THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2039

RUTHLANDIAN UNION SINGLE-GAME PLAYOFFS

SLIGO BEST IN THE WEST
154 games were not enough to separate Sligo and Volusia in the Ruthlandian West race... it took one more to break the tie... and the winner is: the Sligo Rovers... the Rovers piled up a substantial 7-3 lead after eight and half innings, then held on to whip the Volusia Vigilantes 7-5 in a single-game playoff for the the division flag.

CF Joe McGarrett (.304) and RF Pat Foreman led the Rovers' 10-hit attack... McGarrett went 2-for-5 and drive in three runs, while Foreman (.260) had three hits, scored twice and batted in a pair... Volusia was led by LF Kerry Keller (.261) with a two-run homer and RF Lonnie Womack with a two-run double... 1B Kris Wilson (.343) added five hits, scored two and batted in a run for the losers.

Randall Steele (25-8/3.25) notched the win in a rough outing... Steele allowed five runs on 8 hits in eight-plus innings... he fanned seven and walked four... Joey Hicks (9-12/4.15) relieved in the last of the night and got the final two outs and his 10th save of the year... loser Raul Navarro (13-18/3.21) was rapped for six runs on eight hits in seven frames.

HELLER HALTS RATTLERS 5-1, COLD CREEK TOP CATS IN EAST
All year long in the Ruthlandian East Cold Creek had the pitching and Sugar Valley had the bats... in the end Peter Heller's good pitching beat the Rattlers' good bats... Heller fired a 5-1 victory over Sugar Valley in the single-game playoff that decided the RU East... Heller stymied them on three hits, while the Catamounts were racking up 10... they broke it open with four runs in the eighth inning to snap a 1-1 tie... John-Michal Krikma singled in the game-winning score... Jeremy Hall singled in two more runs... and CF Ken Brennan completed the scoring with an RBI single... that was more than enought to send Cold Creek to the Pro Cup playoffs.

Heller (20-6/2.29) went the distance in a masterpiece performance, striking out six and allowing only one base on balls... Heller won 20 games for the first time in his 13-year career... Josh Wilkerson (15-8/3.26) did his best, but suffered the loss... he surrendered only two runs and six hits in seven and one-third innings with five Ks and five walks.

SS Jeremy Hall (.286) sparked the win with three hits and two runs batted in... C Arved Tarand (.294) collected three hits and scored a run... CF Ken Brennan (.303) added a pair of hits and an RBI and 1B John-Michal Krikma (.246) scored twice and batted in one... the Catamounts banged out 10 singles in all... CF Bobby Gamble (.310) hit his 36th homer for the Rattlers' only run.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2039

REDHAWKS EASY WINNER IN RU NORTH
Picked fourth in the preseason poll, Far Mountain surprised the experts and won the Ruthlandian North Division in a breeze by eight games over second-place Kilkenny, the favorite... Ranford came in third, trailing by nine... LaGrange and Ancona were tied for fourth and 11 games back... Far Mountain went all the way to the Pro Cup Finals last season, but was swept by IPA champ North Hills.

1. Far Mountain Redhawks: won with outstanding pitching and lousy bats... second straight division title.
Top Starters: Chad Cummings (25-8/2.84), Karl Nordheim (21-8/3.44) and Dennis Sasek (16-16/2.44)
Top Relievers: Ryan Kolb (5-5/2.50/19 saves), Russell McIntosh (8-9/3.17/5 saves)
Top Batters: RF Bert Richter (.277/23/85/84), LF Harlan Silver (.286/13/65/68)

2. Kilkenny Cats: strong pitching, weak offense... came in second last season, tied with LaGrange.
Top Starters: Dave Whitaker (21-15/2.03), James Crockett (18-18/3.20), Judson Davis (16-8/3.72), Dave Stratford (15-17/3.65) -- Whitaker led the IPA with a 2.03 ERA
Top Relievers: Joe Pierce (2-5/1.93/15 saves)
Top Batters: star 2B Leevi Viru (.278/21/96/61), 3B Jorge Collazo (.278/11/64/83)

3. Ranford Bulls: made first divsion for the first time in five seasons with solid starters and pretty fair bats... was seventh in 2038.
Top Starters: Frank Yosarian (20-11/3.52), Ronnie Schroeder (18-17/2.87), Ralph Hawk (16-16/3.08), Earl Cook (10-3/3.03/1 save)
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: LF Dale Weston (.316/39/105/108)

4. LaGrange Sports: tied Kilkenny last year for the runner-up spot... better on paper than record... fine pitching and hitting stats, but were only two games over .500... had 169 HRS (8th).
Top Starters: Ryan Janssen (16-12/3.30/7 saves), Hot Dog Huxtable (15-12/3.41), Mike York (15-17/3.38) and Walt Thurber (12-17/3.22)
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: CF Deron Barkley (.283/31/80/93), SS John Rodgers (.282/16/82/93), RF Charles Bacque (.312/16/65/81)

4. Ancona Red Elephants: sixth last year... second division club for last four years... came in tied for fourth this season... pitching improved.
Top Pitchers: Pablo Pilar (21-15/3.35), Lucian Kairis (16-7/3.21), Clyde Fairchild (13-14/3.75)
Top Relievers: Steven Russell (7-6/3.30/12 saves)
Top Batters: 3B Tommy Richardson (.360/30/132/87), C Gregg Straka (.300/4/52/70)... Richardson had a fantastic year... was second in the IPA in batting average (.360), in hits (220), third in doubles (39) and first in RBIs (132).

6. Valmara Vipers: wound up in sixth place and the second division for the seventh year in a row... lackluster pitching and hitting.
Top Starters: Harold Hudson (17-16/3.82)
Top Relivers: Clark Van Vreeland (8-6/2.40/15 saves)
Top Batters: LF Gary Peterson (.346/29/70/73)

7. Taranto Tars: fourth-straight year in the second division... mediocre pitching, not much at the plate except for HRs (179-4th) (due to the small part).
Top Starters: rookie Mario Martinelli (17-9/3.09)... Doug Hansack (16-14/3.76)
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: 1B Mark Delaney (.265/33/98/81), CF Gary Tramonte (.309/30/71/71)

8. Glasco Athletics: fell to last place after three-year run in the first division of the RU North... average pitching, lacks scoring, but does hit with power (156 HRs-12th).
Top Starters: Basil Newchurch (15-15/3.26)
Top Relievers: Steven Derby (3-4/3.41/3 saves)
Top Batters: SS Terry Johnstone (.277/18/78/82), CF Travis Houston (.303/21/76/68), 1B Tim Jarvis (.280/12/60/86)

RUTHLANDIAN NORTH DIVISION

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2039

WALESKA IN A WALTZ
The Waleska Westerners took command of the Ruthlandian South after the All-Star Game and waltzed to the pennant, disposing of second place St. John by eight games, third place San Dimas by 10 games and fourth place Claxton by 12... the Westerners think they can win another Pro Cup... they whipped San Alejo in six games two years ago... Waleska is a better team this time around with even stronger pitching.

1. Waleska Westerners: the Westerners won their third pennant in five years with super pitching (2.99 ERA-2nd) and fairly good offense (13th).
Top Starters: Jeff Woodruff (22-14/2.94), Terry Richards (18-8/2.64), Craig Nash (18-12/2.91) and Tony Haskell (14-11/3.35)... except for Woodruff, the same bunch that won the Pro Cup in 2037.
Top Relievers: strong bullpen led by Vern Bass (1-7/2.62/14 saves)
Top Batters: RF Niles Gregory (.285/25/103/84), 1B Shayn Lambert (.313/15/60/72), 2B Joey Harris (.282/10/76/80) and CF Jon Lassiter (.287/3/30/74)

2. St. John Crusaders: wound up a distant second for the second year in a row... can score and can pitch.
Top Starters: Jeremy Kirk (17-9/2.54), Vito Sanfratello (19-13/3.42), Lou Page (12-8/3.30/2 saves)... they lost ace Kirk in early August with arm trouble.
Top Relievers: Big Tee Telemachus (6-3/2.35/1 save)
Top Batters: superstar RF Nicky Farrugia (.366/36/104/113) had a career year and led the IPA with a .366 BA... he was helped out by 3B Marty Blankenship (.280/25/88/56) and CF Art Kelley (.284/20/76/71)

3. San Dimas Rancheros: finished in the first division for seventh successive season... they did it with fine pitching and average bats.
Top Starters: Gil Arnaud (19-13/3.14), Duffy Davidson (15-12/3.39) and Toby White (16-12/3.55)
Top Relievers: good bullpen led by Seth Dawson (7-3/2.71/13 saves)
Top Batters: RF Denny Hendrix (.272/26/88/80), 1B Pat Sautier (.321/15/75/79), CF Klaus Stordahl (.276/27/80/91), 3B Leonard Purkey (.306/15/77/71)

4. Claxton Diamonds: won the pennant last year, but fizzled mightily at the plate this season and drooped to fourth... however, they did have improved pitching.
Top Starters: Abe Schiffman (19-16/3.35), Stan Yudesh (18-14/3.35)... Schiffman topped the RU with 262 Ks in 301 IP, second in IPA to Lanny Gray (16-15/3.38) of Arlon, who totaled 291.
Top Relievers: Gary Haskin (4-1/2.41/9 saves), A. C. Van Kleist (7-1/3.38/2 saves)
Top Batters: star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.300/29/97/100), 2B Gary Colton (.327/19/82/89), SS Stevie Wynn (.298/10/47/96), CF Ivan Krause (.255/26/81/55)

5. Crystal Lake Crushers: they haven't made the first division since winning the flag five years ago... good scoring (4th), but woeful on mound (4.33 ERA-29th).
Top Pitchers: Ken Lawson (15-18/3.86) had the best ERA, while Arnie Cason (18-16/4.54) chalked up the most wins.
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: RF Paul Dillon (.320/11/54/64), C Stan Stanek (.274/20/90/81), SS Morten Jonassen (.300/6/77/81), rookie 3B Jim Henley (.303/3/59/63), rookie 1B Daryl Brady (.310/13/68/59)

6. Grand City Cybercats: lounged in the second division for the sixth consecutive year... mediocre ball club with average pitching, poor scoring, but has decent home-run power (157 HR-11th).
Top Starters: Kenny Morrow (15-18/3.13), who was third in the IPA with 260 strikeouts.
Top Relievers: Kent Douglas (9-4/2.03/20 saves)
Top Batters: budding star 1B Benny Hull (.314/44/123/94), C Iggy Van Dyck (.292/23/77/64)... Hull hit over 40 homers and drove in more than 100 runs for the second straight season.

7. Valka Blackhawks: near the bottom for the 11th year in a row... not much at the plate or on the hill, but does hit with power (175 HR-6th tied).
Top Starters: Ando Lintrop (13-12/3.56)
Top Relievers: Julien Rouse (6-5/1.79/17 saves), Miikael Arens (6-5/3.23/2 saves)
Top Batters: 1B Bobby Scott (.301/29/83/86), CF Kenny Mitzusaka (.301/20/82/67), SS Warren Block (.288/19/74/63)

8. Belair Beach Sunbirds: stuck in the basement for last two years... haven't been to the postseason since 2016... the Sunbirds do hit homers (175 HR-6th tied), but don't do much else.
Top Pitchers: Todd Clyman (15-21/3.83)
Top Relievers: Jody Younger (6-6/2.98/7 saves)
Top Batters: 26-year-old star 3B Jason Butler (.297/44/104/82) continued to carry the team for the sixth straight year... 32-year-old star CF Bobby Meusel (.270/21/63/76) was down for the second year, could be old age settling in... SS Johnny Wofford (.277/21/68/67) added a little pop in the line-up.

RUTHLANDIAN SOUTH DIVISION

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2039

CC 'CATS COP 3RD CROWN IN 4 YEARS
Well, the Cold Creek Catamounts did it again, but the hard way... they had to beat Sugar Valley 5-1 in a playoff to win the Ruthlandian East Division crown for the third time in the last four years... Elnora was quite a ways back 10 and a half games out in third place... coming in fourth was the Wynnamac Sundowners, Marston Nine and Eastshore Elegants, all 20 and a half games behind.

Cold Creek also defeated Sugar Valley in a playoff in 2036... in recent postseason play the Catamounts have had great pitching, but not enough offense... they lost out to IPA champ Waleska in 2037 and to St. John in 2036 in the IPA Final 4... this just might be the year of the Catamounts... Cold Creek is primed and ready to win it all this year and bring home its first Pro Cup.

1. COLD CREEK CATAMOUNTS: great pitching (2.80 ERA-1st), tops in the IPA... and fairly good hitting with a .265 BA (11th) and 743 runs (6th)... could be a Pro Cup year, if the bats produce.
Top Starters: Peter Heller (20-6/2.29/7 saves), J. J. Gillespie (23-9/2.64), Joey Baker (19-11/3.20) and Rob Huchins (13-11/2.56)
Top Relievers: Harvey Fullerton (4-6/1.17/5 saves) led a top-flight bullpen (2.16 ERA-1st).
Top Batters: RF Guy St. Laurent (.285/20/87/73), CF Ken Brennan (.303/8/65/89), SS Jeremy Hall (.286/3/63/98), C Arved Tarand (.294/8/68/44) 3B Rodney Marshall (.298/15/66/55)

2. Sugar Valley Rattlers: the hard-luck Rattlers have lost the pennant four times in the last five years in very close races, twice losing to Cold Creek in a playoff (2036 and 2039) and once by four games (2037)... and by a single game to Elnora (2035)... Sugar Valley won it in 2037... the Rattlers have always had a good hitting team with a .264 BA (13th), 828 runs (1st) and 193 HRs (2nd), this year they had improved pitching, too, with a 3.54 ERA (10th).
Top Starters: Christopher Dunsberry 917-12/2.93), Jeremy Blanchard (19-10/3.38), Juan Navarro (14-8/2.97)... lost Navarro in August... really hurt them down the stretch.
Top Relievers: weak bullpen with a 4.32 ERA.
Top Batters: superstar RF Bobby Gamble (.310/36/117/124), SS Roger Hobbs (.326/31/127/99), 2B Richie Strickland (.269/21/57/120), LF Tyler White (.250/34/104/91)... Gamble led the IPA with 124 runs with Strickland second with 120... Gamble was third with 44 stolen bases, while Strickland was ninth with 32... Hobbs was sixth in the IPA with 127 RBIs.

3. Elnora All-Stars: they have the second-best team BA in the IPA with .278, but aren't ranked high in scoring runs (715 runs-11th) with average power (139 HR-17th-tied)... average on the hill with a 3.83 ERA (16th)... bad June (8-18) cost them 10 games in the standings... they would have been right up with Cold Creek and Sugar Valley otherwise... it was their only losing month.
Top Starters: Jeremy Sellers (20-14/4.11) was the biggest winner... Stan Kivas 912-12/3.25) had the best ERA... Don Martz (18-11/3.69) was also reliable... Dan Pitts (15-20/3.52) had quite a few quality starts, too.
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: C Cannon Johnson (.320/30/112/87), CF Clive Kenyon (.316/13/60/77), LF Keith Kalder (.287/19/77/77), 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.311/10/49/640, 1B Larry Mosley (.305/16/57/62)

4. Wynnamac Sundowners: good hitting and good scoring club with .270 BA (6th), 754 runs (3rd) and modest HR power (124/24th tied)... average pitching.
Top Starters: Ernie Hodges (20-14/3.46) topped the staff in wins... Geoff Hobart (14-14/3.73) was second... Arnie Frederick (10-8/3.07) had the best ERA.
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: CF Darrell Donnelly (.334/18/123/100) had his best season... he was seventh in the IPA in BA (.334), second in stolen bases (42), and second in RBIs (123)... RF Nioka Inkamara (.270/28/92/83) had a very productive sophomore season... 1B Duane Hudson (.295/4/64/90) also had a respectable season.

4. Marston Nine: they haven't been much in contention since 2028, the last pennant-winning season... just a mediocre ball club.
Top Starters: Barry Sexton (17-16/2.91), Matt Reeves (.18-16/3.78)
Top Relievers: Webb Walden (5-3/2.25/19 saves)
Top Batters: SS Stan Mila (.322/19/104/75) was the only real threat in the batting order... in a platoon role 1B John Cosotto hit .330 with 20 homers and 61 RBIs in 87 games... 2B Lonnie Trekell had 20 homers and 72 RBIs with a .260 BA.

4. Eastshore Elegants: another mediocre season for the Elegants, who suffered a decline on the mound... they were adequate at the plate.
Top Starters: Ramon Contreras (16-18/4.01) had the most wins and the best ERA... Koy Clampett (15-15/4.33) was the only starter that didn't have a losing record.
Top Relievers: Kenny Chandler (7-4/2.21/13 saves) was the bullpen ace with help from Jody Friday (1-2/2.43/4 saves) and Delaney Moss (4-2/2.73/4 saves).
Top Batters: star CF Scotty Lagrange (.302/25/91/100), SS Johnny Petrak (.306/18/70/83), 1B Paul Reed (.303/20/85/75), 2B Marty O'Reilly (.300/23/72/55), C Kyle Hunt (.304/4/49/42)

7. Beechwood Bobcats: finish third last year with 90 wins... but the pitching went downhill this season, especially with the loss of Golden Arm winner Maury Patterson (26-8/2.35) at the beginning of the season... the best thing the Bobcats do is go deep (182 HR-3rd)... they rank ninth in scoring runs with 721.
Top Starters: John Mueller (13-9/3.77) and Jimmy Herman (14-13/3.39) were the only ones with a winning record.
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: RF Eddie Wilson (.316/37/102/102) and 2B Cody Hanks (.306/33/108/96) were a great 1-2 punch in the batting order... they got help from SS Mel Smith (.296/21/73/116).

8. Belle Plaine Musketeers: they had another bad year, finishing in the cellar for the fourth time in six seasons... the Muskies don't hit much for average... they don't pitch very well... but they can hit homers with 177 for the year (5th).
Top Pitchers: Benny Lucas (12-15/4.13) had some quality starts
Top Relievers: rookie Lourenz Broussard (8-2/3.02/4 saves) did well in the pen.
Top Batters: RF Boo Boudreaux (.271/34/90/90), LF Noel Martin (.288/27/101/87) and 1B Mitch Mason (.270/24/64/67) were the main guys in the batting order.

RUTHLANDIAN EAST DIVISION

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2039

SLIGO EDGES VOLUSIA, WINS WEST IN PLAYOFF
The Ruthlandian West Division went extra innings to decide this year's champion... at the Jailhouse in Volusia, the Sligo Rovers defeated the Volusia Vigilantes 7-5 in a single-game playoff to capture their first flag since 2033... the V's came in second place, Fort Benton faded badly down the stretch and finished five and a half games behind... the Rocky Rapids Snappers came in fourth and trailed by seven and a half games... last year's winner Colfax came in fifth, losing out by eight and a half games.

1. SLIGO ROVERS: the Rovers had good pitching (3.32 ERA-5th) and can score runs (722 runs-8th), though they don't hit much for average (.256 BA-24th)... they make up for it with firepower (164 HR-9th)... the Rovers could be dangerous in the playoffs with their strong defense (.979 FA), good pitching and homer power.
Top Starters: Randall Steele (25-8/3.25), Scotty Price (19-12/2.53), Tom Pierson (15-16/2.83)
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: leading the way offensively were CF Joe McGarrett (.304/29/94/101), 1B Denny Simmons (284/15/72/87) and SS Neil Mitchell (.279/22/69/85).

2. Volusia Vigilantes: pitching pretty much carried the club... 3.43 team ERA (8th)... bats could have been better... the V's hit only .256 (25th) with average power (143 HR-15th tied) and didn't score well (674 runs-26th)... did a great turnaround this year after three seasons near the bottom of the division.
Top Pitchers: Drew Selby (24-13/2.94) and rookie Andrew Arryn (15-6/3.27/3 saves) gave them two fine starters... Hector Vargas (15-17/3.62) and Raul Navarro (13-18/3.21) gave them a lot of quality starts, too.
Top Relievers: Skeeter Milham (5-5/3.97/14 saves)
Top Batters: 1B Kris Wilson (.343/26/98/87), CF Cazzie Carvalho (.280/20/78/101), 2B Charlie Farmer (.289/18/64/104), LF Kerry Keller (.261/23/80/68)

3. Fort Benton Defenders: the Defenders won their only pennant in 2037... since then they have come in third twice... they went 4-13 in September and blew any chance of winning the pennant... hit well for average with a .271 team BA (4th), score pretty well with 715 runs (11th-tied), but don't go deep often... only had 99 HRs (32nd)... starters are fairly good (3.53 ERA-10th)... strong bullpen with a 2.50 ERA (2nd).
Top Starters: Augie Marquis (24-12/2.28), Jordy Raeburn (15-17/2.94)
Top Reliever: Edd Farmer (10-4/3.53/12 saves)
Top Batters: C Hunter Glenholmes (.319/7/52/101), RF Cayman Crittenden (.292/16/95/96), 3B Mitch Hamilton (.285/2/61/91) , 1B Oscar Pendleton (.298/16/84/56), SS D. D. Badeaux (.296/8/51/70)

4. Rocky Rapids Snappers: for the first time in six years the Snappers worked their way into the first division... improved pitching did it (3.75 ERA-15th)... offense hit only .262 (17th), but did score runs (718-10th)... have decent power with 129 HRs (22nd).
Top Starters: Janek Zoldak (20-10/2.55) and Randy Peters (20-11/3.98) both won 20 games... and rookie Jamie Taylor (16-18/2.63) had 27 complete games and was very effective.
Top Relievers: (none) the bullpen was horrific with a 4.92 ERA (31st)
Top Batters: LF Buddy Hamilton (.261/25/91/87) led the club in HRs, RBIs and runs... top average was SS Nick Nova with .312 BA, 12 HRs, 60 RBIs and 80 runs... CF Crusher Derringer chipped in with a .303 average, 10 homers, 54 RBIs and 66 runs.

