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Eugene Church · 08-19-2010, 03:16 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Hellcats Win Wild 5-Team Finish, Edges NH Hawks In Playoff
It was a year-long 5-team struggle in the tight Tycobbian North this season that went down to the last week of the season and even down to the last day. The Hartsdale Hellcats finally decided it with an 8-6 triumph over the North Hills Hawks. The Hellcats had to overcome a fifth-inning 5-1 deficit to take the title in a one-game playoff. North Hills came in second, losing by 1 game, while Mahaska was third, trailing by 1.5 games. Blue Lake and Oxford came in tied for fourth and were just 2.5 games from the top. The final 10 days were crucial with Hartsdale going 7-3, North Hills 6-4, Mahaska 4-6, and Blue Lake and Oxford winding up at 5-5 each. Defending champion Fairfax sunk to sixth place in the standings, mainly due to the critical loss of superstar outfielder Dane Wesner, who was injured in the first week of the season and missed the rest of the year.

The Hartsdale Hellcats (84-71) used improved pitching to climb from last place to first place this year... Ronnie Jernigan came out of nowhere to post a 21-10 season to lead manager Zim Donner's squad to the pennant... closer Ben Clermont was also an important cog with 29 saves, 2.68 ERA and 5-5 record... top bats were 9-year veteran 1B Tom Brabant (.333/36/116/101), one of the top sluggers in IPA history with 301 homers and a .319 lifetime battery average... Hartsdale had 6 regulars with 20 or more home runs and was third in the league with 191 total... other top hitters were 3B Kendry Moulton (.302/34/101/96), SS Jud Turchin (.318/29/83/102), RF Mack Faulkner (.294/24/76/94), LF Woody Crow (.287/23/85/98) and CF Del Darby (.232/21/58/96).

Better pitching also moved the North Hills Hawks (83-72) up from sixth place in 2013... Ronnie Kerensky (19-12 3.67) had a career year at 38... Nick Pugochov (11-5 3.52) and vet Lou Dozier (14-13 3.60) gave manager Hub Carlson two more credible starters... Offensive leaders were 1B Rob Pearson (.296/27/103/86) and vet C Todd Simons (.288/20/91/89).

Rudy Tanussa has a solid ball club in Mahaska (82-72) with good pitching and hitting... Johnny Picou (10-2 3.05), Johnny Spears (16-16 3.35) and Joey Wallace (17-14 3.37) gave the Haymakers a trio of quality starters... 1B Johnny Carducci (.290/28/116/78), C Bucky O'Brian (.322/29/113/89) and LF Dalton Leeds (.302/19/89/90) supplied the power and the runs.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox (81-73) tied for the fourth spot with Oxford... Cobb Tyson's crew survives on its pitching... the Blue Sox registered a fine 3.37 ERA (3rd) and were paced by 24-year-old Nick Walker with a 20-10 mark in his fourth season... vets Justin Eckhardt (18-16 2.90), Dan Whitfield (18-15 3.64) and Neil Krogstad (14-18 4.19) rounded out the rotation... Tyson's top batters were CF Rick Hilliard (.279/26/93/88) and C Justin Kucks (.276/25/91/71).

The Oxford Red Caps (81-73) came in tied for fourth under skipper Campy Roy... the Red Caps have power with 170 roundtrippers (8th), while batting .263 (13th)... on the mound Roy suffers in his bullpen with a lousy 4.81 ERA... but Oxford has two fine starters in Emerson Carnell (19-12 2.57) and Del Anderson (16-12 3.23)... 37-year-old Carnell had his best season... The Red Caps batted .263 (13th) and hit 170 out of the park (8th), sparked by 1B Eddy Dowler (.318/26/93/93) and 42-year-old 3B Cameron Kamara (.293/23/63/91)... all the regulars hit 10 or more homers.

