ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 24, 2042

2042 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game One

Ruthlandian Union

PENN'S SLAM LEADS BLASTERS IN OPENER
Chet Penn's grand slam in the fifth paced Colfax to a 6-5 decision over Wynnamac in the Ruthlandian Division Championship opening game at Mountain View Stadium... Kristian McEly also added a two-run shot for the Blasters... Nilos Andris (1-0) notched the win, going eight and a third innings, giving up three earned runs and nine hits... Jack Scanlon picked up the save by getting the final two outs in the ninth... he relieved Andris with runners on first and second and one away... Geoff Hobart (0-1) copped the loss, allowing six runs and six hits in his six innings.

Colfax LF Chet Penn led the way with a double and a homer and four RBIs... Wynnamac LF Robby Booth drilled two hits, including a solo home run and scored twice... CF Darrell Donnelly also added two hits, scored two and drove in one run... the Sundowners had 9 hits to 7 for Colfax.

CRUSADERS CLIP CATS 2-0 ON FARRUGIA'S BLAST
In game one of the Ruthlandian Division Championship at Kilkenny's Smithwich Stadium, the visiting St. John Crusaders used five pitchers and a two-run homer by Nicky Farrugia to take a 2-0 triumph over the Cats... Big Tee Telemachus (1-0) got credit for the victory with three and two-thirds scoreless innings in relief of starter Jeremy Kirk, who worked the first three and one-third frames and not giving up a run before going out with an injury... Kirk racked up five strikeouts and allowed only one hit... three other Crusaders combined for the seven-hit shutout with the save going to Vernon Marks... loser Ciaran Cullen (0-1) tossed a good game, permitting only two runs in his seven innings with no walks and six Ks.

Tycobbian Union

SOUTHPORT EDGES HARTSDALE 3-2 IN 10 INNINGS
Southport's 26-game winner Billy Hoover continued to master IPA batters with a 3-2 win in 10 innings over the Hartsdale Hellcats in the first game of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series played at the Sun Sox's Pleasure Beach Park... Southport is the favorite to win the Pro Cup this year... Hoover fanned four and walked two in a route-going affair... he permitted 9 hits in outpacing Hellcat ace Freddie Whitaker (0-1), who also went the distance, yielding three runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts and no walks... the winning run was unearned... Chris Jones led off the tenth with a single... pinchrunner Joe Forbes went to second on a botched pick-off by Whitaker and rode home on SS Ricky Whitaker's walk-off base hit.

CF Barney Lewis sparked the Sun Sox with two hits, including a solo homer... Hellcat LF Marv Shaw had two hits and scored two runs to lead them at the plate.

KENWOOD CLUBS 3 HRS IN 6-3 WIN OVER SOUTH FORK
In the opening game of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series at the Olde Towne Grounds in Kenwood, the Wildcats walloped three homers off Jay Murphy to power by South Fork 6-3... Corky DiNozzo walloped two of the them and Warren Vickers got the other one... Murphy was 25-7 in the regular season... Rusty Bradford (1-0) got the win despite being tagged for 10 hits, but he only surrendered three runs, while fanning six and walking nobody... Artemus Hale got the save with a runless ninth... Murphy (0-1) was mauled for five runs and eight hits in his six innings.

Kenwood's top guns were C Corky DiNozzo, who went 3-for-3, scored twice and drove in three runs, while CF Vickers had two hits, two runs and two RBIs... 3B Elton Jacoby homered for the Stallions, who belted out 12 hits in defeat... and 2B Pete Arnold and C Paul Richardson each collected three hits.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 25, 2042

2042 DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Two

Ruthlandian Union

W'MACS EVEN SERIES, NAKAMURA STOPS COLFAX 6-1
In game two of the RU Division Championship Wynnamac's Shirai Nakamura gave up a lot of hits, but few runs in a 6-1 victory over the Colfax Blasters to even it up at a game apiece... Nakamura was touched for nine hits, but was stingy with runs... he hurled a complete game, struck out four batters and issued three bases on balls... Nakamura (.250) even doubled in two runs in the four-run sixth that broke the game open... Bobby Porter (9-1) was the losing pitcher... he was shelled for six runs in seven innings.

CATS TIE CRUSADERS ON JOURDAN'S HRS
In the second game of the RU Division Series at Kilkenny, the hometown Cats got a sharp performance from James Crockett on the mound and a pair of roundtrippers from C Frank Jourdan to tie it up at a game apiece... Crockett (1-0) held St. John to two runs on six hits with eight Ks and no walks... Jourdan slugged a two-run homer in the last of the first and a solo shot in the fourth to drive in all three runs... the Crusaders got their runs in the third and fourth on 2B Byron Johansen's (.143) home run and CF Art Kelley's (.250) RBI single... Frank Long (0-1) went the route and caught the loss... he gave up three runs on seven hits, fanned five batters and walked two.

Jourdan (.429) was perfect 3-for-3 in the game with two runs scored and three runs batted in with help from 3B Jorge Collazo (.714) with 2-4 and a run scored... St. John RF Nicky Farrugia (.375) nicked Crockett for two hits and scored a run.

Tycobbian Union

HELLCATS HALT SOX IN 2ND GAME 4-1, GIVENS WINNER
On the road for the second game of the TU Division Series in Southport, Perry Givens put on quite a show with a two-hitter in the 4-1 Hartsdale triumph... Givens (1-0) was sharp as a tack with seven strikeouts and one walk... LF Marv Shaw (.500) socked three hits and drove in two runs to lead the Hellcats at the plate... Southport's only offense was a solo homer by 2B James Long (.143)... Johnny Swanson (0-1) was the losing hurler as he allowed three runs on four hits in six-plus innings... Swanson posted four strikeouts and walked five in a lackluster outing.

STALLIONS OUTSCORE WILDCATS 9-8, EVEN SERIES
South Fork rallied from a 6-1 deficit after three innings to come back and defeat Kenwood 9-8 in game two of the Tycobbian Division Championship... the Stallions erupted for four runs in the fourth and four more in the sixth to split the first two games of the series in Kenwood... pinchhitter Kyle Gottwald's (.500) three-run double highlighted the fourth... South Fork took the lead for good in the sixth on bases-loaded walks to 3B Elton Jacoby (.250) and SS Jess Wilkerson (.286)... and RBI singles by 1B Paul Sexton (.250) and Rick Carlton (.500).

South Fork used five pitchers with the win going to reliever Ryan Madison (1-0), who permitted two unearned runs in four frames, while starter and loser Freddie Gooch was pelted for nine runs on eight hits in just five innings... Mike Lambertini registered the save with one and two-thirds scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth... the Stallions collected 9 hits to 10 for the Wildcats.

