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Eugene Church · 11-29-2011, 11:43 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 19, 2028

2028 Ruthlandian West Final Recap

Sligo Edges FTB And Stoner In RU West
The Ruthlandian West pennant chase went deep into September before the Sligo Rovers edged out the Fort Benton Defenders by 2 games and the Stoner Stars by 4... the Rovers rallied from third place in the final weeks of the season to wrap up their second pennant in a row... Volusia finished with a flourish and came in fourth place, 8 games back and tied with Middlefield... The Rovers rode a good September to the pennant, racking up a 10-6 record, while Fort Benton and Stoner could only muster 7-9 marks.

The best pitching in the IPA carried manager Eddie Keys' Sligo Rovers (87-67) to the title... his staff put up a 3.14 team ERA, led by solid core of starters... All-Star Earl Perkins (21-8/2.53) was the ace with support from Lou Page (21-14/3.01) and 37-year-old veteran Les Patterson (16-16/2.88)... closer Milt Flanagan (4-3) collected 16 saves and chalked up a strong 2.28 ERA... offensively Keys only had an average club with a .254 BA (18th), 700 runs (18th) and 161 home runs (14th), led by All-Star CF Darryl Collins (.296/31/112/84) and LF Biff Blauer (.302/17/63/85)... RF Teddy Brunet provided some extra firepower with 33 homers, 102 RBIs and 90 runs, but batted just .246.

Before the past two seasons, the last time the Fort Benton Defenders (85-69) really contended for the RU West pennant was in 2013, when they missed out by just one game... Robbie Brooks came real close this year, too, ending up only 2 games off the pace... Fort Benton's prime performers were All-Star Frankie Quinn (25-13/2.94), Edd Farmer (21-9/3.66) and Augie Marquis (18-12/3.16) on the hill and CF Vince Boylan (.303/34/95/93), 3B Ronny Frick (.283/16/95/64) and 1B Brad Jenkins (.332/9/67/70) at the plate.

The third place Stoner Stars (83-71) had strong bats and weak arms this season... skipper Benny Stern's Stars could put runs on the scoreboard, ranking third in runs with 813, 7th with a .275 BA and 10th in home runs with 169... Stoner's top bats were All-Star 3B Jeff Henderson, who wreaked havoc with 39 homers, 142 RBIs, 93 runs and a .339 BA... Henderson is just 21 and in his third year... along with 1B Fletch Fowler (.319/28/112/87), LF Kevin Fisher (.293/16/64/105), CF Al Rispone (.283/17/78/112), All-Star catcher P. J. Blake (.276/13/84) and RF Neil Mooney (.319/14/66/66)... the Stars top hurler was Raul Hidalgo with a 19-14 mark and a 3.11 ERA... Lou Neuman made the All-Star team with a 10-1 record and a 3.01 ERA, but crashed in the second half, winding up with a 15-8 mark and a 4.50 ERA.

After a slow start, manager Alfonso Feliz finally got his Volusia Vigilantes (79-75) going in the second half with a fourth-place finish, 8 games off the pace... the Vigilantes haven't made the playoffs since 2006 and have wallowed in the second division the past three seasons... in the last three months of the year the V's were 41-32... Volusia depended on good pitching, ranking third in the league with a 3.62 ERA... All-Star Cisco Almeida (22-7/2.52) and 11-year vet Sixto Moreno (17-13/3.74) were the stalwarts of the staff... RF Dave Skoglund (.290/17/78/95) was Feliz's most dependable hitter... other run producers were LF Marty Hollenbeck (.316/12/57/64), SS Joao Rosales (.308/8/58/65), 3B Valerio Cortes (.240/23/86/85) and CF Vasco Aguilar (.261/23/77/60).

