ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS) - Page 57

Eugene Church · 07-14-2009, 09:49 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Ruthlandian Union East 2004 Final Standings

Elnora Wins RU East Title, Whips Sugar Valley in Playoff
At the end of a 154-game schedule, it was all even between the Elnora All-Stars and the Sugar Valley Rattlers. The two clubs had identical 89-65 marks. A one-game playoff was necessary to decide the 2004 Ruthlandian East regular season championship.

Sugar Valley got the home field advantage as the Rattlers had whipped the All-Stars in four of the five games during the season - but it didn't do them any good - Elnora took the title with a 5-1 victory. Charlie Murphy (22-12) tossed a 6-hitter, holding the Rattlers to just one run, striking out 8 and walking only two in a route-going performance. C Todd Simons (.312) had a great game with two homers and four RBIs to spark the All-Stars. 1B Kent Swain (.248) added a solo homer.

Elnora will be on the road today in the Sweet 16 Series against the RU West runner-up, the Volusia Vigilantes, while Sugar Vally will have to play the tough Middlefield Roosters, who won the title in the West. The Rattlers will be the home team in the first two games of the series.

Manager Zoggy White's pitching staff gave Elnora (3.30 ERA) the edge over Sugar Valley (3.75 ERA), which was a better hitting team. The All-Stars starters were tough to beat with Lou Horn (16-6 2.33), Charlie Murphy (22-12 2.75) and Taylor Gibbs (19-12 3.05). White's club also had the advantage of a good closer in Matty Wilkerson (8-3 3.20), who saved 20 games and made 67 relief appearances.

Elnora's (.266) line-up could compete with the Rattlers (.264) in batting average, but not in power. Sugar Valley led the division with 159 roundtrippers to Elnora's 126 and topped it in scoring, too. The Rattlers outscored the All-Stars 757 to 721. But White had some very capable hitters in RF Quincy Peterson (.278/27 HR/101 RBI/98 R/14 SB), 2B Gil Foster (.317/22 HR/97 RBI/97 R), C Todd Simons (.312/12 HR/84 RBI), 3B Dimitri Vrotsos (.303/16 HR/74 RBI/80 R) and SS Kyle Villere (.282/12 HR/71 RBI/71 R). But in the end it got down to pitching with Elnora emerging the winner.

Sugar Valley has a very tough competitor in charge of the ball club. Gibson Bobkins was great pitcher in the industrial leagues and a very intense player. Bobkins is the same way as manager. The Rattlers have a good starting rotation with three fine starters in Gregg Neal (20-8 2.62), Anthony Glaser (20-13 3.70) and Jay Washington (12-8 3.32), but Bobkins lacks a good closer.

What Sugar Valley lacks in pitching is more than made up with its bats. Bobkins has a talented array of batters in SS Flipper Bird (.305/30 HR/132 RBI/108 R/31 SB), 1B Ron Armstrong (.277/31 HR/108 RBI/86 R), 3B Jorge Vargas (.284/29 HR/94 RBI/89 R), CF Freddie Vaux (.292/8 HR/56 RBI/102 R/34 SB) and LF Bruno DiPirri (.291/5 HR/41 RBI/102 R/45 SB). Bird led the IPA with 132 RBIs.

The Marston Nine (82-72) led by skipper Johnny Walters ended up third and trailed the pennant winner by 7.5 games. A bad August (11-17) sent the Nine reeling and they never recovered. Walters, one of the best righthanders that ever stood on a mound, has created a strong staff that topped the division with a 3.20 ERA. Marston top guns are Nick Pace (17-12 3.39), Johnny Paris (15-11 3.20) and Vinnie Gardiner (13-14 2.82). Walters had a good arm in the bullpen, too, with Booger Burchfield (13-9 3.46). Burchfield racked up 22 saves and 61 relief appearances.

Marston hit .254, had the fewest home runs in the division (70) and scored the fewest runs (571) and they were the worst by far. Good hitters were few-and-far-between for the Nine. Only 1B Pat Farris (.314/9 HR/72 RBI) and SS Don Nichols (.300/10 HR/63 RBI) had decent seasons.

Boo Ladrieux's Belle Plaine Musketeers (75-79) never recovered from an atrocious April (6-19), but did do well enough to finish fourth in the standings, 14.5 games out of first. They were last at the All-Star Game intermission, but really turned it around in the last half of the year. Ladrieux predicted it would be the Musketeers best season and it was. Belle Plaine was last in 2002 and sixth in 2003.

Belle Plaine put up a .264 batting average (2nd-tied), hit only 80 home runs (7th), had a 3.72 ERA with a .979 FA (1st). Top players were pitchers Milo Anthony (17-7 3.35), rookie Tony Saroyan (12-8 3.55) and closer Kent Wells (4-6 2.22) with 23 saves and 75 game appearances. The Muskies don't hit with power, but got some production out of LF Juan Mendes (.313/10 HR/63 RBI/94 R), CF Dennis Riley (.274/23 HR/89 RBI/83 R) and 1B Scott Theriot (.296/13 HR/81 RBI).

2004 was wonderful season for Matt Donnelly and his Wynnamac Sundowners (74-80) until the All-Star Game. The Macs were elated and surprised everybody by being 9 games over .500 and in fourth place just three off the pace. Then reality set in and the Sundowners did a reversal with a 31-44 mark over the last three months. But it was not all-for-naught. In the end Wynnamac finished fifth, 15.5 games out, but it was their highest finish ever.

The Sundowners had fair hitting (.250-7th) and sufficient power (114 HR-5th), better-than-average pitching (3.64 ERA- 3rd) and very good fielding (.977 FA-3rd). Wynnamac's top pitchers were Caleb Browne (21-7 2.97), Matt Landrieu (15-10 3.48) and closer Liam Bristow (5-8 2.84) with 22 saves in 69 games.

Donnelly, quite a hitter in his heyday and a fancy dan first baseman, only had one strong batsman. 1B Nate Cockroft (.314/33 HR/94 RBI/89 R) had a fine season. CF Hawkeye Ingram (.239/21 HR/89 RBI/95 R/18 SB) didn't hit for high average, but was very productive and a fine flychaser.

Bret George and the Beechwood Bobcats (72-82) came in sixth in the RU East standings, but won more games than they did in their first two seasons. The Bobcats strong point was in the batter's box. They batted .262 (4th), rapped 119 homers (4th) and scored 690 times (3rd). It looks like some of George's hitting prowess rubbed off on his team. The famed industrial league third sacker had a bunch of good bats, sparked by 1B Ray Slater (.328/19 HR/103 RBI/106 R/36 SB), RF Clifton Czabo (.328/14 HR/73 RBI/107 R/28 SB), CF Lon Snider (.307/8 HR/50 RBI/102 R/31 SB), LF L. J. Aldridge (.265/21 HR/84 RBI) and SS Eldon Barker (.261/12 HR/85 RBI).

But it was not enough to lift Beechwood into the first division. The Bobcats couldn't get it done on the hill as the staff compiled a 3.78 ERA (7th). George only had two quality pitchers in Dek Jumonville (19-10 2.55), who had a sensational season, and Joe Hahn (14-16 3.28).

It was another down year in Cold Creek (70-84), a seventh place finish for manager T. Kelly Holmes and his Catamounts. They hit the ball OK with a .256 BA (5th) and 112 home runs (6th) and scored 666 runs (5th), but came up short on the mound. Holmes' hurlers were tied for fifth with a 3.75 ERA. Cold Creek had only two quality pitchers: starter Terence Gilbert (17-10 3.16) and closer Payton Saunders (10-2 2.07), who had an outstanding season with 16 saves and 69 relief appearances.

Hitters are also in short supply for Holmes. SS Russ Russell (.295/11 HR/92 RBI) and RF Emile Stosha (.317/25 HR/84 RBI/119 R/52 SB) were his most dependable bats.

The Eastshore Elegants (69-85) were in the first division in 2002 and 2003, but Killer Brewster's bunch took a turn-for-the-worse in 2004 and plummeted all the way down to the basement, 20.5 games behind. The only good thing that the Elegants do is hit home runs. They walloped 142 (2nd) with LF Darrel Alston (.242/30 HR/90 RBI/95 R/11 SB), RF Ron Dizon (.237/27 HR/102 RBI) and 2B Miles Sheehan (.276/21 HR/82 RBI/82 R) doing most of the damage. But overall Eastshore's hitting was atrocious as they hit only .236 as a team, the lowest average in the entire IPA.

Brewster's ball club is not any better when it comes to pitching. The Elegants are dead last in the RU East with a 3.91 ERA. Despite that lofty number, Eastshore has four quality arms in starters Stony Blackwell (19-12 3.57), Fred Duhon (14-14 3.31) and Ivar Jorgerson (13-10 3.79). Closer Thomas Williams (4-8 2.66) also pitched well with 19 saves in 67 games.

Eugene Church · 07-15-2009, 06:09 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Ruthlandian Union West Division 2004 Final Standings

Roosters Outduel Vigilantes For RU West Pennant
The Middlefield Roosters ruled the roost this year in the Ruthlandian Union West, taking the title by 2 games over the preseason favorite Volusia Vigilantes. Manager Smitty Michaels' longball bashers, combined with excellent pitching, gave them the edge. Middlefield led the RU with 186 homers, .978 fielding percentage and 3.23 ERA.

The Roosters (91-63) rotation featured four fine starters and a top-rated closer. Michaels top four consisted of Jamie Hicks (23-9 2.38), Denny Yarrow (19-13 3.27), Joshua Johnson (14-10 3.14) and Don Shaw (10-7 3.17). His bullpen ace was Dave Webb (8-3 2.20) with 26 saves and 61 games.

Middlefield had formidable line-up, too. Leading the way were CF Ty DeWitt (.233/34 HR/109 RBI/86 R/18 SB), RF Bailey Norcross (.292/35 HR/92 RBI/104 R/47 SB), 1B Allie Ludlow (.246/33 HR/98 RBI) and LF Cecil Clark (.270/22 HR/69 RBI/85 R/15 SB).

Overall Volusia (89-65) couldn't match the firepower and the overall pitching depth of the Roosters. Alfonso Feliz, skipper of the Vigilantes, had two aces in Carl Schmitz (24-10 2.54) and Raul Sandoval (20-10 3.02) and a good closer in Hernando Espaderos (8-4 3.22) with 26 saves in 71 relief appearances. The team ERA was a solid 3.38, tied with Sligo for second place.

The V's led the division with 732 runs and ended up number two with a .265 batting average. Sligo had the top team batting average at .269. Heading Volusia at bat were CF Ryan Raines (.326/22 HR/98 RBI/90 R/33 SB), LF Briscoe Crowder (.292/16 HR/98 RBI/93 R/22 SB), C Clint Hardesty (.289/15 HR/94 RBI/77 R), SS Scooter Perez (.271/4 HR/36 RBI/103 R/56 SB).

The Sligo Rovers (84-70) had a good season with Eddie Keys at the helm. Rated fifth-best in the BNN poll, the Rovers came in third, 7 games off the pace. Keys had his club tied for the division lead going into the All-Star Game, but the pitching dropped off and Sligo slipped back in the race.

The Rovers top twirlers were Al Bukowski (18-14 3.21), Dix Edenborough (9-2 2.65), Jake Beneke (12-9 3.40) and Vern Vidmar (16-17 3.32). Keys also had an effective closer in Razzy Raziano (15-6 3.40), who was credited with 24 saves and appeared in 74 games.

Keys had a bunch of good contact hitters, but not enough of them could go deep. His best run producers were LF Lefty Roberts (.277/37 HR/111 RBI/96 R) and RF Danny O'Shea (.256/20 HR/83 RBI). Other contributors were 3B Rusty Ellis (.307/6 HR/62 RBI/104 R/33 SB), 1B Shane Redford (.287/5 HR/78 RBI), 2B Jeff Richey (.327/4 HR/49 R/95 R/30 SB) and SS Hollis Waldrup (.289/9 HR/86 RBI/48 SB).

Forest City (78-76) and Rob Jackson failed to make the playoffs for the first in the Lumberjacks short history. They had a lackluster year and wound up fourth, 13 games behind. Jackson's 'Jacks still could score, but saw the team ERA soar to 4.31. Though they ranked second with 136 home runs, the pitching just couldn't stop the opposition. Only Timmy Brooks (23-13 3.06) and closer Tommy Marbury (2-2 3.13) were effective. The rest of the staff had ERAs in the 4.00-5.00 range.

But Forest City could hold their own in the scoring department, paced by SS Bill Nilsen (.312/32 HR/112 RBI/115 R/22 SB), RF Chuck Hill (.260/19 HR/86 RBI), 2B Jesse Wolf (.249/19 HR/82 RBI), LF Dave Jagger (.312/12 HR/74 RBI), 1B J. T. Edmonds (.270/17 HR/66 RBI), 3B Johnny Mack Butler (.260/11 HR/58 RBI/84 R/16 SB) and CF Ryan Morse (.268/8 HR/52 RBI/101 R/23 SB).

The Stoner Stars (77-77) under the leadership of Willie Dickens ended up fifth in the RU East race after flirting with the big boys until mid-year. The Stars were only 5 games back at the All-Star break and tied for third place with Volusia. Dickens just doesn't have the talent to stay at the top. The Stars hit only .244 (7th), scored only 631 runs (7th), but had 119 roundtrippers (3rd). On the hill Stoner sported a 3.70 ERA (6th). So they did well to come in fifth.

The Stars top performer was ace reliever Tony Hatch (11-3 2.29), one of the best in the IPA. Hatch saved 25 games and made 68 appearances. Dave Pierce (12-10 3.00) and rookie Jay Whatley (10-7 3.49) also had good seasons. Hitting-wise, the offense was sparked by C Benny Stern (.291/24 HR/101 RBI), RF Dutch Rheinecker (.263/24 HR/76 RBI) and SS Yancy Bellows (.269/9 HR/60 RBI/93 R/15 SB)

Sixth in the standings were Ryan Noland's Rocky Rapids Snappers (74-80). This is their third staight season in the second division. The Snappers hit .256 (3rd), collected only 97 homers (7th), but surprisingly scored 700 runs (3rd). In the pitching department they had a mediocre 4.06 ERA (7th).

1B Stan Haddix (.321/11 HR/100 RBI) had a standout season for Rocky Rapids. He led the IPA with 54 doubles. LF Scott Camden (.267/22 HR/89 RBI/114 R/17 SB) and SS Cooter Bermudez (.305/8 HR/51 RBI/100 R/30 SB) also put up some good stats for the Snappers.

Noland only had one impressive pitcher. That was rookie closer Frank Riggins (5-3 2.63), who joined the club at mid-season and registered 9 saves in 35 games.

2004 was an embarrassing year for manager Clem Rogers and his Colfax Blasters (72-82). They were picked to finish third in the BNN preseason vote, but stumbled badly and dipped to the seventh spot in the RU West, 19 games back. Colfax had finished third last year and thought they would challenge for the division crown. But it didn't happen. Rogers' pitching rotation did a good job with a 3.46 ERA (4th), but he just didn't have the bats to compete. The Blasters hit only .253 (6th), scored only 647 times (6th), but were fourth with 113 four-baggers.

On the hill Harry Manning (20-13 3.37)) pitched very well as did Jasper LaForge (13-18 3.22), in spite of losing 18 games. Colfax had two rookies do well in the last half of the year. Rogers expects good things from Tommy Fuller (7-5 2.76) and Ilya Szabo (7-6 2.52) in 2005.

At the plate the Blasters were led by rookie CF Lujan Malanowski (.281/15 HR/82 RBI/88 R), 1B Dennis Cole (.281/25 HR/75 RBI/88 R) and 3B Neely Keeton (.266/17 HR/78 RBI/83 R).

In Fort Benton (61-93), it was just another futile year for manager Robbie Brooks. For the third successive year the Defenders came in last and trailed by 30 games. It is easy to understand why, just by looking at the stats. Brooks ball club batted only .237 (8th), hit 91 home runs (7th), scored a pathetic 555 runs (8th) and compiled a 4.00 ERA (7th). Fort Benton ranked 64th in batting average and runs in the entire IPA.

It is really hard to come up with something postive to say about the dismal Defenders. Leroy Hill (10-11 3.24) was a pretty good pitcher and C Irv Small (.237/21 HR/67 RBI) hit a few roundtrippers.

That's it.

Eugene Church · 07-16-2009, 02:17 AM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Tycobbian Union North Division 2004 Final Standings

Oxford TU North Winner, Luxora Also In Playoffs
Campy Roy's Oxford Red Caps were favored to win the Tycobbian Union North flag chase by the BNN preseason poll and that is exactly what happened. The Red Caps took the regular season championship by 3 games over the Luxora Zorros, 8 games over the Hartsdale Hellcats and by 9 games over the Fairfax Frogs.

Oxford and Luxora qualified for the IPA Pro Cup playoffs that begin today. The Red Caps will travel to Colchester to play the Elites and the Zorros will entertain the TU South champion, the Cape Coral Hurricanes.

The Red Caps (91-63) powered their way to the 2004 division crown by smashing 180 homers, the most by any club in the Islandian Pro Alliance. CF Ike Plunkett (.319/44 HR/103 RBI/128 R/31 SB) blasted 44 out of the park and scored 128 runs to lead the IPA in those categories. LF Mac Spencer (.276/33 HR/101 RBI/91 R) and C Brad Earp (.255/24 HR/106 RBI) both also drove in over 100 runs. 3B Joe Courtney (.296/27 HR/91 RBI/107 R), 1B Kenny Jablonski (.299/18 HR/83 RBI/97 R) and RF Dante Vander Meer (.267/18 HR/81 RBI/79 R) stood out as well.

Roy had some quality pitchers, too. Nicky Nicholson (22-9 2.71) was his best and he got some help from Wayne Baxley (14-9 3.73), Dan Phillips (16-16 3.56) and Bomber Belinsky (17-17 4.20). In the bullpen Kit Kivett (3-2 3.19) did a sufficient job in the second half of the year with 12 saves in 43 games.

Alejandro Rodrigo guided the Luxora Zorros (88-66) to the runner-up spot and a playoff position, aided and abetted by a strong mound staff, manned by Eddie Hoffman (18-15 2.69), Tito Tovares (16-12 3.04), Marco Braceros (16-14 3.16) and Gustavo Escalora (13-8 3.89). And when Rodrigo needed a closer, the Z's had one of the finest in the IPA in Elio Laurente, who compiled an 11-7 mark, saved 27 games and pitched in 71 games overall. The Z's registered the top ERA in the division with a 3.18 ERA.

Rodrigo's bats were not overly abundant, but they were sufficient to put up a .260 mark (3rd-tied) with 118 roundtrippers (6th). Luxora's top run producers were CF Lacey Tompkins (.292/18 HR/92 RBI/96 R), 3B Carey Niven (.281/22 HR/91 RBI) and 2B Pablo Santa Cruz (.297/3 HR/48 RBI/120 R/32 SB). The Zorros were a good team on defense with a .977 percentage, tied for second place. Fairfax was the top defensive club with a .979 fielding percentage.

Hartsdale (83-71) was last year's TU North champ. They played well again and came in third, 8 games back. The Hellcats were a similar club to Luxora. They batted .260 (3rd-tied), knocked 108 homers (7th), tallied 699 runs (2nd) and had a good 3.25 ERA.

Hellcat manager Zim Donner got another sensational 20-game season out of Gus Kostro (22-13 3.37). Tal Vaitkus (19-16 3.44) and Ben Masterson (8-2 2.98) were also valuable contributors. Phil Reed (12-19 3.48) was solid, despite the losses. In the bullpen Nico Cardera (5-5 2.09) was superb again with 27 saves and 60 game appearances.

Hartsdale has four .300 hitters. 1B Mac Faulkner (.319/18 HR/96 RBI/90 R) was Donner's top bat. The others were C Lawton Payne (.307/8 HR/77 RBI), SS Jud Turchin (.304/10 HR/62 RBI/89 R/15 SB) and 2B Hoppy Hill (.300/1 HR/52 RBI/72 R).

Harry Buckley and his Fairfax Frogs (82-72) had a good year except for an awful August when they slumped to a 9-19 mark. The Frogs fell to fourth this year, the worse finish for them over the past four seasons.

But there were bright spots. Fairfax topped the division with a .979 fielding percentage, hit well with a .262 mark (2nd), 119 home runs (5th), scored 657 runs (5th) and notched 3.38 team ERA (3rd).

Barrett Carruthers (22-10 2.94) had a terrific year. Buckley also got good work out of Robby Meredith (16-15 3.30) and Kaz Hayagawa (15-18 3.49). Jay Sorenson (9-7 2.04) chalked up his best season in the closer position and saved 29 games in 70 relief assignments. La Claire's Henny Cossaboom led the IPA with 32 saves. Sorenson came in number two in saves.

Fairfax's offense was sparked by RF Gregg Vincent (.272/24 HR/93 RBI), 1B Jeff Vretsos (.301/18 HR/91 RBI), 2B Cecil Parmenter (.309/13 HR/68 RBI/102 R) and CF Billy Echevarria (.267/9 HR/48 RBI/102 R).

Cobb Tyson regrouped his Blue Lake Blue Sox (72-82) in the second half of the year and climbed out of the cellar up to fifth place in the TU North, 19 games off the pace. The Blue Sox did two things well - hit 132 homers (3rd) and played good defense. Tyson's team chalked up a .977 fielding percentage (2nd-tied).

Blue Lake also did some things poorly. They hit only .253 (7th) and had trouble on the hill with a 3.91 ERA (6th). Tyson had only two dependable hurlers in Neil Krogstad (16-12 3.64) and Pat Grange (4-1 2.81) in the bullpen. Grange took over the closer slot at mid-season and performed very well with 15 saves in 38 games.

Most of the Blue Sox offense was supplied by two players: RF Fred Collins (.334/27 HR/86 RBI/102 R/34 SB) and CF Rick Hilliard (.261/25 HR/72 RBI/86 R/35 SB).

The White River Rascals (71-83) resembled Blue Lake in many respects and came in sixth, 20 games back. The Rascals rapped 142 home runs (2nd), but hit only .256 (6th) and scored only 676 times (4th). Skipper John Randison's pitching rotation ran up a high 3.98 ERA, but he had some good gloves with a .977 FA (2nd-tied).

CF Hal Hoover (.332/20 HR/74 RBI/108 R/26 SB) had a fine season and was the Rascals MVP. Randison got good power output from 3B Rupert Doan (.269/30 HR/80 RBI/114 R), who cracked 30 roundtrippers. White River may have found a good first baseman in Bryan Dickerson (.304/12 HR/43 RBI), who took over after the All-Star Game and gave the team some much-needed punch.

On the mound Mick Cronyn (19-13 3.28) led the way with some help from rookie Lindon Shaw (13-11 3.63). And Emile Sifko (5-8 3.27) did well as the closer with 23 saves and 65 game appearances.

Seventh place belonged to the North Hills Hawks, skippered by Hub Carlson. The Hawks have adequate pitching with four solid starters in Stan Ballard (15-9 3.49), Ben Dewberry (15-13 3.47), Lou Dozier (13-15 3.27) and Leland Clinkscales (14-19 3.52). Carlson has a fine closer in Carson Romine (5-8 1.51), who compiled a brilliant 1.51 ERA in 64 games and saved 23 games. Carlson's crew had a decent 3.70 ERA (4th).

But North Hills is missing bats. The Hawks hit only .249 (8th), hit only 73 homers (8th), scored only 609 runs (8th). 2B Jimmy Ryland (.280/7 HR/58 RBI/104 R/15 SB) and LF Keith Schmidt (.266/17 HR/84 RBI) were the Hawks best performers this year.

It was a long season for Rudy Lanussa in Mahaska (68-86) as the Haymakers closed the year in the division basement, 23 games out of first. It was Mahaska worse finish in its three years in the IPA. The Haymakers are the worst fielding team in the Islandian Pro Alliance with an abysmal .966 FA. They have trouble scoring with only 622 runs (7th), but do go deep occasionally with 127 home runs (4th), while hitting just .258 (5th). Mahaska suffered on the mound with a 3.92 ERA (7th).

Lanussa does have one player of note, the talented 1B Miles Shufford (.323/34 HR/116 RBI/92 R). RF Ira Engelstad (.287/22 HR/83 RBI/77 R) is a good all-around player as well. Pitching-wise Boomerang Hines (13-17 3.13) and rookie Ivan Vayda (11-7 3.13) do a solid job each time out. But other than these four players, talent is scarce on the Haymakers.

