Friday, September 29, 2085
12 CLUBS STILL VYING FOR 6 PLAYOFFS SPOTS
Nope, according to a well-know baseball authority, it ain't over till it's over. Well, it ain't over yet in the Islandian Pro Alliance. 12 clubs still are in the running for 6 division crowns. Only Belair Beach and Hartsdale have won pennants so far. With only 3 games to go in the regular season here is how it stands around the IPA.
Ruthlandian Union Recap
In the RU North runner-up Taranto edged first place LaGrange 5-4 in the rubber game of a three-game series and narrowed the Gators lead to 3 games. The Tars won the last two games and now trail by 3 games. LaGrange's magic number is down to one. Taranto must win all 3 remaining games and LaGrange must lose all 3 to give the Tars a chance to tie for first place and force a sudden-death game. The Gators blew a 4-0 lead in the final game of the series. Andy Murchison (.219 BA/9 HR/45 RBI) drilled a key single to decide the game in the last of the 7th frame. Taranto closer Tito Ibarra (13-10/3.33 ERA/15 saves/70 games) worked 2 scoreless innings to save the day for the Tars. Bo Murphree (.264 BA/22 HR/64 RBI) and Gerald Whitney (.233 BA/12 HR/50 RBI) paced Taranto at the plate, each with 2 ribbies. Robin Moncriffe (.244 BA/11 HR/51 RBI) led LaGrange with a homer and 2 runs batted in.
Defending IPA Pro Cup champion Belair Beach has won the RU South for the third straight season and now gets a shot at back-to-back IPA titles.
In the RU, the top team Eastshore moved up on second place Wynnamac by 2 games with a win over the Beechwood Blues 4-3. The Macs had the day off. The 2 clubs will decide the pennant in Eastshore, where they will host the Sundowners in the last 3 games of the year. Wynnamac will have to sweep the series to win it. Bobby West (19-8/3.54 ERA) came through for the Cotton Kings. He hurled them past the Blues, striking out 10 batters and giving up 3 runs on 8 hits. Kirk Guilbeau (.284 BA/16 HR/82 RBI) won the game with an RBI hit in the 6th frame. Luc Likovich (.269 BA/25 HR/89 RBI) cracked a solo homer for the Cotton Kings.
Both contenders lost in the RU West. First place Colfax fell 6-1 to Volusia, while second place Forest City was knocked off 5-1 by the Stoner Silver Sox, who swept the 3-game series. Marco Nunez (10-11/4.50 ERA) easily handled the Black Sox, stopping them on 6 hits. Timmy Birchman (12-11/3.36 ERA) shut down the Firebirds on 5 hits with 7 Ks and one base on balls. Ben Acheson (.278 BA/8 HR/24 RBI) powered Stoner with 4 RBIs.
Tycobbian Union Recap
The Hartsdale Hellcats have already won its fourth TU North title in a row and they are looking like a force to reckon with in the Pro Cup playoffs.
In the TU South, the San Alejo Montaneros had an off-day, but gained a half-game in the battle with second place Turon, who lost for the third straight day to Arroyo Grande 7-6. The Monties will carry a one-game margin in the last 3 games of the season. San Alejo will close the regular season at home against the Typhoons. The Suns jumped in front of Turon 6-1 after 5 frames, but they held off a late rally by the Typhoons. Noah Bowers (.303 BA/31 HR/89 RBI) slammed a grand slam for the winners. Turon tried to come back late in the game, but fell short. They hit 3 out of the park in the comeback. Robby Graciano (.291 BA/10 HR/63 RBI), Troy Stanton (.231 BA/11 HR/43 RBI) and Tito Rosales (.273 BA/6 HR/23 RBI) all went downtown in defeat.
The Hillsboro Blazers picked up a half-game and climbed up into a first-place tie with the High Mesa Buckaroos, who had the day off. The Blazers got a strong outing from Dino Crocetti (13-9/3.73 ERA). He put away Ozarka 3-2 by outpitching Mordecai Partridge (9-14/3.00 ERA). Crocetti fanned 3, walked none and held the Naturals to 6 hits. Rog Bartell's (.312 BA/4/18 RBI) 2-run roundtripper made the difference. Hillsboro only got 4 hits in the game.
It looks like the TU West will be decided in Chicopee this weekend. The first place Braves will host runner-up Bayview for a 3-game set. Chicopee is only one game up on the Vikings. Rolling Hills (2 GB) and La Claire (3 GB) are mathematically still in the chase, but a lot of things will have go right for them in order to pull in a pennant and a playoff spot.
Denton City's Spunky Selkirk (8-18/5.15 ERA) went the distance and outhurled Chicopee's Glen Temple (15-11/3.15 ERA) yesterday afternoon 3-2, limiting them to 6 hits with 7 strikeouts and walking only 2 batters. Temple did well, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits with 8 Ks and just 2 walks.
Bayview copped their 5th victory in a row, beating La Claire 4-2 on Kim Kellstrom's 2-run homer in the 7th frame. He now has a league-leading 44 roundtrippers and 103 RBIs this year. Niclas Alexandersson (15-9/2.62 ERA) won the critical game and held the Lynx to 2 runs in 7 innings. Closer Marcos Rubio (11-12/4.34 ERA/14 saves/58 games) fired 2 runless innings for the save. Catching the loss was Wilem Chrisman (13-10/3.13 ERA), who worked a complete game, gave up 4 runs on 7 hits.
Rolling Hills snapped a 4-game swoon with a 3-0 win over Kenwood as Linc Dickens (16-9/3.04 ERA) performed brilliantly. He had little trouble with the Wildcats, shutting them out on 4 hits. Kenwood loser Ronnie Gaspard (8-7/2.82 ERA) deserved better. He went all the way, too.
Ruthlandian Union
Tycobbian Union
