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Eugene Church · 01-10-2013, 09:08 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 8, 2034

Crushers Picked Over Hawks In Pro Cup
This year's Pro Cup playoffs have been tense, thrilling and exciting with four of the six series going seven games - and it is expected to continue in this year's finale. This year's Islands championship gets underway this Wednesday afternoon at the Hawk's Nest in North Hills.

The baseball writers have made Crystal Lake the favorite over North Hills in this year's IPA Pro Cup Finals. The Crushers have the better offense and more quality pitchers and should prevail in seven games. The baseball gurus have been more impressed with Crystal Lake in the playoffs, though North Hills is the higher seed, ranking third to Eastshore and Tuckanarra. The Crushers were named the fourth pick in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup poll prior to the playoffs. North Hills had the better season with a 94-60 mark, while Crystal Lake registered a 91-63 record.

Crystal Lake has three solid starters in Arnie Cason (21-5/2.84), Denny Mills (22-13/3.35) and Douglas Merrill (16-16/3.70). Merrill is the only left-hander in the bunch. The Crushers' mound corps posted an 8-4 mark and a 3.33 ERA in the first two rounds of the playoffs with Merrill going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 3 starts, Mills was 1-0 in 4 starts with a 1.97 ERA and Cason was 2-2 in 5 starts with a 2.79 ERA. But manager Baby George has a problem when he has to go to the pen. None of his relievers performed well in 12 postseason appearances.

Offensively Crystal Lake paced the Ruthlandian Union with a .292 BA in the regular season with modest power as they went deep 140 times. Only Kenwood of the Tycobbian Union was better with a monstrous .297 BA. The Crushers continued to hit well in the playoffs with a .288 average and 13 homers, averaging almost 5 runs a game. Top bat performers during the season were RF Pat Dillion (.342/11/64/102), SS Mackie Cummings (.320/22/89/91), 1B Big Sam Takota (.313/31/98/75) and C Stan Stanek (.315/23/88/76). Stanek has been awesome in the playoffs with 7 homers, 18 RBIs and a .365 BA. 3B Willie Burke (.395), CF Teke Holmes (.292), SS Mackie Cummings (.289) and LF Herm Taylor (.311) have lent good support, too.

Skipper Todd Simons has a good, all-around ballclub in North Hills, but he can't match the Crushers at the plate. The Hawks hit .278 with 155 roundtrippers in the regular year and .262 in the postseason thus far. They have 9 home runs and have scored 4 runs a game. Top hitters during the year were LF Adam Thurgood (.329/35/114/95), 3B Dean O'Donnell (.310/19/86/93) and C Mikhail Romanovsky (.281/13/56/80). Thurgood has batted a lofty .446 in the playoffs with 3 homers and 11 RBIs, O'Donnell is hitting .345 with 10 RBIs and Romanovsky is batting at a .306 rate with 3 homers and 15 runs batted in. SS Norris Henry has done well in the postseason with a .319 mark and 11 runs scored. Henry hit only .255 during the regular season.

North Hills' chance of capturing the Pro Cup hinges on its ace right-hander David Michael, who had already totaled 31 wins this year with a 26-13 record in the season and a brilliant 5-0 mark in the Pro Cup playoffs. Michael will need help from Jeff Owens (23-13/2.82), who is only 1-2 in the postseason. Number three starter Nelson Hooper (12-10/2.98) needs to step it up, too. Hooper is 1-3 with a 5.76 ERA in the playoffs. Simons' bullpen has not done well either.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawks are the superior squad with a .976 FA to .972 for the Crushers.

Forecast: Crystal Lake will bring home its third Pro Cup trophy. The Crushers captured the title in 2020 and 2022, but lost in 2027. This is North Hills first appearance in the classic.

01-10-2013, 09:08 PM	#3395
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,940	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Sunday, October 8, 2034 Crushers Picked Over Hawks In Pro Cup This year's Pro Cup playoffs have been tense, thrilling and exciting with four of the six series going seven games - and it is expected to continue in this year's finale. This year's Islands championship gets underway this Wednesday afternoon at the Hawk's Nest in North Hills. The baseball writers have made Crystal Lake the favorite over North Hills in this year's IPA Pro Cup Finals. The Crushers have the better offense and more quality pitchers and should prevail in seven games. The baseball gurus have been more impressed with Crystal Lake in the playoffs, though North Hills is the higher seed, ranking third to Eastshore and Tuckanarra. The Crushers were named the fourth pick in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup poll prior to the playoffs. North Hills had the better season with a 94-60 mark, while Crystal Lake registered a 91-63 record. Crystal Lake has three solid starters in Arnie Cason (21-5/2.84), Denny Mills (22-13/3.35) and Douglas Merrill (16-16/3.70). Merrill is the only left-hander in the bunch. The Crushers' mound corps posted an 8-4 mark and a 3.33 ERA in the first two rounds of the playoffs with Merrill going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 3 starts, Mills was 1-0 in 4 starts with a 1.97 ERA and Cason was 2-2 in 5 starts with a 2.79 ERA. But manager Baby George has a problem when he has to go to the pen. None of his relievers performed well in 12 postseason appearances. Offensively Crystal Lake paced the Ruthlandian Union with a .292 BA in the regular season with modest power as they went deep 140 times. Only Kenwood of the Tycobbian Union was better with a monstrous .297 BA. The Crushers continued to hit well in the playoffs with a .288 average and 13 homers, averaging almost 5 runs a game. Top bat performers during the season were RF Pat Dillion (.342/11/64/102), SS Mackie Cummings (.320/22/89/91), 1B Big Sam Takota (.313/31/98/75) and C Stan Stanek (.315/23/88/76). Stanek has been awesome in the playoffs with 7 homers, 18 RBIs and a .365 BA. 3B Willie Burke (.395), CF Teke Holmes (.292), SS Mackie Cummings (.289) and LF Herm Taylor (.311) have lent good support, too. Skipper Todd Simons has a good, all-around ballclub in North Hills, but he can't match the Crushers at the plate. The Hawks hit .278 with 155 roundtrippers in the regular year and .262 in the postseason thus far. They have 9 home runs and have scored 4 runs a game. Top hitters during the year were LF Adam Thurgood (.329/35/114/95), 3B Dean O'Donnell (.310/19/86/93) and C Mikhail Romanovsky (.281/13/56/80). Thurgood has batted a lofty .446 in the playoffs with 3 homers and 11 RBIs, O'Donnell is hitting .345 with 10 RBIs and Romanovsky is batting at a .306 rate with 3 homers and 15 runs batted in. SS Norris Henry has done well in the postseason with a .319 mark and 11 runs scored. Henry hit only .255 during the regular season. North Hills' chance of capturing the Pro Cup hinges on its ace right-hander David Michael, who had already totaled 31 wins this year with a 26-13 record in the season and a brilliant 5-0 mark in the Pro Cup playoffs. Michael will need help from Jeff Owens (23-13/2.82), who is only 1-2 in the postseason. Number three starter Nelson Hooper (12-10/2.98) needs to step it up, too. Hooper is 1-3 with a 5.76 ERA in the playoffs. Simons' bullpen has not done well either. On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawks are the superior squad with a .976 FA to .972 for the Crushers. Forecast: Crystal Lake will bring home its third Pro Cup trophy. The Crushers captured the title in 2020 and 2022, but lost in 2027. This is North Hills first appearance in the classic. Last edited by Eugene Church; 01-10-2013 at 09:10 PM.