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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 21, 2048
VIPERS EASY VICTORS IN RU NORTH
In the second half of the Ruthlandian North season Valmara took a turn for the better and wiped out everybody in its path... the Vipers went 56-20 and won by 12 games over second place Ranford, 15 better than defending champ Far Mountain and topped fourth place Taranto and LaGrange by 23 games.
The Vipers won their fourth pennant in the last six seasons and rang up 102 victories, the best in the IPA... Valmara won the 2043 Pro Cup and will be seeking their third one this postseason... this is the Vipers' 16th playoff appearance... with four All-Stars on the club they made shambles of the race... top pitchers were All-Star Teddy Twardzik (28-7/2.53), All-Star Primo Sirak (21-11/2.55) and Mark Polaski (25-11/2.92)... Twardzik led the IPA with 28 wins... top batters were All-Star LF Tomek Abramczyk (.361/27/118/92), rookie 3B Justin Roscoe (.305/18/90/78), CF Don Ritchie (.277/14/80/107), 2B Jorge Aparicio (.313/11/63/103), All-Star C Ron MacGuinness (.295/17/86/64) and SS Ken Jensen (.314/9/68/104)... Abramczyk topped the IPA with a .361 BA... the Vipers will be a force to be reckon with in the playoffs... they are much better than the '43 Pro Cup champ with the addition of Polaski, Abramczyk, Rascoe and MacGuinness.
The Ranford Bulls were the preseason favorite, but they just couldn't keep up with Valmara, who had a great season... the Bulls have made the playoffs 7 times and possess one Pro Cup, captured in 2040... top pitchers were All-Star Ralph Hawk (26-6/1.84), Neil Martin (14-10/3.47) and reliever Rickey Graham (11-9/2.65/9 saves)... best batters were RF Dale Weston (.271/32/100/68), LF Joey Hawkins (.309/24/89/97) and 3B Harley Freeman (.305/20/77/51).
Last year's RU North winner Far Mountain came in a distant third this season... staff leaders were Stan Smith (19-9/3.84), Ryan Kolb (14-10/2.25), Jonas Grover (15-15/3.31)... and relievers Jack McKinney (14-12/2.96/18 saves) and Fernando Sanches (8-1/1.24/9 saves)... the only real threat in the lineup was CF Bert Richter (.299/31/92/81)... the pitching was still very good, but the scoring was way off this year... plus last year's ace Curt Steinhauer slipped from 22-6 and a 2.12 ERA to 13-16 and a 3.77 ERA.
The fourth place Taranto Tars had their best season in five years... the Tars have been in the playoffs on just 4 occasions in the team's history... the most recent appearance was in 2018... Taranto took their only Pro Cup in 2015... Mack Wellman (18-9/3/15), Bill Walker (18-15/3.66) and Pablo Rivas (17-16/3.67) gave them the best starting pitching they have had in years... All-Star C Ryan Nelms (.292/46/132/83) had a great season... Nelms was tops in the IPA with 132 RBIs and fourth in homers with 46... other contributors were All-Star SS Chris Krog (.289/30/70/98), LF Derrick Damon (.290/22/74/102), 3B Phil Wilson (.292/12/69/87) and CF Michael Herring (.292/4/40/73).
The LaGrange Sports had a decent year, finishing with a winning record and fifth place... they have made the playoffs 6 times in the club history, but have never taken a Pro Cup trophy home... last postseason was 2037... top mound performers were Arnie Ayers (18-14/2.83), Hot Dog Huxtable (18-14/2.67), Johnny Stoneham (15-9/3.39) and Billy Walton (16-14/3.95)... Ayers was injured in September and will likely miss all of next year with Tommy John surgery... top hitters were SS John Rodgers (.302/22/76/84), 1B Clayton Justice (.282/21/80/51), C Scott Wallace (.265/23/70/67) and LF Robbie McGregor (.257/17/68/78).
The Kilkenny Cats came in sixth, but broke even for the year... the Cats have only graced the IPA playoffs one time... that was in 2042 where they were swept by Colfax in the Ruthlandian LCS... the most effective starters were Dave Stratford (22-14/2.77) and Glen Caswell (15-20/3.10)... closer Andy Mayfield (11-2/3.32/19 saves) was third in saves in the IPA... Kilkenny's offense is terrible... rookie RF Seth Cooks (.280/10/71/56) and 1B Ryan Reagan (.247/24/66/80) were the best of the poor lot.
After eight straight years in the RU North basement the Ancona Red Elephants finally broke that streak, but just barely... they finished seventh... Ancona has never won a Pro Cup and has participated in the playoffs only 5 times... last appearing in 2022... Darlon McDugan (16-13/4.59) was the only hurler with a winning record... while All-Star LF Eldon Auldridge (.315/37/126/85) and CF Jotaro Suzuki (.287/28/92/72) stood out at the plate... Auldridge tied for third in RBIs in the IPA with 126.
The Glasco Athletics won the pennant in 2045, but slipped a little the next two years to second and third, but abruptly thudded to last place this year... the A's have never won a Pro Cup and have been in the postseason just 3 times... they have a few quality arms, but little else... Pat Meyers (16-20/3.11), Brent Bolivar (14-18/3.58) and Benny McDaniel (10-21/3.81) suffer from lack of runs... Ken McLin (8-6/1.70/11 saves) is a solid closer... the offense is pathetic at best... C Paul Harris (.298/5/43/74), 3B Billy Stroud (.288/5/44/56), LF George Russell (.269/14/72/56) and SS Ross McFalls (.266/76/74) are the only decent bats.
2048 Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings and Team Statistics
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