[Eugene Church]

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

The Islandian Times
Saturday, September 25, 2010

2010 Pro Cup Playoffs Begin Today
Some clubs have coasted to make the playoffs -- others have scrapped tooth-and-nail to get here. After a long, sometimes seemingly endless regular season, it gets down to who can win a short series -- by hook or crook, talent or luck. That's what it takes to capture the Islandian Pro Alliance championship. The top teams will vie in the Pro Cup Series starting today. The defending Pro Cup champions, the Turon Typhoons, are back again trying to take the Islandian Pro Alliance title for the unprecedented fourth time. Last year the Typhoons came back from a 3-1 deficit to snare the Pro Cup from Far Mountain in seven games. Turon also had to go seven games to whip favored Denton City in the TU Final 4.

Scribes Select Denton City-Colfax Pro Cup Finals
The Islandian Times conducted a poll of the major baseball writers in the Islands and came up with these rankings.

1. Denton City Redbirds
2. Colfax Blasters
3. Far Mountain Redhawks
4. Turon Typhoons
5. Blue Lake Blue Sox
6. Ozarka Naturals
7. Waleska Westerners
8. Sugar Valley Rattlers

Team Season Summaries:

It was a runaway in the Tycobbian West for the second successive season. The Denton City Redbirds won 100 games and once again totally dominated the division, winning by 15 games over runner-ups Arlon, Bay St. Clair and Chicopee. Last season the Redbirds romped by a 12-game spread.

Manager Ford Whiteman has a splendid ball team in almost all respects, pitching, hitting and power and they have been made the favorites to win this year's Pro Cup... The Denton City Redbirds (100-54) are average in only one area of the game... on defense they have a modest .972 FA... Whiteman's mound staff is number one in the league with a superb 3.20 team ERA, third with 185 home runs and fifth with a .273 BA... Mila Mohoski (26-11 2.54), Kimo Orlando (26-11 2.85) and Mike Danek (14-12 2.68) form a formidable starting rotation... at the plate Denton City's batting order is strong throughout... top hitters are RF Lavon Gooch (.285/32/105/105), CF Rod MacCormack (.283/22/94/94), 1B Mick Abbott (.312/26/95/96), SS Trevor Tomlinson (.289/13/40/86), 3B Jay Petit (.317/19/56/80) and LF Danny Nash (.343/17/56/62)... Nash and Petit were platoon players and Tomlinson missed two months with an injury... the Redbirds will tangle with Ozarka in the Elite 8 Series.

Colfax Blasters (107-47) of the RU West totally dominated the league and set a new IPA record with 107 wins, breaking the old mark by 5... on paper Colfax should be a cinch to win the Pro Cup, but the scribes are forecasting the winner will come from the stronger league, the Tycobbian Union... they will have to fend off a determined bunch of Far Mountain Redhawks to get a shot at the overall Island championship... the Blasters were first in batting, pitching and fielding... they hit .276, had a 3.00 ERA and a .976 fielding average... Clem Rogers had two fantastic starters... Ilya Szabo and Jimmy Joe Cartner won 54 games and lost only 8 between them... they were both 27-4... In addition Szabo carded a magnificent 1.79 ERA to lead the IPA, while Cartner compiled a 2.86 ERA... starter #3 Jasper LaForge went 19-10 with a 3.35 ERA... and it didn't stop there - in the bullpen Dallas Somerville chalked up 26 saves with a great 2.01 ERA and a 7-8 record.

The Blasters lived up to their names at bat, too... Leading the way offensively was four-time All-Star CF Ryan Raines with 28 homers, 122 RBIs, 108 runs and a .293 BA... Raines still run like the wind and plays center like a Gold Glover... He had plenty of help from LF Paul Coniglio with 30 home runs, 104 RBIs, 99 runs and a .290 BA... In 107 games RF Karl Heidelberg batted at the .311 mark with 10 homers, 50 RBIs and 90 runs scored... in 81 games 3B Mike Janocko was outstanding with a .344 average, 15 roundtrippers, 71 runs batted, while scoring 48... Colfax will meet Sugar Valley in the opening round of the playoffs.

