ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Red Bluff Wins TU East For 4th Time, Tuckanarra Runner-up
It took Mack Connery and the Red Bluff Red Sox several years to get their fourth Tycobbian East pennant, but they did it this year, whipping the second place Tuckanarra Blue Jays by 4 games. The Red Sox and the Blue Jays battled neck-and-neck until July when Red Bluff got a little buffer between them. Connery's club won consecutive division titles in 2003, 2004 and 2,005 and took the Pro Cup in 2004.

Red Bluff (86-68) took advantage of a strong pitching staff to win the TU East this season... Connery had four fine starters, two very good ones and two that were quite dependable... the Red Sox notched a 3.82 ERA and were paced by All-Star John Dougherty (19-12 3.10), Frank Beaudoin (21-12 3.29), Jim Melanakos (14-10 4.13) and Cloyd Harris (18-18 4.04)... firepower also set Red Bluff apart from Tuckanarra... they outhomered the Blue Jays 149 to 99... both clubs hit about the same for average with Tuckanarra batting .268 and Red Bluff .267... Tuckanarra also had a slight edge defensively .978 FA to .976 FA... Connery's best bat was 3B Tommy Klegg (.281/36/132/85), who topped the IPA with 132 RBIs, along with Waleska's Kippy Doyle... other strong contributors were All-Star CF Stan Helmke (.317/14/62/100), SS Jose Aguilar (.290/13/66/106) and 1B Kris Grabowski (.299/17/72).

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays (82-72) were near the top again, but slumped in July and it cost manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens a chance for a sixth playoff appearance... Stevens has a good mound corps, but not as deep as Red Bluff... Titus Bristow (17-17 2.81), an 8-year veteran, is as good as it gets in the IPA... lifetime Bristow is 145-101 with a 2.85 ERA... Bristow could have easily won 25 games this season except for poor bat support... Tuckanarra has two good pitchers in All-Star Delaney Elliott (23-13 3.94) and Coorain Janama (18-16 3.81)... the Blue Jays also have a solid closer Niles Applewhite (4-5 3.14), who racked up 32 saves... Stevens needs to find a fourth starter to compete with Red Bluff... he also needs some power-hitters... his best bats are 1B Erik Vayda (.296/9/76/84), 3B Rocky Fuqua (.305/8/58/84), CF Earl O'Brien (.257/9/47/91), LF Tony Blundell (.254/14/66/71) and Lee Thomson (.271/14/71)... nowhere near the quality that Red Bluff possesses.

The High Mesa Cowboys (76-78) and Ozarka Naturals tied for the third spot in the TU East and trailed first place Red Bluff by 10 games... The glory years of 2002 and 2003 are long gone for Frisky Franks when High Mesa was riding high in the standings... his Cowboys won the division and the Pro Cup in their first IPA season... High Mesa came in second in 2003... they have only been an average club since... Queen Ranch Stadium is one of the smaller venues in the league, so High Mesa usually ranks high in homers... this season the Cowboys clouted 184 into the stands and batted .269... in the pitching department they registered a 3.92 ERA, which is not so bad considering the short fences at Queen Ranch Stadium... Franks' team is only fair on defense with a .971 FA... the top hitters are 1B Nat Thurlow (.312/34/83/72), SS Wild Deer Etchimin (.275/22/79/81) and 3B Lloyd Windham (.316/15/63/83)... top hurlers are Kent Wells (20-16 3.46), Johnny Falcon (14-15 3.72) and John Rainer (13-19 3.93).

Joe Mac Carney's Ozarka Naturals (76-78) have been in the thick of things the last four seasons in the TU East with a first or second place finish, but slipped some this year... Carney's pitching wasn't what it has been recently as the team ERA dropped to 4.05... the Nats best pitchers were Tyrus Yokum (12-9 3.25) and Karl Kleinert (14-14 4.25)... Ozarka was only average at the plate with a .263 batting average and 130 homers... the Nats best bats were LF Vic Weinstein (.311/13/73/93), 2B Gil Lantz (.303/9/76/83), 3B Todd Chadwick (.254/24/77/107) and SS Nathan Ferrell (.272/22/100/92).

The Hillsboro Blazers (75-79) made some progress this season and completed the year in fifth place, only 11 games back... manager Arky Spanderson's club has finished last five times, has never been above .500, never been in the first division and never made the postseason... the Blazers hit pretty well with a .271 BA and 139 homers, but are woefully weak with a 4.46 team ERA... Hillsboro is average with a .973 FA... only one good pitcher to speak of: Ed Dupard (16-14 3.48)... Spanderson's top batters are All-Star 2B Ray Bassett (.316/33/108/80), 3B Brad Walker (.282/13/64/102) , Rickey Alfonso (.269/18/78/89) and 1B Bobby Bayas (.294/9/62/77)... the Blazers could use an infusion of power and pitching.

After two seasons in the first division, including winning the TU East in 2008, the East Point Panthers (74-80) are back in the second division, in the sixth spot in the standings and a dozen games off the pace... Griff Clarke can blame it on his very poor pitching... the team carry a pathetic 4.67 ERA, which is the second worst in the entire IPA, topped only by Midway with a 4.73 ERA... even his top aces from a year ago faltered... Tommy Fuller (15-16 3.55) and Smokey Joe Carter (14-17 4.05) were much more effective last season, when they piled up 20 and 19 wins respectively... However at bat, the Panthers put some runs on the scoreboard with 184 roundtrippers, sparked by 2B Jesse Goodwin (.279/44/119/95), CF Joey Olson (.277/28/83/84) and LF Karl Dietz (.249/30/82/65)... defensively East Point was only adequate and fielded at a .972 rate.

The Midway Wolves (67-87) have never made the playoffs... this season Cochise Chandler's club came in seventh and tied with South Fork for last place, winding up 19 games out... not much to cheer about in Midway... the Wolves batted only .259, but did hit 141 homers... on the hill they were appalling with a 4.73 ERA and ranked absolutely last among the 64 IPA teams... Chandler has some decent starters in Antonio Anaya (13-17 4.25), Ted Chambers (10-19 4.08) and Kojiro Matsumoto (11-17 3.97), but no one after them... the rest have atmospheric ERAs... Midway's best bats are 1B Don Piper (.269/28/92/88), RF Lou Sturge (.254/27/81/105) and SS J. T. Edmonds (.316/11/61/65)... with the glove the Wolves have a .974 FA.

Lips Leon is not a happy camper in South Fork (67-87)... the Stallions finished in the TU East cellar for the second year in a row and in the second division for the seventh straight year... South Fork doesn't hit much and sports a .260 BA with 120 homers... on the mound Leon does have some dependable starters in Leonard Urban (15-12 3.57), Bobby Karu (16-17 3.48) and Dave Small (11-15 3.82)... at bat the Stallions rely on RF Robby Michael (.295/19/80/75), LF Gary Horn (.281/14/78/81) and All-Star SS Rolf Kellgren (.299/12/60/93), who had a Gold Glove year.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Tycobbian Union West Division Final Standings

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Denton City Fights Off Bayview For 3rd TU West Flag
For the second season in a row the Denton City Redbirds were victorious in the Tycobbian Union West. Ford Whiteman's Redbirds fought off a determined bid by the resurgent Bayview Vikings to win their third division championship with a three-game margin to spare. Denton City pulled away in August and September and will get another chance at the IPA Pro Cup. They lost in the finals last season to the Wynnamac Sundowners of the Ruthlandian Union.

