ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Ruthlandian Union South Division First Round Playoffs

Diamonds Whip Sunbirds 4-2 behind Kusnetsov
Just like Old Man River Terry Kuznetsov just keeps on rolling along... Kuznetsov (1-0 2.00) won 20 games in the regular season and today at his home field, Avalon Stadium, hurled the Claxton Diamonds to a 4-2 victory over the Belair Beach Sunbirds in the first game of their First Round playoffs... He chalked up nine Ks and walked only two in going the route... Slim Mosley (0-1 3.00) took a tough defeat, allowing only two earned runs in six innings of work for the Sunbirds... Both clubs collected eight hits each... Only one homer in the contest... Claxton 2B Erik Carducci hit a solo shot in the eighth inning... the underdog Diamonds will try to sweep the series with a win tomorrow afternoon in Belair Beach.

Valka, Peralta Top Cybercats 5-1, Up 1-0 in Series
It's playoff time!... but Valka's Roberto Peralta didn't feel the pressure... he mowed down the Grand City Cybercats 5-1, holding them to seven hits... Peralta (1-0 0.00) fanned three and walked three in a complete-game performance... He didn't allow an earned run in the game... The Blackhawks backed him up with a 10-hit attack with CF Ron Landauer, SS Villem Kask and RF T. C. Haskell all getting two hits apiece... Valka put up three runs in the opening frame and never were seriously threatened... Taking the loss was Lefty Paddison (0-1 6.35), who had a poor outing, giving up five runs in five-plus innings... The two clubs will play again tomorrow at Cybertel Stadium in Valka... One more win and the Blackhawks will advance to the Sweet Sixteen... It's a best-of-three series.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Ruthlandian Union East Division First Round Playoffs

Rattlers Rally Late, Edge Catamounts 5-4 in Opener
On the road at Holmes Field in Cold Creek, the visiting Sugar Valley Rattlers rallied from a 3-1 fifth-inning deficit to edge the Catamounts 5-4 in the first game of the RU East First Round playoff series... The Rattlers cracked 14 hits, but left 12 runners on base... the winning run was unearned when 2B Matt Breitmayer dropped a throw in the top of the eighth... Gregg Neal (1-0 4.00) went the distance and toughed out a victory... He gave up four runs on seven hits... LF Bruno DiPirro had two for four and two RBIs for Far Mountain... 3B Jorge Vargas had three hits in the game... RF Karl Yashin drove in a pair of runs for Cold Creek... the loss went to closer Lew MacAlester (0-1 3.00), who gave up six hits, but only one run in three innings... Dave Molinari (0-0 4.50), a 16-game winner in the regular season, started and worked the first six frames, yielding three runs an eight hits... The best-of-three series now switches to Sugar Valley... the Rattlers will try to wrap it up tomorrow.

Elnora Hangs On, Nips Eastshore 6-5 in Game 1
In the game one of the RU East First Round Series at Kraft Stadium, Elnora's Charlie Murphy breezed to a 6-0 lead after seven innings, then Eastshore awoke from its slumber and made a game of it with a big 5-run rally in the eighth... With the tying and winning runs on second and third base, reliever Stevie Howard fanned pinchhitter Carl Henriksen to end the threat...Howard finished the Elegants off 6-5 with a scoreless ninth... Murphy (1-0 5.14), however received credit for the win, going seven innings and giving up four runs on nine hits... Eastshore starter Thomas Williams (0-1 8.10) was tagged with the loss, allowing six runs in six-plus innings... wildness cost the Elegants... their pitchers walked in three runs in the game... Eastshore outhit the All-Stars 12 to 11... The best-of-three series will continue tomorrow at State Fair Park in Elnora.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Ruthlandian Union West Division First Round Playoffs

'Jacks Stop Stoner Stars 6-4, Jarvis Homers
The Forest City Lumberjacks took the series lead one game to none with a 6-4 victory over the Stoner Stars at Nonnac Stadium... A four-run fourth, highlighted by C Joey Jarvis' three-run clout did in Dwight Ruckman and the Stars... Each club collected 12 hits in the game with CF Ryan Morse and 1B Kurt Vecchio getting three apiece for Forest City and SS Yancy Bellows and CF Joe Delmore cracking three for Stoner... Timmy Brooks (1-0 5.14) picked up the win, going seven innings and allowing four runs with one walk and six strikeouts... Closer Johnny Marsh claimed the save with a scoreless eighth and ninth innings... Ruckman (0-1 9.00) had a very tough outing and lost it... He gave up six runs in six innings... Game two is scheduled tomorrow afternoon at Forest City... It's a best-of-three-games series.

Vigilantes Blast Roosters 11-3
In the Ruthlandian Union West playoff series opener at Middlefield Park, the defending IPA champions, the Volusia Vigilantes, had a field day banging out 16 hits and smashing the Middlefield Roosters 11-3... The V's hammered three homers with 1B Francisco Abreu, SS Shane Wells and CF Ryan Raines all going deep... Abreu and Raines drove in three runs apiece with 3B Chaco Rivera and LF Domingo DeLeon driving across two each... Southpaw Carl Schmitz (1-0 3.00) went the route, allowed three runs and seven hits, fanned six and walked three... Jackie Lee Bevis (0-1) garnered the defeat, being blasted for six runs in less than two innings... RF Bailey Norcross put Roosters up 2-0 with a roundtripper in the opening frame. It was short-lived as Volusia answered it with six runs in the second to put Middlefied away... The series will switch venues tomorrow afternoon with the two teams tangling at the Jailhouse in Volusia.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Tycobbian Union North Division First Round Playoffs

