[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 17, 2046

SUNSETS RISE UP IN TU SOUTH
The fans witnessed a stirring stretch drive in the Tycobbian South this season with the outcome coming on the very last day of the season... the year-long leader Summerland (94-60) survived by a scant one game, while last year's division champion Southport (93-61) slipped to second place after winning the title the last four years... the third spot went to San Alejo (91-63), who was just 3 games back in the race... late-finishing Turon (89-65) closed fast, but came up five games short in fourth... the Ginza Ninjas (86-68) wound up fifth and trailed by eight games... showing the overall strength of the TU South, Cape Coral (79-75) finished sixth, but posted a winning record... Summerland had to endure a 16-inning marathon to win the division outright... they edged Oxford 8-6, while Southport succumbed to Blue Lake in a heartbreaker loss 2-1... Summerland and San Alejo fought all season long, while Southport started very poorly... the Sun Sox were 9-18 in April, falling 10 games back in last place... but they rebounded and became a factor by the end of June, when they drew within three games of first place... the three clubs went toe-to-toe from July on and even got some pressure from Ginza and Turon.

1. SUMMERLAND: the Sunsets lived and died on the mound with a truly fine rotation that easily topped the IPA with an astounding 2.62 team ERA... the staff included Jayson Hallstrom (22-10/2.15), Jacob Gillen (20-8/2.36), Dutch De Boer (19-10/2.64) and Peter Ashley (15-7/2.61/10 saves)... Billy King (12-20/3.07/6 saves) was also very good as a spot starter and reliever... 1B Kenny Douglas (.306/20/82/690, RF Rick Mayes (.270/21/60/82) and 3B Alex Abbotson (.261/20/84/85) provided most of the Sunsets' offense... the team didn't fare well at the plate (.251 BA-21st) and scored only 631 runs (25th-tied)... scoring runs may make it tough in the playoffs for Summerland, especially against clubs with firepower like Hartsdale, Kenwood and Red Bluff in the Tycobbian Union... and Sugar Valley, Rocky Rapids and Valmara of the Ruthlandian Union.

2. SOUTHPORT: the Sun Sox were led by ace Billy Hoover (22-11/2.42), Cade Brockton (23-11/3.65) and Gordon Forbes (19-13/3.16) on the hill... Hal Combs (9-7/3.29/17 saves) anchored the bullpen... the top guns were 1B Eddy Douglas (.333/32/95/84), 3B Craig Glennon (.293/29/91/86), LF Chris Jones (.302/3/56/93) and SS Gonzalo Topez (.305/5/73/74)... CF Barney Lewis added 24 homers and 77 RBIs, but batted only .236 for average.

3. SAN ALEJO: the Montaneros were rarely more than three games behind winning Summerland as they fought tooth-and-nail the entire season... they were paced by a strong mound staff featuring three 20-game winners in Benny Buckmaster (23-11/2.82), Matt Bell (22-9/2.04) and Will McKinney (21-12/2.18)... the fourth starter Mickey Cronyn was also good with a 13-6 mark and 3.46 ERA... the bullpen was the Monties' weakness (4.14 ERA-25th)... standing out in the batter's box were RF Paulo Teixeira (.294/29/94/76), 1B Sal McAlister (.318/11/80/91), LF Charlie Wilberforce (.311/23/85/68) and 2B Callum Gainsborough (.273/8/52/114)... San Alejo finished in the TU South first division for the tenth consecutive season, mainly in the top three spots... they last won the pennant in 2037 and have one Pro Cup trophy, won in 2032.

4. TURON: the fourth-place Typhoons snapped a bad streak this season with a first-division finish (5 GB)... they were eighth, sixth and eighth from 2043 to 2045... like Southport, Turon stumbled in April (12-15), but got better as the season progressed... offense carried the team... they were second in scoring with 779 runs with 216 HRs (2nd), but only had a 4.05 team ERA (24th)... longballs ruled the day in the Typhoons' lineup with all regulars having 13 or more homers... SS Rafer Robertson (.291/38/108/79) led with 38, 1B Nick Fisher (.328/35/108/100) had 35, RF Wallace Sonnier (.254/34/69/104) hit 34, 2B C. C. Kingsford (.284/29/80/71) totaled 29 and CF Guido Gervasio (.293/20/78/90) belted 20 out of the park... starters Izzy Beasley (22-13/3.85), Clayton Petit (17-14/4.10), Tom Fuller (13-7/3.93) and Nate Scottsdale (15-17/3.54) were so-so at best.