Hitting is apparently not enough to win a division... the Denton City Redbirds (92-62) didn't hit as well as Bayview, didn't go deep as much as Bayview and didn't score as much as Bayview, but they did well enough offensively to stay with the Vikings... and they outpitched them... DC hit a respectable .269 with 143 homers and had the best team ERA in the TU with a strong 3.46 ERA... Whiteman has a solid threesome as starters: Kenyon MacKenzie (20-8 3.22), Mila Mohoski (20-15 3.54) and Mike Danek (13-7 3.36)... but the real separator between the two contenders might have been Roger Ramsey (7-3 2.69) in the Redbird bullpen... Ramsey had 24 saves after being converted to closer this season... Denton City was paced at bat by RF Lavon Gooch (.273/30/125/97), All-Star 1B Mick Abbott (.307/23/98/92) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.307/8/47/113)... the Redbirds play good defense, too, with a .976 FA.

To revitalize the Bayview Vikings (89-65) from a very disappointing last-place finish in 2008, manager Walter Johanssen went to work on his pitching staff and they came back with a vengeance and improved the team ERA from a mediocre 4.24 to a solid 3.65... Bayview vets All-Star Norm Roy (18-14), Tony Vardaman (18-7 3.23) and Georgie Fambreau (16-12 3.76) combined for a strong starting rotation... at the plate the Vikings rebounded as well, raising the team batting average from solid .269 to an outstanding .281 BA... and increasing homers from 188 to 202... Johanssen's vaunted attack was led by All-Star CF Tommy Riddle, who had a monstrous season with 41 home runs, 119 RBIs and 112 runs, while batting .316... RF Ted Karno was almost as good with a .323 batting average, 28 homers, 106 RBIs and 108 runs... and 3B Karl Benson was a standout, too, batting .318 with 34 home runs, 110 RBIs and 94 runs scored... Bayview is sound defensively with a .976 FA.

The last two years have been good ones for Rip Calkin and his La Claire Lynx (83-71), who have to play in a very tough division... the Lynx wound up third this season and trailed by 9 games... Calkin has a well-balanced team with a .272 batting average with 156 homers, 3.79 ERA and a .974 FA... not equal to Denton City and Bayview, but still a competitive ball club... the strength lies in its four quality starters: Bernie Halsey (14-6 3.08), Nosyt Sani (19-13 3.59), Ronnie Holt (11-11 3.72) and Doug Lyons (16-20 3.22)... La Claire has two All-Stars in LF Zeppy Deshotel (.318/32/110/110) and SS Bob Steitz (.271/9/49/110)... Calkin has four other offensive contributors in 2B Dale Pace (.313/16/75/93), 3B Roberto Vargas (.280/19/87/58), RF Jay D'Armond (.275/20/72/58) and CF Chazzie Lombardo (.288/21/69/81).

The Chicopee Braves (79-75) were fourth in the TU West... manager Harry Fleetfoot is still waiting for the team's first postseason appearance... but they did make progress this year... it's the first time the Braves have made the top four teams in the division... Chicopee is pretty much average down the line, hitting .265 and 127 homers and a 3.84 team ERA... average defense as well with a .974 FA... Fleetfoot does have a good group in his starting rotation, led by a solid vet Desmond Quartermain (18-13 3.50), Wayne Baxley (14-14 3.20) and Bill Branch (15-12 3.68)... and it looks like Frank Daigle (2-4 3.01) might develop into a good closer... the Braves batting order features 2B Randy Knowles (.324/21/93/79), CF Billy Adenauer (.299/14/50/90), RF Dutch Rheinecker (.287/17/71/67) and C Ivan Burkholder (.277/12/73/76).

The Kenwood Wildcats (78-76) just barely missed the first division this year... Aaron Hankins' crew missed out by a game, finishing 14 games off the pace and came in fifth... It's been a while since the Wildcats played in the playoffs... they made them in 2001, but not since... Kenwood played very well in April and June and compiled a 32-20 record, but fell off in the last four months of the season... pitching is Hankins' strong point with a 3.83 ERA... the Wildcat starters chalked up a fine 3.65 ERA... All-Star Todd Combs (15-14 2.94), Dan Phillips (20-12 3.49) and Corey Brabham (14-9 2.99) were solid, but suffered from poor run support... Kenwood hit only .259 with only 99 home runs... Hankins' top bats were few... RF Dayton Walker (.333/10/68/95), 3B Leo Gambetta (.296/11/63/95) and 1B Scott McKinley (.253/20/98/71)... the Wildcats were just average on defense with a .973 FA.

The Arlon Champions (69-85) tied for sixth place with the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers and the Rolling Hills Reds, 23 games back of the division-winning Denton City Redbirds... Arlon is managed by Gary Louis... the Champs depend on pitching and have a fairly good set of starters in Kimo Orlando (17-15 3.40), Armando Cruz (15-18 3.65), Kurt DeHaan (12-12 4.02) and Andre Masson (11-18 4.22)... 2009 was Orlando's best year at age 37... he is a six-year veteran... 21-year-old rookie Johnny Rabelais (1-1 1.45) really flourished in the closer role during the final six weeks of the season with 18 saves... the future really looks bright for him... Arlon is a poor-hitting team with a .255 BA and 132 roundtrippers... Louis is really handicapped when it comes to good bats... his only good stick is RF Rocco Belasario (.310/26/88/103)... SS Allan Black (.250/23/87/84) and RF Chucky Gilton (.256/19/91/66) don't hit for much average, but do provide the long-ball occasionally and do drive in runs... defensively the Champions are not much with a .972 FA.

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (69-85) are piloted by Guy Rondre... It's been four years since the Bucs made postseason play, but they did win the TU West title in 2002... Rondre's team hit a solid .269 this season with 128 home runs... on the mound the Buccaneers compiled a mediocre 4.10 ERA... but were a little bit above average on the field with a .975 FA... Rondre's top hurlers were few in number with Sean Lawrence (13-3 3.44) and vet Duke DeVree (14-18 3.71) the most effective... Bay St. Clair's batting order had four .300 hitters... leading the way were All-Star LF Todd Bryant (.303/26/101/99), 2B Jimmy Sawyer (.306/16/87/74), 1B Gerry Fields (.300/26/73/65) and RF Emile Djorovich (.300/12/56/71).

