2090 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - GAME 5
Thursday, November 8, 2090
BARTELS HURLS LYNX TO IPA CROWN
The La Claire Lynx made it look easy with a 4-0 shutout on the road to haul in their second Pro Cup in history. Manager Jonny Bacon has a very good all-around club that usee standout pitching with timely hitting and home-run power to finish off the Valmara Vipers in 5 games. In game five Don Bartels fired a 6-hit shutout, struck 11 and walked just one in a sparkling performanc, upping his postseason mark to 3-1 with an impressive 2.82 ERA. David Glascock (.193 BA/5 HR/13 RBI) gave him the only run he needed with a solo swat in the second inning. The Lynx also got RBIs from Nicky Bajka (.217 BA/1 RBI), Howie Ellenberger (.170BA/4 HR/11RBI) and Rick Wall (.259 BA/2 HR/14 RBI). Valmara ace Arjan Huntsman (3-2/2.08 ERA) kept it close most of the game. He was touched for 6 hits in his 7 and two-thirds innings with 4 walks and 7 Ks.
Jubilant manager Jonny Bacon took over the club in hard times and suffered through 2 rebuilding years in 2083 and 2084 when the Lynx were the worst team in the IPA. They posted a miserable 116-192 mark. Since then Bacon has finished second once and won the pennant the last four seasons in a row. He also won the club's first Pro Cup in 2087. Bacon was a fine hitting backstop for La Claire from 2061 to 2069. He batted .292 in his career with 197 homers and 733 RBIs. In 2064 Bacon made the Tycobbian Union All-Star team.
Bacon told the press and media, "We didn't have a single All-Star, but we had a solid ballplayer at every position. David Glascock (.289 BA/36 HR/110 RBI) and Dennis Culpepper (.327 BA/18 HR/112 RBI) sparked the offense, while Don Bartels (19-7/2.70 ERA/32 starts/240 IP) anchored the mound corps. We had a bunch of MVPs in the playoffs. One key element in winning the Pro Cup was our bullpen in the first two rounds. Jerry Miller, Paul Unruh
and Billy Ray Troxell were vital in getting us to the Pro Cup Finals. Bartels, Shuggie Garnett, and Roger Arenado were so good in the Valmara series, that we didn't have to use the bullpen. Our starters were magnificent with 3 complete games and held the powerhouse Vipers to just 17 runs in 5 games, 10 of them coming in the only game they won..
Valmara skipper Primo Sirak echoed Bacon's sentiments. "I have a very good-hitting ballclub, but we didn't look like it in the Finals. La Claire's starting threesome totally shut us down. We had a chance to win game one and played OK in game five, but otherwise we had no chance in games two, three and four. They were in command." Valmara has a rich postseason history in the Islandian Pro Alliance with 5 Pro Cups and 32 playoff appearances.
