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Eugene Church · 01-21-2024, 09:42 PM

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 2, 2030

Tycobbian Union

Blue Lake Upsets BSC Bucs In TU Final 4
The party is over for Pro Cup favorite Bay St. Clair, but it will continue for seventh-seeded Blue Lake, who upset the Buccaneers in the Tycobbian Final 4, taking the series four games to two... the Blue Sox wrapped it up with a another fine mound performance... this time from Billy Trakas, who went all the way in a 5-2 win... Trakas (3-0/2.61) shackled the Bucs on 4 hits and limited them to 2 runs, only one earned... Trakas chalked up 7 strikeouts and issued one walk.

Led by 3B Matt Thompson's 4 hits, the Blue Sox collected 9 hits... they struck for 2 runs in the first frame, scoring one on LF Eddie Nagen's (.297) RBI single and another on a Buccaneer error... Blue Lake increased it to 3-0 in the top of the fifth, when Thompson (.360) drove in Skipper Smith (.289) with a single... Bay St. Clair finally got to Trakas in the bottom of the fifth on CF Chris Blanton's (.125) 2-run single, cutting the score to 3-2... but that's all they got... the Blue Sox put them away with 2 more in the top of the seventh, scoring on CF Chris Halley's (.315) sacrific fly and and RBI single by LF Boom-Boom Baker (.220).

The Bucs starter John Karlsen (0-2/6.23) suffered the loss, but only allowed 2 earned runs on 9 hits in 7 innings... Karlsen fanned 4 and walked no one.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 3, 2030

2030 IPA Pro Cup Final 4 Series
(best-of-seven)

Ruthlandian Union

Vipers Win 7th Game 4-2 Behind Lem
The Valmara Vipers are Pro Cup bound... they came back from a three games to two deficit to eliminate the Wynnamac Sundowners in seven games to capture the Ruthlandian Final 4 Series... Valmara ace Teddy Lem beat the Sundowners for the third time in the series... Lem (4-1/2.57) tamed them 4-2 in game seven... he was tagged for 9 hits, but gave up only 2 runs, struck out 5 and walked none... LF Billy Hooper rapped a crucial 2-run homer in the fifth inning that proved to be the margin of victory... Wynnamac's Killara Bardo (1-4/4.37) was the losing pitcher, though he only permitted 4 hits, but walked 5, while fanning 6 in his 7 innings.

The Vipers took the lead right off the bat with 2 runs in the first... 2B Alec Leclerc (.292) led off the game with a single, stole second and was doubled in by RF Gerry Kazmarek (.315)... Kazmarek moved to third on a groundout and then scored when Hooper (.188) bounced out to third... Hooper led the Vipers with 3 runs batted in... C Lee Leslie (.222) narrowed the score to 2-1 with a home run in the top of the fifth... Hooper came right back with his roundtripper in the last half of the frame to make it 4-1... the Sundowners got the final run in the seventh when 1B Giles Butler (.244) led off with a double, advanced to third on a grounder and rode home on Tommy Lambright's (.188) sac fly.

Valmara will meet the Blue Lake Blue Sox, the Tycobbian champion in the Pro Cup Finals... this will be the Vipers fourth trip to the Pro Cup Finals... they won it in 2026, knocking off the Mahaska Haymakers... Valmara lost in 2003 and 2023... the Vipers have played in the postseason 12 times overall in their history.

This will be the first time the Blue Sox have qualified for the IPA championship... they made the playoffs in 2001 and 2010, but were eliminated in the first round each time.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 4, 2030

Pro Cup Finals Start Tomorrow In Valmara
Game one of the IPA Pro Cup Finals is scheduled tomorrow afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara. The Vipers will host the Blue Lake Blue Sox. The series is a toss-up. Valmara is well-experienced in Pro Cup action and will be making its fourth appearance. This will be a first for the Blue Sox. Overall this is the Vipers' 12th postseason appearance. Valmara racked up its only Pro Cup title in 2026. The Blue Sox are novices with only three playoff appearances in their history. Until this season, they have never gotten past the first round. The Vipers will be in quest of a second Pro Cup, while it will be the Blue Sox first. Neither team was expected to get this far. The Vipers were seeded sixth, while the Blue Sox were rated the seventh best team in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup Poll.

