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Eugene Church · 06-13-2011, 12:09 AM

The Islandian Times
Wednesday, September 18, 2024

2024 Ruthlandian South Final Recap

Waleska Sept Spree KOs Crushers In RU South
Trailing by 2 games going into September, the Waleska Westerners went on winning spree, overtook the defending division champ Crystal Lake Crushers and breezed past them to win the Ruthlandian South by 5 games... Waleska racked up 11 wins in 15 games in the surge, while the Crushers flopped with a 4-10 record... this was the closest-bunched race in the IPA with 7 teams having winning records... Grand City came in third, 8 games off the pace with Claxton and Valka tied for fourth and 10 games back... Belair Beach was sixth and 11 games behind... San Dimas finished in seventh place, but only 13 games out of first place... the St. John Crusaders were in the basement, winding up 20 in back of Waleska.

Not only does McGraw Johnson have good hitting in Waleska (91-63), but outstanding pitching to boot... both his starting four and entire relief corps are solid and steady... Pete Herrmann (21-13 3.04) and Chet McNeil (17-10 3.15) led the staff with good performances also from rookie Charlie Chan (15-14 3.21) and Sammy Grimaldi (16-15 3.47)... closer Jarred Laclair (3-2 1.55) paced the bullpen with 33 saves... 11-time All-Star and IPA legend CF Roy Hobbs carried the offense with 32 homers, 106 RBIs, 112 runs and a .325 BA... lending help were 1B Glenn Childress with 19 home runs, 97 RBIs and 92 runs with a .305 BA and RF Wilson James with 98 runs, 38 stolen bases, 9 homers, 54 RBIs and a .265 BA... the Westerners should be good for years to come... most of their players are in their 20s... Johnson has a young ball club... Hobbs is a 12-year veteran, but is only 31... Hobbs is the "old-timer" on the team.

The Crystal Lake Crushers (86-68) won three of the last four pennants and played very well this year, but just slumped at the wrong time - crunch time... Herman "Baby" George's starters could match Waleska, but not at the plate or in the bullpen... this cost them the division... the Crushers only had one quality hitter... that was RF Augie Marshall with 25 homers and 96 RBIs... Marshall hit .280 and was the only player with double-digit power... Crystal Lake was last in the league with only 66 roundtrippers... CF Herm Taylor led the RU with a .355 BA, but hit only 1 home run, drove in 73 runs and scored 82... on the hill, the Crushers fared better with Duncan Welch (24-12 2.22) and Dennis Taylor (19-13 2.81) leading the way... 25-year-old Willie Baldwin (18-11 3.27) was impressive, too... closer Keith Hunter (5-6) did his job well with 28 saves and a 2.54 ERA.

Wade Joslin had his third place Grand City Cybercats (83-71) in the chase most of the year, faltering only in September with a 4-10 mark... the Cybercats wound up 8 games behind Waleska... LF Ricky Rich (.294 BA/9 HR/82 RBI/86 R), 1B Bubby Harris (.270 BA/13 HR/97 R BI) and 3B Jug Slavin (.272 BA/13 HR/64 RBI/101 R) sparked the offense, which was third in the league with a .259 BA and third in scoring... however, Grand City was mediocre on the mound with a 3.80 team ERA (27th)... 42-year-old Pete Krohn (13-9 4.11) and 41-year-old Jimbo Stearns (14-8 4.27) led the starters... the Cybercats traded for Ralph Odakota from Sligo in July to really make them a contender, but it didn't happen... Odakota pitched well with an 8-7 record and a 3.00 ERA... overall Odakota was 16-13 with a 3.34 ERA.

The "Old Perfesser" Stacy Engel kept the Claxton Diamonds (81-73) close to the top, but floundered the last month with a 6-8 record and tied with Valka for fourth place, 10 games behind the leader... youngsters Max Jung (19-11 2.80) and Dirk De Beer (19-14 2.98), along with 34-year-old vet Sam Ervin (19-12 3.60) were key elements this season... closer Konrad Koch (4-5) also stood out with 28 saves and a superlative 2.00 ERA in 52 games... it was a different story at the plate... only LF George McKay (.322 BA/24 HR/91 RBI/103 R) was among the top hitters in the league... C Allen Lemay and right fielder K. C. Moerdijk supplied power... Moerdijk slammed 29 homers, had 79 RBIs, scored 97 runs, but hit only .227... Lemay went deep 20 times and batted in 83 runs with a .272 BA.

