OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 12-30-2012, 11:29 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 28, 2034

4 Teams Remain In IPA Pro Cup Quest
Four teams have been vanquished and four teams have survived the first round of action in the coveted quest for the IPA Pro Cup. The top two picks in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup poll, the Eastshore Elegants and the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, were forced to call it a season and have gone home for the winter. What we have left are the number three choice, the North Hills Hawks, number four Crystal Lake Crushers, number six Chicopee Braves and the seventh-ranked Volusia Vigilantes. The IPA Pro Cup Final 4s are slated to begin this Sunday afternoon. Unheralded Volusia will travel to take on powerful Crystal Lake in the Ruthlandian Union championship, while North Hills will be on the road against Chicopee in the Tycobbian Union title series.

Crystal Lake appears to have the easier task. The Crushers (91-63) had a much better record than Volusia (84-70) in the regular season, however the V's stunned the Islands' baseball world by whipping the top-seeded Eastshore Elegants (98-56) in the opening round in seven games, despite being outscored 36 to 23. The crystal ballers are calling it for Crystal Lake in six games, citing better pitching and better hitting.

The Crushers had a much lesser opponent in Ranford (84-70) than Volusia and finished off the Bulls quickly in five games. Three quality starters Arnie Cason (21-5/2.84), Denny Mills (22-13/3.35) and Douglas Merrill (16-16/3.70) give them a big advantage. The Vigilantes have only one outstanding hurler Tommy Smith (20-14/2.79), who almost beat Eastshore by himself with two of the four victories. Jacy Chandler (20-8/3.40) had a fine regular season, but he has been only so-so in the postseason thus far with an 0-1 mark and a 4.50 ERA in 2 starts.

It looks like the Tycobbian Final 4 will be more competitive, but if Chicopee continue to blister the ball like they did against Tuckanarra, no one will beat them this season. Most baseball analysts are now making them the overall Pro Cup favorite after they annihilated the second-seeded Tucks. The Braves batted .333 against the Blue Jays and wiped them out in a five-game affair. Kajika Fleetfoot (21-13/3.23) is the ace of a suspect mound corps. Fleetfoot did well against Tuckanarra with a 2-0 record in 2 starts with 2 complete games and a 3.00 ERA. It might take Chicopee seven games to whip North Hills, which was ranked the third-best club in the Pro Cup poll prior to the playoffs. The Hawks are a pretty talented bunch, both on the mound and at the plate. They are certainly no pushovers and will put up a good fight against the hot-hitting Braves.

North Hills slipped past tough San Alejo, but needed seven games. The Hawks have two fine starters in David Michael (26-13/2.80) and Jeff Owens (23-13/2.82) and a scappy bunch of bats. In three excellent starts Michael was 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA. Owens was not as impressive and went 0-1 in two starts with a 4.05 ERA. They might be able to hang with Braves and pull a mild upset. With the demise of Eastshore, the Tycobbian winner should prevail in this year's Pro Cup.

12-30-2012, 11:29 PM	#3387
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,940	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Friday, September 28, 2034 4 Teams Remain In IPA Pro Cup Quest Four teams have been vanquished and four teams have survived the first round of action in the coveted quest for the IPA Pro Cup. The top two picks in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup poll, the Eastshore Elegants and the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, were forced to call it a season and have gone home for the winter. What we have left are the number three choice, the North Hills Hawks, number four Crystal Lake Crushers, number six Chicopee Braves and the seventh-ranked Volusia Vigilantes. The IPA Pro Cup Final 4s are slated to begin this Sunday afternoon. Unheralded Volusia will travel to take on powerful Crystal Lake in the Ruthlandian Union championship, while North Hills will be on the road against Chicopee in the Tycobbian Union title series. Crystal Lake appears to have the easier task. The Crushers (91-63) had a much better record than Volusia (84-70) in the regular season, however the V's stunned the Islands' baseball world by whipping the top-seeded Eastshore Elegants (98-56) in the opening round in seven games, despite being outscored 36 to 23. The crystal ballers are calling it for Crystal Lake in six games, citing better pitching and better hitting. The Crushers had a much lesser opponent in Ranford (84-70) than Volusia and finished off the Bulls quickly in five games. Three quality starters Arnie Cason (21-5/2.84), Denny Mills (22-13/3.35) and Douglas Merrill (16-16/3.70) give them a big advantage. The Vigilantes have only one outstanding hurler Tommy Smith (20-14/2.79), who almost beat Eastshore by himself with two of the four victories. Jacy Chandler (20-8/3.40) had a fine regular season, but he has been only so-so in the postseason thus far with an 0-1 mark and a 4.50 ERA in 2 starts. It looks like the Tycobbian Final 4 will be more competitive, but if Chicopee continue to blister the ball like they did against Tuckanarra, no one will beat them this season. Most baseball analysts are now making them the overall Pro Cup favorite after they annihilated the second-seeded Tucks. The Braves batted .333 against the Blue Jays and wiped them out in a five-game affair. Kajika Fleetfoot (21-13/3.23) is the ace of a suspect mound corps. Fleetfoot did well against Tuckanarra with a 2-0 record in 2 starts with 2 complete games and a 3.00 ERA. It might take Chicopee seven games to whip North Hills, which was ranked the third-best club in the Pro Cup poll prior to the playoffs. The Hawks are a pretty talented bunch, both on the mound and at the plate. They are certainly no pushovers and will put up a good fight against the hot-hitting Braves. North Hills slipped past tough San Alejo, but needed seven games. The Hawks have two fine starters in David Michael (26-13/2.80) and Jeff Owens (23-13/2.82) and a scappy bunch of bats. In three excellent starts Michael was 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA. Owens was not as impressive and went 0-1 in two starts with a 4.05 ERA. They might be able to hang with Braves and pull a mild upset. With the demise of Eastshore, the Tycobbian winner should prevail in this year's Pro Cup. Last edited by Eugene Church; 12-30-2012 at 11:38 PM.