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Eugene Church · 07-13-2009, 06:11 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

IPA Regular Season Champs Proclaimed, Pro Cup Series Begins Today
Year Four was a good one in the Islandian Pro Alliance with tight, down-to-the-wire races in just about all of the divisions. One of them had to have a one-game winner-take-all-game to decide the pennant. There was also a playoff to decide second place in one of the divisions.

The Pro Cup Sweet 16 Series is slated to get underway today with 8 games on the schedule. For the first time this season, the Pro Cup playoffs will be a best-three-of-five in the first three rounds with the championship series will be a best-of-seven affair.

Ruthlandian Union North Division 2004 Final Standings

Valmara Streaks To Pennant in RU North, Ranford Runner-Up
The Valmara Vipers (87-67) had to win their final five games to overtake the Ranford Bulls (86-68) in the Ruthlandian Union North. The Vipers won it by one game with third place LaGrange (84-70) just three games back. Valmara and Ranford will represent the North in the Pro Cup playoffs that will get underway today with Sweet 16 action. The Bulls will host the RU South champion Belair Beach, while the Vipers will travel to play the Claxton Diamonds, the number two team in the South.

Valmara finished strong under manager J. Jackson Samuel to take the crown for the second successive season. The Vipers vaulted to the top with a great 13-5 run in September and a power-packed line-up headed by LF Jet Kazmarek (10 HR/85 RBI/116 R/80 SB), the top hitter in the IPA with a .376 mark. It's Kazmarek's third straight batting title. 1B Masaichi Okawa (.279/23 HR/115 RBI), 2B Floyd Vinson (.279/7 HR/105 RBI) and RF Val Krol (.312/21 HR/80 RBI) also helped make Valmara the top-scoring club in the division.

Samuel made two big moves at mid-season and put Ted Farentino into the starting rotation and Gerry Wojcik at the closer. They both responded big-time. Farentino with a sparkling 11-2 record with a terrific 2.14 ERA, while Wojcik was 3-1 with 13 saves in 34 games. Valmara also got solid performances from Vanya Vasylenko (17-8 2.76) and Andre Trepanier (18-14 3.42).

The Ranford Bulls had a good run at the pennant, but faltered slightly in the last two weeks of the year with a 9-9 record. Skipper Page Satcher's outstanding mound corps topped the division with an impressive 3.13 ERA, led by LHP Bud English (24-10 2.66), Jim Maxwell (17-9 3.22), LHP Chris Bernhoffer (18-14 3.04) and closer Tim DeKosky (7-8 2.51) with 25 saves and 59 game appearances.

Satcher's best bats were his standout SS Rick Fargnoli (.322/20 HR/127 RBI/91 R), rookie LF Jose Castillo (.292/17 HR/47 RBI/103 R/18 SB) and 3B Colin Fairclough (.286/16 HR/78 RBI/94 R/31 SB). 1B Jordy John delivered 27 home runs to lead the club, but hit only .236.

The LaGrange Sports ran a great race, but just ran out of gas with a 9-19 August, which sunk them. Foxy Jimison's Sports closed well with a 12-6 mark in September, but it was too little, too late by that time. LaGrange is a well-balanced team with quite a few strong performers. On the hill, Sean Stone (20-9 2.80), Barney Prohaska (15-10 2.63) and Tony Amick (13-9 3.45) had fine seasons. In the bullpen closer Leroy Labat (11-5 2.49) excelled with 26 saves and 64 relief appearances.

At the plate, LF John Babcock (.292/23 HR/91 RBI) and RF Mike Di Lazzaro (.315/15 HR/85 RBI/83 R/23 SB) were the kingpins of the attack with help from CF Roger Marley (.295/18 HR/61 RBI/92 R), 2B Timmy Masters (.298/5 HR/58 RBI/81 R) and SS Marvin Hollis (.285/4 HR/54 R/84 R).

Glasco, Taranto and Far Mountain were in the next tier, finishing the season in fourth, fifth and sixth place. The Athletics were 78-76, the Tars 77-77 and the Redhawks 76-78.

Ray Cook was Glasco's top player. He was 20-13 with a 3.42 ERA. A's manager McDuffie Hughes suffered from a lack of offense. Pitcher Jesse Balfour (12-19 3.26) was effective, but could have used more run support. Jake Nyberg (4-1 3.12) was a success as the team's closer. Nyberg saved 18 games and worked in 62 games. Glasco only had one quality hitter, 2B Barry McCord (.278/18 HR/94 RBI/81 R). The Athletics got a lift from SS Kieran Kilgore (.297/9 HR/52 RBI/60 R), when he was inserted into the line-up halfway through the year.

