World Baseball Classic 26- Everything Thread (IC)

[Estope]

Twin-Brooks Times

Sports Column

This is getting ridiculous. For the second WBC in a row Estope is 0-4 to start off. We are the 26th best nation in the world and yet we can only muster 5 runs in four games while giving up 29! What is this? Estope is a baseball nation. Every citizen lives and breathes baseball. This team has, or at least had, all the support in the world. Every home game is sold out. Away games are televised nationally and attract millions of viewers. It is time for this team to live up to some damn expectations. This loss was acceptable, on the road against a ten team is not expected to be a win. But a six nothing shut out? For the fourth straight game Estope has not even been competitive. Only one time in this game was a runner even in scoring position. As for how that turned out... look at the image below. This team is just down right sloppy and don't have anything left in them. They have given up. Some serious changes have to be made. I don't know if it is the coaching. I mean Carr did fine leading the team to a 5-0 record last tournament. Maybe another mid-classic coaching change needs to be done. But this cannot continue. We need something sustainable that isn't just a temporary fix. We need a solid coach who can build a program and make Estope somewhat consistant. The roster needs a complete overload and immediately. These players are in their third WBC and not a single change has been made. There are better players in Estope that deserve a chance to show their skills. Right now many of the players are just dead weight. So here we are again at the bottom of the group and winless nearly halfway through the tournament. I just can't believe it. Honestly I can't. Estope Baseball officials need to see if they can just withdraw the team and spare the nation all the embarrassment. As for you folks, Estope will play again tomorrow and we still need support... and prayers.


Austin Forde running home... he got out and we lost.

Backyard Sports        0 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 0  6
Free Swiss States      1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

Sicoutimont            0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 2  6
New Bierstaat          0 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 0  5

Estope                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Saugeais               1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 X  6

Group 5               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Sicoutimont             4    4   0    27   12  +15    12
2 New Bierstaat           4    3   1    19   15   +4     9
3 Saugeais                4    2   2    18   11   +7     6
4 Backyard Sports         4    2   2    17   13   +4     6
5 Free Swiss States       4    1   3    13   19   −6     3
6 Estope                  4    0   4     5   29  −24     0

[The Sova Empire]

Mood Killers

TSE defeats previously-unbeaten team to lead the group

Kriegiersien had a hot streak going. 3 games, and 3 wins. The unranked team had not lost yet, and they had sole possession of the Group 1 lead. They prepared to host The Sova Empire, who had only lost to the highest ranked team in the group. 41st rank at the best unranked. After a perfect 1st for both teams, TSE got on the board first. Ida Givadurn drew a walk, and then on the next pitch, Y hit a single to put runners on 1st and third. Y stole, and a passed ball scored 1. A groundout that got the runner out at home and at first was followed by a flyout. 3 more innings passed until TSE scored again. Bcuz jumped on a fastball right down the middle and put it in the middle on the left-field bleachers. Tammarah actually saw his fastball increase in velocity as the game went on. In the 8th, Huu got on first, and Watt doubled to score another run. By this time, the Kriegiersien team was starting to lose hope. Any hope was lost in the top of the ninth when Taday tattooed the ball and it finally landed beyond the center field wall. Tammarah had another complete game, and it was a gem. 10 K's, a fastball that flirted with triple digits, and only 3 hits.

Elsewhere in Group 1, Michael VII defeated the home Yesopalithan team 5-2. THRILLEDGE is back on the right track, with another win. They beat Schmiegelland, who has yet to record a win. The first palce is held by TSE and Kriegiereien, at 3-1, Yesopalitha, M7 and THRILLEDGE are all tied for 3rd with 2-2 records. In sole posession of last is the struggling squad of Schmiegelland at 0-4. With one game to go at the half, TSE will host their group-mates in WBC 25, THRILLEDGE. TSE is 1-1 against that team.

Random fact: Qazox hosted WBC 1.

GAME 4

The Sova Empire 5-0 Kriegiersien

Scoring plays:
2nd inning: A passed ball with runners on 2nd and 3rd scores 1. 1-0
5th inning: Left-field HR by Bcuz. 2-0
8th inning: Huu scored from first on Watt's double. 3-0
9th inning: Taday goes deep into center. 5-0

[Qazox]

Qazox holds off late rally.

Qazox                           1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1  4
The Jahistic Unified Republic   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2  3

Leading 4-1 in the 9th, Qazox' Thad Whiski allowed 4 straight hits to see the lead cut down to 4-3; but Zappia lined out into a double play and Prenatt struck out to end the threat as Qazox evened it record at 2-2. Four of the next five games for Qazox are at home, hopefully giving them a chance to climb back into playoff contention.

CF- Justin Madroe 1-5, 2 SB, 1 run
2B- J. C. Vulp 2-5, 1 run, 1 error
3B- Brianna Handel 1-4, 1 RBI, SF
RF- Chad Cochran 2-5, HR, 2 RBI
C- Allie Durmitt 0-4
SS- Zach Joswyn 2-2, 1 run, 2 BB
1B- Joshua McCullen 0-3, HBP
DH- Vanessa Dobbs 2-4, double, RBI
LF- Leslie Fanueil 1-3, Sacrifice bunt

SP- Gerry Asche- 8.0 IP, 1 run, 1 ER, 8 K, 0 BB, 4 hits (W 1-0)
CP- Thad Whiski: Save (1)

[Zwangzug]

BeyondLinks: official Blatter account of Kerlagrad Courier Sports!

Nine in. Three left. I think this space junk was lucky. It'll be even more lucky when I spit it back up next half-inning.

Moana Mesliss-Pfell almost drives in two or three more but Brett Rochester comes up with it. Exhale.

RB @beyondlinks macarooni and cheese. not a typo.

RB @beyondlinks We feast upon the blood of our enemies trolololol

RB @beyondlinks sun flower seeds. not sunflower seeds. flowers that orbit the sun on their own

@fulpogfan @horizontales @crocfratz yeah yeah yeah, thanks a lot

Well this is great, they have to change pitchers so there's more time for you guys to inform me what this even is.

@b00kw0rm When I'm just updating the Kerlagrad fans I can use initials for our local boys, MGM and HEI, genius.

RB @beyondlinks you have to deal with Ghasal-Mihaylov and Empp-Ishikawa all regular season and you complain about character count?

Would have loved another homer for Ghasal-Mihaylov, but what the hey, we'll take it.

Another hit for Sonia Ross-Meyer. Gotta love batting around!

Geith-Pfeno's K is backwards, much like the impending workings of my digestive system. Two down now.

I can only provide so much luck before my esophagus proclaims its revenge.

The other real question is WHAT AM I EATING and how long will this rally last?

It's not like there are...any new pitchers to deal with, on the national team, but I'm not complaining. Kyle Polzin knows what's up.

The real question is who the Zebras are practicing against to get this good at hitting the knuckleball?

Chris Lee cannot find the strike zone. I cannot find the nutritional facts. Go Zebras.

Maugher draws a walk. I do not yet draw near to the bottom of this shiny silver bag of...something. Life is good.

And he goes deep! 3-1 Zwangzug, no outs. I like the sounds of this. Must be my lucky...space...capsule?

Our own Marc Ghasal-Mihaylov coming up now. Advance scouts seem to recognize Dragons as threats. Well-spotted.

I knew the "Worms" play here, that doesn't mean you have to eat utter junk.

Seriously, is this supposed to be food? Space-dried macaroni? Good grief.

@metakynik no, I looked it up, that's actually their nickname. We do have some standards.

Yes, that does mean we got out of the inning. Only one down to the Llamas.

What the heck even is this? It's going to take me all the half-inning break just to open the stupid thing.

Off to another great start, I see. Home run from Cameron makes it 1-0. Spenson followers, any good/lucky snacks I should try?

If you're from 102d or Canbix and just looking for more Bassabook smackdowns, follow @ker_alg instead.

@jrjoy @uran1a255 no u

We here at the Courier have never striven for such, uh, base levels of journalistic integrity, so onwards we go!

I love it when Bassabook tries to write about baseball. Milchamians telling them what's up. History didn't start with WBC 1!

[The Serbian Empire]

A Brief Review of the Tournament so far.

The Serbian Empire came out on the wrong side of a 9-7 game against the top seeded team from Maklohi Vai. The improved Serbian Empire team sits at 2-2 with a run differential of +3, putting the Serbian Empire in 3rd, but everyone from 2nd to 5th are all at 2-2 with no team other than Maklohi Vai having a significant advantage. However the game was lost in the top of the ninth inning with a two run inning.

