GRBL Season X - Weekly Recap/Standings

Semifinal round - Sunday, October 12th

12:00pm - Nixa Suckers (5-4) vs Ozark Mountain Ducks (6-2) - Ducks 11 - Suckers 2

The Ozark Mountain Ducks punched their ticket into the Howard Bell Championship during the first match of the day for our semifinal round. The Fish didn’t go quietly though in the first couple innings. The Fish jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning after a couple Duck miscues. Seth Burns had another strong performance on the mound going 5 innings and only giving up two runs. After the Ducks tied the game up in the 4th inning, the mallards go to flying from there led by multi hit and RBI games from Joe Emery and the Elite Promotions Player of the Game, Josh Engler. Cole Roark through another strong 5 innings and Mason Davis served as the setup man for Josh Engler to close the door. The Ozark Mountain Ducks earn their right to ring the bell next week for Season X’s Championship Game which will serve as Duck’s player/manager, Austin Kendricks, 4th championship appearance in 10 years.

3:00pm - Branson Showmen (6-3) vs Moon City Mavericks (5-3) - Mavs 8 - Showmen 7

The Moon City Mavericks bested the Showmen in second game of the double header on semifinal Sunday. The Moon City Mavericks jumped out ahead in the first several innings by getting timely RBI hits from Brandon Winder and Thomas Brand as well as getting a solid 5 inning start from former GRBL Pitcher of the Year, Tyler Abma. The Showmen struck in the 4 inning off a blast from Tyler Rusk which seemed to sway the momentum to the Showmen’s way. Showmen nearly knotted the game in the late innings from multi hit games from Michael Doughman and Carter Rinne but Mav’s closing pitcher Kyle Carpenter kept the door shut. The Moon City Mavericks take the game on with a thrilling 8-7 score and they outright earned their shot to win the Season X title next week when they meet the #1 seed Ozark Mountain Ducks.

Eliminator round - Sunday, October 5th

12:00pm - Springfield Metropolitans (1-6) vs Branson Showmen (6-2) - Showmen 9 - Mets 8 (12 innings)

What will go down as one of the best games of Season X, the Springfield Metropolitans and Branson Showmen battled for 12 straight innings for the first Eliminator game. The Springfield Metropolitans jumped way out in front to a 6-run lead led by multi-hit effort of Jared Braschler (5-6 on the day). Then the sixth inning came along and thunder struck. That thunder was the sound off of the bat of Trey Turner as he hit a 450ft+ grand slam homerun that landed next to Meador Pool. The Showmen rallied to tie the game and we were headed into extras. Natural baseball is played for the first three innings in extra inning baseball in the playoffs for the GRBL and 12 innings was what it took for the Showmen to finally squeeze a run from the bat of of Canada’s greatest export, Gerad Fox, as he walked it off for the win. Showmen defeat the Mets, 9-8. The Showmen will meet the GRBL North Champions, Moon City Mavericks, in the semi-final round at 3pm on Sunday, October 12th.

3:00pm - Republic Locos (4-4) vs Nixa Suckers (5-3) - Suckers 5 - Locos 0

The second Eliminator game pitted the Nixa Suckers versus the Republic Locos. The Fish’ bats got hot early as they jumped out to a 5 run lead led by hits from Caleb Cole, Logan Rycraft, and Courtney Spitz. The Nixa Suckers got a combined shutout pitching performance from Seth Burns, Logan Rycraft and Ricky Gooding Jr. and that was all it took to take the victory and head to Courtney Spitz 8th consecutive GRBL semifinal round.

week 7 - sunday, september 28th

12:00pm - Ozark Mountain Ducks (5-2) vs Nixa Suckers (2-4) - Ducks 11 - Suckers 5

The Ozark Mountain Ducks came out of the blinds hot by scoring 3 in the first inning led by hits from Brett Gallion and Josh Engler. Cole Roark, starting pitcher for the Ducks, had a fantastic “1 hit” outing in his 5 innings of work coming off of an injured elbow. The Nixa Suckers fought back in the 6th innings by scoring a couple runs highlighted by a off the wall double by Zach Young. The Fish’ efforts were halted by the Ducks closing efforts by Josh Engler. Engler and Gallion had multiple hits for the Ducks in the win. With the win, the Ducks became the GRBL South division champions and earned a first round bye in the playoffs next week.

