THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 19, 2046

TU BEST FIELDERS NAMED FOR 2046
The Golden Glovers don't get the praise or accolades of the top hitters and top pitchers, but they are a vital part of their teams' success. Strong defenders make a difference in the outcome of tight games and tight pennant races. The Tycobbian Union only had two repeaters this year. Jimmy Foxx of Rolling Hills was chosen for the fourth time in his career and Warren McKenzie of White River was honored with his second trophy.

Pitcher: Alex Peters (North Hills Hawks) 16-14/3.62 ERA/.986 FA
Catcher: Adriano Lupoli (Summerland Sunsets) .226/4/47/44/.994 FA/0 PB/50.0% RTO
First Baseman: Darwin Tard (Rolling Hills Reds) .310/24/78/101/.994 FA
Second Baseman: Warren McKenzie (White River Rascals) .226/29/78/72/.990 FA (2-time Golden Glover)
Third Baseman: Ken Smith (Chicopee Braves) .288/4/57/61/.964 FA
Shortstop: Mark Brenneke (Summerland Sunsets) .269/7/34/70/.974 FA
Left Fielder: T. J. Dunn (Ozarka Naturals) .256/5/46/60/.977 FA
Center Fielder: Hector Pena (Midway Wolves) .309/14/90/104/.994 FA
Right Fielder: Jumbo Foxx (Rolling Hills Reds) .235/30/84/90/.988 FA (4-time Golden Glover)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 20, 2046

SUPER SKIPPERS SELECTED BY IPA
The Islandian Pro Alliance acclaimed the top managers in its leagues, awarding the Ruthlandian Manager of the Year to Valmara's Vanya Vasylenko and the Tycobbian Manager of the Year to Will Hackett of Summerland Sunset. They are both winners for the second time in their careers. Vasylenko also won in 2043 and Hackett was honored in 2040.

In a very tight race Vasylenko beat out Rocky Rapids' skipper Buster Noland and Sugar Valley's Gibby Bobkins for the Ruthlandian trophy, while Hackett bested Hartsdale's Jud Turchin in the Tycobbian Union in an extremely close vote.

Vasylenko guided the Vipers to the Ruthlandian North title, beating out tough Glasco by two games. It was Valmara's third pennant in four years. Last year they won 98 games and lost out to the A's, who won 100 games and took the crown by two games. The Vipers were 95-59 this season.

Vasylenko kiddingly said after being told of the award, "So many times during the year we'd have a big series and I would tell them you've got to step it up big this week because I'm going to be outmanaged... so really step it up... I don't know if I'm a smart manager or they are a bunch of dumb bunnies... but it worked... they believed me every week."

Hackett has been at the helm of the Sunsets for 45 years and has only four pennants to show for it. During the award's interview he said, "We have been quite competitive in the TU South for about a decade now, so it's our vision every year to win the pennant... and this year we did it, but it certainly wasn't because of me... we have great pitching and play in a very tough division... six teams had winning records... still we managed to pull it out this year." Summerland came in second in 2044 and 2045 and finally move to the top of the heap this year.

NEW YEAR IN THE IPA - YEAR 47 BEGINS!

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, March 31, 2047

IPA PREVIEW FOR NEW SEASON
The Islandian Pro Alliance will open its 47th campaign tomorrow afternoon at 32 sites around the Islands as 64 fervent clubs will try to dethrone the Pro Cup champion Hartsdale. The Hellcats captured their first-ever IPA crown by whipping the Valmara Vipers in a thrilling seven games. Hartsdale had to come back from a 3-2 deficit to win it.

RANFORD FAVORED IN SUPER TIGHT RU NORTH
In the preseason prognostications it looks like a rat race in the Ruthlandian North with as many as six clubs having a shot at the division title.

This Year's Prediction/Last Year Standings
1. Ranford Bulls - 3rd (10 GB)
2. Kilkenny Cats - 6th (20 GB)
3. Glasco Athletics - 2nd (2 GB)
4. Valmara Vipers - Champion (95-59)
5. LaGrange Sports - 4th tied (12 GB)
6. Far Mountain Redhawks - 4th tied (12 GB)
7. Taranto Tars - 7th (24 GB)
8. Ancona Red Elephants - 8th (33 GB)

WALESKA STRONG FAVORITE IN RU SOUTH
The Waleska Westerners have the best offense and the best pitching in the Ruthlandian South Division, so they got the call this year in the preseason picks over last year's winner Claxton, who is forecast to be a distant second. No other clubs are expected to contend.

This Year's Prediction/Last Year Standings
1. Waleska Westerners - 2nd tied (3 GB)
2. Claxton Diamonds - Champion (85-69)
3. St. John Crusaders - 4th (11 GB)
4. Grand City Cybercats - 6th (17 GB)
5. Valka Blackhawks - 2nd tied (3 GB)
6. Belair Beach Sunbirds - 7th (20 GB)
7. Crystal Lake Crushers - 8th (24 GB)
8. San Dimas Rancheros - 5th (13 GB)

SUGAR VALLEY EASY WINNER IN RU EAST
Nobody is in the ballpark with Sugar Valley in the Ruthlandian East this season. They won it last year by a dozen games over Eastshore. Again this season the Rattlers will reign supreme by a wide margin with its powerful pitching, home-run power and scoring ability. They have won the division in three of the last four years and finished a very close second with 96 wins the year they lost it. Sugar Valley was the Pro Cup champ in 2045, topping the Southport Sun Sox in a six-game series.

This Year's Prediction/Last Year Standings
1. Sugar Valley - Champion (93-61)
2. Wynnamac Sundowners - 3rd tied (13 GB)
3. Marston Nine - 7th (22 GB)
4. Belle Plaine Musketeers -8th (24 GB)
5. Eastshore Elegants - 2nd (12 GB)
6. Elnora All-Stars - 3rd tied (13 GB)
7. Cold Creek Catamounts - 5th (16 GB)
8. Beechwood Bobcats - 6th (21 GB)

3-TEAM BATTLE IN RU WEST
Rocky Rapids is the holdover champion of the Ruthlandian West, but this season the Snappers will be challenged by last year's nemesis and runner-up Middlefield and also by up-and-coming Forest City. The oddsmakers are saying to toss a coin and take your pick among the three contenders. The rest of the division will be playing for fourth place in the standings.

This Year's Prediction/Last Year Standings
1. Middlefield Roosters - 2nd (5 GB)
2. Rocky Rapids Snappers - Champion (94-60)
3. Forest City Lumberjacks - 3rd (12 GB)
4. Sligo Rovers - 4th (17 GB)
5. Volusia Vigilantes - 6th (22 GB)
6. Colfax Blasters - 7th (34 GB)
7. Stoner Stars - 5th (20 GB)
8. Fort Benton Defenders - 8th (37 GB)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, March 31, 2047

IPA PREVIEW FOR NEW SEASON
The Islandian Pro Alliance will open its 47th campaign tomorrow afternoon at 32 sites around the Islands as 64 fervent clubs will try to dethrone the Pro Cup champion Hartsdale. The Hellcats captured their first-ever IPA crown by whipping the Valmara Vipers in a thrilling seven games. Hartsdale had to come back from a 3-2 deficit to win it.

HELLCATS PICKED TO REPEAT IN TU NORTH
Hartsdale dominated the Tycobbian North last season, romping and stomping everybody in sight. The Hellcats won easily by 15 games over second place Blue Lake. It won't be that way this year according to the baseball experts. Hartsdale will win, but in a fairly close race with Blue Sox. The other six clubs will be far off in the rear view mirror by season's end.

This Year's Prediction/Last Year Standings
1. Hartsdale Hellcats - Champion (98-56)
2. Blue Lake Blue Sox - 2nd (15 GB)
3. Fairfax Frogs - 4th (18 GB)
4. Oxford Red Caps - 6th (25 GB)
5. North Hill Hawks - 3rd (17 GB)
6. Luxora Zorros - 7th (29 GB)
7. White River Rascals - 5th (21 GB)
8. Mahaska Haymakers - 8th (38 GB)

SUN SOX CHOICE IN STRONG TU SOUTH
The Tycobbian South is just about the strongest division in the IPA. Last year six teams posted winning records with the title going to the Summerland Sunsets, who squeezed by in a five-team race. edging Southport by just a single game, San Alejo by three and Turon by five. The Ginza Ninjas trailed by only eight games in fifth place. Even sixth-place Cape Coral chalked a winning season with a 79-75 mark.

This season Southport is the solid choice to take the crown handily, perhaps by double digits. The Sun Sox have the superior mound staff and firepower to outdo San Alejo, expected to be the biggest challenger. The Montaneros have strong pitching and good bats, too. Last year's TU South title winner Summerland doesn't appear to have the same powerful pitching rotation of recent seasons. The Sunsets will fight it out with Turon and Cape Coral for third place.

This Year's Prediction/Last Year Standings
1. Southport Sun Sox - 2nd (1 GB)
2. San Alejo Montaneros - 3rd (3 GB)
3. Turon Typhoons - 4th (5 GB)
4. Summerland Sunsets - Champion (94-60)
5. Cape Coral Hurricanes - 6th (15 GB)
6. Ginza Ninjas - 5th (8 GB)
7. Arroyo Grande Suns - 7th (21 GB)
8. Colchester Elites - 8th (35 GB)

TUCKS BEST IN TU EAST
The professional pickers are forecasting a new champion in the Tycobbian East this season. The Tuckanarra Blue Jays are rated a good bet to knock off the Red Bluff Red Sox, who have won the last three pennants. Last year they whipped the Blue Birds by 11 games. However the Red Sox are not expected to ride off into the sunset quietly and they will certainly will be in the running along with the Hillsboro Blazers, the number three team last year. It looks like a pretty good three-team race.

The Blue Jays cannot match the Red Sox in heavy-duty firepower, but they can small ball you to death and have the best mound staff in the division. The Blazers have some long ball capability and good pitching just like Red Bluff. The Midway Wolves and High Mesa Cowboys will tangle for the fourth spot in the standings.

This Year's Prediction/Last Year Standings
1. Tuckanarra Blue Jays - 2nd (11 GB)
2. Red Bluff Red Sox - Champion (93-61)
3. Hillsboro Blazers - 3rd (15 GB)
4. Midway Wolves - 6th (24 GB)
5. High Mesa Cowboys -5th (22 GB)
6. South Fork Stallions - 4th (16 GB)
7. East Point Panthers - 8th (39 GB)
8. Ozarka Naturals - 7th (38 GB )

KENWOOD WINS AGAIN IN TU WEST
According to the media, the Kenwood Wildcats will rack up its fourth Tycobbian West title in a row and sixth in seven seasons. And the Wildcats will do it in comfortable fashion. They still are the best in the West with solid bats and solid pitching. Four other clubs will battle it out for second place. Chicopee, Rolling Hills, Denton City and Arlon are the best of the second-tier teams. Bay St. Clair, Bayview and La Claire are the also-rans.

This Year's Prediction/Last Year Standings
1. Kenwood Wildcats - Champion (92-62)
2. Chicopee Braves - 6th tied (24 GB)
3. Rolling Hills Reds - 3rd (13 GB)
4. Denton City Redbirds - 8th (30 GB)
5. Arlon Champions - 2nd (10 GB)
6. Bay St. Clair Buccaneers - 6th tied (24 GB)
7. Bayview Vikings - 5th (19 GB)
8. La Claire Lynx - 4th (16 GB)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, May 1, 2047

IPA APRIL ROUNDUP

RUTHLANDIAN NORTH:
First place Far Mountain (19-9) is a big surprise and off to a tremendous start... is it just a quick April spurt or are the Redhawks for real?... they were picked for the second division this year (6th)... last year's champ Valmara (10-18) has floundered badly... so has this year's favorite Ranford (10-18)... solid clubs Kilkenny (14-14), Glasco (14-14) and LaGrange (17-11) are hanging close to the top... the Cats were ranked second in the polls, Athletics third and Sports were selected fifth... Taranto (15-13) had a good start for them... the Tars are picked for seventh... horrible Ancona (10-18) is playing up to expectations.

RUTHLANDIAN SOUTH:
The sixth ranked Belair Beach Sunbirds (19-9) had a great April and are perched in first place with last year's titlist Claxton (19-9)... are the Sunbirds a fluke or a bonifide contender?... favored Waleska (16-12) did well as expected, resting in the third spot in the standings... the Claxton Diamonds are rated the second best club in the division... and Grand City (16-12) is improved this season and was assigned the number four ranking in the preseason forecast... the St. John Crusaders (13-15), ranked the third best club, is below .500 in the early going... number five Valka (14-14) is holding its own so far... as forecast, Crystal Lake (13-15) and San Dimas (10-18) are pulling up the rear...

RUTHLANDIAN EAST:
Very tightly bunched race in the RU East in the opening month of play... only three games separate first from last... upstart Belle Plaine (16-12) has a slight lead over the preseason pick Sugar Valley (15-13)... the Musketeers were the fourth best club in the division according to the experts... fifth choice Eastshore (15-13) is nearby in third place...second-rated Wynnamac (14-14), third pick Marston (14-14), number six Elnora (14-14) and number seven Cold Creek (14-14) are just two games out going into May... even last place and number eight pick Beechwood (13-15) is playing nearly .500 baseball.

RUTHLANDIAN WEST:
Top pennant pick Middlefield (16-12) got off to a good start. but has two solid contenders right on their heels in Forest City (15-13) and last year's champ Rocky Rapids (14-14)... Sligo (14-14) and Colfax (14-14) are holding their own, but are not forecast to finish higher than fourth or fifth in the standings... Volusia (11-17), Stoner (10-18) and Fort Benton (10-18) are destined to finish near the bottom of the RU West.

TYCOBBIAN NORTH:
Lackluster White River (17-11) has bolted to the top in first month action... the Rascals were not ranked highly in the preseason polls (7th), but got a jump on last year's Pro Cup champion Hartsdale (16-12)... probably won't last, but White River fans are excited... usual doormat Oxford (16-12) is fairly well thought of this year, ranked the fourth best club in the division... so far the Red Caps are playing very well... perennial powerhouse North Hills (16-12), which fell to third last season after dominating the TU North for well over a decade, had a good month and may still have some gas in the tank... it was also a good month for the hapless Mahaska Haymakers (14-14) as they broke even... they have been in the division cellar the past four seasons... contenders Blue Lake (12-16) and Fairfax (12-16) were both slow out of the gate.

TYCOBBIAN SOUTH:
Number two choice for the pennant San Alejo (21-7) posted an awesome April and shot ahead of heavily-favored Southport (17-11) by four games... the Sun Sox are favored to easy win this season in the IPA's toughest division... Cape Coral (15-13), defending division champ Summerland (14-14), Ginza (14-14) and Turon (13-15) will be battling for the third spot with Arroyo Grande (13-15) and Colchester (12-16) fighting it out to stay out of the basement.

TYCOBBIAN EAST:
A three-team race was forecast in the TU East between Tuckanarra, last year's winner Red Bluff and Hillsboro... The Red Sox (20-8) and Blue Jays (18-10) have lived up to their billing, but the third-ranked Blazers (11-17) haven't played up to potential... seventh rated East Point (14-14) has been the best of the rest and playing a little over their heads thus far... for five of the last six years the Defenders have been cellar-dwellers... Ozarka (12-16) is slated to be the worst team in the division this year... Midway (11-17), High Mesa (10-18) and South Fork (9-19) were ranked fourth, fifth and sixth in the preseason polls.

TYCOBBIAN WEST:
The Kenwood Wildcats are the current division winner and picked to win comfortably their sixth title in the last seven seasons... but they are getting a little bit of competition from several teams in the first month of play... Kenwood (17-11) is tied with Chicopee (17-11) with Bay St. Clair (16-12), Arlon (15-13) and Bayview (14-14) close on their trail... the Braves were ranked second in the preseason poll, the Buccaneers sixth and the Vikings seventh... the number three choice Rolling Hills (11-17) and number four rated Denton City (12-16) have started off slowly... the La Claire Lynx (8-20) are living up to their last place reputation.

ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE STANDINGS AT THE END OF APRIL

I have been working on drafting free agents for three days now.
For whatever reason, OOTPB just doesn't create enough talented rookies recently in my league, so I have to do it manually.

The rookies in 2046 were dismal.

I will finish updating the rosters early tomorrow and then post the May standings.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, June 1, 2047

TOP CHOICES FARE WELL IN RUTHLANDIA
Overall the baseball scribes have been on target, but in a few cases they have missed their callings in their preseason choices in the Ruthlandian Union. The Ranford Bulls have been a keen disappointment in the RU North and the Far Mountain Redhawks have been surprisingly good. The Redhawks (34-23) are in first place two games up on LaGrange (32-25) and three ahead of Glasco (31-26), while the Bulls (21-36) have played very poorly and are deep in seventh place, 13 games off the pace.

Last year's division winner in the RU North and Pro Cup Finalist Valmara (26-31) fizzled badly in April, going 10-18. They already trail by 8 games. However, the Vipers showed signs of revival with a 16-13 mark in May. The Glasco Athletics posted the best record in the division this month with 17-12. Far Mountain and LaGrange were 15-14.

Preseason favorites Middlefield (37-20) and Waleska (31-26) are performing well and are in first place in the RU West and RU South respectively. The Roosters compiled a splendid 21-8 mark in May and now have a four-game edge over runner-up Volusia (33-24), five on third place and last season's champ Rocky Rapids (32-26), and six in front of fourth place Forest City (31-26). The Vigilantes were outstanding during the month with a division best 22-7 record, while the Snappers were 17-12 and Lumberjacks 16-13.

In the RU South the Waleska Westerners (31-26) are running second to upstart and perpetual also-ran Belair Beach (32-25) and reigning division winner Claxton (32-25). They are a game back of the co-leaders. Crystal Lake (30-27) is in the fourth spot, two games out and Grand City (28-29) is fifth, four games behind. After charting a great 19-9 in April, the first place Sunbirds flopped in May with a 12-17 record. The Westerners went 15-14, Crystal Lake 17-12 and Grand City only 12-17. Last year's RU South titlist and high preseason pick Claxton stumbled to 13-16 in May, but still managed to hang on to the top spot in the division, tied with underrated Belair Beach.

The Ruthlandian East is going pretty much as forecast. Only last place Elnora (24-33) looks to be out of the running. Last season's division champion Sugar Valley (29-28), heavily favored to repeat, has been a lackluster ball club so far. The Rattlers are in fifth place, but only three games back of the leaders. They were 15-13 in April and slipped to 14-15 this month.

The Marston Nine (32-25), Wynnamac Sundowners and Cold Creek Catamounts all chalked up a fine 18-11 record in May and moved up into a three-way tie for first place. The Eastshore Elegants (30-27) are just two games off the pace. They notched a 15-14 mark in May. Beechwood (28-29) and Belle Plaine (28-29) are deadlocked in sixth place, trailing by only four games. Belle Plaine led the division at the end of April, but slumped to 12-17 in May. Beechwood was 15-14 this month.

PRESEASON PICKS DOING WELL IN TYCOBBIA
Most of the perennial powers and preseason picks are taking care of business as usual in the Tycobbian Union. However, there are two underrated clubs making things quite interesting in the early going. White River, picked near the bottom in the Tycobbian North, has surprised and is leading Pro Cup champion Hartsdale by two games at the end of May. The Bayview Vikings, chosen to finish seventh, are posing a threat and running second to the tough Kenwood Wildcats in the TU West, only three games back in the race.

The powerhouse Hartsdale Hellcats (33-24), given a good shot at repeating in the TU North and getting a shot at winning two straight Pro Cups, are playing very well and is in second place behind unheralded and red-hot White River (35-22). Aging North Hills (30-27) is in third place and five games out, but is not fated to be a serious contender as usual. The Fairfax Frogs (30-27) are tied with them. In May the Rascals were 18-11, the Hellcats 17-12, the Hawks 14-15 and the Frogs 18-11.

Most years it's tough to win the Tycobbian South, one of the best divisions in the IPA. The Southport Sun Sox (38-19), a strong choice to run away with the pennant this year, has played at a torrid pace the first two months, but hasn't opened up much of a lead on its arch nemesis, the San Alejo Montaneros (37-20), who are only one game behind them. Cape Coral (32-25) and Ginza (31-26) are hanging nearby in third and fourth place. Last season's division winner Summerland (28-29) has faltered this year and is tied for fifth with Turon (28-29).

In May Southport soared to 21-8 to move past April leader San Alejo, which was 16-13. Both Cape Coral and Ginza were a solid 17-12. Turon posted a 15-14 mark this month, while defending division champ Summerland was 14-15.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays (38-19) and Red Bluff Red Sox (38-19) were the critics' choice as the top two teams in the Tycobbian East this season and that has proved to be the case. They are the two elite clubs and seem to have the division all to themselves. Third place South Fork (29-28) is already nine games behind the leaders, while fourth place belongs to High Mesa (28-29), 10 games out. For the month the Blue Jays were a very strong 21-8, the Red Sox were 18-11, the Stallions 20-9 and the Cowboys 18-11.

The Kenwood Wildcats (33-24) continue to dominate the Tycobbian West. They have taken the division five of the last six seasons and are resting a comfortable three games in front of the upstart Bayview Vikings (30-27) and Arlon Champions (30-27), who are tied for the second spot. None of the other five clubs appear to be in contention. During this month the Wildcats were 16-13, the Vikings 16-13 and the Champs 15-14.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, June 16, 2047

STARS SELECTED FOR IPA ALL-STAR GAME
The stars will be shining brightly in Hartsdale this Wednesday afternoon at the 47th annual Islandian Pro Alliance All-Star classic. The Tycobbian Stars will host the Ruthlandian Stars at Pioneer Park, the home of the Pro Cup titlist, the Hartsdale Hellcats. League officials announced the rosters of the two All-Star squads today. Tycobbia has a decided edge in the series with a 30 wins in 46 contests. The Tycobbian All-Stars have won the last two years.

IPA superstar Jerry Culpepper made the TU Stars for the 14th time in his legendary career. Corky DiNozzo is appearing for the 10th time with five players being selected seven times each: Wayman Stetson, Stan Ferguson, C. C. Kingsford, William Snyder and Sogo Takagi. At 36 Vasilis Vlachos is the oldest on the Tycobbian All-Stars and Rodger Parsons and Rudy Mellancamp are the youngest at 25.

Leading the Ruthlandian Stars will be Jojo DeLucca, who has been chosen nine times, making his eighth appearance is Cannon Johnson, Jason Butler had made the team on six occasions and Denny Simmons has been picked five times. Jody Friday is 37 and the oldest player in the game, while the Ruthlandian youngsters are D'Wayne Dotson and Jotaro Suzuki, both just 25.

The opposing skippers are Vanya Vasylenko of the Valmara Vipers and Jud Turchin of the Hartsdale Hellcats. They faced each other in the Pro Cup Finals with Turchin guiding his Hellcats to a six-game victory in the series

RUTHLANDIAN ALL-STARS:
SP James Long (Middlefield) (13-3/2.25) (3-time All-Star)
SP Valdek Savisaar (Eastshore) (13-2/3.10)
SP Felix Delatte (Marston) (11-3/2.27)
SP Chuck Steinhauer (Far Mountain) (12-1/1.39)
SP Dirk Halstad (Rocky Rapids) (11-3/2.17) (2-time All-Star)
SP Niles Nilsen (Waleska) (11-5/2.43)
CL Josh Crosby (Crystal Lake) (7-2/1.82/10 saves)
CL Jody Friday (Eastshore) (6-1/1.43/10 saves) (2-time All-Star)
C Johnny McDonald (Middlefield) (.331/3/26/35) (2-time All-Star)
C George Ruffino (Volusia) (.293/17/59/31) (2-time All-Star)
C Cannon Johnson (Elnora) (.256/15/42/40) (8-time All-Star)
1B Jojo DeLucca (Claxton) (.307/21/64/50) (9-time All-Star)
1B Kris Wilson (Volusia) (.338/7/40/46) (3-time All-Star)
2B Richie Fry (Sugar Valley) (.336/4/35/41) (2-time All-Star)
2B Cazzie Carvalho (Volusia) (.292/9/55/39) (2-time All-Star)
2B Marty Featherstone (Rocky Rapids) (.277/12/47/50) (4-time All-Star)
3B Gary Armitage (Marston) (.336/15/42/63)
3B Denny Simmons (Sligo) (.285/9/43/36) (5-time All-Star)
SS Ken Jensen (Valmara) (.306/4/35/48) (2-time All-Star)
SS Herbie Gruen (St. John) (.294/12/52/56)
LF Skeets Blackstone (St. John) (.391/7/34/36)
LF D'Wayne Dotson (Marston) (.295/10/45/53)
CF Jotaro Suzuki (Ancona) (.322/10/34/52)
CF Don Ritchie (Valmara) (.325/5/44/52) (2-time All-Star)
RF Sidney Conner (Middlefield) (.304/26/69/57)
RF Derrick Damon (Taranto) (.325/8/44/50) (2-time All-Star)
RF Preston Davies (Elnora) (.335/14/35/42) (2-time All-Star)
RF Troy McFarland (Eastshore) (.282/17/52/50) (3-time All-Star)

TYCOBBIAN ALL-STARS:
SP Jud Cox (Red Bluff) (12-4/0.85) (4-time All-Star)
SP Matt Bell (San Alejo) (13-3/1.27) (2-time All-Star)
SP Billy Hoover (Southport) (11-6/1.88) (2-time All-Star)
SP Will McKinney (San Alejo) (11-4/1.97) (3-time All-Star)
SP Rudy Mellancamp (Oxford) (10-7/2.09)
SP Perry Givens (Hartsdale) (13-3/2.73)
CL Hal Combs (Southport) (6-3/1.83/15 saves)
CL Terry Sawyer (Fairfax) (10-4/2.25/9 saves)
C Corky DiNozzo (Kenwood) (.291/20/55/42) (10-time All-Star)
C Vasilis Vlachos (Southport) (.294/12/50/43)
C Juan Luis Barcelona (Blue Lake) (.272/6/39/42) (2-time All-Star)
1B Wayman Stetson (Denton City) (.324/26/67/55) (7-time All-Star)
1B Stan Ferguson (Cape Coral) (.348/20/62/45) (7-time All-Star)
1B Rodger Parsons (Tuckanarra) (.325/10/53/54)
2B Alex Abbotson (Summerland) (.315/26/77/41)
2B Zack Mason (Bayview) (.327/6/34/45)
3B Jerry Culpepper (Bayview) (.31/32/87/58) (14-time All-Star)
3B Al Salisbury (Turon) (.316/15/45/58)
SS C. C. Kingsford (Turon) (.336/21/61/59) (7-time All-Star)
SS Andreas Stokke (Bayview) (.315/23/65/49) (2-time All-Star)
SS Kunta Burton (White River) (.286/0/16/58)
LF Rikky Van Dalen (Cape Coral) (.326/17/56/59) (5-time All-Star)
LF Billy Joe Hickman (White River) (.314/25/64/54) (4-time All-Star)
CF Paulo Teixeira (San Alejo) (.314/23/58/63) (4-time All-Star)
CF Rusty Hunter (Bayview) (.298/2/23/65)
RF David Kelso (Red Bluff) (.320/31/68/55) (5-time All-Star)
RF William Snyder (Cape Coral) (.321/9/59/58) (7-time All-Star)
RF Sogo Takagi (Ginza) (.339/29/73/62) (7-time All-Star)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, June 19, 2047

TU STARS OUTSHINE RU STARS 7-3
For the third consecutive year the Tycobbian All-Stars topped the Ruthlandian All-Stars. It's the 31st win in the series for them. Ruthlandia has only won 16 times. The game was played at Pioneer Park, home of the current IPA Pro Cup champion Hartsdale Hellcats.

