[Eugene Church]

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 22, 2015

2015 Pro Cup Playoffs Start Tomorrow, TU's Ozarka Favored
Powerful Ozarka of the Tycobbian Union got the nod over heavy-hitting Taranto of the Ruthlandian Union in The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll. Baseball experts chose the Naturals over the Tars because of superior pitching. Both clubs have heavy timber and can score runs. Ozarka led the IPA with a .289 team batting average and it also ranked high with a 3.12 ERA. Taranto batted .275 to led the RU, but only posted a 4.06 ERA (26th).

In the Tycobbian Elite 8 Series, which get underway tomorrow at 4 locations around the Islands, Ozarka will host the hard-hitting Bay St. Clair Buccaneers at Ellie Ewing Stadium. It will be Mahaska at home against the visiting Cape Coral Hurricanes. Over in the Ruthlandian Elite 8 Taranto will be at home at the Palazzo di Sport, entertaining the Claxton Diamonds. The other Elite 8 match-up will be Colfax and Marston at Legends Field in Marston.

The baseball prognosticators are at odds on what it takes to win the IPA Pro Cup. Does good pitching really beat good hitting? If that theory prevails Colfax will whip Marston and Claxton will knock off Taranto in the RU. Colfax has marvelous pitching with a 2.84 team ERA that easily topped everybody in both leagues. Claxton has the pitching edge over Taranto. The Diamonds put up a 3.76 ERA (12th) to the Tars mediocre 4.06 EAR (26th). Colfax wasn't given much support in the poll because of its poor offense. The Blasters batted only .247 (28th) and had difficulty scoring. They ranked 28th in runs. The forecast calls for Taranto and Colfax to play for the Ruthlandian Union title in the Final 4.

In The Islandian Times poll, Ozarka will beat Bay St. Clair in the Elite 8 because the Nats hit as well as they pitch. The Bucs can score, but are weak on the mound with a 4.16 ERA (24th). The Cape Coral Hurricanes are expected to defeat the Mahaska Haymakers because of better hitting. The 'Canes hit .265 (9th) to the Haymakers .257 (15th). Mahaska has slightly better pitching 3.22 ERA (3rd) to 3.46 ERA (6th) for Cape Coral. If the poll is accurate it will be Ozarka and Cape Coral in the Tycobbian Final 4.

The Islandian Times Pro Cup Poll

1. Ozarka (99-55)/.289 BA (1st)/763 runs (5th)/173 HR (7th)/3.12 ERA (1st)/.972 FA
2. Taranto (93-61)/.275 BA (1st)/885 runs (1st)/219 HR (1st)/4.06 ERA (26th)/.976 FA
3. Cape Coral (90-64)/.265 BA (9th)/732 runs (13th)/142 HR/21st)/3.46 ERA (6th)/.979 FA
4. Colfax (91-63)/.247 BA (28th)/648 runs (28th)/113 HR/(17th-tied)/2.84 ERA (1st)/.972 FA
5. Marston (92-62)/.269 BA (5th)/742 runs (10th)/129 HR/19th-tied)/3.51 EERA (6th)/.976 FA
6. Mahaska (83-71)/.257 BA (15th)/692 runs (18th)/128 HR (24th)/3.22 EERA (3rd)/.973 FA
7. Claxton (88-66)/.268 BA/7th)/734 runs (13th)/157 HR (5th)/3.76 ERA (12th)/.978 FA
8. Bay St. Clair (86-68)/.273 BA (5th)/761 runs (8th-tied)/174 HR (6th)/4.16 ERA (24th)/.976 FA



The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 29, 2015

IPA Final 4s Begin Today
Holy Cow!
What's going on the 2015 IPA Pro Cup playoffs?
Three of the top four rated teams didn't make it out of the first round Elite 8. Most surprising of all, was the team picked to win it all, fell to the wayside. The powerful Ozarka Naturals took it on the chin and lost to the upstart Bay St. Clair Buccaneers, the team deemed least likely to win the Pro Cup this season. Taranto was the only highly-ranked club to make it to the Final 4. The Tars were chosen the second-best team in the Islands by the baseball journalists and broadcasters in The Islandian Times poll. They whipped Claxton, which was selected seventh. Sixth-ranked Mahaska knocked off Cape Coral, the number three team in voting. And the Marston Nine defeated the Colfax Blasters. Marston went into the playoffs rated fifth, while Colfax was number four.