5. GINZA: the Ninjas were improved this season... they just play in the best division in the IPA... they have played .550 baseball the last two years but ended up in fifth place both seasons, trailing by 11 games and 8 games respectively... Ginza has an above-average attack, ranked seventh in scoring (754 runs) with 166 HRs (9th), but only average pitching (3.81 ERA-20th)... RF Ichiro Kazumi (.315/18/78/81) is the top hitter at .315... followed by 1B Jiro Yamamura (.311/8/48/115) at .311... Yamamura is the club leader with 115 runs... star CF Sogo Takagi (.303/22/87/102) is third with a .303 BA and second with 22 HRs, 87 RBIs and 102 runs... SS Sam Essex is number one with 28 homers and 97 RBIs, but batted only .235... Tokuji Takahara (19-10/2 saves/2.50) had a career year at age 31... the other starters were just fair to mediocre: Charley Waskins (15-11/4.13), T. C. Gallimore (17-11/4.64) and Carlos Del Toro (16-14/3.59)... old reliable Timmy Hitchens (11-9/3.22/21 saves) continued to lead the bullpen and racked up 21 saves in 79 appearances... Hitchens was third in the IPA in saves... topped only by Alonso Cervera (4-2/3.14) of Hartsdale with 24 and Terry Sawyer (8-6/2.28) of Fairfax with 22.

6. CAPE CORAL: the Hurricanes posted first-division finishes from 2041 to 2045, but fell back to sixth this year (15 GB) in spite of its winning record... Cape Coral has never won a Pro Cup... its last pennant was in 2041... the 'Canes are potent at the plate with a .279 BA (2nd), 738 runs (9th) and 189 HRs (5th), but lackluster with a 4.10 ERA (25th)... prolific batsman and superstar LF Rikky Van Dalen, a career .320 hitter, won his third batting title with an IPA-leading .352 BA... Van Dalen was number two with 214 hits, second in the IPA to Ken Jensen, who had 217 for Valmara in the Ruthlandian Union... Van Dalen led the Ninjas with 96 RBIs, 109 runs and 23 SBs... he was second in homers with 26... star RF William Snyder led in homers with 28, while batting .322 with 94 RBIs and 87 runs... Snyder is a lifetime .325 hitter in 13 seasons with the Hurricanes... other capable bats in the lineup include 1B Stan Ferguson with a .319 BA, 27 HRs and 93 RBIs and 3B Kent Mantle with a .287 BA, 23 HRs, 57 RBIs and 77 runs... Stacy Boyle (12-7/2.62/3 saves) was the most effective starter... Vernon Marks (22-14/3.86) was the biggest winner.

7. ARROYO GRANDE: for the 13th successive season the Suns have been sequestered in the TU South second rung... this year they came in seventh (21 GB)... the Suns haven't made the postseason since way back in 2024... still no Pro Cups in the trophy room... not a lot of talent on the club... the only decent hitters were CF Kenny Wade (.280/15/39/69), LF Wilfredo Acosta (.267/19/76/66), RF Alfred Novikoff (.254/14/57/68) and SS Russ Henredon (.253/9/58/61)... Enrique Lopez (14-20/3.47), Anthony Lombardi (17-18/3.76), Fernando Campos (15-16/3.53) and Daku Goode (13-12/4.16) were only fair starters.

8. COLCHESTER: the Elites are also stuck in a rut with 10 years of frustration... 2036 was the last winning season... Colchester has made the playoffs only four times and has yet to win a Pro Cup... they came in dead last this year, winding up 35 games out of first place with no offense or pitching... Benny White (19-18/3.85) led the staff with 19 wins... with Dave Lacoste (11-18/3.40) and Dan Scott (11-19/3.57/2 saves) having the most quality starts... 3B Joey Rogers (.284/8/47/73), RF Teddy Drackley (.277/19/80/68) and 2B Jasper Matthews (.258/15/78/60) were best of the poor lot in the lineup.

2046 Tycobbian South Final Standings and Team Statistics