Last year Alex Groveland took Far Mountain to the Pro Cup finals and came within a hair of winning it... many think he has a better team this season... the Redhawks routed Colfax 4-1 in the 2009 Final 4 and will be no pushovers this season, despite Colfax's monstrous 107 victories...Far Mountain (93-61) took the flag and a spot in the Pro Cup playoffs with a good all-around ball club, good hitting, pitching, power and defense...Leroy Hill (24-10 3.13) and Boomerang Hines (24-10 3.17) were a dynamic duo on the mound staff... rookie closer Erich Dumont racked up 36 saves and led the league... the Redhawks were paced at the plate by 2B Duane Parsons (.312/38/133/105)... Parsons led the RU in RBIs and tied for the home run title with Scott Camden of Rocky Rapids... other solid hitters were SS Don Nichols (.302/19/96/108), rookie CF Xavier Sosa (.322/17/72/74) and C Otis Ott (.270/26/96/79).

On paper the baseball experts never pick Turon to win the Pro Cup, but they have proved them wrong year after year... This year the gurus are singing another tune. They are rating the Typhoons as the fourth best team in deference to their three Pro titles... The Turon Typhoons (80-74) have a good core of talent and have won the TU South four times in the last five years and have taken three Pro Cups... they copped the TU South by 6 games with a .254 BA (23rd) with 122 home runs (22nd) and a 3.66 team ERA (10th)... Whitey Richburn's rotation was led by rookie star Nicky Engstrom who broke on the scene with a great 20-7 record with a very strong 2.40 ERA... veteran Freddi Speigel also stood out with a 21-10 mark and a 3.36 ERA... another very impressive newcomer was rookie Merle Studebaker (0-3), who racked up 24 saves and notched a solid 2.36 ERA... the Typhoons top hitters were 2B Alan Hansen (.295/0/28/103), CF Mac McCurnan (.279/23/85/87), 1B Johnny Carducci (.274/27/89/71) and LF Andy Porter (.279/14/70/71)... this year Turon will have to beat Blue Lake (92-64), Denton City (100-54) or Ozarka (88-66) to get a crack at its fourth Pro Cup... as in the past the Typhoons will be the underdog... they will go up against Blue Lake in the Elite 8 Series.

Blue Lake won the RU North crown in a three-team playoff with place Mahaska and Oxford... manager Cobb Tyson's pitching carried the champion Blue Lake Blue Sox (92-64) to their first division title with a 3.46 team ERA (7th)... Justin Eckhardt (24-9 2.79), Pete Henry (20-14 3.01) and Pat Grange (15-8 3.34) were his prime starters with rookie closer Tony Reed (4-6 3.88) doing impressive work with 35 saves... the Blue Sox bats were just adequate with a .252 BA (22nd) and 155 home runs (9th) and were led by RF Ted Karno with 27 homers, 90 RBIs, 89 scores, while putting up a .264 BA... 2B Loren Babcock had 20 homers, 84 RBIs and scored 99 runs, CF Rick Hilliard hit .313 with 18 roundtrippers, 68 RBIs and 89 runs and LF Vic Gelder added a .283 BA, 22 home runs and 77 runs batted in.

None of the other three teams are considered in the running for the Pro Cup. But looking back over the years, many times the experts overlooked the eventual Island champion... the baseball experts do not have a good batting average in picking the Pro Cup winners.

