[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Wynnamac Edges Elnora In Playoff, Wins RU East
The Wynnamac Sundowners fought off the Elnora All-Stars in a close race to claim their 2nd Ruthlandian East flag. Matt Donnelly's Sundowners nipped the All-Stars 6-5 in a one-game playoff and edged them out by a single game. Wynnamac won its first title in 2008. Third place went to the Beechwood Bobcats, who finished 6.5 games out with fourth place going to the Marston Nine. Marston trailed by 12.5 games.

Wynnamac's (87-68) pitching carried them. ERA leader Jerry Meeks (22-6 2.47), Gene Fair (17-13 3.69) and Lenny Ward (10-3 2.97) were Donnelly's mainstays on the mound, while his top hitters were LF Big Hoss Burkhalter (.269/24/103/96), RF Joey Eaton (.317/24/79/87) and CF Clive Farnham (.279/25/79/83). Rookie C Tweet Tillman (.301/4/57/74) made an impact defensively and offensively.

The Elnora All-Stars (86-69) almost hit their way to the division crown, but fell one game short. Manager Zoggy White's charges belted the ball at a .275 rate (2nd) and were paced by star RF Lloyd Voss (.348/19/81/100), a career .339 hitter after 8 seasons in the IPA. CF Denny Sawyer (.282/22/91/96) and rookie C Leon Carter (.291/24/86/93) made an impact, too. Elnora's pitching was its weakness overall with a 3.83 team ERA, but White did have Taylor Gibbs, who has accumulated 197 wins in his 13 years. The 34-year-old Gibbs seems to be getting better with age. He notched a strong 21-10 record with a 2.94 ERA this year. Another solid veteran Leroy Hill, who came over late last year in a trade with Far Mountain, showed he has plenty of life and plenty of wins left in his 36-year-old arm with a 20-13 mark and a 4.11 ERA.

It was another good year for Bret George. His Beechwood Bobcats (80-74) capped the year in third place, only 6.5 games off the pace. A quartet of 36-year-old pitchers kept the Bobcats in the race the whole season. Starters Dek Jumonville (21-10/2.82), Terry Kuznetsov (18-14/3.27) and Harry Dye (16-14 3.42) gave George a steady rotation. Over the years Jumonville has won 205 games, Kuznetsov 191 and Dye 136. In the bullpen Carl Costas registered 29 saves with a 3.06 ERA, however, he was only 2-8 in wins and losses. Overall Beechwood posted a fine 3.41 team ERA (7th). Weak hitting hurt Beechwood. The Bobcats batted only .253 (26th). George only had two dependable bats. Rookie CF Vic Valenti led the club with a .318 average, swatted 17 homers, scored 77 and batted in 78, while stealing 29 bases. 1B Ray Slater also contributed a .280 average with 6 homers, 58 RBIs, 97 runs and 37 stolen bases.

The fourth place Marston Nine (74-80) ended up 12.5 games behind winning Wynnamac. Skipper Johnny Walters had a fairly good mound corps that compiled a 3.57 ERA (10th), he didn't have much in the way of offense with a .254 batting average (21st). 10-year vet Milt Wilson (19-12 3.17) posted his best season ever at the age of 38. Bullpen specialist John Updike put up some good numbers with a 6-4 mark, 2.77 ERA and 25 saves. Rookie CF Russ Woodward was Marston's best batsman with a .310 average, 29 home runs, 97 RBIs and 86 runs. RF Richie Marrone chipped in 20 homers, 109 runs and 56 RBIs, while hitting .265.

Last year's RU East titleholder Cold Creek (70-84) slumped badly this season and fell all the way to the fifth spot in the standings. T. Kelly Holmes did not have much to be happy about. His hitting and pitching both went into the pits. The Catamounts best performers were pitchers Payton Saunders (19-15 3.66) and closer Shannon Robinson (3-3 2.18), who had 25 saves. At the plate Holmes' grandson, Trip Holmes, had a productive year with 25 homers, 102 RBIs and 81 runs with a so-so .262 BA. Cold Creek's top hitter was the its rock steady RF Emile Stosha, who batted .310 with 17 roundtrippers, 101 runs and 77 runs batted in.

The Belle Plaine Musketeers (68-86) and Sugar Valley Rattlers (68-86) deadlocked for sixth place in the RU East and finished way back, 18.5 games out of first. Muskie manager Boo Ladrieux had a tough time competing with a 4.25 team ERA (27th) and a .258 batting average (15th) with no power whatsoever. Belle Plaine hit only 97 home runs (31st). The Musketeers top hurler were Brad Anderson (17-16 3.48), Jimmy Giroir (10-3 3.44) and relief ace Denny Reynaud (3-7 2.49) with 19 saves. Rookie SS Scott Hammill had an outstanding year with a .346 BA, 19 homers, 105 RBIs and 93 runs scored. Other contributors were 3B Warren McDaniel (.269/20/86/80) and LF Juan Mendez (.292/3/49/98).

Times were once again very hard for manager Gibby Bobkins in Sugar Valley as the Rattlers wallowed near the bottom of the division for the second successive season. The only thing the Rattlers do is hit home runs, but so do the opposing teams. Farmers Memorial Park is only 310 feet down the lines and only 385 in straight away center - hence, it is a homer haven. Sugar Valley hit 150 (6th) out of the park, but other clubs had a feast with 225 homers. Consequently the Rattlers pitching corps posted an atrocious 4.84 ERA (32nd). Bobkins best pitchers were starter Ed Clavell (16-15 4.06) and closer Woody Murrell, who saved 28 games with a 3-4 record and an impressive 2.47 ERA. Sugar Valley was sparked at the plate by 6-time All-Star C Hal Stevenson, who walloped 49 home runs, hit .311 with 134 RBIs and scored 109 times in a great season. LF Austen Conover added a .291 BA with 3 home runs, 102 runs and 56 RBIs, while leading the IPA with 51 steals.

For the third consecutive year the pathetic Eastshore Elegants (66-88) floundered in the RU East cellar, the fifth time in six seasons it has happened. Manager Killer Brewster's crew wound up 20.5 games off the pace. The only bright spots on the club were rookie pitcher Bix Hansen, who racked up an 18-15 mark with a 3.54 ERA and LF Stan Cuccinello, who had another solid season with a .281 average, 29 home runs, 92 RBIs and 90 runs.