South Georgia Baseball League (OOTP meets SimCity 4!)

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WEEK 8 PREVIEW

This week's featured Friday Night game : The Giants, and those shooting for the stars
Pajt-Vorten Comets (26-20) at Nemessey Giants (31-15)

AT


Dominic Fry, GSN correspondant
May 23rd, 2015

Pajt-Vorten Comets
Baseball is, arguably, the ultimate sport of teamwork and cooperation. Having one star is not going to get you far, but the Pajt-Vorten Comets' marketing department certainly tried to push their budding star in the spotlight. He has truly been the focus of the team's fans, with his improbable arrival on the island. First-baseman Robert "Hitting Brit" Halford has scintillated the scoreboards in April and early-May with his .400+ average, and fans have responded. Then, on May 7th, he sprained an ankle, and despite him being out of the lineup for two weeks, the team still won 9 of their 13 games while he was away. Perhaps there is more depth to this team that was initially thought? However, replacement 1B Gregoire Ayotte batted only .215 in Halford's absence, so the team can only be boosted by his presence.

Halford returns to the Comets' lineup tonight against the powerhouse Nemessey Giants.

Nemessey Giants
The Nemessey Giants really aren't bothered by marketing or trying to get any individual player to perform. They are just that good. The offensive machine sells itself, which has been stellar top-to-bottom. All players except catcher and second base have an average over .257, including five players who have already registered 20+ RBI in the team's 46 games.

To add to the Comets' misery, the Giants have their top pitcher lined up for the Friday night matchup : Elton Lloyd. He has been lights out for the Giants in their initial campaign so far. He holds an impressive 2.52 ERA and a 5-2 record.

Pajt-Vorten just recently crept into the South Division playoff picture as their #2 ranked team... can they keep their place, with Halford now back? Or will the North Division's Giants put them in their place? Stay tuned at GSN or GSN Radio for all the action!

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Week 8 Showcase Review



Giants' win not pretty, but it worked


Nemessey narrowly missed blowing a 4-0 lead, but hung on for the victory


Walt Vergeer, GSN correspondant
May 23rd, 2015

The Nemessey Giants can retain their claim as the SGBL's all-powerful baseball monsters and all, but the Pajt-Vorten Comets certainly made them look very mortal on national television tonight, in a closely-fought game.

Initially, the duel was between the pitchers. Nemessey starter Elton Lloyd had a great game going, and held the Comets scoreless though four innings. Meanwhile, Comets pitcher Kev Blandin had only allowed a pair of singles during the first three innings, and was having an equally great game. As they entered the bottom of the 4th, however, the wheels fell off for the Comets.

Giants outfielder Mick Shaw homered on the very first pitch he saw, then the following batter, Gonzalo Casas, cranked another solo home run. Just like that, Blandin and the Comets dug themselves into a 2-0 deficit. But, it didn't end there. The following inning, Moriz Zasypkin hit a third solo home run, and one inning later, Al Saunders did the same. Four solo home runs in three innings gave the Giants a 4-0 lead.

It looked like Nemessey had this game in hand, but the Comets replied quickly.

Not a team with the power of the appropriately-named Giants, the Comets relied on their small-ball tactics and overwhelmed Elton Lloyd with two doubles by Cartwright and Andersen, and a Triple by Bearcroft to bring the Comets back to 4-2. An eventless 8th inning meant that the Comets had one last chance to catch up in the 9th, with the Comets' top of the order scheduled to bat.

Comets' C Damon Cartwright once again made it on base, this time with an error, to lead off the top of the 9th, and Alan Bearcroft singled to shuffle Cartwright all the way to third. Andersen popped out, but Cartwright scored to bring the game to 4-3. Another single by SS Steve McCarthy kept the pressure on, but that would be as close as Pajt-Vorten would get in their comeback. Jack Flynn popped out to end the game.

For the record, Pajt-Vorten's Robert Halford was 1-for-4 and largely ineffective in his return this game. Unfortunately for him, this brings his batting average down to an even .400

The Giants used their dual threat of batting (the 4 HR's) and pitching (Lloyd and Closer Snake Olesen) to show that they remain the powerhouse in the SGBL.

