[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 18, 2046

CLAXTON CAPTURES RU SOUTH IN 2ND HALF SURGE
The Grand City Cybercats stayed with Ruthlandian South champion Claxton for about half of the year, but the Diamonds blew them away in a second-half surge to win by 10 games, when the C'Cats faltered with a 22-32 mark in June and July. The Valka Blackhawks and St. John Crusaders tied for the third spot in the standings, 16 games back. Last year's division winner Crystal Lake stumbled to sixth place, 19 games off the pace.

1. Claxton rose up from fourth place ... they were 80-74 last year and 5 GB... this will be the Diamonds 11th playoff appearance, but they have yet to pick up an IPA Pro Cup... their last pennant came in 2038... good bats, better-than-average pitching and excellent defense got the job done for them this season... sparking the attack was superstar All-Star 1B Jojo DeLucca, who had a spectacular season, leading the IPA with 213 hits, third with a .341 BA, ninth in homers with 43, fifth with 129 RBIs and ninth with 107 runs scored... DeLucca led the RU in batting average... other contributors were 3B-SS Rick Clayburne (.32/6/46/81), LF Foxy Fuchs (.285/29/77/74), SS Stevie Wynn (.325/8/41/43), 3B Jack Brumfield (.291/11/59/42) and RF Roger Jackson (.253/6/52/96)... Wynn missed the first two months of the season with the players' boycott... top pitchers were Abe Schiffman (18-7/2.78), Eddie Dizon (22-12/3.86) and Stan Yudash (12-5/2.84)... how far Claxton goes in the playoffs will depend on its pitching corps.

2. Grand City has made the first division only two times in the last 12 years... third in 2043 (6 GB) with an 82-72 record and this year with a second-place finish with an 83-71 mark (10 GB)... there are no Pro Cup trophies in the team's history and only three division titles... the last was in 2030... Kenny Morrow (19-17/2.67) and Joel Eaton (22-12/3.64) led the starters, while Donald Denison (9-5/2.84/12 saves) stood out in the bullpen ... the Cybercats possess fairly good power with with 162 homers (6th)... All-Star 1B Benny Hull (.298/39/112/93) was the offensive leader... he was aided by RF Ryan Van Zant (.237/29/71/88), LF Bobby Meusel (.307/24/72/63), C Iggy Van Dyck (.274/22/68/61), 3B Matthew Cashman (.276/19/51/62) and CF Glenn Graham (.334/3/25/49)... the 38-year-old Meusel has had a rebirth of his career after being benched by Belair Beach... Meusel had hit over .300 in both his years with Grand Ciy.

3. Valka ended a very bad stretch of 16 years in the Ruthlandian South second tier with a third-place finish this season... last season the Blackhawks were in seventh (16 GB) with a 69-85 record... they stepped it up to 77-77 (16 GB) this year... Valka has only made the postseason four times in its history... the last time was way back in 2017... the club has never won the Pro Cup... the mound staff was much improved, going from a terrible 4.57 ERA to a very respectable 3.65... Royce Netterville (18-10) was the ace... Matvey Kazak (12-11/2.34) also was an effective starter... Kazak was absent in April and May with the boycott... ditto for star CF Kenny Mitzusaka (.314/1/56/51) and star 1B Bobby Scott (.255/23/62/58)... All-Star RF Rich Henson led the club with 84 RBIs and 82 runs, but hit only .271.

3. St. John is just a run-of-the-mill team... they were in the hunt last year, losing out by three games with an 82-72 record... the dipped a bit this year to 77-77 (16 GB)... the Crusaders have won the RU South seven times, but haven't hauled in a Pro Cup yet... they took the division flag in 2042... Leland Valm (21-15/3.86) topped the team in wins... long-time ace Jeremy Kirk (12-22/3.59) had an off-year... Frank Long (16-19/3.09) was the most reliable starter... Big Tee Telemachus (12-8/3.66/11 saves) was hit-and-miss as a spot starter and reliever... two of the best players, RF Nicky Farrugia (.336/24/69/69) and 3B Marty Blankenship (.221/11/53/45), missed one-third of the season due to the boycott... 1B R. J. Aldridge (.304/28/91/72), SS Herb Gruen (.293/18/77/81) and 3B Tab Allison (.288/10/59/96), LF Roberto Campos (.288/9/70/72) and C Roland Griggs (.304/4/48/53) put up the best stats on the club.

5. San Dimas was fifth last year (7 GB) and fifth this year (18 GB)... 2041 was the last pennant... the Rancheros have been to the playoffs only four times in history... the mound staff was led by star Gil Arnaud (18-11/3.36)... Arnaud reached the 200-win milestone this year... at 38 Arnaud is 201-164 with a 3.52 ERA for 16 IPA seasons... Toby White (12-8/3.24) had a good year, but sat out until June in the boycott... All-Star closer Georgie Walker (12-3/1.62/10 saves) really excelled in the bullpen... 12-year veteran 3B Leonard Purkey (.289/25/94/86) had another solid season at age 30... 1B Austin Epps (.262/23/92/63) was the only other decent bat in the line-up... RF Denny Hendrix (.285/11/51/52) put up some good numbers, but missed the first two months because of the boycott... White and Hendrix made the club better in the second half of the season.

6. Crystal Lake, division champ for the last two seasons, went from 85-69 to 74-80 and came in sixth (19 GB)... the pitching declined and several key players, ace Dave McCauley (11-10/3.34) and CF Jesse Walker (.298/2/26/45), boycotted until June... reliever Josh Crosby (11-3/2.49/16 saves) was the club's best hurler... leading the way at the plate was star 1B Daryl Brady (.330/16/73/75), Ray Dillon (.326/9/66/57), All-Star 2B Jim Henley (.303/2/66/65), CF Jed Murphee (.307/5/50/95) and C Del Peevy (.291/12/74/77).

7. Belair Beach hasn't had a good season since 2034 and hasn't made the playoffs since 2016... they have never won a Pro Cup and have only appeared in the playoffs seven times... for the last eight years they have finished last six times and seventh twice... last season the Sunbirds were 58-96 (27 GB) and just a little better this year at 64-90 (29 GB)... they are not much on the hill or at bat... Jose Munoz (16-19/4.80) and Ronnie Roy (15-21/4.53) were the biggest winners on the staff, but only mediocre performers... star 3B Jason Butler (.270/32/92/73), CF Norm Ellis (.285/35/88/91), All-Star LF Joe Don Baker (.287/26/82/61) and 1B Shannon Stewart (.312/16/69/69) carried the offense.

8. Waleska really took a tumble this year, plunging from second place in 2044 with an 83-17 record (2 GB) down to the basement with a horrible 61-93 mark (32 GB)... proud Waleska has captured the Pro Cup on three occasions in 2028, 2037 and 2039... lack of offense killed the Westerners this season... 36-year-old veteran RF Niles Gregory was the club leader with 17 homers and 53 RBIs, that's how poor the offense was... 300-game winner Terry Richards (6-12/4.34) and Craig Nash (3-4/4.73) had awful seasons... both were holdouts until June... they never did return to form of previous years... the 37-year-old Richards retired at the end of the season and will be headed soon to the IPA Hall of Fame... Richards was 306-221 in 18 years with the club... his lifetime ERA was a strong 3.14... he was an important part of the three Pro Cup crowns... vet Niles Nielsen (15-19/3.10) and Tony Haskell (11-20/3.45) were quality starters, but suffered from the horrendous offense.

2045 Ruthlandian South Team Stats