HARTSDALE AND VALKA WIN THRILLERS IN IPA... 6 RACES WERE RUNAWAYS
Oh, what a treat it was for fans in Hartsdale, Valka, Luxora and Crystal Lake... the Ruthlandian South went down to the final week of the season and the Tycobbian North was decided on the very last day of the season... and what made it even more special, the two contenders in the TU North ended the season going head-to-head with the pennant on the line... it doesn't get much better than this in baseball... there is nothing more thrilling in sports than a tight pennant race... fans live and die with each pitch, each call, each strike, each ball and each out in the home stretch of the baseball season.
The fans are overjoyed and very happy in the Islandian towns of Ranford, Valka, Marston, Sligo, Hartsdale, Turon, Tuckanarra and Rolling Hills... they all raised the triumphant flags of success this year -- they won their divisions... all of these 8 division champions earned the right to advance to the ultimate goal - the Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup playoffs... the Islands will be ablaze with postseason baseball this coming Saturday afternoon.
Ruthlandian Union
Valka @ Sligo
Ranford @ Marston
Tycobbian Union
Hartsdale @ Turon
Tuckanarra @ Rolling Hills
2075 IPA Final Recap
Ruthlandian Union
The Ranford Bulls were selected to wind up in 5th place this year in the Ruthlandian North Division, but they improved on that greatly... the Bulls took over the top spot in the RU North early in May... had a good 5-game lead at midseason and then won going away at the end of September by 12 games over runner-up Far Mountain... their last appearance in the playoffs was in 2060... Ranford has only won the Pro Cup one time... that was long ago in 2040... this will be the 9th time the Bulls have made the postseason.
The pennant chase lasted until the final week of the season in the Ruthlandian South Division... defending IPA champion Crystal Lake and this year's favorite to repeat in the RU South flopped badly losing 5 of the last 6 contests and finished 3 games behind the Valka Blackhawks, who chalked up a 15-11 mark the last month, while the Skippers only managed 11-14... it was just a 2-team race most of the season... this is the 3rd time in the last 4 years the Blackhawks have copped the division title... this will be their 8th playoff appearance... Valka has never won a Pro Cup, however they made the Pro Cup Finals in 2073, but they were swept by South Fork Stallions.
The Ruthlandian East Division was a 4-team battle between Marston, Wynnamac, Sugar Valley and Cold Creek for half the season... the Raccoons dropped out in July... the Rattlers fell out the race in August... then the Nine got red-hot and pulled away, topping the second-place Sundowners by 9 games... this is the 12th time Marston has reached the postseason... the Nine has never won a Pro Cup in their history... in fact, they have never made the Pro Cup Series.
The Sligo Rovers were deemed the best in the west this season in the preseason poll and they proved themselves to be the best in the Ruthlandian West by winning 101 games and taking the division flag by a whopping 15 games over last year's winner Stoner... the Rovers are making their 16th appearance in the IPA playoffs, but they only have one Pro Cup trophy, which they picked up in 2021... Sligo last played in the playoffs in 2069... the Rovers raced to a 4-game lead in April... no one except the Stoner Silver Sox contended... at midyear Sligo had a double-digit lead and never looked back.
Tycobbian Union
In the spring the defending champion Oxford Red Caps were the darling of the preseason pickers, forecast to make shambles of the TU North pennant race and to easily repeat as division winner and destined to cop the IPA Pro Cup trophy like they were supposed to do in 2074... but it didn't turn out that way... instead the most torrid race in the IPA this year was in the Tycobbian North... it was a 5-team dogfight until August... the challengers were Hartsdale, Luxora, White River, North Hills and Mahaska... the dog days of summer took their toll on the Rascals, Hawks and Haymakers, leaving only the Hellcats and Zorros in the fracas... it really was a fierce fight to the very end -- the finish was scripted in Hollywood -- it came down to the last series of the year in Hartsdale... going into the final week of the season Luxora has a 3-game margin over the Hellcats, but they couldn't hold it... Hartsdale won its last 6 games... Luxora was 2-4 the last week... the Hellcats swept the Z's in the final 3 games of the year to take the TU North title by one game... excellent pitching did the job... Hartsdale defeated Luxora 7-0, 1-0 and 5-2 to win the pennant... the Hellcats started the season slowly, posting a feeble 8-15 in April, trailing by 7 and a half games in 7th place... Hartsdale started raising the devil in the league and got back into the hunt...this will be Hartsdale's 14th postseason playoff appearance... twice they have hauled in the much-coveted Pro Cup trophy... the Hellcats won it in 2046 and 2063... the last time they made the postseason was 2072.
The baseball pundits picked the Turon Typhoons to triumph in the Tycobbian South by a wide margin and this time they were right on target... the Typhoons won the division by 15 games over second place Southport... last year's champ and Pro Cup finalist Summerland landed in the 5th spot this year, 22 games behind... it was an exciting race for the first two months between Turon, Southport, Summerland, Cape Coral and Arroyo Grande... the Typhoons went on a 19-9 tear in June, but the Sunsets, Hurricanes and Suns swooned and fell out of contention... that month the Sun Sox compiled a 16-11 mark and trailed by just 3 games... Southport hung around within striking distance until September, when they totally fell out of the picture... Turon will be appearing for the 26th time in the playoffs, second only to Valmara's 30 postseason appearances... the Typhoons will be seeking their 6th Pro Cup trophy... they captured the revered relic in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2018 and 2072... on 4 occasions Turon made the IPA Pro Cup Finals (2017, 2056, 2070, 2071)... the Typhoons have won the TU South 5 times in the last 6 years.
The Tuckanarra Tiger Cats won the Tycobbian East title last year and were chosen in the preseason poll to do it again in a fairly close race with Hillsboro, Red Bluff and Midway... at the end of May it was anybody's to win... 7 teams were challenging... at that point the Tucks took over the top spot in the standings with a sensational 36-16 record in June and July... by August only the Midway Wolves were still in the hunt, just 3 and a half games out... it was over by September... the Tiger Cats built up a 10-game bulge over Midway and Red Bluff... at season's end Tuckanarra topped South Fork by 6 games and Midway by 9... the Tucks have been active in postseason play... this will be their 23rd appearance in the playoffs... the Tiger Cats have collected 3 Pro Cups, winning in 2023, 2024 and 2035... they also made the Pro Cup Finals in 2013 and 2028.
After winning an unprecented 12 pennants in a row and 4 Pro Cups from 2060 to 2071, the amazing Rolling Hills Racers became ordinary for the last three years... now they are back to being extraordinary with a 100-54 mark this season... the Racers were the preseason favorite in the Tycobbian West Division... not a lot of competition was forecast and not much occurred... Rolling Hills raced to the division crown by 9 games over runner-up and last year's champion Chicopee... they outplayed La Claire by 10 games... the Racers bolted out of the gate and shot into the lead in the first month of the season... by the first of July they had a brobdingnagian 12 and one-half game lead... yep, the word is "brobdingnagian"... always wanted to use that in sports column... now that is a word right up there with George Will's extravagant, excessive, overdone and verbose vocabulary and I have finally done it... it means "huge size, gigantic, tremendous, giant" ... from literature... Swift's Gulliver's Travels... about a land of giants named Brogdingnag... Rolling Hills is back in the postseason for the 24th time... they lead the IPA with 7 Pro Cup titles... they won as the Rolling Hills Reds in 2029 and 2031... adopted the nickname Racers and were IPA Pro Cup champions in 2060, 2062, 2067 and 2069... they were Pro Cup Finalists in 2064 and 2068... yep, the Racers were quite a team during that great period and that fantastic run.
2075 Ruthlandian Union Final Standings
