ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 12, 2057

MIDDIES MOVE AHEAD IN TU EAST
The Midway Wolves (86-64) moved up to first place in the Tycobbian East with a 4-1 decision over the Kenwood Wildcats (77-73)... coupled with losses by their chief rivals, Red Bluff (85-65) and High Mesa (83-67), the Wolves are now one game ahead of the Red Sox and three in front of the Mustangs with only four games left in the year... Midway has won three of its last four games.

For the fourth time in his illustrious career 37-year-old Charlie Chase (20-11/2.98) has posted 20 wins in a season... he sparkled yesterday in Kenwood, holding the Wildcats to one run on seven hits... Chase is 325-284 in 19 seasons with Midway... Norishige Ito's (.334/47 HR/143 RBI) two-run clout in the third frame gave Chase all the runs he needed.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 12, 2057

RED SOX FALL TO SUN SOX, FALL TO 2ND IN TU EAST
The Red Bluff Red Sox (85-65) succumbed to the strong pitching of Southport's Jordy Wales (15-18/3.09), who stopped them 3-2 at Red Bluff Park and knocked the Red Sox out of a first-place tie with the Midway Wolves (86-64)… Red Bluff is slumping and has lost its last four games... Southport is sizzling with eight wins in a row... the Sun Sox (75-75) got a whale of a performance from Wales, who permitted only four hits and one earned run... Red Bluff couldn't take advantage of his wildness... Wales walked six batters, but also fanned six... Wilson Sharpe (19-16/2.92) tossed a pretty fair game, too, but failed to get his 20th win... the Sun Sox got three runs on six hits off of Sharpe.

Second place Red Bluff is a game out of the top spot in the TU East with four games remaining on the regular-season schedule.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 12, 2057

FROGS' EBERLY STUMPS MUSTANGS
Third place High Mesa (83-67) simply couldn't handle the masterful pitching of Fairfax's Norb Eberly (15-12/3.63)... he stumped the Mustangs 5-1, allowing them only six hits... it was a costly defeat as it put High Mesa three games back of first place Midway in the TU East pennant race... just four games are left on the schedule... Tuffy Hammel (17-13/3.45) was tagged with the loss... he struggled mightily in his seven innings, slammed for 16 hits and all five runs... it should have been a lot worse than it was... the Frogs (70-80) wasted a whole bunch of hits and left 13 runners on base... Fairfax is on a three-game winning streak.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 12, 2057

REDBIRDS ON TOP IN TU WEST AFTER MARATHON WIN
For 15 glorious innings the Arlon Champions (74-76) and the Denton City Redbirds (92-58) went at it at Douglas Denton Field and when the dust cleared, the Redbirds were all alone atop the Tycobbian West Division... Denton City outlasted Arlon 5-4 and moved one game ahead of second place Rolling Hills (91-59), who were beaten by the Cape Coral Hurricanes (76-74)… the Redbirds have registered three wins in their last five games.

The Denton City bullpen came to the rescue, chalking up six scoreless innings... Burnell Kelley (3-2/0.82 ERA/36 saves/53 G) tossed two of them and winning pitcher Robert Currie (4-1/3.61 ERA/2 saves/38 G) went the last four... a walk, hit and an infield error gave Denton City the victory and a loss to reliever Mack Blair (3-6/3.89 ERA/12 saves/35 G).

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 12, 2057

REDS DROP OUT OF TIE FOR FIRST IN TU WEST
The Rolling Hills Reds (91-59) dropped a game behind the Denton City Redbirds (92-58) in the battle for the top spot in the Tycobbian West Division... the Reds ran into an impressive complete-game performance by Jarrod Kipling (16-19/3.85) of the Cape Coral Hurricanes (76-74), who was touched for 10 hits, but came away with a 7-2 win... Rolling Hills has lost four of its last five games... Vance Dillaway (19-16/3.41) kept the Reds in the game until the four-run eighth frame put the game out of reach... they only trailed 3-2 prior to that.

The regular IPA season ends this Sunday... only four games are left to play.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 14, 2057

FTB WINS RU WEST, 3 PLAYOFF SLOTS LEFT
Last year's IPA champion Middlefield Roosters (82-69) no longer rule the roost... they were beaten out by the Fort Benton Defenders (86-65) in the Ruthlandian West Division with three more games to play, leaving only three more slots left to be decided... St. John (86-65) has a two-game edge on Crystal Lake (84-67) in the RU South... in the Tycobbian Union two races are in doubt... Midway (86-65) has a slim one-game margin over Red Bluff (85-66) in the Tycobbian East and three games on third place High Mesa (83-68), which only has the slimmest of slim chances to make the Pro Cup playoffs... if the Mustangs lose a game or Midway wins a game, High Mesa's season is over as far as the postseason is concerned... with only three games left on the schedule Denton City (92-59) and Rolling Hills (92-59) are all even in the Tybobbian West.