At mid-year, the Middlefield Roosters (79-75) were on top of the RU West, a game ahead of Stoner and Sligo and 5 in front of Colfax... Bailey Norcross' Roosters slipped badly (31-42) in the second half, but managed to hold on to fourth place, tied with Volusia... taking advantage of its small ballpark, Middlefield exploded for 211 homers to top the RU, but hit poorly with a .225 BA (32nd) and were 22nd in runs scored... Norcross had four players with 20 or more roundtrippers... LF Floyd McClellan hit 33, but batted just .215, 1B Paul Smiley had 33 and batted .260, 3B Stu Butterworth chipped in 23, while hitting .217 and CF Tom Daniels swatted 23 and batted just .206 for average... Norm Phillips was the only starter of note... after being moved into the starting role in August, Phillips was 9-4 with a 2.98 ERA... Tyrus Cobb added a 16-10 mark, but posted a 4.39 ERA, which is not bad at tiny Middlefield Park.

The sixth place Colfax Blasters (77-77) had a decent season, though they were 10 games behind Sligo, but Ilya Szabo's club still wound up with a .500 mark... All-Star CF Hal Granders (.320/11/60/122) and C Mitch Fullerton (.310/18/95/65) were the main bats, while Jon Cruise (18-12/4.05) and Dean McCord (8-2/3.20) were the most effective starters... McCord didn't move into the starting rotation until July and responded in a fine way.

Ryan Noland's Rocky Rapids Snappers (71-83) came in seventh this season, but improved a little bit over 2026 and 2027, when they were in the RU West basement... the Snappers did it with some good pitching from All-Star Terence Mulloy (16-12/2.95), Walter Noland (15-17/3.32) and Matt Loudermilk (15-18/3.20)... woeful hitting doomed the Snappers... only 1B Angelo Nardone (.292/30/87/75) did much damage.

The last place Forest City Lumberjacks (66-88) haven't made the postseason since 2013... manager Rob Jackson is in sore need of talent... C George Arnick topped the team with a .277 mark, 19 homers and 86 RBIs... 1B Barry McKnight (.218 BA) led the team with 30 roundtrippers, followed by CF Fred Weldon (.256 BA) and LF Ryan Ray (.244 BA) with 20 each... Stephen Phillips (15-19/4.55) and Norm Dawson (13-17/4.41) were the best the 'Jacks could put on the mound.

