[QUOTE=Eugene Church;3084955]The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020
2020 Ruthlandian South Final Recap
2-Team Battle In RU South, Crushers Nip Cybercats
After three straight heart-rendering second-place finishes in the Ruthlandian South, the Crystal Lake Crushers finally pulled in a pennant with a 2-game victory over the Grand City Cybercats. The first-half leader, the Valka Blackhawks, folded badly in the second half and wound up in third place 11 games off the pace. The San Dimas Rancheros also peaked at mid-season and dropped back. The Rancheros were fourth, just 4 games behind at the All-Star break, but ended up 12 games out. The Claxton Diamonds, who won the RU South the previous two seasons, took a sudden turn for the worst and fell into oblivion and into sixth place,trailing by 15 games.
Skipper Herman "Baby" George gives most of the credit to Crystal Lake's starting threesome and strong defense (.977 FA-2nd) for ending 19 years of frustration... this was the Crushers first RU flag in history... George featured two 20-game winners in his rotation led by Duncan Welch (24-12 2.00) and Ralph McCullough (23-11 3.16)... his number three Vic Bauer (18-13 3.45) was also solid... barring injury they should be around quite a while... Bauer is only 22 and Welch and McCullough are just 26... it was a tough win for Crystal Lake because of its pathetic .248 BA (30th)... all-time great 1B Phil Gravelli (.345/22/94/91) was just about the only offensive force... 36-year-old Gravelli, a .320 lifetime batter, is the IPA career home-run hitter with 652 and also tops with 2173 RBIs, 3619 hits and 2987 games... It will be difficult for the Crushers in the postseason facing clubs that have both pitching and hitting.
Now I can say it...finally! A first place finish for the Crushers after coming up short for the last few years. It's a small step forward and maybe they can make it further in the playoffs. Good stuff!
Erik
|