Recapping yesterday's action... in the Ruthlandian Union, St. John whipped Taranto 6-4 and Crystal Lake crushed Kilkenny 10-2... the Crusaders are still two games ahead of the Skippers in the RU South and Fort Benton eliminated Middlefield and Sligo with an 11-3 clobbering of the Waleska Westerners, while Middlefield was losing to Volusia 7-3 and Sligo downed Colfax 4-3... the Defenders won the RU West division flag by four games and grabbed a spot in the Pro Cup playoffs.

In Tycobbian action all three contenders in the TU East were beaten... first place Midway fell to the Kenwood Wildcats 9-8 in 11 innings... runner-up Red Bluff lost to Southport in a rout 9-0... and third place High Mesa was stiffed by the Fairfax Frogs 9-1... in the TU West Denton City was edged 1-0 by the Arlon Champions and are now tied with Rolling Hills, which powered by Cape Coral 12-6.

Click on Image to Enlarge League Standings

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 13, 2057

SAINTS SALVAGE CRUCIAL WIN FROM TARS
In the Ruthlandian South pennant race, the first place St. John Crusaders only got five hits off Alvio Sartori (7-3/3.30) of the Taranto Tars, but they added seven walks and came away with a 6-4 victory... Deke Eubanks (12-13/3.79) fanned nine batters in seven innings and notched the victory for St. John (86-65)... Vito Lombardi (.258/5 HR) and Gaetano Palombo (.240/21 HR) kept it close with home runs for the Tars... St. John maintained their two-game lead over second place Crystal Lake (84-67)... the Crusaders will close the season with three games against the Wynnamac Sundowners (80-70) on the road.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 13, 2057

CRYSTAL LAKE CRUSHES CATS
Second place Crystal Lake (84-67) hung close to the top team in the Ruthlandian South, St. John (86-65)... the Skippers walloped Kilkenny 10-2 and kept pace with the Crusaders... Crystal Lake got a standout performance from Robin Norborne (18-15/3.75), who only allowed four hits, fanned four and walked only one batter, while working a complete game... the Skips backed him up with a solid 10-hit attack with Gib Conlan (.273/24 HR/98 RBI) slamming a two-run homer... and three players driving in two runs each: Buddy Killen (.317), Randy Dunn (.275) and Norborne himself (.206).

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 13, 2057

FTB NABS FIRST PENNANT IN 20 YEARS
The Fort Benton Defenders destroyed Waleska 11-3 to nabbed their first RU West pennant in 20 years and just the second in the club's history... leading the 14-hit attack was Kip Drumm (.318/7 HR/65 RBI) and Mel Lightfoot (.335/16 HR/78 RBI) with homers and four RBIs apiece... Billy Ellis (8-9/4.36) also hurled a complete game, permitting only two earned runs, eight hits with two bases on balls and five Ks... Fort Benton took the division crown when second place Middlefield lost to Volusia.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 13, 2057

HEARTBREAKING DEFEAT FOR MIDDIES
The first place Midway Wolves fought hard, but fell to Kenwood 9-8 in 11 innings... the Middies trailed 6-1, but roared back in the late innings to force overtime... the Wolves also took the lead twice in the extra frames, only to have the tough Wildcats rally and beat them... Kenwood collected 18 hits to outlast Midway... fortunately for the Wolves all of their competition lost, too... thus Midway still has a one-game lead on second place Red Bluff and three on High Mesa in the Tycobbian East Division.

Three games remain on tap until the regular season ends... Midway will be at home at Joe Wolf Stadium against the San Alejo Montaneros (60-90), a last place team.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 13, 2057

SUN SOX SPOIL RED SOX'S CHANCE
The Red Bluff Red Sox (85-66) could have tied Midway (86-65) for the Tycobbian East lead with a win over Southport (76-75) yesterday... instead, they were routed by the Sun Sox 9-0 behind the superb pitching of Lenny Carlson (9-7/3.99), who blanked them on just three hits... Southport also socked three out of the park with Goldy Zellmer (.264/11 HR/62 RBI), Buzzy McGinnis (.228/11 HR/49 RBI) and Manuelo Garcia (.276/14 HR/62 RBI) all going deep... Fred Taylor (15-13/4.01) absorbed the defeat, battered badly for six runs in three innings... three games remain on the schedule... all of them are out-of-town... the seventh place Mahaska Haymakers (70-80) will be the Red Sox's opponent.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 13, 2057