Oddsmakers have made Taranto the favorite over Marston in the Ruthlandian Final 4, while the Bay St. Clair-Mahaska match-up is a toss-up for the Tycobbian league title. The Tars are forecast to beat the Nine and meet the Buccaneers in the IPA Pro Cup Finals for the Island championship. Taranto has an awesome batting order and decent pitching. Bay St. Clair hits well, too, but its pitching is suspect. Both Marston and Mahaska have the capability to contend with Taranto and Bay St. Clair. Mahaska pitching is outstanding, while Marston is a well-rounded ball club with good bats and good pitching.

The IPA Final 4 gets underway today with Taranto hosting Marston at the Palazzo di Sport and Bay St. Clair entertaining Mahaska at Shoreline Park. The Tars dominated Marston in the regular season with five wins in six games. The Mahaska Haymakers were 4-2 in the season series with Buccaneers.



The Islandian Times
Monday, October 5, 2015

2015 IPA Pro Cup Finals

High-Scoring Finals, Tars And Bucs Battle
Get warm and stay ready in the bullpen, Taranto and Bay St. Clair both have a wealth of hitters and put runs on the scoreboard. This year could be the highest-scoring Pro Cup in history. Neither the Tars, nor the Buccaneers have an abundance of pitching. The 2015 IPA Pro Cup Finals start tomorrow afternoon at Taranto's Palazzo di Sport, one of the smallest venues in the IPA. The Tars have the homefield advantage in the best-of-seven series. Both ball clubs are making their debuts in the IPA finals.

Tommaso Lazzorda's Tars had a monstrous year with 219 home runs, topping the IPA in most offensive categories. Guy Rondre's Bucs are quite capable, too, but not as potent as Taranto. The clubs are about even on the hill except for Jimmy Mosley (16-4 2.98) and Vito Incardona (13-7 3.26). They give the Tars the edge as far as starters go. Chris Van Arden (11-6 3.13) and Lloyd Weber (19-12 4.02) are the Bucs best hurlers. Both clubs have problems in the relief corps. Defensively they both are good with the gloves and about equal with .976 fielding averages.

Taranto is a strong favorite to hit their way to the IPA crown, but don't dismiss Bay St. Clair too quickly. They surprised powerful Ozarka in the Tycobbian Final 4. The Naturals were picked to win it all in the IPA this season by the baseball experts. Not only did Ozarka hit very well, they had excellent pitching, too. It didn't matter to the Buccaneers, they didn't pay any attention to the experts, who voted Bay St. Clair least likely to win the Pro Cup this year in The Islandian Times poll. Guy Rondre's Bucs finished last in a field of 8 teams. Taranto was rated number two in the poll.

Everybody in Lazzorda's line-up is a threat. Taranto had 8 players with 10 or more homers, led by RF Augie Marshall (.323 BA/47 HR), LF Arnie Kennedy (.309 BA/34 HR) and CF Miles Rogers (.365 BA/20 HR). However, Bay St. Clair has a couple of sluggers in 1B Gerry Fields (.332 BA/46 HR) and SS Jimmy Sawyer (.307 BA/30 HR), along with some excellent contact hitters in LF Bruno DiPirro (.307 BA), 2B Bud Walker (.314 BA), RF Alejandro Feliciano (.296 BA) and C Vince Herbert (.289 BA).

It should be a highly-entertaining series. I'm going to pick Bay St. Clair in an upset in seven games.

Taranto Tars (93-61)
.271 BA (1st)
885 runs (1st)
219 HR (1st)
4.06 ERA (26th)
.976 FA (3rd tied)

Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (86-68)
.273 BA (5th)
761 runs (8th)
174 HR (6th)
4.16 ERA (24th)
.976 FA (5th)


The Islandian Times
Tuesday, October 6, 2015

2015 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 1 At Taranto

Tars Trounce Bucs 10-4 In Pro Cup Opener
Living up to their press, the Taranto Tars trounced Bay St. Clair 10-4 at the tiny Palazzo di Sport in the first game of the 2015 IPA Pro Cup championship series... The Tars bashed 4 home runs and 16 hits en route to an easy win over the Buccaneers... Bay St. Clair stayed close until the sixth and trailed only 5-4, but Taranto put them away with a 4-run explosion in the bottom half of the frame... 1B Augie Marshall (.375), 2B Ed Miles (.261), LF Arnie Kennedy (.275) and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.196) went deep for the winners... Skrmetta drove in 3 runs for the Tars... Kennedy, Miles and 3B Wayne Pounders (.314) batted in 2 each... the Bucs got 8 hits off Vito Cardona (3-1 4.08), who allowed 8 hits, struck out 7 and walked 3 in a good performance at the Palazzo di Sport... CF Todd Bryant (.298) homered for the Buccaneers... Chris Van Arden (2-2 5.00) was battered for 12 hits in 5+ innings... He was slammed for 7 runs.



