[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2038

HO-HUM HAWKS WIN TU NORTH AGAIN
Winning the division is really becoming old hat for the North Hills Hawks... they are the champion of the Tycobbian North Division for the fifth year in a row... and doing it with ease the last three years... the Hawks were taken to task until the All-Star hiatus with four challengers within 3 to 8 games of them... but they quickly pulled away in the second half and dismissed all of them... North Hills won the division by 11 games over Mahaska, 12 ahead of Luxora and 14 in front of Blue Lake.

1st: North Hills
PRO CUP OUTLOOK: the Hawks are a perfect ball club with strong hitting, pitching and fielding... they do everything well... there's a good chance North Hills' seventh trip to the Pro Cup playoffs could result in the team's third IPA title... this just might be the best team the Hawks have ever sent to the postseason.
Top Pitchers: David Michael (22-13/2.53), Jeff Owens (20-13/2.81), All-Star Frankie Lambert (16-10/2.80), Tony Mack (18-11/3.32)
Top Batters: All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.326/40/122/101), RF Gerry Rice (.340/8/45/79), 1B Ric Hamilton (.297/23/86/91), 2B Tommy Vavas (.308/10/61/84), CF Kris Anastas (.305/10/67/49), 3B Jim McDermott (.283/19/78/60)

2nd: Mahaska
Comments: after two bad seasons in the TU North second division, the Haymakers got improved pitching and climbed up to second place... it's been over a decade since they made the playoffs... four times in its history the club has made the postseason, but they have never won the Islands' championship.
Top Pitchers: All-Star Mark Pennington (21-14/3.07), Darrell Godfrey (16-11/3.54), Greg Douglas (14-13/3.74), reliever Kirk Stanley (4-3/2.32/12 saves), reliever Mackie McGinnity (4-4/2.62/4 saves)
Top Batters: All-Star 2B Mikk Kukk (.292/15/82/89), SS Rocco Bertara (.293/5/46/86), CF Bill Whittier (.264/21/81/90), 3B Duane Blayney (.240/24/70/61)

3rd: Luxora
Comments: the Zorros greatly improved at the plate and consequently rose up from the division basement up to the third spot in the standings... the Z's have never claimed a Pro Cup trophy, but have made 11 postseason appearances... to get there they need to bulk up in the pitching department... hitting home runs and scoring runs is what Luxora does best... they were second in the IPA in homers and fourth in scoring... fielding is not one of their strong points.
Top Pitchers: rookie Larry Carmichal (13-2/3.77), Kent Halloran (14-18/3.08), Jose Beltran (17-12/4.32)
Top Batters: All-Star 3B Todd Dubbins (.316/32/100/93), SS Joel Poche (.311/25/80/109), 2B Kelvin Cassidy (.322/31/78/82), 1B Gerry Hathaway (.289/29/78/72), LF Milt Powers (.296/26/81/80), RF Derek Jackson (.318/17/54/78)

4th: Blue Lake
Comments: the Blue Sox are just an average ball club, but have two fine starters... need a lot of help on offense... they are on a 3-year run in the first division... Blue Lake has won the TU North only twice and made the playoffs three times... in 2030 the Blue Sox captured its only Pro Cup.
Top Pitchers: Frankie Quinn (20-13/3.29), Sal Mays (21-14/3.29)
Top Batters: 2B Egon Ojamaa (.268/28/89/88), 3B Matt Thompson (.278/16/74/78), LF Jack Ryan (.279/14/67/76)

5th: White River
Comments: one thing you can say about the Rascals is that they are consistent... for the last four years they have finished in fifth place... they are average on the mound, not very good at the plate and slightly above average with the gloves... it's been 12 years since White River made the playoffs... they last won the TU North Division in 2027... overall the Rascals have appeared only four times in the postseason and don't have a Pro Cup yet.
Top Pitchers: Paul Sardini (19-7/2.69), J. C. Hudson (11-8/3.25), Trenton Anderson (16-14/3.44)
Top Batters: All-Star C Stevie Dee Daniels (.266/29/97/61), SS Warren McKenzie (.229/29/82/54), CF Buford Cross (.278/18/66/94)

6th: Fairfax
Comments: started the season as the preseason favorite, played well until mid-year, trailed by just 3 games, but flopped badly in the second half... came in sixth and snapped a 10-year skein of first-division finishes... the Frogs have participated in the playoffs on eight occasions, but never have won the Pro Cup... most recent appearance was in 2033... club's major shortcoming is home-run power... they are above average on the hill and with the bats... just average defensively.
Top Pitchers: Harold Dorman (18-11/2.65), reliever Bruno Stratton (7-6/2.35/16 saves)
Top Batters: All-Star CF Eric Kusek (.318/9/68/102), LF Sonny Oliver (.313/19/82/65), 1B Max Lebowitz (.276/13/60/86)

7th: Oxford
Comments: the Red Caps are not a very impressive team, pitching is horrendous, but did post a winning record over the last two months of the season... and they can go deep... in Oxford's bleak history they have made the playoffs only five times, but not recently... however, that was a great year for the Red Caps... they were Pro Cup champion in 2007.
Top Pitchers: B. B. Dristoll (20-14/4.05), Kent McKinley (11-9/3.95)
Top Batters: 2B Alonzo Norris (.307/26/70/111), CF Dalton Ward (.226/29/61/64), LF Donny Braun (.269/13/82/70), SS Johnny Gentry (.260/13/72/65)

8th: Hartsdale
Comments: for the fourth successive season the Hellcats have been at or near the bottom of the TU North Division... this year they were deep in last place... Hartsdale is not a very talented team... they have made the postseason only six times in their history with no Pro Cups... the Hellcats won the pennant the last time in 2029.
Top Pitchers: Wayne Dawson (14-17/3.07)
Top Batters: 1B Hayden Richardson (.324/19/61/61), 2B Jesse Jenkins (.292/9/62/77)

2038 Tycobbian North Division Final Standings and Team Statistics