Today in the CBO
News and Notes - Reports from around the Commonwealth
by Nat Wright-Kowalski
12 August 2296 - Oberland Closer to Miss Weekend
Oberland T-51s closer Aaron Still will be unavailable in the closing weekend. Still, who was jerking and twitching erratically during a team meeting, was suspected of being under the influence of Psycho.
August Oberland announced after the meeting that Still was not playing in the final weekend, probably for chem suspension. Still was not seen after the team practice at Egret Tours Marina, but there was apparently a brahmin heading north towards Vault 81. Dr. Jacob Forsythe at Vault 81 treats chem addictions, in addition to medical problems.
Still is 4-3 with 14 saves out of 18 attempts and a 3.68 ERA on the season. The 7th-round pick of the T-51s, he has allowed 12 earned runs on 30 hits with 14 walks and 44 strikeouts in 29.1 innings. Still is considered one of the better relief pitchers in all of the CBO, and he will be a valuable player for the playoffs.
Oberland has already clinched the Railroad League at 40-17. They finish the season at the Egret Scrappers, who will represent the RL as the wildcard team. The Scrappers are 33-24 which would place them as the 6th seed in the eight-team tournament if the playoffs started today. Egret is looking to avoid having to play either Oberland or the Warwick Mirelurks in the first round.
13 August 2296 - Four Leafs Sneak Past Party Boys, 14-13
The Finch Farm Four Leafs defeated the Nordhagen Beach Party Boys, 14-13, at Finch Family Park.
Finch Farm second baseman Alec Bullets had a superb performance. He went 3 for 5 with 3 doubles and a walk, while scoring 4 runs and driving in 5. Steve Warwar, now 1-0, was credited with the win. He allowed no runs on no hits, while striking out 1 and walking 0. The victory gives Finch Farm a record of 35-23.
The game was decided with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. With Finch Farm trailing 13-12, Danny Honeycutt hit a curveball from Sia Abber to center for a 2-run single. Just like that, the Four Leafs had a walk-off win.
"Say want you want about this team, they play nine innings hard," said Finch Farm manager Jake Finch.
13 August 2296 - 5-Hit Blitz by Nordhagen Beach's Jones
A big day at bat for Tomas Jones of the Nordhagen Beach Party Boys still ended with a loss.
The Nordhagen Beach center fielder did all he could do, going 5-for-5, but it was not enough to overcome the Finch Farm Four Leafs. They triumphed over Nordhagen Beach 14-13 at Finch Family Park.
Tomas Jones hit an RBI double in the 1st, doubled in the 3rd, singled in the 5th, hit a two-run double in the 6th, walked in the 7th and singled in the 8th.
This year Jones is batting .381 with 96 hits, 8 home runs, 43 RBIs, 18 walks, .422 OBP and has scored 46 runs.
13 August 2296 - Iddings Hot, Deathclaws Cold
It wasn't easy but Bruce Iddings made it look that way.
Iddings silenced the University Point Deathclaws, 17-0, in a Goodneighbor Hancocks triumph at Third Rail Stadium at S. Boston HS today. Despite the appearance of dominance, Iddings said later that he felt like he was struggling all game. He gave up no walks and 5 hits.
"It didn't feel quite right today, but I made the decision to bear down and work through it," he said. "I made a few mistakes but it goes to show what you can do with grit and not much else."
In 20 starts this year Iddings has posted 9 wins while suffering 8 losses. He has pitched 139.2 innings, allowed 172 hits, struck out 110 and has a 5.35 ERA.
13 August 2296 - Clutch Hitting Delivers Win for Gunners
The home crowd had a good time watching the Atom Cats and Quincy Gunners get after it.
Quincy shortstop Robbie Adams contributed to his team's 7-4 win over the Atom Cats. Adams, who is on pace for 41 RBI this season, went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored to lead the offensive attack for the Gunners. Reliever Ryan Kazarian picked up the win. His record improves to 1-0. Matt "Ace in the Hole" Hope took the loss.
Adams had a clutch at-bat in the bottom of the eighth for the Gunners. Coming up with the bases loaded and Quincy trailing 4-3, he hit a 2-run single.