3:00pm - Springfield Mets (1-5) vs Republic Locos (3-4) - Mets 1 - Locos 0

The three o’clock contest for Week 7 of the GRBL will go down as the best pitchers duel of the season so far. A scoreless 9 innings were thrown by both sides. That includes pitchers, Logan Wiley, Cole Haselhorst, and Clay Murphy from the Mets and Ryan Cram, Scott Wilson, and Skyler Henson from the Locos. On to extra innings we went where the GRBL follows MLB rules and runners were placed on 2nd base with no outs for both sides. Clay Murphy was able to keep the Locos scoreless in the top half of the 10th so the Mets were in prime position to notch their first win of the season. After an intentional walk and HBP for the first two Mets hitters, the bases were loaded for Cole Haselhorst. An infield error was the difference maker as Clay Murphy crossed home plate and the Mets rushed the field and celebrated a much needed win.

6:00pm - Branson Showmen (5-2) vs Moon City Mavericks (4-3) - Showmen 3 - Mavs 1

Baseball Night in the Ozarks proved to also be another pitchers duel as both teams took a 1-1 tie through 9 innings. This includes great pitching performances from Showmen pitchers Cooper Keesling, King Owens, and Justin Lowden as well as Mavs pitchers AJ Musser, Tyler Abma, and Evan Barnett. This game went into the 10th where Mavs pitcher Kyle Carpenter found himself in a difficult situation with two runners on base and Trey Turner up. Turner hits a 2 run RBI double with his at bat and that proved being the difference maker in the night cap. Mavericks fall to the Showmen but the Moon City still manages to claim the GRBL North title with a Locos loss earlier in the day therefore earning a first round bye next week for our Eliminator round of the Season X GRBL playoffs.

Week 6- Sunday, September 21st

12:00pm - Ozark Mountain Ducks (4-2) vs Branson Showmen (4-2) - Ducks 6 - Showmen 5

It was a must win situation for the Ozark Mountain Ducks to keep their top seed chances alive in the GRBL South Division. The Branson Showmen started with an absolute BANG with the first 4 hitters completing the cycle. After the first inning, the Ducks found themselves down 3-0 courtesy of a 2-run homerun off of the bat of Trey Turner. The Ducks managed to waddle back after a couple Showmen errors and hits by Joe Emery and Ben Hammitt. The Ducks later took the lead off of an RBI single by Tony Lewis in the 6th inning. Josh Engler had another stellar performance as he held off the strong batting lineup for the Showmen in the last inning for a Ducks win.

3:00pm - Republic Locos (3-3) vs Moon City Mavericks (4-2) - Locos 6 - Mavs 4

It was the same situation for the Locos if they are wanting a shot at the top seed heading into the final week of the regular season as they needed a win against the GRBL North division leader, the Moon City Mavericks. The Locos found themselves in a hole early with the Mavs leadoff hitter, Brandon Winder, setting the pace. Winder would go 3-4 on the day. Skipper for the day, Skyler Henson, kept the Mavs bats at bay as he called his own number to take the mound as he threw 3 scoreless innings with a couple strikeouts. It was the bat of Michael Barnes who came through big for the Locos as the Kickapoo HS/Drury University alum went 2-3 with a couple of huge RBI’s. The Locos win the game and successfully apply a little pressure heading into the regular season finale.

6:00pm - Nixa Suckers (2-3) vs Springfield Metropolitans (0-5) - CANCELED due to weather

week 5 - Sunday, September 14th

12:00pm - Moon City Mavericks (4-1) vs Springfield Metropolitans (0-5) - Mavs 5 - Mets 0

A complete shutdown effort from the Maverick pitchers led by A.J. Musser throwing 4 scoreless innings followed by Kyle Carpenter, Thomas Brand, and Bradey Welsh. Brand was also 2-5 at the plate with two RBI’s with Matthew Kellerstrass and Nick Bacon recording hits for the winning Mav’s. Harrison Waters recorded his first triple off the wall for the Met’s but that spark was not enough to get things going for the Metropolitan’s. The Moon City Mavericks, not only get a divisional win over the Springfield Metropolitans, but also pad their lead in the GRBL North division bringing their record to 4-1.

