[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, July 1, 2047

IPA ROUNDUP REPORT

FM REDHAWKS ON RAMPAGE IN RU NORTH
The Far Mountain Redhawks (54-29) skied high in June with a great 20-8 record and made shambles of the pennant race. The Redhawks rampaged to a 10-game bulge over runner-up Glasco (44-39). Defending division champ Valmara (43-40) is playing better after a slow start in April, but it is still 11 games off the pace. Preseason favorite Ranford (32-51) has been a complete bust and is wallowing in seventh place.

Far Mountain is led by the fine pitching of All-Star Curt Steinhauer (13-2/1.53), Stan Smith (12-4/3.53) and Jonas Glover (12-6/3.56)... the Redhawk lineup isn't very impressive stats-wise (.256 BA), but it's productive and ranks first in the RU in scoring runs.

BB SUNBIRDS ROOSTED AT TOP OF RU SOUTH
It's been well over a decade since the Belair Beach Sunbirds (45-38) have graced the Ruthlandian South first division. Actually, the last time they were in the pennant race was way back in 2034 when they came in third in the standings. They have climbed up from seventh place last year (20 GB) to the top spot, topping preseason pick Waleska (43-40) and Crystal Lake (43-40) by two games at the end of June. Crystal Lake is another great turnaround story - last year they wound up in the celler (24 GB). Last season pennant winner Claxton (41-42) is tied for fourth this year with Grand City (41-42), but is only four games back... the Diamonds were terrible this month, falling to 9-17.

It's the Sunbird bats that are keeping them on top... All-Star 3B Jason Butler, 1B Shannon Stewart (.317/9/41/41) and CF Norm Ellis (.317/14/36/36) are the prime run producers... starter Kevin Tolbert (10-7/2.65) and closer Tom Cook (2-1/1.92/11 saves) have been the best pitchers... Belair Beach will probably have to get better work from their mound staff to beat out Waleska, which has better starting pitching with the trio of All-Star Niles Nielsen (11-5/2.43), Jeff Woodruff (8-8/2.71) and Tony Haskell (9-5/3.45)... Crystal Lake has two solid starters in Dave McCauley (11-8/2.96) and Manuel Hinojosa (7-4/2.58)... All-Star closer Josh Crosby (7-2/1.82/10 saves) has been a standout, too... the Crushers' offense is however suspect... the Grand City Cybercats are in the same boat with two solid starters in Jimmy Engels (11-8/2.84) and Kenny Morrow (9-9/3.21), but absolutely no offense... the Claxton Diamonds need improvement on the mound to challenge... vets All-Star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.307/21/64/50) and LF Foxy Fuchs (.258/14/50/36) are the only reliable threats in the line-up... the pennant race is still a toss-up... it just depends on who gets hot down the stretch... the Waleska Westerners get a slight nod.

MARSTON UP BY 4 IN RU EAST
After years of decadence, the Marston Nine (49-34) is another hapless club that is on the rise. They have had only two good seasons in the last two decades - a fourth place finish in 2038 and the pennant-winning year in 2028. Right now Marston is four games in front of defending division winner Sugar Valley (45-38) and Beechwood (45-38), who are tied for the runner-up spot. Lurching only five games out and tied for fourth are the Wynnamac Sundowners (44-39) and Eastshore Elegants (44-39)... even sixth place Cold Creek (42-41) and seventh place Belle Plaine (41-42) are still in the chase... and if they get on a good winning streak even celler-dwelling Elnora (38-45) could do an about-face. Marston registered a 17-9 mark last month, while Sugar Valley was 16-10 and Beechwood 17-9.

Marston is a well-balanced club with very good pitching and solid hitting... leading the hurlers are All-Star Felix Delatte (13-3/2.25) and Jean-Noel Waldron (10-6/3.68), along with bullpen ace Kiki Vuk (7-1/1.25/6 saves)... leading the hitters are All-Star LF D'Wayne Dotson (.295/10/45/53), All-Star 3B Gary Armitage (.336/15/42/63) and SS Stan Mila (.308/10/51/32).