[Taeshan]

"Well we won again."

"Yeah i saw, 2-2 and we are are at least on the right track."

"We seriously can't afford to lose games that we should be winning anymore."

"Good news is that this puts us tied for second with everyone not named Lycrabon and the team below us."

"Yeah, its a big cluster."

"Yeah, we could easily continue on from this group, even make it out of the first round if we figure it all out."

"So how bout some history lessons."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, twice champions, winner of WBC 1, AZ-cz."

"Yes, and?"

"Who knocked them off of their brilliant run of form and ship."

"I believe the Purple Knights of Taeshan."

"Yep."

"We are awesome."

"Word."

[Maklohi Vai]

OOC: Pressed for time and low on sleep, so a bit short today. Sorry.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

"Bishop Lennon, can you hear me?"

"Yes." The sound came out more as a feeble whimper than anything else. Kumalo was perched over the Bishop's bed, staring down at the proud man now laying prostrate in the hospital bed. The only signs of vitality were in his eyes. They still glimmered with hope and faith.

"Bishop, how are you feeling?"

"Well considering the circumstances, I'd say I'm doing quite well." He let out a half-laugh, bittersweet.

"Well you know that I'll stay here for as long as needed."

"Thank you."

"Bishop, would you like me to write to Father Dylan?"

"No, I must save the strength to do that. If I could dictate to you when the time comes, however..."

"Of course, of course."

The two friends looked at each other. It had been not so long they had known each other, and they had only met three times in person. But, there was a deeper connection. On the easiest level of description, it was spiritual. They shared a belief. But in reality, it was much more than that. Each man's connection to Margaret was different, but that is what made them the same: their uniqueness. Kumalo's OAM had become a group of very similarly minded people. It worked well, as most religious organizations do, but it provided little space for metaphysical thought or discussion. Bishop Lennon helped lead a more diverse church, but one that was perhaps more bound by its doctrine than its size. While large, it was bound by the strict doctrine of Margaret. For him, the meetings with Kumalo were a chance to see how other interpreted the Goddess he loved so much. How Margaret manifested herself in other parts of the world. For Kumalo, these meetings were a way to see what OAM really was: a prayer group, not a church. They got together in the suburbs of Kolo Lahi to pray to Margaret for sporting success, not to form a coherent church.

Losing this connection would not close off all means of communication. After all, Kumalo had been acquainted with Father Jimi Dylan, and most certainly he owed the Darmeni man a great favor. Once Lennon died, Kumalo would still maintain relationships with the Darmeni Church of Margaret, but it just wouldn't be the same without the Bishop.

In the time left, Kumalo resolved to make it the most theologically productive as possible. Maybe they wouldn't stay on theology, but they would certainly have productive conversation if they started on faith. As his grandfather had always said, "Always build a bridge at the narrowest point in the stream. No matter how great the divide, you can always connect on the matters on which you are closest."

---

Maklohi Vai                1 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 2  9
The Serbian Empire         0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0  7

Scoring Summary
1st: Mae'ao hit a double to drive in Iao Laina, who had singled.
2nd: Arnao hit a single to lead off. Moalna’akai Lai followed up with a double, scoring Arnao. Wolo Rakinalmanai then hit a single to score Lai.
6th: Mae’ao hit a home run to lead off the inning.
8th: Mae'ao hit a home run to right that also scored Ri’ino Uilnai, who had singled just previously to lead off.
9th: Wolo Rakinalmanai hit a solo shot to left.
10th: Mae’ao once more drove in Ri’ino Uilnai with a home run, this time after Uilnai was walked to start the inning.

Stat Update:
HR: Mae'ao 7, Arnao 1, Iao Laina 1, Wolo Rakinalmanai 1
RBI: Mae'ao 13, Wolo Rakinalmanai 3, Arnao 2, Moalna’akai Lai 2, Iao Laina 1, Koilani Ruputuo 1, Ri’ino Uilnai 1, Rimai Lomukiwo 1

[Ko-oren]

Second Place is Ours

The Greenblues reinforced the second place, now being 3 points behind Milchama and 3 points clear of Cyborg Holland and Sangti. One more game until halfway, so things are looking very good for the team right now. With one loss, they are doing as good as expected, but it has to be said that baseball is an extremely popular sport now, with all unfair expectations that come with it. If baseball had not taken off on the archipelago after the first WBC the NT was in, maybe the fans would have wanted the team to do good, maybe finish 3rd, maybe 2nd. Now that the AIBC is located in Ko-oren, the BCCC final has been in Ko-oren for a few editions when there was no final venue host bid, and the impact of the domestic league is huge, fans expect nothing more than qualification for the WBC, and to at least reach the second round there. It has to be said that the domestic league and club baseball in general is far ahead of the NT's quality, but that can all change. There are more BCCC's than WBC's, after all.

Yesterday, Ko-oren got to running home only until very late in the game. RKQ had two early runs, and it looked like Ko-oren might even have been shutout. Five long innings the team did get some hits, but some stupid fly out caused the team to get at least 2 of the 3 outs required. The game looked like an upset until the sixth inning, where Ko-oren finally got rid of the shutout status, and the seventh inning, where the Greenblues got to three innings and the lead. One inning later, RKQ evened it up already, and that is when the game really got tense. 3-3 with one inning to go. The eighth inning for the Greenblues was not very special, with one hit, but several foul balls that prevented the team from getting anywhere and it even frustrated the experienced players on the Ko-orenite roster. The defense in the ninth inning was tight, not allowing an inch of space to RKQ, and their inning lasted less than 10 minutes. Two strikeouts and a fly out later, Ko-oren was up for their last chance to take the win before the game would drag on to the tenth inning, allowing RKQ the chance to get more runs. Desperate to not let that happen, the team let the most stable hitters go first, with the most powerful hitter go third. Minamoto, a stable factor for four games now, stepped up to the plate and had two strikes. He hit a foul ball on the last one, allowing him one last chance. This time, he hit the ball in, low through the center of the field. No opponent could get to it quickly, but he did not dare to run past first base. Then Godaigo, 'top scorer' of the team, stood up. He bunted the ball in, so that RKQ had to choose to let both run, or tag one of the two out. Their choice was to tag Minamoto out. Godaigo now was in first base, and one out already. Fujiwara hit the ball on the first try, with Godaigo on second base and Fujiwara on first. Jinmu was up next, hitting the ball badly, and he got an immediate fly out. Two outs later, Shotoku was the last man. His second strike was the first to hit, and to his luck, it flew far. Godaigo ran home, Fujiwara ran home, and the game was done. On the way to second base, Shotoku was tagged out. That did not matter, Ko-oren won 5 to 3! A good end to the closest game so far.

Overall box score:
[/pre]
Ko-oren 2 2 0 2 3 2 5 3 7 | 26
Others 3 0 4 0 0 1 3 2 3 | 16
[/pre]

Ko-oren's Colonies #4 - Arhoren

Fourth up are the rainbow islands of Arhoren. The least populated of the seven colonies outside of Skyvinduryoren, they are proud of the flowers that bloom around the year. With just one populated are that could count as a city, and multiple villages, the colony has a few uninhabited islands, that are all national parks. The stunning nature of the island is heavily protected, though tourists are allowed everywhere. The punishment is one of the harshest penalties one can get, and it gets some foreign tourists in trouble every year. The population of Arhoren is not extremely interested in what goes on outside of their island, and even 'domestic' news is not followed. The colony is lead by the mayor of the only town of the archipelago, who is elected from a few candidates by a set of political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, judges, historians and philosophers.

The colony sees a good bit of rain, all year round. This all provides the optimal climate and weather for the flora and fauna. The islands look like volcanic islands, with all the fertile soil you would expect from volcanic islands, but they were not formed this way. Rivers and streams are all across the islands, and the only dry place is the hills where the city is built.

Field hockey and baseball are among the most favorite sports of Arhoren, rugby is not played on the island at all. Arhorenians could be seen as a bit distant, and so they choose sports with little to no contact, is the reasoning that some people give to it.

[Cassadaigua]

We've reached halfway! Cutoff is here!