Frogs Cops First Game, Nip Zorros 2-1
The fans at the Frog Pond were treated to a good pitcher's duel in the first game of the TU North First Round playoffs... Robby Meredith of Fairfax outdueled Tito Tovares of Luxora 2-1 to go one game up in the best-of-three series... Meredith (1-0) limited the Zorros to five hits, fanned six and issued three bases on balls... Tovares (0-1) allowed two runs on eight hits with five Ks and walked nobody... LF Gator Davis drove in both runs for the Frogs with a solo homer in the second and an RBI double in the sixth... Luxora's only run came in the fourth frame on on singles by LF Pedro Vizquel and CF Lacey Tompkins and a ground out by RF Cristo Viamonte... Game two is on tap tomorrow at De la Vega Stadium in Luxora... Game three will also be played there, if needed.

Haymakers KO Oxford 6-4 in Playoff Opener
The Heartland Stadium faithful went home happy as their hometown Mahaska Haymakers KO'd the Oxford Red Caps 6-4 in the playoff opener... three back-to-back doubles decided the game in the last of the eighth... CF Brad Mazure, C Marty Murrell and pinchhitter Barry Owen supplied the winning hits... The Haymakers trailed 4-1 going into the bottom of the fifth and tied it up with three runs... Sparking the win were 1B Thom Scarborough and Mazure with two RBIs each... Mahaska squandered most of its 16 hits and was led by RF Jeff McElroy and Murrell with three hits apiece... CF Ike Plunkett paced the Red Caps with two hits and three RBIs, including the only home run in the game... Manager Rusty Tanussa got excellent work from his bullpen with Greg Turchin and closer Dain Abner completely shutting down Oxford over the last three frames... Turchin (1-0) got the win with two scoreless innings and Abner picked up the save with 1-2-3 ninth... The loss went to starter Jim Melanakos (0-1 7.04). He was shelled for six runs and 15 hits in seven-plus innings. The best-of-three series will now go to Winchester Stadium in Oxford.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Tycobbian Union South Division First Round Playoffs

What? Typhoons Trample San Alejo 12-3?
Who cares that San Alejo won 102 games in the regular season and are the favorites to win the IPA Pro Cup?... Apparently it didn't faze the Turon Typhoons in the first game of their First Round playoff series... The Typhoons trampled the Montaneros 12-3 to go ahead 1-0 in the best-of-three series... Sparked by the cheering crowd at Typhoon Stadium, Turon really turned it on by racking up 17 hits, paced by RF George Farley's perfect 5-for-5 day and three RBIs... SS Clovis Jarreau also chipped in three hits and a three-run homer... and 1B Boots Dubois drilled two hits and scored four times... It was a tight 4-3 contest until the sixth inning when the Typhoons lit into 25-game winner, Ernie Arredondo (0-0) for four runs to kick the score up to 8-3... Another four-run inning wrapped up the victory in the seventh... Although he struggled mightily with his control, starter Scotty Boswell (1-0 5.40) got credit for the win, walking six, striking out six and allowing three runs and four hits in five innings... Relievers Al Duhon and Jeb Pickett finished it up for him... San Alejo had 10 hits and were led by 2B Xavier Rocha with 3-for-4... San Alejo will be glad to get back to the friendly confines of the Casa de Beisbol for tomorrow's second game in the series.

Colchester's Pendarvis Shackles Sun Sox 3-0
Colchester's outstanding righthander, Dickie Pendarvis, put the shackles on Southport in the first game of the playoff series at Pleasure Beach Park and shut them out 3-0 on just four hits... Pendarvis (1-0 0.00), a 21-game winner during the season, had five strikeouts and walked two batters... Walt Corbin (1-0 2.57) pitched well for the Sun Sox, but not good enough... Corbin worked seven innings, fanned 10, walked three and surrendered three runs on five hits... Corbin departed with the score 2-0... LF Tony Barella's double and 2B Leland Curtis' three-bagger put the first run on the scoreboard in the third inning... Curtis doubled in the sixth and was driven across by CF Kenny Krantz's single for run number two... in the eighth 3B Niles Stanton's sac fly scored Barella from third base for the final run... The Elites only got six hits in the game... Barella and Curtis led the way with two each... The two clubs will be back at it again in game two tomorrow afternoon at Colchester's Heyward Stadium.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Tycobbian Union East Division First Round Playoffs

Cowboys Owens Too Tough For Tuckanarra
At Central Park Stadium in Tuckanarra, the High Mesa Cowboys took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three TU East First Round Series with the Blue Jays... Pitcher John Owens (1-0 1.00) was just too tough for them as he stopped Tuckanarra 6-1 on seven hits with four Ks and two walks... He outpitched Coorain Janama, who was 21-11 this season... The Cowboys jumped on Janama (0-1) for five runs in the fifth frame to bust open a 1-1 game... Leading the charge were RF Kenny Edelstein and 1B Babe Holloman with a pair of RBIs each... High Mesa collected 12 hits in all with Edelstein and C Jay Fessler socking three apiece... The Blue Jays will try and even up the series on the road tomorrow at High Mesa's Queen Ranch Stadium.

