THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

VIPERS HOLD OFF CHARGING BULLS IN RU NORTH
The current Pro Cup champion Valmara Vipers repeated in the Ruthlandian North Division and are now in quest of their fourth Pro Cup trophy... the Vipers build up a good lead in the Summer and then staved off the charging Ranford Bulls in August and September, topping them by just three games... Valmara chalked up 100 victories, tops in the Ruthlandian Union and second best to White River's 102 in the Tycobbian Union... the Kilkenny Cats were in the chase until mid-season and then faded to 16 games back... Valmara has won the division six times in eight seasons and won two Pro Cups during that time... last year whipping White River in six games in the Finals... the Vipers also won the Islands' title in 2026... the RU North is one of the better divisions in the IPA... six clubs finished .500 or better.

1. VALMARA: manager Vanya Vasylenko has a well-rounded ball club... you name it and they do it well... relief pitching is their only shortcoming... won pennant despite losing one of their aces Teddy Twardzik to injury for the whole season... Twardzik won 50 games in '48 and '49... they also lost another starter Mark Polaski (14-9/3.82) in August.

Top Pitchers: All-Star Darus Grajek (25-9/1.98), Primo Sirak (19-10/2.63), Darek Polaski (18-8/2.42)

Top Batters: All-Star C Karol Koska (.286/34/132/79), SS Ken Jensen (.320/13/67/100), CF Don Ritchie (.312/9/77/118), 2B Jorge Aparicio (.318/4/54/84), RF Boyd Holmes (.332/20/84/73)

2. Ranford Bulls: great crop of rookies... very impressive at the plate... one of the best offensive clubs in the IPA... they have fairly good pitching... the Bulls hung tough with Valmara this year, beaten out by only three games... Ranford finished second for the third straight season and are closing the gap and getting closer each year... their last pennant came in 2041 and their only Pro Cup came in 2040.

Top Pitchers: Ralph Hawk (22-8/2.81), Neil Martin (17-11/3.51)... in the bullpen it was rookie All-Star Martin Futch (8-5/2.35/26 saves)... along with rookie Jeff Reese (5-4/1.58/8 saves)... the 24-year-old Futch led the IPA with 26 saves and was second with 85 appearances... only Jack McKinney (9-4/1.80/14 saves) of Far Mountain with 88 games appeared more times
.
Top Batters: four rookies SS Joel Rimes (.284/20/105/114), RF Rory O'Herlihy (.340/17/85/87), Zack Isom (.312/18/84/63) and 1B Virgil Belisle (.341/12/48/80) had tremendous first seasons... rookie 3B Don Connell (.276/18/99/80) also had a fine year... batting average-wise veterans LF Joey Hawksins (.308/17/75/75) and C Juan Peralta (.322/11/68/56) had strong seasons, too.

3. Kilkenny: the Cats went to sleep in the second half after contending till mid-year... the offense is poor... it must improve for the Cats to be a serious pennant contender... nonetheless, it was an impressive season for them as they improved from 77-77 the previous two seasons to 84-70... the team can go deep with 175 homers (5th)... Kilkenny has never won a Pro Cup in its history and has only made the playoffs one single time... in 2042... not a great IPA history.

Top Pitchers: All-Star Glen Caswell (22-9/3.11), closer Andy Mayfield (8-3/2.39)/18 saves)

Top Batters: All-Star 1B Ryan Reagan (.321/43/102/120) is one of the best hitters in the IPA... he had some help from RF Les Utley with 39 roundtrippers, 103 RBIs and 96 runs, but he batted only .251.

4. Taranto: the Tars haven't won a pennant since 2019... but they have won a Pro Cup (2015)... however, they have made the Ruthlandian North first division for the last three seasons and have improved each year...going from 79-75 in '48 to 80-74 in '49 and up to 83-71 this season... the Tars have good pitching despite the small dimensions of the Palazzo di Sport... and quite naturally a good offense because of the short fences.

Top Pitchers: Pablo Rivas (25-10/3.33), Valerio Rossi (22-16/3/53), Armani Pizziconi (13-13/3.16) and Bill Walker (17-18/3.94)... best reliever is Mario Martinelli (4-9/3.10/14 saves)

Top Batters: C Ryan Nelms (.262/33/96/70), RF Derrick Damon (.319/22/88/89), 1B Phil Wilson (.282/19/67/80) and LF Kuma Toyota (.305/20/64/49)

5. Glasco: the Athletics have gotten better in the last three years... moving up from 8th (39 GB) to 6th (26 GB) to 5th (19 GB)... the A's have appeared only three times in the postseason and have never come close to a Pro Cup... last playoff appearance was in '45... Glasco has solid pitching, but are not much scoring runs... the Athletics are in dire need of some good bats.

Top Pitchers: starters Pat Meyers (19-13/3.04), Benny McDaniel (16-17/3.04)... Ken McLin (17-8/1.52/18 saves) had a super season in the pen.

Top Batters: the only reliable hitters are SS Ross McFalls (.323/31/84/96) and 1B John Carlton (.287/29/79/60)

6. LaGrange: the Sports are a good team, but lack the home-run ball... they have made the postseason six times in the club history with no Pro Cups... '37 was the last playoff appearance.

Top Pitchers: at age 35 Arnie Ayers (20-12/3.02) rebounded well after an injury season when he was only 4-6 with a 3.74 ERA in 11 starts... at 32 All-Star Justin Menard (20-8/2.69) posted a career year... Hot Dog Huxtable (15-14/3.85) might be slowing down at 35.

Top Batters: All-Star SS John Rodgers (.327/25/109/92) plays well year after year... other productive hitters are CF Andre Chirac (.302/9/69/90)... C Scott Wallace (.293/19/75/68) and 1B Earl Walker (.287/8/55/74)

7. Far Mountain: after three good seasons, especially in '47 when they captured the pennant with a 101-53 mark, the Redhawks have fizzled the last two years, coming in seventh both seasons (32 GB)... Far Mountain does possess three Pro Cup trophies, but they came in 2011, 2012, and 2013... the current batch of players are nothing to brag about... run-of-the-mill at the plate and on the hill.

Top Pitchers: Curt Steinhauer (17-15/3.72) is the best starter, but he hasn't come close to his tremendous 22-6 record and 2.12 ERA in 2047... one of the few bright spots is closer Jack McKinney (9-4/1.80/14 saves), who had a great season and led the IPA with 88 relief appearances

Top Batters: Far Mountain has few dependable bats... the most productive of the lot are LF Terry Crawford (.263/24/73/72), 2B Webster Ronstadt (.279/6/52/66) and RF Harmon Silver (.289/16/69/62)... the club leaders as far as BA were 1B Benjie Donahue (.327/6/47/58) and C Joel McDaniel (.311/5/34/55)

8. Ancona: the Red Elephants are a dismal ball club... winding up in the RU North basement for the ninth time in ten seasons... no playoff appearances since 2022... and no Pro Cups.

Top Pitchers: Roger Kostas (11-11/4.50) is not much, but he had the best numbers in the starting rotation... in the bullpen Lakota Cobos (8-5/3.16/15 saves) did his job well.

Top Batters: 1B Raul Suarez (.230/36/102/79) doesn't hit for average, but does drive in runs and has power... Ancona has two Golden Glovers in the outfield in Walter Glenn (.257/2/39/63) and RF Eldon Aldridge (.284/21/67/61)

2050 Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

CRUSADERS CRUISE TO RU SOUTH PENNANT
In the second half of the year the St. John Crusaders kicked it up a notch and pulled away from the pack in the Ruthlandian South Division and won going away by 11 games over runner-up San Dimas... third in the running were the defending champ Claxton Diamonds, who wound up 14 games behind... and fourth place went to the Crystal Lake Crushers, 16 games off the pace... only the Rancheros ever contended with the Crusaders... they were only three games behind at the All-Star break... the preseason favorite Belair Beach Sunbirds never were in the race at all as they came in a pathetic seventh.

1. ST. JOHN: the Crusaders won their first pennant since 2042... they went from 8th (26 GB) to 5th (16 GB) to 5th (10 GB) to the division crown in four seasons... St. John is still seeking its first Pro Cup trophy... however, they almost won it in 2036, but lost out in six games to the legendary North Hills Hawks... right off the bat the Crusaders will have to get by the defending Pro Cup champion Valmara Vipers to entertain any hopes of winning the IPA crown... the bats can go up against the Vipers, but St. John's pitching is suspect.

Top Pitchers: All-Star Frank Long (26-11/3.00) and Teddy de Grom (19-13/3.10) are the best starters... Long tied Will McKinney (26-12/1.93) of San Alejo and Butch Slattery (26-8/2.41) of White River for the most wins in the IPA this year... Jimmy Chambers (10-7/3.38/11 saves), Zeke Yoder (15-8/3.94) and Liam Spears (15-13/3.77) were also quality starters.

Top Batters: All-Star 1B Al Pace (.321/26/119/76), LF Sherrill Westerfield (.343/6/48/91), RF Cris Hershey (.321/11/88/86), SS Bubba Ralston (.296/12/59/105) and 2B Herbie Gruen (.265/17/92/73) led a solid core of hitters.

2. San Dimas: the Rancheros broke a sting of six straight second division finishes this year... they were on or near the bottom the previous three seasons, going 62-92 (7th), 55-99 (8th) and 57-97 (8th)... San Dimas improved to 79-75 this season... they have never won a Pro Cup... the last postseason appearance was nine years ago... the Rancheros have fairly decent hitting and fairly decent pitching.

Top Pitchers: Gary Widmer (16-11/3.79) was the club leader in wins... in the bullpen it was Kenny Robinson (14-7/1.91/21 saves), who really excelled... Robinson made 84 appearances and had the third best ERA in the IPA, topped only by Middlefield's James Long (25-8/1.78) and St. Alejo's Matt Bell (23-8/1.83)... Robinson also tied for third in saves... only Ranford rookie Martin Futch (8-5/2.35/26 saves) and Sugar Valley's Domenico Renterias (6-6/4.17/25 saves) were better.

Top Batters: All-Star CF Enrique Orestez (.308/34/113/106) had a fantastic season and was helped out by LF Johnny Locke (.305/10/63/98), 38-year-old RF Denny Hendrix (.279/32/99/80), 35-year-old 3B Leonard Purkey (.295/21/89/54) and 2B Ricardo Cepeda (.297/7/46/81).

3. Claxton: last year's division winner, the Diamonds, were terrible on the mound this year, ranking 31st with a pitiful 4.69 ERA... but they led the Ruthlandian Union in scoring runs with 861... only Bay St. Clair in the Tycobbian Union outscored them with 903 runs... Claxton won four of the last six pennants in the RU South... 14 times they made the postseason, but never won the Pro Cup... but the Diamonds did make the Finals two years ago and lost out to the Rolling Hills Reds in five games.

Top Pitchers: long-time vets Abe Schiffman (19-14/4.13) and Steven Ellison (19-13/4.82) won 19 games apiece, but got many of the wins because of the high-powered attack... closer Ramon Santos (9-9/3.29/14 saves) was the best in the bullpen.

Top Batters: All-Star RF Jimmy John Ramsey (.338/38/125/118) had a fabulous year and got plenty of help from 35-year-old superstar All-Star 2B Jojo DeLucca (.326/18/87/67), SS Rick Clayburne (.306/7/52/105), CF Whit Miley (.293/11/71/91) and LF Konrad Neumann (.308/12/61/83)... Ramsey was fourth in the IPA in RBIs with 125 and runs with 118.

4. Crystal Lake: the Crushers were fourth for the second year in a row, but declined a bit from 82-72 (6 GB) to 74-80 (16 GB)... they have made the postseason on 10 occasions in the club's history and captured two Pro Cups, winning in 2020 and 2022... basically, Crystal Lake is just a mediocre ball club.

Top Pitchers: Haden Mackowiak (19-15/3.38) and Jeth Limbrick (17-17) are reliable starters... but the others in the starting rotation struggled mightily... the bullpen, however, is good... headed up by vet closer Josh Crosby (6-7/2.54/10 saves).

Top Batters: RF Paul Dillon (.307/8/54/72), All-Star C Del Peevy (.299/15.74/71) and LF Jed Murphree (.281/5/59/79) were the best of the lot... at age 35 Dillon is a .322 career hitter with 2729 hits, 168 homers, 1166 RBIs and 1367 runs.

5. Waleska: the Westerners are just a so-so team... they were third the in '48 (16 GB) and '49 (6 GB) and in strong contention with second place finishes in '46 (3 GB) and '47 (3 GB)... but the Westerners tumbled to fifth this year (20 GB)... Waleska has three Pro Cups in their trophy case collection, winning it in 2028, 2037 and 2039... only Turon and North Hills with four each have won more.

Top Pitchers: Niles Neilsen (20-15/2.27) is easily the ace of the mound staff... at age 33 he is 193-172 in his career with a solid 3.16 ERA... Vince Gibson (8-4/3.47/13 saves) is the most dependable reliever.

Top Batters: not much offense at the plate... 1B Rob Rice (.298/18/64/56) and LF Gene Stevenson (.281/12/63/55) are the only decent hitters.

6. Grand City: the Cybercats haven't had much success in the IPA... only made the playoffs three times with no Pro Cups... the last appearance was years ago in 2030... for the last five seasons they have stuck in the second division... 73-81 last year (15 GB) and 69-85 (21 GB) this year... the Cybercats can put runs on the scoreboard, but are not much on the hill.

Top Pitchers: Jimmy Engels (18-15/2.91) had a solid year and is the best in the starting rotation, while Kent Douglas (8-4/1.76/16 saves) had a great year in the bullpen.

Top Batters: superstar All-Star 1B Benny Hull (.288/47/135/103) had a monster year, leading the IPA with 135 RBIs and ranking third in the in homers with 47, topped only by Middlefield's Johnny Wyatt with 57 and Bayview's Nioka Inkamara with 50... other capable contributors were CF Harland Blankenship (.302/6/55/93), All-Star SS Scott McIntyre (.297/10/58/96) and LF Hot Rod Gwin (.326/22/76/70).

7. Belair Beach: a very disappointing season for the Sunbirds... they were poised for a fine season after being picked by the pollsters to win the division, but they never did anything and wound up next-to-last with a 69-85 mark (21 GB)... the Sunbirds were also seventh in '49 with a 70-84 record (18 GB)... Belair Beach was the division champ in 2047... they have been to the postseason eight times in history, but have never claimed a Pro Cup... the Sunbirds did reach the Pro Cup Finals in 2014, but lost a seven-game series to champion Kenwood.

Top Pitchers: only one starter is dependable... that's Jeffrey Verblen (17-18/3.62)... two in the bullpen stand out... Tom Cook (10-5/2.31/10 saves) and Kyle Gibson (4-5/2.43/8 saves).

Top Batters: CF Norm Ellis (.281/33/108/67) is the club leader in homers and RBIs... 2B Alvaro Abreu (.312/1/42/75) has the best batting average... long-time star 1B Jason Butler is now 37 and hit .276 with 18 HRs and 70 RBIs... the 8-time All-Star Butler now has 574 career homers and 1677 RBIs... and RF Shannon Stewart is adequate with a .287 BA, 9 HRs, 53 RBIs and 59 runs.

