That wraps up the 36th season in the Islandian Pro Alliance.

I will get busy and prepare for the 2037 season in the next few days.

Thanks to all of you who keep track of my Dynasty.

It is much appreciated.

Rosters for 2037 have been updated.

I will post the preseason predictions on Sunday afternoon.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, April 5, 2037

COLD CREEK, SUGAR VALLEY & FORT BENTON PICKED BEST IN RU
Spring has sprung and so has all of the baseball handicappers... The Islandian Times released its annual IPA preseason poll today and it picked Cold Creek, Sugar Valley and Fort Benton to be the favorite clubs in the quest for the Ruthlandian Union championship and the right to challenge the Tycobbian Union for the IPA Pro Cup trophy.

Two talented teams from the RU East, the Cold Creek Catamounts and the Sugar Valley Rattlers, are expected to go tooth-and-nail again this year, along with the Fort Benton Defenders in the RU West to determine the Ruthlandian Pro Cup participant. Last year's RU champ and Pro Cup runner-up was the St. John Crusaders of the RU South.

In the RU North the Kilkenny Cats are forecast to beat the LaGrange Sports and Valmara Vipers in a pretty close race... the Sports defeated the Cats last season by two games for the division title, while the Vipers were dead last... LaGrange has won the last three years and will not go down without a fight.

Rank This Year/Team/Rank Last Year (Games Behind)
1. KILKENNY CATS - 2nd (2)
2. LaGrange Sports - 1st (-)
3. Valmara Vipers - 8th (25)
4. Far Mountain Redhawks - 4th (9)
5. Taranto Tars - 6th (15)
6. Glasco Athletics - 3rd (8)
7. Ancona Red Elephants - 5th (11)
8. Ranford Bulls - 7th (17)

In the RU South last year's Pro Cup finalist St. John didn't get the nod this year... the Waleska Westerners are favored in a tight duel with the Crusaders and the Claxton Diamonds, who are much improved over last year and will be in the mix, too... it's hard to figure St. John not being the best team, considering they added a 20-game winner Yancy Garrett to its rotation... the Crusaders got him in a trade with Summerland of the Tycobbian South... San Dimas and the surprising Valka Blackhawks also could be contenders in a closely bunched division... the Blackhawks came in last in 2036.

Rank This Year/Team/Rank Last Year (Games Behind)
1. WALESKA WESTERNERS - 2nd (11)
2. St. John Crusaders - 1st (-)
3. Claxton Diamonds - 6th (24)
4. San Dimas Rancheros - 3rd (12)
5. Valka Blackhawks - 8th (29)
6. Crystal Lake Crushers - 5th (14)
7. Grand City Cybercats - 7th (27)
8. Belair Beach Sunbirds - 4th (13)

It sure looks like a donnybrook in the Ruthlandian East this season with a 5-team affair, headed up by powerful Cold Creek with its great pitching and potent Sugar Valley with its firepower... Wynnamac, Elnora and Beachwood could be in the hunt, too... this was the top division in the IPA last season as seven teams finished .500 and above... last place Wynnamac was almost at the break-even mark with a 76-78 record.

Rank This Year/Team/Rank Last Year (Games Behind)
1. COLD CREEK CATAMOUNTS - 1st (-)
2. Sugar Valley Rattlers - 2nd (1)
3. Wynnamac Sundowners - 8th (16.5)
4. Elnora All-Stars - 6th tied (15.5)
5. Beechwood Bobcats - 3rd (3.5)
6. Eastshore Elegants - 4th (7.5)
7. Belle Plaine Musketeers - 6th tied (15.5)
8. Marston Nine - 5th (9.5)

If it can get by the Sligo Rovers, the Fort Benton Defenders should have clear sailing in the Ruthlandian West Division, where a majority of the clubs were under the .500 mark last year and will likely be again this year... defending division champ Colfax was picked a distant third this season... the Defenders look like they will challenge Cold Creek and Sugar Valley for supremacy in the Ruthlandian Union... they have contended well in the last four seasons before bowing out in close races... the experts thinks this is the year for them to roar and win the team's first pennant in its history... Fort Benton has never made the postseason.

Rank This Year/Team/Rank Last Year (Games Behind)
1. FORT BENTON DEFENDERS - 2nd (2)
2. Sligo Rovers - 3rd (8)
3. Colfax Blasters - 1st (-)
4. Forest City Lumberjacks - 4th (10)
5. Middlefield Roosters - 7th (21)
6. Rocky Rapids Snappers - 6th (16)
7. Stoner Stars - 5th (14)
8. Volusia Vigilantes 8th (23)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, April 5, 2037

NORTH HILLS, OZARKA & TUCKS TOP TEAMS IN TU
Recent Pro Cup champions North Hills and Tuckanarra rank high in The Islandian Times Preseason Poll, along with the rejuvenated Ozarka Naturals... those clubs are given the best chance to haul in the Tycobbian Union crown and a spot in the IPA Pro Cup Finals... North Hills is the current Pro Cup holder and will be trying to repeat and pick up its third title in four years... Tuckanarra won the IPA championship in 2035... Tycobbia has the overall lead in the Pro Cup Series with 19 titles, while Ruthlandian has chalked up 17... Tycobbia has dominated the series with eight championships in the last nine seasons... only the Elnora All-Stars in 2033 have managed to make a dent in the series.

It could be a wide-open affair in the Tycobbian Union with quite a few teams having an outside chance of winning... East Point, La Claire, Chicopee, Fairfax, San Alejo, Ginza, Summerland, Turon and Colchester will certainly have a say before the winner is crowned.

The cream de la creme in the Tycobbian Union is the North Hills Hawks... they have a sterling pitching corps and a pretty good offense to boot... the Hawks should make it four flags in a row in the Tycobbian North Division and should be favored for another Pro Cup... the Blue Lake Blue Sox and the Fairfax Frogs should offer some competition, but they fall short on the mound in comparison to the Hawks.

Rank This Year/Team/Rank Last Year (Games Behind)
1. NORTH HILLS HAWKS - 1st (-)
2. Blue Lake Blue Sox - 2nd (10)
3. Fairfax Frogs - 3rd (16)
4. Mahaska Haymakers - 8th (36)
5. White River Rascals - 6th (25)
6. Luxora Zorros - 7th (30)
7. Oxford Red Caps - 4th (22)
8. Hartsdale Hellcats - 5th (25)

Last year the Colchester Elites won the TU South for the first time in three decades... the Elites powered their way to victory with the home-run ball... this season the handicappers think as many as five teams will vie for the division flag... they are calling it a close battle between San Alejo, Ginza, Summerland, Turon and Colchester... the Montaneros got the call because of its good mound staff... however no one puts San Alejo up on the same level as North Hills, Tuckanarra and Ozarka.

Rank This Year/Team/Rank Last Year (Games Behind)
1. SAN ALEJO MONTANEROS - 5th tied (22)
2. Ginza Ninjas - 5th tied (22)
3. Summerland Sunsets - 2nd (6)
4. Turon Typhoons - 3rd (12)
5. Colchester Elites - 1st (-)
6. Cape Coral Hurricanes - 4th (18)
7. Arroyo Grande Suns - 7th (29)
8. Southport Sun Sox - 8th (31)

Perennial powerhouse Tuckanarra has captured the TU East Division four times in the last five years and with its high-powered offense could very well win it for the fourth straight season... according to the preseason pronosticators the Blue Jays may be aging a bit... perhaps the younger Ozarka Nats with better pitching may supplant the Tucks this year... the East Point Panthers have a solid offense and two veteran starters in Dixie Brooks and Frank Blair and could move up to challenge this year... nontheless, whoever reigns in the TU East will do well in the playoffs.

Rank This Year/Team/Rank Last Year (Games Behind)
1. Ozarka Naturals - 2nd (16)
2. Tuckanarra Blue Jays - 1st (-)
3. East Point Panthers - 4th (21)
4. Red Bluff Red Sox - 3rd (18)
5. Midway Wolves - 6th (27)
6. South Fork Stallions - 8th (35)
7. Hillsboro Blazers - 5th (24)
8. High Mesa Cowboys - 7th (33)

In the Tycobbian West the La Claire Lynx with its balanced offense and pitching beat out offensive-minded Chicopee and Denton City in the preseason predictions... throw in Rolling Hills and you've got a pretty fair four-team race... Chicopee has taken the division crown the last three years, but may be getting little long in the tooth.

Rank This Year/Team/Rank Last Year (Games Behind)
1. LA CLAIRE LYNX - 3rd (14)
2. Chicopee Braves - 1st (-)
3. Denton City Redbirds - 2nd (3)
4. Rolling Hills Reds - 4th (17)
5. Kenwood Wildcats - 5th (20)
6. Arlon Champions - 6th (25)
7. Bayview Vikings - 8th (30)
8. Bay St. Clair Buccaneers - 7th (29)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, May 1, 2037

VIPERS 1ST IN RU NORTH, ELEPHANTS & SUNBIRDS CLOSE
Since last year the Ruthlandian North has been turned upside down at least in the first month of the 2037 season... last season's also-rans have raced to the top this year with Valmara vaulting up to first place, Ancona in the runner-up spot and Taranto third... the Vipers finished last in 2036, Ancona was fifth and Taranto sixth... contenders Kilkenny and LaGrange are fourth and fifth so far... LaGrange has been the division champ for the last three seasons, but Kilkenny got the favorite role in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... Valmara was picked third and forecast to be much improved and competitive this season.

Valmara (16-8) second-year manager Vanya Vasylenko has a high-powered offense that is hitting .295 (2nd) and third in scoring, but he lacks pitching except in the bullpen, which is ranked first in the league with a 2.15 ERA... his starters have struggled badly with a 5.57 ERA (32nd)... late bloomer 30-year-old 2B Miroslav Ciszek is leading the league with a .432 BA.

The runner-up Ancona Red Elephants (14-10) have solid bats with a .285 BA (3rd) and is average on the hill with a 3.91 ERA (14th)... Andre Athas (5-1/3.07) and Steven Russell (4-2/2.81) are the top pitchers, while the leading batsmen are SS Alex Zitek (.333), 3B Tommy Richardson (.356), RF Pettis Pentleton (.338) and rookie C Gregg Straka (.313).

The third place Taranto Tars (13-11) hit with power... 32 HRs (2nd)... and possess good hitting with a .275 BA (11th)... but the pitchers have a tough time in the small-dimensioned Palazzo di Sport... the staff ERA is 4.64 (27th)... renowned slugger Angelo Rossi is off to a torrid start with 10 homers (2nd) and a .407 BA (3rd)... four others in the lineup are above the .300 mark: 3B Jimbo Judson (.320), SS Daryl Rhodes (.333), CF Alonzo Venacio (.303) and RF Wes Marlowe (.310)... heading up the hurlers are Carmine Scalise (2-2/3.42) and Rio Lobo (3-1/4.71)... Don Jahnke (1-0/0.84/3 saves) is looking good in relief.

The Kilkenny Cats (13-11) are tied for third with the Tars... is favored to take the division crown... the Cats have impressive pitching with a 3.24 ERA (5th), but lack hitting... they are batting only .232 (32nd), but have some power with 28 HRs (7th)... last year's Golden Arm Dave Whitaker (4-2/2.90) and Fred Doyle (3-1/2.06) are the aces and carrying the club this year... the hitters are going to have to get it going to take the title this year.

The fifth place LaGrange Sports (12-12) don't get a lot of respect from the pollsters and scribes, but they have won the RU North the last three seasons and picked second behind Kilkenny this season... skipper Quincy Peterson has a good team with average hitting (.269 BA/18th) and better-than-average pitching (3.65 ERA-11th)... veteran foursome Mike York (4-1/2.41), Earl Perkins (2-0/3.18), Walt Thurber (2-2/3.32) and Chazz Bassett (1-4/3.46) will keep the Sports near the top... LaGrange's top bats are 3B Claude DesJardins (.359), SS Fred Bird (.353) and C Chris Heffner (.345).

The other three clubs started poorly in April... the Ranford Bulls (9-15) and Far Mountain Redhawks (9-15) are deadlocked in sixth... while Glasco (8-16) is in the basement... the Bulls have two good starters in vet Rube Satcher (3-2/2.58) and Ronnie Schroeder (4-2/3.29)... 2B Alex Vanno (.306) is one of the few good bats... the Redhawks are led by starters Chad Cummings (3-2/3.02) and Frankie Moreland (2-2/3.24)... and by C Ron Marlowe (.347), SS Dan Vance (.316) and LF Harman Silver (.296) at the plate... the Glasco A's top players are CF Travis Houston (.303), 3B Taylor Hampshire (.301) and LF Galen Watson (.333)... along with Sam Jensen (3-0/1.38), who has been sensational in the early going.

CRYSTAL LAKE, BELAIR BEACH ATOP RU SOUTH
In the RU South Division the Crystal Lake Crushers and the Belair Beach Sunbirds got off to good starts and are in first place after the first month's play... last year's winner St. John had a sluggish start and is in seventh place... favored Waleska and well-regarded Claxton are hanging close in a third-place tie, just one game off the leaders.

Crystal Lake (14-10) didn't rate well with the polsters, they were selected seventh in the preseason ranking, but they got off to a good start... the Crushers are a well-rounded ball club with a .280 BA (7th) and impressive pitching (3.46 ERA-7th)... talented veteran Arnie Cason (5-0/1.89) has been brilliant so far on the hill... and has had help from Darragh Whelan (3-1/2.90)... and vets RF Pat Dillon (.368), C Stan Stanek (.354) and 1B Big Sam Takota (.301) have been the offensive sparkplugs.

Belair Beach (14-10) can hit with power (31 HR-4th tied) and has quality pitching with a 3.93 ERA (15th)... batting standouts are 1B Jason Butler (.342 BA/9 HR), CF Bobby Meusel (.340), 2B Jackie Jackson (.330) and rookie LF Joe Don Baker (.328)... Joel Gregg (2-2/2.93) and Smoky Rogers (2-3/3.86) are the best starters... fourth place was predicted for the Sunbirds this year.

Preseason favorite Waleska (13-11) has labored on the mound and at the plate in the opening month of the season and are tied for third with San Dimas... the Westerners have hit only .257 (27th) with only 16 homers (29th)... and the staff has posted a 4.40 ERA (22nd)... yet they are only one game out at this point... manager Roy Hobbs expects his club to perk up ang get a lot better... C Rodney Hanson (.357) has been the only good bat... veteran stars 36-year-old LF Loco Dillinger (.188) and RF Niles Gregory (.190) have been pathetic so far... in his 15th season Dillinger, a certain Hall-of-Famer, is a .316 lifetime hitter with 476 homers and 1540 RBIs... Hobbs still has three fine starters in veteran Terry Richards (2-1/3.92), and youngsters Craig Nash (1-1/2.98) and Tony Haskell (3-2/3.20).

The Claxton Diamonds (13-11) came in sixth last season and were rated the third-best in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll this year... manager Dixie Baker has a very good mound corps with a 3.20 ERA (4th), paced by 32-year-old Vance White (5-1/2.50), who has stood out after being moved into the starting rotation for the first time in his 3-year career... 21-year-old rookie Stan Yudesh (2-0/2.70) has looked great in his 3 starts... and journeyman Dave Wojcik (2-3/3.26) also has looked solid as a starter... in the batter's box star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.310), LF Foxy Fuchs (.326) and 3B Jonas Weiss (.354) have excelled... Fuchs hammered 8 out of the park in April.

The fifth-place San Dimas Rancheros (12-12) are rated the number-three team in the RU South behind Waleska and St. John and has broken even thus far in the first month of play... it's the bats that have stood out for the Rancheros, who have hit at a .282 pace (4th) and rank sixth in scoring... but the pitchers have not enjoyed much success with a 4.35 ERA (20th)... the best batters have been RF Denny Hendrix (.385-6th), C Hermie Goetz (.315) and 3B Leonard Purkey (.313), all of them less than 24 years of age... the only decent pitcher Carroll Cain (2-2/4.27), who was magnificent with a 24-9 mark last year, has faltered this year... for San Dimas to contend this year, the vets have to play up to their potential.

The sixth-place Valka Blackhawks (11-13) appear to be a better team this year after being near the bottom of the division for the past eight years... they've improved at the plate and on the hill with a .274 BA (12th) and a 4.07 ERA (18th)... but they are still predicted to come in no better than sixth in the division standings... journeyman Dave Gronkowski (4-1/3.15) is off to the best start in his 11-year career... but he hasn't had much help from the rest of the staff except for reliever Julien Rouse (0-0/0.66), who has made 9 appearances... skipper Kurt Jankauskas has a potent batting order with star 1B Bobby Scott (.368), gifted RF Kenny Mitzusaka (.313), LF Gilberto Duarte (.338), 3B Bill Bradford (.316) and 2B Egon Ojamaa (.322)... Scott leads the club with 7 homers and 24 RBIs.

Things did not go well in April for the St. John Crusaders (10-14), who are the defending division champion and Pro Cup finalist... still they were chosen to be a strong contender to Waleska in the preseason prognostications, especially with the pickup of 20-game winner Yancy Garrett in a trade from Summerland of the Tycobbian Union... both hitting and pitching has suffered this season... but it wasn't too bad with a respectable .267 BA (21st) and a 3.79 ERA (12th)... manager Clayton Luck said his club would soon be back in contention as soon as his veteran mound staff turned it around after a mediocre first month... 19-game winner Jeremy Kirk (4-2/3.07) was the only one of the starters to have a good month... 21-game winner Lou Gianakos (1-3/4.20), Vito Sanfratello (1-3/4.29) and newcomer Garrett (2-4/4.57) found it tough going... 3B Marty Blankenship led the Crusaders' hit parade with a .354 BA, 9 roundtrippers, 25 runs and 25 RBIs... last year's RU Rookie of the Year CF Art Kelley (.361) had a very strong start... the St. John bats are looking good... it's the pitching that has to pick it up.

The cellar-dwelling Grand City Cybercats (9-15) haven't prospered since 2033, when they came in a close third... since then the club has been a second-rate second-division team... the C'Cats were forecast for much of the same this season by the baseball experts, who ranked them seventh... second-year skipper Jug Slavin has a prolific attack with a .280 BA (5th) and strong scoring (4th), but his pitching is horrendous with a 5.61 ERA (32nd), the worst in the IPA... SS Terry Grantham (.402) and 2B Mitch Coleman (.403) are both over the .400 mark... LF Junior Baldini also helped out with a .305 BA... the top RBI guy was vet CF Thomas Hall (.276) with 20... Grantham had 6 home runs and 17 RBIs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, May 1, 2037

SUNDOWNERS SHINE IN RU EAST
In a red-hot April the Wynnamac Sundowners shot out of the gate with a 17-7 record and took first place in the hotly-contested Ruthlandian East, edging out Elnora by a game, Sugar Valley by two, Eastshore and Beechwood by three games and four games up on preseason favorite and defending division champ Cold Creek.

Wynnamac (17-7) came in eighth last year, but was the number-three choice in the race this year behind defending champ Cold Creek and last year's runnerup Sugar Valley... the Sundowners are vastly improved over last season with a .295 BA and easily the highest-scoring club in the IPA... those stats are the best in the IPA... they also have pretty fair pitching with a 3.63 ERA (10th)... five regulars are batting above the .300 mark, paced by 3B Duane Hudson (.370), 2B Ed Lane (.341), LF Darrell Donnelly (.330), CF Terry Weigand (.333) and SS Lou Borcellino (.314)... RF Davy L'Amour (.259) is the team leader with 6 homers and 25 RBIs... mound leaders are vets Killara Bardo (6-0/3.73) and Geoff Hobart (5-1/2.54).

Last year was not a good season for the Elnora All-Stars (16-8)... the All-Stars wound up sixth in the standings, but did break even record-wise... manager Leon Carter has them rolling in the right direction this year... they are in second place with a .280 BA (6th), rank tenth in scoring and have an impressive 3.31 ERA (6th)... the All-Stars only weakness is a shortage of longballs... they have gone deep only 17 times (27th-tied)... youngster Tony Ryman (5-0/1.33/4 saves) started in the bullpen this spring, but recently joined the starting rotation... vets Dan Pitts (5-1/2.38) and Stan Kivas (2-2/3.16) have done well, but ace Jeremy Sellers (0-4/3.95) has struggled... leading the offense are LF Clint Thomas (.319), C Jan Kobak (.314) and 3B Danny Bierhoff (.354)... Thomas is third in the IPA and RU with 27 RBIs... 21-year-old RF Enos Conrad is hitting at a phenomenal .438 clip in a platoon role.

The third place Sugar Valley Rattlers (15-9) seem to live and die by the home run... they rank first in the IPA with 39 so far this season... the Rattlers are batting a solid .265 (24th) and are second in scoring... pitching-wise they are holding their own with a 4.01 team ERA (16th), which is pretty fair considering the bandbox they play in... last year's Golden Bat winner RF Bobby Gamble (.364) is again tearing up the league with a .362 BA, is the IPA RBI king with 33 and is second in homers in the RU with 10... other solid contributors are SS Jesse Burns (.354) and 2B Roger Hobbs (.280)... Hobbs has 6 homers and 20 RBIs... LF Tyler White (.236) is not much for average, but he is a great run producer with 9 roundtrippers and 29 RBIs... Juan Navarro (4-1/1.91) has been lights out this year... however, it's been a slow start for veteran aces Jeremy Blanchard (4-2/4.40) and Josh Wilkerson (3-1/5.53)... look for both of them to get better as the season progresses... the Rattlers were rated the second-best club in the RU East, outvoted by last year's titlist Cold Creek in the preseason poll... Sugar Valley lost in a heart-breaking single-game playoff last year.

The Eastshore Elegants (14-10) are tied for fourth with the Beechwood Bobcats... the Elegants were a strong fourth in 2036 with an 85-69 record... they are playing better this year with a .269 BA (17th) and a 3.58 ERA (9th)... however, Eastshore has a weak bullpen (5.54 ERA-29th) and are only average in firepower (20 HR-21st tied)... the Elegants were picked sixth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... skipper Killer Brewster has quality starters in veterans Don Klingenberg (4-1/3.18), Ramon Contrerars (2-0/3.97) and Koy Clampett (1-3/4.66)... but Teddy Noble (3-3/2.49) has been the best of the lot at this point in the season... offensively 2B Johnny Petrak has been fantastic this year with a .427 BA, second-best in the IPA to Valmara's Miraslav Ciszek (.442)... 1B Paul Reed (.386) and old reliable CF Scotty Lagrange (.278) have chipped in, too... Petrak and Lagrange top the club with 19 RBIs each... Lagrange leads with 5 homers.

Fourth place Beechwood (14-10) was chosen sixth in the preseason poll... last year the Bobcats came in a surprisingly close third behind Cold Creek and Sugar Valley... they have done well in the early going... manager Bret George has the top team in the RU with a 3.00 ERA... his starters are especially good... the problem is the relief corps (4.68-24th)... at the plate the Bobcats do very well with a .278 BA (9th), rank ninth in scoring runs and tied for fourth in homers with 31... the starting four have been awesome... Ken Arby (3-2/1.99), Jimmy Herman (4-2/1.40), Clyde Fairchild (3-1/1.86) and Nick Tarkovsky (2-0/2.30)... 220-game winner Maury Patterson (2-3/5.48) has had a rough start this year, but he's only 34 and won 20 games last year... expect him to regain form... CF Howie Baldwin (.333), LF Carlos Manuel (.327) and 3B Thomas Laske (.357) are the best bats in the lineup.

When Cold Creek (13-11) is in sixth place, you know it's a tough division... the Catamounts are the defending RU East champion and still have one of the best mound staffs in the IPA... and they were voted the team most likely to win the pennant... so don't count them out... the pitching is still there with a 3.11 ERA (3rd)... any team would like to have the likes of Rob Hutchins (5-1/1.72), J. J. Gillespie (1-2/2.66) and Joey Baker (3-1/3.03) as their 1,2,3... plus Jules Capet (0-0/3.00) give them a solid number four... Cold Creek needs help in the bullpen (4.11 ERA/21st) and really, really needs help at the plate... the Catamounts are batting only .252 (28th) with just 16 HRs (29th-tied) and are tied for 27th in scoring runs... CF Ken Brennan (.322), 3B Pat Ellis (.311) and RF Wayne Kenney (.277) carry the brunt of the offense... the pitchers won the pennant for them last year, maybe they can do it again.

The last time the Marston Nine (11-13) won the division flag was in 2028... since then they have been nothing but a second-division club, but they did go 81-73 (5th) in 2034 and 83-71 (5th) last year... this year the preseason pollsters picked them to finish last in the RU East... the culprit is its pitching... a 4.42 team ERA (25th) will not get you far in the IPA... especially if you only have an average offense with a .265 BA (23rd), 21 HRs (18th-tied) and rank 22nd in scoring runs... Alex Ehrlich (3-3/3.86) and Kris Delaney (1-2/3.55) are the only decent starters... the most reliable bats are CF Marco Ameche (.304), SS Stan Mila (.292), 1B Lonnie Trekell (.313) and 3B Philip DeWey (.280).

The Belle Plaine Musketeers (9-15) have been mired near the bottom the last three seasons and it looks like more of the same in 2037... the Muskies haven't made the playoffs since 2009... the best thing they do is put runs (11th-tied) on the scoreboard with a .274 BA (14th) and 27 HRs (8th-tied)... their top guns are RF Boo Boudreaux (.326), who leads the IPA with 11 homers... and LF Noel Martin (.350), SS Bobby Greer (.301) and CF Lonny Wright (.317) are all rock-solid hitters... what little pitching the Musketeers have comes from Phillippe Marchand (4-2/3.56), Emilio Gallo (3-2/4.06) and Raul Carrasco (1-3/3.91).

FAVORED FORT BENTON FIRST IN RU WEST
So far, the Fort Benton Defenders are living up its ranking in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... the baseball scribes placed them at the top of the RU West list... the Defenders have a 2-game edge over runnerup Sligo, who were selected the number-two team in the rankings... the Stoner Stars and the Forest City Lumberjacks are in a third-place tie, trailing by 3 games each.

The Fort Benton Defenders (14-10) have been in the running for the pennant the last four years, but always fell short... sadly the Defenders have never made the playoffs... this could be the year... they have solid hitting with a .279 BA (8th), score fairly well (11th-tied) and are fair power-wise with 19 homers (23rd-tied)... however, it's on the hill that they shine with a fine 3.10 ERA (2nd)... manager Robbie Brooks has four capable starters, anchored by 220-game winner Augie Marquis (4-1/2.73)... Tommy Baylor (4-1/2.20), Edd Farmer (1-0/0.75) and Jordy Raeburn (2-3/3.29) have done well, too... Fort Benton has plenty of bats, too, paced by 1B Oscar Pendleton (.359), LF Rod Myerson (.339), C Hunter Glenholmes (.354), 3B Mitch Hamilton (.310) and SS D. D. Badeaux (.297).

The Sligo Rovers (12-12) broke even for the month and are supposed to be one of the few teams capable of beating the Defenders... the RU West is probably the weakest division in the Islandian Pro Alliance... only three teams were above the .500 mark last year: champion Colfax (86-68), Fort Benton (84-70) and the Rovers (78-76)... it may be tough for Sligo to contend with its woeful hitting (.246 BA-31st), poor scoring (26th) and average pitching (3.86 ERA/13th)... Tom Pierson (2-2/2.63) and Randall Steele (3-2/3.50) are the best moundsmen... star hurler Jeff Cooper (1-4/5.82) was acquired from Far Mountain in a trade, but has fared poorly this season... the 35-year-old Cooper is 249-216 with a fine 2.99 ERA in his 16 years in the league... should Cooper come around, it will greatly enhance Sligo's flag hopes... LF Vasco Aguilar (.333), SS Neil Mitchell (.322) and CF Peder Svensson (.278) have been the only reliable run producers.

The Stoner Stars (11-13) are tied for third with Forest City... they possess better-than-average pitching with its 3.54 ERA (8th), but are feeble at the plate, ranking 30th in scoring and 32nd in homers with only 14 this season... youngsters Jimmy Ellerbee (3-1/1.88) and Mel Glosterman (2-0/2.16) have looked very effective in April... and vet Larry Urban (1-3/3.18) can still do the job... the Stars just need vast improvement at the plate... only CF Don Cain (.364) and C Barney Swindell (.356) are good sticks... Stoner may be playing over their heads... the Stars were picked seventh in the preseason poll... that looks pretty close to reality.

The Forest City Lumberjacks (11-13) were voted the fourth-best club in the division in the preseason... that's where they ended up last season... it's been a very long postseason drought in Forest City... the 'Jacks last won a pennant in 2013... and it's not very likely they will end the drought this year... Forest City is a mediocre club, ranking near the bottom in scoring (27th-tied) and on the mound with a 4.42 ERA (24th)... Jeff Watford (4-2/3.43) is the only quality arm... and LF Ronnie Pollet (.330), C Bob Brisdon (.312), 1B Pistol Pete Picard (.333) and RF Junior Chandler (.293) are the only quality bats... it may be hard for the Lumberjacks to finish in the first division.

The Volusia Vigilantes (10-14) and the Middlefield Roosters are tied for fifth place... however, the experts place the V's no better than eighth, where they were last year... the Vigilantes don't hit well or pitch well... they are batting .258 (26th), have no power with just 17 HRs (27th-tied) and posted a 4.40 ERA (21st)... RF Carl Clark (.361) and CF Felipe Henriques (.294) are the club leaders at the plate, while Zack Dowdle (3-2/4.28) and Hector Vargas (1-3/2.96) top the twirlers.

Middlefield (10-14) hasn't had a winning season since 2029 and hasn't won a pennant since 2026... they were picked for fifth place this season... because of the short fences at Middlefield Park, the Roosters do go deep... but so does the opposition... they have hit 30 homers (6th) this year, but yielded 41 (32nd)... not a good trade-off... the team is 11th in scoring, but bats only .248 (30th)... the team ERA is a lofty 4.74 (30th)... CF Tony Parsons (.300), 2B Earl Elliott (.305) and C Brad Alexander (.301) top the Roosters' batting order... Alexander is among the league leaders with 8 homers and 25 RBIs... relievers Ron Sinclair (3-0/3.60) and Ray Owens (0-0/0.86/3 saves) are the only dependable pitchers... Larry Wheelhouse (2-4/4.96) and Victor Suarez (1-2/4.79) are the best of the starters.

In seventh place are the Rocky Rapids Snappers (9-15)... in preseason predictions they were fated to be sixth... it's been 17 years since they participated in the postseason... times have not been good for the Snappers... they don't do anything well... team BA is .267 (20th), rank 29th in scoring, with 19 HRs (23rd-tied) and a 4.69 team ERA (29th)... Randy McKenzie (2-2/2.40) is the pitching leader... with very little after him... CF Leonardo Cisneros (.321) is the club leader at the plate... with very little after him.

Last year's RU West winner was the Colfax Blasters (8-16)... surprisingly they have really fallen on bad times and are in the division basement... but the Blasters have enough mound talent to regroup and get back in the race... they were rated the third-best club after Fort Benton and Sligo in the preseason poll... statistically they sport a .273 BA (15th), tied for 24th in scoring runs with just 16 HRs (29th-tied) and a 4.19 ERA (19th)... Randell Perkins (3-3/3.59) and Norm Harbison (2-2/1.85) are the staff leaders, while SS Gerry Sives (.347), 1B Kristian McEly (.313), 3B Caleb McAvoy (.310), C Mitch Fullerton (.324) and LF Chet Penn (.284) are offensive leaders.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, May 1, 2037

HAWKS HANKERIN' FOR ANOTHER PRO CUP
In recent years it would suffice to say that the defending IPA champion North Hills Hawks have been a dominant force in the IPA with two Pro Cups in the last three seasons... the Hawks are again resting on top of the Tycobbian North Division after one month's play... they have a two-game bulge over the Mahaska Haymakers, Hartsdale Hellcats and Fairfax Frogs... from top to bottom the TU North is tightly crammed with only 4 games separating last place White River and Luxora from leading North Hills.

Great pitching and solid bats are the driving forces for first place North Hills (15-9), a strong favorite to win the division for a fourth consecutive season... only Fairfax and Blue Lake are given an outside shot at the title... the rest of the teams will just have to wait until next year... the Hawks have compiled a sensational 2.87 ERA, second best in the IPA behind Turon of the TU South, which has put up a superb 2.83 ERA in April... the Hawks are hitting very well with a .282 BA (6th), but they are only 15th in scoring runs and 14th in homers with 28... leading the way on the mound are Frankie Lambert (4-0/1.84), last year's Pro Cup MVP Jeff Owens (4-1/3.26), David Michael (3-2/2.79) and Nelson Hooper (1-0/3.31)... top batters are RF Gerry Rice (.342), 1B Ric Hamilton (.309) and 2B Kiril Ivonski (.323)... best run producers are LF Adam Thurgood (.258) with 6 HRs and 20 RBIs... and C Mikhael Romanovsky (.291) with 7 HRs and 19 RBIs... North Hills looks like it has what it takes to win back-to-back Pro Cups.

Last year the Fairfax Frogs (13-11) finished a very distant second to North Hills, 16 games behind in the pennant race... this year they look to be better with a blistering .290 BA (2nd), topped only by Wynnamac (.296) and Valmara (.295), two Ruthlandian clubs... plus improved pitching with a 3.36 ERA (9th)... the Frogs were picked second in the preseason poll, but still are not ranked in the class of North Hills... leading the Frog attack are vets CF Eric Kusek (.369), CF Max Lebowitz (.380), LF Sonny Oliver (.333), RF Roger Krieger (.354) and C Joe King (.333)... top hurlers are Lucien Vashon (3-2/2.22) and Steven McLeod (3-3/3.11).

Mahaska (13-11), tied with Fairfax and Hartsdale this year for the runner-up spot, was ranked fourth in the preseason poll, a great improvement over last year's eighth place... the Haymakers had a fine April statistically with a .286 BA (4th), ranked 12th in scoring and a vastly better 3.07 ERA (4th)... Rob Randolph (2-2/2.40) and Valente Viero (3-3/3.31) have been the best starters, while bullpen standouts have been Kirk Stanley (2-0/1.50/1 save) and Warren Heath (2-1/1.25)... leading bats are 2B Mikk Kukk (.365), SS Rocco Bertara (.300), RF Anton Hymel (.328) and 1B Johnny Watts (.353).