Stallions Power Past Panthers With 4 HRs
South Fork went on the offensive in tiny Armed Forces Stadium in East Point and pounded four homers to crush the Panthers 10-1 in game one of their playoff series... CF Ronnie Lee, 3B Glenn Holliday and RF Mike Yastrzemski all homered in the huge 7-run third inning... 2B Katsuhiko Hamada also ripped one into the stands in the sixth... In addition, the Stallions got a great mound performance from their ace, Flint Battle (1-0 0,00)... He checked potent East Point on just five hits and gave up no earned runs... Taking the brunt of the Stallions barrage was starter Carl Thompson (0-1), who was battered for six runs before he departed in the third frame... The Panthers will try to regroup tomorrow afternoon in game two in South Fork. First Round playoffs are all best-two-out-three series.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Tycobbian Union West Division First Round Playoffs

Bucs Sink Viks in Playoff Opener 7-5
The visiting Bay St. Clair Buccaneers went deep three times at Downtown Plaza Stadium to sink the Bayview Vikings 7-5 to grab a one-game lead in the Tycobbian Union West playoffs... 1B George Lyons and LF Jose Valenzuela slammed solo shots in the second inning and CF Wayne Latham put a two-run shot in the stands to snap a 2-2 deadlock in the fifth... Winning pitcher Denny Coulon went eight strong innings, but weakened in the ninth when Bayview rallied and scored three times... Coulon (1-0 3.24) yielded three runs on eight hits and left with one out in the ninth... He fanned six and walked just one batter... The Vikings continued the assault on Norm Gross, who finally got them out after being battered for two runs and three hits... Bayview had the advantage in hits 11-8, but came up short in the runs department... Losing pitcher Jerry Harrison was knocked out in the sixth frame... The Bucs tagged him for six runs and five hits... The two ball clubs will travel south down the coast and go at it again tomorrow afternoon in Bay St. Clair... It's a best-two-out-of-three series.

Greenwood Fires 2-Hitter, Blanks Wildcats 4-0
At the Midtown Base Ball Grounds in Rolling Hills, Keith Greenwood dazzled the Kenwood Wildcats 4-0 on a brilliant two-hitter... That put the Reds ahead 1-0 in the best-of-three First Round Playoff Series... Greenwood (1-0 0.00) walked four and sent down nine Wildcats on strikes, only giving up two singles... Greenwood had a no-hitter until 2B Denholm Carruthers got a hit in the seventh... SS Ned Chamberlain got the other one in the eighth... CF Willie Mays Nixon doubled in the first run of the game in the third inning... one batter later 1B Sunshine Anaba made it 3-0 Reds with a two-run roundtripper... then C Alfredo Del Toro finished up the scoring with an RBI double in the seventh... Rolling Hills only got four hits in the game, all coming off loser Corey Brabham (0-1 5.68), who worked into the seventh frame and allowed all four runs... The series now moves over to Kenwood... the Wildcats will try to get back into the series tomorrow afternoon at Olde Towne Grounds.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Ruthlandian Union North Division First Round Playoffs

Redhawks Dump Vipers 7-3, Headed To Sweet 16
At Sky High Stadium in the Far Mountain, the Redhawks dumped the Valmara Vipers 7-3 to sweep the First Round playoff series... Sonny Elliott (1-0 1.00) pitched a steady game, allowed three runs and eight hits, while fanning six and walking three... only one of the runs was earned... Pacing the Redhawks 9-hit attack was 3B Shirai Kobayashi with a three-run first-inning double that put Far Mountain up 5-0... SS Joey Cannizzaro and 2B Steve Kaminski both had two hits, scored a run and had an RBI... Vanya Vasylenko (0-1) caught the loss... The Redhawks ripped him for five runs and five hits in the opening frame... Far Mountain will now head to the Sweet 16 round against the winner of the Glasco-Ranford series.

A's Edge Bulls, Even Series at 1-1
Glasco desparately needed a win today or its season was over. The Athletics got it with a 5-3 decision over the Ranford Bulls at Athletics Field... Takehide Takahashi (1-0 1.00) hurled them to victory, holding Ranford to three runs on nine hits to even up the RU North Division playoffs to one game apiece and set the stage for the decisive third game in the series... Takahashi registered five strikeouts and walked none... The A's opened the scoring with three runs in the third frame and adding another in the fourth to make it 4-0... The Bulls came back with three in the top of the fifth, but got no more... Takahashi blanked them over the final four innings... Offensively Glasco had the edge 10 hits to 9, led by RF Ox Beauvais with 3-4 including two doubles, 2B Barry McCord with two hits and a home run and CF Lee McDougall and 1B Maury Smith with a pair of hits each... LF Jermayne Leeder went 2-4 and drove in two runs for the Bulls... SS Rick Fargnoli added three hits to the Ranford total... Jim Maxwell (0-1) was ripped for four runs in three and two-thirds innings for the loss... Athletics Field will be the site for the third and final game of the series... It will be played tomorrow with the winner moving on to the Sweet 16 round.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Ruthlandian Union South Division First Round Playoffs

Loggia Shuts Out Valka 1-0, Cybercats Knot Series
The Valka Blackhawks were back home at Cybertel Park, trying to wrap up the series with Grand City, but they ran into Freddy Loggia, who had other ideas...Loggia (1-0 0.00) was magnificent and shut the Blackhawks out 1-0, giving up only five hits with four Ks and two bases on balls to knot the series at 1-1... And Loggia had to be good, for Andrei Kokk (0-1 1.00) almost matched him, allowing only one run and five hits... Loggia even scored the only run in the game... He singled in the third, moved to third on LF's Nick Price's base hit and came in to score on CF's Tyree Tucker's single... The rubber game of the series will be played tomorrow in Valka.

