[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, July 1, 2047

HELLCATS OVERTAKE RASCALS IN TU NORTH
The defending Pro Cup champion Hartsdale Hellcats (48-35) moved past the upstart White River Rascals (47-36) by a game this month in the Tycobbian North pennant race. The Hellcats went 15-11 during June, while the Rascals slipped to 12-14. The hottest club in the division is the third place Blue Lake Blue Sox (44-39), now just four games behind. The Blue Sox went a blistering 19-7 in the month. North Hills (41-42), Oxford (41-42) and Fairfax (41-42) are all tied for fourth place and are seven games out in the race. None of them had a winning record in June.

Hartsdale is not the dominant club of a year ago... both hitting and pitching have suffered a decline this season... the main Hellcat hurlers are All-Star Perry Givens (14-4/2.83) and Dave Payne (10-6/2.76)... last year's ace Gil Younger (10-8/3.46) has struggled with four losses in his last five decisions. Younger won 28 games in 2046... Closer Alfonso Cervera (4-2/1.06/11 saves) has been excellent this year... topping the team at the plate are 3B Greg Melton (.310/15/52/49), RF Emilian Burgess (.252/13/49/43), 1B John Ford (.276/13/45/39) and rookie C Kenton Carmichael (.272/14/34/32).

Second place White River is led on the mound by Nicky Palmer (10-7/2.20), Jade Garner (9-7/3.83) and Trenton Anderson (9-5/3.71)... Clem Warren (6-9/2.98) has been effective, but his won-lost mark doesn't show it... All-Star LF Billy Joe Hickman (.314/25/64/54) has carried the club offensively with some help from 2B Warren McKenzie (.266/13/46/27)... OF Russell Anderson had done quite well, too, posting a .335 BA with 5 homers and 29 RBIs.

Third place Blue Lake has three fine starters in Sal Mayes (12-8/2.48), Greg Mortimer (9-7/2.85) and Frankie Quinn (6-3/3.02)... in the bullpen the main guy is Razzy Richmond (3-3/2.49/11 saves)... the Blue Sox could sure use more offense... LF Jack Ryan (.287/4/21/41) has the best batting average on the club... 1B Mel Morrison (.268/15/44/40) is number one in homers and RBIs... All-Star C Juan Luis Barcelona (.272/6/39/42) tops the club in runs.

SUN SOX SURGE SIX GAMES AHEAD IN TU SOUTH
The Southport Sun Sox (54-29) are favored to win the Tycobbian South this season and so far they doing all the right things. Cape Coral (48-35) also had a good month, but didn't gain any ground. The Hurricanes are six games behind the division leader. Both the 'Canes and the Sun Sox registered 16-10 marks in June. Third place San Alejo (47-36) had stayed right with Southport the first two months, but tailed off badly at 10-16 in June play, falling seven games back. Rounding out the first division in the TU South is fourth place Ginza (44-39). The Ninjas trail by 10 games and were 13-13 during the last month.

First place Southport is no great shakes at the plate, but they are effective with CF Barney Lewis (.249/25/57/45), 3B Craig Glennon (.237/17/52/45), 1B Eddy Douglas (.283/13/40) and All-Star C Vasilis Vlachos (.294/12/50/43)... on the hill the standouts are All-Star Billy Hoover (12-7/1.85), Johnny Swanson (11-6/3.48) and Brandon Forbes (12-7/3.58)... All-Star closer Hal Combs (6-3/2.00/17 saves) heads up a very good bullpen... Combs tops the IPA with 17 saves.

Runner-up Cape Coral is a high-powered offensive machine with three All-Stars and they are scoring an unheard of six runs a game with a .292 team BA... five of the starting line-up are batting better than .300: All-Star 1B Stan Ferguson (.348/20/62/45), All-Star LF-3B Rikky Van Dalen (.326/17/56/59), OF Max Tselika (.321/16/51/45), SS Kent Mantle (.275/14/54/50), All-Star RF William Snyder (.321/9/59/58) and CF Teddy Plimpton (.307/10/40/46)... veteran Benton McCall (13-6/3.22) is the ace of the mound staff... the explosive attack benefits Vernon Marks (12-8/4.25) and Tony Magee (8-4/4.05)... the pitchers will have to get better to catch Southport.