5. Colfax Blasters: after a good run of four years, which had two pennants and two second places, the Blasters fell off on the hill and at the plate and dropped in the standings to fifth place.
Top Starters: Bobby Porter (21-12/3.31) won 20 games for the second year in a row... Norm Harbison (17-17/3.73) dropped from 21-13 last year.
Top Relievers: Nilos Andris (5-1/2.72) did well in the bullpen and as spot starter.
Top Batters: 1B Samm Bolton (.311/8/59/78), 2B Kristian McEly (.253/26/98/70), LF Chet Penn (.313/19/79/73), C Mitch Fullerton (.286/19/58/76)

6. Middlefield Roosters: for the ninth time in ten seasons the Roosters came in under the .500 mark and wound up in sixth place... because they play in a bandbox they always hit a lot of homers and also give up a lot of homers... the Roosters racked up 238 homers to lead the Ruthlandian Union and placed second in the IPA behind Bayview with 251... they were number two in scoring with 776 runs... Sugar Valley was number one with 828 runs... the team ERA was 4.40 (30th).
Top Starters: James Long (18-16/3.60) and Larry Wheelhouse (16-11/3.81) had good seasons considering where they have to pitch.
Top Relievers: Ray Owens (4-4/2.72/18 saves) was solid in the bullpen
Top Batters: C Brad Alexander (.257/50/114/84) was the RU home-run leader with 50 and third best in the IPA behind Jerry Culpepper of Bayview with a near-record 63 and Mark Cameron of Arlon, who rapped 52... Hall-of-Famer Jack Elliott of High Mesa holds the all-time mark with 65 in 2021... CF Norm Antonioni (.249/34/66/78) added 34 homers, LF Wes Stanley (.238/29/78/68) had 29, 2B Matt Womack (.261/23/73/90) chipped in 23 and RF Alejandro Dominguez (.290/22/84/89) popped 22 out of the park.

7. Forest City Lumberjacks: the last good year the 'Jacks had was 2013, a pennant-winning season... they have rarely top the .500 mark since... average pitching, mediocre offense and decent power can only go so far.
Top Starters: Rich Barstow (18-12/3.46) and Walter Gibbons (15-16/3.07) led the staff.
Top Relievers: rookie Omar Cordero (3-9/3.98/20 saves) was inconsistent, but did collect 20 saves.
Top Batters: C Bob Brisdon (.303/28/87/74) and 1B Pistol Pete Picard (.281/23/76/56) were the most productive bats.

8. Stoner Stars: the Stars continued a string of five consecutive seasons in the RU West second division with an eighth-place finish... bad pitching and bad offense will do that.
Top Pitchers: Sammy Slater (14-12/4.24) was the only winning starter... although Michael Keller (13-18/3.19) was the most effective.
Top Relievers: (none) the bullpen was absolutely terrible with a 6.32 ERA (32nd).
Top Batters: 2B Don Cain (.332/17/73/79) is the top hitter with a .332 BA, ranking fifth in the RU and eighth in the IPA... C Barney Swindell (.275/23/85/80) had a good year... so did RF Amos Mars (.314/10/48/67).

RUTHLANDIAN WEST DIVISION

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2039

TYCOBBIAN NORTH DIVISION

HAWKS FLY HIGH AGAIN
Powerhouse and defending IPA champion North Hills had a hot second half and hauled in its sixth successive Tycobbian North Division title... one more next year and the Hawks will tie Ozarka for the most consecutive pennants in IPA history... the Naturals did it 2015 to 2021. At least until midseason, it was a tough battle with the Fairfax Frogs, who held a three-game lead at the halfway mark of the season... North Hills went a sizzling 22-7 in July to overtake Fairfax (14-15) and built its lead up to five games... the Frogs went on the fritz in the second half and finished up in a tie for fourth place, 16 games back of North Hills... seven of the eight teams in the division finished above the .500 mark.. the best showing in the IPA.

Mahaska came in second in the TU North, winding up six games behind the Hawks... Luxora was 15 games off the pace in third place... and Fairfax and Hartsdale end up in a draw for the fourth spot, 16 games out.

1. NORTH HILLS HAWKS: they had the best record in the IPA with 97 victories... the Hawks do everything well except hit for power... they only had 111 HRs (32nd)... 2.93 team ERA (2nd), which was third best in the IPA behind Cold Creek (2.80) of the RU East and Summerland (2.89) of the TU South... North Hills will be one of the favorites in the Pro Cup playoffs... they will be trying to repeat as IPA champion and win the Pro Cup for the third time in five seasons.
Top Starters: Tony Mack (23-10/2.22), Jeff Owens (19-13/3.00), Frankie Lambert (16-9/2.57) and David Michael (14-12/3.47)... could be the best foursome in the IPA.
Top Relievers: bullpen is solid, too, led by Kyle Oliver (6-4/2.63/7 saves) and Nelson Hooper (8-2/3.04/3 saves).
Top Batters: superstar LF Adam Thurgood (.314/39/117/86) with some help from 2B Tommy Vavas (.285/14/66/97) and platooned rookie standout CF Jimmy Jay Ferguson (.354/9/45/60)... the Hawks also have a fine bench of solid and reliable role players.

2. Mahaska Haymakers: it was another good season for the Haymakers, who came in second for the second year in a row... they had fine starting and relief pitching and productive bats with firepower... 3.26 ERA (5th), .259 BA (17th), 729 runs (10th) and 175 HRs (11th)... they were a factor in the race much of the year.
Top Starters: Mark Pennington (19-12/2.82), Darrell Geoffrey (20-11/3.68), Warren Heath (19-14/3.75) and Mackie McGinnity (17-10/3.35)
Top Relievers: Luke Cargill (4-6/2.30/13 saves) and Freddy Pfeffer (3-4/2.05/9 saves)
Top Batters: 2B Mikk Kukk (307/26/87/96), LF Bill Whittier (.279/23/94/98), SS Rocco Bertara (.275/10/50/90)

3. Luxora Zorros: finished third again this season... hit well for average (.266 BA-7th) and power (166 HR-15th), average scoring (715 runs-16th tied) and pitching (3.76 ERA-14th).
Top Starters: Kent Halloran (21-12/2.90), Roy Watson (19-11/3.52), rookie Joao Damaso (15-10/3.52)
Top Relievers: Fernando Sanches (3-4/1.16/31 saves) had a superb season and led the IPA by wide margin with 31 saves.
Top Batters: SS Joel Poche (.285/26/91/93), 3B Todd Dubbins (.302/24/75/73), LF Milt Powers (.272/21/87/74)

4. Fairfax Frogs: the Frogs played like champions the first half of the year, then tanked dismally in the second half... the four starters were sound (3.59 ERA-8th)... the bullpen outstanding (2.22 ERA-1st)... bats were good (.266 BA-8th), scoring good (726 runs-11th tied), but were weak in roundtrippers (111 HR-32nd).
Top Starters: Harold Dorman (18-16/3.23), Lee Rose (18-16/3.69), Steven McLeod (15-16/3.66) and Lucien Vachon (15-16/3.72)
Top Relievers: excellent bullpen sparked by Bruno Stratton (7-4/1.64/13 saves).
Top Batters: 2B John Velasco (.304/29/115/104) was the only real threat in the batting order.

4. Hartsdale Hellcats: much improved over the last four seasons when they were at or near the bottom of the division... mound corps gets the credit... yet the Hellcats could score with 739 runs (7th) and go deep with 171 homers (13th)... batted a decent .259 (18th)... team ERA was 3.63 (12th), much better than 4.61 in 2038.
Top Starters: Wayne Dawson (23-12/2.82) anchored the team with help from Freddie Whitaker (19-13/4.41) and rookie Jimmy Howard (10-7/3.77)... even rookie Gil Younger (12-17/3.43) gave them quality starts.
Top Relievers: rookie Alfonso Cervera (3-4/1.88/22 saves) also stood out in the pen.
Top Batters: SS Paul Wynn (.290/35/95/86) shouldered most of the offense with some help from 3B Greg Melton (.258/19/77/67) and 3B Robinson Alomar (.278/17/66/55).

6. Blue Lake Blue Sox: despite placing sixth in the standings, they were six games above .500... good starters, poor bullpen, fair bats, little power.
Top Starters: Sal Mays (20-12/2.89) and Frankie Quinn (20-16/3.14) carried the club... 33-year-old star Quinn won 20 games for the ninth time in his 13-year career... overall he is 252-175 with a 3.00 career ERA... it was the third time in four years for 23-year-old Mays... 34-year-old journeyman Andre Montrose (7-6/2.98) joined the club in July and lost his first three starts, but then finished like gangbusters with a 7-3 mark in his last 10 decisions... Burton Cook (14-13/3.99) also gave the Sox some quality starts.
Top Relievers: Todd Cook (1-2/1.88/6 saves) led the mediocre bullpen.
Top Batters: the only decent hitters in the line-up were 2B Egon Ojamaa (.275/29/100/91), LF Jack Ryan (.314/9/64/67) and 1B Elton Graff (.304/11/63/50).

7. White River Rascals: they have been a winning team the last three years, but have been stuck in the second division in the strong TU North... the Rascals were four games over .500, yet came in seventh... the best thing they do is hit homers (206-3rd)... pitching is only average with a 3.81 ERA (16th).
Top Starters: Trenton Anderson (20-12/3.45) and Clem Warren (16-12/3.98) were the biggest winners... 36-year-old vet star Paul Sardini (13-16/3.48) also gave them some quality starts... Sardini is 258-208 with a strong 2.91 ERA in his 17 seasons.
Top Batters: SS Warren McKenzie blossomed this year with 45 homers, sixth in the IPA, and third with 129 RBIs, while batting .269 and scoring 91 runs... star C Stevee Dee Daniels continued to hit the longball with 35 roundtrippers, 90 RBIs and 80 runs, but as usual, didn't hit for much in average, batting only .235... CF Buford Cross (.289/19/65/84) and 2B Kunta Burton (.301/4/40/84) also lent a hand with the offense.

8. Oxford Red Caps: they were seventh in 2038, got worse and fell into the cellar this season... the Red Caps do nothing well except hit homers, ranking 9th with 180... pitching is atrocious with a 4.90 team ERA (32nd)... Oxford hasn't made the postseason since the Pro Cup-winning 2007 season... they are just plain bad with the worst record in the IPA... the Red Caps lost 102 games.
Top Starters: Max D'Albini (16-16/4.91) and Johnny Lee Adams (14-20/4.56) were the best of the starters.
Top Relievers: Rusty Garland (5-9/3.62/9 saves)
Top Batters: 31-year-old star CF Dalton Ward, an 11-year man, went over the 300-homer milestone this season... he hit 46, fifth-best total in the IPA... Ward drove in 109 runs and scored 95... 2B Alonzo Norris (.305/29/84/99) and LF Donny Braun (.298/24/86/87) had productive years, too.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2039

TYPHOONS TU SOUTH CHAMP AGAIN
For the second successive year the Turon Typhoons have won the Tycobbian South Division... they pulled away in the second half and won again comfortably over runner-up San Alejo... Summerland came in third a distant 14 games behind and Cape Coral wound up 16 games off the pace in fourth place.

1. TURON TYPHOONS: they have a wealth of talent on the hill and in the batter's box and should be a tough team to beat in the Pro Cup playoffs.
Top Starters: three 20-game winners paced the pitching corps: Armin Boehm (24-11/3.26), Nate Scottsdale (24-8/3.11) and Clyde Engstrom (20-15/2.95)... team ERA was 3.20 (4th).
Top Relievers: one of the better bullpen in the IPA with Ralph Fulton (4-2/1.07/23 saves)... team compiled a 2.27 ERA (2nd).
Top Batters: four regulars batted .300 or better: SS C. C. Kingsford (.340/29/105/102), RF Guido Gervasio (.310/29/112/92), LF J. P. Trevenot (.301/25/74/74/111), 3B George Jordan (.315/20/72/82)... team ranked second in the TU with a .277 BA... Kingsford won the batting crown with a .340 average.

San Alejo Monteneros: it was another good year for the San Alejo Montaneros with strong pitching (3.02 ERA-3rd) and average offense (.258 BA-19th)... the Monties rung up 86 wins for the second year in a row.
Top Starters: team had four capable pitchers in Benny Buckmaster (22-10/2.52), Matt Bell (18-18/2.93), Tommy Smith (15-14/3.20) and Johnny Brown (13-12/3.44).
Top Relievers: bullpen was very good with a 2.52 ERA (4th)... led by Stu Nichols (2-0/1.48), Lupe Olmedo (5-2/2.05/4 saves) and Glen Porterfield (3-0/2.91/2 saves).
Top Batters: C Filipe Zamora (.289/24/91/66), CF Dusty Rogan (.263/23/89/90), LF Charlie Wilberforce (.314/17/62/74), SS Sal McAlister (.296/10/62/83), 1B Ted Hatch (.259/25/70/51)

3. Summerland Sunsets: excellent pitching backed up by weak bats... 2.89 team ERA (1st), second to Cold Creek of the Ruthlandian East for the IPA lead... only hit .248 (27th)... ranked near the bottom with 636 runs (29th) and homers with 133 (29th).
Top Starters: Johnny Young (20-11/2.73), Jayson Hallstrom (19-14/2.35), Freddi Rossi (13-17/2.80) and Dutch De Boer (11-13/3.20)
Top Relievers: Ron Shaddock (9-9/2.28/12 saves)
Top Batters: CF Antonio Vasquez (.283/6/65/83), SS Mark Brenneke (.274/13/50/91), RF Eamon O'Toole (.274/17/73/54), 2B Todd Cummins (.270/20/70/60), 3B Norm Murdoch (.277/3/35/77)

4. Cape Coral Hurricanes: came in fourth place for the second year in a row and third time in the last four... powerful attack, best in the IPA with a .281 BA (1st) and 848 runs (1st)... ranked fifth with 203 HRs... but the pitching is horrible with a 4.53 team ERA (30th).
Top Starters: Benton McCall (17-6/3.17), Tommy Van Noord (13-9/3.77/5 saves)
Top Relievers: (none) bullpen had a poor 4.38 ERA.
Top Batters:line-up has five .300 hitters: star RF William Snyder (.338/33/113/94), CF Max Tselika (.324/24/74/107), 1B Stan Ferguson (.311/30/111/69), LF Paul Law (.305/26/88/105), 3B Rikky Van Dalen (.303/27/93/118)

5. Southport Sun Soxx: the Soxx were a second-division club for the fifth year in succession... has pretty fair pitching with a 3.52 team ERA (9th), but lacks scoring (658 runs-24th), hitting (.248 BA-28th) and firepower (138 HR-26th tied).
Top Starters: has quality rotation featuring rookie Billy Hoover (16-15/2.88), Don Pascioni (12-12/3.56/2 saves) and Johnny Swanson (15-17/2.96), along with number-four starter Gordon Forbes (8-3/3.49).
Top Relievers: bullpen was led by Hal Combs (4-8/2.43/12 saves)
Top Batters: not much at the plate... most reliable were CF Barney Lewis (.279/33/92/84) and rookie 1B Eddy Douglas (.305/17/74/57).

6. Colchester Elites: after three years of properity, including a pennant in 2036, they have had three years of drought, finishing in the second division... the Elites have poor offense with a .247 BA (29th) and lackluster pitching with a 3.95 team ERA (21st).
Top Starters: Dave Lacoste (14-11/3.00), Eduardo Rivera (15-15/3.37)
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: star RF Blake Barrister missed a month of the season, but still hit 37 homers, drove in 94 runs and scored 88 times, while batting .301... 3B Joey Rogers (.301/12/76/80) also had a good year... nothing worth mentioning in the batting order after them.

7. Ginza Ninjas: tied for last place in the TU South with Arroyo Grande... Ninjas have average bats and poor pitching.
Top Starters: Julian Bass (11-10/3/21) was the only starter with a winning record... the others had ERAs in the 4.00s and 5.00s.
Top Relievers: Timmy Hickens was only 3-11, but came up with 20 saves and a 2.91 ERA.
Top Batters: the best bats were rising star CF Sogo Takagi (.315/33/100/107), playing-manager LF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.307/10/68/100) and C Whip Harrell (.277/28/91/58).

7. Arroyo Grande Suns: another year near the bottom for the Suns... second straight year in the basement... bad hitting with a .242 BA (31st) and poor pitching with a 4.46 ERA (28th).
Top Starters: Fernando Campos (15-20/4.47) led the team in victories... Mateus Castro (8-21/3.90) had the best ERA.
Top Relievers: Cody Simmons (5-7/2.38/20 saves) stood out in the bullpen.
Top Batters: LF Rene Jesclard is the only productive hitter with 30 HRs, 77 RBIs and and 98 runs scored, but he batted only .256.

TYCOBBIAN SOUTH DIVISION

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2039

PANTHERS PREVAIL OVER TUCKS IN TU EAST
In a splendid four-team pennant race, the East Point Panthers clawed their way to the Tycobbian East Division crown, fighting the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, Midway Wolves and Ozarka Naturals tooth-and-nail down-the-stretch and finally slipping past all of them by the scantiest of margins - one game... the Panthers had to win their last two games, the Blue Jays lost both of theirs, and the Wolves split, giving the pennant to East Point... Fourth place went to the Ozarka, who was only three games out of the top spot... Tuckanarra had their five-year run as division champion snapped this season.

1. EAST POINT PANTHERS: they won a thrilling pennant race, but don't figure to do too well in the postseason... the Panthers only won 83 games, by far, the worse record of any divisional winner... East Point is just an average-hitting team (.250 BA-22nd) with good power (198 HR-6th), but has mediocre pitching (4.19 ERA-26th).
Top Starters: Johnny Moore (17-11/3.39), Frank Blair (16-13/3.58)... long-time ace Dixie Brooks (15-14/4.89) struggled this year.
Top Relievers: Tuck Tawney (5-1/2.32/11 saves) and Scotty Bentley (8-6/3.11/19 saves) give the Panthers a very good bullpen.
Top Batters: the power bats were SS Dean O'Donnell (.282/36/100/87), 1B Bert Henrich (.293/32/94/81), LF Sean Flynn (.255/22/56/66) and CF Andros Ciak (.292/21/58/55).

2. Tuckanarra Blue Jays: the Tucks faltered on the mound this year with its team ERA rising up from 3.33 to 3.83 (17th)... batting-wise they held their own with a .265 BA (10th), 771 runs (4th) and 165 HRs (16th).
Top Starters: Bobby Reid (16-11/3.37), Junior Bristow (16-18/3.12)... Bristow has his string of five straight seasons with 20 victories broken... this was the first time in his career he failed to do it... Jeff Buttrum (14-14/4.08) had a down year after going 23-12 last year.
Top Relievers: Jack Rogers (9-8/1.97/18 saves) was the best in the bullpen... he got help in long relief from Kyle Collins (2-2/2.83/2 saves).
Top Batters: 1B Andy Preston (.293/21/74/98) led the Blue Jays with a .293 BA... 3B Daniel Redd (.268/16/63/99) led them with 99 runs... and superstar LF Lorne Evans (.260/26/94/88) topped them with 26 HRs and 94 RBIs... Evans had a very rare off-season by hitting only .260... lifetime he has been a .305 batter.

3. Midway Wolves: they rebounded from three bad seasons in a row and almost won the pennant in a great turnaround... 64-90 to 82-72... improved pitching lowered the team ERA over a run a game... from 4.63 to 3.61 (11th)... offense was pretty good, too, with a .260 BA (14th), 738 runs (8th) and 147 HRs (23rd-tied).
Top Starters: fair foursome with Carl Dreux (18-12/3.67), rookie Charlie Chase (17-12/3.53), Bobby Boy Wolf (14-10/3.64) and Cary Snead (15-16/3.28).
Top Relievers: Taima Nodin (9-6/3.25/2 saves)
Top Batters: 2B Lou Flowers (.310/29/131/84) paced the TU with 131 RBIs and was second in the IPA to Tommy Richardson of Ancona, who had 132... 1B Shaman Sakima (.278/31/94/92) had a solid season and led the club with 31 homers... LF Bennett Cardwell (.330/19/78/88) paced the club with a .330 batting average, which was fourth in the Tycobbian Union... and CF Yancey Tanner (.302/2/55/102) was the club leader with 102 runs.

