Wednesday, September 21, 2061
8 PENNANT WINNERS CLASH SAT IN PRO CUP PLAYOFFS
For the 61st time the Islandian Pro Alliance will conduct the Pro Cup playoffs to determine the top baseball teams in Ruthlandian and Tycobbia... then those two champions will bang heads and bats against one another for arguably the supreme achievement in Islandia... to capture the IPA Pro Cup trophy... it all happens at a ballpark near you beginning this Saturday afternoon.
This is a very special edition of the Pro Cup playoffs... three of the participants, Valmara, Turon and Rolling Hills, will be seeking a record-setting fifth Pro Cup trophy... this year the title is up for grabs... all eight squads are given a pretty good chance at taking all the marbles... no one is writing off any of the teams... it's a wide-open affair... the experts are saying you can throw the regular season records out the window... the IPA postseason playoffs are a different creature, that doesn't always play out according to script.
The reigning Pro Cup champion is back again, shooting for back-to-back IPA titles... in the Tycobbian Union, two of the powerhouse clubs in the IPA will open up against one another... the 2060 Pro Cup winner, Rolling Hills Racers (99-55), will be entertaining the Midway Wolves (95-59) at the Midtown Base Ball Grounds for the opening two games of the best-of-seven series... Joe Wolf Stadium in Midway will be the site of the second set of games... games three, four and five... then, if necessary, it's back to Rolling Hills for the finale games... in the other TU first round series, it will be the Turon Typhoons (87-67) clashing with Oxford (96-58) on the Red Caps own home grounds, Winchester Park... after two games, the venue will switch to Typhoon Stadium... and if needed, the last two games will revert back to Oxford.
Playing for the Ruthlandian Union league title will be the Valmara Vipers (95-59) and the St. John Crusaders (89-65)... they will tangle at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara for the first two games... the Crusaders will be the home team for games three, four and five at Cathedral Park... if needed games six and seven will be held in Valmara... clashing in the first two games at Granger Field in Wynnamac will be the highly-regarded Sundowners (98-56) and the Volusia Vigilantes (97-57)... the Macs will be in Volusia for the next three games at the Jailhouse, or Silver River Stadium, as it's officially known... should the series go to game six or seven, they will be back in Wynnamac.
Rather than play on consecutive dates, this year the Islandian Pro Alliance had decided to give the teams a break between games five and six, so the pitching staffs will not be overtaxed.