Third place San Alejo's strength is its pitching corps with a 2.82 team ERA (2nd), but the Monties have little offense to go with it... two All-Stars Matt Bell (15-3/1.17) and Will McKinney (12-6/2.14) are the staff leaders... Bell is tied with Omar Cordero (15-5/2.99) of Forest City for the most victories in the IPA... All-Star CF Paolo Teixeira (.314/23/58/63) is the only real threat in the Montaneros' batting order.

Fourth place Ginza can score runs, but is only average on the hill... top hitters are All-Star RF Sogo Takagi (.339/29/73/62), 3B Sam Essex (.258/13/52/41), SS Kuzuki Tamura (.321/4/26/33) and 1B Jiro Yamamura (.265/8/26/56)... heading up the starting rotation are the threesome of T. C. Gallimore (12-5/3.93), Charley Waskins (11-8/3.98) and Tokuji Takahara (9-9/3.60).

2-TEAM RACE IN TU EAST
Only two clubs are still in the running for the pennant in the Tycobbian East Division. At the end of June defending division winner Red Bluff (56-27) sports a three-game edge over second place Tuckanarra (53-30). The Red Sox posted an 18-8 record for the month and got a little breathing room over the Blue Jays, who were 15-11. Red Bluff has chalked up the most victories in the IPA. The High Mesa Cowboys (46-37) are in the third spot in the standings, but 10 games behind. The Cowpokes had a great June with an 18-8 record. Take away the poor April (10-18) and they would be right on the heels of the Red Sox. Fourth place belongs to the Hillsboro Blazers (42-41), 14 games out in the race. The Blazers were 15-11 last month.

Red Bluff is a well-balanced club with good hitting and outstanding pitching... the Red Sox have compiled a strong 2.87 ERA (3rd) and are batting .271 (4th)... the starting four have been superb and feature All-Star Jud Cox (14-4/0.94), George Reynolds (12-4/2.73), Carson Jamara (10-3/2.90) and Mickey Rosen (11-6/3.00)... Cox is the IPA ERA leader with a ridiculously low 0.94 ERA... the top guns at the plate are All-Star RF David Kelso (.320/31/68/55), 1B Josh Stevens (.276/20/40/49), 3B Fran Blanchard (.241/18/52/46) and CF Ike Sweetwater (.292/13/44/31)... Kelso is third in the IPA with 31 homers... only High Mesa's Johnny Tallis (33) and Bayview's Jerry Culpepper (32) are ahead of him.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays are a talented club, too... the Tucks are excellent on the hill with a 2.87 team ERA (3rd) and have some solid bats with a .271 BA (4th)... heading up the hurlers are Ozzie Leslie (12-5/2.43), Yarran Nawajuk (13-7/3.27), Dickie Pittman (9-5/2.17) and Gary Oliver (5-3/2.49/2 saves)... and Jack Rogers (5-3/2.12/12 saves) is one of the top relievers in the IPA... All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons (.325/10/53/54) is the club leader in BA, HRs, RBIs and runs... and gets some help from 3B Niles Tasby (.332/8/38/25) and RF Jimmy Markovich (.283/8/27/51).

The third place High Mesa Cowboys have fine pitching, but just average hitting... they have a tough starting foursome in Lucius Quarles (11-5/2.49), Tee Bo Templet (8-2/2.86/1 save), Steve Tolan (11-10/3.43) and Lloyd Armstrong (7-6/1.72)... the bullpen leader is William Morris (2-3/3.38/10 saves)... 1B Johnny Tallis is having a monstrous season with an IPA-leading 93 RBIs... he's is on track to set a new record for RBIs... Adam Zitek, who also starred for High Mesa, had 170 in 2005 for the all-time mark... Tallis is batting only .252, but also has the IPA lead in homers with 33... he could also challenge Jerry Culpepper's season record of 66, hit in 2040 with Bayview.