RF Rick Carlton (.500) sparked the Stallions with three hits and CF Scottie O'Sullivan (.333) picked up a pair of hits... SS Jess Wilkerson (.286) batted in two runs for the winners... and C Corky DiNozzo (.625) and 3B Rob Jenkins (.375) cracked two hits each and scored two runs for the Wildcats, while SS Ricky Boyer (.286) provided two RBIs.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 26, 2042

2042 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Three

Ruthlandian Union

W'MACS NIPS COLFAX 7-6, LEAD SERIES 2-1
Things were looking dismal at Granger Stadium in Wynnamac for awhile... the hometown Sundowners went into the sixth inning behind by 5-0, then the bats started booming and they came away with a 7-6 victory over Colfax to take a two games to one edge in the best-of-seven Ruthlandian Division Series... the deciding run came in on a balk by losing pitcher Jack Scanlon... SS Rusty Reese got to second base on a miscue by third baseman Kristian McEly, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on the balk.

Homers by RF Kevin Williams (.333), 3B Kristian McEly (.250) and C Mitch Fullerton (.125) gave Colfax an early lead, but they couldn't hold it... it was homer number two for McEly... Wynnamac was led by LF Robby Booth (.400) and RF Nioka Inkamara (.286) with three hits and two runs apiece... Booth hit a solo homer, his second of the series... 2B Curtis Whetstone (.333) added two hits and drove in two runs... the Sundowners racked up 12 hits to 10 for the Blasters.

Reliever Mickey Allen (1-0) worked two and a third scoreless innings for the win, allowing two hits... Scanlon (0-1) was the loser... he came on in the ninth.

KOSTRO AND CATS WIN 3-1 IN 11 INNINGS
In game three of the RU Division Series at Cathedral Stadium in St. John, Kilkenny's Jon Kostro had a magnificent outing with a 3-1 win over the Crusaders in 11 innings... Kostro held St. John to one run and eight hits in 10 and one-third innings to put the Kilkenny Cats up two games to one... Ryan Alexander's two-run single decided the game... Kostro (1-0) walked three and struck out five... but needed help from Joe Pierce to finish off the Crusaders with the last two outs... Mel Coley (0-1) matched Kostro for 10 innings, but faltered in the 11th... Coley surrendered three runs on seven hits, whiffed eight Cats and walked three.

Kilkenny C Frank Jourdan (.333) started the scoring with a second-inning homer... it was his third home run of the series... it continued 1-0 until St. John tied it up in the last of the eighth... SS Tab Allison (.250) singled, was bunted to second, move to third on a base hit by Nicky Farrugia (.308) and scored on 3B Marty Blankenship's (.231) single.

Tycobbian Union

HELLCATS CRUSH SUN SOX 9-4 IN GAME 3
At Pioneer Park in Hartsdale, the Hellcats took charge with nine unanswered runs to crush Southport 9-4 in game three of the Tycobbian Division Series... Hartsdale moved ahead two games to one in the best-of-seven series... trailing 4-0 going into the last of the fifth, the Hellcats hammered Brandon Delmore for five runs to take the lead, then finished the Sun Sox off with four more in the seventh... Southport was picked to win this year's Pro Cup.

Gil Younger (1-0) gained the win... he went into the ninth inning, permitted four runs on 13 hits with two of them unearned... Alfonso Cervera closed the game out for him by getting the last two outs... Delmore (0-1) was the loser... he gave up five runs - only two earned - and eight hits in five-plus innings.

C Frank Penn (.500) paced the Hellcats' 12-hit attack with three hits, 2 runs and 2 RBIs... CF Darrell Nesbitt (.333) and 2B Greg Melton (.308) chipped in with two hits apiece... the Sun Sox piled up 13 hits in defeat with LF Chris Jones (.417) getting three of them... CF Barney Lewis (.364) cashed in with a solo homer among his two hits... and 1B Eddy Douglas (.167), 2B James Long (.273) and C Vasilis Vlachos (.273) also all delivered two hits each.

KENWOOD STOPS SOUTH FORK 6-2
After being shutout for five innings at Jock Ewing Stadium in South Fork, Kenwood came alive and belted the Stallions 6-2 and took a two games to one lead in the Tycobbian Division Series... the Wildcats put South Fork away with three runs in the seventh, two in the eighth and one more in the ninth... they collected 12 hits, while stopping South Fork on just three hits... Clyde Myers (1-0) notched the win... he checked the Stallions on three hits and two runs in six frames... reliever Tommy Carter performed brilliantly, holding South Fork hitless with one walk over the final three frames... Chris Sorensen (0-1) was the losing pitcher... he left trailing 3-2 after six innings.

1B Aldon Belew (.455) was Kenwood's top gun with 3-for-4, including a triple and a homer, with three RBIs and two runs scored... CF Tim Jarvis (.400) had a pair of hits and scored twice for the winners.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 27, 2042

2042 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Four

Ruthlandian Union

BLASTERS PREVAIL 7-6 IN 11 INNINGS
Colfax knotted up the Ruthlandian Division Series at two games each with an 11-inning 7-6 win on the road in Wynnamac... Chet Penn was the hero as he singled in Gino Calabrese from second base with the winning score... the Blasters trailed 5-3 going into the ninth... Calabrese drove in the two tying runs with a single... reliever Jack Scanlon (1-1/2.08) worked three innings for the win, though he gave up one run on five hits and walked three... Sammy Hayes (0-1) caught the loss... he came on in the 10th.

Wynnamac's bullpen blew the game... Geoff Hobart went the first eight frames and left leading 5-3... he struck out five batters, walked nobody and allowed eight hits... Nikos Andris started for Colfax and was tagged for five runs and eight hits in his eight innings.

Red-hot LF Chet Penn (.625) sparked the Blasters with four hits and four RBIs... one of his hits was his second playoff homer... Penn has driven in 8 runs in the series... CF Gino Calabrese (.278) had two hits, two runs and two RBIs... CF Darrell Donnelly (.412) led the Sundowners with 3-5 with a run scored and one driven in... LF Robby Booth (.400), RF Nioka Inkamara (.316) and 1B Jack Pope (.385) all had a pair of hits and an RBI for Wynnamac... and 2B Curtis Whetstone (.333) went 1-for-3, scored two runs and drove in a run.

CATS GO UP 3-1 OVER CRUSADERS
For the third game in a row, Kilkenny got got good pitching to defeat St. John 5-2 and take a huge three games to one lead in the Ruthlandian Division Series... one more win and the Cats will send the Crusaders home for the year... Ciaran Cullen (1-1/2.40), the game one loser, redeemed himself with an impressive outing... Cullen tossed eight innings and gave up only two runs on nine hits, fanning five and walking two... Kilkenny got a big break when St. John ace Jeremy Kirk missed his turn because of injury... Kirk is still being looked at by the doctors... he was injured in game one... no word yet on when Kirk will return... Big Tee Telemachus (1-1/3.38) started in his place and copped the loss... Telemachus was smacked around for 11 hits and four runs in seven innings... he left the game with the score 4-2 in favor of the Cats... Cullen was helped out by three double plays and good relief by Joe Pierce, who got his second series save with a scoreless ninth.

Kilkenny cracked 13 hits to 11 for St. John... the Cats' best bats were RF Joel Richard (.667) with two hits and two RBIs... 3B Jorge Collazo (.500) pitched in with three hits and an RBI... in defeat Crusader RF Nicky Farrugia (.438) walloped his second homer of the series and socked three hits, scoring twice... CF Art Kelley (.313) added two hits and an RBI.

