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Eugene Church · 03-05-2011, 12:46 AM

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 20, 2021

2021 Ruthlandian East Final Recap

Sugar Valley Snags RU East, Edges Out Eastshore
The Sugar Valley Rattlers survived a seesaw season-long struggle with powerful Eastshore and snatched the Ruthlandian East title by one game. Nobody else contended in the second half of the season as all the challengers faded out after the All-Star game. The Marston Nine came in third with a strong finish and were 12 games off the pace, while the defending division champ Beechwood Bobcats rebounded in the second half after a poor start and wound up fourth in the standings and trailed by 13 games... the Bobcats were tied with Belle Plaine for the fourth spot.

Sugar Valley moved up from fourth place last year to the top spot under long-time skipper Gibby Bobkins... powerful hitting and strong pitching did it and enabled the Rattlers to fight off and overcome the Eastshore Elegants... Benny McConnell (26-11 2.43) and Nick Moore (19-6 3.08) had outstanding seasons to spark them to the RU East title... closer Fernando Vargas (5-6) also played a big part with 32 saves and a 2.63 ERA... as a team the Rattlers rang up a 3.68 ERA (16th)... Sugar Valley had a vaunted attack with 203 homers, first in the RU, and third in scoring with 780 runs... CF Randall Hawson (.299/57 HR/123 RBI/105 R) had an awesome year with 57 homers, a new RU mark... Tommy Klegg of Eastshore set the record with 53 in 2013... Hawson had plenty of help from RF Terry Goudeau (.244/27 HR/98 RBI/96 R), 2B Glenn Christian (.291/26 HR/85 RBI/83 R), C Hal Stevenson (.249/25 HR/74 RBI/66 R) and SS Jack Sanderson (.287/20 HR/70 RBI/101 R)... As good as they are the Rattlers must face a club that won 100 games this season in the RU Elite 8 Series... the Sligo Rovers were tops in pitching (.290 ERA) and number two in scoring (798 runs)... the Rovers had four 20-game winners... it should be a whale of a series... Ancona and Grand City should be a dilly, too.

Manager Killer Brewster has lost two tough pennant races the last two years by a grand total of just 3 games... his Eastshore Elegants have a well-rounded attack with a .272 team BA (2nd), 756 runs (5th), 139 homers (12th) and a 3.28 ERA (4th)... the Elegants also handle the gloves very well with a .976 FA, tied for second in the RU... two 20-game winners Melvin Key (21-11 2.94) and Danny Siegfried (20-13 2.94) led the way, along with the fine closer Milt Campbell (3-5), who notched 29 saves and composed a brilliant 1.11 ERA... Brewster's top bats were 2B Gerry Garner (.329/36 HR/117 RBI/110 R), RF Stan Cuccinello (.291/30 HR/110 RBI/93 R) and LF Tony Romanczuk (.302/7 HR/70 RBI/91 R)... Sugar Valley's firepower made the difference.

The third-place Marston Nine got healthy in the second half of the season and rode the arms of Wayne Taylor (23-12 3.27) and closer John Wilson (3-5), who saved 27 games and posted a 2.32 ERA... Anson Thomas (17-20 3.11) certainly pitched better than his won-loss record... Thomas registered 20 complete games... poor run support cost him dearly... manager Johnny Walters only decent bats were superstar CF Russ Woodward (.325/37 HR/121 RBI/103 R) and 1B Mel Hawkins (.253/24 HR/90 RBI/76 R).

It was a pathetic first half for last year's RU East titleholder, the Beechwood Bobcats, as they sunk to seventh place at the All-Star break... however Bret George's club got its hitting in order and they played 13 games over .500 in the second half with a 44-31 mark to wind up in the fourth spot in the RU East, tied with Belle Plaine... gifted CF Vic Valenti (.303/23 HR/84 RBI/96 R), 3B Maury Charles (.301/13 HR/93 RBI/54 R) and LF Ryan Ray (.283/25 HR/89 RBI/85 R) led the team's offensive resurgence... Valenti had to hit .330 in the second half, Charles .350 and Ray over .320 to end up with good seasons... the Bobcats had wonderful pitching with a 3.27 team ERA (3rd), paced by rookie Ken DeGraw (10-5 2.12), who joined the club in late June... Billy Ray (16-14 3.01), Marty Panko (16-14 3.30) and Stephen Ladd (16-15 3.51) also gave Beechwood three more steady starters... closer Jeff Lyons had a rough year with a 4-9 record, but he did save 30 games and chalked up an impressive 2.24 ERA.

For the last six years the Belle Plaine Musketeers have been stuck at the bottom of the division, finishing seventh or eighth each season, but not this year... at the halfway point rookie manager Dave Torregrossa's Muskies were third and only 3 games back of leading Eastshore... but it didn't last as Belle Plaine slipped back to a tie for fourth, ending up 80-74 and 13 games back... still it was a great season for them... Torregrossa's top performers at the plate were SS Slick Hammill (.337/27 HR/100 RBI/102 R) and RF Jim Beauregard (.263/26 HR/101 RBI/84 R)... the pitching corps was sparked by terrific closer Fabian Moreau (10-4) with 35 saves and a super-low 1.84 ERA... Lucien Record (15-9 3.50) and Frankie Walsh (15-17 3.37) were consistently good on the hill, while Rick Lafleur (17-14 4.24) had the most wins.

