[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 17, 2040

CL CRUSHERS UPSET WALESKA FOR RU SOUTH CROWN
The defending IPA champion Waleska Westerners ran into a hornet's nest this season... the hot-hitting Crystal Lake Crushers dethroned them in the Ruthlandian South Division pennant race... the Crushers edged the Westerners out by three games... St. John and Claxton tied for third and trailed by nine games.

1. CRYSTAL LAKE CRUSHERS (94-60): for the last five seasons Crystal Lake has languished in the second division, but in a surprise rise the Crushers moved up from fifth place to the top spot this season... by a wide margin they outhit and outscored everybody in the IPA with a .295 BA and 843 runs... defense is outstanding, too, with a .980 FA... this was the eighth pennant for the Crushers in their history with the most recent one in 2034.
Top Pitchers: just enough pitching to get by with 36-year-old Arnie Cason (23-9/3.05) having the best year in his career... 35-year old vets Ken Lawson (20-12/4.09) and Douglas Merrill (18-11/4.26) benefitted often from the high-scoring offense.
Top Batters: RF Paul Dillon (.344/10/89/97), CF Jesse Walker (.344/0/49/92), All-Star LF Johnny Kennedy (.299/24/98/81), All-Star C Stan Stanek (.314/24/99/117), 1B Daryl Brady (.315/19/91/74), 3B Marv Roy (.283/16/88/74), SS Morten Jonassen (.310/1/57/72).

2. WALESKA WESTERNERS (91-63) (3 GB): had a solid season, but couldn't beat out Crystal Lake... short on power with 91 HRs (32nd), but hit well with a .274 BA (7th) and good scoring with 745 runs (11th)... mound corps was excellent with a 3.04 ERA (3rd).
Top Pitchers: starting four were all under 3.00 ERA... Craig Nash (20-14/2.94), Jeff Woodruff (23-9/2.73), All-Star Terry Richards (16-15/2.56) and Tony Haskell (10-10/2.69/5 saves) were tough customers on the hill... Richards had a tough second half with no run support... Niles Nielsen (9-4/2.68/18 saves) was impressive in the bullpen.

3. ST. JOHN CRUSADERS (85-59) (9 GB): fell from second, eight games behind, to third this year... solid offense with .275 BA (5th), 772 runs (8th) and 145 HRs (16th-tied)... just average on the hill with a 3.88 ERA (18th).
Top Pitchers: Jeremy Kirk (21-11/2.82) was the only consistent starter.
Top Batters: All-Star RF Nicky Farrugia (.346/26/59/73) had a great year, but missed almost half the season with hamstring problems... the main run producers didn't hit much for average: 3B Marty Blankenship (.260/28/105/80), CF Art Kelley (.274/29/81/92), 2B Byron Johannsen (.246/14/83/80) and SS Tod Allison (.265/4/57/90), but did put runs on the scoreboard.

3. CLAXTON DIAMONDS (85-69) (9 GB): improved from fourth (12 GB) to a tie for third and nine games out... won the pennant in 2038... the Diamonds have captured the RU South seven times... now just an average ballclub.
Top Pitchers: Sam Nathan (22-14/3.40), Abe Shiffman (20-13/3.40) and Ben Ituha (16-12/3.90)... Schiffman was third in the RU with 255 Ks... Itaha was a good trade with Chicopee... bullpen is very good with 3.06 ERA (6th), led by Maxie Richter (4-5/2.54/13 saves), Gary Haskin (2-1/3.05/10 saves) and A. C. Van Kliest (4-1/2.68).
Top Batters: All-Star 2B Gary Colton (.308/16/93/66), star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.283/29/92.92), LF Foxy Fuchs (.284/28/84/86) and SS Stevie Wynn (.284/10/49/89).

5. SAN DIMAS RANCHEROS (76-78) (18 GB): dropped from third (10 GB) to fifth this year, 18 games off the pace... only two pennants in club history in 2007 and 2031... average in most respects, but can score and hit homers... 777 runs (7th) and 156 HRs (11th).
Top Pitchers: Gil Armaud (16-16/3.46), Duffy Davidson (14-14/3.53) and Toby White (14-12/3.96).
Top Batters: All-Star 3B Leonard Purkey (.300/33/114/101), RF Denny Hendrix (.305/34/112/98), All-Star LF Austin Epps (.320/22/84/78), CF Klaus Stordahl (.291/18/65/103) and C Hermie Goetz (.292/10/63/103).

6. VALKA BLACKHAWKS (75-79) (19 GB): wound in the second division for the 12th year in a row, but did improve slightly from seventh (23 GB) to sixth (19 GB)... the Blackhawks have only won the RU South three times, 2017 was the last time... they hit the ball very well with a .270 BA (9th), 801 runs (3rd) and 169 HRs (8th), but don't have much on the hill with a 4.11 ERA (24th).
Top Pitchers: Mikael Arens (17-12/3.22) was the most effective... All-Star Ando Lintrop (16-14/3.81) went into a second-half slump... reliever Julien Rouse racked up 18 saves, but posted a poor 5-9 record with a 3.53 ERA.
Top Batters: star CF Kenny Mitzusaka (.322/32/119/100) had his best year in his eight years in the IPA... star 1B Bobby Scott (.314/21/93/98) had another very good year... other reliable bats were LF Roger Collier (.300/7/44/102), SS Marek Kallasmaa (.290/13/61/83) and 2B Warren Block (.277/17/92/72).

7. GRAND CITY CYBERCATS (69-85) (20 GB): dipped from sixth and 20 GB to seventh and 25 GB... have won only two division crowns, in 2030 and 2021... basically just a mediocre team.
Top Pitchers: Billy Walton (13-13/4.12) was the only starter to break even... reliever Kent Douglas was inconsistent with a 6-13 mark, but did post 15 saves and a 2.85 ERA.
Top Batters: All-Star Benny Hull (.302/33/117/84) led the club in everything: BA, hits, runs, homers and RBIs... got some help from C Iggy Van Dyck (.282/27/83/73) and LF Junior Baldini (.283/20/79/81).

8. BELAIR BEACH SUNBIRDS (28 GB): ended up in the cellar again for the third successive year... the only thing they do well is hit homers... 184 HRs (5th)... otherwise a dismal ball team... have five pennants in its history with the most recent coming way, way back in 2016.
Top Pitchers: workhouse Todd Clyman (18-15/3.32) is the Sunbirds' ace and only decent pitcher.
Top Batters: at 33 star LF Bobby Meusel had a strong year with a .319 BA, 38 HRs and 111 RBIs, all career highs... his only help came from 3B Jason Butler, who slugged 35 homers, drove in 98 runs, scored 98 and batted .291... RF Larry Cole also put up some very good numbers in 107 games with a .327 BA, 17 HRs, 51 RBIs and 68 runs... he missed six weeks of the season with a separated shouder.

2040 Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings, Team Batting, Team Pitching, Team Defense