Eugene Church · 07-16-2009, 04:47 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Tycobbian Union South Division 2004 Final Standings

Cape Coral TU South Champs, Runner-up Colchester Makes Playoffs
Start to finish the Cape Coral Hurricanes dominated the Tycobbian Union, but the Colchester Elites kept them on their toes the entire year. The Elites stayed real close until mid-season, just one game off the pace, but dipped a little in the second half, eventually finishing 6 games behind. The Hurricanes closed with a flourish, registering a strong 48-27 record in July, August and September. Colchester wasn't too far behind with a 44-31 mark. Cape Coral won 94 games, second-best in the IPA to the Bayview Vikings, the TU West champions, who copped 96 victories.

Both South Division clubs will be in action today as the IPA Sweet 16 Series begins. Cape Coral will be in Luxora and Colchester will be at home, hosting the Oxford Red Caps, the TU North winner. They will be best-of-five series.

Cape Coral Hurricanes (94-60) 1st Place - Last Year (84-70) 2nd Place
Manager: Huggy Miller

MVP: Cody Burg (24-8 2.13) and rookie LF Kippy Doyle (.317/35 HR/125 RBI/85 R)

Strength: Great pitching with a 2.82 ERA, first in the IPA... strong offense with a .268 batting average (1st), 139 homers (2nd)

Top Pitchers: MVP Burg, Doug Lyons (20-10 2.56), Zane Robinson (13-8 2.69), Jeff Salow (19-12 3.73)

Top Hitters: MVP LF Doyle, 1B Danny Mullins (.275/20 HR/84 RBI/111 R), 2B Hoshi Sato (.267/19 HR/64 RBI/109 R/17 SB)

Weakness: Could use improvement in defense... .973 FA (4th-tied)

Surprises: Doyle's great season and closer Wally Robinson (4-9 2.97) with 25 saves and 71 relief appearances

Busts: None

********

Colchester Elites (88-66) 2nd Place, 6 games back - Last Year (78-76) 6th place
Manager: Robbie Wilbertson

MVP: 3B Niles Stanton (.309/40 HR/124 RBI/92 R), 1B Harlan Roscoe (.312/34 HR/116 RBI/102 R) and rookie closer Tom Carter (11-3 2.71) with 18 saves and 75 games

Strength: Outstanding hitting with .265 BA (2nd)... excellent power with 155 roundtrippers (1st)... fine run production with 765 runs (2nd)... Solid pitching with a 3.47 team ERA (3rd)

Best Batters: MVP 1B Stanton, MVP 1B Rascoe, RF Tom Barella (.274/20 HR/75 RBI/88 R/41 SB), 2B Leland Cross (.301/8 HR/58 RBI/110 R/31 SB)

Best Hurlers: MVP rookie Carter, rookie Jimmy Simmons (18-10 2.89), Frank Payne (18-13 3.56) and Dickie Pendarvis (14-14 3.15)

Excellent team speed with 143 stolen bases (2nd)

Weakness: Defensive improvement needed... .971 FA (6th-tied)

Surprises: MVP rookie closer Tom Carter, rookie SP Jimmy Simmons and rookie LF Douglas Tilford (.295/17 HR/75 RBI/88 R/43 SB)

Busts: None

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Summerland Sunsets (76-78) 3rd Place, 18 games behind - Last Year (79-75) 5th Place
Manager: Will Hackett

MVP: SP Paul Felkner (22-14 2.63)

Strength: Two fine starters in MVP Felkner and Bill Taft (14-8 2.90)

Best Hitters: 1B Kurt Van Kooten (.292/14 HR/85 RBI) and CF Stacy Zacker (.288/21 HR/80 RBI)

Best Pitchers: closer Bobby Winwood (6-7 3.10) had good season with 25 saves in 62 games... starters MVP Felkner and Taft

Weakness: Just average team in pitching and hitting... only 96 home runs (6th)... fielding percentage only .970 (8th)

Surprises: LF Hank Hamilton (.317/6 HR/56 RBI/55 R) in just 91 starts

Disappointments: 2B Tucker Hill (.277/4 HR/47 RBI/80 R) had off year, normally .300 hitter.

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San Alejo Montaneros (75-79) 4th Place 19 games Out - Last Year (96-58) 1st Place
Manager: Lando Peceda

MVP: SP Alberto Herrera (22-10 2.78)

Strength: still hit with power... 125 home runs (4th)... can still score with 688 runs (4th)

Best Hitters: RF Marcelino Zuniga (.282/15 HR/88 R), 1B Rodger Wooten (.289/22 HR/85 RBI) and 3B Paolo Huerta (.290/22 HR/79 RBI/99 R)

Best Pitchers: MVP Herrera, Ernie Arredondo (16-15 3.69)

Weakness: Pitching... Team ERA ballooned to 3.81 (5th)... .971 FA (7th-tied)

Surprises: None that were good

Busts: Closer Domenico Belizon (4-15 4.80), 2B Denholm Carruthers (.228/10 HR/58 RBI/68 R), CF Vidal Munoz (.228/12 HR/58 RBI) and SP Clay Milwaine (5-11 4.42)

********

Ginza Ninjas (71-83) 5th Place Tie 23 games back - Last Year (82-72) 4th Place
Manager: Huroko Uchiyama

MVP: SP Alec Sasek (17-9 2.76)

Strength: Strong pitching staff with 3.18 ERA (2nd)... Strong defense with .978 FA (1st)

Top Pitchers: MVP Sasek, Carl Trebek (13-15 3.12), Kojiro Matsumoto (15-21 3.35)

Top Batters: LF Ronnie Cahill (.299/11 HR/81 RBI)

Weakness: last in batting average with .247... 7th in homers with only 77... last in run production with 596... need better closer

Surprises: (none)

Busts: 3B Shinjiro Aoki (.203/1 HR/18 RBI) in 81 games

********

Turon Typhoons (71-83) 5th Place Tie, 23 games out - Last year (82-72) 4th Place, Won IPA Pro Cup
Manager: Ashton "Whitey" Richburn

MVP: 1B Boots Dubois (.304/7 HR/53 RBI/88 R/19 SB)

Strength: Good fielding team with a .977 FA (2nd)

Top Hitters: MVP 1B Dubois, Jean-Paul Trevenot (.301/7 HR/73 RBI/76 R/16 SB) and RF George Farley (.264/11 HR/80 RBI)

Top Pitchers: James Longstreet (14-18 3.72) and Jeb Pickett (14-14 4.11)

Weakness: 4.08 ERA (7th)... Lack of home run power... only 74 homers (8th)

Surprises: (none)

Busts: Pitchers Keir McNamara (9-18 4.46) and MR Ian Knox (4-2 5.06)

********

Arroyo Grande Suns (66-88) 7th Place - Last Year (52-100) 8th Place
Manager: Jean-Luc Marchand

MVP: 1B Cristian Avajos (.280/40 HR/126 RBI/82 R)

Strength: HR power with 134 home runs (3rd)

Top Hitters: MVP 1B Avajos, 2B Randy Knowles (.269/22 HR/73 RBI/71 R)

Top Pitchers: SP Miguel Aguilera (13-12 3.58) and closer Val Hudson (4-5 2.71) with 14 saves in 70 games

Weakness: poor hitting with a .248 BA (7th)... poor pitching with a 4.05 ERA (6th)

Surprises: (none)

Busts: (none)

********

Southport Sun Sox (60-94) 8th Place 34 games back - Last Year (70-84) 7th Place
Manager: Charley Oscar

MVP: 1B Paul Mystryk (.287/21 HR/93 RBI/80 R)

Strength: team hits with some power, 114 home runs (5th)

Top Hitters: MVP 1B Mystryk, rookie CF Jared Brockington (.314/2 HR/33 RBI/59 R/22 SB)

Top Pitchers: SP Walt Corbin (14-15 3.73) and rookie SP/MR Johnny Apple (5-5 2.86)

Weakness: all aspects of the game

Surprises: rookie CF Jared Brockington blossomed into a fine hitter and an outstanding defender (.991 FA)

Busts: (none)

Eugene Church · 07-17-2009, 01:31 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Tycobbian Union East Division 2004 Final Standings

Red Bluff Survives Tough TU East Race, Tuckanarra Wins Playoff Spot
The Tycobbian Union East could be the toughest and the tightest division in the Islandian Pro Alliance. From top to bottom only 16 games separate the best from the worst. The Red Bluff Red Sox won it for the second consecutive season, besting second place Tuckanarra by 3.5 games and third place Midway by 4.5 games. High Mesa and East Point were close by, too. They were 6 and 7 games behind the champion Red Sox.

Tuckanarra and Midway had to go an extra game to decide the final playoff spot in the Tycobbian Union East. They finished the regular season all knotted up at 79-75 and had to play it off at Central Park Stadium in Tuckanarra. The Blue Jays got the home field advantage as they had taken two-of-the-three games between them in the regular season.

Tuckanarra was outhit 10 to 6, but took the win 7-3 to move into the IPA Sweet 16 playoffs. Tris Bristow (16-17 3.15) tossed a solid game, struck out four and walked only one for the victory. The Wolves took an early lead with a run in the opening frame, but the Blue Jays got the lead with a two-run fourth to make it 2-1. Midway evened it up in the fifth with a single run. Tuckanarra went ahead to stay in the bottom of the frame 3-2, then clinched it with a four-run outburst in the sixth inning. 2B Owen MacArthur (.277) sparked the Blue Jays to victory with a pair of hits and two RBIs. MacArthur also scored twice. Starter Pedro Shunkaha (13-10) suffered the loss, giving up all seven runs and six hits in five-plus innings. The victory gave Tuckanarra second place in the TU East standings and a playoff spot. The Blue Jays will now have to play the powerful Bayview Vikings of the TU West. The Vikings won its division with a 96-58 record. They won more games than any other team in the IPA this season. Tuckanarra will host the first two games of the best-of-five series beginning tomorrow.

********

Red Bluff Red Sox (83-71) 1st Place - Last Year (85-69) First Place
Manager: Mack Connery

MVP: Mila Mihoski (21-10 2.36)

Strength: Best pitching with 3.43 ERA (1st)... good power with 125 homers (5th)... very good defensively with .980 FA (2nd)

Weakness: Need to hit better for average

Top Hitters: RF Kris Grabowski (.309/19 HR/90 RBI/72 R), LF Tony Blundell (.294/28 HR/79 RBI/91 R/22 SB)

Top Pitchers: MVP Mila Mihoski, Leonard Urban (18-13 2.77), Frank Beaudoin (16-13 3.12)

Surprises: (none)

Disappointments: 1B Bucky Frizzell (.231/11 HR/62 RBI) and CF Stan Helmke (.245/15 HR/61 RBI/77 R/39 SB)

********

Tuckanarra Blue Jays (80-75) 2nd Place 3.5 games behind - Last Year (83-71) 3rd Place
Manager: Carlton "Lefty" Stevens

MVP: RF Monty Draycott (.267/23 HR/112 RBI/78 R/18 SB)

Strength: good power with 130 homers (4th)

Weakness: Needs to improve .252 BA (7th), 3.80 ERA (5th) and .971 FA (7th)

Top Hitters: MVP RF Draycott, 1B Charley Schofield (.284/23 HR/84 RBI/79 R), C Maka Bardinda (.298/14 HR/80 RBI/80 R/12 SB), 2B Owen MacArthur (.277/10 HR/54 RBI/84 R/16 SB), CF Gavin Munro (.264/10 HR/45 RBI/93 R/15 SB)

Top Pitchers: Mike Amato (16-12 3.67), Niles Applewhite (15-17 3.76), Tris Bristow (16-17 3.15) and closer Mook Epperson (4-7 3.21) 17 saves in 61 games

Surprises: (none)

Disappointments: (none)

********

Midway Wolves (79-76) 3rd Place 4.5 games behind - Last Year (71-83) 7th Place
Manager: Cochise Chandler

MVP: SP Mac Chaney (19-10 3.66)

Strength: good .263 team BA (2nd-tied)... scored 715 runs (2nd)... 3.61 ERA (2nd)...with .976 FA (3rd-tied)

Weakness: needs more power at the plate... hit 105 home runs (6th)

Top Batters: 2B Little John Yuma (.329/6 HR/59 RBI/105 R/19 SB), rookie SS Tory Bidwell (.297/15 HR/89 RBI/104 R/17 SB), rookie 1B Don Piper (.264/20 HR/97 RBI/90 R), CF Johnny Gillespie (.291/12 HR/69 RBI/89 R/12 SB), 3B Tommy Kawatoose (.257/21 HR/68 RBI/93 R/ 14 SB)

Top Pitchers: MVP SP Mac Chaney, Nosyt Sani (15-14 3.20), Pedro Shunkaha (13-10 3.38) and closer Joe Eckermann (4-3 1.80) with 24 saves in 59 game appearances

Surprises: rookie SS Bidwell, rookie closer Joe Eckermann and rookie 1B Don Piper

Disappointments: (none)

********

High Mesa Cowboys (77-77) 4th Place, 6 games out - Last Year (84-70) 2nd Place
Manager: Frisky Franks

MVP: 2B Ed Granberg (.321/20 HR/116 RBI/107 R/14 SB)

Strength: Outstanding with .276 BA (1st), 171 home runs (1st), most runs (1st), solid defense with .976 FA (3rd-tied)

Weakness: 4.27 ERA (7th)

Top Batters: MVP 2B Granberg, SS Rolf Kellgren (.338/13 HR/69 RBI/123 R/34 SB), RF Kenny Edelstein (.303/14 HR/100 RBI), C Jay Fessler (.330/10 HR/71 RBI/94 R/27 SB), LF Adam Zitek (.263/29 HR/96 RBI/85 R) and CF Lex Neville (.273/24 HR/79 RBI/77 R/10 SB)

Top Pitchers: SP John Owens (20-14 3.89), Joey Popovich (18-19 3.76), closer Amos Bracklin (4-2 2.97) in 55 games

Surprises: (none)

Busts: 1B Babe Holloman (.207/21 HR/55 RBI)

********

East Point Panthers (76-78) 5th Place, 7 games behind - Last Year (65-89) 8th Place
Manager: Griff Clarke

MVP: 3B Rex Sokolov (.280/32 HR/116 RBI/87 R)

Strength: 146 roundtrippers (2nd-tied), good defense with .976 FA (3rd-tied)... three solid starters

Weakness: 3.93 ERA (6th)

Top Batters: MVP 3B Sokolov, 2B Karol Zadoka (.296/30 HR/90 RBI/109 R/21 SB), SS Keith Wasik (.321/3 HR/44 RBI/79 R), C Ed Strasser (.293/11 HR/46 RBI) in 58 starts, LF Hank Archer (.283/15 HR/58 R/80 R/13 SB)

Top Pitchers: Charlie Hale (18-14 3.09), Jarred Robillard (18-14 3.13), Carl Thompson (16-11 3.88) and rookie closer Jed Erdmann (3-1 2.14) in 32 games

Surprises: SS Keith Wasik, C Ed Strasser, LF Hank Archer, rookie closer Jed Erdmann

Busts: (none)

********

Ozarka Naturals (73-81) 6th Place tied - Last Year (78-76) 4th Place
Manager: Joe Mac Carney

MVP: SP Alec DiMaggio (20-13 3.33)

Strength: .263 team batting average (2nd-tied), 708 runs scored (3rd), 3.62 team ERA (3rd)

Weakness: Lacks home run power, hit only 91 (7th)... weak defense .973 FA (6th)

Top Hitters: CF Kermit Wiggins (.305/3 HR/70 RBI/108 R/43 SB), SS Duffy Douglas (.267/13 HR/88 RBI/90 R) and C Richard Morley (.321/1 HR/50 RBI/43 R) in 112 games

Top Pitchers: MVP SP Alex DiMaggio, Dana Channing (13-11 3.46) and closer Dayle Claypoole (5-7 2.89) with 22 saves in 67 relief appearances

Surprises: (none)

Busts: (none)

********

South Fork Stallions (73-81) 6th Place tied - Last Year (77-77) Fifth Place
Manager: Deroche "Lips" Leon

MVP: rookie SP Shannon Talbert (17-8 3.02)

Strength: .982 FA (1st)

Weakness: weak hitting with .256 BA (6th) and no power... only 86 home runs (8th)

Top Batters: 1B Keith Burke (.292/19 HR/92 RBI/78 R/13 SB), LF Art Atkins (.285/11 HR/71 RBI/74 R)

Top Pitchers: MVP Shannon Talbert, Flint Battle (15-18 2.92) and closer Ken Olson (2-6 1.93) with 16 saves in 65 games

Surprises: MVP rookie SP Shannon Talbert

Disappointments: CF Preston Crim (.235/9 HR/39 RBI/48 R/9 SB) in 129 games

********

Hillsboro Blazers (67-87) 8th Place 16 games behind - (71-83) 6th Place
Manager: Arky Spanderson

MVP: 2B George Longmire (.270/16 HR/81 RBI/91 R/45 SB)

Strength: good power with 146 home runs (2nd-tied)

Weakness: poor .247 BA (8th)... poor 4.42 ERA (8th)... poor .968 FA (8th)

Top Bats: MVP 2B Longmire, LF Kevin Baker (.249/34 HR/95 RBI/94 R/14 SB), 3B Tommy Emrick (.293/21 HR/92 RBI/76 R)

Top Pitchers: closer Frank Coleridge (4-6 3.29) with 22 saves in 72 appearances

Surprises: (none)

Disappointments: 1B Sloan Slatner (.242/17 HR/59 RBI/73 R/13 SB)

Eugene Church · 07-17-2009, 09:00 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Tycobbian Union West Division Final Standings

Bayview Easy Winner in TU West, Denton City Distant Second
The Bayview Vikings breezed to the Tycobbian Union West crown and won it by 9 games over runner-up Denton City. Surprising La Claire turned it on in the second half of the season to finish in the third spot, 12 games off the pace. The Rolling Hills Reds flopped after mounting a strong challenge at the halfway point. The Reds were just 4 games back, but ended up 14 games out and in fourth place. Arlon had a miserable first half in the cellar, but recovered and climbed up to fifth by year's end. The Champions were 20 games behind and edged sixth place Bay St. Clair by a game. Chicopee and Kenwood played poorly the entire season and came in seventh and eighth respectively, 28 and 33 games out of first place.

The division-winning Vikings and second place Redbirds will now advance to the Sweet 16 playoffs. They will open best-of-five series against TU East teams this afternoon. Bayview will go to Tuckanarra to play the Blue Jays, while Denton City will be at home against the TU East title-winning Red Bluff Red Sox.

********

Bayview Vikings (96-58) First Place - Last Year (92-62) First Place
Manager: Walter Johanssen

MVP: 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (.297/30 HR/112 RBI/110 R/16 SB)

Strength: best offense with .273 BA (1st), 156 homers (1st), 784 runs (1st)... good starting pitching

Weakness: poor defense .973 FA (7th), so-so pitching with 3.69 ERA (6th)

Top Hitters: MVP 1B Quibedeaux, CF Phil Kanaan (.303/25 HR/102 RBI/120 R/36 SB), C Hank Bethel (.294/35 HR/96 RBI/109 R), 2B Alan Hansen (.307/0 HR/48 RBI/114 R/36 SB), LF Karl Yashin (.268/25 HR/87 RBI), 3B James Scott (.315/11 HR/83 RBI)

Top Pitchers: Jerry Harrison (23-10 2.88), Frank Wells (21-6 3.36), rookie Georgie Fambreau (12-8 3.47) and closer Terry Banks (10-9 3.43) with 25 saves in 76 games

Surprises: 20-game winners Harrison and Wells

Busts: Adrian Strom (12-13 4.92) was 24-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 2003

********

Denton City Redbirds (87-67) 9 games behind - Last Year (79-75) Third Place
Manager: Ford Whiteman

MVP: RF Lavon Gooch (.320/27 HR/90 RBI/109 R/12 SB)

Strength: Good hitting, good power with .268 BA (2nd), 131 homers (2nd), 733 runs (2nd)... fine .978 FA (1st)... good starters and closer

Weakness: middle relief

Top Hitters: MVP RF Lavon Gooch, 1B Rod MacCormack (.301/23 HR/99 RBI/93 R/25 SB), 3B Jay Petit (.311/17 HR/91 RBI/75 R), SS Trevor Tomlinson (.267/12 HR/66 RBI/92 B/52 SB)

Top Pitchers: Burton McGarrick (14-8 2.95), Gino Carmazzo (16-13 3.08), James Darbonne (10-4 3.44), Daniel Fitzmorris (9-6 3.38) and closer Bubba Lear (8-3 2.76) with 27 saves in 73 games

Surprises: Starters rookie McGarrick, rookie Darbonne and Fitzmorris... CF Paul Coniglio (.292/17 HR/56 RBI/85 R/16 SB) in 104 games and 2B Lou Pruitt (.273/3 HR/33 RBI/22 R) and .992 FA in 46 games

Busts: SP Bob Coleman (7-10 5.55) and Joe Hoffman (8-7 4.55), 2B Glen Throckmorton (.232/13 HR/58 RBI/53 R/8 SB)

********

La Claire Lynx (84-70) Third Place, 12 games behind - Last Year (61-97) 7th Place
Manager: Rip Calkin

MVP: SP Jim Melanakos (23-10 2.32)

Strength: Starting pitchers and closer... team 3.16 ERA (1st)

Weakness: terrible hitting with .248 BA (7th), only 66 home runs (8th), 579 runs (8th)... fair .974 FA (6th)

Top Hitters: CF Lucky Collins (.288/13 HR/88 RBI/77 R/28 SB)

Top Pitchers: MVP SP Jim Melanakos, Munoto Kishata (18-14 3.40), Andy Murray (9-2 2.17), Nikon Danos (7-15 2.94) and closer Henny Cossaboom (7-10 3.27) with 32 saves and 65 relief appearances... Cossaboom topped the IPA in saves

Surprises: MVP SP Jim Melanakos and SP Andy Murray

Busts: SS Kevin English (.227/0 HR/32 RBI/48 R/14 SB)... English hit .319 last year and made the All-Star team... platooned at mid-season

********

Rolling Hills Reds (82-72) 14 games back - Last Year (87-67) 2nd Place
Manager: Matty Christianson

MVP: SP Keith Greenwood (23-7 2.56)

Strength: Strong starters... Team has 3.31 ERA (2nd)... Tied for third with .975 FA

Weakness: Need offense - .253 BA (5th), 113 homers (4th-tied)

Top Batters: RF Theron Latigo (.290/20 HR/104 RBI/93 R/15 SB), 1B Eddy Dowler (14 HR/77 RBI/91 R) and C Ned Channing (.297/8 HR/53 RBI/41 R/10 SB) in 75 starts

Top Pitchers: MVP Keith Greenwood, Hoyt Paulsen (15-8 3.72), Roger Davidson (15-18 3.18)

Surprises: C Ned Channing with .297 batting average and 53 RBI in half season

Disappointments: closer Stephen Faccaro (7-13 3.83)

********

Arlon Champions (76-78) 20 games off the pace - Last Year (61-93) 6th Place
Manager: Gary Louis

MVP: Closer Stanley Ross (10-7 2.78) with 17 saves in 69 games

Strength: Good closer and better-than-average 3.48 team ERA (4th)

Weakness: Lousy .241 team BA (8th)... Poor defense with .971 FA (8th)

Top Hitters: LF Matt Merrill (.294/16 HR/72 RBI/91 R) and CF Steve Barnett (.305/16 HR/76 RBI/100 R/10 SB)

Top Pitchers: MVP Closer Stanley Ross, rookie Jose Gonzalez (12-14 3.35) and Kurt DeHaan (16-18 3.46)

Surprises: Kenneth Bell (6-3 2.27) in 13 starts after All-Star Game

Busts: (none)

********

Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (75-79) 6th Place - Last Year (77-77) 4th Place
Manager: Guy Rondre

MVP: SP Denny Coulon (25-10 2.40)

Strength: .263 team batting average (3rd)

Weakness: very little power, 83 home runs (7th)... team ERA 3.70 (7th)

Top Hitters: 3B Ed Albrecht (.305/24 HR/111 RBI/94 R/11 SB), LF Stan Denton (.334/4 HR/66 RBI/75 R), CF Wayne Latham (.299/6 HR/52 RBI/96 R)

Top Pitchers: MVP Denny Coulon, Duncan McFalls (16-14 3.45), closer Norm Gross (7-8 2.95) with 19 saves and 69 games

Surprises: (none)

Busts: (none)

********

Chicopee Braves (68-86) 7th Place 28 games back - Last Year (62-92) 5th Place
Manager: Harry Fleetfoot

MVP: Closer Desmond Quartermain (5-3 2.02) with 27 saves in 70 games

Strength: hits with power, 129 homers (3rd)... Team ERA 3.45 (3rd)... Good defense .977 FA (2nd)

Weakness: Offense poor with .254 BA (4th), 586 runs (7th)

Best Batters: RF Orville Butler (.239/33 HR/78 RBI), 3B Wild Deer Etchimin (.277/17 HR/65 RBI), LF Big Stick Takala (.273/18 HR/63 RBI), SS Ben McClendon (.268/14 HR/62 RBI)

Best Pitchers: MVP Closer Desmond Quartermain, Alan Goodwin (14-13 3.14), Johnny Falcon (8-5 2.90)

Surprises: SP Johnny Falcon (8-5 2.90) re-signed after year layoff.