The sixth place Elnora All-Stars under the direction of Sam Malone came in 16 games back in the race, but they compiled a 77-77 record... homers (154/6th) and reliable pitching (3.97 ERA/21st) propelled the All-Stars... 42-year-old Taylor Gibbs (12-12 3.80) and rookie Mario Colon (8-4 3.65) were Malone top twirlers... Gibbs is now 288-235 overall in his 20 seasons... closer Paul Gray (2-1 2.83) was also effective with 14 saves... topping the offense were RF Travis Glass (.335/35 HR/90 RBI/98 R), C Leon Carter (.292/26 HR/70 RBI/106 R) and 1B Michael Griffin (.221/29 HR/100 RBI/79 R)... CF Floyd Roberts added 26 homers and 76 RBIs, but batted only .216.

After a surprising third-place run last year - they finished just 3 games behind - the Wynnamac Sundowners came down-to-earth this year and ended up next-to-last in the RU East, but did come within a game of a .500 season, coming in 17 games off the pace of pennant-winning Sugar Valley... Matt Donnelly had pretty fair pitching last season and it got even better this year, improving to a 3.37 ERA (7th), but he saw his bats slump severely to just .246 (27th), a drop from .265 in 2020... hence the downward spiral in the standings... Jerry Meeks (16-17 2.94), Johnny Price (14-13 2.69) and rookie Lon Marshall (5-11 3.32) stood out on the hill, but suffered badly from a lack of runs... closer Jim Horton (8-4) had a solid year with 20 saves and a 2.31 ERA... 2B Liam Cadbury (.276/23 HR/93 RBI/66 R) and 1B Pete Simmons (.315/12 HR/82 RBI/88 R) provided what little offense the Sundowners had.

Trip Holmes doesn't have much talent in Cold Creek, where the Catamounts wound up in the cellar for the second time in three seasons, 35 games behind in the race... on the mound young 21-year-old Mike Butler (14-18 3.55) and 27-year-old Lou Hillman (11-17 3.93) showed some promise, but it tough to win when the team is near bottom in all offensive categories... last in runs (584) and last in homers (82) and hitting only .247 (25th)... you can't compete when your best hitters SS Lynn Seymour and 3B Dick Tabor hit only .270 and .282 respectively... Seymour had 10 homers and 74 RBIs and Tabor 12 homers and 61 RBIs.

