#2 Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (66-42) vs #1 Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (67-41)
Season Series: Nordhagen Beach 4, Fort Hagen 4
April 17-18 @FtH: FtH 8-2, NB 5-2
July 24-25 @NB: NB 5-3, NB 5-4
August 21-22 @FtH: NB 5-2, FtH 2-1
August 28-29 @NB: FtH 6-1, FtH 1-0
Nordhagen Beach Home Page
Fort Hagen Home Page
Game 1 Matchup
Analysis
This rivalry of both of the NCA's league champions is an intense one. Both Nordhagen Beach and Fort Hagen split their "Battle of the Hagens" series in 2300 with streaks being the name of the game. That could mean the winner of Game 1 has the major advantage, but we feel this series will be more of a back-and-forth one.
The Party Boys have to worry about the last three games of the series, especially since it came towards the end of the season. In those three games, the Boys scored 1, 1, and 0 with the Shroud's Derek Green (15-6, 2.73) dominating them twice in a row and then Brent Hooker (11-9, 3.94) pitching the shutout. While Nordhagen Beach seems to have the better pitching staff in Tommy Beach (9-3, 2.30), Chet Arthur (15-6, 2.71), and Julian Shed (6-6, 2.98), the Silver Shroud won the pitching battle on the season. Still, it will be tough for Fort Hagen to score more than three runs in a game. Somehow, they need to hold down the Nordhagen Beach offense while knocking out the Boys' strong staff.
The Silver Shroud's advantage is in its offense, with SS Well Done Dungan hitting .400 in the season series. However, he was the only one with consistent success, with 1B Jim Tiller being second best at .267. Nordhagen Beach had more success on the offensive side before the last three games. In just 12 at bats, LF Michael Fogcrawler hit .417. C Mike Swift also hit over .400 in 29 at bats. 2B Brian Masterson hit ,324. What the Boys could not do, however, was hit homers. Only Fogcrawler and pinch hitters Dirty Dog Sapienza and Ginger Rogers hit homers. Also, most regulars hit below .200: SS Pointie Shroud, 3B Jon Hitman, RF Jonathan Angelou, and CF Maxx Murtagh.
Prediction
Like we mentioned, a streaky team could end this one quickly. We're going to go against that trend and predict no more than two straight wins for either team. In the end, we're predicting a repeat of 2299 with the Silver Shroud winning this one 4 games to 3.