8. Valka: the Blackhawks plunged from second place in '49 (83-71), just five games behind division champ Claxton, to deep into the cellar with a 68-88 record (22 GB)... Valka has made the playoffs only four times in its IPA existence and has never gained a Pro Cup title.

Top Pitchers: 23-year-old Arvi Tamm (14-13/3.44) was the most effective starter... two others gave them some quality starts: 32-year-old vet Matvey Kazak (15-17/4.03) and 24-year-old Adrian Stenhouse (16-17/4.09).

Top Batters: at age 36 star CF Kenny Mitzusaka is still going strong with a .298 BA, 33 HRs, 101 RBIs and 86 runs... he is the only threat in the lineup... lifetime Mitzusaka is a .314 hitter with 3067 hits, 424 HRs and 1624 RBIs... no one else is worth mentioning in the batting order.

2050 Ruthlandian South Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

RATTLERS STRIKE AGAIN IN RU EAST
For the third straight season and sixth time in eight years the Sugar Valley Rattlers are the champion of the Ruthlandian East Division... the Rattlers were never really pressed in the pennant race, rolling up a fair lead at mid-year and then pulling away from number two Belle Plaine and number three Cold Creek in the final half of the season... Sugar Valley got the best of the Musketeers by 11 games and the Catamounts by 16... Belle Plaine and Cold Creek could outscore Sugar Valley, but couldn't outpitch them... Wynnamac and Marston tied for fourth place and trailed by 17 games.

The Rattlers dominated the division with outstanding pitching and heavy hitting and should do well in the Pro Cup playoffs... there was no one better in the IPA on the mound than Sugar Valley's starting rotation. The Rattlers led the league with a superb 2.79 team ERA... White River with a 2.96 ERA and Valmara at 2.97 ranked second and third overall in the IPA.

1. SUGAR VALLEY: this will be the Rattlers 17th appearance in the playoffs... they got their only IPA Pro Cup in 2045, knocking off the Southport Sun Sox in six games... many players on that championship squad are still with the club... manager Bobby Gamble played on that team and says this one may be a little stronger.

Top Pitchers: Christopher Dunsberry (24-6/2.57/2 saves), Joe Snow (23-10/2.40), Cullen Winslow (20-9/3.04) and Antonio Cedeno (19-14/2.38) are a fearsome foursome... the bullpen is not as strong, though Domenico Renterias (6-6/4.17/25 saves) was second in the IPA in saves... the bullpen will be boosted in the postseason with the addition of one of the starters to the relief corps... spot starter Davey Brennan (7-7/3.20/3 saves) will also be used in long relief.

Top Batters: Sugar Valley has nine players with 10 or more homers, led by young 23-year-old RF Duncan McEllicott (.297/38/99/86) and veteran star CF Carl Ramsey (.272/32/95/90) with 38 and 32 longballs respectively... the Rattlers don't hit for much average, batting only .252 (28th) during the season, but they made up for it with 180 home runs (2nd).

2. Belle Plaine: for the second year in a row the Musketeers have played second fiddle to Sugar Valley, coming in second... the Muskies have only made the postseason one time in the club's history... that was light years ago... back in ancient times... back in 2009... they have yet to win a Pro Cup.

Top Pitchers: Phil Lacey (20-14/3.33) is the top winner and most consistent... but Joe-Joe Bouvier (16-10/4.00), Henry Wade (19-14/4.06) and Pedro Castro (17-16/4.26) do give them some quality starts... second-year closer Takeo Kawamura (8-4/2.16/18 saves) gives them a strong relief man.

Top Batters: the Muskies can hit with power, average and score... superstar All-Star RF Lenny Buisson is the club leader at the plate, but he has lots of help from budding star 1B Chuck Gregory (.352/29/101/75), who topped the IPA hitters with a .352 BA... along with other productive bats C Nate Borg (.278/15/83/63), 3B Kale Woodard (.304/4/53/84), SS Kendall Hanks (.293/12/69/66) and LF Nappy Kiggins (.265/16/71/87).

3. Cold Creek: the Catamounts are very similar to Belle Plaine... fine offense, good power and scoring, but soft on the hill... Cold Creek came in third for the second successive season... they have never won the Pro Cup, but came awfully close in '41, falling to powerful North Hills in seven games after leading three games to two... that was the last time the Cats made the playoffs.

Top Pitchers: 27-year-old right-hander Spooky Robison (21-8/3.15) really blossomed in his third year with the club... veterans stars Rob Hutchins (16-13/3.28) and Sammy Wright (21-15/3.95) are still quality arms, too... Cold Creek needs help in the bullpen.

Top Batters: the big guns are All-Star 2B Milt Swallow (.267/33/104/82) and All-Star 3B Joe Cochrane (.309/26/92/96), but they got plenty of help from LF Mike Josephson (.321/21/67/99), 1B Bradley Brim (.314/15/55/78), RF Mel Parnell (.301/12/62/60) and CF Albie Forbush (.294/6/62/79).

4. Wynnamac: the Sundowners rebounded from its worst season in seven years, rising up from 65-89 and seventh place (38 GB) to a tie for fourth with an 82-72 mark (17 GB)... their last pennant came in 2044... Wynnamac won its only Pro Cup way back in 2008... the current club has solid pitching, but very little on offense.

Top Pitchers: James Duncan (21-13/2.85), Sammy Hayes (18-16/2.26), Shirai Nakamura (12-16/3.16) and Simon Northcott (10-12/3.85) are a pretty good starting four... and veteran closer Johnny Mitchell (6-5/2.58/16 saves) still is a quality reliever.

Top Batters: All-Star LF Mel Newland (.349/28/114/85) has a standout year and is the club leader in almost all categories, but he doesn't have much help... only RF Jake Turpin (.259/18/81/74) offers much in the way of offense.

4. Marston: after surprisingly winning the RU East pennant four years ago, the Nine have had to endure two down years... they were 69-85 last season (34 GB), but climbed up to an 82-72 record (17 GB) and a tie for fourth this season... like Wynnamac they have good pitching, but not much scoring... the Nine is still waiting for its first Pro Cup.

Top Pitchers: Thomas Stuart (15-16/3.03) and John Newton (12-14/3.33) are capable starters, but the other three spots in the rotation is a revolving door... closer Kiki Vuk (13-8/2.03/14 saves) did a super job in the bullpen.

Top Batters: average-wise 3B Elijah Dowden (.308/8/71/45), CF Charley Gilmore (.307/10/66/64) and LF D'Wayne Dotson (.296/15/75/92) are the club leaders... however, it's superstar RF David Kelso (.285/36/99/71) and 1B Gary Armitage (.227/18/74/98) that supply the power, though Armitage batted only .227 for average.

6. Beechwood: the Bobcats suffered their fifth straight losing season... the last playoff season was in 2027... Beechwood has only made the playoffs one time in its history and hasn't won a Pro Cup yet... the Bobcats are just a mediocre ball club.

Top Pitchers: at 35 Jimmy Herman (19-17/3.85) is the class of the mound staff... he and rookie Sandy Wilbur (15-17/4.04) are the only quality starters... there are two quality relievers in the pen... Freddy Manale (5-6/2.62/9 saves) and D. W. Downs (4-1/1.03/7 saves) are solid.

Top Batters: 1B Daryl Brady (.292/18/80/70) and All-Star 2B Mike Matthews (.285/14/62/106) are the only decent threats in the batting order... RF Eddie Wilson (.250/21/64/66) is no longer in his prime at age 36, but still has a little pop... Wilson had 460 homers in his 16 seasons.

7. Elnora: the All-Stars have been stuck near the bottom of the division for the past four seasons, doing no better than seventh, twice finishing in the basement... it's been 15 years since they made the playoffs... in 2033 Elnora captured its only Pro Cup title... the All-Stars also made the Finals two other times, in '02 and '35, but lost to High Mesa and Tuckanarra... the current team has poor pitching and fair bats.

Top Pitchers: Slim Harding (17-14/3.77) and Tommy Timberlake (13-19/3.95) are the most productive starters... the best in the bullpen are Leland Schofield (5-8/2.38/12 saves) and Jamie Pananga (4-1/1.17/6 saves).

Top Batters: All-Star 3B Joey Hagburn (.334/8/100/70), 2B Marley Macomber (.275/19/96/61), RF Casimiro Gessi (.292/5/42/93), 1B Rodger Corcorane (.293/7/77/49), SS Pete Hudson (.278/2/47/95) and LF Enos Conrad (.336/8/56/60)... Conrad was injured in late May and missed half the season.

8. Eastshore: the Elegants posted their worst record in the team's history this year... they were just 55-99 and finished in last place (44 GB)... 2034 was the last postseason appearance... Eastshore got its two Pro Cups in '16 and '17... they are terrible offensively ranking absolutely last in the IPA in runs scored with 564... the pitching was a whole lot better.

Top Pitchers: Ferrell Greenlaw (14-20/4.29) had the most wins with Malcolm Tansbury (9-21/3.27) the most effective starter... the Elegants have a fine bullpen headed up by All-Star closer Trent Niven (10-7/2.33/15 saves) and Vic Perry (4-6/3.03/6 saves)... Niven was third best in the IPA with 84 game appearances.

Top Batters: not a very impressive bunch of batters... LF Bevan Shuler (.302/20/63/75) paced Eastshore in BA and runs... and RF Troy McFarland (.243/28/86/71) had the most homers and RBIs.

2050 Ruthlandian East Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

ROOSTERS REPEAT IN RU WEST
The Middlefield Roosters took flight in the second half of the season and triumphed in the Ruthlandian West for the second year in a row and fourth time in six seasons... Forest City led until the All-Star Game and then went into a funk and was overtaken by the red-hot Roosters... the Lumberjacks finished seven games back... preseason favorite Rocky Rapids never really challenged the leaders and ended up in the third spot, trailing by 14 games... and fourth place went to the Colfax Blasters, who were 16 games behind Middlefield.

The Roosters have their work cut out for them... to have any chance at winning their second Pro Cup, they have to get past two powerful clubs, Valmara and Sugar Valley... Middlefield won its only Pro Cup trophy in 2005 and has made the playoffs 14 times... twice the Roosters made the Finals, but lost... to South Fork in 2025 and Southport in 2047, both in seven games.

1. MIDDLEFIELD: the Roosters hit well with power and have good veteran pitching, but a weak bullpen... they went deep 208 times, third best in the IPA behind Red Bluff's 238 homers and Bayview's 231... roster is still filled with many of the '47 finalists... pitching has always been their downfall in the postseason.

Top Pitchers: All-Star James Long (25-8/1.78) led the IPA in ERA and ranked second in victories... other starters are Carroll Collier (20-15/3.36) and Hollis Dale (16-14/3.78)... Ricky Farris (10-9/3.35/14 saves) is an adequate closer... Collier and Dale are the keys to the Roosters' postseason success.

Top Batters: last year's RU MVP, Rookie of the Year and All-Star CF Johnny Wyatt (.325/57/133/114) was even better this year, leading the IPA with 57 homers and ranking second with 133 RBIs... Grand City's Benny Hull was tops with 135 RBIs... Middlefield doesn't have an easy out in the batting order with RF Timothy Hayworth (.331/17/64/101), LF Russell Martin (.260/28/83/87), 1B Cliff Patterson (.280/18/60/65), 2B Ike Gary (.282/17/72/75), C Johnny McDonald (.293/9/67/68), SS Jimmy Beach (.266/14/71/51) and 3B Cramer Landis (.263/11/61/76).

2. Forest City: the Lumberjacks won the RU West two years ago (92-62), were second last year (91-63) and runner-up again this season (84-70)... they have never won a Pro Cup... never been to the finals... the 'Jacks scored well and have fine starting pitching, but not much punch in the lineup and a poor bullpen.

Top Pitchers: All-Star Rusty Howard (22-14/2.49), Omar Cordero (17-12/3.19) and John McKee (17-12/3.57)... Howard finished fourth in the IPA in strikeouts with 277... only Waleska's Lou Carlson (285), San Alejo's Will McKinney (284) and St. John's Frank Long (280) were ahead of him.

Top Batters: rookie All-Star LF Heck Callis (.339/8/77/82), All-Star 2B-3B Ziggy Regan (.305/11/74/103), C Dan Brownmiller (.302/14/85/68), 1B Hondo Harmon (.285/18/87/69) and 3B John Foley (.302/3/45/76)

3. Rocky Rapids: for the 12th successive year the Snappers finished in the first division, ending up a distant third (77-77) after being favored to win it in the preseason poll... their last pennant came in 2046... and their only Pro Cup came in 2019... Rocky Rapids features strong pitching with fairly good starters and excellent relievers, but not much in the way of offense (27th).

Top Pitchers: 34-year-old superstud ace Jamie Taylor (20-13/1.93), the only IPA hurler ever to win 30 games in a season ('46)... was fourth in the IPA this year in ERA... other starters are Dirk Halstad (17-16/3.20), Buster Noland (15-17/3.97) and Robby Barnhill (12-12/3.61)... bullpen is headed up by closer Steve Owens (6-3/2.04/11 saves).

Top Batters: C Carney Kirkpatrick (.308/14/83/66), 2B Marty Featherstone (.279/17/78/85), 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.267/23/89/76)

4. Colfax: the Blasters came in third last year with an 86-68 record (18 GB) and slipped a little to fourth this year with a subpar 75-79 (16 GB)... 13 times they have appeared in the playoffs, winning their only Pro Cup in 2010... Colfax also got to the Finals in '32 and '42, but fell to San Alejo and South Fork... the Blaster bats are better-than-average, but the mound corps is just mediocre.

Top Pitchers: the only decent starters were Dante Breeland (17-14/4.19/5 saves), Red McCallum (13-10/3.82/2 saves) and Keith Himmel (12-10/4.24/12 saves).

Top Batters: All-Star C Darrell Dillon (.333/31/93/83), All-Star LF Robb Maddux (.297/23/94/89), 2B Dan Zalewski (.290/8/52/75), RF Stu Richardson (.293/6/72/59) and 3B Hoot Glanville (.286/14/56/61)

5. Stoner: the Stars were 80-74 last year in fifth place (24 GB) and also fifth this year with 71-83 (20 GB)... just a lackluster club with so-so offense and pitching... it's been years since they won the RU West... '29 was the last time... Stoner has never won a Pro Cup, but did reach the Finals twice... in '07 against Oxford and in '29 against Rolling Hills.

Top Pitchers: Ira Monaghan (11-8/3.02/4 saves) and Rip Martin (16-17/3.67) were the only reliable starters.

Top Batters: 1B Emmett Tread (.318/25/82/78) was the club offensive leader... the only other decent run producers were CF Morgan Miller (.283/9/68/62) and 2B Mac Lord (.251/11/64/83).

6. Fort Benton: the Defenders ended a terrible five-year run in the cellar, improving a little bit to sixth place (22 GB) this year, but still only 69-85 record-wise... the club's history reveals only one postseason appearance... that was in '37... the Defenders hit well with a .278 team BA (7th), score pretty well with 699 runs (14th-tied), but don't have much power... only 84 HRs (30th)... pitching is poor with a 4.30 team ERA (30th).