HIGH MESA LOSES, TOO
The High Mesa Mustangs (83-68) also could have gained ground in the Tycobbian East pennant chase, but they ran into some hostile Fairfax Frogs, who jumped all over them in a 9-1 trouncing... Clyde Sowers (10-9/3.82) looked sharp, holding the Hosses to six hits... David Newell (14-12/3.62) took it on the chin, belted for six runs in his five innings... High Mesa also played poor defense with three errors and five unearned runs... one more win by Midway or one more loss by High Mesa and the Mustangs will be eliminated from pennant contention... and to make matters even worse, they have to close the season with three games at home against the TU North Division winner, the Oxford Red Caps (86-64).

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 13, 2057

DC STUMBLES, DEADLOCKED IN TU WEST
The Rolling Hills Reds (92-59) roared past Cape Coral 12-6 and climbed into a first place tie with the Denton City Redbirds (92-59), who lost a 1-0 duel with the Arlon Champions (75-76)... Oscar Mathewson (11-14/4.02) was in total command and stopped the Redbirds cold on just three singles in his eight innings... Rance Hasbrough (14-16/3.10) was strong, too, going all the way in defeat, surrendering just four hits, while fanning seven and walking two... Denton City has three games to go in the regular season... all of them will be in North Hills (79-71) against the tough Hawks.

[Eugene Church]

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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 13, 2057

REDS TIE REDBIRDS IN TU WEST
It wasn't one of 21-game winner P. J. Dunham's (21-8/4.01) better outing, but it was good enough... the Rolling Hills Reds roughed up the Cape Coral Hurricanes 12-6 and moved up into a tie for the top spot in the Tycobbian West Division with the Denton City Redbirds (92-59) with just three more games to play in the regular season... Dunham labored through six frames, walked eight batters, allowed five hits, but gave up only three scores... he fanned six and got the win... fortunately the Reds got 10 hits and 9 walks to put the Hurricanes away... Rolling Hills was led at the plate by Dustin Thibodeau (.289/16 HR/93 RBI), Miguel Romeros (.248/11 HR/58 RBI) and rookie Lee Fountain (.303/8 HR/68 RBI), all with two ribbies each... the Reds will finish the regular season at home with three contests against the sixth place Ozark Naturals (69-81).

[SuperHappyTime]

Congratulations Ft Benton! So what team/teams own the longest Division Pennant Drought?

What’s the tiebreaker rules? Thinking High Mesa is done :/ Red Bluff too with that losing streak.

That TU West looks like going down to the last game. I expect St John will get that win.

And if things hold out and Denton City wins, the preseason predictions were entirely wrong for the RU, and entirely correct for the TU

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by SuperHappyTime

Congratulations Ft Benton! So what team/teams own the longest Division Pennant Drought?

What’s the tiebreaker rules? Thinking High Mesa is done :/ Red Bluff too with that losing streak.

That TU West looks like going down to the last game. I expect St John will get that win.

And if things hold out and Denton City wins, the preseason predictions were entirely wrong for the RU, and entirely correct for the TU

First playoff appearance for Fort Benton since 2037... this year will only be their second postseason appearance.

Thanks for asking these questions... I needed the league research to use in my IPA writeups... the list will save me a lot of time in my game recaps and league recaps... I now have a master list showing how many pennants a team has won and the last time they made the playoffs... also how many Pro Cups they have won and the years they did it... I will post the info later today.

Longest pennant/postseason drought: goes to the Belle Plaine Musketeers… only one playoff appearance ever... way back in 2009... other long droughts belong to the Bayview Vikings (2016), Arroyo Grande Suns (2024), Beechwood Blues (2027), Stoner (2029), Blue Lake Blue Sox (2030), Ginza Ninjas (2031), Fairfax Frogs (2033).

Other poorly performing franchises with only one postseason appearance: Hillsboro Blazers (2051), Kilkenny Cats (2042).

34 0f the 64 teams have never won the IPA Pro Cup.

Most Playoff Appearances: Middlefield (20), Valmara (20), Turon (20),Tuckanarra (18), Sugar Valley (18), Far Mountain (15), Ozarka (15)

Most Pro Cups: Turon (4), Valmara (4), North Hills (4), Far Mountain (3), Middlefield (3), Rolling Hills (3), Southport (3), Tuckanarra (3), Waleska (3)

Tiebreakers: teams must play a single-game playoff... best record gets the home-field advantage... head-to-head is also used as tiebreaker, if season record is the same... total runs head-to-head if it goes that far.