Final Score : Pajt-Vorten 3, Nemessey 4

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Standings after Week 8 (Thursday May 28th 2015)

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Things keep moving along!
June is just around the corner, and the week 9 preview coming soon!

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Seems like the image links went sideways a little while ago. Good news : they are back up!

SGBL enters June! Stay tuned for a new (long overdue) article

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WEEK 9 PREVIEW

This week's featured Friday Night game : "That other Irishman"
Nemessey Giants (35-17) at Port Smith Aces (22-30)

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Dominic Fry, GSN correspondant
May 28th, 2015

Nemessey Giants


Pogo Kushel

The Nemessey Giants' offensive machine just keeps moving along. Not much of an introduction is needed for them, as they are being highlighted two weeks in a row, but they are the darlings of the SGBL. Their run-scoring ability is unmatched, and they hold a commanding 8-game lead in their division as they enter the season's cooler mid-season months.

The only knock on the team has been a very minor one : the off-key batting average of their star Pogo Kushel, the team's 2B. After a great April, he has slumped at the plate, despite remaining the home run leader for the team (with 14). His .270+ average in April has dipped twenty points since. He will look to regain his mojo against a last-placed opponent.

The Kushel media attention in Nemessey shows just how confident and, some would argue, the "first world baseball problems" present in town at the moment.

Pitching tonight for the Giants is Timmy Blythe, one of only a few dozen Australian players in the league. He can throw a solid fastball and has lots of movement on his pitches. He has been fantastic so far this year, sporting a 7-2 record and a 2.36 ERA.

Port Smith Aces


Freddie Stewart

Despite the media frenzy surrounding the addition of superstar pitcher Lonergan Hobbs as the #2 pick in the SGBL's initial draft, the Port Smith Aces have generally fallen on their collective faces so far this year. Pitching has certainly been respectable, but the totally gutless offense has left them as easy prey for most opponents.

Unlike Nemessey's dilemma of Pogo's batting average being "only" .250, the Aces have only two players who surpass this in the starting lineup, and have five starting players below the .200 mark.

On the mound tonight is another Irishman : Freddie Stewart. A childhood friend of Hobbs, he was his high school team mate at Ardscoil Rís in Dublin for a short time (Stewart is two years older than Hobbs), and, much like his friend, carved his way into Holland's Honkbal Hoofdklasse, holding his own with a career ERA of 3.77.

He was drafted in the 6th round in the inaugural draft by the Aces, which reunited the Irish pair. However, unlike Hobbs' lightning-fast arm, Stewart is a more cautious and cerebral pitcher, using his control and list of off-speed pitches to get players out. However, he has yet to find his stride, as he sits at 1-7 with a worrisome ERA of 6.18.

The game will be broadcasted tomorrow, live on GSN! Stay tuned!

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Week 9 Showcase Review



Freddie getting it done!


Pitcher Freddie Stewart is an unlikely hero for the Aces.


Dominic Fry, GSN correspondant
May 31st, 2015

Well, who expected that!

The near-sellout crowd at Preston Park in Port Smith could hardly believe it; the man they jokingly name the 'other Irishman' was the real deal last night, striking out 7 and walking only one batter for a 1-0 win over the powerhouse Nemessey Giants. "It's nice to have someone who can do that from time to time," Manager Ben Recker said. "He had command of every ball and every pitch. Great location, too."

Stewart had 7 strikeouts and 1 walk in the outing.

On the other side of the field, it looked as though the Nemessey Giants fell asleep at the wheel. Their long-bragged offense fell flat on their face, and it looked like no one could solve the dialed-in Freddie Stewart. Nemessey team star Pogo Kushel drew a walk in the 8th inning, one of the least impressive highlights of the season. That was as close as they got.

The Port Smith Aces cobbled together a run in the third inning, thanks to Feroz Prawda's single, and Teru Odwell's run on Vaughan Wells' single.

The rest of the game, it was all Freddy. He finished the game with impressive efficiently : 93 pitches over the course of the matchup. Control and velocity seemed to be there, and it was his day. He could do no wrong.