Tycobbian banged out 15 hits in a 7-3 victory with Wayman Stetson (Denton City) slugging a 2-run homer and David Kelso (Red Bluff) rapping two doubles and driving in a pair of scores. Rikki Van Dalen (Cape Coral) and Paolo Teixeira (San Alejo) also chipped in two hits apiece. Stetson scored twice and was the game's Most Valuable Player. Alex Abbotson (Summerland) chalked up two RBIs for the TU All-Stars.

Matt Bell worked two scoreless innings, the third and fourth frames, for the victory, while starter James Long (Middlefield) was the losing hurler. He was belted for three runs and six hits in just two innings. Starter Billy Hoover (Southport) also hurled two scoreless frames for the winners. Tycobbia ran up a 5-0 lead after four innings and were never really challenged. Ruthlandia made it a little closer with two runs in the ninth. The RU All-Stars were held to eight hits with Cannon Johnson getting two of them.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, July 1, 2047

IPA ROUNDUP REPORT

FM REDHAWKS ON RAMPAGE IN RU NORTH
The Far Mountain Redhawks (54-29) skied high in June with a great 20-8 record and made shambles of the pennant race. The Redhawks rampaged to a 10-game bulge over runner-up Glasco (44-39). Defending division champ Valmara (43-40) is playing better after a slow start in April, but it is still 11 games off the pace. Preseason favorite Ranford (32-51) has been a complete bust and is wallowing in seventh place.

Far Mountain is led by the fine pitching of All-Star Curt Steinhauer (13-2/1.53), Stan Smith (12-4/3.53) and Jonas Glover (12-6/3.56)... the Redhawk lineup isn't very impressive stats-wise (.256 BA), but it's productive and ranks first in the RU in scoring runs.

BB SUNBIRDS ROOSTED AT TOP OF RU SOUTH
It's been well over a decade since the Belair Beach Sunbirds (45-38) have graced the Ruthlandian South first division. Actually, the last time they were in the pennant race was way back in 2034 when they came in third in the standings. They have climbed up from seventh place last year (20 GB) to the top spot, topping preseason pick Waleska (43-40) and Crystal Lake (43-40) by two games at the end of June. Crystal Lake is another great turnaround story - last year they wound up in the celler (24 GB). Last season pennant winner Claxton (41-42) is tied for fourth this year with Grand City (41-42), but is only four games back... the Diamonds were terrible this month, falling to 9-17.

It's the Sunbird bats that are keeping them on top... All-Star 3B Jason Butler, 1B Shannon Stewart (.317/9/41/41) and CF Norm Ellis (.317/14/36/36) are the prime run producers... starter Kevin Tolbert (10-7/2.65) and closer Tom Cook (2-1/1.92/11 saves) have been the best pitchers... Belair Beach will probably have to get better work from their mound staff to beat out Waleska, which has better starting pitching with the trio of All-Star Niles Nielsen (11-5/2.43), Jeff Woodruff (8-8/2.71) and Tony Haskell (9-5/3.45)... Crystal Lake has two solid starters in Dave McCauley (11-8/2.96) and Manuel Hinojosa (7-4/2.58)... All-Star closer Josh Crosby (7-2/1.82/10 saves) has been a standout, too... the Crushers' offense is however suspect... the Grand City Cybercats are in the same boat with two solid starters in Jimmy Engels (11-8/2.84) and Kenny Morrow (9-9/3.21), but absolutely no offense... the Claxton Diamonds need improvement on the mound to challenge... vets All-Star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.307/21/64/50) and LF Foxy Fuchs (.258/14/50/36) are the only reliable threats in the line-up... the pennant race is still a toss-up... it just depends on who gets hot down the stretch... the Waleska Westerners get a slight nod.

MARSTON UP BY 4 IN RU EAST
After years of decadence, the Marston Nine (49-34) is another hapless club that is on the rise. They have had only two good seasons in the last two decades - a fourth place finish in 2038 and the pennant-winning year in 2028. Right now Marston is four games in front of defending division winner Sugar Valley (45-38) and Beechwood (45-38), who are tied for the runner-up spot. Lurching only five games out and tied for fourth are the Wynnamac Sundowners (44-39) and Eastshore Elegants (44-39)... even sixth place Cold Creek (42-41) and seventh place Belle Plaine (41-42) are still in the chase... and if they get on a good winning streak even celler-dwelling Elnora (38-45) could do an about-face. Marston registered a 17-9 mark last month, while Sugar Valley was 16-10 and Beechwood 17-9.

Marston is a well-balanced club with very good pitching and solid hitting... leading the hurlers are All-Star Felix Delatte (13-3/2.25) and Jean-Noel Waldron (10-6/3.68), along with bullpen ace Kiki Vuk (7-1/1.25/6 saves)... leading the hitters are All-Star LF D'Wayne Dotson (.295/10/45/53), All-Star 3B Gary Armitage (.336/15/42/63) and SS Stan Mila (.308/10/51/32).

The Sugar Valley Rattlers' top batsmen are All-Star 2B Richie Fry (.336/4/35/41), playing-manager and superstar RF Bobby Gamble (.276/12/45/46) and LF Walt Hanson (.313/6/33/27)... star CF Carl Ramsey is hitting a lowly .227, but is the club leader with 17 roundtrippers, 55 RBIs and 59 runs... C Delmer Campbell has contributed 10 homers, 30 RBIs and a .294 BA.

ROOSTERS LEAD DWINDLES IN RU WEST
The favorite in the Ruthlandian West Division, the Middlefield Roosters (51-32), had a so-so month in June, going 14-12, but still has a two-game edge over the hot Forest City Lumberjacks (49-34), who went 18-8 for the month. The third place Rocky Rapids Snappers (47-36) also got closer to the top spot with a 16-10 mark and are only four games out. Colfax (46-37) is in the fourth spot, trailing by five games. The Blasters posted a 17-9 record in June. The Sligo Rovers (45-38) and Volusia Vigilantes (45-38) also have winning records and are tied for fifth, but slipped to 12-14 for the month.

The Roosters are a powerhouse with standout pitching and strong bats... leading pitchers are All-Star James Long (14-4/2.29) and Larry Wheelhouse (12-9/2.60), along with closer Ray Owens (4-3/1.60/11 saves)... the explosive batting order includes All-Star C Johnny McDonald (.331/3/26/35), SS Jimmy Beach (.314/12/41/39), All-Star RF Sidney Conner (.304/26/69/57), LF Norman Antonioni (.275/21/44/44), 3B Ike Gary (.274/8/41/40) and CF Russell Martin (.285/10/22/39).

Forest City depends almost totally on its super duper mound corps with the likes of starters Omar Cordero (15-5/2.99), Rusty Howard (9-9/2.78), Walter Gibbons (7-5/3.13) and John McKee (6-6/3.35)... plus a strong bullpen with Richie Meyers (4-4/2.97/10 saves and Jimmy Kirkpatrick (6-3/2.56/2 saves)... Cordero is the IPA leader with 15 victories... the offense is quite mediocre, batting just .252 for average with very little firepower.

Rocky Rapids have good pitching with All-Star Dirk Halstad (13-4/2.39), Buster Noland (11-5/3.14) and Jamie Taylor (10-11/2.57)... Taylor won 30 games last year, a new all-time IPA mark, but has had tough luck this year... the top reliever is Steve Owens (4-0/2.89/13 saves)... the Snappers are only adequate at the plate with All-Star 2B Marty Featherstone (.277/12/47/50), RF Buddy Hamilton (.323/11/34/32) and 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.261/13/53/42).

The Colfax Blasters have three solid starters with Ray Maxon (11-5/2.42), Red McCallum (9-5/2.41) and Ryan Petersen (6-2/3.42)... the offense is pretty good with RF Stu Richardson (.327/5/26/24), 3B Cramer Landis (.324/8/26/49) and 1B Les Haynes (.311/5/28/23)... LF Robb Maddux (.247/12/54/39) and C Darrell Dillon (.243/10/34/37) have also added some punch to the line-up.

Three All-Stars pace the Volusia Vigilantes: C George Ruffino (.293/17/59/31), 2B Cazzie Carvalho (.292/9/55/39) and 1B Kris Wilson (.338/7/40/46)... SS Duane Blayney (.304/16/43/48) and RF Lonnie Womack (.292/11/40/55) are solid sticks, too... the V's have a quality mound staff, too, with Drew Selby (13-5/3.30), Will Thompson (11-8/2.79) and rookie Alvaro Spinosa (8-5/2.57).

The top performers for the Sligo Rovers are All-Star 1B Denny Simmons (.285/9/43/36) and 3B Blayne Carnick (.320/5/30/22), along with Mickey Walsh (10-6/2.16) and Art Hacker (11-7/3.49) on the hill.

RUTHLANDIAN STANDINGS AS OF JULY 1, 2047

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, July 1, 2047

HELLCATS OVERTAKE RASCALS IN TU NORTH
The defending Pro Cup champion Hartsdale Hellcats (48-35) moved past the upstart White River Rascals (47-36) by a game this month in the Tycobbian North pennant race. The Hellcats went 15-11 during June, while the Rascals slipped to 12-14. The hottest club in the division is the third place Blue Lake Blue Sox (44-39), now just four games behind. The Blue Sox went a blistering 19-7 in the month. North Hills (41-42), Oxford (41-42) and Fairfax (41-42) are all tied for fourth place and are seven games out in the race. None of them had a winning record in June.

Hartsdale is not the dominant club of a year ago... both hitting and pitching have suffered a decline this season... the main Hellcat hurlers are All-Star Perry Givens (14-4/2.83) and Dave Payne (10-6/2.76)... last year's ace Gil Younger (10-8/3.46) has struggled with four losses in his last five decisions. Younger won 28 games in 2046... Closer Alfonso Cervera (4-2/1.06/11 saves) has been excellent this year... topping the team at the plate are 3B Greg Melton (.310/15/52/49), RF Emilian Burgess (.252/13/49/43), 1B John Ford (.276/13/45/39) and rookie C Kenton Carmichael (.272/14/34/32).

Second place White River is led on the mound by Nicky Palmer (10-7/2.20), Jade Garner (9-7/3.83) and Trenton Anderson (9-5/3.71)... Clem Warren (6-9/2.98) has been effective, but his won-lost mark doesn't show it... All-Star LF Billy Joe Hickman (.314/25/64/54) has carried the club offensively with some help from 2B Warren McKenzie (.266/13/46/27)... OF Russell Anderson had done quite well, too, posting a .335 BA with 5 homers and 29 RBIs.

Third place Blue Lake has three fine starters in Sal Mayes (12-8/2.48), Greg Mortimer (9-7/2.85) and Frankie Quinn (6-3/3.02)... in the bullpen the main guy is Razzy Richmond (3-3/2.49/11 saves)... the Blue Sox could sure use more offense... LF Jack Ryan (.287/4/21/41) has the best batting average on the club... 1B Mel Morrison (.268/15/44/40) is number one in homers and RBIs... All-Star C Juan Luis Barcelona (.272/6/39/42) tops the club in runs.

SUN SOX SURGE SIX GAMES AHEAD IN TU SOUTH
The Southport Sun Sox (54-29) are favored to win the Tycobbian South this season and so far they doing all the right things. Cape Coral (48-35) also had a good month, but didn't gain any ground. The Hurricanes are six games behind the division leader. Both the 'Canes and the Sun Sox registered 16-10 marks in June. Third place San Alejo (47-36) had stayed right with Southport the first two months, but tailed off badly at 10-16 in June play, falling seven games back. Rounding out the first division in the TU South is fourth place Ginza (44-39). The Ninjas trail by 10 games and were 13-13 during the last month.

First place Southport is no great shakes at the plate, but they are effective with CF Barney Lewis (.249/25/57/45), 3B Craig Glennon (.237/17/52/45), 1B Eddy Douglas (.283/13/40) and All-Star C Vasilis Vlachos (.294/12/50/43)... on the hill the standouts are All-Star Billy Hoover (12-7/1.85), Johnny Swanson (11-6/3.48) and Brandon Forbes (12-7/3.58)... All-Star closer Hal Combs (6-3/2.00/17 saves) heads up a very good bullpen... Combs tops the IPA with 17 saves.

Runner-up Cape Coral is a high-powered offensive machine with three All-Stars and they are scoring an unheard of six runs a game with a .292 team BA... five of the starting line-up are batting better than .300: All-Star 1B Stan Ferguson (.348/20/62/45), All-Star LF-3B Rikky Van Dalen (.326/17/56/59), OF Max Tselika (.321/16/51/45), SS Kent Mantle (.275/14/54/50), All-Star RF William Snyder (.321/9/59/58) and CF Teddy Plimpton (.307/10/40/46)... veteran Benton McCall (13-6/3.22) is the ace of the mound staff... the explosive attack benefits Vernon Marks (12-8/4.25) and Tony Magee (8-4/4.05)... the pitchers will have to get better to catch Southport.

Third place San Alejo's strength is its pitching corps with a 2.82 team ERA (2nd), but the Monties have little offense to go with it... two All-Stars Matt Bell (15-3/1.17) and Will McKinney (12-6/2.14) are the staff leaders... Bell is tied with Omar Cordero (15-5/2.99) of Forest City for the most victories in the IPA... All-Star CF Paolo Teixeira (.314/23/58/63) is the only real threat in the Montaneros' batting order.

Fourth place Ginza can score runs, but is only average on the hill... top hitters are All-Star RF Sogo Takagi (.339/29/73/62), 3B Sam Essex (.258/13/52/41), SS Kuzuki Tamura (.321/4/26/33) and 1B Jiro Yamamura (.265/8/26/56)... heading up the starting rotation are the threesome of T. C. Gallimore (12-5/3.93), Charley Waskins (11-8/3.98) and Tokuji Takahara (9-9/3.60).

2-TEAM RACE IN TU EAST
Only two clubs are still in the running for the pennant in the Tycobbian East Division. At the end of June defending division winner Red Bluff (56-27) sports a three-game edge over second place Tuckanarra (53-30). The Red Sox posted an 18-8 record for the month and got a little breathing room over the Blue Jays, who were 15-11. Red Bluff has chalked up the most victories in the IPA. The High Mesa Cowboys (46-37) are in the third spot in the standings, but 10 games behind. The Cowpokes had a great June with an 18-8 record. Take away the poor April (10-18) and they would be right on the heels of the Red Sox. Fourth place belongs to the Hillsboro Blazers (42-41), 14 games out in the race. The Blazers were 15-11 last month.

Red Bluff is a well-balanced club with good hitting and outstanding pitching... the Red Sox have compiled a strong 2.87 ERA (3rd) and are batting .271 (4th)... the starting four have been superb and feature All-Star Jud Cox (14-4/0.94), George Reynolds (12-4/2.73), Carson Jamara (10-3/2.90) and Mickey Rosen (11-6/3.00)... Cox is the IPA ERA leader with a ridiculously low 0.94 ERA... the top guns at the plate are All-Star RF David Kelso (.320/31/68/55), 1B Josh Stevens (.276/20/40/49), 3B Fran Blanchard (.241/18/52/46) and CF Ike Sweetwater (.292/13/44/31)... Kelso is third in the IPA with 31 homers... only High Mesa's Johnny Tallis (33) and Bayview's Jerry Culpepper (32) are ahead of him.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays are a talented club, too... the Tucks are excellent on the hill with a 2.87 team ERA (3rd) and have some solid bats with a .271 BA (4th)... heading up the hurlers are Ozzie Leslie (12-5/2.43), Yarran Nawajuk (13-7/3.27), Dickie Pittman (9-5/2.17) and Gary Oliver (5-3/2.49/2 saves)... and Jack Rogers (5-3/2.12/12 saves) is one of the top relievers in the IPA... All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons (.325/10/53/54) is the club leader in BA, HRs, RBIs and runs... and gets some help from 3B Niles Tasby (.332/8/38/25) and RF Jimmy Markovich (.283/8/27/51).

The third place High Mesa Cowboys have fine pitching, but just average hitting... they have a tough starting foursome in Lucius Quarles (11-5/2.49), Tee Bo Templet (8-2/2.86/1 save), Steve Tolan (11-10/3.43) and Lloyd Armstrong (7-6/1.72)... the bullpen leader is William Morris (2-3/3.38/10 saves)... 1B Johnny Tallis is having a monstrous season with an IPA-leading 93 RBIs... he's is on track to set a new record for RBIs... Adam Zitek, who also starred for High Mesa, had 170 in 2005 for the all-time mark... Tallis is batting only .252, but also has the IPA lead in homers with 33... he could also challenge Jerry Culpepper's season record of 66, hit in 2040 with Bayview.

Fourth place Hillsboro has qualty pitching, but not much hitting except for homers... the team ERA is 3.33 (10th)... the Blazers are fourth in roundtrippers with 108, but they are batting a lowly .233 for average (30th)... Hillsboro has a pair of good starters in Steve Cooper (10-9/2.60) and Jamie Lee Bradley (10-7/3.01) and a two fairly reliable ones in Robby Lee Stillwell (11-9/3.90) and Bailey Bilbow (6-6/3.93)... none of the regulars hit much for average, but they possess a little power... LF Jurrien Bellini is the club leader with 31 homers, 52 RBIs and 68 runs, but is batting only .244... CF Rick Willis has 16 homers, 46 RBIs and 53 runs, but is hitting just .263... and 1B Ernie Moxley has 15 dingers, 38 RBIs and 30 runs, while batting a lowly .227.

3-WAY BATTLE IN TYCOBBIAN WEST
After three months of baseball in the Tycobbian West, the Arlon Champions (44-39) are one game in front of perennial winner and defending division crownholder Kenwood (43-40) and the up-and-coming Bayview Vikings (43-40). The fourth place Rolling Hills Reds (39-44) are under the .500 mark, but only five games behind the leader. The Champs put up a 14-12 record in June to move into the top spot. Kenwood skidded to 10-16 and lost the lead. The Vikings broke even for the month at 13-13. The Reds are the hottest thing going in the division. In June they were 18-8. The TU West is one of the weaker division in the IPA with only three clubs with winning records.

Arlon is in first place, but they are not a particularly strong team... the Champs are only so-so on the mound and offensively... Peter Shannon (13-6/3.28) and Pat Stuyvesant (11-6/3.78) are the biggest winners, but Lanny Gray (9-11/2.78) is still the most effective starter... at best, Arlon is only modest at the plate, led by RF Mark Cameron (.286/17/36/44), CF Cary Rockwell (.296/14/45/34), C Nick Shafer (.265/14/46/44) and 2B Ivan Cisneros (.303/10/38/40).

Kenwood has won the division flag five times in the last six years and was favored this season... however its starting pitching has let the Wildcats down this year... Tommy Carter (11-7/2.71) has been the only reliable starter... Freddy Gooch (5-8/3.75), Rusty Bradford (9-8/3.53) and Gregg Campbell (8-10/4.40) are all having off-years... Bradford was 22-6 last year, Campbell 19-10 and Gooch 16-14... only two batters pose real threats in the batting order... superstar and All-Star C Corky DiNozzo (.291/20/55/42) and 2B Country Crowder (.379/2/31/44) have to carry the offensive load... Crowder easily tops the IPA with a .379 BA... he is 31 points up on his nearest competitors, Stan Ferguson of Cape Coral and Duane Hudson of Wynnamac.

The third place Bayview Vikings have a helty attack with a .271 team BA (2nd) and 118 homers (2nd), but possess a mediocre mound staff (4.02 ERA-24th)... IPA icon, superstar and All-Star slugger 3B Jerry Culpepper is still going strong at age 33 with a .319 BA, 32 homers, 87 RBIs and 58 runs... he is running a close second to the IPA HR and RBI leader Johnny Tallis of High Mesa... Tallis has 33 home runs and 93 RBIs... the Viks have two other All-Stars in SS Andreas Stokke (.315/23/65/49) and 2B Zack Mason (.327/6/34/45)... LF Ivar Nilssen has also done some damage with a .309 BA, 18 HRs, 49 RBIs and 40 runs... top starters are Bobby Knudsen (12-7/2.63) and Vance Codsworth (9-4/3.52)... best reliever is Sammy Sarver (5-5/3.03/11 saves).

The Rolling Hills Reds have some quality starters, but not much in the bullpen... they don't hit especially well, either... still they had a great month in June to move up into contention... Johnny Howard (14-5/2.75) is having an excellent season and is ranked second in the IPA in wins... two other starters are effective and better than their records: Matthew Christianson (6-10/2.92) and Steve Adams (6-10/3.46)... a fourth starter Marty Phillips (5-2/3.00) had looked sharp since being moved into a starting role... leading the lackluster offense are RF Jimbo Foxx (.227/14/43/33), CF Orin Phillips (.262/14/45/42), 1B Darwin Tard (.252/13/35/38) and C Kyle Edwards (.300/3/28/30)... Tard, a career .308 hitter, did not have a good first half, batting only .252... if the fine pitching continues in the second half, the Reds could challenge in the pennant chase.

TYCOBBIAN UNION STANDINGS AS OF JULY 1, 2047

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, July 1, 2047

RUTHLANDIAN LEADERBOARDS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, July 1, 2047

TYCOBBIAN UNION BATTING LEADERBOARD

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, July 1, 2047

6 IPA LEGENDS INDUCTED TO HALL OF FAME
The Baseball Sportswriters Association were in an approving mood at this year's election process for the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame. They named six players to the hallowed baseball museum, headed up by Corbett Brooks, the number two all-time home-run hitter. Three other position players also were inducted: Johnny Petrak, Nicky Farrugia, both recently retired, and old-time star Fred Collins, who seemed to fall through the voting cracks and had almost been forgotten. Two pitching greats, David Michael and Terry Richards were also honored by the BSA.

BROOKS INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME
"From the first time I saw him play, I knew he had the potential to be one of the best," Corbett Brooks' first manager Mack Connery said, "and the more I saw him play, the more certain I was that he would reach that potential."

Brooks retired at the age of 41 with a .263 career batting average. The legendary slugger mainly played right field, participated in 3187 games, collected 3008 hits, 727 home runs and batted in 1980 runs. He played with four clubs from 2022 until 2044. Only famed immortal Jack Elliott outhomered him in his career. Elliott is the all-time IPA home-run leader with 848. Brooks was a four-time All-Star and won a Golden Glove early in his career. Sadly, he never got to play in the playoffs. Much of his career Brooks labored in obscurity.

Connery was just one of the people there at Brooks's enshrinement in the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame. It was a celebration of the career of one of the shining stars of his generation.

His teammates loved him and opposing fans loved to hate him, but respect followed him everywhere, as evidenced by the large crowd at the ceremony. Not only were teammates there, but opposing players and managers as well, along with a large throng of fans.

The man of the moment was overcome with emotion when he finally took his turn at the podium to speak. "This is one of the greatest moments of my life and to share it with all of you here is... simply amazing. I would just like to thank my family and all my teammates for their support during my journey here. Individual honor was never my goal, winning was, but this is more than I could have ever dreamed."

MICHAEL JOINS GREATS IN IPA HALL OF FAME
What does it take to make the baseball Hall of Fame? One sometimes wonders when you see a player with Fred Collins' credentials left out for some many years.

Well, whatever it is, David Michael has it. He was inducted into the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame today.

Retiring at age 40, Michael had one of the most illustrious careers ever with a 315-234 won-loss mark and a 3.11 ERA. Michael was a mainstay of the North Hills Hawks from 2029 to 2047 and led them to four Pro Cup crowns and 11 pennants in his 19 years with the club. Michael was especially effective in the postseason where he registered a 20-13 record in 38 starts and posted a superb 2.32 ERA against the best of the IPA. He was 7-0 with a 1.96 ERA in the 2034 playoffs, won by the Hawks. He was voted the Pro Cup MVP that year. Michael also copped the MVP honor in 2038 with a 4-1 mark and a 1.34 ERA when the Hawks won their second Pro Cup trophy.

Asked by reporters to describe what it takes to become a Hall of Famer, he replied, "I guess it all started at my high school graduation. The speaker said to be successful in life, you needed to find 'something you love.' I am here today because I found something I love. Baseball has been my life. It has never been a job. I have been able to have fun playing a game and making a wonderful life for myself and my family. I am a kid that never really had to grow up. Just go to the ballpark each day and throw strikes. That's it."

David Michael closed by saying, "God gave me the talent and blessed me with great coaches, managers, and teammates, who helped me develop it."

HOF HONORS JOHNNY PETRAK
During his tenure in the Islandian Pro Alliance Johnny Petrak was nothing but class, on the field and off the field. Now he is part of the Hall of Fame class of 2047. Lifetime Petrak hit for a .315 average and totaled 2441 hits, 280 home runs and 1197 RBIs. Petrak was an 8-time All-Star and Gold Glover, who played shortstop and second base for the Eastshore Elegants from 2034 to 2047. In 2034 he batted .382 in his only postseason appearance, playing in seven games. The Elegants lost in first round action.

The fine infielder was officially inducted today and took his place among baseball's best. He recently retired at the age of 41.

Teammate Troy McFarland told the audience, "The greatest thing he taught me was on my first day in the big leagues -- it was the hustle. He hit two one-hoppers to the pitcher and ran as hard as he could to first base. Johnny set a great example for me to model my career. His hustle and desire -- those were the little things that stood out for me. Plus he's one of the best hitters I've ever played with."

In his speech Petrak expressed his thanks and gratitude to the many people who helped make this wonderful day possible.
"I have been truly blessed. I have been able to do something I love and get paid very well for it. There was no place that I ever wanted to be, but on the baseball diamond every day doing what I love."

WACKY RICHARDS MAKES IPA HALL OF FAME
Terry Richards was a happy-go-lucky hurler that didn't seem to take baseball too seriously. But Richards was good enough to chalked up 306 victories. Much to the dismay of his managers, the gifted pitcher was fond of making esoteric and philosophical observations like, "People are too hung up on winning. I can get off on a really good helmet throw."

Whether he believed that or not, the baseball writers took his accomplishments on the mound seriously and voted him into the prestigious Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame.