Group 1
Thrilledge                    0 0 0 0 0 2 4 3 0  9
The Sova Empire               0 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 0  6

Yesopalitha                   0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Schmiegelland                 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 X  3

Kriegiersien                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Michael VII                   2 1 1 2 0 0 2 1 X  9


  Group 1                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Michael VII                    5    3   2    21   11  +10     9
2 The Sova Empire                5    3   2    20   18   +2     9
3 Thrilledge                     5    3   2    15   13   +2     9
4 Kriegiersien                   5    3   2    14   19   −5     9
5 Yesopalitha                    5    2   3    15   13   +2     6
6 Schmiegelland                  5    1   4    10   21  −11     3

Group 2
Sangti                        0 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 0 0  6
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2  8

German-Spanish Empire         0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1  3
Milchama                      3 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 X  9

Ko-oren                       0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0  5
Cyborg Holland                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group 2                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Milchama                       5    5   0    37   16  +21    15
2 Ko-oren                        5    4   1    31   16  +15    12
3 Cyborg Holland                 5    2   3    23   26   −3     6
4 Sangti                         5    2   3    24   32   −8     6
5 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec    5    1   4    18   27   −9     3
6 German-Spanish Empire          5    1   4    17   33  −16     3

Group 3
Skeckoa                    0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Karditan                   2 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 X  7

Equestrian States          0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1  5
Free Republics             0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  4

Strawbee                   0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  5
The Republic of Lanos      0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2


  Group 3                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Equestrian States           5    4   1    22   10  +12    12
2 Strawbee                    5    4   1    32   23   +9    12
3 Karditan                    5    3   2    22   11  +11     9
4 Free Republics              5    2   3    24   26   −2     6
5 The Republic of Lanos       5    1   4    14   21   −7     3
6 Skeckoa                     5    1   4    11   34  −23     3

Group 4
Shadowbourne               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  3
Maklohi Vai                0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 X  5

Beldonia                   1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1  6
Vaugania                   0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3  4

The Serbian Empire         0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4  8
TWS of the Mediterranean   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3


  Group 4                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Maklohi Vai                 5    4   1    29   22   +7    12
2 The Serbian Empire          5    3   2    26   18   +8     9
3 Beldonia                    5    3   2    21   23   −2     9
4 Shadowbourne                5    2   3    19   17   +2     6
5 Vaugania                    5    2   3    25   30   −5     6
6 TWS of the Mediterranean    5    1   4    18   28  −10     3

Group 5
Saugeais               3 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0  8
Backyard Sports        0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

New Bierstaat          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Estope                 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  5

Free Swiss States      1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  6
Sicoutimont            8 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 X 13


  Group 5               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Sicoutimont             5    5   0    40   18  +22    15
2 Saugeais                5    3   2    26   12  +14     9
3 New Bierstaat           5    3   2    19   20   −1     9
4 Backyard Sports         5    2   3    18   21   −3     6
5 Free Swiss States       5    1   4    19   32  −13     3
6 Estope                  5    1   4    10   29  −19     3

Group 6
Thatius                0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2
Kinzar                 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1  3

The Fair Republic      0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0  4
Darmen                 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Mapletish              1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0  4
Bloodbath Generation   0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 X  5


  Group 6               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Kinzar                  5    4   1    27   15  +12    12
2 Darmen                  5    3   2    27   20   +7     9
3 Thatius                 5    3   2    24   17   +7     9
4 Bloodbath Generation    5    3   2    26   28   −2     9
5 The Fair Republic       5    2   3    14   20   −6     6
6 Mapletish               5    0   5    11   29  −18     0

Group 7
The Jahistic Unified Republic   0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 1  6
The Priory of St Luc            0 0 0 6 0 0 0 2 X  8

New Montreal States             0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  5
Qazox                           0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  4

Western Cuba                    2 0 1 0 0 2 0 5 0 10
Cowardly Pacifists              0 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 0  6


  Group 7                        Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Western Cuba                     5    4   1    39   26  +13    12
2 New Montreal States              5    4   1    31   18  +13    12
3 Cowardly Pacifists               5    3   2    29   29    0     9
4 Qazox                            5    2   3    24   23   +1     6
5 The Priory of St Luc             5    2   3    18   28  −10     6
6 The Jahistic Unified Republic    5    0   5    17   34  −17     0

Group 8
Powersith                       0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2
Ethington                       0 0 0 0 2 3 2 0 X  7

Aardenland                      0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Cassadaigua                     0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1  4

Free South Califas              0 2 0 0 1 0 4 2 0  9
Byfugland                       0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 2  5


  Group 8                        Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Free South Califas               5    3   2    29   16  +13     9
2 Ethington                        5    3   2    30   18  +12     9
3 Byfugland                        5    3   2    23   20   +3     9
4 Cassadaigua                      5    3   2    14   16   −2     9
5 Powersith                        5    2   3    12   24  −12     6
6 Aardenland                       5    1   4    16   30  −14     3

Group 9
Zwangzug               0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  3
Soviet Party           0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4

Allinlia               0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3  6
Super-Llamaland        0 4 0 0 0 1 2 0 X  7

Carasatoga             0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  4
Sakurakoku             0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4  7


  Group 9               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zwangzug                5    3   2    30   18  +12     9
2 Allinlia                5    3   2    30   21   +9     9
3 Super-Llamaland         5    3   2    25   30   −5     9
4 Sakurakoku              5    2   3    24   27   −3     6
5 Carasatoga              5    2   3    17   22   −5     6
6 Soviet Party            5    2   3    11   19   −8     6

Group 10
Slembana               0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  7
Lycrabon               0 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  8

Komodo Dragon          1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Taeshan                0 0 1 2 0 0 4 1 X  8

Scandigrad             0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  2
Saintland              0 0 0 0 4 3 1 0 X  8


  Group 10              Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Lycrabon                5    4   1    25   19   +6    12
2 Saintland               5    3   2    19   12   +7     9
3 Taeshan                 5    3   2    18   17   +1     9
4 Scandigrad              5    2   3    20   23   −3     6
5 Komodo Dragon           5    2   3    18   22   −4     6
6 Slembana                5    1   4    16   23   −7     3

Challenges: (In no way do these need to be followed. Their purpose is to provide inspiration for RP when it could not otherwise be found).

Historical Challenge: Reference a past World Baseball Classic that I pre-determine. Since we're halfway, how about, World Baseball Classic 13. Just don't tell Taeshan.

Random Nation Challenge: A nation from the Who's Chatting list on the main page is randomly selected. (Nations participating in the WBC will not be picked). Reference that nation in some capacity. Today, one some may know: Rejistania

[Sangti]

SANGTI LOSES TO QUEBEC IN 11 INNINGS

By Rafael Sigua

Sangti 6-8 Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Group 2, World Baseball Classic
Royal Kingdom of Quebec

The Sangti Indios suffered its second consecutive loss after a heartbreaking 11-inning loss to the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, and it looked like the Indios squandered a chance to take over third spot after a Cyborg Holland loss to Ko-oren, 0-5. In the other Group 2 game, Milchama beat GSE 9-3.

Here are the scores:

Group 2
Sangti                        0 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 0 0  6
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2  8

German-Spanish Empire         0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1  3
Milchama                      3 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 X  9

Ko-oren                       0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0  5
Cyborg Holland                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group 2                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Milchama                       5    5   0    37   16  +21    15
2 Ko-oren                        5    4   1    31   16  +15    12
3 Cyborg Holland                 5    2   3    23   26   −3     6
4 Sangti                         5    2   3    24   32   −8     6
5 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec    5    1   4    18   27   −9     3
6 German-Spanish Empire          5    1   4    17   33  −16     3

The Quebec team looked to win comfortably after leading 5-0 until the beginning of the 5th inning, where Sangti scored three runs on the top of the fifth and two runs on the top of the eighth to tie the score. At the top of the ninth, Sangti scored again to put the score at 6-5. However at the bottom, RKQ took the game into extra innings. There were no scores until a walk-off home run dashed the Indios hopes for a victory. 8-6.

"The players are gutted. We could have closed out the game at the ninth only to lose at extra innings. It would be tough to climb back into the second spot on the group. We hope that the results on the second half of the group stage would be kind to us. We have crucial games next, at home to GSE and then travel to Ko-oren." Monico Deligero said.

Sangti hosts GSE next and it will be crucial because Ko-oren, the current occupant of the coveted 2nd spot plays Milchama next. Milchama tops the group with a perfect record.