The Hartsdale Hellcats (13-11) came in sixth the last two years and were forecast for the cellar this year in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... the Hellcats are just an average ball club with a .256 BA (18th), 25 HRs (17th-tied) and a 3.86 team ERA (17th)... however, they don't score many runs (25th-tied) and have a very weak bullpen (4.82-25th)... Hartsdale has gotten by in the early season with two good starters and one elite reliever... vets Wayne Dawson (3-2/2.85) and Freddie Whitaker (2-3/3.13) have been effective... in the bullpen veteran Hank Cooke (4-0/1.35/3 saves) has been so terrific, he has been moved into a starting role... at the plate the most productive have been 1B Hayden Richardson (.373), 2B Glen Duffy (.306) and RF Jeffrey Karkinos (.345)... Karkinos is tops in homers with 6 and RBIs with 15.

The Oxford Red Caps (12-12) are just a mediocre ball club with a .250 BA (24th) and a 4.31 ERA (23rd) that hasn't played in the postseason since their Pro Cup victory in 2007... not much is expected this year... the sportswriters pegged them to come in seventh... they are currently tied with Blue Lake in fifth place in the standings.... pitcher Cody Quackenbush (3-1/2.92) has had a good first month, but he is the only one... Oxford's top performers on offense have been C Jayson French (.387), 3B Boyd Olsen (.333) and vet 1B Kerry Sterling (.306)... long-time star RF Dennis Hartwig (.280) leads the club with 6 homers and has batted in 11 runs.

For the first time since they won the 2030 Pro Cup, the Blue Lake Blue Sox (12-12) had a good year last year with a second-place finish to North Hills, but 10 games off the pace... the Blue Sox were hoping to really be a serious contender this year... the preseason poll listed them as the third best team in the TU North behind North Hills and Fairfax... pitching is up this year with a 3.30 ERA (8th) and batting is better with a .280 mark (7th)... but scoring is only average (16th) and power is short with 17 HRs (28th-tied)... starters Frankie Quinn (4-1/2.98), Pat Brown (2-1/1.95), Lee Price (2-2/3.48) and Sal Mays (2-3/3.58) have done their jobs... 26-year-old Brown came over in a trade with Marston of the Ruthlandian Union... he was a 25-game winner in 2034, but hasn't done well since... the Blue Sox are hoping he can regain the magic... the top sticks are LF Jack Ryan (.395), CF Raddy Pajak (.315), SS Joe Korman (.290), 3B Matt Thompson (.333) and 1B Elton Graff (.323)... Korman and Thompson are the only ones left from the Pro Cup year... they were only 20 and 21 that year... Blue Lake has a good, solid club and should rival Fairfax for second place.

White River (11-13) is tied for seventh place this season with Luxora and forecast to be fifth in the preseason poll... since coming in a close second to North Hills in 2034, the Rascals have trended downward, winding up fifth those two seasons... they have good pitching with a 3.48 ERA (11th), but can't hit a lick (.224 BA/31st) except for CF Buford Cross (.325), 2B Quincy Shanahan (.303) and RF Zachary Kriger (.293)... veteran C Stevie Dee Daniels is the only power guy with 7 homers and 16 RBIs, but he is hitting only .232... heading up a fine starting rotation are vets Kenny Nikas (2-3/2.54) and Paul Sardini (2-2/3.71), both 34 years old... Sardini is 207-174 with a terrific lifetime 2.88 ERA, while Nikas is 137-106 with a superlative 2.60 career ERA... rounding out the rotation are youngsters Mickey Cronyn (1-2/3.86) and J. C. Hudson (2-2/3.33)... Cronyn is the son of Rascal manager Mick Cronyn, who toiled long and hard for 15 seasons in White River from 2003 to 2017... he posted a 196-201 record with a 3.73 ERA... the Rascals were a pathetic team during most of those years... they never made the playoffs.

The Luxora Zorros (11-13) are a lackluster club with just a few talented players... they were sixth in the preseason poll... the Z's are batting .254 (19th) and have posted a fairly good 3.68 ERA (15th)... they have two standout pitchers in Kent Halloran and Benny DeVito, both 31 years old... Halloran (2-3/2.45) won the TU Golden Arm two years ago and has notched an impressive 110-72 mark with a dynamite 2.29 career ERA, second best in IPA history to J. J. Gillespie of the Cold Creek Catamounts... Gillespie is still active with a 2.23 lifetime ERA... DeVito (4-2/2.01) is in his 12th season with Luxora and has registered a 169-154 record with a 3.24 career ERA... DeVito won the TU Golden Arm Award in 2031 with a 22-14 record, the last time the Zorros made the playoffs... Luxora has a few good bats in 3B Todd Dubbins (.326), SS Kelvin Cassidy (.279) and 1B Gerry Hathaway (.323).

BATTLE ROYAL IN TU SOUTH
The Tycobbian South is poised for a pennant race that could involve five or six of the teams in the division... after the first month of action, all of the teams just might be contenders... Favored San Alejo has a game lead over Summerland and is two better than Ginza, Colchester and Arroyo Grande... Southport is only three games behind in sixth place... and Turon and Cape Coral are both in last place, but just 4 games out of first.

San Alejo (14-10) reached the pinnacle of success in 2032 with its first Pro Cup... they have also won two pennants since, in 2034 and 2035... however in 2033 and 2035 they suffered off-years with second-division finishes... the Montaneros were fifth last season, but they are forecast to get back in contention this year... the Monties have been made the favorite in the TU South according to THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... so far, so good... San Alejo is leading the division, but it has suspect pitching with a 4.22 ERA (22nd)... perhaps three quality starters can pull it off... Tommy Smith (4-1/2.70), Johnny Brown (4-1/3.66) and Lupe Olmedo (2-3/3.38) are all capable starters, but they will need help from the bullpen, which has been ineffective thus far... the bats have been blazing this season in the early going... San Alejo is hitting .276 (9th), but is rated number two in scoring and tied for fourth with 35 homers... the lineup is chocked full of good hitters like C Filipe Zamora (.355), RF Charlie Wilberforce (.360), CF Dusty Rogan (.326) and 3B Bubby Blackwell (.328)... SS Sancho Cruz (.264) is the club leader with 8 homers and the league leader with 26 RBIs... Zamora is number two in RBIs with 25... teams can win pennants with plenty of firepower and a few good pitchers... history has shown it... Chicopee has done quite well with this formula in recent years.

The second place Summerland Sunsets (13-11) are the exact opposite of San Alejo... they do it with pitching... picked for third in the preseason poll, the Sunsets have chalked up a strong 3.07 ERA (5th), but they are batting only .250 (25th), are ranked just 22nd in scoring runs and absolutely last in home runs with 15... Johnny Young (2-2/1.68) and Freddi Rossi (2-3/3.12) are quality starters... and rookie reliever Jayson Hallstrom (1-1/0.64/2 saves) had done extremely well in 8 appearances... most of the offensive production has been provided by LF Eamon O'Toole (.284), CF Antonio Vasquez (.305), C John Bedell (.306) and 1B Chuck Moyer (.284).

Three clubs are deadlocked in third place: the Ginza Ninjas (12-12), Colchester Elites and Arroyo Grande Suns... the Ninjas are touted to be the second best squad next to San Alejo... since winning the division crown in 2031, Ginza has been a pathetic team... they were seventh in 2034, eighth in 2035 and sixth last season... long-time skipper Huroko Uchiyama retired and his 29-year-old son, Sadaharu, has taken his place as a playing manager... excellent hitting can do wonders for a team... the Ninjas are hitting .289 (3rd), tied for fourth in scoring and are tied with East Point and Red Bluff for first in the TU with 37 roundtrippers each... Sugar Valley of the Ruthlandian East has the most in the IPA with 39... top hitters are LF Uchiyama (.337), C Whip Harrell (.384) and 1B Steve Daniels (.342)... several others have added to the numbers... SS David Sulligent (.290), CF Sogo Takagi (.284), RF Scott Sparks (.279) and RF Ichiro Kazumi (.391)... Sparks is the club leader with 20 RBIs... he is tied for second in the Tycobbian Union with 9 dingers... veteran ace Hollis Pace (4-2/3.860), now in his 11th season, is the team's best pitcher... talent is sparse after him... the division title will probably go either to Ginza or St. Alejo, whichever one can come up with a few good pitchers.

The Colchester Elites (12-12) won the TU South last season for the first time in almost 30 years... but it didn't impress the pollsters, who placed them fifth in the preseason predictions... they did it last year with firepower, lots of longballs... the sluggers are off to a slow start in 2037, ranking 21st in the league with 22... yet the Elites are still near the top... batting (.257/16th) and pitching (3.88/18th) are just average... but vet Roy Watson (4-0/2.10) and young Eduardo Rivera (3-2/2.31) have been outstanding... the most productive hitters thus far have been Chet Porter (.328), 3B Jasper Matthews (.306), SS Joey Rogers (.283) and 1B Alejandro Vasquez (.296)... 21-year-old star RF Blake Barrister, who hit .311 with 49 homers and 129 RBIs last season, has yet to get it going... Barrister is batting a lowly .192 in the first month of the year.

The last time the Arroyo Grande Suns (12-12) enjoyed any success was 2024 when they captured their last TU South flag... the Suns came in seventh the last two years and according to the preseason picks would be seventh again... so far the offense is carrying the day with a .267 BA (12th) and 31 HRs (12th-tied), putting them third in the league in scoring... the pitching is just tolerable with a 3.93 ERA (20th)... the Suns' top bats are 2B Johnny Hensley (.313), LF Rene Jesclard (.308) and RF Gregorio Oliviera (.345)... the top hurlers are Mateus Castro (4-1/3.99), Matt Stevens (2-2/3.96) and Freddy Farentino (2-3/3.20).

Sixth in the standings are the Southport Sun Sox (11-13)... they have been shut out of the playoffs for almost 10 years... after winding up sixth and eighth the last two years, they were chosen to end up in the cellar this season in the preseason poll... the Sun Sox don't hit very well with a .257 BA (17th), they don't go deep much with 22 HRs (21st-tied) and the pitching is atrocious with a 4.77 ERA (29th), but they do surprislingly score runs and are tied for sixth in the rankings ... average-wise the top batters are RF Pat Kinney (.313), CF Barney Lewis (.282) and C Jason Lee (.277)... and Gordon Forbes (4-1/3.40) and Ruben Ekker (2-3/3.77) are the most productive pitchers.

The Turon Typhoons (10-14) and the Cape Coral Hurricanes are in last place in the TU South... Turon has a fabled history in IPA lore, but not for the last two decades... the Typhoons hold the IPA record with four Pro Cup trophies, the last one coming in 2018... but the team has been on the rise the last four seasons... last year they came in third, 12 games behind winning Colchester... the outlook this year was fourth place as per the baseball experts... in the first month of the season Turon tops the IPA with a very impressive 2.83 ERA... even more impressive is that the bullpen did not give up an earned run... lousy hitting is the Typhoons' problem... they batted only .253 (20th), ranked 30th in scoring and hit only 20 homers (26th-tied)... mound leaders were Nate Scottsdale (4-2/2.08) and Wes Brynnton (3-3/2.45)... batting leaders were 2B Little Mac McCurnan (.367), SS C. C. Kingsford (.313) and RF Guido Gervasio (.312).

Cape Coral (10-14) hasn't seen the postseason since 2030... and they are not likely to see it this year either... they were sixth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason polling... the 'Canes hit the ball very well with a .285 BA (5th), score runs pretty well, tied for 12th in the league, but don't have much power with only 22 homers (21st-tied)... leading the offense are CF Maxi Tselika (.317), 3B Rikky Van Dalen (.309), 1B Stan Ferguson (.294), SS Joel Collins (.293), LF Paul Law (.288) and RF William Snyder (.280)... on the hill they are horrific with a 4.88 ERA (31st)... Tommy Van Noord (3-2/4.20) is the only decent pitcher on the team.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, May 1, 2037

3-WAY TIE IN TU EAST
One month into the 2037 season there is a three-way tie for the top spot in the Tycobbian East Division featuring two bonifide contenders -the Tuckanarra Blue Jays and the East Point Panthers - and a possible flash-in-the-pan - the High Mesa Cowboys... only time will tell... Ozarka was made the favorite by THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason survey with perennial powerhouse Tuckanarra rated number two and East Point number three... to find High Mesa you had to go to the bottom of the list... the Cowboys were picked to end up in last place... the Red Bluff Red Sox are fourth in the standings, trailing by 4 games, while Ozarka has gotten off to a sluggish start and is in fifth place, 5 games out of first.

Tuckanarra (15-9) has won the TU East Division the last three seasons and is riled up and rarin' to do it again... the Blue Jays' goal is always the IPA Pro Cup, which they have won three times, most recently in 2035... the Tucks are a juggernaut with a Tycobbian-leading .290 BA (1st), 143 runs (1st) and 35 HRs (1st-tied)... strong on the hill, too, with a very good 3.17 ERA (6th)... Blue Jay stalwarts RF Lorne Evans (.284), 2B Josh George (.268), SS Eddie Darby (.272) and C Jon Paul (.316) have gotten some help from 31-year-old rookie IF Cliff Winter (.340) and 1B Andy Preston (.421)... Paul is the club leader with 10 homers... Evans has 6... RBI leaders are Winter with 20, Paul 19 and Evans 15... Tuckanarra still has a strong starting rotation with Bobby Reid (5-0/2.28), Jeff Buttram (3-1/2.18) and Junior Bristow (3-2/3.25), who was the TU MVP and Golden Arm winner last year... number four starter and 17-game winner Rudy Rosario (1-1/5.28) has struggled so far this season... the Blue Jays may be better than last year when they were considered the best team in the IPA.

The East Point Panthers (15-9) have had a winning record for the last decade and sport two pennants during that stretch in 2031 and 2033... the team leaders are their starting foursome of Dixie Brooks (2-2/2.62), Frank Blair (2-2/3.05), Burton Cook (4-2/2.94) and Johnny Moore (3-1/2.93)... to challenge in the race the Panthers are going to have to get better in the bullpen (6.97 ERA-32nd)... offensively they don't hit much for average with a .251 BA (22nd), but they do have some pop with 37 HRs (1st-tied)... offensive leaders are SS Dean O'Donnell (.309), LF Ricky Arnold (.304) and 3B Jack Melgaar (.328)... 1B Karl Jankauskas tops the team with 21 RBIs and 8 HRs, but is batting a lowly .209... long-time star 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.226) has gotten off to a slow start... the great pitching and good firepower should keep them in the hunt.

Is High Mesa (15-9) for real?... for the last ten seasons they have been mired in the second division... it's been 35 years since the Cowboys made the playoffs... the only success the team has ever had was the Pro Cup year in 2002 and the playoffs in 2003... the experts don't have much faith in them, slotting them in the basement in the preseason poll this year... however, a closer look reveals some pretty good ballplayers in pitchers Dean Harris (4-0/2.25), Virgil Hasper (3-2/3.05) and Max Jung (3-3/3.10)... those are really good ERAs considering they have to pitch in one of the smallest venues in the IPA... standouts at the plate are veteran 1B Michael Page (.311), 2B Tony O'Neil (.392), RF Brad Holland (.306) and LF Clay Johnston (.322)... McNeill is the third-leading batter in the TU... 34-year-old Page leads the Cowpokes with 8 HRs and 19 RBIs... 34-year-old CF Corbett Brooks (.250) is not much for average, but he produces with 5 HRs ad 16 RBIs... Page and Brooks each have over 400 career homers... I don't expect High Mesa to have the staying power for the title, but they might be able to get out of the second division, sneak into the first division and have a winning season.

The fourth place Red Bluff Red Sox (11-13) last participated in the playoffs in 2008, but do have a Pro Cup to their credit, won in 2004... last year they wound up third and were looking forward to better things this year... however, the pollsters were not that impressed and placed them no better than fourth in the pennant race... the numbers don't add up for the Red Sox with a paltry .241 BA (28th), ranked 18th in scoring and 24th in pitching... the Red Sox have only two pluses - they can go deep - they are tied for first in the TU with 37 HRs... and they have two capable starters in Ayden Carmack (4-0/2.83) and Banzuki Hasegawa (3-2/3.04)... about the best Red Bluff can do in the standings is make the first division... maybe fourth place if they keep hitting the ball out of the park and their two aces keep winning... the second division is the most likely verdict.

The Ozarka Naturals (10-14) are a disappointing fifth this season after being a very distant second the last three years to Tuckanarra... the Nats won their last TU East flag in 2030... and despite making the postseason 14 times and playing for the Pro Cup on five occasions, they have never won the IPA... but the Naturals' mound corps and solid bats impressed enough sportswriters this preseason to get the nod over Tuckanarra in the pennant chase... but it was not a good April for Ozarka... the hitters let them down with a .233 BA (30th) and they ranked 31st in scoring... however the pitchers held up with a standout 3.00 ERA (3rd) sparked by Glen Jenkins (3-3/2.30), Zenon Metaxis (3-1/3.48) and Leon Bernard (2-4/1.91)... 2B Gunnar Norheim (.321) was the only reliable bat in April... the Nats' bats should perk up and get them back in the race by season's end.

The South Fork Stallions (9-15) are in sixth in the TU East standings... last year they came in dead last... the Stallions were chosen sixth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... it's been a long time since they made the playoffs... South Fork had a great year in 2025 and took home its only Pro Cup in the club's history... last year the Stallions had terrible pitching with a 4.71 ERA... it's even worse this year with a miserable 5.59 ERA (32nd)... only the Grand City Cybercats of the Ruthlandian South have posted lousier numbers with a 5.61 ERA... rookie starter Cecil Alexander (3-3/4.78) is the best of the the bad... the offense is fairly decent with a .260 BA (15th), 24th in scoring and tied for ninth with 32 home runs... 3B Elton Jacoby has a great April with a .382 mark, 4 HRs and 18 RBIs... LF Joel Fowler chipped in with a .306 BA, 5 homers and 11 RBIs... and SS Jess Wilkerson added a .286 BA with 4 roundtrippers and 13 RBIs... RF Keenan O'Dwyer batted .275 and has a team high 6 HRs and 15 RBIs.

The Midway Wolves (7-17) and the Hillsboro Blazers are pulling up the rear in the division cellar... the Wolves were forecast to finish fifth this season in the preseason poll... the Blazers were picked seventh.... in recent seasons Midway managed a winning record except for last year when they wound up sixth and 10 games under .500... the Wolves are near the bottom in all stats with a very poor .238 BA (29th), 29th in scoring and 28th in HRs with 17... pitching-wise the staff is ranked 27th with a 4.48 ERA... the only good news has been the latest in a long line of Chandlers, Yuma Chandler, the youngest son of Midway manager Cochise Chandler, who burst on the IPA scene with a torrid April... the 25-year-old rookie CF batted .460 with 5 HRs and 11 RBIs in his first month in the league... the Wolves still have one of the finest hurlers in IPA history still holding his own at age 36... in his 17th year Bobby Dorignac is 3-3 with a solid 3.09 ERA... in his career he is 302-204 with a superlative 2.82 ERA... John Anderson (3-3/3.06) is the only other quality arm on the staff.

Hapless Hillsboro (7-17) has had only 10 winning seasons in its history and has never participated in the postseason playoffs... only twice in 2020 and 2033 have the Blazers been in a pennant race... they were seventh in this year's preseason pickings... the Hillsboro hitting is absolutely horrific with a microscopic .217 BA (32nd), rated 32nd in scoring and tied for 28th in HRs... pitching is mediocre with a 4.18 ERA (21st)... Freddy Berry is the only pitcher doing well with a 3-0 record and a fine 2.41 ERA... only 1B Phillip Stafford is having a good year with 7 HRs, 16 RBIs and a .342 BA.

BSC BUCS BREAK ON TOP IN TU WEST
Sentenced to the Tycobbian West cellar in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers have not played according to script... they have bolted ahead of the more-heralded contenders, topping flag favorite La Claire and fifth pick Kenwood by one game, two in front of number three selection Denton City and three up on sixth-rated Arlon... the other shocker is the defending division champ Chicopee... the Braves had a horrible start and are tied for last place with the Rolling Hills Reds, 7 games off the pace.

First place Bay St. Clair (16-8) came in seventh last season, 24 games under .500... that was a downturn after six good seasons in a row, including a division title in 2030... now the Bucs have bounced back with a pretty good offense and some good punch in their bats and the best record in the IPA... they have hit 33 out of the park (7th-tied) with a .263 BA (13th) and are tied for sixth in scoring... the most productive performers are RF Milt Powers (.292) with 5 HRs ad 18 RBIs and 1B Ryan Dukes (.292) with 6 HRs and 16 RBIs... Jay Callahan (3-0/2.82) and John Karlsen (5-0/3.86) have led the pitching corps... it was a zippity doo dah month where everything apparently went the Buccaneers' way... will Bay St. Clair keep up this pace?... most experts think not... in the end it will come down to Chicopee, La Claire and Denton City... BSC will probably wind up in the second division.

The La Claire Lynx (15-9) are tied with Kenwood for the runner-up spot... coming off a third-place finish in 2036, they were assigned the favorite's role in the preseason poll... the Lynx have played good ball the last 10 years and have won two pennants, but never have taken the IPA Pro Cup trophy... they are a well-balanced bunch with impressive pitching and a pretty fair offense... the team ERA is 3.29 (7th), the team BA is .262 (14th) with 24 HRs (19th) and they are tied for 12th place in scoring runs... 200-game winner Pat Kovacs (3-1/1.97) is off to another fine year and is getting strong help from number two starter Tony Rossi (5-0/2.62) and bullpen ace Terry Baird (2-2/2.51/5 saves)... Konrad Keller (2-3/3.83) has been a dependable in the number three slot... the leading bats are CF Jason Baker (.330), 1B Kris Wilson (.290) and RF Billy Holland (.280).

The Kenwood Wildcats (15-9) haven't been to the postseason since 2024, but do possess a Pro Cup crown captured in 2014... the last two years have been downers with seventh and fifth place finishes... the critics said it would be pretty much the same this year, predicting another fifth place finish... but the Wildcats have looked better than that in the early going with a good attack... they are batting .278 (8th), ranked 8th in scoring runs and have decent power with 31 HRs (12th-tied)... Kenwood is just average on the hill with a respectable 3.89 ERA (19th)... the offensive leaders are SS Ricky Boyer (.388), CF Clark Chamberlain (.338), C Antonio Dominguez (.315), LF Harry Tashina (.313) and C Corky DiNozzo (.296)... DiNozzo had 7 HRs in April and Tashina clouted 5... staff leaders are Glen Murray (3-0/2.96), Doug Kirkpatrick (3-1/4.08), and Freddy Gooch (3-2/3.91)... the Wildcats have the talent to make a run this year.

Last year second place Denton City (14-10) gave the TU West champ Chicopee fits before succumbing by two games... it was a heartbreaking loss since Denton City hasn't graced the postseason since 2013... the Redbirds are forecast to be a serious challenger again this year... however the experts put them third behind La Claire and Chicopee in the preseason ratings... the Redbirds are well-rounded with solid pitching and solid bats... the pitchers have posted an impressive 3.38 ERA (10th) and the hitters have put up some very good stats with a .271 BA (10th), 33 HRs (7th-tied) and are tied for fourth in scoring runs with 129... DC has a fine veteran starting foursome consisting of Troy McIntosh (4-0/1.78), Stephen Edwards (1-0/1.76), Denny Mills (2-1/3.00) and Francisco Salcido (4-2/3.92)... topping the batting order are C Felton Welch (.383), RF Pete Doyle (.330), CF Russ Foster (.328), SS Sammy Thornton (.301), 2B Rod Hunt (.292) and LF Sam Carson (.288)... Doyle has 7 HRs to lead the club, plus 16 RBIs... Welch has 4 HRs and the most RBIs with 19... the Redbirds will be reckoned with before the curtain is drawn on the season... it should be quite a battle with La Claire, Kenwood and probably Chicopee, too... the Braves have had a bad April (9-15) and are in a last place tie with Rolling Hills.

The Arlon Champions (13-11) are in the fifth spot currently and have been stuck in the second division for the last eight years, haven't made the playoffs in 15 years and have never won a Pro Cup... last year they were sixth, but they are playing winning baseball this year, at least in the first month of the season... the preseason pronosticators have relegated them to another second-division finish, putting them in the sixth spot in the standings... the Champs' pitching has improved this season with a 3.65 ERA (14th)... the offense is about the same as last year with a .250 BA (23rd), 21 HRs (25th) and is rated 23rd in run scoring... Lanny Gray (2-2/2.39), Frankie Gauthier (2-2/3.24), Pat Stuyvesant (3-2/3.99) and Emil Nowak (3-2/4.02) have been a fairly good starting rotation thus far... but the bullpen (6.00 ERA-29th) has been awful... offensively only RF Mark Cameron (.294) and SS Roland Duvernet (.294) have been dependable hitters.

The Bayview Vikings (10-14) were in the TU West basement last season and this year look no better... 14 times in the last 16 years the Viks have been languishing in the second division with the only winning seasons in 2034 and 2035... Bayview hasn't been in the playoffs since 2016 and hasn't collected a Pro Cup... the Vikings have some power, but little else... they are batting .245 (27th) with 32 HRs (9th-tied), but are only average in scoring (17th)... mound-wise Bayview is not very good with a 4.40 ERA (25th)... RF Roy Ricks (.400) and 2B Jerry Culpepper (.267) are the dominant hitters... Ricks is leading the Tycobbian Union in batting average and sixth overall in the IPA... Ricks has 4 HRs and 11 RBIs... Culpepper is the team leader with 9 HRs, 17 RBIs and 18 runs... he is second in the TU in homers and tied for fifth in both leagues... Vance Codsworth (2-1/2.29) is the staff leader so far with some help from veterans Joaquin Lima (2-1/4.05) and Christy Kane (2-4/3.86).

The stunner of the year so far is the Chicopee Braves (9-15), who have taken the TU West Division title for the last three years... picked for second place to La Claire in the preseason, the Braves have been dismal and fallen into last place, tied with Rolling Hills... normally one of the best batting teams in the IPA, Chicopee is hitting only .246 (26th) this year, is only an average-scoring club (19th-tied) and has only 26 HRs (24th)... and to top it off, the pitching is really, really bad with a 4.88 ERA (30th)... the bullpen is even worse with an embarrassing 6.64 ERA (31st)... no wonder the Braves are in the basement... it's not likely to remain so... only star CF Charley Kota is having a good year... in fact, he is having a great year with a .389 BA, 6 HRs, 17 RBIs and 18 runs... only Ryan Ledbetter (3-1/2.34) and Judd Hampton (3-1/3.68) have prospered on the mound... 20-game winner and ace Heyoka Chaska is 0-5 with a 4.50 ERA in his 6 starts this year... the Braves better get busy and turn it around in May... they don't want to be too far behind at the All-Star break, if they want to contend this year and win their fourth successive TU West flag.

The Rolling Hills Reds (9-15) didn't expect such a bad start this year... the Reds have been fourth the last two seasons and the prediction was for another fourth-place finish in the preseason voting... the Reds have been a formidable ballclub the last 20 years... they have captured 8 pennants during that time and been IPA champions in 2029 and 2031... the Reds are missing 236-game winner Jakob Wagner from the starting rotation... he will be out until July recovering from elbow surgery... team ace Wagner was 15-9 last season with a 3.03 ERA when he was injured in early August... he was expected back this Spring, but suffered a setback... Mike Daniels (4-1/1.93) and Matthew Christianson (2-2/2.57) have done well this season, but haven't gotten much help... the main run producers have been veterans C Brian Davis (.354), 2B Buffy Kowalczyk (.322) and SS Dino Manale (.283)... as a team Rolling Hills has average pitching with a 3.81 ERA (16th) and a poor offense with a .251 BA (21st), only 20 HRs (26th-tied) and ranked 28th in scoring... without a healthy Wagner, the Reds are destined for the depths of the division this year.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, June 1, 2037

VALMARA, KILKENNY TIED IN RU NORTH
No big surprises in the Ruthlandian North Division... it's running true-to-form with all of the contenders contending... Valmara and Kilkenny are tied for first place with a slight lead over third place Taranto and fourth place LaGrange and Ancona... after two months' of play only 6 games separate the leaders from the sixth place clubs, Glasco and Far Mountain.

The Valmara Vipers (30-22) only broke even in May with a 14-14 record, but still retained the top spot, though tied with Kilkenny... the Vipers don't have any pitching, but the bats have done the job so far... they are batting .273 (10th), but are second in scoring... on the hill they are bad with a 4.60 ERA (29th)... RF Benny Hooper (.335), 3B Andy Ruffino (.318), 2B Miroslav Ciszek (.331), Pat Sautier (.355) and 1B George Jenkins (.291) are the big guns... none of the starters are very effective... Freddy Pfeffer (4-4/4.81) is the best of the lot... the Vipers do have two solid relievers in Clark Van Vreeland (6-4/2.02/9 saves) and Kasio Kitowsky (2-0/1.38/3 saves)... to stay in the race manager Vanya Vasylenko is going to have to find some pitching somewhere.

The preseason favorite Kilkenny Cats (30-22) gained ground in May with a 17-11 mark... the Cats are doing it with excellent pitching (3.05 ERA-2nd) and home runs (55-11th)... they are batting a lowly .244 (32nd)... the top hurlers are Fred Doyle (8-2/2.41), Ted Flanagan (7-6/2.89), Dave Whitaker (7-5/3.23) and James Crockett (5-4/3.70)... right now Kilkenny's mound staff give them the edge over Valmara... 3B Leevi Viri (.280) and RF Quanah Paytah (.295) are the only consistent hitters in the lineup.

The Taranto Tars (27-25) are in third place and trail by 3 games... the Tars were rated the fifth-best squad in the preseason poll... they were 14-14 in May... the Tars don't have the pitching either and depend on the bats... they are second with 70 HRs, but are hitting only .250 (30th)... leading hitters are C Angelo Rossi (.337) with 13 HRs and 30 RBIs... RF Wes Marlowe (.341) with 16 HRs and 36 RBIs... and SS Daryl Rhodes (.320) with 5 homers and 16 RBIs... 3B Jimbo Judson is only batting .267, but has produced 11 HRs, 28 RBIs and scored 34 runs... Carmine Scalise (6-4/2.82) is the only standout pitcher... to overtake Valmara and Kilkenny, Taranto will need improved pitching... currently the staff has posted a mediocre 4.17 ERA (22nd)

Good old defending champ LaGrange (26-26), which has won four of the last five pennants, just keeps on chugging along, staying close in fourth place, 4 games out and tied with Ancona... the Sports finished the month at 14-14... the pollsters picked them second this spring... they are batting at a .268 clip (14th) and compiled a decent 3.90 ERA (16th)... the weak spot is its relief corps... the starters Mike York (7-3/2.99), Walt Thurber (4-6/3.36) and Roland Oates (3-1/3.18) have been fairly effective... the other starter Chazz Bassett (4-8/4.70) has had a bumpy season so far... Bassett has been a 20-game winner the last two seasons and is critical for LaGrange's success... SS Fred Bird (.341), C Chris Heffner (.341) and 3B Claude DesJardins (.360) are the most reliable hitters... CF Russell Watkins (.261) has 26 RBIs and leads with 9 HRs... 1B Chris Charbonnier (.251) tops in RBIs with 32 and has 6 HRs... consistent pitching and adequate hitting has served the Sports very well the past few seasons... they should be in contention down the stretch.

The Ancona Red Elephants (26-26) have enjoyed modest improvement this year, but dipped to 12-16 in May... they were fifth last year and forecast seventh this year... the Red Elephants are batting .275 (6th), but are only average in scoring runs and power... pitching is also so-so with a 3.89 ERA (15th)... Pablo Pilar (8-3/3.42), Steven Russell (6-6/3.71) and Andre Athas (5-5/3.95) are reliable pitchers... offensively carrying the load are 3B Tommy Richardson (.342), CF Carl Trent (.309), 1B Jesse Clayton (.314) and RF Pettis Pentleton (.308)... SS Alex Zitek (.265) is the club leader with 8 HRs and 31 runs, while Pentleton has hit 7 HRs and is tops in RBIs with 31.

The Glasco Athletics (24-28) and Far Mountain are deadlocked in sixth place in the RU North, 6 games out of first... the A's were picked sixth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, in spite of a third place finish last season... they were a lousy 8-16 the first month of the season, but strong in May with a 16-8 record, tops in the division... Glasco has good offense with a .276 BA (4th), but could be better on the hill with a 4.18 ERA (23rd)... the Athletics could be a factor the pennant race and could challenge for a first-division berth, sparked by Sam Jensen (6-3/2.89) and Gino Genovese (3-2/2.55) on the mound and CF Travis Houston (.311), 3B Taylor Hampshire (.323) and C Ted Jarzinski (.290) at the plate... Houston led the club with 9 HRs and 35 runs... he, Hampshire and Jarzinski tops the team in RBIs with 29 each.

The sixth place Far Mountain Redhawks (24-28) were fourth last year and ranked to end up fourth again this year... they were only 9-15 in April, but turned it around this month with a 15-13 mark... the Redhawks have pretty fair pitching and OK hitting... Paul Young (4-3/2.42), Chad Cummings (4-6/3.02) and Frankie Moreland (4-5/3.38) lead the mound staff, while C Ron Marlowe tops the hitters with 12 HRs, 35 RBIs and a .348 BA... SS Dan Vance is also having a good year with a .331 BA and leads the club with 30 runs.

The Ranford Bulls (16-36) were the worst team in the RU North preseason poll and they have lived up to it... they started 9-15 and got worse, falling to 7-21 in May... looks like a very long season for skipper Chris Bernhoffer... he has only one reliable hurler, Rube Satcher (5-6/2.77) and he's a good one... SS Dayton McCall leads the club with a .316 BA... LF Jojo Davis is second with a .306 average... but the run producers are RF Dale Weston (.275) with 14 homers and 33 RBIs and 2B Alex Vanno (.280) with 8 homers and 33 RBIs.

WALESKA MOVES UP TO FIRST IN RU SOUTH
The Waleska Westerners had a good month with a 17-11 record to move past Crystal Lake and Belair Beach into the top spot in the Ruthlandian South Division... it's still a wide-open race with no dominant teams... the Crushers are in the runner-up spot two games behind... they were 14-14 in the last month... the Sunbirds fell to 13-15 in May and are now 3 games back... the Claxton Diamonds are in fourth, just four games off the pace... they were also 13-15 in the last month of play.