Fourth place Hillsboro has qualty pitching, but not much hitting except for homers... the team ERA is 3.33 (10th)... the Blazers are fourth in roundtrippers with 108, but they are batting a lowly .233 for average (30th)... Hillsboro has a pair of good starters in Steve Cooper (10-9/2.60) and Jamie Lee Bradley (10-7/3.01) and a two fairly reliable ones in Robby Lee Stillwell (11-9/3.90) and Bailey Bilbow (6-6/3.93)... none of the regulars hit much for average, but they possess a little power... LF Jurrien Bellini is the club leader with 31 homers, 52 RBIs and 68 runs, but is batting only .244... CF Rick Willis has 16 homers, 46 RBIs and 53 runs, but is hitting just .263... and 1B Ernie Moxley has 15 dingers, 38 RBIs and 30 runs, while batting a lowly .227.

3-WAY BATTLE IN TYCOBBIAN WEST
After three months of baseball in the Tycobbian West, the Arlon Champions (44-39) are one game in front of perennial winner and defending division crownholder Kenwood (43-40) and the up-and-coming Bayview Vikings (43-40). The fourth place Rolling Hills Reds (39-44) are under the .500 mark, but only five games behind the leader. The Champs put up a 14-12 record in June to move into the top spot. Kenwood skidded to 10-16 and lost the lead. The Vikings broke even for the month at 13-13. The Reds are the hottest thing going in the division. In June they were 18-8. The TU West is one of the weaker division in the IPA with only three clubs with winning records.

Arlon is in first place, but they are not a particularly strong team... the Champs are only so-so on the mound and offensively... Peter Shannon (13-6/3.28) and Pat Stuyvesant (11-6/3.78) are the biggest winners, but Lanny Gray (9-11/2.78) is still the most effective starter... at best, Arlon is only modest at the plate, led by RF Mark Cameron (.286/17/36/44), CF Cary Rockwell (.296/14/45/34), C Nick Shafer (.265/14/46/44) and 2B Ivan Cisneros (.303/10/38/40).

Kenwood has won the division flag five times in the last six years and was favored this season... however its starting pitching has let the Wildcats down this year... Tommy Carter (11-7/2.71) has been the only reliable starter... Freddy Gooch (5-8/3.75), Rusty Bradford (9-8/3.53) and Gregg Campbell (8-10/4.40) are all having off-years... Bradford was 22-6 last year, Campbell 19-10 and Gooch 16-14... only two batters pose real threats in the batting order... superstar and All-Star C Corky DiNozzo (.291/20/55/42) and 2B Country Crowder (.379/2/31/44) have to carry the offensive load... Crowder easily tops the IPA with a .379 BA... he is 31 points up on his nearest competitors, Stan Ferguson of Cape Coral and Duane Hudson of Wynnamac.

The third place Bayview Vikings have a helty attack with a .271 team BA (2nd) and 118 homers (2nd), but possess a mediocre mound staff (4.02 ERA-24th)... IPA icon, superstar and All-Star slugger 3B Jerry Culpepper is still going strong at age 33 with a .319 BA, 32 homers, 87 RBIs and 58 runs... he is running a close second to the IPA HR and RBI leader Johnny Tallis of High Mesa... Tallis has 33 home runs and 93 RBIs... the Viks have two other All-Stars in SS Andreas Stokke (.315/23/65/49) and 2B Zack Mason (.327/6/34/45)... LF Ivar Nilssen has also done some damage with a .309 BA, 18 HRs, 49 RBIs and 40 runs... top starters are Bobby Knudsen (12-7/2.63) and Vance Codsworth (9-4/3.52)... best reliever is Sammy Sarver (5-5/3.03/11 saves).

The Rolling Hills Reds have some quality starters, but not much in the bullpen... they don't hit especially well, either... still they had a great month in June to move up into contention... Johnny Howard (14-5/2.75) is having an excellent season and is ranked second in the IPA in wins... two other starters are effective and better than their records: Matthew Christianson (6-10/2.92) and Steve Adams (6-10/3.46)... a fourth starter Marty Phillips (5-2/3.00) had looked sharp since being moved into a starting role... leading the lackluster offense are RF Jimbo Foxx (.227/14/43/33), CF Orin Phillips (.262/14/45/42), 1B Darwin Tard (.252/13/35/38) and C Kyle Edwards (.300/3/28/30)... Tard, a career .308 hitter, did not have a good first half, batting only .252... if the fine pitching continues in the second half, the Reds could challenge in the pennant chase.

TYCOBBIAN UNION STANDINGS AS OF JULY 1, 2047