Disappointments: rookie CF Phil Nelson (.258/4 HR/50 RBI/71 R/33 SB)

********

Kenwood Wildcats (63-91) 8th Place, 33 games behind - Last Year (59-95)
Manager: Aaron Hankins

MVP: CF Teddy Mays (.308/12 HR/67 RBI/67 R/20 SB)

Strength: (none)

Weakness: You name it - Team BA .250 (6th), Team ERA 4.62 (8th)

Top Batters: MVP CF Teddy Mays, RF Aydan Winthrop (.246/24 HR/94 RBI)

Top Pitchers: Closer Aydan Havilland (3-8 3.68) with 28 saves in 66 games

Surprises: (none)

Disappointments: CF Juan Padilla (.216/2 HR/23 RBI/23 R) in 48 games

********

Eugene Church · 07-18-2009, 12:44 AM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

War In The IPA, Pro Cup Playoffs Begin Today
It's Sweet 16 Time in the Islandian Pro Alliance, the first round of the Pro Cup Series. Sixteen of the best teams in the Islands begin their quest today for the Holy Grail of the baseball world - The Pro Cup - the symbol of superiority in professional baseball in the Islands.

Who will join the Volusia Vigilantes, High Mesa Cowboys and the Turon Typhoons as the winner of the prestigious Pro Cup? The V's are the only one of the previous winners in this year's playoff battle.

In past seasons 32 teams qualified for the Pro Cup Series, but this has all been changed this year. Only 16 teams will participate. Only the top two teams in each of the eight divisions qualified for this year's playoffs. The owners and fans wanted longer series as too many of the best clubs got eliminated too quickly in short three-game series. The IPA has made each series the best-three-of-five in the first three rounds with the finals set at best-of-seven. Longer series will hopefully give the better team a better chance of winning.

The Islandian Times polled all of the sportswriters and broadcasters that cover the IPA and the consensus is the Elnora All-Stars and the Cape Coral Hurricanes will meet for the 2004 Pro Cup with the Hurricanes favored to win.

Ruthlandian Union

1. Elnora All-Stars
2. Sugar Valley Rattlers
3. Ranford Bulls
4. Middlefield Roosters
5. Valmara Vipers
6. Volusia Vigilantes
7. Belair Beach Sunbirds
8. Claxton Diamonds

Tycobbian Union

1. Cape Coral Hurricanes
2. Colchester Ellites
3. Oxford Red Caps
4. Bayview Vikings
5. Tuckanarra Blue Jays
6. Denton City Redbirds
7. Red Bluff Red Sox
8. Luxora Zorros

Eugene Church · 07-18-2009, 05:28 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

How Sweet 16 It Is! IPA Playoffs Get Underway Today!
Playoff baseball generates a reaction in every fan. To the fan of the perennial loser, it's a time to moan again about their team's misfortune. To the fan whose club defines success by the number of Pro Cup Series championship trophies lining their clubhouse walls, anything short of the ultimate victory is a disaster.

This is playoff baseball. Baseball lovers can't help but be consumed by it in some way or another. There is nothing better than playoff baseball. These Sweet 16 Series battles will unfold later today. Each series will be best-three-out-of-five.

Ruthlandian Union Sweet 16

Belair Beach at Ranford
Valmara at Claxton
Middlefield at Sugar Valley
Elnora at Volusia

Tycobbian Union Sweet 16

Cape Coral at Luxora
Oxford at Colchester
Bayview at Turkanarra
Red Bluff at Denton City

Eugene Church · 07-18-2009, 08:04 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Favorites Fall In RU Sweet 16 Openers
Second-place teams split with the pennant winners in the first games of the Ruthlandian Union Sweet 16 Series. The Middlefield Roosters and Valmara Vipers were the only division champs to win an opener.

Roosters Nip Rattlers 2-1 in Sweet 16 Opener
Two 20-game winners went at it at Farmers Memorial Park in Sugar Valley as Middlefield's Jamie Hicks outdueled Sugar Valley's Gregg Neal 2-1. In the opening game of the Ruthlandian Union Sweet 16 Series Hicks stopped the Rattlers on seven hits, striking out four and issuing three bases on balls. Neal tossed seven solid innings, yielding only two runs and seven hits. Sugar Valley opened up the scoring in the home-half of the third when Freddie Vaux doubled and scored on Flipper Bird's base hit. However, the Roosters regained the lead in the two-run fourth on a walk to Eddie Reeves, a sacrifice bunt and RBI singles by Timmy Gage and Cecil Clark. That did it for the scoring as Middlefield held on to take the first game of the best-of-five series. The Roosters had nine hits in all, led by Clark with 3-for-4 and Gage with 2-for-5. Ron Armstrong and Casey Leeburn had two hits apiece for the Rattlers.

The second game of the series is slated for tomorrow afternoon and again will be played at Farmers Memorial Park. Denny Yarrow (19-13 3.27) will be the choice of manager Smitty Michaels, while Gibby Bobkins will send Anthony Glaser (20-13 3.70) to the hill to try and even up the series.

Valmara Takes Sweet 16 Opener, Edges Claxton 5-4
Trailing the Claxton Diamonds 4-0 going into the seventh inning, it was looking bad for Valmara, but the Vipers got three runs in on a Jan Szymanski three-run clout to get them back in the game, then they won it 5-4 with two runs in the eighth. With one away Yoshi Motsuzuki doubled. That got rid of starter Teddy Kuznetsov and brought on closer Tom Dahl for the Diamonds. Val Krol's RBI single tied the game at 4-4. Krol went to second on the throw home. Jet Kazmarek bunted Krol over to third and he scored when 3B Ron Doucette fumbled a grounder hit by Floyd Vinson. Dahl (0-1) got the loss, while the victory went to Danny Blauser (1-0), who pitched a scoreless seventh. Manager J. Jackson Samuel got great relief work from Zarek Zalewski, Blauser and Eric Ptacek. They stopped Claxton on no runs and one hit over the final four frames in relief of starter Vanya Vacylenko, who allowed four runs and six hits in five innings. Teddy Kuznetsov started for the Diamonds and held the Vipers scoreless for six innings, then he got shelled for four runs.

Valmara outhit Claxton 11 to 7 and were led by CF Szymanski with three hits and three RBIs. RF Krol, C Yoshi Motsuzuki and 2B Vinson each had two hits for the Vipers. LF Dixie Baker topped the Diamonds with two hits and two RBIs. CF Jackie Faust also collected a pair of base hits.

Game two will be played tomorrow afternoon at Avalon Stadium in Claxton. Doug Torvik (18-12 2.98) will pitch for Claxton and Andre Trepanier (18-14 3.42) for Valmara.

Ranford Rips Sunbirds 7-0, Bernhoffer Blanks 'em
Ranford County Stadium was rocking today as the Ranford Bulls blanked Belair Beach 7-0 on a 5-hitter by Chris Bernhoffer (1-0). That put the Bulls up one-game-to-none in the Sweet 16 Series. Ranford ripped Sunbird pitching for 11 hits, sparked by home runs by Johnny Fenroy and rookie Jose Castillo. The Bulls slammed starter and loser Ray Watson (0-1) for four runs and five hits in his three-plus innings and then continued the onslaught with three more off reliever Vance Stromberg. Warren Gravois and Colin Fairclough drove in the first runs of the game with RBI doubles in the third. In the fourth frame Fenroy's two-run homer and Castillo's three-run blast nailed down the victory early.

The teams will play game number two tomorrow in Ranford. Tiny Lindgren (19-11 2.67) will work the game for the Sunbirds, while it will be Bud Enright (24-10 2.66) on the mound for the Bulls.

Vigilantes Vault Past All-Stars 5-1 In First Game
The Volusia Vigilantes took a one-game lead in the Sweet 16 Series by vaulting past Elnora 5-1. The V's put five quick ones up on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning and never were challenged by the All-Stars. Back-to-back doubles by Briscoe Crowder and Clint Hardesty plated the first run, then Francisco Abreu pounded a two-run roundtripper to make it 3-0. Pitcher Raul Sandoval's sacrifice fly and Scooter Perez's double drove in two more runs to put Volusia ahead 5-0. Sandoval made it stand up as he gave up only a solo homer in the eighth inning by Quincy Peterson. Sandoval (1-0) went the distance, struck out seven and walked three for the win, while Lou Horn (0-1) was tagged with the defeat, giving up all five runs on five hits in his two innings of work.

Game two of the best-of-five series will be played tomorrow at Silver River Stadium, better known as "the Jailhouse" in Volusia. Zoggy White has nominated Taylor Gibbs (19-12 3.05) to go for his All-Stars and Alfonso Feliz of the Vigilantes will give the ball to his ace, Carl Schmitz (24-10 2.54).

NYY #23 · 07-18-2009, 09:14 PM

First I must confess to reading just the first page and pages 56 and 57 (a 57 page thread is quite intimidating

), but the quality and depth of which you are covering the league is very impressive! I'll have to start slowly going back and getting caught up on the history, but for now I'll be following along and rooting for the Hurricanes to win their first Pro Cup!

Eugene Church · 07-18-2009, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYY #23

First I must confess to reading just the first page and pages 56 and 57 (a 57 page thread is quite intimidating

), but the quality and depth of which you are covering the league is very impressive! I'll have to start slowly going back and getting caught up on the history, but for now I'll be following along and rooting for the Hurricanes to win their first Pro Cup!

Glad to have you checking it out.

I don't blame you for just looking at the end first. It is a lot to read if you go back to the beginning.

Thank you for the nice comments.

Eugene Church · 07-19-2009, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYY #23

First I must confess to reading just the first page and pages 56 and 57 (a 57 page thread is quite intimidating

), but the quality and depth of which you are covering the league is very impressive! I'll have to start slowly going back and getting caught up on the history, but for now I'll be following along and rooting for the Hurricanes to win their first Pro Cup!

NYY #23, you might want to check out the Wynnamac Sundowners in the Ruthlandian East. They are managed by Matt Donnelly, an outstanding first baseman in the industrial league. It's not incidental that he wears #23.

Eugene Church · 07-19-2009, 04:54 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series

Zorros Get A NO-NO, Hoffman No-Hits Hurricanes
22-year-old righthander Eddie Hoffman made history today at De la Vega Stadium in Luxora. Hoffman hurled the first playoff no-hitter ever in the IPA. Hoffman was briliant, halting Cape Coral 1-0 in game one of the Sweet 16 Series. Hoffman walked two batters and struck out five. The winning score came in the bottom of the fifth when Joel Reed led off with a double and was sacrificed to third base. Hurricane starter Doug Lyons walked two batters to load the bases, then Pablo Santa Cruz delivered the go-ahead base hit and Hoffman made it stand up. Losing pitcher Lyons (0-1) only surrendered four hits himself, walked two and fanned three in a superb outing.

The two clubs will duke it out again tomorrow in Luxora with Cody Burg (24-8 2.13) working for Cape Coral and Tito Tovares (16-12 3.04) doing the honor for the Z's.

Division Champs In Trouble, 3 Lose Sweet 16 Openers
After the first day of play in the IPA Sweet 16 playoffs, the second-place clubs are doing quite well. Division winners Cape Coral, Oxford and Red Bluff all lost the series openers. Only Bayview played like champions.

Bayview Trounces Tuckanarra 11-1 in Game One
At Central Park Stadium in Tuckanarra, the Bayview Vikings trounced the Blue Jays 11-2 behind an 11-hit barrage and a strong outing by Jerry Harrison. Bayview was led by Dean Howell and Hank Bethel, who drove in three runs each and Karl Yashin and Chancey Quibedeaux with two apiece. Harrison (1-0) fired a 5-hitter, fanned six and walked none in a fine performance. Loser Niles Applewhite did make it out of the first inning as he was belted for four runs and four hits. Bethel got the only homer for the winners, while Gavin Munro hit a solo job for Tuckanarra.

Game two is tomorrow in Tuckanarra. The pitching assignments will pit the Vikings Georgie Fambreau (12-8 3.47) against the Blue Jays Mike Amato (16-12 3.67).

Colchester Crushes Oxford In 1st Game 13-6
In the first game of the Sweet 16 Series at Heyward Stadium, the Colchester Elites came back from a 3-0 deficit to crush the Oxford Red Caps 13-6 with four home runs and 17 hits. Harlan Roscoe whacked two roundtrippers with Tom Barella and Niles Stanton cracking the other two. Barella's was a 3-run smash in the fourth to send Colchester ahead 6-3. After Oxford narrowed it to 6-4 in the sixth, the Elites put them away with a 6-run seventh. Barella and Stanton had 3 RBIs each, while Roscoe and Leland Curtis batted in two runs apiece. Barella, Curtis and Roscoe all collected three hits each. The victory went to reliever Hootie Boatner (1-0), who sparkled in his three innings. Boatner allowed no runs and one hit for the win. Wayne Baxley, the second of five hurlers for the Red Caps, was the losing pitcher. He was slugged for three runs and five hits in just two frames. He exited trailing 6-4.

Campy Roy has designated Nicky Nicholson (22-9 2.71) his game two starter. Rookie Jimmy Simmons (18-10 2.89) got the call from Uncle Robbie Wilbertson. The second game in the best-of-five set will be played in Colchester.

DC Redbirds Slip By RB Red Sox 4-3 in 1st Game
At Douglas Denton Field in Denton City the hometown Redbirds rebounded in the late innings to slip past Red Bluff 4-3. The Red Sox built up a 3-1 margin after five frames, but Denton City tied them up 3-3 in the sixth and wrapped up the win with a run in the eighth. Danny Nash was the hero as he doubled in Jay Petit with the winning score. Closer Bubba Lear (1-0) notched the victory as he retired all six batters he faced in the final two innings. John Dougherty (0-1) took the loss as he gave up one run and two hits in two innings. Petit paced the Redbirds at bat with a perfect 3-3 performance. Stan Helmke led Red Bluff with a two-run homer in the fifth that snapped a 1-1 tie. Gino Carmazzo started and hurled seven innings for Denton City, allowed three runs and nine hits, while Frank Beaudoin logged six innings for the Red Sox and was touched for three runs - one unearned - in six frames. The Red Sox had the advantage 9-8 in hits.

The clubs will head back to the diamond in Denton City tomorrow for the second game of the series. Mila Moholski (21-10 2.36) will work for Red Bluff, opposed by Burton McGarrick (14-8 2.95).

Eugene Church · 07-19-2009, 10:20 PM

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Ruthlandian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series

Vipers Go Up 2-0, Farentino Stops Diamonds 3-2
For the second straight day at Avalon Stadium, the Valmara Vipers won a one-run game from the Claxton Diamonds to take a giant step in the Sweet 16 Series. One more victory and Valmara will advance to the next round. Ted Farentino held them to six hits and went all the way in the 3-2 victory. Claxton's CF Jackie Faust and C Rance Murillo hammered him for home runs in the first two innings, but didn't score another run after that. Farentino weaved his way through the Diamond line-up with masterful control and movement. He issued no walks and had two strikeouts. Viper CF Jan Szymanski slammed one in the seats in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1, but Murillo gave Claxton back the lead in last of the inning. Then in the fifth RF Val Krol sent a Doug Torvik pitch soaring for a two-run homer for the eventual game-winner. Torvik took the loss, going seven innings and giving up all three runs on nine hits. LF Jet Kazmarek and 1B Masaichi Okawa both went 3-4, but it was Szymanski and Krol who saved the day. They have driven in all seven Valmara runs in the series with Szymanski driving in four and Krol three. Szymanski has gone deep in both games.

Manager Stacy Engel will try to stay alive in the series with Sal Tallis (17-12 3.08) on the hill. J. Jackson Samuel will use Andre Trepanier (18-14 3.42) for his starter. The series will switch to War Memorial Stadium in Valmara for the rest of the games.

Rattlers Knot Series, Quiet Roosters 6-3
The Middlefield-Sugar Valley Sweet 16 Series is now knotted up at one win each after the Rattlers rapped the Roosters 6-3 in game two at Farmers Memorial Park. SS Flipper Bird and CF Freddie Vaux led Sugar Valley 10-hit attack with a pair of RBIs apiece. Vaux doubled in two in the first inning, while Bird had a two-run swat in the fifth to put the Rattlers in front 5-2. RF Bailey Norcross topped Middlefield with two RBIs and C Kevin Dial smacked a solo homer. Anthony Glaser picked up the victory. He worked seven innings, allowed four hits and three runs, but had trouble with his control as he walked six. Relievers Ron Benson and Hec Skurgan each pitched a scoreless inning with the save going to Skurgan. All total Sugar Valley held Middlefield to six hits. The loser was Denny Yarrow. He was rapped for eight hits and five runs in six innings, but two of them were not earned. The Roosters committed three errors in the game.

The ball clubs will swap venues for the rest of the series. Middlefield Park will be the site of games three, four, and if necessary, game five. Starting pitchers for tomorrow's clash will be Jay Washington (12-8 3.32) for the Rattlers and Joshua Jackson (14-10 3.14) for the Roosters.

Elnora Evens Sweet 16, Stops Volusia 3-1
It was a low-scoring affair, but Elnora's Zoggy White still needed 5 pitchers to whip Volusia 3-1 and even the Sweet 16 Series at one game each. Starter Taylor Gibbs worked a strong seven innings and stopped the Vigilantes on one run and three hits with eight Ks and four walks. Gibbs left with a 2-1 lead. White used Matty Wilkerson, Troy Hudson and Stevie Howard to each get one batter out in the eighth, then turned it over to Kenny Kerr to seal it down in the ninth. Gibbs got credit for the victory.

It was scoreless through four with Gibbs and Carl Schmitz throwing nothing but goose eggs. However, the All-Stars broke the ice in the top of the fifth on SS Kyle Villere's RBI triple and RF Quincy Peterson's double, giving them a 2-0 edge. V's 2B Chaco Rivera chopped it to one run when he belted a bases-empty homer in the bottom of the inning. Elnora added a run in the eighth on two errors and a bases-loaded walk. Schmitz, a 24-game winner, did not have one of his better games. He walked six and struck out four, while permitting eight hits. But Schmitz was stingy and only allowed two earned runs, yet he walked in a run. The All-Stars had the hitting edge 8 to 5, but left 12 men on base. Villere was 3-for-4 for Elnora with Peterson and 2B Gil Foster both going 2-for-5.

Game three is scheduled for State Fair Park in Elnora tomorrow afternoon. Ricky Moreno (13-16 4.15) will toil for Volusia and Charlie Murphy (22-12 2.75) will get the starting assignment for the All-Stars.

Lindgren Masters Bulls, Sunbirds Win 6-1
Little 5'6" Tiny Lindgren was the big man for the Belair Beach Sunbirds this afternoon at Ranford County Stadium. Lindgren (1-0) checked the Ranford Bulls on six hits en route to a 6-1 spanking that tied the Sweet 16 Series at one game apiece. Lindgren chalked up five strikeouts and walked no one to best Ranford's ace, Bud Enright, who won 24 games in the regular season. The Sunbirds drilled him for six runs and five hits and KO'd Enright in the three-run seventh that put the game out of reach. LF Nicky Swift led the charge with three RBIs, while CF Bobby Joe Morris scored three times. Enright (0-1) was the losing pitcher, although three of the runs were unearned.

Game three will feature Jim Maxwell (17-9 3.02) for the Bulls and Slim Mosley (18-8 3.01) for Belair Beach. It will be played at Bayside Park, the Sunbirds home stadium. Belair Beach will be the home team for the rest of the series.

Eugene Church · 07-20-2009, 04:36 PM

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series

Z's Zap 'Canes 2-1, Lead Sweet 16 By 2 Games
It was brilliant pitching again today at De la Vega Stadium in Luxora as the Zorros squeezed out a 2-1 eleven-inning triumph over Cape Coral, giving them two consecutive wins in the Sweet 16 Series. Yesterday Eddie Hoffman fired a 1-0 no-hitter in the opening game.

Lacey Tompkins had an unbelievable day with the bat today, hitting a game-tying homer in the last of the ninth to send the game into overtime, then delivering the game-winning hit two innings later. In the decisive inning 2B Pablo Santa Cruz led off with a single, stole second and then came around to score the winning run on a walk-off clutch base hit by CF Tompkins. That sent closer Wally Robinson (0-1) down to defeat. Robinson has just come in for starter Cody Burg, who was terrific, holding Luxora to just one run and five hits in 10 very strong innings. Burg struck out 10 batters and walked only one. The Z's also got good pitching from starter Tito Tovares, who worked 8 frames and gave up only four hits and a run, while striking out six and walking five. Julio Higuera worked the ninth and tenth innings and held the Hurricanes runless. Fernando Fernandes (1-0) racked up the victory with a perfect eleventh frame, retiring all three batters in order. There were only 11 hits in the game, 7 for Luxora and 4 for Cape Coral.

Tomorrow afternoon at Seaside Stadium in Cape Coral, manager Marty Pedroza will try to get his Hurricanes back in the series with Jeff Salow (19-12 3.73). Zorro skipper Alejandro Rodrigo will go with Marco Braceros (16-14 3.16) in game three.

Bayview Beats Blue Jays 7-5 In Game 2
The Bayview bats bashed out 11 hits to beat the Tuckanarra Blue Jays 7-5 and take a 2-0 advantage in the Sweet 16 game played at Central Park Stadium. The Vikings need just one more victory to eliminate the Blue Jays from the playoffs. C Hank Bethel cracked two hits and batted in four runs for the victors. Bethel blasted a three-run homer to put Bayview in front 3-1 in the third. SS Shorty Richards had three hits, putting the Viks ahead 5-3 in the fifth with a two-run single. An RBI double by Bethel and an RBI single by LF Karl Yashin put Bayview up to stay 7-3 in the sixth.

Tuckanarra also slammed 11 hits, led by 1B Charley Schofield with 3-5 and three RBIs and LF Corey Tavington with a two-run roundtripper. Starter Georgie Fambreau (1-0) got the win, working six innings and giving up four runs. Terry Banks tossed two scoreless innings for the save. Blue Jay starter Mike Amato (0-1) sustained the loss, allowing five runs and seven hits in five innings, but only three of them were earned. Tuckanarra committed two costly errors.

Game three is slated for Downtown Plaza Stadium in Bayview tomorrow afternoon. The Vikings will host the remaining games in the best-of-five series. Walter Johanssen has selected Frank Wells (21-6 3.36) to nail down the series, while Carlton "Lefty" Stevens named Tris Bristow (16-17 3.15) his starter.

DC's Lee Hits Walk-Off HR, 2-Games Up On Red Sox
For the second game in a row at Douglas Denton Field in Denton City, the Redbirds came alive in the late innings and snatched another one-run victory from the Red Bluff Red Sox. This time the Redbirds won it 3-2 with a ninth-inning walk-off homer by C Lawton Lee off closer John Dougherty (0-2), who also lost yesterday's contest. Burton McGarrick (1-0) fired a fine six-hitter, going the distance with nine strikeouts and just two walks in a sharp performance. Red Bluff's Milo Mohoski was almost as tough, yielding only two runs and four hits in eight innings of work.

Denton City took the lead 1-0 in the first on a sac fly by 1B Rob MacCormack. The Red Sox tied it up 1-1 on Virgil Carpenter's RBI single in the second. The Redbirds regained the lead 2-1 in the third on a double by SS Trevor Tomlinson and a single by CF Paul Coniglio, only to see Red Bluff tie it up again at 2-2 in the seventh when SS Jeff Decker doubled and scored on Carpenter's base hit.

The Sweet 16 Series is now bound for Red Bluff Park for game three, and if needed, games four and five. The Red Sox hope Leonard Urban (18-13 2.77) can keep their chance alive, while Daniel Fitzmorris (9-6 3.38) of the Redbirds will try to put the quietus on Red Bluff and send them home for the year.

