[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 21, 2043

VIPERS GET THE BEST OF BULLS AND SPORTS IN RU NORTH
The Valmara Vipers ended 12-years of frustration to capture the Ruthlandian North Division... they beat out Ranford and LaGrange by two games to take the pennant... the Glasco Athletics were five games back in fourth place and last year's champ stumbled and fell to the fifth spot this year, trailing by seven games... Valmara is not a particularly strong club and plays in one of the weaker divisions in the IPA... the Vipers are not expected to do much in the Pro Cup playoffs.

1. Valmara: rose up from fourth (17 GB) to first place... last pennant in 2031... only Pro Cup was in 2024... top players at the plate were CF Don Ritchie (.324/14/77/100), 1B Cain Greene (.295/23/93/73) and All-Star C Antonio Dominguez (.263/21/100/70)... top starters were All-Star Teddy Twardzik (16-15/2.59) and Zak Reeder (23-12/4.22)... best in the bullpen was Paul Holloway (5-5/2.31/11 saves)... the Vipers had a good first half and then just enough to win in the second half.

2. Ranford: moved up from fourth (19 GB) to a tie for second with LaGrange (2 GB)... the Bulls won the Pro Cup in 2040 and have made seven appearances in the postseason... last pennant was 2041... top players were Ralph Hawk (15-9/2.49) and Ronnie Schroeder (19-13/3.70) on the mound... star RF Dale Weston (.296/47/119/86), who tied for third in the IPA with 47 roundtrippers... along with All-Star Pete Bankston (.311/21/88/95) and 1B Joey Gompers (.259/28/97/86).

2. LaGrange: were second in 2042 (5 GB) and tied for second this year (2 GB)... last playoff appearance was in 2037... the Sports have won six flags in their history... All-Star Arnie Ayers (24-13/2.68) tied for third in wins in the IPA... he pretty much carried the club... offense wasn't much except for All-Star SS John Rodgers (.329/26/91/111) and star LF Vasco Aguilar (.295/31/100/73).

4. Glasco: the Athletics had a good chance to win it first pennant in over four decades, but blew it with a dismal 3-16 in September... they finished fourth, just five games off the pace... the A's have never won a Pro Cup and made the playoffs just twice in history... 23-year-old starter Pat Meyers (25-12/3.05) had a great season and made the All-Star team... Meyers led the RU with 25 wins and ranked second to Billy Hoover (27-11/2.83) of Southport, who topped the IPA with 27 victories... offensively only veteran CF Travis Houston (.298/22/86/90) had much of a year... Houston led the IPA with 45 doubles... young 2B Cliff Heminway (.297/13/82/65) was the only other decent bat in the lineup.

5. Kilkenny: the Cats had the pitching, but no hitting... they won the pennant just a year ago, but fell to fifth this year (7 GB)... Kilkenny has only made the playoffs one time in its history and has never won a Pro Cup... James Crockett (20-16/3.74) was the biggest winner... and Glen Caswell (18-15/2.62) was the most effective starter in a break-out year... RF Kevin McLaglen (.261/26/99/100) and 3B Jorge Collazo (.295/15/66/84) were the best of the lot at the plate.

6. Taranto: the Tars can go deep... they hit 212 homers (3rd) and could score runs, but the pitchers had problems with a 4.45 ERA (28th)... Taranto dropped from third place (10 GB) down to sixth this season (9 GB)... bat standouts were All-Star LF Derrick Damon (.328/18/80/113), All-Star 3B Mark Delaney (.302/41/118/102) and C Ryan Nelms (.302/49/117/81)... Nelms was the runner-up in homers to the IPA leader Craig Glennon of High Mesa in the Tycobbian Union... the 25-year-old Nelms led the Ruthlandian Union with 49 HRs... Delaney did very well, too, with 41 HRs, sixth in the RU... 1B Franco Zinacola (.275/25/75/59) and RF Gary Tramonte (.290/23/72/67) also chipped in with 25 and 23 homers... the best pitcher was 24-year-old starter Mario Martinelli (19-14/3.77)... in the pen Pablo Rivas (9-6/3.64/21 saves) was strong at times, but inconsistent.

