[Ruwisc]

Week 10-11: June 24-July 10

Into the second half now. Can the Spirits hang with the Oaks and get a crack at an unlikely title? Or will the giants cruise to their sixth set of rings, and fifth in the last decade? Is anyone else going to join the party? Let's find out.

Round 20:
....Sitache 2-3 Lutrul - 2-1, 3-12, 5-8, 6-14, 4-3
....Cheshek 2-3 National - 2-6, 3-4, 11-10, 1-0, 1-3
.....Hokrof 2-3 Semyof - 2-8, 5-7, 5-4, 4-9, 4-2
.A.Canaries 1-4 Akashemo - 5-6(11), 6-4, 2-6, 2-24, 2-5
Mighty Oaks 2-3 Tsapna - 3-1, 7-6(11), 1-7, 1-3, 2-3
....Nokelto 2-3 Keleri - 9-4, 3-5, 15-10, 2-12, 11-12(10)
.....Kupore 4-1 Muni - 5-1, 6-5(10), 5-2, 4-6, 7-6
..A.Spirits 1-4 Kepmem - 1-2, 3-6, 11-2, 2-9, 3-11
....Fampalo 0-5 Amnanache - 6-8, 3-6, 3-4, 1-8, 2-5(10)
..Sh.Eagles 2-3 Pasataki - 6-5, 8-3, 3-7, 6-12, 4-5(10)


Both title contenders slip here on the road, but the Spirits' result is much worse, dropping an extra game against a team who, not that long ago, were in the relegation battle (though Kepmem do appear to be fairly safe at this juncture).

Cheshek 11, National 10: While this wasn't the craziest game of all time, six lead changes in a single game is an awful lot. Cheshek lost leads of 2-0, 4-3, and 9-8 before taking the lead for good in the 8th, while National led 3-2, 8-4, and 10-9 in the interim. Cheshek's star OF Tukefa Atswue had the final blow with an eighth-inning HR.

Round 21:
...National 1-4 Kupore - 5-10, 2-9, 0-3, 0-3, 7-5
.....Semyof 3-2 Nokelto - 0-3, 8-5, 8-9(10), 6-4, 9-5(10)
.....Keleri 3-2 Cheshek - 2-6, 9-5, 7-3, 4-2, 2-4
.....Kepmem 2-3 Sitache - 1-5, 6-3, 3-15, 4-7, 4-1
.......Muni 3-2 A.Canaries - 10-5, 3-2, 1-5, 4-2, 3-5
..Amnanache 2-3 A.Spirits - 3-7, 2-10, 4-3, 6-9, 7-5
...Akashemo 2-3 Fampalo - 4-6, 9-7, 1-2, 5-6(11), 4-1
.....Tsapna 3-2 Hokrof - 4-3, 7-2, 6-5, 7-8(10), 0-3
...Pasataki 1-4 Mighty Oaks - 0-7, 6-3, 5-9, 1-5, 6-7
.....Lutrul 2-3 Sh.Eagles - 2-3, 8-4, 2-4, 2-4, 8-4


Fampalo 2, Akashemo 1: In a tale unique to modern baseball, Akashemo SP Lumekatse Merefife was pulled after 7 no-hit innings in the middle game of this set. Fitotaro Faseltsa allowed the first hit, to light-hitting Fampalo catcher Tsol Kaloncha, but then league leader in saves Monon Watafo was unable to hold the 1-0 lead in the ninth, allowing a game-winning double by Chasaro Yutepe. For Watafo, the runs were unearned due to an error earlier in the inning, but the loss of both the no-hitter and the game stings much worse.

Canaries 5, Muni 3: without star CF Solo Sipet, Muni 1B Nerutsok Uchotsela is trying to do it all himself. This game is a perfect example of why that does not work very often in baseball! Uchotsela homered his first two times up in this game, and delivered an RBI double in the 8th... but those were three of his team's 5 hits, no one was on base for his homers, and they lose 5-3 to the only team in the league whose record is worse than theirs.

