THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 30, 2030
2030 IPA Pro Cup Final 4 Series
(best-of-seven)
Ruthlandian Union
Vips Szymanski 3-Run HR Ties Series With W'Macs
At home at Granger Field, Wynnamac's Killara Bardo only made one mistake on the mound in game four and that cost him dearly - Valmara's Teddy Szymanski parked a 3-run homer into the stands in the top of the eighth and that was good enough for a 3-2 victory to even the Ruthlandian Final 4 Series at two games apiece... without it Wynnamac would have had a huge lead in the series.
In addition to Szymanski's (.326) late-inning heroics, Teddy Lem was as sharp as a tack as he hurled 8 strong innings, yielded only one run and 5 hits with 7 strikeouts and a walk... Lem left with a 3-1 lead... closer Ivan Guzek got in trouble in the ninth with 2 singles and an error, but he managed to shut down the Sundowners after they cut the score to 3-2 with an unearned run... the route-going Bardo (1-3/4.18) was the loser as he permitted all 3 runs on 8 hits, fanned 7 and issued only one base on balls... at the plate Wynnamac was led by LF Lil Hoss Burkhalter (.189), who slugged a solo shot in the sixth to snapped a scoreless tie, and by RF Tommy Lambright (.185), who singled in the last run in the ninth... the Sundowners had only 7 hits.
Tycobbian Union
McClendon Stops Sox 2-1, Bucs Tie Series
Despite an 18-9 regular-season record, Ray McClendon started the playoffs in the Bay St. Clair bullpen and did well... then manager Denny Coulon decided to return him to the starting rotation and McClendon has been outstanding with two standout starts against Blue Lake... the 30-year-old lefty stopped the Blue Sox 3-2 in game one and topped it today with a 2-1 victory in game four to even up the Tycobbian Union Final 4 at two games each... McClendon shut down Blue Lake on 3 hits and a run in 8 innings... closer Don Sawyer came in and put the Blue Sox down in the ninth and faced only 3 batters... It was Sawyer's 4th postseason save.
Both McClendon and loser Chris Landry were terrific... there was only one hit in the first four frames, a first-inng single by Bucs LF Kelly Lucas (.279)... Bay St. Clair broke through with 2 scores in the top of the fifth, helped out by 2 errors by the Blue Sox and an RBI triple by SS Eddy Hunt (.234)... C Roger Webb (.289) gave the Blue Lake its only run with an eighth-inning roundtripper... Landry (0-3/1.99) had a standout game with 11 strikeouts and no earned runs... he walked 3 and allowed only 4 hits in 8 innings.
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