[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2041

STALLIONS RACE BY RED SOX IN LATE SURGE
In the Tycobbian East Division the South Fork Stallions and Red Bluff Red Sox ran neck-and-neck until August when the Stallions raced by them to handily win the pennant... the Red Sox faded to third place, losing out by 10 games... defending division champ Ozarka also slipped by them and wound up in second place, nine games behind South Fork.

1. South Fork (87-67): the Stallions snapped a five-year run in the second division of the TU East, all of them under the .500 mark... they pulled up from fifth place last season (6 GB)... the last time South Fork was in the playoffs was the Pro-Cup winning season in 2025... that is their only IPA title... pretty good pitching (3.49 ERA-6th), pretty fair offense (.260 BA-17th) and solid defense (.975 FA) brought home the pennant this year... not expected to be much of a factor in the Pro Cup competition... experts are not impress with pitching, nor batting.
Top Pitchers: Jay Murphy (22-8/2.86) and Mike Lambertini (15-11/3.40) gave them two quality pitchers... Big Murph McAlister (12-19/3.37) was effective, too, but didn't have good run support.
Top Batters: 1B Paul Sexton (.267/39/109/94) was the club leader in homers, RBIs and runs scored... steady 3B Elton Jacoby (.297/22/82/92) enjoyed another good season... as did SS Jess Wilkerson (.306/18/56/90).

2. Ozarka (78-76) (9 GB): for the fifth time in eight seasons the Naturals finished in the runner-up spot... their downfall was a very poor 4.49 ERA (28th)... they were fine offensively with a .272 BA (6th), 767 runs (6th-tied) and 165 HRs (14th-tied)... defensively the Nats were average with a .974 FA... in 15 playoff appearances Ozarka has never won a Pro Cup, but has come close five times, when they were beaten in the Finals ('11, '12, '16, '19, '20).
Top Pitchers: Glen Jenkins (18-14/3.54) was the only effective starter... the best in the bullpen was two rookie relievers Gene White (5-0/2.83/3 saves) and Jim Greene (8-4/3.13/16 saves).
Top Batters: All-Star SS Duffy Morrison (.307/25/104/96), LF Lonnie Gillespie (.311/13/73/90), 3B Jimmy Woods (.298/19/88/88), CF Reggie Davidson (.263/29/76/112), All-Star C Jaak Pajukivi (.299/21/74/78).

3. Red Bluff (77-77) (10 GB): the Red Sox rose up from fifth to third this season based mainly on improvement on the hill from 4.38 ERA down to 3.62 ERA (8th) and longball power with 226 HRs (2nd)... only two teams in the IPA had more... Bayview of the TU West led the IPA with 241... number two was Middlefield with 228 in the Ruthlandian Union... the Red Sox haven't participated in the Pro Cup playoffs since 2009, but they did win the Pro Cup in 2004.
Top Pitchers: 24-year-old Mickey Rosen (22-8/3.33) came out of nowhere to become the club's ace in his third season... not a lot after him except for George Reynolds (12-24/3.33), who had 20 complete games and 22 quality starts.
Top Batters: nobody hit much for average, but they did go deep... All-Star CF Ike Sweetwater (.263) led with 48 homers, 112 RBIs and 114 runs, RF David Kelso (.255) had 44 homers, 102 RBIs and 81 runs... 3B Fran Blanchard (.275) hit 34 HRs with 94 RBIs and 79 runs... SS Leemon O'Donovan (.274) had 29 roundtrippers, 84 RBIs and 69 runs and LF Jesse Shaw (.265) with 23 HRs, 80 RBIs and 84 runs.

4. Tuckanarra (73-81) (14 GB): the Tucks posted their worst season in two decades... they are one of the perennial powers in the IPA with 13 pennants and three Pro Cups ('23, '24, '35)... the Blue Jays had so-so offense with a .255 BA (21st), 688 runs (22nd-tied), 117 HRs (28th) and so-so pitching with a 3.95 ERA (19th)... and average defense with a .971 FA.
Top Pitchers: All-Star and ace Junior Bristow (20-13/2.88) racked up 20 wins for the seventh time in his eight seasons... Jeff Buttrum (18-16/4.10) was inconsistent and had a sub-par year.
Top Batters: only two had good seasons... LF Spade Weldon hit .356 with 16 HRs, 68 RBIs and 82 runs and superstar RF Lorne Evans rapped 33 homers, drove in 101 runs, scored 96 runs and walked 108 times... Evans, a shoo-in for the IPA Hall of Fame, is 36 years old... he has 660 HRs, 1705 RBIs, 1931 runs and a career .306 BA... Evans is fourth on the all-time IPA home-run leaderboard.