At his induction today Richards told the press, "I played the game for fun. That didn't mean I wasn't giving it my all. I wouldn't be here today, if I hadn't given it my all."

Richards retired at age 37 in 2045. In his superb career he compiled a fine ERA of 3.14 with 306 victories and 221 defeats and held opponents to a .246 batting average. All total he pitched in 680 games and struck out 3654 batters in 4856 innings. Richards played 18 years for the Waleska Westerners beginning in 2028. The Westerners won three Pro Cup titles during his tenure with them. They captured their first in his rookie year when he went 4-1 in the playoffs with a 3.08 ERA. Richards also played a big part in the 2037 Pro Cup run with a 4-1 mark and a 2.98 ERA, good enough to be a very close second to pitcher Craig Nash (3-1/2.08) for the Pro Cup MVP. He was injured when the Westerners took the IPA crown again in 2039. Waleska still won it even without their ace, who was 18-8 in the regular season with a sparkling 2.64 ERA.

The eccentric and irreverent pitcher closed out his speech in style: "Baseball's a very simple game. All you have to do is sit on your butt, spit tobacco and nod at the stupid things your manager says."

FARRUGIA JOINS HOF IMMORTALS
Thousands of fans braved the scorching sun to watch and cheer as baseball's latest legend, Nicky Farrugia, was inducted into the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame today. With his 365 home runs, 2215 hits and lifetime .321 batting average, everyone knew the gifted right fielder belonged with the immortals of the game. Still, Farrugia remained humble.

"I'm a very lucky person to be born with the skill to play baseball and through baseball I built a name for myself," said Farrugia. Now finally his career as a baseball player is complete, "This seals it," he said. "To get the recognition that every ballplayer seeks -- this is completion for me."

Farrugia retired recently at 37. In his epic 14-year career (2034-2047) with the St. John Crusaders he played in 1704 games and finished with 1204 RBIs and 1131 runs scored. Five times he made the All-Star team and won the Ruthlandian Golden Bat and Most Valuable Player honors in 2039. Farrugia only played in the postseason on two occasions, but swatted .352 in 22 games with 6 homers and 12 RBIs.

COLLINS FINALLY GETS CHOSEN TO THE HALL OF FAME
A great injustice was made right this year by the Hall of Fame electors. Fred Collins, the great center fielder and consummate professional, was finally inducted into the Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame today after being overlooked and bypassed for almost three decades. Collins played from 2001 to 2020 with three clubs, Blue Lake, Sligo and Mahaska. He was a four-time All-Star and was twice the Ruthlandian Batter of the Year, winning the Gold Bat in 2010 and 2011. Collins was the Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player in 2011.

The 68-year-old honoree quipped, "Although you don't like to give up at anything, it was beginning to look hopeless for me. I'm just glad that they didn't vote me in posthumously while I was alive."

His all-time numbers show Collins compiled a .305 batting average and collected 2707 hits, 401 home runs and 1446 RBIs. In all, he played in 2634 games. Collins retired from baseball at the age of 41. He also scored 1665 runs, stole 481 bases, walked 1407 times and put up a lifetime .406 on-base percentage. He batted .328 in 16 playoffs games.

At the induction ceremony, he grew misty-eyed as he recalled the highlights of his playing career: his first base hit, his first home run, and -- humorously -- the first time he was thrown out at home plate. Collins says he barged through his third base coach's stop sign. As he returned to the dugout, his manager Eddie Keys simply glared at him. "His eyes just burned a hole right through me. If looks could kill, I wouldn't be here today," he chuckled.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, August 1, 2047

RUTHLANDIAN UNION JULY RECAP

RACE OVER IN RU NORTH, REDHAWKS ROMP
There a good race going for second place in the Ruthlandian North, but the pennant race is over - Far Mountain (72-39) has beaten everything in sight and has a 14-game bulge going into the final six weeks of the season. Valmara (58-53), LaGrange (58-53) and Glasco (58-53) are tussling for the number two spot, along with the Kilkenny Cats (55-56).

The first place Redhawks have marvelous pitching and scoring, a combination hard-to-beat... they were 18-10 in July... Curt Steinhauer (15-5/1.74), Stan Smith (18-4/3.27) and Jonas Glover (16-8/3.18) have done a great job in the starting rotation, while the bullpen has been solid, headed up by Fernando Sanches (9-6/2.96/13 saves)... at the plate Far Mountain doesn't have any superstar bats with super stats... they do it as a group, but don't hit for high averages except for one parttimer... 1B Rance Hawkins is hitting .368 with 10 HRs, 40 RBIs and 44 runs as a platoon player... the most productive regulars have been CF Todd Purdom (.279/7/36/49), 2B Sammy Prejean (.261/2/37/38), SS Webster Ronstadt (.259/7/45/56) and RF Bert Richter (.245/15/42/51).

LaGrange rolled up a strong 18-10 mark for the month... the Sports' top performers are Hot Dog Huxtable (13-8/2.45/4 saves) and Arnie Ayers (15-8/2.63) on the hill and 1B Clayton Justice (.298/20/79/45) and SS Johnny Rodgers (.287/16/79/61) with the bats.

Valmara wound up 15-13 in July... veterans stars Primo Sirak (11-7/2.06) and Teddy Twardzik (10-12/2.66) have been great on the mound, but need more run support... the Vipers don't hit with much power and are only average hitters... the club leaders are All-Star SS Ken Jensen (.302/8/53/62), LF Paul McMahon (.316/5/54/29) and 2B Jorge Aparicio (.279/8/38/65).

The Glasco A's have excellent pitching and average offense... top twirlers are starters Evan Walsh (13-12/2.41), Benny McDaniel (11-8/2.71), Pat Meyers (13-10/3.04) and Brent Bolivar (9-9/3.35)... the bullpen is strong, too, with Ken McLin (7-6/2.25/9 saves)... LF George Russell (.264/9/61/57) and CF John Rumford (.260/10/44/62) lead the club offensively... the Athletics were 14-14 in July.

Fifth place Kilkenny was 15-13 during the last month... the Cats feature good pitching, but have terrible hitting... Dave Stratford (15-12/2.19) has been a terrific starter and is the ace of the staff with some help from Ciaran Cullen (13-12/3.72) and Glen Caswell (12-15/3.00)... SS Sam Norman (.268/17/62/38) and CF Scottie Spencer (.246/13/46/45) are the leaders offensively.

RU SOUTH SUPER TIGHT WITH 3-WAY BATTLE
There's a tremendous duel going on in the Ruthlandian South. Favored Waleska (60-51) has a one-game edge over Crystal Lake (59-52) and Belair Beach (59-52). The Westerners were 17-11 in July to take over the top spot in the standings, the Crushers 16-12 and the Sunbirds just 14-14... Belair Beach was the division leader at the end of May.

The Westerners have the best pitching in the IPA with a 2.76 team ERA, but are less-than-average on the scoreboard... they are sparked by four fine veteran starters in Jeff Woodruff (13-10/2.34), All-Star Niles Nielsen (12-8/2.57), Tony Haskell (13-8/2.89) and Roy Schaefer (12-11/3.15)... the main man in the bullpen has been Vince Gibson (4-5/1.10/11 saves)... SS Pete Hudson (.320/2/39/33) has the top BA... CF Kenny Hardy (.294) is the club leader in hits (132), doubles (27), homers (14), RBIs (62), runs (66) and stolen bases (28)... other contributors are 3B Pete Furness (.266/13/55/37), LF Gene Stevenson (.267/13/39/43) and 1B Rob Rice (.313/11/39/37).

The Crystal Lake Crushers hit well for average (.273-1st) and score well (10th), but lack the longball with only 67 (26th tied)... pacing the attack are RF Paul Dillon (.322/8/56/53), CF Jesse Walker (.310/0/23/37), LF Jed Murphee (.289/6/47/72) and C Del Peevy (.281/8/51/50)... the best two starters have been Manuel Hinojosa (8-4/2.59) and Dave McCauley (13-11/3.94)... All-Star closer Josh Crosby (10-5/1.89/14 saves) heads up the reliever corps.

Belair Beach's offense is keeping them in the race, but the mound staff could do better... the Sunbirds are 9th in scoring runs, but are 27th with a 3.99 team ERA... carrying the brunt of the attack is superstar All-Star 3B Jason Butler, who is having a banner year with a .320 BA, 33 HRs, 90 RBIs and 72 runs... the 34-year-old Butler is tied for fifth in the IPA in RBIs... 1B Shannon Stewart (.302/10/54/57) and CF Norm Ellis (.268/17/45/47) have also chipped in with the bats... Kevin Tolbert (11-10/3.01) has been the most effective starter, but Ronnie Roy (14-8/4.27) and Jose Munoz (13-12/4.05) have more wins... in the bullpen Tom Cook (4-3/2.47/15 saves) and Ray Dunn (3-1/2.03/6 saves) have stood out.

MARSTON ADDS TO LEAD IN RU EAST
Six of the teams in the Ruthlandian East have winning records, making it one of the stronger divisions in the the IPA. The Marston Nine (69-42) are making a serious bid to get out of the perpetual doldrums of the second division this year. The first place Nine skied to 20-8 in July and added to its lead, moving six games ahead of preseason choice Sugar Valley (63-48). The powerful Rattlers finished 18-10 for the month. The Eastshore Elegants (60-51) are in the third spot in the standings, trailing by 9 games. They were 16-12 this past month. In fourth place are the Belle Plaine Musketeers (59-52), who posted a strong 18-10 mark, but still fell two more games behind in the pennant race. The Muskies are 10 games off the pace.

Marston can swing the bat, ranking near the top in scoring runs (2nd), topped only by Belle Plaine in the RU... the Nine also has topnotch pitching (8th)... the club leaders are All-Star 3B Gary Armitage (.316/17/51/78), SS Stan Mila (.308/15/77/48), RF Charley Gilmore (.310/10/50/46) and All-Star LF D'Wayne Dotson (.289/13/66/70)... on the hill All-Star Felix Delatte (18-4/2.51) is having a banner year... Kelly Long (6-3/1.99/7 saves) recently moved from the bullpen into the starting rotation... number two starter Thomas Stuart (9-10/3.33) and number three John Newton (13-11/3.56) have struggled at times...Long looks to be an upgrade... standout Kiki Vuk (9-2/1.49/7 saves) is the bullpen specialist... Marston just has six weeks to go to get its first RU East flag in almost two decades... the Nine is certainly playing like a pennant winner this season.

But, of course, last year's division winner Sugar Valley will have a lot to say about that... the Rattlers are still a very capable ball club with solid starters and good bats... leading the rotation is Antonio Cedeno (17-10/2.89) with some help from Christopher Dunsberry (10-8/2.82), Cullen Winslow (12-8/3.60) and Davey Brennan (7-10/2.88/7 saves)... the bullpen (4.40 ERA) has not fared very well and is the sore point on the team... the Rattlers really needs some help there to get back in the pennant race... All-Star 2B Richie Fry (.363/6/54/55) is hitting everything in sight and is leading the league with a .363 BA, second in the IPA to Kenwood's Country Crowder, who is tops at .370... CF Carl Ramsey is not much for average at .235, but has been the club leader with 23 HRs, 71 RBIs and 81 runs... 1B Roger Hobbs is batting only .240, but has 17 homers, 47 RBIs and has scored 65 runs... player-manager and RF Bobby Gamble, a career .319 batter, is only hitting .274, but has 16 homers, 59 RBIs and 64 runs.

The Eastshore Elegants are pretty much average as a team... but they have two outstanding All-Star hurlers in starter Valdek Savisaar (16-5/2.81) and relief star Jody Friday (12-1/1.50/12 saves)... Friday leads the Ruthlandian Union in ERA with a splendid 1.50, topped only by Matt Bell (18-4/1.49) of San Alejo in the Tycobbian Union... Eastshore's best bat is All-Star RF Troy McFarland (.271/19/69/64), the club leader in most categories... CF Bevan Shuler is batting only .228, but has 15 HRs, 48 RBIs and scored 78 runs... 1B Gibby Houston leads with a .342 BA, plus 7 HRs and 43 RBIs... 3B Abner Bronstein is hitting .313... and 2B Odis Caswell is batting .293 with 37 RBIs and 52 runs.

Fourth place Belle Plaine is first in Ruthlandia putting runs on the scoreboard with a .272 BA (3rd) and 116 HRs (5th), but not quite average on the mound with a so-so 3.63 team ERA (21st)... 1B Chuck Gregory (.291/24/83/52), rookie RF Lenny Buisson (.328/19/58/51), CF Roy Myers (.296/15/49/63) and C Nuke Borg (.306/13/44/47) are the team leaders at the plate... 2B Mac Lord (.332/7/33/41) and 3B Kale Woodard (.327/4/32/57) have blossomed this year as hitters... the modest mound corps is paced by starters Ryne Malloy (13-13/4.15) and Joe-Joe Bouvier (11-8/3.98) and by Kurt Tandberg (5-1/2.12/9 saves) in the pen.

Cold Creek is in fifth place with pretty good pitching, but very little in the batter's box... top starters are Rob Hutchins (14-8/1.99) and Riku Takahashi (8-8/3.37/5 saves)... with Andres Padilla (7-3/3.18/7 saves) leading the relievers... the most productive bats are 1B Bradley Brim (.305/10/47/43), 3B Joe Cochrane (.328/9/47/59) and SS Nicky Thacker (.267/5/33/58).

The sixth place Beechwood Bobcats do little other than go deep fairly often... the Bobcats have hit 134 homers, second to Middlefield's 140 in the RU... 1B Corky Callahan (.276/27/65/48), RF Eddie Wilson (.269/23/49/52) and CF Keith Kalder (.313/20/46/43) are the deep threats... C Glenn Tinker (.286/9/40/51) has been productive, too... Jimmy Herman (13-13/3.87) is the only starter under 4.00 ERA... reliever Freddy Manale is unbeaten in 34 relief roles with 9 saves and a 2.74 ERA.

The Wynnamac Sundowners were forecast to be a first-division club this year, but they fizzled badly in July (11-17) and slumped to seventh place... just an average ball club in a good division... vets Sammy Hayes (14-10/3.02) and Jimmy Willard (11-7/3.31) have been sound starters... and Johnny Mitchell (6-6/2.06/8 saves) has done a good job in relief... 3B Duane Hudson (.332/6/45/58) is the club leader in BA with superstar RF Nioka Inkamara (.266/26/74/62) tops in homers, RBIs and runs, but who hasn't been the same player he was prior to the injury year in 2045.

The Elnora All-Stars are in the cellar, but are just five games under .500... they can stick the ball with a .263 BA, rank seventh in scoring and have decent power with 101 HRs (13th)... the All-Stars are just fair to middling on the mound with a 3.85 ERA (23rd)... All-Star RF Preston Davies (.332/18/48/56) and All-Star C Cannon Johnson (.270/22/62/57) are the biggest threats in the batting order with good help from LF Enos Conrad (.306/8/42/43), CF Kyle Watson (.301/4/50/54), 2B Marty Macomber (.294/16/57/59) and 3B Joey Hagburn (.286/9/57/53)... veterans starters Dan Pitts (12-12/3.42) and Stan Kivas (12-11/3.76) are the staff leaders.

ROOSTERS STILL AHEAD IN RU WEST
Middlefield (67-44) posted the best record in the Ruthlandian West this month to put a little bit more space between them and the rest of the contenders. Only Forest City (64-47) is pushing them, just three games behind. The Roosters were 16-12 during the month, while the Lumberjacks were 15-13. The third place Rocky Rapids Snappers (60-51) were 13-15 and slipped 10 games out in the race. Volusia (59-52) and Colfax (59-52), tied for fourth, went 14-14 and 13-15 respectively and now trail the Roosters by eight games. Sligo (57-54), in the sixth spot, is also three-game over .500, but was only 12-16 for July. The Rovers fell 10 games back in the pennant race.

First place Middlefield has a strong attack and strong pitching... the Roosters are batting .262 (10th), have collected 140 homers (1st) and ranked fifth in scoring runs... they have chalked up an impressive 2.91 team ERA (4th)... with those numbers you would think they would have a bigger lead in the division... the top starters are All-Star James Long (18-7/2.22), Larry Wheelhouse (16-11/2.55) and Carroll Collier (12-10/3.04)... Ray Owens (4-5/1.72/13 saves) leads a strong bullpen that has compiled a superb 2.01 ERA and is ranked number one in the Ruthlandian Union... All-Star RF Sidney Conner (.303/35/93/72) is having a terrific year... he is third in the IPA with 93 RBIs... only Bayview's Jerry Culpepper (123) and High Mesa's Johnny Tallis (121) are ahead of him... Conner is seventh in roundtrippers with 35... All-Star C Johnny McDonald (.352/6/33/58) is number four in the IPA with a .352 mark, bested only by Kenwood's Country Crowder (.370), Sugar Valley's Richie Fry (.363) and Cape Coral's Stan Ferguson (.353)... SS Jimmy Beach (.323/15/53/53) and CF Russell Martin (.304/13/48/57) are also over the .300 mark... LF Norman Antonioni has pitched in with 28 HRs, 63 RBIs and 56 runs, while batting .276... Middlefield has all of the makings of a strong Pro Cup title contender.

Runner-up Forest City gets by on its fine pitching, ranking fifth with a 3.05 team ERA... Omar Cordero (19-8/3.24) is the ace and is tied for the IPA lead with Johnny Howard (19-6/2.83) of Rolling Hills and Drew Selby (19-6/3.01) of Volusia... also lending a hand are Walter Gibbons (12-7/3.26), Rusty Howard (13-11/2.59) and Jimmy Kirkpatrick (6-3/2.63/2 saves)... Kirkpatrick is a recent addition to the starting rotation... Richie Meyers (5-4/3.30/14 saves) has been a capable closer thus far... not much in the 'Jacks line-up... C Bob Brisdon (.282/10/57), SS Timmy Tarbell (.275/8/38/47) are the best of the lot... showing promise in limited roles are 3B Nicky Knight (.271/13/47/37) and 1B Frisco Dawson (.382/10/19/25)... it's amazing the Lumberjacks have stayed this close to Middlefield.

Third place Rocky Rapids has remained in the race with its super staff of All-Star Dirk Halstad (15-7/2.29), superstar Jamie Taylor (13-15/2.69) and Buster Noland (16-6/3.19)... the Snappers' offense is just average at best with All-Star 2B Marty Featherstone (.282/18/64/69), 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.277/18/75/56), RF Buddy Hamilton (.296/13/40/36) and 3B Duncan Musselwhite (.290/5/43/58).

Deadlocked in the fourth spot in the RU West standings are the Volusia Vigilantes and the Colfax Blasters... the V's boast a fine offense and better-than-average pitching... the top bats are All-Star C George Ruffino (.273/20/71/43), RF Lonny Womack (.300/15/64/73), All-Star 2B Cazzie Carvalho (.300/13/69/53) and All-Star 1B Kris Wilson (.328/12/53/60)... the top hurlers are Drew Selby (19-6/3.01), who is tied for the IPA lead in victories with Omar Cordero (19-8/3.24) of Forest City and Johnny Howard (19-6/2.83) of Rolling Hills... Will Thompson (15-10/3.10) is the number two man in wins on the club... Casimiro Ramires (7-7/3.13) and Alvaro Spinosa (8-8/3.20) have been quality starters, too... however, the Vigilantes are weak in the bullpen.

Colfax is a solid ball club, too... the pitching is above average and the bats are proficient... Ray Maxon (14-7/2.55) and Red McCallum (12-6/2.09) are standout starters... 3B Cramer Landis is the club leader at the plate with a .298 BA and 58 runs... he has driven 30 runs and has 8 home runs... the RBI leader is LF Robb Maddux (.265/13/63/51) with 63... C Darrell Dillon (.258/16/55/49) leads in homers with 16... and SS Marty Eldridge added 9 homers, 48 RBIs, 47 runs and a .268 BA.

The Sligo Rovers are in sixth place... just an average ball team... rookie starter Mickey Walsh (13-10/2.62) leads the staff with help from veteran Randall Steele (13-13/3.17)... All-Star 3B Denny Simmons is the club leader with a .300 BA, 65 RBIs and 52 runs... he is second in homers with 12... CF Pat Tyrrell (.253/14/42/43) is the HR leader with 14... parttimers 3B Blayne Carnick (.328/5.37/27), LF Martin Tilton (.306/3/19/31) and CF Glen Kern (.300/1/26/17) have wielded the bats well when given a chance.

Seventh place Stoner is just a mediocre club... lackluster starters Mel Glosterman (10-14/4.00) and Billy Horton (10-13/4.42) have the most wins... the hitters aren't much better with 3B Ralph Sackett (.302/11/58/45), RF Morgan Miller (.300/9/55/49) and SS Norris Henry (.286/8/34).

Last place Fort Benton is destined for the basement for the third year in a row... the Defenders can't score and they don't have a lot of pitching... Arnie Patterson (10-15/3.59) and Jordy Raeburn (9-14/3.72) are the only decent starters... and C Varnell Larrimore (.282/11/53/43) and 3B Glendon Glenn (.306/3/29/48) are the only decent bats... it's just another long, dismal season for the Fort Benton fans.

RUTHLANDIAN UNION STANDINGS AS OF JULY 1, 2047

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, August 1, 2047

TYCOBBIAN UNION JULY RECAP

HELLCATS HAVE SLIGHT LEAD IN TU NORTH
Defending Pro Cup champion Hartsdale (63-48) is still having trouble shaking the unheralded White River Rascals (61-50) in the Tycobbian North. The Hellcats are still slightly ahead and raised it to two games over the Rascals at the end of July. Hartsdale was ony 15-13 for the month, but picked up a game over White River, which went 14-14. Third place Blue Lake (56-55) dropped further back with a poor 12-16 mark. The Blue Sox, the number two choice in the preseason, are now seven games back in the pennant race. The North Hills Hawks (55-56) are in fourth place and trail by eight games. Last month the Hawks were even at 14-14. Blue Lake was supposed to be Hartsdale's toughest foe for the TU North flag, but so far it's been the number-seven pick White River.

Hartsdale is trying to repeat as division champ, but hasn't had the pitching of a year ago, when they won the Pro Cup... the offense is down some, too... All-Star Perry Givens (17-5/2.73) and Dave Payne (15-8/3.08) are leading the way... last year's 28-game winner and TU MVP Gil Younger (12-13/3.48) has struggled this year... Kippy Wilhelm, a 20-game winner last season, is terrible this year with a 4-8 record and an astronomical 6.53 ERA... the bullpen is bad except for Alfonso Cervera (7-3/1.78/13 saves)... the Hellcat offense is still quite capable with the likes of RF Emilian Burgess (.268/21/72/65), 3B Greg Melton (.289/17/64/60), CF Darrell Nesbitt (.282/12/38/84) and 1B John Ford (.260/16/59/50)... rookie C Kenton Carmichael (.255/21/48/47) has added some punch to the line-up with 21 home runs... right now Hartsdale would have trouble in the playoffs against possible rivals Red Bluff and Southport.

Second place White River has been mired in the second division the last three seasons... the Rascals are still looking for the first Pro Cup... the last pennant came years ago in 2027... so the fans are really excited this year and rightly so... it's August and the Rascals are still putting a lot of pressure on favored Hartsdale... they have pretty fair pitching with Nicky Palmer (13-10/2.54), Jade Garner (12-8/3.79) and Trenton Anderson (11-8/3.70)... Clem Warren's (8-11/2.74) record doesn't show it, but he has been a quality starter and tough to beat... All-Star LF Billy Joe Hickman is the offense with a .329 BA, 34 HRs, 90 RBIs and 76 runs... at 29 this is his best year ever... OF Russell Anderson is batting .327 BA and has 5 HRs, 33 RBIs and 46 runs... 2B Warren McKenzie has contributed some with 15 homers and 55 RBIs, but is batting only .248... although they are only two games out, it's not likely the Rascals can overtake the Hellcats... White River is just abysmal at the plate.

Blue Lake is just barely over .500 and doesn't appear to be a challenger this year... overall the Blue Sox are just an average club... Sal Mays (15-12/2.98) and Greg Mortimer (12-10/2.82) are two solid starters... ace Van Johnson (11-11/4.22) is having a down year... he was 21-11 last year... veteran Razzy Richmond (4-4/2.40/16 saves) is the only good reliever... Richmond is still a solid closer... the Blue Sox have some steady hitters, but no standouts... they are led by SS Rick Bridges (.278/23/60/52), 1B Mel Morrison (.269/20/55/56), RF Johnny Harding (.252/16/45/56) and All-Star C Juan Luis Barcelona (.268/8/46/54).

North Hills is in fourth place... the hitting is good, but the great pitching of the past decade, which produced four Pro Cup crowns and 11 pennants, is gone... the Hawks are just a run-of-the-mill team... superstar RF Adam Thurgood (.316/28/76/72) missed most of last season with an injury, but is back and doing quite well at age 36... other capable batters are aging vets: 35-year-old 2B Tommy Vavas (.286/18/52/67) and 36-year-old 3B Ric Hamilton (.287/14/57/45)... LF Ryan Webbe, age 23, is adding some youthful punch to the line-up... it's time for the Hawks to rebuilt... 34-year-old ace Tony Mack (17-8/2.42) is as good as ever on the mound, but has little help except for rookie Flash Easley (8-4/3.48/1 save)... the bullpen is one of the worst in the IPA with an atrocious 5.23 ERA (32nd).

None of the second division squads are expected to compete for the flag this year... but the teams do have a few standout players: All-Star pitcher Rudy Mellancamp (14-12/1.88) for the sixth place Oxford Red Caps... All-Star closer Terry Sawyer (11-8/2.37/13 saves) and 2B John Velasco (.318/20/83/65), who is playing remarkably well at 41 for the sixth place Fairfax Frogs... leading Luxora are vets RF Emil Pasek (.339/15/36/69) and 1B Joel Poche (.302/19/77/61)... last place Mahaska has no one worth mentioning.

SUN SOX STILL SHINING IN TU SOUTH
The favored Southport Sun Sox (69-42) are still playing solid ball in the Tycobbian South and have good leads over their main challengers... they were OK in July with a 15-13 record. San Alejo (63-48), picked to be a distant second to the Sun Sox, is living up to expectations. The Montaneros are running in second place and six games behind Southport after going 16-12 for the month. Third place Ginza (60-51) and Cape Coral (60-51) are going in opposite directions. The Ninjas were 16-12, but the Hurricanes were only 12-16. Both of them are 10 games behind first place Southport. Last season's division champ Summerland (52-59) hasn't played well at all and is tied for seventh, 17 games off the pace.

Southport is a well-balanced club with good pitching, hitting and defense... top hurlers are All-Star Billy Hoover (16-10/1.68) and Johnny Swanson (14-8/3.35)... All-Star closer Hal Combs (8-6/2.66/18 saves) leads the IPA with 18 saves... CF Barney Lewis is only hitting .259, but tops the club with 34 homers, 78 RBIs and 61 runs... All-Star C Vasilis Vlachos has the best BA at .298 with 18 roundtrippers and 64 runs... other offensive providers are 1B Eddy Douglas (.287/19/52/48) and 3B Craig Glennon (.235/18/64/57)... the Sun Sox are not a glitzy team, but they are a good one... should do well in the postseason.