Top Pitchers: most dependable starters were Dick Shepard (15-12/4.06) and Al Mitchell (12-10/4.02)... Darius Kimberly (8-5/3.33/14 saves) was the best in the bullpen.

Top Batters: All-Star SS Lucien Lindsey (.322/9/76/83), CF Freddie Woodruff (.316/9/81/94), RF Tristan Kenyon (.316/5/48/65), C Varnell Larrimore (.287/15/80/65), 1B Todd Higginbotham (.287/18/74/40) and 2B Charley Lang (.280/9/64/65)

7. Sligo: the Rovers finished second three years ago with an 82-72 mark (10 GB), dipped to sixth and 64-90 (40 GB) last year and to seventh and 65-89 (26 GB) this season... 2040 was the last pennant year and 2021 was the only Pro Cup title season... offensively the Rovers are dismal... and just average on the hill.

Top Pitchers: Mickey Walsh (21-16/2.61) is the only hurler over .500.

Top Batters: SS Nigel Colvin (.304/13/84/62) and 16-year vet 3B Denny Simmons (.294/17/60/79) are the only decent bats in the lineup.

8. Volusia: the Vigilantes haven't made the playoffs since 2043 and haven't won a Pro Cup since 2001, the first year of the IPA... the V's have been wallowing near the bottom for the last three seasons... this year they hit rock bottom with a 63-91 record (28 GB)... not much offense or pitching.

Top Pitchers: Drew Selby (16-19/3.27) is a quality starter... Alvaro Spinosa (17-12/4.08) is the top winner... Casimiro Ramires (11-20/3.73) gives them some quality starts... there's nothing much in the bullpen.

Top Batters: not a lot of talent in the batting order... CF Lonny Womack (.242/21/73/66) led the club with 21 homers and 73 RBIs, but hit only .242... LF Robby Booth (.289/20/49/70) had the best BA at .289 and scored the most runs with 70.

2050 Ruthlandian West Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

THREE-PEAT FOR RASCALS IN THE TU NORTH
The White River Rascals just keep getting better... 94 wins in '48, 98 in '49 and 102 this season... no one won more games in the IPA this year... for the third year in a row the Rascals are the champion of the Tycobbian North Division... and it wasn't even close... they made absolute shambles of the race, running away with it by 31 games over runners-up Luxora and Hartsdale... it was no contest from the git-go... White River already had a 16-game bulge at mid-year... the Rascals will be one of the favorites to win the Pro Cup trophy this season... they are still searching for it... on two occasions they have they reached the Pro Cup Finals... in 2021 they were defeated by the Sligo Rovers in five games and last year they fell to IPA champ Valmara in six games.

1. WHITE RIVER: the Rascals are a complete ball club with terrific pitching, good scoring, firepower and defense... this could be their year to haul in their first Pro Cup.

Top Pitchers: All-Star Butch Slattery (26-8/2.41), All-Star Nicky Palmer (24-8/2.92), Keil Trickett (21-8/3.08) and Clem Warren (19-16/2.70) are one of the best starting foursome in the IPA... and closer Todd Cole (9-8/2.45/16 saves) is solid in the bullpen.

Top Batters: the big guns are star LF Billy Joe Hickman (.257/39/112/96), RF Ryne Hyland (.275/32/87/93), 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.294/22/75/92), 1B Ruben Reaves (.281/16/60/87), SS Kunta Burton (.321/7/62/83) and 2B Ryan Byrd (.263/22/90/81).

2. Luxora: the Zorros fought White River down to the wire in '49, winding up just three games out of first with a great 95-59 mark, but they didn't play well this year... both the bats and the pitching suffered serious declines and they finished badly with a 71-83 record... the Z's have never won a Pro Cup in 11 postseason appearances... they have never come close... last pennant came in 2031.

Top Pitchers: Jose Beltran (14-14/4.41) was the biggest winner and the only starter to come close to a winning season... reliever Kippy Stearns (12-4/3.62/9 saves) was the only one with a winning record.

Top Batters: no great sticks in the lineup... LF Emil Pasek (.288/23/84/83), 2B Emmett Cusack (.272/13/65/93) and 3B Tiago Chaves (.291/23/71/69) were the only decent hitters.

2. Hartsdale: the Hellcats are an also-ran with good power, but little else... despite the losing record (71-83), they finished in the first division for the seventh consecutive year... Hartsdale did win back-to-back flags in '46 and '47... and even won its only Pro Cup in '46, whipping Valmara in seven games... the Hellcats had to win games six and seven to take the IPA crown.

Top Pitchers: Dave Payne (18-18/4.98) posted the most victories on the staff... vets Perry Givens (16-15/3.66) and Gil Younger (16-21/3.80), stars of the '46 Pro Cup champs, were the most reliable starters.

Top Batters: RF Emilian Burgess (.290/20/82/75), C Kenton Carmichael (.245/25/78/78) and newly-acquired 2B James Belasario (.274/3/47/84) were the best of the lot in the weak batting order... the 29-year-old Belasario came over in a July trade with Sligo of the Ruthlandian Union and led the IPA with 42 steals.

4. Oxford: the Red Caps haven't won a pennant since the Pro Cup championship season in 2007... they are a dismal franchise and haven't had a winning year since 2045.

Top Pitchers: not much to brag about on the Red Caps, but Rudy Mellancamp (17-16/2.90) and Lou Ellison (20-15/3.77) are pretty dependable starters with a bad team.

Top Batters: 24-year-old RF Mel Shadwell (.325/19/89/80) had a coming out year... 3B Les Haynes (.282/20/73/61) was the only other reliable hitter in the lineup.

5. Mahaska: for the second straight season the Haymakers wound up in fifth place with identical 68-86 records... it's been years since they made the postseason... the last time was way back in 2028... Mahaska has never won a Pro Cup trophy, but had a shot at one in 2026 when they were swept by the Valmara Vipers in four games... the current Haymakers are just second-rate club.

Top Pitchers: Mahaska has two quality starters in young left-handers, 22-year-old Boyd Hackman (18-17/3.06) and 21-year-old Pip Cordice (16-20/3.14).

Top Batters: 1B Roger Lewis (.283/29/92/73) is a solid vet... along with good glove SS Rocco Bertara (.280/9/59/67)... 24-year-old RF Roy Wilson (.310/3/58/76) led the club with a .310 BA and had a good year, too... 3B Goose Fulton (.272/15/85/81) also posted some good numbers.

6. Blue Lake: the Blue Sox have had a long pennant drought... 2030, the year of their only Pro Cup win, was the last time they won the Tycobbian North Division... Blue Lake has been down in the standings for the last two seasons, going 66-88 (32 GB) and 67-87 (35 GB), ending up in seventh and sixth place... the Blue Sox have bad pitching and humdrum hitting.

Top Pitchers: 21-year-old Dookie Denham (16-14/4.71) paced the club with 16 wins, but had a sky-high ERA... he was the only starter with a winning record.

Top Batters: veteran All-Star C Juan Luis Barcelona (.314/14/65/91) was the club leader in BA and runs... RF Burl Baugh (.260/20/81/62) had the most homers... and LF Jude Rupp (.302/19/95/83) led in RBIs... not much else to note in the lineup other than this trio.

7. North Hills: another terrible year for the once-proud Hawks... 66-88 and seventh place (36 GB)... since winning the pennant in '45, they have steadily tumbled downward in the standings... from 2034 to 2045 the Hawks won four Pro Cups and 11 pennants... this year's squad is the worst pitching since 2020 and the worst at the plate since 2027.

Top Pitchers: 37-year-old Tony Mack (13-13/4.76) is the best starter... he was one of the aces in the team's golden years, but now age has taken it toll... 28-year-old Carver Dillon (14-9/2.91/10 saves) is a standout in the bullpen.

Top Batters: budding star and All-Star RF Chuck Coltharpe (.309/31/85/107) is already an outstanding player at age 24... 38-year-old star 3B Tommy Vavas (.266/19/86/73) still can perform... he was a mainstay of the Pro Cup years... other offensive contributors are 26-year-old CF Bucky Winslow (.294/12/53/83) and 1B Glennis Kardon (.270/13/68/74).

8. Fairfax: the Frogs are another team that has fallen on hard times in recent years... for the sixth time in seven seasons they are a second division ball club... a cellar-dweller the last two years with 65-89 records... no pennant in 18 years... and no Pro Cups in the team's history... Fairfax has the worst pitching in the IPA with a super-high 5.02 ERA... they are also near the bottom offensively, too... only 622 runs scored (30th-tied).

Top Pitchers: 17-year veteran Harold Dorman (14-20/6.17) had the most wins, but had his worst season ever... Shaun O'Riley (12-15/2.92) was the only effective starter... Lyle Linden (11-5/3.05/12 saves) did well in the bullpen.

Top Batters: 28-year-old star All-Star C Scott Courtney (.339/22/75/77) had a fine year... he is a career .309 hitter in his 10 seasons... 36-year-old CF Trent Russell (.279/24/73/81) topped the Frogs in homers and runs.

2050 Tycobbian North Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

SUN SOX SHINE IN SECOND HALF, WIN TU SOUTH
During the first half of the Tycobbian South season the Southport Sun Sox staggered quite a bit... they trailed front-running and defending champ San Alejo by 8 games at the halfway point... the Montaneros had easily won the TU South last year and were the preseason pick to repeat, but Southport suddenly put it all together and roared to an 8-game victory over the second-place Monties... the Sun Sox posted a great 52-22 mark in the final three months to overtake San Alejo, who slumped to 36-38... this was Southport's seventh division flag in nine years... twice they have captured the Pro Cup ('44 and '47)... the Sun Sox would like nothing better than to add to their collection of IPA crowns... they were third in the Tycobbian Union with 98 wins and possess strong pitching and solid bats.... Southport has a wealth of players with Pro Cup experience and should do well in the playoffs, but must first get by powerful White River in the opening round.

1. SOUTHPORT: the Sun Sox's pitching went south last year and they fell from a lofty 101-53 in 2048 to 83-71 in 2049... but it came back this year, aided by a trade... they picked up lackluster jouneyman Tom Chambers from Chicopee and he won 22 games... in the previous 8 years with the Braves he was only 60-74.

Top Pitchers: star Johnny Swanson (17-11/2.58), All-Star Tommy Hoover (19-13/3/12), Tom Chambers (22-11/3.33) and Brandon Delmore (17-10/3.90)... two excellent relievers lead the bullpen: Troy Hill (14-5/1.85/21 saves) and Hal Combs (7-5/1.95/8 saves)... Hill was third in the IPA with 21 saves... only rookie Martin Futch of Ranwood with 26 and Domenico Renterias of Sugar Valley with 25 were ahead of Hill.

Top Batters: C Vasillis Vlachos (.293/27/93/78), LF Tony Patrano (.308/26/109/74), RF Chris Jones (.304/4/55/90), 2B Owen Wallace (.288/4/60/94) and platooners 1B Eddy Douglas (.294/15/47/40) and 1B Zee Graham (.333/23/64/56).

2. San Alejo: the Montaneros were breezing along in June, heading toward a second straight pennant, but badly swooned in the second half and were easily beaten by the resurgent Southport Sun Sox... the Monties are still a fine club, but just couldn't keep up with the Sun Sox... San Alejo won its only Pro Cup in 2032... five years later they made the Finals, but were beaten by Waleska in six games.

Top Pitchers: Matt Bell (23-8/1.83) and Will McKinney (26-12/1.93) are great pitchers, but they need a some help... none of the other starters and relievers are reliable.

Top Batters: the offense is very good with All-Star CF Pablo Teixeira (.311/30/104/102), All-Star LF Royce Grantham (.272/30/95/100), RF Erik Landau (.275/10/62/99), SS Benito Clemente (.295/8/57/87) and rookie 1B Alanzo Grassi (330/24/83/66).

3. Turon: the Typhoons have good hitting, but only fair pitching... they never challenged the leaders this year... Turon is a good team and has averaged 85-89 wins over the past five seasons, but they can't get past Southport and San Alejo in the standings... the Typhoons have a gloried history with 15 playoff appearances and four Pro Cup trophies, but very little in recent seasons... the titles came in '03, '06, '09 and '18... Turon also made the Finals in 2010 and 2017, but were defeated... for 15 years they really had a good run in the postseason.

Top Pitchers: pitching is the Typhoons' problem... Tom Fuller (22-10/3.19) is the only solid starter... and only Russell Mallory (12-2/1.81/12 saves) gets the job done in the bullpen.

Top Batters: Turon can put runs on the scoreboard... they had six players with 20 or more roundtrippers in the batting order with the likes of 3B Al Salisbury (.297/22/94/94), 1B Buford Cloninger (.276/24/72/89), RF Guido Gervasio (.288/24.83/80), 2B C. C. Kingsford (.279/23/84/80), LF Wallace Sonnier (.285/26/77/63), and C Neil Brandt (.293/24/77/57)... CF Eddy Spafford (.292/4/49/87) also is a pretty fair lead-off hitter and outstanding defender.

4. Summerland: the Sunsets haven't been setting the league on fire lately... they won the pennant in '46, but fizzled the next three years, ending up in the basement last season (57-97)... Summerland turned it around to 77-77 this year, winding up fourth (21 GB) in the standings... they still depend on good pitching... they have rarely had a good hitting team... only four times have the Sunsets graced the playoffs and they have yet to win a Pro Cup, but they came close to winning it in 2040, falling to the Ranford Bulls in seven games.

Top Pitchers: at 33, longtime star Jayson Hallstrom (23-14/2.79) is still the ace and gets helps from 21-year-old Rudy Hilgendorf (17-13/3.42)... the other two starters are Lanny Meredith (11-20/3.22), a talented 22-year-old... and Tony Charles (11-8/3.92), the number four man.

Top Batters: the club leader was 1B Kenny Douglas (.263/32/96/90) with help from SS Alex Abbotson (.298/23/83/73), RF Rick Mayes (.272/22/65/79), CF Tony Vargas (.289/1/39/75) and 2B Zane Howe (.304/16/66/43).

5. Colchester: the Elites have finished in the second division for the last 14 years... '37 was the last pennant... they have never won the Pro Cup... for the last two seasons the Elites have been nearing the .500 mark... they are a fair-to-middling ball club... very little pitching and a little above average at the plate.

Top Pitchers: rookie Lynwood Ginger (18-17/3.99), Denzel Durand (16-16/3.75) and Dan Scott (15-13/4.38) are fair starters... Colchester only has a so-so bullpen.

Top Batters: super rookie CF Kelton McFalls (.296/43/113/86) and All-Star LF Eldon McLennan (.321/13/76/101) are budding superstars... and rookie 3B Brett Applewhite (.315/8/53/87) and SS James Murchison (.311/12/59/82) show good promise.

6. Ginza: it was a mediocre year for the Ninjas again... they finished sixth for the second year in a row with 72-82 records... no pennant in years... the last division title came in 2031... no Pro Cups yet in their trophy case.