Superstar Dane Wesner showed just how much one key player means to a team... with him the Fairfax Frogs (74-80) won the TU North flag last year, without him they sunk to sixth place and 9.5 games behind winning Hartsdale... Wesner injured his shoulder in early April and only batted 21 times in 7 games... the Frog attack lost a .341 career hitter, who averages over 100 RBIs and 35 homers a season... for the year Fairfax hit only .242 (32nd) and scored 624 runs (31st)... manager Harry Buckley still had good pitching with a 3.61 team ERA, headed up by Ken Hill (20-14 2.76) and Steve Aaron (16-14 3.53)... long-time star 1B Chancey Quibedeaux was the top producer with 20 home runs, 75 RBIs and 87 runs, but batted only .274, a sub-par season for the classy first sacker.

Faulty pitching caused Alejandro Rodrigo's Luxora Zorros (73-81) to fall from second in 2013 to seventh this season... The Z's wound up 10.5 games out with a 4.12 team ERA (26th)... 12-year-vet Anthony Glaser (13-10 3.79) and 13-year vet Elio Laurente (16-15 3.89) were Luxora top arms, along with closer Connie Jahnke, who had 20 saves and a 2.47 ERA, but logged a poor 4-8 record... Rodrigo's batting order did well with solid plate performances by LF Gene Watson (.306/23/106/80), 3B Pablo Santa Cruz (.333/12/87/106), 1B Billy Whitney (.332/6/51/101) and RF Dickie Nordhagen (.272/16/110/91)...as a club the Zorros put up a .263 BA (14th), but hit only 109 four-baggers (31st).

It was another poor year for the White River Rascals (62-92) and manager John Randison... In fact it is the worst they have ever had... the Rascals won just 63 games in back-to-back seasons in 2006-7... they have never been in the playoffs in 13 IPA seasons... Both hitting and pitching is about average with a .260 BA (20th) and a 3.92 ERA (18th)... Joe Hudson (19-16 4.26) and sophomore 1B Marty Blake are Randison top players... Blake looks like the makings of a great player... He ripped 41 homers, batted .329 and drove in 106 runs in just his second year.