The Rolling Hills Reds (69-85) also were in the three-way jam for sixth place... manager Matty Christianson's ball club failed to break even on the season for only the second time in the Reds 8-year history... it's been six years since they made the postseason... Rolling Hills is not a good team... with poor batting (.255 BA), little power (104 HR), high team ERA (4.24) and average fielding (.972 FA)... Christianson has few, if any quality hitters... his best are OF Roy Stainbrook (.290/13/64/84), OF Frankie Holman (.285/15/64/58), 3B Lonnie Mason (.299/9/62/60) and SS Bobby Ritter (.294/8/47/86)... few good pitchers as well... 7-year vet Toshihiro Ito (16-19 3.80) did decent work, while second-year man Fran Tomaselli (8-7 2.98) really blossomed as a reliever and starter.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Pro Cup Playoffs Begin, 8 Teams Tangle For IPA Championship

The Islandian Pro Alliance playoffs start today! Only a handful of teams remain in the running for the ultimate prize - the Pro Cup. It's playoff time. A time of glory and victory awaits one of the 8 clubs. The team that rises to each eventful occasion - the team that makes all the right plays at the right time. The defending IPA champions, the Wynnamac Sundowners, failed to win its division and will not defend its crown. They lost out by one game to the Belle Plaine Musketeers. However, last season's Pro Cup runner-up, the Denton City Redbirds, will get another crack at the Island title.

Today is the start of the Islandian Pro Alliance Elite 8 Series. Each series will be the best-of-seven. In the opening round of Ruthlandian Union games the Claxton Diamonds will meet the Far Mountain Redhawks in Far Mountain and Belle Plaine travels to the Colfax Blasters. Over in the Tycobbian Union the schedule pits Red Bluff at Denton City and Turon at Hartsdale.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

IPA Leaderboards

2009 Ruthlandian Union Batting Leaders

[Eugene Church]

2009 Ruthlandian Union Pitching Leaders

[Eugene Church]

2009 Tycobbian Union Batting Leaders

[Eugene Church]

2009 Tycobbian Pitching Leaders

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

.368 AVG Earns Voss RU Bat Crown
Lloyd Voss, Elnora's 27-year-old right fielder, nabbed the Ruthlandian Union batting crown with an IPA-leading .368 average. Voss collected 191 hits with 22 doubles, 5 triples and 20 homers, while playing in 140 games for the All-Stars. Voss had 89 RBIs and scored 101 runs. In his four seasons in the IPA Voss has a career .333 batting average.

9-year vet Tucker Hill of Eastshore was the runner-up with a .358 mark. Hill topped the IPA in hits with 204. The 32-year-old second baseman had 25 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, scored 91 times and batted in 70 runs in 147 games.

31-year-old Big Hoss Burkhalter ranked third with a .346 batting average, 30 homers and 103 RBIs. The Wynnamac left fielder appeared in 141 games.

Kazmarek Takes Home 7th Batting Title
When it comes to hitting a baseball consistently no one does it like Jet Kazmarek of the Arroyo Grande Suns. Kazmarek won his 7th batting title in 9 years, but just by the very smallest of margins. Kazmarek edged out Dane Wesner of Fairfax .3489208 to .3487972 to take this year's Ruthlandian Union batting trophy. Only one base hit separated the two. 34-year-old Kazmarek has missed winning only twice, in 2008 when he hit .335 and his rookie season when he batted .314.

Kazmarek, who plays right field for Arroyo Grande notched 194 hits in 149 games this season with 36 doubles, 10 triples and 14 roundtrippers. Kazmarek scored 115 runs and drove in 82, while stealing 54 bases. He led the TU in runs and tied for the most stolen bases. Lifetime Kazmarek sports a .358 batting average, by far the best in the IPA.

The 24-year-old Wesner, who plays right field for the Frogs, had a marvelous season, pacing the Tycobbian Union with 203 hits. Wesner cracked 30 doubles, 5 triples and 39 homers. He also had 126 RBIs and scored 95 times in 149 game appearances.

Dayton Walker of Kenwood came in third with a .333 batting average. The 26-year-old Walker plays left field for the Wildcats. In 140 games Walker rapped 177 hits, including 38 doubles, 8 triples and 10 home runs, while scoring 95 runs and batting in 68.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Colfax Favored in RU, Denton City in TU
The IPA Pro Cup Playoffs get underway this afternoon at four sites around the Islands. In the RU Elite 8 Series it will be Far Mountain entertaining Claxton and Colfax will host the Belle Plaine Musketeers. Over in the Tycobbian Union the Red Bluff Red Sox travel to Denton City and Turon will be in Hartsdale against the Hellcats. According to baseball scribes and gurus Colfax will prevail in the RU and Denton City gets the call in the TU and will battle for the Pro Cup in the postseason finals.

Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series
Head-to-head against the other teams in the regular season Colfax had the best record at 8-4, followed by Belle Plaine 8-7, Claxton 8-10 and Far Mountain 6-9. Colfax is expected to defeat Belle Plaine in the Elite 8 Series and Far Mountain will play the favorite's role in the other series against Claxton. Both series will be best-of-seven. The Blasters are forecast to whip the Redhawks in the RU Finals.

Colfax (94-60) has a fantastic pitching rotation that chalked up an unbelievable 2.69 ERA, led by Ilya Szabo (22-15 2.39), Stony Blackwell (19-11 2.64), Jimmy Joe Cartner (17-13 2.53) and All-Star Jasper LaForge (23-10 3.23)... Colfax broke Cape Coral's record (2.82) for the best team ERA set in 2004... Clem Rogers also has a capable closer Dallas Somerville (5-8 2.14), who saved 24 games... mix in a fine fielding team with a .978 FA and the Blasters are hard to score against... offensively Colfax hit for a .262 batting average with 140 home runs, which was adequate in the runs department... Leading the Blasters line-up was All-Star CF Ryan Raines (.302/26/99/99), LF Paul Coniglio (.302/27/111/96), 3B Mike Janocko (.284/19/72) and RF Karl Heidelberg (.319/17/50/72).

Alex Groveland has it all in Far Mountain (94-61), good hitting (.278), good power (179 HR) and good pitching (3.42)... climbed from seventh to first this year... first time in six years to make the playoffs... top pitchers are Leroy Hill (20-15 2.90), Boomerang Hines (9-4 3.10) and Robby Kelly (17-13 3.34)... Dave McDonald (19-9 4.46) benefited greatly from excellent offensive support... All-Star SS Don Nichols (.336/22/106) tops the hitters with help from C Otis Ott (.297/26/89) and 2B Duane Parsons (.336/22/106)... good defense with .976 FA.

Claxton jumped from fifth place to penthouse this season and captured its first RU South flag... Stacy Engel has the highest-scoring club in the IPA and his line-up is packed with fine hitters... the Claxton Diamonds (85-69) chalked up a .267 batting average, but hit 193 out of the park... pitching-wise Engel has a capable foursome that notched a 3.92 ERA... Claxton potent batting order consists of All-Star 1B Mike Luzzatti (.343/44/109/116), who had another colossal year... along with CF Dixie Baker (.260/32/114/92), LF Helmut Graczyk (.317/24/88/102), SS Erik Carducci (.285/18 81/61), 2B Paco Benitez (.281/2/37/93) and 3B Artie Sherman (.276/20/77/91)... Engel's starting rotation is All-Star Charlie Murphy (17-14 3.08), Peter Brenneman (18-13 3.96), Paul Grange (15-7 3.79) and Bob Grba (13-8 4.26)... Claxton is only average in the field with a .971 FA.

