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Eugene Church · 11-02-2023, 11:52 PM

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

The Islandian Times
Sunday, October 10, 2027

2027 IPA Pro Cup Final Series

CL Crushers Pro Cup Choice
No one predicted a Crystal Lake-Southport Pro Cup this year, but lo and behold - they made it. 10 teams had better seasonal records than Crystal Lake and 20 were better than Southport. But here they are and overjoyed to be here. This will be the Crushers third appearance in the last seven seasons, but it was not much expected this year. Crystal Lake was rated the fourth-best team by the baseball experts in The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll. The Crushers captured the Pro Cup trophy twice, in 2020 and 2022. Island baseball analysts are making Crystal Lake the favorite to bring home Pro Cup number three this year, citing its fine hitting and unexpected great pitching. The consensus is that Southport is just too weak at the plate to be much of a challenge. The two clubs will tangle in a best-of-seven series for the Islandian championship, starting this Sunday afternoon. T. D. Burnham, Duncan Welch and Arnie Cason will Crystal Lake's starters. Southport has indicated it will be Al Laclair, Ronnie Galus and Bob Bondy in it starting rotation. The Crushers will host games one and two, plus games six and seven, if necessary. The Sun Sox will be the home team in games three, four, and five, if needed.

Manager Herman "Baby" George's ball club rolled over two higher seeds, last year's Pro Cup winner Valmara (third seed) and Beechwood (second seed), finishing them off in 5 games each. George told reporters, "We don't apologize to anybody. We beat two very good teams to get here and it wasn't lucky. We beat their butts pretty good. You win 8 out of 10 against the best and that says something. And we'll have to play just as well to whip Southport. We certainly are not going to take them for granted."

This will be the first time ever the Southport Sun Sox have reach the Finals. It's been a long, long time since the Sun Sox even made the playoffs. Southport has appeared in the postseason only one time, way back in 2002 and they were quickly eliminated in the first round. To get to the Pro Cup Finals this year the Sun Sox defeated the fifth-seeded White River Rascals in seven games in the first round, then pulled a huge upset over the the top-seeded Rolling Hills Reds in six games. Manager Charley Oscar said, "The team is excited... the town is excited... this has been an unbelievable season... when you beat a team as talented and as good as Rolling Hills, you deserve to be here. We brought our bats and gloves and intend to give it our all and see what happens. When you reach this far in the Pro Cup playoffs, there ain't no weak teams. We feel good about our chances."

At a glance it will Southport's fine pitching (3.17 ERA) trying to hold off Crystal Lake's hitting (.266 BA). Neither team hits for much power, but the Crushers are better offensively, ranking 4th in scoring runs during the regular season. The Sun Sox were 23rd in scoring. CF Herm Taylor (.343/2/58/101), 1B Josh George (.284/25/97/95) and 3B Carl Bentley (.269/10/91/74) top the Crushers, while RF Lorne Evans (.296/42/105/101) and CF Rick Cabrini (.320/9/57/89) are the big sticks for the Sun Sox... Evans led the IPA with 42 homers this year.

Crystal Lake has been prolific at the plate in the playoffs with a terrific .285 team BA, paced by SS Jimmy Conroy with 8 RBIs and a .294 mark, CF Herm Taylor with a .357 BA and 7 runs scored, 1B Josh George with 6 RBIs, 7 runs and a .286 BA, LF Glenn Winters with a .333 BA, 5 RBIs and 5 runs and 3B Carl Bentley with a .326 BA, 3 RBI and 7 runs. The Sun Sox have been pathetic with a .214 BA. Only CF Rick Cabrini has been effective with a .375 batting average, 6 runs batted in and 5 runs scored. 2B Sam Cousins has 7 RBIs and scored 7 runs, while batting just .200. Southport has the edge in homers, 4 to1 in the playoffs.

On the mound Southport stands out with starter Al Laclair and a great bullpen. Laclair racked up a 22-11 mark with a splendid 2.24 ERA... Not too impressive are the other starters. Ronnie Galus is number two in the rotation with a 7-11 regular season record and a 3.34 ERA. Don Pascioni was 15-16 with a 3.30 ERA and Bob Bondy was 3-5 with a 5.36 ERA. The Sun Sox relievers chalked up a fancy 2.31 ERA and ranked third in the TU. Closer Joel Shepard compiled a 10-5 record with 27 saves and a super 1.44 ERA.

In contrast Crystal Lake was 27th in its league with a lofty 3.89 ERA. T. D. Burnham was the team's ace with a 21-8 mark and a 3.00. Duncan Welch was number two with a 19-15 record and a 3.49 ERA. Arnie Cason will be the number three man. He was 13-7 this year with a 3.30 ERA. The Crushers bullpen was not very good, winding up with a 4.10 team ERA (28th).

However in the postseason for Southport, Galus has really been great with a 3-0 record and a strong 1.44 ERA and Bondy pitched a shutout in his only start. Laclair has struggled at 1-3 with a 4.17 ERA. The bullpen has stood out. Overall in the playoff the team has a 3.03 ERA. Crystal Lake has been outstanding in the playoffs, far better than in the regular campaign. The Crushers have marked up a fantastic 2.09 team ERA, sparked by T. D. Burnham with a 4-0 record and a 1.54 ERA, Arnie Cason is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA and Duncan Welch is 1-1 and 3.57 ERA. Closer Keith Hunter has saved 3 games and posted an impressive 1.08 ERA.