The Sugar Valley Rattlers' top batsmen are All-Star 2B Richie Fry (.336/4/35/41), playing-manager and superstar RF Bobby Gamble (.276/12/45/46) and LF Walt Hanson (.313/6/33/27)... star CF Carl Ramsey is hitting a lowly .227, but is the club leader with 17 roundtrippers, 55 RBIs and 59 runs... C Delmer Campbell has contributed 10 homers, 30 RBIs and a .294 BA.

ROOSTERS LEAD DWINDLES IN RU WEST
The favorite in the Ruthlandian West Division, the Middlefield Roosters (51-32), had a so-so month in June, going 14-12, but still has a two-game edge over the hot Forest City Lumberjacks (49-34), who went 18-8 for the month. The third place Rocky Rapids Snappers (47-36) also got closer to the top spot with a 16-10 mark and are only four games out. Colfax (46-37) is in the fourth spot, trailing by five games. The Blasters posted a 17-9 record in June. The Sligo Rovers (45-38) and Volusia Vigilantes (45-38) also have winning records and are tied for fifth, but slipped to 12-14 for the month.

The Roosters are a powerhouse with standout pitching and strong bats... leading pitchers are All-Star James Long (14-4/2.29) and Larry Wheelhouse (12-9/2.60), along with closer Ray Owens (4-3/1.60/11 saves)... the explosive batting order includes All-Star C Johnny McDonald (.331/3/26/35), SS Jimmy Beach (.314/12/41/39), All-Star RF Sidney Conner (.304/26/69/57), LF Norman Antonioni (.275/21/44/44), 3B Ike Gary (.274/8/41/40) and CF Russell Martin (.285/10/22/39).

Forest City depends almost totally on its super duper mound corps with the likes of starters Omar Cordero (15-5/2.99), Rusty Howard (9-9/2.78), Walter Gibbons (7-5/3.13) and John McKee (6-6/3.35)... plus a strong bullpen with Richie Meyers (4-4/2.97/10 saves and Jimmy Kirkpatrick (6-3/2.56/2 saves)... Cordero is the IPA leader with 15 victories... the offense is quite mediocre, batting just .252 for average with very little firepower.

Rocky Rapids have good pitching with All-Star Dirk Halstad (13-4/2.39), Buster Noland (11-5/3.14) and Jamie Taylor (10-11/2.57)... Taylor won 30 games last year, a new all-time IPA mark, but has had tough luck this year... the top reliever is Steve Owens (4-0/2.89/13 saves)... the Snappers are only adequate at the plate with All-Star 2B Marty Featherstone (.277/12/47/50), RF Buddy Hamilton (.323/11/34/32) and 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.261/13/53/42).

The Colfax Blasters have three solid starters with Ray Maxon (11-5/2.42), Red McCallum (9-5/2.41) and Ryan Petersen (6-2/3.42)... the offense is pretty good with RF Stu Richardson (.327/5/26/24), 3B Cramer Landis (.324/8/26/49) and 1B Les Haynes (.311/5/28/23)... LF Robb Maddux (.247/12/54/39) and C Darrell Dillon (.243/10/34/37) have also added some punch to the line-up.

Three All-Stars pace the Volusia Vigilantes: C George Ruffino (.293/17/59/31), 2B Cazzie Carvalho (.292/9/55/39) and 1B Kris Wilson (.338/7/40/46)... SS Duane Blayney (.304/16/43/48) and RF Lonnie Womack (.292/11/40/55) are solid sticks, too... the V's have a quality mound staff, too, with Drew Selby (13-5/3.30), Will Thompson (11-8/2.79) and rookie Alvaro Spinosa (8-5/2.57).

The top performers for the Sligo Rovers are All-Star 1B Denny Simmons (.285/9/43/36) and 3B Blayne Carnick (.320/5/30/22), along with Mickey Walsh (10-6/2.16) and Art Hacker (11-7/3.49) on the hill.

RUTHLANDIAN STANDINGS AS OF JULY 1, 2047