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Eugene Church · 11-13-2014, 01:22 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 15, 2049

2049 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - Game 6

VIPERS WINS 3RD PRO CUP
Terrific pitching brought the Valmara Vipers their third IPA Pro Cup... the Viper hurlers held hard-hitting White River to just six runs in the last four games of the Pro Cup Finals to capture the crown in six games...four games to two... In the last two games they fired back-to-back shutouts... game six went to Valmara 2-0.

In today's finale Teddy Twardzik and Mirko Musial combined for a 7-hit shutout... Twardzik (2-0/1.89) started and worked five somewhat shaky innings, allowing seven hits, but no runs... Twardzik whiffed four Rascals and walked three... while Musial (0-1/3.38) was magnificent... he got his second postseason save with four hitless innings, walking only one batter and striking out three... Valmara had another hero... center fielder Don Ritchie homered in the third and doubled in another score in the fifth to account for all of the Viper runs.

Twardzik kept the Rascals off the scoreboard, but the wily 37-year-old southpaw was in hot water in four of the five innings... Twardzik stranded 10 runners all total, leaving two on in the first, third and fourth, and got out of a huge bases-loaded jam in the fifth... it was at that point that manager Vanya Vasylenko wisely went to the bullpen for Musial... White River manager Mick Cronyn used three pitchers... starter Clem Warren (2-2/2.86) caught the loss, working four and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on six hits.

Viper CF Don Ritchie (.410) and SS Ken Jensen (.417) sparked them with two hits each... LF Billy Joe Hickman (.172) paced the Rascals with 3-4 and SS Kunta Burton (.259) collected a pair of hits in three tries and walked once.

Asked why he started Twardzik over Mark Polaski, Vasylenko responded, "I wanted left-handers as long as I could... that's why I started Teddy and relieved with Mirko... I thought I would play the percentages, though my gut feeling told me to go with Polaski, who did so well against them in game three... Twardzik has made 19 starts in the playoffs and is 12-4... he is a true money pitcher... and he really showed it today... he proved me right today... if Musial had gotten into any trouble, Polaski would have quickly relieved him. I had already decided that... it's great how it came out.".

With a big grin on his face Vasylendo added, "Apparently I was quite a genius today."

White River skipper Mick Cronyn told reporters, "Left-handers gave up trouble during the season, but we had our chances today against Twardzik... we just didn't hit when we had to and let him off the hook."

Vasylenko said it was the hitters that played a key role in the run for the Pro Cup this year... "They carried us in the early rounds against Claxton and Sugar Valley, who both punished our pitchers at times." He added, "I think after the opening game loss in the Pro Cup Finals, our pitching got better and made the difference... White River's pitching toned us down offensively quite a bit... we only scored 9 runs in the last four games, but won three of them."

Cronyn complimented Valmara. "The Vipers are a very, very good baseball team... they have it all... excellent starters... good relievers... and not a weak bat in the lineup... the last four games were close... a few hits here and there and we would be playing a game seven... it was not a one-sided series."

It was an amazing postseason for Valmara... they hit .315 as a team with 22 homers and 93 runs in 16 games, while compiling a 12-4 record... the Vipers were just as good on the hill with a 2.39 team ERA... in contrast White River hit only .252 with 8 homers, but did rack up 72 runs... on the mound they were only 4.09 in ERA... the Rascals wound up 10-6 in the playoffs.

This was Valmara's third IPA title... the Vipers won it in 2026, beating the Mahaska Haymakers in a four-game sweep... they also were victorious in 2044, upsetting powerhouse North Hills in six games. This was Valmara's fifth trip to the IPA Finals... they lost out twice before... losing to the Tuckanarra Blue Jays in 2023 in six games and to the Hartsdale Hellcats in 2046 in a great seven-game series.

The North Hills Hawks and Turon Typhoons hold the IPA record with four titles... Valmara joins the Far Mountain Redhawks, Waleska Westerners and Tuckanarra Blue Jays in the second spot with three Pro Cup trophies each. The Tycobbian Union has captured the overall league crown 26 times to 23 for the Ruthlandian Union.

