters respond with 5 runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to go up 5-4. The Hatters retake the lead with 2 more in the second, but once again the Hunters respond as they get 3 in the bottom half and 8-run Vazquez after 1 2/3 as the Hunters go up 8-6. It stays that way until the 5th, when the MadHatters chase Lidle after 4 1/3 and get 3 in the innings to go up 9-8. The Hunters tie it back up in the bottom half of the inning, before the MadHatters get 2 in the 6th to go up 11-9. But in the bottom half of the 6th, a solo shot by Cabrera, a 3-run double by Conine, and a 3- run homer by Young break the game open with 7 runs in the bottom half of the 6th to go up 16-11. Home runs by Nomar, Floyd, and Cabrera in the 7th and 8th add 5 more runs as the Hunters score the last 12 runs of the game in a 21-11 slugfest.

In Game 4, the Hunter hitters finally find their match... in Kyle Davies. Davies becomes the only MadHatter starter in the series to not be 8-runned, as the MadHatters come away with a 8-6 victory.

The Hunters go 3-1 on the series to improve their record to 32-23.

May 5, 2006

Hunters Take 4 of 6 From Pods

The Pods came over for a 6-game set.

Game 1 was a pitching duel between Kip Wells and Barry Zito. A two-run homer by Michael Young proved to be the difference as the Hunters win 3-1.

The Hunters offense was just as bad in Game 2, but the Pods offense woke up as they pound Oswalt for 8 runs in 4 2/3 innings. A Michael Young solo shot in the 8th keeps Patterson from getting the shutout as the Pods take Game 2 8-1.

Game 3 was another blowout, but this time in the Hunters favor as they pound Drese, and compile 13 hits and 12 walks in the 10-3 victory.

Game 4 was looking like another easy Hunter victory as they led 6-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th. However, a furious rally by the Pods chased Lidle and picked up four runs in the 8th to cut the lead to one. Wheeler came in in the ninth and gave up a hit, but settled down to pick up the save as the Hunters win 6-5.

Game 5 was another dismal offensive performance by both teams. Even though Cook and Victor Zambrano were starting, a Giambi homer in the fourth and 2 Pod runs in the sixth provided the sole offense until the ninth inning. 2 walks and a ballpark single (on a 1... the only Hunter ballpark single of the series out of many attempts) load the bases and chase Zambrano. Jason Kendall gets an RBI groundout to tie the game, but the Hunters can't scratch the go-ahead run across. We go into extra innings and the score stays tied at 2 until the top of the 11th with Cliff Floyd leads off with a homer to give the Hunters the lead. That's all they get and they lead 3-2 heading into the bottom half of the 11th. Brad Thompson is in the game with a 0 closer rating (he pitched the 10th) and he gives up a leadoff single. David Cortes is the last guy in the pen with a closer rating so he comes in. He gets the first two batters he faces but the runner advances from first to third. With two outs, Jacque Jones steps up to the plate and rips a base hit to tie the game at 3. He then steals second base to set it up for Sean Burroughs. Burroughs delivers with a base hit to give the Pods the victory: 4-3.

Game 6 is a rematch between Wells and Zito and neither offense has learned from their mistakes. Counsell drives in a run in the 3rd but it remains 1-0 until the 8th, when JD Closser drives in a much-needed insurance run. Giambi adds another with a solo shot in the 9th, but the Hunters ended up needing only 1 as Barry Zito goes the distance to pick up the shutout as the Hunters win 3-0.

The Hunters go 4-2 in the series to move to 29-22.

April 23, 2006

Tables Turned on Hunters, As They Drop 4 of 6 to Ducks

The Hunters came into the series hoping it was Duck season, but it turned out to be the other way around. The Hunters dropped 4 of the first 5 games with losses of 7-3, 10-4, 5-4, and 8-1 in Games 1, 2, 4, and 5, and their sole win coming in Game 3 by a score of 8-4. The Hunters avoided an even worse outing by taking the final game 7-2. Going 2-4 in the series, the Hunters drop to 21-15 on the season.