Tycobbian Union

HELLCATS HAMMER SUN SOX 7-3, NEAR SERIES WIN
Hartsdale did what few teams did this season - they beat 26-game winner Billy Hoover 7-3 in game four of the Tycobbian Division Series giving the Hellcats a big three games to one edge in the best-of-seven set... it was the third straight for Hartsdale over the Pro Cup favorite... the Sun Sox will be gone for the winter with one more defeat... the Hellcats broke it open with four runs in the sixth to go in front 5-2, highlighted by Greg Melton's (.294) two-run triple... chalking up the win was Freddie Whitaker (1-1/2.25), who worked seven good innings, gave up three runs on eight hits with four walks and eight Ks... closer Alfonso Cervera got his first save in the series with two scoreless innings... he allowed one hit and fanned three batters... Hoover (1-1/3.71) had an off-day... the Hellcats shelled him for five runs and eight hits in his seven innings... Hoover was behind 5-3 when he called it a day.

SS Robinson Alomar (.385) led Hartsdale with three hits, three RBIs and three hits... he had a two-run homer in the eighth to give the Hellcats their final cushion 7-3... Southport was paced by 1B Eddy Wilson (.250) with two hits, including a homer... CF Barney Lewis (.333) had one hit and scored twice... each club had nine hits.

WILDCATS BLANK STALLIONS 2-0, BRADFORD WINNER
Two tough pitchers went head-to-head for nine innings in game four of the TU Division Series with Rusty Bradford getting the best of Jay Murphy for the second time in the series... Kenwood won 2-0 behind Bradford (2-0/1.59), who limited the Stallions to six hits, all singles... he fanned four and walked three... Murphy (0-2/4.20) surrendered two runs on eight hits, struck out six and issued no bases on balls... Bradford beat Murphy 6-3 in the series' opener.

Kenwood broke the scoreless tie with a run in the sixth... 2B Country Crowder (.176) led off with a single, moved to second and third on groundouts and was driven in by 3B Rod Jenkins' (.284) base hit... the Wildcats got their other run in the eighth on Tim Jarvis' (.556) solo homer... topping South Fork at the plate was 3B Elton Jacoby (.385) and 1B Paul Sexton (.267), each with a pair of singles.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, September 28, 2042

2042 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Five

Ruthlandian Union

BLASTERS BOMB SUNDOWNERS 9-4 IN GAME 5
Colfax erupted for four runs in the seventh inning to snap a 3-3 deadlock in a 9-4 victory in game five of the Ruthlandian Division Series... that gave the Blasters a three-two edge in the Series... Gerry Sives and Geno Calabrese led the way three RBIs each, along with Marty Eldridge, who drove in a pair of runs... Colfax had 12 hits in the game... the remainder of the best-of-seven series will be played in Colfax.

Bobby Porter (1-1/5.06) was the winning pitcher... he was tagged for 10 hits and four runs, but went the distance in a spotty performance... Porter had two walks and five strikeouts... Shirai Nakamura (1-1/2.70) was roughed up for nine runs and 10 hits in seven and two-thirds innings, but only five of the runs were earned.

The Blasters were led by 2B Gerry Sives (.400) with 4-6 and Calabrese (.304) with 2-5... they both had three RBIs each... C Mitch Fullerton (.071) got four walks and scored three times... RF Nioka Inkamara (.318) had a homer and two RBIs for the Sundowners and LF Robby Booth (.440) chalked up three hits.

KILKENNY KO'S CRUSADERS IN FIVE GAMES
Kilkenny's mound staff lived up to its reputation... for the fourth straight game they shut down the St. John Crusaders and finished them off four games to one in the best-of-seven Ruthlandian Division Championship Series... the Cats clobbered the Crusaders 9-2 in game five behind the fine pitching of James Crockett (2-0/2.12), who checked them on two runs and six hits with three walks and five strikeouts in his eight innings... Frank Long (0-2/5.40) lost his second game of the series... he was battered for six runs and six hits in seven innings.

SS Ryan Alexander (.333) and LF Scottie Spencer (.375) feasted on Crusader pitching for three hits each... they both scored three times in the game... Spencer had a two-run homer and Alexander had an RBI double... CF Kevin McLaglen (.143) chipped in a solo homer... Autrey Callaw (.300) went 3-for-4 to pace the Crusaders and SS Tab Allison (.286) was 2-for-5 with two doubles... Callaw also hit a pair of doubles.

St. John got the word yesterday that their top pitcher Jeremy Kirk (22-14/2.59) would be out at least four months with a nerve problem... he was injured in game one.

Kilkenny manager Rusty Denicola praised his pitching staff, "Our pitchers got us here and continued to do their job in this series... holding them to nine runs in five games is awesome."... The Cats' posted a terrific 1.72 ERA in the series, while St. John compiled a 3.72 ERA... the Blasters also outhit the Crusaders .250 to .234 and outscored them 20-9.

Clayton Luck, St. John's skipper agreed with Denicola, "Cullen, Crockett and Kostro are tough to beat... they certainly shut us down... and we are a pretty fair hitting club... with the way they pitch Kilkenny doesn't need much offense to win... they should fare well in the playoffs."

Tycobbian Union

HELLCATS UPSET SUN SOX IN FIVE GAMES
The jinx continues - another Pro Cup favorite Southport bit the dust - they were upset in five games by the Hartsdale Hellcats, the third choice in the Pro Cup poll... game five was a seesaw affair finally won by the Hellcats 7-6 on Darrell Nesbitt's (.250) two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh that scored Jesse Jenkins (.211) from second base... Hartsdale pounded out 16 hits, but still just barely won... Southport stayed in the game with three homers by James Long, Eddy Douglas and Chris Jones... Perry Givens (2-0/3.94) got the win, but struggled... he gave up six runs and eight hits in seven innings... Alfonso Cervera came on in the eighth and preserved it for Givens... Cervera retired all six batters he faced for his second playoff save... the loss went to reliever Wayne Stewart (0-1)... he worked the final two innings and gave up one run on two hits.

Sparking the Hellcats at the plate were C Frank Penn (.474) and SS Robinson Alomar (.389), who racked up two hits and two RBIs each... 3B Greg Melton (.381) pitched in with three hits... and RF Emmilian Burgess (.273), 1B John Ford (.250) and LF Marv Shaw (.348) all posted two hits apiece... the Sun Sox only got eight hits... 2B James Long (.222), 1B Eddy Douglas (.316) and LF Chris Jones (.300) each drove in two runs in defeat.

Jud Turchin, the Hellcats' manager, was overjoyed... he told reporters, "It's hard to beat us when we hit like we hit and pitch like we pitched." Hartsdale blistered Southport for a .303 BA and chalked up a strong 2.60 ERA, outscoring the Sun Sox 28-17... Southport had a dismal series with a 4.81 ERA and only a .238 BA.

