Opening Day in The Bigs (II)

While 16 teams opened up this afternoon, the othe 16 had to wait for the night session to get started. Here's a recap:

NATIONAL LEAGUE

The 2-time defending champion Atlanta Bandits hosted archrival Trenton and lost 5-1. David Dunwoody went 8 innings, allowing only a Stan Starr RBI groundout in the first. The 1-0 deficit was quickly erased by Trenton's Enrique Park, who hit a 3-run homer in the second to give Dunwoody more than enough runs. New RF Calvin Chang went 3 for 4 and scored twice.

Salt Lake City continued the trend of last season's NL division winners losing on Opening Day, as they fell to the visiting Vancouver Golden Otters, 3-2. B.C. Thompson and Clarence Hartman had back-to-back homers in the first to beat starter Rob Cepeda.

In Austin, the City Limits' double play duo of SS William Satou and 2B Julio Rosa proved to be highly dynamic. Both went 5 for 5; Satou scored four times and stole four bases, and Rosa drove in 5 as Austin beat San Juan 11-6. Austin 1B Jimmie Williams chipped in with 3 RBI.

In Kansas City, the newly christened Scouts lost their first ever game in Kansas City. They hosted Chicago and lost a 5-4 decision. Bernie Soriano slugged 2 homers for the Snake Tamers to fuel the victory, including the first ever in Kauffman Stadium (which was also the first hit). Orlando Diaz had the first Kansas City hit, and Kevin Yamakazi had the first ever Scouts homer.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

The defending AL champion Seattle Killer Whales beat Helena 4-1 in their opener. King Winn drove in 2 for the Killer Whales, but the story was the pitching of ace Kane Grahe, who went 8 innings and gave up only one run to the Grotto Gottos (a sixth inning Kevin Kim homer).

Monterrey pulled off a furious comeback against rival Jackson in what was maybe the best opening game. Down 4-1 in the ninth and facing superstar close Garry Wright, they managed to get 4 runs for a 5-4 win. Derrick Matthews hit a 1-out solo homer, then a 2-out Tony Escuela single drove in two the tie the game. Vin Logan followed with an RBI single to win the game.

In St. Louis, the River City RAGE easily beat the Syracuse Simpletons 9-0. The story of the game was rising star pitcher Yogi Anderson, who pitched 8 shutout innings. St. Louis blew the game open in the third with a bases-clearing double by Pepe Martin followed by a 2-run homer by Pep Woo.

In New York, Ryan Snyder made his Boston debut a memorable one, hitting a homer in his first at-bat as a Bambino and then driving in the game-winning run in the tenth inning to give Boston a 5-4 win over New York. Snyder and 2B Tommy Jordan each had three hits. Tony Howell pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief for the win.