March 31, 2006

Hunters Split Series with RoadRunners

The Hunters drop the first two games of the six game set 4-3 and 6-5, before winning Game 3 7-2. The Hunters then fall to 1-3 on the day after Game 4, this time on the other end of a 7-2 score. They bounce, back, however, giving up only one run over the final two games, winning them 3-0 and 12-1. The Hunters move to 19-11 on the year.

March 30, 2006

Hunters Take 7 of 11 at Strat-o-Thon

The Hunters start off the Strat-o-Thon with a 4-2 victory over the Ducks. A 2-run 7th including an RBI triple by Conine put the Hunters over the top. In Game 2 of the Duck series, the Ducks rout the Hunters 11-4. But, in Game 3, 4 solo homers propel the Hunters to a 5-2 victory and a 2-1 series win.

The Hunters then played host to the Bimbos for two games. The Bimbos take the first game 8-5, as Oswalt gives up 6 runs in 6 1/3. In the second game, the Hunters get on the board in the first with a two-run shot by Giambi and hold the lead the rest of the way, winning 5-1.

Next, the Insan-Eddy come to town. In Game 1 of a three-game set, the Hunters pull off a 6-5 victory. In the second game, the Insan-Eddy get a early 1-0 lead, but the Hunters get 2 in the bottom of the 5th to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Insan-Eddy retake the lead 3-2 with 2 runs in the top of the 6th. It was short-lived, though, and a two-run triple by J.D. Closser in the bottom half of the 6th gives the Hunters a 4-3 lead, which they hold for the remainder of the game. The final game of the series was another back-and-forth affair, with the Insan-Eddy taking a 1-0 lead in the first, before Hunter runs in the 4th and 5th gives them a 2-1 lead. The Insan-Eddy get 3 in the top of the 8th to take a 4-2 lead. A solo shot by Counsell in the bottom half of the 8th cuts the lead to one. Down by one heading into the bottom of the 9th, Giambi leads off with a single, followed by Floyd popping up and Cabrera striking out. It was up to Russell Branyan. A 3-4 was rolled - ballpark homer, 1-8. It was up, up, and gone to give the Hutners a thrilling 5-4 victory to close out the three-game sweep of the Insan-Eddy

To end the day, the Hunters faced the Turkeys for three games. The Hunters overcame a 5-0 deficit in Game 1 to win 7-5, before getting smashed 7-2 in Game 2. Game 3 started out well, as the Hunters got 4 runs in the first off Cabrera and Counsell home runs. The Turkeys battled back, however, with 1 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd to cut the lead to 1. The Turkeys got the tying run in the top half of the 6th, but an RBI double by Beltran in the bottom half gave the Hunters back the lead, 5-4. But the Turkeys weren't done, and picked up one run in each the 7th and 8th innings. A double and error on Matos gave Russell Branyan a run in the bottom half of the 8th to tie the game at 6. But a solo shot off Brad Thompson in the 9th gave the Turkeys the lead back. Floyd and Conine quickly went down in the 9th to bring up Craig Counsell. The Hunters manager calls out "2-6! 2-6!," and sure enough, a 2-6 is rolled - HR 1-11, DO 12-20. The 20-sided die wasn't as kind, though, as a 12 is rolled. Kendall rolls a 3BX and the game ends, the Turkeys winning 7-6.

The Hunters go 7-4 on the day and move to 16-8, in 3rd place in the National League

March 5, 2006

2006 Season Under Way

The draft kicked off the 2006 season, and, unlike the 2005 draft, the Hunters were busy. They had nine picks in the first five rounds, and traded away five picks for futures. Notable pickups included Matt Cain, Andy Marte, Aaron Heilman, Brad Thompson, and Matt Murton.

After the draft, the Hunters kicked off the season with a 6-0 shutout of the Insan-eddy, and finished the first day of the new season at 6-2, going 2-0 versus the Insan-Eddy, 2-1 versus the Madhatters, and 2-1 versus the Ducks. The following week, the Hunters played host to the Jabberwocky, and dropped the first two games of the five-game set before winning the last three and moved to 9-4.

February 25, 2006