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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 28, 2044
2044 IPA DIVISION CHAMPSIONSHIP SERIES - Game 6
Ruthlandian Union
W'MACS WHIP SNAPPERS IN 6 GAMES
The number-three pick in the Pro Cup sweepstakes Wynnamac whipped the number-seven choice Rocky Rapids in six games to move on to the Ruthlandian League Championship Series... Geoff Hobart and Johnny Mitchell teamed up for a 3-0 shutout to cinch the series four games to two... they held the Snappers to just 5 hits... Hobart (1-0/0.64) held them scoreless on 4 hits in his 7 innings for the victory... he struck out 6 and walked 1... Mitchell registered the save with 2 scoreless innings... Dirk Halstad (0-2/2.12) made a good effort, permitting only 3 runs on 10 hits in a complete game.
Wynnamac star RF Nioka Inkamara (.444) hit for the cycle, scored twice and batted in 2 runs... 1B Jack Pope (.304) got the other RBI... C Carney Kirkpatrick (.375) got 2 of the Snappers hits.
CRYSTAL LAKE DETHRONES VALMARA 2-1, WINS SERIES
Ding Dong, the king is dead... the reigning IPA champ Valmara fell to the Crystal Lake Crushers in six games in the Ruthlandian Division Series... the Crushers won a tense 2-1 thriller in game six, highlighted by fine pitching from Ken Lawson, who gave up only 1 run on 6 hits in 8 innings... Lawson had to be on top of his game as Harold Hutson stood out for the Vipers... Hutson (0-2/2.16) struck out 9, walked only 1, while allowing only 2 runs and 7 hits in defeat... closer Josh Crosby sealed the series by retiring the side in order in the ninth inning to preserve the win for Hutson... it was Crosby's first save of the playoffs.
Crystal Lake got both of their runs in the top of the fourth on a solo homer by CF Johnny Kennedy (.300) and an RBI single by 2B Jim Henley (.143)... the Vipers got their only run in the last of the seventh on doubles by C Antonio Dominguez (.222) and 2B John Banks (.313).
Herman "Baby" George, the Crusher skipper, gave credit to his mound corps, telling reporters, "Lane, Lawson and McCauley were outstanding in the series... the bats got us through the regular season, but it was the pitchers who stepped it up and got us past Valmara... holding them to just 14 runs was a magnificent achievement."
Viper skipper Vanya Vasylenko had the same sentiments... "You are not gonna win many games when you only score one run... they held us to a single run in each of the four losses... the Crushers' pitching was really, really good."
The eighth-ranked Crushers will now advance to the Ruthlandian League Championship against the third-ranked Wynnamac Sundowners.
Tycobbian Union
RED SOX WINS SERIES, TAKE 6TH GAME 2-0
Red Bluff wrapped up the Tycobbian Division Series with Kenwood at home at Red Bluff Park... Mickey Rosen hurled another superb game, stopping the Wildcats 2-0 on a 4-hitter... in a complete-game Rosen (2-0/0.50) chalked up his second gem in a row... he had already beaten them 3-1 in game three... the triumph gave the Red Sox the series four games to two... now they will have to get by the Pro Cup favorite, the powerful Southport Sun Sox, in the Tycobbian League Championship Series... the Red Sox are rated the fourth-best club in the postseason.
There were only 9 hits in the game... 5 for Red Bluff and 4 for Kenwood... Wildcat starter Rusty Bradford (0-2/0.53) lost another tough decision to Rosen... the Red Sox got run number one off him in the bottom of the second frame... 3B Fran Blanchard (.190) led off with a single, stole second and continued on to third on an errant throw by catcher Corky DiNozzo (.190)... Blanchard scored on SS Davis McDowell's (.188) single... Red Bluff got the game's only other run in the fourth when David Kelso (.273) singled, went to second on a wild, pickoff throw to first base and then was doubled in by C Phil White (.190).
Red Bluff manager Jim Schubert praised his starting rotation of Jud Cox, Jack Wallace and Mickey Rosen, "We didn't hit a lick against the Wildcats, but we didn't have to... just like during the season our pitching was superb... they only gave up 5 runs in the 4 wins... I'll take that kind of pitching anytime."... Rosen was 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA in his two starts... Wallace was 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA in two starts... and Cox was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in a pair of starts.
Kenwood manager Aaron Hankins agreed that pitching was the key to Red Bluff's win... "My pitching was good enough to win the series... I don't want to bad mouth my boys, but we could have picked some other time to go into a slump... the postseason is not a good time for the bats to go flat."
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