Ozarka won the TU East in a tough struggle with Tuckanarra by three games... Joe Mac Carney's Ozarka Naturals (88-66) are a well-rounded ball club with a .264 team BA (10th) with a 135 roundtrippers (19th), very good pitching with a 3.42 ERA (4th) and solid fielding with a .975 FA... the Nats offense is paced by LF Vic Weinstein (.306/20/93/100), 2B Gil Lantz (.301/11/73/63), SS Nathan Ferrell (.266/24/95/80) and 3B Todd Chadwick (.258/25/91/113)... Carney has a fine starting rotation consisting of Emile Leduc (23-12 2.87), Tyrus Yokum (21-11 2.94), Philip Britt (17-12 3.42) and Karl Kleinert (17-11 3.92).

McGraw Johnson finally won the RU South after the Waleska Westerners (85-69) finished third the past two seasons... Johnson has fashioned a fine club with solid pitching and excellent hitting... They posted a 3.55 team ERA (5th) and hit .267 (7th) with 135 home runs (16th)... Waleska has a rock-solid line-up with good players in each of the eight spots, sparked by RF Kippy Doyle with 26 homers and 103 RBIs, CF Harold Setser with a .325 batting average, 22 homers and 98 RBIs, LF Johnny Stratton with 14 roundtrippers, 14 home runs, 91 RBIs and a .301 BA, 3B Grant Betzer with a .318 BA and 111 runs and 1B Nat Mayakovsky with 16 homers, 89 RBIs and a .291 average... on the hill Johnson has some talent, too... Waleska starters are Wilson Whitmore (18-13 2.87), Ken Vakos (14-7 3.47), Lenny Milazzo (13-10 3.36) and Sammy Grimaldi (8-5 3.06).

The Sugar Valley Rattlers (88-66) made the biggest turnaround in the RU East in 2010 as Gibby Bobkins' boys rose up from seventh place the previous season...the Rattlers were a good blend of offense and pitching and excellent on defense with a .981 fielding percentage, tops in the league... rookie Neil Howell (17-10 3.19), Jay Washington (19-16 3.60) and Connie Ehrlichmann (18-13 led the pitching corps... with a lot of help from closer Nickie Lynn (7-7 2.49), who registerd 30 saves... After a poor first half, Charles Darby (16-11 4.44) surged in the second half with an 11-6 record that really helped make the difference... Sugar Valley bats were sufficient with C Hal Stevenson (.276/28/100/87), CF Austen Conover (.293/4/78/94) and 2B Vic Chatelain (.301/2/78/71)... 1B Val Schlagel also contributed 22 homers, scored 93 times and hit at a .293 clip.



The Islandian Times
Saturday, October 9, 2010

2010 Pro Cup Begins Tomorrow, Favored Colfax Hosts Turon
Three weeks ago the Islandian Pro Alliance playoffs started with the eight best teams in the Islands. That number has now dwindled down to just two. The Colfax Blasters will represent the Ruthlandian Union and the Turon Typhoons will be the Tycobbian Union standard bearer.

The Blasters with Clem Rogers at the helm won a record-setting 107 games during the regular season and will be a solid favorite to take this year's Pro Cup, but will have to beat a team that has won more Pro Cups than anyone. Turon is the defending IPA champions and has won three titles in all. Whitey Richburn's Typhoons also won in 2003 and 2006. Turon has made five appearances in the postseason in its nine-year history. They were eliminated in the opening round in 2002 and 2008. This is the Blasters fourth time in the playoffs. They were knocked out in first round action in 2003 and 2008. Last year they reached the Final 4, but lost to Far Mountain.

Colfax wound up 107-47 this year and broke the old IPA record of 102 victories set by San Alejo of the Tycobbian South in 2002. Turon was only 80-74 this year, but eliminated Blue Lake (92-62) and powerful Denton City (100-54) to get to the final round. The Typhoons suffered a major loss when rookie 20-game winner Nicky Engstrom was lost for the season in September due to an arm injury. His 20-7 record will be sorely missed by Richburn... In a poll by The Islandian Times, Denton City and Colfax were picked 1-2 to win the Pro Cup. Turon came in fourth in the survey, mainly because they have won it so many times.