It's been 10 years since San Alejo won the TU South... the Monties are always in the hunt, but always come up short... that's what it looks like this year, too... the Montaneros don't seem to have the hitting to overtake the Sun Sox... All-Star CF Paolo Teixeira (.326/33/85/87) can't win the pennant by himself... the only help he gets is from LF Royce Grantham (.264/17/61/55), but that's not enough... in addition to Teixeira, the main strength of the club comes from two superstar All-Stars Matt Bell (18-4/1.49) and Will McKinney (17-7/2.77)... Bell leads the IPA with a 1.49 ERA... San Alejo really needs a season turnaround from number three starter Benny Buckmaster, who won 20 games last year... Buckmaster is only 7-16 this year... if he got hot in the final six weeks, it would be enough to catch leading Southport.

The Ginza Ninjas can score, but they are suspect on the hill... for the last six seasons they have been entrenched in the secord division of the TU South... the Ninjas haven't won a pennant since 2031... not likely this year either... superstar All-Star RF Sogo Takagi is the franchise player with a .341 BA, 30 doubles, 8 triples, 36 HRs, 89 RBIs and 89 runs, all team highs... Takagi gets a little help from 3B Sam Essex (.258/20/77/57) and rookie standout SS Kuzuki Tamura (.303/6/43/50).... pitching is only modest with starters T. C. Gallimore (15-8/3.85), Charley Waskins (16-10/4.06) and Tokuji Takahara (12-10/4.18)... Timmy Hickens (4-2/2.78/15 saves) is still a reliable closer.

July was a costly month for Cape Coral... it cost them a fair shot at first place... nine games are a lot of ground to make up in the final weeks of the season... the Hurricanes can blister the ball, but lack pitching... Benton McCall (16-8/2.89) is the only topnotch hurler... the best teams usually have three solid starters... the powerhouses feature four... Vernon Marks (14-10/4.13) and Tony Magee (11-6/4.04) are the best of the other starters... the Hurricane attack is sparked by five .300 hitters: star All-Star 1B Stan Ferguson (.353/28/83/65), star All-Star RF William Snyder (.305/13/77/72), superstar All-Star LF Rikky Van Dalen (.315/17/61/68), rookie sensation CF Teddy Plimpton (.321/15/61/67) and LF Max Tselika (.319/22/70/58)... Van Dalen was out the whole month with a broken rib... a very costly injury... he should be back for the stretch run.

The top performers for the rest of the teams: Turon's All-Star 2B C. C. Kingsford (.324/28/79/74), All-Star 3B Al Salisbury (.309/21/57/83) and telented RF Guido Gervasio (.278/25/79/57)... Summerland's superstar starter Jayson Hallstrom (14-9/2.21) and fine 2B Alex Abbotson (.286/32/90/76)... Colchester's only decent player is 3B Jasper Mathews (.289/18/72/54)... Arroyo Grande's best is starter Enrique Lopez (12-14/2.97).

RED SOX UP BY 3 OVER TUCKS IN TU EAST
The Red Bluff Red Sox (74-37) and the Tuckanarra Blue Jays (71-40) are still going at it hot-and heavy in the Tycobbian East... both were a sizzling 18-10 in July... the Red Sox remained up by three games in the race... third place High Mesa (62-49) went 16-12 for the month, but is a distant 12 games out... fourth place Hillsboro (56-55) was 14-14 and is now 18 games out of first place... it should be a thrilling finish in the TU East between two of the best teams in the IPA... Red Bluff is tops in victories with 74, two better than Far Mountain in the Ruthlandian North and three ahead of Tuckanarra.

The Red Sox have robust pitching and excellent scoring... they are first with a 2.91 ERA, first in homers with 182 and third in scoring runs with 546... should they outlast the Blue Jays, Red Bluff will be one of the favorites for the Pro Cup... the Red Sox have three excellent starters in All-Star Jud Cox (17-7/1.62), George Reynolds (18-5/2.61) and Mickey Rosen (14-10/2.98)... heading up the bullpen is Sonny Wheat (3-4/2.12/14 saves)... number four starter Carson Jamara (14-4/3.95) has also contributed some quality starts, too... the top gun is superstar All-Star RF David Kelso (.313/39/86/72), who is tied for third in the IPA in homers with 39... he and Denton City's Wayman Stetson are 7 behind the leader, Jerry Culpepper of Bayview, who has 46... High Mesa's Johnny Tallis is second with 43... 3B Fran Blanchard (.249) has 30 homers, 73 RBis and has scored 65 runs... 1B Josh Stevens (.272) has hit 27 out of the park with 54 RBIs and 61 runs... and CF Ike Sweewater (.287) has 21 roundtrippers, 61 RBIs and scored 51 runs.

Actually, Tuckanarra has a better team BA than Red Bluff... the Blue Jays are batting .272 (2nd) to .254 (18th) for the Red Sox... but Red Bluff has a huge edge in power, 182 homers (1st) to only 96 (25th) for the Tucks... on the mound it's a draw... the Tucks have a 2.99 team ERA (2nd)... the Red Sox have a 2.91 team ERA (1st)... the two clubs are also even in scoring... 538 runs (7th) for the Tucks and 546 for the Red Sox (3rd)... Tuckanarra has a strong starting foursome in Ozzie Leslie (15-7/2.54), Dickie Pittman (11-8/2.73), Gary Oliver (9-3/2.88) and Yarran Nawajuk (17-8/3.30)... and Jack Rogers (9-3/2.08/15 saves) is a crackerjack closer... the Blue Jays can match the Red Sox on the hill, but not at the plate... they hit for average, but don't often go deep... All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons is the club leader with 147 hits, .340 BA, 23 doubles, 15 homers and 78 RBIs... he is tied with Jimmy Markovich for the most runs with 70... 3B Niles Tasby is batting .316 with 13 HRS, 49 RBIs and 38 runs... and Markovich is hitting .264 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs... those number pale when compared to the Red Sox's big four... the Tucks have what it takes to push Red Bluff to the limit... they could win it.

High Mesa has solid pitching, but is only average at the plate... Lucius Quarles (14-7/2.26) and Lloyd Armstrong (11-8/2.21) are young and talented pitchers... 1B Johnny Tallis doesn't hit much for average, but drive in runs in bunches... lifetime he bats only .254... Tallis carries the whole Cowpoke offense with 43 homers and 121 RBIs, both are second in the IPA to Bayview's Jerry Culpepper, who leads with 46 HRs and 123 RBIs... vet SS Clifford Coleman has power, but doesn't hit for much average... he has 26 homers and 73 RBIs with a .233 BA.

Hillsboro's top players are starters Steve Cooper (14-11/2.67) and Jamie Lee Bradley (12-9/3.28)... the Blazers are just one game above the .500 mark... no great shakes offensively, but they do have a little power... LF Jurrien Bellini is tops with 37 homers, 69 RBIs and 81 runs, but is batting only .240... 1B Ernie Moxley has 21 homers, 55 RBIs and 48 runs, but is hitting just .253 for average... and CF Rick Willis has 19 roundtrippers with 60 RBIs and 69 runs, while batting a lowly .249.

Here are the best players on the Tycobbian East also-rans... South Fork is paced by veteran starters Jay Murphy (13-9/2.67) and Chris Sorensen (15-11/3.45)... Charlie Chase (17-8/3.27) is a solid starter for Midway and CF Hector Pena (.305/9/49/74) and LF Justin Morrison (.320/12/57/62) show promise as hitters... East Point has only mediocre players at best with no standouts... 3B Artie Clayton (.269) is a modest IPA hitter with some power... he leads Ozarka with 29 homers and 66 RBIs.

KENWOOD TAKES CHARGE IN TU WEST
It's still a three-club race in the Tycobbian West, but defending champ Kenwood (63-48) made a pretty positive statement by rolling to a red-hot 20-8 record this month to take charge with a four-game lead over last month's leader Arlon (59-52)... they did it without their best hitter and superstar All-Star C Corky DiNozzo, who is lost for the season... the Champions' 15-13 mark couldn't keep them in first place... another club to watch is the fast-closing Rolling Hills Reds (58-53) in third place... they started off with two terrible months (21-36), but have been the best team in the division in June (18-8) and July (19-9)... the Reds are only five games back of first place Kenwood... fourth place Bayview (54-57) had its worst month of the season at 11-17 and has fallen out of contention.

It's been tougher than forecast for Kenwood this season... the experts predicted the Wildcats would wrap up the Tycobbian West early and have a comfortable lead by now... they have won five of the last six pennants... Kenwood is a good all-round team... but received a severe jolt with the rotator injury to DiNozzo, who is batting .300 with a club high 25 homers and 66 RBIs... he and 2B Country Crowder are just about the whole offense... Crowder leads the IPA with a .370 BA and 167 hits... he has scored 62 runs and driven in 37... Tommy Carter (14-9/2.40) is the staff leader in wins and ERA... Rusty Bradford (12-9/3.27) has gotten better as the season progressed... he got off to a sluggish start... Bradford led the club last year with 22 victories... Freddy Gooch (10-8/3.33) is also a quality starter... Gregg Campbell, a 19-game winner last year, has struggled this season with a 13-11 mark with a 4.07 ERA... he needs to turn it up a notch down the stretch... the Wildcats' relief corps is a good one with Mike Jones (6-3/1.91/5 saves) and Elian Verjano (6-5/2.52 8 saves)... good pitching is even more important now after the loss of DiNozzo.

Arlon is not an impressive second place team... they are only fair at the plate and on the hill... the Champions are hitting only .254 (20th) with 109 homers (18th) and don't score well, ranking 26th with 452 runs... pitching-wise they have posted a mediocre 4.02 team ERA (22nd)... yet they are still in the fight for the TU West flag... Lanny Gray (13-12/2.59) is a tough pitcher, but gets little in the way of run support... Peter Shannon (17-8/3.42) is also a quality starter... Mack Blair (4-4/3.17/14 saves) is competent in the closer spot... the offense is not much... 3B Ivan Cisneros (.292/10/41/42) has the best BA... RF Mark Cameron (.269/21/45/54) has the most homers with 21 and leads in runs scored with 54... C Nick Shafer (.258/19/62/53) is the club leader with 62 RBIs... and CF Cary Rockwell (.281/14/52/38) has been a reliable bat, too.

Third place Rolling Hills has certainly turned it around 180 degrees in the last two months and look like the best team in the division... Johnny Howard (19-6/2.83) is carry the mound corps, but will need some help from veteran Matty Christianson (8-12/3.05) and Marty Phillips (8-3/3.35/2 saves) down the stretch... they will be key, along with fourth starter Steve Adams (9-12/3.43)... the bullpen has been hot-and-cold... Benny Young (6-5/3.86/12 saves) has 12 saves, but a high ERA... the Reds have no great sticks in the batting order... the club leaders are CF Orrin Phillips (.286/23/75/65), RF Jimbo Foxx (.259/19/66/48), 1B Darwin Tard (.267/18/49/65), SS Dustin Thibodeau (.317/7/31/50) and C Kyle Edwards (.302/4/35/48).

Fourth place Bayview hits well with power, but has little else... the Vikings have a .265 team BA (7th) with 151 homers (2nd) and rank 8th in runs with 535... on the hill they are not much with a 4.15 team ERA (27th)... Leading the attack is legendary slugger and All-Star 3B Jerry Culpepper (.328/46/123/81), who is having another of his great seasons... he tops the IPA with 46 homers and 123 RBIs... four times in his fantastic career he has hit 60 or more homers... Culpepper hold the single-season mark with 66, set in 2040... so far he has hit 739 HRs, which is 110 short of Jack Elliott's all-time record of 848... Culpepper is 33 and has a few more productive years... helping out this year are All-Star SS Andreas Stokke (.283/26/74/61), LF Ivar Nilssen (.292/20/56/45) and All-Star 2B Zack Mason (.313/9/51/58)... Bobby Knudsen (13-10/2.77) is the top starter with some help from Vance Codsworth (11-7/3.91)... closer Sammy Sarver (6-9/3.32/13 saves) has been hit-and-miss, but has racked up 13 saves.

Fifth place Chicopee has good pitching, but not much else... top players are starters Johnny West (11-5/2.75) and Tom Chambers (8-7/2.77)... 1B Sam Patrick (.303/33/73/57) is hitting the longball and hitting for average.

Sixth place Denton City is only average on the mound and at the plate... Mel Coley (11-9/3.48) has been the most effective starter and Harry Elliott (12-11/3.86) sports the most wins... superstar All-Star 1B Wayman Stetson (.328/39/93/77) is having a remarkable year, but has little help in the batting order... Stetson is tied for third in homers with David Kelso, topped only by Culpepper (46) and Tallis (43).

Bay St. Clair is seventh in the standings with no noteworthy talent.

La Claire is last... closer Terry Baird is worth mentioning with 13 saves, 2.36 ERA and a 7-4 record... Bruce Kinson is a quality starter with a 10-17 record and a 3.43 ERA... none of the batting order has any merit.

TYCOBBIAN UNION STANDINGS AS OF JULY 1, 2047

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, September 1, 2047

STRETCH TIME IN THE IPA
September is suddenly upon us and it's crutch time once again in the IPA. Since April, 64 teams have battled tooth-and-nail for the 8 division titles in the Islandian Pro Alliance. One race has been decided and one is almost decided, but there is still much to be settled in 6 divisional races. About 15 teams still have a shot at the 8 playoff slots availabe in the proverbial quest for the Holy Grail of Islandia - the much loved and much cherished IPA Pro Cup trophy.

The Far Mountain Redhawks (96-44) soared high this year and wrapped up the Ruthlandian North title very early. The Redhawks beat second place LaGrange by 18 games in a runaway. In the RU West the preseaon pick Middlefield Roosters (86-54) go into the September stretch drive with a comfortable 8-game edge over runner-up and last season winner Rocky Rapids (78-62). However, there is a lot of baseball left to be played in the other six divisions.

The tightest race is in the Ruthlandian South where four clubs are still in the running. The Crystal Lake Crushers (75-65) and Belair Beach Sunbirds (75-65) are currently tied for the top spot with the preseason favorite Waleska Westerners (73-67) just two games back. Last year's winner, the Claxton Diamonds (71-69), are in fourth place and four games off the pace. Right now the Diamonds are playing the best baseball. They went 18-11 in August. The Crushers and Sunbirds chalked up 16-13 marks and the Westerners slumped to 13-16.

In the Ruthlandian East defending champ Sugar Valley (83-57) shaved two games off first place Marston's (87-53) lead with a torrid 20-9 record for the last month. The Nine played well, too, with an 18-11 mark. Marston still has a four-game lead with 14 games left of the schedule.

All four divisions are still in question in the Tycobbian Union. The reigning Pro Cup champion, the Hartsdale Hellcats (79-61), are in the fight-of-their-life with unheralded White River (78-62), a perennial also-ran. The Hellcats are up by a slim game over the Rascals. During August Hartsdale was 16-13 and White River 17-12.

It's still a battle in the Tycobbian South between the Southport Sun Sox (83-57) and San Alejo Montaneros (81-59). Just two games separate them heading into the final 14 games of the regular season. The Monties posted an 18-11 record in August to cut the Sun Sox lead by four games. Southport led by a seemingly safe six games heading into last month, but slumped to 14-15. Summerland (67-73) was the titlist last year, but has fallen to sixth place this season. Southport was picked to win this year in a spirited tussle with the Monties.

In the Tycobbian East last year's winner Red Bluff (87-53) and this year's preseason pick Tuckanarra (85-65) are still going head-to-head with the Red Sox in front by two games. Neither of them played especially well in August with Red Bluff going 13-16 and the Tucks 14-15.

In the Tycobbian West the Rolling Hills Reds didn't look like much in the first two months of the season (21-36), but they have really rocked and rolled the past three months (56-27) and really put Kenwood in a precarious position. The Reds rollicked to a 19-10 record in August and chopped the Wildcats' margin to jut one game. Kenwood was 15-14. The Wildcats were the heavy preseason favorite to win the division for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. The Reds were given only a modest chance to win the pennant. They were a distant third choice.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

DIVISION CHAMPS GET READY FOR PLAYOFFS
Goal number one has been met - 8 teams in the IPA have won their division championship - now they have their hearts and souls set on goal number two -the IPA Pro Cup, symbolic for the best baseball team in the Islands. 8 teams will begin their quest Wednesday afternoon with the openers of the IPA Pro Cup Division Championship Series. The Ruthlandian Union matchups include Belair Beach at Far Mountain and Middlefield traveling to Marston. In the Tycobbian Union defending Pro Cup crownbearer Hartsdale will be on the road in Southport trying to repeat as champion and Red Bluff will entertain Kenwood. According to the oddsmakers, it's a crap shoot as usual - the team that gets hot for the next month will be the IPA champion. Any one of the division champs could reign supreme this year.

The Far Mountain Redhawks (101-53) easily took the Ruthlandian North division title, beating LaGrange by 15 games. It's the Redhawks first pennant since 2039. They won three consecutive Pro Cups from 2011 to 2013.

Belair Beach has been in a severe drought since 2016, the last time they made the Pro Cup playoffs. The Sunbirds are still looking for their first Pro Cup. For the last nine seasons they wound up last in the RU South six times and seventh on three occasions. It was a wonderful turnaround season for the Sunbirds (84-70), who outlasted favored Waleska (81-73), reigning champ Claxton (81-73) and Crystal Lake (81-73) in a September showdown and won by three games. Claxton won the pennants the previous two years.and was the number two pick this season.

The Marston Nine (96-58) were the champion of the Ruthlandian East, whipping last year's winner Sugar Valley (89-65) by seven games. Marston's last trip to the postseason was in 2028. The club has never won the IPA crown. For the past two decades they have been entrenched in the second division most of the time. The Nine shot up from seventh place to first place this season. They were rated the third best team in preseason polls. Sugar Valley was the favorite with Wynnamac number two. The Sundowners (78-76) came in a distant third, 18 games off the pace.

The Middlefield Roosters (95-59) were the best in the Ruthlandian West this season, capturing the flag in fairly easy fashion. They were ranked the best team in the division and lived up to it. The Roosters won by 11 games over runner-ups Volusia (84-70) and Rocky Rapids (84-70), the defending division champ. Middlefield was second in the standings last year. This was their second pennant in three seasons. The Roosters' only Pro Cup title came long ago in 2005.

Last year's IPA Pro Cup winner Hartsdale (87-67) earned another shot at the elusive Pro Cup trophy, but it didn't come easy. The unheralded White River Rascals (84-70) harassed the Hellcats all season long before they finally succumbed by three games in the last few days of the season. Hartsdale was the preseason favorite to repeat as division champ, while White River was ranked a lowly seventh and not expected to have much of a season. This was the Hellcats' third TU North title in the last six years.

As forecast in the preseason picks, the Southport Sun Sox (92-62) were a heavy favorite to shine in the Tycobbian South race, but it was a little tougher than predicted. The second place and number two choice San Alejo Montaneros (90-64) kept the pressure on all during the season and were finally beaten out by two games. Turon (87-67) and Cape Coral (85-69) also ran good races. The Sun Sox have dominated the TU South recently, winning the division five times in the last six years. Southport won its only Pro Cup three years ago in 2044. Last year's champion Summerland (76-78) was never a factor in the race and finished well down in the standings in sixth place. The Sunsets were selected fourth in the preseason poll.

In the Tycobbian East the powers-to-be were Tuckanarra and Red Bluff, rated one-two in the preseason. In the end the baseball experts were pretty much on target. They got the two best teams right, but missed on the order. The Red Sox (95-59) got the best of the favored Blue Jays (92-62) by three games in a close race. This was Red Bluff's fourth straight year to win the division. In the team's history the Red Sox have only won one Pro Cup, which came in 2004.

The pennant race went down to the last few games in the Tycobbian West with defending champ Kenwood (85-69) skimming by Rolling Hills (84-70) by a single game. If the Reds had won game 154, a playoff would have been needed to decide the title. The Wildcats were the critic's choice in the preseason with the Reds ranked third. Kenwood has chalked up six flags in the last seven seasons, but you have to go back to 2014 for their only Pro Cup trophy.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

FM REDHAWKS ROMP IN RU NORTH
There wasn't much of a pennant race in the Ruthlandian North this year... the Far Mountain Redhawks (101-53) won it in a romp by 15 games over runner-up LaGrange (86-68)... Glasco (83-71) was third, 18 games behind... and last year's winner Valmara (82-72) finished fourth, trailing by 19.

Far Mountain racked up the most wins in the IPA with 101, led by three 20-game winners in Stan Smith (25-6/3.60), All-Star Curt Steinhauer (22-6/2.12) and Jonas Grover (20-12/3.07)... they had a fine bullpen, too, with Fernando Sanches (9-8/2.64/19 saves) and Jack McKinney (8-3/3.08/13 saves)... the Redhawks don't have any impressive hitters, but as a group they rank third in scoring runs with 734... Far Mountain plays a lot of players... the most productive bats are SS Webster Ronstadt (.259/9/60/77), SS Sammy Prejean (.290/7/60/53), 2B Rance Hawkins (.346/11/51/53), OF Todd Purdom (.291/10/46/69) and RF Bert Richter (.237/22/58/72)... the Redhawks will be favored in the Ruthlandian Union, getting a slight nod over the Middlefield Roosters (95-59) of the RU West and the Marston Nine (96-58) of the RU South.

The LaGrange Sports were a very distant second in the standings... paced by veteran starters Arnie Ayers (21-9/2.40) and Hot Dog Huxtable (15-14/2.70)... the top bats were 1B Clayton Justice (.303/29/109/61), SS John Rodgers (.276/24/97/84) and 2B Fred Allison (.288/9/42/78).

Third place Glasco has outstanding pitching with starters Evan Walsh (17-16/2.36), Benny McDaniel (17-11/2.69), Pat Meyers (16-16/3.24) and Brent Bolivar (14-10/3.25)... closer Ken McLin (11-6/1.84/15 saves) heads a strong bullpen... the A's bats are just average with LF George Russell (.277/11/87/80), 1B John Carlton (.282/13/63/51) and CF John Rumford (.255/12/59/85).

Last year's division champ and Pro Cup finalist Valmara fell to fourth this season... Primo Sirak (17-11/1.90) and Teddy Twardzik (15-16/2.93) are still an excellent 1-2 punch in the rotation and Paul Holloway (11-7/2.90) is a solid closer, but the Vipers' couldn't keep up with Far Mountain's firepower... All-Star SS Ken Jensen (.309/10/74/86), 2B Jorge Aparicio (.288/10/54/90) and CF Don Ritchie (.306/6/62/71) are reliable bats, but don't hit with power.

The fifth place Kilkenny Cats have fine pitching, but a terrible offense... Dave Stratford (21-15/2.19) had a standout season on the hill with some quality help from Glen Caswell (16-20/3.05)... SS Sam Norman led the team with 21 homers and 84 RBIs, but batted only .259.

The Ranford Bulls were the preseason choice to win the flag this season, but they were very disappointing to their fans and the pollsters, winding up a dismal sixth... veteran star Ralph Hawk (15-14/2.78) was the only effective starter and the bullpen was just plain bad... not much in the way of offense at the plate, though 3B Joey Gompers (.255/32/84/83) had a pretty fair year, along with LF Dale Weston (.246/28/74/84).

The seventh place Taranto Tars were near the bottom in most categories, except for 160 homers (4th-tied)... All-Star RF Derrick Damon (.316/22/79/91) was their most polished hitter, but he got help in the longball department fromn C Ryan Nelms (.234/32/78/51) and 1B Mark Delaney (.261/29/73/57).

For the sixth straight season the Ancona Red Elephants wallowed in the RU North basement... none of the starters were under a 5.00 ERA... Darlon McDugan (12-21/5.00) had the most wins and the best ERA among the starting rotation... the few bright spots were LF Eldon Auldridge (.303/34/106/93), rookie All-Star CF Jotaro Suzuki (.302/18/75/90) and RF Walter Glenn (.324/2/32/75).

2047 RUTHLANDIAN NORTH FINALS STANDINGS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

SUNBIRDS TOP TEAM IN RU SOUTH
The fans in Belair Beach (84-70) have waited a long time for another pennant. After 31 years of mainly losing the Sunbirds finally won another Ruthlandian South flag, defeating favorite Waleska (81-73), Crystal Lake (81-73) and last year's champ Claxton (81-73) in a tight four-team race. Belair Beach held off all three of them, winning by three games. The Sunbirds, however, aren't expected to go very far in the Pro Cup playoffs. They have a fairly good offense, but little in the way of pitching.

The Sunbirds have only one solid starter. Kevin Tolbert racked up a 17-13 record with a 3.14 ERA... the other starters were Jose Munoz (18-15/4.20) and Ronnie Roy (18-12/4.41).... they topped the team with 18 wins, but were mediocre at best... Tom Cook (6-5/2.77/18 saves) and Ray Dunn (4-2/2.63/8 saves) both did well in the bullpen... Leading the Belair Beach bats was All-Star 3B-1B Jason Butler (.329/45/129/105), who had a fabulous season. Butler was third in the IPA with 129 RBIs, beaten out by High Mesa's Johnny Tallis, who broke Adam Zitek's 2005 all-time IPA mark of 170, and Bayview's Jerry Culpepper, who drove in 154 runs... two other capable bats in the batting order were CF Norm Ellis (.278/25/74/70) and 1B Shannon Stewart (.299/16/83/82).

The Waleska Westerners stood out on the hill with Jeff Woodruff (18-14/2.24), All-Star Niles Nielsen (18-12/2.86), Roy Schaefer (17-16/3.14) and Tony Haskell (15-12/3.46)... and closer Vince Gibson (6-7/1.20/15 saves) was strong in the bullpen... but the Westerners were only average with the bats... CF Kenny Hardy (.276) was the best at the plate with club highs of 81 RBIs and 90 runs... LF Gene Stevenson's (.270/20/60/64) led with 20 homers... Hardy was second with 18... SS Pete Hudson (.305/2/50/52) had the best BA of the regulars with .305... C Jimmy Butler (.285/10/55/58) and 1B Rob Rice (.303/13/48/50) also chipped in some good numbers... and three parttimers posted .300 BAs: RF Cade Carmickle (.324/0/15/25), 2B Nelson Ridley (.325/3/18/26) and RF Todd Hurley (.315/1/17/45).

Crystal Lake had some solid hitters in RF Paul Dillon (.320/12/74/78), LF Johnny Kennedy (.301/16/59/44), 1B Daryl Brady (.266/14/78/54), C Del Peevy (.275/9/66/72) and LF Jed Murphee (.293/7/50/76), but not a lot of power... and not a lot of pitching... Manuel Hinojosa (12-6/2.81) was the most effective starter... Dave McCauley (17-15/3.56) led the club in wins... and All-Star closer Josh Crosby (13-11/2.28/16 saves) excelled in the bullpen.

