[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 6, 2055

Ruthlandian Union League Championship Series - Game 5

MACS IN PRO CUP FINALS AGAIN
For the second year in a row the Wynnamac Sundowners are heading to the IPA Pro Cup Finals... they are the champion of the Ruthlandian Union... as expected the Macs quickly eliminated the Far Mountain Redhawks in five games... southpaw superstar Sammy Hayes finally finally pitched like a superstar, tossing a splendid 5-hit 1-0 shutout, walking only two batters and whiffing seven... Hayes (1-2/6.04) had been terrible in his three previous postseason starts... and Hayes had to be good in game five... Redhawk righty Benny Van (1-1/2.45) also pitched a heck of a game, yielding only one run and five hits in seven frames... the Sundowners put the only run on the scoreboard in the top of the 4th... 1B Enos Benham (.365/6 RBI) started the inning with a single, moved to second on a base hit by LF Marv Washburn (.311/12 RBI) and came around to score on 2B Phil McLemore's (.268/4 RBI) go-ahead single.

Wynnamac skipper Jerry Meeks told the media, "The Redhawks surprised us when they tore up Hayes in game one... after that jolt, our pitchers settled down and really did their job well, racking up four wins in a row and only giving up seven runs."... the Hall-of Fame hurler added, "Now that's my kind of pitching."

Robby Kelly, also an IPA Hall-of-Famer, echoed Meeks' feelings... "We had a great first game, but then it all went downhill... the Macs have really good pitching... we just couldn't hit them."

Kelly also said, "It was great to back into the playoffs for the first time since '47... it would have been a dream come true for Far Mountain, the only IPA club to win three Pro Cups in a row, to get a chance in the Pro Cup Finals against Midway, who is seeking to tie that mark this year... it could have been a magical title series."

Tycobbian Union League Championship Series - Game 5

RASCALS TAKE 3-2 LEAD IN TU TITLE SERIES
Uh Oh!... the shoe is on the other foot... underdog and lightly-regarded White River has somehow managed to take a 3-2 advantage over mighty Midway, the winner of the last two Pro Cup trophies...in game five at White River Stadium, the scrappy Rascals got a super outing from starter Keil Trickett, who stopped the vaunted bats of the Wolves for eight innings in a 5-3 triumph... Trickett held them to just five hits, two runs with no walks and eight Ks... Midway didn't go out quietly and gave the bullpen some problems in the 9th... with one run in and the bases loaded, Ronald Doss (0-1/2.57 1 save/3 G) relieved Arnie Wynyard (0-0/2.45/4 G) and struck out C Bobby Martinez (.258/5 RBI) on just three pitches to clinch the victory... C Wayne Carlton (.487/8 RBI) continued to swing a hot bat in the playoffs... he poked a two-run blast and snapped a 2-all tie in the last of the 6th.. it was his third home run of the postseason... Carlton hit only seven during the regular season... White River collected nine hits, while Midway got seven... RF Daryl Vale (.314/11 RBI) led the Wolves with three hits, including his 4th playoff homer... Rob Land (0-1/3.10) started and did well until the Carlton clout in the 6th... he caught the loss, going six and two-thirds innings and permitting five runs and seven hits... White River won all three games at home.

The Tycobbian League Championship Series will now return to Midway and Joe Wolf Stadium, where the Wolves won the first two games of the series... the Middies have their work cut off for them... they have to win the final two games to get a shot at a third straight Pro Cup... it might be a tall order... White River has two solid pitchers set to go in the last two games... not so for Midway.

The Rascals will go with Nickey Palmer (17-12/3.39) in game six, opposed by Midway's Arnie McGill (19-10/3.14)... game seven, if needed, will pit Cody Butler (13-6/3.16) for White River and Doogie Higgins (12-14/3.86 or Charlie Chase (19-12/4.06) for the Wolves.