5. Hillsboro (71-83) (16th): for the eighth year in a row the Blazers are stuck in the TU East second division... tied for fifth with High Mesa... they have zilch pennants and no Pro Cups... one of the worst franchises in the IPA... terrible offense but fairly good pitching... .238 BA (30th) with a 3.69 ERA (10th)... really bad defense with a .967 FA.
Top Pitchers: starters are credible with Jamie Lee Bradley (14-14/3.02), Lee Dixon (13-18/3.38) and Steve Cooper (14-15/3.97), but got little run support.
Top Batters: LF Julien Bellini led the team with 27 HRs, 78 RBIs, 92 runs and 37 SBs, but batted a lowly .226... SS Scotty McNeill had the best average with .295, 7 HRs, 43 RBIs and 86 runs... 3B Paul Butler added a .266 BA with 16 HRs, 77 RBIs and 76 runs.

5. High Mesa (71-83) (16 GB): after almost winning the pennant last year, the Cowboys dropped back tied for fifth... no postseason for 38 years... but they made the playoffs their first two seasons in the IPA and even won the Pro Cup in 2002... nothing but failure since... the Cowpokes have a lousy offense with a .237 BA (31st) and mediocrity on the mound with a 4.17 ERA (23rd)... average with the gloves (.973 FA)... however, High Mesa hits homers... 216 this season, ranking third in the Tycobbian Union and fifth in the IPA.
Top Pitchers: Dean Harris (18-12/2.67) and Emil Novak (14-11/3.79) pretty much carry the team... Harris, age 36, has never played for a good team, but has posted a 214-226 record with an impressive 3.03 ERA in 15 seasons.
Top Batters: 39-year-old veteran RF Corbett Brooks hit 55 HRs, a career-high, but batted only .238 with 99 RBIs and 94 runs... he now ranks fifth on the all-time home-run list with 651... only HOF-ers Jack Elliott (848), Phil Gravelli (726), Marty Blake (711) and and future HOF-er Lorne Evans (660) are ahead of him... LF Clay Johnston contributed 41 HRs, 100 RBIs and 76 runs, but hit only .250... 1B Clifford Coleman added 26 HRs, 83 RBIs and 82 runs, but batted just .248 for average.

7. Midway (63-91) (24 GB): the Wolves were last in the division last year... they were worse this season, yet came out seventh... Midway has never won the Pro Cup and hasn't made the playoffs in the last 15 years... they rank near the bottom on the hill (4.43 ERA-27th) and at the plate (.249-25th)... average defense with a .972 FA.
Top Pitchers: 21-year-old Charlie Chase (12-23/3.48) is the only decent starter.
Top Batters: none of the players are worth noting... 3B Hunk Allen is the most productive with just a .227 BA, 15 HRs, 64 RBIs and 59 runs.

8. East Point (59-95) (28 GB): the Panthers have won three pennants in the last decade, but don't have a Pro Cup... they took a big tumble from fourth to last this season... the Panthers are a really bad team, tied with Chicopee of the TU West for the worst IPA record... they batted only .246 (28th) with a lofty 4.64 ERA (30th)... but are fairly good defensively with a .975 FA.
Top Pitchers: 36-year-old vet Frank Blair (14-12/4.42) was the only starter with a winning record, but Johnny Moore (10-17/3.33) was the most effective.
Top Batters: 1B Bert Henrich topped the club with a .283 BA... he hit 28 HRs, drove in 88 runs and scored 64... SS Dean O'Donnell was the club leader with 33 HRs and 89 RBIs, while scoring 72 runs, but batting only .248... old reliable 2B Tetsu Tanaka still puts up credible numbers at age 35 with 24 HRs, 67 RBIs, club-leading 91 runs and he hit .256.