In a surprising turn of events Belle Plaine surged in September and outplayed the defending Pro Cup champs, the Wynnamac Sundowners. Belle Plaine (81-73) copped the flag mainly because of a pretty good group of starters in Jorge Bonilla (14-12 3.57), Tony Saroyan (17-13 3.75) and Danny Griffin (15-13 3.91... closer Denny Reynaud (6-5 4.11) was a plus, despite sometimes being inconsistent, but he saved 25 games... Boo Ladrieux's line-up was solid with a .276 BA, but not too powerful with only 105 home runs... the Musketeers were led by RF Juan Mendez (.326/7/45/96), 1B Rory Dickenson (.314/16/92/101), CF Harry Klyman (.285/26/107/79) and 3B Warren McDaniel (.273/17/78/87)... 2B Floyd Vinson (.286/1/64/89) played good defense and chipped in some offense, while SS Dave Torregrossa (.330/4/53) really had a great year after taking over at midseason... Torregrossa only played in 103 games.

Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series
Over in Tycobbia the Denton City Redbirds compiled the best record against the other three playoff challengers, going 9-6, while Hartsdale was 8-7, Red Bluff 9-9 and Turon 4-8. The Redbirds will have a rough time with the Red Bluff Red Sox, but should survive to face the Hartsdale Hellcats in the TU Finals. However, Turon should give the Hellcats quite a tussle. Any one of the four clubs could go to the Pro Cup championship, they are all evenly matched. All playoff series are best-out-of-seven.

Hitting is apparently not enough to win a division... the Denton City Redbirds (92-62) didn't hit as well as Bayview, didn't go deep as much as Bayview and didn't score as much as Bayview, but they did well enough offensively to stay with the Vikings... and they outpitched them... DC hit a respectable .269 with 143 homers and had the best team ERA in the TU with a strong 3.46 ERA... Ford Whiteman has a solid threesome as starters: Kenyon MacKenzie (20-8 3.22), Mila Mohoski (20-15 3.54) and Mike Danek (13-7 3.36)... but the real separator between the two contenders might have been Roger Ramsey (7-3 2.69) in the Redbird bullpen... Ramsey had 24 saves after being converted to closer this season... Denton City was paced at bat by RF Lavon Gooch (.273/30/125/97), All-Star 1B Mick Abbott (.307/23/98/92) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.307/8/47/113)... the Redbirds play good defense, too, with a .976 FA.

Hartsdale (92-62) tied Denton City of the TU West for the most wins in the TU this year with 92... the keys to success for Zim Donner were a solid set of starters, good closer, good power, good hitting and good defense... Hartsdale batted .269 with 171 homers and had a .976 FA... Hellcat starters were Ben Manderson (16-9 2.89), Tony Lane (14-12 3.11), Matt DeRosa (17-14 3.53), Nico Carnera (13-4 3.62) and Rip Arnold (17-14 4.12)... closer Mitch Yassen (7-5 2.74) was also a vital part of the team's success with 23 saves... overall the hill corps fashioned a fine 3.52 team ERA... the Hellcats also featured a solid core of hitters with good pop... Donner's top bats were 1B Tom Brabant (.321/35/110/78), 3B Kendry Moulton (.290/25/99/93), 2B Jud Turchin (.286/21/82/89) and CF Mac Faulkner (.299/24/75/82).

Red Bluff (86-68) took advantage of a strong pitching staff to win the TU East this season... Mack Connery had four fine starters, two very good ones and two that were quite dependable... the Red Sox notched a 3.82 ERA and were paced by All-Star John Dougherty (19-12 3.10), Frank Beaudoin (21-12 3.29), Jim Melanakos (14-10 4.13) and Cloyd Harris (18-18 4.04)... firepower also set Red Bluff apart from Tuckanarra... they outhomered the Blue Jays 149 to 99... both clubs hit about the same for average with Tuckanarra batting .268 and Red Bluff .267... Tuckanarra also had a slight edge defensively .978 FA to .976 FA... Connery's best bat was 3B Tommy Klegg (.281/36/132/85), who topped the IPA with 132 RBIs, along with Waleska's Kippy Doyle... other strong contributors were All-Star CF Stan Helmke (.317/14/62/100), SS Jose Aguilar (.290/13/66/106) and 1B Kris Grabowski (.299/17/72).

The Turon Typhoons (91-63) are on quite a roll with their third TU South pennant in four years... Whitey Richburn has a sound club in all respects... hitting, power, pitching... and decent defense... Turon's team batting average is .274... they hit 154 homers... have a fine 3.66 team ERA... and a .974 FA... the pitching rotation consists of Anthony Nardone (20-12 3.03), Jacques Lemaire (24-6 3.42) and James Stuart (17-13 3.61)... Freddi Spiegel (7-1 2.80) stands out in middle relief... at the plate Richburn has a bunch of good bats in CF Mac McCurnan (.306/34/105/106), 1B Johnny Carducci (.297/23/91/69) and 2B Alan Hansen (.299/1/49/109) with help from All-Star 3B John Cottrell (.304/8/63/57), LF Jimmy Tremayne (.306/14/80/67) and RF Andy Porter (.298/21/71/62).

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

Belle Plaine, Far Mountain, Turon, Denton City Win Elite 8 Openers

Torregrossa Homers Twice, BP Nips Colfax in 10
Belle Plaine got some muscle from an unlikely source to nip Colfax 5-4 in 10 innings and snatch game one of the RU Elite 8 Series... light-hitting SS Dave Torregrossa went deep twice to led the Musketeers in the comeback victory... Torregrossa only hit two homers in the regular season... Belle Plaine rallied from a 3-1 deficit after four frames and trailed 4-3 going into the top of the ninth when Torregrossa tied it with a clutch home run... the winning run came of balk by pitcher Dallas Somerville allowing Jose Mendez to score from third... Mendez led off the inning with a double... Denny Reynaud (1-0) notched the win with two spotless innings and the loss went to Blaster starter Ilya Szabo (0-1)... he worked into the tenth but was relieved by Somerville after Mendez doubled... Colfax outhit the Musketeers 10-8, but stranded 13 baserunners... Torregrossa had three hits to spark Belle Plaine and RF Mendez collected a pair... Colfax's best bats were 2B Ilya Ivanchuk with 3-for-5 and LF Paul Coniglio and CF Ryan Raines, both with 2 hits in four tries.

FM Redhawks Win Opener, Dump Claxton Diamonds 7-5
Far Mountain fell behind 4-0 in the second, trailed 5-3 after three, but then erupted for four runs in the fourth to take the Elite 8 opener from the Claxton Diamonds 7-5... 1B Fran Grzanka and SS Don Nichols doubled in the game-deciding runs to deal the Diamonds the defeat even though Claxton outgunned the Redhawks 12 to 9 in hits... Robby Kelly (1-0) labored early, but got stronger as the game progressed... Kelly and reliever Dave McDonald shut the Diamonds out after the third inning... Kelly pitched seven and two-thirds innings for the victory, but yielded 12 hits and 5 runs... McDonald was effective as he retired all four batters he faced for the save... Charlie Murphy (0-1) bit the dust for the Diamonds as he was slammed for seven runs in just three-plus innings... Far Mountain was paced by Grzanka, 2B Duane Parsons, 3B Keith Wasik and LF Hank Burleigh, all with two hits apiece... Claxton was led by 2B Paco Benitez, CF Dixie Baker, C Alan Lemay and SS Eric Carducci, each with a pair of hits... there were no homers in the game.

