2024 Austin Weirdos Season Recap
The 2024 Austin Weirdos entered their third season in the Pecos League looking to continue building the Austin professional baseball program. The season featured a combination of returning Weirdos veterans and new players getting their opportunity in professional baseball.
After the challenges Austin experienced during the 2023 season, the Weirdos returned in 2024 with a new roster and immediately started the year with two victories.
Austin Opens the Season With Two Wins
The Weirdos could not have asked for a better beginning to the 2024 season.
Austin opened on May 30 with a 10-7 victory.
View May 30 Box Score
One night later, the Weirdos offense was even better. Austin scored 13 runs and earned a 13-11 victory on May 31.
View May 31 Box Score
The back-to-back victories gave Austin a 2-0 start and provided an encouraging beginning to the summer.
A Difficult June Schedule
June became a much more difficult month for the Weirdos.
Austin encountered several high-scoring opponents and had to work through a demanding stretch of games.
The Weirdos continued to produce offensively in several of those losses. Austin scored nine runs on June 8, ten runs on June 10 and nine runs on June 12.
The June 12 game was especially close, with Austin falling 10-9.
View June 12 Box Score
Austin remained competitive in several other games during the month. The Weirdos lost 6-4 on June 13, 8-4 on June 14 and 5-2 on June 18.
Weirdos Win 4-3 on June 20
One of Austin's best games of June came on June 20.
The Weirdos combined enough offense with one of their better pitching performances of the season to earn a 4-3 victory.
In a season where many games became high-scoring contests, the ability to win a low-scoring one-run game was an important accomplishment for the Weirdos.
View June 20 Box Score
Austin Wins 12-11 on June 27
The Weirdos played another dramatic one-run game on June 27.
This time Austin's offense delivered 12 runs and the Weirdos held on for a 12-11 victory.
The win represented one of Austin's largest offensive performances of the first half of the season and gave the Weirdos another victory in a game decided by a single run.
View June 27 Box Score
July 8 - Austin Explodes for 16 Runs
One of the biggest offensive games of the Austin season came on July 8.
The Weirdos scored 16 runs in a 16-9 victory.
It was Austin's highest run total in a victory during the regular season schedule and showed what the Weirdos lineup could accomplish when hitters throughout the order contributed.
View July 8 Box Score
July 10 - Weirdos Throw a Shutout
Two days after scoring 16 runs, Austin won in a completely different way.
The Weirdos recorded their most impressive pitching result of the season on July 10, shutting out their opponent 6-0.
It was the only shutout victory listed on Austin's 2024 schedule and represented the strongest complete pitching performance of the Weirdos season.
Austin's offense supplied six runs while the pitching and defense kept the opposition off the scoreboard.
View July 10 Box Score
A Wild 27-26 Game
The following night produced one of the wildest games of the entire Austin season.
On July 11, the Weirdos scored an incredible 26 runs.
Normally 26 runs would be more than enough to win a baseball game, but Austin was edged 27-26.
Despite the loss, the 26-run performance was the highest offensive output shown on Austin's 2024 schedule.
View July 11 Box Score
The game demonstrated the unpredictable nature of Pecos League baseball and the offensive ability that existed on the Austin roster.
Returning Weirdos Provided Experience
The 2024 roster included several players who already understood the challenges of playing for Austin.
Right handed pitcher Dean Streich returned as a veteran after previously playing for the Weirdos.
Austin native Tyler Blair also returned to the pitching staff after previous experience with the Austin Weirdos and Trinidad Triggers.
In the outfield, Alex Westman and Ryan Germany returned as Weirdos veterans.
Their previous experience gave the roster a veteran presence around a group of rookies entering professional baseball.
A New Group of Pitchers
Austin's pitching staff included a number of new faces.
Left handed pitcher Cole Harness joined the Weirdos after playing at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.
Jacob Strobel came to Austin from Kansas Christian College, while Reed Carter joined the club after pitching at Eastern New Mexico University.
Roman Sherman came from Rockhurst University and gave Austin another right handed option.
Justin Graeber, Sergio Mendoza and the returning Tyler Blair were also part of the pitching staff.
The group was asked to handle a difficult Pecos League schedule that included numerous high-scoring games.
Veterans Behind the Plate
Austin's catching group included Cade Bochtler, Josh Bancroft and Tate Jernigan.
Bochtler joined the Weirdos after playing at Tennessee Wesleyan University.
Bancroft brought veteran status and previous experience at the University of Arizona.
Jernigan also entered the season as a veteran after previous professional experience with the Santa Fe Fuego.
Experience Around the Infield
Veteran Jesus Grimaldo brought significant independent baseball experience to the Austin infield after previous stops with the Santa Fe Fuego and Salina Stockade.
He was joined by Jorge Carreno, Lermit Pages, Oscar Galvez and William Martinez.
Pages came to Austin after Bryant Stratton College, while Galvez joined the Weirdos after playing at the State College of Florida.
The group provided Austin with a mixture of veteran experience and younger players receiving their first professional opportunities.
The Austin Outfield
Returning Weirdos Alex Westman and Ryan Germany were joined in the outfield by Donnell Scott, Joel Talbert and Ryan Drag.
Talbert, a Bakersfield native, was one of the younger players on the roster.
Drag joined Austin following his time at West Virginia Wesleyan.
Together the group handled an extensive schedule that stretched from the end of May through late July.
Close Games Were a Major Part of the Season
Although Austin's final results included many difficult losses, the schedule also shows how many games were within reach.
The Weirdos lost 10-9 on June 12 before winning 4-3 on June 20 and 12-11 on June 27.
July produced even more close finishes.
Austin lost 10-9 on July 7, 27-26 on July 11, 12-11 on July 13, 4-3 on July 22 and 8-7 on July 27.
Those games showed how small the difference could be between a win and a loss.
Weirdos Finish With a 10-5 Victory
Austin's final listed game of the season provided a positive ending.
On July 28, the Weirdos scored ten runs and earned a 10-5 victory.
After a long and difficult July schedule, Austin finished with one of its better all-around performances of the summer.
View July 28 Box Score
2024 Austin Weirdos Season Highlights
Opening Day: Austin defeated its opponent 10-7 on May 30.
Opening Start: The Weirdos began the season with consecutive victories on May 30 and May 31.
Biggest Offensive Win: Austin scored 16 runs in a 16-9 victory on July 8.
Best Pitching Result: Austin recorded a 6-0 shutout on July 10.
Highest Run Total: The Weirdos scored 26 runs in the 27-26 game on July 11.
Final Listed Game: Austin closed the schedule with a 10-5 victory on July 28.
Continuing to Build Weirdos Baseball
The 2024 season was another important year in the development of the Austin Weirdos.
Austin started the season with two victories, battled through a difficult June schedule and produced some memorable performances during July.
The 16-run victory on July 8 demonstrated the potential of the offense. The 6-0 shutout two nights later showed what the pitching staff could accomplish. The incredible 27-26 game on July 11 became one of the most unusual games of the season.
Most importantly, the Weirdos continued providing professional baseball opportunities to players from Texas and across the country.
Veterans such as Dean Streich, Tyler Blair, Alex Westman, Ryan Germany and Jesus Grimaldo played alongside younger players beginning their professional careers.
The season ended appropriately with another Austin victory.
After nearly two months of games, travel, roster changes and the daily challenges of independent baseball, the Weirdos defeated their opponent 10-5 on July 28 to close the listed 2024 schedule on a winning note.
The 2024 Austin Weirdos season added another chapter to the history of professional baseball in Austin and continued laying the foundation for the future of the Weirdos organization.