11-02-2023, 11:52 PM	#9748
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,924	YESTERDAY IN THE IPA *The Islandian Times* Sunday, October 10, 2027 2027 IPA Pro Cup Final Series CL Crushers Pro Cup Choice No one predicted a Crystal Lake-Southport Pro Cup this year, but lo and behold - they made it. 10 teams had better seasonal records than Crystal Lake and 20 were better than Southport. But here they are and overjoyed to be here. This will be the Crushers third appearance in the last seven seasons, but it was not much expected this year. Crystal Lake was rated the fourth-best team by the baseball experts in The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll. The Crushers captured the Pro Cup trophy twice, in 2020 and 2022. Island baseball analysts are making Crystal Lake the favorite to bring home Pro Cup number three this year, citing its fine hitting and unexpected great pitching. The consensus is that Southport is just too weak at the plate to be much of a challenge. The two clubs will tangle in a best-of-seven series for the Islandian championship, starting this Sunday afternoon. T. D. Burnham, Duncan Welch and Arnie Cason will Crystal Lake's starters. Southport has indicated it will be Al Laclair, Ronnie Galus and Bob Bondy in it starting rotation. The Crushers will host games one and two, plus games six and seven, if necessary. The Sun Sox will be the home team in games three, four, and five, if needed. Manager Herman "Baby" George's ball club rolled over two higher seeds, last year's Pro Cup winner Valmara (third seed) and Beechwood (second seed), finishing them off in 5 games each. George told reporters, "We don't apologize to anybody. We beat two very good teams to get here and it wasn't lucky. We beat their butts pretty good. You win 8 out of 10 against the best and that says something. And we'll have to play just as well to whip Southport. We certainly are not going to take them for granted." This will be the first time ever the Southport Sun Sox have reach the Finals. It's been a long, long time since the Sun Sox even made the playoffs. Southport has appeared in the postseason only one time, way back in 2002 and they were quickly eliminated in the first round. To get to the Pro Cup Finals this year the Sun Sox defeated the fifth-seeded White River Rascals in seven games in the first round, then pulled a huge upset over the the top-seeded Rolling Hills Reds in six games. Manager Charley Oscar said, "The team is excited... the town is excited... this has been an unbelievable season... when you beat a team as talented and as good as Rolling Hills, you deserve to be here. We brought our bats and gloves and intend to give it our all and see what happens. When you reach this far in the Pro Cup playoffs, there ain't no weak teams. We feel good about our chances." At a glance it will Southport's fine pitching (3.17 ERA) trying to hold off Crystal Lake's hitting (.266 BA). Neither team hits for much power, but the Crushers are better offensively, ranking 4th in scoring runs during the regular season. The Sun Sox were 23rd in scoring. CF Herm Taylor (.343/2/58/101), 1B Josh George (.284/25/97/95) and 3B Carl Bentley (.269/10/91/74) top the Crushers, while RF Lorne Evans (.296/42/105/101) and CF Rick Cabrini (.320/9/57/89) are the big sticks for the Sun Sox... Evans led the IPA with 42 homers this year. Crystal Lake has been prolific at the plate in the playoffs with a terrific .285 team BA, paced by SS Jimmy Conroy with 8 RBIs and a .294 mark, CF Herm Taylor with a .357 BA and 7 runs scored, 1B Josh George with 6 RBIs, 7 runs and a .286 BA, LF Glenn Winters with a .333 BA, 5 RBIs and 5 runs and 3B Carl Bentley with a .326 BA, 3 RBI and 7 runs. The Sun Sox have been pathetic with a .214 BA. Only CF Rick Cabrini has been effective with a .375 batting average, 6 runs batted in and 5 runs scored. 2B Sam Cousins has 7 RBIs and scored 7 runs, while batting just .200. Southport has the edge in homers, 4 to1 in the playoffs. On the mound Southport stands out with starter Al Laclair and a great bullpen. Laclair racked up a 22-11 mark with a splendid 2.24 ERA... Not too impressive are the other starters. Ronnie Galus is number two in the rotation with a 7-11 regular season record and a 3.34 ERA. Don Pascioni was 15-16 with a 3.30 ERA and Bob Bondy was 3-5 with a 5.36 ERA. The Sun Sox relievers chalked up a fancy 2.31 ERA and ranked third in the TU. Closer Joel Shepard compiled a 10-5 record with 27 saves and a super 1.44 ERA. In contrast Crystal Lake was 27th in its league with a lofty 3.89 ERA. T. D. Burnham was the team's ace with a 21-8 mark and a 3.00. Duncan Welch was number two with a 19-15 record and a 3.49 ERA. Arnie Cason will be the number three man. He was 13-7 this year with a 3.30 ERA. The Crushers bullpen was not very good, winding up with a 4.10 team ERA (28th). However in the postseason for Southport, Galus has really been great with a 3-0 record and a strong 1.44 ERA and Bondy pitched a shutout in his only start. Laclair has struggled at 1-3 with a 4.17 ERA. The bullpen has stood out. Overall in the playoff the team has a 3.03 ERA. Crystal Lake has been outstanding in the playoffs, far better than in the regular campaign. The Crushers have marked up a fantastic 2.09 team ERA, sparked by T. D. Burnham with a 4-0 record and a 1.54 ERA, Arnie Cason is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA and Duncan Welch is 1-1 and 3.57 ERA. Closer Keith Hunter has saved 3 games and posted an impressive 1.08 ERA.