[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2041

HURRICANES BLOW AWAY TU SOUTH
For over a decade the Cape Coral Hurricanes have languished in the second rung of the Tycobbian South Division, but not this year... the Hurricanes blew away the opposition with a high-powered offense and won in a breeze by eight games over the Turon Typhoons... San Alejo came in third, 13 games off the pace and last year's winner and Pro Cup Finalist Summerland finished fourth and trailed by 17 games... playing at a blistering pace, the 'Canes built up a 10-game lead at midseason and were never challenged... Cape Coral led the IPA with 97 victories and placed five players on the Tycobbian All-Star team.

1.Cape Coral (97-57): the Hurricanes rose up from sixth place in 2040 (24 GB)... their last pennant was in 2030... they have never come close to winning the Pro Cup... the 'Canes were a powerhouse this season with a .285 BA (2nd), 816 runs (2nd) and 189 HRs (9th)... the pitching was good considering they play in a hitter-friendly ballpark... the team compiled a fairly decent 4.06 ERA (21st)... just average defensively with a .973 FA... ability to score might give them the best chance Cape Coral has ever had to win a Pro Cup.
Top Pitchers: All-Star Tommy Van Noord (23-11/3.12) and Stacy Boyle (11-2/3.20) are two quality starters... number three is Charlie Britton (19-10/4.15) and number four is Benton McCall (17-16/4.42)... bullpen is weak.
Top Batters: superstar All-Star 1B Stan Ferguson (.322/45/131/85) had a great year with 45 homers and 131 RBIs... other solid contributors were All-Star RF William Snyder (.323/25/85/97), All-Star 3B Kent Mantle (.275/28/88/83) and All-Star LF Rikky Van Dalen (.284/22/79/101).

2. Turon (89-75) (8 GB): after winning the pennants in 2038-39, the Typhoons fell to fifth last year, but came back strong this year with much-improved hitting... Turon holds the IPA record for the most Pro Cups with four (2003, 2006, 2009, 2018)... batted .283 (3rd), scored 800 runs (4th), hit 177 HRs (11th)... with fairly good pitching (3.73 ERA-12th)... excellent bullpen.
Top Pitchers: Nate Scottsdale (19-13/3.03) and Bobby Pierce (13-7/3.59) were the most effective starters... veteran stars Clyde Engstrom (13-17/4.27) and Armin Boehm (16-16/4.30) struggled... Ralph Fulton (10-4/1.41/13 saves) was a standout in the bullpen.
Top Batters: superstar All-Star 2B C. C. Kingsford (.326/20/92/105), All-Star CF J. P. Trevenot (.325/22/95/108), RF Guido Gervasio (.294/25/99/95), 26-year-old 1B Nick Fisher (.287/37/95/100), came out of nowhere to hit 37 HRs and drive in 95 runs... he made a huge difference in the club this year... Fisher only had 14 homers in his first two seasons and a .241 BA.

3. San Alejo (84-70) (13 GB): with four pennants ('32, '34, '35, '37) and one Pro Cup ('31) in the last decade, the Montaneros continued to be a solid club this year... .266 BA 11th), 772 runs (5th), 190 HRs (8th), 3.72 ERA (11th), weak in the field with a .969 FA.
Top Pitchers: 22-year-old Matt Bell (20-10/2.77), 30-year-old Benny Buckmaster (16-11/3.92) and 34-year old Johnny Brown (15-14/3.44) are a solid threesome.
Top Batters: C Filipe Zamora (.316/37/120/82) led the team in homers with 37 and RBIs with 120... 3B Bubby Blackwell (.327/8/55/101) had the best BA at .327... 22-year-old RF Paulo Teixeira (.291/30/93/102) really stepped it up in his third season... other reliable bats were LF Charlie Wilberforce (.302/23/77/96) and 34-year-old CF Dusty Rogan (.291/19/64/45)... 35-year-old 1B Ted Hatch had 25 homers and 68 RBIs, but hit only .242.

