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Eugene Church · 07-02-2010, 12:22 PM

The Islandian Times

Friday, October 5, 2012

2012 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 5

FM Redhawks Back-To-Back Pro Cup Champs
The Far Mountain Redhawks roared through the IPA Pro Cup playoffs to cop their second straight Island championship. They disposed of the Ozarka Naturals in 5 games, outlasting them 14-9 in the finale. The Redhawks boast a devastating line-up chocked full of talented bats that averaged over 7 runs a game in the postseason. Manager Alex Groveland had good pitching, too. His staff put up a fine 3.14 ERA and had an overall 12-2 record.

The decisive factor in the series was hitting. Far Mountain's explosive offense was just too much for Ozarka to overcome. In the finale they unloaded 4 homers - the Nats got none. The Redhawks bombed Emile Leduc for 7 runs in the first 4 innings, but Ozarka miraculously rallied with 4 in the fifth and took the lead 9-8 with 5 more runs in the sixth. However, Far Mountain came right back and regained the lead 10-9 in the top of the seventh on 1B Fran Grzanka's (.278) sac fly and PH Phil Alston's (.222) single, then disposed of the Naturals with a 4-run outburst in the top of the ninth to haul in the IPA Pro Cup trophy for the unprecedented second year in a row. No team had ever done that before in the league's 12-year existence.

Far Mountain mauled Ozarka pitching for 18 hits. CF Xavier Sosa (.450) had a marvelous game with 4 hits, including 2 home runs, double and a single. Sosa drove in 3 and scored 4 times. LF Phil Stewart (.351) and 2B Phil Alston also had 3 RBIs each. SS Don Nichols (.379) and Alston chipped in 2 more circuit blasts and C Otis Ott (.394) collected 3 hits and scored 3 times. RF Julian Zavala (.351) smacked 3 hits and batted in a pair of runs, giving him 19 RBIs in the playoffs. Sosa had 6 roundtrippers and 14 runs batted in.

The Nats got 5 gifted runs from the poor Redhawk defense to stay in the game. Far Mountain committed 4 errors, but its powerful bats overcame them. Ozarka got 11 hits, but didn't get any homers. Manager Alex Groveland got excellent relief work. After starter Wayne Baxley gave up 9 runs in 5-plus frames, 4 relievers blanked the Naturals over the next 3 and two-third innings. Jesse Hughes (2-0 4.15) notched the win by getting the final out in the sixth. Hummer Romig (0-0 5.40), Erich Dumont (0-1 7.36) and Milos Annensky (0-0 0.00) each worked an inning and held the Nats hitless.

For the series Far Mountain hit for a .312 batting average with 8 home runs and 37 runs. Ozarka batted .276 with 7 homers and 27 runs scored. Pitching was not the strong point of either team. The Redhawk staff registered a 4.69 ERA in the Pro Cup Finals, while the Naturals had an atrocious 7.43 ERA.

Alex Groveland told reporters, "Obviously our club had an outstanding postseason with the bats... and it was extraordinary in the Pro Cup Series. We got pretty fair pitching considering how well the Nats handle the bats. They are a tough club to beat... they never give up."

Ozarka skipper Joe Mac Carney said, "We just got beat by a tremendous offensive team that came into the series with their bats blazing and they got even better. We did our best to stay with them, but came up second-best for the second straight season. I'm disappointed we didn't win, but we still had a hell of of season. We're going to go out and get us some pitchers and come back next year and win it all."

07-02-2010, 12:22 PM	#1794
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,896	The Islandian Times Friday, October 5, 2012 2012 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 5 FM Redhawks Back-To-Back Pro Cup Champs The Far Mountain Redhawks roared through the IPA Pro Cup playoffs to cop their second straight Island championship. They disposed of the Ozarka Naturals in 5 games, outlasting them 14-9 in the finale. The Redhawks boast a devastating line-up chocked full of talented bats that averaged over 7 runs a game in the postseason. Manager Alex Groveland had good pitching, too. His staff put up a fine 3.14 ERA and had an overall 12-2 record. The decisive factor in the series was hitting. Far Mountain's explosive offense was just too much for Ozarka to overcome. In the finale they unloaded 4 homers - the Nats got none. The Redhawks bombed Emile Leduc for 7 runs in the first 4 innings, but Ozarka miraculously rallied with 4 in the fifth and took the lead 9-8 with 5 more runs in the sixth. However, Far Mountain came right back and regained the lead 10-9 in the top of the seventh on 1B Fran Grzanka's (.278) sac fly and PH Phil Alston's (.222) single, then disposed of the Naturals with a 4-run outburst in the top of the ninth to haul in the IPA Pro Cup trophy for the unprecedented second year in a row. No team had ever done that before in the league's 12-year existence. Far Mountain mauled Ozarka pitching for 18 hits. CF Xavier Sosa (.450) had a marvelous game with 4 hits, including 2 home runs, double and a single. Sosa drove in 3 and scored 4 times. LF Phil Stewart (.351) and 2B Phil Alston also had 3 RBIs each. SS Don Nichols (.379) and Alston chipped in 2 more circuit blasts and C Otis Ott (.394) collected 3 hits and scored 3 times. RF Julian Zavala (.351) smacked 3 hits and batted in a pair of runs, giving him 19 RBIs in the playoffs. Sosa had 6 roundtrippers and 14 runs batted in. The Nats got 5 gifted runs from the poor Redhawk defense to stay in the game. Far Mountain committed 4 errors, but its powerful bats overcame them. Ozarka got 11 hits, but didn't get any homers. Manager Alex Groveland got excellent relief work. After starter Wayne Baxley gave up 9 runs in 5-plus frames, 4 relievers blanked the Naturals over the next 3 and two-third innings. Jesse Hughes (2-0 4.15) notched the win by getting the final out in the sixth. Hummer Romig (0-0 5.40), Erich Dumont (0-1 7.36) and Milos Annensky (0-0 0.00) each worked an inning and held the Nats hitless. For the series Far Mountain hit for a .312 batting average with 8 home runs and 37 runs. Ozarka batted .276 with 7 homers and 27 runs scored. Pitching was not the strong point of either team. The Redhawk staff registered a 4.69 ERA in the Pro Cup Finals, while the Naturals had an atrocious 7.43 ERA. Alex Groveland told reporters, "Obviously our club had an outstanding postseason with the bats... and it was extraordinary in the Pro Cup Series. We got pretty fair pitching considering how well the Nats handle the bats. They are a tough club to beat... they never give up." Ozarka skipper Joe Mac Carney said, "We just got beat by a tremendous offensive team that came into the series with their bats blazing and they got even better. We did our best to stay with them, but came up second-best for the second straight season. I'm disappointed we didn't win, but we still had a hell of of season. We're going to go out and get us some pitchers and come back next year and win it all." Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-19-2022 at 11:27 AM.