[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, May 1, 2037

VIPERS 1ST IN RU NORTH, ELEPHANTS & SUNBIRDS CLOSE
Since last year the Ruthlandian North has been turned upside down at least in the first month of the 2037 season... last season's also-rans have raced to the top this year with Valmara vaulting up to first place, Ancona in the runner-up spot and Taranto third... the Vipers finished last in 2036, Ancona was fifth and Taranto sixth... contenders Kilkenny and LaGrange are fourth and fifth so far... LaGrange has been the division champ for the last three seasons, but Kilkenny got the favorite role in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... Valmara was picked third and forecast to be much improved and competitive this season.

Valmara (16-8) second-year manager Vanya Vasylenko has a high-powered offense that is hitting .295 (2nd) and third in scoring, but he lacks pitching except in the bullpen, which is ranked first in the league with a 2.15 ERA... his starters have struggled badly with a 5.57 ERA (32nd)... late bloomer 30-year-old 2B Miroslav Ciszek is leading the league with a .432 BA.

The runner-up Ancona Red Elephants (14-10) have solid bats with a .285 BA (3rd) and is average on the hill with a 3.91 ERA (14th)... Andre Athas (5-1/3.07) and Steven Russell (4-2/2.81) are the top pitchers, while the leading batsmen are SS Alex Zitek (.333), 3B Tommy Richardson (.356), RF Pettis Pentleton (.338) and rookie C Gregg Straka (.313).

The third place Taranto Tars (13-11) hit with power... 32 HRs (2nd)... and possess good hitting with a .275 BA (11th)... but the pitchers have a tough time in the small-dimensioned Palazzo di Sport... the staff ERA is 4.64 (27th)... renowned slugger Angelo Rossi is off to a torrid start with 10 homers (2nd) and a .407 BA (3rd)... four others in the lineup are above the .300 mark: 3B Jimbo Judson (.320), SS Daryl Rhodes (.333), CF Alonzo Venacio (.303) and RF Wes Marlowe (.310)... heading up the hurlers are Carmine Scalise (2-2/3.42) and Rio Lobo (3-1/4.71)... Don Jahnke (1-0/0.84/3 saves) is looking good in relief.

The Kilkenny Cats (13-11) are tied for third with the Tars... is favored to take the division crown... the Cats have impressive pitching with a 3.24 ERA (5th), but lack hitting... they are batting only .232 (32nd), but have some power with 28 HRs (7th)... last year's Golden Arm Dave Whitaker (4-2/2.90) and Fred Doyle (3-1/2.06) are the aces and carrying the club this year... the hitters are going to have to get it going to take the title this year.

The fifth place LaGrange Sports (12-12) don't get a lot of respect from the pollsters and scribes, but they have won the RU North the last three seasons and picked second behind Kilkenny this season... skipper Quincy Peterson has a good team with average hitting (.269 BA/18th) and better-than-average pitching (3.65 ERA-11th)... veteran foursome Mike York (4-1/2.41), Earl Perkins (2-0/3.18), Walt Thurber (2-2/3.32) and Chazz Bassett (1-4/3.46) will keep the Sports near the top... LaGrange's top bats are 3B Claude DesJardins (.359), SS Fred Bird (.353) and C Chris Heffner (.345).

The other three clubs started poorly in April... the Ranford Bulls (9-15) and Far Mountain Redhawks (9-15) are deadlocked in sixth... while Glasco (8-16) is in the basement... the Bulls have two good starters in vet Rube Satcher (3-2/2.58) and Ronnie Schroeder (4-2/3.29)... 2B Alex Vanno (.306) is one of the few good bats... the Redhawks are led by starters Chad Cummings (3-2/3.02) and Frankie Moreland (2-2/3.24)... and by C Ron Marlowe (.347), SS Dan Vance (.316) and LF Harman Silver (.296) at the plate... the Glasco A's top players are CF Travis Houston (.303), 3B Taylor Hampshire (.301) and LF Galen Watson (.333)... along with Sam Jensen (3-0/1.38), who has been sensational in the early going.

CRYSTAL LAKE, BELAIR BEACH ATOP RU SOUTH
In the RU South Division the Crystal Lake Crushers and the Belair Beach Sunbirds got off to good starts and are in first place after the first month's play... last year's winner St. John had a sluggish start and is in seventh place... favored Waleska and well-regarded Claxton are hanging close in a third-place tie, just one game off the leaders.

Crystal Lake (14-10) didn't rate well with the polsters, they were selected seventh in the preseason ranking, but they got off to a good start... the Crushers are a well-rounded ball club with a .280 BA (7th) and impressive pitching (3.46 ERA-7th)... talented veteran Arnie Cason (5-0/1.89) has been brilliant so far on the hill... and has had help from Darragh Whelan (3-1/2.90)... and vets RF Pat Dillon (.368), C Stan Stanek (.354) and 1B Big Sam Takota (.301) have been the offensive sparkplugs.