Gravelli's HR Ties Sunbirds With Diamonds
At Bayside Park in Belair Beach the fans were treated to a spectacular finish - Sunbird 1B Phil Gravelli socked a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie up the best-of-three RU South playoffs at one game apiece... Belair Beach won the game 2-1, holding Claxton to just two singles... Starter Ray Watson worked the first eight frames, giving up only one run and both hits... Watson whiffed six and walked four... The win went to closer Lyndon Yarbrough (1-0), who pitched a perfect ninth... Diamond starter Benny Paisano (0-1 1.13) was outstanding, too... He allowed seven hits, but only one earned run, struck out four and issued no walks... Claxton put the first run on the scoreboard in the second inning on a walk, wild pitch and 2B Erik Carducci's RBI single... In the seventh the Sunbirds tied it up 1-1 on a dropped fly ball, a single and a sacrifice fly by C Denny Everhart... It's winner-take-all tomorrow afternoon in Belair Beach with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16 playoff round, playing the winner of Grand City and Valka.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Ruthlandian Union East Division First Round Playoffs

Elnora Sweeps Eastshore, Gibbs Gets 11 Ks
The Elnora All-Stars finished off the Eastshore Elegants 7-2 at home at State Fair Park and will now move on to the Sweet 16... The All-Stars swept the Elegants in two straight games... They bashed out 14 hits and got good pitching from Taylor Gibbs (1-0 2.00)... SS Joe Norris led the way with four hits, including a home run... Norris scored three times... C Todd Simons racked up two hits and three RBIs for the winners... Gibbs chalked up 11 strikeouts, permitted nine hits, but only two runs... The loser was Stony Blackwell (0-1), who was knocked out of the box in the fourth after allowing five runs on nine hits... Elnora now awaits the winner of the Cold Creek-Sugar Valley series.

Cold Creek Remains Alive, Beats Rattlers in Game 2
The Cold Creek Catamounts are back in the series... With their backs to the wall they came through and knocked off the tough Sugar Valley Rattlers 7-3 at Farmers Memorial Stadium to deadlock the RU East First Round playoff at one game each... The big heroes were pitcher Mitch Saffo and CF Trip Holmes... Holmes went 4-for-4, scored twice and drove in two runs... Holmes had a triple and a homer to pace the Catamounts... Saffo (1-0 3.00) went the distance, surrendered three runs on seven hits, fanned five and walked two... Cold Creek broke open a close 3-2 game with two runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth... It was a rough day for Jay Washington, the losing pitcher... He was tagged for five runs and 12 hits in six innings... Topping the Rattlers at bat was 1B Ron Armstrong with 2-3 with two RBIs... The series finale is scheduled tomorrow with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Ruthlandian Union West Division First Round Playoffs

Roosters Rally, Top Volusia 6-4, Series Now Even
Middlefield was down to its last six outs in its season when it erupted for four runs in the top of the eighth to top Volusia 6-4 at the Jailhouse... The Roosters will now live another day in the IPA playoffs... They were down 3-2 and had not scored for the last five innings against Mike Amato, when their bats came alive and pulled out the victory... CF Ty DeWitt drove in two of the runs, while 3B Lowell Satterwhite and 1B Ricky Tinker batted in the other two in the crucial inning... LF Cecil Clark went deep for the winners in the first inning... C Juanito Luques led the 10-hit Vigilante attack with three hits and two RBIs, including a home run... Southpaw Freddy Cooke (1-0 2.57) notched the win, working seven innings, allowing three runs - just two of them earned - struck out seven and walked none... Dave Webb saved it for him, but surrendered one run in his two innings... Game three will be played tomorrow in Volusia.

Stars Stave Off Elimination, Nip 'Jacks 9-8
The Stoner Stars came from way back to nip the Forest City Lumberjacks 9-8 to stave off elimination from the playoffs... Stoner rallied from a 6-2 deficit with five runs in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead, but were tied up 8-8 after eight innings... 3B Allen Black won it in the top of the ninth with his second homer of the day... CF Joe Delmore also smacked a home run... Black, Delmore and 2B Ed Chase paced the Stars with two RBIs each... Forest City outhit them 14-11 with 3B Johnny Mack Butler going 3-5 with three runs batted in and RF Chuck Hill getting three hits and driving in a pair of scores... Hill hit the Lumberjacks only roundtripper... Not much in the way of pitching in this game... Kelly Schaeffer (1-0) was credited with the victory, but gave up two runs in the eighth and allowed Forest City to tie it up... However, after walking the lead-off batter in the ninth, he tossed a double-play ball and fanned the last batter to seal the win... Johnny Marsh (0-1 3.00) was the victim of Black's game-winning blast and suffered the defeat... The two clubs will meet again tomorrow at Riverside Stadium in Forest City to decide who gets to continue in the playoffs... The victor will meet the Volusia-Middlefield winner.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Tycobbian Union North Division First Round Playoffs