4. Ozarka Naturals: for the sixth consecutive year the Nats have made the first division... a lousy 8-21 record in May cost them the pennant... they hit well with a .266 BA (9th), scored well with 728 runs (11th-tied) with decent power (154 HR-20th)... on the hill they were unimpressive with a 4.16 ERA (24th).
Top Starters: Glen Jenkins (20-14/3.35) was the team ace with help from Teddy O'Shea (12-8/3.69/5 saves) and Dirk Halstad (12-7/3.35/2 saves).
Top Relievers: Billy Hill (8-4/1.99/9 saves) led the bullpen.
Top Batters: 3B Jimmy Woods (.306/27/90/81), SS Duffy Morrison (.282/24/83/90), CF Lonnie Gillespie (.275/10/67/83) and 1B Kent Harmon (.333/9/53/57)

5. Red Bluff Red Sox: the preseason favorite didn't play well until the second half of the season and by then it was too late... after being 13 games behind at mid-year, the Red Sox ended up just five games out of first... they didn't hit for average (.249 BA-25th)... only adequate in scoring runs (720-13th) and on the hill with a 3.91 ERA (19th), but they did go deep often with 222 homers (2nd), only Bayview (252) and Middlefield (238) were better in the IPA.
Top Starters: Jud Cox (22-8/2.84) and Tony Defazio (19-15/3.73) led the starting rotation.
Top Relievers: Paul Jarvis (4-1/2/12/1 save) was the only one that was really effective.
Top Batters: RF David Kelso (.289/39/94/72) topped the team in BA and roundtrippers... CF Ike Sweetwater (.285/35/100/95) was first in RBIs and tied for the lead in runs scored... LF Jesse Shaw (.285/25/76/95) tied Sweetwater for the lead in runs... 3B Fran Blanchard (.274/29/67/67) was third in homers.

6. South Fork Stallions: they started off badly, but got better the last month or so... still wound up in sixth place and in the second division for the fourth straight year... last playoff appearance was the Pro Cup season in 2025, the only time South Fork has ever won it... the Stallions had much better pitching and improved the record from 56-98 last year to 70-84 this year... team ERA was lowered from 4.82 to 3.76... offense still lackluster with a .250 BA (23rd) and 662 runs (23rd), but pretty good with 193 HRs (7th).
Top Starters: Mike Lambertini (15-12/3.20/3 saves), Roger Johnson (13-12/3.84) Big Murph McAlister (15-19/3.46) and Jay Murphy (10-16/3.86/8 saves).
Top Relievers: Billy Joe Clinton (2-2/2.01) was the most dependable.
Top Batters: top home-run leaders were 3B Elton Jacoby (.315/31/76/106) with 31, SS Jess Wilkerson (.250/30/100/77) with 30, CF Scotty O'Sullivan (.220/29/62/83) with 29, RF Keenan O'Dwyer (.275/22/57/72) with 22 and 1B Paul Sexton (.251/18/76/57) had 18.

7. Hillsboro Blazers: for the ninth time in 10 years the Blazers ended up in the second division... hapless Hillsboro has never made the playoffs... they have a poor offense and mediocre pitching.
Top Starters: Cazzie Reier (16-15/3.86) is the club ace with an occasional qualtiy performance... Ralph Quick (13-17/4.18) and Valdon Riley (10-12/4.16) are sometimes effective.
Top Relievers: Scott Watkins (7-7/2.42/18 saves) heads up the bullpen.
Top Batters: LF Jurrien Bellini (.266/38/101/97) led the club in almost everything: hits, homers, RBIs and runs... 1B Claude Kingston hit 30 homers, batted in 85 runs and scored 82 times, while batting at a .280 clip... CF Vince Jahn (.267/22/87/81) and C Brian Davis (.280/12/57/62) had decent seasons, too.

8. High Mesa Cowboys: after a surprising third place and a winning season last year, the Cowpokes reverted to form and were cellar-bound in 2039... 11 times in the past 13 years they have finished in the second division... both pitching (4.46 ERA-27th) and hitting (.232 BA-32nd) went to pot in 2039.
Top Starters: Russ Krolle (14-17/3.96) was the only decent starter.
Top Relievers: William Morris (3-7/2.83/10 saves) was the best reliever.
Top Batters: LF Clay Johnston led the club with a .286 BA, 47 homers, 99 RBIs and 88 runs... 1B Clifford Coleman chipped in with 30 roundtrippers, 82 RBIs and 78 runs, but batted only .258... and Corbett Brooks had 38 homers, 82 RBIs and 87 runs, but hit a pitiful .219.

TYCOBBIAN EAST DIVISION

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 20, 2039

ARLON SLIPS BY KENWOOD IN TU WEST
The Tycobbian West pennant race was in doubt going into the last day of the season... there was a chance of a first-place tie between the Arlon Champions and the Kenwood Wildcats... at day's end the Champs won and the Wildcats lost, giving the title to Arlon by two games... far back in the standings in a third-place tie were third place Rollings Hills and Denton City, 16 games out.

Pennant-winning Arlon came in second for the most wins in the IPA with 95, beaten out only by defending Pro Cup champion North Hills with 97 victories... Arlon has been to the playoffs only three times in the club's history in 2006, 2012 and 2020 and never got past the second round... this season the Champions have several talented pitchers and hitters, but that may not be enough to make them real contenders.

1. ARLON CHAMPIONS: after a decade of being in the second division, the tide turned in 2037 with a third-place finish, got better in 2038 with second place and culminated this year with the division title... the Champs strong point is its pitching... offensively they are so-so.
Top Starters: three 20-game winners and the IPA strikeout king lead the staff... Ronny Farnsworth (21-8/2.64), Emil Nowak (21-8/4.03), Pat Stuyvesant (20-9/3.66) and Lanny Gray ((16-15/3.38)... Gray fanned 291 batters in 314 innings to lead the league.
Top Relievers: Dale Greene (4-4/2.91/8 saves) and Peter Shannon (2-5/2.14/10 saves)
Top Batters: star RF Mark Cameron had a career year with 52 homers, 129 RBIs and 111 runs... Cameron batted .324 and was second in home runs in the IPA, third in RBIs and seventh in scoring runs... C Nick Shafer also pitched in with a .304 BA, 26 HRs, 93 RBIs and 73 runs... LF Charley Hastings missed half of the season, but is now back for the playoffs... he hit .307 in 75 games with 3 HRs, 21 RBIs, 62 runs and 29 SBs... not much else left in the line-up... this will hurt them in the playoffs.

2. Kenwood Wildcats: they rebounded from a bad seventh-place finish in 2038 with much better pitching and hitting... the Wildcats went from a 4.14 ERA to 3.61 (10th)... and from .261 to .274 (3rd) at the plate.
Top Starters: Glen Murray (19-13/3.12) and Robby Barnhill (14-6/3.61) were the most effective, but Freddy Gooch (20-12/4.15/5 saves) was the biggest winner.
Top Relievers: Artemus Hale (10-1/2.37/8 saves)
Top Batters: star C Corky DiNozzo (.318/36/101/81) was the biggest bat... with help from rookie 2B Country Crowder (.340/4/53/81) and LF Harry Tashina (.327/12/74/88).

3. Rolling Hills Reds: for the past seven seasons the once-powerful Reds have been stuck in a rut around the .500 mark... they got improved hitting this year and rose up from sixth place to third and wound up four games over .500 with good hitting (.270 BA-5th) and good power (174 HRs-12th), but not much pitching (4.08 ERA-22nd).
Top Starters: Matthew Christianson (20-11/2.99) and Whammer White (17-12/3.66)
Top Relievers: (none) the bullpen was bad with a 4.40 ERA (31st)
Top Batters: club leaders were RF Jimbo Foxx (.292/33/102/86), 1B Darvin Tard (.285/23/85/97), LF Trent Hutchins (.287/24/72/59), CF Scotty Yiska (.309/21/66/55) and 3B Billy Christenson (.325/10/48/55), who was lost in July to injury and missed half a season.

3. Denton City Redbirds: they tied for third this year after two years in fourth place... haven't made the postseason since 2013... the Redbirds hit very well with a .268 BA (6th), score well with 774 runs (3rd) and have firepower with 203 HRs (4th-tied)... on the hill they are average with a 3.76 ERA (15th)... but are bad in the bullpen with a 4.37 ERA (29th).
Top Starters: solid starters with Francisco Salcido (19-15/3.73), Troy McIntosh (17-15/3.13), Kevin Blevins (15-12/3.71) and Stephen Edwards (10-12/3.33).
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: 1B Wayman Stetson led the club with 44 HRs and .317 BA, 3B Rod Hunt (.245) had 30 homers, C Felton Welch (.281) 28, LF Sam Carson (.264) 28, and RF Pete Doyle (.279) had 24... Stetson is tops with 120 RBIs, Welch had 96... Doyle scored 109 runs and Thornton 101.

5. Bayview Vikings: were third last year... dipped to fifth this year... Viks haven't made the playoffs since 2016... led IPA with 251 homers... league record is 260 by Arroyo Grande in 2005... were second in scoring with 803 runs... batted .261 (13th)... little park is conducive to lots of runs... 4.47 team ERA (29th).
Top Starters: Vance Codsworth (20-14/4.20) was the biggest winner... Christy Kane (14-17/3.46) had the best ERA.
Top Relievers: (none) bullpen was the worst in the Tycobbian Union with a 4.84 ERA (32nd).
Top Batters: star super slugger 2B Jerry Culpepper almost set a new record for homers with 63 (Jack Elliott holds it with 65 in 2021 for High Mesa)... Culpepper had a great year with a .312 BA, 128 RBIs (5th in IPA) and 118 runs (7th in IPA)... RF Roy Ricks added a .302 BA, 28 HRs, 74 RBIs and 90 runs... SS Andreas Stokke (.270/23/73/78) also chipped in with some offense.

6. La Claire Lynx: it was a disappointing year for the Lynx after two pennants in a row... suffered a decline at the plate and on the hill... dropping from a .266 BA to .250 (24th) and the ERA rose up from 3.68 to 3.91 (18th).
Top Starters: Tony Rossi (17-14/3.94) led the staff in wins... Nelson Stubbs (10-11/3.25) in ERA... while ace Pat Kovacs (12-17/3.27), a 25-game winner last year, slumped badly this year with only 12 victories.
Top Relievers: Terry Baird (8-9/1.91/21 saves)
Top Batters: only decent hitters were 2B Sam Norman (.283/21/55/69), 1B Eddy Veevers (.289/10/57/66) and CF Billy Holland (.251/19/69/72).

7. Chicopee Braves: since winning three consecutive pennants 2034-2036 with an explosive offense, the Braves have gone into a tailspin and fallen deep into the second division for the last three years... team average batting has decreased from .278 to .263 over the last six seasons... run-scoring way down, too... pitching ERA 2034-2036 was 3.70... the last three years it's been 4.19.
Top Starters: Heyoka Chaska (14-14/3.42), Lou Gianakos (14-13/3.52)
Top Relievers: Judd Hampton (4-4/3.35/5 saves)
Top Batters: star 3B Kurt Gustavsen (.326/25/80/78), CF Big Jim Moran (.270/31/97/91), RF Rich Nellis (.283/20/57/76), 2B Todd Goodwin (.296/18/68/56)... 32-year-old star LF Charley Kota (.266/21/56/70) had a sub-par year... he is a career .305 hitter.

8. Bay St. Clair Buccaneers: the Bucs came in last for the third year in a row... last won a pennant in 2030... have poor offense with only 616 runs (31st)... pitching isn't so good either with a 4.11 ERA (23rd).
Top Starters: John Karlsen (13-23/4.03) and Mac Shaw (10-17/3.91) were the best of a poor lot.
Top Relievers: Pete Cross (10-3/2.09/19 saves) was superb in the bullpen.
Top Batters: RF Cotton Cornwall (.302/29/90/72) had a solid season at age 34 and was the only real threat in the line-up... other minor contributors were CF Gilbert Bauer (.262/18/75/67) and SS Zip Lowery (.303/6/42/63).

TYCOBBIAN WEST DIVISION

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 21, 2039

FARRUGIA BAT KING IN RUTHLANDIA
Superstar Nicky Farrugia of the St. John Crusaders added to his laurels the Ruthlandian Union batting crown with a spectacular .366 batting average, the best in the IPA... he outhit Ancona's Tommy Richardson by six points and Volusia's Kris Wilson by 23 to win the honor... it's the first time Farrugia has won the award.

Lifetime Farrugia is a .320 hitter... he topped the IPA with 225 hits... the 30-year-old star outfielder also collected 30 doubles, 4 triples, 36 homers, 104 RBIs and scored 113 runs, while leading St. John to second place in the RU South.

30-year-old Richardson was a close runner-up with a .360 BA, 220 hits, 39 doubles, 3 triples, 30 HRs, 132 RBIs and 87 runs... the 30-year-old third baseman led the IPA in RBIs. Richardson won the batting crown in 2036 with a .349 BA... Ancona tied for fourth in the RU North this season.

Third in the batting race was 26-year-old first sacker Kris Wilson, who led Volusia to a second-place finish in the RU West... Wilson batted .340 with 196 hits, 36 doubles, 1 triple, 26 HRs, 98 RBIs and scored 87 runs.

KINGSFORD EDGES CROWDER FOR TU BAT TITLE
In the Tycobbian Union batting race, it got down to percentage points... Turon's C. C. Kingsford just barely got by Kenwood's Country Crowder by three-tenths of a point, winning .33987 to .33955... it was Kingsford's second time to win the batting title... the 25-year-old shortstop also copped it in 2037 with a .362 mark.

Kingsford, the son of Hall-of-Famer Clyde Kingsford, racked up 208 hits, 25 doubles, 6 triples and 29 homers with 105 RBIs and 102 runs, sparking the Typhoons to its second TU South pennant in a row... the six-year veteran has a career .325 BA.

Crowder is a rookie second baseman, just 23 years old... he had 182 hits, 18 doubles, 7 triples, 4 homers, 53 RBIs and 81 runs scored... Kenwood came in a very close second to Arlon in the Tycobbian West pennant race.

In the third spot was Cape Coral's veteran outfielder William Snyder, who posted another strong season with a .338 BA, 197 hits, 26 doubles, 2 triples, 33 home runs, 113 RBIs and scoring 94 runs... the Hurricanes finished fourth in the TU South.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 21, 2039

HAWKS FAVORED TO REPEAT IN PRO CUP
The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll came out today and ranked defending champion North Hills (Tycobbian Union) the top choice to take the trophy, emblematic of the best team in Islandia. Their first-round opponent Turon (TU) was rated the number-two team. Cold Creek of the Ruthlandian Union came in third, followed by the Arlon Champions (TU) in the fourth spot. Coming in fifth was the Waleska Westerners (RU), sixth was Far Mountain (RU) with Sligo (RU) and East Point (TU) trailing in seventh and eighth place.

Looking back on the Pro Cup polls of the past decade, the winner usually comes from the third, fourth or fifth picks... none of the favorites have won... only one number two has taken the Cup... number threes have won three times... number fours have captured it twice... number fives have been champs two times... and number six and seven have won it on once occasion... so it's pretty much a crap shoot.

RANK, TEAM, SEASON RECORD
1. NORTH HILLS HAWKS (97-57): they had the best record in the IPA with 97 victories... the Hawks do everything well except hit for power... they only had 111 HRs (32nd)... 2.93 team ERA (2nd), which was third best in the IPA behind Cold Creek (2.80) of the RU East and Summerland (2.89) of the TU South... North Hills will be one of the favorites in the Pro Cup playoffs... they will be trying to repeat as IPA champion and win the Pro Cup for the third time in five seasons.
Top Starters: Tony Mack (23-10/2.22), Jeff Owens (19-13/3.00), Frankie Lambert (16-9/2.57) and David Michael (14-12/3.47)... could be the best foursome in the IPA.
Top Relievers: bullpen is solid, too, led by Kyle Oliver (6-4/2.63/7 saves) and Nelson Hooper (8-2/3.04/3 saves).
Top Batters: superstar LF Adam Thurgood (.314/39/117/86) with some help from 2B Tommy Vavas (.285/14/66/97) and platooned rookie standout CF Jimmy Jay Ferguson (.354/9/45/60)... the Hawks also have a fine bench of solid and reliable role players.

2. TURON TYPHOONS (93-61): they have a wealth of talent on the hill and in the batter's box and should be a tough team to beat in the Pro Cup playoffs.
Top Starters: three 20-game winners paced the pitching corps: Armin Boehm (24-11/3.26), Nate Scottsdale (24-8/3.11) and Clyde Engstrom (20-15/2.95)... team ERA was 3.20 (4th).
Top Relievers: one of the better bullpen in the IPA with Ralph Fulton (4-2/1.07/23 saves)... team compiled a 2.27 ERA (2nd).
Top Batters: four regulars batted .300 or better: SS C. C. Kingsford (.340/29/105/102), RF Guido Gervasio (.310/29/112/92), LF J. P. Trevenot (.301/25/74/74/111), 3B George Jordan (.315/20/72/82)... team ranked second in the TU with a .277 BA... Kingsford won the batting crown with a .340 average.

3. COLD CREEK CATAMOUNTS (94-61): great pitching (2.80 ERA-1st), tops in the IPA... and fairly good hitting with a .265 BA (11th) and 743 runs (6th)... could be a Pro Cup year, if the bats produce.
Top Starters: Peter Heller (20-6/2.29/7 saves), J. J. Gillespie (23-9/2.64), Joey Baker (19-11/3.20) and Rob Hutchins (13-11/2.56)
Top Relievers: Harvey Fullerton (4-6/1.17/5 saves) led a top-flight bullpen (2.16 ERA-1st).
Top Batters: RF Guy St. Laurent (.285/20/87/73), CF Ken Brennan (.303/8/65/89), SS Jeremy Hall (.286/3/63/98), C Arved Tarand (.294/8/68/44) 3B Rodney Marshall (.298/15/66/55)

4. ARLON CHAMPIONS: (95-59): after a decade of being in the second division, the tide turned in 2037 with a third-place finish, got better in 2038 with second place and culminated this year with the division title... the Champs strong point is its pitching... offensively they are so-so.
Top Starters: three 20-game winners and the IPA strikeout king lead the staff... Ronny Farnsworth (21-8/2.64), Emil Nowak (21-8/4.03), Pat Stuyvesant (20-9/3.66) and Lanny Gray ((16-15/3.38)... Gray fanned 291 batters in 314 innings to lead the league.
Top Relievers: Dale Greene (4-4/2.91/8 saves) and Peter Shannon (2-5/2.14/10 saves)
Top Batters: star RF Mark Cameron had a career year with 52 homers, 129 RBIs and 111 runs... Cameron batted .324 and was second in home runs in the IPA, third in RBIs and seventh in scoring runs... C Nick Shafer also pitched in with a .304 BA, 26 HRs, 93 RBIs and 73 runs... LF Charley Hastings missed half of the season, but is now back for the playoffs... he hit .307 in 75 games with 3 HRs, 21 RBIs, 62 runs and 29 SBs... not much else in the line-up... this will hurt them in the playoffs.

5. WALESKA WESTERNERS (91-63): the Westerners won their third pennant in five years with super pitching (2.99 ERA-2nd) and fairly good offense (13th).
Top Starters: Jeff Woodruff (22-14/2.94), Terry Richards (18-8/2.64), Craig Nash (18-12/2.91) and Tony Haskell (14-11/3.35)... except for Woodruff, the same bunch that won the Pro Cup in 2037.
Top Relievers: strong bullpen led by Vern Bass (1-7/2.62/14 saves)
Top Batters: RF Niles Gregory (.285/25/103/84), 1B Shayn Lambert (.313/15/60/72), 2B Joey Harris (.282/10/76/80) and CF Jon Lassiter (.287/3/30/74)... all the regulars of the 2037 title team are still in place.

