Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (#1, 73-35) vs University Point Deathclaws (#4, 64-44)
How Did They Get Here?
The Party Boys upended their biggest rivals, the Fort Hagen Silver Shroud, 4 games to 3, in the North Charles Association Championship. Nordhagen Beach won all three games that Beachboy Nut (2-0 in the series) started, Games 1, 4, and 7. RF Jonathan Angelou won Series MVP honors, going 10 for 25 with four home runs and six RBI.
University Point upset Minutemen League champions and second-seeded Jamaica Point, 4 games to 3. RF Tomas Jones stole the series show, going 11 for 31 with two homers and 10 RBI. The Deathclaws had one blowout win in the South Charles Association series, winning Game 2, 18-2. The Claws put up another nine runs in Game 7 to knock off both the first and second seeds in the SCA.
CBO Postseason History
NB - 5th Playoff appearance; Third SSS appearance; Won CBO in 2301
UP - 3rd Playoff appearance; First SSS appearance
NB vs UP - 1st Matchup
Nordhagen Beach Team Page
Nordhagen Beach Players to Watch
SP Beachboy Nut - 17-6, 2.20 - An absolute force on the mound, Nut has been the most dominant pitcher the CBO has seen thus far. Winner of the 2300 and 2301 Vim! Pitcher Awards with Roxbury and Nordhagen Beach, respectively, Nut looks to be on his way to his third-straight award in 2302. In two postseason series in 2302, Nut is 3-0 in five starts, with the Party Boys winning all five games he started.
DYK: Nut was the 1st overall pick in the 2296 Rookie Draft by the Shaw HS Knuckle Punchers (now the Roxbury Rad Sox). Due to not filing paperwork on time, he missed the chance to be part of the 2296 Inaugural Draft. Nut was traded to the Party Boys for two up-and-coming players in 3B Donn Mattingley and SS Purple Gupta.
RF Jonathan Angelou - .319/31/70 - With LF Michael Fogcrawler out for the season, Angelou has become the team leader on offense. Names the NCA Championship MVP, Angelou is the reason Tomas Jones is now with University Point. Angelou is now a three-time All Star and the former Red Rocket Rookie of the Year. He is in discussion as the 2302 Nuka-Hitter Award winner.
DYK: Angelou was drafted in the 11th round of the 2296 Inaugural Draft by the Boys but took some time to bloom. He first for his shot in the 2299 season after a solid two seasons in the BMU. When RF Jones went down with an injury, Angelou took over the spot and never let it go, leading to Jones being traded to University Point in the 2299 season.
SP Chet Arthur - 17-9, 2.87 - While Nut overshadows Arthur, he would be the staff ace of most of the CBO teams. Since 2298, Arthur has transformed from an original relief pitcher to a dominant starter. He has won at least 11 games in the past five seasons, including leading or tying for the NCA lead in wins in 2300 (15) and 2302 (17). His ERA has not been above 3.00 since 2299 when he went 13-4 with a 3.76 ERA.
DYK: Arthur was drafted in the CBO Inaugural Draft in the 18th round by Fort Hagen. He was traded later in 2296 for OF Noel Petrified who has been a career minor leaguer in the BMU. Petrified is now with the Easy Town organization.
University Point Team Page
University Point Players to Watch
RF Tomas Jones - .328/28/93 - The star of the high-powered University Point offense, Jones had just his second season of injury problems, though he still started 97 games. The three-time All Star and current 2302 SCA Championship MVP, Jones is looking to outduel the man who replaced him in Nordhagen Beach, Jonathan Angelou.
DYK: Jones was drafted in the 1st round by Nordhagen Beach in the 2296 Inaugural Draft. He was later traded to the Claws for four players and a 2nd-round draft pick in 2299. Two of those players, RP Tom Mannequin and RP David Kidd, are relievers in the Nordhagen Beach bullpen. The other two players, CF Ralph DeYoe and RP Chris Essary, are now regulars in Warwick and Egret, respectively. Essary was traded to Easy Town originally, where the Boys landed another bullpen member, Marc Woodsman.
1B Barker Cocoa - .312/28/75 - The middle of an impressive 1-2-3 punch along with LF Kory Richardson and Jones, Cocoa is also a three-time All Star. He is considered to be the CBO's most patient hitter, allowing him to lead the league in walks for the second-straight season and also lead in 2302 in OBP (.514) and OPS (1.132). He is considered to be the Claws' front-runner for the SCA Nuka-Hitter Award.
DYK: Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2297 Rookie Draft, Cocoa has spent his entire career with the Deathclaws. Despite his later pick, he earned a spot as an up-and-comer in 2298 when he was named the #2 prospect following an impressive spring. That also earned him a late-season call-up from Boston Common of the BMU. He then never looked down, becoming University Point's starting 1B job early in the 2299 season.
SP Phlip Wallace - 11-8, 3.43 - The staff ace, Wallace was not as successful as the past two seasons but still won 11+ games for the fifth-straight season. The two-time All Star is not considered to be as intimidating as Nordhagen Beach's Nut and Arthur, but he can lull offenses to sleep and allow his team to outscore the opponent.
DYK: Wallace was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2296 Inaugural Draft by the Egret Scrappers (now Ninjas). He was traded for prospect Rick Pickle, the Claw's 1st-round pick in the 2299 Rookie Draft, following the 2300 season.
Prediction
While we went on record doubting the Party Boys because of a couple key injuries, the team looks to be a machine ready to continue winning. University Point has been impressive in the postseason. After failing to win the SCA in 2301 as the #1 seed, they got over the hump as the #4 seed this season. Early-season injuries prevented them from being the #1 seed this season, but they have played like a #1, making this an intriguing matchup.
In the end, both teams have solid bats, but the Nordhagen Beach pitching staff is superior. While we will not doubt that the Claws will come out scratching, the Boys should take this one in six, 4 games to 2.
Game 3 Lineups (Because I accidentally simmed ahead a few days)