In Taranto manager Tommaso Lazzorda had the pitching but his Tars just did not give good run support to the pitchers, especially Anthony Nardone (10-16 2.76) and Lefty Paddison (13-15 3.18). The other two starters Carlo Bianchi (18-13 3.38) and Arnie Wickersham (11-7 2.41) fared better. The Tars 1-2 tandem, LF Dominic Zuccaro (.291/40 HR/111 RBI/95 R) and RF Tony Blaser (.291/34 HR/107) again produced most of the team's runs. Zuccaro again led the Ruthlandian Union with 40 roundtrippers, leading for the third year in a row.

This is the first year Alex Groveland's Far Mountain Redhawks didn't make the playoffs. The Redhawks bats just can't compete, batting a lowly .248. But as expected Groveland's hurlers did their jobs very well. Robby Kelly (21-10 2.64) won 20 games for the first time in his career. Sonny Elliott (16-10 3.06) and Cliff Pope (13-9 3.34) contributed well, too.

Far Mountain's only productive hitter was LF Karl Dietz, who slugged 31 homers and drove in 106 runs, but only hit for a .245 batting average.

Down at the bottom of the RU North standings were the hapless Kilkenny Cats (68-86) and Ancona Red Elephants (68-86), who tied for seventh place. Neither team had much to cheer about this season. However, Cats manager Kieran McKenna found an extraordinary closer in rookie Carley Stockwell, who joined the team in late June and copped 11 saves and 41 appearances with an excellent 6-2 record and a microscopic 1.33 ERA. McKenna could also smile about his fine RF Rick Audubon (.283), who slammed 36 homers, drove in 115 runs and scored 96 times.

Manny Mickens, skipper of the Red Elephants, got good performances out of CF Simon Manetas (.327/10 HR/59 RBI/59 R) and rookie RF Louis DiMucci (.284/17 HR/70 RBI). On the mound Nikon Maragos (17-15 3.13) and rookie Yannis Vardakis (12-12 3.10) were steady and dependable. RF Jimmy Brewer (.256/25 HR/76 RBI/95 R) provided most of the offense.