The Claxton Diamonds won the RU South the previous two seasons, but slumped badly in the mid-part of the season... they had losing records for three months, then started playing well, but it was a little too late... the Diamonds ran out of games... IPA strikeout king Abe Schiffman (16-15/3.28) was the ace... he fanned 296 batters in 319 innings... Steven Ellison (18-11/3.54) and Gilbert Clagsdale (16-16/3.63) were also dependable starters... Gary Haskin (5-4/3.06/10 saves) was the top reliever... Superstar All-Star and sure-fire HOF-er Jojo DeLucca (.320/35/113/98) is still one of the IPA elites at age 32... 2B Rick Emery batted only .242, but had 18 homers, 83 RBIs and scored 68 runs... LF Foxy Fuchs is still a solid performer at 36... he hit 27 homers, drove in 97 runs and scored 78, while batting .264... SS Stevie Wynn batted .310 with 6 HRs, 46 RBIs and 64 runs.

Fifth place Valka broke even for the year and boast a pretty fair bunch of ballplayers... Matvey Kazak (19-14/2.52) and Janno Martna (11-7/2.91) were quality starters, while star CF Kenny Mitzusaka (.298/21/73/64) and 1B Jess Evans (.291/30/75/65) were the most reliable bats.

Sixth place Grand City is only average on the hill and simply horrendous at the plate... Jimmy Engels (14-16/2.90), Kenny Morrow (14-19/3.43), Lee Price (12-13/3.62) and Joel Eaton (11-21/3.72) give the Blackhawks fairly good starters, but the run support is almost nil for them... Donald Denson (4-3/2.14/10 saves) is also a solid reliever... star 1B Benny Hull (.316/31/100/65) is the only threat in the lineup and he is a good one... he just doesn't have any help.

Seventh place San Dimas is near the bottom of the standings and near the bottom statistically, too... Gil Arnaud (13-23/4.26) and Alfredo Montes (13-16) top the team in victories... and the best ERA belongs to Carl Covington (12-18/3.87)... not much in the bullpen where Georgie Walker (5-5/3.50/10 saves) has the best stats... the most productive hitters are aging veterans LF Denny Hendrix (.259/32/73/84) and 2B Klaus Stordahl (.268/16/58/57)... both of them are 35.

Only three clubs in the IPA were worst than the St. John Crusaders... Ancona only won 51 games, La Claire 54 and Fort Benton 57... the Crusaders only managed 58 this year and wound up last in the Ruthlandian South... longtime ace Jeremy Kirk (13-13/3.96) was the only decent starter... and only two All-Stars SS Herbie Gruen (.285/22/101/96) and LF Skeets Blackstone (.338/9/48/50) performed at the plate.

2047 RUTHLANDIAN SOUTH FINAL STANDINGS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

MARSTON WINS FIRST FLAG IN 20 YEARS
The Marston Nine have been bad, really bad for 20 years with only one first-division finish... they came in fourth in 2038... but this season the Nine (96-58) made the first division in style... they won the Ruthlandian East by seven games over defending champ Sugar Valley (89-65)... no other ball club was in the ballpark... Wynnamac (78-76) was far back in third place, 18 games behind... Cold Creek (77-77) was fourth and trailed by 19 games.

Marston is a first-rate team with strong pitching and a rock-solid attack... the Nine racked up 96 victories, topped only by Far Mountain in the IPA with 101... Marston is forecast to do well in the postseason... their last appearance was in 2028... top starters are All-Star Felix Delatte (24-6/2.52) and John Newton (19-14/3.06)... Thomas Stuart (13-14/3.22) and Jean-Noel Waldron (17-9/3.83) are third and fourth in the rotation... the relief corps is also rated highly with closer Kiki Vuk (12-5/1.72/12 saves)... there are good bats galore in the Nine's batting order, sparked by SS Stan Mila (.331/25/112/67), All-Star 3B Gary Armitage (.291/20/68/98), All-Star LF D'Wayne Dotson (.295/17/90/99), CF Calvin Marbury (.240/15/69/74) and RF Charley Gilmore (.304/13/66/60).

Sugar Valley wound up in the top three of the Ruthlandian East for the 13th year in a row... the Rattlers had their two-year pennant run snapped... they have won the division four times in the last decade... Sugar Valley won the Pro Cup for the first time in 2045... the Rattlers had the starters with Antonio Cedeno (21-15/3.07), Christopher Dunsberry (13-11/2.77), Davey Brennan (15-11/3.05/7 saves) and Cullen Winslow (19-10/3.52)... but the bullpen was poor... Sugar Valley topped the RU in runs with 745 runs and came in third with 169 homers... All-Star 2B Richie Fry (.338/8/71/79) led the club with a .338 BA, third best in the Ruthlandian Union and seventh in the IPA... the top RBI guys were IF-OF Roger Hobbs (.243/26/84/93) and player-manager CF Bobby Gamble (.285/24/83/86) at 84 and 83 each... they also ran 1-2 in homers with 26 and 24.

Wynnamac in third place was just an average ball club... Sammy Hayes (20-13/2.71) was the only sound starter... vet Jimmy Willard (15-9/4.12) was good at times... closer Johnny Mitchell (8-8/2.18/10 saves) held the bullpen together... the most reliable bats were superstar OF Nioka Inkamara (.264/35/102/85), 3B Duane Hudson (.318/10/63/88) and CF Darrell Donnelly (.282/11/64/68).

Cold Cold had a break-even season and ended up fourth in the standings... the Catamounts had pretty fair mound work, but were woeful at the plate... the starters were headed by Rob Hutchins (16-13/2.35) and Riku Takahashi (13-10/3.25/10 saves)... the most productive bats were 3B Joe Cochrane (.326/15/68/82) and 1B Bradley Brim (.284/12/63/55).

The Belle Plaine Musketeers did pretty well until the last two months of the season when they faded badly and ended up in fifth place... the Muskies could score runs and they had fair pitching... the bat leaders were 1B Chuck Gregory (.310/32/107/71), rookie RF Lenny Buisson (.316/30/84/77), 3B Kyle Woodard (.315/6/46/73), CF Ron Myers (.297/18/71/72) and C Nuke Borg (.303/14/56/57)... starters Phil Lacey (14-14/3.48) and rookie Joe-Joe Bouvier (13-11/3.85) were the mound leaders with some good help from Kurt Tandberg (6-3/2.63/15 saves) in the bullpen.

The Eastshore Elegants also fell out of the first division in the last weeks of the season, winding up in the sixth spot... they weren't much on the hill, nor in the batter's box... 34-year-old All-Star Valdek Savisaar (19-11/3.23) chalked up the best season by far in his 10-year career and All-Star reliever Jody Friday (15-13/1.56/17 saves) was one of the best bullpen specialists in the IPA... the 37-year-old Friday led the IPA with 87 appearances and a dazzling 1.56 ERA... Friday's ERA has been topped only twice in IPA history... by reliever Jack Rogers (6-5/1.30/16 saves) of the Tuckanarra Blue Jays in 2044 with a 1.30 ERA and by reliever Kent Halloran (6-3/1.39/16 saves) of the Luxora Zorros in 2029 with a 1.47 ERA... only Wes Christopher (11-8/2.44/20 saves) of Fairfax with 95 appearances in 2045 and Tom Cook (10-6/2.68/16 saves) with 89 for Belair Beach in 2046 have relieved in more games than Friday in a single season... 1B Gibby Houston (.334/10/54/48) had the best BA, followed by SS Odis Caswell (.302/4/62/65) and 3B Adam Bronstein (.298/2/38/55)... All-Star RF Troy McFarland was the most productive hitter with 25 roundtrippers, 90 RBIs and 79 runs... CF Bevan Shuler hit only .239, but scored 108 runs, stole 26 bases and had 19 HRs.

The Elnora All-Stars had good sticks but little in the way of pitching... they came in seventh... the bat leaders were star All-Star C Cannon Johnson (.276/32/90/80), 2B Marley Macomber (.297/22/79/86), LF Enos Conrad (.291/13/58/57) and 3B Joey Hagburn (.277/9/73/78)... vets star Stan Kivas (15-17/3.83) and Dan Pitts (15-19/3.40) were the most reliable starters... and Jamie Pananga (9-4/2.65/17 saves) had a fine season in the bullpen.

The Beechwood Bobcats sank to last place this year, but won 72 games... it's not much of a consolation, but they were the best cellar-dweller in the IPA by far... the Bobcats had bad pitching and average hitting... veteran Jimmy Herman (18-17/3.63) was the biggest winner and most effective... in the bullpen Freddy Manale (11-3/2.25/12 saves) was outstanding... leading the Bobcat attack were 1B Corky Callahan (.277/38/87/69), RF Eddie Wilson (.271/33/69/82) and CF Keith Kalder (.300/25/60/66).

2047 RUTHLANDIAN EAST FINAL STANDINGS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

ROOSTERS RULE IN RU WEST
Picked to be a tight three-team race, it turned out to be a cockwalk for the favored Middlefield Roosters (95-59), who ruled the Ruthlandian West by 11 games this season... it was their third pennant in seven years... Rocky Rapids (84-70) and Volusia (84-70) tied for the runner-up spot with Forest City (83-71) in fourth and 12 games off the pace... Middlefield has all the ingredients needed to win the Pro Cup... the Roosters have the pitching, firepower and scoring to be very dangerous in the postseason... they rather easily dominated a pretty strong division where five of the squads posted winning records... a number equalled by the Tycobbian South Division.

Middlefield hasn't won the Pro Cup since 2005... this just might be their year... the Roosters have the best starting pitching, best bullpen and best power in the Ruthlandian Union... they came in third in victories with 95, topped only by Far Mountain with 101 and Marston with 96... the starting rotation is excellent with All-Star James Long (23-10/2.05), Larry Wheelhouse (21-13/2.71) and Carroll Collier (19-13/2.88)... Ray Owens (6-7/2.48/15 saves) is the bullpen ace... All-Star C Johnny McDonald (.351/10/48/81) is the club leader with a .351 BA... he led the RU in batting and placed third in the IPA behind Country Crowder (Kenwood) at .389 and Stan Ferguson (Cape Coral) at .374... All-Star Sidney Conner (.289/47/126/94) had a super year leading the RU with 47 homers and ranking second to Jason Butler's 129 RBIs for Belair Beach... other valuable contributors were CF Norman Antonioni (.273/39/88/73), SS Jimmy Beach (.305/23/74/78) and 2B Ike Gary (.266/16/71/76).

Twice in the last four seasons the Rocky Rapids Snappers have won the division flag... they were the defending champ, but slipped at the plate and on the scoreboard this year... the Snappers still possess good pitching... All-Star starter Dirk Halstad (21-12/2.25), Buster Noland (22-8/3.10) and Jamie Taylor (19-20/2.58) were a potent group... last year Taylor won 30 games, an all-time IPA record, and garnered the RU MVP Award and the Golden Arm, but the offense burned him this year... the starters also suffered because of an inferior bullpen... closer Steve Owens (6-4/20 saves) was first in the Ruthlandian Union with 20 saves and third in the IPA behind Southport's Hal Combs (24 saves) and Blue Lake's Razzy Richmond (23 saves), but he had a sky-high 4.20 ERA... the Snappers were only average in batting and runs... the team BA fell from .278 to .252 this year... All-Star 2B Marty Featherstone (.291/27/94/100) and 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.281/27/103/84) were strong bats, but they had little help except from C Carney Kirkpatrick (.266/12/80/60) and 3B Duncan Musselwhite (.285/8/64/86).

The Volusia Vigilantes rose up from sixth to second this year with much improved hitting and pitching... the starting foursome was good, paced by Drew Selby (22-8/3.27), Will Thompson (20-15/3.35), rookie Casimiro Ramires (14-10/3.11) and rookie Alvaro Spinosa (12-10/3.50)... three All-Stars sparked the batting order: C George Ruffino (.284/30/91/67), 2B Cazzie Carvalho (.306/23/96/85) and 1B Kris Wilson (.335/20/80/82)... RF Lonny Womack (.297/22/93/94), LF Derek Jorstad (.284/9/59/76) and SS Duane Blayney (.297/20/58/72) were solid bats, too.

Fourth place Forest City had good pitching, but didn't score runs... therefore they missed the postseason for the 35th consecutive season... 2013 was the last time the Lumberjacks appeared in the Pro Cup playoffs... the 'Jacks had quality starters in Omar Cordero (23-13/2.99), Rusty Howard (16-19/2.86), John McKee (13-14/2.54) and Walter Gibbons (13-12/3.55) and the bullpen was adequate with Richie Meyers (6-5/3.16/16 saves)... there were no standout sticks in the lineup... C Bob Brisdon (.289/11/76/58) and LF Eddie Clippard (.311/3/34/66) were the most dependable.

Fifth place in the standings went to the Colfax Blasters... an average pitching team with good hitting and scoring... since winning the TU West title in 2042, the Blasters have finished in the second division for five years in a row... Colfax is much improved over last season with the team ERA going from a horrible 4.78 to a respectable 3.60... Ray Maxon (18-11/2.99) and Red McCallum (17-8/2.61) are the staff leaders... the bullpen could be better... the most productive batters were C Darrell Dillon (.261/26/83/80), LF Robb Maddox (.277/21/93/85), 3B Cramer Landis (.306/11/49/85) and RF Stu Richardson (.302/11/60/54).

The Sligo Rovers were seventh in the race this year... they have good pitching, but a weak offense... the best mound performers were rookie Mickey Walsh (18-15/2.54), Randall Steele (18-17/3.13) and Art Hacker (14-11/3.54)... the only good hitter was All-Star 3B Denny Simmons (.297/18/92/73)... two parttimers 3B Blayne Carnick (.330/8/47/38) and LF Larry Naquin (.295/5/52/50) showed promise.

Seventh place Stoner had adequate pitching, but came up short on the scoreboard... Took Noonan (13-14/3.58) and Mel Glosterman (14-18/3.63) were the most dependable starters... leading the light offense were LF Emmett Tread (.281/16/68/78), 3B Ralph Sackett (.302/13/72/56), SS Norris Henry (.286/10/45/53) RF Morgan Miller (.295/10/72/68) and 2B James Belasario (.297/2/38/64).

For the third successive season the Fort Benton Defenders have been mired in last place in the RU West... the only pennant came years ago in 2037... not a lot of talent on the club... the best of the lot was C Varnell Larrimore (.280/15/68/66), who was the club leader in doubles, homers, RBIs and runs... 3B Glendon Glenn (.290/4/41/60) posted the best BA with a .290 mark and the most hits with 175... Arnie Patterson (15-19/3.54) had the most wins on the team with 15... Darius Kimberly (7-9/3.73/19 saves) ran hot-and-cold as the closer, but did post 19 saves, which was tied for fourth in the IPA and second in the RU behind Steve Owens (Rocky Rapids), who led with 20.

2047 RUTHLANDIAN WEST FINAL STANDINGS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

SUN SOX HANG ON IN TU SOUTH, MONTIES CLOSE 2ND
It was a wonderful pennant race in the Tycobbian South this year with the preseason favorite Southport (92-62) winning its fifth division flag in the last six seasons... except for a June swoon, the San Alejo Montaneros (90-64) might have taken the title... instead the Monties were a very close second, only two games behind the winner... Turon (87-67) got it in gear after a slow start, closed fast and wound up third, just five games back... the Cape Coral Hurricanes (85-69) came in fourth, finishing seven behind the Sun Sox... the Tycobbian South is one of the toughest division in the IPA... fifth place Ginza (81-73) also posted a winning record and was 11 games off the pace... defending champion Summerland (76-78) plummeted to sixth in the standings this year.

The Southport Sun Sox will be seeking their second Pro Cup trophy in three years... they were the IPA overall champ in 2044... the Sun Sox are a sound ball club and should show well in the playoffs this year... most experts rate the Pro Cup playoffs a toss-up with only Belair Beach and Kenwood unlikely winners... those two clubs posted the least wins among the division champions.

The Sun Sox's staff is led by two fine veteran starters... All-Star Billy Hoover (22-14/1.79) had a great season and came in fourth with a superb 1.79 ERA... Johnny Swanson (19-13/3.19) was a solid number two... and Brandon Delmore (20-13/3.71) a dependable number three starter... All-Star closer Hal Combs (9-7/2.39) paced the IPA with 24 saves... Pro Cup champs usually need three strong starters, so Delmore could be key... Southport's offense is a little suspect, too... All-Star C Vasilis Vlachos (.289/25/92/74), CF Barney Lewis (.246/41/96/78), 1B Eddy Douglas (.301/25/75/67) and 3B Craig Glennon (.220/26/87/74) were the club leaders... they have good power, but don't hit for average... platooner RF Pat Kinney (.321/4/33/53) posted the best BA on the team with a .323 in 371 ABs and 111 games.

Runner-up San Alejo is very similar to Southport in talent... a poor 10-16 mark in June was the difference maker... the Sun Sox were 16-10 that month... the Monties have three solid starters in All-Star Matt Bell (24-6/1.71), who was second in the IPA with a sensational 1.71 ERA and fourth in wins with 24... All-Star Will McKinney (25-10/2.60) was number two in the rotation... McKinney was second to IPA leader Johnny Howard's (Rolling Hills) 26 victories... starter number three Wilfredo Bonilla (15-9/3.31/6 saves) came on strong in the final weeks of the campaign after being moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation... San Alejo's top gun at the plate was All-Star CF Paolo Teixeira (.310/47/110/118)... he tied Ginza's Sogo Takagi for the IPA lead in scoring runs with 118 and tied for sixth in homers with 47... other contributors were LF Royce Grantham (.291/28/86/90), RF Charlie Wilberforce (.288/15/76/54), 3B Sal McAlister (.280/11/47/86) and 2B Callum Gainsborough (.279/8/44/86).

Third place Turon had a potent attack with 212 roundtrippers (2nd) and 811 runs (2nd), but lacked some on the mound where they were more or less average... the top bats for the Typhoons were rock-solid reliable All-Star 2B C. C. Kingsford (.327/36/109/99), star RF Guido Gervasio (.285/35/113/100), All-Star 3B Al Salisbury (.302/28/77/111), 1B Buford Cloninger (.283/23/73/69) and SS Rafer Robertson (.279/20/78/60)... top starters were Clayton Petit (21-8/4.03) and Tom Fuller (20-7/3.66).

The fourth place Cape Coral Hurricanes had a humongous year at the plate, scoring 898 runs (1st) with 211 HRs (2nd)... the 'Canes averaged almost 6 runs a game, a mark that has been topped only 4-5 times in IPA history... Middlefield holds the record with 943 in 2006... the biggest bat belonged to superstar All-Star 1B Stan Ferguson (.374/45/126/99), the number two hitter in the IPA with a .374 BA... only Kenwood's Country Crowder was better with a .389 mark... Ferguson tied for fifth in the IPA in RBIs with 126 and tied for eighth in homers with 45... other offensive producers were star All-Star RF William Snyder (.323/25/119/104), All-Star LF-3B Rikky Van Dalen (.316/24/84/97), rookie CF Terry Plimpton (.311/21/80/93) and LF Max Tselika (.288/29/95.77)... Benton McCall (19-10/2.74) was the big man on the hill and would have probably won 20 games, but he went out with an injury in late August... the only other decent starters were Tony Magee (17-9/3.62/1 save) and Vernon Marks (19-15/4.16).

The Ginza Ninjas has a fairly good season, winding up 8 games over the .500 mark... they featured good bats and lackluster pitching... star All-Star RF Sogo Takagi had an outstanding season with a .314 BA, 38 doubles, 10 triples, 43 HRs, 116 RBIs and 118 runs... Takagi was tied for the IPA lead in runs with San Alejo's Pablo Teixeira and ranked ninth with 116 RBIs... SS Sam Essex (.259/24/90/66), C Whip Harrell (.282/31/74/60) and SS Kuzuki Tamura (.306/12/72/71) also added a little offense... Charley Waskins (22-13/3.92) rolled up the most victories on the club, followed by Tokuji Takahara (17-15/4/27) and T. C. Gallimore (17-14/4.35).

For the first time in nine seasons the Summerland Sunsets dropped out of the first division, slipping down to sixth place... last year the Sunsets were the division champ... the team's pitching went from great (2.62 ERA) to just good (3.32)... ace Jayson Hallstrom (19-11/2.40) was strong as usual, but 21-game winner Jacob Gillen fell to just 9-17 with a 3.54 ERA... and 19-game winner Dutch De Boer dipped downward to 15-15 and saw his ERA rise up from 2.64 to 3.19... on offense Summerland is mediocre, 2B Alex Abbotson had a massive year with 41 homers, 120 RBIs and 100 runs, while batting .287... he was seventh in the IPA in RBIs... RF Rick Mayes (.294/24/59/83) and 1B Kenny Douglas (.278/23/91/80) helped out, too.

For the 11th consecutive season the seventh place Colchester Elites struggled, ending up deep in the second division again... the Elites have little to brag about... Dan Scott (15-19/4.35) and Benny White (15-19/4.41) notched the most wins... only 3B Jasper Matthews hit with much authority and topped the team with 27 homers, 97 RBIs and 75 runs, while hitting .276.

For the 14th year in a row Arroyo Grande had a bad season, coming in dead last... the Suns haven't seen the sun shine since 2024, the last time they made the playoffs... they have lousy hitting and ineffective pitching... very little to smile about... Enrique Lopez (14-22/3.47) is the most effective starter and Anthony Lombardi (19-19/3.93) the biggest winner... relievers Duane Russell (4-3/1.84/3 saves) and Russ Simmons (3-5/2.41/8 saves) both looked good in the bullpen... good bats were non-existent... the best of the lot were LF Wilfredo Acosta (.264/18/76/55) and 2B Russell Taylor (.268/17/56/76).

2047 TYCOBBIAN SOUTH FINAL STANDINGS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

HELLCATS HUNGRY FOR PRO CUP REPEAT
Hartsdale (87-67) repeated as champion of the Tycobbian North, but it didn't come easy - the up-and-coming White River Rascals (84-70) made them earn it. The Hellcats now get a chance to win their second IPA Pro Cup in a row as they attempt to defend their title. Hartsdale was forced to go down to the wire by the Rascals, winning by only three games. Blue Lake (77-77) came in third, trailing by 10 games and Oxford (76-78) was fourth and 11 games out.

Hartsdale didn't perform as well as last year... the hitting and pitching suffered a slight decline... but the Hellcats are still a good club... All-Star Perry Givens (24-6/2.43) and Dave Payne (21-11/2.85) are excellent starters... Gil Younger is the third man in the rotation... he won 28 games a year ago, but slumped to 16-18 this year with a 3.59 ERA... Hartsdale's fine closer Alfonso Cervera (7-8/2.67/19 saves) still heads up the bullpen... Cervera tied for fourth in saves with 19... and the Hellcats can still score runs with the likes of CF Darrell Nesbitt (.287/13/49/115), 3B Greg Melton (.282/24/92/88), IF-OF Marv Shaw (.281/18/59/59), RF Emilian Burgess (.280/23/95/86) and rookie C Kenton Carmichael (.264/25/68/67)... not as strong as last year, Hartsdale still has a fair shot at repeating as Pro Cup champion... five or six others club are in the same boat... there is no clear-cut Pro Cup favorite this season.

Great season for the runner-up White River Rascals... a bad stretch in September costs them the division flag... the Rascals lost seven of eight to crush their title hopes... they were snapping at the heels of the Hellcats the entire season... top starters were Nicky Palmer (21-13/2.58), Jade Garner (19-11/4.00) and vet Trenton Anderson (13-11/4.12)... Carlo Grimaldi (9-9/3.27/15 saves) was the best reliever... heading up the offense was All-Star LF Billy Joe Hickman with a .330 BA, 43 HRs, 114 RBIs and 99 runs... other contributors were All-Star SS Kunta Burton (.293/3/34/105), 2B Warren McKenzie (.247/19/71/47) and 1B Roy Hart (.245/16/62/59)... LF Russell Anderson had the second best batting average at .322 with 9 HRs, 49 RBIs and 66 runs... White River was just average offensively and on the mound.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox in third place really never challenged the leaders... it was just a modest season for them... Greg Mortimer (16-14/3.34), Sal Mays (17-18/3.18) and Van Johnson (17-14/3.98) were the most reliable starters... and Razzy Richmond (7-5/1.93/23 saves) was strong in the bullpen... Frankie Quinn (9-13/4.92) had a great career and had an historic season... he broke Nicky Enstrom's all-time wins mark this season... Quinn is 391-297 in 21 seasons with Blue Lake and Fort Benton, while Engstom was 387-218 in his 20 years with Turon... no great sticks in the Blue Sox's lineup... the best of the lot were SS Rick Bridges (.271/28/87/70), 1B Mel Morrison (.262/26/80/73) and All-Star C Juan Luis Barcelona (.281/19/74/82).

The Oxford Red Caps wound up in fourth place in the standings, but never really contended after opening up with a good April... All-Star Rudy Mellancamp (19-17/2.62) was the ace of the starting rotation... he had help from Lou Ellison (18-10/3.42) and Tekkan Nishikawa (12-12/3.67)... SS Dan Zalewski (.290/13/66/93), 3B Alonzo Norris (.273/30/72/78) and CF Kevin Carter (.275/26/82/74) carried the offensive load.

The North Hills Hawks had a great run from 2034 to 2045 with four Pro Cups and 11 TU North pennants, but they are now just a pale shadow of those years... the Hawks are just a run-of-the-mill club... they finished in a fifth place tie with Fairfax this year... the Hawks do have some power with 167 HRs (9th), but are just average otherwise... superstar RF Adam Thurgood (.299/35/98/87) still swings a good bat at age 36... Thurgood got some help from SS Tommy Vavas (.290/21/70/80), LF Ryan Webbe (.285/21/87/82) and 3B Ric Hamilton (.285/19/73/64)... for the seventh time in his fine career 34-year-old ace Tony Mack (20-13/2.38) chalked up 20 victories, but had no help.

Fairfax hits well, but is just mediocre on the hill... solid veteran star 2B John Velasco (.321/23/97/750 has a great year at age 41... LF Brad Johnston (.301/11/66/98) and CF Trent Russell (.257/28/85/98) did their part and topped the team with 98 runs each... C Scott Courtney (.300/14/67/68) and rookie 3B K. J. Garvie (.280/17/70/73) also chipped in as well... on the mound Shaun O'Riley (13-12/2.48) was the most effective starter, while Ken Perry (17-14/4.06) has the most wins.... All-Star closer Terry Sawyer (14-10/2.88/19 saves) had an impressive season and ranked high in the IPA in saves.