Tycobbian Union

Turon Tames Hellcats 7-4 in Elite 8 Opener
On the the road at Pioneer Park in Hartsdale, the Turon Typhoons tamed the Hellcats 7-4 in workman-like fashion... Anthony Nardone (1-0) went the route, but it wasn't pretty... Nardone allowed only five hits, but walked five and gave up four runs, but it was good enough... Turon tagged four Hartsdale hurlers for 10 hits with 1B Johnny Carducci providing a three-run homer in the opening frame and C Fats Dalton getting a two-run shot in the sixth to build up a 7-2 lead... 2B Alan Hansen whacked three hits, scored twice and batted in a run for the winners. RF Sundown Helaku had a fifth-inning homer and CF Mac Faulkner slammed another in the eighth for the Hellcats... Ben Manderson (0-1) caught the loss and departed after two innings trailing 4-1... Turon is trying to win its third Pro Cup... the Typhoons won in 2003 and 2006.

DC Redbirds Edge RB Red Sox 2-1, Mohoski Winner
It's playoff time and that's when Mila Mohoski turns it up a notch... The 30-year-old Denton City Redbird hurler worked eight strong innings to stop Red Bluff 2-1 in the first game of their Elite 8 Series... the talented left-hander whipped his old team for his 12th postseason win... Mohoski has only lost three times in 18 career starts... He held the Red Sox to five hits and just one run in eight innings, struck out six and gave up no walks... manager Ford Whiteman then called on his excellent closer Roger Ramsey to finish out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth... 2B Moses Redwine doubled in the winning runs in the fourth inning and put the Redbirds up 2-1... Red Sox starter Frank Beaudoin deserved better... he surrendered only two runs in six innings, but was the loser... Denton City got 8 hits off Red Bluff pitching... Redwine topped the Redbirds with three base hits... Mohoski was traded by Red Bluff to Denton City in 2006 for 1B-3B Tommy Klegg thinking his best years were behind him... it's been a great deal for both teams.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 24, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

BP Muskies Thump Colfax Again, Up 2-0 in Elite 8
Boo Ladrieux told the press after today game, "We know Colfax is the big dog in RU this year, but that don't mean we have lie down and just go through the motions. I told my players, since we have to show up and play the game, that means we have a chance to win." The Belle Plaine Musketeers did it again... they knocked off the favored Colfax Blasters for the second day in a row and are now up two games to none in the RU Elite 8 Series. The Musketeers thumped them 6-2 at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax... Danny Griffin (1-0) gave Ladrieux a good start... he gave up a 11 hits in eight innings, but held the hard-hitting Blasters to just two runs... Tony Pariseau closed out the game, but loaded the bases before he shakily got the third out... Colfax collected 13 hits in all, but stranded 12 baserunners... Jimmy Joe Cartner (0-1) suffered the defeat as he allowed four runs and eight hits in his seven innings... 2B Floyd Vinson led the Muskies 11-hit attack with two hits and two RBIs... C Tibby Charbert chipped in two doubles, scored twice and batted across one run... and SS Dave Torregrossa also had two hits and scored two runs... SS Phil Amundsen homered in defeat for the Blasters... Belle Plaine ran up a 4-0 lead after seven innings... Colfax didn't score until the eighth when they cut the gap to 4-2.

Manager Clem Rogers complained, "We just can't get a hit with runners on base. It better change soon otherwise it's adios for us. But that will soon change. We hit the ball too good to be silenced like this for very long."

Redhawks Stomp Diamonds 11-3, Take 2-Game Lead
The fans at Sky High Stadium rejoiced again today as their Far Mountain Redhawks stomped Claxton 11-3 in game two of the Pro Cup Elite 8 Series... The Redhawks easily took their second straight victory with a 17-hit barrage... 2B Duane Parsons and SS Don Nichols each hit two-run homers and C Otis Ott smacked a solo shot... Alex Groveland got a solid performance from Leroy Hill (1-0), who went the route, fanned six, walked two and held the Diamonds to just three runs on nine hits... He was tagged for homers by 1B Mike Luzzatti and LF Helmut Graczyk... Far Mountain leaped ahead right off the bat with four runs in each of the first two innings... Loser Pat Grange (0-1) was totally ineffective... he was slammed for seven runs in one-plus innings.

Tycobbian Union

Denton Wins On Northern's Walk-Off HR In 12th
CF Johnny Northern sent the Douglas Denton Field crowd home happy with a twelfth-inning walk-off home run... his clout made the Denton City Redbirds a 4-3 victor over the Red Bluff Red Sox and gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Elite 8 Series... Northern slapped four hits and scored twice in the game... LF Rod MacCormack also lent a hand with a two-run home run... Skipper Ford Whiteman also got strong outings from his two pitchers... Kenyon MacKenzie worked the first eight and allowed three runs on eight hits with five Ks and three walks... Closer Roger Ramsey (1-0) was brilliant with four runless innings and got the win... Ramsey permitted only one hit and fanned three batters, while walking none... Red Bluff reliever Rog Udall (0-1) lost it... Udall allowed one hit and one run in his two-thirds of an inning... Denton City outhit the Red Sox 13-9... Red Sox starter John Dougherty pitched well... he departed after eight innings with the scored tied at 3-3... Dougherty gave up eight hits.

Turon Takes Game 2, Too, Porter's HR Wins It 6-5
Turon got great relief from Freddi Spiegel and a game-winning homer from Andy Porter to whip Hartsdale 6-5 in ten innings... Porter won the game with a solo homer in the top of the tenth and Spiegel (1-0) blanked the Hellcats on one hit over the last five frames to pick the victory... the Typhoons have now won the opening two games of the best-of-seven TU Elite 8 series... Turon took a 4-0 edge with four runs in the third inning, but Hartsdale rallied in the fourth and fifth to nudge ahead 5-4... 2B Alan Hansen's RBI single evened the score at 5-all in the seventh... Hellcat closer Mitch Yassen (0-1) was the victim of Porter's blast and lost it, though he only gave up one run in his three and two-thirds innings... Hartsdale had an 11-6 hit advantage and were paced by LF Mac Faulkner with 3-for-5, including a two-run roundtripper... Hansen and Porter topped the Typhoons with two runs batted in apiece.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 25, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

Amundsen's 3-Run HR Stuns BP, Colfax Wins 4-2
Things were looking dark and dismal for the Colfax Blasters... they were already down two games to none and trailing 2-1 going into the ninth inning of the third game... but suddenly the dormant bats of the so-called Blasters suddenly came alive... with one away 3B Mike Janocko (.333) doubled, 1B Kevin Warren (.286) walked and then SS Phil Amundsen (.250) unloaded a three-run homer to give Colfax a come-from-behind 4-2 triumph... Jasper LaForge (1-0) pitched a fine five-hitter for the victory... LaForge walked two and stuck out five... Denny Reynaud (1-1) gave up the ill-faded home run in the top of the ninth and caught the loss... Reynaud couldn't preserve the win for Tony Saroyan, who hurled a strong game, holding the Blasters to just four hits and a run in seven innings... Both team totaled six hits each... Janocko also homered for the Musketeers... 1B Rory Dickenson (.214) and CF Harry Klyman (.231) drove in the Belle Plaine runs... the Musketeers were up 2-0 after six innings and 2-1 after seven, but couldn't hold it.

