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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 22, 2032
2032 Tycobbian East Final Recap
Tucks Nip Midway In TU East, Prevail in Playoff
From start to finish the Tycobbian West enjoyed a pretty fair pennant race with six teams in the chase... the Tuckanarra Blue Jays nipped the Midway Wolves 7-3 in a single-game playoff for the division flag... Eddie Darby's grand slam in the ninth was the difference.
The Tucks took charge in the last two months to edge the Wolves by a single game... the Blue Jays came on strong with a 13-6 record in September and Midway slumped to 7-12, costing them the crown... the Wolves went into the final month 5 games ahead of Tuckanarra... the TU East was one of the few close races this year... last year's winner East Point came in third, missing out by 4 and a half games... fourth in the standings were the Ozarka Naturals, who trailed by 5 and a half... South Fork and Hillsboro deadlocked for the fifth spot, just 6 and a half games out.
This was the 7th flag in Tuckanarra's (87-68) history and the 11th postseason appearance... the Blue Jays will be going for their third Pro Cup trophy... they took two in a row back in 2023 and 2024... Carlton "Lefty" Stevens is still running the franchise and would like nothing better than to haul in another Pro Cup... the Tucks boast an impressive mound staff... Matt Stevens (18-10/2.81) and Joel Sheppard (18-15/3.13) won the most games and had help from Philip Marston (13-7/2.06), Glynn Starr (13-8/3.13) and Quinn Starr (11-11/3.07)... Marston was a godsend... he came back in mid-June after missing a year with an injury and posted a super 2.06 ERA, topped only by Gregg Hughes of Hillsboro with a 1.96 ERA, the IPA leader... Stevens doesn't have a heavy-hitting lineup, but they do the job with decent hitters throughout the batting order... the best run producers are 3B Nicky Weill (.294) with 15 homers in 101 games... CF Dusty Rogan (.272) with 24 homers and 74 RBIs... and 1B Lynn Starr (.249) with 11 homers and 62 RBIs... as far as the Pro Cup is concerned, Tuckanarra's experience and quality pitching may take them a long way in the postseason... though defensively the Blue Jays could be better (.970 FA).
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