Tycobbian Union Final Season Report
MAHASKA FINALLY MAKES HAY IN THE TU NORTH... FIRST PENNANT IN 50 YEARS
There must have been a lot of sunshine in Mahaska this season... the Haymakers certainly made a lot of hay and raised a lot of heck... for the first time since 2028 the
Mahaska Haymakers (85-69) are the best team in the Tycobbian West... 5 teams rumbled almost the entire season with the Haymakers hauling in the division crown by 3 games over second place White River (82-72), 4 better than Oxford (81-73) and 5 games in front of last year's champion Hartsdale (80-74) and North Hills (80-74) ... the preseason pollsters picked Mahaska to win and win they did... the Haymakers did it with solid pitching... they soared to the top of the TU North standings in June with a 19-7 mark and held off all comers the rest of the way... this will be the 5th postseason appearance for Mahaska... their best season to date was in 2026, when they were beaten out in the Pro Cup Finals by the Valmara Vipers... the Haymakers are seeking their very first IPA Pro Cup Trophy.
MONTANEROS BLOW AWAY TYPHOONS IN TU SOUTH
Turon was the overwhelming favorite in the Tycobbian South Division in the preseason polling... no one was expected to be within 10 games of them... nope, it didn't happen that way... instread, it was the
San Alejo Montaneros (94-60) that made shambles of the pennant race and won going away... runner-up Turon (85-69) was swept to the side by 9 games... third place Summerland was 10 games back... and fourth place Arroyo Grande (79-75) was a distant 15 games behind the Monties... San Alejo went on a winning streak in mid-April and never relinquish the top spot the remainder of the season... San Alejo really took over in June (19-9) and never looked back, leaving everybody in their wake... the pennant chase was over by August... fine scoring, hitting and pitching made the difference this year... the Montaneros are appearing in the postseason playoffs for the 11th time... 2067 was their most recent TU South pennant... San Alejo has won only one Pro Cup... that was 45 years ago in 2032.
TUCKS WIN 3RD STRAIGHT TU EAST CROWN
In the preseason prognostications long-time loser Ozarka was favored to triumph in the Tycobbian East Division in a close 4-club free-for-all... this was a little surprising because the Naturals haven't been to the playoffs since 2040 and only have 14 winning seasons over those 37 years... with only one winning season in the last 7 years... since 2042 and 2043 Ozarka has rarely been a pennant contender in the TU East... this year the Nats did have a winning season and wound up in second place, but they lost the pennant to last year's champion
Tuckanarra (91-63) by 7 games... the Red Bluff Red Sox (80-74) and the South Fork Stallions (80-74) were far back, tied for the third spot... the Tucks were ranked a close second to Ozarka in the preseason poll... Tuckanarra topped the division just about the whole year, taking over first place on April 19... the Tiger Cats had a solid 6-game margin at midseason, but stumbled in July (10-15) and were pressured by Ozarka, Red Bluff and South Fork... Tuckanarra turned it on in the final two months with a red-hot 33-17 record and captured its third TU East crown in a row and their fourth in the last six seasons... Ozarka was 27-24 down the stretch... Red Bluff was just 25-28... and South Fork went 26-25 in August and September... the Tucks will make their 24th postseason appearance this year and will be on the prowl for their 4th Pro Cup... it's been over four decades since the last one came in 2035... they are long overdue... Tuckanarra is a well-balanced squad and should be a serious challenger for the Pro Cup title this year... dreams could come true this year in Tuckanarra.
IN A GRUELING 6-TEAM RACE ROLLING HILLS WINS ITS SECOND STRAIGHT TU WEST
In the preseason voting the defending IPA Pro Cup and TU West champion Rolling Hills Racers were the pick of the litter again and forecast to win back-to-back pennants in a close three-team battle with the Kenwood Wildcats and La Claire Lynx... as it turned out, it was quite a catfight with 6 teams in the chase and finally won by
Rolling Hills (87-67)... by the season's end Chicopee (84-70) and Kenwood (84-70) were just 3 games behind the Racers and deadlocked for the second spot in the standings.. fourth place La Claire (83-71) was just 4 games off the pace... fifth place Bayview (82-72) was only 5 games out and front-running Denton City (81-73) ended up sixth, trailing by 6 games.
In April Denton City went an amazing 22-3 and jumped way ahead of everybody... Rolling Hills was already 6 and a half-game behind... in May the Redbirds dropped off to 12-15, but still held a 4-game edge over the La Claire Lynx... in June Denton City was again just 12-15... it is now a 6-team horse race with Rolling Hills 5th and 4 and a half-game back...in the next month the Racers turned it on with a 16-8 mark and they are tied for first place with La Claire... 6th place Bayview is just 4 games out... that's how close the race is... Rolling Hills goes 16-12 in August and now has a 2-game lead over Kenwood... Chicopee is now 6th and 6 games behind... in September the Racers close out the final month with a 13-10 record and hold off hard-charging Chicopee, who finished up 17-6 and came in tied for second place with Kenwood, 3 GB... after an exhausting pennant race Rolling Hills now gets a shot at back-to-back Pro Cups... could a 9th Pro Cup Trophy be on the horizon for the Racers?... come November everyone in Islandia will all know.
2976 IPA Final Standings