First place Waleska (30-22) is doing quite well, but doesn't have the offense it used to have in the hey days of Roy Hobbs and Loco Dillinger... Hobbs, the current manager, retired five years ago after a fabulous career... teammate Dillinger decided recently to call it a career after 15 seasons at age 37... he batted .316 lifetime with 479 HRs and 1551 RBIs... Dillinger was the RU Rookie of the Year, 9-time All-Star, won 5 Golden Bat Awards and twice was the league's MVP... Dillinger led the Westerners to three pennants and one Pro Cup championship... Dillinger was hitting .280 this year, but didn't have the legs to play anymore... he said he didn't want to overstay his welcome... Waleska only has average pitching and the offense is not very good... it's a wonder they are in first place... Terry Richards is Hobbs' ace with a 6-3 record and a 3.80 ERA... Craig Nash (4-5/3.15) is number two in the rotation and Tony Haskell (6-5/4.12) is number three... Dudley Dickens (5-4/4.16) is the number four... they are the key to Waleska's season... 2B Joey Harris (.300), C Rodney Hanson (.324) and SS Bobby Denton (.284) top the club in average... RF Niles Gregory is the power guy with 10 homers and 28 RBIs, but he is batting a terrible .213... the Westerners really need his bat to stay in the driver's seat.

Crystal Lake (28-24) and Belair Beach led the division in the first month... the Crushers fell to 14-14 in month two... manager Herman "Baby" George has a fairly well-rounded ball club with a decent offense and pitching... leading the attack are C Stan Stanek with a .357 BA, 12 HRs and 34 RBIs and 1B Big Sam Takota with a .283 BA, 9 HRs and 35 RBIs... two old vets Arnie Cason (9-1/2.22) and Derek Joubert (6-5/4.03) lead the mound staff... if Douglas Merrill (2-1/3.29) and Darragh Whelan (4-6/3.69) can solidify the rotation, Crystal Lake will have a good shot at the division crown.

In May, the Belair Beach Sunbirds (27-25) tailed off to 13-15 and dropped to third place, 3 games back of Waleska... the Sunbirds have good power with 66 HRs (4th-tied), average scoring (13th) and less-than-average pitching with a 4.16 ERA (21st)... Wally Hudson (6-0/3.76), Joel Gregg (5-5/3.86), Todd Clyman (3-5/3.26) and Calvin Carmichael (7-4/4.04) make up the starting four... the main bats are CF Bobby Meusel (.329), 2B Jackie Jackson (.307), RF Larry Cole (.295), LF Joe Don Baker (.299) and 1B Jason Butler (.295)... Butler tops the team with 12 HRs, Meusel has 10, Baker 8, Cole 8 and Jackson 7... the Sunbirds look like a solid contender.

Fourth place Claxton (26-26) trails Waleska by 4 games... the Diamonds slumped to 13-15 in the second month... they have pretty good pitching (3.75 ERA-11th) with Vance White (10-2/2.77), Art Reese (.5-5/2.51) and rookie Stan Yudash (3-0/3.67)... White is third in the IPA in wins after Dan Pitts of Elnora and Neil Scottsdale of Turon in the Tycobbian Union... they both have chalked up 11 victories each... Claxton is paced at the plate by LF Foxy Fuchs (.333) with 13 HRs and 43 RBIs... 1B Jojo DeLucca (.272) has 12 HRs and 30 RBIs... 2B Gary Colton (.259) has chipped in 31 RBIs and 3B Jonas Weiss (.310) has 25... C Jaan Hoogendoorn is batting .301 with 5 HRs and 33 runs... the Diamonds will also be in the hunt for the RU South Division title.

The St. John Crusaders (24-28) are a good-looking, but losing team... they were picked to finish second this year, but really look like a champion... they were good enough to get to the Pro Cup Finals last year, where they fell to the IPA champ North Hills in six games... this year they are tied for fifth place with San Dimas, 6 games off the pace... the Crusaders had a poor April, but broke even in May with a 14-14 mark... the pitching is rock-solid with a 3.05 ERA (3rd) and the offense is good, ranked seventh in scoring and seventh in homers with 60... manager Clayton Luck has a very impressive starting four in Jeremy Kirk (8-5/2.96), Lou Gianakos (3-4/2.98), Yancey Garrett (6-6/3.57) and Vito Sanfratello (4-6/3.12)... plus he has a bunch of fine batters in last year's RU MVP Nicky Farrugia (.291), 3B Marty Blankenship (.286), last year's RU Rookie of the Year CF Art Kelley (.308), LF Bobby Joe Daniel (.331) and 1B Johnny Zaun (.353)... Blankenship is second to East Point's Dean O'Donnell in home runs... O'Donnell has 19 and Blankenship has 18... Faruggia has 11 HRs and 44 RBIs, Blankenship has 43 RBIs and 43 runs and Kelley has 10 HRs with 37 RBIs... there is absolutely no reason for the Crusaders not to cruise to the RU South crown this year.

The San Dimas Rancheros (24-28) can hold their own in the batter's box, but fall short on the mound... they broke even in April, but dropped to 12-16 in May... Carroll Cain (6-5/3.90) and Seth Dawson (3-1/3.05) are the top pitchers, while RF Denny Hendrix (.349), C Hermie Goetz (.302), CF Klaus Stordahl (.302) and 3B Lenny Purkey top the hitters... Hendrix has 10 HRs and 34 RBIs... the Rancheros were chosen the fourth-best club in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, but look like a second-division team.

The Grand City Cybercats (23-29) were forecast to come in seventh this year, so far they are right on target, 7 games out of first... rookie Kenny Morrow (4-3/4.28) is the only starter with a winning record... and the only hitters of note are SS Teddy Grantham with 12 HRs, 37 RBIs and a .347 BA... and 2B Mitch Coleman with 11 roundtrippers, 25 RBIs and a .359 BA.

The last place Valka Blackhawks (20-32) have very little pitching and not much hitting either... they were a dismal 9-19 in May... they are now 10 games behind first place Waleska... none of the starters have winning records and have ERA's near the 5.00 level... only reliever Julien Rouse (0-2/1.64) has had much success with 8 saves in 17 appearances... but Valka does have two talented ballplayers in 1B Bobby Scott and RF Kenny Mitsuzaka... Scott has 15 HRs, 43 RBIs, 36 runs and a great .403 BA, which is second in the IPA to Eastshore's Johnny Petrak, who is hitting .410... Mitsuzaka is batting .314 with 4 HRs and 20 RBIs... 2B Egon Ojamaa has also looked good with 10 HRs, 38 RBIs and a .276 BA.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, June 1, 2037

SV RATTLERS SURGE TO TOP IN RU EAST
There is quite a race going on in the Ruthlandian East, home of some of the best teams in the IPA... Sugar Valley surged to the top in May with a super 21-7 record... that gave the Rattlers a 2-game edge over the resurgence Elnora All-Stars... Cold Creek had a hot month, too, and is third place, 4 games out... Beechwood is fourth, 5 games behind... Eastshore is fifth, 6 games off the pace... and the April leader Wynnamac plunged to sixth with a 12-16 mark, falling 7 games back of Sugar Valley.

Sugar Valley (36-16) has the best record in the IPA and has a sizzling attack that tops everybody in homers (89) and scoring runs (339)... Bobby Gamble leads the way with a .353 BA, 14 HRs and an IPA high of 54 RBIs... Roger Hobbs has posted a .324 BA with 14 HRs and 50 RBIs... Tyler White (.266) got hot in May and has chipped in with 17 HRs and 47 RBIs... it's hard for pitchers to stand out when they play in such a small venue, but they have done very well with a 3.64 ERA (10th)... top arms are Juan Navarro (6-3/3.11), Jeremy Blanchard (7-4/3.50) and Mel Underwood (5-2/3.50)... Josh Wilkerson (9-2/4.45) has the most wins, but he has benefited from strong run support... manager Gibby Bobkins has a club to that will be in the race for the RU East flag and just might be a serious Pro Cup challenger, but they will have to beat off some serious clubs to do it... the Rattlers play in the strongest division in the IPA.

Elnora (34-18) has a solid club with good hitting and a fairly good mound corps... the All-Stars have put together two strong months this season, going 18-10 in May... Dan Pitts (11-2/2.03) has been brilliant and leads the IPA in victories, tied with Nate Scottsdale of Turon in the Tycobbian South... Pitts was acclaimed the May Pitcher of the Month with a 6-1 record and a 1.73 ERA... Stan Kivas (6-4/2.49) has been very effective, too... Jeremy Sellers (5-5/3.59) stepped it last month after a poor 0-4 April... manager Leon Carter's only problem is a terrible bullpen (6.00 ERA-31st)... Elnora also doesn't have the HR power it needs... top hitters are mainly contact hitters like Danny Bierhoff (.324), Jan Kobak (.303), Clint Thomas (.295), Akihiro Samurakami (.283), Larry Dwyer (.305) and young phenom Enos Conrad (.438), who was recently moved into a starting role... Thomas leads with 8 HRs... Kobak and Bierhoff have 7 each... in the long run the All-Stars may not have the offense to whip Sugar Valley or the pitching to get by Cold Creek in the standings... Beechwood, Eastshore and Wynnamac may outgun them, too... Elnora could be as high as third place and as low as sixth.

The defending division winner Cold Creek Catamounts (32-20) showed their stuff in May with a 19-9 mark, but it wasn't good enough to take over the top spot... they did, however, move up from sixth to third... Cold Creek trails by four games... as usual the C'Cats have outstanding pitching and sickly hitting... the starters are probably the best in the IPA, headed up by J. J. Gillespie (6-3/2.15), Rob Hutchins (9-3/3.14), Joey Baker (6-4/3.30) and Jules Capet (4-0/2.09)... Pat Ellis (.291) and Wayne Kenney (.298) are the only ones with any punch at all... Kenney leads with 9 HRs, while Ellis has 6... great pitching will always keep you in the pennant race... and the Catamounts have it.

The Beechwood Bobcats (31-21) had another good month with a 17-11 mark and are in fourth place in the RU East, five games out of first, but they may be one of the most balanced clubs on paper as any in the IPA... the Bobcats hit for average, they hit home runs, they score runs and they are very good on the hill... yet the Bobcats are 5 games off the pace... it's just a very tough division... veteran Ken Arby (8-3/2.02) is having a heck of a year... 22-year-old Jimmy Herman (5-4/2.18/2 saves) has very effective in the bullpen and now as a starter... after a terrible April, Maury Patterson has gone 4-1 in May with a 2.21 ERA... Patterson is now 6-4 with a 4.06 ERA on the season... it's vital that he has a strong season for Beechwood to remain in contention... the Bobcat bats have been paced by Cody Hanks (.342), Howie Baldwin (.308) and Eddie Wilson (.287)... Baldwin is the club leader with 13 HRs, 40 RBIs and 45 runs.

The Eastshore Elegants (30-22) had their second straight good month with a 16-12 record... still they are in fifth place, six games behind leading Sugar Valley... pitching is the Elegants' strong point... they do have pretty fair offense as well, but are short on power... Teddy Noble (9-4/2.82), Don Klingenberg (7-4/3.21) and Ramon Contreras (5-4/3.13) have been effective, but Koy Clampett (3-5/4.89) continued to struggle in the number four spot in the rotation... Eastshore needs him to regain his effectiveness to contend for the pennant... club leaders at the plate are Johnny Petrak, who has had a fantastic season thus far with an IPA-leading .410 BA... Valmara's Jet Kazmarek, who batted a remarkable .428 in 2002, is the only .400 hitter in IPA history... other run producers are Paul Reed (.317), Scotty Lagrange (.265) and Larry Romney (.271).

The Wynnamac Sundowners (29-23) started the season in a blaze of glory with a 17-7 record, good enough for the top spot, but things went sour in May as they slipped to 12-16 and down to sixth place, seven games back in the race... the pitching has held up, but the offense has come down-to-earth after batting a blistering .296 in April... the Sundowner staff is quite good with Killara Bardo (8-4/3.34) and Geoff Hobart (8-4/3.35) as the prime starters... reliever Arnie Frederick (4-3/2.67) has looked good since being promoted to a starting role... the top bats are Ed Lane (.318) and Duane Hudson (.318)... Davy L'Amour (.249) tops the team with 9 HRs and 37 RBIs... how high Wynnamac finishes will depend on the batters... the outlook is kind of dim... sixth may be the best the Sundowners can hope for.

The Marston Nine (25-27) are just an average ball club in the Ruthlandian Union... certainly not in the class of most of the RU East Division... they will just have to be content to stay out of the cellar... Alex Ehrlich (8-4/3.10) is the only effective starter... and Lonnie Trekell (.312) and Marco Ameche (.306) are the class of the hitters... Trekell has 10 HRs and 30 RBIs, while Ameche has chalked 10 HRs and 31 RBIs.

After two months of action, the Belle Plaine Musketeers (22-30) are in the RU East basement, already 14 games to the rear... Philippe Marchand (6-5/3.72) and Emilio Gallo (6-6/3.79) are the best hurlers... and at the plate the big guns are Noel Martin and Boo Boudreaux... Martin is the number four hitter in the Ruthlandian Union with a .367 BA and leads the IPA in runs scored with 48... he has driven in 32 runs... Boudreaux is third in the RU with 16 roundtrippers and has 38 RBIs, 33 runs scored and is batting .290 for the season...however, there is no much in the tank after these two talented performers.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, June 1, 2037

TIGHT RACE IN RU WEST, SLIGO SLIGHT LEAD
The Ruthlandian West Division is one of the weaker divisions in the IPA, but it is always pretty competitive within... this year only the top two clubs have winning records... the Sligo Rovers have a one-game edge over preseason pick Fort Benton... in third place trailing by 4 games are Rocky Rapids and Forest City... last year's winner Colfax is tied with Middlefield for fifth and is 6 games out of first... even seventh place Volusia and last place Stoner are within striking distance and are only 8 games off the pace.

A two-team race was forecast and that's pretty much what's happening... only Sligo (28-24) and Fort Benton look like they will have winning seasons... Sligo had a solid May with a 16-12 mark to move up to first place ahead of Fort Benton, who slumped to 13-15... the Rovers are just an average team in the Ruthlandian Union, but they can score fairly well (11th) and have a little firepower with 61 HRs (6th)... Randall Steele (6-5/3.69) and Tom Pierson (4-3/3.95) are pretty good starters... newcomer Jeff Cooper (3-5/5.25) has been a disappointment... he has to have a good second half for the Rovers to win... Sligo has no big-time bats... the best ones are Denny Simmons (.304), Neil Mitchell (.302), Peder Svensson (.287) and Vasco Aguilar (.301).

The Fort Benton Defenders (27-25) have good stats, but they don't convert into a good record... they are batting a strong .280 (2nd) with 267 runs (6th), but have no power with only 34 HRs (31st)... the pitching is quite respectable with a 3.42 ERA (6th)... the Defenders have three quality starters in Tommy Baylor (8-3/2.59), Augie Marquis (6-3/2.75) and Jordy Raeburn (5-7/3.18)... the top run producers are D. D. Badeaux (.344), Mitch Hamilton (.349) and Hunter Glenholmes (.333)... Fort Benton gets the nod in the pennant hunt because of its good starters... the RU West winner will not get very far in the postseason.

The Rocky Rapids Snappers (24-28) are tied for third with Forest City... the Snappers played poorly in the first month of the season, but did fairly well with a 15-13 May... they are not really a very good team... mediocrity abounds... Randy McKenzie (5-5/3.47) and Randy Peters (3-3/2.96) are the most reliable starters... Joe Hughes is the best hitter with a .336 BA and 6 HRs... Crusher Derringer tops the club in RBIs with 33 and 6 HRs, while hitting .261.

The Forest City Lumberjacks (24-28) hit for average with a .273 BA (9th), but are just run-of-the-mill otherwise... Ted Dancer (4-1/3.33) leads the pitchers... in the batter's box the top bats are Bob Brisdon (.333), Ronnie Pollet (.324), Pistol Pete Picard (.310) and Hal Burton (.289).

Defending division champ Colfax (22-30) and Middlefield are deadlocked in fourth place, six games behind... the Blasters got a bad 8-16 start in April, but they perked up a bit with a 14-14 mark in May... they have a decent offense with a .276 BA (5th) and 261 runs (8th), but possess poor pitching with a 4.28 ERA (25th)... offensive leaders are Chet Penn, who is third in the IPA with a .399 BA... Penn was named the RU Player of the Month for hitting .516 with 5 HRs and 31 RBIs for May... other impressive bats are Gerry Sives (.356) and Kristian McEly (.316)... Randell Perkins leads the staff with an 8-5 record and has posted a 3.86 ERA.

The Middlefield Roosters (22-30) haven't fared well in the early going... after a poor April, the Roosters were only 12-16 in May... the offense is lackluster and the pitching is lousy... Brad Alexander (.295) leads the club with 14 HRs and 48 RBIs, while Tony Parsons is tops with a .320 BA and 44 runs... the best pitcher is Larry Wheelhouse (5-8/3.81)... all the other starters are over the 5.00 ERA mark.

The Volusia Vigilantes (21-31) are in seventh place, seven games back of first place Sligo... not a lot of talent on the V's... the best of the lot is pitcher Hector Vargas (6-3/1.81), along with LF Felipe Henriques (.305) and 1B Glenn Childress (.295).

In last place are the Stoner Stars (20-32)... they are 8 games back... the Stars suffer on the mound and are even worse at the plate... they have compiled a 4.03 ERA and are near the bottom in scoring (30th)... Larry Urban (4-3/3.31) and Mel Glosterman (3-3/3.00) are the only productive pitchers... and CF Don Cain (.327) and C Barry Swindell (.339) are the best batters.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, June 1, 2037

NH HAWKS 1ST IN TU NORTH, BUT CHALLENGED
Defending IPA titleholder North Hills just keeps on chugging along in the Tycobbian North Division... the Hawks have won it the last three years and also chalked up two Pro Cup crowns... and they are living up to preseason expectations with a two-game lead over the runner-up White River Rascals and three in front of Fairfax and Blue Lake, tied for third place... all alone in the fifth spot are the Mahaska Haymakers, who trail by 5 games... in sixth place are Luxora and Hartsdale, six games out, while resting in the basement are the Oxford Red Caps, 8 games off the pace of first place North Hills... the Hawks still have wonderful pitching and should be one of the favorites in the Pro Cup playoffs, if they can beat off several serious challengers in the TU North this season.

North Hills (31-21) played good baseball in May with a 16-12 mark... the Hawks depend on strong pitching and they deliver with a 3.20 ERA (2nd)... offensively they have enough to get by with a .276 BA (6th), but are only average in scoring runs (242/17th)... Frankie Lambert (9-2/2.23) leads the pitcher pack this year with help from David Michael (7-4/2.70), Jeff Owens (8-4/3.57) and Nelson Hooper (4-2/3.38)... Mikhail Romanovsky (.297) is the team leader with 15 HRs and 39 RBIs... Gerry Rice (.316), Kris Anastas (.301) and Ric Hamilton (.288) are the other dependable bats in the order... the Hawks big gun Adam Thurgood (.217) is struggling with his batting average, but is still a threat with 10 HRs and 31 RBIs.

White River (29-23) had a hot May with an 18-10 record to rise up from seventh to second... give the mound corps credit... vets Kenny Nikas (7-3/3.45) and Paul Sardini (6-4/3.31) are capable starters and they are getting help from 22-year-old J. C. Hudson (6-3/3.45)... the Rascals attack is anemic with a .245 BA and average power (17th)... but they do have some solid bats in Stevie Dee Daniels (.277) with 16 HRs and 35 RBIs, Davey Sloan (.282) with 9 HRs and 30 RBIs... and Buford Cross, who leads the club with a .320 BA... it's not likely White River will beat out North Hills, Fairfax and Blue Lake... they don't have the hitting.

The Fairfax Frogs (28-24) are tied for third with Blue Lake and has what it takes to pressure North Hills... the Frogs were 15-13 in May and possess a good offense with a .279 BA (5th), ranking 5th in scoring with 275 runs, but could use more long-distance hitting (48 HR-22nd tied)... they are average on the hill with a 3.87 ERA (15th)... vets Eric Kusek (.347), Gilbert Miles (.325) and Max Lebowitz (.320) are heading up the Frogs hit parade... vets Lucien Vachon (6-6/3.25), Steven McLeod (5-5/3.72) and Harold Dorman (5-5/3.91) lead the hurlers... Fairfax is not quite as good as North Hills, but it will be hard to shake.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox (28-24) are an improved club this season... they were second last year, but were 10 games behind North Hills... Blue Lake broke even in April at 12-12 and went 16-12 in May... the Blue Sox do well on the mound with an impressive 3.17 ERA (4th), but they have trouble putting runs on the scoreboard... the Blue Sox have only 226 runs (27th) and don't hit with power, having only 32 roundtrippers (31st), but they do hit for average (.275-7th)... Frankie Quinn (8-2/2.58), Pat Brown (5-3/2.58), Lee Price (5-3/2.97) and Sal Mays (6-4/3.34) are a good foursome... the Blue Sox need for 19-game winner Andre Montrose to regain his form of last year... so far he is 3-10 with a 4.02 ERA... should he have a better second half, Blue Lake will certainly give North Hills a run for its money... the leading batsmen are Jack Ryan (.351), Matt Thompson (.348), Elton Graff (.322) and Raddy Pajak (.300).

In fifth place are the Mahaska Haymakers (26-26), much improved over last year's last place finish... the Haymakers had a mediocre May at 13-15... offensively they hold their own with a .275 BA (8th), score well with 262 runs (8th) and are decent in HRs with 51 (20th-tied)... but only so-so on the mound with a 3.95 ERA (17th)... there is a shortage of good starters... only Valente Viero (5-4/3.08) has consistently done the job... the Haymaker lineup is a good one with Johnny Watts (.362), Anton Hymel (.333), Rocco Bertara (.321), John Fitzpatrick (.303) and Mikk Krukk (.289)... Mahaska is most likely still a second-division team... not up to the level of North Hills, Fairfax, Blue Lake and White River.

The Luxora Zorros (25-27) are tied with Hartsdale in sixth place in the TU North standings... after being 11-13 in April, they improved slightly to 14-14... the Z's are not forecast to be a contender this year, though they have some talented players in Gerry Hathaway, the TU Player of the Month, who batted .400 in May with 10 HRs and 29 RBIs... overall Hathaway is hitting .363 with 14 HRs and 39 RBIs... and Todd Dubbins has been a good bat with a .341 BA, 13 HRs and 41 RBIs... other offensive contributors are Kelvin Cassidy (.308), Ramiro Munos (.305) and Derrek Jackson (.308)... pitching is also better-than-average with a 3.74 ERA... as a team the Z's bat .269 (11th), are tied for 10th in scoring with 252 runs and are 11th in roundtrippers with 61... Luxora has two fine veteran starters in Benny DeVito (8-3/2.63) and Kent Halloran (5-6/2.48) and in closer Fernando Sanches (1-3/2.45/10 saves)... Sanches is tied for the IPA lead in saves with Scotty Price of the Sligo Rovers in the Ruthlandian West... the Zorros are a better team than some of the experts forecast... they might finish as high as fourth... last year they were seventh.

Not a lot is expected of the Hartsdale Hellcats (25-27), who were picked for the cellar this year in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... after a 13-11 mark in April, they dipped to 12-16 in May... the Hellcats are just a lackluster club with a .255 BA (22nd) and a 4.24 ERA (21st)... Freddie Whitaker (6-6/3.04) and Wayne Dawson (7-5/3.65) head up the starting rotation... the offensive leaders are Hayden Richardson (.383) with 13 HRs and 30 RBIs and Jeffrey Karkinos (.321) with 11 HRs and 27 RBIs.

The eighth place Oxford Red Caps (23-29) are very similar to Hartsdale, but have more firepower with 67 HRs (6th)... the team batting average is .258 (19th) and the team ERA is 4.25 (22nd)... the Red Caps were rated near the bottom in the preseason picks, which appears to be the most likely scenario... Cody Quackenbush (7-4/3.23) has been a standout on the mound, but he needs more help... Jayson French (.342) and Kerry Sterling (.302) are the best batters... they could use some help, too.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, June 1, 2037

TYPHOONS SURGE TO TOP OF TU SOUTH
There appears to be a lot of contenders in the Tycobbian South Division this season... Turon surged up from last to first with a brilliant 22-6 record in May that gave them a two-game lead over San Alejo and Arroyo Grande... there is a three-way battle for fourth with Summerland, Ginza and Colchester all five games back... Six of the division's eight clubs have winning records... in fact, all of the teams posted .500 or better records in May.

The Turon Typhoons (32-20) were a close third last year to Colchester... this season they were ranked fourth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason picks... the Typhoons have the best ERA in the IPA at 2.91 and are led by the remarkable 21-year-old rookie Nate Scottsdale (11-2/2.37), who was just honored with the Pitcher of the Month trophy... Scottsdale was 7-0 in May with a 2.62 ERA in 7 starts... he is tied with Dan Pitts of Elnora in the Ruthlandian Union for the most wins in the IPA... other top Turon twirlers are Russell Larsen (5-1/2.06) and Wes Brynnton (8-5/2.63)... the Typhoons batters are hot, too, with a .287 BA (4th), but they don't go deep very often with 47 HRs (25th-tied) and are only average in scoring runs (245 runs-14th tied)... leading the attack are C. C. Kingsford (.337), Guido Gervasio (.322), J. P. Trevenot (.304) and Little Mac McCurnan (.338)... Turon looks like they are in the race to stay.

The San Alejo Montaneros (30-22) were favored to win the division in the preseason balloting... they are currently tied with the surprising Arroyo Grande Suns for the runner-up spot... the Monties are strong in the batter's box with a .271 BA (10th) and on the scoreboard with 287 runs (2nd)... power-wise they are pretty good with 63 HRs (8th-tied)... Filipe Zamora (.333) and Charlie Wilberforce (.347) are the offensive leaders with help from Bubby Blackwell (.314)... Zamora and Sancho Cruz lead the club with 11 HRs apiece...Zamora tops the team with 42 RBIs, while Cruz (.242) has 41... Adrian Otero (.244) is third in homers with 10... outfielder Dusty Rogan (.330) missed most of May with a hamstring injury... he should be back in the lineup in early June... the pitching corps is not as productive as the offense with a 3.75 ERA (12th)... Barry Sexton (5-4/3.24), Tommy Smith (6-4/3.67) and Johnny Brown (6-6/3.80) are the most dependable starters... San Alejo has a lot of talent and should play a big part in the pennant race.

The Arroyo Grande Suns (30-22) have been also-rans most of the last ten years... the last two years found them in seventh place... the Suns were forecast again for the seventh spot in the standings in the preseason balloting... but lo and behold they went 18-12 in May and suddenly find themselves in the midst of the pennant race... the only question is will they continue to play like that... probably not... the Suns are batting .257 (21st), have pretty good power with 60 HRs (12th) and they score well with 265 runs (7th)... pitching-wise they are decent with a 3.97 ERA (18th)... but the bullpen is bad with a 4.79 ERA (27th)... Gregorio Oiviera tops the team with a .331 BA, 35 RBIs and 35 runs... he is second in HRs with 10... Johnny Hensley is batting .304 with 7 HRs, 30 RBIs and 35 runs... and Pip Gleason is first in homers with 12 and also has 35 RBIs, but is batting only .257... the Suns' starting four are pretty consistent: Mateus Castro (8-3/3.99), Matt Stevens (6-2/3.57), Monty Stratford (4-4/3.38) and Freddy Farentino (5-6/4.14), considering the small park they have to pitch in... anyone is a home-run threat in Capet Stadium.

Defending TU South champ Colchester (27-25) is tied for fourth with the Ginza Ninjas and Summerland Sunsets... the Elites are hanging close, just five games out... they were 15-13 in May... Colchester has a potent arsenal, ranking fourth in scoring with 279 runs, tied for eighth in homers with 63 and are batting .289 (2nd)... their Achilles' heel is on the mound with a horrible 4.70 ERA (30th)... Roy Watson (8-3/3.20) is the most reliable starter, along with Dan Scott (2-3/3.20/saves), who just moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation... Blake Barrister leads the Elites at the plate with 14 HRs, 31 RBIs and 27 runs, but is hitting just .247 for average... Chet Porter (.329) and Billy Christianson (.309) are the top batters and they get some help from Jasper Matthews (.299), Joey Rogers (.284) and Alejandro Vasquez (.275)... Colchester won the division last year with a high-powered offense and pretty fair pitching, but they are not as good this season on the hill or in the batter's box... the Elites were rated the fifth-best team in the preseason poll... that seems about right.

Ginza (27-25) was the second choice in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason voting... the Ninjas are very much like Colchester with a .289 BA (2nd), 279 runs (4th), 63 HRs (8th-tied) and a very suspect 4.70 ERA (30th)... seven players are hitting over .300, paced by Ichiro Kazumi (.354), Dave Sulligent (.347), Whip Harrell (.336), Steve Daniels (.331), manager Sadaharu Uchiyama (.316), Randy Towns (.307) and Sogo Takagi (.302)... two others, Johnny O'Rorke (.287) and Scott Sparks (.281) are good with the sticks, too... Glenn Downing (6-4/3.58) has been the most dependable starter... vets Hollis Pace (6-7/4.49) and Emil Kaltenborn (6-5/4.35) have struggled a bit in the early going... for the Ninjas to contend for the division flag, it's crucial that Pace and Kaltenborn get things in gear and return to form... in May Ginza was 15-13.

Summerland (27-25) was picked to wind up in third place this year... they were 14-14 in May and feature pretty fair pitching with a 3.61 ERA (7th)... the Sunsets are in great need of offense... though they hit a decent .264 (15th), they don't produce many runs... they have scored only 224 runs (28th) and hit just 30 HRs (32nd), which is the worst in the IPA... Summerland's strength is in starters Freddi Rossi (6-5/3.05), Kim Kono (4-4/3.04) and Johnny Young (4-5/2.30)... Antonio Vasquez (.317), Norm Murdoch (.314) and Don Colby (.302) have been the best bats... it's not likely the Sunsets will repeat last year's strong second place finish... they are not the same ball club this year.

The seventh place Southport Sun Sox (25-27) were 14-14 in May and are just two games away from the .500 mark... not bad for a club that was predicted to finish in the basement... the Sun Sox don't do anything especially well... they sport a .253 BA (25th) and a 4.38 ERA (27th)... not a lot of talent in Southport... Chip Bickford (6-5/3.95) and Pat Kinney (.320) are the best of the lot... the Sun Sox will be near the bottom at season's end.

The Cape Coral Hurricanes (24-28) are in last place, but did break even at 14-14 in May... the baseball scribes placed them sixth in the preseason poll... the 'Canes don't have much power... only 48 HRs (22nd-tied), but they do hit for average with a .288 mark (3rd) and they can score (260 runs-9th), but the pitching is abysmal with a 4.55 ERA (28th)... Maxi Tselika (.322), Stan Ferguson (.316), Paul Law (.314) and William Snyder (.294) are the prime run producers... and Tommy Van Noord (7-4/3.34) is the only effective starter.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, June 1, 2037

EP PANTHERS LEAD TUCKS BY A GAME IN TU EAST
The cream has risen to the top in the Tycobbian East pennant race... East Point and Tuckanarra look like the only challengers as the High Mesa Cowboys came down-to-earth in May after being in a three-way tie for the top spot the first month of the season... the Panthers were 18-10 in May to take a one-game lead over second place Tuckanarra... the Blue Jays were 17-11 in the second month, while the Cowboys were bucked out of the saddle with a dismal 9-19 mark and tumbled down to fourth place, 9 games off the pace... Ozarka, the preseason favorite in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES poll, rebounded to third place after a poor opening month... the Naturals climbed up to the .500 mark, but are seven games behind East Point... the Nats posted a 16-12 record in the last month... the rest of the TU East are way below .500 and can pretty much forget about this year.

East Point (33-19) hits with power, can score and has very good starting pitching... however, a bad bullpen is their sore point... the Panthers have a formidable foursome in Dixie Brooks (7-3/2.71), Johnny Moore (7-3/2.54), Frank Blair (6-2/3.26) and Burton Cook (6-7/3.48)... they just need some help from the relief corps (6.51 ERA-31st)... Brooks and Blair could both reach the 200-win milestone this season... the IPA home-run leader Dean O'Donnell heads up a power-packed lineup that includes Karl Jankauskas (.226) with 14 HRs and 40 RBIs, and Tetsu Tanaka (.260) and Chris Cardinale (.234) with 10 each... O'Donnell has 19 with a .332 BA, 42 RBIs and 41 runs... Ricky Arnold (.329) is the only other .300 batter... the Panthers are hitting only .255 (23rd), but are number two in the IPA with 88 roundtrippers, topped only by Sugar Valley of the Ruthlandian East with 89... East Point is in it for the long haul and should give Tuckanarra and Ozarka a tussle for the division crown... Ozarka was the critics' choice with the Blue Jays second and the Panthers third... the stage is being set for a dynamite three-way battle for the flag and the playoff spot... the Tycobbian East should be a fan pleaser.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays (32-20) have won the last three pennants by double-digit margins and they may be even better this year with improved hitting... the Tucks are tops in the IPA with a .291 BA and 302 runs and rank fourth in homers with 69... only Sugar Valley outscores them in the IPA... the Rattlers have rung up 339 runs... iconic slugger Lorne Evans is off to another fine season with a .327 mark, 15 HRs, 36 RBIs and 44 runs... John Paul has chipped in with 16 HRs, 35 RBIs and a .298 BA... steady Eddie Darby (.296) is still a solid defender and good contact hitter at age 34... Tuckanarra uses a lot of platoon players... Andy Pearson (.397), Nicky Weill (.295) and Cliff Winter (.317) are playing their roles well... vets Josh George (.258) and Spade Weldon (.263) have had slow starts this year... the team ERA is 3.32 (5th) with three strong veteran starters in Jeff Buttrum (6-4/2.38), Junior Bristow (8-3/2.80) and Bobby Reid (7-3/3.24).

The Ozarka Naturals (26-26) got off to a slow start, but improved in recently weeks... the Nats came in a distant second to Tuckanarra the last three years, but improved pitching is supposed to make them a serious challenger... the team ERA is a rock-solid 3.06 (3rd)... the club has a strong bullpen with a 2.30 ERA (3rd)... but they are not much offensively with a .266 BA (13th), only 39 HRs (28th) and 229 runs (24th-tied)... leading the mound staff are starters Glen Jenkins (7-6/2.40), Leon Bernard (5-5/2.38) and Zenon Metaxis (7-3/3.44)... not much in the way of bats... Gunnar Norheim (.333), Sid Elmore (.314) and Duffy Morrison (.314) are the club leaders, but none have any power... Ozarka was the preseason favorite, but they don't really look in the class of Tuckanarra and East Point... third place is the most likely finish... they just don't have much offense.

