BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, BCAC, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
3 September 2310
NCA Semifinal Round
#5 County Crossing Bloodbugs (75-55) vs #1 Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (88-42)
Season Series
Nordhagen Beach 6, County Crossing 4
April 12-14 @NB: NB 7-0, CC 5-1, NB 5-0
May 21-22 @CC: NB 5-4, CC 6-2
June 18-20 @CC: NB 2-0, NB 6-4, CC 4-3
August 2-3 @NB: NB 9-7, CC 5-3
Analysis
In what has turned into a league playoff with 2nd place The Slog facing 3rd place County Crossing and now the Bloodbugs facing 1st place Nordhagen Beach, we have a great matchup of bitter rivals. During the regular season, the Party Boys won 6 out of 10, going 3-2 at home and on the road. The Boys also shut out the Bugs three times, showing that the pitching staff can consistently handle a dangerous offense.
For the Party Boys, the defending champions, they are back for another playoff run. They have made the playoffs in all 13 seasons of the full CBO set up, making them the only team with that accomplishment. As three-time champions and six-time Sole Survivor Series participants, the Boys are also tops in those two categories. The only other teams to win two championships are Diamond City, Roxbury, and University Point. County Crossing is one of the three teams to win one in the full CBO setup.
Nordhagen Beach is a good team all-around, finishing tops in runs scored (755) and runs allowed (499) a difference of nearly two runs per game. The top of the Boys' lineup is deadly: RF Jonathan Angelou (.256/30/70), 1B Mountainside Rockhand (.322/32/92), CF Maxx Murtagh (.328/43/90), and LF Young Goodman (.322/29/91). They also have 12-time All-Star C Biter Trout (.326/5/44) who dealt with injuries during the season but is healthy entering the playoffs.
On the mound, the Party Boys were 1st in Starters ERA (3.62) and 2nd in Bullpen ERA (3.85). The playoff starters are Beachboy Nut (15-8, 3.80) who surprisingly had the highest ERA of the four Nordhagen Beach starters, Deedee Martinson (17-7, 3.61) who was the starter in two of the shutouts against the Bugs, and Ugio Church (21-7, 3.41) who tied the NCA record for victories. SP Tommy Beach (20-8, 3.45) will move to the bullpen for the playoffs to join CL David "AntAgonist" Kidd (39 SV, 2.47) who led the CBO in saves and RP Hard John Horvath (1-2, 1.82).
Prediction
We are having a hard time finding any faults with the Nordhagen Beach team. While the Boys could go cold, we just do not see it happening, and will probably ride the Boys as long as they are alive. County Crossing is a tough team, but the Nordhagen Beach team has had success against them, including the three shutouts that we mentioned. We're taking the Boys. Party Boys 3, Bloodbugs 1
#6 Starlight Killers (74-56) vs #2 Bunker Hill 75ers (85-45)
Season Series
Bunker Hill 5, Starlight 5
April 8-10 @Star: BH 6-2, Star 4-1, Star 2-0
June 4-6 @BH: Star 5-4, Star 5-3, BH 8-0
July 19-20 @Star: Star 3-2 (10), BH 10-5
August 27-28 @BH: BH 9-7, BH 6-5
Analysis
Bunker Hill finished the regular season on an eight-game winning streak, including a two-game sweep of Starlight in the last two games of the season. Winners of the Sole Survivor Series just two seasons ago, the 75ers are a formidable opponent. This is the third-straight playoff appearance for Bunker Hill and their fourth overall in the full CBO.
The regular season matchups between the 75ers and Killers were even overall with nothing that stood out exclusively. All of Starlight's victories were by three runs or fewer, while the 75ers had three victories of at least four runs.
The Bunker Hill offense finished 2nd in the NCA in runs scored (718) to go along with the top team batting average (.294). Four players finished with a batting average above .300: LF Jig McGhee (.354/18/83), SS Aaron Squire (.338/33/89), rookie 1B Pooja Berrie (.335/12/58), and CF Atai Molec (.323/7/54).
The 75ers were 3rd in runs allowed (536) to go along with finishing 4th in Starters ERA (3.98) and 1st in Bullpen ERA (3.75). The playoff starters are Jason Tonelli (15-11, 3.26), Max Thunderdome (16-10, 4.35), and Tony "Vampire" Frazier (11-6, 3.90). SP Corey Ware (14-3, 3.95) moves to the bullpen to join CL Jim Livermore (30 SV, 3.81) and SP/RP Mike Cartrette (8-1, 4 SV, 2.83).
Prediction
Just like the the other series, we have a hard time finding fault in the higher seed here. Bunker Hill may have been a lower seed a season ago, but they were still able to handle the Killers as the #1 NCA seed. This season, the 75ers are a better team and looked hot entering the playoffs. We'll take Bunker Hill to match their 2309 success against Starlight. 75ers 3, Killers 1