A "Meet the Peppers" party was scheduled on June 17th, in hopes of brining more local attention to the games this season. Peppers manager Dan Hughes was happy to sign catcher Leah Braatz, who had a local following after tying the home-run record at University of Arizona. "Signing Braatz is a big thing. Most players adjust well to baseball from softball, and one other big difference is the league this year will be the fact that we saw so many more recreational baseball leagues for women." While the Peppers finished third (of four teams) last year, Hughes added that he wouldn't be surprised if the Peppers made a run for the title.
The Phoenix Peppers had a home-opener against the Spitfires on July 9th 1998, winning 5-4 in front of 525 fans. After a four-game home-opener series, they hit the road for the rest of their games, playing a 4-game series each against both of the new LPB expansion teams, the Buffalo Nighthawks and the New Jersey Diamonds. This odd-schedule was in large part due to scheduling challenges with Buffalo, New Jersey, and San Jose, who shared their stadiums with minor league teams. Hughes thought the extened road trip might be worth it in the long run. "That trip could hurt us, but it could also help us in the long run. In the second half of the year, we only go on the road twice, and they're both short trips to California."
The road trip did not go well for the Peppers, at one point losing 8 games in a row. By the time the league folded in August, the Phoenix Peppers had a record of 4 wins and 8 losses, and had struggled to average 200 fans at their few home games.