[Eugene Church]

Here is a quick review of IPA teams postseason histories:

Team (Pennants) (Last Appearance) (Pro Cups) (Years)
Ancona (5) (2056) (No Pro Cups)
Arlon (8) (2056) (1) (2051)
Arroyo Grande (4) (2024) (No Pro Cups)
Bay St. Clair (11) (2050) (No Pro Cups)
Bayview (6) (2016) (No Pro Cups)
Beechwood (3) (2027) (No Pro Cups)
Belair Beach (8) (2047) (No Pro Cups)
Belle Plaine (1) (2009) (No Pro Cups)
Blue Lake (3) (2030) (1) (2030)
Cape Coral (8) (2041) (No Pro Cups)
Chicopee (3) (2036) (No Pro Cups)
Claxton (14) (2049) (No Pro Cups)
Colchester (4) (2036) (No Pro Cups)
Cold Creek (8) (2041) (No Pro Cups)
Colfax (13) (2042) (1) (2010)
Crystal Lake (10) (2044) (2) (2020, 2022)
Denton City (11) (2054) (No Pro Cups)
East Point (7) (2052) (No Pro Cups)
Eastshore (8) (2056) (2) (2016, 2017)
Elnora (10) (2057) (1) (2033)
Fairfax (8) (2033) (No Pro Cups)
Far Mountain (15) (2055) (3) (2011, 2012, 2013)
Forest City (5) (2048) (No Pro Cups)
Fort Benton (2) (2057) (No Pro Cups)
Ginza (7) (2031) (No Pro Cups)
Glasco (3) (2045) (No Pro Cups)
Grand City (3) (2055) (No Pro Cups)
Hartsdale (9) (2047) (1) (2046)
High Mesa (3) (2048) (1) (2002)
Kenwood (10) (2052) (1) (2014)
Kilkenny (1) (2042) (No Pro Cups)
La Claire (4) (2038) (No Pro Cups)
La Grange (6) (2037) (No Pro Cups)
Luxora (11) (2031) (No Pro Cups)
Mahaska (4) (2028) (No Pro Cups)
Marston (7) (2047) (No Pro Cups)
Middlefield (20) (2056) (3) (2005, 2052, 2056)
Midway (7) (2056) (2) (2053, 2054)
North Hills (13) (2045) (4) 2034, 2036, 2038, 2041)
Oxford (8) (2057) (1) (2007)
Ozarka (15) (2040) (No Pro Cups)
Ranford (7) (2041) (1) (2040)
Red Bluff (8) (2047) (1) (2004)
Rocky Rapids (6) 2046) (1) 2019)
Rolling Hills (11) (2048) (3) (2029, 2031, 2048)
San Alejo (8) (2051) (1) (2032)
San Dimas (4) (2041) (No Pro Cups)
Sligo (9) (2040) (1) (2021)
South Fork (6) (2043) (2) (2025, 2042)
Southport (11) (2055) (3) (2027, 2044, 2047)
St. John (8) (2050) (No Pro Cups)
Stoner (8) (2029) (No Pro Cups)
Sugar Valley (18) (2051) (1) 2045)
Summerland (4) (2046) (No Pro Cups)
Taranto (8) (2056) (1) (2015)
Tuckanarra (18) (2049) (3) (2023, 2024, 2035)
Turon (20) (2057) (4) (2003, 2006, 2009, 2019)
Valka (5) (2054) (No Pro Cups)
Valmara (20) (2051) (4) (2025, 2043, 2049, 2050)
Volusia (9) (2043) (1) (2001)
Waleska (11) (2056) (3) (2028, 2037, 2039)
White River (11) (2056) (No Pro Cups)
Wynnamac (11) (2055) (2) (2008, 2055)

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 15, 2057

NITTY GRITTY TIME IN IPA
Only two games are left on the IPA regular season schedule and still three divisions have not been decided... but one team is getting close... the St. John Crusaders (86-68) have a two-game advantage on the Crystal Lake Skippers (84-68) in the Ruthlandian South... the other two division are jampacked and tense... the Denton City Redbirds (93-59) and the Rolling Hills Reds (93-59) are still tied for the top spot in the Tycobbian West... and things got even tighter in the Tycobbian East logjam... only two games separate three teams... the Midway Wolves (86-68) are one game up on the second place Red Bluff Red Sox (85-67) and the third place High Mesa Mustangs (84-68) are just two games off the pace.