07-13-2009, 06:11 PM	#1119
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,869	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 21, 2004 IPA Regular Season Champs Proclaimed, Pro Cup Series Begins Today Year Four was a good one in the Islandian Pro Alliance with tight, down-to-the-wire races in just about all of the divisions. One of them had to have a one-game winner-take-all-game to decide the pennant. There was also a playoff to decide second place in one of the divisions. The Pro Cup Sweet 16 Series is slated to get underway today with 8 games on the schedule. For the first time this season, the Pro Cup playoffs will be a best-three-of-five in the first three rounds with the championship series will be a best-of-seven affair. Ruthlandian Union North Division 2004 Final Standings Valmara Streaks To Pennant in RU North, Ranford Runner-Up The Valmara Vipers (87-67) had to win their final five games to overtake the Ranford Bulls (86-68) in the Ruthlandian Union North. The Vipers won it by one game with third place LaGrange (84-70) just three games back. Valmara and Ranford will represent the North in the Pro Cup playoffs that will get underway today with Sweet 16 action. The Bulls will host the RU South champion Belair Beach, while the Vipers will travel to play the Claxton Diamonds, the number two team in the South. Valmara finished strong under manager J. Jackson Samuel to take the crown for the second successive season. The Vipers vaulted to the top with a great 13-5 run in September and a power-packed line-up headed by LF Jet Kazmarek (10 HR/85 RBI/116 R/80 SB), the top hitter in the IPA with a .376 mark. It's Kazmarek's third straight batting title. 1B Masaichi Okawa (.279/23 HR/115 RBI), 2B Floyd Vinson (.279/7 HR/105 RBI) and RF Val Krol (.312/21 HR/80 RBI) also helped make Valmara the top-scoring club in the division. Samuel made two big moves at mid-season and put Ted Farentino into the starting rotation and Gerry Wojcik at the closer. They both responded big-time. Farentino with a sparkling 11-2 record with a terrific 2.14 ERA, while Wojcik was 3-1 with 13 saves in 34 games. Valmara also got solid performances from Vanya Vasylenko (17-8 2.76) and Andre Trepanier (18-14 3.42). The Ranford Bulls had a good run at the pennant, but faltered slightly in the last two weeks of the year with a 9-9 record. Skipper Page Satcher's outstanding mound corps topped the division with an impressive 3.13 ERA, led by LHP Bud English (24-10 2.66), Jim Maxwell (17-9 3.22), LHP Chris Bernhoffer (18-14 3.04) and closer Tim DeKosky (7-8 2.51) with 25 saves and 59 game appearances. Satcher's best bats were his standout SS Rick Fargnoli (.322/20 HR/127 RBI/91 R), rookie LF Jose Castillo (.292/17 HR/47 RBI/103 R/18 SB) and 3B Colin Fairclough (.286/16 HR/78 RBI/94 R/31 SB). 1B Jordy John delivered 27 home runs to lead the club, but hit only .236. The LaGrange Sports ran a great race, but just ran out of gas with a 9-19 August, which sunk them. Foxy Jimison's Sports closed well with a 12-6 mark in September, but it was too little, too late by that time. LaGrange is a well-balanced team with quite a few strong performers. On the hill, Sean Stone (20-9 2.80), Barney Prohaska (15-10 2.63) and Tony Amick (13-9 3.45) had fine seasons. In the bullpen closer Leroy Labat (11-5 2.49) excelled with 26 saves and 64 relief appearances. At the plate, LF John Babcock (.292/23 HR/91 RBI) and RF Mike Di Lazzaro (.315/15 HR/85 RBI/83 R/23 SB) were the kingpins of the attack with help from CF Roger Marley (.295/18 HR/61 RBI/92 R), 2B Timmy Masters (.298/5 HR/58 RBI/81 R) and SS Marvin Hollis (.285/4 HR/54 R/84 R). Glasco, Taranto and Far Mountain were in the next tier, finishing the season in fourth, fifth and sixth place. The Athletics were 78-76, the Tars 77-77 and the Redhawks 76-78. Ray Cook was Glasco's top player. He was 20-13 with a 3.42 ERA. A's manager McDuffie Hughes suffered from a lack of offense. Pitcher Jesse Balfour (12-19 3.26) was effective, but could have used more run support. Jake Nyberg (4-1 3.12) was a success as the team's closer. Nyberg saved 18 games and worked in 62 games. Glasco only had one quality hitter, 2B Barry McCord (.278/18 HR/94 RBI/81 R). The Athletics got a lift from SS Kieran Kilgore (.297/9 HR/52 RBI/60 R), when he was inserted into the line-up halfway through the year. In Taranto manager Tommaso Lazzorda had the pitching but his Tars just did not give good run support to the pitchers, especially Anthony Nardone (10-16 2.76) and Lefty Paddison (13-15 3.18). The other two starters Carlo Bianchi (18-13 3.38) and Arnie Wickersham (11-7 2.41) fared better. The Tars 1-2 tandem, LF Dominic Zuccaro (.291/40 HR/111 RBI/95 R) and RF Tony Blaser (.291/34 HR/107) again produced most of the team's runs. Zuccaro again led the Ruthlandian Union with 40 roundtrippers, leading for the third year in a row. This is the first year Alex Groveland's Far Mountain Redhawks didn't make the playoffs. The Redhawks bats just can't compete, batting a lowly .248. But as expected Groveland's hurlers did their jobs very well. Robby Kelly (21-10 2.64) won 20 games for the first time in his career. Sonny Elliott (16-10 3.06) and Cliff Pope (13-9 3.34) contributed well, too. Far Mountain's only productive hitter was LF Karl Dietz, who slugged 31 homers and drove in 106 runs, but only hit for a .245 batting average. Down at the bottom of the RU North standings were the hapless Kilkenny Cats (68-86) and Ancona Red Elephants (68-86), who tied for seventh place. Neither team had much to cheer about this season. However, Cats manager Kieran McKenna found an extraordinary closer in rookie Carley Stockwell, who joined the team in late June and copped 11 saves and 41 appearances with an excellent 6-2 record and a microscopic 1.33 ERA. McKenna could also smile about his fine RF Rick Audubon (.283), who slammed 36 homers, drove in 115 runs and scored 96 times. Manny Mickens, skipper of the Red Elephants, got good performances out of CF Simon Manetas (.327/10 HR/59 RBI/59 R) and rookie RF Louis DiMucci (.284/17 HR/70 RBI). On the mound Nikon Maragos (17-15 3.13) and rookie Yannis Vardakis (12-12 3.10) were steady and dependable. RF Jimmy Brewer (.256/25 HR/76 RBI/95 R) provided most of the offense. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-13-2009 at 11:04 PM.