[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, June 1, 2046

HAWKS HAVE HANDS FULL IN TU NORTH
The Tycobbian North has been dominated by the North Hills Hawks (35-21) for more than a decade... 12 times in 13 years they have won the pennant... currently the Hawks are in the running for their fourth flag in a row, but it looks like it will be a tough race... Hartsdale (34-22) and Fairfax 34-22) are right on their tails, just a game behind... Blue Lake (32-24) is only 3 games out in fourth... Oxford (29-27) and White River (28-28) are within striking distance in fifth and sixth place, respectively... only Luxora (25-31) and Mahaska (20-36) seem to be out of the race... Blue Lake (18-11) had the best May, followed closely by North Hills (17-12), and White River (17-12)... Hartsdale and Fairfax were both 15-14... as per usual the Hawks have stong pitching and a good offense... the Hellcats carry some big sticks with solid mound work... while the Frogs are hitting the cover off the ball with a .295 team BA, but its pitching is less than average... the Rascals could be the spoilers in the race with good pitching and good bats.

TOP TEAM BA: Fairfax (.295), Hartsdale (.272), North Hills (.270), Luxora (.259)
TOP TEAM SCORING: Hartsdale (296), Blue Lake (292), Fairfax (280), Oxford (274)
TOP TEAM HR: Mahaska (68), White River (67), Oxford (64), Hartsdale (63)
BEST TEAM ERA: North Hills (2.81), White River (3.25), Hartsdale (3.25), Oxford (.3.45)
BEST TEAM DEFENSE: Hartsdale (.982 FA), Luxora (.976 FA), White River (.975 FA), Mahaska (.974 FA)

TEAM LEADERS:

North Hills: David Michael (9-5/2.62), Alex Peters (7-5/2.51), Tony Mack (9-3/3.34), Kyle Oliver (7-3/3.00), 3B Ric Hamilton (.322/5/21/24), 1B Oscar Pendleton (.328/6/27/22), 2B Jim McDermott (.296/4/29/23), SS Tommy Vavas (.286/5/20/41), LF Ryan Webbe (.299/10/29/31)

Hartsdale: Gil Younger (12-2/2.32), Dave Payne (6-4/2.81), Perry Givens (8-4/3.01), RF Emilian Burgess (.325/6/27/38), C Frank Penn (.330/4/29/22), SS Robinson Alomar (.304/13/35/30), 2B Myrt Breland (.301/4/25/24), 1B John Ford (.268/9/36/28)

Fairfax: Harold Dorman (8-5/2.59), Terry Sawyer (6-4/2.89/5 saves), 3B Daniel Pierce (.328/1/32/36), CF Trent Russell (.314/6/31/32), LF Brad Johnston (.330/6/23/34), 2B John Velasco (.296/11/51/36), C Scott Courtney (.292/8/27/26), SS Demont Beauchamp (.336/1/20/27)

Blue Lake: Van Johnson (7-3/3.08), Sal Mays (6-6/3.23), Greg Mortimer (6-5/3.44), Razzy Richmond (3-2/2.98/5 saves), LF Jack Ryan (.362/1/20/31), C Juan Luis Barcelona (.277/8/35/34), 1B Mel Morrison (.294/9/33/24), 3B Matt Thompson (.260/5/34/30)

Oxford: Rudy Mellancamp (6-6/2.56), Tekkan Nashikawa (7-4/2.37), Ralph Mosby (8-4/3.88), RF Kevin Carter (.289/16/46/38), C Jayson French (.331/4/23/20), SS Dan Zalewski (.287/4/21/30)

White River: Nicky Palmer (7-1/2.49), Norman Wilkie (4-6/2.69), Carlo Grimaldi (3-2/1.89/5 saves), LF Billy Joe Hickman (.245/19/36/35), 1B Ralph Cashman (.213/11/30/25)