Blue Lake manager Rick Hilliard got a big boost when his ace Doug Kirkpatrick came back from a month on the DL. Kirkpatrick (22-9/2.92) did not play in the first two rounds. He will make Blue Lake's fine starting rotation even better. Kirkpatrick will join Derek Joubert, Chris Landry and Billy Trakas, who paced the Blue Sox to a very impressive 2.25 team ERA so far in the playoffs. Hilliard hasn't decided on his rotation for the finals yet. It won't be an easy decision. Trakas is 3-0 in the postseason with a 2.61 ERA, Joubert 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA and Landry was 0-3, but with an excellent 1.99 ERA. During the regular season Trakas was 13-17 with a 3.24 ERA, Joubert 12-5 with a great 1.84 ERA and Landry was 15-13 with a 2.88 ERA.

On paper Blue Lake seems to have much superior pitching. Valmara skipper Jet Kazmarek will counter with the trio of Teddy Lem (21-14/3.31), rookie Garry Gronek (15-10/3.38) and Carroll Cain (15-12/3.27). In the postseason Lem is 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA, Gronek is 3-1 with a fine 2.48 ERA and Cain is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA. The Blue Sox have a much better bullpen than the Vipers, too.

For Valmara to have a chance the offense must produce much better in the championship series. They have hit only .236 so far in playoffs. The Vipers batted .272 during the year. Valmara's best bats in the postseason are RF Gerry Kazmarek (.315), 2B Alec Leclerc (.292), 1B Jerry Rembert (.267) and CF Teddy Szymanski (.259). The Blue Sox have performed better in the playoffs with a .258 team BA, sparked by 3B Matt Thompson (.360), CF Chris Halley (.315), Eddie Nagen (.297), 2B Skipper Smith (.289) and C Roger Webb (.267). Both clubs are about even in power. Blue Lake has 11 homers, while Valmara has gone deep 9 times. Scoring-wise Blue Lake has tallied 45 runs in 12 games, while Valmara has totaled 42 in 13 games.

