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The Islandian Times
Thursday, September 23, 2017
2017 Tycobbian East Final Recap
Ozarka Outlasts Tuckanarra In TU East
The Ozarka Naturals were the best team in the best division in the IPA this year. It was Ozarka's 3rd straight flag and 6th in the last 8 seasons. The Nats had a year-long struggle with the second-place Tuckanarra Blue Jays, but managed to come out ahead by a 2-game margin for the pennant. It had been a tightly-bunch race halfway through the season, but all the contenders fell by the wayside in the second half. South Fork had its finest year and came in third, 7 games off the pace. Perennial loser Hillsboro and Midway tied for fourth place, trailing by 13 games. High Mesa and Red Bluff were in a sixth-place tie and were 14 games behind. This season 7 teams played .500 or better in the TU East. Only last place East Point had a losing record. The Panthers were 40 games behind champion Ozarka.
Joe Mac Carney's heavy-hitting Ozarka Naturals (97-57) registered the second-highest victory total in the IPA this year behind only Eastshore's 98... Rocky Rapids also racked up 97 wins... Ozarka had an awesome club with an IPA record-setting .295 batting average... the old mark of .292 was set by the LaGrange Sports in 2008... Carney could start six .300 hitters, led by 3B Andre Dumas (.328/38/115), 1B Benny Rousseau (.275/46/116) and C Frank Kiffin (.354/10/76)... the Nats unloaded 200 home runs (3rd) and led the TU in runs scored... Benny Osterman (25-8 2.43) topped the mound staff... Eddie Roberts (20-8 4.04) also notched 20 wins... Unfortunately the Nats lost pitcher Wayne Gates in August... Gates will miss the playoffs... he compiled a strong 15-6 mark with a 3.19 ERA.
The Tuckanarra Blue Jays (95-59) stayed right on the heels of Ozarka with strong pitching... they led the TU with a standout 3.23 ERA, paced by starters Titus Bristow (15-15 2.44), Yuka Nawajuk (21-11 3.12) and Roy Spence (15-11 3.88)... closer extraordinaire Stephen Eubarinja (11-7) copped 29 saves and posted an excellent 2.08 ERA... RF Danny Redd (.348/12/63/75) led the club at the plate, but went out with an injured foot in July and missed the last six weeks of the season, a critical loss for manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens... 1B Erik Vayda (.311/12/109) and CF Dan Hill (.274/31/113) also had very productive years.
Lips Leon guided his South Fork Stallions (90-64) to the best record in in their history, but sadly only good enough for third place... the Stallions had solid bats and solid pitching... hill standouts were 20-game winners Sean Swensen (20-12 2.67) and Blackie Terranova (25-10 2.80)... closer Woody Price (6-7) fashioned 30 saves with an outstanding 1.85 ERA... vet 1B Joe Peters had a massive season with 36 homers and 121 RBIs, while CF Robby Michel led the club with a .348 BA and 102 runs.
The Hillsboro Blazers (84-70) and Midway Wolves wound up tied for fourth and 13 games off the pace... the Blazers didn't have the hitting like Ozarka and Tuckanarra, but manager Rawhide Marshall won a team-best 84 games with a fine foursome of starters with a 3.28 ERA (1st) and some good home run power... Pat Buettner (18-14 3.20), Tom Edgar (16-13 2.72), Yank Yoland (17-12 3.72) and rookie Chris Dean (13-10 3.24) were one of the best starting rotation in the IPA... the Blazers also had a good closer in Randy Love (7-6), who totaled 32 saves with an impressive 2.45 ERA... Hillsboro poled 175 homers (6th), sparked by the bats of 2B Matt Lalonde (.314/24/96), LF Raphael Semmes (.246/33/85) and 1B Andy Jefferson (.276/32/83).
Cochise Chandler of the Midway Wolves (84-70) parlayed decent pitching and firepower to finish tied for fourth... Motega Wolf (20-14 2.61) excelled on the hill, while CF Johnny Lee (.325/34/97/107) was the wolves best bat... SS Rob Gigler (.307) slammed 23 out of the park and batted in 74 runs... 3B Gerry Jordan hit .282 with 26 homers and 88 RBIs... overall Midway hammered 207 home runs (2nd).
The High Mesa Cowboys (83-71) and Red Bluff Red Sox were way over .500, but had the sixth-best record in the TU East... they both finished 14 games out of first... because of the coziness of home field Queen Ranch Stadium, High Mesa ranked high in offense with 225 roundtrippers (1st), a .274 BA (3rd) and was fourth in scoring... Triple Crown-winning 1B Jack Elliott was the big stick again with an IPA-leading 56 homers, 149 RBIs and a .360 BA... Elliott also led the IPA with 141 runs... he was aided by 2B Wild Deer Etchimin (.304/27/74/110) and RF Darrel Alston (.268/33/80)... surprisingly the Cowboys had some fine pitching, too... from Ronald Ward (10-7 3.12), rookie Scotty Snyder (15-13 3.42) and Frankie Walsh (17-15 3.76).
Red Bluff (83-71) got a new manager this season in Bucky Frizzell... three vets were the keys to a fine year... two starters Grady Daggs (21-12 2.97) and John Dougherty (19-13 2.86) gave the Red Sox superlative outings... in the bullpen Ted Goetz (5-5) provided 34 saves and chalked up a 2.66 ERA... rookie RF Ron van Riebe (.320/27/92/86) and 3B Jose Aguilar (.285/23/78/99) led Red Bluff at the plate... Frizzell suffered a big loss in clean-up man Tommy Klegg (.279 BA), who missed the last third of the season, but still had 36 homers and 91 RBIs... the Red Sox were seventh in homers with 172.
Bad times continued for the East Point Panthers (57-97)... they were last for the 5th time in the last six seasons... SS Gil Rayfor was manager Rex Sobolov's best batsman with a .301 average and 77 RBIs and 42-year-old 2B Jesse Goodwin had the most home runs with 24 and the most RBIs with 91, while batting .267.
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