Meanwhile, on the Nemessey side, Tim Blythe did his best to keep up with the red-hot Stewart. He allowed 7 hits in over 7 innings of work, so no one will be mad at the effort, but he failed to secure the victory for the Giants.

Final Score : Nemessey 0, Port Smith 1

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Standings after Week 9 (Thursday June 4th 2015)

[SuperHappyTime]

Since I was a hockey fan who grew up in Houston, I recognize that Aeros Logo all too well. Consider me a Salvesen fan.

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Originally Posted by SuperHappyTime

Since I was a hockey fan who grew up in Houston, I recognize that Aeros Logo all too well. Consider me a Salvesen fan.

Nice! It's good to see an Aeros fan. They have it tough over on the western coast ... Salvesen fandom is almost like a passionate cult-like thing!

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WEEK 10 PREVIEW

This week's featured Friday Night game : "The kids take the stage"
Pajt-Vorten Comets (32-27) at Grytviken Icebergs (28-31)

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Karl Peters, GSN correspondant
June 4th, 2015

Pajt-Vorten Comets

As we enter June, the Comets' hard-fought small-ball method is beginning to show a few holes. Not because they have honestly slipped in any way, but the style is a difficult one to maintain over the course of a whole season. They need good chemistry and a healthy team to keep the momentum going. Without big sluggers, everyone in the lineup is expected to produce that clutch hit or crutual walk. The team is all about moving the ball as a team, and creating ....

A lot of that creating early this season came from "The Hitting Brit" Robert Halford. He caused a sensation in May for staying well north of the .400 mark and looking like SGBL's own version of Ted Williams, but he had since slipped to a still-impressive .388 average when he injured an abdominal muscle on June 1st, thereby delaying the hitting streak for now. He is expected to be back in a few weeks.

In his place, the team promoted 23-year-old youngster Pelle Nommensen, and he has been able to hold his own. However, no one can expect Pelle to put up Halford numbers.

Pitching for the Comets tonight is the pinpoint-accurate 34-year-old Cameron Lambert. The grizzled veteran of the Dutch circuit currently sports a rock-solid 4-1 record with a 3.86 ERA.

Grytviken Icebergs

Unlike Pajt-Vorten, the Grytviken Icebergs are in some sort of 'first-world-problem' crisis. Before they even set foot in the SGBL, the Icebergs were supposed to be one of the powerful contenders, backed by one of the biggest budgets. Under no circumstances were they supposed to dip into the meat of the North Division, and they knew it. Here was one team not given any leeway to handle inevitable teething problems. Of course, almost on queue, April finished with a 10-16 record, good only for second-last in the division, and the team began to panic.

Promotions and demotions flew back and forth, including a short stint for pitcher Bailey WIlliams on the big club. After two disasterous starts, he was sent back to AAA.

However, by late-May, with the team making a bit of a comeback with some consistant all-around offense provided by nearly every player on the team. During the month of May, 8 of the 9 players in the batting order secured RBI in the double-digits.

On June 1st, Armando Garay was sent down to the AAA team, and Bailey WIlliams was given a second chance. The battered rookie pitcher sports an ugly 13.50 ERA, but management seems convinced that he can succeed. He will start tonight against the Comets, and will try and prove that he deserves a spot on the big team.

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Week 10 Showcase Review



"I Think We Gave The Fans Their Money's Worth"


Pajt-Vorten needed extra innings to get by Grytviken


Karl Peters, GSN correspondant
June 5th, 2015

The offense was firing on all cylinders for both the Pajt-Vorten Comets and Grytviken Icebergs tonight, and the crowd was treated to a wild see-saw back-and-forth battle. The three-hour, 10-inning game featured a total of 28 hits and 17 runs.

Early-inning momentum shifts

The game initially swung in Grytviken's favor, as Comets starter Cameron Lambert had a shaky start to the game, allowing 3 runs and 6 hits in the first two innings. By this point, Grytviken was leading 3-0, and the first five members of the batting order had all recorded at least one hit : Donecker, Muro, Butcher, Rehberger and Wisdom.