Colchester Up 2-0 In Sweet 16, Oxford Falls 6-5
They did it again! The Colchester Elites knocked off the Oxford Red Caps 6-5 to go up 2-0 in the Sweet 16 Series played today at Heyward Field. Rookie southpaw Jimmy Simmons pitched and hit the Elites to victory. His bases-loaded single broke a 4-4 deadlock in the last of the sixth. Simmons had a rough start and surrendered four runs in the first three innings, but stiffened up and blanked the Red Caps for the next four frames. Closer Tom Carter relieved him in the eighth and gave up LF Mac Spencer's solo homer, but shut them down in the ninth for the save. Simmons collected the win. Nicky Nicholson (0-1) suffered the defeat, giving up six runs and seven hits in six innings. Colchester's top batter was CF Elden Hutchens with two hits and two RBIs. The Elites picked up 8 hits in the game to 6 for the Red Caps. There were two homers in the game, both by Oxford. CF Ike Plunkett also homered for the Red Caps. Both of them came with the bases empty.

Colchester will be on the road at Winchester Park the rest of the series as they try to finish off favored Oxford. In game three Dickie Pendarvis (14-14 3.15) will take the hill for the Elites and Bomber Belinsky (17-17 4.20) will do the chores for the Red Caps.

Eugene Church · 07-21-2009, 08:43 PM

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Ruthlandian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series

V's Edge Elnora on Arroyo's Hit, Take Series Lead
Volusia took a tense 5-3 duel from Elnora today at State Fair Park on Jesus Arroyo's pinch-hit two-run single in the top of the ninth, putting the Vigilantes in the driver's seat in the Sweet 16 Series with a 2-1 lead. It came off closer Matty Wilkerson, but the runs were charged to starter Charlie Murphy (0-1 5.40), who was the losing pitcher. V's skipper Alonso Feliz got excellent relief work from Hernando Espaderos and Tommy Betanzos, who blanked the All-Stars over the final three frames. Espaderos (1-0 0.00) got the win with two hitless innings, while Betanzos got the save with a 1-2-3 ninth. Ricky Moreno started and departed after six with the score tied at 3-3. Volusia outhit Elnora 10-5 with C Clint Hardesty (.583) and 1B Francisco Abreu (.200) in the lead. Hardesty went 3-for-4 and scored twice. Abreu got his second playoff homer with a two-run shot in the second inning. Homers accounted for all of the All-Stars scores. C Todd Simons (.111) powered a two-run homer in the fourth inning and RF Quincy Peterson (.500) banged one out in the sixth. It was Peterson's second in the postseason.

Raul Sandoval (20-13 3.02), a 5-1 winner in game one, will get the chance to wrap up the series for the Vigilantes. He will be opposed by Lou Horn (16-6), who lost the opening game.

Bulls Best Birds 5-3, Up 2-1 in Sweet 16
At Bayside Park in Belair Beach, the Ranford Bulls rode Jim Maxwell's right arm to a 5-2 win in game three of the RU Sweet 16 Series. It was the Bulls second win in three games. Maxwell shut out the Sunbirds 3-0 before tiring in the eighth frame. Maxwell (1-0 2.45) notched the victory and gave up just two runs on six hits in seven and one-third innings. Relievers Leland Shaddock and Tim DeKosky saved the win for Maxwell as they retired the last five batters in order. Pacing Ranford at bat were 2B Johnny Fenroy (.500), who had two hits and two RBIs and 1B Jordy John (.417) with 3-for-4 and a run scored. C Little Jake Bungarooba (.300) and SS Danny Church (.083) accounted for Belair Beach's two runs. Starter Slim Mosley (0-1 2.57) pitched a credible game, surrendering three runs - two earned - and five hits in seven innings. Mosley garnered the loss.

Cody Burg (18-14) will try and wrap up the series for Ranford tomorrow afternoon in game four. Burg sizzled in the game-one 7-0 shutout. Ray Watson (17-10 2.71) will try to redeem himself after lasting only three-plus innings in the loss.

Claxton Whips Valmara 6-1, Stays Alive In Sweet 16
On the road in Valmara, the Claxton Diamonds stayed alive in the Sweet 16 by dumping Valmara 6-1 at War Memorial Stadium. Portsider Sal Tallis (1-0 1.00) hurled a standout game, allowing only four hits, while fanning three and walking just one batter. Tallis got good offensive backing from LF Dixie Baker (.545) and 2B Bobby Ritter (.500). Baker put the Diamonds on the board in the opening frame with a two-run wallop and also doubled in a run in the eighth. Ritter laced three hits, scored twice and had an RBI. 3B Ron Doucette (.167) and C Rance Murillo (.182) also chipped in an RBI each. Claxton finally broke open a 3-1 game with three runs in the eighth, dealing Andre Trepanier (0-1 6.43) the loss. Trapanier gave up all six runs on seven hits and called it a day in the eighth.

Tomorrow the clubs will go at it again with another lefty going for the Diamonds, Teddy Kuznetsov (21-8 2.43), who will be opposed by Vasya Vasylenko (17-8 2.76). They both started the opening game of the series, but did not figure in the decision. Valmara won the game 5-4.

Rattlers Skim By Roosters 2-1, Lead Series By Game
The pitching was something to behold at Middlefield Park. But visiting Sugar Valley was just a little bit better as the Rattlers skimmed by the Middlefield Roosters 2-1 to take a one-game lead in the Sweet 16 Series. Rattler starter Jay Washington worked eight strong innings for the victory, permitted only one run and six hits, while fanning six and walking two. Dale Bixler relieved him in the ninth and retired all three batters on ground-outs for the save. Rooster starter Joshua Jackson (0-1 2.57) performed almost as well. He tossed seven frames, gave up two runs on six hits, whiffed eight and issued two bases on balls. Dave Webb came on in the eighth and held Sugar Valley scoreless.

The Rattlers got 7 hits in the game and Middlefield totaled 6. Second-inning doubles by 3B Jorge Vargas (.222) and rookie 2B Casey Leeburn (.500) gave Sugar Valley a 1-0 lead. The Roosters tied it up in the fourth when LF Cecil Clark (.500) tripled and scored on CF Ty DeWitt's RBI ground-out. Sugar Valley got the winning score in the top of the fifth. Leeburn singled and stole second. A walk and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Leeburn then crossed the plate on CF Freddie Vaux 3-1 ground out.

Game four will be a rematch of the first-game starters. Jamie Hicks (1-0 1.00) outpitched Gregg Neal (0-1 2.57) in the 2-1 Sugar Valley victory.

Eugene Church · 07-21-2009, 08:50 PM

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series

Bayview Sweeps Blue Jays, Elite 8 Bound
No Contest.
Bayview totally outhit, outpitched and outplayed the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, sweeping all three Sixteen 16 games. The Vikings blitzed them 9-2 today and will now move on to the Elite 8 Round. C Hank Bethel (.583) beat Tuckanarra all by himself. He hammered three homers and batted in 11 runs in the series. The Blue Jays only scored 9 runs in the three games. Bethel went 3-4 today with a home run and four RBIs. LF Karl Yashin (.417) also swatted one out and had two RBIs. The Vikings piled up 13 hits and scored almost at will, leading 8-2 after four innings. Frank Wells (1-0) coasted to victory, allowing two runs on six hits. Taking the loss was Tris Bristow (0-1), who was raked for five runs and eight hits in just three innings.

Tuckanarra manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens told reporters after the game, "The Bayview line-up is really something. There is not an easy out in the bunch. Not only do they hit well, they have the pitching, too. We are a pretty good offensive team, but they shut up down. I don't think a team can play any better that they played against us."

Walter Johanssen, skipper of the Vikings, said, "We have played well the whole season. I just hope it will last another 3-4 weeks."

Hurricanes Hang In With 6-5 Win Over Zorros
The Cape Coral Hurricanes staved off elimination from the IPA playoffs with a 6-5 victory in game three over Luxora at Seaside Stadium. But they had to come back from a 4-1 deficit to remain alive in the Sweet 16 Series. A four-run assault in the sixth turned the game around for Hurricanes, highlighted by Kippy Doyle's two-run game-winning single. That gave them a 6-4 lead that they never relinquished. Jeff Salow (1-0) registered the win. He gave up only two hits in six innings, but they were two two-run homers by C Otto Kronvath. Salow fanned six and allowed two walks in the game.

Cape Coral collected 10 hits in all and were led by Doyle (.182), Hoshi Sato (.300) and CF Edmundo Montano (.222), all with a pair of hits each. Kronvath (.500) paced the Z's with three hits and four RBIs. Luxora starter Marco Braceros (0-1) couldn't hold the lead and went down to defeat. The 'Canes smacked him for six runs and eight hits in six innings. Braceros walked six and fanned four in a poor outing. Reliever Cal Holtzman got the save by holding the Zorros scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings.

Luxora will get another shot at winning the best-of-five series with Eddie Hoffman (18-15 2.69) getting the starting assignment. He fired a no-hitter in game one. Cape Coral has given the starting assignment to Doug Lyons (20-10 2.56), who lost to Hoffman 1-0 and only surrendered four hits.

Oxford Stays In The Fight, Nips Elites 5-4
It was looking like Oxford's season was about to end. The Red Caps were trailing 4-2 going into their last at-bat. If they didn't at least tie the score, there would be no tomorrow in the Sweet 16 Series. Oxford put their rally caps on and went to work. A single, a walk and a sacrifice bunt put the tying runs on second and third. Then things started to really go bad for the Colchester Elites. 1B Harlan Roscoe dropped a throw for an error and allowed a run to score, making it 4-3. Now there were runners on first and third and one out. CF Ike Plunkett (.417) singled to right and tied the score at 4-4. Robbie Wilbertson then went to his bullpen for Hootie Boatner. With runners on second and third, still just one out, 1B Kenny Jablonski (.167) lined it hard to left. LF Douglas Tilford speared it and fired a strike to home plate - but too late. Richie Vla (.154), the runner on third, beat the throw home and gave new life to his team. Oxford had rallied to beat Colchester 5-4 and would live to see another day.

"Wow, that was too close for comfort," Red Cap manager Campy Roy told reporters after the game. "I would rather be lucky than good sometimes... and this was one of those times."

Through the first seven innings Colchester had everything its way as Dickie Pendarvis shut out Oxford. But they faltered in the last two innings. The Elites went ahead in the fifth with two unearned runs off Red Cap starter Bomber Belinsky. RF Tom Barella (.429) broke the tie with a two-run single. In the top of the eighth 1B Niles Stanton (.417) and CF Eldon Hutchens (.500) delivered RBI singles to expand the lead to 4-0. In the last of the eighth Oxford finally got on the scoreboard when Jablonski had an RBI triple and 3B Joe Courtney (.417) an RBI double to cut the lead to 4-2.

Both starters did well with Pendarvis working seven and two-thirds innings, allowed two runs and struck out six. Belinsky also went seven and two-thirds innings, fanned 10 batters and gave up four runs, but only two of them were earned. Ray Beckham was the losing pitcher as he was laced for three runs and three hits in just two-thirds of an inning. However, he gave up only one earned run. Emerson Carnell (1-0) got credit for the victory. He sat down the Elites in order in the ninth.

Game four will also be at Winchester Park in Oxford. It's a best-of-five series with Colchester needing one more win to advance in the IPA playoffs. Colchester's Frank Payne (18-13 3.56) will take the mound for Robbie Wilbertson and it will be Dan Phillips (16-16 3.56) for Campy Roy's Red Caps.

Red Bluff Blanks DC 3-0, Still Has Hope
The Red Bluff Red Sox are still alive and kicking in the Sweet 16 playoffs. They got a marvelous mound performance from Leonard Urban to avoid being swept by the Denton City Redbirds. Urban (1-0) blanked them on three hits over eight innings, but needed help from Perry Toefield to finish them off in the ninth. Urban chalked up 10 Ks in the game, while walking four. Daniel Fitzmorris (0-1) caught the loss as he was tapped for nine hits and three runs in five innings. Urban and Fitzmorris matched zeroes for four frames when the Red Sox erupted for three runs. 1B Bucky Frizzell (.333) knocked in the first run of the game with a single and light-hitting SS Jeff Decker (.333) followed that up with a two-run double. That was it for the scoring. Red Bluff unloaded 12 hits, while Denton City managed only five.

Game four will be a rematch of game-one starters. Redbird Gino Carmazzo (16-13 3.08) will get his second start in the series. He went seven innings in the 4-3 Denton city victory in the opening game. Frank Beaudoin (16-13 3.12) will try to even the series at two wins apiece for manager Mack Connery and the Red Sox.

Eugene Church · 07-22-2009, 06:24 PM

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 24, 2004

Ruthlandian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series

Castillo's 2 HR KO Sunbirds, Bulls Move On
Rookie LF Jose Castillo unloaded two home runs and powered the Ranford Bulls into the IPA Elite 8 with a 6-2 shellacking of the Belair Beach Sunbirds. Ranford took three of the four games to eliminate the RU South champions from the playoffs. Castillo (.200) drove in three runs and scored three times to back up the fine pitching of Chris Bernhoffer (2-0 1.00), who went the distance and shackled the Sunbirds on seven hits. Bernhoffer had shut them out in game one 7-0. Ray Watson (0-2 9.39) lost his second game of the series as he was tagged for five runs in four innings. Watson gave up both of Castillo's home runs.

Ranford will now tangle with North Division rival Valmara in the Elite 8 Series.

V's Edge Elnora 5-3 In 10, All-Stars Are Out
Back-to-back blasts in the 10th inning propelled Volusia past favored Elnora 5-3, sending the Vigilantes to the Elite 8 round in the IPA playoffs. The All-Stars were the BNN choice to represent the RU in the Pro Cup Series. CF Ryan Raines (.200) stroked a two-run homer and LF Briscoe Crowder (.214) got a solo smash to give Volusia its third win in four games over the RU East champion. Zoggy White's relief corps let him down after his starting pitcher Lou Horn had given a good account of himself with eight strong innings. Horn held the V's to one run and five hits, fanned five and walked three. Tim Hudson gave up the tying run in the ninth and Kenny Kerr (0-1) was bashed for two homers in the tenth to doom the All-Stars. Todd Wolfe (1-0) garnered the victory, but gave up a home run to 3B Dmitri Vrotsos (.143) in the last of the tenth. Wolfe allowed one run in two innings of work. Both teams collected 11 hits each.

Volusia of the RU West will now meet the Sugar Valley Rattlers of the RU East. Both teams finished second in the regular season and whipped division champs to advance to the Elite 8.

Vipers Advance To Elite 8, Nose Out Claxton 2-1
The Valmara Vipers will advance to the IPA Elite 8 by virtue of their third one-run victory over the Claxton Diamonds. The Vipers nosed them out 2-1 today to win the Sweet 16 Series three games to one. Manager J. Jackson Samuel got strong pitching from Danny Blauser and closer Gerry Wojcik. Blauser was a surprise starter as Vanya Vasylenko was slated to take the mound. Vasylenko wasn't feeling good, so Blauser went to the hill. Blauser was a starter during the regular season with a 14-17 mark and a 3.79 ERA, but was designated for long relief for the playoffs as most teams go with three starters.

Blauser (2-0 0.96) responded with an impressive outing, stopping Claxton on six hits and one run, while striking out 9 and walking three. Blauser had shut the Diamonds out 2-0 going into the ninth, when back-to-back doubles by 1B Marty McCluskey (.133) and SS Eric Carducci (.077) cut the margin to 2-1 and put the tying run on second base with one out. Samuel then summoned his closer Gerry Wojcik to the hill and he promptly put an end to the rally by striking out RF Sammy Joe Fuchs (.083) and pinchhitter Johnny Smith (.000) to nail down the verdict and send Valmara the next round and to end Claxton's season.

The Vipers got a run in the second frame on singles by 1B Masaichi Okawa (.400) and CF Jan Szymanski (.500) and a sac fly by SS Steve Androwski (.091). Androwski also plated the other run with an RBI single off reliever Tetsunori Nagashima to drive in Szymanski from third in the seventh. Losing pitcher Teddy Kuznetsov (0-1 3.38) started for Claxton and hurled a strong six innings. He allowed only one run and four hits before he departed for a pinchhitter.

Diamond manager Stacy Engel tongue-and-cheek told BNN after the game, "How do you lose a series where you outscore the other team? I think it's time to make each series longer. It looks like my club needs a few more games to get going. I think I will lobby for new rules next season. Best-of-11 or best-of-13 should do it." The Old Perfesser also added, "This ain't the first time this has happened to me. Remember in 1990, the President's Cup finals. My DeBeers team grossly outplayed the Tycalco team in three of the games, yet lost."

Engel was right. DeBeers was going for its fourth straight Island industrial league championship. The Diamonds outscored Tycalco 55-27 in the 7-game series, outhit them 91-60, outbatted them .338 to .256, hit ten home runs to Tycalco's four (three of the latter's coming in Game 7), got two complete game shutouts from Ford Whiteman and lost four games to three in one of the most stunning upsets of all-time.

Rattlers Rout Roosters 9-4, Head To Elite 8
Sugar Valley tore into five Middlefield pitchers for 12 hits to rout the Roosters 9-4 and knock them out of the IPA playoffs. The Rattlers won three of the four games in the Sweet 16 Series. 1B Ron Armstrong (.462) spearheaded them with two homers, three RBIs and three runs scored. RF Frank Horak (.333) added a solo roundtripper and scored three times. Gregg Neal (1-1 2.25) tossed a good game, allowing four runs and eight hits, while striking out five batters and walking none. Jamie Hicks (1-1 3.07) suffered the loss, giving up five runs in five-plus innings.

Sugar Valley will meet Volusia in the Elite 8 round.

Eugene Church · 07-22-2009, 10:45 PM

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 24, 2004

Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series

Luxora Upsets Cape Coral, Wins In 4 Games
Eddie Hoffman was unbelievable. He no-hit Cape Coral in game one of the Sweet 16 Series, then in game four Hoffman held them hitless again until the seventh inning - 15 consecutive hitless innings. Finally breaking the spell was 2B Hoshi Sato, who belted a lead-off homer to make the score 3-1. No big deal. Luxora still won the game 3-2 and wrapped up the series three-games-to-one. Cape Coral was favored to win the IPA Pro Cup this season in the BNN postseason poll.

Hoffman (2-0 1.04) worked eight and one-third innings, permitted just three hits and two runs. In the ninth a walk, single and a walk loaded the bases for the Hurricanes with one away. At that point Zorro manager Alejandro Rodrigo sent his closer Elio Laurente to the mound. Laurente got RF Dan Rogers (.077) on a force-out at second, allowing one run to score. Then Laurente retired 3B Lonnie Moon (.125) on an infield pop-up to end the ball game and the series.

Luxora took the lead 2-0 in the opening frame after two were out. LF Joel Reed (.200) and C Otto Kronvath (.429) delivered RBI singles. The Zorros added another run in the third inning on a triple by RF Cristo Viamonte (.250) and a single by CF Lacey Tompkins (.278).

Doug Lyons (0-2 1.39) dropped his second game in the series, but was tough in the clutch. He surrendered three runs in six innings, but only one of them was earned.

Luxora will play the winner of the Colchester Elites and Oxford Red Caps in the Elite 8 Series.

Oxford Evens Series, Beats Elites 6-4
At Winchester Park in Oxford, the home town Red Caps went deep twice and made them stand up 6-4 to even the Sweet 16 Series with the Colchester Elites. The two ball clubs have split four games thus far. Today it was homers by CF Ike Plunkett (.438), who socked a two-run blast in the first inning and LF Mac Spencer's solo shot in the third that sparked the victory. Plunkett led Oxford at-bat with two hits, three RBIs and two runs scored. 2B Richie Vla (.250) also helped out with two hits and scored three times. Each club had 10 hits apiece.

The Red Caps got good bullpen work as Wayne Baxley and Kit Kivett held Colchester without a run the last four innings. Dan Phillips (1-0 5.63) got the win, but had a struggle. He walked eight in his five innings, gave up seven hits, but only four runs. The Elites left 14 runners on-base during the game. 1B Harlan Roscoe (.438) and RF Tom Barella (.444) led Colchester. Roscoe was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Barella as 2-for-4 and scored once. The Elites used four hurlers with the defeat charged to starter Frank Payne (0-1 6.43). He was nicked for four runs in his three innings.

The fifth-and-deciding game will be played tomorrow afternoon at Winchester Park. Rookie Jimmy Simmons (18-10 2.89) will draw the assignment for Colchester and Nicky Nicholson (22-9 2.71) will be the starter for Oxford. Neither was effective in game two, but Simmons got the the 6-5 victory with the loss going to Nicholson.

Series Deadlocked, Red Sox Whip DC Redbirds 6-4
The Red Bluff Red Sox whipped Denton City 6-4 at Red Bluff Park to deadlock the Sweet 16 Series at 2-2 and forced a fifth game to decide who moves on in the IPA playoffs. RF Kris Grabowski (.438) had a perfect 4-for-4 day and three RBIs to lead the charge. 1B Bucky Frizzell (.333) also contributed with a two-run double and LF Tony Blundell (.250) had two hits and scored twice. Starter Frank Beaudoin (1-0 3.77) worked into the ninth, allowed four runs and nine hits for the victory. He carried a 6-2 lead into the inning, but made a quick exit after back-to-back roundtrippers by 3B Jay Petit (.429) and LF Danny Nash (.167) chopped it to 6-4. Closer Big John Dougherty came in and got the final two outs for the save. Red Bluff had the edge in hits 10-9. Redbird starter Gino Carmazzo (0-1 6.00) was the losing pitcher. The Red Sox got to him for five runs and nine hits in five innings.

Burton McGarrick (14-8 2.95) and Mila Mohoski (21-10 2.36) are the scheduled pitchers for tomorrow afternoon's deciding contest. McGarrick hurled an excellent game in beating the Red Sox 3-2 last Wednesday in game number two. Mohoski also pitched well for the Red Sox, but didn't lose it. He left with the score tied at 2-2 after eight innings.

Eugene Church · 07-23-2009, 06:10 PM

The Islandian Times

Saturday, September 25, 2004

Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series

Red Caps Shock Colchester 7-6, Takes Series
For the second time in the Sweet 16 Series the Oxford Red Caps stunned Colchester and came back to win, not only the game, but this time, the series. The Elites piled up a 6-0 lead after five innings and seemed destined to advance to the next round. But Campy Roy's Boys would have none of that. The Red Caps erupted for four runs in the sixth, spirited by LF Mac Spencer's (.316) three-run double, two more in the eighth to tie it on a C Brad Earp (.278) single and an Elite error and won it in last of the ninth 7-6 on 3B Joe Courtney's (.389) single. Oxford pounded out 12 hits to win its third straight game over Colchester. The other miraculous win was in game three when the Red Caps had to score five runs in the last two innings to remain alive in the series.

The Colchester bats went to work early with four runs in the third and two more in the fifth and looked unbeatable. 1B Harlan Roscoe had a three-run clout and four RBIs all total. 3B Niles Stanton also sent one out of the park - but all in vain. Roy got superb relief work from Wayne Baxley, who gave him three scoreless innings in the sixth, seventh and eighth, and Emerson Carnell, who blanked Colchester in the ninth. Carnell (2-0 0.00) was the winning pitcher, while Elite closer Tom Carter (0-1 4.26) lost it. Carter was battered for three runs and five hits in his two-plus frames.

The Red Caps will now battle the Luxora Zorros in the Elite 8 Series. The two teams ran 1-2 in the Tycobbian Union North this season. The series begins tomorrow afternoon in Luxora at De la Vega Stadium.

Red Bluff Survives, Beats DC 3 In A Row
"I'm mighty glad it was a five-game series this year. We would have been long gone otherwise," Red Bluff manager Mack Connery told the press after the Red Sox took their third-in-a-row from Denton City to win the Sweet 16 Series three-games-to-two. Connery got a strong effort in game five from his ace Milo Mohoski (1-0 2.12), who held the Redbirds to just four hits in the 6-2 triumph.

Mohoski, a 21-game winner in the regular season, walked nobody and fanned six in a standout performance. He held Denton City scoreless after they took the lead 2-0 in the top of the first on an RBI triple by CF Paul Coniglio (211) and a sacrifice fly by RF Lavon Gooch (.188). A solo homer by Red Sox 3B Vern Gable (.526) made it 2-1 in the bottom of the inning. C Virgil Carpenter (.333) tied the score in the second with another roundtripper. Red Bluff took the lead 4-2 for good in the third frame on an RBI single by 1B Bucky Frizzell (.316) and a balk. RF Kris Grabowski (.474) singled in another score in the fifth and Gable accounted for the final run in the seventh when he scored from third on a ground-out by LF Tony Blundell (.211).