Top Pitchers: Carlos Del Toro (12-18/3.49) is the most effective starter, but T. C. Gallimore (17-19/4.19) led the club in wins... and also losses... 210-game winner Charley Waskins (16-12/4.76) gives them an occasional quality start... so does number four starter Tokuji Takahara (13-16/4.37)... veteran closer Timmy Hickens (10-5/2.34/17 saves) is still the best hurler on the staff by far.

Top Batters: superstar All-Star and Gold Glover LF Sogo Takagi (.315/32/96/114) had a wonderful season even at age 37... Takagi tied Chicopee's Arlen Buchanan for the IPA lead in doubles with 45... other productive hitters were 1B Kyle Estes (.267/13/95/69), 2B Kazumi Tamura (.297/4/65/63), 3B Horace Dyson (.296/10/47/69) and CF Harley Harvey (.382/8/55/60).

7. Cape Coral: the last good year for the Hurricanes was '47 when they came in fourth with an 85-69 mark (7 GB)... since then all downhill... 74-80 and fifth place two seasons back to 70-84 and seventh place the last two years... no division flags since 2041... and the Ninjas have never hoisted a Pro Cup... but they did make the Finals in the first year of the IPA in '01... however Volusia swept them in four games... the current 'Canes can still hit, but can't get anybody out.

Top Pitchers: Cape Coral doesn't have much in the way of pitching... the best of the lot are so-so at best... 36-year-old vet Vernon Marks (15-16/3.97) and 35-year-old Benton McCall (12-17/3.89) led the starters... 37-year-old closer Terry Baird (12-6/4.15/12 saves) may be showing his age.

Top Batters: All-Star SS-3B Scotty Jackson (.296/36/109/105) had a career year at age 30... CF Teddy Plimpton (.237/19/95/96) didn't hit much with a .237 average, but was productive with 95 RBIs and 96 runs... veteran 2B Kent Mantle (.266/27/89/73) is still a threat... C Tommy Jaggs (.310/14/86/53) had a solid season... 1B Tommy Hazle (.265/9/66/77), RF Eduardo Plassio (.288/4/51/71) and SS Dorson Crabbe (.281/11/66/69) showed well, too.

8. Arroyo Grande: the Suns made some progress last year, winding up in fourth place with a 75-79 record, but came in last this year for the seventh time in 13 seasons, finishing 64-90... the Suns have horrendous pitching and less-than-average offense.. they have only made the postseason four times in the team's history with no Pro Cup trophies.... Arroyo Grande last won the pennant in 2024.

Top Pitchers: Enrique Lopez (15-17/3.92) and Anthony Lombardi (13-19/4.14) were decent starters... and Russ Simmons (4-4/3.03/6 saves) did OK in the bullpen.

Top Batters: three players pretty much carried the offensive load for the Suns... RF Norishige Ito (.284/46/121/120), All-Star 1B Vince Kinston (.285/46/104/93) and SS Russell Taylor (.275/28/66/90)... Ito and Kinston both totaled 46 homers and over 100 RBIs in very impressive seasons... Ito could be in the running for the Tycobbian Golden Bat Award, given to the best batter in the league.

2050 Tycobbian South Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

EP PANTHERS HIT WAY TO TU EAST PENNANT
With a resounding roar the East Point Panthers made themselves heard for the first time in more than a decade... it was a joyful noise... the Panthers captured the Tycobbian East title for the first time since 2039 by battering their way to victory... they started off slowly in the early months of the season, but finished strongly... the Panthers were fourth in the standings and trailed Red Bluff by five games at the All-Star break, but quickly took command in July and slowly overcame all comers... they defeated Midway by four games, defending division champ Tuckanarra by six and High Mesa by eight games... Red Bluff faded to fifth place and 12 games off the pace... East Point has never won the Pro Cup... the closest they ever got was in 2033 when they lost in seven games to Elnora... the Panthers are not likely to win the overall IPA crown this year... they just don't have the pitching.

EAST POINT: for the last nine years the Panthers have been floundering around in the lower depths of the division and finally snapped out of it with a flourish... wholesale roster changes did the trick... the Panther bats came alive with 208 home runs, third-best in the IPA behind Red Bluff (238 HRs) and Bayview (231 HRs)... they were second in scoring with 849 runs, ranking third behind leader Bay St. Clair (903 runs) and Claxton (861 runs)... coupled with fair good pitching and a fine bullpen, East Point did a great turnaround.

Top Pitchers: Milt Easterling (22-7/3.58) and Joey Hilton (20-12/4.09) were the main starters... in the bullpen rookie closer Pudgy Putnam (11-8/2.38/14 saves) led a solid group of four relievers, who recorded a sparkling 2.45 ERA, fifth best in the Tycobbian Union.

Top Batters: the Panther batting order featured three players with 38 or more homers and 100 RBIs, sparked by C Kenny Bailey (.309/40/111/80), rookie RF Doug Dennhardt (.275/39/105/81) and rookie 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.262/38/110/78)... rookie SS Justin McRae (.306/14/75/110) was a good one, too.

2. Midway: the Wolves are a good-around club, solid in all aspects of the game... they hit with power, too, with 181 HRs (tied for 6th)... they have no playoff appearances since winning the pennant in '27... and no Pro Cup, though they did reach the Finals in '22 and lost to Crystal Lake in six games... Midway improved from fifth place and 76-78 (10 GB) to 87-67 (4 GB) this year with much better pitching and hitting.

Top Pitchers: 22-year-old rookie All-Star Beau McCloud (22-12/2.47) had a superlative season with lots of help from veteran Charlie Chase (23-14/2.90)... the bullpen led the Tycobbian Union with a 1.98 ERA, paced by Rocket Rhodes (7-5/2.21/9 saves)... one more bonafide starter and Midway will be a tough team to beat.

Top Batters: the Wolves have a rock-solid bunch in the batter's box with All-Star LF Justin Morrison (.324/17/103/93), his older brother Mel Morrison (.283/30/96/77), RF Alfie Kincade (.292/31/98/76), rookie catcher A. J. McLouth (.245/29/91/60), 3B Kax Clark (.306/13/67/103) and SS Joey Keswick (.260/12/43/106).

3. Tuckanarra: the Blue Jays have finished in the first divsion for 28 straight seasons, an unprecedented achievement... 18 times the Tucks have made the postseason playoffs, winning three Pro Cups in '23, '24 and '35... they won the TU East flag last year... and ran a pretty good race this year, losing out to East Point by 6 games... the Blue Jays score well (732 runs/12th) and have solid pitching (3.63 ERA/11th), but could use more home-run power (123 HRs/24th-tied).

Top Pitchers: three good veteran starters in the Blue Jays rotation: Dickie Pittman (18-9/2.70), Alfie Rutledge (22-12/3.23) and Ozzie Leslie (20-14/3.46)... they need a better bullpen.

Top Batters: no big bats in the lineup... the most reliable ones were 2B Bud Bostic (.313/5/55/61), LF Cedric Dennison (.304/15/79/80), 1B Rodger Parsons (.299/18/70/68) and CF Harv Bannerman (.277/21/54/82).

4. High Mesa: the Cowboys captured the division crown in '48 with a 99-55 record... but slipped since, dipping to fourth place the last two seasons... they went 81-73 (5 GB) in '49 and 83-71 this year (8 GB)... High Mesa has only been to the playoffs three times in its existence, winning the Pro Cup once (2002)... the Cowpokes have good starters, average bullpen and average bats.

Top Pitchers: Dickie Sternfeld (19-12/3.04), Tuffy Hammel (19-14/3.02), Lucius Quarles (12-15/2.53) and Tee Bo Templet (13-13/3.89) are a quality starting four... William Morris (5-3/2.93/3 saves) is the only reliable reliever.... however, inconsistent Delwyn Anson (9-8/4.34/18 saves) collected the most saves and ranked sixth in the IPA.

Top Batters: two 37-year-old vets are the prime runmakers: 1B Kris Wilson (.300/22/91/76) and 3B Andreas Stokke (.279/40/89/78)... other contributors were CF Gilberto Spinoza (.255/12/70/93) and 2B Randy Sweetland (.260/4/59/94)... the Cowboys need some new, young bats.

5. Red Bluff: the Red Sox topped the TU East at mid-season by one game over Tuckanarra, three better than Midway and five up on East Point, but they couldn't sustain it and fell to fifth in the second half, winding up 12 GB with a 79-75 mark... for seven years the Red Sox won the pennant or came in second... from '44 to '47 they took four division crowns in a row... however, Red Bluff has pulled in only one Pro Cup trophy... that was 2004 when they whipped Sugar Valley in five games... the Red Sox led the IPA in homers with 238, can score well (799 runs-5th), but come up short on the hill with a 4.09 team ERA (21st)... better pitching would enable them to challenge for the division title.

Top Pitchers: All-Star Mickey Rosen (17-16/3.76), Jud Cox (16-12/3.17) and Felix Delatte (13-13/3.56) are the most dependable starters.

Top Batters: 25-year-old All-Star and fine-fielding SS Dazzy Bevis (.299/34/101/109) had a very impressive sophomore season, along with 38-year-old veteran star 3B Fran Blanchard (.281/37/98/74), 1B Josh Stevens (.286/27/69/51), 36-year-old SS Leemon O'Donovan (.248/22/51/63) and 40-year-old star CF Ike Sweetwater (.305/15/52/61)... Sweetwater retired at the end of the season with a lifetime .285 BA, 521 HRs, 1500 RBIs and 1598 runs... he was a five-time All-Star and Gold Glover... the Red Sox are an aging club and need an infusion of young bloods at the plate and on the mound.

6. South Fork: since winning the TU East flag in 2043, the Stallions have slipped into a fair-to-middling ball club... in '49 they went 73-81 (13 GB) and 76-78 (15 GB) this season... the Stallions won the Pro Cup in 2042 and 2025 and have appeared in the postseason playoffs on six occasions... they don't currently have the pitching or hitting to contend for the division title.

Top Pitchers: the starters are fairly good with 28-year-old Kip Cleaver (20-17/3.13) and three aging vets: 36-year-old Tony Haskell (16-13/3.69), 35-year-old Jay Murphy (15-14/4.38) and the 35-year-old number-four man Jonas Clay (12-8/2.82/3 saves)... Hatchell came in a trade with Waleska in the Spring... John Clay Whitehurst (10-9/3.46/13 saves) is one of the few good relievers in the pen.

Top Batters: the main bats in the lineup belong to LF Jack Boswell (.284/27/86/92), C Rudy Maroney (.299/17/81/77), SS Pete Arnold (.275/15/61/93) and 2B Artie Whitlow (.303/12/56/68).

7. Ozarka: for the fifth successive year the Naturals were near the bottom of the division... they were in the cellar last year with a 62-92 mark (24 GB)... seventh this year, but their record improved to 75-79 (16 G B)... better bats and better pitching was the reason... it's been 10 years since the Nats won the TU East... 15 times in the club's history they have made the playoffs, but have never won a Pro Cup, but did make the Finals on five occasions ('11, '12, '16, '19, '20).

Top Pitchers: Marlin Mathewson (17-13/4.15) has the most wins on the club, but it was veteran Carl Hemus (15-19/2.89) with the best ERA... two relievers stood out in the bullpen: Gene White (9-5/1.36/14 saves) and Jim Greene (6-3/2.72/11 saves).

Top Batters: Naturals have a poor offense, ranking 29th in the TU with a only 627 runs scored... All-Star 3B Artie Clayton is the only real threat in the lineup with 42 homers, 117 RBIs and 97 runs scored, but he batted just .264... 1B Kyler Hartman topped the team with .296, but drove in only 73 runs and scored just 60 times.

8. Hillsboro: the Blazers are the only team in the IPA to never have made the playoffs... the closest the club has ever come was 2 GB in '20, 4 GB in '33 and 4 GB again last year in '49... Beechwood, Kilkenny and Belle Plaine are the next worst franchises with only one appearance in the postseason... Hillsboro was fell from third last year with an 82-72 mark down to 75-79 this year (8th), but they finished only four games under .500... the Blazers have fairly decent pitching, but very little offense, ranking 23rd with 673 runs.

Top Pitchers: workhorse Jamie Lee Bradley (22-16/3.58) is the longtime ace... he got help from Bailey Bilbow (15-10/2.92)... Bilbow went out to injury in August... veteran Jeff Cooper (11-15/3.33) also pitched well this year, but his record didn't show it... he had racked up 20 victories the previous two seasons... there were no standouts in the bullpen.

Top Batters: only longtime slugger LF Jurrien Bellini (.262/37/102/89) and rookie 1B Boof Bagwell (.265/23/80/61) had much success... Bellini went over the 500 mark in homers this season... but he has batted a poor .248 in his career... 2B Bob Foster (.271/9/50/85) had the best batting average at just .271... that shows you how bad the offense was.

2050 Tycobbian East Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

BUCS WIN TU WEST AGAIN, REDS DISTANT 2ND
For the second straight year the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are the class of the Tycobbian West... they were hands down the best in the West, wiping out the division by 13 games over runner-up Rolling Hills... the Reds managed to hang in the chase till mid-year, then vanished in the second half of the season... the other clubs were nowhere in sight... La Claire was 24 games back in third place and Arlon was 29 games behind in fourth place... Bay St. Clair possesses the best run-scoring machine in the IPA with almost 6 runs a game and should be a potent force in the postseason this year... the Bucs would like nothing better than to bring home their first Pro Cup trophy... but Valmara, Sugar Valley, Middlefield and White River will have a lot to say about who wins the Pro Cup this year... there are a lot of strong challengers.

1. BAY ST. CLAIR: the Bucs need another strong starter to contend for the Pro Cup ... number three starter Jerry MacIntyre will be the key... the club improved from 93-62 last year to 99-55 with an improved offense... Bay St. Clair will be seeking its first Pro Cup... they made the Finals in '15, but were defeated by the Taranto Tars in five games.

Top Pitchers: Scotty Hedwall (22-10/2.85) and Dion Hawkins (20-7/2.96) are two very capable starters, but they will need help from Jerry MacIntyre (16-9/4.58) to be a factor in the Pro Cup playoffs... the Buccaneer bullpen is awesome with Ian Abercrombie (10-5/1.70/13 saves) and Cadillac Bogart (8-8/2.41/11 saves)... definitely no problem there... they are ranked second in the Tycobbian Union with a very strong 2.10 ERA.

Top Batters: the Bucs topped the IPA with 903 runs and ranked fourth with a .281 BA... the only clubs better were Ranford (.287), St. John (.285) and Valmara (.283)... the Buccaneer batting order is chocked full of solid hitters: LF Stan Kovalenko (.307/13/80/119), 1B Clive Caviness (.315/28/107/86), RF Butch Thornhill (.282/21/98/99), C Hersh Cranmore (.305/20/90/82) and All-Star 2B Dwayne Mungle (.288/7/76/106)... Kovalenko ranked third with 119 runs, topped only by Norishigi Ito of Arroyo Grande and Ryan Reagan of Kilkenny, who led the IPA with 120 each.

2. Rolling Hills: the Reds won it all just two seasons ago, beating Claxton in the IPA Pro Cup title series... it was the team's third Pro Cup trophy... they also won years ago in '29 and '31... the slow downswing from 95-59 ('48) to 89-65 ('49) to this year's 86-68 is a result of an aging pitching corps.

