[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, May 1, 2037

SUNDOWNERS SHINE IN RU EAST
In a red-hot April the Wynnamac Sundowners shot out of the gate with a 17-7 record and took first place in the hotly-contested Ruthlandian East, edging out Elnora by a game, Sugar Valley by two, Eastshore and Beechwood by three games and four games up on preseason favorite and defending division champ Cold Creek.

Wynnamac (17-7) came in eighth last year, but was the number-three choice in the race this year behind defending champ Cold Creek and last year's runnerup Sugar Valley... the Sundowners are vastly improved over last season with a .295 BA and easily the highest-scoring club in the IPA... those stats are the best in the IPA... they also have pretty fair pitching with a 3.63 ERA (10th)... five regulars are batting above the .300 mark, paced by 3B Duane Hudson (.370), 2B Ed Lane (.341), LF Darrell Donnelly (.330), CF Terry Weigand (.333) and SS Lou Borcellino (.314)... RF Davy L'Amour (.259) is the team leader with 6 homers and 25 RBIs... mound leaders are vets Killara Bardo (6-0/3.73) and Geoff Hobart (5-1/2.54).

Last year was not a good season for the Elnora All-Stars (16-8)... the All-Stars wound up sixth in the standings, but did break even record-wise... manager Leon Carter has them rolling in the right direction this year... they are in second place with a .280 BA (6th), rank tenth in scoring and have an impressive 3.31 ERA (6th)... the All-Stars only weakness is a shortage of longballs... they have gone deep only 17 times (27th-tied)... youngster Tony Ryman (5-0/1.33/4 saves) started in the bullpen this spring, but recently joined the starting rotation... vets Dan Pitts (5-1/2.38) and Stan Kivas (2-2/3.16) have done well, but ace Jeremy Sellers (0-4/3.95) has struggled... leading the offense are LF Clint Thomas (.319), C Jan Kobak (.314) and 3B Danny Bierhoff (.354)... Thomas is third in the IPA and RU with 27 RBIs... 21-year-old RF Enos Conrad is hitting at a phenomenal .438 clip in a platoon role.

The third place Sugar Valley Rattlers (15-9) seem to live and die by the home run... they rank first in the IPA with 39 so far this season... the Rattlers are batting a solid .265 (24th) and are second in scoring... pitching-wise they are holding their own with a 4.01 team ERA (16th), which is pretty fair considering the bandbox they play in... last year's Golden Bat winner RF Bobby Gamble (.364) is again tearing up the league with a .362 BA, is the IPA RBI king with 33 and is second in homers in the RU with 10... other solid contributors are SS Jesse Burns (.354) and 2B Roger Hobbs (.280)... Hobbs has 6 homers and 20 RBIs... LF Tyler White (.236) is not much for average, but he is a great run producer with 9 roundtrippers and 29 RBIs... Juan Navarro (4-1/1.91) has been lights out this year... however, it's been a slow start for veteran aces Jeremy Blanchard (4-2/4.40) and Josh Wilkerson (3-1/5.53)... look for both of them to get better as the season progresses... the Rattlers were rated the second-best club in the RU East, outvoted by last year's titlist Cold Creek in the preseason poll... Sugar Valley lost in a heart-breaking single-game playoff last year.

The Eastshore Elegants (14-10) are tied for fourth with the Beechwood Bobcats... the Elegants were a strong fourth in 2036 with an 85-69 record... they are playing better this year with a .269 BA (17th) and a 3.58 ERA (9th)... however, Eastshore has a weak bullpen (5.54 ERA-29th) and are only average in firepower (20 HR-21st tied)... the Elegants were picked sixth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... skipper Killer Brewster has quality starters in veterans Don Klingenberg (4-1/3.18), Ramon Contrerars (2-0/3.97) and Koy Clampett (1-3/4.66)... but Teddy Noble (3-3/2.49) has been the best of the lot at this point in the season... offensively 2B Johnny Petrak has been fantastic this year with a .427 BA, second-best in the IPA to Valmara's Miraslav Ciszek (.442)... 1B Paul Reed (.386) and old reliable CF Scotty Lagrange (.278) have chipped in, too... Petrak and Lagrange top the club with 19 RBIs each... Lagrange leads with 5 homers.