The Islandian Times
Wednesday, October 7, 2015

2015 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 2 At Taranto

Taranto Shells Bucs Again, Wins 10-0
The shell-shocked Bay St. Clair Bucs will be happy to get out Taranto and the Palazzo di Sport... for the second day in a row the Tars bombed the Buccaneers 10-0 to go up by two games in the best-of-seven affair... Not only did Taranto rack up 17 hits, but Jimmy Mosley (2-2 3.92) hurled a splendid shutout, stopping Bay St. Clair on 7 hits... Mosley issued 2 walks and fanned 7 batters... LF Arnie Kennedy (.291) homered for the second day in a row and batted in 4 runs... Kennedy now has 4 home runs in the playoffs and has driven in 16 runs... CF Bryan Miles (.227) also parked one in the stands for the Tars... RF Augie Marshall (.404) collected 3 hits and drove in 2 for the winners... Lloyd Weber (2-2 5.66) took the brunt of the beating, routed for 8 runs in just 3 innings... manager Guy Rondre is hoping a change of venue will give his Bucs a better chance... the series switches to Shoreline Park for game three tomorrow afternoon... also games four and five, if the Pro Cup Series goes that far.



The Islandian Times
Thursday, October 8, 2015

2015 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 3 At Bay St. Clair

Tars Top BSC 6-3, Possible Pro Cup Sweep
The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers got back home to the friendly confines of Shoreline Park, but that didn't change anything in the IPA Pro Cup Series... the powerful Taranto Tars racked up their third win in a row and are now within one game of sweeping the Bucs... Chazzie DiBartolo (4-0 4.10) whipped them 6-3 despite giving up 10 hits... Taranto ran up a 6-0 lead before Bay St. Clair could get on the scoreboard in the seventh.. the Tars managed only 7 hits, but it was enough... they took advantage of 6 walks by the Bucs pitchers.. 3B Wayne Pounders (.333) led the way with two hits and a two-run homer... the Bucs outhit the Tars, but to no avail... C Vince Herbert (.264) and CF Orlando Macias (.333) got late-inning homers for the Buccaneers.


The Islandian Times
Friday, October 9, 2015

2015 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 4 At Bay St. Clair

Bucs Finally Win, Edge Tars in 11th
Guy Rondre finally got some good pitching and it paid off with a 4-3 triumph in game four of the IPA Pro Cup... Chris Van Arden and Sean Lawrence combined for the 11-inning victory over the Taranto Tars to keep Bay St. Clair alive the best-of-seven series... the red-hot Tars still have a huge three games to one bulge... Van Arden went 9 effective innings and held the powerful Tars to 3 runs on 9 hits and Lawrence (1-0 0.00) logged two scoreless innings for the win... The Bucs got the game-winner when RF Orlando Macias (.385) singled in pinchrunner Bird Dog Burgdorf... Randy Petri (0-1 3.68) was the losing pitcher... He relieved in the 11th... starter Vito Incardona and closer Anthony Zinacola both pitched effectively for Taranto... each team notched 10 hits... the Bucs put two on the board in the first and added another in the fifth to go up 3-0... the Tars rallied with one in the seventh and 2 in the eighth to send the game into overtime... there was only one roundtripper in spacious Shoreline Park... Taranto 2B Ed Miles (.263) hammered one out.


The Islandian Times
Saturday, October 10, 2015

2015 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 5 At Bay St. Clair

Tars Slam Bucs 13-5, Win First Pro Cup
Taranto proved they can hit the ball out of the park any place and anywhere... the Tars boomed 4 out of Shoreline Park and slammed the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers 13-5 to win the 2015 IPA Pro Cup in just five games... it was Tommaso Lazzorda and the Tars first ever IPA championship.

Taranto showed they meant business by blasting the Bucs for 8 runs in the first frame... RF Augie Marshall (.375) and LF Arnie Kennedy (.304) sparked the rampage with 4 RBIs each... Marshall hit 2 homers and Kennedy and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.279) belted one apiece... Marshall and Kennedy rapped 5 each in the postseason, while Skrmetta had 4... Bay St. Clair's CF Todd Bryant (.328) and LF Bruno DiPirro (.344) went deep, but the Bucs couldn't get any closer than 9-4 in the third... Taranto sent them reeling with 3 more runs in the top of the fourth for an 8-run lead.