Both the Crusaders and Skippers ran into some good pitching and lost yesterday... St. John lost for the fifth time in seven games... Simon Northcott (6-6/4.07) hurled a heck of game and beat the Crusaders 3-1... Northcott held them to just four hits... Teddy Howell (14-12/3.35) pitched a quality game, only giving up three runs in seven innings.

Luckily for St. John, Crystal Lake also fell for the third time in the last five games... the Sugar Valley Rattlers socked four homers in a 5-3 decision over the Skippers... posting the victory was Hector De Andres (7-5/3.85)... Tony Calamari (9-5/2.90) took the loss, yielding five runs in seven frames... Chuck Toefield (.246/8 HR), Dino Lazzeri (.235/16 HR), Glynn Elston (.269/10 HR) and Marv Shaw (.236/27 HR) all went downtown on Calamari... Jasper Shackleford (.290/20 HR) got one for the Skippers.

In the TU East, both Midway and Red Bluff took it on the chin... the Wolves were beaten 7-6 by the lowly San Alejo Montaneros (61-91)... the Monties hit three out of the park and defeated Rob Land (15-10/4.18)... the Middies got two homers and five RBIs from superstud Norishige Ito (.339/49 HR/48 RBI) and a solo shot from rookie Robb Withers (.268/21 HR/48 RBI), but it wasn't enough... Midway is only 4-6 the last 10 games.

Second place Red Bluff has not been playing well, either, going 3-7 in their last 10 contests... yesterday the Red Sox lost their sixth in a row, falling 6-3 to the fifth place Mahaska Haymakers (72-80)... Morrie Dalman (11-8/4.75) went the distance, stuck out eight Red Sox, walked three and permitted eight hits... Dub Forrester (.279/14 HR/68 RBI) drove in four runs to pace the Haymakers... Ricky Lambert (13-10/4.03) didn't fare very well for Red Bluff... he was stung for six runs in six innings.

The High Mesa Mustangs will long remember what could have been this season if they had not lost the last three games to the eighth place Fairfax Frogs (71-81) ... it's hard to believe but the Hosses still have a theoretical chance at the TU East pennant... yesterday they thoroughly trounced playoff-bound Oxford 7-0 behind the tremendous pitching of rookie phenom Weldon Herringdon (23-9/2.77)... he totally shut down the pennant-winning Red Caps (87-65) on a six-hit shutout... the Mustangs bats were sizzling, too, with 16 hits and three home runs... Tommy Yost (.302/21 HR/74 RBI) hammered two of them and Tracy McGriff (.279/31 HR/86 RBI) parked the other one... High Mesa has to win all of the games and hope the other two lose their final two games to have a chance at the pennant and a spot in the Pro Cup playoffs... highly improbable, but not impossible.

Wow!... what a battle in the wild, wild west between two of the best teams in the IPA... both Denton City (93-59) and Rolling Hills (93-59) were victorious yesterday to stay tied for first place in the Tycobbian West Division... the Redbirds rocked North Hills (80-72) for 16 hits and three roundtrippers in a 12-7 lopsided win... Val Anniston (.289/28 HR/79 RBI), Vincent McCloud (.310/31 HR/104 RBI) and Kris Dunstin (.256/20 HR/51 RBI) led the home-run barrage.

The Reds kept pace with Denton City by winning their third game in the last four... Rolling Hills rolled over the Ozarka Naturals 5-2... they did it with solid pitching by Tommy Otis (21-14/3.08), who registered his 21st triumph of the season... he walked only one batter and fanned six, allowing just two runs... Dustin Thibodeau (.292/16 HR/96 RBI) collected three hits and batted in three runs to top the Reds at the plate.

[Eugene Church]

*

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, September 16, 2057

ST. JOHN WINS RU EAST, TU EAST/WEST UNDECIDED
The Islandian Pro Alliance now has six division champions and two undecided... The St. John Crusaders (87-66) captured the Ruthlandian South Division and became the sixth playoff team... they lead runner-up Crystal Lake (85-68) by two games with only one left to play.

It's down-to-the-wire and down-to-the-last-day in the Tycobbian East and the Tycobbian West... someone could win on the last day or have to go to a single-game playoff to determine the division winner... going into the final day of the regular season the Midway Wolves (86-67) are one game ahead of the second place Red Bluff Red Sox (85-68) in the TU East... and the Rolling Hills Reds (94-59) are up by a single game on the second place Denton City Redbirds (93-60) in the TU West.