[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Sunday, September 16, 2001

Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Playoffs

Redhawks Take Opener from Lumberjacks 4-1
In the IPA Elite 8 playoffs at Sky High Stadium in Far Mountain, the Redhawks took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Sonny Elliot (1-0 1.00) held the heavy-hitting Forest City Lumberjacks to five hits en route to a 4-1 victory. He only gave up one run via left fielder Chuck Hill's (.250) solo homer in the first inning. Far Mountain collected eight hits in the game and were paced by third baseman Johnny Strickland (.500) with two RBIs on a double and a single. Center fielder Hawk Gallagher (.500) slammed homer and a double and scored twice. Herm Bahr (0-1 4.50) suffered the setback, going six innings and allowing three runs.

V's Nudge Nine 3-2 in Series Opener
At Legends Field in Marston, the home town Nine were defeated 3-2 in the first game of the Elite 8 series by the visiting Volusia Vigilantes. Winning pitcher Raul Sandoval (1-0 2.25) worked eight strong innings, gave up only two runs on eight hits, fanned five and issued a pair of walks. Ricky Moreno (0-0 0.00) closed out the victory with a perfect 1-2-3 ninth. First baseman Alejandro Salazar (.500) drove in all three runs with a two-run homer in the first inning and a double in the ninth. Left fielder Winky Rush (.500) had two hits and scored twice for the Vigilantes. Second baseman Ken Green (.250) and pinchhitter Johnny Berthold (1.000) each batted in a run for Marston. Nick Pace (0-1 2.57) pitched well, but lost it for the Nine. He gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings with five Ks. Marston played lousy defense and committed four errors in the game.

Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Playoffs

Frogs Rally Late, Slam Ninjas 8-4 in First Game
At the Frog Pond in Fairfax, the Frogs rallied with a six-run eighth inning to slam the Ginza Ninjas 8-4 in the first game of the Elite 8 series. Up until then Kojiro Matsumoto had held them to two runs and three hits and seemed to be on the way to an opening-game triumph, but then Fairfax ripped him and two successors for eight hits and six runs. Matsumoto (0-1 6.43) was charged with the defeat after surrendering five runs and six hits in seven innings. Ted Ellison picked up the win with a scoreless eighth inning. Closer Takehide Takahashi (0-0 0.00) put the Ninjas out of their misery in the ninth to nail down the verdict. Fairfax and Ginza both had 11 hits in the game. The Frogs shortstop Warren Lee (.667) was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs and second baseman Cecil Parmenter (.500) was 2-for-4 and batted in two runs with two doubles. Catcher Marv McCoy (.667) drove in a run, had two hits and scored twice.

Blue Sox Edge Stallions in Game One 4-3 in 10
Good old-fashioned fundamentals gave Blue Lake a one-game lead in the best-of-seven Elite 8 Series and a 4-3 triumph over South Fork in ten innings. The Blue Sox manufactured a run when right fielder Doyle Osborne singled with one out in the top of the tenth off reliever Glenn Turnbull. Osborne advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and then raced across with the winning score on second baseman Ken Bennett's (.500) base hit. Starter Bennie West (1-0 3.00) notched the win with nine fine innings, yielding three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Closer Russ Courtney (0-0 0.00) put down the Stallions in the ninth for the save. Glenn Turnbull (0-1 9.00) caught the loss, allowing one run and two hits in the decisive inning. South Fork outhit the Blue Sox 8 to 6 and had two homers. Third baseman Glenn Holliday (.400) got his in the second inning and center fielder Ronnie Lee hit his in the third. Both were with the bases empty. Bennett (.500) had two hits and drove in two runs to lead Blue Lake, while Osborne (.400) got two hits, scored twice and batted in a run.