Report updated Jun 17, 2026
PenScore : Baseball Scorecard / Scorekeeping
For baseball fans, scorekeepers, and parents of youth league players who prefer digital alternatives to traditional paper scorebooks.
PenScore : Baseball Scorecard / Scorekeeping is a struggling sports app that is completely free. With a 2.6/5 rating from 83 reviews, it struggles with user retention. Users particularly appreciate paper-like scoring interface allows baseball enthusiasts to record games using their preferred personal notation systems, though aggressive ad insertion after every batter disrupts the scoring flow and makes the app unusable remains a common concern.
What is PenScore : Baseball Scorecard / Scorekeeping?
PenScore is a digital baseball scorekeeping utility for iOS and Android that mimics traditional pen-and-paper notation.
Users hire PenScore to digitize baseball game records without the complexity of professional statistical suites, serving the need for a familiar, tactile scoring experience.
Current Momentum
v1.4 · 2w ago
Zombie- Shipped landscape orientation support.
- Added instructional scorekeeping video.
- Introduced pitch count pop-ups.
Active Nemesis
Batting STATS Manager:Baseball
By Bowya
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
SportsNo ranking data
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User Mood
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
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What Are The Key Features?
Text-based lineup entry and swipe-based runner advancement mimicking traditional pen and paper scorekeeping
Tracks pitches, hits, stolen bases, putouts, and lineup changes with per-batter and per-pitcher stats
How much does it cost?
- Free version with ad-supported monetization
The app operates as a free utility with no functional IAP, as users report paid ad-removal fails to execute.
Who Built It?
Enrichment in progress
Publisher profile available very soon
What other apps does Brendan Mahon make?
What do users think recently?
High confidence · 47 reviews analyzed
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a upset sentiment. Users appreciate paper-like scoring interface allows baseball enthusiasts to record games using their preferred personal notation systems, but report aggressive ad insertion after every batter disrupts the scoring flow and makes the app unusable and in-app purchases to remove advertisements fail to function, leading to user frustration and refund requests.
Limited review volume (47 reviews). Sentiment analysis will deepen as more data lands.
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for PenScore : Baseball Scorecard / Scorekeeping?
Where is it available?
Localized markets (1)
How's The Sports Market?
How does it evolve in the Sports market?
PenScore holds a #99 Free position in the Sports category, but its 2.6-star rating across 83 total ratings indicates severe market validation issues. The gap between its niche utility and its aggressive ad-insertion model limits long-term retention.
Rank progression
1 active ranking tracked — 30-day window
Which niche is PenScore : Baseball Scorecard / Scorekeeping in?
Explore the full Baseball Loggers niche
Every app in this space — 3 tracked, the niche's live rankings, and Marlvel's editorial take on the job-to-be-done.
The rivals identified
Nemeses(1)
This app directly competes for the baseball scorekeeping market by offering a digital alternative to traditional paper scorebooks, mirroring PenScore's core value proposition.
Differentiators
- Offers condition-based analysis tools that provide deeper insights than PenScore's manual tracking approach.
- Includes sample data integration, allowing new users to test functionality without manual entry effort.
- Features a more intuitive data entry flow designed to reduce the friction of live game logging.
Head to head
PenScore must modernize its UI and introduce automated analytical features to prevent losing its core audience to more robust, data-driven alternatives.
Same space(7)
This app occupies the same baseball game-day utility space, focusing on the audio experience of the game rather than the statistical record.
Differentiators
- Uses AI-generated voice intros to create a professional stadium atmosphere for amateur baseball games.
- Integrates directly with Apple Music, solving the pain point of manual playlist management during games.
This app competes for the performance-oriented baseball user, shifting the focus from scorekeeping to advanced athletic data tracking.
Differentiators
- Integrates with the TRAQ platform to provide professional-grade performance tracking and data-driven training insights.
- Monetizes through a membership model that builds long-term user retention through exclusive content and features.
This app targets the same sports category by offering specialized modes for different baseball roles, competing for the attention of active baseball participants.
Differentiators
- Provides role-specific modes for umpires, batters, and pitchers, catering to a wider range of baseball participants.
- Maintains a higher release frequency, suggesting a more active development cycle than PenScore's legacy codebase.
While PenScore is for manual scorekeeping, this app competes for the same baseball-focused user base by providing live game data and play-by-play updates.
Differentiators
- Leverages Live Activities to provide real-time game updates directly on the user's lock screen.
- Offers comprehensive league information and sortable stats that PenScore lacks entirely.
This app competes directly by offering a digital alternative to traditional paper scorekeeping, targeting the same niche of baseball enthusiasts who value tactile-like interaction.
This app competes for the attention of baseball fans by providing team-specific content and live updates that complement the act of scorekeeping.
This app targets the same baseball-focused audience by providing schedule tracking and live data, serving as a utility for fans following specific teams.
Compare PenScore : Baseball Scorecard / Scorekeeping against every rival
All rivals in one side-by-side table — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel — plus a head-to-head page for each.
The outtake for PenScore : Baseball Scorecard / Scorekeeping
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Tactile paper-like interface mimics traditional scorekeeping workflows
- Minimal setup requirement reduces barrier to entry for casual users
Critical Frictions
- Aggressive ad-insertion frequency disrupts live game tracking
- Broken IAP ad-removal functionality triggers refund requests
- Frequent application crashes during roster entry cycles
Growth Levers
- Launch stable paid ad-free version to capture frustrated users
- Implement offline-first architecture to improve reliability in remote fields
Market Threats
- Batting STATS Manager's deeper analytical tools siphon power users
- High churn rate from ad-insertion model erodes brand trust
What are the next best moves?
Audit and fix IAP ad-removal logic because users report paid removal fails → restore revenue trust
Multiple reports of failed ad removal despite financial transactions indicate a broken monetization gate.
Trade-off: Pause the pitch-count pop-up feature development — fixing broken revenue logic is a higher priority for retention.
Reduce ad frequency during live game scoring because users report ads make the app unusable → improve retention
High-frequency ad complaints are the #1 driver of negative sentiment and app deletion.
Trade-off: Accept lower ad-inventory revenue in the short term to stabilize the user base.
A counter-intuitive read
The app's #99 chart position is a liability rather than a success, as maintenance-mode ad-insertion at the top of the funnel creates a high-churn trap that prevents sustainable user growth.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Condition-based analysis tools (available in Batting STATS Manager)
- Sample data integration for new user testing (available in Batting STATS Manager)
Key Takeaways
PenScore provides a unique tactile scoring experience, but its aggressive ad-insertion and broken monetization logic actively destroy user trust, so the PM must prioritize stabilizing the core scoring flow to prevent total churn.
Where Is It Heading?
Declining
The baseball utility market is consolidating around stable, data-driven alternatives that prioritize reliability over ad-inventory. PenScore's current trajectory is unsustainable, as the combination of stability regressions and monetization friction will likely lead to a complete loss of the active user base by next season.
Broken IAP ad-removal functionality leads to refund requests, which erodes user trust and accelerates the deletion rate.
Frequent crashes during roster entry prevent consistent data collection, forcing users to abandon the app for more stable alternatives.