Top Pitchers: Matthew Christianson (18-9/3.42), Marty Phillips (19-15/4.25), Steve Adams (17-9/4.22) and Johnny Howard (15-19/3.22)... Christianson is 36, Howard 36, Adams 35 and Phillips is 33... Benny Young (6-3/3.88/13 saves) is the most reliable reliever in a suspect bullpen.

Top Batters: the big sticks are All-Star 2B Miguel Romeros (.327/28/121/105), All-Star SS Dustin Thibodeau (.304/21/77/117), star 1B Darwin Tard (.281/21/92/86) and LF Orin Phillips (.288/25/92/74)... Romeros ranked fifth in the IPA with 121 RBIs and Thibodeau was sixth with 117 runs.

3. La Claire: the Lynx finished in the third spot in the standings, but they are still far from being a real contender in the Tycobbian West... however, the club is slowly making progress: 54-100 (31 GB) in '47, 60-94 (35 GB) in '48, 68-86 (24 GB) in '49 and up to 75-79 (24 GB) this season... the last pennant came in '38 and the Lynx have never won a Pro Cup.

Top Pitchers: the only starter with an ERA under 4.00 was rookie Joel Orgeron (16-12/3.72)... he also was the only one with a winning record... the bullpen corps is pretty good with Al Nixon (6-1/2.19/7 saves) and Derrick Kajlich (7-3/2.72/5 saves).

Top Batters: just an average hitting club, most of the La Claire offense is supplied by 1B Doug Stewart (.329/10/88/76), 3B Sam Essex (.267/32/90/94), RF Rikky Van Dalen (.303/13/62/80) and CF J. D. Landy (.238/14/75/86).

4. Arlon: not a good year for the Champions, though they came in fourth... for the third straight year they finished under the .500 mark with average pitching and with the third-worst offense in the IPA... the Champs scored only 599 runs... only the Eastshore Elegants (564) and Ancona Red Elephants (582) of the Ruthlandian Union scored fewer runs... Arlon has made the postseason playoffs only five times and have yet to garner a Pro Cup... the last pennant came in '43... and the only shot at a Pro Cup trophy was in '39 when they were whipped in six games by the Waleska Westerners.

Top Pitchers: at 34 superstar Lanny Gray (19-10/2.68) is still firing away on the mound and is still the ace with a career 268-215 record and a fine 3.05 ERA... the only help he has is closer Mack Blair (10-5/1.58/20 saves)... Blair was fifth in the IPA in saves with 20... Ranwood's Martin Futch led with 26, Sugar Valley's Domenico Renterias had 25 and Southport's Troy Hill and San Dimas' Kenny Robinson totaled 21 apiece.

Top Batters: the only Champs with decent numbers are veterans 1B Ivan Cisneros (.281/23/91/83) and CF Cary Rockwell (.285/15/81/53).

5. Kenwood: they wound up in a three-way tie for fifth this season with Denton City and Bayview (30 GB)... for the the third year in a row the Wildcats took a tumble... they won the division flag six times in seven seasons from '41 to '47... since then they have slumped from 85 wins (first place) in '47, to 81 (second place) in '48, 79 (fourth place) in '40 and to 69-85 and fifth place this year... Kenwood captured its only Pro Cup in 2014, beating Belair Beach in seven games.

Top Pitchers: only two Wildcat hurlers are reliable... veteran starter Rusty Bradford ((19-14/3.06) and reliever Mike Jones (10-11/3.02/14 saves).

Top Batters: superstar hitter and All-Star 1B Country Crowder (.340/6/56/95) led the Ruthlandian Union in batting for a second time with a .340 BA... he also paced the league for the third time with 213 hits... lifetime Crowder is a .336 hitter... only Jet Kazmarek (.350), Roy Hobbs (.345), Chip Fiske (.344), and Whit Miley (.341) have better career averages... superstar All-Star C Corky DiNozzo (.306/43/108/96) is still going strong at age 34... also chipping in some offense were 2B Jace McFalls (.290/9/60/69) and 3B Jasper Matthews (.275/19/76/66) and platooners LF Billy Nix (.291/17/53/42) and CF Ian Collingham (.291/12/54/34).

5. Denton City: last year the Redbirds lost in a heartbreaker playoff in extra innings to Bay St. Clair for the Tycobbian West Division title... this year they plunged to a three-way tie for fifth place, falling from a lofty 92-63 to a dismal 69-85... it's been 10 years since the Redbirds won a pennant... and they still haven't hauled in a Pro Cup trophy... currently Denton City has only average pitching and a poor offense.

Top Pitchers: the starters all took a hit this year with the team ERA jumping from a terrific 2.72 to so-so 3.80... Flash Stringfellow (17-16/3.56) and James Webb (13-12/3.62/2 saves) were the only starters with winning records, but their ERAs soared from last year... vets Johnny Wingate (13-22/3.13) and Harry Elliott (11-16/4.33) took a lot of losses... Wingate didn't deserve it with over 85% quality starts... Elliott made a good start less than half the time... Mel Coley went from 20-12 with a 3.05 ERA to 9-15 this year with a 4.35 ERA... the bullpen was nothing to boast about.

Top Batters: 1B Val Anniston (.270/21/99/66) was the top man putting runs on the scoreboard, but batted only .270... All-Star 3B Rich Prince (.315/13/64/72) and RF Matt Wakely (.313/13/53/70) had the best batting averages... SS Vincent McCloud (.264/5/40/104 and CF Petey Doyle (.276/14/60/530 also contributed to the offense.

5. Bayview: the Vikings wound up in a three-way tie for fifth place in the standings 30 games off the pace... they hit a lot of homers and score a lot of runs, but they give up more homers and more runs... that's pretty much the history of the Bayview Vikings... no playoff appearances since 2016... and no Pro Cups... never have even made the Finals.

Top Pitchers: Bobby Knudsen (18-19/3.80) led the club and had the best ERA... got little help from any other starter or reliever... team ERA was a pathetic 4.84 (31st)... only Fairfax with a horrendous 5.02 was worse in the IPA.

Top Batters: the Vik attack ranked second in the IPA with 231 roundtrippers, topped only by Red Bluff's 238... placed fourth in runs with 820... superstar All-Star RF Nioka Inkamara (.317/50/120/93) led with 50 homers, bested only by the IPA leader Johnny Wyatt of Middlefield with 57... the all-time home-run hitter in IPA history 36-year-old 3B Jerry Culpepper (.297/39/109/72) hit 39 out of the park, giving him 875 for his fabulous career... LF Cooter Cannon (.231/26/91/97) and IF Clifford Colemand (.227/26/55/51) each pitched in with 26 longballs... 1B Mac Garris (.270/21/73/87) added 21 homers to the team totals... and CF Rusty Hunter (.333/5/66/96) led the team with a .333 BA.

8. Chicopee: the Braves came in last this season with a 65-89 mark (34 GB)... down from 70-84 last year (22 GB)... no playoffs since the three-year stretch from 2034 to 2036 when they won the TU West pennant... Chicopee is still waiting to win its first Pro Cup.

Top Pitchers: Tony Dazzi (16-19/3.87), Sharlon Barbour (13-19/3.84) and Gary Robinson (11-12/3.62) were so-so starters... no one worth mentioning in the relief corps.

Top Batters: the best bat performers were LF Johnny Helwig (.337/13/70/69), 1B Sam Patrick (.269/25/76/62), SS Arlen Buchanan (.285/8/72/83) and RF Pat Kinney (.289/4/60/75).

2050 Tycobbian West Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2050

IPA POSTSEASON PLAYOFFS SLATED FOR WEDNESDAY
The eight best teams in Islandia are getting set to battle for the IPA Pro Cup playoffs beginning this Wednesday afternoon. The Valmara Vipers of the Ruthlandian Union are back again to defend their title against seven other division winners. In first round acton the Vipers will be at home at War Memorial Stadium playing host to the underdog St. John Crusaders in a best-of-seven series. In the other Ruthlandian clash it will be two other highly-regarded clubs opposing one another. The Sugar Valley Rattlers will entertain the Middlefield Roosters at Farmers Memorial Park. In the Tycobbian Union the Southport Sun Sox will travel to White River Stadium to play the hometown Rascals and the East Point Panthers will be in Bay St. Clair at Shoreline Park.

The pollsters are predicting a replay of last year when Valmara topped White River in six games. Sugar Valley is expected to give the Vipers a tussle for the Ruthlandian championship and Bay St. Clair is the Rascals' biggest hurdle for the Tycobbian crown.

IPA Postseason Poll by The Islandian Times

1. VALMARA VIPERS (100-54): the Vipers are good all-around... hitting, power, pitching and defense... relief pitching is their only weakness... they are seeking a record-tying fourth Pro Cup... the Vipers won it previously in '49, '44 and '26... they have won the RU North six times in the last eight seasons... Valmara still won the division despite losing their number three starter Teddy Twardzik for the whole season... both he and number four starter Mark Polaski (14-9/3.82) will miss the playoffs... Twardzik was 22-14 in '49 and 28-7 in '48... in the postseason Twardzik is 12-4 with a 2.38 ERA in 19 starts... he will be greatly missed.
Top Pitchers: All-Star Darus Grajek (25-9/1.98), Primo Sirak (19-10/2.63), Darek Polaski (18-8/2.42)
Top Batters: All-Star C Karol Koska (.286/34/132/79), SS Ken Jensen (.320/13/67/100), CF Don Ritchie (.312/9/77/118), 2B Jorge Aparicio (.318/4/54/84), RF Boyd Holmes (.332/20/84/73).

2. White River Rascals (102-52): led the IPA in victories this year... easily won their third pennant in a row, winning this year by an unprecedented 31 games... the Rascals are a complete ball club with terrific pitching, good scoring, firepower and defense... this could be their year to haul in their first Pro Cup.
Top Pitchers: All-Star Butch Slattery (26-8/2.41), All-Star Nicky Palmer (24-8/2.92), Keil Trickett (21-8/3.08) and Clem Warren (19-16/2.70) are one of the best starting foursome in the IPA... and closer Todd Cole (9-8/2.45/16 saves) is solid in the bullpen.
Top Batters: the big guns are star LF Billy Joe Hickman (.257/39/112/96), RF Ryne Hyland (.275/32/87/93), 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.294/22/75/92), 1B Ruben Reaves (.281/16/60/87), SS Kunta Burton (.321/7/62/83) and 2B Ryan Byrd (.263/22/90/81).

3. Sugar Valley Rattlers (99-55): For the third straight season and sixth time in eight years the Rattlers are the champion of the Ruthlandian East Division... won their only Pro Cup in '45 and have many of those players still on the club... Sugar Valley led the IPA with a superb 2.79 team ERA... White River with a 2.96 ERA and Valmara at 2.97 ranked second and third overall in the IPA... manager Bobby Gamble says this year's squad may be better than the Pro Cuppers in '45.
Top Pitchers: Christopher Dunsberry (24-6/2.57/2 saves), Joe Snow (23-10/2.40), Cullen Winslow (20-9/3.04) and Antonio Cedeno (19-14/2.38) are a fearsome foursome... the bullpen is not as strong, though Domenico Renterias (6-6/4.17/25 saves) was second in the IPA in saves... the bullpen will be boosted in the postseason with the addition of one of the starters to the relief corps... spot starter Davey Brennan (7-7/3.20/3 saves) will also be used in long relief.
Top Batters: Sugar Valley has nine players with 10 or more homers, led by young 23-year-old RF Duncan McEllicott (.297/38/99/86) and veteran star CF Carl Ramsey (.272/32/95/90) with 38 and 32 longballs respectively... the Rattlers don't hit for much average, batting only .252 (28th) during the season, but they made up for it with 180 home runs (2nd).

4. Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (99-55): the Bucs will be seeking their first Pro Cup... they made the Finals in '15, but were defeated by the Taranto Tars in five games... the Buccaneers have a high-scoring machine that averaged almost 6 runs a game... they should be a potent force in the postseason playoffs... number three starter Jerry MacIntyre will be the key... if he does well, the Bucs could win the Pro Cup.
Top Pitchers: Scotty Hedwall (22-10/2.85) and Dion Hawkins (20-7/2.96) are two very capable starters, but they will need help from Jerry MacIntyre (16-9/4.58) to be a factor in the Pro Cup playoffs... the Buccaneer bullpen is awesome with Ian Abercrombie (10-5/1.70/13 saves) and Cadillac Bogart (8-8/2.41/11 saves)... definitely no problem there... they are ranked second in the Tycobbian Union with a very strong 2.10 ERA.
Top Batters: the Bucs topped the IPA with 903 runs and ranked fourth with a .281 BA... the only clubs better were Ranford (.287), St. John (.285) and Valmara (.283)... the Buccaneer batting order is chocked full of solid hitters: LF Stan Kovalenko (.307/13/80/119), 1B Clive Caviness (.315/28/107/86), RF Butch Thornhill (.282/21/98/99), C Hersh Cranmore (.305/20/90/82) and All-Star 2B Dwayne Mungle (.288/7/76/106)... Kovalenko ranked third with 119 runs, topped only by Norishigi Ito of Arroyo Grande and Ryan Reagan of Kilkenny, who led the IPA with 120 each.

5. Southport Sun Sox (98-56): the Sun Sox would like nothing better than to add to their collection of IPA crowns... they won Pro Cups in 2044 and 2047, whipping Wynnamac and Middlefield... the Sun Sox were third in the Tycobbian Union with 98 wins and possess strong pitching and solid bats.... Southport has a wealth of players with Pro Cup experience and should do well in the playoffs, but must first get by powerful White River in the opening round...
the Sun Sox's pitching went south last year and they fell from a lofty 101-53 in 2048 to 83-71 in 2049... but it came back this year, aided by a trade... they picked up lackluster jouneyman Tom Chambers from Chicopee and he won 22 games... in the previous 8 years with the Braves he was only 60-74.
Top Pitchers: star Johnny Swanson (17-11/2.58), All-Star Tommy Hoover (19-13/3/12), Tom Chambers (22-11/3.33) and Brandon Delmore (17-10/3.90) are the starters... two excellent relievers lead the bullpen: Troy Hill (14-5/1.85/21 saves) and Hal Combs (7-5/1.95/8 saves)... Hill was third in the IPA with 21 saves... only rookie Martin Futch of Ranwood with 26 and Domenico Renterias of Sugar Valley with 25 were ahead of Hill.
Top Batters: C Vasillis Vlachos (.293/27/93/78), LF Tony Patrano (.308/26/109/74), RF Chris Jones (.304/4/55/90), 2B Owen Wallace (.288/4/60/94) and platooners 1B Eddy Douglas (.294/15/47/40) and 1B Zee Graham (.333/23/64/56).

