[Eugene Church]

2033 Tycobbian South Final Recap

Summerland Finally Wins TU South
Finally after almost three decades of frustration, the Summerland Sunsets are going to the Pro Cup playoffs. 24 times in 31 seasons in the Islandian Pro Alliance the Sunsets have been wallowing in the second division at season's end - but not this year. Summerland came out of nowhere to win the Tycobbian South. Last year they came in seventh, some 28 games off the pace. This year the Sunsets won a season-long three-team battle with the Turon Typhoons and the Ginza Ninjas. Summerland skimmed by Turon by a game and beat Ginza by four games. A September tailspin almost spoiled it all. Turon won four of its final five contests and almost caught the fading Sunsets. The Typhoons lost on the last day, otherwise they would have forced a one-game playoff.

1. Summerland Sunsets (83-71/--) managed by: Will Hackett
Team Stats: .268 BA (9th), 707 runs (9th), 124 HR (23rd-tied), 3.20 ERA (4th), .971 FA
Best Batters: 3B Mandu Purula (.328/17/73/55), RF Eamon O'Toole (.289/12/56/73, CF Antonio Vasquez (.282/5/71/76) and 1B Mark Delaney (.263/20/85/64)
Best Pitchers: Freddi Rossi (22-12/2.09), Ron McDonald (14-11/2.77) and Lloyd Anderson (18-13/3.86)
Pro Cup Forecast: picked sixth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup poll... good, all-around team... Summerland could surprise in the playoffs... lost fine hitter Mandu Purula with a broken hand in early August... he will be muchly missed in the postseason.

2. Turon Typhoons (82-72/1 GB) managed by Alan Hansen
Team Stats: .257 BA (20th), 691 runs (16th), 131 HR (19th), 3.58 ERA (14th), .972 FA
Best Batters: 3B Michael Page (.287/26/82/69), LF Clyde Willis (.276/13//76/58), LF Edwin Asher (.271/6/51/71) and 1B Steve Burns (.254/15/70/58)
Best Pitchers: Emile Papajohn (20-14/3.62), Wes Brynnton (17-17/3.67) and Errol Gaudet (14-16/3.12)
Comment: rose up from fifth to second this year... have missed postseason 14 consecutive seasons... last pennant in 2019... won most Pro Cups (4)... last Pro Cup in 2018

3. Ginza Ninjas (79-75/4 GB) managed by Huroko Uchiyama
Team Stats: .267 BA (10th), 675 runs (20th), 139 HR (15th), 3.87 ERA, .974 FA
Best Batters: 1B Roger Lanier (.303/29/77/89), LF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.305/12/75/82), 3B Kohana Yumni (.302/16/53/70), CF Chuck Wilson (.300/19/62/57) and 2B Johnny O'Rorke (.270/19/68/51)
Best Pitchers: Hollis Pace (19-11/3.07), Ryuji Kaneko (16-12/3.54) and Gary Mills (11-8/3.66)
Comments: improved from sixth to third this year... have won 5 of the last 11 pennants

4. Arroyo Grande Suns (76-78/7 GB) managed by Buddy Bechtel
Team Stats: .236 BA (32nd), 623 runs (29th), 153 HR (12th), 3.51 ERA (10th), .972 FA
Best Batters: C Frank Jourdan (.222/24/80/47), RF Gregorio Oliviera (.268/20/65/66)
Best Pitchers: Jules Capet (16-14/3.70), Mateus Castro (14-19/3.16), John Nelson (4-1/2.29/19 saves), Pete Robertson (4-1/1.81/6 saves)
Comments: lousy hitting, good bullpen... last pennant was in 2024... mainly second-division club since then

5. Southport Sun Sox (73-81/10 GB) managed by Charley Oscar
Team Stats: .264 BA(13th), 665 runs (22nd), 153 HR (12th-tied), 3.81 ERA (21st), .969 FA
Best Batters: RF Lorne Evans (.281/51/110/119), C Davy Reichert (.285/26/78/95), LF Cody Dougherty (.268/19/63/57), CF Billy Gray (.304/10/60/47)
Best Pitchers: Bob Bondy (19-14/3.31), Wiley Wheeler (15-18/3.83) and Don Pascioni (15-18/3.88)
Comments: Lorne Evans is one of the IPA's premier players, led IPA with 119 runs... second in IPA with 51 homers... one of the top contenders in the TU South from 2027 to 2032... slumped to 5th this year with suspect pitching... won flags in 2027 and 2028.

5. San Alejo Montaneros (73-81/10 GB) managed by Alberto Herrera
Team Stats: .252 BA (26th), 635 runs (27th), 151 HR (14th), 3.24 ERA (5th), .967 FA
Best Batters: LF Adrian Otero (.253/29/94/86), 3B Bubby Blackwell (.315/10/47/75), 2B Dwight Dickey (.289/6/43/53) and 1B Rob Lewis (.269/12/64/50)
Best Pitchers: Clete Lawson (14-16/2.51), Johnny Brown (12/18/3.31), Ollie Olivares (12-19/3.35) and Herb Stewart (14-14/3.50)
Comments: in a shocker won the 2032 Pro Cup with great 2.73 ERA, but shot up to 3.24 this year... poor hitting team... not much with gloves, either... still has strong pitching staff... had bad first half, improved in second half.

7. Colchester Elites (70-84/13 GB) managed by Patsy Bates
Team Stats: .253 BA (24th), 743 runs (3rd), 161 HR (8th), 4.05 ERA (28th), .969 FA
Best Bats: CF Jim Lewellan (.288/54/138/119), 1B Don Schoenweiss (.278/18/76/78), SS Joel Collins (.267/7/63/93), 2B Jackie Jackson (.265/14/68/76) and RF Cleve Belton (.252/18/86/70)
Best Pitchers: Dave Lacoste (12-17/2.92) and Mike Kierkegaard (12-5/3.86/2 saves)
Comments: terrific powerhitter in CF Jim Lewellan, who topped the IPA with 54 homers and 139 RBIs... strong pennant contender for seven seasons from 2026, but tumbled down to seventh this year, mainly because of mediocre pitching

8. Cape Coral Hurricanes (69-85/14 GB) managed by Flipper Bird
Team Stats: .276 BA (4th), 754 runs (2nd), 133 HR (17th-tied), 4.78 ERA (32nd), .974 FA
Best Batters: 1B Bucko Parks (.282/28/98/85), 3B Dayton McCall (.339/14/67/58), RF Douglas Pitts (.304/24/67/73), CF Alan Ellis (.297/10/47/68) and LF Jan Drammer (.353/12/39/36)
Best Pitchers: rookie Tommy Van Noord (19-15/3.31)
Comments: 'Canes can score runs, but pitching is pathetic... finished sixth, last and last the last three seasons... won TU South in 2030