6. FAR MOUNTAIN REDHAWKS (89-65): won with outstanding pitching and lousy bats... second straight division title... not likely to go far in the playoffs... were Pro Cup Finalist last season... were swept by North Hills in four games.
Top Starters: Chad Cummings (25-8/2.84), Karl Nordheim (21-8/3.44) and Dennis Sasek (16-16/2.44)
Top Relievers: Ryan Kolb (5-5/2.50/19 saves), Russell McIntosh (8-9/3.17/5 saves)
Top Batters: RF Bert Richter (.277/23/85/84), LF Harlan Silver (.286/13/65/68)

7. SLIGO ROVERS (87-68): the Rovers had good pitching (3.32 ERA-5th) and can score runs (722 runs-8th), though they don't hit much for average (.256 BA-24th)... they make up for it with firepower (164 HR-9th)... the Rovers could be dangerous in the playoffs with their strong defense (.979 FA), good pitching and homer power.
Top Starters: Randall Steele (25-8/3.25), Scotty Price (19-12/2.53), Tom Pierson (15-16/2.83)
Top Relievers: (none)
Top Batters: leading the way offensively were CF Joe McGarrett (.304/29/94/101), 1B Denny Simmons (284/15/72/87) and SS Neil Mitchell (.279/22/69/85).

8. EAST POINT PANTHERS (83-71): they won a thrilling pennant race, but don't figure to do too well in the postseason... the Panthers only won 83 games, by far, the worse record of any divisional winner... East Point is just an average-hitting team (.250 BA-22nd) with good power (198 HR-6th), but also only has mediocre pitching (4.19 ERA-26th)... not the things that make for Pro Cup championship teams.
Top Starters: Johnny Moore (17-11/3.39), Frank Blair (16-13/3.58)... long-time ace Dixie Brooks (15-14/4.89) struggled this year.
Top Relievers: Tuck Tawney (5-1/2.32/11 saves) and Scotty Bentley (8-6/3.11/19 saves) give the Panthers a very good bullpen.
Top Batters: the power bats were SS Dean O'Donnell (.282/36/100/87), 1B Bert Henrich (.293/32/94/81), LF Sean Flynn (.255/22/56/66) and CF Andros Ciak (.292/21/58/55).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 22, 2039

RUTHLANDIAN UNION DIVISION SERIES

CC 'CATS SHOCK SLIGO WITH 3-RUN 9TH
Playing the opener on the road at Holmes Stadium in Cold Creek, Scotty Price and the Sligo Rovers had things well in hand with a 3-1 margin going into the last of the ninth, but then everything went awry... the Catamounts mounted a 3-run game-winning rally culminated by Jeremy Hall's RBI single that scored John-Michal Krikma from third base.

Cold Creek ace J. J. Gillespie (1-0) was the winning pitcher... he went the distance allowing three runs on nine hits with five Ks and three walks... Doug Haynes (0-1) lost it in the ninth as he was battered for four hits and three runs. Price was outstanding, holding the Catamounts to just a run on four hits in eight innings... he fanned four and issued 3 bases on balls.

Krikma led the winners with two hits, while 3B Mel Dillard topped the Rovers with a two-run homer.

RICHARDS LOST IN WALESKA WIN
In the first game of the RU Division Series against Far Mountain, the Waleska Westerners won the game 3-2, but lost its ace pitcher Terry Richards for the playoffs... he left with an arm injury after throwing only two pitches... Tony Haskell came on in relief and pitched a solid game... he held Far Mountain to two runs on six hits in six-plus innings... Vernon Bass (1-0) notched the win with two scoreless innings... Waleska won it in the eighth... trailing 2-1 Bobby Denton doubled in the tying run and Monty McMurtry got the game-winner on a deep sacrifice fly.

Chad Cummings (0-1) suffered the loss as he permitted three runs on 7 hits, struck out four and walked only one, while going the route... none of the runs were earned as the Redhawks committed three errors in the game.

Far Mountain outhit Waleska 8-7... SS Bobby Denton led the Westerners at the plate with three hits... 2B Joey Harris and C Rodney Hanson chipped in with two hits apiece... 1B John Burrell paced the Redhawks with three hits, including a pair of doubles.

Terry Richards suffered an arm injury and will miss at least a month... Richards is the ace of the Waleska staff and put up an 18-8 in the regular season with a 2.64 ERA... Tony Haskell (14-11/3.35) will take his place in the rotation... Haskell had been scheduled for bullpen duty in the playoffs.

TYCOBBIAN UNION DIVISION SERIES

HAWKS TAKE OPENER, TOPS TURON 3-2
In a series pitting the top two teams in the Pro Cup playoffs, defending titlist North Hills got the upper hand in the opener with a thrilling 3-2 triumph over tough Turon at the Hawk's Nest... in the bottom of the ninth Gerry Rice's two-out single plated Tommy Vavas to give the game to the Hawks.

Two 20-game winners locked horns over the first eight innings... Tony Mack (1-0) pitched a complete game, stopping the Typhoons on two runs and eight hits... Clyde Engstrom worked eight fine frames, giving up only two runs on four hits, but he did walk seven, while fanning three... Engstrom yielded to Ralph Fulton (0-1), who lost it in the ninth.

The game was scoreless until LF Adam Thurgood doubled in the Hawks' first run in the sixth... 1B Nick Fisher tied it up with a solo homer for Turon in the seventh... Thurgood's homer made it 2-1 in the last of the eighth... 2B Little Mac McCurnan made it all even again with an RBI single in the top of the ninth.

Thurgood sparked North Hills with two hits and two RBIs, while Fisher and McCurnan has three hits and an RBI each to lead Turon.

EP PANTHERS WHIP ARLON 4-1 IN GAME ONE
At Derby Downs in Arlon, the underdog East Point Panthers got one leg up on the favored Champions with a 4-1 victory in game one of the Tycobbian Division Series... 34-year-old Frank Blair had control problems, but managed to come through in the clutch.

Blair (1-0) gave up seven walks, but only one run in eight and one-third innings... the Champs got six hits off of him... he was aided by three double plays... Tuck Tawney put the finishing touches on the game by recording the final two outs in the ninth... Ronny Farnsworth (0-1) went all the way and took loss, allowed four runs on 11 hits with four Ks and 3 walks.

Four Panthers got two hits apiece: RF Ricky Urbina, CF Andros Ciak, 2B Tetsu Tanaka and C Chris Cardinale.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 23, 2039

RUTHLANDIAN UNION DIVISION SERIES

ROVERS TRIM CC 'CATS 8-6, SERIES EVEN
On the road for game two of the Ruthlandian Division Series, the Sligo Rovers roughed up the Cold Creek Catamounts 8-6 to even up the series at one game apiece... the Rovers ripped them for 12 hits as they came back from a 6-4 deficit after four innings... reliever Joey Hicks (1-0) registered the win with three scoreless innings... Denny Simmons led the attack with four RBIs, including a three-run first-inning homer.

Losing pitcher Joey Baker (0-1) came on for starter Peter Heller in the seventh and was shelled for three runs in two-plus innings... Heller departed with a 6-5 lead.

RF Pat Foreman (.667) paced the Sligo attack with four hits, two runs and an RBI... 1B Denny Simmons (.375) cracked two hits and batted in four runs with a double and a homer... SS Neil Mitchell (.375) went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs... and CF Joe McGarrett (.286) swatted a solo homer.

Cold Creek got eight hits and were sparked by 3B Rodney Marshall (.429) with two hits and four runs batted in... Marshall had a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Catamounts a short-lived 6-4 lead.

WERNSTEDT'S HR WALLOPS WALESKA 4-3, FM TIES SERIES
At Westerner Field in Waleska, the visiting Far Mountain Redhawks tied the Ruthlandian Division Series at one game each with Wes Wernstedt's two-run blast in the ninth inning... the Redhawks walked away with a 4-3 victory... Karl Nordheim and Ryan Kolb combined for the win... Nordheim (1-0) tossed eight frames, permitted three runs on five hits and notched the win, while Kolb got his save with a runless ninth, although the Westerners threatened with two hits, but left them on first and second.

Jeff Woodruff started for Waleska and was touched for three runs on six hits in his eight and two-thirds innings... Woodruff had 6 strikeouts and walked three... yesterday's winner Vernon Bass (1-1/3.38)) caught the lost today... he was tagged for Wernstedt's clutch homer.

Both clubs collected seven hits each... Wernstedt (.300) was 3-5 for the Redhawks... Waleska was led by C Rodney Hanson (.429) with a two-run triple.

TYCOBBIAN UNION DIVISION SERIES

HENDRIX'S HR PUTS PANTHERS UP BY TWO GAMES
For the second day in a row East Point got standout pitching in a fourteen-inning 2-1 struggle with the Arlon Champions... four pitchers did the job on the mound and Bert Hendrix did the job at the plate with a home run... the Panthers now have a 2-0 lead in the Tycobbian Division Series.

Johnny Moore worked the first seven innings for the Panthers, stopping the Champs on six hits and one run... Scotty Bentley retired all six batters he faced in the eight and ninth... Tuck Tawney then blanked them for the next three and two-third inninngs... and youngster Darnell Slaughter (1-0) got the win, permitting no runs in his one and one-third frames.

Arlon's pitching was almost as good... starter Pat Stuyvesant worked into the ninth and was outstanding... he permitted only one run on five hits, fanned 10 and walked only 2... Lanny Gray held the Panthers runless in his inning and a third... Pat Shannon (0-1/2.25) was on the hill for the next four innings, gave up four hits and the game-winning homer by Hendrix.

Arlon had an 11-9 advantage in hits... C Nick Shafer (.400) went 3-for-6 and doubled in the Champs only run in the first... SS Ronnie Duvernet (.500) also had three hits.

No one got more than one hit for East Point... the Panthers tied the score at 1-all in the fifth on Ricky Urbina's RBI groundout.

TYPHOONS BLOW AWAY HAWKS 8-3, TIES SERIES
The Turon bats were booming today at the Hawk's Nest in North Hills... they rocked them for 13 hits, smacking five doubles, a triple and a homer to blow away the Hawks 8-3 and tie up the Tycobbian Division Series at a game each.

Leading the way was CF Alex Crosetti (.600) and 1B Little Mac McCurnan (.750) with three hits apiece... Crosetti doubled in two runs and scored twice, while McCurnan scored a pair of runs... LF J. P. Trevenot went deep with a two-run clout in the sixth to increase the lead to 7-3... 1B Ric Hamilton slugged a three-run homer for the Hawks and cut Turon's margin to 4-3 in the last of the fourth.

Nate Scottsdale (1-0/3.00) got the win in a complete-game outing... the Hawks got three runs on five hits... Scottsdale walked five and fanned four... Jeff Owens (0-1/9.00) was pounded for seven runs and 11 hits in his seven innings.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 24, 2039

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

CC 'CATS HUMBLE ROVERS 6-1, UP 2-1 IN SERIES
Backed by the sharp pitching of Rob Hutchins and 15 hits, Cold Creek humbled Sligo 6-1 in game three of the Ruthlandian Division Series at Silver Mountain Stadium in Sligo and took a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven affair.

Hutchins (1-0/1.00) was a bit wild with six walks, but he stymied the Rovers on five hits and gave up only one run, while going the distance. Tom Pierson (0-1/8.10) was the losing pitcher... Cold Creek slammed him for six runs and 13 hits in six-plus innings.

The Catamounts busted up a 1-1 game with three runs in the top of the fifth, highlighted by back-to-back roundtrippers by 3B Rodney Marshall (.500) and RF Guy St. Laurent (.333)... Marshall's was good for two runs, St. Laurent's was a solo job. Marshall, St. Laurent and CF Ken Brennan (.214) all had three hits in the game... Brennan scored three runs and Marshall and St. Laurent batted in two runs each.

NASH'S 2-HITTER GIVES WALESKA SERIES LEAD
In game three of the Ruthlandian Division Series at Sky High Stadium in Far Mountain, Craig Nash of the Waleska Westerners was just about the whole show with a 3-1 win over the Redhawks, who managed only two hits... Nash (1-0/1.00) was in almost complete command with 6 Ks and one walk... he propelled the Westerners to a two games to one lead.

The Westerners torched Dennis Sasek (0-1/3.00) for all three runs in the opening frame... walks to CF Jon Lassiter (.091) and 2B Joey Harris (.250) set the stage for a two-run double by 1B Shayn Lambert (.250) and an RBI double by RF Niles Gregory (.091)... Sasek settled down and shut them out the rest of the way... he allowed three runs on eight hits, walked five and fanned just one... Far Mountain got their only run in the second on a solo homer by C Lou Ransom (.222).

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - TYCOBBIAN UNION

TYPHOONS TRIM HAWKS 2-1 IN GAME THREE
At Typhoon Stadium in Turon, the hometown Typhoons got a fine start from Armin Boehm and they trimmed North Hills 2-1 to grab the Tycobbian Division Series lead at two games to one... Boehm (1-0/0.00) only surrendered one unearned run and two hits in eight innings... Boehm's control put him in trouble as he issued seven walks, but he stranded 11 runners and struck out six... closer Ralph Fulton got into hot water in the ninth, but survived... he allowed two hits with one away, then got a game-ending double play... David Michael (0-1/2.25) went all the way in defeat, walking six, fanning four, and giving up two runs on seven hits.

The game was scoreless until the last of the sixth when Turon took the lead on C Gil Erwin's (.500) home run... North Hills bounced right back with an unearned run in the top of the seventh... singles by Jimmy Jay Ferguson (.250) and C Mikhail Romanovsky (.182) put runners first and second... Ferguson scored when shortstop C. C. Kingsford let a grounder go threw him for an error... Kingsford (.167) redeemed himself with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh that scored Armin Boehm (.500) from third with the eventual winning run... Boehm had led off the inning with a double.

NOWAK WHACKS PANTHERS 5-3 IN GAME 3
Playing at home at Armed Forces Park, unheralded East Point was looking to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their Tycobbian Division Series with favored Arlon, but they ran into Emil Nowak and he got the Champions back on track with a 5-3 victory and cut the Panthers lead to one game after three games.

In a complete game Nowak (1-0/3.00) held the Panthers to three runs and seven hits with four walks and four strikeouts... he was helped by homers from C Nick Shafer (.333) and RF Mike Cameron (.143)... veteran Dixie Brooks (0-1/6.43) was the loser as he was tagged for seven hits and five runs in seven innings... he exited with Arlon ahead 5-1.

Offensively the Champs had 8 hits to 7 for the Panthers... CF Gussie Czajk (.357) was 3-4 with two runs scored and 2B Todd Benson (.286) was 2-3 with two RBIs... LF Andros Ciak (.385) and SS Dean O'Donnell (.267) sparked the Panther offense with two hits each.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, September 25, 2039

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

ROVERS KNOT SERIES AT 2-2
At home, Sligo ace Scotty Price had his good stuff as he tamed Cold Creek 3-2, helped out by Denny Simmons' eighth-inning game-winning homer, to knot up the Ruthlandian Division Series at two games apiece... Price (1-0/1.69) only gave up two runs in eight innings, though he was touched for nine hits... Gary Booth worked a flawless ninth to get the save... Price outpitched J. J. Gillespie (1-1/3.18), who went the distance and absorbed a tough loss, yielding three runs on nine hits with five Ks and no walks.

The Catamounts scored first in the second on LF Wayne Kenney's (.333) sacrifice fly that scored CF Guy St. Laurent (.313) from third base... it stayed that way until the Sligo fifth when Pat Foreman (.500) tied it up with a solo swat... Cold Creek again got the lead in the sixth on C Arved Tarand's (.333) sac fly... the Rovers came right back in the bottom half of the frame and tied it up 2-2 on a double by CF Joe McGarrett (.250) and an RBI single by C Damon Klein (.400).

Simmons (.500) and Klein (.400) topped the Rovers with three hits each... Simmons game-winner was his second homer of the series and his fifth RBI... RF Pat Foreman (.500) added two hits to the Sligo offense... 2B Pat Ellis (.400) paced Cold Creek with two hits.

REDHAWKS POWER BY WESTERNERS 9-7, TIE SERIES
After three low-scoring affairs, Far Mountain and Waleska lite up the scoreboard at Sky High Stadium... the home-standing Redhawks bashed four out of the park for a 9-7 win to even the Ruthlandian Division Series at two games each... Bert Richter tied it up in the eighth with a solo shot and Axel Bauer boomed a two-run homer to send the Westerners down to defeat... both teams had 11 hits each in the slugfest.

3B Axel Bauer (.667) led Far Mountain with 2-3, both home runs, two runs and three RBIs... C Lou Ranson (.231) also got his second homer, a three-run blast, and scored two runs.... RF Kyle Gottwald (.750) chipped with three hits and scored twice in the game.

Leading the Waleska attack were RF Niles Gregory (.143) with three RBIs, CF Jon Lassiter (.188) and LF Teke Holmes (.333) with two hits and two runs... 3B Monty McMurtry (.286) delivered three hits and 1B Shayn Lambert (.250) doubled in two runs.

Far Mountain closer Ryan Kolb (1-0/0.00) did his job and gained the win by blanking the Westerners on one hit over the last two innings... Vern Bass (1-2) really took it on the chin and lost it as he was nailed for two homers and three runs in just one-third of an inning.

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - TYCOBBIAN UNION

NH HAWKS CLOBBER TURON 10-5, EVENS SERIES
It was a wild and wooly ball game at Typhoon Stadium in Turon... when it was over North Hills had clobbered the Typhoons 10-5 and evened up their Tycobbian Division Series at 2-2... the Hawks hammered out 16 hits and benefitted from three Turon errors... the Hawks committed four errors... only four of the 15 runs in the game were earned... everybody in the North Hills line-up contributed at least one hit.

The Hawks took charge with a five-run fifth inning to go up 9-3, led by RF Gerry Rice (.389) with 4-5, including a pair of doubles... five other players cracked two hits apiece: 2B Kiril Ivonoski (.333), LF Adam Thurgood (.294), 3B Jim McDermott (.167), C Mikhail Romanovsky (.250) and SS Norris Henry (.214)... 1B Ric Hamilton (.231) got his second homer of the series good for two runs in the fifth.

Tony Mack (2-0/1.00) pitched the entire game, didn't give up an earned run, permitted seven hits, walked none and posted six strikeouts... losing pitcher Clyde Engstrom (0-1/4.61) was battered for nine runs on 12 hits in five-plus frames... four of them were gifts of the Typhoons' shoddy defense.

CHAMPS JOLT PANTHERS 9-7 TO TIE SERIES AT 2-2
In game four of the TU Division Series, East Point's Frank Blair had Arlon eating out of his hand with a 5-0 lead after five innings, but then the roof fell in on him... the Champs rallied for nine runs in the next three frames to capture it 9-7 and tie up the best-of-seven series at two games each.

Four homers and solid relief pitching by Dale Greene made the difference... Greene (1-0/0.00) tossed three shutout innings and got credit for the win, enabling the Champions to get back in the game... in the sixth SS Roland Duvernet (.389) had an RBI single and 3B Matt Clarendon (.294) smacked a two-run roundtripper, narrowing the score to 5-3... RF Mark Cameron (.211) homered to make it 5-4 in the seventh... in the eighth Arlon erupted for five runs to rally past East Point... Duvernet came through again and tied the Panthers at 5-5 with a solo homer... Arlon moved ahead 7-5 on a wild pitch and Gussie Czajk's (.316) base hit... and C Nick Shafer's (.300) two-run clout gave them a four-run lead at 9-5... Panther 1B Bert Henrich (.167) hit a two-run homer in the ninth for the final runs of the game.

Arlon got 13 hits to 10 for East Point... Clarendon had three hits and 2B Todd Benson (.417) to lead the way for the Champs... Cameron and Duvernet had two apiece... East Point got a three-run homer in the third from 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.357) and a two-run shot by Henrich in the ninth... SS Dean O'Donnell (.300), RF Ricky Urbina (.316) and Tanaka (.357) all had a pair of hits each for the Panthers.

Frank Blair (1-1/4.02) suffered the loss after surrendering six runs on nine hits in seven-plus innings... Arlon's ace Ronny Farnsworth left the game after four innings with an injury trailing 5-0... no word yet on the problem... the loss of Farnsworth, who was 21-8 in the season with a 2.64 ERA, would be a big setback for Arlon's Pro Cup aspirations... Champions manager Rocco Belasario told reporters that IPA strikeout king, Lanny Gray (16-15/3.38) will take his place in the starting rotation.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 26, 2039

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

CC 'CATS CRUSH SLIGO 8-3, UP BY A GAME
Going into game five of the IPA Division playoffs all of the series were deadlocked at two games apiece... In the Ruthlandian Division Series Cold Creek crushed Sligo 8-3 to go up by a game in the best-of-seven series... a five-run fourth sealed the verdict... the Catamounts now have a three games to two lead... Cold Creek was the third choice in the Pro Cup predictions and Sligo was number seven.

The Catamounts banged out 10 hits and were sparked by home runs by RF Wayne Kenney (.571) and C Arved Tarand (.368)... Kenney went 3-4 and drove in four runs, while Tarand had two hits and 3 runs batted in... Sligo was paced by 3B Mel Dillard (.158) and C Damon Klein (.474)... both had solo homers.