By the third inning, the Comets began to chip away at that lead.

Bailey Williams was on the mound for the Icebergs, returning to the big squad after a difficult 2-start stint in April. Now having regained his confidence, he was sharp in his return appearance. It took until the third inning for the Comets to get a hit on him. Pelle Nommensen and Alan Bearcroft got back-to-back hits to claw a run back, and reducing the Icebergs lead to 3-1.

The Comets, thanks to the contributions of all members of the batting order, then took turns squeezing in a run every inning or so with their usual speedy baserunning and precise hitting, to even the score 3-3 by the 5th inning.

In the bottom of the 5th, Grytviken edged back in front with a Fred Bjerg RBI to score Sardar Wisdom. It was now 4-3 Grytviken.


Comets blow the 7th inning wide open

As the top of the 7th inning arrived, a tired Icebergs starter Bailey Williams went back to the mound. The Comets batting order went on full attack mode, slapping two quick singles. Williams then hit Pelle Nommensen with a pitch out of sheer fatigue. He had now thrown well beyond 100 pitches. However, Icebergs Manager Jonathan Malmberg kept him in.

The Comets took advantage of this and jumped to a 7-4 lead by the time the inning was over. The crowd, frustrated that the manager would leave Williams to suffer for the full inning, chanted "Let him rest! , Let him rest!".


Icebergs make up for lost ground

In the bottom of the 8th inning, it was now Comets starter Cameron Lambert's turn to get tired. Fred Bjerg smacked a triple to start the inning, and Lambert was pulled for Pierre-Jean Labonté. However, the Icebergs kept the pressure going, and after a series of singles, had closed the gap to 7-6

In the bottom of the 9th, Labonté was still on the mound when Fred Bjerg struck again, hitting yet another single and driving Sardar Wisdom home to tie the game 7-7, and sending it into extra innings.


The 10th inning

In the top of the 10th, the Comets offense went back into attack mode on Icebergs reliever Linley Fust, and after hitting 4 singles and scoring 3 runs, the Comets re-took a commanding 10-7 lead.

Grytviken had no answer in the bottom of the inning, and so Pajt-Vorten got the victory. Player of the game was given to the Comets' Samuel Anderson. In postgame comments, he said "I think we gave the fans their money's worth."

Final Score : Pajt-Vorten 10, Grytviken 7

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Giants star pitcher Lloyd out 2 months




Dominic Fry, GSN correspondant
June 5th, 2015

Fans of the Nemessey Giants had been waiting somewhat impatiently for over a week to find out what exactly happened to their star pitcher Elton Lloyd.

On May 27th, Lloyd was pitching against Salvesen in the bottom of the 2nd inning, when a particularly hard fastball from the 28-year-old was popped up to end the inning. Immediately afterwards, he was in some visible discomfort and slowly limped back to the dugout. To no one's surprise, the following inning he was replaced on the mound.


Elton Lloyd

Over the next few days, however, the team was tight-lipped about the exact cause of Lloyd's injury. He was initially expected to be day-to-day, but then was placed on the 60-day disabled list on May 30th. It was clearly a more severe injury than first thought. Then, team doctors felt it was necessary to run a second string of tests in order to fully understand the extent of the damage. The team said that, once results came back, they would provide more detail.

Finally, yesterday the team announced that Lloyd suffered a partial tear in one of his hamstring muscles, and would be out of action until at least early-August. Due to his particular pitching mechanics, he suffered the injury in his follow through from throwing the 96 mph fastball that ended the inning against the Aeros. Lloyd and the team initially thought it was a simple strain, which should have healed quickly, but pain and bruising steadily increased and after a few days and some testing, it was clear there was more damage.

To take his place on the pitching staff, the team called up Javon King from AAA Sunny Point. King has been impressive so far this season, with a 2.30 ERA and 67 K's in only 8 starts with the junior squad.

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Gold Harbour Fired up Over 'Van Mers Moments'


Cy Van Mersbergen


Dominic Fry, GSN correspondant
June 5th, 2015

Members of the Gold Harbour Bobcats know their manager does his job with emotion, and it's a quality that is endearing to the team.