Dejected Southport skipper Charley Oscar wasn't very happy with his club's performance. "We ran into a red-hot team and they tore us up... you would've never known we won a 100 games this year... what can I say... we were the best ballclub during the season, but we sure didn't play like it in the postseason... I really thought this was the year we would win our first Pro Cup."

Hartsdale will meet the winner of the Kenwood-South Fork series in the Tycobbian League Championship Series.

SOUTH FORK RALLIES FOR 5-4 WIN IN GAME 5
In game five of the TU Division Series at South Fork, Kenwood had a good opportunity to wrap it up... leading three games to one, the Wildcats blew a 4-2 lead after five innings and then came out on the short end of a 5-4 score... the Stallions busted up a 4-4 game in the last of the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Paul Richardson... South Fork got excellent relief work from Jonas Clay and Gary Golden... they retired all nine men they faced from the sixth inning on... Clay (1-0/0.00) got the win with two scoreless frames... Golden picked up the save with a perfect ninth... Freddie Gooch (0-2/8.31) went the distance in defeat, yielding five runs on 10 hits with three walks and five Ks... two of the runs were not earned.

RF Rick Carlton (.333) and C Paul Richardson (.385) paved the way to victory with two hits apiece... Carlton batted in three runs and Richardson two... SS Jess Wilkerson (.263) also helped with three hits and two runs scored... South Fork outhit Kenwood 10-4... leading the Wildcats was RF John Lewis (.150) with a 3-run homer.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 29, 2042

2042 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Six

Ruthlandian Union

SUNDOWNERS EVEN SERIES, SLAM BLASTERS 11-4
On the road at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax, the Wynnamac Sundowners played powerball and evened the Ruthlandian Division Series at three game apiece... the Sundowners slammed the Colfax 11-4 in game six and forced a seventh-and-deciding game... Curtis Whetstone hit a three-run homer in the top of the fifth to snap a 4-4 tie... in the next inning Jack Pope finished off the Blasters with a grand slammer.

Sundowner starter Ciaran Gallagher (1-0/7.50) wasn't very effective, but he got great run support and the win... Gallagher allowed four runs and six hits in five and one-third innings... he got great relief from Eddie Hodges, who restricted the Blasters to just one hit over the final three and two-thirds innings... the second of four Colfax pitchers, Ray Maxon (0-1) suffered the loss... Maxon was smacked for five runs in just one and one-third innings.

Wynnamac cracked 11 hits to 7 for Colfax... Jack Pope went 2-for-3, scored three runs and batted in four to lead the Sundowners... he got plenty of help from 2B Curtis Whetstone (.300) with two hits, four RBIs and one run scored.... CF Darrell Donnelly (.385) added two hits and two runs to the Sundowner attack... SS Marty Eldridge (.304) supplied most of the Colfax offense with a three-run homer, that temporaily gave them a 4-2 lead in the last of the fourth.

The do-or-die seventh game tomorrow afternoon, also in Colfax, will pit Geoff Hobart (18-10/3.53) for Wynnamac and Nilos Andris (20-13/3.45) for Colfax... Hobart and Andris have faced each other twice in the series... neither has been particularly good... Colfax won both of them 6-5 and 7-6... in the postseason Hobart is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA, while Andris is 1-0 and 3.86.

Tycobbian Union

CARLTON CLOUT GIVES STALLIONS 5-3 WIN, TIES SERIES
After being down three games to one in the Tycobbian Division Series, the revitalized South Fork Stallions have taken the last two and tied it at three games each, thus forcing a seventh contest tomorrow afternoon at the Olde Towne Grounds in Kenwood... the winner will move on into the second round of the IPA Pro Cup playoffs... RF Rick Carlton (.318) slugged a game-winning two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to split the series at three game each... C Paul Richardson (.438) drove in the first three South Fork runs with a three-run two-bagger in the second frame...

In a good effort Chris Sorensen (1-1/3.60) notched the win... after being touched for three runs in the opening frame, Sorensen settled and shut out the Wildcats the rest of the game... he allowed seven hits, struck out four and walked just one batter... loser Clyde Myers (1-1/2.40) also went the distance, gave up seven hits and five runs, fanned nine and walked five... but he gave up only two earned runs.

3B Rod Jenkins (.360) socked three hits and drove in two runs to lead the Kenwood offense... one of his hits was a two-run homer... C Corky DiNozzo (.333) also chipped in with an RBI and scored a run.

Tomorrow afternoon it will get down to whose ace is the best - South Fork's Jay Murphy (25-7/1.98) or Kenwood's Rusty Bradford (22-11/2.77)... so far in the series it's been all Bradford... he has beaten Murphy 6-3 and 2-0... Bradford is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in two postseason starts, while Murphy is 0-2 with a 4.20 ERA.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 30, 2042

2042 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Seven

Ruthlandian Union

COLFAX ELIMINATES W'MACS 6-3, ANDRIS WINNER
Nikos Andris was pretty much the whole story as Colfax eliminated underdog Wynnamac from the IPA playoffs with a 6-3 triumph in game seven at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax... the Blasters took the hard-fought series four games to three to move on to the Ruthlandian League Championship Series against the Kilkenny Cats, who quickly disposed of the St. John Crusaders in five games... Colfax was the fourth choice to win the Pro Cup this year... Wynnamac was given little chance and was ranked last in the poll... Hartsdale of the Tycobbian Union is the highest pick still in the hunt... the Hellcats were the third choice... Kilkenny number five and South Fork number seven are the other remaining clubs in the playoffs.

Andris (2-0/3.20), a 35-year-old right-hander, had his A game today... he held the big bats of Wynnamac to three runs and seven hits with only two walked issued and struck out seven in a fine complete game... the Blasters only got six hits, but they came at the right time... Colfax put four on the scoreboard in the last of the fifth and two more in the sixth to finish off the Sundowners... SS Marty Eldridge (.320) had two RBIs to lead the way... 2B Gerry Sives (.364), CF Gino Calabrese (.267), LF Chet Penn (.400) and Nikos Andris (.100) all chipped in with RBIs.

Geoff Hobart (0-2/5.40) went down to defeat... he allowed six runs and five hits in six innings, but only three were earned... the Sundowners only got six singles with RBIs by LF Robby Booth (.387) and CF Darrell Donnelly (.400).

Winning manager Ilya Szabo of Colfax told reporters, "The difference in the two clubs came down to defense... neither one of us played well... they played worse... otherwise everything else was fairly equal... our pitching was bad, so was theirs... thanks to Andris we pulled it out in the seventh game... it was the only halfway decent start we got in the whole series."

Wynnamac's Matt Donnelly echoed the same sentiments, "We gave away 12 runs in the series... 3 in the last game... case closed... season over!... see ya next year!"

Tycobbian Union

STALLIONS SKIM BY WILDCATS 6-5 IN GAME 7
In a back-and-forth thriller South Fork defeated favored Kenwood 6-5 in the game-seven finale of the Tycobbian Division Series to advance to the second round against hot-hitting Hartsdale... the third-pick Hellcats upset the Pro Cup favorite Southport in the first round action... Kenwood was ranked the second-best club in the Pro Cup poll, while South Fork was picked seventh.