"Robbie is still learning," said Gunners manager Little Larry. "The sky's the limit for him."
The win gives Quincy a season record of 29-29. With a sweep over the Cats, they have a chance of earning the wild card spot out of the Minutemen League.
14 August 2296 - Four Leafs Score 7 in 9th for Win
Nordhagen Beach left fielder Michael Fogcrawler was sensational. He went 2 for 4 with 2 home runs and a walk, while adding 3 RBI and scoring twice, but it wasn't enough to rally his team to a win. Finch Farm beat the Party Boys, 13-12. Finch Farm is now riding a 3-game win streak.
The game was decided with one out in the bottom of the ninth. With Finch Farm trailing 12-11, Ginger Rogers hit a curveball from Sia Abber to center for a 2-run single. Just like that, the Four Leafs had a walk-off win. Just like that, Abber blew his second straight save attempt.
"We put it together today and came out with the win," Rogers said in postgame remarks. "That's the main thing."
14 August 2296 - Quincy Wins Again, Trails Wild Card Race by 1 Game
Quincy left-hander Manny McDuff pitched his team to victory over the Atom Cats at The Stone House. The final score was 6-2. Quincy has now won 3 straight, while the Cats have lost 6 in a row. With the win, the Gunners are now just one game behind the Cats for the Minutemen League wild card spot.
In the bottom of the first, Quincy catcher Stuart Costantino had a productive at-bat. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out, Costantino stroked a 2-run single to center. It made the score 3-0, Quincy. For the game, he was 2 for 4 with 2 singles. He drove in 2 runs.
"It's nice to come out on top today," said McDuff.
Goodneighbor lost earlier today, eliminating the Hancocks from the race. Now, tomorrow's Game Three will determine if the Cats are in or if they have to play Quincy one more game for the wild card spot.
14 August 2296 - Mutfruit Whitewashes Diamond City
The Shaw HS Knuckle Punchers shut out the Diamond City Swatters 5-0 today behind the strong pitching of Nick Mutfruit. Mutfruit surrendered only 6 hits in recording the complete-game victory, and struck out 10.
Following the last out, Mutfruit appeared to celebrate a little too boisterously for Diamond City owner Moe Cronin, who could be seen scolding the famously outspoken right-hander as the clubs left the field. Mutfruit's own player-coach Brad Westing then intervened with some words for his counterpart.
Cronin would not comment on the exchange, but at the Knuckle Punchers press conference, Mutfruit confirmed that it was regarding the celebration.
"[Cronin] basically told me I was being a lousy winner," Mutfruit said.
"And I told [Cronin] he was being a lousy loser," Westing added.
On his stats sheet this season Mutfruit shows a 9-6 record, 20 starts, 130 innings, 75 strikeouts and a 5.68 ERA.
15 August 2296 - Cronin Partnering with Poseidon Energy
Diamond City Swatters owner Moe Cronin has divulged that he is looking to invest heavily in Poseidon Energy with the possibility of dual sponsorship of both the Swatters and the 2297 minor affiliate.
Poseidon Energy Logo
Poseidon Energy was the Boston area's main supplier of energy before the War. According to a terminal entry, "Poseidon Energy was an umbrella corporation with its fingers in virtually all known forms of renewable and non-renewable power sources on both the east and west coasts of America, as well as research and development of new, more powerful weapons through their subsidiaries, so long as they remained profitable. One of its most notable features was the unified PoseidoNet, a national transfer system that provided instantaneous communication between various Poseidon facilities including Atomic Powerplant № 5, Control Station Enclave, Navarro, HELIOS One, the power plants of Appalachia, and other locations throughout the United States and possibly the world."
A Poseidon Energy plant was left intact near Warwick Homestead and Quincy. Before it was occupied by raiders, but now a number of people are looking to get it back up and operating so that settlements do not need to rely on unreliable local powering systems.
In addition to looking to invest in Poseidon Energy, Cronin also took the opportunity to introduce the name and location of Diamond City's minor league team. According to Cronin, the team will be located in the Southwest Quadrant in Natick Banks and be called the Big Leaguers. Players modeled the home and away uniforms pictured below.
