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Eugene Church · 02-12-2011, 12:48 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, October 6, 2020

2020 IPA Pro Cup Series

Ozarka Big Favorite Over CL In Pro Cup Finals

The champions of the Tycobbian Union, the mighty Ozarka Naturals, have been installed by the odds-makers as a heavy favorite to win the 2020 IPA Pro Cup over the Crystal Lake Crushers, champions of the Ruthlandian Union. It's a best-of-seven series and it will begin tomorrow afternoon in Ozarka at Ellie Ewing Stadium. Ozarka was seeded number one in the playoffs this year, while Crystal Lake was rated sixth-best. The Naturals are making their fifth appearance in the Pro Cup Finals. They have never won a Pro Cup. They were beaten out by Rocky Rapids last year. This is the Crushers very first postseason experience. Prior to this year, they had never made the playoffs in the previous 19 seasons.

Ozarka (93-61), managed by Joe Mac Carney, was the top dog in just about all statistical categories this season, ranking first with .294 team BA and 3.23 team ERA. Underdog Crystal Lake (87-67) hit only .248 (30th), but had a very fine 3.38 team ERA (5th). Both clubs played excellent defense. Ozarka had a .977 FA and ranked 4th in the TU, while the Crushers were second in the RU also with a .977 mark. Pitching will be the key for Crushers skipper Herman "Baby" George. Talking to the press George said, "This is nothing new. We were given no chance against Ancona in round one and little chance in round two against Beechwood, but hey, we're here and we didn't do it with mirrors. If my mound corps can stop the Nats bats, we can win this thing. We need Welch, McCullough, Bauer and Jernigan to be at their best."

Asked for a prediction about the series, Carney stated, "I like our chances, but anything can happen in a short series. Baby has two very fine pitchers in Welch and McCullough and we are not going to take anything for granted. Crystal Lake has to be a very good team, otherwise they wouldn't be here. Luck won't get you this far. You have to play good baseball."

Ozarka's starting rotation will consist of Yuka Nawajuk (23-9 3.30), Benny Osterman (21-11 2.38) and Eddie Roberts (18-3 2.44). Crystal Lake is planning to use Duncan Welch (24-12 2.00), Ralph McCullough (23-11 3.16) and Vic Bauer (18-13 3.45) as its starters. Carney will depend on Josh Carpenter (6-7 2.70) in the closing role. George has had bullpen problems this year, but closer Jeff Jernigan (2-9 4.39) and Roger Bishop (1-2 2.96) have done very well in the postseason and haven't allowed a run in 8 appearances.

The Naturals have a killer line-up featuring six .300 hitters in the its batting order: Ken Mayberry (.328/5/49/102), Benny Rousseau (.318/40/97/100), Andre Dumas (.310/36/117/99), SS James Couch (.305/15/82/90), CF Ryoma Nakayama (.306/7/54/85) and platooners Todd Chadwick (.330/8/53/52) and Teddy Tate (.317/4/38/25). And they have continued to bang the ball in the postseason. Rousseau is batting .421 with 2 homers and 9 RBIs, Dumas is at .377 with 2 home runs. 12 runs scored and has driven in 4, Jose Ordonez has hit .360 with 3 roundtrippers, 10 RBIs and 10 runs, Couch is hitting at a .333 pace with 3 homers, 10 RBIs and has scored 9 times. Frank Kiffin is the team leader with 13 RBIs, .359 BA and 2 home runs.

The Crushers are quite pale in comparison. All-time great 36-year-old Phil Gravelli (.345/22/94/91) has to do it all for them. The IPA career leader in home runs (652), hits (3619) and RBIs (2173) will have to get a lot of help from Greg Murphy (.304/8/68/64), Herb Buck (.217/17/53/117) and Eddie Robertson (.230/13/56/48) to upset Ozarka. So far they have done the job in the playoffs. Gravelli, a 20-year vet, is hitting .359 with one homer and 10 RBIs, Robertson is batting .326 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs, Murphy has a .277 BA with 3 roundtrippers and 9 RBIs and Buck has 3 homers and 6 runs batted in, but is hitting only .240 for average.