The Red Sox racked up 11 hits in the game, sparked by Gable with four. Gable also scored three times. Taking the loss for Denton City was starter Burton McGarrick (1-1 4.50), who was shelled for four runs and six hits in just three innings.

Red Bluff really has its work cut out for it. They will tangle with the powerful Bayview Vikings, who destroyed Tuckanarra in a three-game sweep. The Elite 8 Series will open tomorrow at Red Bluff Park. The Red Sox will host the first two games of the series with the rest scheduled in Bayview.

07-14-2009, 09:49 PM	#1121
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Ruthlandian Union East 2004 Final Standings Elnora Wins RU East Title, Whips Sugar Valley in Playoff At the end of a 154-game schedule, it was all even between the Elnora All-Stars and the Sugar Valley Rattlers. The two clubs had identical 89-65 marks. A one-game playoff was necessary to decide the 2004 Ruthlandian East regular season championship. Sugar Valley got the home field advantage as the Rattlers had whipped the All-Stars in four of the five games during the season - but it didn't do them any good - Elnora took the title with a 5-1 victory. Charlie Murphy (22-12) tossed a 6-hitter, holding the Rattlers to just one run, striking out 8 and walking only two in a route-going performance. C Todd Simons (.312) had a great game with two homers and four RBIs to spark the All-Stars. 1B Kent Swain (.248) added a solo homer. Elnora will be on the road today in the Sweet 16 Series against the RU West runner-up, the Volusia Vigilantes, while Sugar Vally will have to play the tough Middlefield Roosters, who won the title in the West. The Rattlers will be the home team in the first two games of the series. Manager Zoggy White's pitching staff gave Elnora (3.30 ERA) the edge over Sugar Valley (3.75 ERA), which was a better hitting team. The All-Stars starters were tough to beat with Lou Horn (16-6 2.33), Charlie Murphy (22-12 2.75) and Taylor Gibbs (19-12 3.05). White's club also had the advantage of a good closer in Matty Wilkerson (8-3 3.20), who saved 20 games and made 67 relief appearances. Elnora's (.266) line-up could compete with the Rattlers (.264) in batting average, but not in power. Sugar Valley led the division with 159 roundtrippers to Elnora's 126 and topped it in scoring, too. The Rattlers outscored the All-Stars 757 to 721. But White had some very capable hitters in RF Quincy Peterson (.278/27 HR/101 RBI/98 R/14 SB), 2B Gil Foster (.317/22 HR/97 RBI/97 R), C Todd Simons (.312/12 HR/84 RBI), 3B Dimitri Vrotsos (.303/16 HR/74 RBI/80 R) and SS Kyle Villere (.282/12 HR/71 RBI/71 R). But in the end it got down to pitching with Elnora emerging the winner. Sugar Valley has a very tough competitor in charge of the ball club. Gibson Bobkins was great pitcher in the industrial leagues and a very intense player. Bobkins is the same way as manager. The Rattlers have a good starting rotation with three fine starters in Gregg Neal (20-8 2.62), Anthony Glaser (20-13 3.70) and Jay Washington (12-8 3.32), but Bobkins lacks a good closer. What Sugar Valley lacks in pitching is more than made up with its bats. Bobkins has a talented array of batters in SS Flipper Bird (.305/30 HR/132 RBI/108 R/31 SB), 1B Ron Armstrong (.277/31 HR/108 RBI/86 R), 3B Jorge Vargas (.284/29 HR/94 RBI/89 R), CF Freddie Vaux (.292/8 HR/56 RBI/102 R/34 SB) and LF Bruno DiPirri (.291/5 HR/41 RBI/102 R/45 SB). Bird led the IPA with 132 RBIs. The Marston Nine (82-72) led by skipper Johnny Walters ended up third and trailed the pennant winner by 7.5 games. A bad August (11-17) sent the Nine reeling and they never recovered. Walters, one of the best righthanders that ever stood on a mound, has created a strong staff that topped the division with a 3.20 ERA. Marston top guns are Nick Pace (17-12 3.39), Johnny Paris (15-11 3.20) and Vinnie Gardiner (13-14 2.82). Walters had a good arm in the bullpen, too, with Booger Burchfield (13-9 3.46). Burchfield racked up 22 saves and 61 relief appearances. Marston hit .254, had the fewest home runs in the division (70) and scored the fewest runs (571) and they were the worst by far. Good hitters were few-and-far-between for the Nine. Only 1B Pat Farris (.314/9 HR/72 RBI) and SS Don Nichols (.300/10 HR/63 RBI) had decent seasons. Boo Ladrieux's Belle Plaine Musketeers (75-79) never recovered from an atrocious April (6-19), but did do well enough to finish fourth in the standings, 14.5 games out of first. They were last at the All-Star Game intermission, but really turned it around in the last half of the year. Ladrieux predicted it would be the Musketeers best season and it was. Belle Plaine was last in 2002 and sixth in 2003. Belle Plaine put up a .264 batting average (2nd-tied), hit only 80 home runs (7th), had a 3.72 ERA with a .979 FA (1st). Top players were pitchers Milo Anthony (17-7 3.35), rookie Tony Saroyan (12-8 3.55) and closer Kent Wells (4-6 2.22) with 23 saves and 75 game appearances. The Muskies don't hit with power, but got some production out of LF Juan Mendes (.313/10 HR/63 RBI/94 R), CF Dennis Riley (.274/23 HR/89 RBI/83 R) and 1B Scott Theriot (.296/13 HR/81 RBI). 2004 was wonderful season for Matt Donnelly and his Wynnamac Sundowners (74-80) until the All-Star Game. The Macs were elated and surprised everybody by being 9 games over .500 and in fourth place just three off the pace. Then reality set in and the Sundowners did a reversal with a 31-44 mark over the last three months. But it was not all-for-naught. In the end Wynnamac finished fifth, 15.5 games out, but it was their highest finish ever. The Sundowners had fair hitting (.250-7th) and sufficient power (114 HR-5th), better-than-average pitching (3.64 ERA- 3rd) and very good fielding (.977 FA-3rd). Wynnamac's top pitchers were Caleb Browne (21-7 2.97), Matt Landrieu (15-10 3.48) and closer Liam Bristow (5-8 2.84) with 22 saves in 69 games. Donnelly, quite a hitter in his heyday and a fancy dan first baseman, only had one strong batsman. 1B Nate Cockroft (.314/33 HR/94 RBI/89 R) had a fine season. CF Hawkeye Ingram (.239/21 HR/89 RBI/95 R/18 SB) didn't hit for high average, but was very productive and a fine flychaser. Bret George and the Beechwood Bobcats (72-82) came in sixth in the RU East standings, but won more games than they did in their first two seasons. The Bobcats strong point was in the batter's box. They batted .262 (4th), rapped 119 homers (4th) and scored 690 times (3rd). It looks like some of George's hitting prowess rubbed off on his team. The famed industrial league third sacker had a bunch of good bats, sparked by 1B Ray Slater (.328/19 HR/103 RBI/106 R/36 SB), RF Clifton Czabo (.328/14 HR/73 RBI/107 R/28 SB), CF Lon Snider (.307/8 HR/50 RBI/102 R/31 SB), LF L. J. Aldridge (.265/21 HR/84 RBI) and SS Eldon Barker (.261/12 HR/85 RBI). But it was not enough to lift Beechwood into the first division. The Bobcats couldn't get it done on the hill as the staff compiled a 3.78 ERA (7th). George only had two quality pitchers in Dek Jumonville (19-10 2.55), who had a sensational season, and Joe Hahn (14-16 3.28). It was another down year in Cold Creek (70-84), a seventh place finish for manager T. Kelly Holmes and his Catamounts. They hit the ball OK with a .256 BA (5th) and 112 home runs (6th) and scored 666 runs (5th), but came up short on the mound. Holmes' hurlers were tied for fifth with a 3.75 ERA. Cold Creek had only two quality pitchers: starter Terence Gilbert (17-10 3.16) and closer Payton Saunders (10-2 2.07), who had an outstanding season with 16 saves and 69 relief appearances. Hitters are also in short supply for Holmes. SS Russ Russell (.295/11 HR/92 RBI) and RF Emile Stosha (.317/25 HR/84 RBI/119 R/52 SB) were his most dependable bats. The Eastshore Elegants (69-85) were in the first division in 2002 and 2003, but Killer Brewster's bunch took a turn-for-the-worse in 2004 and plummeted all the way down to the basement, 20.5 games behind. The only good thing that the Elegants do is hit home runs. They walloped 142 (2nd) with LF Darrel Alston (.242/30 HR/90 RBI/95 R/11 SB), RF Ron Dizon (.237/27 HR/102 RBI) and 2B Miles Sheehan (.276/21 HR/82 RBI/82 R) doing most of the damage. But overall Eastshore's hitting was atrocious as they hit only .236 as a team, the lowest average in the entire IPA. Brewster's ball club is not any better when it comes to pitching. The Elegants are dead last in the RU East with a 3.91 ERA. Despite that lofty number, Eastshore has four quality arms in starters Stony Blackwell (19-12 3.57), Fred Duhon (14-14 3.31) and Ivar Jorgerson (13-10 3.79). Closer Thomas Williams (4-8 2.66) also pitched well with 19 saves in 67 games. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-23-2009 at 09:10 PM.

07-15-2009, 06:09 PM	#1122
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Ruthlandian Union West Division 2004 Final Standings Roosters Outduel Vigilantes For RU West Pennant The Middlefield Roosters ruled the roost this year in the Ruthlandian Union West, taking the title by 2 games over the preseason favorite Volusia Vigilantes. Manager Smitty Michaels' longball bashers, combined with excellent pitching, gave them the edge. Middlefield led the RU with 186 homers, .978 fielding percentage and 3.23 ERA. The Roosters (91-63) rotation featured four fine starters and a top-rated closer. Michaels top four consisted of Jamie Hicks (23-9 2.38), Denny Yarrow (19-13 3.27), Joshua Johnson (14-10 3.14) and Don Shaw (10-7 3.17). His bullpen ace was Dave Webb (8-3 2.20) with 26 saves and 61 games. Middlefield had formidable line-up, too. Leading the way were CF Ty DeWitt (.233/34 HR/109 RBI/86 R/18 SB), RF Bailey Norcross (.292/35 HR/92 RBI/104 R/47 SB), 1B Allie Ludlow (.246/33 HR/98 RBI) and LF Cecil Clark (.270/22 HR/69 RBI/85 R/15 SB). Overall Volusia (89-65) couldn't match the firepower and the overall pitching depth of the Roosters. Alfonso Feliz, skipper of the Vigilantes, had two aces in Carl Schmitz (24-10 2.54) and Raul Sandoval (20-10 3.02) and a good closer in Hernando Espaderos (8-4 3.22) with 26 saves in 71 relief appearances. The team ERA was a solid 3.38, tied with Sligo for second place. The V's led the division with 732 runs and ended up number two with a .265 batting average. Sligo had the top team batting average at .269. Heading Volusia at bat were CF Ryan Raines (.326/22 HR/98 RBI/90 R/33 SB), LF Briscoe Crowder (.292/16 HR/98 RBI/93 R/22 SB), C Clint Hardesty (.289/15 HR/94 RBI/77 R), SS Scooter Perez (.271/4 HR/36 RBI/103 R/56 SB). The Sligo Rovers (84-70) had a good season with Eddie Keys at the helm. Rated fifth-best in the BNN poll, the Rovers came in third, 7 games off the pace. Keys had his club tied for the division lead going into the All-Star Game, but the pitching dropped off and Sligo slipped back in the race. The Rovers top twirlers were Al Bukowski (18-14 3.21), Dix Edenborough (9-2 2.65), Jake Beneke (12-9 3.40) and Vern Vidmar (16-17 3.32). Keys also had an effective closer in Razzy Raziano (15-6 3.40), who was credited with 24 saves and appeared in 74 games. Keys had a bunch of good contact hitters, but not enough of them could go deep. His best run producers were LF Lefty Roberts (.277/37 HR/111 RBI/96 R) and RF Danny O'Shea (.256/20 HR/83 RBI). Other contributors were 3B Rusty Ellis (.307/6 HR/62 RBI/104 R/33 SB), 1B Shane Redford (.287/5 HR/78 RBI), 2B Jeff Richey (.327/4 HR/49 R/95 R/30 SB) and SS Hollis Waldrup (.289/9 HR/86 RBI/48 SB). Forest City (78-76) and Rob Jackson failed to make the playoffs for the first in the Lumberjacks short history. They had a lackluster year and wound up fourth, 13 games behind. Jackson's 'Jacks still could score, but saw the team ERA soar to 4.31. Though they ranked second with 136 home runs, the pitching just couldn't stop the opposition. Only Timmy Brooks (23-13 3.06) and closer Tommy Marbury (2-2 3.13) were effective. The rest of the staff had ERAs in the 4.00-5.00 range. But Forest City could hold their own in the scoring department, paced by SS Bill Nilsen (.312/32 HR/112 RBI/115 R/22 SB), RF Chuck Hill (.260/19 HR/86 RBI), 2B Jesse Wolf (.249/19 HR/82 RBI), LF Dave Jagger (.312/12 HR/74 RBI), 1B J. T. Edmonds (.270/17 HR/66 RBI), 3B Johnny Mack Butler (.260/11 HR/58 RBI/84 R/16 SB) and CF Ryan Morse (.268/8 HR/52 RBI/101 R/23 SB). The Stoner Stars (77-77) under the leadership of Willie Dickens ended up fifth in the RU East race after flirting with the big boys until mid-year. The Stars were only 5 games back at the All-Star break and tied for third place with Volusia. Dickens just doesn't have the talent to stay at the top. The Stars hit only .244 (7th), scored only 631 runs (7th), but had 119 roundtrippers (3rd). On the hill Stoner sported a 3.70 ERA (6th). So they did well to come in fifth. The Stars top performer was ace reliever Tony Hatch (11-3 2.29), one of the best in the IPA. Hatch saved 25 games and made 68 appearances. Dave Pierce (12-10 3.00) and rookie Jay Whatley (10-7 3.49) also had good seasons. Hitting-wise, the offense was sparked by C Benny Stern (.291/24 HR/101 RBI), RF Dutch Rheinecker (.263/24 HR/76 RBI) and SS Yancy Bellows (.269/9 HR/60 RBI/93 R/15 SB) Sixth in the standings were Ryan Noland's Rocky Rapids Snappers (74-80). This is their third staight season in the second division. The Snappers hit .256 (3rd), collected only 97 homers (7th), but surprisingly scored 700 runs (3rd). In the pitching department they had a mediocre 4.06 ERA (7th). 1B Stan Haddix (.321/11 HR/100 RBI) had a standout season for Rocky Rapids. He led the IPA with 54 doubles. LF Scott Camden (.267/22 HR/89 RBI/114 R/17 SB) and SS Cooter Bermudez (.305/8 HR/51 RBI/100 R/30 SB) also put up some good stats for the Snappers. Noland only had one impressive pitcher. That was rookie closer Frank Riggins (5-3 2.63), who joined the club at mid-season and registered 9 saves in 35 games. 2004 was an embarrassing year for manager Clem Rogers and his Colfax Blasters (72-82). They were picked to finish third in the BNN preseason vote, but stumbled badly and dipped to the seventh spot in the RU West, 19 games back. Colfax had finished third last year and thought they would challenge for the division crown. But it didn't happen. Rogers' pitching rotation did a good job with a 3.46 ERA (4th), but he just didn't have the bats to compete. The Blasters hit only .253 (6th), scored only 647 times (6th), but were fourth with 113 four-baggers. On the hill Harry Manning (20-13 3.37)) pitched very well as did Jasper LaForge (13-18 3.22), in spite of losing 18 games. Colfax had two rookies do well in the last half of the year. Rogers expects good things from Tommy Fuller (7-5 2.76) and Ilya Szabo (7-6 2.52) in 2005. At the plate the Blasters were led by rookie CF Lujan Malanowski (.281/15 HR/82 RBI/88 R), 1B Dennis Cole (.281/25 HR/75 RBI/88 R) and 3B Neely Keeton (.266/17 HR/78 RBI/83 R). In Fort Benton (61-93), it was just another futile year for manager Robbie Brooks. For the third successive year the Defenders came in last and trailed by 30 games. It is easy to understand why, just by looking at the stats. Brooks ball club batted only .237 (8th), hit 91 home runs (7th), scored a pathetic 555 runs (8th) and compiled a 4.00 ERA (7th). Fort Benton ranked 64th in batting average and runs in the entire IPA. It is really hard to come up with something postive to say about the dismal Defenders. Leroy Hill (10-11 3.24) was a pretty good pitcher and C Irv Small (.237/21 HR/67 RBI) hit a few roundtrippers. That's it. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-30-2009 at 04:15 PM.

07-16-2009, 04:47 PM	#1124
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Tycobbian Union South Division 2004 Final Standings Cape Coral TU South Champs, Runner-up Colchester Makes Playoffs Start to finish the Cape Coral Hurricanes dominated the Tycobbian Union, but the Colchester Elites kept them on their toes the entire year. The Elites stayed real close until mid-season, just one game off the pace, but dipped a little in the second half, eventually finishing 6 games behind. The Hurricanes closed with a flourish, registering a strong 48-27 record in July, August and September. Colchester wasn't too far behind with a 44-31 mark. Cape Coral won 94 games, second-best in the IPA to the Bayview Vikings, the TU West champions, who copped 96 victories. Both South Division clubs will be in action today as the IPA Sweet 16 Series begins. Cape Coral will be in Luxora and Colchester will be at home, hosting the Oxford Red Caps, the TU North winner. They will be best-of-five series. Cape Coral Hurricanes (94-60) 1st Place - Last Year (84-70) 2nd Place Manager: Huggy Miller MVP: Cody Burg (24-8 2.13) and rookie LF Kippy Doyle (.317/35 HR/125 RBI/85 R) Strength: Great pitching with a 2.82 ERA, first in the IPA... strong offense with a .268 batting average (1st), 139 homers (2nd) Top Pitchers: MVP Burg, Doug Lyons (20-10 2.56), Zane Robinson (13-8 2.69), Jeff Salow (19-12 3.73) Top Hitters: MVP LF Doyle, 1B Danny Mullins (.275/20 HR/84 RBI/111 R), 2B Hoshi Sato (.267/19 HR/64 RBI/109 R/17 SB) Weakness: Could use improvement in defense... .973 FA (4th-tied) Surprises: Doyle's great season and closer Wally Robinson (4-9 2.97) with 25 saves and 71 relief appearances Busts: None ****** Colchester Elites (88-66) 2nd Place, 6 games back - Last Year (78-76) 6th place Manager: Robbie Wilbertson MVP: 3B Niles Stanton (.309/40 HR/124 RBI/92 R), 1B Harlan Roscoe (.312/34 HR/116 RBI/102 R) and rookie closer Tom Carter (11-3 2.71) with 18 saves and 75 games Strength: Outstanding hitting with .265 BA (2nd)... excellent power with 155 roundtrippers (1st)... fine run production with 765 runs (2nd)... Solid pitching with a 3.47 team ERA (3rd) Best Batters: MVP 1B Stanton, MVP 1B Rascoe, RF Tom Barella (.274/20 HR/75 RBI/88 R/41 SB), 2B Leland Cross (.301/8 HR/58 RBI/110 R/31 SB) Best Hurlers: MVP rookie Carter, rookie Jimmy Simmons (18-10 2.89), Frank Payne (18-13 3.56) and Dickie Pendarvis (14-14 3.15) Excellent team speed with 143 stolen bases (2nd) Weakness: Defensive improvement needed... .971 FA (6th-tied) Surprises: MVP rookie closer Tom Carter, rookie SP Jimmy Simmons and rookie LF Douglas Tilford (.295/17 HR/75 RBI/88 R/43 SB) Busts: None **** Summerland Sunsets (76-78) 3rd Place, 18 games behind - Last Year (79-75) 5th Place Manager: Will Hackett MVP: SP Paul Felkner (22-14 2.63) Strength: Two fine starters in MVP Felkner and Bill Taft (14-8 2.90) Best Hitters: 1B Kurt Van Kooten (.292/14 HR/85 RBI) and CF Stacy Zacker (.288/21 HR/80 RBI) Best Pitchers: closer Bobby Winwood (6-7 3.10) had good season with 25 saves in 62 games... starters MVP Felkner and Taft Weakness: Just average team in pitching and hitting... only 96 home runs (6th)... fielding percentage only .970 (8th) Surprises: LF Hank Hamilton (.317/6 HR/56 RBI/55 R) in just 91 starts Disappointments: 2B Tucker Hill (.277/4 HR/47 RBI/80 R) had off year, normally .300 hitter. **** San Alejo Montaneros (75-79) 4th Place 19 games Out - Last Year (96-58) 1st Place Manager: Lando Peceda MVP: SP Alberto Herrera (22-10 2.78) Strength: still hit with power... 125 home runs (4th)... can still score with 688 runs (4th) Best Hitters: RF Marcelino Zuniga (.282/15 HR/88 R), 1B Rodger Wooten (.289/22 HR/85 RBI) and 3B Paolo Huerta (.290/22 HR/79 RBI/99 R) Best Pitchers: MVP Herrera, Ernie Arredondo (16-15 3.69) Weakness: Pitching... Team ERA ballooned to 3.81 (5th)... .971 FA (7th-tied) Surprises: None that were good Busts: Closer Domenico Belizon (4-15 4.80), 2B Denholm Carruthers (.228/10 HR/58 RBI/68 R), CF Vidal Munoz (.228/12 HR/58 RBI) and SP Clay Milwaine (5-11 4.42) **** Ginza Ninjas (71-83) 5th Place Tie 23 games back - Last Year (82-72) 4th Place Manager: Huroko Uchiyama MVP: SP Alec Sasek (17-9 2.76) Strength: Strong pitching staff with 3.18 ERA (2nd)... Strong defense with .978 FA (1st) Top Pitchers: MVP Sasek, Carl Trebek (13-15 3.12), Kojiro Matsumoto (15-21 3.35) Top Batters: LF Ronnie Cahill (.299/11 HR/81 RBI) Weakness: last in batting average with .247... 7th in homers with only 77... last in run production with 596... need better closer Surprises: (none) Busts: 3B Shinjiro Aoki (.203/1 HR/18 RBI) in 81 games **** Turon Typhoons (71-83) 5th Place Tie, 23 games out - Last year (82-72) 4th Place, Won IPA Pro Cup Manager: Ashton "Whitey" Richburn MVP: 1B Boots Dubois (.304/7 HR/53 RBI/88 R/19 SB) Strength: Good fielding team with a .977 FA (2nd) Top Hitters: MVP 1B Dubois, Jean-Paul Trevenot (.301/7 HR/73 RBI/76 R/16 SB) and RF George Farley (.264/11 HR/80 RBI) Top Pitchers: James Longstreet (14-18 3.72) and Jeb Pickett (14-14 4.11) Weakness: 4.08 ERA (7th)... Lack of home run power... only 74 homers (8th) Surprises: (none) Busts: Pitchers Keir McNamara (9-18 4.46) and MR Ian Knox (4-2 5.06) **** Arroyo Grande Suns (66-88) 7th Place - Last Year (52-100) 8th Place Manager: Jean-Luc Marchand MVP: 1B Cristian Avajos (.280/40 HR/126 RBI/82 R) Strength: HR power with 134 home runs (3rd) Top Hitters: MVP 1B Avajos, 2B Randy Knowles (.269/22 HR/73 RBI/71 R) Top Pitchers: SP Miguel Aguilera (13-12 3.58) and closer Val Hudson (4-5 2.71) with 14 saves in 70 games Weakness: poor hitting with a .248 BA (7th)... poor pitching with a 4.05 ERA (6th) Surprises: (none) Busts: (none) ****** Southport Sun Sox (60-94) 8th Place 34 games back - Last Year (70-84) 7th Place Manager: Charley Oscar MVP: 1B Paul Mystryk (.287/21 HR/93 RBI/80 R) Strength: team hits with some power, 114 home runs (5th) Top Hitters: MVP 1B Mystryk, rookie CF Jared Brockington (.314/2 HR/33 RBI/59 R/22 SB) Top Pitchers: SP Walt Corbin (14-15 3.73) and rookie SP/MR Johnny Apple (5-5 2.86) Weakness: all aspects of the game Surprises: rookie CF Jared Brockington blossomed into a fine hitter and an outstanding defender (.991 FA) Busts: (none) Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-17-2009 at 10:57 PM.