03-05-2011, 12:46 AM	#2390
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,054	The Islandian Times Monday, September 20, 2021 2021 Ruthlandian East Final Recap Sugar Valley Snags RU East, Edges Out Eastshore The Sugar Valley Rattlers survived a seesaw season-long struggle with powerful Eastshore and snatched the Ruthlandian East title by one game. Nobody else contended in the second half of the season as all the challengers faded out after the All-Star game. The Marston Nine came in third with a strong finish and were 12 games off the pace, while the defending division champ Beechwood Bobcats rebounded in the second half after a poor start and wound up fourth in the standings and trailed by 13 games... the Bobcats were tied with Belle Plaine for the fourth spot. Sugar Valley moved up from fourth place last year to the top spot under long-time skipper Gibby Bobkins... powerful hitting and strong pitching did it and enabled the Rattlers to fight off and overcome the Eastshore Elegants... Benny McConnell (26-11 2.43) and Nick Moore (19-6 3.08) had outstanding seasons to spark them to the RU East title... closer Fernando Vargas (5-6) also played a big part with 32 saves and a 2.63 ERA... as a team the Rattlers rang up a 3.68 ERA (16th)... Sugar Valley had a vaunted attack with 203 homers, first in the RU, and third in scoring with 780 runs... CF Randall Hawson (.299/57 HR/123 RBI/105 R) had an awesome year with 57 homers, a new RU mark... Tommy Klegg of Eastshore set the record with 53 in 2013... Hawson had plenty of help from RF Terry Goudeau (.244/27 HR/98 RBI/96 R), 2B Glenn Christian (.291/26 HR/85 RBI/83 R), C Hal Stevenson (.249/25 HR/74 RBI/66 R) and SS Jack Sanderson (.287/20 HR/70 RBI/101 R)... As good as they are the Rattlers must face a club that won 100 games this season in the RU Elite 8 Series... the Sligo Rovers were tops in pitching (.290 ERA) and number two in scoring (798 runs)... the Rovers had four 20-game winners... it should be a whale of a series... Ancona and Grand City should be a dilly, too. Manager Killer Brewster has lost two tough pennant races the last two years by a grand total of just 3 games... his Eastshore Elegants have a well-rounded attack with a .272 team BA (2nd), 756 runs (5th), 139 homers (12th) and a 3.28 ERA (4th)... the Elegants also handle the gloves very well with a .976 FA, tied for second in the RU... two 20-game winners Melvin Key (21-11 2.94) and Danny Siegfried (20-13 2.94) led the way, along with the fine closer Milt Campbell (3-5), who notched 29 saves and composed a brilliant 1.11 ERA... Brewster's top bats were 2B Gerry Garner (.329/36 HR/117 RBI/110 R), RF Stan Cuccinello (.291/30 HR/110 RBI/93 R) and LF Tony Romanczuk (.302/7 HR/70 RBI/91 R)... Sugar Valley's firepower made the difference. The third-place Marston Nine got healthy in the second half of the season and rode the arms of Wayne Taylor (23-12 3.27) and closer John Wilson (3-5), who saved 27 games and posted a 2.32 ERA... Anson Thomas (17-20 3.11) certainly pitched better than his won-loss record... Thomas registered 20 complete games... poor run support cost him dearly... manager Johnny Walters only decent bats were superstar CF Russ Woodward (.325/37 HR/121 RBI/103 R) and 1B Mel Hawkins (.253/24 HR/90 RBI/76 R). It was a pathetic first half for last year's RU East titleholder, the Beechwood Bobcats, as they sunk to seventh place at the All-Star break... however Bret George's club got its hitting in order and they played 13 games over .500 in the second half with a 44-31 mark to wind up in the fourth spot in the RU East, tied with Belle Plaine... gifted CF Vic Valenti (.303/23 HR/84 RBI/96 R), 3B Maury Charles (.301/13 HR/93 RBI/54 R) and LF Ryan Ray (.283/25 HR/89 RBI/85 R) led the team's offensive resurgence... Valenti had to hit .330 in the second half, Charles .350 and Ray over .320 to end up with good seasons... the Bobcats had wonderful pitching with a 3.27 team ERA (3rd), paced by rookie Ken DeGraw (10-5 2.12), who joined the club in late June... Billy Ray (16-14 3.01), Marty Panko (16-14 3.30) and Stephen Ladd (16-15 3.51) also gave Beechwood three more steady starters... closer Jeff Lyons had a rough year with a 4-9 record, but he did save 30 games and chalked up an impressive 2.24 ERA. For the last six years the Belle Plaine Musketeers have been stuck at the bottom of the division, finishing seventh or eighth each season, but not this year... at the halfway point rookie manager Dave Torregrossa's Muskies were third and only 3 games back of leading Eastshore... but it didn't last as Belle Plaine slipped back to a tie for fourth, ending up 80-74 and 13 games back... still it was a great season for them... Torregrossa's top performers at the plate were SS Slick Hammill (.337/27 HR/100 RBI/102 R) and RF Jim Beauregard (.263/26 HR/101 RBI/84 R)... the pitching corps was sparked by terrific closer Fabian Moreau (10-4) with 35 saves and a super-low 1.84 ERA... Lucien Record (15-9 3.50) and Frankie Walsh (15-17 3.37) were consistently good on the hill, while Rick Lafleur (17-14 4.24) had the most wins. The sixth place Elnora All-Stars under the direction of Sam Malone came in 16 games back in the race, but they compiled a 77-77 record... homers (154/6th) and reliable pitching (3.97 ERA/21st) propelled the All-Stars... 42-year-old Taylor Gibbs (12-12 3.80) and rookie Mario Colon (8-4 3.65) were Malone top twirlers... Gibbs is now 288-235 overall in his 20 seasons... closer Paul Gray (2-1 2.83) was also effective with 14 saves... topping the offense were RF Travis Glass (.335/35 HR/90 RBI/98 R), C Leon Carter (.292/26 HR/70 RBI/106 R) and 1B Michael Griffin (.221/29 HR/100 RBI/79 R)... CF Floyd Roberts added 26 homers and 76 RBIs, but batted only .216. After a surprising third-place run last year - they finished just 3 games behind - the Wynnamac Sundowners came down-to-earth this year and ended up next-to-last in the RU East, but did come within a game of a .500 season, coming in 17 games off the pace of pennant-winning Sugar Valley... Matt Donnelly had pretty fair pitching last season and it got even better this year, improving to a 3.37 ERA (7th), but he saw his bats slump severely to just .246 (27th), a drop from .265 in 2020... hence the downward spiral in the standings... Jerry Meeks (16-17 2.94), Johnny Price (14-13 2.69) and rookie Lon Marshall (5-11 3.32) stood out on the hill, but suffered badly from a lack of runs... closer Jim Horton (8-4) had a solid year with 20 saves and a 2.31 ERA... 2B Liam Cadbury (.276/23 HR/93 RBI/66 R) and 1B Pete Simmons (.315/12 HR/82 RBI/88 R) provided what little offense the Sundowners had. Trip Holmes doesn't have much talent in Cold Creek, where the Catamounts wound up in the cellar for the second time in three seasons, 35 games behind in the race... on the mound young 21-year-old Mike Butler (14-18 3.55) and 27-year-old Lou Hillman (11-17 3.93) showed some promise, but it tough to win when the team is near bottom in all offensive categories... last in runs (584) and last in homers (82) and hitting only .247 (25th)... you can't compete when your best hitters SS Lynn Seymour and 3B Dick Tabor hit only .270 and .282 respectively... Seymour had 10 homers and 74 RBIs and Tabor 12 homers and 61 RBIs.