Rogers has a super starting rotation, headed up by two 27-game winners. Ilya Szabo was 27-4 with a brilliant 1.79 ERA and Jimmy Joe Cartner matched it at 27-4 with a fine 2.86 ERA. Number three in the starters is no slouch, either. Jasper LaForge chalked up a strong 19-10 mark with a fine 3.35 ERA. Turon's starters can't equal those regular season numbers. Richburn's best was Freddi Spiegel with a 21-10 record and a 3.36 ERA, followed by Anthony Nardone (14-20 3.77) and Jacques Lemaire, who was only 10-9 with an atronomical 4.57 ERA.

However in the postseason the comparison is not as bad. Szabo (4-1 1.35) has been even better in the playoffs, while Cartner (1-1 3.10) and LaForge (1-1 3.24) have delivered quality starts. Both Nardone (2-1 3.15) and Lemaire (2-2 0.75) have stepped it up a bit, while Spiegel (2-1 5.17) has struggled at times. Give Colfax a decided edge in starting pitching. In the Blaster bullpen the veteran Dallas Somerville (7-8 2.01) had 26 saves during the year and has two saves in the postseason. Somerville hasn't allowed run in five games. Colfax rookie reliever Merle Studebaker (0-3 2.36) racked up 24 saves in the regular season. Studebaker has one save and a 3.18 ERA in the playoffs. Advantage to Colfax.

Based on regular season stats Colfax is a much better hitting team with a .276 batting average with 144 home runs, while Turon countered with a .254 BA and 122 roundtrippers. Pretty much the same in the postseason. The Blasters have hit at a .280 clip with the Typhoons sporting a .238 average. Power is about even with Turon having a slight 8-6 edge in roundtrippers.

CF Ryan Raines (.293/28/122/108) and LF Paul Coniglio (.290/30/104/99) are the prime movers in the Colfax line-up. At the plate the Typhoons depend on CF Mac McCurnan (.279/23/85/87), 1B Johnny Carlucci (.274/27/89/71) and 2B Alan Hansen (.295/0/28/103). The offensive edge goes to Colfax by a wide margin.

Defensively Colfax is vastly superior with a .976 fielding average to only .971 for Turon.

The vast majority of the Island baseball prognosticators are predicting a Colfax victory in the 2010 IPA Pro Cup finals. It looks like the Blasters will be victorious in six games. Too much pitching for the weak-hitting Typhoons to handle.


The Islandian Times
Sunday, October 10, 2010

2010 IPA Pro Cup Finals: Game One at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax

Colfax Nips Turon 2-1 in 10, Coniglio Homers Twice
What a game LF Paul Coniglio had in the opening game of the 2010 Pro Cup finals at Colfax's Mountain View Stadium... Coniglio (.250) homered in the seventh to tie the score at 1-1 and then sent the hometown fans home happy with a game-winning smash in the 10th... Colfax closer Dallas Somerville (1-0 0.00) got the victory with one scoreless inning, while his counterpart Merle Studebaker (0-1 4.77) only made one pitch in the game and Coniglio sent it soaring to hang the loss on Studebaker... Coniglio has hit five out of the park in the playoffs this year... The teams matched goose eggs on the scoreboard until the top of the sixth... Back-to-back errors put runners on first and third for the Typhoons... after an intentional walk to load the bases, 3B John Cottrell (.268) delivered a sacrifice fly to break up the scoreless game between Jim Joe Cartner of the Blasters and Jacques Lemaire of Turon... Both of them went nine innings with Cartner (1-1 2.15) holding the Typhoons to just two hits and no earned runs with five Ks... Lemaire (2-2 0.82) was on the mark, too, with five strikeouts, no walks and only three hits... there were only seven hits in the extremely well-pitched contest with Colfax getting four of the them... Turon played errorless ball, while Colfax committed two miscues.