Fourth place Beechwood (14-10) was chosen sixth in the preseason poll... last year the Bobcats came in a surprisingly close third behind Cold Creek and Sugar Valley... they have done well in the early going... manager Bret George has the top team in the RU with a 3.00 ERA... his starters are especially good... the problem is the relief corps (4.68-24th)... at the plate the Bobcats do very well with a .278 BA (9th), rank ninth in scoring runs and tied for fourth in homers with 31... the starting four have been awesome... Ken Arby (3-2/1.99), Jimmy Herman (4-2/1.40), Clyde Fairchild (3-1/1.86) and Nick Tarkovsky (2-0/2.30)... 220-game winner Maury Patterson (2-3/5.48) has had a rough start this year, but he's only 34 and won 20 games last year... expect him to regain form... CF Howie Baldwin (.333), LF Carlos Manuel (.327) and 3B Thomas Laske (.357) are the best bats in the lineup.

When Cold Creek (13-11) is in sixth place, you know it's a tough division... the Catamounts are the defending RU East champion and still have one of the best mound staffs in the IPA... and they were voted the team most likely to win the pennant... so don't count them out... the pitching is still there with a 3.11 ERA (3rd)... any team would like to have the likes of Rob Hutchins (5-1/1.72), J. J. Gillespie (1-2/2.66) and Joey Baker (3-1/3.03) as their 1,2,3... plus Jules Capet (0-0/3.00) give them a solid number four... Cold Creek needs help in the bullpen (4.11 ERA/21st) and really, really needs help at the plate... the Catamounts are batting only .252 (28th) with just 16 HRs (29th-tied) and are tied for 27th in scoring runs... CF Ken Brennan (.322), 3B Pat Ellis (.311) and RF Wayne Kenney (.277) carry the brunt of the offense... the pitchers won the pennant for them last year, maybe they can do it again.

The last time the Marston Nine (11-13) won the division flag was in 2028... since then they have been nothing but a second-division club, but they did go 81-73 (5th) in 2034 and 83-71 (5th) last year... this year the preseason pollsters picked them to finish last in the RU East... the culprit is its pitching... a 4.42 team ERA (25th) will not get you far in the IPA... especially if you only have an average offense with a .265 BA (23rd), 21 HRs (18th-tied) and rank 22nd in scoring runs... Alex Ehrlich (3-3/3.86) and Kris Delaney (1-2/3.55) are the only decent starters... the most reliable bats are CF Marco Ameche (.304), SS Stan Mila (.292), 1B Lonnie Trekell (.313) and 3B Philip DeWey (.280).

The Belle Plaine Musketeers (9-15) have been mired near the bottom the last three seasons and it looks like more of the same in 2037... the Muskies haven't made the playoffs since 2009... the best thing they do is put runs (11th-tied) on the scoreboard with a .274 BA (14th) and 27 HRs (8th-tied)... their top guns are RF Boo Boudreaux (.326), who leads the IPA with 11 homers... and LF Noel Martin (.350), SS Bobby Greer (.301) and CF Lonny Wright (.317) are all rock-solid hitters... what little pitching the Musketeers have comes from Phillippe Marchand (4-2/3.56), Emilio Gallo (3-2/4.06) and Raul Carrasco (1-3/3.91).

FAVORED FORT BENTON FIRST IN RU WEST
So far, the Fort Benton Defenders are living up its ranking in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... the baseball scribes placed them at the top of the RU West list... the Defenders have a 2-game edge over runnerup Sligo, who were selected the number-two team in the rankings... the Stoner Stars and the Forest City Lumberjacks are in a third-place tie, trailing by 3 games each.

The Fort Benton Defenders (14-10) have been in the running for the pennant the last four years, but always fell short... sadly the Defenders have never made the playoffs... this could be the year... they have solid hitting with a .279 BA (8th), score fairly well (11th-tied) and are fair power-wise with 19 homers (23rd-tied)... however, it's on the hill that they shine with a fine 3.10 ERA (2nd)... manager Robbie Brooks has four capable starters, anchored by 220-game winner Augie Marquis (4-1/2.73)... Tommy Baylor (4-1/2.20), Edd Farmer (1-0/0.75) and Jordy Raeburn (2-3/3.29) have done well, too... Fort Benton has plenty of bats, too, paced by 1B Oscar Pendleton (.359), LF Rod Myerson (.339), C Hunter Glenholmes (.354), 3B Mitch Hamilton (.310) and SS D. D. Badeaux (.297).

