By Madison Hricik

A little rain never hurt anybody, right? Although it’s been a wet first few games, the VBL is back in full force and the teams are rolling. The weather is not going to be a factor, but rather how the teams performed when the sun was shining.

The Top Dogs

1: Strasburg Express (6-1): The Express fell on Opening Day, and have yet to look back. Going undefeated since, Strasburg has relied on its quick offense and pitching depth to take them to this week’s “Top Dog,” including the first Hitter of the Week, Mac McCroskey.

2: Charlottesville TomSox (5-1): Charlottesville is showing they’re looking to go back-to-back this season, kicking things off with a dominant 5-1 start. The bullpen depth has been the biggest ace for the TomSox, with six pitchers holding a 0.00 ERA.

3: Winchester Royals (4-2): The Royals are using their electric at-bats to bring them into third place. Second baseman Austin Bulman is leading the team with two home runs, 11 RBIs, and nine hits on 25 at-bats for a .360 batting average.

4: Harrisonburg Turks (2-1): Although seeing less games than other teams this week, the pitching for the Turks have brought them to fourth this week. Holding a team ERA of 1.96, the team has notched 30 strikeouts in the three games played.

The Middle Pack

5:Staunton Braves (4-4): Not only is the team leading the league in stolen bases, but the Braves’ starting pitcher Reid Celata took a complete game win to split the double header against the Cannons for a .500 record.

6: Woodstock River Bandits (3-2): Woodstock sits in the middle for its lineup and pitching. Standing directly in the middle of the league, the River Bandits have a team ERA of 3.88.

7: Purcellville Cannons (2-4): First baseman Jimmy Goldsmith has led the Cannons with three home runs already, and is tied for first in the league. The team also has two pitchers in the top 10 in ERA, Joe Vagosky and Parker Collier.

8: New Market Rebels (2-4): The Rebels have a total of 12 RBIs in their six games so far this season, alongside the 18 runs. Pitcher of the Week Marcelo Saldana also is leading the league with six strikeouts in six complete innings for a 0.00 ERA.

9: Waynesboro Generals (2-5): Pitcher Nick Chittum leads the team and sits in the top 10 for pitching, with eight strikeouts in six innings. Pitching in both starting and relief, he’s holding a 1-0 record for the team as well.

Teams with work to do

10: Covington Lumberjacks (1-3): Pitchers Chance Vaught and Cade Henry hold the charge for the Lumberjacks, both leading the team in pitching respectively. With six hits allowed combined, the two have pitched five and four innings.

11: Front Royal Cardinals (1-5): Infielder Gabe Sherman has led the Cardinals with 6 RBIs and 7 hits for a .389 batting average — in the top five of the league!

Still a lot of time for these teams to mix it up, week two is just beginning and with less rain, hopefully, a lot more baseball is coming.