The Islandian Times
Monday, October 11, 2010

2010 IPA Pro Cup Finals: Game Two at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax

Colfax Wins Squeaker 4-3, Up 2-0 in Pro Cup
The Colfax Blasters won another squeaker 4-3 over Turon to take a two games to none lead in the IPA Pro Cup Finals... it was another low-scoring affair with the hurlers having their way with the hitters... The winner Jasper LaForge fired eight strong innings and limited the Typhoons to just one run on four hits with five strikeouts and only two bases on ball... LaForge left the mound with 4-1 lead, but then closer Dallas Somerville (1-0 2.45) almost blew as he was tagged for two runs in the top of the ninth and finally escaped with his third postseason save... Colfax only got four hits off loser Freddi Spiegel (2-2 5.03), while Turon collected just six hits... The Typhoons broke on top 1-0 in the top of the third on CF Mac McCurnan's (.228) RBI single, only to have the Blasters regain it on RF Karl Heidelberg's (.560) two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning... Colfax tacked on a run in the fourth when LF Paul Coniglio (.268) doubled, moved over to third on a ground-out and rode home on 3B Mike Janocko's (.283) fly ball... The Blasters got their final run in the eighth on a fielder's choice by SS Bob Klostermann (.226)... Turon made it very close in the top of the ninth when Somerville loaded the bases on a single and two walks... The Typhoons got two runs on back-to-back sac flies by pitchhitters Jimmy Tremayne (.421) and PH Bobo Dyess (.100)... The losing pitcher Freddi Spiegel went the route, fanned four and walked four in a lackluster outing.


The Islandian Times
Tuesday, October 12, 2010

2010 IPA Pro Cup Finals: Game Three at Typhoon Stadium in Turon

Turon Tops Szabo and Blasters 4-3, Now Trail By 1
In an almost do-or-die situation at home at Typhoon Stadium, Turon got back in the Pro Cup battle with a 4-3 triumph over the Colfax Blasters to cut their lead to two games to one in the best-of-seven series... To do it they had to beat one of the best pitchers in the IPA, Ilya Szabo... The Typhoons lit into the Colfax ace for three runs in the opening frame on an RBI double by CF Mac McCurnan (.246) and a two-run two-bagger by 3B John Cottrell (.271)... Colfax SS Bob Klostermann (.265) made it 3-1 with an RBI single in the top of the third... Szabo allowed another run in the Turon fourth when he misplayed a grounder for an error... LF Paul Coniglio (.267) narrowed the score to 4-2 in the fifth when he doubled in RF Karl Heidelberg (.500)... In the eighth CF Ryan Raines' (.231) solo homer chopped it to 4-3, but that was as close as Colfax could get... Closer Merle Studebaker pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the decision for starter Anthony Nardone (3-1 3.19)... Nardone has been Whitey Richburn's most reliable starter in the postseason... his only loss was 2-1 to the Denton City Redbirds... Nardone worked eight innings, scattered eight hits and gave up three runs, but was shaky at times with six bases on balls... Turon pelted Szabo for 11 hits and was paced by Cottrell with two doubles, three hits by SS Mickey O'Malley (.328) and McCurnan with a pair of hits... Klostermann led the Blasters with two hits in three at-bats... In defeat, Szabo (4-2 1.69) struck out eight batters and issued three walks, while pitching a complete game.


