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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 21, 2048
CLAXTON WALTZES TO RU SOUTH TITLE
The Claxton Diamonds built up a good, six-game lead at mid-season in the Ruthlandian South Division and pretty much maintained it the rest of the season, winning the title by seven games over last year's pennant winner Belair Beach... preseason favorite Waleska never really was a big factor... the Westerners finished in a third-place tie with the Valka Blackhawks, Crystal Lake Crusaders and St. John Crusaders, all trailing by 16 games.
It was Claxton's third division crown in four seasons... 12 times the Diamonds have made the postseason, but they have never come up with a Pro Cup trophy... they have a solid core of hitters with fair power and good scoring... IPA superstar 1B Jojo DeLucca (.279/30/126/91) is still the big gun at age 33... and got help from an unexpected source, rookie All-Star LF Whit Miley (.357/14/72/106), the number-two batter in the IPA at .357... other offense came from 3B Rick Clayburne (.323/12/76/74), CF Darryl Daniels (.295/12/55/88) and 2B Rich Emery (.252/19/78/81)... and pretty good pitching... Claxton has two vets Abe Schiffman (21-13/2.80) and Stan Yudash (20-9/3.48) leading the mound corps with help from rookie southpaw Jared Lipton (11-6/2.71/9 saves), Steven Ellison (18-9/3.79/3 saves) and Gilbert Clagsdale (16-12/3.84)... reliever Gary Haskin (5-8/2.95/16 saves) is the best in the bullpen... the Diamonds have the scoring to do well in the playoffs, but the key will be the pitching... it's doubtful Claxton will be among the Pro Cup favorites... ace Abe Schiffman will miss the first three games of the playoffs... near the end of the regular season he was suspended for five games for a brawl he instigated... he won't get a start until game four... this is a crucial loss for Claxton.
In Belair Beach's history they have made the playoffs only 8 times, but won the pennant last year... the Sunbirds have never picked up a Pro Cup trophy... they are just a little above average at the plate and on the hill... Jose Munoz (17-14/3.56) and Kevin Tolbert (17-15/3.42) were the top winners with 17 victories apiece... other fairly decent starters were Ronnie Roy (15-11/3.38) and rookie Glen Long (16-12/4.19)... Tom Cook (8-10/3.65/22 saves) was the top reliever on the club and ranked number-one in the IPA with 22 saves, but he was inconsistent at times... leading the hit parade were All-Star 3B Jason Butler (.311/31/121/88) and rookie All-Star SS Alvaro Abreu (.323/1/53/94)... RF Norm Ellis (.280/28/88/77), 1B Shannon Stewart (.273/11/71/72) and LF Andy Williams (.285/0/38/82) also chipped in fairly well, too.
There was a four-way deadlock for third place in the RU South between Waleska, Valka, St. John and Crystal Lake... Waleska has chalked up 7 postseason appearances with 3 Pro Cups... with the last pennant and Pro Cup coming in 2039... the Westerners were the preseason choice this year, but their starting rotation let them down... Jeff Woodruff (21-12/3.07) and Niles Nielsen (18-17/2.89) were strong starters like last year, but Tony Haskell (9-14/4.18) and Roy Schaefer (12-17/4.83) struggled quite a bit... they did have a solid closer Vince Gibson (6-3/2.48/17 saves)... Waleska hit well, but lacked power... the best offensive performers were rookie 1B James Ray Kee (.331/17/66/54), CF Kenny Hardy (.292/15/75/72), LF Gene Stevenson (.302/15/45/65) and 3B Hershel Briggs (.290/7/60/47).
The Valka Blackhawks were just an average club this year... in the team's history they have only made the playoffs 4 times... the last year was long ago in 2017... the Blackhawks have never won a Pro Cup... this year's top club leaders were All-Star SP Matvey Kazak (17-16/3.08) and Tyrone Marte (14-14/3.64)... Kazak tailed off badly after mid-season, going 5-11 in the second half... he was 12-4 with a fine 2.31 ERA at the All-Star hiatus... the best reliever was rookie Ricky Cockburn (5-8/2.49/12 saves)... the most productive bats were 1B Jess Evans (.321/31/80/68), star CF Kenny Mitzusaka (.297/23/78/74) and C Aubrey Plews (.302/15/63/68).
The St. John Crusaders have appeared in 7 postseasons and haven't won a Pro Cup yet... they last won the division title in 2042... the Crusaders hit well, but have mediocre pitching... two rookies regulars stood out, paced by All-Star RF Cris Hershey (.320/11/67/87) and 1B Al Pace (.316/19/77/70)... vets 2B Herbie Gruen (.279/17/71/62) and CF Skeets Blackstone (.283/11/69/44) also added some offense to the lineup... Frank Long (16-18/4.30) had the most wins on the team and got a little help from Liam Spears (15-13/3.98) and Zeke Yoder (15-17/3.89).
The Crystal Lake Crushers have been in the Pro Cup playoffs 10 times in history and possess two Pro Cups (2020 and 2022)... they won the RU South in 2043 and were a serious challenger in third place a year ago, losing out by only 3 games... despite leading the IPA with a .295 team BA, the Crushers came in under .500 and tied for third place... the mound staff was a dismal 4.21 overall, even worse for the starting rotation (4.66 ERA)... Dave McCauley (18-14/4.21) and Jeth Limbrick (15-18/4.12) topped the starters, while All-Star closer Josh Crosby (16-4/2.51/15 saves) had a truly fine season and got some good help from from Andy Crutcher (4-3/1.89/12 saves) in the bullpen... Crystal Lake had nine .300 hitters, led by All-Star LF Jed Murphee (.342/15/71/99), SS Ernie Addison (.332/2/50/79), C Del Peevy (.295/11/70/73), 3B Todd Schneider (.322/5/51/67), 1B Daryl Brady (.338/17/66/66), RF Paul Dillon (.329/8/81/65), CF Jesse Walker (.307/1/38/53), CF Kenny Gray (.302/17/78/43) and 2B Jim Henley (.302/3/74/50).
Not a good season for the Grand City Cybercats... they wound up in seventh place, 28 games off the pace... the C'Cats have only participated in the playoffs on three occasions... 2030 was the most recent... Grand City is still looking for its first Pro Cup... Lee Price (13-20/3.02) was the most reliable starter, along with Jimmy Engels (10-22/3.42)... superstar All-Star Benny Hull carried the club like he usually does... Hull hit .303 with 48 homers, 127 RBIs and 98 runs... he was second to IPA leader Ryan Nelms' 132 RBIs (Taranto) and third in homers behind Lenny Buisson's 54 (Belle Plaine) and Corky DiNozzo's 52 (Kenwood).
In last place this season were the San Dimas Rancheros... they last made the postseason in 2041 and have never won the Pro Cup, having appeared only four times in the playoffs... rookie All-Star reliever Kenny Robinson (5-10/2.32/18 saves) was fifth in the IPA in saves... he floundered badly after mid-season... Carl Covington (12-25/4.05) led the club in wins and had the best ERA among the starters... rookie All-Star CF Enrique Orantez (.312/23/85/105) stood out among the regulars... he got some help from 36-year-old veteran RF Denny Hendrix (.260/23/87/66).
2048 Ruthlandian South Division Final Standings and Team Statistics
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