The Stallions pelted the Wildcats for 14 hits, paced by 3B Elton Jacoby (.296) and SS Jess Wilkerson (.308) with three hits each... Jacoby got his second homer of the series... 2B Pete Arnold (.286) and 1B Paul Sexton (.308) drove in a pair of runs apiece for South Fork... and CF Warren Vickers (.138) and SS Warren Kimberly (.300) sparked Kenwood with two RBIs each.

Winning pitcher Jay Murphy (1-2/3.42) started for South Fork and hurled eight and two-thirds innings... he was tagged for five runs on eight hits, but only two were earned... Gary Golden got his second save by retiring the only batter he faced... it was a sloppy game defensively with six unearned runs and four errors, two by each club... Rusty Bradford (2-1/2.08) suffered the loss by permitting 14 hits and six runs, three of them not earned... Bradford went the distance.

Aaron Hankins, skipper of the Wildcats, told the press that they had their chances to win... "We got to Murphy, one of the best pitchers in the league twice... and even had him on the ropes in game seven, but just couldn't finish him off... he's quite a gamer."

Stallions' manager Blackie Terranova was on cloud nine and in high spirits, marveling at the win, "Can you believe we did it?... nobody thought we could beat Kenwood, but we did... I think the key was our hitting... nobody stood out much, but everybody did their part... we did just enough to win... that's it in a nutshell."

It really was a close series... South Fork had the edge with a .262 BA to .238 for Kenwood, but the Wildcats outscored the Stallions 34-30 and outhomered them 7-3... Kenwood also had the best ERA 3.36 to 3.63, but didn't win the series... C Paul Richardson led the Stallions with a .400 BA and 6 RBIs and RF Rick Carlton batted .333 with 6 RBIs... the Wildcats' best bats were 3B Rod Jenkins with a .345 BA and 5 RBIs, C Corky DiNozzo with a .310 BA, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs and 7 runs and 1B Aldon Belew with a .320 BA, 4 RBIs and 6 runs... on the hill South Fork was led by its relievers, who sparkled with two of the victories and two saves... Jonas Clay and Ryan Madison were both 1-0... Gary Golden earned two saves and Mike Lambertini one... the Stallions starters were just average with Jay Murphy going 1-2 with a 3.42 ERA and Chris Sorensen 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA... Rusty Bradford was Kenwood's best pitcher with a 2-1 record with a 2.08 ERA... Clyde Myers also did well with a 1-1 mark and a 2.40 ERA.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 1, 2042

HELLCATS, CATS FAVORED IN LCS
Fresh off impressive victories in first-round IPA-playoff action, the Hartsdale Hellcats and the Kilkenny Cats have garnered the favorite roles in the League Championship Series, that get started this Wedneday afternoon. In the Tycobbian Union the Hellcats handily disposed of the Pro Cup-favored Southport Sun Sox in a quick five games and in the Ruthlandian Union the Kilkenny Cats zapped the sixth-rated St. John Crusaders in five games as well.

Their opponents will be the surprising South Fork Stallions, who upset the second choice Kenwood Wildcats in seven games in the Tycobbian Union and the Colfax Blasters that defeated the eighth pick Wynnamac Sundowners in seven games. Hartsdale will host South Fork and Colfax will travel to tangle with Kilkenny.

In the Colfax-Kilkenny affair it will be the Cats' superb pitching staff trying to hold down the Blaster bats. The oddsmakers say that Kilkenny is just too good on the hill and should come away with the Ruthlandian crown. The question will be whether or not the weak-hitting Cats can score enough runs. Colfax was picked fourth in The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll, while Kilkenny was ranked fifth. Kilkenny's fate will depend on the starters Ciaran Cullen (21-11/2.99), James Crockett (17-16/3.32) and Jon Kostro (17-8/4.04), along with Joe Pierce (13-6/1.07/7 saves) and Andy Mayfield (2-1/1.26/13 saves) in the bullpen and how well they do against the potent bats of Colfax's Kristian McEly (.322 BA, 33 HR, 128 RBI), Chet Penn (.329 BA, 30 HR, 106 RBI), Gerry Sives (.328 BA, 114 runs), Geno Calabrese (.315 BA, 10 HR, 97 runs) and Kevin Williams (.300 BA, 13 HR, 80 RBI, 87 runs).

Third-ranked Hartsdale played super against the top pick Southport, hitting the cover off the ball and was strong on the mound. The consensus is that the Hellcats will quickly get past seventh choice South Fork for the Tycobbian title with a good chance to go on and capture their first-ever Pro Cup. Another factor in Hartsdale's favor is that they snapped defending Pro Cup champion North Hills' pennant streak in the TU North. The Hawks had won eight division titles in a row and four Pro Cups in 10 years. The Hellcats will be led at the plate by Marv Shaw (.293 BA, 30 HR, 91 RBI), John Ford (.283 BA, 28 HR, 86 RBI), Robinson Alomar (.276 BA, 24 HR, 91 RBI), Greg Melton (.267 BA, 25 HR, 82 RBI) and Darrell Nesbitt (.290 BA, 18 HR, 69 RBI, 103 runs). South Fork's destiny lies with ace Jay Murphy (25-7/1.90). He will be called on to win three games in the series for the Stallions to have a chance. Offensively Elton Jacoby (.307 BA, 32 HR, 95 RBI, 102 runs) and Jess Wilkerson (.299 BA, 23 HR, 93 RBI) will also have to be on top of their games and get some help in the run-scoring department.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 3, 2042

2042 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game One

Ruthlandian Union

COLFAX CLIPS CATS 2-1 IN LCS OPENER
In the Ruthlandian League Championship opener at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax, the Blasters clipped the Kilkenny Cats 2-1 in 10 innings on Gerry Sives' home run... Colfax got an impressive start from Nilos Andris (2-0/2.62), who stopped the Cats on five hits and one run in nine innings... closer Jack Scanlon (2-1/1.69) claimed the win with a perfect 1-2-3 tenth... the defeat went to Ciaran Cullen (1-2/2.25)... he went all the way and gave up only two runs and eight hits.

The other Blaster run came on a roundtripper by LF Chet Penn (.394) in the first frame... RF Kevin Williams (.400) led Colfax with three hits... Sives (.368) also had a double in addition to the game-winning blast... Kilkenny got its only score in the fifth frame on a RBI single by Ciaran Cullen (.222) that scored SS Ryan Alexander (.333) from third base... Alexander had led off the inning with a double.

Tycobbian Union

HELLCATS HOLD OFF STALLIONS 5-4 IN GAME 1
Game one of the Tycobbian League Championship Series was set at Pioneer Park in Hartsdale and the hometown Hellcats came out the victors 5-4 as they beat south Fork's 25-game winner Jay Murphy... Hartsdale run up a 5-1 after five innings, then held on as the Stallions rallied in the late innings... the Hellcats were sparked by homers by CF Darrell Nesbitt (.292) and 2B Jesse Jenkins (.227)... 1B Paul Sexton (.290) slugged one for South Fork.