Jimmy Mosley (3-2 4.13) came up with another important win... Mosley surrendered 5 runs and 8 hits, but was good enough to win... Surprise starter Don Yaden (0-1) sustained the loss and had to endure the terrible first inning... Guy Rondre gave Yaden the start in hopes that he could slow down the Tars the plate and get the Buccaneers back into the series... Yader was an effective reliever during the season with a 6-1 record in 51 games.

Lazzorda lauded his entire team, saying, "Everybody on the club contributed... the hitters get the press and the glory, but my pitchers did a fine job, too... actually we won because of our pitching... it's not easy to pitch in a place like the Palazzo di Sport and stay sane." He added, "When you have as many good bats as I do, it makes my job a breeze... If there has ever been a better hitting team in the IPA, I have never seen them."

Bay St. Clair's Guy Rondre was greatly disappointed in losing the Pro Cup. He told the press, "I really thought we could beat anybody after we knocked off Ozarka."



The Islandian Times
Sunday, October 11, 2015

Marshall and Kennedy Pro Cup MVPs
The 2015 IPA Pro Cup Series was a hitter's delight. Consequently the Most Valuable Player Award went to a pair of prolific hitters: Augie Marshall and Arnie Kennedy of the champion Taranto Tars shared the award. The two sluggers demolished Bay St. Clair pitching and sparked the Tars to the IPA crown in five games.

Marshall, the 21-year-old right fielder, hit .375 in the playoffs with 5 home runs, 18 RBIs and 18 runs scored, while 27-year-old left fielder Arnie Kennedy rapped 5 out of the park, drove in 20 runs, scored 16 times and posted a .304 batting average. Each one of them delivered crucial hits at various times in the postseason. Chazzie DiBartolo played a big part in the Tars title run with a fine 4-0 record and was the only other votegetter in the poll.


The Islandian Times
Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Bobcats Valenti Captures RU MVP
He's only 23 years old with just three years in the IPA, but Vic Valenti has gotten better every season. The Beechwood center fielder put up some fabulous numbers in 2015 to capture the Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player honors. Valenti topped the league with a .383 batting average, rapped 45 homers, drove in 120 and scored 119 runs.

Rocky Rapids pitcher Donnie Chaney was the runner-up for the award. Chaney led the IPA with 26 victories. He lost 12 games and compiled a very impressive 2.36 ERA. Taranto slugger Augie Marshall came in third in the vote. Marshall paced the RU with 47 home runs and 131 RBIs, while registering a .323 batting average. He also scored 109 times.


The Islandian Times
Thursday, October 22, 2015

Turon's Kingsford Proclaimed TU's MVP
The Turon Typhoons sensational first baseman Clyde Kingsford again stood out in the Tycobbian Union and came away with the 2015 Most Valuable Player Award. The remarkable Kingsford was one of the keys to Turon's second-place finish in the TU South. He led the entire IPA with 140 runs batted in, hit .321, smacked 45 home runs and scored 104 runs.

Mahaska's splendid southpaw Joey Wallace was second in the balloting. Wallace led the Haymakers to the TU north pennant with a 23-9 record and 2.05 ERA. Third in the poll was High Mesa's tremendous Jack Elliott, who was the IPA home run leader with 56. Elliott also had the TU's best batting average at .363 and just barely missed the Triple Crown by 5 RBIs, ranking third in the league.


The Islandian Times
Friday, October 28, 2015

Tars Lazzorda Nabs RU Top Skipper Award
It has been quite a few years since anyone but Far Mountain claimed the RU North. This year Tommaso Lazzorda guided his Taranto Tars to a magnificent season and toppled the Redhawks in a sterling duel by 3 games. Taranto was 93-61, while Far Mountain was 90-64. This is the first time Lazzorda has won the honor. Stacy Engel was the runner-up in the poll as his Claxton Diamonds shot up from seventh place to the top spot in the RU South with an 88-66 record. Marston's Johnny Walters was in the third spot. His Nine took another RU East crown with a 92-62 mark. Far Mountain's Alex Groveland wound up fourth in the voting. He did a great job considering he lost his number one pitcher to retirement and almost overcame the loss.

Carney Wins TU Best Manager Award
Joe Mac Carney mastermind the Ozarka Naturals rise from fifth to first this season in the Tycobbian Union and has been selected the Manager of the Year. Under Carney the Nats were 99-55, which was the best record in the IPA this year. He is a first-time winner of the award. Coming in second in the voting was Huggy Miller of the Cape Coral Hurricanes. He engineered a division title in the TU South with a 90-64 record. The 'Canes had finished fifth the previous season. Bay St. Clair's Guy Rondre was rated third in the poll. His Buccaneers climbed up from fifth to first in the TU East with an 86-68 mark.