20-game winner Pete Heller (1-0/4.80) got the first postseason win of his 13-year career... he checked the Rovers on three runs and seven hits, struck out nine and walked only one in a complete-game outing... Sligo starter Randall Steele (0-1/7.36), a 25-game winner, was roughed up for six runs in five innings for the loss.

REDHAWKS TAKE LEAD, WHIP WALESKA 4-3
A walk, wild pitch and Buddy Werner's base hit gave Far Mountain a 4-3 triumph over favored Waleska in game five of the RU Division Series and a one-game lead... Far Mountain was the sixth pick in the Pro Cup poll with Waleska number five... Karl Nordheim (2-0/1.59) had an impressive performance... he limited the Westerners to three hits and one earned run in a route-going effort... Nordheim posted six Ks and walked two batters... Jeff Woodruff matched him for seven innings, leaving with the score 3-3... Vern Bass (1-3/11.25) lost his third game in relief... he came on in the eighth and lost.

Far Mountain's main bats were LF Harlan Silver (.188), who had a double, triple and two RBIs, 2B Johnny Kaufman (.316) with two hits and two runs scored, and CF Wes Wernstedt (.294) with two hits and a run... leading Waleska was C Rodney Hanson (.294) with a solo homer and two runs scored.

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - TYCOBBIAN UNION

HAWKS HAMMER TURON 11-5, UP 3-2 IN SERIES
Two homers and six RBIs by rookie Jimmy Jay Ferguson put defending Pro Cup champion North Hills in the driver's seat in their battle with the Turon Typhoons in the Tycobbian Division Series... the Hawks took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and now need just one more win to advance to the League Championship Series... North Hills is the Pro Cup favorite with Turon ranked as the second most likely winner.

Ferguson (.222) slugged a grand slam in the second inning and a two-rum smash in the fourth and put the Hawks well on their way to victory... North Hills totaled 18 hits with LF Adam Thurgood (.364) and 1B Ric Hamilton (.333) getting three each... Thurgood and 3B Jim McDermott (.250) each drove in a pair of runs and belted homers, giving the Hawks four for the day.

Winner Jeff Owens (1-1/6.19) went the distance, permitting five runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and three walks... Nate Scottsdale (1-1/7.30) caught the loss and took quite a licking, giving up seven runs in three-plus innings.

O'DONNELL'S HR GIVES PANTHERS SERIES LEAD
Dean O'Donnell only got one hit in game five of the TU Division Series, but it was good one - a three-run bomb in the tenth frame that gave East Point a 7-4 decision over Arlon and a three-two lead in the series... the Panthers ranked last in the Pro Cup poll, while Arlon was rated number four... Tetsu Tanaka and Bert Henrich also hit homers... Tuck Tawney (1-0/0.00) notched the win, setting down the Champs in the top of the tenth... Arlon reliever Dale Greene (1-1/5.79) was the loser... he was the victim of O'Donnell's big blast.

The Panthers had the edge in base hits 10 to 9... Tanaka (.389), Henrich (.217) and C Chris Cardinale (.368) each collected two hits... Henrich has knocked three homers in the series, while Tanaka has two... RF Mike Cameron (.261) and C Nick Shafer (.304) homered in defeat for the Champions... it was their third in the playoffs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 27, 2039

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

PIERSON & ROVERS ROLL OVER CC 'CATS 4-0
The underdog Sligo Rovers staved off elimination from the Ruthlandian Division Series with a 4-0 win over the favored Cold Creek Catamounts... Tom Pierson's masterful outing tied up the best-of-seven series at three games each... Pierson (1-1/3.68) tossed eight-shutout innings, limiting the Catamounts to just five hits and no runs... Gary Booth completed the shutout with a scoreless ninth... Mason Marsh (0-1/4.50) was the losing pitcher... he allowed four runs on seven hits in his eight innings... Marsh walked only one and fanned nine batters... game seven will be played tomorrow afternoon, also in Cold Creek at Holmes Field.

Sligo only got seven hits... the most important one was LF Jim Lewellan's (.200) three-run homer in the first frame... the Rovers' final run came in the third on 1B Denny Simmons' (.455) RBI single... leading the Catamounts were SS Jeremy Hall (.241), LF Wayne Kenney (.545) and C Arved Tarand (.391)... all collected two hits apiece.

NASH EVENS SERIES, WALESKA WHIPS FM 4-0
Pitching at home at Westerner Field, Craig Nash stopped Far Mountain 4-0 on a four-hit shutout and evened their RU Division Series at three games apiece, forcing game seven tomorrow afternoon in Waleska... Nash whiffed eight batters and walked only one, while going the route... the loser was Dennis Sasek (0-2/3.18), who also hurled a complete game and gave up four runs on nine hits.

The top hitters for the Westerners were CF Jon Lassiter (.292) with four hits in four tries... and 3B Monty McMurtry (.286) and SS Bobby Denton (.450) each with two hits... Redhawk SS Dan Vance (.111) had two of the four hits off Nash.

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - TYCOBBIAN UNION

CHAMPS FORCE GAME SEVEN, NIP PANTHERS 4-3 IN 12
Down to their last three outs in the ninth at Derby Downs in Arlon, the Champs tied it up 3-3 and then won it in the 12th 4-3 on Todd Benson's base hit... Arlon forced the East Point Panthers into a seventh-and-deciding game tomorrow afternoon.

Arlon got sharp performances from starter Emil Nowak and reliever Dale Greene... Nowak (1-0/3.00) went nine innings, struck out 5 and walked three, yielding three runs and 10 hits... Greene (2-1/3.52) picked up the win with three scoreless frames... Dixie Brooks started for the Panthers, going eight innings and giving up two runs on eight hits... Scotty Bentley blew the save by giving up a run in the ninth, but that was all he allowed in three innings... Tuck Tawney (1-1/1.59) was the losing pitcher.

2B Todd Benson led the winners 16-hit attack with four hits and two RBIs... three other Champs got a pair of hits each: C Nick Shafer (.310), 1B Ernie Pryor (.435) and RF Mike Cameron (.308)... Shafer got his fourth home run in the series... East Point had 12 hits... 3B Sam McClellan (.333) had three of them and SS Dean O'Donnell (.290) two of them.

HAWKS VICTORS IN SIX, TYPHOONS SWOON
David Michael did it again... the veteran North Hills pitcher hurled them past powerful Turon 5-1 and into the Tycobbian Championship Series... in his illustrious 11-year career Michael is especially tough in the postseason... he is 15-7 in 23 starts with a brilliant 2.25 ERA.

In game six at the Hawk's Nest, Michael (1-1/1.20) blanked the Typhoons on four hits over his seven innings... he left the game with a mild shouder strain and could miss a week of so in the playoffs... Joey Santini worked the final two frames and gave up one run on three hits... defending Pro Cup champ North Hills won the series four games to two and ended Turon's season... the Hawks are this year's favorite to win the IPA title and the Typhoons were the number-two choice.

The Hawks jumped on Turon starter Armin Boehm (1-1/1.29) for four runs right off the bat, scoring three in the first and another one in the second... North Hills had eight hits in the game, while the Typhoons managed seven... rookie CF Jimmy Jay Ferguson (.286) had two hits to lead the Hawks... he scored a run and drove in a run... and 2B Tommy Vavas (.133) walked twice and score two runs... RF Gerry Rice (.357), 1B Ric Hamilton (.318) and C Mikhail Romnovsky (.263) all drove in a run for the winners.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 28, 2039

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

SLIGO UPSETS COLD CREEK IN 7 GAMES
The Sligo Rovers weren't dismayed when they were picked seventh in the Pro Cup poll just prior to the playoffs... they just went about their business and upset the number-three Cold Creek Catamounts in seven games, taking the last one 8-4... they hit three homers and took advantage of four costly errors to do in the 'Cats.

The Rovers rattled the boards for 14 hits and beat the Catamounts' ace J. J. Gillespie... RF Pat Foreman went 3-5, scored three runs and poked a solo homer to lead them... LF Jim Lewellen (.233) was 2-5 with a solo homer... and 2B Howard Winston (.185) had two hits, two RBIs and a one-run homer... Cold Creek collected 11 hits and were paced by 2B Pat Ellis (.333) with a double and a three-run smash... RF Guy St. Laurent (.259) was 2-for-4, scored twice and batted in one run.

Scotty Price, Sligo's ace, came through for them... he struggled a bit, giving up 11 hits and four run in eight innings... Mark Smith worked a perfect ninth to secure the victory... Gillespie (1-2/3.13) was the losing pitcher... he worked six innings and left the game behind 4-2... Gillespie fanned five, walked two batters and surrendered two of the home runs... only two of the runs were earned.

WALESKA SKIMS BY FM 2-1 IN GAME 7
In game seven the Waleska Westerners wrapped the Ruthlandian Division Series by skimming by the Far Mountain Redhawks 2-1 at Westerner Field... Tony Haskell defeated Chad Cummings in a tense pitcher's duel decided in the bottom of the ninth by Bobby Denton's two-out base hit that scored Niles Gregory from third base.

Haskell (1-0/2.78), a last-minute replacement for the injured ace Terry Richards in the Westerners' starting rotation, was razor-sharp... he went all the way, stopping the Redhawks on six hits, struck out nine and walk only one... Cummings (0-2/3.04) was almost as good, yielding two runs on seven hits in a complete game... Cummings walked four and fanned three in defeat.

Two walks, a single and an RBI groundout by Niles Gregory gave Waleska a 1-0 lead in the opening frame... Far Mountain didn't get a run until the top of the ninth when 1B Bert Richter (.217) doubled and went to third on Kyle Gottwald's (.500) single... C Lou Ranson (.182) plated the tying run with a deep sacrifice fly... that set the stage for Denton's heroics in the bottom of the ninth... Gregory (.160) singled, C Rodney Hanson (.208) walked, 3B Monty McMurtry (.240) hit into a double play with Gregory advancing to third... Denton (.458) then drove him in with a single.

Waleska now advances to the Ruthlandian Union Championship Series against the Sligo Rovers, who surprised the Cold Creek Catamounts in first-round playoff action... the best-of-seven series begins Friday afternoon in Waleska. The Westerners were the fifth pick to win the Pro Cup, while the Rovers were rated number six.

2039 IPA DIVISION SERIES - TYCOBBIAN UNION

ARLON ADVANCES TO TU TITLE SERIES
Arlon lost the first two games to East Point in the Tycobbian Division Series, but then came back to win four of the next five games... the Champions won game seven 5-3 at home behind Lanny Gray (1-0/2.61), who went the route and held the Panthers to three runs and seven hits with seven strikeouts and no bases on balls... Gray, a starter in the regular season, was shifted to the bullpen for the playoffs as Arlon downsized to a three-man rotation... however, when Ronny Farnsworth (21-8) was injured in game one, Gray (16-15) was his replacement.

A five-run third inning was all the Champs needed to wrap up the series... C Nick Shafer (.333) ripped a three-homer, his fifth of the series, RF Mark Cameron (.333) scored from third on a wild pitch and SS Roland Duvernet (.290) doubled in the fifth run... East Point battled back with three in the sixth on a two-run homer by SS Dean O'Donnell (.314) and a solo roundtripper by RF Ricky Urbina (.273), but that was as close as they could get... Gray blanked them the final three frames.

Frank Blair (1-2/4.98) was the losing pitcher... he was shelled for five runs and six hits in six innings.

Arlon, ranked fourth in the Pro Cup poll, will now go up against powerful North Hills, the defending IPA champ and this year's Pro Cup favorite in the Tycobbian Championship Series, starting this Friday afternoon in North Hills.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 29, 2039

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES BEGIN TODAY
The IPA Pro Cup teams have been shaved down to four. Pro Cup favorite North Hills survived a tough series with Turon and is still in the running to repeat as the champion of the Islands. North Hills had captured three of the last five Pro Cups. The Hawks will meet the fourth-ranked Arlon Champions in the Tycobbian Union Championship Series.

Arlon got past the number-eight choice East Point in the first round. In the Ruthlandian Championship Series the fifth-pick Waleska will tangle with sixth-rated Sligo, who upset third-ranked Cold Creek in the opening round. Waleska whipped Far Mountain, the sixth choice in the Pro Cup poll.

All four clubs were impressive in Division Series. Waleska suffered a serious loss when ace pitcher Terry Richards (18-8/2.64) was lost for the playoffs due to injury. Arlon will also be missing its number one starter Ronny Farnsworth (21-8/2.64) for the first few games of the series. Farnsworth is day-to-day with a sore back. Lanny Gray (16-15/3.38) has taken his spot in the rotation.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 30, 2039

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

WESTERNERS DUMP ROVERS 7-1 IN LCS OPENER
In game one of the Ruthlandian Championship Series at Westerner Field, hometown Waleska got strong pitching and strong bats to dump Sligo 7-1... Jeff Woodruff (1-0/2.31) had a sterling performance, stopping the Rovers on one run and five hits, while walking only one batter and striking out five.

25-game winner Randall Steele (0-2/8.27) continued to fare poorly in the postseason... he was banged around for six runs and 10 hits in five and one-third innings... all total the Westerners garnered 12 hits in the game, led by 2B Joey Harris' (.258) three hits and two runs, RF Niles Gregory's (.214) pair of hits with one RBI and a run scored, and C Rodney Hanson's (214) two runs batted in... LF Teke Holmes (.231) and 3B Monty McMurtry (.241) also had RBIs.

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - TYCOBBIAN UNION

ARLON EDGES NORTH HILLS 2-1 IN GAME ONE
Pat Stuyvesant and his Arlon Champions got the upper hand on defending Pro Cup titleholder North Hills in the first game of the Tycobbian League Championship Series at the Hawk's Nest... Stuyvesant bested Tony Mack 2-1, restricting the Hawks to one run and six hits in a complete game... Stuyvesant (1-0/2.10) walked nobody and whiffed four batters... Mack (2-1/1.38) was the loser as he was touched for 10 hits and two runs in his eight innings... Mack walked six batters and fanned five.

Arlon got 12 hits, but it was a scoreless tie until the top of the seventh, when Charley Hastings (.171) led off with a triple and scored on Gussi Czajk's (.289) single... the Champs padded it to 2-0 in the ninth on SS Roland Duvernet's (.314) single, stolen base and 3B Matt Clarendon's (.273) RBI single... North Hills got its only score in the last of the eighth on a double by SS Norris Henry's (.280) two-bagger and groundouts by PH Kris Anastas (.000) and 2B Tommy Vavas (.158).

Five Champs got two hits each: Hastings, Czajk, Duvernet, RF Mark Cameron (.353) and 2B Todd Benson (.375)... Hawks' RF Gerry Rice (.375) had two hits in defeat.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 1, 2039

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

WALESKA RALLIES LATE AND WINS AGAIN
In game two of the Ruthlandian League Championshop Series the Waleska Westerners rallied late and posted their second straight win in the best-of-seven series... Waleska trailed Sligo 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh, but then came on strong with three runs, highlighted by 2B Joey Harris' two-run single that gave them the lead 6-4... the Westerners added another run in the eighth to solidify a 7-4 victory.

Waleska racked up 16 hits, led by 1B Shayn Lambert (.414) with 4-4, including two doubles... four other Westerners socked two hits apiece: CF Jon Lassiter (.286), 3B Monty McMurtry (.273), C Rodney Hanson (.250) and SS Bobby Denton (.457)... the Rovers were paced by 1B Denny Simmons (.485) with three hits in three tries and by C Damon Klein (.343) with 2-for-4 and two RBIs.

Craig Nash (3-0/1.38) chalked up his third win of the postseason, but staggered a bit... Nash permitted four runs on six hits in eight innings... he struck out 6, but had control problems with 5 bases on balls... Vernon Bass finished up for him and got the final three outs in the ninth... loser Tom Pierson (1-2/5.40) was belted for 16 hits and seven runs in seven innings.

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES -TYCOBBIAN UNION

HAWKS BURY CHAMPS 13-2, EVEN SERIES
It was no contest in game two of the Tycobbian League Championship Series... North Hills buried Arlon 13-2 to even up the series at one game apiece... the Hawks slammed four Champion pitchers for 18 hits, including two-run homers by Ric Hamilton and Norris Henry... they also got solid pitching from Frankie Lambert (1-0/2.45), who resticted Arlon to just two runs on 10 hits... Lambert went the route, fanning nine and walking three... Emil Nowak (1-1/4.24) was the losing pitcher... he was battered for eight runs and 10 hits in just five and one-third innings.

Leading the North Hills attack were SS Norris Henry (.333) with three hits, three runs and three RBIs, 2B Kiril Ivonoski (.375) with three hits, two runs and two RBIs, 1B Ric Hamilton (.367) with three hits, two runs and two RBIs and RF Gerry Rice (.378) with two hits, a run and two runs batted in... pitcher Frankie Lambert (.500) aided his own cause with two hits and three runs scored... C Nick Shafer (.349) went 3-for-5 for the Champions.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 2, 2039

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

SLIGO'S PRICE ONE-HITS WALESKA 1-0
The Price was right... the Sligo Rovers got back into the Ruthlandian Championship Series via a great performance by their ace Scotty Price, who fired a masterful one-hitter to nip Waleska 1-0 in game three... Tony Haskell almost matched him, giving up only one run on four hits... in a super pitching duel Price had eight Ks and three walks and Haskell chalked up eight strikeouts and two walks... Doug Haynes relieved Price in the last of the ninth after he walked a batter with two away... Haynes got the save by striking out the final batter.

The only run of the game came in the third inning... after two were out, RF Pat Foreman (.325) singled, stole second base and continued to third on a bad throw by catcher Rodney Hanson, then scored on Neil Mitchell's (.289) line single to center... Niles Gregory (.229) got the only hit off Price... he grounded a single to left in the second inning.

2029 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES -TYCOBBIAN UNION

ARLON RALLIES, TAKES HAWKS 7-5
It was looking bleak for Arlon at Derby Downs in game three of the Tycobbian League Championship Series... they were down 3-2 to Jeff Owens and the defending IPA champ North Hills when they suddenly slammed him for five runs... the rally put the Champs up 7-3 on the way to a 7-5 triumph and a two games to one lead in the series... fireballer Lanny Gray (2-0/3.93) survived 14 hits and five runs for the win... Gray walked two and struck out eight in eight innings... Peter Shannon registered the save with a runless ninth... Owens (1-2/6.65) lost it, allowing seven runs and 12 hits in seven innings.

Gray (.429) helped himself at the plate with two hits and an RBI... he also got help from LF Charley Hastings (.205), C Nick Shafer (.354) and SS Roland Duvernet (.326), all with three hits each... Arlon topped North Hills 14-10 in hits... leading the Hawks were 2B Kiril Ivonoski (.429) with three hits, three runs and three RBIs, SS Tommy Vavas (.250) with three hits, a run and an RBI and RF Gerry Rice (.405) with three hits.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 3, 2039

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

STEELE BLANKS WALESKA 3-0, SLIGO TIES SERIES
After three ineffective postseason outings, 25-game winner Randall Steele finally got it right with a 3-hit masterpiece and tied the series at 2 games each... in game four of the Ruthlandian LCS, Steele (1-2/5.33) blanked Waleska 3-0, walked no one and registered eight strikeouts... Sligo shut the Westerners out for the second day in a row... Jeff Woodruff (1-1/2.35) was the losing pitcher, surrendering three runs on 11 hits in seven-plus innings.

RF Pat Foreman (.378) drove in the first Rover run with a single in the last of the second... Sligo added another one in the third on singles by 1B Denny Simmons (.463), CF Joe McGarrett (.184) and LF Jim Lewellen (.200) that loaded the bases... C Damon Klein (.317) plated the run when he hit into a double play... the Rovers got their final score in the seventh when Simmons singled in Foreman from second base... Foreman paced the 11-hit attack with 4-for-5... Simmons went 3-for 4 and Lewellen 2-for-5.

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES -TYCOBBIAN UNION

NORTH HILLS NUDGES BY ARLON 5-4, SERIES EVEN
In an almost-must win game defending IPA champ North Hills pulled out a 5-4 victory over Arlon to even up the Tycobbian LCS at two games apiece... Gerry Rice got the game-winner in the ninth, when he singled in Tony Mack from third... Mack (3-1/1.80) went all the way for the win, permitting four runs on nine hits... Pat Stuyvesant (1-1/2.91) suffered the loss... he struck out eight batters and walked three, but was tagged for 10 hits and five runs.

The Hawks had a 4-1 lead going into the last of eight, when RF Mark Cameron (.333) boomed a three-run homer to tie the score... North Hills outhit Arlon 12 to 9... CF Jimmy Jay Ferguson (.313) smacked two hits and drove in two runs for the Hawks... 1B Ric Hamilton (.378) collected his fourth postseason homer and had two hits... RF Gerry Rice (.404) and Tony Mack (.231) also chipped in with a pair of hits each.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 5, 2039

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - RUTHLANDIAN UNION

LASSITER 3-RUN HR SENDS WALESKA TO PRO CUP
Game six at Westerner Field in Waleska was dramatic... the Westerners were down to their last out, trailing 3-2 when Jon Lassiter unloaded a three-run smash that sent them to the IPA Pro Finals for the third time in five years... Waleska trimmed the Sligo Rovers 5-3 and copped the Ruthlandian League championship in six games... the Westerners won it all in 2037, when they upended San Alejo in six games for the IPA Pro Cup.