Freddie Whitaker (2-1/2.96) went eight innings for the win, yielding four runs on eight hits with four walks and six strikeouts... closer Alfonso Cervera (0.00) got the last two outs and his third postseason save... Cervera topped the IPA with 27 saves this season... Jay Murphy (1-3/3.69) continued his playoff struggles and got his third loss... Murphy only lost seven games in the regular season and led the IPA with a 1.90 ERA... today was another disappointing defeat for him... the Hellcats got to him for five runs on nine hits... Murphy went the distance.

Nesbitt (.292), RF Emillian Burgess (.308) and 3B Greg Melton (.400) paced Hartsdale with two hits each, while SS Jess Wilkerson (.355) had three for South Fork... CF Scotty O'Sullivan (.286) and LF Maury Yates (.120) chipped two hits apiece for the Stallions.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 4, 2042

2042 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Two

Ruthlandian Union

COLFAX CLOBBERS KILKENNY 12-7 WITH 3 HRS
Colfax was behind 6-3 going into the last of the sixth in game two of the Ruthlandian LCS when they exploded for eight runs to clobber the Kilkenny Cats 12-7... Ernie Kidd (.111), Kevin Williams (.436) and Mitch Fullerton (.125) all hit two-run homers for the Blasters, who now have a two-nothing lead in the series.

Kilkenny outhit Colfax 13 to 10, but the Blasters came away with the win... Williams sparked the Blasters with three hits and four RBIs... 3B Kristian McEly (.256) collected two hits and also drove in two runs... SS Ryan Alexander (.423) went 4-for-5 for the Cats with RF Kevin McLaglen (.167) getting two hits, including a home run... Colfax starter Bobby Porter (2-1/6.14) didn't pitch very well, but got the victory... Porter was ripped for six runs and 11 hits in six innings... he left with an 11-6 lead... Ryan Peterson notched the save, holding Kilkenny to one run and two hits in three innings.

Tycobbian Union

STALLIONS STALL HELLCATS 6-5 IN GAME 2
In Hartsdale, the Hellcats and South Fork split the first two games in the Tycobbian League Championship Series... the Stallions slipped by the Hellcats 6-5 in game two... Jess Wilkerson, Pete Arnold and Scotty O'Sullivan each drove in a pair of runs and southpaw Chris Sorensen (2-1/3.75) was just good enough to win... Sorensen allowed five runs on nine hits, struck out six and walked two in a lackluster performance... Perry Givens (2-1/5/32) was sub-par in losing, surrrendering six runs on 10 hits with three walks and six Ks.

The Stallions picked up 11 hits to nine for the Hellcats... 1B Paul Sexton (.353) led them with three hits... Wilkerson (.382), Arnold (.314) and O'Sullivan (.313) all delivered two hits apiece... the Hellcats got homers from LF Marv Shaw (.355) and SS Robinson Alomar (.346)... and 2B Jesse Jenkins (.308) went 3-for-4.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 5, 2042

2042 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Three

Ruthlandian Union

COLFAX TAKES 3RD IN A ROW 5-0
On the road in Kilkenny, Colfax took a giant step for the Ruthlandian League Championship with a 5-0 shutout over the Kilkenny Cats... Ron Paige tossed eight sharp innings, blanking the Cats on five hits with seven Ks and three bases on balls... Norb Harbison set down the Cats in order to seal the verdict... Colfax now has a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Colfax got their first two runs in the top of the third on an RBI double by CF Geno Calabrese (.310) and and RBI groundout by LF Chet Penn (.325)... 1B Ernie Kidd (.125) socked a three-run clout in the top of the sixth for the other Blaster runs... Colfax has hit 13 roundtrippers so far in the postseason... Celebrese went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles... Jon Kostro (1-1/2.60) went down to defeat, permitting five runs on six hits in his seven innings.

Tycobbian Union

YOUNGER BLITZES STALLIONS 4-0 FOR SERIES LEAD
In the third game of the Tycobbian LCS at Jock Ewing Stadium in South Fork, the visiting Hartsdale Hellcats got a masterful performance from Gil Younger, who fired a seven-hit shutout to give them a game lead in the best-of-seven series... the Hellcats moved up two games to one... Younger whiffed nine batters in the game and issued three bases on balls.

Hartsdale had a 10-7 advantage in hits... LF Marv Shaw (.429) delivered four hits for the Hellcats... 3B Greg Melton (.353) drove in two runs with Shaw and SS Robinson Alomar (.367) plating the other two... South Fork 3B Eldon Jacoby (.316) went 3-for-4... Big Murph McAlister (0-1/5.60) suffered the loss... the Hellcats shelled him for ten hits and four runs in eigth-plus innings... Hartsdale got two in the first frame and two more in the third to give Younger some breathing room early.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 6, 2042

2042 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Four

Ruthlandian Union

COLFAX SWEEPS KILKENNY
Ernie Kidd walloped a three-run homer in the top of the fifth, helping Colfax rally from a 6-2 deficit after four innings in game four of the Ruthlandian League Championship Series... Kidd's (.182) clout put the Blasters ahead to stay 7-6 and over the top in a four-game series sweep... Kevin Williams (.422) and Gary Sives (.321) also slammed roundtrippers to help advance Colfax to the Pro Cup Finals for the first time since 2032... the Blasters won it in 2010.

1B Kidd and Williams led the Colfax nine-hit attack with three hits and two hits respectively... Kidd and Williams have three homers each in the postseason, while Sives had hit two... Nilos Andris (3-0/2.55) racked up his third postseason victory, but stuggled to do it... three Blaster errors cost him four runs... Andros allowed six runs on nine hits in eight innings of work... Jack Scanlon (2-1/1.42) shut down the Cats in order in the ninth to register his third save.

Kilkenny loser Ciaran Cullen (1-3/3.60) was belted for seven runs on eight hits in six innings... he was behind 7-6 when he went to the showers... Kilkenny RF Kevin McLaglen (.211) hit his third playoff homer and drove in two runs... CF Emmett O'Connell (.263) added three hits and 3B Jorge Collazo (.343) chipped in with two base hits.

At the postgame press conference Colfax skipper Ilya Szabo stated, "Our bats won two games for us and our pitching won the other two... we handled Kilkenny's fine mound corps pretty well with nine homers in the four games."

Hall-of-Famer Szabo was a vital part of the Blasters' Pro Cup season in 2010... he went 27-4 in the regular season with a superlative 1.79 ERA... Szabo was the Pro Cup MVP with a 5-2 mark and a splendid 1.42 ERA... he had a great IPA career with a 327-210 record and a super 2.57 ERA.

A dejected Rusty Denicola, the Kilkenny manager, lamented, "This was supposed to be the year of the Cat... it was our first time ever in the playoffs and we really thought our pitching staff could bring home the Pro Cup... but Colfax just had too much firepower for us."