6. Middlefield Roosters (91-63): The Roosters have their work cut out for them... to have any chance at winning their second Pro Cup, they have to get past two powerful clubs, Valmara and Sugar Valley... Middlefield won its only Pro Cup trophy in 2005 and has made the playoffs 14 times... twice the Roosters made the Finals, but lost... to South Fork in 2025 and Southport in 2047, both in seven games... the Roosters hit well with power and have good veteran pitching, but a weak bullpen... they went deep 208 times, third best in the IPA behind Red Bluff's 238 homers and Bayview's 231... roster is still filled with many of the '47 finalists... pitching has always been their downfall in the postseason.
Top Pitchers: All-Star James Long (25-8/1.78) led the IPA in ERA and ranked second in victories... other starters are Carroll Collier (20-15/3.36) and Hollis Dale (16-14/3.78)... Ricky Farris (10-9/3.35/14 saves) is an adequate closer... Collier and Dale are the keys to the Roosters' postseason success.
Top Batters: last year's RU MVP, Rookie of the Year and All-Star CF Johnny Wyatt (.325/57/133/114) was even better this year, leading the IPA with 57 homers and ranking second with 133 RBIs... Grand City's Benny Hull was tops with 135 RBIs... Middlefield doesn't have an easy out in the batting order with RF Timothy Hayworth (.331/17/64/101), LF Russell Martin (.260/28/83/87), 1B Cliff Patterson (.280/18/60/65), 2B Ike Gary (.282/17/72/75), C Johnny McDonald (.293/9/67/68), SS Jimmy Beach (.266/14/71/51) and 3B Cramer Landis (.263/11/61/76).

7. St. John Crusaders (90-64): the Crusaders won their first pennant since 2042... they went from 8th (26 GB) to 5th (16 GB) to 5th (10 GB) to the division crown in four seasons... St. John is still seeking its first Pro Cup trophy... however, they almost won it in 2036, but lost out in six games to the legendary North Hills Hawks... right off the bat the Crusaders will have to get by the defending Pro Cup champion Valmara Vipers to entertain any hopes of winning the IPA crown... the bats can go up against the Vipers, but St. John's pitching is suspect.
Top Pitchers: All-Star Frank Long (26-11/3.00) and Teddy de Grom (19-13/3.10) are the best starters... Long tied Will McKinney (26-12/1.93) of San Alejo and Butch Slattery (26-8/2.41) of White River for the most wins in the IPA this year... Jimmy Chambers (10-7/3.38/11 saves), Zeke Yoder (15-8/3.94) and Liam Spears (15-13/3.77) were also quality starters.
Top Batters: All-Star 1B Al Pace (.321/26/119/76), LF Sherrill Westerfield (.343/6/48/91), RF Cris Hershey (.321/11/88/86), SS Bubba Ralston (.296/12/59/105) and 2B Herbie Gruen (.265/17/92/73) led a solid core of hitters.

8. East Point Panthers (91-63): for the first time since 2039 the Panthers are finally back in the playoffs... they have never won a Pro Cup and are not likely to win this year... they just don't have the pitching... however hitting is another story... the Panther bats came alive with 208 home runs, third-best in the IPA behind Red Bluff (238 HRs) and Bayview (231 HRs)... they were second in scoring with 849 runs, ranking third behind leader Bay St. Clair (903 runs) and Claxton (861 runs)... coupled with fair good pitching and a fine bullpen, East Point did a great turnaround.
Top Pitchers: Milt Easterling (22-7/3.58) and Joey Hilton (20-12/4.09) were the main starters... in the bullpen rookie closer Pudgy Putnam (11-8/2.38/14 saves) led a solid group of four relievers, who recorded a sparkling 2.45 ERA, fifth best in the Tycobbian Union.
Top Batters: the Panther batting order featured three players with 38 or more homers and 100 RBIs, sparked by C Kenny Bailey (.309/40/111/80), rookie RF Doug Dennhardt (.275/39/105/81) and rookie 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.262/38/110/78)... rookie SS Justin McRae (.306/14/75/110) was a good one, too.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 21, 2050

2050 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 1

Ruthlandian Union

ROOSTERS ROUST RATTLERS IN OPENER 7-4
In more ways than one James Long of the Middlefield Roosters had a hand in the 7-4 triumph over Sugar Valley in the opening game of the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series played at Farmers Memorial Park in Sugar Valley... not only did he go the route, but he also drove in three runs... Long (1-0) wasn't at his best, but he beat the high-powered Rattlers, though he permitted four runs on seven hits... Long singled in two runs in the top of the first inning when Middlefield tagged loser Christopher Dunsberry (0-1) for five runs... that was all Long needed to put away the Rattlers... he also doubled in a run in the third frame.

Long and RF Timothey Hayworth both led the Roosters at the plate with two hits each... RF Duncan McEllicott homered and singled twice to pace Sugar Valley... he and 3B Smokey Nix batted in two runs apiece for the Rattlers.

VIPERS SPANK CRUSADERS 8-2 BEHIND GRAJEK
Playing the Ruthlandian LCS opener at home at War Memorial Stadium, the defending IPA champion Valmara Vipers opened up with an 8-2 win over the St. John Crusaders as 25-game winner Darus Grajek (1-0) scattered 10 hits and allowed only one earned run in a complete game performance... Grajek fanned three batters and walked none in topping 26-game winner Frank Long (0-1), who was battered for seven runs and nine hits in just five and two-thirds innings.

Heading up the Vipers' 12-hit attack was SS Ken Jensen with a two-run homer and three RBIs... LF Tomek Abramczyk added four hits and a pair of RBIs and 2B Jorge Aparicio chipped in two hits and scored twice... Jensen's smash put Valmara ahead to stay in the bottom of the fifth... 1B Al Pace and 3B Stan Cobb led the losers with a pair of hits each.

Tycobbian Union

VLACHOS' HR BIG BLOW IN SUN SOX GAME 1 WIN
Vasilis Vlachos's three-run clout in the top of the fifth snapped a scoreless duel between Billy Hoover and 26-game winner Butch Slattery to give Southport an opening game win 4-2 over White River at White River Stadium... Hoover (1-0) went all the way, gave up 11 hits, but only two runs to beat Slattery, who tied for the IPA lead in victories this season... Slattery yielded four runs and 11 hits, but went the distance, striking out three and walking three... Hoover whiffed four and walked three... both of them stranded 11 baserunners each.

In addition to Vlachos, Southport was sparked by 3B Ricky Whitaker, LF Tony Patrano and SS Yank Canyon with two hits apiece.,, 2B Ryan Byrd led the Rascals with a two-run double... Slattery, 3B Kenny Yarbrough, SS Kunta Burton and CF Pudge Tate all had two hits.

BUCS BOP PANTHERS ON RITTER'S TRIPLE IN 15TH
On their home turf at Shoreline Park in Bay St. Clair, the Buccaneers came back and won game one of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series, edging East Point 6-5 in 15 innings... Butch Thornhill sent the game into overtime with a dramatic two-run homer in the ninth and pinchhitter Ike Ritter won it when he tripled in Coy Champion who had walked to lead off the last of the 15th.

Both clubs got strong relief pitching... the Buccaneer bullpen blanked the Panthers over the last eight frames on two hits... Ian Abercrombie worked the eighth and ninth, Cadillac Bogart the tenth and the eleventh and winning pitcher Steve Swanwick tossed the final four innings... Pudgy Putnam and Joey Dulles held the Bucs scoreless for four and two-thirds innings... and the loss went to Kerry Woodburn (0-1), who surrendered the walk to Champion and the game-winning triple to Ritter.

Bay St. Clair's top bats were RF Butch Thornhill with two homers and 1B Clive Caviness with a two-run roundtripper... the Bucs collected 12 hits with Thornhill, C Andy Spencer and 3B Trace Burney getting two apiece... topping East Point were rookie 1B Alvara Cavacos with two hits, two RBIs and two runs and rookie RF Doug Dennhardt with two doubles... Cavacos went deep for the Panthers, who had 10 hits.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 22, 2050

2050 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 2

Ruthlandian Union

COLLIER SPINS 4-HITTER, ROOSTERS WIN 2-0
Great pitching by Carroll Collier put Middlefield in the driver's seat in the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series with favored Sugar Valley... Collier (1-0) spun a four-hit shutout, stopping the Rattlers 2-0 in game two of the best-of-seven series and giving the Roosters the first two games... Collier struck out six and walked two, besting Joe Snow (0-1), who also went the distance, permitting only two runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out four.

Middlefield 2B Ike Gary (.250) homered in the top of the second for the first run and LF Russell Martin (.167) plated the second one with a sacrifice fly in the sixth that scored RF Timothy Hayworth (.375) from third base.

SIRAK SINKS ST. JOHN 4-1 IN GAME 2
Homestanding Valmara was triumphant again in game two of the Ruthlandian DCS... Primo Sirak was on top of his game in a 4-1 victory over St. John at War Memorial Stadium... he outhurled Teddy de Grom in a sharp effort, holding the Crusaders to just one run and seven hits... Sirak (1-0) had six Ks and flawless control with no walks... de Grom (0-1) gave up four runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

St. John had the early lead on a first-inning homer by RF Cris Hershey (.222), but Valmara tied it up in the last of the fourth on a solo shot by C Karol Koska (.333)... the Vipers busted up the pitchers' duel in the seventh, taking a 3-1 lead on an RBI double by 3B Arnie Pliska (.333) and SP Primo Sirak's (.500) sac fly... Valmara tallied it last run on an RBI groundout by LF Paul McMahon (.250).

Tycobbian Union

PALMER EVENS SERIES, RASCALS RAP SOX 6-2
Nicky Palmer gave up a bunch of base hits, but held Southport to just two runs en route to a 6-2 White River win in game two of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series... the clubs split the first two games in White River... Palmer (1-0) tossed a complete game, but allowed 10 hits, struck out five batters and walked just one... the defeat went to Sun Sox starter Johnny Swanson (0-1)... the Rascals whacked him for nine hits and six runs in six innings.

The big hit of the game came from Pudge Tate (.375), who cracked a three-run blast to give White River a 4-1 edge in the last of the fourth... the Rascals expanded their lead to 6-1 with two more runs in the same frame... SS Kunta Burton (.571) singled in a run and 1B Ruben Reaves (.000) got another run in with a sacrifice fly.

WALLACE SUPERB IN 1-HITTER, PANTHERS PREVAIL 2-0
It's all deadlocked at one game apiece in the Tycobbian DCS between East Point and Bay St. Clair... the Panthers' Russ Wallace (1-0) notched the win in strong fashion, limiting the Buccaneers to just one hit in the 2-0 victory... he tossed eight innings, fanned four and walked four, needing help from Pudgy Putnam, who retired the Bucs in order in the ninth for the save... Dion Hawkins (0-1) suffered the loss, but only gave up one earned run and five hits in his seven innings... Bay St. Clair committed four errors in the game.

East Point put the first run on the board in the top of the third on a double by SS Justin McRae (.143) and an RBI single by Kenny Bailey (.200)... they added an insurance run in the seventh when Doug Dennhardt (.300) singled in Pokie Ash (.182) from second base.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 23, 2050

2050 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 3

Ruthlandian Union

RATTLERS SLOW DOWN ROOSTERS IN GAME 3
In the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series the Middlefield Roosters have proven to be a formidable foe for Sugar Valley... they whipped the favored Rattlers in the first two games and were headed for a third straight win with a 4-0 lead going into the top of the eight at home at Farmers Memorial Park when Sugar Valley struck for two home runs and came back to win 6-5, thus avoiding an almost always fatal 3-0 deficit... Allan Hood slugged a three-run blast to tie the score at 4-4 in the top of the eighth and Smokey Nix hit the game-winner, a two-run shot in the ninth... game three was a "must" win for the Rattlers.

The victory went to Cullen Winslow (1-0/4.50) in relief of starter Antonio Cedeno (0-0/5.14), who went the first seven innings, surrendering four runs and eight hits... Cedeno was behind 4-0 when he left the game... Winslow picked up the win despite being tagged for a one-run clout in the last of the ninth that cut the Sugar Valley lead to one run... Hollis Dale (0-1/6.00) was the losing pitcher in a poor outing... he gave up six runs on seven hits.

LF Allan Hood (.091) and 3B Smokey Nix (.182) had the big hits in the game for Sugar Valley, driving in five of the runs... C Yoshino Okada (.000) batted in the other Rattler score with a sacrifice fly... RF Timothy Hayworth (.385) socked three hits to lead the Roosters... one of them a three-run roundtripper in the fifth... 1B Cliff Patterson (.273) collected two hits and drove in a run... pinchhitter Kasey McLeod accounted for the last run with a solo homer in the ninth.

VALMARA NEARS SWEEP, BOMB STJ 11-6
Playing like a team intent of repeating as IPA champion, Valmara bombed St. John 11-6 in game three of the Ruthlandian DCS at Cathedral Stadium... with their third win in a row, the Vipers have a shot at a four-game sweep and can wrap up the best-of-seven series tomorrow... Don Ritchie, Karol Koska and Jorge Aparicio were the leaders of the 15-hit barrage that subdued the Crusaders.

CF Ritchie (.462) had a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate and drove in four runs... C Koska (.308) got his second homer of the series and batted in three runs... 2B Aparicio went 3-for-5 and scored two runs... and LF Tomek Abramczyk (.667) cracked two hits, scored twice and drove in a run in the rout... St. John smacked 11 hits and were paced by CF James Ray Winwood (.286) and SS Bubba Ralston (.357) with three hits apiece... Winwood had a two-run homer and batted in three runs.

Valmara starter Darek Polaski (1-0/3.38) had a very rocky beginning as he was shelled for five runs in the first four frames, but then he settled down and held St. John to one run in the next four innings... Polaski got the victory, but he was blistered for six runs and 11 hits in his eight innings... Kasio Bajek finished up with a runless ninth... Crusader starter Jimmy Chambers (0-1) was pounded severely for eight runs and 11 hits in just two-plus innings and caught the loss... he was down 8-4 when he went to the showers in the five-run third frame.

Tycobbian Union

3 HRS POWER RASCALS TO 6-4 WIN OVER SUN SOX
On the road at Pleasure Beach Park, visiting White River used three home runs to take the lead in the Tycobbian Division Championship Series with a 6-4 victory over the Southport Sun Sox... Ryne Hyland's two-run blast and two solo jobs by Billy Joe Hickman and Pudge Tate helped build up a 6-0 lead and gave the Rascals a two games to one lead in the best-of-seven series.

Winning pitcher Keil Trickett (1-0/5.14) in a spotty outing managed to hold off the Sun Sox with the help of closer Todd Cole... Trickett worked seven innings, permitted four runs on five hits, while fanning eight batters and walking two... Cole notched the save with two scoreless frames to close out the win... Tom Chambers (0-1) took the loss... he was slammed hard for six runs and 11 hits in seven frames.

White River racked up 14 hits with 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.500) leading the way with three hits and two runs scored... SS Kunta Burton (.500), RF Ryne Hyland (.364) and CF Pudge Tate stroked two hits each... Burton and Hyland had 2 RBIs apiece and Tate one... Southport got only seven hits... CF Ross Good (.125) and 3B Ricky Whitaker (.333) topped the Sun Sox each with two runs batted in.