It took a gutsy performance by starter Tony Haskell, who held the Rovers to three runs despite giving up 12 hits in eight and a third innings... Haskell rang up six strikeouts and walked only one... Niles Neilsen relieved Haskell after Mel Dillard's solo homer that gave Sligo the lead 3-2 in the ninth... Neilsen (1-0/0.00) got the final two outs and the victory... Rovers ace Scotty Price stood out, too... he held the Westerners to two runs and seven hits... he exited with a 3-2 lead after eight innings... his relief, Doug Haynes (0-2/11.57), caught the loss... Waleska got to him for two hits and a walk in the ninth... one of the hits was Lassiter's fatal homer.

Sligo had the advantage in hits 12 to 9... SS Neil Mitchell led them with three hits and 2B Mel Dillard (.159), RF Pat Foreman (.370) and 3B Alex Faxon (.286) all had two hits each... Dillard, Mitchell and CF Joe McGarrett (.182) had RBIs... CF Jon Lassiter (.269), SS Bobby Denton (.391) and LF Teke Holmes (250) each had a pair of hits for the Westerners... Lassiter drove in three runs and RF Niles Gregory (.217) and C Rodney Hanson (.261) had one each.

Roy Hobbs, the skipper of the Westerners, was ecstatic about returning to the Pro Cup Finals... he gave his starters Craig Nash, Tony Haskell and Jeff Woodruff high praise for the way they held the Sligo bats in check... the Rovers only got 14 runs in the six games.

Sligo manager Eddie Keys agreed with Hobbs' assessment. "The Waleska starters are among the best in the league. They gave us fits at the plate."

2039 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - TYCOBBIAN UNION

ARLON DETHRONES NORTH HILLS, PRO CUP BOUND
The Islandian Pro Alliance will have a new champion this season after the Arlon Champions dethroned the current titleholder North Hills in six games to win the Tycobbian title and a spot in the Pro Cup Finals against the Waleska Westerner, champion of Ruthlandia... playing inspired baseball Arlon finished off the Hawks 7-1 behind the outstanding pitching of Lanny Gray (3-0/2.96)... tossing a complete game, he stifled them on one run and four hits, while fanning five and walking two... Gray was backed up by 12 hits... North Hills was never in the game as the Champions built up a 5-0 lead after five innings against loser Jeff Owens (1-3/6.23), who really struggled during the playoffs this season after a fine 2038 postseason when he was 3-1 with a great 1.25 ERA in four starts.

Arlon's top hitters were LF Charley Hastings (.218) and 1B Ernie Pryor (.191)... they both knocked solo homers and had two hits each... winning pitcher Gray (.500) also helped his cause with three hits and two RBIs... the Hawks' best bat was LF Adam Thurgood (.235) with a home run.

This was the first time in almost two decades that the Champions have been in the postseason... it will also be the first time they have gotten as far as the Pro Cup Finals... Arlon manager Rocco Belasario singled out his starters, especially Lanny Gray... Belasario said, "It shows you how smart I am, I had Gray penciled in for the bullpen until Farnsworth went out in the first round... Lanny really saved our butts... Stuyvesant was strong, too... and it was great how Farnsworth came back after missing ten days and won game six 1-0... that was fantastic." Belasario also gave high marks to his offense... "We've got a good, all-round club... I think we will do quite well in the Finals... we just beat a very good North Hills team... that should speak volumes about how good our team is."

Todd Simons, the Hawks' manager, told reporters, "This loss really hurts... we missed a great chance to repeat as champions, but ran into a very fine Arlon team... they will do well in the Finals... I think they will win it."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 7, 2039

WALESKA-ARLON VIE FOR PRO CUP, WESTERNERS FAVORED
Waleska has been to the IPA Pro Cup Finals twice before and won both of them. Arlon is a rookie and has never been this far before. The Westerners won just a couple of seasons ago in 2037 and has most of the team back this year. That's one reason the baseball gurus have picked them to win this year. Waleska has the experience. For the year the Westerners were 91-63 and are a slight favorite to win the Pro Cup this year.

Thus far in the playoffs Waleska and Arlon are 8-5. The Westerners are 6-1 at Westerner Field and 2-4 away, while the Champions are 4-3 at home at Derby Downs and 4-2 on the road.

In spite of losing losing ace Terry Richards (18-8/2.64) in the opening game of the playoffs, Waleska still has three quality starters in Craig Nash (18-12/2.91), Jeff Woodruff (22-14/2.94) and Tony Haskell (14-11/3.35). Nash was the 2037 Pro Cup MVP. Manager Roy Hobbs doesn't have any superstuds at the plate, but he has a well-rounded club that features a solid core of reliable hitters, led by RF Niles Gregory (.285/25/103/84), 1B Shayn Lambert (.313/15/60/72), 2B Joey Harris (.282/10/76/80) and C Rodney Hanson (.299/9/67/56). Waleska was one of the best-hitting teams in the Ruthlandian Union with a .272 BA (3rd) and 711 runs (13th). The mound corps was really good with a 2.99 ERA (2nd). Defensively the Westerners are only average with a .972 fielding average.

Arlon was no slouch with a 95-59 record and they had to defeat last year's champ North Hills to get here. Pitching is skipper Rocco Belasario's strong point. Heading up the rotation is Ronny Farnsworth (21-8/2.64), Pat Stuyvesant (20-9/3.66), Emil Nowak (21-8/4.03) and Lanny Gray (16-15/3.38). Gray topped the IPA in strikeouts with 291 in 314 innings. Farnsworth missed most of the playoffs this year, but did come back strong with a huge win late in the North Hills series. The Champions put up a 3.31 team ERA and ranked sixth in the Tycobbian Union. Belasario has two big bats in RF Mark Cameron (.324/52/129/111) and C Nick Shafer (.304/26/93/73), but not a lot in the line-up after them. Cameron had a monster year and was second in homers, second in RBIs and third in runs in the IPA. Arlon does have more firepower than Waleska with 143 homers (25th). The Westerners only went deep 100 times this season (31st). The Champs are outstanding with the gloves with a .980 FA.

WALESKA TEAM INFORMATION

Arlon Team Information

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 8, 2039

2039 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - GAME ONE AT DERBY DOWNS IN ARLON

WALESKA WINS OPENER 2-1 BEHIND NASH'S 5TH WIN
Picking up where he left off in last year's Pro Cup Finals, Craig Nash fired a 2-1 gem in the opening game of this year's Finals to give Waleska a one-game edge over the Arlon Champions... Shayn Lambert's sixth-inning homer made the difference in a fine pitching duel between Nash and Ronny Farnsworth.

Nash (5-0/1.43), last year's Pro Cup MVP, went the route, holding the Champions to six hits... he whiffed eight batters and walked four... Farnsworth (1-2/2.03) also worked a complete game, yielding seven hits with four Ks and one base on balls.

Lambert (.354) led the Westerners with three hits and two runs scored... LF Teke Holmes (.250) singled in Lambert with the game's first run in the top of the second... in the bottom half of the inning Arlon 1B Ernie Pryor (.220) knotted it up a solo blast, his second of the playoffs... Pryor had two hits to lead the Champs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 9, 2039

2039 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - GAME TWO AT DERBY DOWNS IN ARLON

LAMBERT'S 2 HRS POWER WALESKA TO 2ND WIN
For the second straight day in the IPA Pro Cup Series, Shayn Lambert provided the power and the Waleska Westerners got strong pitching... this time it was Tony Haskell, who stopped the Arlon bats in an 8-1 trouncing... Waleska is now in the driver's seat with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

1B Shayn Lambert lashed two roundtrippers and drove in five runs... that give Lambert three home runs in the postseason, all in the first two games of the Finals... in all the Westerners belted 16 hits, paced by four by C Rodney Hanson (.291), and three apiece by Lambert (.377) and 3B Monty McMurtry (.302)... 3B Matt Clarendon (.263) and 2B Todd Benson (.327) got all five of the Champions' hits... with Clarendon having three of them.

Pat Stuyvesant (1-2/3.51) was the losing pitcher... in a poor outing, he went 7 innings, gave up 12 hits and five runs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 10, 2039

2039 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - GAME THREE AT WESTERNER FIELD IN WALESKA

GRAY SAVES THE DAY, CHAMPS WIN 3-1 IN GAME 3
Once again Arlon's Lanny Gray has saved the day... in game three of the IPA Pro Cup Finals, Gray came through with another clutch postseason performance... this time he hurled the Champs to a 3-1 crucial victory over Waleska and narrowed the Westerners' lead to two games to one... now Arlon has a fighting chance... Gray (4-0/2.48), a 23-year-old southpaw, chalked up his fourth postseason victory with 11 strikeouts and no walks... though he permitted 10 hits, Gray held Waleska to just one run.

In the first round of the playoffs, Gray, the IPA strikeout leader, finished off East Point in game seven 5-3... in the Tycobbian LCS he beat North Hills 7-5 in game two and eliminated the Hawks 7-1 in the sixth game.

Gray and Waleska starter Jeff Woodruff matched zeroes on the scoreboard for the first seven frames... finally the Westerners broke through with three runs in the top of the eighth... with one away and CF Gussie Czajk (.301) on second, RF Mark Cameron (.301) was walked intentionally... C Nick Shafer (.306) then singled in the first run of the game... 1B Ernie Pryor's (.211) infield single made it 2-0... and SS Roland Duvernet (.273) doubled in the third one.

Waleska threatened in the ninth... singles by C Rodney Hanson (.305) and 1B Shayn Lambert (.386) placed runners on the corners... Hanson scored on a single by SS Bobby Denton (.351)... with the tying runs on base, LF Teke Holmes (.250) ended the game when he grounded into a double play.

Both squads had 10 hits each... for Arlon LF Charley Hastings (.209), Czajk and Cameron posted two hits apiece, while Hanson and Lambert topped Waleska with a pair of hits.

Loser Woodruff (1-2/2.54) worked into the ninth, surrendered three runs and 10 hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 11, 2039

2039 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - GAME FOUR AT WESTERNER FIELD IN WALESKA

CHAMPS EVEN SERIES, WHIP WESTERNERS 3-1
For the second game in a row, the Arlon Champions got strong pitching and turned back Waleska 3-1 in game four of the Pro Cup Series and evened it at two games each... Ronny Farnsworth turned in another sharp effort blanking the Westerners on two hits over six innings before he was hurt running the bases and removed from the game with a 2-0 lead... Farnsworth (2-2/1.70) got credit for the win with the help of two relievers... Farnsworth fanned four and walked none... Frankie Gautier relieved and gave up one run in the seventh... and Peter Shannon got the save with a scoreless eighth and ninth... it was his second of the postseason... Craig Nash (5-1/1.74) got his first loss in the playoffs this season, allowing three runs on seven hits in seven and two-thirds innings... Nash struck out seven and walked three.

After four scoreless innings, Arlon struck first on CF Gussie Czajk's (.308) RBI single in the fifth... the Champs added another run in the seventh on LF Charley Hastings' (.200) sac fly... Waleska finally got on the scoreboard against Frankie Gautier in the last half of the seventh on C Rodney Hanson's (.290) sacrifice fly, cutting Arlon's lead to 2-1... the Champions got an insurance run in the eighth on pinchhitter Harry Stewart's (.500) sac fly.

Arlon collected eight hits to just four for Westerners... Czajk, 3B Matt Clarendon (.268) and Farnsworth (.154) all socked two hits each for the Champs, while 1B Shayn Lambert (.393) banged out two hits for the Westerners.

Arlon officials said they had no word on the severity of Ronny Farnsworth's injury. He was taken to the hospital for diagnostic testing. Farnsworth was slated to pitch game seven, if the series went that far. It would be a serious loss to Arlon's chances to win the Pro Cup should they lose their ace. Farnsworth was 18-8 with a great 2.64 ERA during the regular season.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednessday, October 12, 2039

2039 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - GAME FIVE AT WESTERNER FIELD IN WALESKA

WALESKA EDGES ARLON 4-3 IN GAME 5, UP 3-2
Playing their third straight game at home at Westerner Field, Waleska rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the last of the ninth to stun Arlon 4-3 in game five of the IPA Pro Cup Series... reliever Peter Shannon blew the save by walking in the winning run... he walked pinchhitter Joey Carter with the bases loaded.

In a seesaw game the Westerners took the lead in the first frame on C Rodney Hanson's (.303) RBI single... Arlon LF Charley Hastings (.216) tied it up at 1-1 in the top of the fifth with a single... in the last of the sixth 1B Shayn Lambert (.385) slammed a solo homer, his fourth of the playoff, to send Waleska in front 2-1... Hastings again tied the score at 2-2 with an RBI double... Arlon then went ahead 3-2 in the top of the eighth on 1B Ernie Pryor's (.215) RBI single... only to have the Westerners rally and win in the ninth... Rodney Hanson doubled and scored on Bobby Denton's (.333) two-bagger to tie the score at 3-all... an intentional walk to LF Teke Holmes loaded the bases... Shannon (0-2/5.00) then forced in the winning run.

Both starters did their jobs well... Pat Stuyvesant fired eight innings for the Champs and only gave up two runs and five hits with two walks and 5 strikeouts... Tony Haskell had a rockier road as he was tagged for 10 hits and three runs in eight innings... Niles Neilsen (2-0/0.00) worked a runless ninth for the victory... Arlon had the advantage 10 hits to seven for Waleska, but dropped the game.

Hanson led the Westerners with two hits and an RBI... while for Arlon it was 2B Todd Benson (.338) racking up three hits with Hastings getting two hits and driving in two runs... C Nick Shafer (.296) also drilled a pair of hits in defeat.

If needed, the final two games will be played at Derby Downs in Arlon... game six will be tomorrow afternoon... Waleska's manager Roy Hobbs will try to wrap up the Pro Cup with 24-year-old right-hander Jeff Woodruff (22-14/2.94) on the hill, while Arlon skipper Rocco Belasario will counter with Lanny Gray (16-15/3.38)... Woodruff is 1-2 in five postseason starts, but has a strong 2.54 ERA... the 23-year-old lefty Gray has been brilliant with a 4-0 mark and 2.48 ERA in four starts.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 13, 2039

2039 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - GAME SIX AT DERBY DOWNS IN ARLON

WALESKA WINS IT ALL, PRO CUP CHAMP
Waleska's Jeff Woodruff saved the best for last... the 24-year-old right-hander hurled one of the best games of his career by shutting out Arlon on five hits 1-0 in game six of the IPA Pro Cup Finals to give the Westerners the Islands' championship four games to two... it's the third time Waleska has won the IPA crown... they also won it in 2037 and 2028... Woodruff (2-2/2.06) went all the way, struck out five and walked three... Lanny Gray (4-1/2.18) was very sharp, too... Gray only allowed one run and eight hits and finished with six strikeouts and one walk.

Waleska snapped a scoreless tie in the top of the ninth... with two away, Rodney Hanson and Joey Harris singled, putting runners on first and second... Bobby Denton then ripped a double past third base and down the left field line to score Hanson with the winning run.

SS Bobby Denton (.358) sparked the Westerners with 3-for-4... C Rodney Hanson (.314) and pitcher Jeff Woodruff (.235) chipped in with two hits apiece... LF Charley Hastings (.231) had two hits to lead the Champions.

At the post game press conference, winning manager Roy Hobbs was elated at winning his second Pro Cup in three seasons. He told the reporters, "We thought we had a real good chance of winning it all going into the playoffs because of our pitching and that proved to be the key... Craig Nash (5-1/1.74), Tony Haskell (2-1/2.25) and Jeff Woodruff (2-2/2.06) were unreal all season long and in the playoffs, too... and Shayn Lambert (.362 BA/4 HR/13 RBI), Bobby Denton (.358 BA/1 HR/10 RBI) and Rodney Hanson (.314/1 HR/10 RBI) all came through in the postseason with the bats for us."

Disappointed Arlon skipper Rocco Belasario said, "We had faith in our starters and they did well... however, Waleska's offense was just a little better than ours... it's tough to win when you only score 11 runs in six games."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 14, 2039

NASH WINS SECOND PRO CUP MVP
The IPA Pro Cup Most Valuable Player Award went to Waleska's Craig Nash for the second time in his career... Nash also won it in 2037... the 24-year-old right-hander went 5-1 in the postseason with four complete games and chalked up a superb 1.74 ERA in six starts. During the regular season Nash was 18-12 with a 2.91 ERA in 36 starts... in his six seasons in the IPA with Waleska he is 99-77 with a 3.21 ERA.

Nash is the fifth double winner of the Pro Cup MVP trophy... Far Mountain's fine outfielder Xavier Sosa also won it twice, in 2012 and 2013, Hall-of-Fame pitcher Duncan Welch, who led Crystal Lake to the 2020 Pro Cup and Eastshore to the 2022 Pro Cup... Valmara's Teddy Lem, the winner in 2026 and 2030... and hurler David Michael of the North Hills Hawks, who won it in 2034 and 2038.

Runner-up in the voting was Arlon's outstanding southpaw Lanny Gray, who ran up a 4-1 postseason record with a great 2.18 ERA in five starts. Gray was only 16-15 in the regular season, but stepped it up to the highest level in the playoffs... his only loss was 1-0 in game six of the Pro Cup Finals to Waleska.

Third in the balloting was Waleska's fine first baseman Shayn Lambert, who batted .362 in the postseason with 7 doubles, 4 homers, 13 RBIs and 9 runs scored... during the year hit .313 with 15 homers and 60 RBIs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 15, 2039

RUTHLANDIAN UNION ANNOUNCES 2039 AWARDS
The Ruthlandian Union presented all the major awards for 2039... Nicky Farrugia of St. John was honored with the Golden Bat trophy, Augie Marquis of Fort Benton took the Golden Arm, Wynnamac's Nioka Inkamara received the Rookie of the Year and the RU Most Valuable Player acclaim also went to Farrugia... the Golden Glove winners were also announced.

RU Golden Bat: Nicky Farrugia (.366 BA/36 HR/104 RBI/113 runs)... first time winner... led St. John to second place in the RU South... beat out Ancona's Tommy Richardson (.360 BA/30 HR/132 RBI/87 runs) and Sugar Valley's Bobby Gamble (.310/36 HR/117 RBI/124 runs/44 SB)

RU Golden Arm: Augie Marquis (24-12/2.28)... first time winner... paced Defenders to third place in RU West... lifetime record is 271-199 with a 3.04 ERA... edged out J. J. Gillespie of Cold Creek (23-9/2.64) and Dave Whitaker of Kilkenny (21-15/2.03).

RU Rookie of the Year: Nioka Inkamara (.270 BA/28/92/83)... helped Wynnamac to fourth-place finish in RU East... closest competitors were RF Bert Richter of Far Mountain (.277 BA/23 HR/85 RBI/84 runs/19 SB) and 2B Matt Womack of Middlefield (.261 BA/23 HR/73 RBI/90 runs/17 SB).

RU MVP: Nicky Farrugia of St. John (.366 BA/36 HR/104 RBI/113 runs)... won IPA and RU batting crown with .366 average... also won the MVP award in 2036... lifetime .320 hitter in six seasons... second and third in the voting were RF Bobby Gamble of Sugar Valley (.310 BA/36 HR/117 RBI/124 runs/44 SB) and pitcher Augie Marquis of Fort Benton (24-12/2.28).

RU Golden Glove Award:
P: Ernie Hodges (Wynnamac) (20-14/3.46) (1.000 FA)
C: Ted Jarzinski (Belle Plaine) (.238/18/50/70) (.993 FA/2 PB/49.3% RTO) (two-time winner)
1B: Jojo DeLucca (Claxton) (.300/29/97/100) (.995 FA) (three-time winner)
2B: Charlie Farmer (Volusia) (.289/18/64/104) (.985 FA)
3B: Johnny Church (Marston) (.252/1/36/52) (.972 FA)
SS: Stevie Wynn (Claxton) (.298/10/47/96) (.966 FA)
LF: Kerry Keller (Volusia) (.261/23/80/68) (.992 FA)
CF: Scotty Lagrange (Eastshore) (.302/25/91/100) (1.000 FA) (five-time winner)
RF: Nioka Inkamara (Wynnamac) (.270/28/92/83) (.990 FA)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 16, 2039

TYCOBBIA PRESENTS YEARLY HONORS
The major awards winners in the Tycobbian Union were Bayview's Jack Culpepper, the Golden Bat recipient... Tony Mack of North Hills got the Golden Arm... the top rookie was Darwin Tard of Rolling Hills... and the Most Valuable Player trophy went to Mark Cameron of the Arlon Champions... the Golden Gloves were also given out.

