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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 21, 2027
2027 Ruthlandian East Final Recap
Beechwood Romps, Wins RU East Again
It was absolutely no contest in the Ruthlandian East for the second consecutive season... The powerful Beechwood Bobcats strolled to an 18-game victory over second place Marston... and demolished the next three teams by 21 games... Wynnamac, Eastshore and Belle Plaine tied for third place.
Superlative pitching was the order of the day for manager Bret George and his Beechwood Bobcats (98-56), who chalked up 98 wins for the second fabulous year in a row, led by All-Star Ken Arby (28-8 2.33), who almost won 30 games, All-Star Maury Patterson (26-11 2.90) and Bill Curtis (17-8 2.90)... the Bobcats also have a good offense that's ranked 6th in scoring... IPA great and All-Star CF Vic Valenti (.305/25/99/104) was the workhorse in the batting order, but he got some strong support from LF Jojo Davis (.343/3/43/95), 3B Skipper Smith (.280/12/89/69) and C Joe Bachmann (.258/15/82/50).
The Marston Nine (80-74) had a turnaround season under new manager Danny Church... the Nine moved up from 6th to 2nd this year... Church played 25 years in the IPA, the last 17 in Marston... Church was a 5-time Gold Glove at SS and 3B... he batted .278 lifetime and collected almost 3500 hits (6th), 700 doubles (1st) and 2000 walks (3rd)... Church played for 6 playoff teams and 4 pennant winners... Ronald Schmitt (19-12 2.75) was the ace of the mound staff, along with fine closer Bobby Daniel (6-5), who saved 26 games and posted a 2.74 ERA... Marston had solid pitching and batting... top performers for the Nine are IPA legendary CF Russ Woodward, who had another great year with a .325 BA, 31 HR, 90 RBI, 108 runs, All-Star 3B George Varsh (.306/6/74/64), All-Star 2B Lonnie Trekell (.257/23/88/77) and C Ron Marlowe (.293/14/68/56)... rookie SS Doyle McCandlish (.259/0/58/63) stabilized the infield in his first season.
The Wynnamac Sundowners (77-77) took a turn for the worst and fell back to a third place tie, after winning the flag two years ago and winding up second in 2026... when the pitching dropped off sharply this year, manager Matt Donnelly saw his mound staff soar from a 2.77 team ERA up to a 3.65 ERA... young Jason Weeks was Wynnamac's best with a 15-16 mark and a solid 3.07 ERA... his dad, Jerry Meeks (11-15 4.31), the Sundowners longtime ace, and veteran star Lon Marshall (15-15 3.76) both suffered down years... Donnelly had plenty of good bats in his lineup with LF Lil Hoss Burkhalter (.306/28/83/100), 3B Dorak Aranda (.306/3/13/75/79), C Les Leslie (.280/19/74/58) and 2B Liam Cadbury (.247/18/88/68).
Killer Brewster is still in charge of the Eastshore Elegants (77-77)... his club wound up third last season and tied for third this year... the Elegants have better than average hitting with a .260 BA (10th) and are ranked 9th in scoring... on the mound they are less than average with a 3.86 team ERA... Brewster's bullpen is pathetic with a 4.20 mark (28th)... defensively Eastshore is above average with a .977 FA... top run producers are RF Ivan Borkowski (.307/28/94/87), SS Larry Romney (.272/20/83/81) and LF Larry Lowe (.290/6/56/91)... on the hill the club leaders were Randy Boone (20-14 3.29) and Melvin Key (17-16 3.47).
The Belle Plaine Musketeers (77-77) also tied for third place in the RU East... last year they were fifth... skipper Dave Torregrossa has a potent offense with a .264 BA (7th), 131 homers (7th) and is 3rd in scoring... but the Muskies are only mediocre on the mound with a 3.88 team ERA (24th)... All-Star SS Slick Hammill (.298/14/71/86) is the top hitter, aided by LF Owen Newman (.299/25/85/82), C Derek Roman (.292/18/84/75), 3B Tyler Verret (.256/23/83/76) and RF Leon Bourque (.282/15/62/86)... Johnny Davenport (20-8 3.48) and Lamont Cramer (17-10 3.44) are the top hurlers.
Sixth in the standings were the Elnora All-Stars (71-83), piloted this year by former catching great Leon Carter... up slightly from seventh in 2024 and 2025 and the cellar last year... Carter has decent bats (.255 BA-13th), good power (120 HR-15th), but not much scoring (23rd-tied)... not much pitching either (3.79 ERA-19th)... All-Star CF Travis Glass (.302/31/98/93) leads the lineup... followed by rookie RF Pettis Pentleton (.300/15/59/88) and rookie LF Jock Jumonville (.298/13/67/80)... best pitchers were vets Lucien Vachon (15-20 3.33) and Will Hamilton (12-17 3.20).
Gibby Bobkins is not a happy camper in Sugar Valley (68-86), who ended up seventh for the second straight season... the Rattlers still rattle the fences with 161 homers (1st), but don't connect often enough (.244 BA-26th)... Bobkins' staff is only average with a 3.75 team ERA (18th)... standout 1B and All-Star Dean Woods topped the RU in homers with 40 (tied with Kees Draeger of Belair Beach) and led the IPA with 121 RBIs... other top bats were CF Lindsay Deal (.262/28/87/80) and SS Jan Kessinger (.288/3/55/73)... rookie Jeremy Blanchard (15-17 3.32) did well in his debut year... vets Benny McConnell (12-22 3.92) and Nick Moore (11-15 3.46) had down seasons.
The Cold Creek Catamounts (65-89) looked on the rise last year with a fourth-place finish under skipper Trip Holmes, but it didn't last... the Cats plummeted to last place this season... it's been 15 years since Cold Creek won a pennant and made the playoffs... Holmes resigned at the end of the season and was replaced by journeyman catcher Scoop Lemiuex... the Catamounts have a little power (128 HR-9th), but little else... best talent is All-Star 1B Steve Daniels (.280/28/87/82)... CF Carl Denton (.236/25/78/77) hits with power, but is short on contact... Lemiuex has some young arms that show promise: Joey Christianson (15-19 3.50), Jamie Gustafson (13-22 3.60), Tommy Smith (12-17 3.56) and Norman Hill (8-3 3.34)... closer Kyle Wilkerson (4-4) pitched well with 24 saves and a 2.64 ERA.
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