The High Mesa Cowboys (24-28) were really on a high in April, but flopped badly in May... in a month they have fallen from first to fourth and now trail by 9 games... maybe May was the real Cowpoke club... the pollsters put them in last place in the preseason guesses... they now rank near the bottom in batting (.250) and pitching (4.57 ERA) and could be headed for the cellar... the run producers are Corbett Brooks (.254) with 15 HRs and 37 RBIs, Michael Page (.281) with 13 HRs and 31 RBIs and Clay Johnston (.317) with 12 HRs and 33 RBIs... and Dean Harris (7-1/3.42) and Max Jung (7-6/4.26) lead the pitchers.

The fifth place Red Bluff Red Sox (20-32) don't do much except hit homers... they are third in the IPA with 86... David Kelso (.276) is the club leader with 18 HRs and 47 RBIs, which is tied for second in the IPA HR race and tied for fourth in RBIs... Gene Bates (.256) has 15 HRs and 36 RBIs, Fran Blanchard (.254) has 13 HRs and 30 RBIs and Garris Aiken (.269) has 10 HRs and 22 RBIs... Jimmy McMillan (7-3/3.15) and Bazuki Hasegawa (5-5/2.98) are the pitching leaders.

The South Fork Stallions (19-33), Midway Wolves and Hillsboro Blazers are tied for last place, 14 games back... the Stallions are hitting .260 (18th) with a 5.47 ERA (32nd)... Paul Sexton (.325) and Elton Jacoby (.312) are the club leaders at the plate... Chris Sorensen (5-5/3.90) is the only decent pitcher... looks like a long season for the Stallions.

Midway (19-33) is in the same boat as South Fork with a lot of mediocrity... the Wolves have a .254 team BA (24th) and a 4.37 team ERA (26th)... Bobby Dorignac (4-7/3.66), John Anderson (5-7/3.87) and Cary Snead (4-5/3.93) are fair pitchers... rookie Yuma Chandler is the one bright light on the team with a .391 BA in a parttime role... Chandler recently was made the full-time CF.

Hillsboro (19-33) is plain bad, too... with a horrific .227 BA (32nd), by far the worst in the IPA... and a 4.25 team ERA (25th)... Lucky Luciano (4-0/2.91) has been excellent in the bullpen... the only starter with an ERA under 4.00 is Lee Dixon (5-9/3.65)... Jurrien Bellini (.254) leads the team with 12 HRs and 34 RBIs, while Philip Stafford (.283) has the best BA with 9 HRs and 27 RBIs.

BSC BUCS BEST IN CRAZY TU WEST
It's wacky in the Tycobbian West Division this year... certainly not a pollsters' paradise... the good teams are bad and the bad teams are good... Bay St. Clair, rated the worst team in the preseason poll, has emerged as the top team and has run up a surprising five-game lead after two solid months of play... the Buccaneers may not be a flash in the pan... Kenwood and Arlon, both forecast for the second division, are running second and third with Denton City fourth... the second division is filled with so-called first division teams like preseason favorite La Claire and second-ranked Chicopee, who has dominated the division the last three seasons... Rolling Hills was picked to finish fourth and currently is in fifth place in the standings, tied with La Claire 10 games out of first... Bayview, the seventh choice in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, is 12 games behind and in seventh... while the Chicopee Braves, ranked second by the preseason experts, have been a big-time flop... they are in last place 15 games behind first place Bay St. Clair.

Bay St. Clair (34-18) jumped out to a 16-8 record in the first month of action and then kept it up with a fine 18-10 mark in May... so the Bucs apparently are for real... they are batting only .257 (20th), but can score enough runs to get by with 252 (20th-tied)... the Buccaneers are good on the hill with a 3.63 ERA... the starters are only fair with a 4.00 ERA, but the bullpen is strong with a 2.23 ERA (2nd)... Pete Cross (3-4/1.91/7 saves) and Sam Zale (1-0/0.49/1 save) anchor the relief corps... heading up the starters are two very good ones in Jay Callahan (7-1/2.67) and John Karlsen (8-4/2.60)... a little more help from starters three and four would really stabilize the Bucs' flag hopes... Cotton Cornwall is the club's leading hitter with a .336 BA... Ryan Dukes (.301) is the HR leader with 11... Milt Powers (.241) is tops with 36 RBIs and number two with 10 HRs... it would be a good Cinderella story if Bay St. Clair can pull off this huge upset in the Tycobbian West.

The Kenwood Wildcats (29-23) are also a team on-the-rise... improved bats and better pitching has made them a credible challenger... they are batting .269 (12th) with 224 runs (16th) and 63 HRs (8th-tied), along with a 3.66 ERA (10th)... Glen Murray (7-2/2.69), Freddy Gooch (6-3/3.61), Claude Watson (5-3/4.00) and Milt Cochrane (4-6/4.10) are the primary starters... topping the batting order are Clark Chamberlain (.345), Ricky Boyer (.337), Harry Tashina (.299) and Corky DiNozzo (.297)... the Wildcats may have staying power and just might wind up in the first division.

It's been 8 years since the Arlon Champions (26-26) had a winning season... they have pretty good pitching with a 3.59 ERA (6th), but rank near the bottom in offense (31st)... the pitchers have carried the club this year... Lanny Gray (4-5/2.81) has been the most effective starter with help from Emil Nowak (7-4/3.57) and Pat Stuyvesant (6-3/3.89)... Dale Greene has done well in relief with a 2-2 record, 1.82 ERA and 5 saves... Todd Benson (.295) and Mark Cameron (.293) are the most dependable hitters, but have no power... with it weak offense, it may be hard for Arlon to remain in the top three teams... sixth place seems more like it.

Fourth place Denton City (25-27), rated number four in the preseason poll, which was a disappointment because last season the Redbirds finished a strong second to champ Chicopee... they are pretty much the same ball club roster-wise, but two of their best starters Denny Mills (3-3/4.54) and Stephen Edwards (3-4/4.64) have not been the same pitchers... Mills was 22-7 last year with a 3.99 ERA and Edwards was 15-15 with a 3.63 ERA... Troy McIntosh (7-3/3.21) and Francisco Salcido (6-6/2.92) have been the most effective starters this season... Denton City has a solid core of hitters that have posted a .272 BA (9th), scored 266 runs (6th) and hit 68 HRs (5th)... leading the way have been Russ Foster (.347), Felton Welch (.320), Sammy Thornton (.301), Pete Doyle (.300) and Sam Carson (.288)... the Redbirds started the season off fine with a 14-10 mark, but slipped badly in May with an 11-17 record... the key to the season will be Mills and Edwards... they have to do much better in the second half of the season.

The Rolling Hills Reds (24-28) are fifth and 10 games off the pace, but they did improve to 15-13 in May after a bad first month... they are tied in the standings with preseason favorite La Claire ... the Reds don't have much on the ball and are just a mediocre team with three quality starters in Mike Daniels (8-2/2.68), Maury Cantrell (4-1/1.64) and Matthew Christianson (5-5/3.81) and a lousy bullpen with a 6.03 ERA (30th)... they don't hit for power... the best bats are Dino Manale (.344), Buffy Kowalczyk (.319) and Brian Davis (.312)... ranked fourth in the preseason poll, Rolling Hills will probably end up in the second division.

Preseason pick La Claire (24-28) started off the year well with a 15-9 record, running neck-and-neck with first place Bay St. Clair, but the Lynx faltered badly in May with a terrible 9-19 mark... it may be too early to give up on them since they still have three capable starters in Pat Kovacs (4-6/3.31), Tony Rossi (6-3/3.49) and Glenn Smith (2-4/3.13)... maybe they just had a bad month... the Lynx lack offense... Ernie Pryor (.303), Kris Wilson (.289) and Billy Holland (.267) are just adequate and nothing special... La Claire's hitting must pick up for them to be a contender... they can be better assessed after the All-Star Game.

As expected the Bayview Vikings (22-30) are in seventh place, just like the analysts predicted... they are 12 games back and headed nowhere... Jerry Culpepper (.292) tops the club with 13 HRs and is tied with Roy Ricks (.313) for the RBI lead with 30... Ricks has 11 roundtrippers... Vance Codsworth (6-4/2.38) leads the staff in wins and ERA... Kris Melgaard (4-3/3.17) has been effective, too.

Once-proud Chicopee (19-33) has crumbled this year and fallen from the penthouse to the outhouse... the Braves dominated the Tycobbian West, capturing the division the last three years with a high-powered attack that has suddenly dropped out-of-sight this year... the Braves have averaged hitting about .278 with 840 runs and 190 HRs per year... they are hitting a lowly .251 this year and are on target for only 657 runs and 165 HRs... the offense suffered a huge loss in early May when slugger Charley Kota hurt his shoulder and will be out until August... Kota was having a terrific season with a .379 BA, 6 homers and 17 RBIs in 26 games... no one on the team is having a good year offensively... and only pitchers Judd Hampton (6-3/3.80) and Ryan Ledbetter (5-6/3.75) have held done reasonably well... it would take a wholesale turnaround for the Braves to make fourth place this year... their string of titles will certainly be snapped this year.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, June 22, 2037

TYCOBBIAN STARS TANGLE WITH RUTHLANDIAN STARS TOMORROW
The votes are tallied and the players have been chosen -- all that's left is to "Play Ball"! It's time once again for the midyear classic where the league's premier performers come together to show their skill and talent. The All-Stars from the Ruthlandian Union and the Tycobbian Union are set to tangle tomorrow aftenoon at the Hawk's Nest in North Hills to determine which league stars are the best.

The TU All-Stars lead the series 24-12. They will be led by Lorne Evans of the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, who will be making his 10th appearance in the midsummer's classic. Bobby Gamble of Sugar Valley tops the RU All-Stars. He was selected for the fifth time this year. The only rookie to make it was pitcher Nate Scottsdale of the Turon Typhoons from the Tycobbian Union.

The roster for the Ruthlandian Union is:

SP Dan Pitts (ELN) (15-3/2.43)
SP J.J. Gillespie (CCR) (11-4/1.89)
SP Ken Arby (BEE) (12-5/2.42)
SP Arnie Cason (CL) (11-5/2.76)
SP Augie Marquis (FTB) (11-4/2.43)
SP Randell Perkins (CFX) (13-5/3.05)
MR Ray Owens (MDF) (2-2/0.94/10 saves)
C Angelo Rossi (TAR) (.319/19/48/40)
C Brad Alexander (MDF) (.275/18/61/40)
C Jan Kobak (ELN) (.316/10/42/35)
1B Bobby Scott (VLK) (.383/19/55/52)
1B Kristian McEly (CFX) (.307/14/59/44)
2B Johnny Petrak (ETS) (.400/13/54/51)
2B Roger Hobbs (SV) (.316/21/65/59)
3B Danny Bierhoff (ELN) (.356/14/49/35)
3B Marty Blankenship (STJ) (.278/21/55/53)
SS Gerry Sives (CFX) (.351/3/38/52)
SS D. D. Badeaux (FTB) (.344/11/32/55)
SS Cody Hanks (BEE) (.343/12/42/42)
LF Chet Penn (CFX) (.396/10/65/47)
LF Noel Martin (BP) (.345/17/50/62)
CF Bobby Meusel (BB) (.322/13/42/52)
CF Don Cain (STO) (.337/9/38/48)
CF Tony Parsons (MDF) (.314/12/36/55)
RF Bobby Gamble (SV) (.355/17/74/61)
RF Pat Dillon (CL) (.348/4/31/47)

The roster for the Tycobbian Union is:

SP Vance Codsworth (BAY) (11-4/2.42)
SP Frankie Quinn (BL) (12-2/2.43)
SP Johnny Moore (EP) (10-4/2.74)
SP Glen Downing (GIN) (8-5/3.05)
SP Dixie Brooks (EP) (12-4/2.94)
SP Nate Scottsdale (TUR) (13-4/2.88)
MR Fernando Sanches (LUX) (2-3/2.22/12 saves)
C Felton Welch (DC) (.323/16/69/37)
C Filipe Zamora (SA) (.327/15/60/44)
C Jon Paul (TUC) (.311/19/43/41)
1B Gerry Hathaway (LUX) (.322/19/46/48)
1B Hayden Richardson (HAR) (.377/15/39/37)
2B Jerry Culpepper (BAY) (.302/23/46/45)
2B Buffy Kowalczyk (RH) (.331/6/40/31)
3B Todd. Dubbins (LUX) (.324/20/58/44)
3B Elton Jacoby (SF) (.309/11/50/48)
SS Dean O'Donnell (EP) (.319/23/58/52)
SS C. C. Kingsford (TUR) (.346/12/47/47)
SS Ricky Boyer (KEN) (356/10/33/47)
LF Harry Tashina (KEN) (.292/12/49/42)
LF Jack Ryan (BL) (.354/2/28/43)
CF Sogo Takagi (GIN) (.320/14/50/56)
CF Corbett Brooks (HM) (.264/22/50/45)
CF J. P. Trevenot (TUR) (.288/10/33/49)
RF Lorne Evans (TUC) (.311/16/42/60)
RF Guido Gervasio (TUR) (.323/9/44/37)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, June 24, 2037

RU STARS WHIP TU STARS 4-2
Shaky defense gave the Ruthlandian All-Stars a 4-2 victory over the Tycobbian All-Stars in the 37th annual All-Star Classic played at the Hawk's Nest in North Hills... three infield errors in the fifth inning led to the winning runs... Danny Bierhoff (Elnora) and Bobby Gamble (Sugar Valley) homered for the victors, while Jerry Culpepper (Bayview) went deep for Tycobbia... Bierhoff was voted the game's Most Valuable Player... J. J. Gillespie (Cold Creek) got the win, but gave up three hits and a run in his two innings... the loss went to Vance Codsworth (Bayview), who gave up two unearned runs in the fifth... Ruthlandia used six hurlers in the game and Tycobbian seven... the RU Stars were outhit 10-7... SS Gerry Sives (Colfax) led them with 2 hits... CF Sogo Takagi (Ginza), C Felton Welch (Denton City) and Jerry Culpepper (Bayview) all had 2 hits apiece for the losers... Tycobbia is still way ahead in the series 24-13 in spite of Ruthlandia winning for the second straight year... last year's score was also 4-2.

Tycobbia took an early lead in the second on a solo homer by Culpepper... Ruthlandia's Bierhoff came right back and tied it up in the third with his home run... in the third Tycobbia again got the lead on a double by Takagi and two singles by Lorne Evans (Tuckanarra) and Welch... the decisive fifth was error-filled when Johnny Petrak (Eastshore) reached first on a miscue by Codsworth... a throwing error by catcher Felton Welch on Bobby Meusel's (Belair Beach) bunt put runners on second and third... first baseman Gerry Hathaway (Luxora) misplayed Bierhoff's grounder and allowed Petrak to tie the score at 2-2... Meusel scored when Marty Blankenship (St. John) grounded into a double play, giving the RU Stars a 3-2 edge... in the sixth Bobby Gamble went deep for the final score.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 30, 2037

3-TEAM TUSSLE IN RU NORTH, CATS ON TOP
The contenders have been pared down to three teams in the Ruthlandian North Division... after three months of play the Kilkenny Cats are in first place with a one-game margin over the LaGrange Sports and three ahead of the Taranto Tars... the Sports have won the last two seasons and four of the last five... last year it got down to just LaGrange and Kilkenny and the Sports won by two games.

Kilkenny (44-34) lost a little ground to LaGrange in June with a 14-12 record, while the Sports went 16-12... the Tars stayed alive with a 14-12 mark... the Cats have marvelous pitching with Fred Doyle (11-5/2.52), Dave Whitaker (10-7/2.65), Ted Flanagan (9-8/3.10) and James Crockett (9-6/3.32)... but lack offense... the pitching is strong enough for them to break the hold LaGrange has had on the division, but it won't be easy... the Sports never look good on paper, but they are proven winners.

LaGrange's (42-32) strong point is its veteran starting rotation: Walt Thurber (11-6/2.97), Mike York (10-6/3.46), Roland Oates (4-2/3.65) and Earl Perkins (4-1/3.77)... plus a solid bunch of batters: Fred Bird (.312), Russell Watkins (.275/16 HR), Vasco Aguilar (.321/10 HR), Charles Bacque (.265/11 HR), Chris Heffner (.303/9 HR) and Chris Charbonnier (.254/10 HR)... no one ever seems to have faith in the Sports except themselves... will they pull it out again for the third straight year and fifth time in seven?

Taranto (41-37) has been hanging tough with the long ball... the Tars are third in the RU with 108 roundtrippers... Wes Marlowe (.320/25 HR), All-Star Angelo Rossi (.320/22 HR) and Daryl Rhodes (.313/ 5 HR) are the main bats... Carmine Scalise (9-8/2.88) and Danny Darby (4-0/2.83) are quality starters... don't expect Taranto to finish any higher than third... they will fade in the hot Summertime... Kilkenny and LaGrange have much better pitching.

The Valmara Vipers (38-40) were in first place for most of the season, but they had a terrible month in June with a 8-18 record... and now have fallen to a three-way tie for fourth place... seventh place could be the Vipers' destiny... Valmara's pitching is atrocious with a 4.88 ERA (31st).

Ancona may be the best of the rest, followed by Far Mountain and Glasco... poor Ranford looks really bad and won't get out of the cellar this year.

WALESKA SLIM LEAD IN RU SOUTH
It's anybody's race in the tight Ruthlandian South this season... four teams - Waleska, Claxton, Belair Beach and San Dimas - are evenly matched... there is no clear-cut favorite... preseason pick Waleska has a slim two-game edge over Claxton, three up on Belair Beach and four better than San Dimas... Crystal Lake and St. John are still within striking distance, but not expected to contend... no chance for Valka and Grand City.

The Waleska Westerners (43-35) managed to hold on to the top spot with a 13-13 record this month... two very good starters Craig Nash (10-6/3.33) and Terry Richards (9-7/3.16) are pretty much carrying the Westerners this season... in years past they were known as an explosive team with the likes of Roy Hobbs and Loco Dillinger... it may be tough for Waleska to win the pennant unless the offense perks up quite a bit.

The runner-up Claxton Diamonds (41-37) had a good June with a 15-11 mark... they have fair pitching led by Vance White (12-5/3.65) and Stan Yudash (4-1/3.68)... but its the offense that makes the Diamonds shine... Jojo DeLucca (.309/21 HR/60 RBI/60 R) and Foxy Fuchs (.329/21 HR/64 RBI/62 R) have really sparkled this season, along with Gary Colton (.257/9 HR/55 RBI)... Claxton may have what it takes to win this season.

The third place Belair Beach Sunbirds (40-38) broke even in June with a 13-13 record... if the Sunbirds fly the RU South flag high this season, it will be their bats that do it... the mound staff is mediocre... only Calvin Carmichael (10-5/3.84) has been effective... leading the attack at the plate has been All-Star Bobby Meusel (.323/15 HR/47 RBI/56 R), Jackie Jackson (.306/9 HR/35 RBI/49 R), Larry Cole (.315/14 HR/41 RBI/43 R) and Jason Butler (.324/18 HR/50 RBI).

The fourth place San Dimas Rancheros (39-39) may be the best-balanced club in the RU South Division... Leonard Purkey (.293/8 HR/53 RBI), Hermie Goetz (.305/4 HR/42 RBI), Klaus Stordahl (.285/10 HR/34 RBI/53 R) and Denny Hendrix (.312/11 HR/40 RBI/47 R) are quality batters, while Seth Dawson (7-3/3.72) and Gil Arnaud (6-6/3.21) have been the most reliable pitchers... after going 15-11 in June, the Rancheros appear to be capable of challenging this season.

The Crystal Lake Crushers (37-41) ran one or two for most of the first two months of the season, but fizzled badly in June with a 9-17 record... they still have some good sticks in All-Star Paul Dillon (.352/4 HR/34 RBI/51 R), Big Sam Takota (.296/16 HR/53 RBI) and Stan Stanek (.303/14 HR/41 RBI) and some pretty good hurlers in vets All-Star Arnie Cason (11-6/2.80) and Douglas Merrill (4-3/3.23)... maybe the scribes were right when they picked the Crushers to finish sixth in the preseason poll.

What's wrong in St. John (36-42)?... the Crusaders are the defending division champ... last year they made it all the way to the Pro Cup Finals before losing in six games to North Hills... and this year they were forecast to battle for the RU South pennant... the Crusaders have had losing records in two of the three months this season, going 12-14 in June... still they possess a fine mound staff with Jeremy Kirk (12-8/3.15), Lou Gianakos (7-5/3.50), Vito Sanfratello (6-11/3.10) and Yancy Garrett (8-10/3.73)... St. John has a solid core of hitters, too, with the talent of All-Star Marty Blankenship (.289/23 HR/59 RBI/57 R) and Nicky Farrugia (.270/15 HR/64 RBI) and Art Kelley (.289/14 HR/48 RBI/47 R)... the Crusaders still could get back in the race and probably will... seven games is not hard to make up when you have half a season to go and the talent they have.

The Valka Blackhawks (32-46) are in seventh place and will likely remain so... they can't expect talented All-Star Bobby Scott (.381/22 HR/60 RBI/57 R) and Kenny Mitzusaka (.306/7 HR/31 RBI/40 R) to do it all by themselves.

The Grand City Cybercats (27-51) were bad even before they posted a horrendous 4-22 record this past month... Teddy Grantham (.329/13 HR/46 RBI/43 R) is the only bonafide threat in the lineup... and none of the pitchers are very good... Kenny Morrow is the best with a 6-6 mark and a poor 4.42 ERA.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 30, 2037

ELNORA MOVES AHEAD OF SV RATTLERS IN RU EAST
June was another great month for the Elnora All-Stars, who took over first place from Sugar Valley in the Ruthlandian East Division, the toughest race in the IPA... the All-Stars pulled ahead by two games over the powerful Rattlers... preseason favorite Cold Creek is still in the running, but is now six games off the pace... the Eastshore Elegants are 11 games back in fourth... the RU East looks like a three-team race.

Elnora (53-25) soared to the top spot with a red-hot 19-7 record in June and has the best record in the IPA, led on the hill by Dan Pitts (15-4/2.66), the IPA leader in victories... plus Tony Ryman (11-5/3.84) and Stan Kivas (8-5/3.06)... and in the batter's box by All-Star Danny Bierhoff (.356/16/53), All-Star Jan Kobak (.329/11/47), Clint Thomas (.301/11/49/47) and Akihiro Samurakami (.290/6/24/53)... Thomas just went down recently with a strained oblique muscle and will miss up to six weeks.

The Sugar Valley Rattlers (51-37) cooled off a bit this month with a 15-11 mark and slipped down to second place, trailing by just two games... the Rattlers have a high-octane batting order sparked by All-Star Bobby Gamble (.352/18/76/62), the RBI leader in the IPA with 76... with plenty of help from All-Star Roger Hobbs (.308/22/68/61), Tyler White (.239/22/60/50) and Richie Strickland (.266/15/29/65)... Juan Navarro (10-4/2.61), Jeremy Blanchardd (10-6/3.20) and Josh Wilkerson (12-5/4.15) head up the hurlers.

The Cold Creek Catamounts (47-31) were also 15-11 in June and lost ground in the pennant chase... the 'Cats are now six games behind, but they still possess one of the best starting rotations in the IPA with All-Star J. J. Gillespie (12-4/2.02), Rob Hutchins (12-6/3.39), Jules Capet (6-3/2.11) and Joey Baker (9-7/2.69)... however, they suffer some in the bullpen... and really are troubled at the plate... Wayne Kenney (.302/11/40), Pat Ellis (.306/10/33) and Jeremy Hall (.294/2/28) are the most dependable bats, but they lack punch and power... but as long as the hurlers hold up, Cold Creek will be a pennant threat.

The fourth-place Eastshore Elegants (42-36) had a losing month with a 12-14 record and have now fallen pretty far back... they are 11 games out of first... the Elegants have pretty fair pitching with Teddy Noble (12-7/3.78), Don Klingenberg (9-8/4.00) and Ramon Contreras (8-7/2.95)... offensively Johnny Petrak (.388/13/56/54) is having a great season and leads the IPA in BA and hits... but he has little help other than Paul Reed (.327/12/34/46) and Larry Romney (.277/7/48/39)... long-time star Scotty Lagrange is having an off-year with a .252 BA, but has hit 12 HRs and driven in 43 runs.

The Wynnamac Sundowners (41-37) have slumped since topping the division in April... now with two successive losing months, they are 12 games out and in fifth place... the Sundowners still have quality starters in Killara Bardo (11-7/2.98), Geoff Hobart (9-8/3.24), Paul Payton (6-6/3.44) and Ernie Hodges (8-9/3.39), but the offense is missing... Davy L'Amour (.275/15/58/48) and Darrell Donnelly (.285/6/34/55) provide what little scoring they have.

The sixth-place Beechwood Bobcats (40-38) still have a winning record, but June was a disaster with a 7-19 mark... numbers-wise the Bobcats are still a better-than-average club... All-Star Ken Arby (12-6/2.73) is still a tough competitor and the team's ace... the top Bobcat bats belong to All-Star Cody Hanks (.351/13/48/45), Eddie Wilson (.318/22/40/50) and Howie Baldwin (.282/23/57/64)... Baldwin is third in the IPA in scoring runs (64).

Even seventh-place Marston (39-39) has broken even this season, but the Nine are 14 games out of first... they were 14-12 in June... Jimbo McGinnity (3-4/1.76/10 saves) is a solid closer... the only consistent starter has been Barry Sexton (7-8/2.98)... the most productive hitters have been Stan Mila (.330/10/38/45), Marco Ameche (.286/15/39/37) and Lonnie Trekell (.291/13/40/41).

The Belle Plaine Musketeers (35-43) may be in last place, but they play pretty good baseball, breaking even in June with a 13-13 record... All-Star Noel Martin (.350/18/53/65) is having a super season and Boo Boudreaux (.290/23/57/51) is a strong threat, too... but the club doesn't have much in the batting order besides them... not much on the mound either... the most dependable are Phillippe Marchand (9-8/3.89) and Raul Carrasco (9-8/3.80).

3-TEAM RACE IN RU WEST, SLIGO ON TOP
It's a torrid three-team battle in the Ruthlandian West Division with the Sligo Rovers on top by a game over the preseason pick Fort Benton Defenders and four in front of the third-place Colfax Blasters, last year's flag winner... all three clubs really sizzled in June... Colfax was a blistering 21-5... and the Defenders and Rovers were almost as good at 19-7... the second half of the season should really be something.

Sligo (47-31) is led by a standout closer Scotty Price (2-3/2.01), the IPA leader with 16 saves... and by capable starters Randall Steele (11-7/3.05) and Tom Pierson (9-5/3.88)... offensively it's Denny Simmons (.320/12/44/58), Neil Mitchell (.307/8/34/58), Damon Klein (.319/6/38/31) and Peder Svensson (.276/11/40/32).

Runner-up Fort Benton (46-32) can do it all... score runs and tough on the hill... ranking second with a .279 BA and second with 408 runs... almost as good with a 3.21 team ERA (3rd)... All-Star D. D. Badeaux (.343/12/36/57) is the best stick on the club, but gets help from Mitch Hamilton (.321/0/21/47), Oscar Pendleton (.314/12/53/50) and Hunter Glenholmes (.300/4/34/38)... the top twirlers are All-Star Augie Marquis (12-4/2.47) and Tommy Baylor (11-6/2.84)... Flapper Bird (4-1/2.15) and Jordy Raeburn (9-9/3.03) are solid starters, too.

Colfax (43-35) has some gifted players, too... four of them made the All-Star team: pitcher Randell Perkins (14-5/3.08), LF Chet Penn (.378/11/68/50), SS Gerry Sives (.337/4/43/56) and 1B Kristian McEly (.299/14/63/45)... Penn is the number three hitter in the IPA with a .378 BA and also tied for third in runs batted in with 68... Perkins is second in the IPA to Dan Pitts of Elnora with 14 wins... Norm Harbison (9-9/2.67) has been a strong starter for the Blasters, too... and the bullpen has been excellent with a 2.74 ERA (2nd).

The rest of the RU West will probably be playing for fourth place at best... the Forest City Lumberjacks (38-40) and Middlefield Roosters (36-42) will have the best shot at it, followed by the Volusia Vigilantes (33-45) and Rocky Rapids Snappers (33-45)... the Stoner Stars (29-49) will probably come in eighth and last.

Forest City's best performers are Bob Brisdon (.296/8/44), Pistol Pete Picard (.316/8/36) and Ronnie Pollet (.308/4/32).

Middlefield has three All-Stars in closer Ray Owens (2-2/0.87/11 saves), CF Tony Parsons (.316/12/38/61) and C Brad Alexander (.274/18/64).

Volusia has two solid pitchers in Zack Dowdle (10-6/3.61) and Hector Vargas (8-8/2.50).

Rocky Rapids has limited talent... Duncan Musselwhite (.310) and Joe Hughes (.323) are the best batters and Nelson Carter (8-6/3.20) is the best pitcher.

Stoner is led on the mound by Jimmy Ellerbee (7-5/3.24) and Larry Urban (8-5/3.47)... and at the plate by Barney Swindell (.340/17/64) and All-Star Don Cain (.330/10/39/52)... Swindell is tied for fifth place in the IPA with 64 RBIs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 30, 2037

BLUE SOX ON TOP IN TU NORTH
The defending IPA Pro Cup champion North Hills Hawks have a real dogfight on their hands in the tightly-bunched Tycobbian North Division if they hope to capture their third pennant in a row and try to repeat as the IPA champ... the Hawks have been overtaken by the Blue Lake Blue Sox, who have taken over first place... the Blue Sox top the Hawks by one game, are two better than third place White River and three up on fourth place Fairfax... Blue Lake got the best of the contenders in June with a 16-12 record... North Hills was just 12-14, while White River and Fairfax both broke even at 13-13.

Blue Lake (44-34) is strong on the mound with All-Star Frankie Quinn (12-3/2.52) and Pat Brown (7-3/2.59)... other fairly good arms are Lee Price (7-5/3.86), Sal Mays (8-8/3.64) and an improving Andre Montrose (7-12/3.85)... top hitters are All-Star Jack Ryan (.349), Joe Korman (.290), Matt Thompson (.336) and Elton Graff (.299).

North Hills (43-35) has two impressive starters in Jeff Owens (10-6/2.82) and David Michael (9-7/2.96)... other decent starters are Nelson Hooper (6-3/3.75) and Frankie Lambert (12-5/3.91)... the top Hawks average-wise are Kris Anastas (.302), Gerry Rice (.297) and Ric Hamilton (.279)... the main run producers are star Adam Thurgood (.255) with 17 HRs and 51 RBIs and Mikhail Romanovsky (.242) with 16 roundtrippers and 45 RBIs.

White River (42-36) has a good core of pitchers and hitters... sparked by 22-year-old J. C. Hudson (11-5/2.95) and veteran starters Kenny Nikas (9-7/3.78) and Paul Sardini (8-8/3.50) on the mound... Billy Trakas (2-2/2.89/11 saves) is the bullpen ace... and at the plate by Davey Sloan (.265/14/51/40), Stevee Dee Daniels (.266/18/41/37), Buford Cross (.323/12/35/49) and Zachary Kriger (.262/13/35/46).

Fairfax (41-37) is hanging close, just three games out of first place... veteran Lucien Vachon (9-7/2.75) is the Frogs' ace... and Harold Dorman (9-7/4.07) and Steven McLeod (7-9/3.84) have been fairly decent, but they have to be better for Fairfax to have a chance at the pennant... best bat performers have been Sonny Oliver (.296/11/43/43), Dorak Aranda (.275/7/47/33), Eric Kusek (.316/6/39/24) and Max Lebowitsz (.281/6/18/45)... it would really help if the bats perks up, too.

The Oxford Red Caps (38-40) might get into the mix, too... they got on the right track with a 15-11 mark in June... they do it with power... the Red Caps are second in homers with 119... Dalton Ward (.217) is the club leader with 24 HRs, followed by Alonzo Norris (.278) with 16, Jayson French (.303) with 12, Boyd Olsen (.310) with 12, and Donny Braun (.309) and Dennis Hartwig (.267) with 10 each... Oxford has a pair of solid pitchers, too... Cody Quackenbush is 11-6 with a 3.35 ERA and B. B. Dristoll is 7-4 with a 2.99 ERA... you might keep an eye on the Red Caps... a strong July and they will be serious challengers in the TU North.

The Hartsdale Hellcats (37-41) and only 7 games out with over two months to go in the season, but they are not expected to contend for the flag... the Hellcats are fated for the second division... on the mound Wayne Dawson is carrying the club with a 12-5 record and a strong 2.73 ERA... he has gotten some help from Hank Cooke (9-6/4.25) at times... only All-Star Hayden Richardson has been much of a threat... Richardson has been terrific with a .366 BA, 15 HRs and 40 RBIs... Jeffrey Karkinos (.301/12/35) and Robinson Alomar (.240/10/33) also have gone deep occasionally.

The Mahaska Haymakers (35-43) can score well, but don't have a lot of pitching... the Haymakers are also doomed to the second division... Anton Hymel (.323) leads the club with 15 HRs and 47 RBIs... Mikk Kukk (.284) also has 47 RBIs... Johnny Watts is the club leader with a .335 BA and also has 12 homers and 39 RBIs... Rocco Bertara (.307) and John Fitzgerald (.302) are also reliable batsmen... Valente Viero (7-7/3.73) is the only dependable starter and Kirk Stanley has looked good in relief with a 3-1 mark in 23 appearances... he has 4 saves.

The Luxora Zorros (33-45) are in last place, but they do have some talent... on the hill vets Kent Halloran (8-9/2.48) and Benny DeVito (9-8/3.15) have consistently pitched well and should have better records... offensively All-Star Todd Dubbins and All-Star Gerry Hathaway have excelled... Dubbins is batting .317 with 22 HRs, 60 RBIs and 47 runs, while Hathaway is hitting .309 with 21 HRs, 50 RBIs and 51 runs... 23-year-old Ramiro Munoz has chipped in with a .317 BA, 7 HRs and scored 55 runs.