In seventh place were the Luxora Zorros... the pitching was pretty good with Lorenzo Alonso (20-16/3.25) and 32-year-old rookie Les Liebert (14-4/2.84/6 saves)... the Z's possessed a few good bats with 3B Tiago Chaves (.271/30/101/71), 36-year-old star 1B Joel Poche (.288/25/104/79), RF Emil Pasek (.325/16/50/92) and rookie CF Xavier Da Nova (.316/16/70/78).

For the fifth successive season the hapless Mahaska Haymakers finished last in the TU North... other than hitting homers (165-11th), the Haymakers don't have much... leading the attack are 1B Roger Lewis (.292/33/93/74), 3B Sean Hayes (.253/30/86/70), C James Boswell (.233/29/92/54), LF Bill Whittier (.254/25/81/95) and 2B Angus McKeag (.291/12/58/80)... Bobby Kelman (16-11/3.80) is the only staffer with a winning record.

2047 TYCOBBIAN NORTH FINAL STANDINGS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

RED SOX WIN 4TH STRAIGHT TU EAST
For the fourth year in a row the Red Bluff Red Sox (95-59) hoisted the Tycobbian East pennant over Red Bluff Park. Most of the time they have won it in easy fashion, but not this season. The tough Tuckanarra Blue Jays (92-62) stayed in the race until the final 10 days of the regular season before losing out by three games. High Mesa (86-68) was third in the race, nine games behind. The South Fork Stallions (77-77) finished 18 games back in fourth place. Red Bluff had the third highest win total in the IPA, topped only by Far Mountain with 101 victories and Marston with 96, both in the Ruthlandian Union.

The Red Sox coupled fine pitching with super firepower to stave off the Tucks... they led the Tycobbian Union with a 3.07 team ERA (1st), 250 homers (1st) and ranked fifth in runs with 753... the Red Sox lost a seven-game series in the Tycobbian LCS last year to Pro Cup champion Hartsdale... Red Bluff will be among the favorites this year with three strong starters: Jud Cox (22-8/1.76), George Reynolds (20-12/3.08) and Mickey Rosen (19-14/3.10)... in the bullpen Sonny Wheat had 17 saves and an impressive 2.36 ERA, but posted a poor 4-9 record... Cox had the third best ERA in the IPA behind Eastshore's Jody Friday (15-3/1.56) and San Alejo's Matt Bell (22-6/1.71)... in addition the Red Sox boast a plethora of power hitters like superstar All-Star David Kelso (.302/50/109/96), who was fourth in the IPA with 50 homers... only High Mesa's Johnny Tallis (68), Bayview's Jerry Culpepper (60) and Denton City's Wayman Stetson (54) hit more... the other Red Sox sluggers included 3B Fran Blanchard (.262/43/108/94), 1B Josh Stevens (.268/38/83/89), CF Ike Sweetwater (.298/26/80/75) , SS Leemon O'Donovan (.283/19/56/72) and LF Jesse Shaw (.279/18/58/61).

Second place Tuckanarra didn't have the power of Red Bluff with only 125 homers (26th), but they did score well (757 runs-4th) and hit well (.272 BA-2nd)... they were solid as a rock on the mound with a 3.25 team ERA (6th)... the starting four were good with Ozzie Leslie (21-10/2.90), Yarran Nawajuk (20-14/3.44), Dickie Pittman (14-12/3.07) and 35-year-old rookie Gary Oliver (11-6/3.24/2 saves)... the bullpen standout was Jack Rogers (13-4/2.26/19 saves)... Rogers tied for fourth in the IPA in saves... All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons had a terrific year with a .347 BA, 34 doubles, 22 HRs, 110 RBIs, 101 runs and 114 walks... only three batters in the IPA posted a better batting average: Kenwood's Country Crowder (.389), Cape Coral's Stan Ferguson (.374) and Middlefield's Johnny McDonald (.351)... Rodgers was the prime offensive threat and led the club in almost everything... he had some help from 3B Niles Tasby (.302/16/72/59), LF Jimmy Markovich (.266/15/56/99) and RF Frank Mason (.278/11/49/77).

The High Mesa Cowboys started slowly at 10-18 and fell 10 games back in April... after the poor start they did well, but just couldn't make up that big of a deficit, ending up nine games off the pace in third place... the Cowpokes feature very good pitching with a 3.08 ERA... they don't hit well with a .238 BA (30th), but do pack some punch with 203 HRs (5th)... Lucius Quarles (22-9/2.08) and rookie Lloyd Armstrong (18-12) are top-notch starters... Tee Bo Templet (10-5/3.36/2 saves) was also a quality starter and reliever... closer William Morris (6-5/2.47/15 saves) did a fine job, too... super slugger 1B Johnny Tallis had a year he will never forget... the late-blossoming 34-year-old Tallis (.275 BA) established new IPA records with 68 homers and 178 RBIs... the old record holders were Jerry Culpepper with 66 HRs for Bayview in 2040 and Adam Zitek with 170 RBIs in 2005 for High Mesa... SS Clifford Coleman (.237/38/101/70) and 2B Randy Sweetland (.294/8/59/96) were the only other productive bats.

The South Fork Stallions broke even for the season at 77-77... just an average ball club... Jay Murphy (19-10/2.58), Chris Sorensen (19-17/3.55) and Jonas Clay (16-15/3.73) led the staff... the top performers at the plate were rookie sensation CF Jack Boswell (.321/32/85/89), SS Pete Arnold (.303/10/69/97), 1B Paul Sexson (.276/25/64/69) and RF Rick Carlton (.254/18/83/58).

The fifth place Hillsboro Blazers had decent pitching, but no offense... Jamie Lee Bradley (17-12/2.84) and Steve Cooper (17-18/2.94) were strong starters, but suffered from no run support... Robby Lee Stillwell (18-18/4.12) also gave the Blazers some quality starts... LF Jurrien Bellini was the offenseive leader... he hit 49 homers, drove in 92 runs and scored 112, but batted only .241... C Harry McGuire pitched in with a .279 BA, 16 homers and 88 RBIs... and 1B Ernie Moxley slammed 25 out of the park, batted in 75 runs, but hit only .234 for average.

The Midway Wolves were sixth in the standings... the team's best performers were Charlie Chase (23-12/3.09) on the hill... and at the plate LF Justin Morrison (.340/20/89/88), CF Hector Pena (.291/14/67/106), 1B Jerry Kennison (.257/13/88/62), 2B Rusty Wilson (.293/6/64/82) and RF Alfie Kincade (.252/21/74/72).

For the seventh consecutive year the East Point Panthers were mired deep in the second division of the TU East... the Panthers wound up seventh... they don't have much to brag or boast about except for closer Kenneth Lawson (10-3/2.28/5 saves), who had a fine season... Barney Bennett (14-18/4.75) had the most wins in the staff, but the most effective was Ralph Wallace (13-17/3.21)... not much in the way of bats... 1B Jack Gorham (.273/31/71/56) had the most homers with 31... 2B Kelly Walsh (.273/19/69/89) scored the most runs with 89... LF Thomas Woodson (.236/22/74/49) led with 74 RBIs... LF Augie Elizondo (.271/24/60/62) added 25 home runs and C Kenny Bailey (.274/15/46/53) topped the team with a .274 BA.

The last place team was the Ozarka Naturals... Billy Hill (12-17/4.07) and Jerald Kidman (12-20/4.09) tied for the most victories on the staff with 12... however the best pitchers were relievers Gene White (3-2/2.50/12 saves) and Jim Greene (8-7/2.74/12 saves)... SS William Clark (.285/3/44/75) had the most hits with 175, the best BA among the regulars at .285 and scored the most runs with 75... 3B Artie Clayton (.252/36/88/73) had the most homers with 36 and most RBIs with 88... parttimer 2B Jimmy Woods (.319/11/50/35) was the most consistent hitter on the squad with a .319 BA.

2047 TYCOBBIAN EAST FINAL STANDINGS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2047

WILDCATS EDGE REDS IN TU WEST
It came down to the last days of the regular season before the Tycobbian West was decided. And when it got down to the nitty-gritty both Kenwood and Rolling Hills struggled. Kenwood went 2-3 in the last five games and won it - the Wildcats' sixth division title in seven years. The Reds only won one of the last five games and lost the pennant by a single game. Both teams lost the last two games of the year. Arlon came in third, five games off the pace and Chicopee was fourth and 8 games out. In the recent past in the Pro Cup playoffs Kenwood has been eliminated early in the process and the experts are saying that is a likely scenario this year, especially since superstud bat Corky DiNozzo will be absent in the first round of the postseason due to injury. The Wildcats' only IPA crown came in 2014.

Kenwood has a pretty fair offense with average power and scoring, along with a good mound staff... two All-Stars pretty much carry the club at the plate... 2B Country Crowder led the IPA with a sparking .389 BA and 236 hits... Crowder's hit total was the second best in history, beaten only by the legendary Jet Kazmarek's 248 in 2002 when he hit an all-time high of .428 for the Valmara Vipers... C Corky DiNozzo missed most of the second half of the season with a rotator injury, but still managed 25 homers and 66 RBIs with a .300 BA... he's expected to return in time for the second round of the postseason... SS Ben Daniels (.250/18/80/54), RF Billy Nix (.287/22/51/48) and CF Warren Vickers (.264/10/53/83) also chipped in with some offense... the Wildcats have two proven starters in Tommy Carter (17-14/2.40) and Rusty Bradford (17-14/3.17)... the number three spot in the playoff rotation will come from Freddy Gooch (14-12/3.82) and Gregg Campbell (18-12/3.64)... Kenwood had good solid relievers in Mike Jones (9-5/2.74/10 saves) and Elian Verjano (7-8/2.87/10 saves).

Arlon was just an average ball club this year, but ran a pretty fair race, winding up only five games back... the Champions led at the All-Star Game, but they couldn't keep up with Kenwood's summer surge and slowly fell back to third place... Lanny Gray (18-15/2.83) and Peter Shannon (20-15/3.78) were the top hurlers... Mack Blair (9-5/3.02/18 saves) was the bullpen leader... heading up the batting order were aging veterans C Nick Shafer (.266/25/87/70) and RF Mark Cameron (.261/29/72/77), along with young CF Cary Rockwell (.281/22/79/61).

The Chicopee Braves finished in fourth place, but they never really contended after a good opening month... the Braves do have three capable starters in Johnny West (16-10/2.97), vet Tony Dazzi (13-23/2.98) and Tom Chambers (11-9/2.59/2 saves)... offensively 1B Sam Patrick (.294/43/98/77), 3B Ken Smith (.327/9/66/86), RF Denny Halverton (.310/11/56/76) and CF Marty Hogart (.266/17/71/81) paced the club.

Fifth in the standings were the Denton City Redbirds... they had decent pitching with Mel Coley (14-12/3.15), Harry Elliott (18-14/3.52), Gary Booth (15-15/3.51) and James Webb (14-14/3.79)... and decent bats with the exception of superstar All-Star 1B Wayman Stetson, who ranked third in the IPA with 54 homers and fourth with 128 RBIs... only record-setting Johnny Tallis (High Mesa) with 68 home runs and Jerry Culpepper (Bayview) with 60 were better than Stetson... Tallis drove in 178 runs, Culpepper 154 and Jason Butler (Belair Beach) 129... Stetson got a little help from vet Pete Doyle (.286/24/74/64), SS Rafael Pena (.277/2/49/78) and LF Frankie Montgomery (.262/18/66/68).

The Bayview Vikings were in the race until the All-Star break and then faded in the second half of the season... it was the Viks' potent offense that kept them in the race... superstar All-Star 3B Jerry Culpepper had a marvelous year with a .324 BA, 60 HRs, 154 RBIs and 108 runs... only Johnny Tallis' super season kept Culpepper from leading the IPA in homers and RBIs... All-Star SS Andreas Stokke enjoyed a fine season, too, with 40 roundtrippers, 108 RBIs and 90 runs, while batting .283... LF Ivar Nilssen added 25 dingers and 73 RBIs with a .298 BA... Bobby Knudsen (16-16/2.85) was the only strong starter... in the bullpen Sammy Sarver (10-9/2.94/17 saves) stood out.

For the 12th season in a row the seventh place Bay St. Clair Buccaneers wallowed in the second division... not a lot of pitching... not a lot of offense... on the hill Clyde Gordon (13-18/3.80) and Don White (12-17/4.00) were the biggest winners... SS Edison Randall (.272/17/70/70) and LF Gilbert Bauer (.231/19/68/67) supplied what little offense the Bucs had... rookie 3B Reece Somerset (.316/15/51/44) joined the club in July and showed quite well for the future.

Next to the Ancona Red Elephants (50-104) in the Ruthlandian North, the last place La Claire Lynx were the worst team in the IPA with 101 losses... only Ancona lost more games... the Lynx do nothing well... the mediocre staff is led by Bruce Kinson (13-24/3.92) and Marcel LaPlante (13-18/4.49)... LF Hank Morton (.303/12/63/65), 3B Donnie Nilsson (.289/11/47/86) and SS Royce Hill (.281/8/47/61) had lackluster years, but were the best of the lot.

2047 TYCOBBIAN WEST FINAL STANDINGS

It's been awhile. Egad! I missed alot!

Keep up the great work, Eugene.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2047

PRO CUP PLAYOFFS START TOMORROW
Eight pennant winners are poised to begin their quest for the much-coveted IPA Pro Cup tomorrow afternoon all around the Islands. Most of the baseball analysts think that most of them have a fair shake at capturing the prize. Defending champion Hartsdale is back for a chance to repeat, but it's not very likely. Only four times in the 46-year history of the Islandian Pro Alliance has that happened. The Far Mountain Redhawks did it twice - in 2012 and 2013 - they won the title three years in succession. In 2017 the Eastshore Elegants repeated as champ and in 2024 Tuckanarra won its second Pro Cup in a row.

In the Tycobbian Union Division Series, Hartsdale, who won the IPA crown last year in a great seven-game series with Valmara, will open up on the road in Southport and this year's favorite Red Bluff is at home against the Kenwood Wildcats. In the Ruthlandian Union, Middlefield will travel to play the Nine in Marston and Far Mountain will entertain the Belair Beach Sunbirds.

The oddsmakers are leaning towards the heavy-hitting Red Bluff Red Sox (95-59) with their three quality starters, who are backed up by an arsenal of 250 home runs. The second choice is the powerful Middlefield Roosters, who also feature three fine starters and good offense. Rated third in the Pro Cup predictions are the Far Mountain Redhawks (101-53), the club with the best record in the IPA. The big knock on the Redhawks is their lack of bats in the lineup. The Southport Sun Sox (92-62) were ranked fourth in the poll. The Sun Sox won the Pro Cup in 2045 and have pretty much the same roster as the title season.

Current IPA champ Hartsdale (87-67) did not play as well this year as last, that's why the critics have placed them in the number five slot, but they still have the personnel to win it, especially if number three starter Gil Younger can give them some good games. Last year's Tycobbian MVP won 28 games, but only 16 this year. The Marston Nine (96-58) are the sleeper in the postseason. The oddsmakers low rated them at sixth because of a lack of playoff experience. The Nine could very easily upset the applecart and win the Ruthlandian Union as well as the Pro Cup trophy. The other two playoff clubs aren't expected to go very far in the playoffs. The number-seven ranked Kenwood Wildcats (85-69) and eighth-rated Belair Beach Sunbirds (84-70) had the worst records of any of the division winners in the regular season.

PRO CUP PREDICTIONS:
1. Red Bluff: For the fourth year in a row the Red Bluff Red Sox (95-59) hoisted the Tycobbian East pennant over Red Bluff Park... they have captured only one Pro Cup in the club's history... that was way back in 2004... the Red Sox coupled fine pitching with super firepower to stave off the Tuckanarra Blue Jays... they led the Tycobbian Union with a 3.07 team ERA (1st), 250 homers (1st) and ranked fifth in runs with 753... the Red Sox lost a seven-game series in the Tycobbian LCS last year to Pro Cup champion Hartsdale... Red Bluff will be among the favorites this year with three strong starters: Jud Cox (22-8/1.76), George Reynolds (20-12/3.08) and Mickey Rosen (19-14/3.10)... in the bullpen Sonny Wheat had 17 saves and an impressive 2.36 ERA, but posted a poor 4-9 record... Cox had the third best ERA in the IPA behind Eastshore's Jody Friday (15-3/1.56) and San Alejo's Matt Bell (22-6/1.71)... in addition the Red Sox boast a plethora of power hitters like superstar All-Star David Kelso (.302/50/109/96), who was fourth in the IPA with 50 homers... only High Mesa's Johnny Tallis (68), Bayview's Jerry Culpepper (60) and Denton City's Wayman Stetson (54) hit more... the other Red Sox sluggers included 3B Fran Blanchard (.262/43/108/94), 2046 Tycobbian Golden Bat winner 1B Josh Stevens (.268/38/83/89), CF Ike Sweetwater (.298/26/80/75) , SS Leemon O'Donovan (.283/19/56/72) and LF Jesse Shaw (.279/18/58/61).

2. Middlefield: Middlefield hasn't won the Pro Cup since 2005... this just might be their year... it's their third pennant in the last seven seasons... the Roosters have the best starting pitching, best bullpen and best power in the Ruthlandian Union... they came in third in victories with 95, topped only by Far Mountain with 101 and Marston with 96... the starting rotation is excellent with All-Star James Long (23-10/2.05), Larry Wheelhouse (21-13/2.71) and Carroll Collier (19-13/2.88)... Ray Owens (6-7/2.48/15 saves) is the bullpen ace... All-Star C Johnny McDonald (.351/10/48/81) is the club leader with a .351 BA... he led the RU in batting and placed third in the IPA behind Country Crowder (Kenwood) at .389 and Stan Ferguson (Cape Coral) at .374... All-Star Sidney Conner (.289/47/126/94) had a super year leading the RU with 47 homers and ranking second to Jason Butler's 129 RBIs for Belair Beach... other valuable contributors were CF Norman Antonioni (.273/39/88/73), SS Jimmy Beach (.305/23/74/78) and 2B Ike Gary (.266/16/71/76).

3. Far Mountain: The Redhawks racked up the most wins in the IPA with 101, led by three 20-game winners in Stan Smith (25-6/3.60), All-Star Curt Steinhauer (22-6/2.12) and Jonas Grover (20-12/3.07)... they had a fine bullpen, too, with Fernando Sanches (9-8/2.64/19 saves) and Jack McKinney (8-3/3.08/13 saves)... the Redhawks don't have any impressive hitters, but as a group they rank third in scoring runs with 734... Far Mountain plays a lot of players... the most productive bats are SS Webster Ronstadt (.259/9/60/77), SS Sammy Prejean (.290/7/60/53), 2B Rance Hawkins (.346/11/51/53), OF Todd Purdom (.291/10/46/69) and RF Bert Richter (.237/22/58/72)... Far Mountain last appeared in the Pro Cup playoffs in back-to-back years 2038 and 2039... the Redhawks won three straight Pro Cups in 2011, 2012 and 2013, an unprecedented record.

4. Southport: The Southport Sun Sox have reigned as TU South champion in five of the last six seasons... the Sun Sox will be seeking their second Pro Cup trophy in three years... they were the IPA overall champ in 2044... the Sun Sox are a sound ball club and should show well in the playoffs this year... the Southport staff is led by two fine veteran starters... All-Star Billy Hoover (22-14/1.79) had a great season and came in fourth with a superb 1.79 ERA... Johnny Swanson (19-13/3.19) was a solid number two... and Brandon Delmore (20-13/3.71) is a dependable number three starter... All-Star closer Hal Combs (9-7/2.39) paced the IPA with 24 saves... Pro Cup champs usually need three strong starters, so Delmore could be key... Southport's offense is a little suspect... All-Star C Vasilis Vlachos (.289/25/92/74), CF Barney Lewis (.246/41/96/78), 1B Eddy Douglas (.301/25/75/67) and 3B Craig Glennon (.220/26/87/74) were the club leaders... they have good power, but don't hit for average... platooner RF Pat Kinney (.321/4/33/53) posted the best BA on the team with a .323 in 371 ABs and 111 games.

5. Hartsdale: The Hellcats won their only Pro Cup trophy in 2046... Hartsdale didn't perform as well this year as last year... the hitting and pitching suffered a slight decline... the win total dropped from 98 to 87, but the Hellcats are still a good club... All-Star Perry Givens (24-6/2.43) and Dave Payne (21-11/2.85) are excellent starters... Gil Younger is the third man in the rotation... he won 28 games a year ago and won the Tycobbian MVP trophy, but slumped to 16-18 this year with a 3.59 ERA... Hartsdale's fine closer Alfonso Cervera (7-8/2.67/19 saves) still heads up the bullpen... Cervera tied for fourth in saves with 19... and the Hellcats can still score runs with the likes of CF Darrell Nesbitt (.287/13/49/115), 3B Greg Melton (.282/24/92/88), IF-OF Marv Shaw (.281/18/59/59), RF Emilian Burgess (.280/23/95/86) and rookie C Kenton Carmichael (.264/25/68/67)... not as strong as last year, Hartsdale still has a fair shot at repeating as Pro Cup champion... five or six others club are in the same boat... there is no clear-cut Pro Cup favorite this season.

6. Marston: The Marston Nine have been bad, really bad for 20 years with only one first-division finish... they came in fourth in 2038... the Nine has never won the Pro Cup... but this season the Nine (96-58) made the first division in style... they won the Ruthlandian East by seven games over defending champ Sugar Valley (89-65)... Marston is a first-rate team with strong pitching and a rock-solid attack... the Nine racked up 96 victories, topped only by Far Mountain in the IPA with 101... Marston is forecast to do well in the postseason... their last appearance was in 2028... top starters are All-Star Felix Delatte (24-6/2.52) and John Newton (19-14/3.06)... Thomas Stuart (13-14/3.22) and Jean-Noel Waldron (17-9/3.83) are third and fourth in the rotation... the relief corps is also rated highly with closer Kiki Vuk (12-5/1.72/12 saves)... there are good bats galore in the Nine's batting order, sparked by SS Stan Mila (.331/25/112/67), All-Star 3B Gary Armitage (.291/20/68/98), All-Star LF D'Wayne Dotson (.295/17/90/99), CF Calvin Marbury (.240/15/69/74) and RF Charley Gilmore (.304/13/66/60).

7. Kenwood: The Wildcats have won only one Pro Cup... that was long ago and far away in 2014... in the recent past in the Pro Cup playoffs Kenwood has been eliminated early in the process and the experts are saying that is a likely scenario this year, especially since superstud bat Corky DiNozzo will be absent in the first round of the postseason due to injury. The Wildcats' only IPA crown came in 2014... Kenwood has a pretty fair offense with average power and scoring, along with a good mound staff... two All-Stars pretty much carry the club at the plate... 2B Country Crowder led the IPA with a sparking .389 BA and 236 hits... Crowder's hit total was the second best in history, beaten only by the legendary Jet Kazmarek's 248 in 2002 when he hit an all-time high of .428 for the Valmara Vipers... C Corky DiNozzo missed most of the second half of the season with a rotator injury, but still managed 25 homers and 66 RBIs with a .300 BA... he's expected to return in time for the second round of the postseason... SS Ben Daniels (.250/18/80/54), RF Billy Nix (.287/22/51/48) and CF Warren Vickers (.264/10/53/83) also chipped in with some offense... the Wildcats have two proven starters in Tommy Carter (17-14/2.40) and Rusty Bradford (17-14/3.17)... the number three spot in the playoff rotation will come from Freddy Gooch (14-12/3.82) and Gregg Campbell (18-12/3.64)... Kenwood had good solid relievers in Mike Jones (9-5/2.74/10 saves) and Elian Verjano (7-8/2.87/10 saves).

8. Belair Beach: The fans in Belair Beach have waited a long time for another pennant... after 31 years of mainly losing the Sunbirds finally won another Ruthlandian South flag... the Sunbirds have never won an IPA Pro Cup and it's highly unlikely to happen this year...they have only one solid starter. Kevin Tolbert racked up a 17-13 record with a 3.14 ERA... the other starters were Jose Munoz (18-15/4.20) and Ronnie Roy (18-12/4.41).... they topped the team with 18 wins, but were mediocre at best... Tom Cook (6-5/2.77/18 saves) and Ray Dunn (4-2/2.63/8 saves) both did well in the bullpen... Leading the Belair Beach bats was All-Star 3B-1B Jason Butler (.329/45/129/105), who had a fabulous season. Butler was third in the IPA with 129 RBIs, beaten out by High Mesa's Johnny Tallis, who broke Adam Zitek's 2005 all-time IPA mark of 170, and Bayview's Jerry Culpepper, who drove in 154 runs... two other capable bats in the batting order were CF Norm Ellis (.278/25/74/70) and 1B Shannon Stewart (.299/16/83/82)... it's not likely that Belair Beach can pull off the improbable - that is, win the Pro Cup - they just don't have the talent.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 18, 2047

2047 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 1

Ruthlandian Union

NINE NIPS ROOSTERS 3-2 IN 13 INNINGS
The opening game of the Ruthlandian Division Series was pitching par excellence... it took 13 innings before the Marston Nine got the best of the Middlefield Roosters at Legends Field in Marston... losing pitcher Ray Owens (0-1) walked pinchhitter Roger Krieger with the bases loaded to score Harvey Creighton with the winning run.

All the pitchers were outstanding... both starters went nine innings... Marston's Felix Delatte allowed only two runs on six hits, fanned six and walked two batters, while Middlefield's James Long permitted two runs on 10 hits, struck out five and walked just one... winning pitcher Kiki Vuk (1-0) worked four scoreless frames, yielding three hits... loser Owens surrendered one unearned run in his three innings... Marston outhit Middlefield 13-9 with CF Calvin Marbury and SS Stan Mila getting three hits each... SS Jimmy Beach led the Roosters with two hits, including the game's only homer.

SUNBIRDS SOCK REDHAWKS 5-1 IN OPENER
On the road in Far Mountain at Sky High Stadium, the Belair Beach Sunbirds scorched the Redhawks 5-1 with a four-run outburst in the top of the ninth to cop the opener of the RU Division Series... 1B Shannon Stewart plated the winning run with an RBI single, RF Joe Don Baker doubled in the second one and sac flies by 2B Kaoru Taniguchi and pinchhitter Laurens Vanderhoek got the final two in... Tom Cook (1-0) got the win with a runless eighth, while Fernando Sanches (0-1) suffered the loss in the four-run ninth... Todd Clyman retired all three Redhawks in the last of the ninth to seal the verdict.

Belair Beach ace lefthander Kevin Tolbert hurled seven sharp innings, gave up only one run and five hits with five Ks and a walk... Far Mountain's Curt Steinhauer also worked seven frames, permitting one unearned run and eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks... pacing the Sunbirds' 12-hit attack were four players with two hits apiece: CF Norm Ellis, 3B Jason Butler, 1B Shannon Stewart and 2B Kaoru Taniguchi... CF Christy Darville had two hits to lead Far Mountain.