Natick Banks Home
Natick Banks Away
15 August 2296 - Party Boys Swept to End 2296 Season
The Finch Farm Four Leafs topped the Nordhagen Beach Party Boys by the score of 9-2, with the biggest share of the credit going to first baseman Joe Mahaney. Mahaney was 2 for 2 with a home run and 2 walks. He scored 4 times for the Four Leafs on the day. The losing streak for Nordhagen Beach has now reached 4 games.
Alec Bullets, who is tied for 8th in the with a .423 on-base percentage, chipped in for Finch Farm with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the second. For the game, the second baseman had 2 hits in 5 at-bats with 1 home run, 1 single, 1 run scored, and 3 RBI.
"We'll keep playing hard and let the chips fall where they may," said Finch Farm manager Jake Finch.
15 August 2296 - Four Leafs End Masterson's Streak
The 22-game hitting streak of Nordhagen Beach Party Boys second baseman Brian Masterson came to an end today at Finch Family Park. The Finch Farm Four Leafs held him hitless in 4 at-bats and also sent the Party Boys down to defeat, 9-2.
Later, Masterson acknowledged to BNN reporters that the hit streak meant something to him.
"It was special," he said, "but I think other people make a bigger deal out of it than I do, or the players do. It was what we're all supposed to do; go out and hit the ball and try to score runs. It was a cool deal, but it's over now. Let's try to start a new one."
Masterson finished the season batting .320 this year with 6 home runs, 26 RBIs and 53 runs scored. He has 78 hits in 244 at-bats.
15 August 2296 - Ghouls, Witch Hats in Tie Breaker
County Crossing defeated The Slog and Salem defeated East Boston Prep, leading to a two-way tie for second place in the Brotherhood League.
Now the Ghouls and Witch Hats, both 31-29 to finish the regular season, will have to match up for one more game to determine the wild card representative from the BL.
Because the teams went 6-6 against each other, Nate Howard declared the home field would be determined by flipping a bottle cap. Salem won the flip, so they will host the Ghouls tomorrow night. The Slog started preparing to travel right after losing to the Bloodbugs since they would have to play at the winner of tonight's Salem and East Boston Prep game for the tie breaker.
15 August 2296 - Adamantium Clinches IL
It took a while, but the Abernathy Adamantium avoided a sweep today, and in turn, clinched the Institute League title.
Joel Mutfruit was a major contributor to the 6-0 Abernathy win over Sunshine Tidings. The Adamantium third baseman went 4 for 4 with a home run, a double, and 2 singles, while scoring 2 runs and driving in 3. The winning pitcher was Neil Watson. His record is now 9-4. The right-hander went 8.2 innings, allowing no runs on 5 hits for the Adamantium. The victory gives Abernathy a record of 36-24.
The Adamantium benefited from an error in the bottom of the fifth inning. Abernathy was leading 2-0 when Donny Kowalski hit a 2-run single that was misplayed. It put Abernathy in front, 4-0.
"We can always improve and get better, but we're feeling confident after that win," said Kowalski.
Abernathy will now get at least one home series guaranteed, while Starlight Drive-In will be the wild card team and have to travel for its first series.
15 August 2296 - Quincy Sweep Leads to Game 4
Against all odds, the Quincy Gunners completed a sweep of the Atom Cats. The two teams will now play again tomorrow in Quincy in a winner-take-all spot in the CBO Playoffs.
Ben Pettinato was a vital contributor to the 11-10 Quincy victory over Atom. The Gunners third baseman was 3 for 5 with a home run, a double, and a walk, while scoring 3 runs and driving in 3. Wick Prater converted his 13th save in 16 tries. This loss makes it 7 in a row for Atom.
David Driftwood, who is on pace to hit 11 home runs this season, contributed to the Quincy win with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh. For the game, the right fielder had 3 hits in 5 at-bats with 1 home run, 2 singles, 2 runs scored, and 4 RBI.
"We're stringing together some nice wins," said Quincy manager Little Larry.