[Aardenland]

PLAYOFF CHANCES LOOK BLEAK AT HALFTIME

Yet another narrow loss as Cassadaigua pulls ahead in final innings

Things began to look up for Aardenland today when Ally Valiant went in to pitch in the Seventh. She had pitched six no-hit innings and Aardenland was ahead by three. Two innings later, Maddie Kirchoff singled home the winning run to give Cassadaigua a walk-off 4-3 win. And with that, Aardenland closes the first half of the WBC with an abysmal 1-4 record. Even if Aardenland wins all of their remaining games, in all likelyhood they would come in second or perhaps tie for first place. Last WBC, Aardenland split their record by going 4-1 in the first half, and 1-4 in the second half. Here's hoping that they can reverse the trend in EBC XXVI.

Third Inning:

Aardenland: With Emily Harris pitching and one out, Odessa Kroon hit a solo home run to right field. Aardenland leads, 1-0

Fourth Inning:

Aardenland: With one out, Sally Karlsson doubled to left field. Silver Wouda singled to center, scoring Karlsson. Wouda stole second. Desmond de Waal hit a double into the right-center field gap, scoring Wouda. Aardenland leads, 3-0

Seventh Inning:

Cassadaigua: With Ally Valiant pitching and two outs, Lindsay Elliot singled to right field. Elliot stole second. Christina Johnson singled to center, scoring Elliot. Maddie Kirchoff doubled to right field, scoring Johnson. Aardenland leads, 3-2

Eighth Inning:

Cassadaigua: With two outs, Kristen Brooks homered to left field. Tied, 3-3

Ninth Inning:

Cassadaigua: With Terry O'Kelley pitching, Christina Johnson tripled to right field. Maddie Kirchoff singled to center, scoring Johnson. Cassadaigua leads, 4-3

CASSADAIGUA WINS, 4-3

Player of the Game:

EMILY HARRIS, MADDIE KIRCHOFF -
Harris recovered nicely after giving up three runs to pitch a complete game win. Kirchoff made the difference with two key RBI hits in the Seventh and Ninth Innings.

[Cowardly Pacifists]

CP Baseball Report

May 22nd - Cité Sportif, Sherbrooke, New Montreal States

---

PRODUCTIVE 8TH INNING LEADS WESTERN CUBA TO VICTORY OVER SANDPIPERS

 Western Cuba                    2 0 1 0 0 2 0 5 0 10
 Cowardly Pacifists             0 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 0  6

In their second home match of the Classic, the Sandpipers fell apart late to lose to Western Cuba 10-6. The game was competitive until a poor showing in the eighth by Sandpiper relievers Rafael Dawson and Everett Rodgers gave Western Cuba a five run lead that the CP squad could not overcome.

Rookie pitcher Carlos Guerrero looked shaky in the early going, surrendering two runs in the first inning and another in the third to give Western Cuba a 3-0 lead. Lester Snyder answered in the fourth, singling to left-center that scored Terence Ruiz and put Tam Nguyen on third. Rodgelio Adkins subsequent line drive resulted in a double play, but gave Nguyen enough time to score a second Sandpipers run.

The CP team continued their assault in the bottom of the fifth. Western Cuba walked Austin Schneider to start the inning and Darrin Shelton reached first on a bunt. After Carlos Guerrero struck out, Terence Ruiz came up to bat and hit a ground rule double to score Schneider and leave two men on base. Western Cuba, possibly setting up a squeeze play, intentionally walked Tam Nguyen. That brought up Lester Snyder, who fought a grueling battle with the Western Cuba pitcher before the umpire called the 9th-pitch just a bit high and gave him the walk, scoring Shelton. Rogelio Adkins, true to form, hit a single to short right field to score Ruiz before Western Cuba finally ended the inning by striking out Harvey Oliver.

The Sandpipers' lead was not to last, however, as Western Cuba proceeded to hit two back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning. That prompted Wagner to give rookie Carlos Guerrero a rest. Ruben Moss was called on for relief, and pitched a gem in the sixth and seventh, retiring 6 straight Western Cuba batters and earning four strike-outs.

But disaster struck the Sandpipers in the eighth, as some tightness in Moss's left shoulder prompted the team to bring in Rafael Dawson for his first action of the Classic. Dawson faltered against the the Western Cuba line up, walking the first two batters he faced, giving up hits to the next three, and permitting 2 runs over that span with only one out. With Western Cubans on second and third, Wagner had seen enough and bought in set-up man Everett Rodgers to try to close the inning. Rodgers struck out the first batter he faced, but (much to the chagrin of the Sandpipers home crowd) he threw a lazy fastball to the second batter that the Western Cuban sent flying out of the park for a 3-run homer. Boos erupted from the stands as Rodgers hung his head in disappointment. Sensing that his pitcher might be feeling too much pressure, Wagner pulled Rodgers and Ronnie Bryant came into the game one out early to finish the inning.

The Sandpipers attempted to rally in the late eighth against the Western Cuban set-up pitcher, but managed only a single run (Harvey Oliver, batted in by Austin Schneider). The Western Cuba defense held firm after that, and Oliver's score would be the Sandpipers' last of the evening. Bryant managed to quickly relieve the top of the ninth, but Western Cuba's closer was equally effective in the bottom of the inning. By the end of nine, the score was 10-6 Western Cuba.

After the game, critics questioned Manager Ian Wagner's decision to start rookie pitcher Carlos Guerrero, who gave up 5 runs in 5 innings against perennial powerhouse Western Cuba. But the skipper defended his decision, saying, "we made a tactical decision to start Guerrero against Western Cuba. Obviously, Guerrero is our newest pitcher, but by taking this unfavorable match-up we got four more-favorable match-ups in our other games and they paid off. That, and the kid didn't do half bad. It's important to remember that he's a rookie playing against the 3rd ranked team in the world. His ERA really wasn't terrible considering the circumstances."

With half of the Group 7 games played, the Sandpipers sport a 3-2 record and sit in third place. That might still be good enough to earn a play-off spot, though the team will need to be nearly perfect going forward. Their next match is a home visit from the Pelicans of St. Luc. The Sandpipers beat the Pelicans earlier in the Classic, but the St. Luc club will be looking to even the score coming off an 8-6 victory over the Jahistics.

FULL SCHEDULE
MD 1: @ the Priory of St Luc WIN 9-4
MD 2: @ Qazox LOSS 3-8
MD 3: Home vs the Jahistic Unified Republic WIN 3-0
MD 4: @ New Montreal States WIN 8-7
MD 5: Home vs Western Cuba LOSS 6-10
MD 6: Home vs the Priory of St Luc
MD 7: Home vs Qazox
MD 8: @ the Jahistic Unified Republic
MD 9: Home vs New Montreal States
MD 10: @ Western Cuba

NEXT MATCH vs. the Priory of St Luc
Sandpipers Starting Pitcher: Julio Leonard
Western Cuba Starting Pitcher: Sir Edmund

THE SANDPIPERS AT A GLANCE

WBC # 26          Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Current Rank   Current Place in Group
                    5    3   2    29   29    0   Unranked       3rd Place

Lifetime Win/Loss:  3-2

[Taeshan]

Why is it the only team that has ever won a championship for Taeshan, the one that managed to do much the opposite of what many great teams that Taeshan has had. The champions didnt even win their group, falling behind Vephrall for that position. Then they managed to win each playoff round before the final in a final game. Sarzonia, surprisingly Newmanistan and Secristan all fell to the mighty Purple Knights on there way to win the championship. Then i believe you all know how the final went.

The only series in the playoffs that the Knights managed to crush the other team. 13 years ago the Knights won the final in dominating fashion 3-1 to the hosts of this classic. Cassadaigua. 3-1, winning once in overtime and losing game two, but dominating. They had finally won the championship after 10 years of trials and failure. The Knights were no longer, 2nd, 3rd or fourth best, but the best. And what did that lead to? The country went into a period of unrest a few years later, and it took a recent team to finally get them back into international heights. The Knights are back, and with 13 tourneys since there first real championship, its a wonder if they could finally be ready to win it all.

[Milchama]

"We've got to figure this out!"

"What?"

"How are we going to get a good Hapsburg joke?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well we just played the German-Spanish Empire"

"So?"

"Well the Hapsburgs ruled both a German principality, Austria and Spain so I figured that the German-Spanish Empire was ruled by Hapsburg"

"They really blew it at the end?"

"That's alright, though it does explain their performance against Cyborg Holland pretty well"

"Yes"

"How about something about taking it on the chin?"

"Ok why?"

"They had large chins due to a lip condition"

"Oh"

"Well they certainly took it on the chin today!"

"That's a terrible joke"

"Yes but it's something"

"Fair"

"Anything else worth a damn?"

"Something about us being Turks?"

"But we're not Turks"

"Yes but both Turks and Jews are semites"

"They never could defeat the Turks"

"Nope"

"There could be something about destroying all that is holy!"