Great Comeback! Oxford Stuns Mahaska 5-4!
Boomerang Hines was in complete control for eight innings... With a 4-1 lead, all he needed to do was get three more outs and the Mahaska Haymakers would advance to the next round and eliminate the Oxford Red Caps... It didn't happen!... Hines gave up a walk and two singles that cut the margin to 4-3... Manager Rusty Tanussa then summoned his trusty closer, Dain Abner, in from the bullpen... With runners on first and second, 2B Richie Vla tied it up with a double... then pinchhitter Dante Vander Meer won it with a single... What an stunning finish! Many of the Oxonians had left the stadium to beat the traffic and missed an unbelievable rally!... Loser Hines (1-0 5.63) had held the Red Caps to just two singles going into the fateful ninth... The fifth Oxford pitcher, Owen Crosby (1-0), notched the win with a perfect ninth inning, setting down three in a row... Mahaska had gone ahead in the fourth 2-0 on 3B Kris Dragovich's double and C Marty Murrell's single... Red Cap SS Wayne Matsuk cut it to 2-1 with an RBI single in the fifth... Dragovich upped it up to 4-1 with a sixth-inning two-run double, giving him two doubles and three RBIs in the game... Each club had 7 hits each... The third-and-deciding game will be played tomorrow afternoon at Winchester Stadium in Oxford.

Oxford starter Bomber Belinsky suffered an arm injury and exited the game in the third inning... He held the Haymakers to one hit and fanned three batters... No word yet on the injury... Belinsky is the Red Cap ace and had a 17-12 record with a 3.33 ERA during the regular season... His loss will be a serious blow to Oxford should they advance in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs.

Hallenbeck's Homer Saves Zorros, Beats Frogs 4-3
Fairfax came oh so close to putting Luxora out of the playoffs, but didn't quite do it... Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth and down to the last out, 1B Paul Hallenbeck hit a dramatic three-run walk-off homer off Kaz Hayagawa to give the Zorros new life in the TU North First Round playoffs... His blast tied the best-of-three series at a game apiece... Hayakawa had pitched a masterful three-hit performance going into the fatal final frame... Overall Hayakawa (0-1 4.15) struck out seven, walked one and gave up six hits... The Z's took an early 1-0 lead in the third on 2B Pablo Santa Cruz's roundtripper... Fairfax knotted it up in the fourth on a double by Gregg Vincent and jumped ahead on Vincent's two-run clout in the sixth inning... Eddie Hoffman started for Fairfax and left after eight innings for a pinchhitter, giving up three runs and six hits with nine Ks and no walks... Lefty Fernando Fernandes (1-0 0.00) copped the win with a runless ninth... RF Gregg Vincent homered, doubled and drove in three runs for the Frogs and CF Billy Echevarria added three hits and scored twice... The third and final game will be played tomorrow afternoon at De la Vega Stadium in Luxora.

Oxford starter Bomber Belinsky was injured in the third inning and had to exit the game... He had allowed only one hit and fanned three batters... Belinsky was 17-12 during the regular season with a 3.33 ERA and will be sorely missed if the Red Caps advance in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Tycobbian Union South Division First Round Playoffs

San Alejo Slips By Turon 5-4, Series Even 1-1
The San Alejo Montaneros fought off elimination today at the Casa de Beisbol by slipping by the tough Turon Typhoons 5-4 to even up their best-of-three playoff series in the TU South Divison... Skipper Lando Peceda got a crucial complete game out of Alberto Herrera and some good clutch hitting by Vidal Munos and Marcelino Zuniga... Though he was tagged for 10 hits, Herrera (1-0 4.00) went the distance, struck out nine and issued no bases on balls... The Typhoons took the lead in the opening frame when CF Denny Wilcox singled, stole second and rode home on 2B Mickey O'Malley's base hit... Zuniga's triple tied it at 1-1 in the fourth... In the sixth San Alejo rocked Keir McNamara for four runs... Zuniga's ground out made it 2-1, then Munos put a three-run shot in the stands to increase the Montaneros lead to 5-1... Turon came right back with three in the top of the seventh on Wilcox's two-run triple and O'Malley's single... But Herrera weathered the storm and held on the rest of the way... The Typhoons threated again in the eighth, putting runners on first and second with two outs, but Herrera retired LF Jamie Ferguson on a grounder to end the inning... In the ninth Herrera struck out the side... Wilcox and O'Malley sparked Turon with two hits apiece and two RBIs each... The two teams will be back at it again tomorrow in San Alejo in a third and decisive matchup.

Colchester Sweeps Southport 6-3, Danza Winner
In the Tycobbian Union South, Colchester manager Robbie Wilbertson got an impressive win from Jim Danza to sweep the First Round series from the Southport Sun Sox... Danza (1-0 2.25) checked the Sun Sox on just four hits in a 6-3 triumph to boot them out of the IPA Pro Cup playoffs... Danza stopped them on two runs and four hits over eight innings before he gave way to reliever Mark D'Allessandro... The Elites rapped out 11 hits with 3B Niles Stanton doubling in two runs in the first inning, a run scored on a double play in the third, LF Tony Barella tripled in two more in the fourth and 1B Harlan Roscoe homered in the fifth... Southport only had 5 hits and were led by RF Tom Knudsen with a two-run double in the fourth and 1B Pat Mystryk's ninth-inning home run... The losing pitcher was starter Johnny Ballard (0-1), who was pounded for five runs in the first four innings... The Colchester Elites now advance to the Sweet 16 round and await the winner of the San Alejo-Turon series.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Tycobbian Union East Division First Round Playoffs