Claxton Slows Down FM 2-1, Cuts Lead to 1 Game
39-year-old right-hander Peter Brenneman put the stops to Far Mountain as the Claxton Diamonds edged the Redhawks 2-1 at Avalon Stadium... the win got the Diamonds back into the RU Elite 8 series... Claxton now trails two games to one in the best-of-seven series... Brenneman gave up a lot of hits, but not many runs... Far Mountain racked up 11 hits, but left 12 men on base... Brenneman (1-0) struck out three and issued only one walk in the win... losing pitcher Boomerang Hines (0-1) also had a good effort, limiting Claxton to just four hits and one earned run... the Diamonds struck paydirt first in the second inning when LF Helmut Graczyk (.200) walked, went to second on a ground-out and came around to score on an error by RF Greg Reynolds... the Redhawks came right back and tied it a 1-1 in the third... RF Hank Burleigh (.417) doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice and scored on 1B Fran Grzanka's (.500) single... Claxton went back to work in the bottom of the inning and made it 2-1... with one out 2B Paco Benitez (.417) singled, advanced to second base on a sac bunt and was plated by 1B Mike Luzzatti's (.417) two-bagger... Far Mountain's Grzanka and Burleigh topped the hitters with three hits each.

Tycobbian Union

Game 3 Goes To Hellcats, Turon Falls 6-1
Hartsdale's 35-year-old right-hander Matt DeRosa was in command at Typhoon Stadium as he shut down Turon 7-1 on six hits in game three of the TU Pro Cup Elite 8 Series... this was the Hellcats first win in the series after two losses... DeRosa fanned five and walked four in a complete-game performance... 2B Jud Turchin (.182) and 3B Kendry Moulton (.400) paved the way offensively with two RBIs each... Turchin had the game's only home run, a two-run shot in the third... Hartsdale led 4-0 after three innings, Turon got its only run in the seventh and the Hellcats wrapped up the scoring with two in the eighth frame... James Stuart (0-1) was the losing pitcher... he allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings.

Red Bluff Back In It, Melanakos Defeats DC 4-1
Red Bluff got back into the race on the strength of Jim Melanakos... He fashioned a 4-1 victory over Denton City at Red Bluff Park and captured game three of the TU Elite 8 Series and cut the Redbirds lead to two games to one in the best-of-seven affair... Melanakos (1-0) went the distance and allowed nine hits, while striking out five and walking two... Both clubs got nine hits each... Leading the Red Sox was 3B Tommy Klegg, who had two hits and two RBIs, including a homer... 3B Jay Petit (.500) accounted for the Redbirds only run with a second-inning clout... Mike Danek (0-1) toiled in defeat, giving up four runs on six hits in his six innings.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Saturday, September 26, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

BP Beats Colfax 7-3, Leads Series 3-1
The underdog Belle Plaine Musketeers have the favored Colfax Blasters on the edge of extinction in the RU Elite 8 Series... the Muskies upended the Blasters 7-3 to take a huge three games to one lead in the best-of-seven series... one more Belle Plaine win and the season is over for Clem Rogers' crew... Once again Colfax outhit the Musketeers, but Boo Ladrieux's boys scored more runs... this time Colfax chalked up 11 hits to 10 for Belle Plaine, but still came away empty... the wily left-hander Jorge Bonilla (1-0 4.30) bent a little, but didn't break... Bonilla tossed seven and two-thirds innings for the win, giving up three runs and 10 hits... Chris Sweeney closed it out for the save and held the Blasters scoreless over the last one and one-third innings... the Belle Plaine bats were led by CF Harry Klyman (.294) with two hits, including a homer and three RBIs, 1B Rory Dickenson (.176) batted in a pair of scores and C Tibby Charbert (.364) picked up two hits and 2 RBIs... The Musketeers got the best of Ilya Szabo (0-2 6.00), who lost for the second time in the series... Szabo allowed four runs in three innings... Belle Plaine drew first blood with two first-inning runs... Colfax tied it 2-2 in the top of the third... the Muskies regained the lead for good with two in bottom of the third and two more in the fourth, running it to 6-2.

FM Slams Claxton 11-6, Up 3 Games to 1
At Avalon Stadium in Claxton, the Far Mountain Redhawks took a gigantic step toward the next round by slamming out 11 hits in an 11-6 shellacking of the Blasters... the triumph put the Redhawks up three games to one in the RU Elite 8 Series... it was a seesaw battle until Far Mountain shelled the Diamonds for eight unearned runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away... LF Helmut Graczyk opened the gates when he dropped a two-out fly with the bases loaded and allowed the Redhawks to get back in the game. Claxton starter Charlie Murphy (0-1 4.63) exited after 8 innings and left a 5-3 lead, but Tom Dahl blew it... Dahl (0-1 0.00) was the losing pitching, although he didn't allow an earned run... Hummer Romig (1-0) got credit for the victory as he got the final out in the eighth inning... Far Mountain was led by C Otis Ott (.438) with 3-5 and two RBIs and 1B Fran Grzanka (.500) with 2-4 and two RBIs... SS Don Nichols (.389) also had a pair of hits for the winners... 2B Paco Benitez (.412), LF Helmut Graczyk (.286) and C Alan Lemay (.429) topped the Claxton hitters with two hits apiece.

Tycobbian Union

Turon Trips Hartsdale 5-3 behind Nardone
The Turon Typhoons have the Hartsdale Hellcats on the brink of elimination after they tripped them up 5-3 behind some solid pitching by Anthony Nardone... Nardone was 20-12 during the regular campaign and he has copped two more victories in the postseason so far... Nardone (2-0 3.06) blanked the Hellcats for the first seven frames 5-0, but weakened in the late innings... he allowed three runs on eight hits, whiffed five and walked three... when Hartsdale rallied in the ninth and loaded the bases with two outs, Ford Whiteman summoned his main reliever Freddi Spiegel from the bullpen and he promptly sealed it by getting the final out on a routine ground-ball... The Typhoons totaled 10 hits to 8 for the Hellcats with 3B John Cottrell (.538) going 3-4, RF Andy Porter (.294) 2-4 and 2B Alan Hansen (.400) 2-4... Porter went deep for the winners... Turon CF Mac McCurnan drove in a pair of runs... RF Sundown Helaku (.286) homered and batted in two runs for Hellcats, while 2B Jud Turchin (.267), 3B Kendry Moulton (.429) and LF Rob Welch (.250) collected two hits each... the loss went to starter Ben Manderson (0-2 9.00), who was torched for five runs in seven innings.