"That's better Holy Roman Empire joke!"

"On a darker turn, revenge"

"Huh?"

"The German-Spanish Empire"

"Yeah, that's awful"

"I agree"

"Ok then moving on"

"Beaten by Heathens!"

"Nobody likes Charlemagne!"

"Stop the foreign occupation of Sicily?"

"Take that Franz Ferdinand?"

"Well now we're on a roll"

"Yes"

"Just like the Warriors"

"Yep"

"First place at the halfway mark"

"Without a single loss"

"Or just as predicted"

"Wonderful"

"It's great"

"Brilliant"

"So the sky's the limit"

"Oh definitely"

"It's just a great start"

"Let's just make sure to finish in the same way"

"Yep"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

[Saintland]

Saintland lights up Scandigrad 8-2 at Royal Park

(SP) The Kingdom of Saintland picked up a 3rd win today at Royal Park as the Sanctii bats came alive, lighting up Scandigrad's pitching for 8 runs. Andreas Fundanus picked up a second victory in the World Baseball Classic to become the first Sanctii pitcher to ever win 2 games in a WBC, holding Scandigrad to a single run in 7 innings. "The last few days, we've had plenty of baserunners. Today, we finally drove them in and we scored plenty of runs. That's what I want to see out of this team. This was a good start, but we need to win the next 2 games of this homestand. We host Lycrabon and Taeshan, the 2 favorites in this group, and we need to beat both of them at Royal Park to stay in solid position to qualify. As long as we continue to play for the greater Glory of God and his Kingdom and not for our own egos, we will continue to find success." - Petrus Tragus

Early on, both Andreas Fundanus and the Scandigrad pitcher, identified only by his number (31) and last name (Bennet), held the opposition scoreless. Although some baserunners got on for both teams, neither team scored a run in the first 4 and a half innings. That all changed in the bottom of the 5th inning. Marcus Vagnius lined out to Wagner to open the game. Marcus Tragus was up second and he singled through the hole. Petrus Tragus bunted his brother over to second base, conceding an out. Ioannes Sentius hit a ball over the head of Harris for a single, moving Marcus Tragus to 3rd base. A 2-1 pitch got away from Bennet and hit Paulus Sittius to load the bases. Lucius Maccius stepped up to the plate and got ahead 2-0. He fouled off the 3rd pitch. He took the 4th and 5th pitches to load the count. With a full count, Maccius swung at a fastball and got all of it. It cleared the left field fence for a grand slam home run to put the Sanctii up 4 to nothing. Last WBC, it would have been an out at the warning track, but the decision by Petrus Tragus to move the fences in paid off in a big way here.

In the top of the 6th, Andreas Fundanus struck out Hernandez for the first out. Purnell was the next batter. Fundanus made a mistake on his 2-1 pitch and Purnell knocked it out for a home run. Scandigrad was on the board, but the Kingdom of Saintland still led 4 to 1. In the bottom of the 5th, the Sanctii would add to their lead. "Iron" Lucas Maianius led off with a single. Petrus Iulus tripled, scoring a run. Duane Poulin came out and pulled his pitcher out of the game, bringing in Milford as a reliever. Milford's first pitch to Marcus Vagnius was hit out for a home run by the Sanctii catcher. Suddenly, the Kingdom of Saintland led 7 to 1 and there were still no outs in the bottom of the 6th. Milford would strike out Marcus Tragus and got Petrus Tragus to ground out to Hernandez. Ioannes Sentius and Paulus Sittius picked up consecutive singles, but Lucius Maccius struck out to end the inning. Saintland led 7 to 1.

Tangeman came in to pitch for Scandigrad in the bottom of the 7th, with the score still 7 to 1. Andreas Fundanus had gone 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 11 and walking 4. Once again, the 7th inning stretch had seen a priest come out and preach the gospel to foreign television viewers, although it was not the Patriarch this time around. Matthaeus Bebius led off the bottom of the 7th with a single. "Iron" Lucas Maianius struck out. With one out, Bebius stole 2nd base on a 1-0 pitch to Petrus Iulus. It was a pitchout, but the throw from Jones was still late. Iulus hit the 2-0 pitch into deep center field, just over the head of McGowen. Bebius scored, but Iulus would get thrown out at 3rd trying to stretch a double into a triple. The Sanctii led 8 to 1. Marcus Vagnius struck out to end the inning.

In the top of the 8th, Petrus Tragus decided to go with a defensive substitution, bringing Thomas Ennius into the game. The new pitcher was Lucas Rufus. Rufus gave up a single to Polanco on his first pitch. McGowen followed that out by hitting a fielder's choice to Ioannes Sentius. Sentius chose to get the lead runner. Harris was up next. He got a single, moving McGowen to 3rd and putting runners on at both corners. Wagner hit a fly ball to Matthaeus Bebius for the 2nd out, but McGowen tagged up and went for the plate. The throw was Bebius was a second late and Scandigrad had a second run. Ku struck out to end the inning. After a scoreless bottom of the 8th, the Sanctii brought on the knuckleballer Alessandro Arius for the 9th and he got 3 quick outs to end the game. The Kingdom of Saintland had won 8 to 2.

Meanwhile, Taeshan defeated Komodo Dragon 8 to 3 and Lycrabon defeated Slembana in an 18-inning game. Lycrabon leads the group at 4-1. The Sanctii are tied for 2nd with Taeshan. Both teams are 3-2. Tomorrow, the Sanctii host Lycrabon at Royal Park. It will be a critical game as a victory would put the National Baseball Team tied for the group lead and in strong position to attain the lofty goals set for them by King Paulus XV. The game will be broadcast live on Royal Two. Tickets are still available. We encourage everybody who is interested in seeing tomorrow's game to take the train to St. Petrus and buy a ticket. Tomorrow will be a critical game in this World Baseball Classic and it would help if the National Baseball Team had a capacity crowd to cheer them on.

[Qazox]

Qazox loses in 11, under .500 again.

New Montreal States             0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  5
Qazox                           0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  4

Loic Cloutier's 11th inning HR off of Mike Umberto dropped Qazox below .500 again at 2-3 as they lost last night 5-4 to New Montreal States. Qazox has yet to be consistent this WBC alternating losses and wins. Up next, Qazox starts the 2nd half at home v. group leaders Western Cuba. A loss and an NMS win would eliminate Qazox from playoff contention.

CF- Justin Madroe 3-6, 1 Run, 1 RBI
2B- J. C. Vulp 2-6, 1 RBI
3B- Brianna Handel 0-6, 3K
RF- Chad Cochran 1-6, double, RBI
C- Allie Durmitt 2-5, HR, RBI, IBB
SS- Zach Joswyn 1-6
1B- Joshua McCullen 0-5, 2 K
LF- Leslie Fanueil 2-5, 2 runs, double
SP- Chad Whiski- 7.0 IP, 4 runs, 4 ER, 5 K, 4 BB, 9 hits (ND) 0-3 batting

Mike Umberto (L 0-1)

[Sicoutimont]

"Welcome back to the Fan950 Morning Show, we're Jacques and Fidel here to discuss baseball! Also, Ralph is here on time today, so the fishing show will start a bit earlier! More about that later, but Fidel, what'd you think of Sicoutimont's victory over Free Swiss States last night?"

"For those viewers who didn't see the game, Les Royales won with the strength of an 8-run 1st inning, to win the game 13-6 over Free Swiss States. The offense was there, but in the second innning what was up with the defense, eh Jacques?"

"Well, it sure wasn't defending!"

"Little tired today, Jacques?"

"Shut up. Anyway, uh, could ya summarize the first inning for us? It sure was exciting!"

"That it was, Jacques. Trent Davis was pitching for Les Royales, and he gave up a home run with 2 outs to put the visitors to Field PowerEternite up 1-0. Then, the inning really started. Pedro Santana, Xavi Esquinardes and Victor Santana reached bases early, with Loic St-Ignace driving in the first two to make it 2-1. Jose Colognon singled to right, which still earned him a RBI when Santana reached home plate. 3-1. Martin Vauton hit a homer deep to the centre porch to bring home Colognon and St-Ignace. 6-1. Jaeg Nordstrom would triple and Alfonso Soriano homered to make the score 8-1. Pedro Santana struck out before Xavi Esquinardes went deep for a double. Boullion Carvier became the 9th batter to record a base hit in the inning by singling, but Victor Santana went down on a pop fly to end the inning. Free Swiss States would come back with 4 runs in the second inning, but Les Royales returned those 4 in the third inning. 13-6 would be the final score, Davis pitching 5 1/3 innings, Jacques Georges 2 2/3 innings, and Ingham Reginald finished off the game."