The Sligo Rovers (12-12) broke even for the month and are supposed to be one of the few teams capable of beating the Defenders... the RU West is probably the weakest division in the Islandian Pro Alliance... only three teams were above the .500 mark last year: champion Colfax (86-68), Fort Benton (84-70) and the Rovers (78-76)... it may be tough for Sligo to contend with its woeful hitting (.246 BA-31st), poor scoring (26th) and average pitching (3.86 ERA/13th)... Tom Pierson (2-2/2.63) and Randall Steele (3-2/3.50) are the best moundsmen... star hurler Jeff Cooper (1-4/5.82) was acquired from Far Mountain in a trade, but has fared poorly this season... the 35-year-old Cooper is 249-216 with a fine 2.99 ERA in his 16 years in the league... should Cooper come around, it will greatly enhance Sligo's flag hopes... LF Vasco Aguilar (.333), SS Neil Mitchell (.322) and CF Peder Svensson (.278) have been the only reliable run producers.

The Stoner Stars (11-13) are tied for third with Forest City... they possess better-than-average pitching with its 3.54 ERA (8th), but are feeble at the plate, ranking 30th in scoring and 32nd in homers with only 14 this season... youngsters Jimmy Ellerbee (3-1/1.88) and Mel Glosterman (2-0/2.16) have looked very effective in April... and vet Larry Urban (1-3/3.18) can still do the job... the Stars just need vast improvement at the plate... only CF Don Cain (.364) and C Barney Swindell (.356) are good sticks... Stoner may be playing over their heads... the Stars were picked seventh in the preseason poll... that looks pretty close to reality.

The Forest City Lumberjacks (11-13) were voted the fourth-best club in the division in the preseason... that's where they ended up last season... it's been a very long postseason drought in Forest City... the 'Jacks last won a pennant in 2013... and it's not very likely they will end the drought this year... Forest City is a mediocre club, ranking near the bottom in scoring (27th-tied) and on the mound with a 4.42 ERA (24th)... Jeff Watford (4-2/3.43) is the only quality arm... and LF Ronnie Pollet (.330), C Bob Brisdon (.312), 1B Pistol Pete Picard (.333) and RF Junior Chandler (.293) are the only quality bats... it may be hard for the Lumberjacks to finish in the first division.

The Volusia Vigilantes (10-14) and the Middlefield Roosters are tied for fifth place... however, the experts place the V's no better than eighth, where they were last year... the Vigilantes don't hit well or pitch well... they are batting .258 (26th), have no power with just 17 HRs (27th-tied) and posted a 4.40 ERA (21st)... RF Carl Clark (.361) and CF Felipe Henriques (.294) are the club leaders at the plate, while Zack Dowdle (3-2/4.28) and Hector Vargas (1-3/2.96) top the twirlers.

Middlefield (10-14) hasn't had a winning season since 2029 and hasn't won a pennant since 2026... they were picked for fifth place this season... because of the short fences at Middlefield Park, the Roosters do go deep... but so does the opposition... they have hit 30 homers (6th) this year, but yielded 41 (32nd)... not a good trade-off... the team is 11th in scoring, but bats only .248 (30th)... the team ERA is a lofty 4.74 (30th)... CF Tony Parsons (.300), 2B Earl Elliott (.305) and C Brad Alexander (.301) top the Roosters' batting order... Alexander is among the league leaders with 8 homers and 25 RBIs... relievers Ron Sinclair (3-0/3.60) and Ray Owens (0-0/0.86/3 saves) are the only dependable pitchers... Larry Wheelhouse (2-4/4.96) and Victor Suarez (1-2/4.79) are the best of the starters.

In seventh place are the Rocky Rapids Snappers (9-15)... in preseason predictions they were fated to be sixth... it's been 17 years since they participated in the postseason... times have not been good for the Snappers... they don't do anything well... team BA is .267 (20th), rank 29th in scoring, with 19 HRs (23rd-tied) and a 4.69 team ERA (29th)... Randy McKenzie (2-2/2.40) is the pitching leader... with very little after him... CF Leonardo Cisneros (.321) is the club leader at the plate... with very little after him.

Last year's RU West winner was the Colfax Blasters (8-16)... surprisingly they have really fallen on bad times and are in the division basement... but the Blasters have enough mound talent to regroup and get back in the race... they were rated the third-best club after Fort Benton and Sligo in the preseason poll... statistically they sport a .273 BA (15th), tied for 24th in scoring runs with just 16 HRs (29th-tied) and a 4.19 ERA (19th)... Randell Perkins (3-3/3.59) and Norm Harbison (2-2/1.85) are the staff leaders, while SS Gerry Sives (.347), 1B Kristian McEly (.313), 3B Caleb McAvoy (.310), C Mitch Fullerton (.324) and LF Chet Penn (.284) are offensive leaders.