The Islandian Times
Wednesday, October 13, 2010

2010 IPA Pro Cup Finals: Game Four at Typhoon Stadium in Turon

Turon Ties Pro Cup Up, Takes Colfax 5-3
The Turon Typhoons dropped the first two games of the IPA Pro Cup Series on the road, but have rebounded at home with two wins of their own to tie it at two games apiece... Jacques Lamaire (3-2 1.10) led the way at Typhoon Stadium with a standout eight-inning performance to trim Colfax 5-3 in game four of the best-of-seven series... Lemaire struck out 8, walked one and limited the Blasters to six hits, then gave way to closer Merle Studebaker with a 5-2 lead... Studebaker (0-1 4.70) staggered to his third playoff save when he was touched for a run before putting Colfax away... The Typhoons got the lead in the second inning on C Pete Kilgour's RBI double... Doubles by Colfax 2B Ilya Ivanchuk (.259) and RF Paul Coniglio (.266) evened it up at 1-1 in the third frame and 3B Mike Janocko (.302) put them ahead 2-1 with a homer in the fourth... Turon tied it in the 6th on RF Jack Brown's (.229) RBI single... An infield error and 2B Alan Hansen's (.207) two-bagger gave the Typhoons a 3-2 margin in the seventh... Turon increased it to 5-2 in the eighth on another infield error by the Blasters and Brown's RBI double and pinchhitter Raphael Semmes (.211) RBI single... Colfax wrapped up the scoring for the day with a run in the ninth on 1B Josh Jackson's (.185) sacrifice fly... Jimmy Joe Cartner (1-2 2.41) went the distance in defeat, allowed three earned runs on eight hits, fanned five and issued four free passes... Colfax was hampered by three errors... Hits were all even with each team collecting eight... Brown topped Turon with two hits and two runs batted in... SS Kevin Warren (.207) had three hits for Colfax and Janocko added two more.


The Islandian Times
Thursday, October 14, 2010

2010 IPA Pro Cup Finals: Game Five at Typhoon Stadium in Turon

Turon Bombs Colfax 9-2, Leads Pro Cup 3-2
Turon playing in the friendly confines of Typhoon Stadium bombed Colfax 9-2 and now has the upper hand in the Pro Cup Finals with a three games to two lead... It was the Typhoons third consecutive home victory... Not only did Freddi Spiegel come up with his best postseason effort, but manager Whitey Richburn's bats were booming, too... The Typhoons lashed out 13 hits and Spiegel held Colfax to just four in an easy win... 1B Johnny Carducci (.238) homered with three hits, scored three times and drove in four runs... Rookie RF Jack Brown (.245) cracked a pair of hits and batted in two runs... and Spiegel (3-2 4.47) hurled a complete game and finished up with 8 Ks and four walks... Jasper LaForge (2-2 4.29) took the brunt of the battering as he allowed seven runs in two-plus innings... Turon broke a 1-1 tie in the third with a six-run uprising... The Pro Cup Series will now return to Colfax and Mountain View Stadium for the rest of the series... Turon needs one win in two games, while Colfax has to win them all... manager Clem Rogers has his 27-game winners Ilya Szabo (27-4) and Jimmy Joe Cartner (27-4) ready to go in the last two games... Turon's skipper Ashton "Whitey" Richburn will counter with Anthony Nardone (14-20) and Jacques Lemaire (10-9)... Should Turon pull off the upset of favored Colfax, it will the Typhoons fourth Pro Cup championship... Should the Blasters rally and win, it will be their first IPA title... Colfax is 7-1 at home in the postseason, while Turon is 4-4 in away games.


The Islandian Times
Friday, October 15, 2010

2010 IPA Pro Cup Finals: Game Six at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax

Szabo Zaps Turon 5-0, Pro Cup Goes To 7th Game
Colfax was on the brink of elimination in the Pro Cup Series and needed a win in the worst way and got it, compliments of its ace right-hander Ilya Szabo... The 31-year-old Szabo zapped the Turon Typhoons 5-0 to force a seventh and deciding game tomorrow afternoon in Colfax... Szabo (5-2 1.42) was almost flawless as he permitted only five singles, struck out six and gave up not one single base on balls in a masterful performance... Turon was not so fortunate as losing pitcher Anthony Nardone (3-2 3.65) continued to be plagued by wildness with eight walks... Nardone worked seven innings, gave up only four hits, but allowed all five scores... The game was scoreless for three frames when the Blasters erupted for four runs... Nardone walked four in the inning and forced in the first run of the game when he walked 2B Ilya Ivanchuk (.250) with two outs... then C Tino Leonetti (.225) emptied the bases with a three-run double... Colfax got its final run in the seventh when Leonetti got his second double of the game, went to third on a sac bunt and scored on a wild pitch... Tomorrow's Pro Cup finale will have 27-winner Jimmy Joe Cartner going for the Blasters and Jacques Lemaire (10-9) for the Typhoons... However in the postseason Lemaire has excelled with a 3-2 mark and a very strong 1.10 ERA... Lemaire has started four games and relieved three times... Cartner has made five starts with a 2.41 ERA and a 1-2 record.