07-17-2009, 01:31 PM	#1125
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Tycobbian Union East Division 2004 Final Standings Red Bluff Survives Tough TU East Race, Tuckanarra Wins Playoff Spot The Tycobbian Union East could be the toughest and the tightest division in the Islandian Pro Alliance. From top to bottom only 16 games separate the best from the worst. The Red Bluff Red Sox won it for the second consecutive season, besting second place Tuckanarra by 3.5 games and third place Midway by 4.5 games. High Mesa and East Point were close by, too. They were 6 and 7 games behind the champion Red Sox. Tuckanarra and Midway had to go an extra game to decide the final playoff spot in the Tycobbian Union East. They finished the regular season all knotted up at 79-75 and had to play it off at Central Park Stadium in Tuckanarra. The Blue Jays got the home field advantage as they had taken two-of-the-three games between them in the regular season. Tuckanarra was outhit 10 to 6, but took the win 7-3 to move into the IPA Sweet 16 playoffs. Tris Bristow (16-17 3.15) tossed a solid game, struck out four and walked only one for the victory. The Wolves took an early lead with a run in the opening frame, but the Blue Jays got the lead with a two-run fourth to make it 2-1. Midway evened it up in the fifth with a single run. Tuckanarra went ahead to stay in the bottom of the frame 3-2, then clinched it with a four-run outburst in the sixth inning. 2B Owen MacArthur (.277) sparked the Blue Jays to victory with a pair of hits and two RBIs. MacArthur also scored twice. Starter Pedro Shunkaha (13-10) suffered the loss, giving up all seven runs and six hits in five-plus innings. The victory gave Tuckanarra second place in the TU East standings and a playoff spot. The Blue Jays will now have to play the powerful Bayview Vikings of the TU West. The Vikings won its division with a 96-58 record. They won more games than any other team in the IPA this season. Tuckanarra will host the first two games of the best-of-five series beginning tomorrow. ****** Red Bluff Red Sox (83-71) 1st Place - Last Year (85-69) First Place Manager: Mack Connery MVP: Mila Mihoski (21-10 2.36) Strength: Best pitching with 3.43 ERA (1st)... good power with 125 homers (5th)... very good defensively with .980 FA (2nd) Weakness: Need to hit better for average Top Hitters: RF Kris Grabowski (.309/19 HR/90 RBI/72 R), LF Tony Blundell (.294/28 HR/79 RBI/91 R/22 SB) Top Pitchers: MVP Mila Mihoski, Leonard Urban (18-13 2.77), Frank Beaudoin (16-13 3.12) Surprises: (none) Disappointments: 1B Bucky Frizzell (.231/11 HR/62 RBI) and CF Stan Helmke (.245/15 HR/61 RBI/77 R/39 SB) **** Tuckanarra Blue Jays (80-75) 2nd Place 3.5 games behind - Last Year (83-71) 3rd Place Manager: Carlton "Lefty" Stevens MVP: RF Monty Draycott (.267/23 HR/112 RBI/78 R/18 SB) Strength: good power with 130 homers (4th) Weakness: Needs to improve .252 BA (7th), 3.80 ERA (5th) and .971 FA (7th) Top Hitters: MVP RF Draycott, 1B Charley Schofield (.284/23 HR/84 RBI/79 R), C Maka Bardinda (.298/14 HR/80 RBI/80 R/12 SB), 2B Owen MacArthur (.277/10 HR/54 RBI/84 R/16 SB), CF Gavin Munro (.264/10 HR/45 RBI/93 R/15 SB) Top Pitchers: Mike Amato (16-12 3.67), Niles Applewhite (15-17 3.76), Tris Bristow (16-17 3.15) and closer Mook Epperson (4-7 3.21) 17 saves in 61 games Surprises: (none) Disappointments: (none) **** Midway Wolves (79-76) 3rd Place 4.5 games behind - Last Year (71-83) 7th Place Manager: Cochise Chandler MVP: SP Mac Chaney (19-10 3.66) Strength: good .263 team BA (2nd-tied)... scored 715 runs (2nd)... 3.61 ERA (2nd)...with .976 FA (3rd-tied) Weakness: needs more power at the plate... hit 105 home runs (6th) Top Batters: 2B Little John Yuma (.329/6 HR/59 RBI/105 R/19 SB), rookie SS Tory Bidwell (.297/15 HR/89 RBI/104 R/17 SB), rookie 1B Don Piper (.264/20 HR/97 RBI/90 R), CF Johnny Gillespie (.291/12 HR/69 RBI/89 R/12 SB), 3B Tommy Kawatoose (.257/21 HR/68 RBI/93 R/ 14 SB) Top Pitchers: MVP SP Mac Chaney, Nosyt Sani (15-14 3.20), Pedro Shunkaha (13-10 3.38) and closer Joe Eckermann (4-3 1.80) with 24 saves in 59 game appearances Surprises: rookie SS Bidwell, rookie closer Joe Eckermann and rookie 1B Don Piper Disappointments: (none) **** High Mesa Cowboys (77-77) 4th Place, 6 games out - Last Year (84-70) 2nd Place Manager: Frisky Franks MVP: 2B Ed Granberg (.321/20 HR/116 RBI/107 R/14 SB) Strength: Outstanding with .276 BA (1st), 171 home runs (1st), most runs (1st), solid defense with .976 FA (3rd-tied) Weakness: 4.27 ERA (7th) Top Batters: MVP 2B Granberg, SS Rolf Kellgren (.338/13 HR/69 RBI/123 R/34 SB), RF Kenny Edelstein (.303/14 HR/100 RBI), C Jay Fessler (.330/10 HR/71 RBI/94 R/27 SB), LF Adam Zitek (.263/29 HR/96 RBI/85 R) and CF Lex Neville (.273/24 HR/79 RBI/77 R/10 SB) Top Pitchers: SP John Owens (20-14 3.89), Joey Popovich (18-19 3.76), closer Amos Bracklin (4-2 2.97) in 55 games Surprises: (none) Busts: 1B Babe Holloman (.207/21 HR/55 RBI) **** East Point Panthers (76-78) 5th Place, 7 games behind - Last Year (65-89) 8th Place Manager: Griff Clarke MVP: 3B Rex Sokolov (.280/32 HR/116 RBI/87 R) Strength: 146 roundtrippers (2nd-tied), good defense with .976 FA (3rd-tied)... three solid starters Weakness: 3.93 ERA (6th) Top Batters: MVP 3B Sokolov, 2B Karol Zadoka (.296/30 HR/90 RBI/109 R/21 SB), SS Keith Wasik (.321/3 HR/44 RBI/79 R), C Ed Strasser (.293/11 HR/46 RBI) in 58 starts, LF Hank Archer (.283/15 HR/58 R/80 R/13 SB) Top Pitchers: Charlie Hale (18-14 3.09), Jarred Robillard (18-14 3.13), Carl Thompson (16-11 3.88) and rookie closer Jed Erdmann (3-1 2.14) in 32 games Surprises: SS Keith Wasik, C Ed Strasser, LF Hank Archer, rookie closer Jed Erdmann Busts: (none) **** Ozarka Naturals (73-81) 6th Place tied - Last Year (78-76) 4th Place Manager: Joe Mac Carney MVP: SP Alec DiMaggio (20-13 3.33) Strength: .263 team batting average (2nd-tied), 708 runs scored (3rd), 3.62 team ERA (3rd) Weakness: Lacks home run power, hit only 91 (7th)... weak defense .973 FA (6th) Top Hitters: CF Kermit Wiggins (.305/3 HR/70 RBI/108 R/43 SB), SS Duffy Douglas (.267/13 HR/88 RBI/90 R) and C Richard Morley (.321/1 HR/50 RBI/43 R) in 112 games Top Pitchers: MVP SP Alex DiMaggio, Dana Channing (13-11 3.46) and closer Dayle Claypoole (5-7 2.89) with 22 saves in 67 relief appearances Surprises: (none) Busts: (none) **** South Fork Stallions (73-81) 6th Place tied - Last Year (77-77) Fifth Place Manager: Deroche "Lips" Leon MVP: rookie SP Shannon Talbert (17-8 3.02) Strength: .982 FA (1st) Weakness: weak hitting with .256 BA (6th) and no power... only 86 home runs (8th) Top Batters: 1B Keith Burke (.292/19 HR/92 RBI/78 R/13 SB), LF Art Atkins (.285/11 HR/71 RBI/74 R) Top Pitchers: MVP Shannon Talbert, Flint Battle (15-18 2.92) and closer Ken Olson (2-6 1.93) with 16 saves in 65 games Surprises: MVP rookie SP Shannon Talbert Disappointments: CF Preston Crim (.235/9 HR/39 RBI/48 R/9 SB) in 129 games ****** Hillsboro Blazers (67-87) 8th Place 16 games behind - (71-83) 6th Place Manager: Arky Spanderson MVP: 2B George Longmire (.270/16 HR/81 RBI/91 R/45 SB) Strength: good power with 146 home runs (2nd-tied) Weakness: poor .247 BA (8th)... poor 4.42 ERA (8th)... poor .968 FA (8th) Top Bats: MVP 2B Longmire, LF Kevin Baker (.249/34 HR/95 RBI/94 R/14 SB), 3B Tommy Emrick (.293/21 HR/92 RBI/76 R) Top Pitchers: closer Frank Coleridge (4-6 3.29) with 22 saves in 72 appearances Surprises: (none) Disappointments: 1B Sloan Slatner (.242/17 HR/59 RBI/73 R/13 SB) Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-17-2009 at 05:13 PM.

07-17-2009, 09:00 PM	#1126
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Tycobbian Union West Division Final Standings Bayview Easy Winner in TU West, Denton City Distant Second The Bayview Vikings breezed to the Tycobbian Union West crown and won it by 9 games over runner-up Denton City. Surprising La Claire turned it on in the second half of the season to finish in the third spot, 12 games off the pace. The Rolling Hills Reds flopped after mounting a strong challenge at the halfway point. The Reds were just 4 games back, but ended up 14 games out and in fourth place. Arlon had a miserable first half in the cellar, but recovered and climbed up to fifth by year's end. The Champions were 20 games behind and edged sixth place Bay St. Clair by a game. Chicopee and Kenwood played poorly the entire season and came in seventh and eighth respectively, 28 and 33 games out of first place. The division-winning Vikings and second place Redbirds will now advance to the Sweet 16 playoffs. They will open best-of-five series against TU East teams this afternoon. Bayview will go to Tuckanarra to play the Blue Jays, while Denton City will be at home against the TU East title-winning Red Bluff Red Sox. ****** Bayview Vikings (96-58) First Place - Last Year (92-62) First Place Manager: Walter Johanssen MVP: 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (.297/30 HR/112 RBI/110 R/16 SB) Strength: best offense with .273 BA (1st), 156 homers (1st), 784 runs (1st)... good starting pitching Weakness: poor defense .973 FA (7th), so-so pitching with 3.69 ERA (6th) Top Hitters: MVP 1B Quibedeaux, CF Phil Kanaan (.303/25 HR/102 RBI/120 R/36 SB), C Hank Bethel (.294/35 HR/96 RBI/109 R), 2B Alan Hansen (.307/0 HR/48 RBI/114 R/36 SB), LF Karl Yashin (.268/25 HR/87 RBI), 3B James Scott (.315/11 HR/83 RBI) Top Pitchers: Jerry Harrison (23-10 2.88), Frank Wells (21-6 3.36), rookie Georgie Fambreau (12-8 3.47) and closer Terry Banks (10-9 3.43) with 25 saves in 76 games Surprises: 20-game winners Harrison and Wells Busts: Adrian Strom (12-13 4.92) was 24-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 2003 **** Denton City Redbirds (87-67) 9 games behind - Last Year (79-75) Third Place Manager: Ford Whiteman MVP: RF Lavon Gooch (.320/27 HR/90 RBI/109 R/12 SB) Strength: Good hitting, good power with .268 BA (2nd), 131 homers (2nd), 733 runs (2nd)... fine .978 FA (1st)... good starters and closer Weakness: middle relief Top Hitters: MVP RF Lavon Gooch, 1B Rod MacCormack (.301/23 HR/99 RBI/93 R/25 SB), 3B Jay Petit (.311/17 HR/91 RBI/75 R), SS Trevor Tomlinson (.267/12 HR/66 RBI/92 B/52 SB) Top Pitchers: Burton McGarrick (14-8 2.95), Gino Carmazzo (16-13 3.08), James Darbonne (10-4 3.44), Daniel Fitzmorris (9-6 3.38) and closer Bubba Lear (8-3 2.76) with 27 saves in 73 games Surprises: Starters rookie McGarrick, rookie Darbonne and Fitzmorris... CF Paul Coniglio (.292/17 HR/56 RBI/85 R/16 SB) in 104 games and 2B Lou Pruitt (.273/3 HR/33 RBI/22 R) and .992 FA in 46 games Busts: SP Bob Coleman (7-10 5.55) and Joe Hoffman (8-7 4.55), 2B Glen Throckmorton (.232/13 HR/58 RBI/53 R/8 SB) **** La Claire Lynx (84-70) Third Place, 12 games behind - Last Year (61-97) 7th Place Manager: Rip Calkin MVP: SP Jim Melanakos (23-10 2.32) Strength: Starting pitchers and closer... team 3.16 ERA (1st) Weakness: terrible hitting with .248 BA (7th), only 66 home runs (8th), 579 runs (8th)... fair .974 FA (6th) Top Hitters: CF Lucky Collins (.288/13 HR/88 RBI/77 R/28 SB) Top Pitchers: MVP SP Jim Melanakos, Munoto Kishata (18-14 3.40), Andy Murray (9-2 2.17), Nikon Danos (7-15 2.94) and closer Henny Cossaboom (7-10 3.27) with 32 saves and 65 relief appearances... Cossaboom topped the IPA in saves Surprises: MVP SP Jim Melanakos and SP Andy Murray Busts: SS Kevin English (.227/0 HR/32 RBI/48 R/14 SB)... English hit .319 last year and made the All-Star team... platooned at mid-season **** Rolling Hills Reds (82-72) 14 games back - Last Year (87-67) 2nd Place Manager: Matty Christianson MVP: SP Keith Greenwood (23-7 2.56) Strength: Strong starters... Team has 3.31 ERA (2nd)... Tied for third with .975 FA Weakness: Need offense - .253 BA (5th), 113 homers (4th-tied) Top Batters: RF Theron Latigo (.290/20 HR/104 RBI/93 R/15 SB), 1B Eddy Dowler (14 HR/77 RBI/91 R) and C Ned Channing (.297/8 HR/53 RBI/41 R/10 SB) in 75 starts Top Pitchers: MVP Keith Greenwood, Hoyt Paulsen (15-8 3.72), Roger Davidson (15-18 3.18) Surprises: C Ned Channing with .297 batting average and 53 RBI in half season Disappointments: closer Stephen Faccaro (7-13 3.83) **** Arlon Champions (76-78) 20 games off the pace - Last Year (61-93) 6th Place Manager: Gary Louis MVP: Closer Stanley Ross (10-7 2.78) with 17 saves in 69 games Strength: Good closer and better-than-average 3.48 team ERA (4th) Weakness: Lousy .241 team BA (8th)... Poor defense with .971 FA (8th) Top Hitters: LF Matt Merrill (.294/16 HR/72 RBI/91 R) and CF Steve Barnett (.305/16 HR/76 RBI/100 R/10 SB) Top Pitchers: MVP Closer Stanley Ross, rookie Jose Gonzalez (12-14 3.35) and Kurt DeHaan (16-18 3.46) Surprises: Kenneth Bell (6-3 2.27) in 13 starts after All-Star Game Busts: (none) **** Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (75-79) 6th Place - Last Year (77-77) 4th Place Manager: Guy Rondre MVP: SP Denny Coulon (25-10 2.40) Strength: .263 team batting average (3rd) Weakness: very little power, 83 home runs (7th)... team ERA 3.70 (7th) Top Hitters: 3B Ed Albrecht (.305/24 HR/111 RBI/94 R/11 SB), LF Stan Denton (.334/4 HR/66 RBI/75 R), CF Wayne Latham (.299/6 HR/52 RBI/96 R) Top Pitchers: MVP Denny Coulon, Duncan McFalls (16-14 3.45), closer Norm Gross (7-8 2.95) with 19 saves and 69 games Surprises: (none) Busts: (none) **** Chicopee Braves (68-86) 7th Place 28 games back - Last Year (62-92) 5th Place Manager: Harry Fleetfoot MVP: Closer Desmond Quartermain (5-3 2.02) with 27 saves in 70 games Strength: hits with power, 129 homers (3rd)... Team ERA 3.45 (3rd)... Good defense .977 FA (2nd) Weakness: Offense poor with .254 BA (4th), 586 runs (7th) Best Batters: RF Orville Butler (.239/33 HR/78 RBI), 3B Wild Deer Etchimin (.277/17 HR/65 RBI), LF Big Stick Takala (.273/18 HR/63 RBI), SS Ben McClendon (.268/14 HR/62 RBI) Best Pitchers: MVP Closer Desmond Quartermain, Alan Goodwin (14-13 3.14), Johnny Falcon (8-5 2.90) Surprises: SP Johnny Falcon (8-5 2.90) re-signed after year layoff. Disappointments: rookie CF Phil Nelson (.258/4 HR/50 RBI/71 R/33 SB) **** Kenwood Wildcats (63-91) 8th Place, 33 games behind - Last Year (59-95) Manager: Aaron Hankins MVP: CF Teddy Mays (.308/12 HR/67 RBI/67 R/20 SB) Strength: (none) Weakness: You name it - Team BA .250 (6th), Team ERA 4.62 (8th) Top Batters: MVP CF Teddy Mays, RF Aydan Winthrop (.246/24 HR/94 RBI) Top Pitchers: Closer Aydan Havilland (3-8 3.68) with 28 saves in 66 games Surprises: (none) Disappointments: CF Juan Padilla (.216/2 HR/23 RBI/23 R) in 48 games ****** Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-17-2009 at 09:06 PM.

07-16-2009, 02:17 AM	#1123
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Tycobbian Union North Division 2004 Final Standings Oxford TU North Winner, Luxora Also In Playoffs Campy Roy's Oxford Red Caps were favored to win the Tycobbian Union North flag chase by the BNN preseason poll and that is exactly what happened. The Red Caps took the regular season championship by 3 games over the Luxora Zorros, 8 games over the Hartsdale Hellcats and by 9 games over the Fairfax Frogs. Oxford and Luxora qualified for the IPA Pro Cup playoffs that begin today. The Red Caps will travel to Colchester to play the Elites and the Zorros will entertain the TU South champion, the Cape Coral Hurricanes. The Red Caps (91-63) powered their way to the 2004 division crown by smashing 180 homers, the most by any club in the Islandian Pro Alliance. CF Ike Plunkett (.319/44 HR/103 RBI/128 R/31 SB) blasted 44 out of the park and scored 128 runs to lead the IPA in those categories. LF Mac Spencer (.276/33 HR/101 RBI/91 R) and C Brad Earp (.255/24 HR/106 RBI) both also drove in over 100 runs. 3B Joe Courtney (.296/27 HR/91 RBI/107 R), 1B Kenny Jablonski (.299/18 HR/83 RBI/97 R) and RF Dante Vander Meer (.267/18 HR/81 RBI/79 R) stood out as well. Roy had some quality pitchers, too. Nicky Nicholson (22-9 2.71) was his best and he got some help from Wayne Baxley (14-9 3.73), Dan Phillips (16-16 3.56) and Bomber Belinsky (17-17 4.20). In the bullpen Kit Kivett (3-2 3.19) did a sufficient job in the second half of the year with 12 saves in 43 games. Alejandro Rodrigo guided the Luxora Zorros (88-66) to the runner-up spot and a playoff position, aided and abetted by a strong mound staff, manned by Eddie Hoffman (18-15 2.69), Tito Tovares (16-12 3.04), Marco Braceros (16-14 3.16) and Gustavo Escalora (13-8 3.89). And when Rodrigo needed a closer, the Z's had one of the finest in the IPA in Elio Laurente, who compiled an 11-7 mark, saved 27 games and pitched in 71 games overall. The Z's registered the top ERA in the division with a 3.18 ERA. Rodrigo's bats were not overly abundant, but they were sufficient to put up a .260 mark (3rd-tied) with 118 roundtrippers (6th). Luxora's top run producers were CF Lacey Tompkins (.292/18 HR/92 RBI/96 R), 3B Carey Niven (.281/22 HR/91 RBI) and 2B Pablo Santa Cruz (.297/3 HR/48 RBI/120 R/32 SB). The Zorros were a good team on defense with a .977 percentage, tied for second place. Fairfax was the top defensive club with a .979 fielding percentage. Hartsdale (83-71) was last year's TU North champ. They played well again and came in third, 8 games back. The Hellcats were a similar club to Luxora. They batted .260 (3rd-tied), knocked 108 homers (7th), tallied 699 runs (2nd) and had a good 3.25 ERA. Hellcat manager Zim Donner got another sensational 20-game season out of Gus Kostro (22-13 3.37). Tal Vaitkus (19-16 3.44) and Ben Masterson (8-2 2.98) were also valuable contributors. Phil Reed (12-19 3.48) was solid, despite the losses. In the bullpen Nico Cardera (5-5 2.09) was superb again with 27 saves and 60 game appearances. Hartsdale has four .300 hitters. 1B Mac Faulkner (.319/18 HR/96 RBI/90 R) was Donner's top bat. The others were C Lawton Payne (.307/8 HR/77 RBI), SS Jud Turchin (.304/10 HR/62 RBI/89 R/15 SB) and 2B Hoppy Hill (.300/1 HR/52 RBI/72 R). Harry Buckley and his Fairfax Frogs (82-72) had a good year except for an awful August when they slumped to a 9-19 mark. The Frogs fell to fourth this year, the worse finish for them over the past four seasons. But there were bright spots. Fairfax topped the division with a .979 fielding percentage, hit well with a .262 mark (2nd), 119 home runs (5th), scored 657 runs (5th) and notched 3.38 team ERA (3rd). Barrett Carruthers (22-10 2.94) had a terrific year. Buckley also got good work out of Robby Meredith (16-15 3.30) and Kaz Hayagawa (15-18 3.49). Jay Sorenson (9-7 2.04) chalked up his best season in the closer position and saved 29 games in 70 relief assignments. La Claire's Henny Cossaboom led the IPA with 32 saves. Sorenson came in number two in saves. Fairfax's offense was sparked by RF Gregg Vincent (.272/24 HR/93 RBI), 1B Jeff Vretsos (.301/18 HR/91 RBI), 2B Cecil Parmenter (.309/13 HR/68 RBI/102 R) and CF Billy Echevarria (.267/9 HR/48 RBI/102 R). Cobb Tyson regrouped his Blue Lake Blue Sox (72-82) in the second half of the year and climbed out of the cellar up to fifth place in the TU North, 19 games off the pace. The Blue Sox did two things well - hit 132 homers (3rd) and played good defense. Tyson's team chalked up a .977 fielding percentage (2nd-tied). Blue Lake also did some things poorly. They hit only .253 (7th) and had trouble on the hill with a 3.91 ERA (6th). Tyson had only two dependable hurlers in Neil Krogstad (16-12 3.64) and Pat Grange (4-1 2.81) in the bullpen. Grange took over the closer slot at mid-season and performed very well with 15 saves in 38 games. Most of the Blue Sox offense was supplied by two players: RF Fred Collins (.334/27 HR/86 RBI/102 R/34 SB) and CF Rick Hilliard (.261/25 HR/72 RBI/86 R/35 SB). The White River Rascals (71-83) resembled Blue Lake in many respects and came in sixth, 20 games back. The Rascals rapped 142 home runs (2nd), but hit only .256 (6th) and scored only 676 times (4th). Skipper John Randison's pitching rotation ran up a high 3.98 ERA, but he had some good gloves with a .977 FA (2nd-tied). CF Hal Hoover (.332/20 HR/74 RBI/108 R/26 SB) had a fine season and was the Rascals MVP. Randison got good power output from 3B Rupert Doan (.269/30 HR/80 RBI/114 R), who cracked 30 roundtrippers. White River may have found a good first baseman in Bryan Dickerson (.304/12 HR/43 RBI), who took over after the All-Star Game and gave the team some much-needed punch. On the mound Mick Cronyn (19-13 3.28) led the way with some help from rookie Lindon Shaw (13-11 3.63). And Emile Sifko (5-8 3.27) did well as the closer with 23 saves and 65 game appearances. Seventh place belonged to the North Hills Hawks, skippered by Hub Carlson. The Hawks have adequate pitching with four solid starters in Stan Ballard (15-9 3.49), Ben Dewberry (15-13 3.47), Lou Dozier (13-15 3.27) and Leland Clinkscales (14-19 3.52). Carlson has a fine closer in Carson Romine (5-8 1.51), who compiled a brilliant 1.51 ERA in 64 games and saved 23 games. Carlson's crew had a decent 3.70 ERA (4th). But North Hills is missing bats. The Hawks hit only .249 (8th), hit only 73 homers (8th), scored only 609 runs (8th). 2B Jimmy Ryland (.280/7 HR/58 RBI/104 R/15 SB) and LF Keith Schmidt (.266/17 HR/84 RBI) were the Hawks best performers this year. It was a long season for Rudy Lanussa in Mahaska (68-86) as the Haymakers closed the year in the division basement, 23 games out of first. It was Mahaska worse finish in its three years in the IPA. The Haymakers are the worst fielding team in the Islandian Pro Alliance with an abysmal .966 FA. They have trouble scoring with only 622 runs (7th), but do go deep occasionally with 127 home runs (4th), while hitting just .258 (5th). Mahaska suffered on the mound with a 3.92 ERA (7th). Lanussa does have one player of note, the talented 1B Miles Shufford (.323/34 HR/116 RBI/92 R). RF Ira Engelstad (.287/22 HR/83 RBI/77 R) is a good all-around player as well. Pitching-wise Boomerang Hines (13-17 3.13) and rookie Ivan Vayda (11-7 3.13) do a solid job each time out. But other than these four players, talent is scarce on the Haymakers.