TU Golden Bat: Jack Culpepper (.312 BA/63 HR/128 RBI/118 runs)... second-highest HR total in IPA history... topped only by High Mesa's Jack Elliott, who hit 65 in 2021... also won 2037 Golden Bat... Bayview came in fifth in the TU West... number two in the balloting was RF Mark Cameron of Arlon (.324 BA/52 HR/129 RBI/111 runs)... number three was Turon SS C. C. Kingsford (.340 BA/29 HR/105 RBIs/102 runs).

TU Golden Arm: Tony Mack (23-10/2.22) of North Hills... he led the Hawks to a sixth consecutive TU North crown... Mack is 65-39 in six IPA seasons... he was a reliever the first four years... he nipped San Alejo's Bucky Buckmaster (22-10/2.52) and Neil Scottsdale (24-8/3.11) of Turon for the honor.

TU Rookie of the Year: Darwin Tard (.285 BA/23 HR/85 RBI/97 runs) of Rolling Hills... Tard sparked the Reds to third place in the TU West... the runner-up was Midway hurler Charlie Chase (17-12/3.53) and North Hills CF Jimmy Jay Ferguson (.354/9/45/60).

TU MVP: Arlon's Mark Cameron (.324 BA/52 HR/129 RBI/111 runs), who led the Champions to their best season in 20 years... they won the TU West... Cameron finished second in the Tycobbian Union in homers and RBIs and was third in runs... Turon SS C. C. Kingsford (.340 BA/29 HR/105 RBI/102 runs) was number two in the poll and Golden Arm winner Tony Mack (23-10/2.22) of North Hills was third.

TU Golden Glove Awards:
P: Jimmy Beckworth (Chicopee) (12-22/5.07) (.988 FA)
C: Mikhail Romanovsky (North Hills) (.228 BA/14 HR/52 RBI/56 runs) (.995 FA/1 PB/34.8% RTO)
1B: Ernie Pryor (Arlon) (.243 BA/22 HR/73 RBI/68 runs) (.996 FA)
2B: Mikk Kukk (Mahaska) (.307 BA/26 HR/87 RBI/96 runs) (.992 FA) (two-time winner)
3B: Matt Clarenton (Arlon) (.252 BA/9 HR/66 RBI/40 runs) (.967 FA)
SS: Rocco Bertara (Mahaska) (.295 BA/10 HR/50 RBI/90 runs) (.976 FA)
LF: Harry Tashina (Kenwood) (.327 BA/12 HR/74 RBI/88 runs) (.979 FA)
CF: Dusty Rogan (San Alejo) (.263/23 HR/89 RBI/90 runs) (.981 FA) (four-time winner)
RF: Giorgio Gervasio (Turon) (.310 BA/29 HR/112 RBI/92 runs) (.996 FA)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 17, 2039

IPA TOP SKIPPERS NAMED
The guys that made all the right moves on the field, in the dugout, at the plate and on the mound have been rewarded with the IPA Manager of the Year trophies. The 2039 winners are Waleska's Roy Hobbs of the Ruthlandian Union and Arlon's Rocco Belasario of the Tycobbian Union. Both of them are first-time honorees.

Hobbs guided his Westerners to first place in the RU South with a 91-63 record. That was much-improved over the previous year, third place and an ordinary 79-75 mark. Hobbs edged out Volusia's manager Joe DeLucca for the award. DeLucca really turned the Vigilantes around. They went from eighth place to second place in the RU West, going from a pitiful 58-96 in 2038 to 86-69 this year.

With Belasario at the helm, the Arlon Champions rose up from a close second place to the top spot in the TU West... they advanced from 84-70 to 95-59 in just one season... Kenwood's skipper Aaron Hankins was second to Belasario... his Wildcats climbed from seventh in the TU West to a very close second to Arlon, winding up only two games out of first... Kenwood jumped from a bad 66-88 to an impressive 93-61... third in the best-manager poll was Mahaska's Bucky O'Brian... the Haymakers came in second again in the tough TU North to the perennial powerhouse North Hills, but they did improve their standing, going from 82-72 and 11 games back to 91-63 and only six games behind.

I think that finishes year 2039.

I'll get to work on the next season.

I will not do a monthly recap like I did this year. I did learn more about the league on a month-to-month basis, but it wasn't worth the extra time to me to do it.

I will revert back to just giving the mid-season report and final recap in 2040.

I'm still open to any suggestions to improve the dynasty report.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, June 17, 2040

IPA ALL-STAR CLASH WED AT WALESKA
The halfway mark has been reached in the Islandian Pro Alliance, so that means the All-Star Game can't be far away. The mid-summer's dream game is slated for this Wednesday afternoon at Westerner Field, home of the defending Pro Cup champion Waleska. Last season Tybobbia trounced Ruthlandia 16-7 to run their lead in the All-Star series to 26-13.

The Cold Creek Catamounts have the most players on the RU Stars with three, while the Ginza Ninjas have five representatives on the Tycobbian Stars. Cody Hanks will be making his sixth appearance for the Ruthlandia and Lorne Evans is tops for Tycobbia with his 11th selection.

RUTHLANDIAN UNION ALL-STARS:

SP: CHRIS DUNSBERRY (SUGAR VALLEY) 13-2/2.73 (SECOND TIME)
SP: JIMMY HERMAN (BEECHWOOD) 12-6/2.91) (FIRST TIME)
SP: ANDO LINTROP (VALKA) 12-4/2.66 (FIRST TIME)
SP: J. J. GILLESPIE (COLD CREEK) 11-6/2.62 (FIFTH TIME)
SP: JOEY BAKER (COLD CREEK) 9-2/2.17/3 saves (SECOND TIME)
SP: STAN KIVAS (ELNORA) 10-6/2.44 (THIRD TIME)
SP: TERRY RICHARDS (WALESKA) 9-5/2.47 (FIFTH TIME)
MR: JOE PIERCE (KILKENNY) 4-2/1.50/12 saves) (FIRST TIME)
C: BARNEY SWINDELL (STONER) .310/17/61/37 (SECOND TIME)
C: CANNON JOHNSON (ELNORA) .310/5/40/39 (SECOND TIME)
C: STAN STANEK (CRYSTAL LAKE) .336/12/43/56 (THIRD TIME)
1B: BENNY HULL (GRAND CITY) .332/19/63/45 (FIRST TIME)
1B: DENNY SIMMONS (SLIGO) .344/10/42/47 (SECOND TIME)
2B: CODY HANKS (BEECHWOOD) .303/18/56/45 (SIXTH TIME)
2B: GARY COLTON (CLAXTON) .312/6/44/24) (FIFTH TIME)
3B: LEONARD PURKEY (SAN DIMAS) .349/18/59/55 (SECOND TIME)
3B: TOMMY RICHARDSON (ANCONA) .326/11/45/44) (THIRD TIME)
3B: MONTY MCMURTRY (WALESKA) .327/4/42/48) (FIRST TIME)
SS: JOHNNY PETRAK (EASTSHORE) .349/11/38/58 (FIFTH TIME)
SS: STAN MILA (MARSTON) .342/13/58/39 (SECOND TIME)
SS: MEL SMITH (BEECHWOOD) .297/12/42/59 (FIRST TIME)
LF: CHET PENN (COLFAX) .327/20/46/43) (FIFTH TIME)
LF: JOHNNY KENNEDY (CRYSTAL LAKE) .318/14/58/42) (FIRST TIME)
LF: AUSTIN EPPS (SAN DIMAS) .318/11/37/39 (FIRST TIME)
CF: CAZZIE CARVALHO (VOLUSIA) .318/13/41/44 (FIRST TIME)
CF: DARRELL DONNELLY (WYNNAMAC) .288/9/43/42 (SECOND TIME)
CF: KEN BRENNAN (COLD CREEK) .360/5/30/51 (FIRST TIME)
RF: NIOKA INKAMARA (WYNNAMAC) .332/22/69/50 (FIRST TIME)
RF: BOO BOUDREAUX (BELLE PLAINE) .333/19/42/54 (SECOND TIME)
RF: BERT RICHTER (FAR MOUNTAIN) .303/15/56/52 (FIRST TIME)

TYCOBBIAN UNION ALL-STARS:

SP: JEFF OWENS (NORTH HILLS) 14-4/2.22 (FOURTH TIME)
SP: JAYSON HALLSTROM (SUMMERLAND) 13-3/1.71 (SECOND TIME)
SP: ANDRE MONTROSE (BLUE LAKE) 11-6/2/42 (FIRST TIME)
SP: CHARLIE CHASE (MIDWAY) 9-7/2.29 (FIRST TIME)
SP: FREDDY GOOCH (KENWOOD) 10-3/2.71 (FIRST TIME)
SP: PAT KOVACS (LA CLAIRE) 10-5/2.86 (SEVENTH TIME)
MR: TERRY BAIRD (LA CLAIRE) 4-3/1.59/11 saves (THIRD TIME)
MR: TIMMY HICKENS (GINZA) 7-4/2.62/14 saves) (FIRST TIME)
C: CORKY DINOZZO (KENWOOD) .344/23/46/36 (FOURTH TIME)
C: NICK SHAFER (ARLON) .317/13/55/34 (SECOND TIME)
C: WHIP HARRELL (GINZA) .307/14/48/42) (FIRST TIME)
1B: CLAUDE KINGSTON (HILLSBORO) .300/26/68/51 (FIRST TIME)
1B: CLIFFORD COLEMAN (HIGH MESA) .302/23/63/48 (SECOND TIME)
1B: WAYMAN STETSON (DENTON CITY) .324/21/66/43 (SECOND TIME)
2B: MIKK KUKK (MAHASKA) .347/11/38/43 (THIRD TIME)
2B: JERRY CULPEPPER (BAYVIEW) .353/34/71/67 (SEVENTH TIME)
3B: SAM ESSEX (GINZA) .325/15/55/42 (FIRST TIME)
3B: JIMMY WOODS (OZARKA) .317/8/46/40 (FIRST TIME)
SS: JOEL POCHE (LUXORA) .329/14/40/45 (FIRST TIME)
SS: JOEL COLLINS (CAPE CORAL) .299/8/33/43 (SECOND TIME)
SS: JARROD O'NEAL (LA CLAIRE) .283/10/41/33 (FOURTH TIME)
LF: ICHIRO KAZUMI (GINZA) .384/12/45/44 (FIRST TIME)
LF: CLAY JOHNSTON (HIGH MESA) .298/19/53/45) (FIRST TIME)
LF: ADAM THURGOOD (NORTH HILLS) .312/14/45/51 (SIXTH TIME)
CF: DUSTY ROGAN (SAN ALEJO) .343/13/49/39 (SECOND TIME)
CF: IVAR NILSSEN (BAYVIEW) .308/15/47/36 (FIRST TIME)
CF: SOGO TAKAGI (GINZA) .304/21/56/58 (THIRD TIME)
RF: WILLIAM SNYDER (CAPE CORAL) .336/16/39/48 (FOURTH TIME)
RF: LORNE EVANS (TUCKANARRA) .338/24/53/61 (ELEVENTH TIME)
RF: EAMON O'TOOLE (SUMMERLAND) .349/10/50/34 (FIRST TIME)
RF: BLAKE BARRISTER (COLCHESTER) .274/22/64/44 (FOURTH TIME)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, June 20, 2040

RU STARS HOMER PAST TU STARS 6-3
It was home-run power that carried the day in the 40th edition of the IPA All-Star game at Westerner Field in Waleska... the Ruthlandian Stars boomed three out of the park in a 6-3 triumph... Benny Hull (Grand City), Gary Colton (Claxton) and Stan Stanek (Crystal Lake) all went deep with solo homers... the RU All-Stars outhit the TU Stars 11 to 6... Tycobbia still has an overwhelming lead in the All-Star series... they have won 26 of the 40 contests.

Ruthlandia jumped on loser Jeff Owens (North Hills) for three runs in the last of the third and added another one in the fourth for a 4-0 lead... RBI singles by LF Johnny Kennedy (Crystal Lake), CF Ken Brennan (Cold Creek) and 3B Leonard Purkey (San Dimas), plus a solo homer by 1B Benny Hull (Grand City) accounted for the runs... Stanek's (Crystal Lake) roundtripper in the sixth made it 5-0... in the seventh Tycobbia got back into the game with a three-run outburst against Terry Richards (Waleska)... CF Sogo Takagi (Ginza) got their first run in with a single... the last two scores came on an error by second baseman Gary Colton (Claxton)... Colton's one-run clout in the last of the eighth made it 6-3.

Ando Lintrop (Valka) notched the victory with a scoreless third inning... Owens (North Hills) got the loss as he was battered for four runs and five hits in one-plus inning... C Barney Swindell (Stoner) and 1B Benny Hull (Grand City) sparked Ruthlandia with two hits apiece... SS Joel Poche (Luxora) was the only Tycobbian All-Star to get two base hits, one of them a double... Benny Hull was named the game's Most Valuable Player in a media vote.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 17, 2040

BULLS HOLD OFF CATS IN RU NORTH
In the Ruthlandian North the Ranford Bulls held off the Kilkenny Cats in the final days of the race and won by two games... the Ancona Red Elephants came in third, losing out by eight games... last year's division champ Far Mountain vanished from contention and wound up ten games back in fourth place.

1. RANFORD BULLS (80-74) (--): up from third last year (11 GB)... the Bulls were the best in the weakest division in the IPA... only two clubs had winning records... third pennant in team's history... last was in 2034... not expected to do much in the playoffs... just an average ball club.
Top Pitchers: Ralph Hawk (20-14/2.62)
Top Batters: 3B Pete Bankston (.302/18/83/71), RF Dale Weston (.289/45/112/95)

2. KILKENNY CATS (78-76) (2 GB): finished second last season (8 GB)... team has never made the postseason... have come close twice, this year and in 2036... has good pitching with a 3.74 ERA (10th)... no offense with .243 BA (32nd).
Top Pitchers: 37-year-old ace Dave Whitaker (19-13/3.21) now has 340 wins in 18 seasons... James Crockett (16-15/3.48)... All-Star Joe Pierce was superb with a 6-5 record, 23 saves and a 1.37 ERA.
Top Batters: only decent bats are 3B Jorge Collazo (.287/9/61/74) and RF Kevin McLaglen (.275/12/78/74).

3. ANCONA RED ELEPHANTS (72-82) (8 GB): fifth and 11 games behind in 2039... fairly good at the plate with .269 BA (11th), but mediocre on the mound with a 4.10 ERA (23rd)... have won five RU North flags, none since 2022.
Top Pitchers: Steven Russell (11-12/3.72), Clyde Fairchild (14-20/3.93).
Top Batters: All-Star 3B Tommy Richardson (.326/23/83/94), SS Alex Zitek (.286/39/106/82), C Gregg Straka (.312/6/51/74).

4. FAR MOUNTAIN REDHAWKS (70-84) (10 GB): won the pennant the previous two seasons, declined badly on the hill and at the plate this year.
Top Pitchers: 25-game winner Chad Cummings slumped to 14-13 and a 3.84 ERA... all the rest really went into the tank: Karl Nordheim (8-14/4.35/11 saves), Frankie Moreland (5-3/5.13/2 saves), Dennis Sasek (14-21/3.73).
Top Batters: All-Star CF Bert Richter (.290/34/111/98), 1B John Burrell (.284/24/98/74).

5. TARANTO TARS (68-86) (12 GB): seventh and 19 games off the pace last year... only three division crowns in its history, last one was years ago in 2019... good power (208 HR-3rd) because of small ballpark... weak offense with .247 BA (30th)... not much pitching with a 4.14 ERA (26th).
Top Pitchers: Ric Vizzini (12-23/3.51) most reliable... best in the bullpen was Fast Eddy Romano (10-4/3.23/22 saves).
Top Batters: 1B Mark Delaney (.277/42/103/93), CF Gary Tramonte (.268/31/73/72)

6. LAGRANGE SPORTS (67-87) (13 GB): was fourth in 2039... won three straight pennants and five in six seasons from 2032 to 2037... slipped badly this year to sixth due to drop in both hitting and pitching.
Top Pitchers: Arnie Ayers (16-11/3.20), Hot Dog Huxtable (17-17/3.84)... 34-year-old Ryan Janssen (12-17/3.29) is still a solid starter... lost ace Walt Thurber (7-10/4.00) in July to injury... the 35-year-old Thurber reached the 200-win milestone this season.
Top Batters: no standout sticks... only dependable ones are RF Charles Bacque (.275/17/81/73) and SS John Rodgers (.271/21/71/78).

7. VALMARA VIPERS (66-88) (14 GB): sixth in 2039, 19 games out... eighth consecutive year in the second division... no division titles since 2031... have won 12 pennants and the 2026 Pro Cup... poor offense (31st-tied) and lackluster pitching (4.08 ERA/22nd).
Top Pitchers: Kasio Kitowsky (17-17/4.03)
Top Batters: CF Paul Anthony (.277/17/62/63) and 2B Mike Bruce (.310/1/40/79) were the club leaders at the plate, but nothing to boast about.

8. GLASCO ATHLETICS (64-90) (16 GB): last the last two seasons... only two playoff appearances and one pennant in the club's history... nothing since 2003... no offense (.252 BA-28th) and not a lot of pitching (4.11 ERA-25th).
Top Pitchers: youngsters Manny Berrera (9-3/2.94/1 save) and Ciaran Gallagher (6-5/3.65) show some promise... though he had a tough season mainly due to a lack of run support, Basil Newchurch (8-22/3.70) is still a quality starter at age 28.
Top Batters: vets 1B Greg Stone (.276/17/62/53), SS Terry Johnstone (.256/15/55/94), CF Travis Houston (.255/16/74/69) and C Eddy Martin (.272/18/64 58) provided what little offense the A's had.



2040 Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings, Team Batting, Team Pitching, Team Defense

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 17, 2040

CL CRUSHERS UPSET WALESKA FOR RU SOUTH CROWN
The defending IPA champion Waleska Westerners ran into a hornet's nest this season... the hot-hitting Crystal Lake Crushers dethroned them in the Ruthlandian South Division pennant race... the Crushers edged the Westerners out by three games... St. John and Claxton tied for third and trailed by nine games.

1. CRYSTAL LAKE CRUSHERS (94-60): for the last five seasons Crystal Lake has languished in the second division, but in a surprise rise the Crushers moved up from fifth place to the top spot this season... by a wide margin they outhit and outscored everybody in the IPA with a .295 BA and 843 runs... defense is outstanding, too, with a .980 FA... this was the eighth pennant for the Crushers in their history with the most recent one in 2034.
Top Pitchers: just enough pitching to get by with 36-year-old Arnie Cason (23-9/3.05) having the best year in his career... 35-year old vets Ken Lawson (20-12/4.09) and Douglas Merrill (18-11/4.26) benefitted often from the high-scoring offense.
Top Batters: RF Paul Dillon (.344/10/89/97), CF Jesse Walker (.344/0/49/92), All-Star LF Johnny Kennedy (.299/24/98/81), All-Star C Stan Stanek (.314/24/99/117), 1B Daryl Brady (.315/19/91/74), 3B Marv Roy (.283/16/88/74), SS Morten Jonassen (.310/1/57/72).

2. WALESKA WESTERNERS (91-63) (3 GB): had a solid season, but couldn't beat out Crystal Lake... short on power with 91 HRs (32nd), but hit well with a .274 BA (7th) and good scoring with 745 runs (11th)... mound corps was excellent with a 3.04 ERA (3rd).
Top Pitchers: starting four were all under 3.00 ERA... Craig Nash (20-14/2.94), Jeff Woodruff (23-9/2.73), All-Star Terry Richards (16-15/2.56) and Tony Haskell (10-10/2.69/5 saves) were tough customers on the hill... Richards had a tough second half with no run support... Niles Nielsen (9-4/2.68/18 saves) was impressive in the bullpen.

3. ST. JOHN CRUSADERS (85-59) (9 GB): fell from second, eight games behind, to third this year... solid offense with .275 BA (5th), 772 runs (8th) and 145 HRs (16th-tied)... just average on the hill with a 3.88 ERA (18th).
Top Pitchers: Jeremy Kirk (21-11/2.82) was the only consistent starter.
Top Batters: All-Star RF Nicky Farrugia (.346/26/59/73) had a great year, but missed almost half the season with hamstring problems... the main run producers didn't hit much for average: 3B Marty Blankenship (.260/28/105/80), CF Art Kelley (.274/29/81/92), 2B Byron Johannsen (.246/14/83/80) and SS Tod Allison (.265/4/57/90), but did put runs on the scoreboard.