02-12-2011, 12:48 PM	#2355
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,699 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, October 6, 2020 2020 IPA Pro Cup Series Ozarka Big Favorite Over CL In Pro Cup Finals The champions of the Tycobbian Union, the mighty Ozarka Naturals, have been installed by the odds-makers as a heavy favorite to win the 2020 IPA Pro Cup over the Crystal Lake Crushers, champions of the Ruthlandian Union. It's a best-of-seven series and it will begin tomorrow afternoon in Ozarka at Ellie Ewing Stadium. Ozarka was seeded number one in the playoffs this year, while Crystal Lake was rated sixth-best. The Naturals are making their fifth appearance in the Pro Cup Finals. They have never won a Pro Cup. They were beaten out by Rocky Rapids last year. This is the Crushers very first postseason experience. Prior to this year, they had never made the playoffs in the previous 19 seasons. Ozarka (93-61), managed by Joe Mac Carney, was the top dog in just about all statistical categories this season, ranking first with .294 team BA and 3.23 team ERA. Underdog Crystal Lake (87-67) hit only .248 (30th), but had a very fine 3.38 team ERA (5th). Both clubs played excellent defense. Ozarka had a .977 FA and ranked 4th in the TU, while the Crushers were second in the RU also with a .977 mark. Pitching will be the key for Crushers skipper Herman "Baby" George. Talking to the press George said, "This is nothing new. We were given no chance against Ancona in round one and little chance in round two against Beechwood, but hey, we're here and we didn't do it with mirrors. If my mound corps can stop the Nats bats, we can win this thing. We need Welch, McCullough, Bauer and Jernigan to be at their best." Asked for a prediction about the series, Carney stated, "I like our chances, but anything can happen in a short series. Baby has two very fine pitchers in Welch and McCullough and we are not going to take anything for granted. Crystal Lake has to be a very good team, otherwise they wouldn't be here. Luck won't get you this far. You have to play good baseball." Ozarka's starting rotation will consist of Yuka Nawajuk (23-9 3.30), Benny Osterman (21-11 2.38) and Eddie Roberts (18-3 2.44). Crystal Lake is planning to use Duncan Welch (24-12 2.00), Ralph McCullough (23-11 3.16) and Vic Bauer (18-13 3.45) as its starters. Carney will depend on Josh Carpenter (6-7 2.70) in the closing role. George has had bullpen problems this year, but closer Jeff Jernigan (2-9 4.39) and Roger Bishop (1-2 2.96) have done very well in the postseason and haven't allowed a run in 8 appearances. The Naturals have a killer line-up featuring six .300 hitters in the its batting order: Ken Mayberry (.328/5/49/102), Benny Rousseau (.318/40/97/100), Andre Dumas (.310/36/117/99), SS James Couch (.305/15/82/90), CF Ryoma Nakayama (.306/7/54/85) and platooners Todd Chadwick (.330/8/53/52) and Teddy Tate (.317/4/38/25). And they have continued to bang the ball in the postseason. Rousseau is batting .421 with 2 homers and 9 RBIs, Dumas is at .377 with 2 home runs. 12 runs scored and has driven in 4, Jose Ordonez has hit .360 with 3 roundtrippers, 10 RBIs and 10 runs, Couch is hitting at a .333 pace with 3 homers, 10 RBIs and has scored 9 times. Frank Kiffin is the team leader with 13 RBIs, .359 BA and 2 home runs. The Crushers are quite pale in comparison. All-time great 36-year-old Phil Gravelli (.345/22/94/91) has to do it all for them. The IPA career leader in home runs (652), hits (3619) and RBIs (2173) will have to get a lot of help from Greg Murphy (.304/8/68/64), Herb Buck (.217/17/53/117) and Eddie Robertson (.230/13/56/48) to upset Ozarka. So far they have done the job in the playoffs. Gravelli, a 20-year vet, is hitting .359 with one homer and 10 RBIs, Robertson is batting .326 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs, Murphy has a .277 BA with 3 roundtrippers and 9 RBIs and Buck has 3 homers and 6 runs batted in, but is hitting only .240 for average. Last edited by Eugene Church; 08-13-2022 at 10:38 PM.