11-13-2014, 01:22 PM	#4455
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,900	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Friday, October 15, 2049 2049 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - Game 6 VIPERS WINS 3RD PRO CUP Terrific pitching brought the Valmara Vipers their third IPA Pro Cup... the Viper hurlers held hard-hitting White River to just six runs in the last four games of the Pro Cup Finals to capture the crown in six games...four games to two... In the last two games they fired back-to-back shutouts... game six went to Valmara 2-0. In today's finale Teddy Twardzik and Mirko Musial combined for a 7-hit shutout... Twardzik (2-0/1.89) started and worked five somewhat shaky innings, allowing seven hits, but no runs... Twardzik whiffed four Rascals and walked three... while Musial (0-1/3.38) was magnificent... he got his second postseason save with four hitless innings, walking only one batter and striking out three... Valmara had another hero... center fielder Don Ritchie homered in the third and doubled in another score in the fifth to account for all of the Viper runs. Twardzik kept the Rascals off the scoreboard, but the wily 37-year-old southpaw was in hot water in four of the five innings... Twardzik stranded 10 runners all total, leaving two on in the first, third and fourth, and got out of a huge bases-loaded jam in the fifth... it was at that point that manager Vanya Vasylenko wisely went to the bullpen for Musial... White River manager Mick Cronyn used three pitchers... starter Clem Warren (2-2/2.86) caught the loss, working four and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on six hits. Viper CF Don Ritchie (.410) and SS Ken Jensen (.417) sparked them with two hits each... LF Billy Joe Hickman (.172) paced the Rascals with 3-4 and SS Kunta Burton (.259) collected a pair of hits in three tries and walked once. Asked why he started Twardzik over Mark Polaski, Vasylenko responded, "I wanted left-handers as long as I could... that's why I started Teddy and relieved with Mirko... I thought I would play the percentages, though my gut feeling told me to go with Polaski, who did so well against them in game three... Twardzik has made 19 starts in the playoffs and is 12-4... he is a true money pitcher... and he really showed it today... he proved me right today... if Musial had gotten into any trouble, Polaski would have quickly relieved him. I had already decided that... it's great how it came out.". With a big grin on his face Vasylendo added, "Apparently I was quite a genius today." White River skipper Mick Cronyn told reporters, "Left-handers gave up trouble during the season, but we had our chances today against Twardzik... we just didn't hit when we had to and let him off the hook." Vasylenko said it was the hitters that played a key role in the run for the Pro Cup this year... "They carried us in the early rounds against Claxton and Sugar Valley, who both punished our pitchers at times." He added, "I think after the opening game loss in the Pro Cup Finals, our pitching got better and made the difference... White River's pitching toned us down offensively quite a bit... we only scored 9 runs in the last four games, but won three of them." Cronyn complimented Valmara. "The Vipers are a very, very good baseball team... they have it all... excellent starters... good relievers... and not a weak bat in the lineup... the last four games were close... a few hits here and there and we would be playing a game seven... it was not a one-sided series." It was an amazing postseason for Valmara... they hit .315 as a team with 22 homers and 93 runs in 16 games, while compiling a 12-4 record... the Vipers were just as good on the hill with a 2.39 team ERA... in contrast White River hit only .252 with 8 homers, but did rack up 72 runs... on the mound they were only 4.09 in ERA... the Rascals wound up 10-6 in the playoffs. This was Valmara's third IPA title... the Vipers won it in 2026, beating the Mahaska Haymakers in a four-game sweep... they also were victorious in 2044, upsetting powerhouse North Hills in six games. This was Valmara's fifth trip to the IPA Finals... they lost out twice before... losing to the Tuckanarra Blue Jays in 2023 in six games and to the Hartsdale Hellcats in 2046 in a great seven-game series. The North Hills Hawks and Turon Typhoons hold the IPA record with four titles... Valmara joins the Far Mountain Redhawks, Waleska Westerners and Tuckanarra Blue Jays in the second spot with three Pro Cup trophies each. The Tycobbian Union has captured the overall league crown 26 times to 23 for the Ruthlandian Union. Last edited by Eugene Church; 11-01-2016 at 08:18 PM.