3:00pm - Ozark Mountain Ducks (3-2) vs Nixa Suckers (2-3) - Ducks 7 - Suckers 6

The Nixa Suckers jumped all over the Ducks in the first inning by scoring 3 runs off the bat of Logan Rycraft and Zach Young. Seth Burns paced the Suckers recording 5 scoreless innings for the Fish for his best outing in Season X. That was before the Ducks bats came alive in the 7th inning. Hits recorded by Tony Lewis, Joe Emery, Josh Engler and Creed Smiley helped the Ducks explode for 6 runs in the 7th. Josh Scribner added an RBI double in the inning following to increase the lead. The Fish fought back with in the 8th inning with an RBI line drive up the middle by Courtney Spitz but in the end, it came down to a bases loaded 2 out situation in the bottom of the ninth where Ducks closing pitcher, Josh Engler, got the Suckers final hitter to ground out to Austin Kendrick at 1st base. Ducks take a division win over the Suckers 7-6.

6:00pm - Republic Locos (2-3) vs Branson Showmen (4-1) - Showmen 8 - Locos 7

Baseball Night in the Ozarks for Week 5 GRBL action did not disappoint to say the very least. The game featured 95 mph fastball from Branson Showmen starter Trey Turner and the Loco’s found themselves in a hole early down 3-0. David Edwards started the show off right with a 2 RBI double in the first inning for the Showmen and they were able to jump on Loco’s starting pitcher and GRBL HOF’er Skyler Henson. Henson calmed down and threw 4 scoreless innings after and even got run support paced by hits from C.J. Andrus, Ryan Cram, and Leon Griffith. The Locos had a 7 to 4 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning but the Showmen showed spark by a bang-bang infield hit from Chris Leggett. Then what is arguably the scariest batting order started at the top with Jacob Karlson. Jacob also reached on an error and two runners were on with no outs for Jordan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick blasted a 2 RBI double off the wall and the Showmen were within 1. Trey Turner immediately tied the game up with an infield single up the middle which brought up Mr. Walkoff aka David Edwards. Edwards then proceeded to scorch a 1-0 fastball down the left field line and the Showmen stormed the field for their second walk off of the year off the bat of Edwards. The Showmen improved to 4-1 to lead the GRBL South division with the winning effort.

week 4 - Sunday, September 7th

12:00pm - Republic Locos (2-2) vs Springfield Metropolitans - Locos 3 - Mets 2

Keep the train rollin’! The Locos notch their second win in a row and keep the Mets winless for the Season for last Sunday’s leadoff game for Week 4 GRBL action. C.J. Andrus and Ryan Cram added hits in the effort as well as stellar defensive work from Locos 3rd baseman, Leon Griffith.

3:00pm - Branson Showmen (3-1) vs Nixa Suckers (2-2) - Showmen 3 - Suckers 0

We have a new leader in the GRBL South Division after the Showmen notch their 3rd win overall and 2nd win over their divisional foe, the Nixa Suckers. Michael Doughman and David Edwards recorded hits but their were led by a multi-hit effort from their player/manager, Jacob Karlson. The shining star of the game was Trey Turner who threw 5 scoreless innings, 11 strikeouts, and his fastball reached a GRBL record speed of 98 mph. Wowza.

6:00pm - Ozark Mountain Ducks (2-2) vs Moon City Mavericks (3-1) - Mavs 5 - Ducks 3

The Moon City Mavericks maintained their number 1 position in the GRBL North division with the nightcap win over the Ozark Mountain Ducks for Week 4’s rendition of Baseball Night in the Ozarks. Moon City went old school GRBL with it's 3x3 pitching rotation of A.J. Musser, Kyle Carpenter and Tyler Abma in the winning effort. They were also paced by a 2 RBI by Tanner Kellerstrass.

Week 3 - Sunday, August 24th

12:00pm - Nixa Suckers (2-1) vs Moon City Mavericks (2-1) - Suckers 7 - Mavs 1

The Nixa Suckers bats came out to play for the noon game behind multi-hit performances by Caleb Cole and GRBL all time hits leader, Schuyler Carter. Offense had it going on for the Fish but also key defensive double plays (3 total in the game) kickstarted by short stop, Logan Rycraft, held the Mavericks runners off the bases.

3:00pm - Branson Showmen (2-1) vs Springfield Metropolitans (0-3) - Showmen 4 - Mets 2

This game went into extra innings as the bat of Justin Lowden came through with an RBI double down the right field line off of player/manager Clay Murphy. Gems were thrown by Logan Wiley of the Mets and also his adversary, Trey Turner of the Showmen. Turner’s fastball averaged 94 mph and he has fanned 31 batters so far this year in the GRBL. Harrison Waters, Jared Braschler, and Murphy all recorded hits for the Mets but it was not enough in the end.