"Maurice Sorotane didn't lose his temper this time, although why would he in a 13-6 victory. After going 5-0 in the first half of the group stage, Les Royales are now home again to Backyard Sports, who were previously beaten by Les Royales 5-3 in that nation. Today, they lost 8-1 to Saugeais. By the way, Sicoutimont lead Group 5 with 15 points, Saugeais and New Bierstaat are tied for second with 9 points, but Saugeais hold the tiebreaker. Estope defeated New Bierstaat today, getting their first victory of the tournament. Around the world, Milchama won again to remain one of the only 2 teams that are undefeated. Lycrabon and Slembana played an 18 inning thriller, the home side (Lycrabon) eventually taking the W. Any thoughts on the next game?"

"Backyard Sports are a tough opponent, even if they only have 9 players. It should be another exciting affair. Fidel Sanchez will start on the mound for Sicoutimont, as they hope to improve their 40 Runs For record, the highest in the tournament. Second is Western Cuba, with 39 Runs For."

"Time for our Match Game segment!"

*party music plays*

"Why that music!?"

"You signed the contract, Fidel, not me...."

"True....."

"Anyways, here's the match game: 'Sicoutimont's batters really showed their 'blank' in the first inning'"

"Any ideas?"

"I think we can wait until the viewers talk us up on Communimont! Add the tagline "Jacques and Fidel Match Game" and send your answer!"

"So Jacques, last week you cut me off talking about my fishing! Well, I'm going to finish my story!"

"Why?"

"Cause we don't have anything else to talk about!"

"You don't say that on air, Fidel......"

"Anyway, I was out on the north of Lac-Drouin, Sicoutimont's largest lake by the way-"

"I think we know that, Mr. Geography....."

"Yeah, but we might have some foreign viewers, Jacques!"

"Continue....."

"So I see this yellow-speckled muskie out there, so I think 'Dang, I gotta catch this'. So I cast out my lure and it bites right away... the fight was intense. Thought I lost it at least 5 times."

"Oh come on, Fidel....you're not that good a fisherman....if that thing wanted to get away, it could have"

"You just don't appreciate my talents."

"Did you catch it?"

"Yeah, had to throw it back though, season doesn't open for another week"

"Then why were you fishing for muskie?"

"I wasn't trying to, walleye season opened last week...."

"But you happened to decide to fish illegally? Come on, Fidel, pull it together: Zone 3's regulations are very strict!"

"Do we have any match games yet?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, MarcusJohansen says: Sicoutimont's batters really showed their neutrality in the first inning"

"Ummm....."

"I think it might be a reference to Swiss Neutrality...."

"Oh, right..... yeah...."

"Anyway, Ralph is kinda looking anxious here, so we better get him on......we'll be back here next week with the Fan950 Morning Show with Jacques and Fidel! Also, our podcast will return later this summer, so stay tuned!"

"We know go to commercial break. We'll return with Ralph's Summer Fishing Fan Show, but stay tuned later on for more Jacques and Fidel!"

[Estope]

Twin Brooks, Estope -- The losing streak is finally over. Estope baseball coach Nicolas Carr, may have turned this team around and saved his job. Only yesterday critics including well known newspapers were calling for serious changes. Now Estope blanked New Bierstaat for their first win and hopefully some well needed momentum.

Estope's pitchers threw a shutout game in the 5-0 in front of a crowd of only 4,300, the lowest total ever for an international Estope baseball game. For Estope, they were able to avoid their second 0-5 start after last years debacle and the horrible start to this WBC. Along with the good pitching, Estope also hit two home runs, which is the first time hitting a home run at all so far. James Campella hit a two-run shot in the third inning and then Henry Fowler followed with his own solo shot in the eighth inning. Estope's offensive did phenomenal and actually doubled their run total in a single game. "The wind actually helped us tonight and really those two home runs, I mean, really helped," Carr said. "It's really rare to hit homeruns for this team especially in our ballpark, you know it's a lot bigger than most. It is just so exciting to see the ball go out of the ballpark. That really just shows how things are finally going our way." Estope had many more opportunities to score and win by even more but were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position after the first two innings. Forde and Colin Campella each had multiple hits tonight en route to a eight hit game. Frazier has hit safely in 34 of MSU's 41 games this season. On the mound, Eric Almanza threw four innings, Noel Pelot followed in relief with three innings and Colin Noakes finished the game with two innings. The pitching staff combined to allow only six hits, and racked up eight strikeouts while allowing only three walks.

Estope stays home for a match up against Free Swiss States. Estope lost their opener to them and will be out for revenge. Free Swiss States opened by defeating Estope in a shocking upset but have since gone 0-4. A win would move Estope out of last place and put them on a two game win streak heading into a huge game against group leading Sicoutimount. A win really shouldn't be hard to come by as Estope is a far superior team if they play to their potential. Estope still has a shot at qualifying but they really need to run the table and go undefeated the rest of the way to really feel comfortable.

Saugeais               3 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0  8
Backyard Sports        0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

New Bierstaat          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Estope                 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  5

Free Swiss States      1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  6
Sicoutimont            8 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 X 13

Group 5               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Sicoutimont             5    5   0    40   18  +22    15
2 Saugeais                5    3   2    26   12  +14     9
3 New Bierstaat           5    3   2    19   20   −1     9
4 Backyard Sports         5    2   3    18   21   −3     6
5 Free Swiss States       5    1   4    19   32  −13     3
6 Estope                  5    1   4    10   29  −19     3

[Sakurakoku]

(To the tune of The Ballad of Sweeney Todd)

Attend the tale of Homerun-chan
A slender frame her hair sits upon
She shares a name with Yuriko
The name of their fathers are both Saitou
A swing of the bat, the Wolves won
From Homerun-chan
The Super Batter of Sakura

A rookie she was to the team
But of the new crop she was the cream
Perhaps her fielding was not top-notch
She's a young Mio to all that watch
That's Homerun
Homura
The Super Batter of Sakura

Swing your bat up high, Homerun!
Hold it to the skies!
Freely flows the joy of those who idolize!

Top of the ninth, Wolves up three-one
It looked like the losing streak was done
Homerun had subbed for a hurt Katou
And the Ice Queen was on to close the show
But on this day the save was blown
The save was blown
For the Ice Queen Minamoto

The game's not done, one more turn at the plate
A single, a sac, error at second base
Tie game at third, vict'ry on first
The crowd at Central was going to burst
How come Mori left in Azunyan?
She swings the bat like it's made of flan
Azunyan walked, the bases are full
Homura's looking for a pitch to pull
Homura's swishes her club away
Homura, Homerun, Homura, Homerun
Homura, Homerun, Homura, Homerun
Homura, Homerun, Homura, Homerun
Homura, Homerun, Homura, Homerun...

Attend the tale of Homerun-chan
Delivered the force of Genghis Khan
Walkoff grand slam, seven to four
We hope the first of many on her long tour
For Homura
For Homerun-chan
The Super Batter of Sakura

---

Carasatoga   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  4 6 2
Sakurakoku   0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4  7 8 0

W - Minamoto
L - *smudge*

Scoring Summary

Top 2nd: *big smudge*. Carasatoga, 1-0.

Bottom 3rd: Uemura singled to left. Uemura stole second. Katou struck out swinging, catcher *smudge* to first baseman *smudge*, Katou out at first, Uemura to third. Horie walked. Yasuzumi homered to right-center, Uemura scored, Horie scored. Yamagishi flied out to center. Kaneko singled to left. Kimihara grounded out to second. Sakurakoku, 3-1.

Top 9th: *very big smudge*. Carasatoga, 4-3.

Bottom 9th: Kimihara singled to left. Sakamoto pinch ran for Kimihara. Dojima sacrificed bunted to pitcher, pitcher *smudge* to first baseman *smudge*, Dojima out at first, Sakamoto to second. Suzuki reached first on error by second baseman *smudge*, Sakamoto to third. Uemura walked, Suzuki to second. H. Saitou homered to left-center, Sakamoto scored, Suzuki scored, Uemura scored. Sakurakoku, 7-4.