FAVORED SAN ALEJO 4 GAMES UP IN TU SOUTH
The San Alejo Montaneros are in high spirits after a strong run in June that gave them a little daylight in the Tycobbian South Division pennant race... the Monties opened up a four-game lead over Turon, Summerland and Arroyo Grande... Ginza is still hanging close five games back... the others may be out of contention... Colchester and Cape Coral are tied for sixth and trail by 9 games... Southport is in the basement, a dozen games out.

Preseason favorite San Alejo (47-31) continued to play well and went 17-9 this month... the Montaneros are fairly well-rounded with a good offense and strong pitching... staff leaders are Tommy Smith (10-5/3.08), Lupe Olmedo (6-5/1.87) and Johnny Brown (9-7/3.46)... the offensive leaders are Charlie Wilberforce with a .348 BA, 8 HR, 29 RBIs and 55 runs... All-Star Filipe Zamora with a .316 BA, 15 HRs, 60 RBIs and 45 runs... and Sancho Cruz with 16 HRs, 55 RBIs, 43 runs, but just a .238 BA... the Montaneros will make a good run at the TU South flag... they are a good, sound club.

The Summerland Sunsets (43-35) had a good month, too, with a 16-10 mark... pitching is the name of the game in Summerland... starters Freddi Rossi (9-7/2.87), Johnny Young (6-8/2.55), Jayson Hallstrom (5-3/3.48) and Kim Kono (6-7/3.46) form a good rotation... closer Ronald Shaddock (5-4/2.09/5 saves) has been effective in the bullpen... however, the bats are pathetic with only 42 HRs (32nd) and runs are hard to come by (29th)... Antonio Vasquez (.310), Don Colby (.312), John Bedell (.282), Norm Murdoch (.283) and Eamon O'Toole (.276) provide what little offense the Sunsets have... it's unlikely they can overcome San Alego... Summerland just doesn't score enough to contend.

Arroyo Grande (43-35) split 13-13 during the month to stay within striking range of San Alejo... the Suns starters are quality arms... led by Matt Stevens (11-4/3.25), who is having a banner year... other dependables are Monty Stratford (8-7/3.53) and Freddy Farentino (7-9/3.80)... in the bullpen Cody Simmons has been a standout with a 5-3 record, 11 saves and a 2.51 ERA... Pip Gleason (.271) is the club leader with 18 HRs and 45 RBIs... Gregorio Oliviera (.281) has 10 HRs, 41 RBIs and 43 runs... Marty Sizemore (.281) has 4 HRs, 25 RBIs and 43 runs... and Johnny Hensley (.278) with 7 HRS, 37 RBIs and 42 runs... Arroyo Grande must find more offense to compete for the division crown... a first-division finish is the best they can hope for.

The Turon Typhoons (43-35) suffered a bad month in June with an 11-15 record... but they still have a fine pitching staff and should have a good season... the Typhoons are the most likely choice to be the main challenger to San Alejo because of better offense... All-Star C. C. Kingsford (.358/14/54/50), All-Star Guido Gervasio (.326/12/49/42), All-Star J. P. Trevenot (.288/11/35/54) can put some runs on the scoreboard... but the key to Turon's success is the impressive array of pitchers: starters All-Star rookie Nate Scottsdale (13-4/2.94), Russell Larsen (7-3/3.00), Wes Brynnton (8-9/3.26) and Clyde Engstrom (8-12/3.63), along with bullpen ace Ralph Fulton (2-1/1.93/9 saves).

One of the preseason favorites, the Ginza Ninjas (42-36), is a close fifth and only 5 games behind in the race... the Ninjas had a solid 15-11 record the last month... they are an explosive team with a .289 BA (2nd), score well with 415 runs (2nd) and go deep fairly well with 85 homers (14th)... the Ninjas pitching corps could be better, however... they have posted a 4.19 team ERA (23rd)... Ginza's top guns are All-Star Sogo Takagi (.322/15/55/61), Scott Sparks (.309/16/51/30), Dave Sulligent (.325/6/37/51), manager Sadaharu Uchiyama (.305/8/36/48), Steve Daniels (.330/5/35/32), Whip Harrell (.299/13/37/35) and Ichiro Kazumi (.333/2/24/32)... top pitchers are All-Star Glenn Downing (8-6/2.85), along with veterans Hollis Pace (10-10/4.12) and Emil Kaltenborn (9-5/4.23)... a high finish, second or third, is not out of the question for the hard-hitting Ninjas.

Last year's Tycobbian South winner Colchester (38-40) is currently tied for sixth with Cape Coral... the Elites had a poor 11-15 record in June... they are not playing like last year when they could score runs and hit homers... Colchester will probably be a second-division team this season... Blake Barrister is the club leader with 23 homers and 55 RBIs, but he is hitting only .258... Billy Christianson leads the team with a .352 BA, but he missed a month of the season with an injury... Chet Porter is batting .337 with 4 HRs, 30 RBIs and 28 runs... veteran Roy Watson (8-5/3.04) is the only effective hurler.

The Cape Coral Hurricanes (38-40) did fairly well in the month with a 14-12 mark... the 'Canes have a solid offense with a .286 BA (3rd), 387 runs (8th-tied) and 68 HRs (24th-tied)... but they are only mediocre on the mound with a 4.17 team ERA (22nd)... they might have an outside chance for the first division because of their good offense, sparked by Stan Ferguson (.332/16/57/45), William Snyder (.310/8/48/47), Joel Collins 9.303/3/37/37), All-Star Paul Law (.314/10/37/52) and Max Tselika (.290/7/28/30)... Tommy Van Noord (9-5/2.77), Mario Morales (6-9/3.22) and Norm Dawson (5-5/3.96) have been the most effective pitchers.

The Southport Sun Sox (35-43) are not a very good team... they hit only .251 (27th) and don't have a lot of pitching with a 4.29 team ERA (25th)... Gordon Forbes (6-2/3.93) and Clint Hays (6-5/3.90) are the mound leaders, while at the plate Pat Kinney (.304) has the best batting average... Craig Glennon (.233) has the most homers with 19, the most RBIs with 47 and the most runs scored with 49.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 30, 2037

TUCKS UP BY 3 IN TU EAST, EP PANTHERS 2ND
The Tycobbian East Division is pretty much playing out according to the preseason script... the top three clubs are Tuckanarra, East Point and Ozarka... the Blue Jays are the halfway leader with a three-game margin over the Panthers and nine up on preseason favorite Ozarka... the High Mesa Cowboys are a very distant fourth and trail by 18 games... as things are shaping up, it looks like a two-team race between Tuckanarra and East Point.

June was the Tucks' best month of the season with a 19-7 mark, which enabled them to increase their lead over East Point to three games... the Panthers were 15-11 in the month... Tuckanarra (51-27) is seeking its fourth division flag in a row... the mighty Blue Jays have it all except for a bullpen... they are hitting .293, best in the IPA... number two in the IPA with 437 runs, bested only by Sugar Valley's 455... seventh in HRs in the TU with 94 HRs... and third in team ERA with an impressive 3.32... excellent defense, too, with a .978 FA... but in the bullpen they are very poor with a 5.11 ERA (28th)... the Blue Jays have three outstanding starters in Junior Bristow (13-5/2.63), Bobby Reid (12-3/2.96) and Jeff Buttrum (9-4/2.48)... they also have plenty of talented hitters in All-Star Lorne Evans (.302/16/42/62), Andy Preston (.348/3/30/30), All-Star John Paul (.306/21/47/44), Nicky Weill (.300/5/32/25), Pancho Villa (.305/9/33/34)... other regulars Eddie Darby (.295/6/39/45), Spade Weldon (.281/9/33/41) and Josh George (.265/7/35/42) are no slouches either at the plate... it should be a thrilling second half in the Tycobbian East with the Tucks and the Panthers going at it tooth-and-nail... the TU East winner will be one of the top seeds in the Pro Cup playoffs, along with Elnora and Sugar Valley of the Ruthlandian Union and San Alejo of the Tycobbian Union.

The East Point Panthers (48-30) can match the Blue Jays in starting pitching and scoring (399 runs-4th)... have more power with 117 HRs (3rd)... but hit only .254 (25th) and also have a lousy reliever corps (6.18 ERA-32nd)... with four very capable starters All-Star Dixie Brooks (12-5/3.04), All-Star Johnny Moore (10-5/2.76), Frank Blair (8-3/2.87) and Burton Cook (8-9/3.29), the Panthers may have a better starting rotation than Tuckanarra... All-Star Dean O'Donnell is the biggest bat in the lineup with a .310 BA, 23 HRs, 59 RBIs and 52 runs... other longballers are Karl Jankauskas (.239) with 20 HRs and 60 RBIs and Tetsu Tanaka (.253) with 11 HRs and 30 RBIs.

Preseason favorite Ozarka (42-36) had another good month in June with a 16-12 record, but they are nine games behind Tuckanarra in third place... the Naturals have the best team ERA in the Tycobbian Union with a 3.05 ERA... but are ranked only 24th in scoring with 351 runs... not much in the power department either with 56 HRs (29th-tied)... the Nats will probably have to be satisfied with third place this year... Glen Jenkins (10-7/2.26) and Leon Bernard (8-6/2.72) have been outstanding as the 1-2 starters... Zenon Metaxis (9-5/3.64) and Teddy O'Shea (8-9/4.00) have been reliable in the 3-4 slots... Gunnar Norheim is the club leader with a .318 BA and 8 HRs... Duffy Morrison is batting .310, has 7 HRs and tops the team with 48 RBIs.

The rest of the TU East will have to settle for fourth place at best... High Mesa (33-45) is currently in fourth and 18 games off the pace, but will likely finish lower in the standings... the Cowboys were only 9-17 this month... Dean Harris (8-5/3.72) is the best of a poor pitching rotation... All-Star Corbett Brooks (.248) lead the club with 22 HRs, 50 RBIs and 45 runs... Michael Page (.273) has chipped in 16 roundtrippers and 40 RBIs... and Clay Johnston (.286) has clouted 14 out of the park and driven in 42 runs.

The Hillsboro Blazers (31-47) are fifth in the standings and 20 games back... the Blazers were 12-14 this month... they have one of the worst offenses in the IPA with a .236 BA... on the hill they are just average with a 3.98 team ERA (16th)... Lee Dixon (7-11/3.24) and Ralph Quick (6-8/3.65) are the most dependable starters, while the most reliable hitters are Jurrien Bellini (.247) with 20 HRs and 50 RBIs and Philip Stafford (.277) with 11 HRs and 35 RBIs.

The Midway Wolves (30-48) are sixth and 21 games out of first... they were 11-15 this month... Midway is not a very good team... Johnny Anderson (7-10/3.84) leads the club in wins... and Carl Dreux (4-5/3.75) has the best ERA... rookie CF Yuma Chandler tops the team with a .337 BA... Floyd Campbell (.292) has the most HRs with 10... Bennett Cardwell (.288) leads in RBIs with 44... and Yancey Tanner (.298) has the team high with 51 runs.

The South Fork Stallions (29-49) are tied for eighth place with Red Bluff, 22 games behind division leader Tuckanarra... the Stallions were only 10-16 in June, while the Red Sox were just 9-17... All-Star Elton Jacoby (.324/13/58/53) is having an outstanding season... other solid contributors have been Jess Wilkerson (.300/13/47/48), Keenan O'Dwyer (.314/10/26/47) and Scotty O'Sullivan (.288/12/28/34)... the only decent pitcher has been Chris Sorensen (8-8/4.00)... the other pitchers have ERAs mainly 5.00 or higher.

It's been a long season for the Red Bluff Red Sox (29-49)... they are near the bottom in everything with a .240 BA (31st) and a 4.60 ERA (31st)... the only thing the Red Sox can do is hit homers... they are first in the TU with 121 HRs and second in the IPA... Sugar Valley leads both leagues with 125 HRs... Gene Bates is the club leader with 21 HRs and 55 RBIs, but is hitting only .243... Fran Blanchard is second with 17 HRs and 47 RBIs and is batting .277... Jesse Shaw is tops in BA with .305 and in runs with 52... he also has 12 HRs... Ike Sweetwater is a reliable hitter with a .283 BA, 10 HRs, 38 RBIs and 48 runs... top pitchers are Jimmy McMillan (9-5/3.51) and Banzuki Hasegawa (7-10/3.22).

BSC BUCS FALTER, KENWOOD NEW TU WEST LEADER
The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers' bubble might have burst... after two solid months on top of the Tycobbian West Division, the Bucs shipwrecked in June with a 9-17 mark and slipped to second place, one game behind the new leader, the Kenwood Wildcats, who posted a 15-11 record... the West is wild again with four teams knotted up in third place, just four games out of first place... preseason favorite La Claire, third pick Denton City, along with sixth choice Arlon and seventh choice Bayview are still in the hunt.

Kenwood (44-34) is a good, all-around club with a .279 BA (5th), 383 runs (10th), 90 HRs (10th-tied) and a 3.80 team ERA (11th)... the best bats are All-Star Ricky Boyer (.365/11/35/53), All-Star Harry Tashina (.300/12/51/43), Clark Chamberlain (.363/9/36/36) and Corky DiNozzo (.320/14/40/42)... top twirlers are Freddy Gooch (10-4/3.13) and Glen Murray (10-6/3.13)... Claude Watson (8-4/4.15) and Milt Cochrane (8-7/4.31) are the number three and four in the rotation... the Wildcats are blessed with a good bullpen, which has compiled a 2.71 ERA (4th)... Kenwood looks to be the class of the TU West, but is not expected to be a factor in the Pro Cup playoffs... the Wildcats are not in the same class as Tuckanarra, East Point, Blue Lake, North Hills and San Alejo.

Bay St. Clair (43-35) is hoping to get back on track after a dismal June... the Bucs still have two quality starters in John Karlsen (11-7/3.30) and Jay Callahan (9-5/3.54)... to beat Kenwood Russell McIntosh (3-3/4.66) and Mac Shaw (4-2/3.48) are going to have to step it up in the number three and four spots... Cotton Cornwall (.323/12/50/31), Milt Powers (.265/15/51/47) and Ryan Dukes (.282/15/36/41) are going to have to get some offensive help at the plate, too.

The La Claire Lynx (40-38) had a miserable 9-19 May, but regrouped in June with a 16-10 to get back in the pennant chase... they are tied for third with Denton City, Bayview and Arlon, trailing by just four games... the Lynx are playing like an average team, not a pennant contender so far... they are batting .267 (10th), ranked 14th in scoring runs with 372, have hit 82 homers (17th) and have posted a pretty fair 3.86 ERA (13th)... Tony Rossi (8-6/3.73) and Glenn Smith (5-5/3.51) lead the starters, while Terry Baird (5-7/2.36/12 saves) is the best in the bullpen... the batters are only mildly productive, paced by Billy Holland (.283/13/46/44), who is the club leader in homers, RBIs and runs... the only other reliable hitter is Ernie Pryor with a .293 BA, 12 HRs, 37 RBIs and 33 runs.

The Denton City Redbirds (40-38) won 90 games last year and ran a very close second to division winner Chicopee... good things were expected this year... they started off with a good April, but slumped to 11-17 in May, but picked it back up in June with a 15-11 mark to get back in contention... the Redbirds have a potent attack with a .272 BA (7th), 396 runs (5th), 98 HRs (6th) and a pretty fair 3.95 team ERA (15th)... All-Star Felton Welch has been awesome with 70 RBIs, second in the IPA to Sugar Valley's Bobby Gamble, who has 76 in the Ruthlandian Union... Welch is batting .318 with 16 HRs... three other regulars in the lineup are batting over .300: Russ Foster .346 with 8 HRs, 27 RBIs and 43 runs... Sam Carson .305 with 16 HRs, 42 RBIs and 37 runs... and Sammy Thornton .302 with 3 HRs, 24 RBIs and 43 runs... Denton City has capable starters in Troy McIntosh (8-6/3.11), Francisco Salcido (8-9/3.59), Denny Mills (5-4/3.94) and Kevin Blevins (4-7/2.68), but needs some help in the bullpen,which has a 4.10 ERA (22nd)... the Redbirds appear to be one of the stronger teams in the division and could be a serious challenger once again this year.

The Bayview Vikings (40-38) really got hot in June with an 18-8 record to climb up from seventh to a tie for third... the Viks have three solid starters in All-Star Vance Codsworth (12-5/2.39), Christy Kane (10-9/3.32) and Kris Melgaard (6-3/3.44)... and three solid hitters in All-Star Jerry Culpepper (.293 BA), the IPA home-run king with 25 roundtrippers, 52 RBIs and 49 runs, Roy Ricks (.308 BA) with 13 HRs, 38 RBIs and 47 runs and Derek Jorstad (.262 BA) with 9 HRs, 32 RBIs and 49 runs... if these guys get some help, Bayview could be a serious challenger.

The Arlon Champions (40-38) posted a 14-12 record in June and stayed alive in the pennant run... the Champs have little in the way of offense with a .248 BA (29th), 53 HRs (31st), 322 runs (31st), but do have some pitching with a 3.65 ERA (9th)... the starting foursome are adequate, led by Lanny Gray (8-7/2.59), Pat Stuyvesant (8-5/3.96), Emil Nowak (9-7/4.18) and Frankie Gautier (7-8/4.20)... the relievers are better-than-average with a 3.34 ERA (10th)... the light-hitting Champions are led by Mark Cameron (.276), who tops the team with 10 HRs and 49 RBIs... Todd Benson is the club leader with a .283 BA, while Charley Hastings (.256) and Roland Duvernet (.236) top the team with 41 runs each... a lack of offense will keep Arlon in the second divison this year.

The Rolling Hills Reds (33-44) are 10 games behind Kenwood in seventh place... picked for fourth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, the Reds haven't lived up to the billing... they will likely be hard put to stay out of the division basement... they did get pitching ace Jakob Wagner back... he has been out 11 months with an elbow injury... Wagner led the team with a 15-8 mark and a 3.03 ERA in 2036 when he was injured last August... this year's prime pitchers have been Mike Daniels (11-7/3.68) and Maury Cantrell (6-2/3.24).... Rolling Hills' best bats have been Dino Manale (.336/5/26/55), All-Star Buffy Kowalczyk (.323/7/44/34) and Brian Davis (.304/7/27/38).

After winning the TU West the last three years in a row with great firepower, the Chicopee Braves (32-46) have dropped off into oblivion... last year the Braves batted .278 (2nd), hit 203 HRs (5th) and scored 863 runs (2nd)... but not this year... Chicopee is hitting only .255 (22nd) with 333 runs (30th) and 81 HRs (18th-tied)... after two terrible months, things have gotten a little better of late... the Braves broke even in June with a 13-13 mark, but are 12 games behind in the pennant race... part of the downfall was the loss of slugger Charley Kota, last year's TU Golden Bat winner... he was lost after 26 games in early May with a shoulder injury and won't be back until August... Kota was batting .379 at the time of the injury with 6 HRs and 17 RBIs... no one has picked up the slack... in fact everybody is having an off-year so far with the bats... a .309 career batter, Kurt Gustavsen, is the club leader with a .285 BA, 12 HRs and 49 RBIs... Todd Goodwin, .293 lifetime BA, is batting only .257 with 7 HRs and 21 RBIs... he leads the team with 43 runs... and Alfredo Cobos, a .310 batter in his career, has dipped to .276 this season... Cobos has 9 HRs, 35 RBIs and 34 runs... pitching is off, too... Byron Wilson 13-10 last year is 0-5 this year and out of the starting rotation... ditto for Ryan Ledbetter 17-14 last year and 6-11 this year... 20-game winner Heyoka Chaska is only 4-11 this year with a 3.88 ERA, but still is the team's ace... Judd Hampton has been the only good starter this year with a 9-3 mark and a 3.35 ERA... Chicopee might muster up enough offense to move up a few spots in the standings... they have too much talent to remain at the bottom.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, July 31, 2037

SPORTS & CATS IN RU NORTH DOGFIGHT
The LaGrange Sports got hot in July and moved ahead of the Kilkenny Cats in the Ruthlandian North Division by three games... Ancona is in the third spot in the standings, 6 games back... the Glasco Athletics and Far Mountain Redhawks are tied for fourth place... going into the final seven weeks of the season sixth place Taranto is only eight games out of first... LaGrange has won the division for the last two seasons and is a slight favorite to do it again... it looks like a repeat of last year when the Sports and Kilkenny battled down to the last few days of the season and the Sports won by two games.

LaGrange is set for the stretch run with four veteran starters... it will be tough to beat Walt Thurber (15-6/2.67), Mike York (15-8/3.55) and recent additions to the starting rotation Earl Perkins (8-4/3.47) and Ryan Janssen (6-9/3.04)... the Cats are also steep in pitching with Fred Doyle (16-7/2.30) and Dave Whitaker (12-11/2.39) heading up the staff, but the Sports have the better offense... LaGrange was 19-10 in July, while Kilkenny was only 14-15... odds are the Sports will pull away from the Cats in the last weeks of the season... good pitching bodes well for LaGrange in the postseason... Ancona, Glasco, Far Mountain and Taranto don't appear to be in the running for the pennant.

WESTERNERS TAKE CHARGE IN RU SOUTH IN JULY
The Waleska Westerners had a torrid 20-9 record in July to put some space between them and the rest of the pack in the Ruthlandian South... the Westerners now have a seven-game edge over runnerup Claxton and 8 over third-place San Dimas... the Diamonds were 15-14 for the month, while the Rancheros were 16-13... Waleska seems to be in control of the division.

Waleska has a solid rotation consisting of Terry Richards (13-9/2.90), Craig Nash (14-8/3.34) and Tony Haskell (13-9/3.94)... add in 20-year-old rookie Niles Nielsen (4-1/1.64) as a starter and you have a pretty fair foursome... after flourishing in the bullpen Neilsen now gets his chance in the regular rotation... offense is a problem for the Westerners should they make the Pro Cup playoffs.

The Claxton Diamonds have a lackluster mound corps, but they can hit the ball, led by Jojo DeLucca (.316) with 28 HRs, 81 RBIs and 80 runs... Foxy Fuchs (.318) with 25 HRs, 80 RBIs and 83 runs... and Ivan Krause (.255) with 20 HRs and 71 ribbies.

The San Dimas Rancheros are sparked by pitchers Seth Dawson (10-4/3.27) and Gil Arnaud (11-8/3.08) on the hill and at the plate by Leonard Purkey (.299/10/64/47), Klaus Stordahl (.301/16/50/71) and Denny Hendrix (.333/17/52/63).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, July 31, 2037

ALL-STARS STILL HAVE THE LEAD IN THE RU EAST
The Sugar Valley Rattlers have the best offense in the IPA, the Cold Creek Catamounts have the best mound staff, but the Elnora All-Stars still have first place in the Ruthlandian East... the All-Stars have a good mixture of both and a four-game margin over second place Sugar Valley and six games better than Cold Creek... still it's an open race for the RU East flag and the automatic spot in the Pro Cup playoffs, set to begin in late September... Elnora and Cold Creek were 18-11 this month, while Sugar Valley finished with a 16-13 mark... the All-Stars were up by only two games over the Rattlers at the beginning of July, while the Catamounts remained six games behind them.

Elnora has a strong staff with Dan Pitts (17-7/3.32), Stan Kivas (13-6/2.70) and Jeremy Sellers (12-9/3.49), all solid veterans... the All-Stars have some strong bats, too, with Danny Bierhoff (.331/22/77/56), Jan Kobak (.312/15/62/50) and Akihiro Samurakami (.310/8/33/71)... Elnora will be one of the favorites for the Pro Cup this season, along with defending IPA champion North Hills, Blue Lake, Tuckanarra, East Point and San Alejo, all in the Tycobbian Union... the All-Stars lead the IPA in victories so far, but they are going to have fend off Sugar Valley and Cold Creek first in the regular campaign to get their chance to shine in the postseason.

Sugar Valley has a slew of good bats, paced by superstar Bobby Gamble (.359) with 28 HRs, an IPA-leading 104 RBIs and 83 runs... rising star Roger Hobbs (.291) with 27 HRs, 85 RBIs and 77 runs... and Tyler White (.237) with 30 HRs, 79 RBIs and 69 runs... the Rattlers have some quality arms, too, with Juan Navarro (13-5/2.75), Christopher Dunsberry (11-4/3.05) and Jeremy Blanchard (13-10/3.62)... their ERAs are really inpressive considering the small park they have to play in.

It would be hard to name a better starting four than Cold Creek's J. J. Gillespie (17-6/1.96), Joey Baker (12-9/2.58), Jules Capet (10-5/3.04) and Rob Hutchins (13-10/3.71)... but the Catamounts are severely limited by the lack of an appreciable offense... they just don't generate many runs... catching Elnora this late in the season may be too big of a task for them.

The Ruthlandian East is chocked full of good ball clubs... six of them have winning records... Eastshore, Wynnamac and Beechwood will have to be happy to play for fourth place this year... seventh place Marston and last place Belle Plaine will just have to wait until next year.

3-WAY FIGHT IN RU WEST, SLIGO ON TOP
Very tight pennant races have been the norm the last few years in the Ruthlandian West Division... this year is no exception with a three-way tussle between first place Sligo, second place Fort Benton and third place Colfax... the Rovers have a two-game edge over the Defenders and four in front of defending champ Colfax... it should be a thrilling and exciting finish in the wild RU West... regardless of which team prevails, not a lot is expected in the Pro Cup travails... the RU West Division is considered one of the lesser divisions in the IPA... only three of the teams will probably post winning records.

The Sligo Rovers are a well-rounded team... they get by with pretty good pitching... Tom Pierson (15-6/3.69), Randall Steele (14-11/2.77) and Joey Hicks (8-4/3.14) are steady and reliable starting pitchers... and Scotty Price is one the best closers in the IPA with 21 saves, 1.84 ERA and a 3-3 record in 44 games... and the Rover bats are effective and above average with a .267 BA (13th), 521 runs (13th) and 119 HRs (8th)... Sligo has no real standouts at the dish... just a lot of reliable hitters like Denny Simmons (.314/13/53/74), Neil Mitchell (.297/10/42/74) and Damon Klein (.317/8/44/44).

On paper the Fort Benton Defenders look to be the class of the division with a .271 BA (5th), 534 runs (10th) and a 3.50 ERA (5th)... but they fall short with only 79 HRs (28th-tied) and in the bullpen with a 3.95 ERA (24th)... Augie Marquis (15-7/2.88), Tommy Baylor (15-8/3.07) and Jordy Raeburn (13-12/3.40) are a steady threesome... and the top bats are D. D. Badeaux (.316/13/43/70), Mitch Hamilton (.328/1/27/63) and Oscar Pendleton (.274/14/61/37).

The Colfax Blasters have a lot in common with Fort Benton with a .267 BA (11th), 537 runs (8th), 94 homers (22nd) and a 3.56 ERA (9th)... the difference is in the relief corps which has compiled a strong 2.44 ERA (2nd)... the Blasters go deep a little more often, too... Randell Perkins (18-6/3.27) is the ace with the most wins in the IPA... Perkins is tied with Frankie Quinn (18-4/2.53) of Blue Lake in the Tycobbian North... both have won 18 games this season... Nom Harbison (12-11/2.63) has been very effective, too, as the number-two man on the staff... the key hitters are Chet Penn (.376/19/91/73), Gerry Sives (.336/5/57/76), Kristian McEly (.294/24/83/63) and Mitch Fullerton (.291/16/66/62)... Penn is second in the IPA with a .376 BA, topped only by Johnny Petrak of the Eastshore Elegants with a .386 mark.

The remainder of the clubs in the RU West run from bad to mediocre and don't have a lot of talent or hope this year.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, July 31, 2037

HAWKS FLY HIGH IN TU NORTH, BLUE SOX CLOSE
The North Hills Hawks are the prevailing IPA Pro Cup champions in quest of their fourth consecutive Tycobbian North Division crown, but there are several teams around that are going to make them earn it... a super July gave the Hawks the top spot in the standings... they went 19-10 and surpassed Blue Lake by two games... the Blue Sox were 16-13... North Hills expanded it lead over third place White River to 5 games... the Rascals were 15-14 for the month... the Fairfax Frogs in fourth place fell back six games after a 15-14 month... those three clubs are the most logical challenges to North Hills' hope for back-to-back Pro Cup trophies.

North Hills has rock-solid starters with Jeff Owens (13-9/2.77), David Michael (11-8/2.93), Nelson Hooper (10-6/3.36) and Frankie Lambert (12-5/3.70)... and some strong arms in the bullpen which has a 2.69 ERA (3rd)... and some reliable bats in Adam Thurgood, Gerry Rice and Kris Anastas... Thurgood is the club leader with 26 HRs, 67 RBIs and 63 runs, but he is batting only .277 for the year, well under his lifetime .313 BA... after a very slow April-May Thurgood's bat has really perked up... Rice is hitting .310 with 10 homers, 47 RBIs and 49 runs... and Anastas sports a .283 BA with 10 HRs, 47 RBIs and 46 runs... pitching is the Hawks' forte and it should see them through to another division title... a Pro Cup repeat is a far more difficult task, but the Hawks have the stuff to do it.

Blue Lake matches up well with North Hills except in the bullpen (15th) and in longballs (31st)... Frankie Quinn (18-4/2.53) has the most wins in the IPA along with Randell Perkins (18-6/3.27) of Colfax in the Ruthlandian Union... Quinn has plenty of help from Pat Brown (9-4/3.24), Sal Mays (10-6/3.64) and Lee Price (10-6/3.89)... the best bats are Jack Ryan (.337/4/38/52), Matt Thompson (.314/6/46/38), Joe Korman (.275/5/59/58) and Egon Ojamaa (.263/16/61/55)... the Blue Sox will make it tough for North Hills.

White River's mound staff keeps them in the race... J. C. Hudson (15-8/2.76) has really blossomed in his sophomore season... vets Paul Sardini (12-11/3.61) and Kenny Nikas (10-11/3.79) need to step it up to Hudson's level for the Rascals to be a pennant threat... Billy Trakas (4-3/3.69) has been inconsistent in the bullpen, but has rung up 17 saves, the third-best total in the IPA... the offense has been unproductive... Stevee Dee Daniels (.255) has 24 HRs and 56 RBIs and Davey Sloan (.238) has 18 HRs and 60 RBIs to lead the club... Buford Cross has the top BA with a .313 mark, 15 HRs and 49 RBIs... more offense is needed for the Rascals to get real serious in the race.

The Fairfax Frogs can put runs on the scoreboard, ranking third in runs with 547 and sixth in batting with a .277 BA, but they lack firepower with only 88 HRs (27th)... on the hill the Frogs are just average with a 3.82 team ERA (14th)... veteran Lucien Vachon (12-8/3.08) and youngster Harold Dorman (13-8/3.59) are the 1-2 starters... third-year man Leonard Crawford tops the club with a .362 BA... other .300 hitters are veterans Eric Kusek (.315) and Sonny Oliver (.311)... Dorak Aranda is batting .283 and leads the team with 72 RBIs... Oliver has 63 ribbies and a club high of 14 HRs... Fairfax is still within striking distance of first place, but will need better pitching to accomplish it.

Fifth place Oxford's home-run power makes them the best of the rest... they have clouted 156 HRs (2nd) this far... Dalton Ward (.230) leads the team with 28 HRs, followed by Alonzo Norris (.274) with 21... another plus for the Red Caps are two quality pitchers B. B. Dristoll (13-5/3.12) and Cody Quackenbush (13-10/3.73)... Oxford is 9 games behind in the race and too far back to make much noise in the pennant chase.

Mahaska, Hartsdale and Luxora have pretty much called it a season and will just be playing out the schedule... Mahaska has two pretty good talents in young shortstop Rocco Bertara (.317) and first sacker Johnny Watts (.343)... Wayne Dawson has had a fine year for Hartsdale with a 16-8 record and a 2.82 ERA... Hayden Richardson has led the Hellcats offense with 18 HRs, 50 RBIs and a .352 BA... the Luxora Zorros have several good performers in Kent Halloran (10-12/2.47), Benny DeVito (13-11/3.24), reliever Francisco Sanches (2-5/2.94/18 saves), Todd Dubbins (.313/26/79) and Gerry Hathaway (.297/28/67).

SAN ALEJO SHOOTS 6 GAMES AHEAD IN TU SOUTH
As each month has gone by in the 2037 season the San Alejo Montaneros have gotten better record-wise... in July they scorched everyone with a 20-9 mark to shoot six games in front of Turon and Summerland... the Typhoons and Sunsets played well at 18-11, but still fell two more games back in the standings... fourth place Ginza slumped to 14-15 and is now 11 games off the pace... six of the division's eight teams have winning records... fifth place Arroyo Grande and sixth place Cape Coral have posted better than .500 marks, but trail by 13 and 14 games respectively.

San Alejo is rollicking along with strong pitching and scoring ability... the Monties are fifth in runs with 545, tied for 11th with 121 HRs, batting .260 (18th) and sport a 3.29 team ERA (3rd)... Lupe Olmedo (12-6/2.20), Tommy Smith (13-9/3.06) and Johnny Brown (14-9/3.14) head up the starting rotation, while Filipe Zamora (.312/22/85/57) and Charlie Wilberforce (.327/14/47/73) are the team's main bats... San Alejo has the second-best record in the IPA, toppled only by Elnora in the Ruthlandian East with a 71-36 mark... the Monties are poised for a good run at the their second Pro Cup in their team history... they won it in 2032.

The Turon Typhoons are a talent-laden club with impressive pitching and better-than-average offense... they are batting .278 (5th), scored 523 runs (12th), hit 110 HRs (16th-tied) and chalked up a 3.33 ERA (4th)... the Typhoons also have a splendid bullpen that rates first in the league with a 2.24 ERA... Turon has four quality starters with Nate Scottsdale (16-6/3.06), Wes Brynnton (13-11/3.34), Russell Larsen (8-4/3.64) and Clyde Engstrom (12-14/3.57)... Ralph Fulton (3-2/1.52/10 saves) is the bullpen specialist... at the plate it's C. C. Kingsford (.354/19/80/70), Guido Gervasio (.335/18/72/64) and J. P. Trevenot (.299/17/48/75) leading the way... probable finish would be second place to San Alejo.