7. Far Mountain: went from fifth in 2042 (18 GB) to seventh this year (11 GB)... the Redhawks won three Pro Cups back-to-back in 2011-2013 and were finalists in 2009 and 2038... the last RU North pennants were in 2038 and 2039... club pitching leaders are starters Ryan Kolb (16-14/3.57) and Curt Steinhauer (17-16/3.77)... and Fernando Sanches (11-10/2.68/20 saves) in the bullpen... the most reliable bats were RF Bert Richter (.292/32/100/115), who really sizzled this year... and LF Harman Silver (.303/19/78/74), the only other dependable batter.

8. Ancona: the Red Elephants continued to flounder, winding up in the RU North cellar for the third season in a row (12 GB)... Ancona hasn't made the playoffs in 20 years... they have won five pennants, but never a Pro Cup... however the Red Elephants did get to the Finals once, but fell in six games to powerful Turon in 2018... Ancona's best performers were talented 3B Tommy Richardson (.308/19/94/69), RF Walt Glenn (.308/2/53/89) and LF Eldon Aldridge (.273/27/87/81)... topping the staff were starters Steven Russell (19-14/3.92) and Lucian Kairis (12-12/4.59).

CL CRUSHERS HOLD OFF WALESKA IN RU SOUTH
In the Ruthlandian South Division the Crystal Lake Crushers held off the charging Waleska Westerners to collect their second flag in four seasons... going into July of the campaign Crystal Lake had an 11-game edge over Waleska... however, they managed to stave off the Westerners by four games... it was the eighth division title for the Crushers, who have won two Pro Cups, one in 2020 and one in 2022... third place went to Grand City six games behind in the race and fourth place to San Dimas, which trailed by eight games... last year's pennant winner San Dimas flopped to a distant sixth this season and 18 games behind.

1. Crystal Lake: last season the Crushers were 4 GB in fourth place... they won the pennant this year with a high-powered offense... the Crushers led the IPA with a .290 team BA and 874 runs... pitching-wise they weren't very good with a 4.27 ERA... leading the way were LF Kenny Gray (.327/24/88/68), 1B Daryl Brady (.329/17/80/67), 3B Marv Roy (.277/20/104/83), RF Paul Dillon (.324/13/91/98), C Del Peevy (.293/12/92/93) and 2B Jim Henley (.306/6/64/72)... leading the mound corps was Eddie Lane (11-9/2.82/14 saves), who split time between starting and relieving, finally starting after 11 seasons in the bullpen... Dave McCauley (18-14/3.93) was the club's big winner... Crystal Lake could do well in the playoffs with such fine hitting... all they need is to get some fairly good pitching.

2. Waleska: the Westerners improved from fifth place to second place... in 2042 they ended up six games out... they were a little better this year, falling only four games short... they were 35-43 at the halfway point and finished with a flourish at 49-27... Crystal Lake was more consistent with a 46-32 mark at the All-Star Game and a 42-34 record in the second half... Waleska has won three Pro Cups ('28, '37 and '39) and has been in the postseason on seven occasions... the Westerners are a good, all-around club with many holdovers from the Pro Cup years like vets Tony Haskell (22-10/3.39), Craig Nash (13-6/3.15) and Terry Richards (16-13/3.42) on the hill... and a batting order that features C Rodney Hanson (.320/8/57/74), 2B Joey Harris (.311/8/72/100), 3B Pete Furness (.294/17/80/71) and 1B Shayn Lambert (.285/14/67/68)... and CF Niles Gregory (.255/25/86/67) is still around to hit the longballs and drive in the runs at age 34.