PANTHERS NIP BUCS 5-4, TAKE SERIES LEAD 2-1
A fifth-inning explosion at Armed Forces Park carried the East Point Panthers past Bay St. Clair 5-4 and gave them a two to one lead in the Tycobbian Division Championship Series... in the fifth inning a three-run homer by Kenny Bailey and a solo clout by Jake O'Grady powered the Panthers past the Buccaneers... Joey Hilton was just good enough to win... Hilton (1-0/4.00) allowed four runs on eight hits, but went the distance... East Point roughed up loser Jerry MacIntyre (0-1/6.43) pretty badly for five runs and 10 hits in seven innings... the four-run fifth frame did him in.

East Point outhit Bay St. Clair 10 to 8 with LF Pokie Ash (.333) sparking the Panthers with three hits... 2B Major Woods (.286) and 1B Alvara Cavacos (.333) each added a pair of hits... but it was Bailey (.214) and O'Grady's (.143) homers that did the most damage... the best at the plate for the Bucs were 1B Clive Caviness (.231) and C Hersh Cranmore (.167) with homers... it was Caviness' second of the series.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 24, 2050

2050 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 4

Ruthlandian Union

ROOSTERS RATTLE RATTLERS, UP 3-1 IN SERIES
Middlefield took a giant step at home in its postseason quest and aspirations... the Roosters went up three games to one in the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series with a 4-2 triumph over favored Sugar Valley, one of the favorites to win the IPA Pro Cup this year... 25-game winner James Long (2-0/2.65) had his good stuff today and limited the Rattlers to two runs and five hits in eight innings... he got help from closer Randy Farris (0-0/0.00/1 save), who sat down Sugar Valley 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve the win.

The Roosters broke up a 1-1 tie with three runs in the bottom of the fifth frame... LF Russell Martin (.308) tripled in two runs and C Johnny McDonald's (.364) sacrifice fly got the third one in... Middlefield punched out 10 hits off two Rattler pitchers... Martin, McDonald and 1B Cliff Patterson (.333) all had two hits... Sugar Valley got their only runs on C Yoshino Okata's (.000) sac fly in the second and a Middlefield infield error in the seventh.

For the second time in the series, Christopher Dunsberry (0-2/4.85) had a tough outing, giving up all four runs on nine hits in six innings and getting his second loss... Middlefield can finish off the Rattlers tomorrow on their home field, Middlefield Park... if Sugar Valley survives elimination, they will have the final two games at Farmers Memorial Park and will have to win three in a row, a rarity in playoff baseball.

Teams have been down 3-1 on five occasions in the post-season and have come back to take the series... the Far Mountain Redhawks accomplished it in the 2011 Pro Cup Finals, the Kenwood Wildcats did it in the 2014 Pro Cup Finals, the Turon Typhoons pulled off the tough task in 2018 in first round play, Tuckanarra did it in the TU Final 4 in 2028 and Cold Creek came back in the 2041 RU LCS to do it.

VIPERS SWEEP CRUSADERS IN FIRST ROUND
No contest in the first round of the IPA playoffs as current Pro Cup champion Valmara easily swept past St. John in four games, pounding them 10-5 in game four at Cathedral Stadium... the Viper bats had another field day as they rattled the fences for 16 hits... they had double-digit hit totals in three of the four victories and ravaged the Crusaders for 33 runs and 49 hits.

In the fourth game Valmara disposed of St. John with a five-run outburst in the ninth inning, snapping a 5-all tie... Karol Koska doubled in the winning run, scoring Don Ritchie from second, who had also doubled to lead off the inning... the Vipers needed three pitchers to nail down the verdict with the victory going to Kasio Bajek (1-0/0.00/1 save)... Bajek came on in relief of starter Darus Grajek (1-0/3.38), who departed with the score tied at 5 after seven innings... Bajek worked a scoreless eighth and Zak Reeder (0-0/.0.00) sat down the Crusaders in order in the ninth, clinching the best-of-seven series.

At the top of the Vipers' hit parade was 3B Arnie Pliska (.500) with three hits and four RBIs... CF Don Ritchie (.588) went 4-for-4 and scored twice... LF Tomek Abramczyk (.643) pitched in with three hits, two runs and two RBIs.. 1B Jorge Aparicio (.412) collected a pair of hits, scored a run and drove one in... St. John got 10 hits with CF Skeets Blackstone (.500) getting three of them and LF Sherrill Westerfield (.273) getting a pair.

Crusader starter Frank Long had a long afternoon... he struck out eight in eight innings and was tapped for 11 hits and five runs... however, Long wasn't the losing pitcher... Liam Spears came on in the ill-fated ninth with a 5-5 score and was promptly slammed for five hits and five runs.

Losing skipper Nicky Farrugia just shook his head at the news conference, "We just got skunked by a tremendous team that hit about .350 against us... Valmara is some kind of team."

Valmara manager Vanya Vasylenko facetiously corrected Farrugia, "Actually we only batted .343 during the series... but anything close to the .350 will do just fine." The Vipers collected 49 hits in 143 at-bats with Tomek Abramczyk going 9 for 14 (.643), Don Ritchie 10 for 17 (.588) and Jorge Aparicio 7-17 (.412).

Valmara will have a tough barrier to get by to repeat as Pro Cup champion... they will meet the survivor of the Middlefield-Sugar Valley first-round matchup for the Ruthlandian League crown... the Roosters have a decided 3-1 edge after four games and look like the winner.

Tycobbian Union

SUN SOX EVEN SERIES WITH RASCALS
In a see-saw struggle Southport finally got the best of White River 5-4 in 11 innings to even up the Tycobbian Division Series at two games each... the Rascals were up 3-0 after the top of the fourth... the Sun Sox deadlocked it on Barney Lewis' 3-run clout in the bottom of the inning... the Rascals sneaked back into the lead with a run in the sixth, only to have Southport tie it up again in the eighth... in the 11th a walk to pinchhitter Eddy Douglas (.286) and a two-bagger by pinchhitter Robert Martin (.284) place runners on second and third with one away... an intentional walk filled the bases for Ricky Whitaker (.294), who singled in the winning run.

The victory went to Brandon Delmore, working in relief of starter Billy Hoover (1-0/3.12)... Delmore (1-0/0.00) in his first action in the series held the Rascals scoreless for two and two-thirds innings, striking out four of them... the defeat went to Todd Cole (0-1/3.86/1 save), who came on for starter Bruce Slattery (0-1/3.79) in the 11th.

Southport was outhit by White River 10-8... in addition to CF Barney Lewis' (.333) three-run smash, C Vasilis Vlachos (.353) lashed three hits and drove in a run for the Sun Sox... Bruce Slattery (.667) had two hits for the Rascals and batted in two runs... C Duke Sims (.250) and 2B Ryan Byrd (.353) also added two hits apiece... SS Kenta Burton (.412) and RF Ryne Hyland (.294) each chipped in with a run batted in.

PANTHERS TAKE 3-1 LEAD OVER BUCS
Milt Easterling hit a game-winning homer in the sixth inning and pitched the East Point Panthers to a 2-1 decision over Bay St. Clair in game four of the Tycobbian DCS, putting them up three to one in the best-of-seven series... Easterling (1-0/3.38) outdueled Scotty Hedwall (0-1/4.20), stopping the Buccaneers on one run and three hits in seven and two-thirds innings... Pudgy Putman (0-0/0.00/2 saves) got the last four outs for him and logged his second playoff save this year... Hedwall went the distance in defeat and hurled a strong game, too, yielding only two runs on four hits.

In the opening frame the Bucs got to Easterling for their only run of the game... 2B Dwayne Mungle (.286) singled and LF Stan Kovalenko (.188) doubled him to third... 1B Clive Caviness' (.188) deep drive to center scored Mungle... Panther RF Doug Dennhardt's (.308) solo homer knotted the score in the fourth.

Game five will be played at Armed Forces Park in East Point... if needed, games six and seven will be at Shoreline Park in Bay St. Clair.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 25, 2050

2050 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 5

Ruthlandian Union

ROOSTERS WIN SERIES FROM RATTLERS IN 5
The Middlefield Roosters have something to crow about... they eliminated favored Sugar Valley from the playoffs in just five games... the Roosters wrapped up the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series with a 3-2 decision... they whipped the Rattlers in a 14-inning marathon when Cullen Winslow forced in the deciding run with a bases-loaded walk to Ike Gary (.250)... now Middlefield will advance to the RU League Championship Series against powerful Valmara, the defending Pro Cup titlist... the victor will get a shot at the IPA championship in the Pro Cup Finals.

Sugar Valley, ranked third in the Pro Cup predictions, scored the first run of the game in the top of the third... 3B Smokey Nix (.190) singled and was doubled in by 1B Roger Hobbs (.333)... Middlefield, rated sixth in Pro Cup poll, rallied and took a 2-1 lead in the last of the fifth on an RBI single by 1B Cliff Patterson (.333) and a sac fly by CF Johnny Wyatt (.056)... Hobbs sent the game into overtime with a homer in the eighth frame.

Both starting pitchers were sharp... Carroll Collier worked 10 innings for the Roosters, allowing only two runs on five hits with five Ks and a walk... Joe Snow went nine and one-third innings for the Rattlers, permitting only two runs on six hits... the win went to Ricky Farris (1-0/0.00/1 save), who twirled four scoreless frames, yielding three hits and striking out three batters with no walks... Winslow (1-1/4.50) lost it.

Each team posted eight hits with Roger Hobbs getting two for Sugar Valley and Cliff Patterson and SS Jimmy Beach (.333) popping a pair for Middlefield.

Middlefield manager Ricky Tinker was on cloud nine, telling the press, "This was a wonderful win over an outstanding team... our pitchers were really good to stop the Rattlers... we only used four pitchers in the five games... and got three complete games... but this is just the first step of three big ones to win the Pro Cup... and that's what we're playing for."

He added, "The Roosters lost a heartbreaker to Southport in '47... and pushed Sugar Valley to seven games in '45... the year the Rattlers won the title... so we know what it takes to win... and this year we have the team to do it."

The Sugar Valley skipper Bobby Gamble said, "We just didn't hit the ball... we hit under .200 for the series... so give credit to the Rooster pitchers... they were tough customers."

Tycobbian Union

SUN SOX SKIM BY RASCALS IN 13, UP 3-2 IN SERIES
Southport and White River battled long and hard for 13 innings at Pleasure Beach Park and when the dust cleared on the diamond, the hometown Sun Sox salvaged a 5-4 victory to take a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven Tycobbian DCS... Ross Good singled with the bases loaded and plated Ricky Whitaker with the winning score... closer Troy Hill (1-0/0.00) blanked the Rascals over the final four frames for the win with the defeat going to Todd Cole (0-2/3.38), who worked three innings and allowed one run... he walked the lead-off batter in the 13th and was relieved by Clem Warren (0-0/0.00), who was tagged for the winning hit.

Southport got 13 hits in the game, led by CF Russ Good (.286) with three hits and two RBIs... LF Tony Patrano (.409) with three hits and two RBIs... and 2B Owen Wallace (.350) with three hits and a run scored... White River also collected 13 hits... RF Ryne Hyland (.304) paced them with two hits and three RBIs... 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.370) went 3-7 with a run... and two other players contributed two hits apiece: SS Kenta Burton (.429) and 1B Ruben Reaves (.182).

CRANMORE'S SLAM SAVES THE DAY FOR BUCS
Trailing by three games to one in the Tycobbian Division Series... one game from elimination from the playoffs... and trailing 5-4 going into the top of the ninth... Bay St. Clair needed a win and they got it, courtesy of Hersh Cranmore's 345-foot grand slammer that sunk the East Point Panthers 8-5 in game five at Armed Forces Stadium... it was Cranmore's second homer in the series... despite giving up the tying run in the eighth, Ian Abercrombie (1-0/1.80) picked up the win... Cadillac Bogart (0-0/0.00/2 saves) preserved the victory and got his second save in the series... starter Ralph Wallace (1-1/3.78) took the crushing loss... the Buccaneers battered him for eight runs and 11 hits in eight and two-thirds innings.

C Hersh Cranmore (.211) led Bay St. Clair with two hits and four RBIs... LF Stan Kovalenko (.286) went 3-for-5, scored a run and drove one in... SS Pip Blaylock (.160) slapped two hits and scored twice... and RF Butch Thornhill (.190) had a solo homer, his third in the playoffs... the Bucs socked 11 hits.

East Point walloped 13 hits with 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.316) getting two of them, hitting a two-run homer and batting in three runs and scoring twice...Cavacos has two roundtrippers in the postseason... four other players chipped in with two hits each: RF Doug Dennhardt (.353), C Kenny Bailey (.238), 3B Jake O'Grady (.211) and 2B Thomas Crawford (.250).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 25, 2050

2050 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 6

Tycobbian Union

RASCALS EDGE SOX 3-2 IN 10, FORCE 7TH GAME
His bat has been pretty quiet in the postseason so far, but Billy Joe Hickman made some really big noise today at White River Stadium with a tenth-inning walk-off homer that forced a seventh and deciding game in the Southport-White River Tycobbian Division Series... the Rascals and Sun Sox will go at it again tomorrow afternoon with the survivor advancing to the Tycobbian title series against the Bay St. Clair-East Point winner.

Hickman, hitting only .182 in the playoffs, had two hits and two RBIs today and blasted Hal Combs' pitch into the seats to give White River a 3-2 win in game six... Combs (0-1/6.75) had just come in in the tenth in relief of Tom Chambers, who worked nine strong innings, holding the Rascals to just two runs on nine hits... Chambers walked only one and fanned seven... Clem Warren (1-0/0.00) was the winning hurler... he held the Sun Sox scoreless in the last of the tenth... Warren came on for starter Keil Trickett, who only permitted two runs on four hits, while striking out nine and walking five.

White River had 10 hits in all with 2B Ryan Byrd (.333) getting three of them and SS Kunta Burton (.423) two hits... 1B Ruben Reaves (.192) also had a homer for the Rascals... Southport managed five hits with C Vasilis Vlachos (.333) going 2-for-4 and driving in both runs... one on a home run.

Southport skipper Lorne Evans has given tomorrow's starting assignment to Billy Hoover (1-0/3.12), while manager Mick Cronyn will go with Butch Slattery (0-1/3.79)... it will be the third start for both of them in the series... Hoover got the best of Slattery 4-2 in game one... neither got the decision in game four that also went to the Sun Sox 5-4 in 11 innings... Hoover was 19-13 with a 3.12 ERA in the regular season and Slattery led the IPA with 26 victories, posting a 2.41 ERA with only 8 losses.

Hoover, a 34-year right-hander, is an old hand in critical postseason games... he is 16-11 in 31 starts with a fine 2.36 ERA... while Slattery, a 25-year-old southpaw has struggled in the playoffs, going only 4-5 in 10 starts with a lofty 4.74 ERA... but one good thing is going for the Rascals... the Sun Sox are only 21-16 against portsiders this year... the Rascals, however, feast on righties, running up a great 73-35 mark during the season.

White River is 47-30 at home, while Southport is 45-32 in away games... the Rascals have won two of the three games played at White River Stadium.

BUCS KNOT SERIES WITH PANTHERS 3-3
There will be another game seven in the opening round of action in the Tycobbian Union... Bay St. Clair bashed East Point 8-4 in game six to even it up at three games apiece in the series, forcing it to go to seven games... behind 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth, the Buccaneers exploded for six runs off Joey Hilton with the key hits coming from Hersh Cranmore and Stan Terry, who each delivered two-run doubles.