The Summerland Sunsets are long on pitching, but somewhat short on bats... they have registered a solid 3.46 ERA (7th) and a .267 BA (9th), but rank only average in scoring runs with 496 (16th-tied)... on the hill the leaders are Freddi Rossi (14-8/2.81) and Johnny Young (10-10/2.78)... bullpen leaders are Ronald Shaddock (6-5/2.11/7 saves) and Jayson Hallstrom (6-4/3.15/8 saves)... the most productive batters have been Antonio Vasquez (.319/5/53/65), John Bedell (.305/7/49/39) and Eamon O'Toole (.278/11/50/37)... third place is where the Sunsets will wind up... Turon is better on the mound and in the batter's box.

The Ginza Ninjas have a potent offense with a .281 BA (2nd), 552 runs (2nd) and 110 HRs (16th-tied), but has suspect pitching with a 4.15 ERA (20th)... they will contest for fourth place with Arroyo Grande and Cape Coral... playing manager Sadaharu Uchiyama (.306/10/49/61) has more good hitters than he can play at one time... Sogo Takagi leads the club in everything but BA... he has 22 HRs, 76 RBIs, 75 runs, while batting .313... Dave Sulligent has the best average with .318, followed by Steve Daniels with .316... Whip Harrell (.292/19/53/49) and Scott Sparks (.271/19/64/41) have added some long balls with 19 apiece... Emil Kaltenborn (13-6/4.56) and Hollis Pace (12-11/3.90) are the biggest winners, while Glenn Downing (11-9/2.96) has been the most effective... the Ninjas have a good shot at fourth place in the standings.

The Arroyo Grande Suns are just a run-of-the-mill team... the best starter is Matt Stevens (11-9/3.74) and the best reliever is Cody Simmons (7-4/2.17/14 saves)... Pip Gleason (.271/22/58/45) and Gregorio Oliviera (.281/16/54/56) are the best of the few at the plate.

The Cape Coral Hurricanes are outhitting everyone in the IPA with a .288 BA (1st) and rank second in runs with 558... only Sugar Valley of the Ruthlandian East outscores the 'Canes... the Rattlers are easily the highest scorer with 612 runs... but the Hurricanes have a mediocre 4.23 team ERA (23rd)... they should end up higher in the standings than Arroyo Grande... looks like fifth for Cape Coral and sixth for the Suns.

The Colchester Elites won the TU South last year with a powerful offense, but have fallen off tremendously this year and slumped to seventh place... Billy Christianson is the leading hitter in the Tycobbian Union with a .358 BA, but he missed a month of the season with an injury... Christenson has 9 HRs, 51 RBIs and 58 runs in 80 games... last year Blake Barrister blistered the league with a .311 BA, 49 HRs, 129 RBIs and 111 runs... this year his numbers so far have dropped to 30 HRs, 73 RBIs, 60 runs and a .264 BA... Christenson and Barrister have carried the team this year and gotten very little support... the lack of offense has taken its toll on the mound staff... Dan Scott (7-7/4.09) was a 22-game winner last season... Roy Watson (9-9/3/44) was a 19-game winner... Dave Lacoste (9-8/4.28) won 15 and Eduardo Rivera (12-14/3.63) chalked up 12 wins... what a difference a year makes.

Down at the bottom of the pile are the hapless Southport Sun Sox and rightly so... the eighth place Sun Sox are hitting just .247 (28th), rank 31st in scoring, 28th in homers and have posted a dismal 4.48 ERA (31st)... the only bright spot on the club is 22-year-old Gordon Forbes with a 10-4 record and a 3.67 ERA... it's been a poor season for all the rest.

THE ISLANIAN TIMES
Friday, July 31, 2037

TUCKS STILL ON TOP IN TU EAST
It was a strange month in the Tycobbian East... not a lot changed in the standings... the best record in July was 15-14, shared by Hillsboro, Midway and Red Bluff... the worst record went to High Mesa with a 13-16 mark... first place Tuckanarra still possesses a 3-game edge over runner-up East Point as both of the contenders carded 14-15 records this month... Ozarka is in third place and trails by nine games... the Nats were also 14-15 for the month... everybody else is fighting for the only first division spot still available - fourth place.

The Tucks were coming off three terrific months when they suddenly played just average baseball... still the Blue Jays are a dominating team with a .278 BA (4th), 546 runs (4th), 124 HRs (9th) and a 3.42 ERA (5th)... they are good defenders, too, with a .976 FA... the only apparent shortcoming is a bullpen with a 4.25 ERA (24th)... Tuckanarra's top hurlers are Junior Bristow (15-8/2.63), Bobby Reid (15-6/3.05) and Jeff Buttrum (10-8/3.33)... the top gun is IPA superstar Lorne Evans, who recently slammed his 500th home run... Evans is batting .298 this season with 24 HRs, 60 RBIs and 79 runs scored... John Paul has chipped in 23 roundtrippers with 56 RBIs, 55 runs and a .282 BA... average-wise Pancho Villa (.318) and Andy Preston (.303) lead the club... the Blue Jays are forecast to hold off East Point for the TU North title and then seek a fourth IPA Pro Cup championship.

East Point has solid pitching with a 3.48 ERA (8th)... good power and scoring with 149 HRs (3rd) and 524 runs (9th-tied)... but comes up short with a .254 BA (24th)... the Panthers have the best starters in the league with a 3.21 ERA... but the worst bullpen with a horrific 5.87 ERA (32nd)... four fine starters Frank Blair (13-4/2.29), Dixie Brooks (15-9/3.15), Johnny Moore (13-9/3.22) and Burton Cook (10-11/3.18) makes them a very tough team... main run providers are Dean O'Donnell (.273/25/71/62) and Karl Jankauskas (.246/26/72/59)... Tetsu Tanaka (.262) and Chris Cardinale (.242) don't hit much for average, but can go deep with 16 HRs each... the Panthers are a powerful team that could knock off Tuckanarra and go deep into the postseason playoffs.

The Ozarka Naturals were the preseason pick in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES poll at the beginning of the year, but they have not been able to stay up with Tuckanarra and East Point... they are all alone in third, nine games off the pace... the Nats have strong pitching with a 3.27 ERA (2nd), but a lackluster offense with only 429 runs (25th) and just 78 HRs (29th)... the top arms are Glen Jenkins (14-9/2.38), Zenon Metaxis (11-7/3.51), Teddy O'Shea (11-11/3.83) and Leon Bernard (9-10/3.08)... however, Ozarka's rotation is not equal to the Blue Jays and the Panthers... and the bats fall far short of the two prime-time teams... Duffy Morrison is the only reliable hitter in the batting order with a .293 BA, 12 HRs and 64 RBIs.

Hillsboro is tied with High Mesa for fourth, but they both have plenty of competition... the Blazers have no pitching except for two relievers Lucky Luciano (8-0/3.28) and rookie Cazzie Reier (3-1/2.73)... and not much at the plate except for Philip Stafford, who is batting a team high .302 with 58 RBIs... Jurrien Bellini is the club HR and RBI leader with 21 homers and 60 RBIs, but he is batting a lowly .233 for average.

The High Mesa Cowboys surprised everybody in the Islands by being in a three-way tie with Tuckanarra and East Point at the end of April... but it has been all downhill since... the Cowpokes are near the bottom with a 4.41 team ERA (29th) and a .241 team BA (32nd)... Dean Harris (10-8/3.22) and Max Jung (13-13/3.87) are the only decent starters... and the trio of Corbett Brooks (.253) with 27 HRs and 64 RBIs, Michael Page (.273) with 21 roundtrippers and 52 RBIs and Clay Johnston (.283) with 18 HRs and 56 RBIs provide most of the offense... the Cowboys' great season is slowly fading into the sunset.

The Midway Wolves are in sixth place, 20 games behind Tuckanarra with not much talent on the team... age may be finally catching up with future Hall-of-Famer Bobby Dorignac... at 36 he is only 8-14 with a 4.38 ERA... Dorignac is 308-215 in his 17 years with the Wolves... his lifetime ERA is a fabulous 2.88... for the last three years Dorignac has piled up at least 19 victories per season... Yancey Tanner is the only regular batting over the .300 mark... Tanner leads the club with a .305 average and 69 runs scored.

The seventh place Red Bluff Red Sox don't have any standouts this season, just a bunch of so-so so-and-so's with some power... they don't hit much for average (.244-31st), however, the Red Sox do lead the Tycobbian Union in homers with 160 (1st)... Sugar Valley in the RU East is the best in the IPA with 163... Gene Bates (.260) tops the club with 27, David Kelso (.277) has 23, Fran Blanchard (.262) 21, Garris Aiken (.257) and Jesse Shaw (.294) both have hit 18 out of the park, and Ike Sweetwater (.293) has belted 17 home runs... Banzuki Hasagawa (11-13/3.28) has the most wins on the squad and the best ERA... Jimmy McMillan (9-9/3.70) occasionally has a good game.

The basement-dwelling South Fork Stallions haven't had much to cheer about this year except Elton Jacoby with a team-leading .336 BA, 18 HRs, 76 RBIs and 74 runs... Jess Wilkerson has also chipped in with a .292 BA, 17 HRs, 60 RBIs and 62 runs... journeyman Mike Lambertini finally got his chance after two previous short trials in 2031 and 2037... in the last month the 30-year-old right-hander won 6 games and only lost once with an impressive 2.76 ERA.

CATFIGHT IN TU WEST, WILDCATS UP BY ONE OVER LYNX
Two members of the cat family are going at it in the Tycobbian West hot-and-heavy for the top spot... the Kenwood Wildcats still have the lead, but not much over the hard-charging La Claire Lynx... La Claire went on a 19-10 rampage and closed to wiithin one game of the Wildcats, who were a solid 16-13 for July... the Lynx were picked as the preseason favorite in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES poll... the Wildcats were rated number five in the balloting... tied for third place and four games back are Denton City and Bay St. Clair... the Redbirds posted a 16-13 mark, while the Buccaneers slumped to 13-16... the pennant battle is crowded with two other clubs in the running... Arlon is fifth, five games out and Bayview is sixth, six games off the pace... the Champions went 15-14 last month, while the Vikings were 14-15.

Kenwood has a robust attack with a .280 BA (3rd), 524 runs (9th-tied) and 130 HRs (7th) and pretty reliable pitching with a 3.58 ERA (9th)... the Wildcats have four .300 bats in the lineup, led by Ricky Boyer (.348/13/42/72), Clark Chamberlain (.331/10/44/44), Corky DiNozzo (.315/20/51/59) and Harry Tashina (.315/20/74/66)... top pitchers are Glen Murray (14-9/2.82), Claude Watson (12-6/4.30) and Milt Cochrane (10-10/4.00)... recent add to the rotation knucleballer Chuck Holland went 5-1 in 7 starts with an impressive 2.47 ERA in July... he could be an important key down the stretch.

La Claire has been the best team in the TU West the last two months... very similar to Kenwood with a .271 BA (7th), 544 runs (6th), 111 HRs (15th) and a 3.78 ERA (12th)... top performers on the mound are Pat Kovacs (10-10/2.86), Tony Rossi (11-6/3.71), rookie Glenn Smith (8-7/3.77) and Bruce Kinson (9-3/4.10)... leading the offense are Billy Holland (.278/15/56/65), Kris Wilson (.291/12/64/35), Jarrod O'Neal (.249/13/60/58), Rog Clemens (.305/11/46/34) and Weldon Waller (.313/8/40/40)... the pennant outlook is for a barnburner between Kenwood and La Claire down the stretch in the TU West.

Denton City and Bay St. Clair are deadlocked for third... the Redbirds are on the uptick in recent months, while the Bucs have cooled off after a great start... DC is hitting .266 (10th), scored 524 runs (9th-tied), hit 132 HRs (6th) and compiled a pretty fair 3.67 team ERA (10th)... the mound staff is led by Troy McIntosh (12-8/3.11), Francisco Salcido (13-11/3.22) and Kevin Blevins (8-9/2.47)... number four Stephen Edwards (9-7/4.05) is capable at times, too... the Redbirds are sparked at the plate by one of the top hitters in the IPA this year... Felton Welch has excelled with 25 HRs, 94 RBIs and a .321 BA... Welch leads the Tycobbian Union in ribbies... two other dependable bats are Sam Carson with a .297 BA, 21 HRs and 58 RBIs and Pete Doyle with 17 HRs, 67 runs, 45 RBIs and a .272 BA... Denton City may have to be satisfied with third place... they don't seem to have the overall talent of Kenwood and La Claire.

Bay St. Clair played heavenly in April and May, but have come down-to-earth in recent months... still they are hanging around just four games back in the race... if they can bring back the magic the last seven weeks in the season, they would really pull off a huge upset... the Bucs were picked to finish last this year... offensively they are adequate with a .261 BA (17th), 516 runs (13th), 115 HRs (13th), but not on the hill with a poor 4.40 ERA (28th)... John Karlsen (13-11/3.59) has been the only reliable starter... and Sam Zale (4-2/2.02) the only effective reliever... Cotton Cornwall (.313/18/64/47), Ryan Dukes (.298/22/47/60) and Milt Powers (.257/17/61/60) have been the most dependable batters... looks for the Buccaneers to continue the downward slide... it appears they were playing over their heads early in the year.

Fifth place Arlon has had a winning season so far, but doesn't have the stuff to be a serious contender in the TU West... the Champs only have average pitching and mediocre bats... in the pitching department, Emil Nowak (14-8/4.00) is the biggest winner, but Lanny Gray (10-12/3.21) and Dale Greene (6-6/3.18) have been more effective... leading a poor offense are Todd Benson (.295/4/39/54) and Mark Cameron (.273/16/69/54)... it's really somthing that Arlon has a winning record... they really don't have a lot of talent... sixth place is the most likely finish.

Bayview is in sixth place, only 6 games out of first, but doesn't have the pitching to compete for the division flag... but they can hit home runs and score pretty well, collecting 147 HRs (4th) and scoring 526 runs (8th)... the Vikings are just fair on the hill with a 3.99 ERA (17th)... the starting four are pretty good, but the bullpen is not very good... the starting four consists of Vance Codsworth (14-9/2.63), Christy Kane (11-13/3.20), the number one and two, plus Kris Melgaard (8-6/3.96) and Karl Magga (5-3/3.98) in the three and four slots... all of the relief corps have ERAs of 5.00 or more... Jerry Culpepper is the IPA HR king with 35 this year... he is hitting .295 with 76 RBIs and 66 runs scored... Roy Ricks is batting .313 with 23 HRs, 56 RBIs and 69 runs... despite a low .249 BA, Derek Jorstad has 17 HRs, 51 RBIs and 68 runs... fifth place might be the best the Viks can do this season.

The Rolling Hills Reds are seventh in the TU West standings, 10 games out... there is very little talent on the club... Mike Daniels (15-9/3.77) leads the club in victories... and 22-year-old Matthew Christianson (9-11/3.53) has the best ERA... Dino Manale (.326/7/41/75), Brian Davis (.306/11/38/53) and Buffy Kowalczyk (.298/8/54/43) are the most reliable bats... Rolling Hills appears to be better than poor Chicopee and shouldn't finish last.

It's been a terrible season for defending division champ Chicopee, which has gone from first to worst in one season... the Braves flopped miserably at the plate this year... only Kurt Gustavsen (.295/15/60/47) had a decent season... Judd Hampton (11-7/3.47) was the only reliable pitcher... mark them down for eighth place.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, August 31, 2037

LAGRANGE-KILKENNY NAILBITER IN RU NORTH
For the second successive season the LaGrange Sports and the Kilkenny Cats will go down-to-the-wire for the Ruthlandain North Division flag... the Cats had the best August with a 16-12 record, just a tare better than the Sports at 15-13... with 19 games remaining on the schedule LaGrange has a scant one-game edge... it's probably too late in the race for third place Far Mountain, 7 games out, and fourth place Glasco, 9 games off the pace.

WALESKA WAY AHEAD IN RU SOUTH
No contest in the Ruthlandian South... the Waleska Westerners are running away with it... they posted a sparkling 19-9 mark this month and expanded their lead to 13 games ahead of runnerup Claxton... the Diamonds dipped to 13-15 in August... the San Dimas Rancheros are 14 games back in third place, while Belair Beach is fourth and 20 games behind.

COLD CREEK SURGES AHEAD OF ELNORA IN RU EAST
In a remarkable month the Cold Creek Catamounts surged past Elnora in the Ruthlandian East by two games... the 'Cats trailed by six games at the end of July, but mounted a terrific 23-5 record to move past the All-Stars, which were only 15-13 for the month... third place Sugar Valley also notched a 15-13 mark and is six games behind the Catamounts... Cold Creek's superb pitching got even better as all four starters now have ERAs under 3.00... but the big bats of Elnora are still in the hunt and will not go down without a fight.

STILL 3-WAY FIGHT IN RU WEST
Three clubs are still tightly bunched in the Ruthlandian West pennant chase... preseason favorite Fort Benton climbed into first place on the strength of a 17-11 month, slipping by second place Colfax and third place Sligo by one and two games respectively... the Blasters were 18-10 in August, while former leader Sligo slumped a bit with a 13-15 record... the Rovers went into August with a one-game margin over the Defenders and four in front of the Blasters... the experts are saying this one is too close to call and could go down to the final day of the season.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, August 31, 2037

NH HAWKS FLYING HIGH IN TU NORTH
In August, the reigning Pro Cup champion North Hills Hawks took charge of the Tycobbian North Division with a 17-11 record to beef up its lead to six games over the Fairfax Frogs and the Blue Lake Blue Sox... the Hawks are 8 games in front of fourth place White River and Oxford... for the month the Frogs were 16-12 and the Blue Sox a disappointing 12-16... North Hills should be able to haul in its fourth straight diivision flag and get a shot at repeating as the IPA Pro Cup titleholder.. second place is up in the air with four teams in the fight.

GREAT 3-TEAM RACE IN TU SOUTH
Preseason pick San Alejo has not been able to shake the tennacious Turon Typhoon and Summerland Sunsets in the Tycobbian South Division... they closed the gap in August when the Typhoons chalked up an 18-10 record and the Sunsets went 17-11... first place San Alejo leveled off to 14-14, its worst month of the season... the Montaneros are now up by only two games over Turon and three over Summerland... it should be a great finish in the TU South this season.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, August 31, 2037

BLUE JAYS BOLT 8 GAMES AHEAD IN TU EAST
The perennial powerhouse Tuckanarra Blue Jays made shambles of the Tycobbian East Division with a super 21-7 August and bolted ahead of the East Point Panthers by 8 games... it's looks like the Tucks will win the division for the fourth time in a row and get the opportunity to pick up their fourth Pro Cup in the club's history... the Blue Jays have three overall titles, having won in 2023, 2024 and 2035... second place East Point played good baseball last month, but a 16-12 was not enough... the Ozarka Naturals have third all to themselves and fourth could go to any of the other five clubs in the division.

KENWOOD-LA CLAIRE CRUNCH IN TU WEST
In spite of losing two starters and a slugging catcher to the injury bug this season, the Kenwood Wildcats are still number one in the Tycobbian West Division and still have the preseason-favored La Claire Lynx right on their tails... the Wildcats registered a 17-11 mark this month and bolstered the lead to two games over the Lynx, which were 16-12... Kenwood just added starter Milt Cochrane (14-10/3.59) and standout catcher Corky DiNozzo (.315 BA-20 HRs) to the DL list... they had already lost ace Freddy Gooch (11-5/3.15) in July... La Claire also lost its rookie starter Glenn Smith (9-7/3.70) to injury... he will be out at least two months... the Denton City Redbirds are in the third spot in the standings and trail by seven games... Arlon is fourth, 9 games behind... and Bayview is fifth, 10 games out... with all of Kenwood's critical mound losses, the analysts say the TU West race is a toss-up between the Wildcats and the Lynx.

I'm gonna take a little time off from the IPA.

So don't worry if it drops off of page one.

I'll finish season 2037 in a couple of weeks.

See you then.

Nah, we aren't going to let this drop off of page 1.

Do you other readers know that this is the second-most viewed thread in dynasty report history? It's a timeless classic and extremely well done. A gold standard.

Thanks for the bump.

And many thanks, too, for the very nice words.

I don't know if "classic" applies, but the IPA has been around a little while.

I still enjoy doing it.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 1, 2037

4 RACES STILL GOIN' IN IPA
With one week to go we still have five divisions in doubt in the Islandian Pro Alliance... the defending Pro Cup champion North Hills Hawks have clinched their fourth straight Tycobbian North title... the Tuckanarra Blue Jays have claimed the Tycobbian East for the fourth year in a row... and the Waleska Westerners captured the Ruthlandian South for the second time in three seasons... the Hawks (86-61) won out over the Fairfax Frogs (78-69) and Blue Lake Blue Sox (78-69)... the Tucks (93-54) topped the East Point Panthers (84-63)... and the Westerners (89-58) easily disposed of the Claxton Diamonds (77-70)... all the other races are still up in the air.

Three teams are still in contention in the Ruthlandian West with the Fort Benton Defenders (86-61) holding a tenuous one-game lead over the runner-up Colfax Blasters (85-62) and are just two games up on the third place Sligo Rovers (84-63).

In the Ruthlandian East, the strongest division in the IPA, the Cold Creek Catamounts (96-51) have a slight two-game margin over the second place Elnora All-Stars (94-53)... the Sugar Valley Rattlers (92-55) are in third, trailing by 4 games with 7 games to go... all three powerful clubs are worthy of a Pro Cup postseason spot, but only one of them will get it... each one of them has chalked up 92 or more victories this year... the Catamounts lead the IPA in wins... the All-Stars are second, Tuckanarra (93-54) of the TU East is third and the Rattlers are fourth... six of the teams in the RU East have winning records.

It's a heck of a pennant race in the Tycobbian West between the La Claire Lynx and the Kenwood Wildcats... going into the final week of the season they are tied for first place with 83-64 records.

There's also quite a battle in the Tycobbian South Division... the San Alejo Montaneros (89-58) are two games ahead of the second place Turon Typhoons (87-60) and four in front of the third place Summerland Sunsets (85-62).

LaGrange (82-65) has a good shot at its third consecutive Ruthlandian North Division crown with a four-game bulge over second place Kilkenny (78-69).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 21, 2037

IPA PLAYOFF TEAMS SET
Pro Cup Playoffs are just around the corner... first round action begins this Thursday afternoon with the IPA Elite 8 Series featuring the eight division champions... defending IPA titleholder North Hills is back for a chance to win back-to-back Pro Cups... Tuckanarra was the last club to repeat as IPA champion... the Blue Jays captured the Pro Cup in 2023 and 2024...last year the Hawks whipped the St. John Crusaders in six games... the Crusaders missed the playoffs this year as they wound up fifth in the Ruthlandian South.

The LaGrange Sports claimed the club's third successive Ruthlandian North flag and fifth in six seasons... they fought off the Kilkenny Cats by five games to win the division again... the Sports were 10-9 in the last month, while the Cats stumbled in September with a poor 7-12 mark... LaGrange will tangle with the Waleska Westerners, champion of the Ruthlandian South in the opening round of the playoffs... Waleska ran away with the RU South, beating second place Claxton by 14 games.

The Cold Creek Catamounts with its marvelous mound corps fought off the valiant Sugar Valley Rattlers and Elnora All-Stars to take the Ruthlandian East by four games... the Catamounts went 13-6 in the last three weeks to hold off the Rattlers, who were 15-4, and the All-Stars, who finished up 11-8... the RU East was the best division in the IPA with six clubs ending up over the .500 mark... Cold Creek led the IPA with 101 victories, while Sugar Valley and Elnora posted 97 wins each.

Cold Creek will host the winner of the RU West in the IPA Elite 8 Series, the Fort Benton Defenders... the Defenders edged the runner-up Colfax Blasters by three games and third place Sligo Rovers by four to take the division flag... Fort Benton was 12-7 in the final weeks and managed to hold off the Blasters and Rovers, who were both 10-9 in the stretch drive.

The current IPA champ North Hills had a fairly easy time in the Tycobbian North, winning by nine games over runners-up Oxford, Fairfax and Blue Lake... the Hawks chalked up a 12-7 mark in September, while the Red Caps were 11-8, Frogs 9-10 and the Blue Sox 9-10... North Hills will be on the road in the opening round... they will travel to play the San Alejo Montaneros, the TU South winner... the Monties survived a fierce battle with the Turon Typhoons and Summerland Sunsets, who missed out on the division crown by one game and three games respectively... down the stretch San Alejo was a sizzling 13-6, Turon a torrid 14-5 and Summerland a blistering 13-6... this was the fourth year in a row the Hawks won their division and the fourth time in six seasons San Alejo won the divison pennant.

In the Tycobbian East the powerful Tuckanarra Blue Jays rampaged to another title by 14 games over the East Point Panthers... the Tucks won for the fourth straight season and have taken the division flag six times in the last nine years... the Blue Jays had the second-best record in the IPA with 99 wins... they will entertain the La Claire Lynx in the Elite 8 Series... the Lynx outdid the Kenwood Wildcats by two games in the TU West by going 14-5 in September... the best the Wildcats could do at the end was 10-9... Kenwood took a two-game lead into September, but faltered.

IPA Elite 8 Series schedule:
LaGrange at Waleska - Thursday at Westerner Field
Fort Benton at Cold Creek - Thursday at Holmes Field
North Hills at San Alejo - Thursday at the Casa de Beisbol
La Claire at Tuckanarra - Thursday at Central Park Stadium

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

SPORTS VICTORS AGAIN IN RU NORTH
The LaGrange Sports did it again, capturing the weak Ruthlandian North Division for the third consecutive season and fifth time in six years, but it was a tough task again... they bested Kilkenny by five games to win the flag for the sixth time in the club's history... last year they whipped the Cats by just two games... solid pitching by Mike York (21-11/3.66), Walt Thurber (18-12/3.08) and Earl Perkins (12-7/3.07) and decent bats got the job done for manager Quincy Peterson... his best hitters were SS Fred Bird (.316/2/40/98), LF Vasco Aguilar (.303/15/78/70), 1B Chris Charbonnier (.245/24/92/68), RF Charles Basque (.291/16/69/75) and CF Russell Watkins (.276/25/73/62)... don't expect much from the Sports in the postseason... they have gotten to the second round only twice in six playoff appearances... the Sports are still seeking their first Pro Cup trophy.

The second place Kilkenny Cats of manager Rusty Denicola lived and died with its mound staff, ranking second in the RU with a 3.27 team ERA... Fred Doyle (21-13/2.82) and Dave Whitaker (17-15/2.27) stood out for the Cats... the offense was almost non-existent, rated last in the RU with a .248 BA... 3B Leevi Viru (.258/21/74/78) and 1B Johnny Tallis (.231/24/71/47) provided what little offense they had.

The Glasco Athletics and Far Mountain tied for third place, 10 games back of LaGrange... the A's had mediocre pitching, but could score runs, ranking seventh in the league... Basil Newchurch (14-5/2.67) and Sam Jensen (17-16/3.80) led the rotation for manager Charles Darby, while CF Travis Houston (.308/23/85/101) and 3B Taylor Hampshire (.279/10/53/80) topped the team at the plate.

Like Glasco, the Far Mountain Redhawks finished under the .500 mark... only LaGrange and Kilkenny has winning years... skippered by Hall-of-Famer SS Don Nichols, the Redhawks had decent pitching, headed up by Paul Young (16-10/3.79) and Chad Cummings (12-18/2.94), but little offense, which was supplied by CF Wes Wernstedt (.291/12/61/94), C Ron Marlowe (.271/25/77/53) and LF Harman Silver (.296/18/66/65).

The fifth-place Taranto Tars faded in the second half of the season... they were tied with Ancona, 15 games off the pace... manager Augie Marshall's club doesn't hit or pitch very well, but does go deep because of the short fences at the Palazzo di Sport... they belted 195 HRs (4th), but gave up 243, which was second worst in the IPA to High Mesa's 246... Taranto's top sluggers were star C Angelo Rossi (.316/41/104/86), RF Wes Marlowe (.280/31/76/70), 1B Big Sam Takota (.266/27/86/68) and LF Alden Evans (.268/26/68/71)... vet pitcher Carmine Scalise (17-17/3.86) topped the staff, but he had no help.

The Ancona Red Elephants were lackluster on the hill and at the plate... manager Kenny Willard doesn't have a lot of talent... his best players are pitchers Pablo Pilar (16-14/3.82) and Andre Athas (14-13/3.83), along with 3B Tommy Richardson (.324/18/73/82) and SS Alex Zitek (.255/29/86/74).

The seventh-place Valmara Vipers, guided by Vanya Vasylenko, hit a bit, but have lousy pitching... 3B Andy Ruffino (.315/12/85/102) and veteran RF Benny Hooper (.302/21/100/74) were the standout sticks... CF Jason Wagsdale (.282/12/55/82) also aided the offense with a pretty good year... the starting rotation was ranked 31st in the RU with a 5.42 ERA... only reliever Clark Van Vreeland (10-11/1.67/20 saves) stood out.

The Ranford Bulls finished last in the RU North and trailed by 31 games... manager Chris Bernhoffer's club came in seventh the two previous seasons... terrible pitching and bad batting can do that to you... Rube Satcher (14-19/4.47) and Ronnie Schroeder (17-18/4.69) were the best of the lot on the hill... but the Bulls possessed two fine hitters in RF Dale Weston (.304/47/117/95) and 2B Alex Vanno (.303/26/99/70)... Weston tied Belle Plaine's Boo Boudreaux for the most homers in the Ruthlandian Union with 47, which was second in the IPA to Bayview's Jerry Culpepper, who hit 60 this year.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

WALESKA WALTZES AWAY WITH THE RU SOUTH
A huge surge in July and August by the Waleska Westerners made life miserable for the other contenders in the Ruthlandian South Division... the Westerners only led by two games at the All-Star break, then took charge with a 39-19 run in the summer months to waltz away with the pennant by 14 games over second-place Claxton... San Dimas came in third, 18 games out and Belair Beach finished fourth and 19 games back... this was the Westerners' second division title in three years and fourth RU South flag in the club's history... Waleska won its only Pro Cup in 2028, defeating Tuckanarra of the Tycobbian Union in a great seven-game series.

Heading up manager Roy Hobbs' rotation were Terry Richards (22-11/2.77), Craig Nash (20-10/3.58) and Tony Haskell (19-12/3.77)... leading the Westerners' attack were CF Jon Lassiter (.311/13/56/106), 2B Joey Harris (.283/14/85/92), 3B Monty McMurtry (.285/10/76/82), RF Niles Gregory (.237/26/94/79) and 1B Shayn Lambert (.280/14/83/72)... the Westerners lost one of the all-time IPA greats when outfielder Loco Dillinger retired in June at age 37 after 15 years... disappointed with his lack of playing time, Dillinger said it was time to make way for younger players... Dillinger was a nine-time All-Star, won the Golden Bat five times, twice was named the league's MVP in 2028 and 2029, selected as the Rookie of the Year in 2023, and batted .316 lifetime with 479 homers and 1551 RBIs... he earned one Pro Cup ring in 2028, batting .385 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 18 games... the Westerners beat Tuckanarra in an exciting and tense seven-game series... Dillinger finished second to Roy Hobbs in the Pro Cup MVP voting.

Dixie Baker's Claxton Diamonds were the only other team in the RU South to have a winning season... they were just an average team that stayed in the race until midseason, but were blitzed away by Waleska in the second half... the Diamonds had good power with LF Foxy Fuchs (.319/34/112/114), 1B Jojo DeLucca (.311/34/108/111) and 2B Gary Colton (.291/22/113/91)... all three of them drove in over 100 runs apiece... but the Diamonds suffered on the hill... Art Reese (17-14/4.05) and Stan Yudesh (12-6/4.04) were the best of a lackluster staff.

Skipper Wesley Pate brought the San Dimas Rancheros in third with just a decent club... top performers at the plate were 3B Leonard Purkey (.304/18/90/69), RF Denny Hendrix (.321/27/74/88), 1B Klaus Stordahl (.300/22/77/99) and Herbie Goetz (.287/6/77/68)... on the mound it was Seth Dawson (15-8/3.85), Carroll Cain (17-16/3.68) and Gil Arnaud (14-13/3.42).

In the fourth spot in the standings were the Belair Beach Sunbirds, managed by Hall-of-Famer Phil Gravelli, one of the greatest sluggers in IPA history... the Sunbirds went deep well and were paced by CF Bobby Meusel (.303/27/85/97), 2B Jackie Jackson (.315/18/68/100), 3B Jason Butler (.308/31/92/81) and RF Larry Cole (.291/24/81/83)... in the pitching department they were led by Calvin Carmichael (18-13/3.84) and Stefan Zeeman (13-12/3.55).

For the first time in seven years the St. John Crusaders dipped into the second division of the RU South, falling to a fifth-place tie with Crystal Lake, trailing Waleska by 24 games... the Crusaders were Pro Cup finalist last season and won two flags in the last four seasons... skipper Clayton Luck's pitchers went into the tank this year... only ace Jeremy Kirk (22-14/2.83) had a good season... in the batter's box only RF Nicky Farrugia (.308/31/113/95), 3B Marty Blankenship (.262/32/96/92) and CF Art Kelley (.288/25/77/82) stood out.

Baby George and his Crystal Lake Crushers won the pennant in 2034, but it's been all downhill since with three successive second-division finishes... pitching has gone into the pits and the bats are not as potent as they once were... top gun Arnie Cason (20-13/3.360 is still solid at age 33, but doesn't have any help... the best run producers are RF Paul Dillon (.329/7/62/94), C Stan Stanek (.290/23/79/76) and 1B Johnny Gentry (.281/22/91/62)... 2B Morten Jonassen (.322/4/47/53) also sparkled with the bat.

Seventh place Valka could score, but didn't have much pitching... manager Kurt Jankauskas' Blackhawks were sparked by 1B Bobby Scott (.345/41/113/119), who had an outstanding season... other contributors were RF Kenny Mitzusaka (.312/15/67/86), 3B Bill Bradford (.285/15/70/64) and LF Gilberto Duarte (.285/16/73/71)... Dave Gronkowski (18-16/4.40) led the starters in wins, while closer Julien Rouse (4-2/0.89/15 saves) was the bullpen ace... Valka has been mired in the second division for the last nine years... the last time the Blackhawks won the pennant was in 2017.