The Valka Blackhawks (81-73), managed by Andrei Kokk, were sparked by a pretty good starting four, who didn't miss a turn all year long and usually went deep in the game... 23-year-old Adam Aru (16-16 3.38) and three old vets, all over 30, Ivo Jaanson (14-14 3.41), Richie Jost (17-11 3.56) and Kaupo Vershik (14-11 3.75) did the job with the help of 38-year-old closer Vinko Markovic (3-4), who posted a super 1.59 ERA and saved 24 games... the only effective bat in the Blackhawk batting order is 23-year-old SS Olari Ojastu (.328 BA/16 HR/79 RBi/83 R)... to move up in the standings Valka will have to kick it up on offense.

Decent pitching and a little punch at the plate have given Marty Pedroza's Belair Beach Sunbirds (80-74) a winning season, but a sixth place spot in the tough RU South, 11 games back in the race... a good turnaround from last place last year, led by Jaden Bungarooba (19-11 3.10), Denny Whitaker (18-15 3.56), Jaime Pedroza (16-19 2.94) and Dan Marconi (13-15 3.70)... like Valka's starters, this group didn't miss a start the entire season... Whitaker at 35 is the only old one in the bunch, the rest are under 23... Kirsten Lydecker (2-3), a late bloomer at 31, filled the bill at closer with 19 saves and a very impressive 1.76 ERA... offensively it was 1B Kees Draeger (,290 BA) with 35 homers, 91 RBIs and 88 runs scored and LF Ray Pelligrini (.280 BA) with 20 roundtrippers and 74 RBIs.

Same story in San Dimas (78-76), where the Rancheros were 2 games above .500, yet ended up in seventh place, but only 13 games behind... manager Ron Armstrong did it with three solid starters, all in their 20s: Rod Bailey (18-14 3.27), who signed as a free agent in the off-season, formerly with Southport of the Tycobbian Union, Shannon White (18-17 3.01) and Keir Wells (18-16 3.08)... 22-year-old closer Matt Stevens (5-7 3.10) chalked up 29 saves... CF Ray Ford was the only reliable bat for the Rancheros and posted a very productive year: .339 BA, 30 homers, 102 RBIs, 93 runs and stole 23 bases.

For the fourth time in six seasons the St. John Crusaders (71-83) have landed in the cellar, 20 games away from first... Skinny Kisecawchuk has limited talent, two fine starters and a fine closer: vet Pat Long (15-15 2.97), along with youngsters Jeremy Vincent (18-11 2.73) and closer Nathan Hawthorne (2-6) with 31 saves and a 1.93 ERA for a last place club... SS Vinny Teicher led the team with 163 hits, .273 BA, 43 doubles, 6 triples, 14 home runs, 69 RBIs and 76 runs.