Tycobbian Union

SUN SOX SMACK HELLCATS 7-3 IN GAME ONE
Playing game one of the Tycobbian Division Series on their home grounds at Pleasure Beach Park, the Southport Sun Sox made the best of their 10 hits and whipped defending Pro Cup champion Hartsdale 7-3... Southport ace Billy Hoover (1-0) weathered 15 hits and stranded 14 baserunners for the win... he whiffed five and walked only one in a complete game outing... the Sun Sox bashed three homers with CF Barney Lewis and C Vasilis Vlachos hitting two-run shots and 3B Craig Glennon getting a solo clout.

Hartsdale wasted numerous hits... they were led by 1B John Ford and RF Emilian Burgess with three apiece... Ford had a solo homer and batted in all three runs... collecting the loss was starter Perry Givens (0-1), who was shelled for five runs and nine hits in six innings... Givens left trailing 5-2.

KENWOOD CLIPS RED SOX 4-3 IN FIRST GAME
Underdog Kenwood prevailed over Pro Cup favorite Red Bluff 4-3 in the fist game of the TU Division Series at Red Bluff Park... the Wildcats jumped ahead early with three runs in the first frame... they led 4-1 after three innings and held on to win... LF Ian Collingham, RF Billy Nix and CF Warren Vickers paced the Wildcats at the plate... Kenwood garnered 11 hits with Collingwood and Nix getting three each and Vickers a pair... Nix drove in the first run of the game, Collingham got number two and Ben Daniels' sacrifice fly brought in the third one in the opening frame... Collingham doubled in the final run for the Wildcats in the third.

In a so-so performance Kenwood starter Tommy Carter snagged the win... Carter was tagged for three runs and 10 hits in seven and one-third innings... he struck out six and walked one batter... Mike Jones got the last five outs, striking out three of them and notched the save... Red Bluff starter Jud Cox (0-1) had a tough day as he was belted for 11 hits and four runs in eight-plus frames... Cox walked one and fanned six.

The Red Sox banged out 11 hits with CF Ike Sweetwater, LF Jesse Shaw and RF David Kelso getting two each... 1B Josh Stevens, Sweetwater and Shaw batted in their runs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 19, 2047

2047 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 2

Ruthlandian Union

WHEELHOUSE EVENS SERIES WITH 1-0 JEWEL
In another magnificent display of super pitching Larry Wheelhouse evened up the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series with Marston at one game each with a splendid 1-0 shutout in game two... the 32-year-old left-hander limited the Nine to just five hits, walked three and whiffed five, while going the distance... Wheelhouse (1-0) even drove in the only run of the game with a two-out single in the top of the fourth inning... Rick Jackson scored the winning run.

The Marston starter John Newton (0-1) was outstanding, too... he only gave up one run on nine hits in eight innings, issued just two walks and had five strikeouts... Middlefield got 11 hits, but standed 14 runners... RF Sidney Conner (.364) and 3B Rick Jackson (.400) led the Roosters with two hits each.

REDHAWKS TRIM SUNBIRDS 7-5, SERIES TIED
Lousy defense burned Marston in game two of the RU DCS... the Nine committed four errors, gave up three unearned runs and fell to the Far Mountain Redhawks 7-5... the series is now tied at one game apiece... the Redhawks snapped a 5-5 deadlock in the last of the seventh when Jose Munoz made an errant pickoff throw that allowed Todd Purdom to score from third base... Munoz made three miscues in the game... an error by third baseman Bobby Teigen (.286) also gave Far Mountain an insurance run in the eighth.

Far Mountain also had questionable defense with a pair of errors that cost them three runs... Jonas Grover (1-0) was the winner... he worked eight innings, surrendering five runs on eight hits and totaled eight strikeouts and one walk... closer Fernando Sanches retired the Nine in order in the ninth for the save... Munoz (0-1) was banged around for seven runs on eight hits and took the loss.

Belair Beach blew a 5-0 lead after two and a half innings and allowed Far Mountain to rally for the victory... CF Todd Purdom (.500) sparked the Redhawks with two hits, two runs and an RBI... Purdom homered in the fourth... 1B Benjy Donahue (.750) pitched in with three hits, scored a run and batted one in... and RF Bert Richter (.333) cracked a two-run double... Far Mountain collected eight hits.

The Sunbirds also had eight hits with SS Laurens Vanderhoek (.500) getting two of them... C Robbie Coleman (.143) homered and scored twice... and 3B Bobby Teigen (.286) drove in a pair of runs... RF Shannon Stewart (.333) and 2B Kaoru Taniguchi (.375) each scored a run and had an RBI.

Tycobbian Union

SOUTHPORT SLIMS BY HELLCATS 4-3 IN 11 INNINGS
Southport bounced back from a 3-0 five-inning deficit to defeat defending Pro Cup champ Hartsdale for the second day in a row... the Sun Sox tied it up 3-3 in the last of the ninth on a homer by 3B Craig Glennon (.500) and won it 4-3 in the 11th when C Visalis Vlachos (.333) singled in SS Gonzalo Topez (.250) with the game-winner... closer Hal Combs (1-0) registered the win by getting the final four outs in relief of starter Johnny Swanson, who went nine and two-thirds innings, allowed three runs on seven hits... only two of them were earned.

Dave Payne (0-1) caught the loss as he was touched for four runs on six hits in his 10 innings... Both clubs had eight hits apiece... Glennon (.500), Topez (.250) and 1B Eddie Douglas (.375) numbered two hits each for the Sun Sox, while 1B Myrt Breland (833) paced the Hellcats with four base hits... Glennon has homered in both games of the series.

KELSO AND STEVENS' 3 HR TOO MUCH FOR WILDCATS
Game two of the Tycobbian Division Series at Red Bluff Park was a homer fest with five roundtrippers... David Kelso cracked two and Josh Stevens one to lead the Red Sox to a 4-3 triumph over the Kenwood Wildcats, who got a pair of dingers from Billy Nix and Ian Collingham... the series is now tied up at a game for each club... Mickey Rosen (1-0) fashioned the win, permitting three runs on eight hits, while striking out five and walking nobody... Rusty Bradford (0-1) went the route and was the loser... he was popped for four runs and six hits.

The Red Sox got the winning runs in the last of the sixth... trailing 3-1, 1B Stevens (.222) tied it with a two-run smash, then RF Kelso (.556) boomed the game-winner, his second of the game... Kelso had three RBIs and three hits...LF Collingham (.750) delivered three hits for Kenwood and Nix (.625) socked a pair... in the fourth Nix hit a two-run shot and Collingham got a solo blast.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 20, 2047

2047 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 3

Ruthlandian Union

MARSTON MAULS MIDDLEFIELD 8-2, UP 2-1 IN SERIES
Game three of the Ruthlandian Division Series went to the Marston Nine, who mauled Middlefield on the Roosters' home field 8-2 by smashing three roundtrippers and getting a standout mound performance from Kelly Long... the win gave the Nine a two to one edge in the best-of-seven series.

Long (1-0), the number three starter, went all the way, holding the hard-hitting Roosters to just two runs on five hits... Gary Armitage (.167) hammered a two-run homer in the first frame, Stan Mila (.400) added a solo shot in the fourth and Stan Davis (.625) went deep in the fifth... the Nine racked up 12 hits, led by Mila and Davis with three each.

Carroll Collier (0-1) was the loser... Marston ripped him for six runs and eight hits in just three innings... Collier was behind 6-0 when he went to the showers.

SUNBIRDS' ROY STOPS REDHAWKS 6-3 FOR SERIES LEAD
Ronnie Roy stepped it up a notch in his first ever postseason appearance... the chubby Belair Beach right-hander checked Far Mountain on five hits in a 6-3 victory to give the Sunbirds a two games to one edge in the series... Roy walked three and fanned four for the upset-minded Sunbirds, who have been given little chance to beat the Redhawks, who paced the IPA with 101 wins this season... starter Stan Smith (0-1) was the loser... he was battered for six runs and 11 hits and exited in the fifth inning.

Sparking the Belair Beach 13-hit attack were 1B Jason Butler (.385) with three hits, two runs and two RBIs, C Robbie Coleman (.300) with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored, and LF Andy Williams (.333/ with a pair of hits and two RBIs... Far Mountain only got five hits... led by 2B Rodger Hawkins (.154) and C Joel McDaniel (.250), each with one run driven in.

Tycobbian Union

HELLCATS YOUNGER STOPS SUN SOX 3-1
Defending IPA Pro Cup champion Hartsdale had their backs to the wall going into game three of the Tycobbian Division Series... the Hellcats had lost the first two games and were badly in need of a victory... they got it from Gil Younger, who rose to the occasion and stopped Southport 3-1, cutting their lead to two games to one.

Younger has been much maligned this year... after winning 28 games and the Tycobbian MVP trophy last season, Younger slipped to 16-18 this year... but today he was his old self, stopping the Sun Sox on one run and seven hits in eight and two-thirds innings... Younger (1-0) struck out nine and walked five for the win... Alfonso Cervera came in and got the last out for Younger... losing pitcher Brandon Delmore (0-1) worked a good game and went the distance for Southport, yielding only three runs and six hits with six Ks and two bases on balls.

Hartsdale got all of their runs in the first inning on RF Emilian Burgess' (.385) two-run single and an RBI groundout by 3B Greg Melton (.167)... 1B Eddie Douglas (.333) homered in the top of the sixth for Southport's only score... the Sun Sox had the advantage in hits 7 to 6.

WILDCATS WIN A WILD ONE 10-6, TAKE LEAD
The Red Bluff Red Sox were well on their way to winning game three of the Tycobbian Division Series with a 6-2 lead going into the last of the seventh, but then the Kenwood Wildcats tied it up 6-6 with a four-run rally and then crushed the Red Sox 10-6 with four more in the bottom of the eighth to win going away... now it's the Wildcats in the driver's seat with a two games to one edge... in the slugfest Kenwood collected 13 hits and Red Bluff got 12.

The big blow of the game was a three-run triple struck by 2B Country Crowder (.143) in the eighth that put Kenwood ahead 9-6... RF Dorsey Faircloth (.500) paced Kenwood with three hits and two RBIs and C Jesse Daniels (.273) got two hits, scored twice and batted in a run... SS Leemond O'Donovan (.286) scored three times and popped three hits for the Sun Sox... and 3B Fran Blanchard (.273) cracked three hits, too, and drove in run... 1B Josh Stevens (.231) chipped in with two runs batted in.

Not a heck of a lot of pitching in the game... Mike Jones, the second of three Wildcat hurlers, picked up the victory... Jones (1-0) worked a scoreless eighth... and Milt Cochrane cinched it with a runless ninth... reliever Sonny Wheat (0-1) went down to defeat... he took over in the eighth with the score tied at 6-all and was pelted painfully by the Wildcats.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 21, 2047

2047 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 4

Ruthlandian Union

LONG ZAPS NINE 3-0, ROOSTERS TIE SERIES
In game four of the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series at Middlefield Park, Rooster ace James Long was on top of his game as the veteran right-hander zapped the Marston Nine 3-0 on a five-hitter... Long (1-0/1.00) hurled a gem, striking out seven and walking none to even up the series at two games each... Middlefield had just enough offense to get by... Felix Delatte (0-1/2.65) only allowed three runs on seven hits with three Ks and a walk... he went all the way in defeat.

Middlefield was led at bat by RF Sidney Conner (.333) and SS Jimmy Beach (.294) each with two hits and an RBI... 2B Ike Gary (.267) scored two runs for the Roosters... Conner homered in the second inning, Beach singled in a score in the third and the final Rooster run came in on a wild pitch in the fifth... Long held Marston to just five singles... Long got in trouble only one time in the third when two singles put runners on first and third with two outs... but he got out of it without any damage being done.

FM'S STEINHAUER STUFFS SUNBIRDS 9-1, EVENS SERIES
Not only did Curt Steinhauer shine on the mound, the Far Mountain ace also took the bat in his own hand and drove in four runs in the Redhawks' 9-1 rout of the Belair Beach Sunbirds in game four of the Ruthlandian DCS... Steinhauer (1-0/0.60) evened the series at two games apiece by holding the Sunbirds to just one run in his eight innings on six hits... he was effectively wild with six walks in the game, but pretty much kept the Sunbirds off of the scoreboard.

Steinhauer (.500) sparked the Redhawks with three hits... 1B Norm Huffman (.375) also collected three hits and his brother LF Lew Huffman (.429) went 2-for-4, scored twice and batted in a run... Far Mountain smashed 13 hits in all... 2B Rodger Hawkins (.176) socked a two-run triple for the winners... the defeat went to Belair Beach starter Kevin Tolbert (0-1/1.50), who was undermined by poor defensive play... the Sunbirds committed three errors and allowed six unearned runs... CF Norm Ellis (.294) went deep for the Sunbirds' only score and he committed two of the errors.

Tycobbian Union

SUN SOX SOCK IT TO HELLCATS 13-5, TAKE 3-1 LEAD
The Southport Sun Sox have put the defending Pro Cup champion Hartsdale in a perilous predicament... in game four they socked it to the Hellcats 13-5 to take a huge three games to one edge in the Tycobbian Division Series... one more Southport victory and the season is over for Hartsdale and the IPA will get a new champion... it was shoddily played game with lots of runs, hits and errors... each team made three errors... in the end it was the Sun Sox bats that made the difference.

3B Craig Glennon (.294) clouted his third roundtripper of the series and drove in three runs and scored three times, while CF Barney Lewis (.188) got his second one and also batted in two runs and scored twice... 1B Eddie Douglas (.375) had two hits and three runs batted in... SS Gonzalo Topez went 4-for-5 and had two RBIs... and 2B Ricky Whitaker (.267) chipped in with two hits.

Billy Hoover (2-0/2.50) went the route, but gave up three runs in the opening inning, then settled down and put it into cruise control, backed up by 14 hits... Hoover fanned seven and walked three... only two of the runs were earned... Perry Givens (0-2/9.00) struggled again and took his second loss of the series... he permitted five hits and eight runs in just two innings... five of them unearned.

The Hellcats bashed out 10 hits, paced by RF Emilian Burgess (.500) with four hits and two runs... LF Danny Marks (.500) picked up two hits, one of them a solo homer... and CF Darrell Nesbitt (.375) went 2-for-4 and scored a run.

COX TAMES WILDCATS 3-2, RED SOX TIE SERIES
Red Bluff moved ahead 3-0 after six innings and managed to fend off Kenwood 3-2 in game four of the Tycobbian Division Series,which is now deadlocked at two games... Red Sox ace Jud Cox (1-1/2.08) hurled a complete game, stopping the Wildcats on five hits, and outpitched Tommy Carter (1-1/3.52), who gave up three runs and 11 hits in eight innings.

Leading the Red Sox at the plate with two hits apiece were SS Leemon O'Donovan (.333), 3B Fran Blanchard (.333) and C Ed Warren (.250)... Cox (.286) himself put Red Bluff in front with an RBI single in the top of the second... in the fourth RF David Kelso (.438) led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored when CF Ike Sweetwater (.308) rolled out to first... Warren doubled in the last run in the sixth.

Kenwood got their first score in the last of the eighth on a triple by Ben Daniels and a double by Jesse Daniels, cutting the lead to 3-1... Ben Daniels doubled in the last Wildcat run in the ninth... that made the score 3-2... with two away and runners on second and third Jud Cox got the final out of the ball game on a routine fly to left field.

i haven't said it in quite a while and i don't get to read this as often as in the past, but i really enjoy this dynasty.

KUTGW :eatpop:

Two questions:

What's the story behind the Huffman brothers? How far did you go to manufacture this? Did they just happen to be on the same roster with the same surname? Or did you change one or both guys names?

And have you ever considered making uniforms for your teams? Perhaps even getting some of the modders to help you with it?

i guess that was more than two questions... :unsure:

Thanks for being a loyal follower of the IPA. I have always appreciated your comments. You are also one of the elite members of this forum and the OOTPB community. The Laseron Baseball Association was arguably one the greatest OOTPB Dynasty in my opinion. It, along with DreamTeams' Metro League, inspired me to do the IPA.

The Huffmans were my own creations...I just make sure they were born in the same town and resemble one another to a degree.

I have created offsprings for some of the managers and stars of the IPA. Most of the time, I let the game create their ratings. Sometimes they play well, sometimes they don't... Hall-of-Famer Joe DeLucca and his son, Jojo, will probably both be in the Hall of Fame. that's just how it played out. I did nothing to cause it.

Some of the more famous families in the IPA are the Hobbs in Waleska, the Holmes in Cold Creek, the Christiansons in Rolling Hills, Uchiyamas in Ginza, Donnellys in Wynnamac, Chandlers in Midway, Cronyns in White River, Kingsfords in Turon, Hankins in Kenwood and Nolands in Rocky Rapids. One team had triplets, Lynn, Glynn and Quinn Starr, who played and starred for the Tuckanarra Blue Jays from 2022 to 2036.

Since I have 64 teams, it really takes a lot of time to administer the league. Many of my towns in the IPA are ethnically-based and it is time-consuming to alter the rosters. I just haven't taken the time to have the great guys in Mods Forum create the uniforms. That's a lot to ask them to do. Since I intend to just play three more seasons, I didn't see any point in getting uniforms done. 50 seasons and the IPA will ride off into the sunset.

My next Dynasty will use OOTP15. I will only have 12-16 teams and will see if the Mod guys will do logos and uniforms for me. 12-16 teams will be a breeze to cover and administer after dealing with 64 teams for the last 7-8 years.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, September 22, 2047

2047 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 5

Ruthlandian Union

NINE NIPS ROOSTERS 4-2 IN 10 FOR SERIES LEAD
Game five of the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series went to the Marston Nine 4-2 in 10 innings... they now lead Middlefield three games to two in the best-of-seven affair.

In the top half of the 10th inning pinchhitter Alphonse Alexis (.000) lofted a deep fly ball to center field that scored Calvin Marbury (.286) from third base with the go-ahead run... the next batter Roger Krieger (1.000), also a pinchhitter, cracked an RBI single and added to the Marston margin... Kiki Vuk (2-0/1.50) got the win after blowing the save in the eighth... Thomas Stuart struck out two of the three batters he faced in the last of the 10th and logged the save... reliever Ray Owens (0-2/3.00) suffered his second loss in the series... he worked three innings and gave up two runs.

Marston managed eight hits off starter Larry Wheelhouse and Ray Owens... they tapped each of them for four hits... Wheelhouse permitted only two runs, struck out five and walked nine in an uneven effort... John Newton started for the Nine and went seven strong frames, giving up only one run, six hits, fanned four and walked just one... Newton held a 2-1 lead when he departed.

C Stan Davis (.538) hit his second homer of the postseason to pace the Nine, while CF Norman Antonioni (.294) smacked two out of the park for the Roosters.

REDHAWKS ROUT SUNBIRDS 14-2 IN GAME 5
Far Mountain ravaged Belair Beach for 16 hits in a 14-2 rout in game five of the Ruthlandian DCS for a 3-2 edge in the series... supported by three homers Josh Grover went all the way for the win, holding the Sunbirds to two runs on eight hits... Grover (2-0/2.12) notched his second win in the series, whiffed two and walked none in a solid performance.

RF Bert Richter (.364) poled two homers, scored four runs, got 3 hits and batted in 3 runs to lead the Redhawk hit parade... LF Terry Crawford (.273) added a two-run blast, two hits and scored three times... C Joel McDaniel (.308) drove in four runs with a pair of hits... 2B Rodger Hawkins (.238) scored four times, drove in three and had two hits... and CF Todd Purdom (.462) went 3-for-5 and scored two runs.

1B Jason Butler (.350) had two hits and two RBIs for the Sunbirds... loser Jose Munoz (0-2/6.55) had his second straight rocky outing... Far Mountain shelled him for eight runs and 10 hits in just three-plus innings.

Tycobbian Union

SUN SOX ELIMINATE HELLCATS IN 5 GAMES
In a stunning display of baseball Southport eliminated defending Pro Cup champion Hartsdale from the playoffs with a rousing 18-1 massacre in game five to win the series four games to one... the Sun Sox overwhelmed them with 18 hits and three roundtrippers, plus Johnny Swanson was tough on the hill... Swanson (1-0/1.45) permitted only one run on five hits, fanned six batters and walked only one.

Southport 3B Craig Glennon (.304) hit his fourth home run in the series and drove in four runs to spark the blowout... Glennon now has 10 RBIs in the postseason... LF Chris Jones (.389) also homered, doubled and had four RBIs and three runs scored... CF Barney Lewis (.235) got his third roundtripper in the series, a two-run salvo... RF Pat Kinney (.238) drilled three hits and batted in three runs... and SS Gonzalo Topez (.440) and C Visalis Vlachos (.348) collected three hits apiece.

Losing pitcher David Payne (0-2/7.30), the Hartsdale starter, was hammered again... this time the Sun Sox scorched him for seven runs in two-plus innings.

Southport's rookie skipper and IPA icon Lorne Evans told reporters, "We knew going into the season we had a good club... this is just the next step in the equation... we still have our work cut out for us... first we have to win the Tycobbian title to get the shot at the big one - the Pro Cup."

Evans added, "Getting past the defending IPA was a tough assignment... our bats were unbelievable the last two games." Evans was inducted into the IPA Hall of Fame in 2045 after an legendary career with the Sun Sox... he was an All-Star outfielder 12 times, won 5 Golden Bats and 2 Gold Gloves... 4 times Evans was named Tycobbian MVP (2027, 2028, 2030, 2034)... lifetime Evans batted .305 with 701 homers, 1836 RBIs, 2045 runs and 2928 hits in 19 seasons, 9 with Southport and 10 with Tuckanarra... he ranked fifth among the all-time greats in home runs... Evans led the Blue Jays to the IPA Pro Cup title in 2037.

Hartsdale manager Jud Turchin praised the Southport staff, "Hoover, Swanson and Delmore are outstanding... when you throw in the way the Sun Sox hit the ball in the series, it was lights out for us... we caught a very good team, playing very, very well... that's why we lost in five games."

RED SOX WALLOP WILDCATS 12-6, UP 3-2 IN SERIES
The bats were blazing in Kenwood, too... but it was heavy-hitting Red Bluff doing most of the damage as they walloped three homers and blasted the Wildcats 12-6 in game five of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series to take a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series... Josh Stevens (.273) slammed his third home run in the postseason to lead the Red Sox... Jesse Shaw (.300) and Fran Blanchard (.421) also went deep for the winners, who totaled 12 hits.

The victory went to starter Mickey Rosen, who had a fair game... Rosen (2-0/3.45) allowed three runs and eight hits in six and two-thirds innings with six Ks and three walks... the bullpen shakily held on to the lead, thanks to great run support... Rosen left in the seventh leading 6-2 with all the Red Bluff runs coming in the fourth inning... after Kenwood cut it to 6-3 in the seventh, the Red Sox put them away with another six-run frame in the eighth... Wildcat starter Rusty Bradford (0-2/6.75) took it on the chin for the second time in the series as he was pelted for six runs in four innings.

Kenwood did well at the plate with 13 hits with RF Billy Nix (.615) getting two hits and driving in three runs... Nix homered in the third inning for an early 2-0 lead... it was his second homer in the playoffs... 2B Country Crowder (.227) rapped three hits and CF Warren Vickers (.286) and 1B Benjamin Nozak (.154) had two hits each

You will have no trouble getting whatever request you make filled. I'm sure I speak for all of us that any request that you make gets first priority.

'jus sayin'

;)

The Logo and Uniform Geniuses have been wonderful to me in the past. I'm sure they are more talented than ever and just as nice as always. I have always found that if you are patient and polite, the Modders will even take care of a picky old codger like me.

We have a very special group of people in the OOTPB Community. I have been blessed to know them. I was on the Beta Team for three or four years and they are a gifted and remarkable group of people, too. Most of them are computer whizzes. I was certainly not in their league and was quite computer challenged, but they patiently got me through all of the computer challenges I had to overcome to be a productive Beta Team member.

Not to be mauldin, but you guys are great.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 23, 2047

2047 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 6

Ruthlandian Union

ROOSTERS ALIVE, BEACH'S HOMER FORCES GAME 7
It took them 14 innings, but the Middlefield Roosters are still alive in the Ruthlandian DCS... the Roosters forced a seventh game when Jimmy Beach clubbed a dynamic three-run homer to tie the series up at three games each... his 14th-inning clout gave Middlefield the victory 8-5.

SS Jimmy Beach (.286) and 2B Ben Davis (.333) led the Roosters 13-hit assault... Beach had three hits and drove in four runs, while Davis had a three-run double... 3B Ike Gary (.280) and LF Alejandro Dominguez (.300) both had three hits... Marston garnered 11 hits and were paced by RF Charlie Gilmore (.217) with two hits and two RBIs, LF D'Wayne Dotson (.231) with three base hits and CF Calvin Marbury (.286) with two hits, two runs scored and a home run.

The two starters battled to a 4-4 draw... Middlefield's Carroll Collier (0-1/7.36) went eight innings, gave up four runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts... Marston's Thomas Stuart (0-0/3.38) worked into the ninth, yielding four runs on eight hits with four walks and eight Ks... the third Rooster Ricky Farris (1-0/2.08) claimed the win... he went the last two and two-thirds innings and held the Nine scoreless on one hit... the defeat went to the third Marston hurler Kelly Long (1-1/4.09), who was tagged for Beech's game-winning smash in the 14th.

FAR MOUNTAIN ADVANCES TO RU TITLE SERIES
25-game winning southpaw Stan Smith sent the Far Mountain Redhawks to the Ruthlandian title round with a 5-2 triumph over the Marston Nine in game six of the RU Division Championship Series... the Redhawks eliminated the Nine from the Pro Cup playoffs four games to two... Smith (1-1/4.73) allowed two runs on eight hits in his eight and two-thirds innings... closer Fernando Sanches (0-1/5.40) got the final out of the game and notched his second save of the series... losing pitcher Ronnie Roy (1-1/4.80) held a 2-1 lead going into the last of the seventh, but a four-run eruption by the Redhawks did him in... 2B Rance Hawkins (.250) tied it up with a sac fly, then back-to-back homers dealt the Nine a death knell... LF Terry Crawford (.267) slugged a two-run homer, followed by a one-run job by SS Sammy Prejean (.125)... Hawkins also homered for the Redhawks... SS Paul Walker (.333) accounted for all of Marston's scores with a two-run roundtripper in the second frame... RF Shannon Stewart (.292) had three hits, including two triples in defeat.

Far Mountain manager Don Nichols gave credit to his pitching staff and his hitters. "We didn't pitch too well in the first three games of the series, but it came around in the last three games... Curt, Grover and Stan really came through for us... and we also hit surprisingly well in the last three games."