The club has coined Cy Van Mersbergen's emotional outbursts as "Van Mers Moments" and said they are well received. "It shows he's passionate about the game and wants to win," said Circu Kimpson. "When he blows up at something in the dugout, or in the clubhouse, I think it sharpens our focus as a team, and gets the guys fired up."

Van Mersbergen laughed when told his emotional outbursts have been coined with a nickname. "This is just the way I manage and they way I go about my life. I'm not going to hide my emotions," he said. "If that fires the boys up, that's a bonus."

There is, of course, a fine line between passion and chaos, as shown by Batallion manager Magnus Hansen. His agressive but confrontational style has been less successful, and the Batallion Royals have been struggling so far. The many tirades, both on the field and with the media, has been more of a distraction to the team.

However, when passion is channeled well, you can create a unifying force within the members of a team, and the Gold Harbour Bobcats are a great example of this.

The Bobcats are currently 33-27, and are sitting 2nd in the North Division.

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Coming up : North and South All-Star teams announced, and the first ever SGBL All-Star Game review!

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League announces All-Star Game hosting criteria


Kenney Memorial Park in Nemessey, this year's All-Star Game venue


Dominic Fry, GSN correspondant
June 5th, 2015

As the first ever SGBL All-Star Game quickly approaches in Nemessey on Sunday evening, the league has announced their method for choosing the host city for the annual event.... and it is probably not how you are expecting!

"We want all 12 franchises to be able to grow in an equal and relatively even environment" said SGBL Commissioner Keith Unger. "Therefore, we felt there should be a rigid and quantitative method to select the following year's host city, in much the same way there is a pre-set criteria to be given the 1st overall selection in the draft, or home field advantage in the post-season", he added.

The criteria in it's purest form, straight from Commissioner Unger's press release, is as follows :

- Hosting will alternate annually between North and South Division locations.
- The North Division will host the games on odd-numbered years, and the South Division on even-numbered years.
- Once all six teams in a given division have hosted, the cycle resets.
- The eligible team (one who has not yet hosted in a given cycle) with the lowest win-loss record at the end of the year will be nominated as host the following summer.
- A city can decline hosting duties, in which case the team with the next-lowest win-loss record will be nominated.

What does that mean in layman's terms?

This means that, in theory, the fans of a particular team can expect an All-Star visit approximately every 12 years. It can seem like a long wait for some, but to the eyes of the league, it is at least equal for everyone.

This eliminates arbitrary All-Star Game hosting announcements which has been infamous in other countries and sports. These games could sometimes loop to the same city multiple times, while leaving other cities in the cold for decades.

"We are glad we were able to get a format in place right away so that fans know exactly what to expect", added Commissioner Unger.

The host for the 2016 SGBL All-Star Game is expected to be announced during the owners' off-season meetings in December.

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SGBL All-Star Teams - Part 1 : North Division




Walt Vergeer, GSN correspondant
June 5th, 2015

The first annual SGBL All-Star Game is coming up in a few days, and the league has announced those that will represent the North Division.

The North Division will have the added bonus of being on a 'home' field, as Kenney Memorial Park in Nemessey will be hosting. The team will look familiar to the home crowd, too, as 7 of the 28 North All-Stars are Nemessey Giants players. You can add an 8th player in pitcher Elton Lloyd, who was selected but cannot play due to injury.

Here is the list of players who will represent the North Division in 2015 :

NORTH DIVISION ALL-STARS


Pitchers




Catchers



Infielders



Outfielders




Who will be the starters?

Since the league is in it's inaugural season, the Managers for each All-Star team would be those of the two teams leading their respective divisions after May 31st.

Getting the nod for the North Division is the Nemessey Giants' Jacob Shannon. The native of Caldicot in Wales will be in a familiar setting, as his home stadium is hosting the event.