06-13-2011, 12:09 AM	#2578
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,894	*The Islandian Times* Wednesday, September 18, 2024 2024 Ruthlandian South Final Recap Waleska Sept Spree KOs Crushers In RU South Trailing by 2 games going into September, the Waleska Westerners went on winning spree, overtook the defending division champ Crystal Lake Crushers and breezed past them to win the Ruthlandian South by 5 games... Waleska racked up 11 wins in 15 games in the surge, while the Crushers flopped with a 4-10 record... this was the closest-bunched race in the IPA with 7 teams having winning records... Grand City came in third, 8 games off the pace with Claxton and Valka tied for fourth and 10 games back... Belair Beach was sixth and 11 games behind... San Dimas finished in seventh place, but only 13 games out of first place... the St. John Crusaders were in the basement, winding up 20 in back of Waleska. Not only does McGraw Johnson have good hitting in Waleska (91-63), but outstanding pitching to boot... both his starting four and entire relief corps are solid and steady... Pete Herrmann (21-13 3.04) and Chet McNeil (17-10 3.15) led the staff with good performances also from rookie Charlie Chan (15-14 3.21) and Sammy Grimaldi (16-15 3.47)... closer Jarred Laclair (3-2 1.55) paced the bullpen with 33 saves... 11-time All-Star and IPA legend CF Roy Hobbs carried the offense with 32 homers, 106 RBIs, 112 runs and a .325 BA... lending help were 1B Glenn Childress with 19 home runs, 97 RBIs and 92 runs with a .305 BA and RF Wilson James with 98 runs, 38 stolen bases, 9 homers, 54 RBIs and a .265 BA... the Westerners should be good for years to come... most of their players are in their 20s... Johnson has a young ball club... Hobbs is a 12-year veteran, but is only 31... Hobbs is the "old-timer" on the team. The Crystal Lake Crushers (86-68) won three of the last four pennants and played very well this year, but just slumped at the wrong time - crunch time... Herman "Baby" George's starters could match Waleska, but not at the plate or in the bullpen... this cost them the division... the Crushers only had one quality hitter... that was RF Augie Marshall with 25 homers and 96 RBIs... Marshall hit .280 and was the only player with double-digit power... Crystal Lake was last in the league with only 66 roundtrippers... CF Herm Taylor led the RU with a .355 BA, but hit only 1 home run, drove in 73 runs and scored 82... on the hill, the Crushers fared better with Duncan Welch (24-12 2.22) and Dennis Taylor (19-13 2.81) leading the way... 25-year-old Willie Baldwin (18-11 3.27) was impressive, too... closer Keith Hunter (5-6) did his job well with 28 saves and a 2.54 ERA. Wade Joslin had his third place Grand City Cybercats (83-71) in the chase most of the year, faltering only in September with a 4-10 mark... the Cybercats wound up 8 games behind Waleska... LF Ricky Rich (.294 BA/9 HR/82 RBI/86 R), 1B Bubby Harris (.270 BA/13 HR/97 R BI) and 3B Jug Slavin (.272 BA/13 HR/64 RBI/101 R) sparked the offense, which was third in the league with a .259 BA and third in scoring... however, Grand City was mediocre on the mound with a 3.80 team ERA (27th)... 42-year-old Pete Krohn (13-9 4.11) and 41-year-old Jimbo Stearns (14-8 4.27) led the starters... the Cybercats traded for Ralph Odakota from Sligo in July to really make them a contender, but it didn't happen... Odakota pitched well with an 8-7 record and a 3.00 ERA... overall Odakota was 16-13 with a 3.34 ERA. The "Old Perfesser" Stacy Engel kept the Claxton Diamonds (81-73) close to the top, but floundered the last month with a 6-8 record and tied with Valka for fourth place, 10 games behind the leader... youngsters Max Jung (19-11 2.80) and Dirk De Beer (19-14 2.98), along with 34-year-old vet Sam Ervin (19-12 3.60) were key elements this season... closer Konrad Koch (4-5) also stood out with 28 saves and a superlative 2.00 ERA in 52 games... it was a different story at the plate... only LF George McKay (.322 BA/24 HR/91 RBI/103 R) was among the top hitters in the league... C Allen Lemay and right fielder K. C. Moerdijk supplied power... Moerdijk slammed 29 homers, had 79 RBIs, scored 97 runs, but hit only .227... Lemay went deep 20 times and batted in 83 runs with a .272 BA. The Valka Blackhawks (81-73), managed by Andrei Kokk, were sparked by a pretty good starting four, who didn't miss a turn all year long and usually went deep in the game... 23-year-old Adam Aru (16-16 3.38) and three old vets, all over 30, Ivo Jaanson (14-14 3.41), Richie Jost (17-11 3.56) and Kaupo Vershik (14-11 3.75) did the job with the help of 38-year-old closer Vinko Markovic (3-4), who posted a super 1.59 ERA and saved 24 games... the only effective bat in the Blackhawk batting order is 23-year-old SS Olari Ojastu (.328 BA/16 HR/79 RBi/83 R)... to move up in the standings Valka will have to kick it up on offense. Decent pitching and a little punch at the plate have given Marty Pedroza's Belair Beach Sunbirds (80-74) a winning season, but a sixth place spot in the tough RU South, 11 games back in the race... a good turnaround from last place last year, led by Jaden Bungarooba (19-11 3.10), Denny Whitaker (18-15 3.56), Jaime Pedroza (16-19 2.94) and Dan Marconi (13-15 3.70)... like Valka's starters, this group didn't miss a start the entire season... Whitaker at 35 is the only old one in the bunch, the rest are under 23... Kirsten Lydecker (2-3), a late bloomer at 31, filled the bill at closer with 19 saves and a very impressive 1.76 ERA... offensively it was 1B Kees Draeger (,290 BA) with 35 homers, 91 RBIs and 88 runs scored and LF Ray Pelligrini (.280 BA) with 20 roundtrippers and 74 RBIs. Same story in San Dimas (78-76), where the Rancheros were 2 games above .500, yet ended up in seventh place, but only 13 games behind... manager Ron Armstrong did it with three solid starters, all in their 20s: Rod Bailey (18-14 3.27), who signed as a free agent in the off-season, formerly with Southport of the Tycobbian Union, Shannon White (18-17 3.01) and Keir Wells (18-16 3.08)... 22-year-old closer Matt Stevens (5-7 3.10) chalked up 29 saves... CF Ray Ford was the only reliable bat for the Rancheros and posted a very productive year: .339 BA, 30 homers, 102 RBIs, 93 runs and stole 23 bases. For the fourth time in six seasons the St. John Crusaders (71-83) have landed in the cellar, 20 games away from first... Skinny Kisecawchuk has limited talent, two fine starters and a fine closer: vet Pat Long (15-15 2.97), along with youngsters Jeremy Vincent (18-11 2.73) and closer Nathan Hawthorne (2-6) with 31 saves and a 1.93 ERA for a last place club... SS Vinny Teicher led the team with 163 hits, .273 BA, 43 doubles, 6 triples, 14 home runs, 69 RBIs and 76 runs.