High Mesa Heads To Sweet 16, Sweeps Blue Jays
At Queen Ranch Stadium, power-laden High Mesa hit its way into the Sweet 16 with three homers to sweep the Tuckanarra Blue Jays 5-3... SS Rolf Kellgren and 2B Ed Granberg belted solo shots in the first inning and 1B Babe Holloman slammed a three-run blast in the fourth frame to give the Cowboys a 5-3 lead that they never relinquished... Lefthander Joey Popovich (1-0 3.86) was bashed for three runs and five hits in the first inning by the Blue Jays, but he quickly settled down and shut them out on one hit over the next six innings to get the victory... Popovich had control problems and walked seven, but managed to stay out of trouble after the opening frame... Closer Glen Green came on in the eighth and did not allow a run in the final two frames for the save... Harold Blankenship absorbed the defeat, allowing five runs in four innings... Now it's on to the Sweet 16 for the Cowboys... High Mesa will meet the winner of South Fork and East Point in the Sweet 16.

Stallions Send Panthers Packing, 9-8 in 11 Innings
At Jock Ewing Stadium in South Fork, the Stallions blew a six-run lead in the eighth inning and almost lost the ballgame to the East Point Panthers... But 3B Glenn Holliday saved them twice... He hammered a two-out RBI double in the last of the ninth to tie the score at 8-all, then Holliday lined a game-winning single to win the game 9-8 in the 11th... That hit sent the Panthers packing and put an end to their season, while South Fork will now head to the Sweet 16 to play the High Mesa Cowboys... The victory went to Billy Joe Gordon (1-0), who pitched a scoreless eleventh... the loss went to Bill Glasscock (0-1 4.91), who gave up two runs and five hits in three and two-thirds innings... The Stallions socked 16 hits off five East Point pitchers, led by C Darryl Burnett with three hits, three RBIs and three runs scored... Burnett walloped a two-run homer in the first inning... Holliday had four hits and two RBIs... The Panthers chalked up 12 hits and unloaded four roundtrippers... 3B Rex Sokolov spearheaded them with a pair of solo homers... Triple Crown winner 2B Karol Zodoka smashed a three-run shot and 1B Felipe Velasco hit a one-run clout... It was a heck of a game... the Stallions scored three in the first, the Panthers got one in the third, then it looked like South Fork would win in a runaway with two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to go up 7-1... East Point got one in the sixth and then exploded for six more in the eighth to take an 8-7 lead, but they couldn't hold it... the normally reliable Glasscock couldn't finish the Stallions off and blew the save and eventually the ballgame.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Tycobbian Union West Division First Round Playoffs

Vikings Score Late, Top Bucs in 10 Innings 3-2
The Bayview Vikings almost waited to long to get into the ballgame... they had to score two runs in the ninth to tie the game and then nosed out the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers 3-2 in the tenth inning... The triumph knotted the TU West Division playoff series at one game each... Starters Adrian Strom and Duncan McFalls both pitched shutout ball until the sixth inning when the Bucs got an unearned run... 2B Alan Hansen dropped CF Wayne Latham's popup for an error, 2B Tony Mann was hit by a pitch and 3B Ed Albrecht drove in the first run of the game with a single... In the seventh frame RF Charlie Moon singled, moved up to second on a sacrifice, stole third and then scored on Latham's base hit to make it 2-0 for Bay St. Clair... But McFalls couldn't hold the lead... SS Shorty Richards and RF Phil Kanaan got to him for RBI singles in the ninth to send the game into extra innings... The game was decided in the tenth when 1B Chancey Quibedeaux and C Scott Sykora singled to put runners on the corners...LF Bryan Wessels then got the game-winning single... The Vikings had 14 hits in the game, while the Buccaneers got only 7... Buzzy Lewis (1-0) came on in the ninth and got the victory with two scoreless frames... the loss went to Kenny Metcalf (0-1), who relieved McFalls in the tenth... Bayview got a fine start from Strom... He worked seven strong innings, giving up only two runs on five hits with 5 Ks... Likewise Bay St. Clair got an excellent performance from McFalls, who permitted only two runs in his nine innings... The third and final game of the series will be tomorrow afternoon at Shoreline Park in Bay St. Clair.

Kenwood Nudges By RH Reds 2-1, Ties Series
The Kenwood Wildcats hung in the Tycobbian Union West playoffs on the strength of Nick Deville's strong left arm... Deville struck out 10 Rolling Hill Reds en route to a narrow 2-1 victory to even up the series at 1-1... Deville (1-0) scattered eight hits and walked two in an impressive performance, outpitching Roger Davidson (0-1), who held Kenwood to just five hits, while fanning six and walking three batters... The Wildcats took the lead 1-0 in the opening inning on CF Teddy Mays' double and SS Ned Chamberlain's RBI single... In the top of the third Rolling Hills evened the score at 1-1 when LF Freddie Ridgeway hit a two-bagger and scored on RF Big Boy Charisa's single... The final run of the game came in the bottom of the fourth... Kenwood LF Grover Chilcott started the inning with a double, moved to third on a ground out and scored when 1B Louie Lassalle grounded out to second base... After that Deville and Davidson put nothing but goose eggs on the scoreboard... The series will be decided tomorrow afternoon at the Olde Towne Grounds in Kenwood... The winner will advance into the Sweet 16 round of the IPA Pro Cup playoffs.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 20, 2002

