As long as I can remember, opening day in the Door County League has fallen on Mother’s Day. Last Sunday was probably only the second or third time since 1987 that I was not present at an opening day game.
It got me thinking about how fortunate many of us are that have had or do have wives and mothers that have made the sacrifices every Sunday in the summer, so that us grown men can play a game. I think sometimes we take those things for granted.
Starting pitching is one thing teams do not take for granted and it was on full display in a couple of the great opening day games.
The Swami was ho-hum opening weekend at a clip of 2-2. Let’s take a look at the week 2 games.
West Jacksonport (1-0) @ Maplewood (1-0)
The Ports survived a walk fest with a walk-off win at home against Egg Harbor. Alec Schartner was the hitting star, mustering four hits while CJ Goetz had three and Derek Niedzwiecki chipped in two. Drew Tanck got the win in relief as one of three Ports pitchers on the day.
The Mets were without reigning pitcher of the year Jeremiah Jahnke so all Tory Jandrin did was pitch seven innings of four hit, zero runs baseball. He also had seven strikeouts.
It was much-needed on a day where the Mets hitters were also held to four hits
Swami says: Mets
Baileys Harbor (1-0) @ Sister Bay (1-0)
The A’s didn’t have to do much last Sunday to get their opening day win. Put the ball in play and watch the opposition kick it around. Walks and errors gave the A’s a 5-0 lead after one inning and they never looked back. Brett Anschutz came back to help out and he threw seven innings striking out eight on the day. Chris Lodl and Hunter Pawelski paced the A’s with two hits a-piece.
I didn’t get a report from the Bays opener other than hearing that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Tom Sawyer had three hits to lead the Bays who once again topped the Braves in a close one-run game. Sam Forkert got the win.
There is no such thing as a let-down game in the Bays world.
Swami says: Bays
Washington Island (0-1) @ Egg Harbor (0-1)
The Islanders began the season as they did last year – with a dud. Troy Jorgenson had two hits but his team mustered only four total. Things don’t get any easier as they travel to face an upset Indians team. The Islanders get to return home in week three, but that will be against Kolberg.
Egg Harbor lost in heartbreaking fashion in the bottom of the ninth Sunday. Walks were in abundance on the day and that is a trend they certainly do not want to continue. Cory Fuller and Al Byrne collected two hits each. Last year each team won on the road but the third time around the Islanders won a playoff for fourth to get into the playoffs. The Indians haven’t forgotten that.
Swami Says: Indians
Kolberg (0-1) @ Institute (0-1)
The Braves lost a tough matchup against their rival Sister Bay on Sunday. But what was encouraging was the return and dominance of pitcher Trevor Reinhardt. He went seven innings, giving up five hits and no earned runs while striking out eight. He also hit a two-run homer in the ninth to give the Braves some hope. Reinhardt had a multi-hit day as did Charlie Neinas.
They say it is a simple game. You throw, catch and hit the ball. The Cubs have been finding all three things tough to do since the beginning of last season and it was evident on Sunday committing five errors in the first inning alone to put them in a hole they could never climb out of. Robby Pollman didn’t give up a hit in his time on the mound but the errors and walks did the team in. Josh Pflieger had two of the Cubs four hits on the day.
Dating back to the last week of 2023, the Cubs have now lost 16 games in a row.
Swami Says: Braves