Belair Beach (14-10) can hit with power (31 HR-4th tied) and has quality pitching with a 3.93 ERA (15th)... batting standouts are 1B Jason Butler (.342 BA/9 HR), CF Bobby Meusel (.340), 2B Jackie Jackson (.330) and rookie LF Joe Don Baker (.328)... Joel Gregg (2-2/2.93) and Smoky Rogers (2-3/3.86) are the best starters... fourth place was predicted for the Sunbirds this year.

Preseason favorite Waleska (13-11) has labored on the mound and at the plate in the opening month of the season and are tied for third with San Dimas... the Westerners have hit only .257 (27th) with only 16 homers (29th)... and the staff has posted a 4.40 ERA (22nd)... yet they are only one game out at this point... manager Roy Hobbs expects his club to perk up ang get a lot better... C Rodney Hanson (.357) has been the only good bat... veteran stars 36-year-old LF Loco Dillinger (.188) and RF Niles Gregory (.190) have been pathetic so far... in his 15th season Dillinger, a certain Hall-of-Famer, is a .316 lifetime hitter with 476 homers and 1540 RBIs... Hobbs still has three fine starters in veteran Terry Richards (2-1/3.92), and youngsters Craig Nash (1-1/2.98) and Tony Haskell (3-2/3.20).

The Claxton Diamonds (13-11) came in sixth last season and were rated the third-best in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll this year... manager Dixie Baker has a very good mound corps with a 3.20 ERA (4th), paced by 32-year-old Vance White (5-1/2.50), who has stood out after being moved into the starting rotation for the first time in his 3-year career... 21-year-old rookie Stan Yudesh (2-0/2.70) has looked great in his 3 starts... and journeyman Dave Wojcik (2-3/3.26) also has looked solid as a starter... in the batter's box star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.310), LF Foxy Fuchs (.326) and 3B Jonas Weiss (.354) have excelled... Fuchs hammered 8 out of the park in April.

The fifth-place San Dimas Rancheros (12-12) are rated the number-three team in the RU South behind Waleska and St. John and has broken even thus far in the first month of play... it's the bats that have stood out for the Rancheros, who have hit at a .282 pace (4th) and rank sixth in scoring... but the pitchers have not enjoyed much success with a 4.35 ERA (20th)... the best batters have been RF Denny Hendrix (.385-6th), C Hermie Goetz (.315) and 3B Leonard Purkey (.313), all of them less than 24 years of age... the only decent pitcher Carroll Cain (2-2/4.27), who was magnificent with a 24-9 mark last year, has faltered this year... for San Dimas to contend this year, the vets have to play up to their potential.

The sixth-place Valka Blackhawks (11-13) appear to be a better team this year after being near the bottom of the division for the past eight years... they've improved at the plate and on the hill with a .274 BA (12th) and a 4.07 ERA (18th)... but they are still predicted to come in no better than sixth in the division standings... journeyman Dave Gronkowski (4-1/3.15) is off to the best start in his 11-year career... but he hasn't had much help from the rest of the staff except for reliever Julien Rouse (0-0/0.66), who has made 9 appearances... skipper Kurt Jankauskas has a potent batting order with star 1B Bobby Scott (.368), gifted RF Kenny Mitzusaka (.313), LF Gilberto Duarte (.338), 3B Bill Bradford (.316) and 2B Egon Ojamaa (.322)... Scott leads the club with 7 homers and 24 RBIs.

Things did not go well in April for the St. John Crusaders (10-14), who are the defending division champion and Pro Cup finalist... still they were chosen to be a strong contender to Waleska in the preseason prognostications, especially with the pickup of 20-game winner Yancy Garrett in a trade from Summerland of the Tycobbian Union... both hitting and pitching has suffered this season... but it wasn't too bad with a respectable .267 BA (21st) and a 3.79 ERA (12th)... manager Clayton Luck said his club would soon be back in contention as soon as his veteran mound staff turned it around after a mediocre first month... 19-game winner Jeremy Kirk (4-2/3.07) was the only one of the starters to have a good month... 21-game winner Lou Gianakos (1-3/4.20), Vito Sanfratello (1-3/4.29) and newcomer Garrett (2-4/4.57) found it tough going... 3B Marty Blankenship led the Crusaders' hit parade with a .354 BA, 9 roundtrippers, 25 runs and 25 RBIs... last year's RU Rookie of the Year CF Art Kelley (.361) had a very strong start... the St. John bats are looking good... it's the pitching that has to pick it up.

The cellar-dwelling Grand City Cybercats (9-15) haven't prospered since 2033, when they came in a close third... since then the club has been a second-rate second-division team... the C'Cats were forecast for much of the same this season by the baseball experts, who ranked them seventh... second-year skipper Jug Slavin has a prolific attack with a .280 BA (5th) and strong scoring (4th), but his pitching is horrendous with a 5.61 ERA (32nd), the worst in the IPA... SS Terry Grantham (.402) and 2B Mitch Coleman (.403) are both over the .400 mark... LF Junior Baldini also helped out with a .305 BA... the top RBI guy was vet CF Thomas Hall (.276) with 20... Grantham had 6 home runs and 17 RBIs.