Ruthlandian Union North Division First Round Playoffs

A's Crush Bulls 12-7, Advance to Sweet 16
Glasco hitters had to come out in force today as Ranford scored seven runs in the first two innings to take a 7-3 lead, but it wasn't enough... The Athletics unleashed 16 hits and scored almost at will to crush the Bulls 12-7 in the third and deciding game of the RU North playoffs... Glasco will now advance to the Sweet 16 against Far Mountain... A four-run third put the A's ahead for good as four relievers shut Ranford out over the last seven innings, holding them to three hits... 1B Maury Smith, 2B Barry McCord, CF Chet Reynolds and RF Ox Beauvais led the comeback... Smith went 3-for-5 with a homer, double, three RBIs and scored four times... McCord had four hits and three runs batted in... Reynolds has a pair of hits, scored three and batted in one... while Beauvais was 2-4 and drove in a pair... Glasco also received 10 walks in the game... Danny Stewart (1-0) collected the victory with a three-up, three-down third inning, while the loss went to Bull starter Leland Shaddock, who was bombed for 10 runs in four-plus innings... Jerry Smith worked two scoreless in for the A's... and Al Beauvais blanked Ranford in the sixth inning, then gave way to closer Jake Nyberg, who fanned four in three innings and allowed no runs and two hits for the save... RF fielder Junie Darton topped the Bulls with two hits and three RBIs... Game one with Far Mountain will be at the Redhawks home park, Sky High Stadium, and will get under way tomorrow afternoon... Games two and three will be played at Athletics Field in Glasco.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 20, 2002

Ruthlandian Union South Division First Round Playoffs

Valka Moves On In Playoffs, Whips Cybercats 6-4
In the Ruthlandian Union South playoffs, the regular season champs, the Valka Blackhawks, will move on into the Sweet 16 round... Valka eliminated the Grand City Cybercats 6-4 at Cybertel Park with some gritty pitching by Connie Krueger and some timely hitting by 2B Bryan McGinnis, CF Ron Landauer and SS Villem Kask... The Blackhawks shot ahead 3-0 in the opening frame and made it 5-1 after four innings... Krueger (1-0) kept that lead until the eighth when he was slapped around for three runs, cutting the margin to 5-4... At that point, manager Jaan Kurus brought in his bullpen specialist, Daryl Vannoy, and he retired all six men he faced to clinch the victory and send Valka to the next round... Kask had three hits for the Blackhawks, Landauer two and McGinnis drove in a pair of runs... LF Donnie Mouton paced Grand City with a double, triple and two RBIs... Valka will play the winner of the Belair Beach Sunbirds and Claxton Diamonds in a best-of three series beginning tomorrow... The Blackhawks will play on the road in the opener with two games at home, if necessary.

Sunbirds Sweet 16 Bound, Top Claxton 7-2
Manager Marty Pedroza's Belair Beach Sunbirds are Sweet 16 bound after they topped the Claxton Diamonds 7-2 in the third and deciding game of their First Round Series at Bayside Park... Tiny Lindgren (1-0 2.00) came up with a big game, stifling Claxton on just five hits... In a fine performance Lindgren had eight Ks and only one walk... A huge four-run seventh inning decided the outcome with LF Nicky Swift swatting a three-run homer to sink the Diamonds playoff hopes and send the Sunbirds soaring... Swift had four RBIs to spark Belair Beach and 1B Phil Gravelli had two hits and drove in three runs... RF Matty McDermott also contributed with three hits and scored three times... Lefthander Sal Tallis (0-1) took the loss, permitting seven runs before being knocked out of the game in the seventh... However, a costly error in the seventh led to four unearned runs... The Sunbirds finished second to Valka in the RU South race in the regular campaign... They will get another crack at the Blackhawks, beginning tomorrow at home... Game one will be at Bayside Park.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 20, 2002

Ruthlandian Union East Division First Round Playoffs

Cold Creek Hits 4 Homers, Eliminate Ratters 11-8
Cold Creek is headed to the Sweet 16... The Catamounts jacked four homers in an 11-8 triumph and eliminated the Sugar Valley Rattlers from the IPA Pro Cup playoffs two games to one... 1B Johnny Carducci had a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate, slamming two out of the park, scoring three times and batting in four runs... CF Trip Holmes and LF Jacky Reed hit the other two homers... Cold Creek put away the Rattlers with three runs in the eighth to run the score up to 11-5 and then survived a three-run rally in the ninth by Sugar Valley... The Catamounts unleashed 16 hits, while the Rattlers had 12... the big difference was in long balls.... Sugar Valley only got one... by back-up 1B Alan Guilford, who hit a three-run roundtripper... Starter Paul Saunders (1-0) got credit for the win, but was hit hard... He allowed five runs and ten hits in six-plus innings... Cold Creek's fine closer Lew MacAlester got the save by getting the last two outs in the ninth to seal the win... The Rattlers Ron Benson (0-1) was shelled for eight runs in five innings for the loss... LF Bruno DiPirro also went 4-for-4, scored twice and had two RBIs in defeat for Sugar Valley... Cold Creek will go up against the Elnora All-Stars in the Sweet 16... the best-of-three series will begin tomorrow in Cold Creek.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 20, 2002