01-21-2024, 09:42 PM	#9784
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,699 Blog Entries: 1	YESTERDAY IN THE IPA THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Wednesday, October 2, 2030 Tycobbian Union Blue Lake Upsets BSC Bucs In TU Final 4 The party is over for Pro Cup favorite Bay St. Clair, but it will continue for seventh-seeded Blue Lake, who upset the Buccaneers in the Tycobbian Final 4, taking the series four games to two... the Blue Sox wrapped it up with a another fine mound performance... this time from Billy Trakas, who went all the way in a 5-2 win... Trakas (3-0/2.61) shackled the Bucs on 4 hits and limited them to 2 runs, only one earned... Trakas chalked up 7 strikeouts and issued one walk. Led by 3B Matt Thompson's 4 hits, the Blue Sox collected 9 hits... they struck for 2 runs in the first frame, scoring one on LF Eddie Nagen's (.297) RBI single and another on a Buccaneer error... Blue Lake increased it to 3-0 in the top of the fifth, when Thompson (.360) drove in Skipper Smith (.289) with a single... Bay St. Clair finally got to Trakas in the bottom of the fifth on CF Chris Blanton's (.125) 2-run single, cutting the score to 3-2... but that's all they got... the Blue Sox put them away with 2 more in the top of the seventh, scoring on CF Chris Halley's (.315) sacrific fly and and RBI single by LF Boom-Boom Baker (.220). The Bucs starter John Karlsen (0-2/6.23) suffered the loss, but only allowed 2 earned runs on 9 hits in 7 innings... Karlsen fanned 4 and walked no one. YESTERDAY IN THE IPA *THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Thursday, October 3, 2030 2030 IPA Pro Cup Final 4 Series (best-of-seven) Ruthlandian Union Vipers Win 7th Game 4-2 Behind Lem The Valmara Vipers are Pro Cup bound... they came back from a three games to two deficit to eliminate the Wynnamac Sundowners in seven games to capture the Ruthlandian Final 4 Series... Valmara ace Teddy Lem beat the Sundowners for the third time in the series... Lem (4-1/2.57) tamed them 4-2 in game seven... he was tagged for 9 hits, but gave up only 2 runs, struck out 5 and walked none... LF Billy Hooper rapped a crucial 2-run homer in the fifth inning that proved to be the margin of victory... Wynnamac's Killara Bardo (1-4/4.37) was the losing pitcher, though he only permitted 4 hits, but walked 5, while fanning 6 in his 7 innings. The Vipers took the lead right off the bat with 2 runs in the first... 2B Alec Leclerc (.292) led off the game with a single, stole second and was doubled in by RF Gerry Kazmarek (.315)... Kazmarek moved to third on a groundout and then scored when Hooper (.188) bounced out to third... Hooper led the Vipers with 3 runs batted in... C Lee Leslie (.222) narrowed the score to 2-1 with a home run in the top of the fifth... Hooper came right back with his roundtripper in the last half of the frame to make it 4-1... the Sundowners got the final run in the seventh when 1B Giles Butler (.244) led off with a double, advanced to third on a grounder and rode home on Tommy Lambright's (.188) sac fly. Valmara will meet the Blue Lake Blue Sox, the Tycobbian champion in the Pro Cup Finals... this will be the Vipers fourth trip to the Pro Cup Finals... they won it in 2026, knocking off the Mahaska Haymakers... Valmara lost in 2003 and 2023... the Vipers have played in the postseason 12 times overall in their history. This will be the first time the Blue Sox have qualified for the IPA championship... they made the playoffs in 2001 and 2010, but were eliminated in the first round each time. YESTERDAY IN THE IPA *THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Friday, October 4, 2030 Pro Cup Finals Start Tomorrow In Valmara Game one of the IPA Pro Cup Finals is scheduled tomorrow afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara. The Vipers will host the Blue Lake Blue Sox. The series is a toss-up. Valmara is well-experienced in Pro Cup action and will be making its fourth appearance. This will be a first for the Blue Sox. Overall this is the Vipers' 12th postseason appearance. Valmara racked up its only Pro Cup title in 2026. The Blue Sox are novices with only three playoff appearances in their history. Until this season, they have never gotten past the first round. The Vipers will be in quest of a second Pro Cup, while it will be the Blue Sox first. Neither team was expected to get this far. The Vipers were seeded sixth, while the Blue Sox were rated the seventh best team in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Pro Cup Poll. Blue Lake manager Rick Hilliard got a big boost when his ace Doug Kirkpatrick came back from a month on the DL. Kirkpatrick (22-9/2.92) did not play in the first two rounds. He will make Blue Lake's fine starting rotation even better. Kirkpatrick will join Derek Joubert, Chris Landry and Billy Trakas, who paced the Blue Sox to a very impressive 2.25 team ERA so far in the playoffs. Hilliard hasn't decided on his rotation for the finals yet. It won't be an easy decision. Trakas is 3-0 in the postseason with a 2.61 ERA, Joubert 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA and Landry was 0-3, but with an excellent 1.99 ERA. During the regular season Trakas was 13-17 with a 3.24 ERA, Joubert 12-5 with a great 1.84 ERA and Landry was 15-13 with a 2.88 ERA. On paper Blue Lake seems to have much superior pitching. Valmara skipper Jet Kazmarek will counter with the trio of Teddy Lem (21-14/3.31), rookie Garry Gronek (15-10/3.38) and Carroll Cain (15-12/3.27). In the postseason Lem is 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA, Gronek is 3-1 with a fine 2.48 ERA and Cain is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA. The Blue Sox have a much better bullpen than the Vipers, too. For Valmara to have a chance the offense must produce much better in the championship series. They have hit only .236 so far in playoffs. The Vipers batted .272 during the year. Valmara's best bats in the postseason are RF Gerry Kazmarek (.315), 2B Alec Leclerc (.292), 1B Jerry Rembert (.267) and CF Teddy Szymanski (.259). The Blue Sox have performed better in the playoffs with a .258 team BA, sparked by 3B Matt Thompson (.360), CF Chris Halley (.315), Eddie Nagen (.297), 2B Skipper Smith (.289) and C Roger Webb (.267). Both clubs are about even in power. Blue Lake has 11 homers, while Valmara has gone deep 9 times. Scoring-wise Blue Lake has tallied 45 runs in 12 games, while Valmara has totaled 42 in 13 games.