3. CLAXTON DIAMONDS (85-69) (9 GB): improved from fourth (12 GB) to a tie for third and nine games out... won the pennant in 2038... the Diamonds have captured the RU South seven times... now just an average ballclub.
Top Pitchers: Sam Nathan (22-14/3.40), Abe Shiffman (20-13/3.40) and Ben Ituha (16-12/3.90)... Schiffman was third in the RU with 255 Ks... Itaha was a good trade with Chicopee... bullpen is very good with 3.06 ERA (6th), led by Maxie Richter (4-5/2.54/13 saves), Gary Haskin (2-1/3.05/10 saves) and A. C. Van Kliest (4-1/2.68).
Top Batters: All-Star 2B Gary Colton (.308/16/93/66), star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.283/29/92.92), LF Foxy Fuchs (.284/28/84/86) and SS Stevie Wynn (.284/10/49/89).

5. SAN DIMAS RANCHEROS (76-78) (18 GB): dropped from third (10 GB) to fifth this year, 18 games off the pace... only two pennants in club history in 2007 and 2031... average in most respects, but can score and hit homers... 777 runs (7th) and 156 HRs (11th).
Top Pitchers: Gil Armaud (16-16/3.46), Duffy Davidson (14-14/3.53) and Toby White (14-12/3.96).
Top Batters: All-Star 3B Leonard Purkey (.300/33/114/101), RF Denny Hendrix (.305/34/112/98), All-Star LF Austin Epps (.320/22/84/78), CF Klaus Stordahl (.291/18/65/103) and C Hermie Goetz (.292/10/63/103).

6. VALKA BLACKHAWKS (75-79) (19 GB): wound in the second division for the 12th year in a row, but did improve slightly from seventh (23 GB) to sixth (19 GB)... the Blackhawks have only won the RU South three times, 2017 was the last time... they hit the ball very well with a .270 BA (9th), 801 runs (3rd) and 169 HRs (8th), but don't have much on the hill with a 4.11 ERA (24th).
Top Pitchers: Mikael Arens (17-12/3.22) was the most effective... All-Star Ando Lintrop (16-14/3.81) went into a second-half slump... reliever Julien Rouse racked up 18 saves, but posted a poor 5-9 record with a 3.53 ERA.
Top Batters: star CF Kenny Mitzusaka (.322/32/119/100) had his best year in his eight years in the IPA... star 1B Bobby Scott (.314/21/93/98) had another very good year... other reliable bats were LF Roger Collier (.300/7/44/102), SS Marek Kallasmaa (.290/13/61/83) and 2B Warren Block (.277/17/92/72).

7. GRAND CITY CYBERCATS (69-85) (20 GB): dipped from sixth and 20 GB to seventh and 25 GB... have won only two division crowns, in 2030 and 2021... basically just a mediocre team.
Top Pitchers: Billy Walton (13-13/4.12) was the only starter to break even... reliever Kent Douglas was inconsistent with a 6-13 mark, but did post 15 saves and a 2.85 ERA.
Top Batters: All-Star Benny Hull (.302/33/117/84) led the club in everything: BA, hits, runs, homers and RBIs... got some help from C Iggy Van Dyck (.282/27/83/73) and LF Junior Baldini (.283/20/79/81).

8. BELAIR BEACH SUNBIRDS (28 GB): ended up in the cellar again for the third successive year... the only thing they do well is hit homers... 184 HRs (5th)... otherwise a dismal ball team... have five pennants in its history with the most recent coming way, way back in 2016.
Top Pitchers: workhouse Todd Clyman (18-15/3.32) is the Sunbirds' ace and only decent pitcher.
Top Batters: at 33 star LF Bobby Meusel had a strong year with a .319 BA, 38 HRs and 111 RBIs, all career highs... his only help came from 3B Jason Butler, who slugged 35 homers, drove in 98 runs, scored 98 and batted .291... RF Larry Cole also put up some very good numbers in 107 games with a .327 BA, 17 HRs, 51 RBIs and 68 runs... he missed six weeks of the season with a separated shouder.

2040 Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings, Team Batting, Team Pitching, Team Defense

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 17, 2040

CC 'CATS TAKE 4TH PENNANT IN 5 YEARS
The Cold Creek Catamounts have been terrific the last five years winning the Ruthlandian East on four occasions. Even the year they came in second they won 96 games. This year was the best of them all as Cold Creek went over the century mark with 101 victories to beat second place Beechwood by seven games, Sugar Valley by eight and Elnora by 14 games... with the most wins in the IPA, Cold Creek may have the stuff to go far in the Pro Cup playoffs this year. They have never gotten past the second round in the postseason.

1. COLD CREEK CATAMOUNTS (101-53): the 'Cats always have strong pitching, but this year they added rock-solid hitting to their arsenal... they batted .282 (2nd) and tallied 785 runs (5th), but hit only 111 homers (30th)... on the mound they were as good as ever with a 2.97 ERA (1st), third best in the IPA after Summerland (2.83) and North Hills (2.88)... defensively Cold Creek is very good with a .978 FA.
Top Pitchers: All-Star J. J. Gillespie (23-11/2.26) topped the 200-win milestone this season and is now 206-105 in 12 seasons with a fantastic 2.28 ERA... Gillespie's career ERA is the all-time best in the IPA... Gillespie topped the RU with a 2.26 ERA this season... Joey Baker (20-8/2.30) and Peter Heller (20-11/3.78) also chalked up 20-win seasons... and reliable Rob Hutchins (17-11/3.37) rounded out the starting foursome.
Top Batters: SS Jeremy Hall (.310/7/86/84), CF Guy St. Laurent (.253/32/99/88), C Rodney Marshall (.301/23/78/69).

2. BEECHWOOD BOBCATS (94-60) (7 GB): the Bobcats did a great about-face by jumping from seventh place in 2039 to the runner-up spot this year... drastic improvement at the plate and on the hill did it... the bats went from .257 to .281 (3rd) and the ERA declined from 4.13 to 3.57 (5th)... they hit 222 HRs (1st) and scored 852 runs (2nd)... only Bayview in the Tycobbian West had more homers with 250 and only Crystal Lake of the Ruthlandian South scored more runs with 843... Beechwood hasn't made the postseason since 2027... overall the Bobcats have won only three pennants in their history.
Top Pitchers: All-Star Jimmy Herman (24-13/2.92) had a sterling season and paced the Ruthlandian Union with 24 victories... only Jeff Owens (28-7/2.48) of the North Hills Hawks had more in the IPA... vet Ken Arby (15-12/3.45), Dex Cornwall (13-8/3.57/2 saves) and Neil Palmer (17-9/4.00) were the other starters... Larry Carmen (10-5/3.07/9 saves) was effective in the bullpen and as a spot starter.
Top Batters: leading the Bobcat attack were RF Eddie Wilson (.323/40/109/103), All-Star 2B Cody Hanks (.321/26/104/89), CF Howie Baldwin (.275/36/106/86) and All-Star SS Mel Smith (.280/20/72/105).

3. SUGAR VALLEY RATTLERS (93-61) (8 GB): for the sixth consecutive year the Rattlers posted 93 or more wins, but only have one RU East flag to show for it in 2038, when they had to win 104 games... they have lost the pennant three times by just one game... still they have piled up nine division titles... Sugar Valley scores well with 783 runs (6th) and goes deep well with 182 HRs (6th)... considering the small venue they play in, the mound staff does well with a 3.63 ERA (8th)... and they handle the gloves well with a fine .978 FA.
Top Pitchers: Christopher Dunsberry (23-8/2.67) led the staff with help from Josh Wilkerson (20-9/3.29), Jeremy Blanchard (15-10/3.23) and Davey Brennan (14-10/3.31), who split time as a starter and reliever... still he managed 24 saves, which led the Ruthlandian Union and was third in the IPA behind leader Ronald Shaddock (12-6/2.27) of Summerland with 27.
Top Batters: superstud RF Bobby Gamble (.314/32/105/119), 1B Richie Strickland (.274/31/97/125), LF Tyler White (.256/29/97/68), star 3B Roger Hobbs (.298/22/76/88).

4. ELNORA ALL-STARS (88-66) (13 GB): had a better record in 2040, but dropped from third to fourth place in the standings... the RU East is a very tough division... Elnora last pennant came in 2035... the All-Stars got their only Pro Cup in 2033... the pitching got better this year with a 3.62 ERA (7th)... the offense was fine with a .276 BA (4th), 769 runs (9th) and 139 roundtrippers (20th-tied)... fielding was the best in the IPA with a .980 FA.
Top Pitchers: Dan Pitts (23-13/2.94) was the staff leader in wins... All-Star Stan Kivas (20-14/3.41) also had a 20-win season... vet Jeremy Sellers (16-14/3.88) rounded out the rotation, along with Phil Krieger (9-1/2.18/7 saves), who had a great year in the pen and as a spot starter... Sellers crossed the 200-win milestone this year and now boasts a 209-153 lifetime mark with a 3.34 ERA for 13 seasons... 20-year-old Jamie Pananga (1-0/2.14/11 saves) really stood out in the bullpen after moving onto the roster in July.
Top Batters: All-Star C Cannon Johnson (.315/20/97/93), LF Enos Conrad (.339/16/78/90), 1B Cooter Whitter (.301/26/98/75), CF Clive Kenyon (.285/14/67/88) and RF Keith Kalder (.300/13/66/63).

5. WYNNAMAC SUNDOWNERS (76-78) (25 GB): the club has been run-of-the-mill for the last decade, never close to contending... last RU East division title was in 2030... the Sundowners have one Pro Cup, won in 2008... in 2039 Wynnamac was fourth (20 GB)... they have good hitting (.268 BA-12th) and poor pitching (4.46 ERA-31st) this year.
Top Pitchers: Geoff Hobart (17-14/3.37) easily was the best starter... best of the rest was Mickey Allen (16-14/4.24)... in the bullpen it was 20-year-old Johnny Mitchell (5-4/2.30/15 saves).
Top Batters: 20-year-old budding superstat RF Nioka Inkamara (.316/48/145/104), who led the RU with 145 RBIs and 48 HRs... CF Darrell Donnelly (.292/14/81/103), 3B Duane Hudson (.282/8/63/90).

6. EASTSHORE ELEGANTS (71-83) (30 GB): third year in a row in the bottom half of the division... last good season was pennant-winning year 2034... glory years were 2016 and 2017 when the Elegants won two Pro Cups... good hitting and good power this season with .274 BA (6th) and 176 HRs (7th), but second-rate pitching with a 4.20 ERA (28th)... bad defense, too, with a .969 FA.
Top Pitchers: Teddy Noble (18-9/3.85) was the most effective starter... best in the bullpen was Kenny Chandler (4-2/1.85/8 saves).
Top Batters: All-Star SS Johnny Petrak (.313/21/69/105), superstar CF Scotty Lagrange (.295/30/91/86), 1B Paul Reed (.314/25/82/71), LF Al Rhodes (.323/16/54/70)

7. BELLE PLAINE MUSKETEERS (68-86) (33 GB): they have finished seventh (3 times) and eighth (4 times) in the last seven seasons... poor franchise with only one division flag long ago in 2009... nothing close to a Pro Cup... fair hitting with a .264 BA (16th), good scoring with 767 runs (10th) and very good power with 201 homers (4th)... but horrific pitching with a 5.25 ERA (32nd), the worst in the IPA.
Top Pitchers: Benny Lucas (18-14/4.11) was the only decent pitcher on the roster.
Top Batters: the Muskies do have some talented hitters in 24-year-old RF Boo Boudreaux (.331/40/92/110), 35-year-old CF Noel Martin (.285/30/91/89) and 37-year-old 1B Mitch Mason (.317/34/84/94).

8. MARSTON NINE (66-88) (35 GB): on a bad 12-year run with second-division finishes in 11 of the years... last year were in fifth place (21 GB)... statistically so-so club with .263 BA (17th) and 3.88 ERA (17th)... have only five pennants in its history... no Pro Cups.
Top Pitchers: Barry Sexton (15-15/3.28) only reliable starter... Webb Walden (6-5/2.70/9 saves) best in the pen.
Top Batters: 28-year-old All-Star SS Stan Mila (.346/26/114/94) had a career year... the only other dependable bats were 2B Philip DeWey (.271/17/77/70) and CF Marco Ameche (.265/19/62/65).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 17, 2040

SLIGO SURGES BY COLFAX IN SEPTEMBER
The Sligo Rovers are repeat winners in the Ruthlandian West... they slipped past Colfax in September to win by one game... third place Stoner and Rocky Rapids both closed with a rush, but ran out of games and finished three games out of first... this was the Rovers' eighth division title... in 2021 they got their only Pro Cup trophy.

1. SLIGO ROVERS (84-70): they went to the RU League Championship Series last year before falling to eventual Pro Cup winner Waleska... the Rovers have a big task in the first round... they are matched up against powerful Cold Creek, one of the Pro Cup favorites this year... Sligo is a little above average in scoring with 738 runs (12th) and on the mound with a 3.65 ERA (9th)... possesses the best defense in the RU West with a very good .978 FA.
Top Pitchers: All-Star Scotty Price (22-9/2.78) is the staff ace with help from Randall Steele (18-14/3.74) and Tom Pierson (16-14/3.36)... Richie Joyner (1-2/2.09/3 saves) did well in middle relief.
Top Batters: most productive bats were All-Star 1B Denny Simmons (.337/17/80/97), CF Joe McGarrett (.291/22/84/77), SS Neil Mitchell (.273/21/67/102) and LF Rudy Putnam (.297/15/59/78).

2. COLFAX BLASTERS (83-71) (1 GB): the Blasters lost it with a September slump (7-8), while Sligo went 9-6... last year Colfax came in fifth and 9 GB... they have been a successful franchise with 11 pennants in their history... the only Pro Cup came in 2010... the Blasters depended on their pitching corps for success... they chalked up a 3.57 ERA (6th)... only have a fair offense with .261 BA (21st) and 137 HRs (23rd-tied)...
Top Pitchers: Ray Maxon (20-12/2.82), Bobby Porter (19-14/3.52) and Nilos Andris (19-13/3.34)... the bullpen was only mediocre with a 4.03 ERA (24th).
Top Batters: All-Star LF Chet Penn (.307/35/107/95) had another very good season... he got help from C Mitch Fullerton (.323/21/80/95), 3B Kristian McEly (.284/30/104/71) and 2B Gerry Sives (.297/4/48/84)... better-than-average defense with a .975 FA

3. STONER STARS (81-73) (3 GB): good year for the Stars as they snapped a five-year string of second-division finishes... tied for third, just three games off the pace... only two times have the Stars won the RU West flag... in 2007 and 2029... most of the time they are also-rans... rose up from last place this year with improved bats and much-improved pitching... .266 BA to .273 this year and 4.83 ERA to 3.87 this season... strong defense with a .977 FA.
Top Pitchers: Michael Keller (20-16/2.94), Sammy Slater (20-11/3.88) and Earl Marley (17-11/3.59) were reliable starters... they didn't get any help from the bullpen, one of the worst in the league with a 4.79 ERA (31st).
Top Batters: All-Star C Barney Swindell (.307/30/122/72) paced the Stars' hit parade with some help from 1B Don Cain (.319/10/88/90) and SS Ralph Sackett (.295/11/75/70)... RF Amos Mars also chipped in with a .327 BA, 14 HRs, 56 RBIs and 55 runs.

3. ROCKY RAPIDS SNAPPERS (81-73) (3 GB): the Snappers really made a run for the pennant with a splendid second half... they were 12 games under .500 going into July and the caught fire... they had six bad seasons in a row 2033-2038, then perked up last year winding up in the fourth spot (8 GB)... the Snappers have won only four division crowns, but did win the IPA Pro Cup in 2019... they have solid bats with a .268 BA (13th), 734 runs (14th) and 168 HRs (9th)... and impressive pitching with a 3.39 ERA (4th)... lackluster defense with a .970 FA.
Top Pitchers: 26-year-old Buster Noland blossomed this year with a 21-7 record and a fine 2.79 ERA... Buster is the son of Junior Noland and the grandson of legendary fireballer Ryan Noland... both elder Nolands managed the Snappers... Junior also played and compiled a 169-144 record with a 3.46 ERA in his 11 IPA seasons... Nolan holds all of the amateur league strikeout records... 24-year-old Jamie Taylor (21-14/2.92) had a super season, too... 39-year-old Janek Zoldak (6-6/2.59) missed four months of the season with an arm injury and was a huge loss... Zoldak was a 20-game winner in 2039... he really boosted the staff upon returning in August... Ernie Butler (7-8/3.12/12 saves) also did a good job in the bullpen.
Top Batters: SS Marty Featherstone (.306/27/90/66), LF Buddy Hamilton (.251/28/84/88), 3B Duncan Musselwhite (.321/4/37/71), 2B Nick Nova (.295/11/44/70)... 21-year-old 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.274/19/72/58) did very well after moving into the starting line-up in May.

5. MIDDLEFIELD ROOSTERS (76-78) (8 GB): a 7-19 mark in June killed the season for the Roosters... so for the fifth time in six years, they wound up in the RU West second division... in its history Middlefield has taken six division flags, the most recent was way back in 2026... much-improved pitching made the Roosters more competitive this season... 4.40 ERA in 2039 fell to 3.88 this year... at the plate they don't make much contact (.246 BA/31st) or score a lot of runs (701/16th-tied), but they do go long with 216 roundtrippers (2nd)... good defense with a .975 FA.
Top Pitchers: Harry Morgan (11-5/3.36), James Long (16-17/2.89) and Hollis Dale (14-12/3.75) are the most productive starters... veteran Ray Owens (3-7/2.64/10 saves) is the top reliever.
Top Batters: 1B Cliff Patterson (.311/20/52/73) is the best contact hitter... the long-ballers are LF Norman Antonioni (.258/38/82/95), C Brad Alexander (.244/30/97/71) , RF Wes Stanley (.25/28/75/70) and CF Alejandro Dominguez (.260/26/70/92).

6. VOLUSIA VIGILANTES (73-81) (11 GB): after one year of great prosperity (86-69) - missing the pennant by just one game - the V's reverted back to a second-division club, falling to sixth place in the standings, 11 games out... four times in its history Volusia has won the pennant... but you have to go back to the inaugural 2001 IPA season for its only Pro Cup trophy... the Vigilantes had solid pitching with a 3.38 ERA (3rd)... but were only average at the plate with a .266 BA (15th)... only average defensively, too, with a .971 FA.
Top Pitchers: Drew Selby (19-17/3.20) had the most wins... hard-luck Raul Navarro (12-24/2.88) rarely got any run support... Skeeter Millham (9-6/2.54/6 saves) did well, too, half the year in the bullpen and half as a starter... number four Hector Vargas (14-14/3.60) and number five Andrew Arryn (13-13/4.03) were pretty fair as well... scoring runs was the Vigilantes' problem.
Top Batters: SS Duane Blayney really showed well after being obtained in a trade with Mahaska of the Tycobbian Union... Blayney led the club with a .320 BA, 28 HRs and 83 RBIs... he batted .341 for the V's in 43 games... All-Star CF Cazzie Carvalho (.285/19/72/81) started off well, but dipped some in the second half of the season... 2B Charlie Farmer (.287/11/64/77) was a decent bat.

7. FORT BENTON DEFENDERS (67-87) (17 GB): after 10 successive years in the first division, the Defenders took quite a tumble down to seventh place, ending up 17 games off the pace... Fort Benton was third in 2039 with an 81-73 mark... they have never won a Pro Cup and rarely have even taken a division crown... it has happened only once in 2037... the Defenders have mediocre bats and mediocre pitching... 'nuff said.
Top Pitchers: they do have two very good pitchers in Jordy Raeburn (20-13/3.27) and Augie Marquis (15-18/3.60)... at 34 Marquis is flirting with 300 victories... in 16 seasons he is 286-217 with a fine 3.08 ERA.
Top Batters: not much at the plate... no power (96 HR/31st)... RF Cayman Crittenden (.289/16/65/86) is the club leader in BA, HRs, RBIs, runs and stolen bases (46 SB)... he gets a little help from 3B Mitch Hamilton (.285/6/65/71), C Hunter Glenholmes (.265/10/61/75), 1B Oscar Pendleton (.293/10/61/55).

8. FOREST CITY LUMBERJACKS (56-98) (28 GB): the 'Jacks have won only two pennants in the club's history (2002 and 2013)... no Pro Cups... a losing record the last three years... bad offense, bad pitching and average glove work (.971 FA)... fairly decent power with 146 HRs (15th)... wound up in the RU West cellar this season... worst record in the Ruthlandian Union with 98 losses... only Oxford in the Tycobbian North with 104 defeats was worse.
Top Pitchers: Walter Gibbons (21-12/3.54) had a remarkable year for a last-place club.
Top Batters: 2B Kelly Hardison topped the team with a .341 BA, chipping in with 20 HRs, 80 RBIs and 83 runs... other fairly good bats were C Bob Brisdon (.292/24/79/83), LF Ronnie Pollet (.288/24/81/70), 1B Pistol Pete Picard (.285/20/61/57).