4. Summerland (80-74) (17 GB): what a difference a year makes... last year the Sunsets glowed with 98 wins and went to the Pro Cup Finals where they lost to Ranford in seven games... 2040 was a magical year... this year pitching was the problem... they went from a brilliant 2.83 ERA to 3.44 ERA (5th)... the bats were still dismal at .248 BA (27th), 676 runs (24th), 103 HRs (30th-tied).
Top Pitchers: All-Star Jayson Hallstrom (18-16/2.88) was strong as usual, but just didn't have run support... Johnny Young (19-11/3.30) was very reliable as usual, but Dutch De Boer (14-19/3.90) had a rough year... number four starter Kyle Shepard (14-11/3.41) had a good comeback season at age 34 after missing all of 2040 with an injury... Ronald Shaddock (7-5/2.24/12 saves) did his usual fine job in the bullpen, but just didn't get the save opportunities he has in the past... he posted 27 saves last year.
Top Batters: CF Antonio Vasquez (.332/8/67/92) led the IPA with 51 doubles and was the club leader with a .327 BA... 1B Stan Terry (.257/9/59/96) topped the team in runs with 96... 2B Todd Cummins led with 87 RBIs and 23 HRs, but batted only .256.

5. Ginza (75-79) (22 GB): the Ninjas fell from third to fifth this year... last postseason appearance was in 2031... still haven't won a Pro Cup, but did make the Finals in 2001... lost in a sweep to Volusia... this year they possessed a good offense with .266 BA (12th), 747 runs (11th) and 171 HRs (12th), but not a lot of pitching with a 4.25 ERA (26th).
Top Pitchers: Scotty Murdock (11-4/2.58/3 saves) and Charley Waskins (18-14/3.77) were the most dependable in the rotation... in the bullpen Timmy Hickens (6-11/2.81/20 saves) was good most of the time, but he lost 11 games.
Top Batters: two All-Stars LF Ichiro Kazumi (.289/14/74/103) and 3B-SS Sam Essex (.283/25/103/88) paced the club with much help from CF Sogo Takagi (.305/31/90/107), RF Scott Sparks (.260/37/107/80), C Whip Harrell (.277/27/71/73) and 1B Jiro Yamamura (.282/4/43/83)... Sparks led the team with 37 homers and 107 RBIs, while Takagi had 31 homers and topped the team with 107 runs.

6. Colchester (68-86) (29 GB): finished in the second division for the fifth straight year... last made the playoffs in 2036... never has won a Pro Cup... just a lackluster ballclub in most respects.
Top Pitchers: Eduardo Rivera (19-11/3.91) and Dan Scott (14-10/4.05) were the most dependable starters... with Dave Lacoste (11-14/3.48) the most effective.
Top Batters: best bat belongs to superstar RF Blake Barrister, who belted 44 homers, drove in 116 runs and scored 109, while batting .278... other reliable hitters were LF Chet Porter (.305/10/76/87), 3B Joey Rogers (.288/10/77/88) and 2B Jorn Weese (.289/10/75/48).

7. Southport (67-87) (30 GB): the Sun Soxx took quite a tumble from second to seventh this year... culprit was decline in batting from .270 to .251 (24th)... no playoff appearances since 2027 and 2028... club has won one Pro Cup (2027)... possesses average pitching (3.97/20th) and poor defense (.969 FA)... can go deep with 181 HRs (10th).
Top Pitchers: Billy Hoover (13-13/3.37) and Johnny Swanson (12-18/3.29) were quality starters... Hal Combs (10-8/2.04/10 saves) did a fine job in the bullpen.
Top Batters: 3B Craig Glennon (.262) topped the club with 36 HRs and 106 RBIs... 1B Eddy Douglas (.265) had 30 homers and 74 RBIs... LF Chris Jones was the club leader with a .306 BA and 79 runs... CF Barney Lewis (.238) chipped in with 27 HRs and 74 RBIs and 2B James Long (.240) added 22 HRs and 72 RBIs, but neither hit for much average.

8. Arroyo Grande (67-87) (30 GB): another very dismal year for the Suns... fourth consecutive season in last place... they were next-to-last in '35, '36 and '37... no postseason since 2024... never won a Pro Cup... no offense this season with a very poor .233 BA (32nd)... not much pitching with a 4.08 ERA (22nd).
Top Pitchers: Fernando Campos (17-14/3.98) and Anthony Lombardi (16-18/3.86) were the main starters... 33-year-old Cody Simmons (5-3/2.97/19 saves) is still a quality closer.
Top Batters: RF Gregorio Oliviera batted .264, but led the club with 33 HRs, 82 RBIs and 77 runs... 1B Matt Moore (.280/11/49/70) topped the team with a .280 BA.