Here is a list of North Division starters :

Pitcher - Timothy Blythe, Nemessey
Catcher - Coy Blazer, Salvesen
First Base - John Madsen, Salvesen
Second Base - Pogo Kushel, Nemessey
Third Base - Marc Savoie, Gold Harbour
Shortstop - Gabriel Ramme, Nemessey
Left Field - Sam McGuire, Batallion
Center Field - Salik Friedl, Gold Harbour
Right Field - Sean Kuenzli, Gold Harbour
Des. Hitter - Mick Shaw, Nemessey

Stay tuned for part 2, as we introduce their South Division opponents!

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SGBL All-Star Teams - Part 2 : South Division




Walt Vergeer, GSN correspondant
June 5th, 2015

Onwards to Part 2 of our pre-game coverage of the SGBL All-Star Game.

It is now time to introduce the 28 players that will represent the South Division. Much like their North opponents, there were, in fact, 29 selections, since Port Smith outfielder Holakio Majland was selected despite being injured.

One controversy that has stirred up fans on the twittersphere is the omission of current league-wide batting leader Robert Halford. Granted, he has already injured himself twice during this young 60-game-old season, and is currently out with an intercostal strain. However, some fans argued on social media that his .388 batting average should have been sufficient for selection regardless.

In any case, here is the list of players who will represent the South Division in 2015 :

SOUTH DIVISION ALL-STARS


Pitchers




Catchers



Infielders



Outfielders




Who will be the starters?

Like the North Division, the South Division Manager would be the skipper of the division-leading team after May 31st.

Leading the South Division will be Annenkov Vikings Manager Mug Roessing. So far this year, he has lead the Vikings to a 35-25 record.
Much like the team he manages, and the city he represents, Roessing is a tough, no-nonsense guy. Although he has been in a jovial mood all week, he made it clear that the team is expected to play hard in the All-Star Game. "Of course this is a great experience and I want all the guys to soak it all in", says Roessing, "but first and foremost, we are here to win.", he added.

"People pay good money to come see the cream of the crop play, and it is our duty to give them a quality show."

Here is a list of South Division starters :

Pitcher - Oscar Monuz, Pajt-Vorten
Catcher - Hans van Haastrcht, Port Charles
First Base - Lamar Donald, Barrington
Second Base - Bakhshi Zacharski, Port Charles
Third Base - Dean White, Johannsen
Shortstop - Korey Milbee, Johannsen
Left Field - Patryk Kostiuk, Johannsen
Center Field - Steve McCarthy, Pajt-Vorten
Right Field - Eric Butler, Barrington
Des. Hitter - Ryan Wormald, Annenkov

Next up, a full review of the First annual SGBL All-Star Game!

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All-Star game a roaring success, and a thriller




Wade Jones, The Nemessey Explorer
June 8th, 2015

You couldn't ask for a better evening for the first annual SGBL All-Star game.

Despite the fact that traffic was a bit heavy on the way down Seaside Boulevard, as the 5000 fans also included extra media and some tailgating outside, the weather was shining and comfortable for the game, almost on cue.

Once inside the stadium, fans were treated to a low-scoring nailbiter. The game remained scoreless through all nine innings, and then went all the way to the 12th. 22 strikeouts were registered between both All-Star teams, and the only players able to get any hitting going was the South Division's Bakhshi Zacharski, and the North Divison's Salik Friedl.

By the 8th inning, the South Division had burned through their pitching staff, and gave the ball to closer Doyle Lagala. Meanwhile, the North Division did much the same in the 9th inning with Chris Calhoun.

Since most of the other pitchers have already appeared in the game, the teams let Lagala and Calhoun on the mound as this game went into extra innings.

In the 12th, Iggy Gallengos of the South Division cranked a double, and was then smacked home by Bakhshi Zacharshi. The game was over after 12 innings, with the South Divison beating the North Division 1-0.

The player of the game was South Division pitcher Doyle Lagala, who struck out 7 and walked no one in 5 Innings of unexpected work to end the game.

Once again, it was another sellout at Kenney Memorial Park, and fans are getting even more excited, as their team is looking solidly at a playoff spot.

On a side note, municipal officials announced that the weekend of festivities and the game itself has generated $1 million dollars in overall revenue and advertisement.

Final Score : South Division 1, North Division 0

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Standings after Week 10 (Thursday June 11th 2015)