[Litty]

2041

2-time Reliever of the Year and 5-time WBLA Champion closer Jane Boylan joined the ranks of the Hall of Fame with 77.5% of the vote.

Twin Falls began to the draft by choosing Hunter ‘Cha Ching’ Vowels, a pitcher from Riverdale Christian High School in California. In 12 starts during her senior year, she went 9-0 with a 0.65 ERA. As for the four horsewomen- Death had won Rookie of the Year, War had hit .346 and led the league in OBP and walks. Pestilence didn’t play a single game for Bristol and was traded to Saskatoon in the offseason. Famine was converted to a starting pitcher and went 4-3 with a 4.71 ERA.

Salisbury once again claimed top seed as their dynasty continued. They won the East at 92-58, though this was their worst season since 2033, where they went 57-63. It was also the first season since their dynasty began that did not see them win at least 100 games. Wichita broke out to take the Central at 90-60 while Seattle won the West at 82-68, the only team in the West to make the playoffs.

In the semifinals, someone finally beat Salisbury. Hamilton, last year’s runners-up, got their revenge as they stymied Salisbury and beat them 3-1 in the best of five series. Meanwhile, Bristol beat Wichita 3-1 in the other semi-final to make their first final since 2033. However, as it had nearly a decade ago, their pitching let them and down Hamilton cruised a 4-1 series victory. This snapped Salisbury’s dominance and gave the Ohio-based side their first championship.

Elena Cortez, aka Choker aka Pestilence, took home the batting title after breaking out in Saskatoon. She hit .423 and came second in home runs with 40. Richmond’s Mia Price took the home run title (46) and RBI title (152). Bristol’s Nora Lowry took home the ERA title with an impressive 2.16. Meanwhile, Sophie Thieman was the winningest pitcher with 20 wins in 31 starts and was also strikeout queen with 294. Thieman also finished third in ERA at 2.54.

Cortez, after not playing a single game the year she was drafted, won Rookie of the Year in Saskatoon. Her league-leading .423 batting average and second highest home run total of 40 helped her take the title. In a surprise to everyone, it was Nora Lowry and not Sophie Thieman who won the Madeeha Baqri Award. Lowry went 18-6 with a league-best 2.16 ERA. Cortez also took home MVP, becoming the first rookie to win MVP.

2034 MVP Antonia Sargent retired at the end of the season. Sargent joined the league in 2033 and played in 1058 games, earning a .348 career average and 271 home runs.