BNN Weekly Report
This Week in the CBO, BMU, and GBRL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
18 March 2306
2306 Nuka Cup - Quarterfinals
The Quarterfinals Round began with three interassociation games and one interleague game.
Traditional powerhouse such as Roxbury, Nordhagen Beach, and Jamaica Plain are all here, along with 2305 playoff representatives Sunshine Tidings, Egret, and Concord. The two bonus teams are Starlight, which looks to be a legit playoff contender in 2306, and The Slog, which finished at the bottom of the North Charles Association in 2305. Let's look at each series matchup with a small recap of the game.
Concord Radstags (County Crossing Regional 2) at Starlight Killers (University Point Regional 1)
This series featured the 2nd-place finisher in the Institute League in 2305 traveling to the 1st-place finisher. The Killers look to be a legitimate playoff contender in 2306 with an aggressive trade philosophy in the last few months that produced SP Digger Vadim, C Biter Trout, 1B Oren Gep, and LF Hurr Lee Reyes. However, Concord and Sunshine Tidings will be formidable opponents in what looks to be a much-improved IL.
March 15: Concord 5, Starlight 3
The Killers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Radstags closed the gap in the 2nd inning and never looked back on their way to victory. Despite the loss, Reyes was named the Game MVP, going 2 for 2 with two home runs, two walks, two runs scored, and three RBI. Concord's 2B Sherwood Forest hit a two-run home run in the top of the 4th to put the Stags up 4-2.
March 16: Concord 8, Starlight 1
The Radstags clinched the series by winning the first two games. The Stags scored five in the top of the 1st off Starlight SP Sam Molina. Concord's SP Emperry Alizm earned the Game MVP honors by allowing one earned run and seven hits in 8.1 innings with two walks and four strikeouts. No one had a particularly outstanding game for the Stags, but 3B Peter Tatoeater, SS Sean Koester, and C Tenthree Leader all had two RBI apiece.
March 17: Starlight 5, Concord 2
In a game that did not matter for the tournament, the Killers got a win in the series thanks to a three-run 8th inning. Game MVP Reyes was the reason, hitting a three-run homer. He finished 2 for 4 with a double, a home run, a run scored, and four RBI. SP Jonathan Newman got the start for Starlight but the win went to RP Larry Undertaker.
The Slog Ghouls (University Point Regional 2) at Roxbury Rad Sox (County Crossing Regional 1)
On paper, this series just did not feel fair as the Ghouls were awful in 2305 and the Rad Sox were kept from a third-straight title by being upset by Egret in the playoffs. While the Sox are slightly different in 2306, they are still probably the favorites to win it all in 2306. As for The Slog, well, this preseason tournament is expected to be the highlight of their year, though they do have some young talent in the franchise.
March 15: Roxbury 12, The Slog 3
As expected, the Rad Sox wasted no time, overwhelming SP Tiger Fanne early, scoring two in the 1st, three in the 2nd, and another in the 3rd to jump out to a 6-0 lead. The Sox scored in every inning they batted but the 4th. Roxbury's LF Young Goodman hit two home runs to earn game MVP honors. Teammates SP Whokill Poole (the winning pitcher), RF Deerlord Fugivmee, and SS Purple Gupta all also homered.
March 16: Roxbury 4, The Slog 3
The Rad Sox got the walk-off win in the bottom of the 9th. With runners on first and second on back-to-back singles to start the inning by 1B Duncan MacCready and SS Gupta, pinch hitter Dustin Shotgun hit an EBI double off Ghouls' RP Trent Gentilcore. Roxbury clinched the series with the win and will face Concord in the semifinals.
March 17: Roxbury 4, The Slog 1
The Sox got the only sweep in the quarterfinals. CF Ben Pawlak earned Game MVP honors, going 2 for 2 with a home run, a walk, a HBP, two runs, and three RBI. SP Chet Arthur held the Ghouls to just one earned run and two hits in 7.0 innings.
Egret Ninjas (Egret Regional 2) at Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (Nordhagen Beach Regional 1)
Egret has started to look as though they want to be around as a contender from the outset, as they showed in 2305 when they jumped out to a stellar start and rode out those early victories to earn the 4th seed in the South Charles Association playoffs. The Party Boys are always in the playoffs, coming up just short of their second title when they lost in five games to University Point in the 2305 Sole Survivor Series.
March 15: Nordhagen Beach 2, Egret 1
The Party Boys' SP Tommy Beach pitched eight shutout innings, allowing four hits, walking two, and striking out eight. CL David "AntAgonist" Kidd allowed a solo home run in the 9th by the Ninjas' RF Rick Pickle but held off any more runs to earn the save.
March 16: Egret 6, Nordhagen Beach 4
The Ninjas jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over Nordhagen Beach ace Beachboy Nut on their way to victory and a setup for the rubber match on Saturday. Egret SP Evan Before was named Game MVP, allowing two earned runs on four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings. 1B Joe Mahaney had two hits, including a two-RBI double, and three RBI overall.
March 17: Nordhagen Beach 2, Egret 1
In yet another low-scoring game, the Boys' pitching proved to be on top. Nordhagen Beach SP Deedee Martinson earned the victory and Game MVP honors by allowing one earned run on two hits with a walk and four strikeouts in 8.0 innings. Kidd came on in the 9th to earn the save. The Party Boys went into the bottom of the 6th trailing 1-0, but an RBI double by 3B Bertie Cuttooth and a sacrifice fly by 2B Jumper Hayes gave the Boys the permanent advantage to move on to the Semifinals Round where they already know they will host regardless of the Jamaica Plain-Sunshine Tidings winner.
Jamaica Plain Red Rockets (Nordhagen Beach Regional 2) at Sunshine Tidings Chemists (Egret Regional 1)
This was an intriguing matchup with two championship-quality teams for 2306. The Red Rockets earned the third seed in the SCA in 2305, while the Chemists were the #1 seed in the NCA.
March 15: Jamaica Plain 7, Sunshine Tidings 5
The Red Rockets took the early series lead, boosted by a five-run 5th inning to help them take a 7-2 lead at the time. Rookie LF Ken Debate, who was part of the Vadim trade with the Killers, led the way for the Rockets, going 2 for 2 with a double, a home run, two walks, two runs scored, and two RBI.
March 16: Sunshine Tidings 8, Jamaica Plain 0
The Chemists got revenge to set up a rubber match for the two teams. Sunshine Tidings SS Lernz Tentsleep was 3 for 4 with a home run, three runs scored, and three RBI for the Game MVP nod. Probably SP Eugene Gym should have been the Game MVP, throwing a complete-game shutout and going 2 for 4 with two RBI.
March 17: Sunshine Tidings 8, Jamaica Plain 1
The Chemists got another blowout victory to move on to the semifinals at Nordhagen Beach. SP Mike Rubric was Game MVP, allowing one earned run on five hits with a walk and six strikeouts in 7.0 innings. LF David Seaweed, 3B Ross Merchantman, SS Tentsleep, and RF Baktu DaWell all went deep for Sunshine Tidings. Debate homered for the Red Rockets' only run in two games.