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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 30, 2055
Ruthlandian Union Division Championship Series - Game 7
MACS UPSET ROOSTERS AGAIN, WIN SERIES
For the second straight year in the first round of the IPA playoffs, Wynnamac did it!... only ranked fifth in the postseason poll, the Macs again upended the Pro Cup favorite Middlefield Roosters to advance to the RU Finals against the Far Mountain Redhawks... and to get there thay had to beat the Roosters twice on the road... the Macs had to win game six and game seven in Middlefield Park... the Sundowners took game seven 4-1 behind Dion Delgiorno (2-0/1.08) to grab the series four games to three... the 26-year-old portsider stopped the Roosters on just three hits over eight innings... Delgiorno had control lapses, but did the job... he walked five batters and needed help in the 9th from closer Tike Collazo (1-0/1.17/1 save/4 G), who wrapped it up with a perfect inning... three homers paved the way to victory for Wynnamac... 1B Enos Benham (.310/2 RBI) paced Wynnamac with a two-run blast in the first inning... CF Dickie Key (.222/1 RBI) nailed one in the second and LF Marv Washburn (.267/9 RBI) also popped a solo shot in the 4th... the Macs only got six hits, but it was enough to get past the powerful Roosters... Middlefield starter Johnny Tanner (0-1/3.46) worked six frames and gave up all three roundtrippers... RF Trip Agarn (.300) put the only Rooster run on the scoreboard with a home run in the fourth, the only run off of Delgiorno.
Wynnamac manager Jerry Meeks told reporters, "Zounds, we did it again!... we beat the Pro Cup favorite... and we beat the Roosters with their favorite weapon - the home run."... the Sundowners hit 10 in the seven-game series... Middlefield collected six.
Middlefield skipper Rinky Tinker was frustrated... "We had almost everything going for us... including the homefield advantage, which we didn't taike advantage of... the last two games on our field and we couldn't win one of them."
The Macs hit .244, but were outscored in the series 32 to 31... Middlefield batted .243... on the hill the Roosters were the best with a fine 3.00 ERA to 3.80 for the Sundowners... 10 roundtrippers must have made the difference.
Tycobbian Union Division Championship Series - Game 7
RASCALS SURPRISE SUN SOX, TAKE 7TH GAME
In first-round action in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs, number-five pick Wynnamac whipped Pro Cup favorite Middlefield, the number-one choice, and eighth-rated White River surprised third-ranked Southport ... in game seven White River, known for it strong pitching, got a fine start from Cody Butler, who blanked the Sun Sox 6-0 on eight hits...in his most important outing ever, the 31-year-old journeyman Butler went all the way, fanned four batters and walked two... the weak-hitting Rascals even supported him with a solid 10-hit attack, led by C Wayne Carlton (.545/4 RBI) with a two-run homer... in the late innings the Sun Sox had several chances to get back into the contest, but couldn't come up with a clutch hit... they left 11 men on base in the game.
Pitching was expected to dominate in the series and it certainly did... both clubs were exceptional... White River posted a 1.71 ERA to 1.95 for Southport... neither team is known for its offense... it wasn't expected, but the Rascals outscored the Sun Sox 22-15 in the seven games... White River was rated the worst team in the postseason because of it lousy offense.
"We got just enough runs to win the series," White River manager Marty Blake told the press corps... "We knew we could stay with them on the mound... the key was whether or not we could score enough runs."... Blake added, "It's scary what we will be facing in the next round, the Tycobbian Finals... our pitchers must really be at their best and on top of their game against that murderous Midway lineup."
The Southport skipper, Lorne Evans, said he "knew it would come down to who got the critical hits... unfortunately we didn't get 'em."
White River shut the Sun Sox out in game six and seven to come back from a 3-2 deficit... they had to win the last two games on the road.
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