[Super-Llamaland]

Group 9
Zwangzug 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 3
Soviet Party 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4

Allinlia 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 6
Super-Llamaland 0 4 0 0 0 1 2 0 X 7

Carasatoga 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4
Sakurakoku 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 7


Group 9 Pld W L RF RA RD Pts
1 Zwangzug 5 3 2 30 18 +12 9
2 Allinlia 5 3 2 30 21 +9 9
3 Super-Llamaland 5 3 2 25 30 −5 9
4 Sakurakoku 5 2 3 24 27 −3 6
5 Carasatoga 5 2 3 17 22 −5 6
6 Soviet Party 5 2 3 11 19 −8 6

A three-way tie for first, and one game back, a three-way tie for second.

All three first-place teams are 1-1 against other first-place teams, with varying Run Differentials. Zwangzug's at +12, Allinlia is a +9, our Llamas are a -5. Without that blowout at Zwangzug, we're at +2 with Zwangzug at +5.
The tiebreaker?

ONE H2H Record (We're all at 1-1)
TWO Run Differential (Zwangzug, Allinlia, Llamas)
THREE Runs For (Zwangzug TIE Allinlia, Llamas)

Ick. Let's just take the lead here. An upset at Zwangzug would be nice.

What do we need to do? Darren Mueller, a reliever, says: "We gotta blow em out [lesser teams] and upset the others [better teams]. Win games we should win and maybe some we shouldn't [Game nine hosting Zwangzug]."

To today's game, a 7-6 win at Allinlia that sent Llama fans' blood pressures soaring.

Allinlia 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 6
Super-Llamaland 0 4 0 0 0 1 2 0 X 7

A four-run second propelled the Llamas to the win despite scary relief and shaky defense.

PITCHING STATS

Evan Masorka: 7 2/3 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 7 H, 10 K/2 BB
Robby Irving: 1/3 IP, ER, H, K/0 BB
Evan Daye: 1/3 IP, ER, H, K/0 BB
Nick Bowden: 2/3 IP, ER, H, K/2 BB

SECOND INNING
The Llamas got some runners on, but it appeared they wouldn't score too much.

Danny Mills lead off after a 1-2-3 first for Allinlia. He took four pitches for a 3-1 count, hacked one to the right, and then got a hanging slider that fell to the middle. Mills creamed it to the right-center gap and despite not being very quick advanced to third base for a triple.

Chris Harder walked next on six pitches and Brett Rochester slapped a fly ball into center for a sac fly on one pitch. 1-0 Llamas. But then Jake Addams struck out and Jim Baines stepped up as the DH with ex-DH Keith Dawson replacing ineffective Tim Thomas at catcher. Two outs, man on first.

Baines fell behind 0-2, fouled off three nasty breaking balls, then slapped a single to left. Harder was held at third.
Keith Dawson took five pitches for the full count, then turned on a hard inside fastball for a single to right. Baines tripped but made it to third, Harder scored. 2-0. Runners on the corners again.

Darren Bradley stepped up to the plate and ran a 3-1 count but then fouled one off his foot. Bradley walked but looked uncomfortable. Max Danks followed with a two-run single from an outside-but-up fastball until Alex Cameron struck out. 4-0 Llamas, inning over.

In the third with two out, Darren Bradley (who still looked uncomfortable) threw the ball away and the runner advanced to second. They scored a batter later on a single but Masorka recovered with one of ten strikeouts to end it.

In the fourth inning, a homer was hit. In the fifth, the bases were loaded with one out when Keith Dawson dropped a swinging strike three and the run came in. E2, 4-3 Llamas.

In the sixth after a consecutive-out streak, Darren Bradley proved his recovery by slamming a double the other way. Max Danks singled him in. 5-3 Llamas as fans exhaled a bit.

The next inning, Keith Dawson and Bradley smacked singles and Danks drove them both in with a two-run triple. 7-3 Llamas as fans exhaled a lot.

They shouldn't have. Allinlia scored three before Nick Bowden finally slammed the door on their rally for a 7-6 victory.

We'll see how it goes against Carasatoga!

[Zwangzug]

The Kerlagrad Courier
Glorious victory achieved by Soviet Party

Editor's note: our normal sportswriter, sadly, is out sick today. We hope that our political correspondent has provided an adequate substitute.

Take heart, comrades! The Soviet Party has achieved an impressive victory today, in the "eleventh inning" against the compromising bourgeoisie of Zwangzug. Despite their vague sympathies to left-wing ideology, the "Zebras" still delight in idiosyncratic pleasures that contain the seeds of their strategy's own undoing.

Untrustworthy manager of labor, Kyle Polzin, admitted to being "sort of baffled" by "all those sacrifice bunts" as part of Soviet Party's successful three-run rally in the third inning, failing to display an appreciation for the fruits of collective labor. Yes, even with limited resources to work with such as the number of "outs" available, the Soviet Party was not swayed!

The Zebras, who wrongly appropriate the name of highly evolved animals as part of their own distractions, seemed unsure what to do with their "bats," or productive capital. For the first six innings, they were ineffective, and when they temporarily tied the game, they complacently believed to have made an end of history. However, their inevitable defeat was soon to follow. After the rare occasion of a tenth inning, the Soviet Party rose to the challenge in the eleventh, with a pinch hitter plucked from the obscurity of the bench duly making the country proud with a one-out double into left field. A single would score the winning run, upon which the successful batter walked off the field in solidarity with celebrating teammates.

Danny Geith-Pfeno, the only committed revolutionary among the defeated Zwangzug, was recuperating from a tiring day in the previous game and unable to contribute to his teammates' doomed cause. Sadly, despite the comparable records of the many teams in Group 9, Zwangzug remain first and Soviet Party remain last by means of some strange bourgeoisie tiebreakers. In addition, there apparently is some record of "points," which not even the self-absorbed press from Zwangzug has been able to make much sense of.

Whether in this tournament or next, the Soviet Party shall certainly achieve victory!

[Maklohi Vai]

OOC: Pressed for time as my first final is tomorrow, sorry.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

"Bishop, how are you feeling today?"

"Good, much better really."

"That is heartening to hear."

"I feel lighter."

"You are sitting up, after all."

"Not without effort, but it feels better to maintain normality."

"I understand what you mean."

"Do you ever worry about your health, Kumalo?"

"No, I don't. I get my standard check up every 4 months, and that covers everything."

"4 months! That's quite remarkable, how do you pay for that?"

"It's all covered in the taxes."

"What?"

"We pay 90% tax, so there's a lot there."

"My goodness! I couldn't even grasp such a thing."

"Yes, well, that's our way of doing things."

The Bishop paused. "Do you have worries, Kumalo?"

"Naturally, Bishop. The well being of my family, friends, and country of course."

"Reasonable things. But I mean something deeper."

"Well...
I've always felt the growing sense that there's something threatening OAM. I don't know what."

"Is it a person? A thing? Some abstract concept?"

"Well, I feel like it's a person but I'm not sure."

"That's interesting. Tell me if I'm wrong, but you confessed some doubts about your grandmother earlier, didn't you?"

"I did, yes, but that can't be it?"

"Think about it. In your mind, she threatens the very basis of OAM's existence: your faith."

"Well I don't think that could topple the organization."

"Of course it couldn't, but think about it. Your fear of her perception of your activities naturally can manifest itself in those activities."

"To be honest, Bishop, I think you're over-thinking this."

"I don't think I am. Face her. That is my wish: face her so you can be free to lead."

"I am still a capable leader, Bishop."

"You are, but your are not the best you could be. You have to get rid of your demons."

"Thank you, Bishop, but I think I'd like to think it over."

"Understandable. I hope you think about what I've said."

"I will, Bishop. I will."

---

Shadowbourne               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  3
Maklohi Vai                0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 X  5

Scoring Summary
2nd: Mae'ao hit a home run to lead off the inning.
4th: Mae'ao hit a home run that drove in Iao Laina, who had singled to lead off.
6th: Mae'ao hit a shot to left that barely cleared the wall, driving in Ri'ino Uilnai, who had doubled earlier.