08-19-2010, 03:16 PM	#1910
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,810	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 23, 2014 Hellcats Win Wild 5-Team Finish, Edges NH Hawks In Playoff It was a year-long 5-team struggle in the tight Tycobbian North this season that went down to the last week of the season and even down to the last day. The Hartsdale Hellcats finally decided it with an 8-6 triumph over the North Hills Hawks. The Hellcats had to overcome a fifth-inning 5-1 deficit to take the title in a one-game playoff. North Hills came in second, losing by 1 game, while Mahaska was third, trailing by 1.5 games. Blue Lake and Oxford came in tied for fourth and were just 2.5 games from the top. The final 10 days were crucial with Hartsdale going 7-3, North Hills 6-4, Mahaska 4-6, and Blue Lake and Oxford winding up at 5-5 each. Defending champion Fairfax sunk to sixth place in the standings, mainly due to the critical loss of superstar outfielder Dane Wesner, who was injured in the first week of the season and missed the rest of the year. The Hartsdale Hellcats (84-71) used improved pitching to climb from last place to first place this year... Ronnie Jernigan came out of nowhere to post a 21-10 season to lead manager Zim Donner's squad to the pennant... closer Ben Clermont was also an important cog with 29 saves, 2.68 ERA and 5-5 record... top bats were 9-year veteran 1B Tom Brabant (.333/36/116/101), one of the top sluggers in IPA history with 301 homers and a .319 lifetime battery average... Hartsdale had 6 regulars with 20 or more home runs and was third in the league with 191 total... other top hitters were 3B Kendry Moulton (.302/34/101/96), SS Jud Turchin (.318/29/83/102), RF Mack Faulkner (.294/24/76/94), LF Woody Crow (.287/23/85/98) and CF Del Darby (.232/21/58/96). Better pitching also moved the North Hills Hawks (83-72) up from sixth place in 2013... Ronnie Kerensky (19-12 3.67) had a career year at 38... Nick Pugochov (11-5 3.52) and vet Lou Dozier (14-13 3.60) gave manager Hub Carlson two more credible starters... Offensive leaders were 1B Rob Pearson (.296/27/103/86) and vet C Todd Simons (.288/20/91/89). Rudy Tanussa has a solid ball club in Mahaska (82-72) with good pitching and hitting... Johnny Picou (10-2 3.05), Johnny Spears (16-16 3.35) and Joey Wallace (17-14 3.37) gave the Haymakers a trio of quality starters... 1B Johnny Carducci (.290/28/116/78), C Bucky O'Brian (.322/29/113/89) and LF Dalton Leeds (.302/19/89/90) supplied the power and the runs. The Blue Lake Blue Sox (81-73) tied for the fourth spot with Oxford... Cobb Tyson's crew survives on its pitching... the Blue Sox registered a fine 3.37 ERA (3rd) and were paced by 24-year-old Nick Walker with a 20-10 mark in his fourth season... vets Justin Eckhardt (18-16 2.90), Dan Whitfield (18-15 3.64) and Neil Krogstad (14-18 4.19) rounded out the rotation... Tyson's top batters were CF Rick Hilliard (.279/26/93/88) and C Justin Kucks (.276/25/91/71). The Oxford Red Caps (81-73) came in tied for fourth under skipper Campy Roy... the Red Caps have power with 170 roundtrippers (8th), while batting .263 (13th)... on the mound Roy suffers in his bullpen with a lousy 4.81 ERA... but Oxford has two fine starters in Emerson Carnell (19-12 2.57) and Del Anderson (16-12 3.23)... 37-year-old Carnell had his best season... The Red Caps batted .263 (13th) and hit 170 out of the park (8th), sparked by 1B Eddy Dowler (.318/26/93/93) and 42-year-old 3B Cameron Kamara (.293/23/63/91)... all the regulars hit 10 or more homers. Superstar Dane Wesner showed just how much one key player means to a team... with him the Fairfax Frogs (74-80) won the TU North flag last year, without him they sunk to sixth place and 9.5 games behind winning Hartsdale... Wesner injured his shoulder in early April and only batted 21 times in 7 games... the Frog attack lost a .341 career hitter, who averages over 100 RBIs and 35 homers a season... for the year Fairfax hit only .242 (32nd) and scored 624 runs (31st)... manager Harry Buckley still had good pitching with a 3.61 team ERA, headed up by Ken Hill (20-14 2.76) and Steve Aaron (16-14 3.53)... long-time star 1B Chancey Quibedeaux was the top producer with 20 home runs, 75 RBIs and 87 runs, but batted only .274, a sub-par season for the classy first sacker. Faulty pitching caused Alejandro Rodrigo's Luxora Zorros (73-81) to fall from second in 2013 to seventh this season... The Z's wound up 10.5 games out with a 4.12 team ERA (26th)... 12-year-vet Anthony Glaser (13-10 3.79) and 13-year vet Elio Laurente (16-15 3.89) were Luxora top arms, along with closer Connie Jahnke, who had 20 saves and a 2.47 ERA, but logged a poor 4-8 record... Rodrigo's batting order did well with solid plate performances by LF Gene Watson (.306/23/106/80), 3B Pablo Santa Cruz (.333/12/87/106), 1B Billy Whitney (.332/6/51/101) and RF Dickie Nordhagen (.272/16/110/91)...as a club the Zorros put up a .263 BA (14th), but hit only 109 four-baggers (31st). It was another poor year for the White River Rascals (62-92) and manager John Randison... In fact it is the worst they have ever had... the Rascals won just 63 games in back-to-back seasons in 2006-7... they have never been in the playoffs in 13 IPA seasons... Both hitting and pitching is about average with a .260 BA (20th) and a 3.92 ERA (18th)... Joe Hudson (19-16 4.26) and sophomore 1B Marty Blake are Randison top players... Blake looks like the makings of a great player... He ripped 41 homers, batted .329 and drove in 106 runs in just his second year. Last edited by Eugene Church; 08-20-2010 at 01:06 AM.