Luxora: Victor Spears (6-7/3.39), 1B Joel Poche (.323/6/34/29), RF Emil Pasek (.318/6/23/30), CF Danny Dudley (.303/4/28/23), LF Derrek Jackson (.319/9/30/28), 3B Tiago Chaves (.262/11/29/27)

Mahaska: Lowell Grandison (3-2/2.66/4 saves), SS Rocco Bertara (.291/8/29/38), CF Bill Whittier (.301/8/28/33), C James Boswell (.215/13/31/20), 1B Roger Lewis (.254/11/34/22)

SUNSETS AND MONTIES THRIVE IN TU SOUTH
Year-in and year-out for the last decade Summerland and San Alejo have been contenders in the Tycobbian South Division... this year they may bring home the elusive division pennant, which has gone to Southport for the past four seasons... both the Sunsets and the Montaneros boast outstanding pitching and have been hot as blazes in the first two months of the season, while the Sun Sox didn't do well in April... right now the Sunsets are three games in front of the Monties with the Sun Sox tied for third with Ginza and nine games back... Summerland and San Alejo had great months with 21-8 records... Southport was even hotter at 22-7... Ginza was 14-15... the Tycobbian South looks like the toughest division in the IPA with six teams at .500 or better... Cape Coral (30-26) trails by 10 games and is in the fifth spot, while Turon (28-28) is sixth and 12 games off the pace.

TOP TEAM BA: Cape Coral (.279), Ginza (.265), San Alejo (.263) and Summerland (.258)
TOP TEAM SCORING: Cape Coral (273), Southport (260), Ginza (259), Summerland (256)
TOP TEAM HR: Turon (69), Cape Coral (63), Ginza (54), San Alejo (49)
BEST TEAM ERA: Summerland (2.30), San Alejo (2.60), Southport (3.50), Ginza (3.67)
BEST TEAM DEFENSE: Ginza (.980 FA), Arroyo Grande (.977 FA), Turon (.977 FA), San Alejo (.977 FA)

TEAM LEADERS:

Summerland: Dutch DeBoer (11-1/1.84), Jayson Hallstrom (9-2/1.69), Jacob Gillen (7-4/2.13), Pete Ashley (7-3/2.64/6 saves), Billy King (4-5/2.84), RF Rick Mayes (.305/8/30/34), 1B Kenny Douglas (.316/9/39/38), 3B Alex Abbotson (.280/11/36/37), CF Antonio Vasquez (.315/2/22/22)

San Alejo: Benny Buckmaster (10-3/1.84), Matt Bell (8-2/2.03), Will McKinney (8-5/1/59), 1B Sal McAlister (.353/3/21/32), LF Charlie Wilberforce (.327/11/31/29), RF Paulo Teixeira (.268/13/43/31)

Southport: Billy Hoover (6-5/2.48), Cade Brockton (8-4/3.60), Gordon Forbes (6-5/3.69), 1B Eddie Douglas (.348/11/32/33), 3B Craig Glennon (.274/9/24/19), SS Gonzalo Topez (.287/1/27/22), LF Chris Jones (.277/1/15/33)

Ginza: Tokuji Takahara (5-3/1.49/2 saves), Charley Waskins (7-1/3.56), Carlos Del Toro (6-5/3.70), Timmy Hitchens (4-3/2.10/8 saves), 1B Jiro Yamamura (.347/3/18/42), CF Sogo Takagi (.313/6/29/29), SS Sam Essex (.226/11/40/29)

Cape Coral: Vernon Marks (9-4/2.95), RF William Snyder (.313/11/37/33), 2B Lou Panko (.335/6/30/29), 3B Kent Mantle (.306/10/23/30), 1B Scott Ferguson (.311/7/35/18), LF Rikky Van Dalen (.294/6/30/39)

Turon: Izzy Beasley (8-4/2.53), Nate Stocksdale (6-6/3.04), 1B Nick Fisher (.351/15/41/35), SS Rafer Robertson (.303/14/37/26), CF Guido Gervasio (.286/4/21/29), 2B C. C. Kingsford (.265/10/26/21)