Nichols, an IPA Hall-of-Famer, played shortstop for the Redbirds, when they captured three Pro Cups in a row in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He added, "This has been a great season... we played very well in the regular season and so far in the postseason... let's just hope we have what it takes to go all the way... these chances don't come around often." Since the glory years the Redhawks have been to the Pro Cup Finals just one time. That was in 2038 when they fell to North Hills in a four-game sweep.

Belair Beach skipper Bobby Meusel told the press, "The Redhawks won it... they stopped us cold in the final three games and they hit the cover off the ball... we just couldn't stop them."

Tycobbian Union

WARREN'S GRAND SLAM SEND WILDCATS HOME
It's every player's dream - a grand slam homer in the last of the ninth to win the game - well, it happened to Red Bluff's Ed Warren... he sent one soaring high, deep and out of the ballpark to give the Red Sox a 7-3 win over the Kenwood Wildcats in game six of their Tycobbian Division Series, giving Red Bluff the right to move on in the postseason and sending Kenwood home for the season... the Red Sox beat them four games to two in the series.

Warren told reporters, "The only time I've ever done that was in the backyard as a kid, daydreaming by myself."

Winning pitcher George Reynolds (1-0/3.94) and losing pitcher Gregg Campbell (0-1/7.47) dueled for eight innings to a 3-3 tie when Warren suddenly put an end to it... in a very good outing Reynolds held the Wildcats to three runs and four hits, fanned nine batters and walked four... Campbell surrendered seven runs on five hits, walked three and struck out three.

Warren (.211) scored twice and batted in four runs to lead the Red Sox... RF David Kelso (.391) also homered and scored twice... Kelso went deep three times in the series... 3B Fran Blanchard (.409) pitched in with two runs, too... and 2B Big Boy Payne (.167) drove in the other two runs for Red Bluff... C Josh Daniels (.250) went deep for Wildcats and drove in a pair of runs... RF Billy Nix (.563) plated the other Kenwood score.

"Good pitching and a four-run homer will win a lot of games," said winning manager Jim Schubert. Now he has to get ready for the Southport Sun Sox, who whipped the defending IPA champ Hartsdale in a five-game series. Red Bluff will play them for the Tycobbian League title and the right to advance to the Pro Cup Finals.

Kenwood manager Aaron Hankins speaking at the post-game interview said, "It's hard to beat 10 homers and three standout pitchers... everybody in the Red Sox lineup can hit homers... and Cox, Rosen and Reynolds know how to pitch... if the Red Sox keep hitting homers and getting very good pitching, this could be their Pro Cup year."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 24, 2047

2047 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 7

Ruthlandian Union

LONG STRONG, ROOSTERS WIN 2-0, TAKE SERIES
The Middlefield-Marston Ruthlandian Division Championship Series came down to one game and two super pitchers... 23-game winner James Long outhurled 24-game winner Felix Delatte 2-0 in game seven to advance the Middlefield Roosters to the Ruthlandian Union Finals against the Far Mountain Redhawks.

Long (2-0/0.67) was almost flawless as he stopped the Nine on just four singles, fanned seven batters and gave up no walks... Long also blanked Marston 3-0 in game four... Delatte (0-2/2.49) was almost as good, giving up two runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts in eight and one-third innings.

The Roosters got both runs in the top of the fourth... RF Sidney Conner (.281) homered to lead off the frame... 2B Ike Gary's (.276) triple and LF Alejandro Dominguez's (.292) RBI single completed the scoring.

Middlefield manager Ricky Tinker gave glowing praise to his pitchers, "Marston did a good job on our offense... fortunately Long and Wheelhouse did a super job on the mound and pulled us through it."

Marston's rookie skipper Russ Woodward explained the loss, "Our pitching was great, but so was Middlefield's... offense was the difference in two very fine teams."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 25, 2047

TOP 4 PICKS IN IPA LCS
It doesn't happen often, but so far in this postseason the baseball gurus have guessed right this year. The top four teams in the Pro Cup predictions have made it to the League Championship Series. Number one Red Bluff will be challenged by number four Southport for the Tycobbian Union league title and number two Middlefield tangles with number three Far Mountain for the Ruthlandian Union crown. Based on play in first-round action the field is still wide open for the IPA Pro Cup. The oddsmakers are giving the Red Sox a slight edge over the Sun Sox in the Tycobbian Union because of their home-run prowess. Red Bluff led the IPA with 250 roundtrippers in the regular season and 10 in the postseason thus far. The Redhawks got a slight nod from the experts in the Ruthlandian Union. They might have a little bit of an edge in scoring runs.

In the TU the Red Bluff Red Sox disposed of the Kenwood Wildcats in six games and the Southport Sun Sox eliminated last year's Pro Cup winner Hartsdale in a quick five-game set. This year's Pro Cup favorite, the Middlefield Roosters, had a tough time before they finally did in the Marston Nine in a seven-game series. Behind 3 games to two, the Roosters had to win the final two games to advance to the LCS. Far Mountain, which led the IPA with 101 victories, came back from a 2-1 deficit to whip underdog Belair Beach four games to two. The Redhawks won the last three games of the series.

Red Bluff was led at the plate in the Division Series by Fran Blanchard (.409), David Kelso (.391) and Leemon O'Donovan (.379)... homer-wise Kelso and Josh Stevens (.231) led with three each... Stevens topped the team with 7 RBIs, Big Boy Payne (.167) drove in 6 runs and Kelso and Blanchard had 5 apiece... Mickey Rosen (2-0/3.45), George Reynolds (1-0/3.94) and Jud Cox (1-1/2.08) lead the mound corps.

Southport will be a worthy foe for the Red Sox... the Sun Sox also hammered 10 homers in only five games in their series with Hartsdale, sparked by Craig Glennon (.304) with 4 home runs and 10 RBIs and Barney Lewis (.235) with 3 dingers and 7 runs batted in... average-wise it was Gonzalo Topez (.440), Chris Jones (.389), Eddy Douglas (.381) and Vasilis Vlachos (.348)... Jones had one homer and batted in 6 runs... top hurlers for the Sun Sox were Billy Hoover (2-0/2.50) and Johnny Swanson (1-0/1.45).

Far Mountain hit well in its series with Belair Beach... the Redhawks platoon a lot and its seems to work to their advantage... Todd Purdom (.438), Bert Richter (.429) and Benjy Donahue (.357) were the team leaders in batting average... FM hit 7 out of the park with Richter and Terry Crawford (.267) getting two each... Rance Hawkins (.250) drove in the most runs with 8... Richter, Crawford and Joel McDaniel (.313) tied with 5 apiece... on the mound starter Curt Steinhauer (1-0/0.60) and Jonas Glover (2-0/2.12) were excellent.

Marston pitching for the most part handled the Middlefield Roosters pretty well... they got 6 home runs with Sidney Conner (.281), Jimmy Beach (.281) and Norm Antonioni (.231) getting 2 each, but the Roosters didn't score a lot of runs... Alejandro Domingues (.292) had the best BA, followed by Beach and Conner... RBI-wise Beach had 6 and Conner 3... the Roosters, however, got superb starts from James Long (2-0/0.67) and Larry Wheelhouse (1-0/1.13)... and fine work in the bullpen from Ricky Farris (1-0/2.08)... pitching won the series for Middlefield.

Second-round action should be really exciting with two bang-up series between four strong ball clubs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 27, 2047

2047 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 1

Ruthlandian Union

LONG STOPS REDHAWKS SHORT 5-2 IN LCS OPENER
Middlefield's hard-throwing right-hander James Long put the quietus on the Far Mountain bats in the opener of the Ruthlandian League Championship Series stopping them 5-2 on just seven hits... it was Long's (3-0/0.75) third victory in the postseason... he went the distance, walked only one and chalked up four strikeouts... Long also drove in the winning run with an RBI groundout when the Roosters snapped a 3-3 tie in the top of the fourth... they added single runs in the seventh and the eighth frames... Redhawk starter Curt Steinhauer (1-1/2.38) took the loss, going seven and two-thirds innings and allowing five runs on eight hits.

The Roosters were led by CF Norman Antonioni (.258) with a pair of hits and a pair of RBIs... LF Alejandro Dominguez (.286) got Middlefield's only homer, a solo shot in the second... Far Mountain SS Webster Ronstadt (.750) collected three hits, including a lead-off homer at the start of the game... Ronstadt also singled in the other Redhawk run in the third.

Tycobbian Union

RED SOX WIN GAME 1, COX TAMES SUN SOX 5-1
In game one of the Tycobbian League Championship Series Jud Cox tamed the Southport Sun Sox 5-1 at Red Bluff Park... Cox (2-1/1.42), a 22-game winner in the regular season, permitted only five hits, walked nobody and fanned seven in his eight innings... reliever Carson Jamara (0-0/0.00) worked a perfect ninth to nail down the win... losing pitcher Billy Hoover (2-1/3.51) was roughed up for five runs on nine hits in seven-plus innings... he racked up 22 victories this season.

The Red Sox's heavy hitters didn't get any homers, but they did bash five two-baggers and collected nine hits... CF Ike Sweetwater (.250) had two doubles and two RBIs... 1B Josh Stevens (.267) added two hits and an RBI for the winners... 3B Craig Glennon (.333) paced the losers with two hits.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 28, 2047

2047 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 2

Ruthlandian Union

ROOSTERS WIN 3-2 IN 12, TAKE FIRST 2 GAMES
Middlefield continued to get super pitching with a 3-2 triumph in 12 innings to take the first two games of the Ruthlandian LCS... Larry Wheelhouse and Ray Owens teamed up whip the Far Mountain Redhawks in game two... in a non-decision Wheelhouse (1-0/1.50) tossed eight solid frames and gave up two runs on eight hits with six Ks and four bases on balls, while Owens (1-2/2.03) copped the win with four scoreless frames, permitting just two hits... the Roosters had to battle back from a 2-1 deficit in the ninth to send the game into overtime... a one-out double by LF Alejandro Dominguez and an RBI double by pinchhitter Pudgy Howzer tied the score... Middlefield won it in the 12th when Jimmy Beach singled in Ike Gary with the winning score.

Far Mountain also got a good start from Josh Grover (2-0/2.08)... he went nine innings, yielding just two runs on nine hits, struck out five and issued no walks... closer Fernando Sanches (0-2/4.77) was tagged with the defeat, giving up one run and four hits in two and one-third innings.

The Roosters outhit the Redhawks 13 to 10... RF Sidney Conner (.317) and SS Jimmy Beach (.302) topped them with three hits apiece... and 3B Ike Gary (.278) and LF Alejandro Domingues (.294) chipped in two hits each... 2B Heinz Kohlmann (.385) lofted a home run in the seventh that gave Far Mountain the lead 2-1... Kohlmann and SS Warner Ronstadt (.625) had two hits apiece for the Redhawks.

Tycobbian Union

GLENNON'S HRS SALVAGE SPLIT, SUN SOX WIN IN 12TH
Using the longball as their main weapon, the Southport Sun Sox salvaged a split in the first two games of the Tycobbian LCS with a 6-4 victory in 12 innings at Red Bluff Park... Craig Glennon led the way with a pair of smashes that gave him six homers in the playoffs this year... Glennon's two-run clout in the top of the 12th won the game... closer Hal Combs (2-0/0.00) had a fine game, blanking the Sun Sox on three hits over the final four frames... the loss went to Carson Jamara (0-1/6.00), the victim of Glennon's game-winner.

Southport totaled 12 hits to 11 for the Red Sox... 3B Glennon (.364) and 1B Eddy Douglas (.355) socked three hits each for the Sun Sox... Glennon drove in three runs and now has 13 in the postseason... Douglas also went deep and batted in a pair of runs... Red Bluff 1B Josh Stevens (.278), SS Leemon O'Donovan (.361), RF David Kelso (.414) and CF Ike Sweetwater (.276) all collected two hits with Stevens getting the only roundtripper, a three-run blast in the third, when the Red Sox took a 4-2 lead... Stevens has four homers and 10 RBIs to lead his club in the postseason... Southport tied it up 4-4 with single runs in the fifth and seventh.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, September 29, 2047

2047 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 3

Ruthlandian Union

SMITH SLOWS DOWN ROOSTERS 3-2 IN GAME 3
Far Mountain's 25-game winner Stan Smith came up with another good effort to slow down the red-hot Middlefield Roosters 3-2 in game three of Ruthlandian LCS, thus snapping their four-game playoff-winning streak... the Roosters had racked up wins in the opening two games of the series and beaten Marston in the final two games of the first round... Smith (2-1/3.80) tossed eight innings, allowed just two runs on eight hits, fanned five and walked no one... closer Fernando Sanches (0-2/4.05) notched his third postseason save with a runless ninth... Bert Richter (.348) doubled in Sammy Prejean (.130) for the winning run in the top of the fifth... Carroll Collier (0-2/5.12) suffered the loss, going eight and one-third innings, surrendering three runs on nine hits, striking out three and walking three... Middlefield still leads the Redhawks two games to one in the best-of-seven series.

Far Mountain took the lead in the opening frame on a triple by SS Webster Ronstadt (.538) and a base hit by 2B Benjy Donahue (.364)... Middlefield knotted it up 1-all when 3B Ike Gary (.275) homered in the last of the first... the Redhawks retook the lead in the top of the third when CF Todd Purdom (.320) singled, stole second and went to third base on a wild throw by the catcher, then was singled in by 2B Rance Hawkins (.189)... the Roosters came right back and tied it 2-2 in the bottom half of the frame on a double by C Johnny McDonald (.136), who tagged up twice on fly balls, and scored on RF Sidney Conner (.318) sac fly.

Tycobbian Union

RED SOX POWER BY SUN SOX 6-1 IN GAME 3
In game three of the Tycobbian LCS strong pitching by George Reynolds and 11 hits powered Red Bluff by Southport 6-1... Reynolds (2-0/2.88) stumped the Sun Sox on five hits, fanned six and walked two in a complete game... Leemon O'Donovan and David Kelso backed him up with home runs... the loss went to Bruce Delmore (0-2/5.40), who worked seven innings and permitted six runs and 11 hits.

Leading the Red Sox charge was 2B Big Boy Payne (.250) with three nits and two runs... three players had two hits each: SS Leemon O'Donovan (.366), 3B Fran Blanchard (.343) and David Kelso (.424)... 3B Craig Glennon (.378) topped the Sun Sox with 2-for-4... and 2B Ricky Whitaker (.250) homered for their only score.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 30, 2047

2047 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 4

Ruthlandian Union

MCDANIEL CLOUT EVENS SERIES, FM 5-3 WINNER
In game four in Middlefield, Far Mountain copped its second straight victory in the Ruthlandian LCS to even it up at two games each in the best-of-seven series... the Redhawks rallied in the late innings to force overtime... Joel McDaniel crashed a two-run homer to defeat the Roosters 5-3 in 10 innings... starter Curt Steinhauer (2-1/2.56) hurled nine innings for the victory with relief help from Fernando Sanches (0-2/3.52), who got his fourth save in the playoffs by holding Middlefield scoreless in the last of the 10th... the third Rooster pitcher Ricky Farris (1-1/3.65) not only blew the save, but lost the game... he was slammed for three runs and five hits in three innings.

The Redhawks collected 12 hits and were sparked by C Joel McDaniel (.379) with 4-for-5, two runs and two RBIs... 2B Rance Hawkins (.220) also drove in two runs and registered a pair of hits... McDaniel and Hawkins both went deep... the Roosters had eight hits with roundtrippers by CF Norman Antonioni (.209) and SS Jimmy Beach (.308)... Antonioni hit a two-run salvo and Beach a solo shot.

Tycobbian Union

HOOVER HUMBLES RED SOX 2-0, SUN SOX KNOT SERIES
Under beautiful sunny skies at Pleasure Beach Park in Southport, Billy Hoover humbled the Red Bluff Red Sox 2-0 on a six-hit shutout to knot the Tycobbian LCS at two games apiece... Hoover (3-1/2.60) was in command, fanning two batters and walking none... he outpitched Jud Cox (2-2/1.11), who had beaten him in game one 5-1... Cox worked seven frames, yielding two runs on six hits.

Shoddy defense by the Red Sox gave the Sun Sox all the runs they needed in the third inning... none of the runs Cox gave up were earned... two throwing errors by right fielder David Kelso (.417) proved costly... CF Barney Lewis (.242) and C Visalis Vlachos (.244) drove in the Southport scores... the Sun Sox had 7 hits to 6 for the losers.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 1, 2047

2047 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 5

Ruthlandian Union

WHEELHOUSE BLANKS REDHAWKS, ROOSTERS WIN 3-0
Middlefield's super southpaw Larry Wheelhouse continued to dominate in the playoffs... he fired a three-hit shutout against the Far Mountain Redhawks in game five of the Ruthlandian League Championship Series, putting his Roosters up three games to two and within one victory of moving to the Pro Cup Finals... Wheelhouse (2-0/1.09) walked seven and struck out five... he has given the Roosters four strong starts in the postseason... RF Sidney Conner (.321) and SS Jimmy Beach (.304) provided the offense each with a solo homer... it was Conner's third in the playoffs and Beach's fourth... Josh Glover (2-1/2.12) pitched well in defeat, allowing three runs on eight hits with six Ks and one walk... he also went the route.

The series will now revert to Far Mountain for the final two games, if they are needed... Middlefield has won five of six in this postseason while playing out of town... Far Mountain is just 2-3 at home.

Tycobbian Union

SUN SOX POUND RED SOX 10-6 FOR SERIES LEAD
Known more for their mound work that their hitting prowess, Southport showed their muscles with a 10-6 shelling of the Red Bluff Red Sox in game five of the Tycobbian LCS at Pleasure Beach Park... the Sun Sox pounded them for 15 hits and took a three games to two edge in the series... all Southport needs is one win in the next two games to advance to the Pro Cup Finals... Red Bluff has the homefield advantage and the remaining games will be played at Red Bluff Park... the Red Sox are 3-2 at home in the playoffs, while the Sun Sox are 3-2 on the road.

The Sun Sox led 4-3 after five innings, then jolted the Red Sox for six more runs in the sixth... but they had to withstand a mild rally by Red Bluff, who got three runs in the ninth... Johnny Swanson (2-0/3.34) struggled late, but got the win... he went eight and one-third innings, gave up six runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts and four walks... closer Hal Combs (2-0/0.00) picked up his first save in the playoffs when he retired the last two batters in the game... Red Sox starter Mickey Rosen (2-1/5.20) was hit hard for seven runs and eight hits in just five frames... Rosen also was very wild with eight bases on balls.

C Visalis Vlachos (.273) delivered two hits and drove in three runs for Southport... he got the game's only homer... CF Barney Lewis (.289) and 2B Ricky Whitaker (.325) both had three hits... Lewis doubled twice and batted in three runs... everybody in the Sun Sox lineup got at least one hit... even pitcher Johnny Swanson (.133) got into the act with two runs batted in... RF Dennis Desmond (.444) paced Red Bluff with two hits and three RBIs and SS Leemon O'Donovan (.327) batted in a pair of scores.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 2, 2047

2047 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - GAME 6

Ruthlandian Union

ROOSTERS RULE RUTHLANDIA, TAKE LEAGUE TITLE
The postseason pollsters made Middlefield the favorite to win the Ruthlandian Union championship and they did it... the Roosters finished off the Far Mountain Redhawks 6-4 in game six at Sky High Stadium in Far Mountain and now head to the Pro Cup Finals against the Tycobbian champ... in the club's history the Roosters have won only one Pro Cup... that was long ago in 2005... they also lost to South Fork in the 2025 Pro Cup Finals.

The Roosters smacked 13 hits and got just enough pitching to get the job done... 1B Jorge Carpenter (.269) led the way at the plate with three hits and three RBIs... 2B Ike Gary (.269) added a homer and a triple, drove in a pair of runs and scored twice... and LF Alejandro Dominguez (.283) chipped in with one hit and two runs.

Chris Collier (1-2/4.44) started and went seven shaky innings, but came away with the victory... Collier was touched for three runs on nine hits, fanned seven and walked one... Collier exited with the score 5-3... Ricky Farris was the second Middlefield pitcher... he gave up a run in the eighth... closer Ray Owens (1-2/1.76) finished up for him, though he struggled, too... Owens permitted four hits and no runs in two innings... fortunately for the Roosters, the Redhawks stranded 13 baserunners... Stan Smith (2-2/4.03) caught the loss as he was bashed for 12 hits and six runs in seven-plus innings.

Far Mountain also numbered 13 hits, but just didn't come through in the clutch... both SS Warner Ronstadt (.500) and RF Bert Richter went 3-5 in the game... and CF Todd Purdom (.324) and 2B Rance Hawkins (.224) notched two hits each... Hawkins led with a double and a triple.

Middlefield skipper Ricky Tinker told reporters, "Great pitchers are tough to beat... and we've got two of the best in James Long and Larry Wheelhouse... they give us a chance to win every series we play."

In 5 starts in the postseason this year Long has posted a 3-0 mark with a super low 1.05 ERA... Wheelhouse is 2-0 in 4 starts with an outstanding 1.09 ERA.

Tinker also added, "Thank goodness for Beach, Conner and Gary... they have provided what little offense we managed so far."

SS Jimmy Beach has hit .328 in the playoffs with 4 home runs and 9 RBIs... RF Sidney Conner has batted .328 with 3 homers and 5 RBIs and 2B Ike Gary sports a .269 BA with 2 roundtrippers and 11 runs scored.

Losing manager Don Nichols bemoaned his lack of offense. "Hey, we have a pretty good lineup... there were two pretty good reasons we didn't hit well... their names are Long and Wheelhouse... they thoroughly shut us down."

Tycobbian Union

TYCOBBIAN CROWN TO SOUTHPORT
The Southport Sun Sox are the champion of the Tycobbian Union... they defeated the Pro Cup favored Red Bluff Red Sox in six games to gain the right to play for the IPA Pro Cup trophy, emblematic of baseball supremacy in the Islands... the Sun Sox eliminated the Red Sox 4-3 at Red Bluff Park... Barney Lewis slammed a pair of crucial homers for the victory... he hit a two-run blast in the top of the third for a 3-2 lead and then broke up a 3-3 tie in the sixth with a solo smash... Lewis now has five postseason roundtrippers... Lewis was the Pro Cup MVP in 2044 when he led Southport to its second Pro Cup title.... the Sun Sox also captured it in 2027.

Southport starter Brandon Delmore (1-2/4.30) labored but grittied out the win... he only allowed three hits and three runs in eight innings, but walked six, while striking out seven... Hal Combs (2-0/0.00) closed out the TU title game with a perfect 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth... George Reynolds (2-1/3.18) was the losing hurler... he went the distance, struck out seven, walked three batters and was tapped for four runs and nine hits.

CF Barney Lewis (.341) sparked Southport with three hits and four RBIs... he now has driven in a team high 15 runs in the playoffs... SS Ricky Whitaker (.333) and 1B Eddy Douglas (.372) each collected a pair of hits for the winners... CF Ike Sweetwater (.286) had a solo homer for the Red Sox... LF David Kelso (.386) and SS Leemon O'Donovan (.308) batted in the other runs.

Lorne Evans took over for longtime Southport manager Charley Oscar this year. "It's been an amazing year for me, my first year on the job... but it doesn't surprise me... the Sun Sox have a lot of talented and gifted players that make my job kind of cushy... we have a solid core of hitters in Barney (Lewis), Craig (Glennon), Vasilis (Vlachos) and Eddy (Douglas)... plus Billy Hoover, who is equal to anybody in the IPA on the mound... five of the last six years he has chalked up at 20 victories... and he is 13-7 in 21 postseason starts... Johnny Swanson and Brandon Delmore give us two more quality arms... our pitchers didn't have it easy... the Red Sox probably are the best hitting club in the IPA... but we outhomered them 7 to 4 and outscored them 24 to 21 in the series... our staff did a pretty creditable job, considering who they were playing."

Lewis leads the Sun Sox with 15 RBIs in the postseason... Glennon has 14 so far... Vlachos has driven in 8 runs and Douglas has 7... Glennon is tops with 6 homers and 12 runs... Lewis is second with 5 home runs and 11 runs scored...Douglas is tops with a .372 BA, followed by Lewis at .341, 2B Ricky Whitaker at .333, SS Gonzalo Topez with .311 and Glennon is batting .306... Hoover is 3-1 with a 2.60 ERA in four starts, while Swanson is 2-0 with a 3.34 in four starts... in 3 starts Delmore is 1-2 with a 4.30 ERA.

Red Bluff manager Jim Schubert said, "We did our best at the plate and on the hill... I feel bad for Jud Cox, who pitched his heart out, but he just didn't get any run support... in the postseason he was 2-2 with a 1.11 ERA... Cox only allowed three runs in 15 innings against Southport... overall, the Sun Sox really blistered the ball in the series and in the playoffs... they have hit 17 homers so far in 11 games... Middlefield will have their hands full."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 3, 2047

MIDDLEFIELD SLIGHT PRO CUP FAVORITE
This year's Pro Cup Finals has all the makings of a donnybrook. Both Middlefield and Southport have crackerjack clubs with little difference between them. The 2047 edition of the IPA Pro Cup competition gets underway this Saturday afternoon at Middlefield Park, the home of the Roosters. The oddsmakers are still staying with Pro Cup favorite Middlefield, but not by a lot. They give the Roosters a slight edge because of their two fine starters, James Long (23-10/2.05) and Larry Wheelhouse (21-13/2.71). The Southport starters are not quite as strong as Middlefield, though Billy Hoover (22-14/1.79) can hold his own with anyone in the IPA.

Both clubs sport good firepower and solid hitters in abundance. All eight Middlefield regulars had 10 or more homers. Sidney Conner (.289 BA) paced the Roosters with 47 homers and 126 RBIs and got plenty of help from Norman Antonioni (.273 BA) with 39 roundtrippers and 88 RBIs. Average-wise Johnny McDonald topped the club with a .351 batting average, which was third best in the IPA. Jimmy Beach was the only other .300 hitter with a .305 BA. Southport was no slouch at the plate with Barney Lewis swatting 41 out of the park to top the team. Craig Glennon pitched in another 26 and Eddy Douglas and Vasilis Vlachos added 25 homers each. Pat Kinney led the club with a .321 BA with Douglas second at .301.

This will be the Sun Sox's third trip to the Pro Cup Finals in the last four seasons. Southport won the IPA crown in 2044, defeating Wynnamac in six games. Two years ago they lost to Sugar Valley in a six-game set. The Sun Sox still have most of the same personnel on their roster. Not a lot has changed. Southport also won the Pro Cup in 2027 when they swept Crystal Lake in four games.

Middlefield doesn't have a lot of Pro Cup experience. The Roosters won it in 2005, whipping Denton City in five games. They returned 20 years later and lost to South Fork in a stirring seven-game series, blowing a 3-2 lead. The Stallions rallied to take the title by winning the last two games.

Middlefield Roosters Fact Sheet

Southport Sun Sox Fact Sheet