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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, September 28, 2053
ROOSTERS ADVANCE, SWEEP WYNNAMAC
Down three games to none Wynnamac never had a chance in game four... the reigning Pro Cup holder Middlefield massacred the Sundowners 10-1 to sweep the RU Division Championship Series... James Long (2-0/0.00) was touched for nine hits, but Wynnamac only got one run of of him and it wasn't even earned... Long went the distance for the second time in the series, struck out five batters and walked no one... mighty Middlefield, favored to take its second straight IPA crown, pounded out 15 hits in the rout with RF Rufus Blackburn (.500) going 3-4 with three runs and three RBIs... 1B Bubby Cranmore (.267) and SS Stan Radzikowski (.250) both garnered three hits and scored a pair of runs... the Roosters will now take on the Taranto- Waleska winner for the Ruthlandian title and the right to play in the Pro Cup Finals against the champion of the Tycobbian Union... Blackburn was hurt flagging down a deep fly ball... no word yet on how serious it was... his loss would put a huge damper on the Roosters repeating as Pro Cup titlist... not too many teams can replace a player who hit 45 home runs and batted in 114 runs.
Sundowner skipper Jerry Meeks told reporters, "All you hear about is how good the Roosters hit the ball... well, they have some pretty darn good pitchers, too... Long is something else... all we could get off him was one run in two games... we didn't much better against Dale and Wheelhouse... 7 runs in 4 games... it's hard to win that way."
The Roosters posted a superlative 1.46 ERA... but the batters did their job, too... they talled 21 runs, hit 5 out of the park and batted .276 for the series against a strong Sundowner staff... Sammy Hayes (23-14/2.26), Simon Northcutt (22-10/2.50) and James Duncan (15-14/2.79) have pretty strong credentials.
Middlefield manager Ricky Tinker praised his whole squad... "the last five years have been special... these guys do it all... we just need to play well in the next series...actually we may have to play better... you know as well as I do, the teams get better with each round."... the Roosters have captured five pennants in a row in the Ruthlandian West Division.
TARS HEAD TO RU TITLE SERIES
The top two picks to win the Pro Cup trophy this year will tangle with each other in the Ruthlandian Union League Championship Series... the #2 pick Taranto Tars blew away the Waleska Westerners in four games in first-round action and will now test the top pick and Pro Cup favorite, the Middlefield Roosters... it's a repeat of last year's Ruthlandian Finals which was won in a stirring 7-game series by the Roosters on the way to the IPA title.
To get to the next level in the playoffs, Friday afternoon Taranto eliminated Waleska with a 4-2 triumph in 10 innings at Westerner Field... 1B Phil Wilson snapped a 2-2 tie with an RBI single and Dan Armistead tacked on an insurance run with a sacrifice fly... Louie Toscano (1-0/0.00) recorded the victory with two runless frames and Lou Carlson (0-1/5.40) was pinned with the loss... both clubs blew quite a few opportunities to blow the game open... Waleska outhit the Taranton 14 to 12 and also stranded 13 runners to 11 for the Tars... RF Cody Losby (.450) sparked Taranto with two hits, including a two-run homer, his 3rd in the series... Wilson (.375) and Armistead (.294) each had three hits in the game.
"Great pitching and home runs can take you a long way in the playoffs."... Those were the words of Augie Marshall, the triumphant skipper of the Taranto Tars... "The starters were sensational... so was the bullpen... and they had to be... otherwise we would be heading home for the winter... Waleska was in every game... I know it was a sweep, but three games were decided by one run... the fourth one by two runs... and two of them went extra innings."
Roy Hobbs, the Waleska manager, spoke in a similar vein to reporters... "A few hits here and there and we would still be playing... it wasn't as one-sided as you might think." Taranto held the Westerners to just two runs a game... the Tars' ERA was a standout 1.71 for the four games.
TURON TRIPS OXFORD, UP 3-1 IN SERIES
In game four at Winchester Park in Oxford, favored Turon tripped up the Red Caps 8-5, topping them with a pair of two-run homers... C Doyle Ashcroft (.471) and LF Darrell Faust (.167) both went deep for the Typhoons, who now have a huge three games to one bulge in the best-of-seven Tycobbian Division Championship Series... Ashcroft batted in four runs with a pair of hits... Turon rapped out 11 hits to 9 for Oxford... both clubs had their aces on the hill, but neither performed like it... Nate Scottsdale (1-1/6.14) staggered to the win... the Red Caps ripped him for five runa and nine hits in his eight and two-thirds innings... Dickie Parmenter came in with the bases loaded and got the final out... Rudy Mellancamp (1-1/5.06) didn't fare very well, either... the Typhoons slammed him for seven runs in seven innings... so much for the pitching duel... it was Turon's third straight triumph... all they need is one more win and they have three games to do it... with the final two at home at Typhoon Stadium.
MIDWAY TIES DC AT 2 GAMES APIECE
Game four of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series went to the Midway Wolves 5-1 over the Denton City Redbirds... playing on the road at Douglas Denton Field, Beau McCloud and Jeffrey Leonard combined on a two-hitter to even up the series at two game apiece... winning pitcher McCloud (1-0/1.42) started and worked into the 7th when his control left him... he only permitted one hit and one run, but walked five batters... Leonard relieved and put down the Redbird threat... he blanked the Redbirds over the final two and two-thirds inning on one hit for the save... the Wolves collected nine hits and dealt the defeat to Flash Stringfellow (1-1/1.93), who held them to two runs - one earned - in seven frames... Midway jolted the Denton City bullpen for three runs in the top of the 8th to open up a four-run lead... RF Daryl Vale (.472) socked three hits to pace the Wolves with help from SS Kax Clark (.438) with a pair of hits and two ribbies and LF Elton O'Leary (.231), who scored two runs, had two hits, including a solo swat... game five will also be played in Denton City... game six and seven are scheduled for Midway.
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