Arroyo Grande: Anthony Lombardi (8-5/3.47), RF Wilfredo Acosta (.269/5/25/24), 3B Russ Henredon (.269/4/30/19), LF Alfred Novikoff (.274/4/18/27)

Colchester: Dave Lacoste (8-4/2.85), Benny White (8-6/3.57), 1B Norm Murdoch (.306/0/19/24), CF Jebbie Shaw (.336/5/21/26), RF Teddy Drackley (.264/8/30/29)

RED SOX HAVE SLIGHT LEAD IN TU EAST
The Tycobbian East is not going according to Hoyle this year... heavily-favored Red Bluff (33-23) is in first place, but not by a lot... Tuckanarra (31-25) is only 2 games out... South Fork (29-27) is just 4 back... Hillsboro (28-28) is 5 off the pace and High Mesa (27-29) is only 6 games behind in fifth place... the Red Sox took the divison lead with an 18-11 mark in May... South Fork (17-12) prospered, too... while Tuckanarra was only 15-14...

TOP TEAM BA: Tuckanarra (.272), Midway (.259), Red Bluff (.255), Ozarka (.255)
TOP TEAM SCORING: Hillsboro (59), Red Bluff (246), Midway (244), South Fork (244)
TOP TEAM HR: Red Bluff (77), Hillsboro (59), High Mesa (53), south Fork (52)
BEST TEAM ERA: Red Bluff (2.66), South Fork (2.88), Tuckanarra (3.05), High Mesa (3.54)
BEST TEAM DEFENSE: High Mesa (.975 FA), Red Bluff (.974 FA), East Point (.972 FA), Tuckanarra (.972 FA)

TEAM LEADERS:

Red Bluff: Jud Cox (11-2/1.55), Mickey Rosen (8-3/2.03), George Reynolds (7-5/2.49), RF David Kelso (.314/17/40/31), 3B Fran Blanchard (.328/12/38/28), 1B Josh Stevens (.296/8/24/28), LF Jesse Shaw (.285/9/23/29)

Tuckanarra: Ozzie Leslie (6-7/2.18), Dickie Pittman (5-4/2.42), Cameron Brothers (5-1/2.70), Jack Rogers (6-3/2.45/4 saves), RF Jimmy Markovich (.318/2/18/27), CF Ben Henderson (.326/1/18/22), 1B Rodger Parsons (.307/5/24/23), 2B Ricky Vincent (.304/1/20/27), C Wally McMain (.305/0/20/11)

South Fork: Jay Murphy (6-5/2.16), Chris Sorensen (8-6/2.46), Big Murph McAlister (6-3/2.65), CF Scotty O'Sullivan (.292/8/33/23), 2B Elton Jacoby (.285/5/21/37), 3B Jess Wilkerson (.264/8/33/30), RF Rick Carlton (.379/6/27/19), SS Pete Arnold (.282/3/23/28), RF Kyle Gottwald (.292/4/22/12)

Hillsboro: Jamie Lee Bradley (6-4/2.63), Steve Cooper (7-7/3.13), Bailey Bilbow (3-0/2.23/6 saves), 1B Ernie Moxley (.338/21/57/37), 2B Scotty McNeill (.311/3/36/29)

High Mesa: Tee Bo Templet (4-0/2.79), Emil Nowak (7-6/3.18), Lucius Quarles (3-7/3.12), William Morris (3-0/0.59/2 saves), LF Clay Johnston (.238/13/36/28)

East Point: Barney Benton (4-5/2.71), Kenneth Lawson (3-0/2.33/2 saves), RF Augie Elizondo (.308/2/14/23), 1B Jack Gorham (.265/10/23/23)

Ozarka: Glen Jenkins (6-5/3.49), Gene White (1-0/1.20), C Paul Beasley (.322/6/24/11), 2B Duffy Morrison (.297/6/23/26), RF Keith Crider (.310/5/20/20)

Midway: Charlie Chase (5-8/3.36), Sam Lewis (3-1/1.05/1 save), LF Justin Morrison (.299/7/39/36), CF Hector Pena (.295/1/26/32), SS Paul Butler (.304/4/24/35).