11-29-2011, 11:43 PM	#2861
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,956	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 19, 2028 2028 Ruthlandian West Final Recap Sligo Edges FTB And Stoner In RU West The Ruthlandian West pennant chase went deep into September before the Sligo Rovers edged out the Fort Benton Defenders by 2 games and the Stoner Stars by 4... the Rovers rallied from third place in the final weeks of the season to wrap up their second pennant in a row... Volusia finished with a flourish and came in fourth place, 8 games back and tied with Middlefield... The Rovers rode a good September to the pennant, racking up a 10-6 record, while Fort Benton and Stoner could only muster 7-9 marks. The best pitching in the IPA carried manager Eddie Keys' Sligo Rovers (87-67) to the title... his staff put up a 3.14 team ERA, led by solid core of starters... All-Star Earl Perkins (21-8/2.53) was the ace with support from Lou Page (21-14/3.01) and 37-year-old veteran Les Patterson (16-16/2.88)... closer Milt Flanagan (4-3) collected 16 saves and chalked up a strong 2.28 ERA... offensively Keys only had an average club with a .254 BA (18th), 700 runs (18th) and 161 home runs (14th), led by All-Star CF Darryl Collins (.296/31/112/84) and LF Biff Blauer (.302/17/63/85)... RF Teddy Brunet provided some extra firepower with 33 homers, 102 RBIs and 90 runs, but batted just .246. Before the past two seasons, the last time the Fort Benton Defenders (85-69) really contended for the RU West pennant was in 2013, when they missed out by just one game... Robbie Brooks came real close this year, too, ending up only 2 games off the pace... Fort Benton's prime performers were All-Star Frankie Quinn (25-13/2.94), Edd Farmer (21-9/3.66) and Augie Marquis (18-12/3.16) on the hill and CF Vince Boylan (.303/34/95/93), 3B Ronny Frick (.283/16/95/64) and 1B Brad Jenkins (.332/9/67/70) at the plate. The third place Stoner Stars (83-71) had strong bats and weak arms this season... skipper Benny Stern's Stars could put runs on the scoreboard, ranking third in runs with 813, 7th with a .275 BA and 10th in home runs with 169... Stoner's top bats were All-Star 3B Jeff Henderson, who wreaked havoc with 39 homers, 142 RBIs, 93 runs and a .339 BA... Henderson is just 21 and in his third year... along with 1B Fletch Fowler (.319/28/112/87), LF Kevin Fisher (.293/16/64/105), CF Al Rispone (.283/17/78/112), All-Star catcher P. J. Blake (.276/13/84) and RF Neil Mooney (.319/14/66/66)... the Stars top hurler was Raul Hidalgo with a 19-14 mark and a 3.11 ERA... Lou Neuman made the All-Star team with a 10-1 record and a 3.01 ERA, but crashed in the second half, winding up with a 15-8 mark and a 4.50 ERA. After a slow start, manager Alfonso Feliz finally got his Volusia Vigilantes (79-75) going in the second half with a fourth-place finish, 8 games off the pace... the Vigilantes haven't made the playoffs since 2006 and have wallowed in the second division the past three seasons... in the last three months of the year the V's were 41-32... Volusia depended on good pitching, ranking third in the league with a 3.62 ERA... All-Star Cisco Almeida (22-7/2.52) and 11-year vet Sixto Moreno (17-13/3.74) were the stalwarts of the staff... RF Dave Skoglund (.290/17/78/95) was Feliz's most dependable hitter... other run producers were LF Marty Hollenbeck (.316/12/57/64), SS Joao Rosales (.308/8/58/65), 3B Valerio Cortes (.240/23/86/85) and CF Vasco Aguilar (.261/23/77/60). At mid-year, the Middlefield Roosters (79-75) were on top of the RU West, a game ahead of Stoner and Sligo and 5 in front of Colfax... Bailey Norcross' Roosters slipped badly (31-42) in the second half, but managed to hold on to fourth place, tied with Volusia... taking advantage of its small ballpark, Middlefield exploded for 211 homers to top the RU, but hit poorly with a .225 BA (32nd) and were 22nd in runs scored... Norcross had four players with 20 or more roundtrippers... LF Floyd McClellan hit 33, but batted just .215, 1B Paul Smiley had 33 and batted .260, 3B Stu Butterworth chipped in 23, while hitting .217 and CF Tom Daniels swatted 23 and batted just .206 for average... Norm Phillips was the only starter of note... after being moved into the starting role in August, Phillips was 9-4 with a 2.98 ERA... Tyrus Cobb added a 16-10 mark, but posted a 4.39 ERA, which is not bad at tiny Middlefield Park. The sixth place Colfax Blasters (77-77) had a decent season, though they were 10 games behind Sligo, but Ilya Szabo's club still wound up with a .500 mark... All-Star CF Hal Granders (.320/11/60/122) and C Mitch Fullerton (.310/18/95/65) were the main bats, while Jon Cruise (18-12/4.05) and Dean McCord (8-2/3.20) were the most effective starters... McCord didn't move into the starting rotation until July and responded in a fine way. Ryan Noland's Rocky Rapids Snappers (71-83) came in seventh this season, but improved a little bit over 2026 and 2027, when they were in the RU West basement... the Snappers did it with some good pitching from All-Star Terence Mulloy (16-12/2.95), Walter Noland (15-17/3.32) and Matt Loudermilk (15-18/3.20)... woeful hitting doomed the Snappers... only 1B Angelo Nardone (.292/30/87/75) did much damage. The last place Forest City Lumberjacks (66-88) haven't made the postseason since 2013... manager Rob Jackson is in sore need of talent... C George Arnick topped the team with a .277 mark, 19 homers and 86 RBIs... 1B Barry McKnight (.218 BA) led the team with 30 roundtrippers, followed by CF Fred Weldon (.256 BA) and LF Ryan Ray (.244 BA) with 20 each... Stephen Phillips (15-19/4.55) and Norm Dawson (13-17/4.41) were the best the 'Jacks could put on the mound.