#2 Abernathy Adamantium (60-49) vs #3 Easy Town Assaultrons (61-47)
Season Series: Abernathy 5, Easy Town 3
April 5-6 @Abe: Abe 10-3, ET 6-2
May 17-18 @ET: Abe 9-2, ET 9-0
June 21-22 @Abe: ET 4-3, Abe 12-8
June 28-29 @ET: Abe 10-9, Abe 2-1
Abernathy Home Page
Easy Town Home Page
Game 1 Matchup
Analysis
Abernathy is barely in the top half in the North Charles Association in runs scored (532), ranking 6th. They are 9th in batting average (.269) and 7th in on-base percentage (.332), so they are a bit better at manufacturing runs than most teams. Still, their bats will need to get hot to have a chance to win the Sole Survivor Series. Leading the way on offense is all-CBO SS Austin Engill. The Inaugural Draft #1 overall pick has been every part of good on both offense (.297/22/84) and defense. While those numbers may not be CBO MVP numbers, they are solid for the middle. The big gain on offense has been LF Po Greenzone (.275/26/88) who led the Brotherhood League in home runs in 2296 but got relegated to the bench in 2297, both years with The Slog. RF Donny Kowalski (.287/20/76) is also a good middle-of-the-lineup bat, and 2B Jim Waples (.336/2/37) does his job at leadoff, leading the team in batting average.
The pitching is a bit better than the offense, finishing 4th in the NCA in runs allowed (505). The bullpen has the 2nd best ERA in the NCA (3.12), while the starters are 6th (4.61). That high ERA is not because of the top two starters, Brad Westing (13-9, 3.62) and Joe Penaltybox (14-5, 4.74). Bad Company Grognak (7-10, 5.60) will be the third starter, but he could be a liability against the Easy Town offense. Closer T-Bone Heagy (4-6, 3.33, 28 SV) has been decent, with Kyle Hooch (7-3, 3.23) helping the most from the bullpen.
Easy Town is the biggest up in one, down in the other category team in the playoffs. To make it simple, they need to win "shootouts" rather than "shutouts." The Assaultrons are second in the NCA in runs scored (599) while sporting the best batting average at .299. The biggest reason for that high batting average is LF Jarrett Metalbox (.408/17/89), a CBO MVP candidate. He has a hit in more than 2 out of every 5 at bats, meaning that he can basically help to generate runs every game. CF Sean Samuels (.348/12/65) and RF Dan Squirrel (.372/24/99) also helo in the middle of the lineup. Seventh and eight batters, C Adam Henderson (.246/13/64) and 3B Bobby Carr (.218/15/54), can also generate power hits from the back of the lineup. Easy Town also led the NCA in stolen bases (83), led by Samuels (20), 2B Frank Clawdodger (.278/0/15/16 SB), and leadoff hitter 1B Joe Ransom (.271/22/67/16 SB).
Where the Assaultrons may see their season come to an end is their pitching. Ranking 9th in runs allowed (579), the pitching has been more detriment than help, which is strange since they finished a league-best 21-10 in one-run games. The 8th best starters (4.81 ERA) are led by Angel Waterdrink (13-11, 4.59), Smoker Caliman (15-4, 4.59), and David Tech (9-10, 4.75), all with as good of records as they have due to the awesome run support they receive. One bright spot for the 10th best bullpen (4.55 ERA) is closer Aaron Geneva (2-1, 1.96, 37 SV) who led the CBO in saves. Outside of Geneva, the Assaultrons will need to rely on Marc Woodsman (6-2, 2.76) to get them extra innings. No one else is dependable. Still, the Assaultrons may have what it takes to outshoot the Adamantium despite their suspect pitching.
Prediction
Easy Town upsets the Adamantium, 3 games to 1