KENWOOD PULLS AWAY IN TU WEST
For four of the last five years the Kenwood Wildcats have ruled the Tycobbian West... it's only June, but they have already pulled away from the pack, compiling a splendid 20-9 mark in May... the Wildcats (37-19) are eight games ahead of second place Rolling Hills (29-27), nine up on Arlon and 10 in front of Bay St. Clair, the fourth place club... Kenwood is the highest scoring team in the IPA with a solid group of starters and relievers... they may be hard to catch... the Reds, Champions and Buccaneers were all just 14-15 for the month.

TOP TEAM BA: Kenwood (.273), La Claire (.268), Rolling Hills (.262), Bayview (.258)
TOP TEAM SCORING: Kenwood (310), Bayview (273), La Claire (244), Arlon (243)
TOP TEAM HR: Kenwood (87), Bayview (78), Arlon (51), Bay St. Clair (43)
BEST TEAM ERA: Kenwood (3.03), Rolling Hills (3.21), Arlon (.3.45), Chicopee (3.54)
BEST TEAM DEFENSE: Denton City (.979 FA), Bay St.Clair (.973 FA), Arlon (.973 FA), Kenwood (.973 FA)

TEAM LEADERS:

Kenwood: Tommy Carter (9-4/2.53), Freddy Gooch (7-4/3.33), Clyde Myers (7-5/3.33), Gregg Campbell (4-4/3.30), Rusty Bradford (5-1/3.07/6 saves), Mike Jones (2-1/2.13/5 saves), 1B Bert Henrich (.326/20/44/43), C Corky DiNozzo (.346/16/41/32), 3B Country Crowder (.326/1/20/45), SS Ben Daniels (.300/11/29/27), RF Dorsey Faircloth (.296/10/33/29), LF Warren Vickers (.285/5/27/24)

Rolling Hills: Matthew Christianson (10-3/1.90), Johnny Howard (6-7/3.24), Steve Adams (5-6/3.09), 1B Darwin Tard (.304/10/29/34), RF Jimbo Foxx (.259/8/28/29)

Arlon: Lanny Gray (5-6/2.38), Pat Stuyvesant (6-5/3/15), Mack Blair (3-2/2.68/6 saves), 3B Mark Cameron (.330/13/44/41), C Nick Shafer (.296/6/28/21), CF Jim Cherry (.296/2/12/29)

Bay St. Clair: Dion Hawkins (10-3/3.04), Clyde Gordon (5-5/2.93), 3B Dan Modrak (.270/10/23/27), SS Edison Randall (.275/5/18/30), CF Sasha Ilyushin (.279/4/24/22)

Bayview: Jerome Dean (4-1/3.72/1 save), Johnny Young (4-7/3.45), 3B Jerry Culpepper (.266/19/52/420, SS Andreas Stokke (.259/19/43/40), LF Ivar Nilssen (.276/12/34/33)

La Claire: Bruce Kinson (8-4/3.69), Nelson Stubbs (6-6/3.86), Terry Baird (2-3/2.94/7 saves), CF Donny Griffith (.318/8/33/30), SS Royce Hill (.309/4/14/27), UIF Zane Law (.308/4/25/22), LF Hank Morton (.311/3/24/23), 1B Doug Stewart (.330/2/24/30), RF Rob Fisher (.277/6/25/21)

Denton City: Jimmy Ellerbee (6-6/3.86), Mel Coley (5-7/3.44), 1B Wayman Stetson (.271/12/27/23)

Chicopee: Tony Dazzi (6-7/2.82), Josh Dougherty (3-9/2.19), Paul Foster (5-6/3.87), 1B Sam Patrick (.254/9/24/29), SS Jud Williams (.285/2/12/24), RF Denny Halverton (.274/2/24/23)

TYCOBBIAN UNION STANDINGS, MAY 31, 2046