Veto League Baseball kicked off its 29th season with no shortage of excitement last weekend.
Saturday was the official "opening day" with 24 players joining the excitement for the start of the season. Both double-header games features uncharacteristic good defense and low scoring, with a total of 17 runs scored over the 14 total innings.
The opener was Andrew Schubert's Schuby-Doos against Bailey Rericha, who took a season off of captaining but is bringing back the Daddy Hacks for 2026. After a year hiatus, Mitch Lannan made his return to the diamond and lead the Schuby-Doos with three hits from the leadoff position. However, the Daddy Hacks narrowly edged the "Doos" by a final 5-4 with a balanced offensive attack where nine of the 11 batters had at least one hit.
In the flip game, the Schuby-Doos were home against multi-time World Series Champion Mason Overmire's Heavy Hitters. Despite logging 12 hits, the Hitters were only able to plate three runs. The Schuby-Doos masterclass defense held strong throughout, only allowing runs in the sixth inning. The Schuby-Doos won 5-3.
On Monday, another 21 players showed up on a soft field for a double header. The first game featured Kyle Kent's Katanas and Zach Sutton's Bombers making each of their season captain debuts. The Bombers held a 6-2 advantage through the first half of the contest, highlighted by their defense. In the third inning, the Bombers turned an ultra rare triple play, with a line drive caught by the center fielder, who was able to throw to the second baseman to catch the runner who had strayed off the base for a force out. The runner on third attempted to tag and was thrown out with a laser beam, resulting in a 8-4-2 triple play. However, Katanas were able to plate runs in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings to tie it at 6-6, going into a weeknight extra inning. The Bombers spoiled an opportunity and were held scoreless. Ryan Barton, who ranks #2 in career Veto League games played with 706 games, found himself up to bat with the bases loaded. Barton was able to launch a line drive walk-off game winner for the Katanas.
A high-scoring second game of the double header coupled with the extra inning of the first contest meant players were losing daylight quickly. The Katanas and Hitters faced off with in highest scoring game of the young season. The Katanas took the lead 11-8 as light was dwindling headed to the bottom of the 5th. The Hitters were able to tie the game up with two outs and a runner on third. However, that runner was stranded and the game was ruled a tie by League President Josh Paul due to darkness. The game will likely be continued on a later date. Making his rookie debut, Nik Davis lead all players with a four-hit performance in game two. Reigning league Most Valuable Player Noah Harrison had a homerun, double, two runs and two RBI for the Hitters.
Game days and times in 2026 are Saturdays at 10:00 and Monday evenings at 5:00. All games are at Ridgewood Field, 9607 14th St W, Rock Island.
Saturday was the official "opening day" with 24 players joining the excitement for the start of the season. Both double-header games features uncharacteristic good defense and low scoring, with a total of 17 runs scored over the 14 total innings.
The opener was Andrew Schubert's Schuby-Doos against Bailey Rericha, who took a season off of captaining but is bringing back the Daddy Hacks for 2026. After a year hiatus, Mitch Lannan made his return to the diamond and lead the Schuby-Doos with three hits from the leadoff position. However, the Daddy Hacks narrowly edged the "Doos" by a final 5-4 with a balanced offensive attack where nine of the 11 batters had at least one hit.
In the flip game, the Schuby-Doos were home against multi-time World Series Champion Mason Overmire's Heavy Hitters. Despite logging 12 hits, the Hitters were only able to plate three runs. The Schuby-Doos masterclass defense held strong throughout, only allowing runs in the sixth inning. The Schuby-Doos won 5-3.
On Monday, another 21 players showed up on a soft field for a double header. The first game featured Kyle Kent's Katanas and Zach Sutton's Bombers making each of their season captain debuts. The Bombers held a 6-2 advantage through the first half of the contest, highlighted by their defense. In the third inning, the Bombers turned an ultra rare triple play, with a line drive caught by the center fielder, who was able to throw to the second baseman to catch the runner who had strayed off the base for a force out. The runner on third attempted to tag and was thrown out with a laser beam, resulting in a 8-4-2 triple play. However, Katanas were able to plate runs in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings to tie it at 6-6, going into a weeknight extra inning. The Bombers spoiled an opportunity and were held scoreless. Ryan Barton, who ranks #2 in career Veto League games played with 706 games, found himself up to bat with the bases loaded. Barton was able to launch a line drive walk-off game winner for the Katanas.
A high-scoring second game of the double header coupled with the extra inning of the first contest meant players were losing daylight quickly. The Katanas and Hitters faced off with in highest scoring game of the young season. The Katanas took the lead 11-8 as light was dwindling headed to the bottom of the 5th. The Hitters were able to tie the game up with two outs and a runner on third. However, that runner was stranded and the game was ruled a tie by League President Josh Paul due to darkness. The game will likely be continued on a later date. Making his rookie debut, Nik Davis lead all players with a four-hit performance in game two. Reigning league Most Valuable Player Noah Harrison had a homerun, double, two runs and two RBI for the Hitters.
Game days and times in 2026 are Saturdays at 10:00 and Monday evenings at 5:00. All games are at Ridgewood Field, 9607 14th St W, Rock Island.
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