Tycobbian Union

STALLIONS TIE SERIES, MURPHY WINS 8-3
A six-run first inning and sound pitching by South Fork ace Jay Murphy tied the Tycobbian LCS at two games each... the Stallions trampled Hartsdale 8-3 in game four in South Fork... Murphy (2-3/3.63) limited the Hellcats to three runs on five hits, but need help from closer Gary Golden (0.00), who pitched a perfect ninth to nail down the win for Murphy... offensively it was 1B Paul Sexton (.350) and Jess Wilkerson (.381) leading the way with two hits and two RBIs each... both had homers in the game... both were solo shots... CF Scotty O'Sullivan (.282) and C Paul Richardson (.286) drove in two runs apiece for the winners.

Hartsdale's best bats were CF Darrell Nesbitt (.270) with two hits, including a homer and SS Robinson Alomar (.364) with two runs batted in... it was a terrible outing for Hellcat starter Freddie Whitaker (2-2/4.97), who was raked for six runs and six hits in the opening frame.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 7, 2042

2042 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Five

Tycobbian Union

SORENSEN STOPS HELLCATS 3-2, SOUTH FORK UP 3-2
Seventh-ranked South Fork is on the brink of beating third-ranked Hartsdale in the Tycobbian League Championship Series... Chris Sorensen stopped the Hellcats 3-2 in game five to give the Stallions a three-two edge in the best-of-seven set... Sorensen also doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the sixth... in a complete game Sorensen (3-1/3.27) fanned five and walked two, while giving up two runs on eight hits... Perry Givens (2-2/5.14), the Hellcat starter, was the loser... he allowed three runs on six hits in six innings.

Maury Yates (.194) had two RBIs for South Fork... he put them ahead 2-0 in the third frame... Hartsdale tied it up on RBIs by C Frank Penn (.343) and 3B Jesse Jenkins (.306) in the top of the fourth.

Yates led the Stallions at the plate with two hits and two RBIs, while Jenkins had a pair of hits for the Hellcats.

The rest of the series will be played at Pioneer Park in Hartsdale. Game six is tomorrow afternoon with game seven, if needed, slated for Thursday.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 8, 2042

2042 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Six

Tycobbian Union

YOUNGER TOO GOOD, HELLCATS EVEN SERIES 5-1
Hartsdale got a super performance at home at Pioneer Park from 23-year-old Gil Younger (3-0/1.03), who throttled South Fork on three hits en route to a 5-1 victory... Younger, a 20-game winner, had four strikeouts and walked three, while going the distance... Younger has been brilliant in the postseason with a perfect 3-0 record and a ridiculously low 1.03 ERA... now the Tycobbian LCS is knotted at three games each with the finale set for Hartsdale tomorrow afternoon... both clubs will have their top pitchers going... it will be 25-game winner Jay Murphy for the Stallions and 19-game winner Freddie Whitaker for the Hellcats going at it.

Younger (.222) even supplied the firepower with a RBI single in the big four-run uprising in the last of the second... C Frank Penn (.324) and CF Darrell Nesbitt (.244) also drove in runs in the inning... Younger also batted in a run in the fifth inning when he grounded out to short and scored Jesse Jenkins (.308) from third... that put the Hellcats in front 5-0... the Stallions got their only score in the eighth when CF Scotty O'Sullivan tripled and scored on pinchhitter Kyle Gottwald's (.300) base hit.

Big Murph McAlister (0-2/5.47) went down to defeat... he was tagged for five runs on six hits in seven innings.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 9, 2042

2042 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game Seven

Tycobbian Union

SEXTON HR SENDS SOUTH FORK TO IPA FINALS
Paul Sexton has hit 186 homers in his IPA career, none bigger that today's big blast in the top of the seventh inning that gave South Fork an upset win over favored Hartsdale 6-5 in the seventh-game finale of the Tycobbian Championship Series... the Stallions will now advance to the IPA Pro Cup Finals against the Ruthlandian champion Colfax for the Islands' baseball crown.

South Fork, the seventh pick in the Pro Cup poll, stormed to a 5-0 lead with one run in the opening inning, another in the third and three in the fifth... with their ace Jay Murphy on the hill, victory looked like a cinch, but third-rated Hartsdale didn't give up... they fought back with five big runs in the bottom of the sixth to even it up at 5-all... only to lose it on the Sexton heartbreaking home run.

Murphy (3-3/3.94) still got the win though it was a rocky road... the Hellcats racked up five runs and 11 hits in his eight and one-third innings... Gary Golden (0-0/0.00) relieved Murphy after he hit C Frank Penn (.325) and put the tying run on... Golden easily got the final two outs on groundouts for his third save of the playoffs... the loss went to reliever Barney Hathaway (0-1/1.42), who worked the final three innings... he permitted only one run on two hits... the crucial one was Sexton's game-winning blast... Hellcat ace Freddie Whitaker had a poor outing... South Fork slammed him for five runs and eight hits in six innings.

Paul Sexton (.327) powered the Stallions with two homers... he now has four in the playoffs... SS Jess Wilkerson (.352) also homered for the winners... LF Marv Shaw (.353) smacked two out of the park to spark the Hellcats... Shaw topped them with four RBIs.

Stallions manager Blackie Terranova, who pitched 15 years for them, never made the playoffs, despite sporting a 273-203 record with a 3.56 ERA... ironically, the year after he retired, South Fork won its only Pro Cup in 2025, when they beat the Middlefield Roosters in a scintillating seven-game series.

He commented on the Stallions surprise win over powerful Hartsdale, "We're just a gritty bunch of guys that play hard, hustle and do whatever it takes to scrounge out a win... we beat two very solid ball clubs, Kenwood and Hartsdale, the number two and three picks... so that should say something about us... the experts may not give us much of a chance against Colfax, but we'll show up at game time and see what happens."

Hartsdale manager Jud Turchin bluntly said, "Plain and simple the Stallions are a darn good club and they beat us... I don't buy that underdog stuff... they whipped a pretty good Kenwood team in the first round... and they beat us for the Tycobbian title... and we're a pretty good team, too... I wouldn't be surprise to see South Fork take it all... they hit better than I thought... that's what turned the tide in the series."

[Eugene Church]

Just to do something different, here are the vital information about the two Pro Cup teams.

Who do you think will win this year's Pro Cup and why? How many games?

Wait until I post all the team info before you make your pick.

