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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2029
2029 Tycobbian North Final Recap
Hellcats Nips Frogs In TU North Playoff
A season-long struggle between the Hartsdale Hellcats and the Fairfax Frogs finally came to an end in a single-game playoff for the Tycobbian North regular-season crown... The Hellcats got a magnificent 15-strikeout performance from Hank Cooke and a 2-1 triumph over the Frogs to make the Pro Cup playoffs for the first time in 15 years.
2029 was a very special year for Kendry Moulton, the new skipper of the Hartsdale Hellcats (85-70)... not only was he inducted into the IPA Hall of Fame, Moulton guided the Hellcats to the pennant... Hartsdale depended on a fine group of pitchers to capture the TU North title... All-Star Lou Chylak (22-11/2.52), Art Reese (17-14/2.47) and Hank Cooke (18-12/3.14) were responsible for a great 3.07 team ERA (2nd)... and 1B Johnny Scott (.295/20/77) and RF Fred Wasikowski (.271/13/77) led the anemic offense... the Hellcats won the pennant with a red-hot August and September.
The Fairfax Frogs (84-71) made great strides this year, climbing up from last place the year before... Fairfax also had an excellent final two months... it took a great pitching performance to deprive Dane Wesner's boys of the division flag... the Frogs hit well with a .264 batting average (13th) and were somewhat suspect on the hill with a 3.81 ERA (23rd)... Wesner had a solid lineup with CF Eric Kusek (.313/11/78), rookie C Brian Davis (.312/11/55), 2B John Velasco (.303/13/73), RF Randall Crawford (.289/16/75) and rookie 3B Woody Jackson (.296/13/58)... Joey Santini (20-14/3.49) and Eric Mayes (18-11/4.08) paced the pitchers... closer Zack Dowdle (8-4/2.19/20 saves) stood out in the bullpen.
It was a good and consistent season for the third place Luxora Zorros (80-74)... the Z's wound up just 4 and a half games out of first place... manager Lacey Tompkins got them up from sixth place the year before... Luxora was better in all aspects of the game... really improved bats with a .264 team BA (14th) and slightly improved on the mound with a 3.51 team ERA (10th)... 1B Gerry Hathaway (.320/17/60) and LF Forest Orr (.316/11/59) were the top bats with support from CF Kevin Hanley (.291/23/69) and RF Roger Noble (.255/21/69)... starters Tommy Ellefson (15-14/3.64) and Valente Viero (15-15/3.48) were reliable... bullpen ace Kent White (6-3/1.39/16 saves) had a very impressive season.
This year Todd Simons took control of the North Hills Hawks (76-78) and brought them out of 7th place in the standings up to number four, 8 and a half games back in the race... it's been 13 years since the Hawks won the TU North... so things are looking up for them... CF Ronnie Guillaume (.342/8/76/) was by far the best batter on the squad, followed by All-Star C Cruz Andrade (.294/14/71) and LF Clyde Chalmers (.295/3/42)... as a team North Hills hit for a better-than-average .264 (11th)... the Hawks were just average on the mound with a 3.66 ERA (16th)... the starting four were fairly steady, led by Terry Costanza (18-14/3/51), David Michael (17-14/3.91), Kerry Hoffman (13-10/3.37) and Andy Dahlberg (13-19/3.59).
The first half of the 2029 season was excellent for the Oxford Red Caps (74-80) with new manager Cameron Kamara at the helm... the Red Caps led the TU North at the midpoint by 2 games, but it didn't last as they went into a summertime swoon and fell to fifth place, 10 and a half games off the pace... same spot as last year... the Red Caps had average hitting (.260-16th) and were so-so on the hill with a 3.83 ERA (24th)... carrying the offensive load were All-Star 1B Kerry Sterling (.289/34/88) and longtime star LF Dennis Hartwig (.298/26/99)... Kenny Gorham (15-12/3.38) was the only hurler with a winning mark among the starters.
Rusty Lanussa in Mahaska (73-81) had a nightmare season and dropped from first place down to the sixth spot, 11 and a half games behind champ Hartsdale... James Allington (15-12/3.59) and Arno Vainmaa (15-16/2.97) were quality arms for the Haymakers, while LF Johnny Yevtushenko (.308/22/90) and RF Travis Tuttle (.292/20/63) were decent bats.
The seventh-place Blue Lake Blue Sox (70-84) haven't been in the postseason since 2010... Rick Hilliard took command as skipper this season and did not fare very well, finishing up 14 and a half games behind... rookie Willie Taskins (16-15/2.96) was the only solid starter... the only reliable hitter was All-Star CF Chris Halley (.332/3/49)... what little power the Blue Sox had came from rookie RF Boom-Boom Baker (.244/17/70), rookie Herb Hull (.275/14/61) and vet 3B Skipper Smith (.280/14/73).
After winning four division flags in 8 years and almost winning two other times, the White River Rascals (66-88) plunged to the basement, 18 and a half game behind... Mick Cronyn has pretty fair pitching with Paul Sardini (17-16/2.91), who was the TU Golden Arm winner last year, along with Jon French (9-13/3.10), who gave him some good starts.... veteran star 1B Marty Blake (.292/21/57) still can hit at age 35, but he has little help.
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