Jug Slavin's Grand City Cybercats have been stuck in the second division the last four years... the last time they made the postseason was in 2030... in his second season at the helm the Cybercats came in last, 28 games out of first... Slavin has some reliable bats in SS Teddy Grantham (.295/31/99/86), 3B Mickey Etheridge (.275/19/68/82), 1B Reed Gremillion (.320/9/57/71), LF Junior Baldini (.276/13/60/83), 2B Mitch Coleman (.298/6/47/67), RF Bull Durham (.285/20/62/58) and CF Thomas Hall (.267/18/67/64), but really needs some pitching... rookie Kenny Morrow (13-10/3.67) was the only pitcher under the 4.00 ERA mark.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

CATS OUTLAST RATTLERS AND ALL-STARS IN RU EAST
Three of the best teams fisted it out the whole season in the best and toughest division in the Islandian Pro Alliance... when the dust cleared off the diamonds the Cold Creek Catamounts reigned supreme by four games over Sugar Valley and Elnora in the rough and rowdy Ruthlandian East, where six of the eight teams posted winning records.

The Catamounts were six games behind Elnora at midyear, but they came back to win the division... Cold Creek's marvelous mound corps inspiried a terrific 54-22 run in the second half of the season to defeat Sugar Valley and Elnora... for the year the Catamounts led the entire IPA with a superb 2.77 team ERA... they also ran up the most victories with 101... Sugar Valley and Elnora tied for third place with 97 wins... Tuckanarra of the Tycobbian Union was second with 99... the Cold Creek starters were almost unbeatable... all four of them has ERAs under 3.00, led by J. J. Gillespie (25-9/2.22), Joey Baker (20-11/2.50), Jules Capet (19-7/2.68) and George Bailey (11-4/2.66)... Gillespie topped the IPA with a 2.22 ERA and tied for the lead in wins with Randell Perkins of Colfax and Dan Pitts of Elnora... the Catamounts had just enough offense with 3B Pat Ellis (.319/20/70/79), SS Jeremy Hall (.304/3/61/82) and 2B Simon Pembroke (.284/7/72/60)... in spite of the lack of offense manager Scoop Lemieux's hurlers should be enough to be a big factor in deciding this year's Pro Cup championship... Cold Creek is also blessed with great defense (.978 FA)... the Catamounts will be one of the favored teams in the playoffs, along with Tuckanarra, San Alejo and defending Pro Cup holder North Hills, all in the Tycobbian Union.

Manager Gibby Bobkins had his power-laden Sugar Valley Rattlers in the lead in April and May... but lost it to Elnora by the All-Star Game, trailing by two games... and then Cold Creek went on its second-half tear to win the flag in a terrific pennant race... the Rattlers had five players hitting over 20 homers each and placed second in the IPA with 222, right behind Red Bluff of the Tycobbian East, that led with 234... Bobkins had a fearsome lineup with RF Bobby Gamble (.352/38/136/128), 2B Roger Hobbs (.307/39/145/115), LF Tyler White (.247/43/128/106), 1B Richie Strickland (.279/27/62/125) and C Frank Testaverde (.258/21/81/63)... Hobbs led the IPA with 145 RBIs and Gamble was first in runs scored with 128... the Rattler rotation was topped by Juan Navarro (20-10/2.96), Jeremy Blanchard (20-13/3.61), Josh Wilkerson (20-11/4.22), all with 20 wins apiece, along with Christopher Dunsberry (15-7/3.24)... defensively the All-Stars are very good with a .977 FA.

The Elnora All-Stars seemed to have it all with fine hitting, pitching and defense (.975 FA)... manager Leon Carter's well-balanced club went into August ahead of Sugar Valley by four games and Cold Creek by six, but the Catamounts went an astounding 23-5 to take the lead and never gave it up... the All-Stars topped all IPA teams with a .289 BA... five regulars hit over .300, paced by 1B Danny Bierhoff (.331/28/102/81), C Jan Kobak (.328/19/98/71), 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.309/11/48/101), LF Clive Kenyon (.308/13/67/73) and RF Clint Thomas (.303/19/67/74)... the pitchers were pretty good, too, headed up by Dan Pitts (25-10/3.54), Stan Kivas (17-12/3.10) and Jeremy Sellers (16-13/3.83)... Pitts tied for the IPA lead with 25 victories.

The Eastshore Elegants had a fine season with Killer Brewster at the helm... they finished fourth, 14 games behind Cold Creek, but were 20 games over .500... they were second to Sugar Valley in scoring runs and batted .275 (2nd)... pitching was average... 2B Johnny Petrak (.364/24/100/107), CF Scotty Lagrange (.285/32/105/109), RF Neil Richard (.353/12/69/80) and 1B Paul Reed (.323/23/79/89) led the attack... Petrak came in second to the IPA leader Chet Penn of the Colfax Blasters, who batted .378 for the year... Petrak hit .364... mound leaders were Teddy Noble (24-13/3.62), Ramon Contreras (20-13/3.19) and Don Klingenberg (18-17/3.84)... Noble had the second-highest total of wins in the IPA with 24, beaten only by Dan Pitts (Elnora), Randell Perkins (Colfax) and J. J. Gillespie (Cold Creek).

Matt Donnelly's Wynnamac Sundowners wound up 18 games back in the race in fifth place... he had strong pitching from Killara Bardo (20-12/3.29), Geoff Hobart (18-14/3.38), Paul Payton (16-13/2.90) and Ernie Hodges (17-16/3.14)... but only decent offense with RF Davy L'Amour (.292/30/102/97), CF Darrell Donnelly (.285/12/69/107), SS Lou Borcellino (.300/12/69/63) and 2B Ed Lane (.272/6/58/77).

The Beechwood Bobcats, skippered by Bret George, came in sixth, but had a winning record... Ken Arby was the top pitcher with a 17-13 mark and a 3.42 ERA... vet Maury Patterson was 17-18 with a 3.87 ERA... and Jimmy Herman was 13-15 and a 3.50 ERA... the Bobcats hit with good power, ranking third with 199 HRs... the top bats were CF Howie Baldwin (.261/42/112/108), RF Eddie Wilson (.320/36/81/88), SS Cody Hanks (.326/21/86/75), 3B Leonard Mason (.264/18/76/104) and 2B Mel Smith (.285/21/68/74).

The Belle Plaine Musketeers ended up in seventh place, guided by Slick Hammill in his second season... Hammill's Muskies can score with a .271 BA (6th) and 173 HRs (9th-tied)... and they are average on the hill... the main run producers were RF Boo Boudreaux (.337/47/125/111), LF Noel Martin (.332/33/94/119), 1B Mitch Mason (.274/19/79/71) and SS Bobby Greer (.296/4/50/81)... Boudreaux was the number-two home-run hitter in the IPA with 47... he was tied with Dale Weston of the Ranford Bulls and bested by Bayview's Jerry Culpepper, who slammed 60 out of the park, third best in IPA history, topped only by the legendary Jack Elliott of High Mesa, who swatted 65 in 2021 and 61 in 2013... Elliott also holds the all-time career mark with 847 HRs... Belle Plaine's staff leaders were Raul Carrasco (19-14/3.39), Philippe Marchand (15-15/4.09) and Emilio Gallo (15-15/4.25).

For the ninth year in a row the Marston Nine have been nestled in the RU East second division... this season Danny Church's club came in last, 33 games off the pace... starter Barry Sexton (14-18/2.99) and closer Jimbo McGinnity (9-8/2.08/17 saves) are talented hurlers, but have little help on the mound or at the plate... the most reliable batters are 3B Phillip DeWey (.296/24/77/89), SS Stan Mila (.296/16/66/76), C Ben Banyon (.301/7/63/57), CF Marco Ameche (.278/23/71/66) and 1B Lonnie Trekell (.265/23/70/69).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

FB DEFENDERS FINALLY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS
The 35-year-old drought is over... In a nip-and-tuck race the preseason favorite Fort Benton Defenders rode home the winner in the Ruthlandian West Division, toppling the Colfax Blasters and the Sligo Rovers by three and four games respectively... the Defenders started off slowly and were just above the .500 mark in the first two months, but they played very well from June on to take the division flag for the first time in the club's history... Fort Benton played well in crunch time, going 12-7 in September... Colfax and Sligo could only go 10-9 down the stretch.

Manager Robbie Brooks ended 36 years of frustration... Fort Benton finally made the Pro Cup playoffs with their best record ever 91-63... the Defenders' previous best was 90-64 in 2017 when they finished in second place... Brooks has good pitching and credible offense... Augie Marquis (21-13/2.93), Jordy Raeburn (20-13/3.20), Tommy Baylor (18-12/3.30) and Brady Bell (18-12/4.00) gives him a solid set of starters... Fort Benton's best bats belong to 3B Mitch Hamilton (.327/5/51/103), SS D. D. Badeaux (.309/19/58/101) and 1B Oscar Pendleton (.302/17/88/52)... the Defenders are in the postseason, but won't get a lot of support to bring home the club's first Pro Cup... it's doubtful their season will have a fairy tale ending - winning their first Pro Cup in their first postseason appearance.

The second-place and defending division champ Colfax Blasters, managed by HOF hurler Ilya Szabo, had a bunch of standout batters with the top hitter in the IPA, LF Chet Penn (.378/25/125/102), SS Gerry Sives (.350/6/80/109), 3B Kristian McEly (.309/36/136/99) and C Mitch Fullerton (.285/19/80/81)... Penn led the IPA with 226 hits... Sives was third with 216... McEly came in second in the IPA with 136 RBIs, topped only by Roger Hobbs of Sugar Valley with 145... Colfax had some capable pitchers, too, with the IPA's biggest winner, Randell Perkins (25-11/3.51), who tied J. J. Gillespie (Cold Creek) and Dan Pitts (Elnora) with 25 victories apiece... other quality starters were Norm Harbison (18-15/2.90) and Bobby Porter (14-13/3.39)... Jack Scanlon stood out in the bullpen with 11 saves, 7-5 record and a 2.57 ERA in 46 appearances.

The Sligo Rovers had a well-rounded club with good hitting and pitching... skipper Eddie Keys' lineup consisted of 1B Denny Simmons (.324/18/76/101), 3B Neil Mitchell (.301/20/77/97), CF Peder Svensson (.275/27/91/78), RF Pat Foreman (.278/30/72/80) and C Damon Klein (.312/12/64/65)... top hurlers were Tom Pierson (19-9/3.27), Randall Steele (18-16/3.26) and Joey Hicks (14-6/3.44)... the best in the bullpen was Scotty Price (6-8/2.11), who paced the IPA with 28 saves and 68 relief appearances.

In his second year as manager Forest City had a winning season under George Arnick as the Lumberjacks came in fourth, 11 games back of Fort Benton... the 'Jacks are just an average club with lackluster pitchers and batters... Walter Gibbons (17-14/4.27), Rich Barstow (16-16/3.73) and Marv Sanders (15-17/3.85) were the main starters... club leaders at the plate were 3B Kelly Hardison (.294/21/75/74), C Bob Brisdon (.300/17/67/60), SS Hal Burton (.244/2/53/100), Pistol Pete Picard (.279/18/63/67) and LF Mitch Frye (.267/18/75/73).

All of the other clubs in the RU West wound with losing records, well under the .500 mark... the Middlefield Roosters were at the top of the second division in fifth place, 23 games off the pace... manager Rinky Tinker's team doesn't do much very well, but they have good home-run numbers because of the short dimensions of Middlefield Park, led by LF Alejandro Dominguez (.253/39/109/100), C Brad Alexander (.255/30/101/62), RF Norman Antonioni (.280/29/67/58), CF Tony Parsons (.282/21/77/95) and 1B Cliff Patterson (.277/18/68/58)... Larry Wheelhouse (16-20/4.05) led the Roosters in wins and ERA... closer Ray Owens (2-6/1.52/21 saves) was effective in the bullpen.

The other three teams in the division battled to stay out of last place... the Volusia Vigilantes and Stoner Stars wound up tied for sixth place, trailing Fort Benton by 28 games... the V's had terrible hitting, ranking last in the league in scoring... CF Cazzie Carvalho (.290/18/67/52), C Tubby Tarkanian (.272/17/72/61), SS Charlie Farmer (.283/7/58/74) and LF Felipe Henriques (.282/14/46/55) were the most dependable batters manager and HOF-er Joe DeLucca had, but they were nothing to boast about... Hector Vargas was the only effective starter with an impressive 2.72 ERA, but his record was only 16-17 because of the poor run support.

The Stoner Stars didn't have a good year with manager Mike Jaffe... for the third consecutive year the club finished in the second division... his most talented players are C Barney Swindell (.307/30/111/63), CF Don Cain (.306/17/73/99) and 1B Don Schoenweiss (.264/17/79/88) at the plate... and Larry Urban (18-13/3.18) on the hill.

For the twelfth year in the last thirteen the Rocky Rapids Snappers had a losing season, winding up deep in the second division in the RU West basement, 28 games behind in the pennant race... HOF-er and manager Hank Bethel could use a great infusion of talent... his only decent pitcher is in the bullpen... veteran closer John Young (6-3/1.85/12 saves) is a good one... Paulie Pieroni (10-14/4.48) and Nelson Carter (11-17/4.46) are the most dependable starters... CF Crusher Derringer (.273/23/85/63) is the only decent hitter.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

NH HAWKS HAUL IN 4TH STRAIGHT TU NORTH TITLE
Based on winning two Pro Cups in the last four seasons, you could say the current IPA Pro Cup champion North Hills Hawks have been the best team in the IPA in recent years... the Hawks racked up the club's fourth Tycobbian North Division flag in a row and in rather easy fashion, capturing it by 9 games over Oxford, Fairfax and Blue Lake... start-to-finish North Hills was near the top of the division... Blue Lake briefly took over first place in June, but fizzled in the second half... the Hawks took charge in the second half of the year... by September they were up by six games over the nearest challenger and they wrapped it up in the final three weeks of the campaign.

North Hills' manager Todd Simons, an outstanding catcher in his playing days and a 2036 Hall of Fame inductee, has a solid ball club, anchored with fine pitching... the Hawks compiled a 3.28 team ERA (2nd), sparked by Jeff Owens (19-12/2.95), David Michael (15-13/2.79), Nelson Hooper and Frankie Lambert (17-10/3.77)... combined with a better-than-average offense with a .267 BA (12th) and good scoring (732 runs-13th)... the Hawks' top bats are RF Gerry Rice (.327/19/67/79) and LF Adam Thurgood (.271/33/88/89)... plus a group of steady run producers like C Mikhail Romanovsky (.247/24/82/75), 1B Ric Hamilton (.273/17/71/69), 3B Tommy Vavas (.259/9/48/80), CF Kris Anastas (.278/13/62/62) and 2B Kiril Ivonoski (.316/10/44/49)... North Hills has proven it has what it takes to win the Pro Cup and they will be in the thick of things again this year.

The Oxford Red Caps are skippered by Eddie Dowler, who is in this second season... the Red Caps have finished fourth and second in his tenure... Dowler's team is dominated by dependence on the home run... they ranked second in the IPA with 232 HRs and seventh in the Tycobbian Union in scoring runs with 765... 10 players had 10 or more homers, led by CF Dalton Ward (.232) with 42, 2B Alonzo Norris (.293) with 32 and LF Donny Braun (.298) with 25... Norris led the team in RBIs with 91 and Braun had 81... as as team the Red Caps batted only .253 (24th)... pitching was only average with a 4.05 ERA (18th)... B. B. Dristoll (18-8/3.44) was the biggest winner, followed by youngster Cody Quackenbush (17-13/3.69) and vet Jack Bolden (14-11/4.09)... Rusty Garland (9-6/2.71/10 saves) was the top reliever.

For the ninth year in a row Hall of Fame OF Dane Wesner's Fairfax Frogs have claimed a spot in the TU North first division, tied for the runnerup spot this year with Oxford and Blue Lake... the Frogs stayed right on the tails of North Hills until midseason, then slowly slipped back in the race... Wesner could use more HR power, but his Frogs can hit and score, ranking fifth with a .274 BA and fourth in runs with 792... pitching is pretty fair, too, with a 3.77 team ERA (13th)... the top bats were 1B Leonard Crawford (.340/5/41/69), CF Eric Kusek (.314/11/66/53), C Joe King (.314/9/54/57), RF Sonny Oliver (.301/18/84/74) and SS John Velasco (.260/21/86/107)... vet Lucien Vachon (18-13/3.09) and Harold Dorman (19-13/3.42) were the mainstays of the staff with some help from Mac Flowers (17-12/4.21)... closer Bruno Statton was hit-and-miss on the mound with 23 saves, but a 6-13 won-lost record and a 3.81 ERA.

Manager Benny DeBartolo's Blue Lake Blue Sox were right up there with North Hills until they slumped badly in the late stages of the race in August and September... the Blue Sox slumped to 21-26 the last two months while the Hawks chalked up a 28-19 mark... no scoring (659 runs-32nd) and no power (94 HRs-32nd) were their downfall... on the hill the Blue Sox did fairly well with a 3.51 ERA (8th)... Frankie Quinn (22-9/2.66) had an excellent year, reached the 200-win milestone and won 20 games for the seventh time in his 11-year career... Pat Brown (14-9/3.63, obtained from Marston of the RU in a trade, did well, along with Sal Mays (14-18/3.69) and Andre Montrose (15-18/3.54)... LF Jack Ryan (.328/8/69/75), 1B Elton Graff (.311/6/58/43) and 3B Matt Thompson (.302/8/67/54) were the team's only .300 hitters... 2B Egon Ojamaa topped the team in RBIs with 76 and home runs with 20, while hitting .268.

The White River Rascals came in fifth for the third time in the last four seasons... manager Mick Cronyn last good year was a second-place finish in 2034, when they lost to North Hills by two games... this year was not so bad, the Rascals were six games over .500... the Tycobbian North is a tough division... Cronyn has good pitching with a 3.70 team ERA (11th), not much offense with a .246 BA (29th) and 649 runs (30th), but the Rascals did go deep occasionally with 185 HRs (7th)... 34-year-old Paul Sardini (21-13/3.03) and 22-year-old J. C. Hudson (21-12/3.08) carried the club... in the bullpen veteran Billy Trakas (4-4/3.43) notched 20 saves... the most reliable bats were C Stevee Dee Daniels with 40 homers, 84 RBIs and 74 runs, but he batted just .254... CF Buford Cross led the team with a .298 BA, while collecting 21 roundtrippers, 66 RBIs and 84 runs... RF Zachary Kriger added a .267 BA, 21 HRs, 58 RBIs and a team high 91 runs... 1B Davey Sloan had 25 HRs, 84 RBIs and 66 runs, but hit only .231.

The rest of the clubs in the TU North never were in the race... the Mahaska Haymakers came in sixth and trailed by 19 games... Darrell Geoffrey (13-10/2.68) was the most dependable starter and had a fine season... Greg Douglas (16-13/3.89) had the most wins on the staff... C John Fitzgerald (.302/6/58/56), RF Anton Hymel (.303/22/81/67), SS Rocco Bertara (.296/1/31/80), SS Duane Blayney (.303/13/50/45), 1B Johnny Watts (.322/19/64/55), 2B Mikk Kukk (.253/7/81/67) and CF Bill Whittier (.234/19/76/97) were the main run producers... the Haymakers haven't contended since the pennant-winning years of 2026 and 2028... Bucky O'Brian is in his second year as manager... Mahaska finished in the cellar in his first season.

The seventh-place Hartsdale Hellcats are just a mediocre ball club... Matt Lalonde, who replaced longtime skipper Zim Donner this year, was fired at season's end and replaced by Jud Turchin, who was a Hall of Fame infielder for the Hellcats for 22 years... Turchin didn't inherit a lot of talent... Wayne Dawson (21-13/2.64) is an inpressive starter, but didn't have much help... 1B Hayden Richardson (.353/22/69/77) and LF Darrell Nesbitt (.306/4/39/92) are the Hellcats' only .300 hitters.

Jim Thorpe Chandler took over as the headman for the Luxora Zorros, replacing Cristo Visconte... Chandler had a tough freshmen year and came in dead last, 24 games off the pace... the Z's have a little bit of talent with veteran star 1B Gerry Hathaway, who at age 34 belted 40 homers, drove in 98 runs and scored 85, while posting a .289 BA... 27-year-old star SS Kelvin Cassidy (.281/16/54/62) is a career .304 hitter and led the TU with a .344 BA in 2033... 3B Todd Dubbins had a fine season, too, with a .293 BA, 34 HRs, a club high 106 RBIs and he scored 77 runs... and 23-year-old 2B Ramiro Munoz looks like a budding talent with a .289 BA, 11 HRs, 36 RBIs and 105 runs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

SAN ALEJO SURVIVES, EDGES TURON IN TU SOUTH
It was cliffhanger in the Tycobbian South Division this season with a three-team chase between the San Alejo Montaneros, Turon Typhoons and Summerland Sunsets... it was finally decided on the last day of the season with the pennant going to the Montaneros by a game over the Typhoons and three better than the Sunsets... it was the Monties third flag in four years and fourth in the last six... last year's winner Colchester finished well back in the pack in fifth place, 24 games off the pace.

San Alejo was the preseason favorite in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES poll and the experts were proven right, but just barely... they won by the skin of their teeth... the Montaneros took the lead in April, lost it to Turon in May, but got back on top by the end of June and then staved off determined challenges by the Typhoons and Sunsets... manager Alberto Herrera has a rock-solid club... the Monties rank first in team ERA with a strong 3.21 ERA... offensively they do well with a .260 BA (16th), 753 runs (9th) and 163 HRs (15th)... the Montaneros could be better on defense with a sub-par .970 FA... Herrera has four fine starters in Tommy Smith (20-12/2.86), Lupe Olmedo (18-9/2.70), Johnny Brown (17-15/3.24) and rookie Benny Buckmaster (9-1/2.39), who joined the club in August and played a decisive role in the stretch drive... at the plate C Filipe Zamora (.310/31/113/77) and RF Charlie Wilberforce (.314/16/67/90) provided most of the offense with some help in the long ball department from SS Sancho Cruz (.225/23/91/75), CF Dusty Rogen (.278/17/57/54) and 1B Ted Hatch (.258/20/53/59)... San Alejo is one of the elites in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs and will be one of the favorites to win it all... the Montaneros won their only Pro Cup in 2032 by beating Colfax in seven games.

The Turon Typhoons have collected four Pro Cups, the most in IPA history, and 11 divisional crowns, but none for the last 18 years... manager Alan Hansen, a Hall of Fame second baseman, has guided his team to four straight first-division finishes... this was supposed to be the year, but the Typhoons had two bad months and came up one game short of the TU South title... if they had won on the last day of the season they would have forced a playoff with San Alejo... the Typhoons feature good pitching, hitting and standout defense (.977 FA)... the team ranks second with a .282 BA, eighth in scoring with 763 runs and tied for 16th with 159 roundtrippers... on the hill the club had an impressive 3.46 ERA (5th)... the big sticks are SS C. C. Kingsford (.362/26/109/99), RF Guido Gervasio (.338/26/103/94) and CF J. P. Trevenot (.313/25/72/108)... not quite as good as San Alejo, Turon has some quality arms in Wes Brynnton (22-14/3.35), 21-year-old rookie Nate Scottsdale (21-7/3.66), Russell Larsen (11-6/3.96) and Clyde Engstrom (18-17/3.05)... along with bullpen ace Ralph Fulton (6-3/1.38/16 saves), who chalked up another standout season.

The third-place Summerland Sunsets had another successful season under skipper Will Hackett... for the last three years he has had them in the first division... last year they came in second to Colchester... the Sunset mound staff is a good one with a 3.47 ERA (7th)... defense is solid with a .975 FA... offensively they batted .271 (7th) with 743 runs (11th), but hit only 115 HRs (30th)... no firepower was the club's major shortcoming... the defense was above average with a .974 FA... Hackett had four capable starters in Freddi Rossi (22-11/2.98), Johnny Young (17-15/2.78), Jayson Hallstrom (13-8/3.38) and Kim Kono (16-12/3.62)... the reliable bats were CF Antonio Vasquez (.317/6/84/104), RF Eamon O'Toole (.306/21/85/64), 3B Mark Delaney (.284/17/87/49), 1B Chuck Moyer (.278/17/65/62), 2B Norm Murdoch (.291/1/52/60) and C John Bedell (.292/8/57/51)... a power hitter or two would make the Sunsets a serious contender in the TU South.

2037 was not a good year for playing manager Sadaharu Uchiyama and the fourth-place Ginza Ninjas... the Ninjas only managed to break even at 77-77... they were rated one of the top teams in the preseason poll, but after a brief run with the leaders in the first half of the year, everything went downhill after the All-Star Game... the Ninjas were within striking distance of first-place San Alejo, just five games behind in the race in fifth place... Ginza had the offense with a .280 BA (3rd), 782 runs (5th) and 151 HRs (21st), but just didn't have the pitching to go with it... a 4.22 team ERA (23rd) just won't cut it... the Ninjas' potent attack is led by CF Sogo Takagi, who had an excellent season with a .321 BA, 35 HRs, 117 RBIs and 113 runs... other .300 hitters were 1B Steve Daniels (.323/16/74/65), LF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.304/13/79/88), RF Ichiro Kazumi (.314/5/55/64) and C Whip Harrell (.300/23/70/66)... add in SS Dave Sulligent (.299/10/63/69), 2B Randy Towns (.287/0/67/70) and 3B Jiro Yamamura (.281/3/31/72) and you have a powerful lineup... Hollis Pace (15-13/3.88) and Glenn Downing (14-15/3.55) were the only decent pitchers.

Last year's surprise winner Colchester couldn't follow up on it and wound up tied with Cape Coral for fifth place in the standings, 24 games back in the race... the Elites of manager Patsy Bates were just a so-so, little less-than-average club with a .259 BA (19th), 697 runs (21st), 159 HRs (16th-tied) and a lackluster 4.09 team ERA (19th)... among the starters Eduardo Rivera (18-18/3.70) had the most wins and Roy Watson (13-15/3.40) had the best ERA... most of the offensive load was carried by star RF Blake Barrister (.263/45/105/93), star 1B Billy Christianson (.331/15/75/82), LF Chet Porter (.327/7/58/57), 2B Joey Rogers (.291/6/48/86), SS Alejandro Vasquez (.258/19/68/72) and 3B Jasper Matthews (.240/22/74/69).

Only once in the last eight seasons has the Cape Coral Hurricanes had a standout season... they won the TU South pennant in 2030... since then, the 'Canes were mainly a second-class second-division ball team... this year HOF shortstop Flipper Bird, the manager of the Cape Coral Hurricanes, had a crackerjack attack with a .288 BA (1st), 808 runs (2nd) and 159 HRs (16th-tied), but his pitching staff with a poor 4.27 ERA (26th) couldn't keep the runs off the scoreboard... consequently the 'Canes came in tied for fifth... starters Tommy Van Noord (14-12/3.81), Norm Dawson (12-13/4.00) and Mario Morales (13-19/3.99) were sometimes effective, but a little inconsistent with no help from the bullpen... star 1B Stan Ferguson had another superb season with 39 HRs, 132 RBIs, 97 runs and a .315 BA... he was fourth in the IPA in RBIs... so did star RF William Snyder with a .324 BA, 20 HRs, 84 RBIs and 104 runs... Snyder is a career .323 hitter in his five seasons... other productive players were LF Paul Law (.301/21/74/95), SS Joel Collins (.302/9/68/78) and 3B Rikky Van Dalen (.276/18/70/85)... a couple of good starters would make a world of difference in Cape Coral.

The Arroyo Grande Suns wound up in seventh place in manager Andy Pearson's second season... the Suns ran a good race early, tied for second with San Alejo at the end of May, two games back of the top team Turon... going into July Pearson's club was tied for second with Turon and Summerland, only 4 games in back of first place San Alejo... then the Suns the bottom fell out and they finished a very disappointing 26 games out... veteran starter Matt Stevens (15-14/3.62) led the team in victories... in the bullpen Cody Simmons (9-7/3.30/19 saves) had a fairly good season... at the plate the club leaders were LF Rene Jesclard (.275/24/70/95), C Pip Gleason (.254/28/78/55) and RF Gregorio Oliviera (.276/22/70/72).

Manager Charley Oscar's Southport Sun Sox experienced another down year for the third season in a row... the Sox were sixth three years ago and in the basement the last two seasons... this year they ended up 27 games behind division champ San Alejo... Oscar stepped down as skipper, but remained as general manager... former pitching star Al Laclair was named as his replacement... Laclair was a fine pitcher for the Sun Sox from 2020 to 2032 with a lifetime 189-144 record and an impressive 3.17 ERA... he was part of the 2027 and 2028 pennant-winning years, the last times Southport made the playoffs... Laclair doesn't inherit much talent... he will have to rebuilt the Sun Sox... his best players are 22-year-old SS Craig Glennon, who showed some pop with 30 HRs and 92 RBIs, but he hit only .235 for average... RF Cody Dougherty batted .292 with 21 roundtrippers and 79 RBIs... LF Lenny Roberson belted 22 out of the park and drove in 67 runs with a .263 BA... and 22-year-old CF Pat Kinney led the team with a .294 BA... 220-game winner Dan Pascioni (10-9/4.07) and 25-year-old fireballer Blitzer Borden (7-5/3.09) were the best of a poor pitching corps... Pascioni is just 30 years old and has posted a 220-180 mark in his 13 seasons with Southport... his career ERA is a solid 3.32... five times Pascioni has won 20 or more games.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

TUCKS WIN AGAIN IN TU EAST
One of the most-storied franchises in IPA history is really on a roll... the Tuckanarra Blue Jays just copped their fourth successive Tycobbian East Division title and 10th in 15 years... the East Point Panthers kept within three games of them through July, but the Tucks sunk them by going 34-13 the last two months of the season... the Blue Jays handily beat the Panthers by 14 games and were second in the IPA in victories with 99... Cold Creek of the Ruthlandian East was the leader with 101 wins... third place Ozarka never really contended and finished 16 games off the pace... the High Mesa Cowboys wound up a distance fourth and trailed by 29 games.

Tuckanarra will be the odds-on favorite to win this year's Pro Cup... manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens has a wonderful ball club that has everything you need to win... the Blue Jays hit .278 (4th), scored 837 runs (1st), hit 185 dingers (6th), registered a 3.36 ERA (4th) and handled the gloves well with a strong .976 FA... Stevens has an impressive array of hitters with star RF Lorne Evans (.309/40/99/122) leading the way... Evans paced the Tycobbian Union with 122 runs and was tied for fourth in HRs with 40... at age 32 Evans passed the 500-homer milestone this year... other offensive standouts were C John Paul (.278/30/81/80), LF Spade Weldon (.290/19/68/90), CF Pancho Villa (.317/21/81/77), 1B Andy Preston (.292/7/59/69) and 2B Josh George (.256/19/80/83)... Tuckanarra has a trio of fine starters in Bobby Reid (21-7/2.92), Junior Bristow (21-13/2.66) and Jeff Buttrum (17-11/3.58)... plus a solid closer in Jack Rogers, who finished with a 12-7 record in 54 appearances with 22 saves and a 2.53 ERA... the Tucks last won the Pro Cup in 2035... they would like nothing better than add a fourth one to the Blue Jay trophy case this year... only Turon with four Pro Cups has won more... however, it won't be an easy task... defending IPA champ North Hills and San Alejo will have a lot to say about it in the Tycobbian Union playoffs and Ruthlandia's Cold Creek, Waleska and Fort Benton should offer strong competiton, too.

The East Point Panthers have a solid club, but not in the class of Tuckanarra... manager Karol Zodoka had a starting foursome that compiled a 3.34 ERA (3rd)... the Panthers pounded the ball with 216 HRs (4th), but didn't hit consistently with a .251 BA (27th)... his bullpen was suspect, too, with a terrible 5.64 ERA (32nd)... the Panthers' top pitchers were Dixie Brooks (20-14/3.16), Johnny Moore (19-14/3.48), Frank Blair (16-8/3.00) and Burton Cook (16-14/3.38)... Brooks reached the 200-win milestone this season, while Blair fell one victory short... they are both in their early 30s and have played in East Point for 11 seasons... Zodoka had three batters with 30 or more homers... the Panthers' most productive batters were 1B Karl Jankauskas (.252/37/105/89), SS Dean O'Donnell (.275/37/99/92) and 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.273/30/79/82).

The Ozarka Naturals were the preseason favorite in the Tycobbian East, but it never came to pass... a poor April out of the gate put them in a hole and they never recovered from it... still the Nats were 12 games over .500 and they finished in the first division for the fourth straight season... skipper Frank Kiffin had a good mound corps with a 3.37 ERA (3rd), headed up by Glen Jenkins (19-12/2.47), Teddy O'Shea (18-14/3.66) and Charley Chan (11-10/3.36)... Kiffin could use more power... Ozarka hits well with a .268 BA, but are short of homers, hitting only 119 for the season (29th)... they ranked only 18th in scoring with 712... 3B Duffy Morrison (.289/20/100/69) was the most reliable batter... the others were SS Nick Nova (.296/7/47/77), C Jaak Pajukivi (.267/15/70/62) and 2B Sid Elmore (.279/14/80/70).

The High Mesa Cowboys started off like gangbusters under IPA legend and new manager Jack Elliott as they tied Tuckanarra for the division lead in April, but quickly reverted to form and played like a perennial also-ran, ending up in fourth place in the standings, but 29 games back... they were 14 games under the .500 mark... Elliott is the all-time everything in the IPA with 848 home runs, .332 lifetime BA and the single-season homer mark of 65 set in 2021... he also hit 61 in 2013... the Cowpokes hit poorly with a .242 BA (32nd), have horrible pitching with a 4.32 ERA (28th)... they do hit homers (207/5th), but give up even more (246 HRs/32nd) in their tiny ball park... CF Corbett Brooks (.252/39/92/87), LF Clay Johnston (.276/31/80/82) and 1B Michael Page (.265/28/77/56) put up good numbers, but don't hit much for average... 35-year-old Brooks is with his fourth IPA team and has hit 480 homers in his 16 seasons... Page is also 35 and has slammed 428 roundtrippers in his 16 seasons... Max Jung (19-15/3.83) and Dean Harris (13-14/3.25) were the only two effective hurlers on the staff.

The rest of the teams in the TU East battled all year long to stay out of last place... the South Fork Stallions and Red Bluff deadlocked for the fifth spot, 31 games out of first place... rookie manager Blackie Terranova's squad hit a bit, but couldn't pitch a lick... they hit 175 HRs (11th) and chalked up a horrendous 4.84 ERA... 3B Elton Jacoby sparkled with a .303 BA, 29 HRs, 114 RBIs and 100 runs... so did SS Jess Wilkerson with a .312 BA, 20 HRs, 81 RBIs and 91 runs... 1B Paul Sexton chipped in with 21 homers, 82 RBIs and a .260 BA... the best moundsmen were Mike Lambertini (11-6/2.95) and Chris Sorensen (18-17/3.94).