[Eugene Church]

Colfax Blasters
Playoff Record: 8-3 (4-2 home, 4-1 away)
.972 FA (league average is .972 FA) 160 errors, .704 DEF, +6.7 ZR
17 errors in 11 games in playoffs
16 HRs in playoffs, HRA 9
65 runs in playoffs, Runs Against 56 (11 games)

Starters: (Regular Season) (Playoffs)
RHP Nilos Andris (20-13/3.45) (3-0/2.55 in 5 starts)
RHP Bobby Porter (20-9/3.53) (2-1/6.14 in 3 starts)
RHP Ron Paige (22-16/3.79) (1-0/3.79) (in 3 starts)

Relievers:
LHP Norm Harbison (0-1/3.67) (0-0/0.00/no saves in 2 RA)
RHP Ray Maxon (13-12/3.65) (0-1/33.76/no saves in 1 RA)
RHP Ryan Petersen (5-4/3.42) (0-0/7.l3/1 save in 2 RA)

Closer:
Jack Scanlon (9-2/2.68/18 saves) (2-1/1.42/2 saves in 5 RA)

Line-up: Regular Season Stats (BA/HR/RBI/Runs/SB) Playoff Stats (BA/HR/RBI/Runs/SB)
2B Gerry Sives (.328/3/71/114/27 SB) (.321/2/6/8/1 SB)
CF Geno Calabrese (.315/10/65/97/12 SB) (.298/0/10/7/1 SB)
LF Chet Penn (.329/30/106/94/19 SB) (.311/3/12/5/0 SB)
3B Kristian McEly (.322/33/128/103/1 SB) (.234/2/5/6/0 SB)
RF Kevin Williams (.300/13/80/87/0 SB) (.422/3/8/11/0 SB)
1B Ernie Kidd (.248/22/91/73/0 SB) (.182/3/9/9/0 SB)
C: Mitch Fullerton (.245/10/44/54/1 SB) (.100/2/5/8/0 SB)
SS Marty Eldridge (.257/5/57/59/0 SB) (.231/1/8/3/0 SB)

[Eugene Church]

South Fork Stallions:
Playoff Record: 8-6 (3-3 home, 5-3 away)
Fielding Average .974 (league average is .973 FA) 152 errors, .711 DEF, +55.9 ZR
11 errors in 14 playoff games
9 HRs in playoffs, 14 HRA
65 runs in 14 playoff games, Runs Against 63

Starters: (Regular Season Stats) (Playoff Stats)
RHP Jay Murphy (25-7/1.90) (3-3/3.94 in 6 starts)
LHP Chris Sorenson (16-12/3.36) (3-1/3.27 in 4 starts)
RHP Big Murph McAlister (18-17/3.46) (0-2/5.47 in 4 starts)

Relievers:
RHP Mike Lambertini (11-14/4.58/no saves in 3 RA) (0-0/3.18/1 save in 3 RA)
RHP Ryan Madison (2-0/2.67/3 saves in 20 RA) (1-0/1.50/no saves in 3 RA)
RHP George Richardson (1-0/0.73/no saves in 8 RA) (did not pitch in playoffs)
LHP Jonas Clay (6-9/4.34/7 saves in 18 RA and 14 starts) (1-0/0.00/no saves in 3 RA)

Closer:
Gary Golden (2-3/2.16/5 saves in 35 RA) (0-0/0.00/3 saves in 4 RA)

Line-up: Regular Season Stats (BA/HR/RBI/Runs/SB) Playoff Stats (BA/HR/RBI/Runs/SB)
2B Pete Arnold (.290/7/48/82/42 SB) (.250/0/5/7/1 SB)
SS Jess Wilkerson (.299/23/93/73/0 SB) (.353/2/7/7/0 SB)
3B Elton Jacoby (.307/32/95/102/15 SB) (.241/2/4/7/2 SB)
1B Paul Sexton (.278/17/75/63/0 SB) (.327/4/7/10/0 SB)
LF Maury Yates (.254/14/42/66/9 SB) (.182/0/5/4/0 SB)
CF Scotty O'Sullivan (.293/13/60/58/8 SB) (.286/0/5/7/0 SB)
RF Rick Carlton (.229/15/51/52/6 SB) (.240/1/7/7/0 SB)
C Paul Richardson (.208/10/31/30/0 SB) (.250/0/8/3/0 SB)

Bench:
OF Kyle Gottwald (.300/0/4/0/0 SB) (3-10 as a pinchhitter)

[Eugene Church]

Go ahead and make your selection.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 10, 2042

SCRIBES PICK BLASTERS OVER STALLIONS IN PRO CUP FINALS
The general consensus is that the Colfax Blasters will come home with their second IPA Pro Cup by knocking off the surprising South Fork Stallions in the Finals. In this year's Pro Cup Finals the media vote is going with the powerful Blasters because of its high-octane attack with five .300 hitters in the line-up. But to capture the IPA crown this year Colfax must fend off a high-spirited bunch of South Fork Stallions, who gutsied out two seven-game series against favored opponents. Colfax was the four pick in the Pro Cup poll, while South Fork was way down the list at number seven. Still the Stallions pulled off two upsets in topping number-two Kenwood and number-three Hartsdale to get to the Finals. The Blasters had an easier task with wins over eighth-rated Wynnamac and fifth-ranked Kilkenny in the first two rounds. South Fork will also be seeking its second Pro Cup. It took the IPA title in 2025, while Colfax won its in 2010 when skipper Ilya Szabo was the Pro Cup MVP.

The baseball gurus are predicting Colfax has too much offense for South Fork with just enough pitching to take the Stallions in a seven-game series. Kristian McEly (.322 BA/33 HR/128 RBI/103 R), Chet Penn (.329 BA/30 HR/106 RBI/94 runs), Gerry Sives (.328 BA/3 HR/71 RBI/114 runs), Geno Calabrese (.315 BA/10 HR/65 RBI/97 runs), Kevin Williams (.300 BA/13 HR/80 RBI/87 runs) and Ernie Kidd (.248 BA/22 HR/91 RBI/73 runs) may be hard to contain at the plate. The Stallions can match them in home runs, but not in batting average and scoring. Elton Jacoby (.307 BA/32 HR/95 RBI/102 runs), SS Jess Wilkerson (.299 BA/23 HR/93 RBI/73 runs), Paul Sexton (.278 BA/17 HR/75 RBI/63 runs) and Pete Arnold (.290 BA/7 HR/48 RBI/82 runs) have really got their work cut out for them to match the Blaster bats.

Comparing the pitching, South Fork has the best pitcher in the IPA as its number-one starter. Jay Murphy breezed through the regular season with a 25-7 mark and a superb 1.90 ERA. Colfax has no one to compare to him. For the Stallions to win the Pro Cup, Murphy may have to win three games and get another win from Chris Sorensen (16-12/3.36) or Big Murph McAlister (18-17/3.46). Murphy has struggled in the postseason with a 3-3 record and a 3.94 ERA... southpaw Sorensen has been solid with 3-0 and a 3.27 ERA in the playoffs, while McAlister has not been effective at all with an 0-2 mark and a sky-high 5.47 ERA.

Colfax has some solid starters in Nilos Andris (20-13/3.45), Bobby Porter (20-9/3.53) and Ron Paige (22-16/3.79)... in the playoffs Andris is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA, Paige is 1-0 with a 3.79 ERA and Porter has been shelled with a 6.14 ERA, but is 2-1 because of the big Blaster bats. Give South Fork starters a slight edge because of Murphy and Sorensen.

In the bullpen left-handers Jack Scanlon (9-2/2.68/18 saves) and Norm Harbison (0-1/3.67) give a little advantage to Colfax. South Fork was only 18-27 against lefthanded starters this year. So Scanlon and Harbison might make a difference in the late innings. Gary Golden (2-3/2.16/5 saves) had done a very good job in relief for the Stallions, especially in the playoffs where he is has posted three saves.

PRO CUP FORECAST: Colfax carries the day with it run-scoring machine... Murphy must regain regular-season form for South Fork to triumph.