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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 27, 2050
2050 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 7
Tycobbian Union
FAVORED RASCALS NIP SUN SOX IN 7TH GAME
It took two extra-inning nailbiters in games six and seven for favored White River to come back and subdue the stubborn Southport Sun Sox in the Tycobbian Division Series and move on to the League Championship Series... the Rascals nipped the Sun Sox 4-3 in 11 innings...with one out and the bases loaded, Duke Sims (.231) singled in Billy Joe Hickman (.192) from third with the series-winning run.
Starting pitchers Billy Hoover for Southport and Butch Slattery for White Rascals did their jobs well... Hoover worked eight innings, gave up three runs on six hits, while Slattery pitched into the ninth and permitted just two runs on five hits with seven Ks and six walks... the win went to the third Rascal hurler Clem Warren (2-0/0.00), who shut down the Sun Sox in the 10th and the 11th with no runs... Warren relieved Todd Cole (0-2/4.50) 2 saves), who blew the save and let Southport tie the score at 3-3 in the ninth... Troy Hill (1-1/1.08) suffered the loss... White River got to him for one run and three hits in two and one-third innings.
LF Billy Joe Hickman put White River up 1-0 with a solo homer in the fourth frame... the Rascals made it 3-0 in the sixth on 1B Ruben Reaves' (.226) two-run blast... Hickman has three postseason homers and Reaves two... Southport cut it to 3-1 when C Visalis Vlachos (.313) singled and came around to score later on an error by third baseman Kenny Yarbrough (.270)... the Sun Sox got back into the game on three walks in the top of the ninth... 3B Ricky Whitaker's (.314) two-run single sent the game into overtime.
White River collected nine hits and was sparked by 1B Ruben Reaves and RF Ryne Hyland (.313) with two hits apiece...Reaves has two runs batted in and Hyland one... CF Robert Martin (.333) was the only Sun Sox with two hits... Southport got only seven hits, all singles.
Mick Cronyn, the Rascals' skipper, told the press after the game, "Tough, tough series... the last four games decided by a run... and we had to win two in a row to win it... I think the most important factor in the series was our starters... Nicky, Butch and Keil had good outings... and Clem did a fine job in relief, especially in the final two games."
Southport manager Lorne Evans agreed with Cronyn... "The Rascals not only hit the ball well, they do a really fine job on the mound... we tried hard, played hard, came close... I'll be replaying those last two games all winter long... it's a shame to lose two heartbreakers after being up 3-2 in the series... we had our chances, but just didn't pull it off."
BUCS BUMP PANTHERS OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS
Trailing 4-3 going into the last of the fifth, the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers surged for four runs and knocked the East Point Panthers out of the IPA Pro Cup playoffs with an 8-6 win in game seven of the Tycobbian DCS... the Bucs now get to take on powerhouse White River in the Tycobbian title series.
East Point starter Milt Easterling's control put him in jeopardy in the fatal fifth... he walked pitcher Scotty Hedwall (.000) and SS Pip Blaylock (.182) to force in two runs and give the Buccaneers a 5-4 lead... CF Frankie Montgomery (.600) then ripped a two-run single, padding it to a 7-4 lead... in the sixth 1B Clive Caviness (.286) made it 8-4 with his third roundtripper of the postseason... the Panthers got their two final scores in the eighth on RBIs by 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.259) and C Kenny Bailey (.185).
Hedwall (1-1/4.13) didn't have an especially good day, but grittied out the complete-game win... he gave up six runs, two of them unearned, on eight hits, struck out three and walked one batter... Easterling (1-1/3.92) had a miserable day and caught the loss... the Bucs jacked him around for 10 hits and seven runs in just four-plus frames... Easterling also walked six batters.
Leading the Buccaneers' 12-hit attack were CF Frankie Montgomery (.600) with three hits and four RBIs... and 1B Clive Caviness (.286) with two hits... both Montgomery and Caviness got solo homers, it was Caviness' third in the playoffs... RF Butch Thornhill (.241) and C Hersh Cranmore (.308) added two hits each to the Bucs' totals.
East Point got eight hits with 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.259) getting a two-run homer in the first inning and three RBIs... in the fourth frame LF Gerald Crews (.263) hit a two-run shot, too... Cavacos had three homers in the series... RF Doug Dennhardt (.346) and CF Pokie Ash (.364) also contributed two hits apiece.
Buccanneer manager Cotton Cornwall gave credit to his offense. "Caviness, Cranmore and Thornhill came up with some clutch hitting in the series and hit 8 homers between them... they were the keys... in addition Frankie Montgomery played a decisive role in the seventh game... we wouldn't have won without his four RBIs."
Frank Blair, the losing skipper, dejectedly told reporters, "You should never lose a series when you're up three games to one and are ahead 5-4 going into the ninth in the fifth game... but we just couldn't stop them from scoring the last three games... the Bucs can hit the ball... we just didn't have the pitching to beat them...that's it in a nutshell."
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