Winning pitcher Jerry MacIntyre (1-1/4.80), the number-three man in the Bucs' rotation, came through for them... in a spirited clutch performance MacIntyre bent, but didn't snap... the Panthers tagged him for 11 hits in eight innings, but got only three runs... East Point left 10 men on base... MacIntyre whiffed six and walked two... reliever Steve Swanwick (1-0/3.52) came on to protect the 8-3 lead and was tagged for a run in the ninth.

Loser Joey Hilton (1-1/6.06) was tough for seven innings, but wilted in the eighth... the Buccaneers banged him for eight runs and eight hits in seven and one-third innings.

Bay St. Clair was outhit 13 to 9, but still prevailed... C Hersh Cranmore (.273), pinchhitter Stan Terry (.500) and 1B Clive Caviness (.261) all drove in two runs each to lead the Bucs at the plate... East Point was paced by SS Justin McRae (.250), 3B Major Woods (.333) and CF Pokie Ash (.357) with three hits apiece... they each had a double and an RBI.

Two 20-game winners will get the calls tomorrow afternoon at Shoreline Park in Bay St. Clair... the hometown Bucs will send 29-year-old right-hander Scotty Hedwall (22-10/2.85) to the hill, while it will be 31-year-old righty Milt Easterling (22-7/3.58) on the mound for the Panthers... they have faced each other twice in the series... neither one of them were effective in game one, won by the Bucs 6-5 in 15 innings... East Point and Easterling took the win in game four, edging the Bucs and Hedwall 2-1... in the playoffs Easterling is 1-0 in two starts with a 3.38 ERA and Hedwall is 0-1 with a 4.20 ERA in two games.

This is the first year Easterling has pitched in the postseason... Hedwall has appeared three times with an 0-3 record in four starts with a sky-high 5.46 ERA.

The Panthers play very well on the road with a sparkling 47-30 record, while the Buccaneers are a strong 49-28 at Shoreline Park... Bay St. Clair has won two of three games at home in this series.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 27, 2050

2050 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 7

Tycobbian Union

FAVORED RASCALS NIP SUN SOX IN 7TH GAME
It took two extra-inning nailbiters in games six and seven for favored White River to come back and subdue the stubborn Southport Sun Sox in the Tycobbian Division Series and move on to the League Championship Series... the Rascals nipped the Sun Sox 4-3 in 11 innings...with one out and the bases loaded, Duke Sims (.231) singled in Billy Joe Hickman (.192) from third with the series-winning run.

Starting pitchers Billy Hoover for Southport and Butch Slattery for White Rascals did their jobs well... Hoover worked eight innings, gave up three runs on six hits, while Slattery pitched into the ninth and permitted just two runs on five hits with seven Ks and six walks... the win went to the third Rascal hurler Clem Warren (2-0/0.00), who shut down the Sun Sox in the 10th and the 11th with no runs... Warren relieved Todd Cole (0-2/4.50) 2 saves), who blew the save and let Southport tie the score at 3-3 in the ninth... Troy Hill (1-1/1.08) suffered the loss... White River got to him for one run and three hits in two and one-third innings.

LF Billy Joe Hickman put White River up 1-0 with a solo homer in the fourth frame... the Rascals made it 3-0 in the sixth on 1B Ruben Reaves' (.226) two-run blast... Hickman has three postseason homers and Reaves two... Southport cut it to 3-1 when C Visalis Vlachos (.313) singled and came around to score later on an error by third baseman Kenny Yarbrough (.270)... the Sun Sox got back into the game on three walks in the top of the ninth... 3B Ricky Whitaker's (.314) two-run single sent the game into overtime.

White River collected nine hits and was sparked by 1B Ruben Reaves and RF Ryne Hyland (.313) with two hits apiece...Reaves has two runs batted in and Hyland one... CF Robert Martin (.333) was the only Sun Sox with two hits... Southport got only seven hits, all singles.

Mick Cronyn, the Rascals' skipper, told the press after the game, "Tough, tough series... the last four games decided by a run... and we had to win two in a row to win it... I think the most important factor in the series was our starters... Nicky, Butch and Keil had good outings... and Clem did a fine job in relief, especially in the final two games."

Southport manager Lorne Evans agreed with Cronyn... "The Rascals not only hit the ball well, they do a really fine job on the mound... we tried hard, played hard, came close... I'll be replaying those last two games all winter long... it's a shame to lose two heartbreakers after being up 3-2 in the series... we had our chances, but just didn't pull it off."

BUCS BUMP PANTHERS OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS
Trailing 4-3 going into the last of the fifth, the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers surged for four runs and knocked the East Point Panthers out of the IPA Pro Cup playoffs with an 8-6 win in game seven of the Tycobbian DCS... the Bucs now get to take on powerhouse White River in the Tycobbian title series.

East Point starter Milt Easterling's control put him in jeopardy in the fatal fifth... he walked pitcher Scotty Hedwall (.000) and SS Pip Blaylock (.182) to force in two runs and give the Buccaneers a 5-4 lead... CF Frankie Montgomery (.600) then ripped a two-run single, padding it to a 7-4 lead... in the sixth 1B Clive Caviness (.286) made it 8-4 with his third roundtripper of the postseason... the Panthers got their two final scores in the eighth on RBIs by 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.259) and C Kenny Bailey (.185).

Hedwall (1-1/4.13) didn't have an especially good day, but grittied out the complete-game win... he gave up six runs, two of them unearned, on eight hits, struck out three and walked one batter... Easterling (1-1/3.92) had a miserable day and caught the loss... the Bucs jacked him around for 10 hits and seven runs in just four-plus frames... Easterling also walked six batters.

Leading the Buccaneers' 12-hit attack were CF Frankie Montgomery (.600) with three hits and four RBIs... and 1B Clive Caviness (.286) with two hits... both Montgomery and Caviness got solo homers, it was Caviness' third in the playoffs... RF Butch Thornhill (.241) and C Hersh Cranmore (.308) added two hits each to the Bucs' totals.

East Point got eight hits with 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.259) getting a two-run homer in the first inning and three RBIs... in the fourth frame LF Gerald Crews (.263) hit a two-run shot, too... Cavacos had three homers in the series... RF Doug Dennhardt (.346) and CF Pokie Ash (.364) also contributed two hits apiece.

Buccanneer manager Cotton Cornwall gave credit to his offense. "Caviness, Cranmore and Thornhill came up with some clutch hitting in the series and hit 8 homers between them... they were the keys... in addition Frankie Montgomery played a decisive role in the seventh game... we wouldn't have won without his four RBIs."

Frank Blair, the losing skipper, dejectedly told reporters, "You should never lose a series when you're up three games to one and are ahead 5-4 going into the ninth in the fifth game... but we just couldn't stop them from scoring the last three games... the Bucs can hit the ball... we just didn't have the pitching to beat them...that's it in a nutshell."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 28, 2050

THREE OF TOP PRO CUP PICKS STILL IN IT
Top-rated and defending Pro Cup champion Valmara is still in the running for the IPA crown, along with second-ranked White River and fourth-rated Bay St. Clair... also making the round of four is the number-six pick Middlefield, who upset number three Sugar Valley in first-round play... League Championship action begins this Friday afternoon in Valmara at War Memorial Stadium and in White River at White River Stadium... oddsmakers are picking Valmara and White River to prevail over Middlefield and Bay St. Clair respectively and tangle in the Pro Cup Finals like they did last season... the Vipers were victorious in six games.

The Valmara Vipers had the easiest time as they spanked St. John in a four-game sweep... the Middlefield Roosters rolled past Sugar Valley in five games... they will be pitted against each other in the Ruthlandian League Championship Series... the Vipers will have the homefield advantage in the best-of-seven series.

In the Tycobbian LCS it'll be the White River Rascals hosting the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers... the Rascals sneaked by number five Southport in a tough seven-game set, while the Buccaneers also had to go seven games to subdue the eighth-rated East Point Panthers.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 30, 2050

2050 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 1

Ruthlandian Union

VIPERS NICK ROOSTERS 3-2 IN LCS OPENER
Ken Jensen drilled a bases-loaded double in the fifth inning that drove in three runs and sparked Pro Cup favorite Valmara to a narrow 3-2 win over visiting Middlefield in the opening game of the Ruthlandian League Championship Series at War Memorial Stadium.... it was the Vipers' fifth win in a row in the postseason... they finished off St. John in four straight in the first round.

Darus Grajek (2-0/3.04) was the victorious pitcher... he held the Roosters to just two runs in seven and two-thirds innings, while giving up seven hits, striking out eight and walking one batter... Grajek got help from Kasio Bajek (1-0/0.00/1 saves), who recorded the last four outs without allowing a run to get his first save in the playoffs.

SS Ken Jensen (.236) leads the Vipers in postseason RBIs with eight this season... he cleared the bases with RF Boyd Holmes (.200), 1B Jose Vargas (.200) and 2B Jorge Aparicio (.368) all scoring on his decisive double... LF Russell Martin (.318) was the Roosters' top hitter with two hits and two RBIs... he batted in runs in the top of the fifth and eighth... CF Johnny Wyatt (.143) also delivered two hits in three attempts.

Losing pitcher James Long (2-1/2.88) fell for the first time in the postseason although he allowed only three runs on five hits, fanning four and walking three in a complete-game outing.

Tycobbian Union

SLATTERY OUTDUELS HEDWALL 2-1 IN GAME ONE
It was a tense, old-fashioned pitching duel between Butch Slattery and James Long at White River Stadium... game one of the Tycobbian LCS went to White River 2-1 over Bay St. Clair... Slattery (1-1/2.48) was on top of his game as he limited the Bucs to just one run on five hits with 5 Ks and one walk... Scotty Hedwall (1-2/3.38) was almost as tough as he surrendered only two runs on six hts, fanning four and issuing two bases on balls.

1B Ruben Reaves (.265) was the batting hero for the Rascals with two hits, an RBI single in the first frame and a solo homer in the last of the sixth that proved to be the game-winner... Reaves has gone deep three times for White River in the postseason playoffs... Bay St. Clair's only score came on a bases-empty blast by LF Butch Thornhill (.250) in the seventh... it was his fourth roundtripper in the playoffs.

White River was forced to play without 2B Ryan Byrd, who is batting .313 in the playoffs... Byrd slammed 20 out of the park in the regular season with 90 RBIs... His bat will be missed by the Rascals... Byrd is day-to-day with a sore wrist, suffered in a fall during the seventh game against Southport..

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 1, 2050

2050 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 2

Ruthlandian Union

VALMARA WINS 6TH STRAIGHT
So far, defending champ Valmara is on a roll in this year's Pro Cup playoffs... in game two at home at War Memorial Stadium, the Vipers rang up their second consecutive victory over the Middlefield Roosters in the Ruthlandian LCS and sixth straight in the postseason.

On a rainy and chilly afternoon they blanked the Roosters 3-0 behind the four-hit pitching of Primo Sirak and Mirko Musial... Sirak (2-0/0.63) collected the win, but went only five and one-third innings because of the long rain delay... Sirak struck out four walked none and allowed four hits... in a super performance Musial retired 11 of the 12 batters he faced and struck out six of them... he walked one in his three and two-thirds innings' stint and chalked up his first save of the postseason... Middlefield starter and loser Carroll Collier (1-1/1.54) did not fare well, giving up three runs on four hits in his four and one-third innings.

Valmara got an unearned run in the opening frame when LF Tomek Abranczyk (.409) reached base on an error by shortstop Jimmy Beach (.280), moved to third on a single by CF Don Ritchie (.500) and scored on C Karol Koska's (.269) sacrifice fly... the Vipers added two more runs in the second frame on a walk to 1B Jose Vargas (.154), a two-bagger by 2B Jorge Aparicio (.154) and a two-run base hit by SS Ken Jensen (.250)... Jensen has now driven in 10 runs in the playoffs.

Tycobbian Union

PALMER STOPS BAY BUCS 5-1, RASCALS WIN FIRST TWO
Last year's IPA Pro Cup runner-up White River is up two-to-nothing in the Tycobbian League Championship Series with Bay St. Clair after Nicky Palmer stopped them 5-1 in game two at White River Stadium... Palmer (2-0/1.67) went all the way and stymied the Buccaneers on six hits, while striking out four and walking two... for the second day in a row the Rascals held the high-octane Bucs at bay... leading the attack was Billy Joe Hickman with a three-run homer... it was his fourth circuit clout in the playoffs.

Losing pitcher Dion Hawkins (0-2/2.79) also went the distance, giving up five runs on nine hits, striking out four and walking three... SS Kunta Burton (.405) socked three hits and an RBI for the winners... LF Hickman (.188) led the White River with four RBIs... SS Pip Blaylock (.250) notched three hits in defeat and drove in the only Buccaneer run.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 2, 2050

2050 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 3

Ruthlandian Union

HOMER HAPPY VIPERS WIN 3RD IN A ROW
On the road at Middlefield Park, Valmara crashed four homers to pound the Middlefield Roosters 9-5 in game three of the Ruthlandian LCS... the Vipers have won all three games in the series and are a perfect 7-0 in the postseason playoffs... one more triumph and Valmara will get a chance to repeat as Pro Cup champion... Karol Koska and Tomek Abramczyk walloped two homers apiece to pace the Vipers.

Darek Polaski (2-0/3.18) posted the win, thanks to 13 hits... Polaski was tagged for 11 hits, but allowed only three earned runs in a route-going performance... he struck out five batters and walked just one... loser Hollis Dale (0-2/6.06) continued to struggle in the postseason, yielding seven runs on 11 hits in seven and one-third innings... Hollis went to showers behind 7-3.

Valmara was led at the plate by C Karol Koska (.290) with two homers, three RBIs and two runs... Koska has four playoff roundtrippers... LF Tomek Abramczyk (.407) also whacked two bombs, drove in three and scored two times... RF Boyd Holmes (.348) had two doubles in a four-for-four day... RF Timothy Hayworth (.222) topped the Roosters with two hits and three RBIs, including his second home run in the playoffs... 2B Ike Gary (.258) added three hits and C Johnny McDonald (.370) a pair of singles.

Tycobbian Union

BUCS BLAST 5 HRS, ROUT RASCALS 12-0
The hometown crowd brought out the best of the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers... they blasted five homers out of Shoreline Park and routed White River 12-0 and got back into the Tycobbian League Championship Series... the Rascals had taken games one and two in White River... the Bucs also got a brilliant one-hitter from young left-hander Jerry MacIntyre (2-1/3.00), who struck out six batters and issued two bases on balls.

RF Butch Thornhill (.282) rapped two of the roundtrippers and drove in three runs... Thornhill now has hit six homers in the postseason... 1B Clive Caviness (.250) also went deep for the fourth time with a three-run shot... C Hersh Cranmore (.282) got his third homer today, a two-run shot, and three RBIs... and 2B Dwayne Mungle (.235) had a solo salvo... LF Stan Kovalenko (.244) socked three hits and scored three times with one run batted in... White River only got one hit... a lead-off single in the first by 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.271).