3. Grand City: the Cybercats just put an end to a nine-year stretch of second-division finishes... they climbed up to a solid third place, just six games behind winning Crystal Lake... it's been a dozen years since the C'Cats have made the playoffs... they have been in the postseason only three times and haven't come close to a Pro Cup trophy... Grand City relies on good pitching to get by... offense is almost non-existent... All-Star Joel Eaton (23-7/3.22) was tied for fifth in victories in the IPA... only Southport's Billy Hoover (27-11/2.83), Pat Meyers (25-12/3.05) of Glasco, Arnie Ayers (24-13/2.68) of LaGrange and Van Johnson (24-11/2.87) of Blue Lake were bigger winners... All-Star 1B Benny Hull (.288/33/102/70) and C Iggy Van Dyck (.295/33/92/83) were threats at the plate with some help from RF Ryan Van Zahnt (.247/22/63/97).

4. San Dimas: the Rancheros slipped from third (2 GB) to fourth (8 GB) this year... they won the RU South just two years ago, but have not yet taken a Pro Cup... the Rancheros had two All-Star performers in C Hermie Goetz (.318/9/69/92) and 2B/CF Klaus Stordahl (.309/18/101/76), along with another .300 hitter 1B Austin Epps (.309/12/46/93)... another reliable bat was RF Denny Hendrix (.283/24/82/85)... on the hill Gil Arnaud (16-15/3.12) was an All-Star and the most effective hurler, but he had a rough second half with a 6-9 record... other dependable starters were Cerek Talaga (18-12/3.68) and Toby White (16-15/3.77).

5. Claxton: the Diamonds almost won the division last year, missing out by just one game to St. John... this year they fell back into the second division in fifth place, 16 games back in the race... pitching decline was the culprit as the 3.52 ERA jumped up to 4.22 (22nd)... the only starter with a winning record was Gilbert Clagsdale (19-11/3.28/7 saves)... offensively superstar All-Star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.348/33/112/107), who led the IPA with 226 hits and finished second with a .348 BA, beaten only by Volusia's Kris Wilson with a .358 BA... the only other genuine threat in the batting order was RF Foxy Fuchs (.287/34/94/90), who had a solid season.

6. St. John: the Crusaders had a poor season after winning the RU South last year... they plunged down to sixth, 18 GB...the club has notched seven pennants in its history... but has never won the IPA Pro Cup... the closest they ever came was in 2036, when they were runner-up to IPA champion North Hills... the bats tumbled from .278 to .267 and the team ERA went from 3.50 to 4.34... Frank Long (17-15/3.52) and longtime ace Jeremy Kirk (16-17/3.45) were the club leaders... at the plate only All-Star RF Nicky Farrugia (.277/25/95/86), 3B Marty Blankenship (.253/25/92/71) and SS Tab Allison (.295/11/51/101) put up good numbers.

7. Valka: for the 15th year in a row the Blackhawks were solidly nestled in the second division, 22 GB champ Crystal Lake... they have only made the playoffs four times... the last trip was in 2017... with no Pro Cups in the club's history... this year the top pitchers were Dave Gronkowski (16-15/4.11) and Miikael Arens (16-15/4.12)... leading the Blackhawk attack were superstar All-Star CF Kenny Mitsuzaka (.336/28/97/101) and star 1B Bobby Scott (.325/38/101/112)... not much in the batting order after them.

8. Belair Beach: on a terrible run with five last-place finishes in the last six seasons, the Sunbirds came in 22 GB and in the division basement... the BB's haven't played in the postseason since 2016 and they have not won a Pro Cup in their history... they did come close in 2014, dropping a seven-game set to titlist Kenwood... the starters were terrible this year with a 4.94 ERA (32nd), but the relief corps were great with a 2.41 ERA (2nd)... Kyle Gibson (12-3/0.75/8 saves) had a super season in the pen... with lot of help from Bryan Johnstone (5-3/2.08) and Tom Cook (2-2/1.90/5 saves)... superstud 3B Jason Butler (.301/42/109/97) was the club leader in BA, hits, doubles, homers, RBIs and run scored... CF Norm Ellis (.284/28/96/90) was rock-solid, too... other decent bats were 1B Shannon Stewart (.281/11/57/83) and RF Larry Cole (.282/19/59/79).

2043 Ruthlandian Union North and South Final Division Standings, Team batting, Team pitching, Team fielding