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The Islandian Times
Friday, September 20, 2002
Ruthlandian Union South Division First Round Playoffs
Valka Moves On In Playoffs, Whips Cybercats 6-4
In the Ruthlandian Union South playoffs, the regular season champs, the Valka Blackhawks, will move on into the Sweet 16 round... Valka eliminated the Grand City Cybercats 6-4 at Cybertel Park with some gritty pitching by Connie Krueger and some timely hitting by 2B Bryan McGinnis, CF Ron Landauer and SS Villem Kask... The Blackhawks shot ahead 3-0 in the opening frame and made it 5-1 after four innings... Krueger (1-0) kept that lead until the eighth when he was slapped around for three runs, cutting the margin to 5-4... At that point, manager Jaan Kurus brought in his bullpen specialist, Daryl Vannoy, and he retired all six men he faced to clinch the victory and send Valka to the next round... Kask had three hits for the Blackhawks, Landauer two and McGinnis drove in a pair of runs... LF Donnie Mouton paced Grand City with a double, triple and two RBIs... Valka will play the winner of the Belair Beach Sunbirds and Claxton Diamonds in a best-of three series beginning tomorrow... The Blackhawks will play on the road in the opener with two games at home, if necessary.
Sunbirds Sweet 16 Bound, Top Claxton 7-2
Manager Marty Pedroza's Belair Beach Sunbirds are Sweet 16 bound after they topped the Claxton Diamonds 7-2 in the third and deciding game of their First Round Series at Bayside Park... Tiny Lindgren (1-0 2.00) came up with a big game, stifling Claxton on just five hits... In a fine performance Lindgren had eight Ks and only one walk... A huge four-run seventh inning decided the outcome with LF Nicky Swift swatting a three-run homer to sink the Diamonds playoff hopes and send the Sunbirds soaring... Swift had four RBIs to spark Belair Beach and 1B Phil Gravelli had two hits and drove in three runs... RF Matty McDermott also contributed with three hits and scored three times... Lefthander Sal Tallis (0-1) took the loss, permitting seven runs before being knocked out of the game in the seventh... However, a costly error in the seventh led to four unearned runs... The Sunbirds finished second to Valka in the RU South race in the regular campaign... They will get another crack at the Blackhawks, beginning tomorrow at home... Game one will be at Bayside Park.
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