Beaudoin Best Mohoski, RB Nips DC 2-1
It was a classic pitching duel at picturesque Red Bluff Park between two of the top pitchers in the IPA... Denton City's Mila Mohoski and Red Bluff's Frank Beaudoin matched zeros on the scoreboard until the Redbirds broke the ice with a run in the top of the eighth... only to have the Red Sox come back and rally for two runs in the last of the eighth to snatch away the victory... Red Bluff and Beaudoin triumphed 2-1 over Denton City and Mohoski... the game-winning hit was delivered by LF Rod Hart (.375), who fouled off three 3-2 pitches before slamming a line drive single to center that plated two runs... Beaudoin (1-1 1.29) didn't do it all himself... he worked eight innings before leaving for a crucial pinchhitter in the ninth... Beaudoin was masterful, limiting the Redbirds to just three hits, while striking out seven... Ivan Brasco gave up a two-out single in the ninth, but quickly closed it out and saved it for Beaudoin... Mohoski (1-1 1.13) had nothing to be ashamed of as he went the distance, yielded only one earned run and seven hits... Mohoski fanned three and walked nobody... the series is now tied at two games each with game five set for tomorrow at Red Bluff Park.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Sunday, September 27, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

Blasters Still Alive, Beat BP 8-5 in Game 5
It was a topsy-turvy contest at Musketeer Field in Belle Plaine... the Musketeers had a good chance to knock favored Colfax out of the playoffs, but couldn't pull it off... Belle Plaine played well early by taking a 4-0 lead over Colfax in the first inning, lousy in the middle innings when they gave away the lead and fell behind 8-4, then Boo Ladrieux's crew rallied late and almost pulled it out... but not quite... the Blasters held on for dear life and remained alive in the Pro Cup Elite 8 Series with a slim 8-7 victory... the series stands at 3-2 in favor of Belle Plaine... losing pitcher Danny Griffin (1-1 1.98) caused his own downfall with a critical two-out error on a misplayed grounder in the sixth inning that opened the floodgates for seven undeserved runs... Starter Jimmy Joe Cartner (1-1 5.79) wasn't very effective, but registered the win anyhow... Cartner allowed five runs in seven innings, but left with an 8-5 lead in the eighth... his relief, the normally reliable Dallas Somerville almost blew the game in the ninth... He gave up a two-run homer to 1B Rory Dickenson (.318) and a double to CF Harry Klyman (.318), putting the tying run on second base... Clem Rogers pulled in Vito Incardona from the bullpen and he got the final out and the save after an intentional walk... Colfax pounded out 11 hits and were sparked by LF Paul Coniglio (.304), C Tino Leonetti (.250) and pitcher Jimmy Joe Cartner (.250), who all batted in two runs each... Topping Belle Plaine's 14-hit attack were 1B Dickenson (.318) with four hits and three RBIs and C Tibby Charbert (.357) with a two-run single... Game six is schedule for tomorrow at Colfax... game seven will also be there, if necessary.

Grange Halts FM On 3 Hits, Claxton Remains Alive
It took a sterling performance by Pat Grange to keep Claxton alive in the RU Elite 8 Series... Grange (1-1 7.84) fired a 3-hitter and defeated the Far Mountain Redhawks 5-2, redeeming himself for the horrible 11-3 loss in game two... Far Mountain still has a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series... 1B Mike Luzzatti (.333) hammered a homer in the eighth off losing pitcher Leroy Hill to give the Diamonds a 3-2 edge... C Allen Lemay (.444) connected on a two-run double later in the inning to seal the victory... Hill (1-1 4.32) gave up five runs on nine hits and took the loss... the Redhawks took an early 2-0 lead in the second, but Claxton tied it with single runs in the third and sixth. The rest of the series will revert back to Far Mountain.

Tycobbian Union

Turon Advances To TU Final 4, KO's Hartsdale 4-3
Turon, the only team in IPA history with two Pro Cups, is headed to the TU Final 4... the Typhoons slipped by the Hartsdale Hellcats 4-3 and knocked them out of the playoffs by taking four out of the five games... Turon recovered from a 3-1 deficit today to even the score at 3-3 in the seventh and won it in the ninth on CF Mac McCurnan's (.261) deep sacrifice fly that scored pinchhitter Marty Poe (.500) with the winning run... 24-game winner Jacques Lemaire (1-0 5.14) only permitted four hits and three runs in a complete-game effort... Lemaire walked three and had 6 Ks... Hellcat closer Mitch Yassen (0-2 3.18) sustained the loss.. he allowed three hits and a run in two innings... the Typhoons numbered 10 hits and were led by SS Roy Flanagan (.278) and Lemaire (.500), who drilled two hits apiece... Hartsdale 1B Tom Brabant (.263) cracked two hits and drove in three runs... Turon will now await the winner of Denton City and Red Bluff.

DC Clips RB 6-5, Leads Elite 8 Series 3-2
Denton City claimed a 6-5 road victory over Red Bluff to go up three games to two in the best-of-seven TU Elite 8 Series... the Redbirds got the game-winner in the top of the ninth... after two were out, SS Trevor Tomlinson (.238) singled, stole second and rode home on RF Lavon Gooch's (.333) single... DC's fine closer Roger Ramsey then finished off the Red Sox to collect the save in the bottom of the ninth... it was Ramsey's second save in the series... Reliever Tom Duroncelay kept Denton City in the game with three strong innings... he allowed no runs and fanned four in his stint... There were no homers in the game as Red Bluff topped the Redbirds in hits 12-8... Tomlinson paced the winners with three hits in five at-bats... he scored twice and batted in one run... Gooch had two hits and two RBIs... Red Bluff SS Jose Aguilar (.429) went 3-for-5 with an RBI and LF Bryan Wessels (.118) delivered two hits and two runs batted in... reliever Ivan Brasco (0-1 5.40) lost the game... Denton City will try and wrap up the series tomorrow at home at Douglas Denton Field... if needed, game seven will also be there.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 28, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

FM Redhawks Final 4 Bound, Whips Claxton in 6
Far Mountain took advantage of a wild throw and has advanced to the RU Final 4... the Redhawks squeezed by the Claxton Diamonds 3-2 and eliminated them from the postseason... with two away in the bottom of the eighth CF Shotgun Boggs (.250) walked, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by C Allen Lemay... that set the stage for 1B Fran Grzanka's (.440) game-breaking single... Boomerang Hines (1-1 1.59) outpitched Peter Brenneman (1-1 1.59) in a fine pitching duel... Hines stopped the Diamonds on five hits and went the distance, striking out five and issuing one walk... Brenneman was just about his equal except for the unearned score... Brenneman pitched the entire game as well and surrendered three runs on seven hits... SS Don Nichols (.360) and 3B Keith Wasik (.273) batted across the other two Redhawk scores, while 1B Mike Luzzatti (.375) and SS Erik Carducci (.368) drove in the runs for Claxton... Far Mountain will contend with the winner of the Colfax-Belle Plaine series for the Ruthlandian Union title in the Final 4.