07-18-2009, 12:44 AM	#1127
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 War In The IPA, Pro Cup Playoffs Begin Today It's Sweet 16 Time in the Islandian Pro Alliance, the first round of the Pro Cup Series. Sixteen of the best teams in the Islands begin their quest today for the Holy Grail of the baseball world - The Pro Cup - the symbol of superiority in professional baseball in the Islands. Who will join the Volusia Vigilantes, High Mesa Cowboys and the Turon Typhoons as the winner of the prestigious Pro Cup? The V's are the only one of the previous winners in this year's playoff battle. In past seasons 32 teams qualified for the Pro Cup Series, but this has all been changed this year. Only 16 teams will participate. Only the top two teams in each of the eight divisions qualified for this year's playoffs. The owners and fans wanted longer series as too many of the best clubs got eliminated too quickly in short three-game series. The IPA has made each series the best-three-of-five in the first three rounds with the finals set at best-of-seven. Longer series will hopefully give the better team a better chance of winning. The Islandian Times polled all of the sportswriters and broadcasters that cover the IPA and the consensus is the Elnora All-Stars and the Cape Coral Hurricanes will meet for the 2004 Pro Cup with the Hurricanes favored to win. Ruthlandian Union 1. Elnora All-Stars 2. Sugar Valley Rattlers 3. Ranford Bulls 4. Middlefield Roosters 5. Valmara Vipers 6. Volusia Vigilantes 7. Belair Beach Sunbirds 8. Claxton Diamonds Tycobbian Union 1. Cape Coral Hurricanes 2. Colchester Ellites 3. Oxford Red Caps 4. Bayview Vikings 5. Tuckanarra Blue Jays 6. Denton City Redbirds 7. Red Bluff Red Sox 8. Luxora Zorros Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-04-2022 at 03:15 PM.

07-18-2009, 05:28 PM	#1128
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 How Sweet 16 It Is! IPA Playoffs Get Underway Today! Playoff baseball generates a reaction in every fan. To the fan of the perennial loser, it's a time to moan again about their team's misfortune. To the fan whose club defines success by the number of Pro Cup Series championship trophies lining their clubhouse walls, anything short of the ultimate victory is a disaster. This is playoff baseball. Baseball lovers can't help but be consumed by it in some way or another. There is nothing better than playoff baseball. These Sweet 16 Series battles will unfold later today. Each series will be best-three-out-of-five. Ruthlandian Union Sweet 16 Belair Beach at Ranford Valmara at Claxton Middlefield at Sugar Valley Elnora at Volusia Tycobbian Union Sweet 16 Cape Coral at Luxora Oxford at Colchester Bayview at Turkanarra Red Bluff at Denton City

07-18-2009, 08:04 PM	#1129
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Favorites Fall In RU Sweet 16 Openers Second-place teams split with the pennant winners in the first games of the Ruthlandian Union Sweet 16 Series. The Middlefield Roosters and Valmara Vipers were the only division champs to win an opener. Roosters Nip Rattlers 2-1 in Sweet 16 Opener Two 20-game winners went at it at Farmers Memorial Park in Sugar Valley as Middlefield's Jamie Hicks outdueled Sugar Valley's Gregg Neal 2-1. In the opening game of the Ruthlandian Union Sweet 16 Series Hicks stopped the Rattlers on seven hits, striking out four and issuing three bases on balls. Neal tossed seven solid innings, yielding only two runs and seven hits. Sugar Valley opened up the scoring in the home-half of the third when Freddie Vaux doubled and scored on Flipper Bird's base hit. However, the Roosters regained the lead in the two-run fourth on a walk to Eddie Reeves, a sacrifice bunt and RBI singles by Timmy Gage and Cecil Clark. That did it for the scoring as Middlefield held on to take the first game of the best-of-five series. The Roosters had nine hits in all, led by Clark with 3-for-4 and Gage with 2-for-5. Ron Armstrong and Casey Leeburn had two hits apiece for the Rattlers. The second game of the series is slated for tomorrow afternoon and again will be played at Farmers Memorial Park. Denny Yarrow (19-13 3.27) will be the choice of manager Smitty Michaels, while Gibby Bobkins will send Anthony Glaser (20-13 3.70) to the hill to try and even up the series. Valmara Takes Sweet 16 Opener, Edges Claxton 5-4 Trailing the Claxton Diamonds 4-0 going into the seventh inning, it was looking bad for Valmara, but the Vipers got three runs in on a Jan Szymanski three-run clout to get them back in the game, then they won it 5-4 with two runs in the eighth. With one away Yoshi Motsuzuki doubled. That got rid of starter Teddy Kuznetsov and brought on closer Tom Dahl for the Diamonds. Val Krol's RBI single tied the game at 4-4. Krol went to second on the throw home. Jet Kazmarek bunted Krol over to third and he scored when 3B Ron Doucette fumbled a grounder hit by Floyd Vinson. Dahl (0-1) got the loss, while the victory went to Danny Blauser (1-0), who pitched a scoreless seventh. Manager J. Jackson Samuel got great relief work from Zarek Zalewski, Blauser and Eric Ptacek. They stopped Claxton on no runs and one hit over the final four frames in relief of starter Vanya Vacylenko, who allowed four runs and six hits in five innings. Teddy Kuznetsov started for the Diamonds and held the Vipers scoreless for six innings, then he got shelled for four runs. Valmara outhit Claxton 11 to 7 and were led by CF Szymanski with three hits and three RBIs. RF Krol, C Yoshi Motsuzuki and 2B Vinson each had two hits for the Vipers. LF Dixie Baker topped the Diamonds with two hits and two RBIs. CF Jackie Faust also collected a pair of base hits. Game two will be played tomorrow afternoon at Avalon Stadium in Claxton. Doug Torvik (18-12 2.98) will pitch for Claxton and Andre Trepanier (18-14 3.42) for Valmara. Ranford Rips Sunbirds 7-0, Bernhoffer Blanks 'em Ranford County Stadium was rocking today as the Ranford Bulls blanked Belair Beach 7-0 on a 5-hitter by Chris Bernhoffer (1-0). That put the Bulls up one-game-to-none in the Sweet 16 Series. Ranford ripped Sunbird pitching for 11 hits, sparked by home runs by Johnny Fenroy and rookie Jose Castillo. The Bulls slammed starter and loser Ray Watson (0-1) for four runs and five hits in his three-plus innings and then continued the onslaught with three more off reliever Vance Stromberg. Warren Gravois and Colin Fairclough drove in the first runs of the game with RBI doubles in the third. In the fourth frame Fenroy's two-run homer and Castillo's three-run blast nailed down the victory early. The teams will play game number two tomorrow in Ranford. Tiny Lindgren (19-11 2.67) will work the game for the Sunbirds, while it will be Bud Enright (24-10 2.66) on the mound for the Bulls. Vigilantes Vault Past All-Stars 5-1 In First Game The Volusia Vigilantes took a one-game lead in the Sweet 16 Series by vaulting past Elnora 5-1. The V's put five quick ones up on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning and never were challenged by the All-Stars. Back-to-back doubles by Briscoe Crowder and Clint Hardesty plated the first run, then Francisco Abreu pounded a two-run roundtripper to make it 3-0. Pitcher Raul Sandoval's sacrifice fly and Scooter Perez's double drove in two more runs to put Volusia ahead 5-0. Sandoval made it stand up as he gave up only a solo homer in the eighth inning by Quincy Peterson. Sandoval (1-0) went the distance, struck out seven and walked three for the win, while Lou Horn (0-1) was tagged with the defeat, giving up all five runs on five hits in his two innings of work. Game two of the best-of-five series will be played tomorrow at Silver River Stadium, better known as "the Jailhouse" in Volusia. Zoggy White has nominated Taylor Gibbs (19-12 3.05) to go for his All-Stars and Alfonso Feliz of the Vigilantes will give the ball to his ace, Carl Schmitz (24-10 2.54).

07-18-2009, 09:14 PM	#1130
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	First I must confess to reading just the first page and pages 56 and 57 (a 57 page thread is quite intimidating), but the quality and depth of which you are covering the league is very impressive! I'll have to start slowly going back and getting caught up on the history, but for now I'll be following along and rooting for the Hurricanes to win their first Pro Cup!

07-19-2009, 04:54 PM	#1133
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series Zorros Get A NO-NO, Hoffman No-Hits Hurricanes 22-year-old righthander Eddie Hoffman made history today at De la Vega Stadium in Luxora. Hoffman hurled the first playoff no-hitter ever in the IPA. Hoffman was briliant, halting Cape Coral 1-0 in game one of the Sweet 16 Series. Hoffman walked two batters and struck out five. The winning score came in the bottom of the fifth when Joel Reed led off with a double and was sacrificed to third base. Hurricane starter Doug Lyons walked two batters to load the bases, then Pablo Santa Cruz delivered the go-ahead base hit and Hoffman made it stand up. Losing pitcher Lyons (0-1) only surrendered four hits himself, walked two and fanned three in a superb outing. The two clubs will duke it out again tomorrow in Luxora with Cody Burg (24-8 2.13) working for Cape Coral and Tito Tovares (16-12 3.04) doing the honor for the Z's. Division Champs In Trouble, 3 Lose Sweet 16 Openers After the first day of play in the IPA Sweet 16 playoffs, the second-place clubs are doing quite well. Division winners Cape Coral, Oxford and Red Bluff all lost the series openers. Only Bayview played like champions. Bayview Trounces Tuckanarra 11-1 in Game One At Central Park Stadium in Tuckanarra, the Bayview Vikings trounced the Blue Jays 11-2 behind an 11-hit barrage and a strong outing by Jerry Harrison. Bayview was led by Dean Howell and Hank Bethel, who drove in three runs each and Karl Yashin and Chancey Quibedeaux with two apiece. Harrison (1-0) fired a 5-hitter, fanned six and walked none in a fine performance. Loser Niles Applewhite did make it out of the first inning as he was belted for four runs and four hits. Bethel got the only homer for the winners, while Gavin Munro hit a solo job for Tuckanarra. Game two is tomorrow in Tuckanarra. The pitching assignments will pit the Vikings Georgie Fambreau (12-8 3.47) against the Blue Jays Mike Amato (16-12 3.67). Colchester Crushes Oxford In 1st Game 13-6 In the first game of the Sweet 16 Series at Heyward Stadium, the Colchester Elites came back from a 3-0 deficit to crush the Oxford Red Caps 13-6 with four home runs and 17 hits. Harlan Roscoe whacked two roundtrippers with Tom Barella and Niles Stanton cracking the other two. Barella's was a 3-run smash in the fourth to send Colchester ahead 6-3. After Oxford narrowed it to 6-4 in the sixth, the Elites put them away with a 6-run seventh. Barella and Stanton had 3 RBIs each, while Roscoe and Leland Curtis batted in two runs apiece. Barella, Curtis and Roscoe all collected three hits each. The victory went to reliever Hootie Boatner (1-0), who sparkled in his three innings. Boatner allowed no runs and one hit for the win. Wayne Baxley, the second of five hurlers for the Red Caps, was the losing pitcher. He was slugged for three runs and five hits in just two frames. He exited trailing 6-4. Campy Roy has designated Nicky Nicholson (22-9 2.71) his game two starter. Rookie Jimmy Simmons (18-10 2.89) got the call from Uncle Robbie Wilbertson. The second game in the best-of-five set will be played in Colchester. DC Redbirds Slip By RB Red Sox 4-3 in 1st Game At Douglas Denton Field in Denton City the hometown Redbirds rebounded in the late innings to slip past Red Bluff 4-3. The Red Sox built up a 3-1 margin after five frames, but Denton City tied them up 3-3 in the sixth and wrapped up the win with a run in the eighth. Danny Nash was the hero as he doubled in Jay Petit with the winning score. Closer Bubba Lear (1-0) notched the victory as he retired all six batters he faced in the final two innings. John Dougherty (0-1) took the loss as he gave up one run and two hits in two innings. Petit paced the Redbirds at bat with a perfect 3-3 performance. Stan Helmke led Red Bluff with a two-run homer in the fifth that snapped a 1-1 tie. Gino Carmazzo started and hurled seven innings for Denton City, allowed three runs and nine hits, while Frank Beaudoin logged six innings for the Red Sox and was touched for three runs - one unearned - in six frames. The Red Sox had the advantage 9-8 in hits. The clubs will head back to the diamond in Denton City tomorrow for the second game of the series. Mila Moholski (21-10 2.36) will work for Red Bluff, opposed by Burton McGarrick (14-8 2.95). Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-22-2009 at 11:27 PM.

07-19-2009, 10:20 PM	#1134
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Wednesday, September 22, 2004 Ruthlandian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series Vipers Go Up 2-0, Farentino Stops Diamonds 3-2 For the second straight day at Avalon Stadium, the Valmara Vipers won a one-run game from the Claxton Diamonds to take a giant step in the Sweet 16 Series. One more victory and Valmara will advance to the next round. Ted Farentino held them to six hits and went all the way in the 3-2 victory. Claxton's CF Jackie Faust and C Rance Murillo hammered him for home runs in the first two innings, but didn't score another run after that. Farentino weaved his way through the Diamond line-up with masterful control and movement. He issued no walks and had two strikeouts. Viper CF Jan Szymanski slammed one in the seats in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1, but Murillo gave Claxton back the lead in last of the inning. Then in the fifth RF Val Krol sent a Doug Torvik pitch soaring for a two-run homer for the eventual game-winner. Torvik took the loss, going seven innings and giving up all three runs on nine hits. LF Jet Kazmarek and 1B Masaichi Okawa both went 3-4, but it was Szymanski and Krol who saved the day. They have driven in all seven Valmara runs in the series with Szymanski driving in four and Krol three. Szymanski has gone deep in both games. Manager Stacy Engel will try to stay alive in the series with Sal Tallis (17-12 3.08) on the hill. J. Jackson Samuel will use Andre Trepanier (18-14 3.42) for his starter. The series will switch to War Memorial Stadium in Valmara for the rest of the games. Rattlers Knot Series, Quiet Roosters 6-3 The Middlefield-Sugar Valley Sweet 16 Series is now knotted up at one win each after the Rattlers rapped the Roosters 6-3 in game two at Farmers Memorial Park. SS Flipper Bird and CF Freddie Vaux led Sugar Valley 10-hit attack with a pair of RBIs apiece. Vaux doubled in two in the first inning, while Bird had a two-run swat in the fifth to put the Rattlers in front 5-2. RF Bailey Norcross topped Middlefield with two RBIs and C Kevin Dial smacked a solo homer. Anthony Glaser picked up the victory. He worked seven innings, allowed four hits and three runs, but had trouble with his control as he walked six. Relievers Ron Benson and Hec Skurgan each pitched a scoreless inning with the save going to Skurgan. All total Sugar Valley held Middlefield to six hits. The loser was Denny Yarrow. He was rapped for eight hits and five runs in six innings, but two of them were not earned. The Roosters committed three errors in the game. The ball clubs will swap venues for the rest of the series. Middlefield Park will be the site of games three, four, and if necessary, game five. Starting pitchers for tomorrow's clash will be Jay Washington (12-8 3.32) for the Rattlers and Joshua Jackson (14-10 3.14) for the Roosters. Elnora Evens Sweet 16, Stops Volusia 3-1 It was a low-scoring affair, but Elnora's Zoggy White still needed 5 pitchers to whip Volusia 3-1 and even the Sweet 16 Series at one game each. Starter Taylor Gibbs worked a strong seven innings and stopped the Vigilantes on one run and three hits with eight Ks and four walks. Gibbs left with a 2-1 lead. White used Matty Wilkerson, Troy Hudson and Stevie Howard to each get one batter out in the eighth, then turned it over to Kenny Kerr to seal it down in the ninth. Gibbs got credit for the victory. It was scoreless through four with Gibbs and Carl Schmitz throwing nothing but goose eggs. However, the All-Stars broke the ice in the top of the fifth on SS Kyle Villere's RBI triple and RF Quincy Peterson's double, giving them a 2-0 edge. V's 2B Chaco Rivera chopped it to one run when he belted a bases-empty homer in the bottom of the inning. Elnora added a run in the eighth on two errors and a bases-loaded walk. Schmitz, a 24-game winner, did not have one of his better games. He walked six and struck out four, while permitting eight hits. But Schmitz was stingy and only allowed two earned runs, yet he walked in a run. The All-Stars had the hitting edge 8 to 5, but left 12 men on base. Villere was 3-for-4 for Elnora with Peterson and 2B Gil Foster both going 2-for-5. Game three is scheduled for State Fair Park in Elnora tomorrow afternoon. Ricky Moreno (13-16 4.15) will toil for Volusia and Charlie Murphy (22-12 2.75) will get the starting assignment for the All-Stars. Lindgren Masters Bulls, Sunbirds Win 6-1 Little 5'6" Tiny Lindgren was the big man for the Belair Beach Sunbirds this afternoon at Ranford County Stadium. Lindgren (1-0) checked the Ranford Bulls on six hits en route to a 6-1 spanking that tied the Sweet 16 Series at one game apiece. Lindgren chalked up five strikeouts and walked no one to best Ranford's ace, Bud Enright, who won 24 games in the regular season. The Sunbirds drilled him for six runs and five hits and KO'd Enright in the three-run seventh that put the game out of reach. LF Nicky Swift led the charge with three RBIs, while CF Bobby Joe Morris scored three times. Enright (0-1) was the losing pitcher, although three of the runs were unearned. Game three will feature Jim Maxwell (17-9 3.02) for the Bulls and Slim Mosley (18-8 3.01) for Belair Beach. It will be played at Bayside Park, the Sunbirds home stadium. Belair Beach will be the home team for the rest of the series.

07-20-2009, 04:36 PM	#1135
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Wednesday, September 22, 2004 Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series Z's Zap 'Canes 2-1, Lead Sweet 16 By 2 Games It was brilliant pitching again today at De la Vega Stadium in Luxora as the Zorros squeezed out a 2-1 eleven-inning triumph over Cape Coral, giving them two consecutive wins in the Sweet 16 Series. Yesterday Eddie Hoffman fired a 1-0 no-hitter in the opening game. Lacey Tompkins had an unbelievable day with the bat today, hitting a game-tying homer in the last of the ninth to send the game into overtime, then delivering the game-winning hit two innings later. In the decisive inning 2B Pablo Santa Cruz led off with a single, stole second and then came around to score the winning run on a walk-off clutch base hit by CF Tompkins. That sent closer Wally Robinson (0-1) down to defeat. Robinson has just come in for starter Cody Burg, who was terrific, holding Luxora to just one run and five hits in 10 very strong innings. Burg struck out 10 batters and walked only one. The Z's also got good pitching from starter Tito Tovares, who worked 8 frames and gave up only four hits and a run, while striking out six and walking five. Julio Higuera worked the ninth and tenth innings and held the Hurricanes runless. Fernando Fernandes (1-0) racked up the victory with a perfect eleventh frame, retiring all three batters in order. There were only 11 hits in the game, 7 for Luxora and 4 for Cape Coral. Tomorrow afternoon at Seaside Stadium in Cape Coral, manager Marty Pedroza will try to get his Hurricanes back in the series with Jeff Salow (19-12 3.73). Zorro skipper Alejandro Rodrigo will go with Marco Braceros (16-14 3.16) in game three. Bayview Beats Blue Jays 7-5 In Game 2 The Bayview bats bashed out 11 hits to beat the Tuckanarra Blue Jays 7-5 and take a 2-0 advantage in the Sweet 16 game played at Central Park Stadium. The Vikings need just one more victory to eliminate the Blue Jays from the playoffs. C Hank Bethel cracked two hits and batted in four runs for the victors. Bethel blasted a three-run homer to put Bayview in front 3-1 in the third. SS Shorty Richards had three hits, putting the Viks ahead 5-3 in the fifth with a two-run single. An RBI double by Bethel and an RBI single by LF Karl Yashin put Bayview up to stay 7-3 in the sixth. Tuckanarra also slammed 11 hits, led by 1B Charley Schofield with 3-5 and three RBIs and LF Corey Tavington with a two-run roundtripper. Starter Georgie Fambreau (1-0) got the win, working six innings and giving up four runs. Terry Banks tossed two scoreless innings for the save. Blue Jay starter Mike Amato (0-1) sustained the loss, allowing five runs and seven hits in five innings, but only three of them were earned. Tuckanarra committed two costly errors. Game three is slated for Downtown Plaza Stadium in Bayview tomorrow afternoon. The Vikings will host the remaining games in the best-of-five series. Walter Johanssen has selected Frank Wells (21-6 3.36) to nail down the series, while Carlton "Lefty" Stevens named Tris Bristow (16-17 3.15) his starter. DC's Lee Hits Walk-Off HR, 2-Games Up On Red Sox For the second game in a row at Douglas Denton Field in Denton City, the Redbirds came alive in the late innings and snatched another one-run victory from the Red Bluff Red Sox. This time the Redbirds won it 3-2 with a ninth-inning walk-off homer by C Lawton Lee off closer John Dougherty (0-2), who also lost yesterday's contest. Burton McGarrick (1-0) fired a fine six-hitter, going the distance with nine strikeouts and just two walks in a sharp performance. Red Bluff's Milo Mohoski was almost as tough, yielding only two runs and four hits in eight innings of work. Denton City took the lead 1-0 in the first on a sac fly by 1B Rob MacCormack. The Red Sox tied it up 1-1 on Virgil Carpenter's RBI single in the second. The Redbirds regained the lead 2-1 in the third on a double by SS Trevor Tomlinson and a single by CF Paul Coniglio, only to see Red Bluff tie it up again at 2-2 in the seventh when SS Jeff Decker doubled and scored on Carpenter's base hit. The Sweet 16 Series is now bound for Red Bluff Park for game three, and if needed, games four and five. The Red Sox hope Leonard Urban (18-13 2.77) can keep their chance alive, while Daniel Fitzmorris (9-6 3.38) of the Redbirds will try to put the quietus on Red Bluff and send them home for the year. Colchester Up 2-0 In Sweet 16, Oxford Falls 6-5 They did it again! The Colchester Elites knocked off the Oxford Red Caps 6-5 to go up 2-0 in the Sweet 16 Series played today at Heyward Field. Rookie southpaw Jimmy Simmons pitched and hit the Elites to victory. His bases-loaded single broke a 4-4 deadlock in the last of the sixth. Simmons had a rough start and surrendered four runs in the first three innings, but stiffened up and blanked the Red Caps for the next four frames. Closer Tom Carter relieved him in the eighth and gave up LF Mac Spencer's solo homer, but shut them down in the ninth for the save. Simmons collected the win. Nicky Nicholson (0-1) suffered the defeat, giving up six runs and seven hits in six innings. Colchester's top batter was CF Elden Hutchens with two hits and two RBIs. The Elites picked up 8 hits in the game to 6 for the Red Caps. There were two homers in the game, both by Oxford. CF Ike Plunkett also homered for the Red Caps. Both of them came with the bases empty. Colchester will be on the road at Winchester Park the rest of the series as they try to finish off favored Oxford. In game three Dickie Pendarvis (14-14 3.15) will take the hill for the Elites and Bomber Belinsky (17-17 4.20) will do the chores for the Red Caps. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-20-2009 at 04:38 PM.