Ruthlandian Union West Division First Round Playoffs

'Jacks Whack Stars 4-2, Move Up To Sweet 16
In the RU West Division, Forest City took the rubber game of the best-of-three series 4-2, winning on a two-run error by RF Rob Preiss in the last of the sixth. The Lumberjacks were pushed hard by the Stoner Stars, but in the end, the regular season division winner proved superior. Hard-throwing righty, Frank Loeffler, had an outstanding outing for skipper Rob Jackson... Loeffler (1-0 2.00) went the distance and held Stoner to six hits and just two runs, while fanning six and issuing only one base on balls... 38-year-old Mike Atkinson did a creditable job on the mound, but suffered from a lack of defense and run support... Atkinson deserved better as he gave up four runs in six innings, with three of them earned... Forest City racked up ten hits and were paced by 1B J. T. Edmonds and LF Dave Jagger, who each had two hits and two RBIs... Preiss led the Stars with 2-4, including a ninth-inning home run... The Lumberjacks are headed for the Sweet 16 and will go up against the Volusia-Middlefield winner tomorrow afternoon at one of their ballparks... The Sweet 16 round is a best-of-three games series.

Volusia Out! Roosters Nip Them 5-4 in 10 Innings
Middlefield held off Volusia 5-4 in 10 innings and eliminated the defending IPA champions two-games-to-one in the RU West playoffs... In a thrilling ballgame, the Roosters took the lead three times and twice the Vigilantes came back to tie in the sixth and bottom of the ninth... and they made a valiant effort a third time, but could not come from three runs down... The V's could only come up with two in the tenth and will not be defending their title any longer... Middlefield scored three times in the top of the tenth off losing pitcher Hernando Espaderos (0-1)... CF Ty DeWitt doubled in two runs and 1B Ricky Tinker had an RBI ground out to plate the the third run... That gave the Rooster a 5-2 lead... 1B Fernando Abreu singled in one run to make it 5-3 with no outs and runners on first and third... Otis Canfield came in from the bullpen and promptly got Scooter Perez to hit into a double play... the runner on third scored, cutting the Middlefield lead to just one run... Canfield then retired C Juanito Luque on a popup to third to end the game... Both teams collected 12 hits each with DeWitt leading the Roosters with two hits, two RBIs and two runs... RF Bailey Norcross had three hits and scored a run... Abreu and CF Ryan Raines topped the V's with three hits apiece... Abreu drove in a pair of runs and Raines scored a pair... Both clubs got good performances from their starters... Joshua Jackson went six for Middlefield, allowed one run and seven hits, while Ricky Moreno tossed nine innings, gave up two runs on nine hits and fanned 10... Only one of the runs was earned... Jamie Hicks picked up the victory, going three innings, but gave up three runs on five hits... The Roosters will advance to the Sweet 16 and play host to the Forest City Lumberjacks in Middlefield tomorrow afternoon in game one of a best-of-three series.

The Roosters lost their shortstop Earl Reeves for at least a week... Reeves hurt his Achilles tendon while running the bases.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 20, 2002

Tycobbian Union North Division First Round Playoffs

Oxford Advances, Defeats Mahaska 7-3
Better late, than never... After being held to one run and two hits for seven innings, Oxford finally broke loose and battered Mahaska for six runs in the last of the eighth to go up 7-1 on the way to a 7-3 victory and advance to the Sweet 16... The Red Caps captured two of the three games... Haymaker starter Kolya Andrasco (0-1) was superb until he faltered in the late innings and took the loss... Andrasko was touched for four runs in seven-plus innings... Dan Phillips pitched a fine game for Oxford, scattering eight hits in eight and a third innings, giving up three runs with only one of them earned... Phillips had eight strikeouts and walked nobody... He also doubled and scored the game-winning run... Del Anderson chalked up a save by getting the final out of the game... The Red Caps had a 9-8 edge in base hits over the Haymakers with LF Austen Conover getting two hits and driving in two runs and 2B Richie Vla tripling in a pair of scores... Mahaska's best bat was 3B Kris Dragovich, who put them up 1-0 in the second with a bases-empty blast... Conover knotted it up with an RBI single in the third inning... It remained that way until the eighth... Oxford's opponent in the Sweet 16 round will be the Fairfax Frogs or the Luxora Zorros... The Red Caps will open the best-of-three series on the road.

Zorros Top Frogs 4-3 in 10 Innings, Make Sweet 16
The Luxora Zorros eked out a narrow 4-3 triumph over the Fairfax Frogs in 10 innings and made the Sweet 16... CF Lacey Tompkins singled in 2B Pablo Santa Cruz from second base for the winning score... Both clubs put runs on the board in the fourth inning... LF Gator Davis got the Frogs started with an RBI single and LF Pedro Vizquel evened it up with a solo home run... 3B Rico Vina and 1B Paul Hallenbeck cracked RBI singles to send Luxora into the lead 3-1 in the sixth... In the eight frame, RF Gregg Vincent homered to cut the margin to 3-2 and pinchhitter Louie Ward's single tied it up in the ninth... Both starters pitched well, but didn't figure in the decision... Luxora's Jay Cavacos gave up only two runs his eight innings, struck out eight and walked two, while Barrett Carruthers allowed three runs in his eight innings of work, finishing up with five Ks and two walks... Elio Laurente (1-0) got the victory, but gave up a tying run in the ninth... Bobby Ray Trent (0-1) went down to defeat as the Z's got to him for one run and two hits in one and a third innings... Fairfax had a slight edge in hits 12 to 11... Luxora will be at home at De la Vega Stadium again tomorrow in the opening game of the best-of-three series with the Tycobbian Union North champ, the Oxford Red Caps... The Zorros finished second in the regular season.