The Islandian Times
Saturday, October 16, 2010

2010 IPA Pro Cup Finals: Game Seven at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax

Colfax Trounces Turon 10-2, Wins Pro Cup
The Colfax Blasters rallied to win the last two games of the Pro Cup Series to defeat the tough Turon Typhoons in seven games... Colfax trounced the Typhoons 10-2 in the 2010 championship finale, sparked by a 13-hit barrage and some fine pitching by Jimmy Joe Cartner... The Blasters power erupted with three roundtrippers... RF Paul Coniglio (.260) slammed a three-run homer in the opening inning, Cartner (.308) even hit a two-run shot in the fourth frame and LF Karl Heidelberg (.436) belted a two-run homer in the fifth... Coniglio paced all hitters with three hits and four RBIs... Heidelberg smacked a pair of hits and scored three times... Cartner (2-2 2.33) gave up 10 hits, but held Turon at bay with men on base... The Typhoons stranded 11 runners... Cartner walked three and whiffed seven, while going the distance... Jacques Lemaire (3-3 2.62) had a dismal day on the hill and caught the loss... Lemaire was ripped for eight runs in three-plus innings... He went to the showers trailing 8-0... This was Colfax's first IPA Pro Cup championship... Turon failed to get its fourth crown.

Colfax manager Clem Rogers was elated with the Pro Cup and gave high praise to his team's comeback after trailing 3 games to 2, "Szabo and Cartner really came through for us in the final two games... plus our bats finally came alive." Later on Rogers complimented the Turon Typhoons, "Whitey's team gave us fits... We had to play our best ball of the season to beat them... Thank goodness, we had the homefield advantage in the series... we needed it."

Richburn said he was proud of his club, "They are a tremendous bunch of guys who never quit no matter what... this one really hurts though... it would have been our fourth Pro Cup... we just got beat by a very fine team... Colfax deserved it... they gave us no chance in game six and game seven."


The Islandian Times
Sunday, October 17, 2010

Colfax's Szabo Hauls in Pro Cup MVP Trophy
Every time the Pro Cup champion Colfax Blasters needed a critical victory in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs, Ilya Szabo stood tall on the hill and came through for them. Szabo is this year's winner of the Pro Cup Most Valuable Player Award. He racked up a 5-2 record in 7 starts with a superlative 1.42 ERA. Szabo fired two shutouts in the postseason, including a 1-hitter. The 31-year-old right-hander beat Turon in game six of the finals to tie the series at 3-3, won games four and seven in the Final 4 against Waleska and notched victories in game one and game four over Sugar Valley in first round games. Szabo was 27-4 during the regular season and led the entire IPA with a sensational 1.79 ERA.

Teammates Paul Coniglio and Karl Heidelberg were second and third in the BNN balloting. Left fielder Coniglio was a vital bat in the Colfax arsenal with 6 homers and 13 runs batted in. Coniglio scored 12 times and hit .260 in the playoffs and delivered several game-breaking hits. Heidelberg played in right field and led all comers with a .436 mark. He belted 3 roundtrippers, drove in 10 runs and scored 11 times. Coniglio hit .290 during the season with 30 homers and 104 RBIs, while Heidelberg batted .311 with 10 home runs, 90 runs scored and 50 RBIs.