07-21-2009, 08:43 PM	#1136
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Thursday, September 23, 2004 Ruthlandian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series V's Edge Elnora on Arroyo's Hit, Take Series Lead Volusia took a tense 5-3 duel from Elnora today at State Fair Park on Jesus Arroyo's pinch-hit two-run single in the top of the ninth, putting the Vigilantes in the driver's seat in the Sweet 16 Series with a 2-1 lead. It came off closer Matty Wilkerson, but the runs were charged to starter Charlie Murphy (0-1 5.40), who was the losing pitcher. V's skipper Alonso Feliz got excellent relief work from Hernando Espaderos and Tommy Betanzos, who blanked the All-Stars over the final three frames. Espaderos (1-0 0.00) got the win with two hitless innings, while Betanzos got the save with a 1-2-3 ninth. Ricky Moreno started and departed after six with the score tied at 3-3. Volusia outhit Elnora 10-5 with C Clint Hardesty (.583) and 1B Francisco Abreu (.200) in the lead. Hardesty went 3-for-4 and scored twice. Abreu got his second playoff homer with a two-run shot in the second inning. Homers accounted for all of the All-Stars scores. C Todd Simons (.111) powered a two-run homer in the fourth inning and RF Quincy Peterson (.500) banged one out in the sixth. It was Peterson's second in the postseason. Raul Sandoval (20-13 3.02), a 5-1 winner in game one, will get the chance to wrap up the series for the Vigilantes. He will be opposed by Lou Horn (16-6), who lost the opening game. Bulls Best Birds 5-3, Up 2-1 in Sweet 16 At Bayside Park in Belair Beach, the Ranford Bulls rode Jim Maxwell's right arm to a 5-2 win in game three of the RU Sweet 16 Series. It was the Bulls second win in three games. Maxwell shut out the Sunbirds 3-0 before tiring in the eighth frame. Maxwell (1-0 2.45) notched the victory and gave up just two runs on six hits in seven and one-third innings. Relievers Leland Shaddock and Tim DeKosky saved the win for Maxwell as they retired the last five batters in order. Pacing Ranford at bat were 2B Johnny Fenroy (.500), who had two hits and two RBIs and 1B Jordy John (.417) with 3-for-4 and a run scored. C Little Jake Bungarooba (.300) and SS Danny Church (.083) accounted for Belair Beach's two runs. Starter Slim Mosley (0-1 2.57) pitched a credible game, surrendering three runs - two earned - and five hits in seven innings. Mosley garnered the loss. Cody Burg (18-14) will try and wrap up the series for Ranford tomorrow afternoon in game four. Burg sizzled in the game-one 7-0 shutout. Ray Watson (17-10 2.71) will try to redeem himself after lasting only three-plus innings in the loss. Claxton Whips Valmara 6-1, Stays Alive In Sweet 16 On the road in Valmara, the Claxton Diamonds stayed alive in the Sweet 16 by dumping Valmara 6-1 at War Memorial Stadium. Portsider Sal Tallis (1-0 1.00) hurled a standout game, allowing only four hits, while fanning three and walking just one batter. Tallis got good offensive backing from LF Dixie Baker (.545) and 2B Bobby Ritter (.500). Baker put the Diamonds on the board in the opening frame with a two-run wallop and also doubled in a run in the eighth. Ritter laced three hits, scored twice and had an RBI. 3B Ron Doucette (.167) and C Rance Murillo (.182) also chipped in an RBI each. Claxton finally broke open a 3-1 game with three runs in the eighth, dealing Andre Trepanier (0-1 6.43) the loss. Trapanier gave up all six runs on seven hits and called it a day in the eighth. Tomorrow the clubs will go at it again with another lefty going for the Diamonds, Teddy Kuznetsov (21-8 2.43), who will be opposed by Vasya Vasylenko (17-8 2.76). They both started the opening game of the series, but did not figure in the decision. Valmara won the game 5-4. Rattlers Skim By Roosters 2-1, Lead Series By Game The pitching was something to behold at Middlefield Park. But visiting Sugar Valley was just a little bit better as the Rattlers skimmed by the Middlefield Roosters 2-1 to take a one-game lead in the Sweet 16 Series. Rattler starter Jay Washington worked eight strong innings for the victory, permitted only one run and six hits, while fanning six and walking two. Dale Bixler relieved him in the ninth and retired all three batters on ground-outs for the save. Rooster starter Joshua Jackson (0-1 2.57) performed almost as well. He tossed seven frames, gave up two runs on six hits, whiffed eight and issued two bases on balls. Dave Webb came on in the eighth and held Sugar Valley scoreless. The Rattlers got 7 hits in the game and Middlefield totaled 6. Second-inning doubles by 3B Jorge Vargas (.222) and rookie 2B Casey Leeburn (.500) gave Sugar Valley a 1-0 lead. The Roosters tied it up in the fourth when LF Cecil Clark (.500) tripled and scored on CF Ty DeWitt's RBI ground-out. Sugar Valley got the winning score in the top of the fifth. Leeburn singled and stole second. A walk and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Leeburn then crossed the plate on CF Freddie Vaux 3-1 ground out. Game four will be a rematch of the first-game starters. Jamie Hicks (1-0 1.00) outpitched Gregg Neal (0-1 2.57) in the 2-1 Sugar Valley victory. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-21-2009 at 08:45 PM.

07-21-2009, 08:50 PM	#1137
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Thursday, September 23, 2004 Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series Bayview Sweeps Blue Jays, Elite 8 Bound No Contest. Bayview totally outhit, outpitched and outplayed the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, sweeping all three Sixteen 16 games. The Vikings blitzed them 9-2 today and will now move on to the Elite 8 Round. C Hank Bethel (.583) beat Tuckanarra all by himself. He hammered three homers and batted in 11 runs in the series. The Blue Jays only scored 9 runs in the three games. Bethel went 3-4 today with a home run and four RBIs. LF Karl Yashin (.417) also swatted one out and had two RBIs. The Vikings piled up 13 hits and scored almost at will, leading 8-2 after four innings. Frank Wells (1-0) coasted to victory, allowing two runs on six hits. Taking the loss was Tris Bristow (0-1), who was raked for five runs and eight hits in just three innings. Tuckanarra manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens told reporters after the game, "The Bayview line-up is really something. There is not an easy out in the bunch. Not only do they hit well, they have the pitching, too. We are a pretty good offensive team, but they shut up down. I don't think a team can play any better that they played against us." Walter Johanssen, skipper of the Vikings, said, "We have played well the whole season. I just hope it will last another 3-4 weeks." Hurricanes Hang In With 6-5 Win Over Zorros The Cape Coral Hurricanes staved off elimination from the IPA playoffs with a 6-5 victory in game three over Luxora at Seaside Stadium. But they had to come back from a 4-1 deficit to remain alive in the Sweet 16 Series. A four-run assault in the sixth turned the game around for Hurricanes, highlighted by Kippy Doyle's two-run game-winning single. That gave them a 6-4 lead that they never relinquished. Jeff Salow (1-0) registered the win. He gave up only two hits in six innings, but they were two two-run homers by C Otto Kronvath. Salow fanned six and allowed two walks in the game. Cape Coral collected 10 hits in all and were led by Doyle (.182), Hoshi Sato (.300) and CF Edmundo Montano (.222), all with a pair of hits each. Kronvath (.500) paced the Z's with three hits and four RBIs. Luxora starter Marco Braceros (0-1) couldn't hold the lead and went down to defeat. The 'Canes smacked him for six runs and eight hits in six innings. Braceros walked six and fanned four in a poor outing. Reliever Cal Holtzman got the save by holding the Zorros scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings. Luxora will get another shot at winning the best-of-five series with Eddie Hoffman (18-15 2.69) getting the starting assignment. He fired a no-hitter in game one. Cape Coral has given the starting assignment to Doug Lyons (20-10 2.56), who lost to Hoffman 1-0 and only surrendered four hits. Oxford Stays In The Fight, Nips Elites 5-4 It was looking like Oxford's season was about to end. The Red Caps were trailing 4-2 going into their last at-bat. If they didn't at least tie the score, there would be no tomorrow in the Sweet 16 Series. Oxford put their rally caps on and went to work. A single, a walk and a sacrifice bunt put the tying runs on second and third. Then things started to really go bad for the Colchester Elites. 1B Harlan Roscoe dropped a throw for an error and allowed a run to score, making it 4-3. Now there were runners on first and third and one out. CF Ike Plunkett (.417) singled to right and tied the score at 4-4. Robbie Wilbertson then went to his bullpen for Hootie Boatner. With runners on second and third, still just one out, 1B Kenny Jablonski (.167) lined it hard to left. LF Douglas Tilford speared it and fired a strike to home plate - but too late. Richie Vla (.154), the runner on third, beat the throw home and gave new life to his team. Oxford had rallied to beat Colchester 5-4 and would live to see another day. "Wow, that was too close for comfort," Red Cap manager Campy Roy told reporters after the game. "I would rather be lucky than good sometimes... and this was one of those times." Through the first seven innings Colchester had everything its way as Dickie Pendarvis shut out Oxford. But they faltered in the last two innings. The Elites went ahead in the fifth with two unearned runs off Red Cap starter Bomber Belinsky. RF Tom Barella (.429) broke the tie with a two-run single. In the top of the eighth 1B Niles Stanton (.417) and CF Eldon Hutchens (.500) delivered RBI singles to expand the lead to 4-0. In the last of the eighth Oxford finally got on the scoreboard when Jablonski had an RBI triple and 3B Joe Courtney (.417) an RBI double to cut the lead to 4-2. Both starters did well with Pendarvis working seven and two-thirds innings, allowed two runs and struck out six. Belinsky also went seven and two-thirds innings, fanned 10 batters and gave up four runs, but only two of them were earned. Ray Beckham was the losing pitcher as he was laced for three runs and three hits in just two-thirds of an inning. However, he gave up only one earned run. Emerson Carnell (1-0) got credit for the victory. He sat down the Elites in order in the ninth. Game four will also be at Winchester Park in Oxford. It's a best-of-five series with Colchester needing one more win to advance in the IPA playoffs. Colchester's Frank Payne (18-13 3.56) will take the mound for Robbie Wilbertson and it will be Dan Phillips (16-16 3.56) for Campy Roy's Red Caps. Red Bluff Blanks DC 3-0, Still Has Hope The Red Bluff Red Sox are still alive and kicking in the Sweet 16 playoffs. They got a marvelous mound performance from Leonard Urban to avoid being swept by the Denton City Redbirds. Urban (1-0) blanked them on three hits over eight innings, but needed help from Perry Toefield to finish them off in the ninth. Urban chalked up 10 Ks in the game, while walking four. Daniel Fitzmorris (0-1) caught the loss as he was tapped for nine hits and three runs in five innings. Urban and Fitzmorris matched zeroes for four frames when the Red Sox erupted for three runs. 1B Bucky Frizzell (.333) knocked in the first run of the game with a single and light-hitting SS Jeff Decker (.333) followed that up with a two-run double. That was it for the scoring. Red Bluff unloaded 12 hits, while Denton City managed only five. Game four will be a rematch of game-one starters. Redbird Gino Carmazzo (16-13 3.08) will get his second start in the series. He went seven innings in the 4-3 Denton city victory in the opening game. Frank Beaudoin (16-13 3.12) will try to even the series at two wins apiece for manager Mack Connery and the Red Sox.

07-22-2009, 06:24 PM	#1138
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Friday, September 24, 2004 Ruthlandian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series Castillo's 2 HR KO Sunbirds, Bulls Move On Rookie LF Jose Castillo unloaded two home runs and powered the Ranford Bulls into the IPA Elite 8 with a 6-2 shellacking of the Belair Beach Sunbirds. Ranford took three of the four games to eliminate the RU South champions from the playoffs. Castillo (.200) drove in three runs and scored three times to back up the fine pitching of Chris Bernhoffer (2-0 1.00), who went the distance and shackled the Sunbirds on seven hits. Bernhoffer had shut them out in game one 7-0. Ray Watson (0-2 9.39) lost his second game of the series as he was tagged for five runs in four innings. Watson gave up both of Castillo's home runs. Ranford will now tangle with North Division rival Valmara in the Elite 8 Series. V's Edge Elnora 5-3 In 10, All-Stars Are Out Back-to-back blasts in the 10th inning propelled Volusia past favored Elnora 5-3, sending the Vigilantes to the Elite 8 round in the IPA playoffs. The All-Stars were the BNN choice to represent the RU in the Pro Cup Series. CF Ryan Raines (.200) stroked a two-run homer and LF Briscoe Crowder (.214) got a solo smash to give Volusia its third win in four games over the RU East champion. Zoggy White's relief corps let him down after his starting pitcher Lou Horn had given a good account of himself with eight strong innings. Horn held the V's to one run and five hits, fanned five and walked three. Tim Hudson gave up the tying run in the ninth and Kenny Kerr (0-1) was bashed for two homers in the tenth to doom the All-Stars. Todd Wolfe (1-0) garnered the victory, but gave up a home run to 3B Dmitri Vrotsos (.143) in the last of the tenth. Wolfe allowed one run in two innings of work. Both teams collected 11 hits each. Volusia of the RU West will now meet the Sugar Valley Rattlers of the RU East. Both teams finished second in the regular season and whipped division champs to advance to the Elite 8. Vipers Advance To Elite 8, Nose Out Claxton 2-1 The Valmara Vipers will advance to the IPA Elite 8 by virtue of their third one-run victory over the Claxton Diamonds. The Vipers nosed them out 2-1 today to win the Sweet 16 Series three games to one. Manager J. Jackson Samuel got strong pitching from Danny Blauser and closer Gerry Wojcik. Blauser was a surprise starter as Vanya Vasylenko was slated to take the mound. Vasylenko wasn't feeling good, so Blauser went to the hill. Blauser was a starter during the regular season with a 14-17 mark and a 3.79 ERA, but was designated for long relief for the playoffs as most teams go with three starters. Blauser (2-0 0.96) responded with an impressive outing, stopping Claxton on six hits and one run, while striking out 9 and walking three. Blauser had shut the Diamonds out 2-0 going into the ninth, when back-to-back doubles by 1B Marty McCluskey (.133) and SS Eric Carducci (.077) cut the margin to 2-1 and put the tying run on second base with one out. Samuel then summoned his closer Gerry Wojcik to the hill and he promptly put an end to the rally by striking out RF Sammy Joe Fuchs (.083) and pinchhitter Johnny Smith (.000) to nail down the verdict and send Valmara the next round and to end Claxton's season. The Vipers got a run in the second frame on singles by 1B Masaichi Okawa (.400) and CF Jan Szymanski (.500) and a sac fly by SS Steve Androwski (.091). Androwski also plated the other run with an RBI single off reliever Tetsunori Nagashima to drive in Szymanski from third in the seventh. Losing pitcher Teddy Kuznetsov (0-1 3.38) started for Claxton and hurled a strong six innings. He allowed only one run and four hits before he departed for a pinchhitter. Diamond manager Stacy Engel tongue-and-cheek told BNN after the game, "How do you lose a series where you outscore the other team? I think it's time to make each series longer. It looks like my club needs a few more games to get going. I think I will lobby for new rules next season. Best-of-11 or best-of-13 should do it." The Old Perfesser also added, "This ain't the first time this has happened to me. Remember in 1990, the President's Cup finals. My DeBeers team grossly outplayed the Tycalco team in three of the games, yet lost." Engel was right. DeBeers was going for its fourth straight Island industrial league championship. The Diamonds outscored Tycalco 55-27 in the 7-game series, outhit them 91-60, outbatted them .338 to .256, hit ten home runs to Tycalco's four (three of the latter's coming in Game 7), got two complete game shutouts from Ford Whiteman and lost four games to three in one of the most stunning upsets of all-time. Rattlers Rout Roosters 9-4, Head To Elite 8 Sugar Valley tore into five Middlefield pitchers for 12 hits to rout the Roosters 9-4 and knock them out of the IPA playoffs. The Rattlers won three of the four games in the Sweet 16 Series. 1B Ron Armstrong (.462) spearheaded them with two homers, three RBIs and three runs scored. RF Frank Horak (.333) added a solo roundtripper and scored three times. Gregg Neal (1-1 2.25) tossed a good game, allowing four runs and eight hits, while striking out five batters and walking none. Jamie Hicks (1-1 3.07) suffered the loss, giving up five runs in five-plus innings. Sugar Valley will meet Volusia in the Elite 8 round. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-22-2009 at 10:51 PM.

07-22-2009, 10:45 PM	#1139
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Friday, September 24, 2004 Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series Luxora Upsets Cape Coral, Wins In 4 Games Eddie Hoffman was unbelievable. He no-hit Cape Coral in game one of the Sweet 16 Series, then in game four Hoffman held them hitless again until the seventh inning - 15 consecutive hitless innings. Finally breaking the spell was 2B Hoshi Sato, who belted a lead-off homer to make the score 3-1. No big deal. Luxora still won the game 3-2 and wrapped up the series three-games-to-one. Cape Coral was favored to win the IPA Pro Cup this season in the BNN postseason poll. Hoffman (2-0 1.04) worked eight and one-third innings, permitted just three hits and two runs. In the ninth a walk, single and a walk loaded the bases for the Hurricanes with one away. At that point Zorro manager Alejandro Rodrigo sent his closer Elio Laurente to the mound. Laurente got RF Dan Rogers (.077) on a force-out at second, allowing one run to score. Then Laurente retired 3B Lonnie Moon (.125) on an infield pop-up to end the ball game and the series. Luxora took the lead 2-0 in the opening frame after two were out. LF Joel Reed (.200) and C Otto Kronvath (.429) delivered RBI singles. The Zorros added another run in the third inning on a triple by RF Cristo Viamonte (.250) and a single by CF Lacey Tompkins (.278). Doug Lyons (0-2 1.39) dropped his second game in the series, but was tough in the clutch. He surrendered three runs in six innings, but only one of them was earned. Luxora will play the winner of the Colchester Elites and Oxford Red Caps in the Elite 8 Series. Oxford Evens Series, Beats Elites 6-4 At Winchester Park in Oxford, the home town Red Caps went deep twice and made them stand up 6-4 to even the Sweet 16 Series with the Colchester Elites. The two ball clubs have split four games thus far. Today it was homers by CF Ike Plunkett (.438), who socked a two-run blast in the first inning and LF Mac Spencer's solo shot in the third that sparked the victory. Plunkett led Oxford at-bat with two hits, three RBIs and two runs scored. 2B Richie Vla (.250) also helped out with two hits and scored three times. Each club had 10 hits apiece. The Red Caps got good bullpen work as Wayne Baxley and Kit Kivett held Colchester without a run the last four innings. Dan Phillips (1-0 5.63) got the win, but had a struggle. He walked eight in his five innings, gave up seven hits, but only four runs. The Elites left 14 runners on-base during the game. 1B Harlan Roscoe (.438) and RF Tom Barella (.444) led Colchester. Roscoe was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Barella as 2-for-4 and scored once. The Elites used four hurlers with the defeat charged to starter Frank Payne (0-1 6.43). He was nicked for four runs in his three innings. The fifth-and-deciding game will be played tomorrow afternoon at Winchester Park. Rookie Jimmy Simmons (18-10 2.89) will draw the assignment for Colchester and Nicky Nicholson (22-9 2.71) will be the starter for Oxford. Neither was effective in game two, but Simmons got the the 6-5 victory with the loss going to Nicholson. Series Deadlocked, Red Sox Whip DC Redbirds 6-4 The Red Bluff Red Sox whipped Denton City 6-4 at Red Bluff Park to deadlock the Sweet 16 Series at 2-2 and forced a fifth game to decide who moves on in the IPA playoffs. RF Kris Grabowski (.438) had a perfect 4-for-4 day and three RBIs to lead the charge. 1B Bucky Frizzell (.333) also contributed with a two-run double and LF Tony Blundell (.250) had two hits and scored twice. Starter Frank Beaudoin (1-0 3.77) worked into the ninth, allowed four runs and nine hits for the victory. He carried a 6-2 lead into the inning, but made a quick exit after back-to-back roundtrippers by 3B Jay Petit (.429) and LF Danny Nash (.167) chopped it to 6-4. Closer Big John Dougherty came in and got the final two outs for the save. Red Bluff had the edge in hits 10-9. Redbird starter Gino Carmazzo (0-1 6.00) was the losing pitcher. The Red Sox got to him for five runs and nine hits in five innings. Burton McGarrick (14-8 2.95) and Mila Mohoski (21-10 2.36) are the scheduled pitchers for tomorrow afternoon's deciding contest. McGarrick hurled an excellent game in beating the Red Sox 3-2 last Wednesday in game number two. Mohoski also pitched well for the Red Sox, but didn't lose it. He left with the score tied at 2-2 after eight innings. Last edited by Eugene Church; 08-27-2011 at 12:10 AM.

07-23-2009, 06:10 PM	#1140
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,799 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Saturday, September 25, 2004 Tycobbian Union 2004 Sweet 16 Series Red Caps Shock Colchester 7-6, Takes Series For the second time in the Sweet 16 Series the Oxford Red Caps stunned Colchester and came back to win, not only the game, but this time, the series. The Elites piled up a 6-0 lead after five innings and seemed destined to advance to the next round. But Campy Roy's Boys would have none of that. The Red Caps erupted for four runs in the sixth, spirited by LF Mac Spencer's (.316) three-run double, two more in the eighth to tie it on a C Brad Earp (.278) single and an Elite error and won it in last of the ninth 7-6 on 3B Joe Courtney's (.389) single. Oxford pounded out 12 hits to win its third straight game over Colchester. The other miraculous win was in game three when the Red Caps had to score five runs in the last two innings to remain alive in the series. The Colchester bats went to work early with four runs in the third and two more in the fifth and looked unbeatable. 1B Harlan Roscoe had a three-run clout and four RBIs all total. 3B Niles Stanton also sent one out of the park - but all in vain. Roy got superb relief work from Wayne Baxley, who gave him three scoreless innings in the sixth, seventh and eighth, and Emerson Carnell, who blanked Colchester in the ninth. Carnell (2-0 0.00) was the winning pitcher, while Elite closer Tom Carter (0-1 4.26) lost it. Carter was battered for three runs and five hits in his two-plus frames. The Red Caps will now battle the Luxora Zorros in the Elite 8 Series. The two teams ran 1-2 in the Tycobbian Union North this season. The series begins tomorrow afternoon in Luxora at De la Vega Stadium. Red Bluff Survives, Beats DC 3 In A Row "I'm mighty glad it was a five-game series this year. We would have been long gone otherwise," Red Bluff manager Mack Connery told the press after the Red Sox took their third-in-a-row from Denton City to win the Sweet 16 Series three-games-to-two. Connery got a strong effort in game five from his ace Milo Mohoski (1-0 2.12), who held the Redbirds to just four hits in the 6-2 triumph. Mohoski, a 21-game winner in the regular season, walked nobody and fanned six in a standout performance. He held Denton City scoreless after they took the lead 2-0 in the top of the first on an RBI triple by CF Paul Coniglio (211) and a sacrifice fly by RF Lavon Gooch (.188). A solo homer by Red Sox 3B Vern Gable (.526) made it 2-1 in the bottom of the inning. C Virgil Carpenter (.333) tied the score in the second with another roundtripper. Red Bluff took the lead 4-2 for good in the third frame on an RBI single by 1B Bucky Frizzell (.316) and a balk. RF Kris Grabowski (.474) singled in another score in the fifth and Gable accounted for the final run in the seventh when he scored from third on a ground-out by LF Tony Blundell (.211). The Red Sox racked up 11 hits in the game, sparked by Gable with four. Gable also scored three times. Taking the loss for Denton City was starter Burton McGarrick (1-1 4.50), who was shelled for four runs and six hits in just three innings. Red Bluff really has its work cut out for it. They will tangle with the powerful Bayview Vikings, who destroyed Tuckanarra in a three-game sweep. The Elite 8 Series will open tomorrow at Red Bluff Park. The Red Sox will host the first two games of the series with the rest scheduled in Bayview. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-23-2009 at 08:42 PM.