6:00pm - Republic Locos (1-2) vs Ozark Mountain Ducks (2-1) - Locos 4 - Ducks 3

Baseball Night in the Ozarks saw another GRBL classic between the Locos and the Ducks. The annual “Battle of Best Friends” between player/managers Austin Kendrick and Chris Meza left Kendrick’s Ducks on the losing end at the end of the night. Locos had hits from CJ Andrus, Devin Phillips, and Ryder Young while the Ducks Rookie, Josh Scribner, recorded his first GRBL hit as it was an RBI double. The intense nightcap literally came down to the last play of the night where Andrew Meier of the Ducks was looking to collect his second hit and game tying RBI of the night with Creed Smiley on third base but his hot shot ground ball up the middle was intercepted by a the Locos shortstop, Cadan Kauffman, with a diving effort and rifle over to 1st baseman Michael Barnes for the final out of the game.

Week 2 - Sunday, August 17th

12:00pm - Branson Showmen (1-1) vs Ozark Mountain Ducks (2-0) - Ducks 10 - Showmen 9

The Ozark Mountain Ducks came out of the gate hot with 6 runs scored in the first couple innings highlighted by a 3 RBI triple by Tony Lewis. The Branson Showmen fought all the way back with multi-hit efforts from Jacob Karlson and Trey Turner. Turner added a 2-run homerun to bring the Branson Showmen within one midway through the contest. Relief efforts by Brian Sanchez and Josh Engler from the Ducks proved to be just enough to hold the Showmen bats. Ducks victorious over the Showmen with a score of 10 to 9.

3:00pm - Nixa Suckers (1-1) vs Republic Locos (0-2) - Suckers 14 - Locos 4

The first 5 innings of this match was quite a ballgame highlighted by pitching efforts from Locos GRBL Hall of Fame starter Skyler Henson going against GRBL rookie pitcher Jake Uber. It was 1-1 until the six inning when the Suckers broke free. The Suckers were led by Schuyler Carter where he went 2-4 with 2 RBI’s. Ricky Gooding Jr. and Landon Clark also provided solid relief efforts on the mound for the fish.

6:00pm - Moon City Mavericks (2-0) vs Springfield Metropolitans (0-2) - Mavs 5 - Mets 1

The Moon City Mavericks kept a perfect record intact with stellar pitching performances by starter AJ Musser, Kyle Carpenter, and Tyler Abma. Sam Hornberger and Tanner Kellerstrass recorded doubles and added RBI’s to their season stats. The Mets were at full strength having their player/manager Clay Murphy back on the mound and who also recorded his first base hit of the season. Mets starter Logan Wiley had another solid 5 inning outing but those efforts from the Missouri State teammates were not enough to overcome the Mavs in Week 2’s rendition of Baseball Night in the Ozarks.

Week 1 - Saturday, August 9th

12:00pm - Republic Locos (0-1) vs Moon City Mavericks (1-0) - Mavs 3 - Locos 1

Moon City got off to a hot start behind the stellar pitching efforts from Kyle Carpenter and Tyler Abma. Brandon Winder, Thomas Brand, and Ray Bailey all recorded a double in the effort and the Moon City Mavericks opened the season with a win. They defeated the Republic Locos 3-1 in the opener.

3:00pm - Ozark Mountain Ducks (1-0) vs Springfield Metropolitans (0-1) - Ducks 6 - Mets 2

Cole Roark shined in his return back to the GRBL by throwing 5 scoreless innings to begin his season ten campaign. The Ozark Mountain Ducks were led offensively with multi-hit efforts from Andrew Meier and Trey Simpson. The Ducks overtake the Mets by a score of 6-2 for our midday game.

6:30pm - Nixa Suckers (0-1) vs Branson Showmen (1-0) - Showmen 12 - Suckers 9

Trey Turner’s mid 90’s fastball shined to begin the game and the Showmen found themselves up early 5-0. The Suckers came back and not only tied it up at 5, but also took the lead in the top half of the 7th. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Showmen were down 9-6 but Jacob Karlson got the Showmen within 1 by recording a 2 RBI triple. Bases were loaded without an out recorded with the Showmen down 9-8 just before David Edwards came up to the plate. On the first pitch from Suckers reliever Jamar Averyhart, Edwards blasted a walk-off grand slam and the Showmen defeated the Suckers 12-9 in grand opening day fashion.