Lutrul 8, Shunna Eagles 4 (the latter): Lutrul 2B Poem Meste had the season's fifth 3-homer game in this win, driving in 7 runs. His last homer was fully the difference in the game, a sixth-inning grand slam off of Teao Mesa that extended a 4-3 lead to 8-3. Meste spent the prior six years playing for Muni, 5 of those in the EL, and here he is tormenting Muni's biggest rival.

Round 22:
.....Keleri 4-1 Sh.Eagles - 3-4, 6-5(10), 6-2, 7-0, 8-3
.....Kepmem 2-3 Cheshek - 1-6, 2-4, 4-3, 1-4, 5-4(10)
.....Lutrul 3-2 Nokelto - 11-3, 2-16, 4-2, 6-2, 3-7
...National 3-2 Sitache - 6-2, 3-2, 5-1, 2-3, 3-5
.....Semyof 0-5 Mighty Oaks - 5-7, 1-8, 1-2, 6-7, 5-6
...Akashemo 1-4 Hokrof - 1-4, 2-5, 11-1, 9-10, 6-8
.....Tsapna 2-3 A.Spirits - 7-2, 12-10, 3-8, 0-5, 1-7
.......Muni 1-4 Fampalo - 11-13, 8-10, 0-10, 7-6, 2-6
...Pasataki 2-3 Kupore - 6-5, 4-5, 5-7, 2-9, 9-5
..Amnanache 3-2 A.Canaries - 1-5, 12-0, 7-0, 0-3, 7-1


National 3, Sitache 2: I think this is the first bench-clearing incident of the season, at least that I can remember. National SS Anesa Mikesash, the league leader in steals, and Sitache RP Lerana Rwesu were ejected in the 6th inning after a HBP. The incident came immediately after National 3B Pelik Yelishike hit a 3-run homer that just squeaked over the wall in the left field corner. Sitache would win two of the remaining three games in the series with National's star out, so mission accomplished?

Keleri 7, Eagles 0: A shutout for Keleri SP Pusituli Yutepe, with four hits allowed. The Eagles have struggled to score but Yutepe still carved them up pretty good.

Fampalo 6, Muni 2: Fampalo RF Santa Chewefa drove in all six runs for his club today on a pair of home runs, including a walk-off grand slam off Muni's Fitsini Tsanoso.


Standings: . . .W..L
-- Mighty Oaks 77 33
-- ..A.Spirits 71 39
-- ....Cheshek 66 44
+1 .....Keleri 65 45
-1 ....Fampalo 65 45
-- .....Tsapna 63 47
-- ..Amnanache 60 50
+2 .....Kupore 57 53
-1 ...Pasataki 56 54
-1 ...Akashemo 56 54
-- ...National 51 59
+1 .....Kepmem 51 59
+2 .....Lutrul 50 60
-- ....Sitache 50 60
-3 ..Sh.Eagles 49 61
+1 .....Hokrof 48 62
-1 ....Nokelto 47 63
-- .....Semyof 44 66
-- .......Muni 38 72
-- .A.Canaries 36 74


A big surge for the Oaks to discourage the title challenger Spirits, who lose four games' worth of ground. Also a strong period for Kupore (11-4), who have asserted themselves as a potential top-half team.

Next week, the top 3 teams are all on the road, with the marquee series being the Spirits at Keleri on the weekend. Round 24 is a relatively recent runback, with the away teams having hosted the home teams in round 18.

Round 23:
Mighty Oaks vs. Muni
Aroketsil Spirits vs. National
Fampalo vs. Tsapna
Aroketsil Canaries vs. Pasataki Galaxy
Nokelto Scouts vs. Akashemo
Kupore vs. Lutrul
Cheshek vs. Semyof
Hokrof vs. Kepmem
Sitache vs. Keleri
Shunna Eagles vs. Amnanache

Round 24:
Kupore vs. Semyof
Mighty Oaks vs. Akashemo
Shunna Eagles vs. National
Cheshek vs. Amnanache
Aroketsil Spirits vs. Keleri
Hokrof vs. Muni
Nokelto Scouts vs. Pasataki Galaxy
Aroketsil Canaries vs. Lutrul
Fampalo vs. Kepmem
Sitache vs. Tsapna