The Red Bluff Red Sox could really go deep and put a few runs on the scoreboard, but they didn't hit much for average or have much pitching... the Red Sox ranked first in the IPA with 234 HRs... four of them hit 30 or more homers and two others hit 28 each... the top sluggers were RF David Kelso (.274/34/100/68), 2B Gene Bates (.265/34/88/58), 1B Garris Aiken (.271/34/77/86), CF Ike Sweetwater (.292/31/83/98), LF Jesse Shaw (.295/28/71/105) and 3B Fran Blanchard (.246/28/81/61)... the most dependable starters were Banzuki Hasegawa (15-17/3.20) and Jimmy McMillan (13-12/4.17).

The Midway Wolves guided by skipper Cochise Chandler came in seventh, 33 games behind first place Tuckanarra... they batted only .255 (23rd) and posted a 4.16 ERA (21st)... LF Yancey Tanner (.314/2/44/105), RF Bennett Cardwell (.273/17/92/74) and 1B Lou Flowers (.252/22/86/74) were the club's bat leaders... rookie Yuma Chandler, the manager's youngest of eight baseball-laying sons, did well with a team high .322 BA, which included 9 HRs, 44 RBIs and 54 runs... Cary Snead (12-15/3.58) and John Anderson (15-18/3.90) were pitching leaders... future IPA Hall-of-Famer 37-year-old Bobby Dorignac had the worst season of his career with a 12-20 mark and a 4.58 ERA... overall in his 17 seasons Dorignac is 312-221 with a terrific 2.92 ERA.

The Hillsboro Blazers failed to make the playoffs for the 36th year in a row and wound up last in the Tycobbian East, 35 games back in the race... second-year skipper Andy Jefferson's Blazers didn't hit well with a .245 BA (31st), didn't score much with only 617 runs (32nd) and had average pitching with a 3.90 team ERA (16th)... Lee Dixon stood out on the hill with a 17-16 record and a fine 2.91 ERA... in the bullpen Lucky Luciano racked up a 10-1 record in 52 appearances with a 3.61 ERA... LF Jurrien Bellini led the club with 34 HRs, 97 RBIs and 88 runs, but batted a poor .249... 3B Scotty McNeill paced the club with 95 runs, while batting .274... 1B Philip Stafford hit 20 HRs, had 66 RBIs and batted a .265.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

LYNX SNATCH TU WEST FROM WILDCATS IN SEPTEMBER
Preseason favorite La Claire finally proved their worth when they snatched the Tycobbian West Division away from Kenwood in the waning days of September... the Wildcats led the Lynx by two games going in the final month of the campaign, but couldn't hold the lead... La Claire got hot just at the right time with a 14-5 mark to beat Kenwood by two games... the Wildcats slipped when it counted when they dipped to 10-9 in the last three weeks... the Lynx won nine of their last 10 games to take the crown.

Manager Zeppy Deshotel's La Claire Lynx got off to a poor start with a very poor 9-19 record in May, but they soon got back in the chase in June and eventually got the third pennant in the club's history... the Lynx previously won in 2028 and 2033... they have never won the IPA Pro Cup... Deshotel has a productive attack with a .273 BA (6th), 793 runs (3rd) and 171 HRs (12th-tied)... and the pitching is above average with a 3.74 ERA (12th)... star SS Jarrod O'Neal (.263/26/99/92) topped the club in HRs and RBIs with 29 and 99... also helping out with good years were RF Billy Holland (.292/19/86/96), 1B Kris Wilson (.302/20/95/60), CF Jason Baker (.296/9/62/75) and C Weldon Waller (.306/11/61/52)... vet Pat Kovacs (16-13/3.28), Tony Rossi (19-10/3.62) were the top hurlers... Konrad Keller (14-10/4.83) and Bruce Kinson (13-9/4.02) were also in the starting rotation... closer Terry Baird (11-11/2.17) did well with 25 saves, second best in the IPA to Sligo's Scotty Price, who had 28... Baird made 59 relief appearances during the season... La Claire is not expected to go very far in the postseason... first round opponent Tuckanarra appears to be to tough to beat... possible second round opponents, defending Pro Cup champion North Hills and San Alejo, look to be too strong for the Lynx, too.

The second-place Kenwood Wildcats of Aaron Hankins were on top or near the top of the TU West most of the year... the Wildcats were surpassed by La Claire in the last days of the season... Hankins' club batted .270 (9th), hit 171 HRs (12th-tied), but really didn't score very well with 705 runs (19th-tied)... on the hill they were pretty good with a 3.47 ERA (6th), sparked by starters Glen Murray (19-12/2.52) and Claude Watson (16-9/3.74)... in the bullpen Artemus Hale (6-6/2.20/14 saves) stood out... Kenwood's top bats belonged to 2B Ricky Boyer (.338/16/57/89), LF Harry Tashina (.310/23/88/92) and star C Corky DiNozzo (.316/20/55/62)... DiNozzo missed the last three weeks of the season with injury... he was a crucial loss in the lineup.

The third place Arlon Champions stayed in the hunt until August... for the first time in almost a decade skipper Rocco Belasario guided them to a break-even season at 77-77... the Champs have never won a Pro Cup... the last time they hoisted a new division flag was long ago in 2020... they have a poor offense with a .253 BA (25th) and little power... only 100 HRs (31st)... Belasario has better-than-average pitching with a 3.81 team ERA (14th)... Emil Nowak (20-13/3.93) led the team in wins... and Lanny Gray (16-17/3.58) had the best ERA and the most strikeouts 270... Gray led the Tycobbian Union with 270 Ks and was second to the IPA strikeout king Jeremy Kirk of St. John of the Ruthlanian league, who fanned 284... the only decent hitters were RF Mark Cameron with 21 HRs, 98 RBIs, 79 runs and 2B Todd Benson with 6 HRs, 57 RBIs and 78 runs... Benson led the team with a .299 mark, while Cameron hit only .273.

Fourth place Denton City remained fairly close through July, trailing Kenwood by 4 games and La Claire by 3 games, but they fell apart in the final weeks with a poor 20-27 record, eventually losing out by 13 games... manager Trevor Tomlinson had a pretty good starting rotation, but a poor bullpen... the team ERA was 3.83 (15th)... the top starters were Francisco Salcido (18-15/3.44), Troy McIntosh (16-12/3.26), Kevin Blevins (10-17/3.15) and Stephen Edwards (13-11/4.18)... in the run-scoring department the Redbirds were better-than-average with a .267 mark (11th), 733 runs (12th) and 177 roundtrippers (9th-tied)... C Felton Welch (.312/34/118/69) had a great first half, but he leveled off in the second half... still he led the club with 34 homers and 118 RBIs... SS Sammy Thornton (.312/5/53/80) had the best batting average... RF Pete Doyle (.265/24/66/101) scored the most runs with 101 and was third in dingers with 24... and LF Sam Carson (.282/27/80/74) was second to Welch with 27 home runs.

The fifth-place Rolling Hills Reds were never a player in the pennant race... they wound up 14 games off the pace... it's been six years since manager Matty Christianson's club has made the playoffs... the Reds have captured two Pro Cups (2029 and 2031), along with seven TU West flags... they hit well with a .270 BA (8th), were average in scoring with 715 (17th) and in homers with 156 (19th)... not so good on the hill with a 4.12 ERA (20th)... the most reliable Reds at the plate were SS Dino Manale (.327/9/62/99), 2B Buffy Kowalczyk (.313/14/77/74), RF Jimbo Foxx (.246/30/98/64), CF Jason Garrett (.299/10/55/64) and LF Scotty Yiska (.280/20/50/83)... the most dependable pitchers were Maury Cantrell (16-7/3.95), Mike Daniels (17-15/3.80) and Matthew Christianson (13-17/3.24).

The hard-hitting Bayview Vikings of manager Chancey Quibedeaux had the firepower to hang around in the pennant race until mid-year, then bad pitching caught up with them and they ended up sixth in the standings and 16 games out... the Viks haven't been to the postseason since 2016 and have never won a Pro Cup... superstar 2B Jerry Culpepper had a humongous year with 60 home runs, third best in IPA history... only IPA icon Jack Elliott of High Mesa has done better with 65 in 2020 and 61 in 2013... 23-year-old Culpepper has swatted 209 HRs in his five seasons... he hit .307 this year with 119 RBIs and scored 111 runs... LF Roy Ricks added 32 roundtrippers, 82 RBIs and 97 runs, while batting .304... other productive bats were CF Derek Jorstad (.261/25/75/101) and 1B Barrett Bosch (.318/18/64/61)... Vance Codsworth was the best pitcher by far with an 18-16 record and a fine 3.03 ERA... Christy Kane was next with a 14-19 mark and a 3.73 ERA... all others were over 5.00 in ERA.

The Chicopee Braves entered the season coming off three consecutive TU West titles and the baseball writers had them second to La Claire in the pennant chase, but it never happened... the once-explosive offensive machine did diddly squat this year and manager Ivan Burkholder's squad tumble all the way to seventh place, finishing 20 games behind the Lynx... the team hit only .262 (14th), scored only 681 runs (26th) and hit just 152 homers (20th)... last year the numbers were .278 BA (2nd), 863 runs (2nd) and 203 HRs (5th)... at the same time the team ERA skyrocketed from 3.75 to 4.23... it was a bad year all-around for the Braves... only Judd Hampton (18-10/3.20) had a good year on the mound... among the regulars only 3B Kurt Gustavsen had a decent year... he batted .287 with 22 HRs, 91 RBIs and 77 runs scored... normally Gustavsen is a .309 lifetime hitter that averages almost 100 runs and 100 RBIs a year.

Manager Denny Coulon's Bay St. Clair Buccaneers surprised everybody in the Islands with a great start.. going into June the Bucs were 32-18 and atop the TU West... they were five games up on second place Kenwood and 10 ahead of sixth-place La Claire, the eventual division winner... but the wonderful season didn't last... it was a total collapse as the the club went a terrible 34-68 the remainder of the year and fell all the way to last place and 21 games behind La Claire... only CF Cotton Cornwall (.306/25/92/66), 1B Ryan Dukes (.285/29/63/78) and starter John Karlsen (17-19/3.72) had decent years.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

PENN 2037 RU BAT CHAMP
This year's Ruthlandian Union batting crown went to Chet Penn of the Colfax Blasters with a .378 batting average. The 26-year-old left fielder sparked his club to a second-place finish in the RU West with highest batting average in the IPA. Penn also led the RU with 41 doubles and was number two with 215 hits. In 143 games he hit 26 home runs, batted in 109 runs and scored 99 times. In his three IPA seasons Penn sports a .339 career average. This was the first time he won the honor.

Second in the batting race was Eastshore second sacker Johnny Petrak with a .364 average. The 31-year-old Petrak enjoyed a great season with 207 hits, 35 doubles, 5 triples, 24 homers, 100 RBIs and 107 runs, while playing in 140 games. Lifetime Petrak is batting .315 in his four years with the Elegants.

24-year-old superstar Bobby Gamble of the Sugar Valley Rattlers came in third with a .352 mark in 143 games with 38 homers. Gamble topped the IPA in runs with 128 and was second in the RU with 136 RBIs and 52 stolen bases. The Rattlers came in second in the RU East in spite of winning 97 games, beaten only by Cold Creek, which chalked up 101 victories and the best record in the IPA. Gamble has hit .319 in five seasons with Sugar Valley.

KINGSFORD COPS TU BAT TITLE
For the first time in his career Turon's fine 23-year-old shortstop C. C. Kingsford copped the Tycobbian Union batting crown with a .362 BA. Kingsford is the son of IPA Hall-of-Famer Clyde Kingsford, who was a career .319 batter. Playing in 143 contests he totaled 26 roundtrippers, drove in 109 runs and scored 99. Kingsford has put up a splendid .330 BA in his four seasons in Turon. Kingsford played a big part in the Typhoons' pennant run. They finished a very close second to TU South Division champ San Alejo, losing out by just one game.

Hartsdale first baseman Hayden Richardson was the runnerup to Kingsford for the batting championship. Richardson, age 28, compiled a .353 average with 22 HRs, 69 RBIs and 77 runs in 131 games for the Hellcats. Richardson has been with the club for three years and has batted .303 in his career.

Leonard Crawford, first baseman for the Fairfax Frogs, was third in the league with a .340 BA. He played in 122 games and finished with 32 doubles, no triples and 5 home runs for the second-place Frogs in the TU North. Crawford batted in 41 runs and tallied 69. In his third season with Fairfax, he is carrying a .315 lifetime batting average.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 23, 2037

TUCKS FAVORED FOR IPA CROWN
Baseball reigns supreme in the Islands. The sport dominates Islandian life year round. You could say the people are obsessed with baseball and not be far wrong. Where else in the world does a nation shut down and come to a halt in the middle of the day for a game?. Yeah, it's just a game, but the peoples of Ruthlandian and Tycobbian eat, sleep, weep and die for it. For Islandians September is the most glorious time of the year - IPA Pro Cup time. Beginning this Thursday afternoon the eight division champions from around the nation will be pitted against one another on the baseball diamond. When it is all over in about three weeks, one team will emerge as the IPA Pro Cup champion. Four former champions will be taking another crack at adding to their towns' prestige by garnering another coveted Pro Cup trophy. Tuckanarra has won it three times, North Hills twice and San Alejo and Waleska have captured it one time each.

1. The highly-touted Tuckanarra Blue Jays (99-55) of the Tycobbian East are the favorite in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup poll. Tuckanarra will be the odds-on favorite to win this year's Pro Cup... manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens has a wonderful ball club that has everything you need to win... the Blue Jays hit .278 (4th), scored 837 runs (1st), hit 185 dingers (6th), registered a 3.36 ERA (4th) and handled the gloves well with a strong .976 FA... Stevens has an impressive array of hitters with star RF Lorne Evans (.309/40/99/122) leading the way... Evans paced the Tycobbian Union with 122 runs and was tied for fourth in HRs with 40... at age 32 Evans passed the 500-homer milestone this year... other offensive standouts were C John Paul (.278/30/81/80), LF Spade Weldon (.290/19/68/90), CF Pancho Villa (.317/21/81/77), 1B Andy Preston (.292/7/59/69) and 2B Josh George (.256/19/80/83)... Tuckanarra has a trio of fine starters in Bobby Reid (21-7/2.92), Junior Bristow (21-13/2.66) and Jeff Buttrum (17-11/3.58)... plus a solid closer in Jack Rogers, who finished with a 12-7 record in 54 appearances with 22 saves and a 2.53 ERA... the Tucks last won the Pro Cup in 2035... they would like nothing better than add a fourth one to the Blue Jay trophy case this year... only Turon with four Pro Cups has won more... however, it won't be an easy task... defending IPA champ North Hills and San Alejo will have a lot to say about it in the Tycobbian Union playoffs and Ruthlandia's Cold Creek, Waleska and Fort Benton should offer strong competiton, too... the Tucks won IPA Pro Cups in 2023, 2024 and 2035... and they lost on two other occasions... in the 2013 Finals to Far Mountain and in 2028 to Waleska.

2. Cold Creek (101-53) of the Ruthlandian South is given the best chance of knocking off Tuckanarra and is ranked second in the Pro Cup poll... Cold Creek's marvelous mound corps inspiried a terrific 54-22 run in the second half of the season to defeat Sugar Valley and Elnora... for the year the Catamounts led the entire IPA with a superb 2.77 team ERA... they also ran up the most victories with 101... Sugar Valley and Elnora tied for third place with 97 wins... Tuckanarra of the Tycobbian Union was second with 99... the Cold Creek starters were almost unbeatable... all four of them has ERAs under 3.00, led by J. J. Gillespie (25-9/2.22), Joey Baker (20-11/2.50), Jules Capet (19-7/2.68) and George Bailey (11-4/2.66)... Gillespie topped the IPA with a 2.22 ERA and tied for the lead in wins with Randell Perkins of Colfax and Dan Pitts of Elnora... the Catamounts had just enough offense with 3B Pat Ellis (.319/20/70/79), SS Jeremy Hall (.304/3/61/82) and 2B Simon Pembroke (.284/7/72/60)... in spite of the lack of offense manager Scoop Lemieux's hurlers should be enough to be a big factor in deciding this year's Pro Cup championship... Cold Creek is also blessed with great defense (.978 FA)... the Catamounts are looking for their first IPA Pro Cup... 2037 just might be the year of the Cat.

3. The number-three pick was the San Alejo Montaneros (94-60) of the Tycobbian South Division... manager Alberto Herrera has a rock-solid club... the Monties ranked first in team ERA with a strong 3.21 ERA... offensively they did well with a .260 BA (16th), 753 runs (9th) and 163 HRs (15th)... the Montaneros could be better on defense with a sub-par .970 FA... Herrera has four fine starters in Tommy Smith (20-12/2.86), Lupe Olmedo (18-9/2.70), Johnny Brown (17-15/3.24) and rookie Benny Buckmaster (9-1/2.39), who joined the club in August and played a decisive role in the stretch drive... at the plate C Filipe Zamora (.310/31/113/77) and RF Charlie Wilberforce (.314/16/67/90) provided most of the offense with some help in the long ball department from SS Sancho Cruz (.225/23/91/75), CF Dusty Rogen (.278/17/57/54) and 1B Ted Hatch (.258/20/53/59)... San Alejo is one of the elites in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs and will be one of the favorites to win it all... the Montaneros won their only Pro Cup in 2032 by beating Colfax in seven games.

4. The North Hills Hawks (90-64) are the defending IPA champions, but were picked as the fourth-best team in the Pro Cup balloting... this is nothing new to manager Todd Simons... his Hawks won last year and in 2034, but were low-rated each time by the prognosticators... North Hills has a solid ball club, anchored with fine pitching and good defense (.976 FA)... the Hawks compiled a 3.28 team ERA (2nd), sparked by Jeff Owens (19-12/2.95), David Michael (15-13/2.79), Nelson Hooper and Frankie Lambert (17-10/3.77)... and combine it with a better-than-average offense with a .267 BA (12th) and good scoring (732 runs-13th)... the Hawks' top bats are RF Gerry Rice (.327/19/67/79) and LF Adam Thurgood (.271/33/88/89)... plus a group of steady run producers like C Mikhail Romanovsky (.247/24/82/75), 1B Ric Hamilton (.273/17/71/69), 3B Tommy Vavas (.259/9/48/80), CF Kris Anastas (.278/13/62/62) and 2B Kiril Ivonoski (.316/10/44/49)... North Hills has proven it has what it takes to win the Pro Cup and they will be in the thick of things again this year... the Hawks soared past St. John last year and flew past Crystal Lake in 2034.

5. The Fort Benton Defenders (91-63) of the Ruthlandian West Division came in fifth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup tabulation... this season manager Robbie Brooks ended 36 years of frustration... Fort Benton finally made the Pro Cup playoffs with their best record ever 91-63... the Defenders' previous best was 90-64 in 2017 when they finished in second place... Brooks has good pitching (3.46 ERA-4th), credible offense (.274 BA-4th) and average defense (.972 FA)... Augie Marquis (21-13/2.93), Jordy Raeburn (20-13/3.20), Tommy Baylor (18-12/3.30) and Brady Bell (18-12/4.00) gives him a solid set of starters... Fort Benton's best bats belong to 3B Mitch Hamilton (.327/5/51/103), SS D. D. Badeaux (.309/19/58/101) and 1B Oscar Pendleton (.302/17/88/52)... the Defenders are in the postseason, but won't get a lot of support to bring home the club's first Pro Cup... it's doubtful their season will have a fairy tale ending - winning their first Pro Cup in their first postseason appearance.

6. The number-six choice in the Pro Cup poll was the Waleska Westerners (93-61) of the Ruthlandian South Division... the Westerners' strong point is the mound corps... they notched a 3.71 ERA (7th)... however they do have a pretty good offense with a .268 BA and 743 runs (15th)... but lack the long ball, hitting only 121 HRs (28th)... defensively they are pretty good with the gloves with a .974 FA... Heading up manager Roy Hobbs' rotation are Terry Richards (22-11/2.77), Craig Nash (20-10/3.58) and Tony Haskell (19-12/3.77)... leading the Westerners' attack are CF Jon Lassiter (.311/13/56/106), 2B Joey Harris (.283/14/85/92), 3B Monty McMurtry (.285/10/76/82), RF Niles Gregory (.237/26/94/79) and 1B Shayn Lambert (.280/14/83/72)... Waleska won its only Pro Cup in 2028 topping Tuckanarra in a tough seven-game set.

7. This is only the third trip to the Pro Cup playoffs for the La Claire Lynx (89-65), ranked seventh in the Pro Cup predictions... they have never won the IPA Pro Cup... manager Zeppy Deshotel has a productive attack with a .273 BA (6th), 793 runs (3rd) and 171 HRs (12th-tied)... and the pitching is above average with a 3.74 ERA (12th)... star SS Jarrod O'Neal (.263/26/99/92) topped the club in HRs and RBIs with 29 and 99... also helping out with good years were RF Billy Holland (.292/19/86/96), 1B Kris Wilson (.302/20/95/60), CF Jason Baker (.296/9/62/75) and C Weldon Waller (.306/11/61/52)... vet Pat Kovacs (16-13/3.28), Tony Rossi (19-10/3.62) were the top hurlers... Konrad Keller (14-10/4.83) and Bruce Kinson (13-9/4.02) were also in the starting rotation... closer Terry Baird (11-11/2.17) did well with 25 saves, second best in the IPA to Sligo's Scotty Price, who had 28... Baird made 59 relief appearances during the season... La Claire is not expected to go very far in the postseason... first round opponent Tuckanarra appears to be to tough to beat... possible second round opponents, defending Pro Cup champion North Hills and San Alejo, look to be too strong for the Lynx, too.

8. The Islands' baseball scribes gave the LaGrange Sports (86-68) the least chance to take home the Pro Cup, rating them eighth and last in the Pro Cup pickings... this year it was solid pitching by Mike York (21-11/3.66), Walt Thurber (18-12/3.08) and Earl Perkins (12-7/3.07) and decent bats that got the job done for manager Quincy Peterson... his best hitters were SS Fred Bird (.316/2/40/98), LF Vasco Aguilar (.303/15/78/70), 1B Chris Charbonnier (.245/24/92/68), RF Charles Basque (.291/16/69/75) and CF Russell Watkins (.276/25/73/62)... the Sports won their fourth straight Ruthlandian North title despite poor defense (.969 FA)... don't expect much from the Sports in the postseason... they have gotten to the second round only twice in six playoff appearances... the Sports are still seeking their first Pro Cup trophy.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 23, 2037

PRO CUP PLAYOFFS BEGIN TOMORROW
Tomorrow afternoon eight hopeful and excited teams will begin their quest to fulfill their dreams to win Islandia's ultimate baseball trophy - the IPA Pro Cup. They don't come easy or often. Pro Cups are few and far between. Only 23 of the 64 IPA franchises have been so honored. 41 of them are still seeking one. The Turon Typhoons top the IPA with four Pro Cups, followed by Tuckanarra and Far Mountain with three each. North Hills, Crystal Lake, Eastshore and Rolling Hills have captured two apiece. Two long-suffering clubs, Kilkenny of the Ruthlandian Union and Hillsboro of the Tycobbian Union have never even made the postseason.

The IPA Elite 8 Series opens tomorrow at four sites around the league. In the Ruthlandian Union it will be the second-ranked club Cold Creek hosting number-five Fort Benton at Holmes Field. This will be Fort Benton's first foray into the Pro Cup playoffs. In the other series the LaGrange Sports, ranked last in The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll, will travel to Waleska. The Westerners placed number six in the voting. In the Tycobbian Union the Pro Cup favorite Tuckanarra will entertain the La Claire Lynx at Central Park Stadium. The Lynx came in seventh in the balloting. The defending IPA Pro Cup standard bearer North Hills, the fourth choice in the poll, will take on the tough San Alejo Montaneros, the third-rated club. The game is slated on the Monties' home field, the Casa de Beisbol. All series in the playoffs will be best-of-seven affairs. The team with the best season record will get the home field advantage.

In Waleska, the Westerners will send Terry Richards (22-11/2.77) to the hill against LaGrange's ace southpaw Walt Thurber (18-12/3.08)... J. J. Gillespie (25-9/2.22) got the call for Cold Creek, while Augie Marquis (21-13/2.93) will be on the mound for Fort Benton... The Tuckanarra Blue Jays will start Bobby Reid (24-7/2.92) against La Claire's Pat Kovacs (16-13/3.28)... visiting North Hills will send portsider Jeff Owens (19-12/2.95) in game one against lefty Tommy Smith (20-12/2.86) of San Alejo.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 23, 2037

2037 Ruthlandian Union Final Individual Batting Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 23, 2037

2037 Tycobbian Union Final Individual Batting Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 24, 2037

Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series

GILLESPIE SPINS 4-1 WIN, 'CATS TAKE OPENER
Cold Creek's ace J. J. Gillespie spun a 4-1 victory at Holmes Field to whip Fort Benton in game one of the Ruthlandian Elite 8 Series... Gillespie (1-0), a 25-game winner and IPA leader with a 2.22 ERA, stopped the Defenders on one run and 4 hits in 5 innings for the win... a rain delay forced Cold Creek to go to the bullpen early... and they got great work from George Bailey, who pitched three spotless innings, and from Rob Hutchins, who got the save with a perfect ninth frame... Augie Marquis (0-1) suffered the loss... he was tagged for 3 runs and 8 hits in 4-plus innings.

Cold Creek punched out 12 hits and were led by CF Guy St. Laurent with 2-4 and 2 RBIs, including a solo homer... rookie 1B Rodney Marshall, 2B Simon Pembroke and SS Jerry O'Neil also delivered 2 hits each... the only Fort Benton run came in the top of the second on a sacrifice by LF Rod Myerson.

WALESKA SQUEEZES BY SPORTS IN OPENER 6-5
At Westerner Field in Waleska, the hometown Westerners broke open a 4-3 game with 2 runs in the seventh and then held off a late ninth-inning spurt by LaGrange in the first game of the RU Elite 8 Series to capture a 6-5 win... Linton Watts doubled in a run and Frenchy LeBoeuf singled in one to give the Westerners a 6-3 cushion in the seventh... the Sports rallied in the ninth but fell a run short.

22-game winner Terry Richards (1-0) notched the win... he had a 4-0 shutout after 5 innings, but his defense gave up 3 unearned runs in the sixth... Richards departed after 7 and one-third innings with a 4-3 lead... he allowed 8 hits, fanned 5 and walked 4 in an uneven performance... reliever Lacy Dalton struggled and was bashed for a pair of runs in the ninth... Walt Thurber (0-1) had a shaky outing and took the loss, permitting 6 runs and 12 hits in 6-plus frames.

Waleska racked up 13 hits and were paced by LF Frenchy LeBouef with 3 hits and 3 RBIs... 2B Linton Watts chipped with 3 hits, 3 runs and an RBI... and C Rodney Hanson added 3 hits and 2 RBIs... the Westerners had 5 two-baggers... the Sports smacked 12 hits and were sparked by LF Vasco Aguilar with 3 hits, a run and 2 RBIs... SS Fred Bird with 3-5 and a run... and 1B Chris Charbonnier with 2-4, 2 runs and an RBI.

Tycobbian Union

NH HAWKS NIP MONTIES 7-6 IN 10
Opening up on the road at the Casa de Beisbol, the defending Pro Cup champion North Hills Hawks did themselves proud in spite of blowing a 6-4 ninth-inning lead... they still came away with a 7-6 triumph in 10 innings over the San Alejo Montaneros... Tommy Vavas' bases-loaded single provided the decisive run.

Both clubs had 16 hits apiece with the Hawks' LF Adam Thurgood leading the way with a tremendous game with 4 hits, 4 runs and 3 runs batted in... Thurgood slugged two out of the park... 2B Vavas added 2 hits and 2 RBIs... 1B Ric Hamilton and RF Gerry Rice also had 3 hits and an RBI each.

San Alejo's top bats were 2B Joe Klein and C Filipe Zamora with 3 hits apiece... Klein had 2 RBIs and Zamora drove in one and scored twice... three other Monties had 2 hits each: LF Walt King, RF Charlie Wilberforce and 3B Bubby Blackwell.

It was a tough day on the mound... neither starter had their best stuff... North Hills' Jeff Owens gave up 4 runs and 10 hits in his 7 innings... and San Alejo' Tommy Smith was socked for 13 hits and 5 runs in 8 innings... the win went to Todd Taylor (1-0), who blew the save in the ninth by giving up 2 runs... Killer Kane got the save, but allowed two 2-out singles before he put the Montaneros away... Glen Porterfield (0-1) was the loser as he was banged around for 2 hits and 2 walks in the fatal tenth.

LA CLAIRE SNATCHES LEAD 4-1
In the first game of the Tycobbian Elite 8 Series the highly-favored Tuckanarra Blue Jays had everything going their way... they were at home at Central Park Stadium, they had 24-winner Bobby Reid on the hill and they were the highest-scoring offense in the IPA this season... but they forgot to tell Pat Kovacs of the La Claire Lynx... Kovacs clipped the Blue Jays' wings 4-1 to give La Claire a one-game lead in the series... Kovacs (1-0) limited the hard-hitting Tucks to just one run and 4 hits in 8 sparkling innings... closer Terry Baird finished it out for the save with a scoreless ninth... Bobby Reid (0-1) caught the loss... the Lynx lashed him for 4 runs, 4 walks and 6 hits in 7 innings.

They got all 4 runs in the top of the sixth, highlighted by clean-up hitter 1B Kris Wilson's 3-run triple and 3B Rog Clemens' RBI single... La Claire outhit the Blue Jays 8 to 6.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 25, 2037

Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series

BAKER STUMPS DEFENDERS 4-2 IN GAME 2
Most baseball experts say good pitching beats good bats... I'm sure most Cold Creek fans would agree with that... yesterday in the opener J. J. Gillespie stopped Fort Benton 4-1... Cold Creek 20-game winner Joey Baker did it today stumping Fort Benton 4-2 in the second game of the Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series to enable the favored Catamounts to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series... Baker (1.0) went the distance permitted only 2 runs on 7 hits, struck out 6 and walked only one... he outpitched Jordy Raeburn, who also won 20 games this season and also hurled a complete game... but Raeburn didn't fare as well... he allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in defeat.

3B Pat Ellis (.429) paced the Catamounts at the plate with 2-3 and 3 RBIs... Ellis singled in a run in the last of the third and slammed a 2-run homer in the fifth... Rod Myerson (.500) batted in the first Fort Benton run in the top of the second with a single... and SS D. D. Badeaux (.375) hit a solo homer in the eighth.

A change of scenery might be good for the Defenders... they will host the third game of the series at Old Fortress Park in Fort Benton.

NASH THROTTLES SPORTS 4-1 IN SECOND GAME
22-year-old Waleska right-hander Craig Nash was on top of his game as he throttled the LaGrange Sports 4-1 on a 7-hitter in game two of the RU Elite 8 Series... the win gave the Westerners a 2-0 lead in the series... Nash, a 20-game winner in the regular season, fired 9 strikeouts and walked just one in going the route... losing pitcher Mike York, a 21-game winner, was touched for 4 runs and 9 hits in 7 and two-thirds innings.

Waleska had a 10-7 advantage in hits and were led by LF Frenchy LeBoeuf (.750), who had 3 hits for the second straight day... 2B Joey Harris (.500) and 3B Mac McMurtry (.429) drilled a pair of hits each... LaGrange's 3B Claude DesJardins (.375) led them with a couple of hits.

The series will now head to Sports Stadium in LaGrange for game three.

Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series

HAWKS JOLT MONTIES 9-3 IN 10
The defending Pro Cup titllist North Hills Hawks erupted for 6 runs in the top of the tenth to send San Alejo down to defeat 9-3 for the second day in a row at the Casa de Beisbol... the Hawks have taken the first two games on the road... game three will be in North Hills tomorrow afternoon.

North Hills' starter David Michael shut out the Montaneros over the first six frames 3-0... but they rallied in the late innings to send the game into overtime... the extra inning belonged totally to the Hawks as they hammered loser Glen Porterfield for 6 runs, sending him down to another loss... Porterfield also lost the opener in extra innings... Porterfield was his own worst enemy with four walks... the Hawks got only 2 hits in the big inning... the big blows came on 2-run doubles by CF Kris Anastas (.300) and pinchhitter Ronnie Guillaume.

David Michael (.333) put North Hills ahead 3-0 when he cleared the bases with a double in the second frame... Michael (1-0) pitched well and logged the win, yielding 3 runs - only one earned - and 6 hits in his 9 innings... reliever Joey Santini saved it for him with a scoreless tenth... Luis Olmedo pitched well except for the second inning... worked 7 frames and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits in a no-decision.

The Hawks collected 9 hits in the game, while the Monties came up with 8... they were paced by LF Walt King (.500) with a homer and a single... RF Charlie Wilberforce (.400) and 3B Bubby Blackwell (.500) also had 2 hits each.

LA CLAIRE DOES IT AGAIN, TOPS TUCKS IN GAME 2, TOO
After two games in Tuckanarra, underdog La Claire has surprised top-ranked Tucknanarra by winning both games at Central Park Stadium... in game two of the TU Elite 8 Seirs the Lynx ripped Tucks' pitching for a dozen hits en route to a 7-4 triumph, aided by roundtrippers from Kris Wilson and Rog Clemens.

The Lynx handled Tuckanarra starter and 21-game winner Junior Bristow (0-1) with ease, rapping him for 7 runs and 11 hits in his 8 and two-thirds innings... they tied the scored at 3-3 on Clemens' (.500) 2-run shot in the sixth... then took a 5-3 advantage in the seventh on an RBI double by Ron Conklin and a wild pitch that plated Conklin... and they wrapped it up with two more in in the ninth on RBI base hits by Conklin (.222) and Billy Holland (.250).

C Weldon Waller (.571) sparked the winners with 3 hits... Conklin and Clemens also chipped in with a pair each... CF Pancho Villa (.250) and 2B Josh George (.125) led the Blue Jays with homers.

19-game winner Tony Rossi (1-0) picked up the victory... he tossed 7 and one-third innings, allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, fanned 4 and walked 3... he got good relief from Terry Baird, who got the last two outs in the eighth, and from Sven Bendixen, who notched the save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Game three of the best-of-seven series is set for La Claire tomorrow afternoon.