Colfax Skims By BP 8-6 On Stanton's HR In 15th
In a stunning comeback the Colfax Blasters tied up the RU Elite Series with the determined Belle Plaine Musketeers at three games apiece and forced a seventh-game finale tomorrow at Mountain View Stadium... The game carried on for fifteen innings before journeyman 1B Niles Stanton ended it with a three-run homer, giving Colfax a hard-earned, comeback 8-6 victory... It wasn't easy and the Musketeers came so close to ending the series by taking a seemingly safe 6-4 lead in the top of the fifteenth... but it just wasn't to be... Colfax prevailed against the odds and lives another day... the Blasters had it made for the first seven frames and took a 4-0 lead behind some strong pitching by 23-game winner Jasper LaForge, but it didn't last as Belle Plaine rallied with four runs in the top of the eighth... then for the next six innings the relievers really shined and silenced the bats... no one scored until the 15th... Scotty Blackwell (1-0 2.35) picked up the win with seven and one-third innings of great relief... Blackwell permitted just two runs on four hits... Denny Reynaud was outstanding for Belle Plaine... from the eighth through the eleventh he gave up no runs on three hits... loser Chris Sweeney( 0-1 1.80), who came on in the 12th, allowed four runs on two hits, though three of them were not earned... the Blasters unleashed three homers among 11 hits, one each by LF Paul Coniglio (.310), 2B Kevin Warren (.250) and Stanton (.333)... Sparking the Musketeer 13-hit attack were LF Chuck Hill (.143) with three hits and three RBIs, 3B Warren McDaniel (.160) with two hits and two RBIs and 1B Rory Dickenson (.345) with three hits, two runs and an RBI.

Tycobbian Union

DC Smacks RB 8-5, Now Takes on Turon In Final 4
The bats boomed out today at Douglas Denton Field as Denton City dumped Red Bluff out of the postseason with an 8-5 decision... For the second straight day reliever Tom Duroncelay stood out with four shutout innings to nail down the Redhawk victory... they topped the Red Sox four games to two and will now challenge Turon for the Tycobbian Union title in the league's Final 4 Series... Denton City punished four Red Bluff hurlers for 14 hits, led by homers from CF Rob MacCormack (.364) and C Byron Goldston (.500)... MacCormack went 3-for-3, scored three times and drove in three runs, while RF Lavon Gooch (.333) had two RBIs... the Red Sox also bashed 14 hits and were paced by C Hank Mitchell (.500) with three hits and two RBIs, including a home run, and CF Stan Helmke (.320) with 3-5 and two runs scored... Mike Danek (1-1 6.55) got credit for the win, but was not very effective... Danek was tagged for 10 hits and five runs in his five innings... Duroncelay saved it for him... Jim Melanakos (1-1 5.25) suffered the loss for Red Bluff... he yielded six runs in three innings.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

Colfax Fights Off Belle Plaine, Szabo Wins Game 7
Favored Colfax was really tested by a valiant bunch of Belle Plaine Musketeers, who almost knocked off the team many experts say will win the IPA Pro Cup this year... the testy Musketeers had a three games to one lead but just couldn't finished off a very good Colfax club... when crunch time came, the Blasters rose to the occasion and won the last three games of the series... in game seven it was their veteran ace Ilya Szabo, who rose to the occasion and came up with a clutch performance... Szabo (1-2 4.29) stopped Belle Plaine on seven hits and two runs, fanned six and walked three and went the route in a 6-2 victory... Szabo, who has won 20 games the last three seasons, had not looked good in two previous postseason outings and was beaten both times by the Musketeers... but not today when it was do or die... the Blasters had their hitting shoes on today and rifled 12 hits around Mountain View Stadium, led by RF Pat Coniglio (.333), who homered and doubled, scored twice and batted in two runs... and SS Phil Amundsen (.393) went 3-for-5, scored twice and batted in one... Colfax took a 4-0 after four frames and got rid of the Muskie starter Jorge Bonilla (1-1 5.40)... they ripped Bonilla for four runs and nine hits... two more runs in the seventh gave the Blasters a lot of breathing room... CF Harry Klyman (.323) led Belle Plaine at bat with a homer and a single... Colfax will now move on to the RU Final 4 against the Far Mountain Redhawks, who disposed of the Claxton Diamonds in six games... the series will open on Thursday in Far Mountain.

[Eugene Church]

Geaux Saints Geaux!

[Eugene Church]

Pardon my French... VIVE LES NEW ORLEANS SAINTS!

I lived in New Orleans from 1960 to 1977... went to the University of New Orleans... met and married one of its gorgeous cheerleaders... and lived and died every Sunday following the Saints for many years... but not in the last 30 years or so... I finally gave up on them in 1977.

Tonight was a great experience... Thank heaven the Saints recovered that onside kick and Manning threw that interception.

This was a great win for my long-suffering sister, niece and my brother, who never gave up on them. They and the city of New Orleans truly deserved to win the Super Bowl. It took the Saints 21 years to have a winning record. They have won only two playoff games in their history before this season. However, the Who Dat Nation never gave up on their beloved Saints.

[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Thursday, October 1, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Playoffs

Ruthlandian Union Final Four Series

FM Redhawks Outdo Colfax Blasters 6-3 in 1st Game
Robby Kelly finally broke the spell... the Far Mountain Redhawks whipped the Colfax Blasters 6-3 today at Mountain View Stadium in game one of the RU Final 4 Series... it the first time in four games this season that the Redhawks managed to beat the Blasters... Kelly (2-0 3.65) struck out six, walked one and allowed 10 hits, while pitching the entire game... Far Mountain racked up 14 hits off three Colfax hurlers with starter Stony Blackwell (1-1 1.98) taking the loss... Blackwell was peppered for seven hits and walked five in six innings... he surrendered four runs, but three were not earned... RF Karl Heidelberg (.556) got the Blasters off to a good start with a two-run homer in the opening frame... Redhawk CF Shotgun Boggs (.250) made it 2-1 with a sac fly in the top of the second... Far Mountain went up 4-3 with three scores in the top of the fourth, getting one on a two-out error and RBI singles by 1B Fran Grzanka (.400) and SS Don Nichols (.379)... Boggs led the Redhawks with two RBIs and LF Nick Montag (.500) went 3-4 and scored twice... Heidelberg sparked Colfax at the plate with 3-3 and three RBIs.

Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series

DC Redbirds Nose Out Turon 5-4 in TU Opener
It was a nip-and-tuck 10-inning affair with quite a few lead changes before Denton City squeaked by Turon 5-4 in the opening game of the Tycobbian Union Final 4... It was decided when RF Lavon Gooch (.346) doubled to lead off the 10th and moved to third on a single by 1B Mick Abbott (.208)... with one away 2B Moses Redwine (.333) brought home the winning run with a sacrifice fly... Joe Hoffman, who came on in relief in the 10th picked up the victory with a runless inning... Jeb Pickett (0-1) also came on in the 10th and was the losing pitcher... Both clubs notched nine hits apiece... SS Trevor Tomlinson (.345) had three hits with two RBIs for Denton City and drove in the run in the ninth that sent the game into extra innings... both starters pitched well with Turon's James Stuart allowing only two runs in six innings and DC's Mila Mohoski permitting just two runs in his seven innings.