Stat Update:
HR: Mae'ao 10, Arnao 1, Iao Laina 1, Wolo Rakinalmanai 1
RBI: Mae'ao 18, Wolo Rakinalmanai 3, Arnao 2, Moalna’akai Lai 2, Iao Laina 1, Koilani Ruputuo 1, Ri’ino Uilnai 1, Rimai Lomukiwo 1

[Allinlia]

Pressure's On!
late rally not enough to give Allinlia a victory at Super-Llamaland

Zwangzug               0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  3
Soviet Party           0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4

Allinlia               0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3  6
Super-Llamaland        0 4 0 0 0 1 2 0 X  7

Carasatoga             0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  4
Sakurakoku             0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4  7

Group 9               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zwangzug                5    3   2    30   18  +12     9
2 Allinlia                5    3   2    30   21   +9     9
3 Super-Llamaland         5    3   2    25   30   −5     9
4 Sakurakoku              5    2   3    24   27   −3     6
5 Carasatoga              5    2   3    17   22   −5     6
6 Soviet Party            5    2   3    11   19   −8     6

Allinlia headed into Super-Llamaland for their second road game, a critical game with big implications for the group standings. Bonser Aidrun took to the mound against Evan Masorka. Aidrun got off to a great, sending the Llama hitters away 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first, but Danny Mills drove in a triple for Super-Llamaland starting off a huge 2nd inning. 2 walks, 3 base hits, and a sac-fly later and Super Llamaland had a 4 run lead.

In the third inning Masorka got 2 quick outs but Joey Bezzio Jr. smacked a line drive and a bad throw to first allowed Bezzio to reach second base and used his incredible speed to score off a single by Andy Capps. Masorka would recover though and strike out Aiden Stairs to end the inning. 4-1 Super-Llamaland.

Paul Majuwitz would hit a solo home run to bring Allinlia within 2 runs and the next inning the Llama land catcher let the ball get passed him on a swinging strike three and Devin Kearns was able to run home to score bringing the game to 4-3.

The home team would not allow themselves to lose their early lead as Darren Bradley smashed a double into the gap in the 6th inning and was driven in on a Max Danks single to bring it to 5-3. Bonser Aidrun would be pulled from the game after this having allowed 5 earned runs in 6 innings of work.

The Llamas weren't done yet and the change of pitchers didn't seem to slow their offense down one bit as Keith Dawson and Darren Bradley both hit singles and were both sent home via a triple by Max Danks to seemingly bring the game out of reach 7-3.

The Allinlian hitters were determined to not let this game slip away as Paul Majuwitz scored 2 on a double and was driven in by Nick Fasano to bring Allinlia within 1 run once again but Super Llamaland's closer ended Allinlia's late rally and ended the game with a much needed win for the home team 7-6 the final. It was a high scoring game despite an anticipated pitchers duel.

"This loss is on me, I really needed to perform better to avoid those 4 runs in the 2nd inning, that bad start was a back breaker for our whole team. 6 runs should be enough to win any game, any day if the pitcher did his job." said Bonser Aidrun after the match.

With the loss Allinlia drops to 3-2 but remains in second place thanks to a significant lead in run differential over every other team in the group. Zwangzug was upset by unranked Soviet Party bringing them down to 3-2 as well. Sakurakoku won there match against Carasatoga to improve to 2-3 creating a 3 way tie at the bottom of the group with Carasatoga, Soviet Party, and Sakurakoku at 2-3 and a 3 way 3-2 tie for Allinlia, Zwangzug, and Super-Llamaland at the top of the group. Group 9 has become one of the most competitive groups of the entire tournament and the pressure is on for the Allinlians in the remaining games of a very tough 3 game road trip.

Allinlia must repeat their upset win over Zwangzug to avoid a 3-3 record and in all likelihood falling out of 2nd place, after that is match against a Soviet Party team that now looks much better than it did when Allinlia defeated them at home. "This is the moment of truth for us in this group, this is where we will have to prove we deserve to be a playoff team without any doubt or fall. This was a disappointing gutting loss but we have to dust ourselves off quickly and prepare for a tough match at Zwangzug." Said Weiss.

Thanks to the new rules, Allinlia can probably afford a 6-4 record if they keep their run differential up, allowing them a strong chance to qualify as one of the top 4 3rd place finishers, but the team would surely rather not risk having to sit and watch the results of other, possibly much softer groups by taking 1st or 2nd in Group 9. As competitive as all the teams in the group have been thus far, it's unlikely that anything less than a 7-3 finish would be good enough for second place so these next 2 games will be absolutely vital to Allinlia.

--RBI Tracker--

Aiden Stairs 3HR 7RBI
Conan Marteen 2HR 6RBI
Paul Majuwitz 2HR 6RBI
Nick Fasano 0HR 3RBI
Andy Capps 0HR 3RBI
Devin Kearns 0HR 2RBI
Toby Abbott 0HR 1RBI
Ferris Silver 0HR 1RBI
Joey Bezzio Jr. 0HR 1RBI

[Strawbee]

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FROM "NEWS OF BASEBALL" ON STRAWBEE GOVERNMENT TV CHANNEL 8: THE SPORTS ZONE!!

Skeckoa                    0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Karditan                   2 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 X  7

Equestrian States          0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1  5
Free Republics             0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  4

Strawbee                   0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  5
The Republic of Lanos      0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2

Group 3                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Equestrian States           5    4   1    22   10  +12    12
2 Strawbee                    5    4   1    32   23   +9    12
3 Karditan                    5    3   2    22   11  +11     9
4 Free Republics              5    2   3    24   26   −2     6
5 The Republic of Lanos       5    1   4    14   21   −7     3
6 Skeckoa                     5    1   4    11   34  −23     3

Road Warriors!
Win in Lanos gives Strawbee team 4th victory in a row!

Strawbee Legends of Baseball Pitcher Spotlight: Hector Bolormaa

Hector Bolormaa is talented young pitcher for Allinlian Pro Baseball Team: Golbrund Pistons. He has not been able to lead team to Allinlian playoffs but has been solid in that league and is one of hottest young pitchers. In WBC baseball he has performed very brilliantly going undefeated against tough New Matawan team in Strawbee debut to secure playoff spot in our very first WBC! He is young pitcher and will only improve from there friends! It is now second WBC for Bolormaa and he hopes to continue streak of only winning games for Strawbee.

Game Report:

Today Great and Honorable Leader Strawberry and our proud national team traveled to Lanos to face team making it's WBC debut this year! Lanos has been struggling very greatly in Group 3 and they came into game today hungry to snatch a win from our team. Hector Bolormaa made the start for Strawbee and he pitched with fire today going 7 innings and only giving up 2 runs!

There were no score points in first inning but in top of second inning Strawbee broke through for huge inning with 3 run homer by Calvin Klugg to give Strawbee 3 run lead! We were not done with inning yet as Tony Khongordzol single scored Golden Flower and brought us up over Lanos 4-0

third inning also saw no scores but bottom of 4th inning had home team score first run with triple followed by a sacrifice fly ball. Strawbee leads 4-1.

No team score in 5th inning and in 6th inning Lanos got another run off line drive single to bring the match very close with 4-2 score. Strawbee would score off base hit from Troy Logan to bring game score to 5-2. This would be final score of game as Strawbee bullpen gave up no runs and closed game out strong!

Strawbee has now won 4 games consecutively since losing first game of WBC to Free Republics. Viktor Ganzorig and Strawbee team have chance for revenge tomorrow as they play Free Republics once again. It will be road game but Strawbee is very good road team and they have much confidence going into the next games. After Free Republics Strawbee plays struggling team Skeckoa before they must face Equestrian States again.

Our experts say that next two matches are winnable games for Strawbee despite Free Republics beating us handily in previous match up. Great and Honorable Leader Strawberry predicted that we will win both games. If this proves true than we will have 6-1 record which maybe is enough to clinch playoff spot for Strawbee?? Would be a very good thing baseball fans! Clinching before having to play Equestrian States and Karditan again will take much pressure off so we all must keep fingers crossed and cheer loud for our team in person or by tuning in to government channel 8: THE SPORTS ZONE for all the super exciting LIVE coverage of Strawbee WBC baseball happenings and intense action!! See you there tomorrow!

Player of Match Honor Award: Hector Bolormaa, 7ip, 2R, 10K

--RBI Tracker--

Hank Orr: 2HR 6RBI
Chip Snelling: 1HR 5RBI
Troy Logan 1HR 5RBI
Calvin Klugg: 1HR 5RBI
Rolland Tomorbaatar: 1HR 2RBI
Golden Flower: 1HR 2RBI
Jayson Enkhtuya: 3RBI
Tony Khongordzol: 2RBI
Rupp Batbayar: 1RBI

GLORY TO STRAWBEE!

ALL HAIL GREAT AND HONORABLE LEADER STRAWBERRY!

This document has been reviewed and approved by the official Strawbee sports bureau

[Ko-oren]

Second Place is WILL REMAIN Ours

A good display against the current #3, Cyborg Holland was the first shutout the Greenblues achieved. 5-0, with the five runs in only two innings, is a very good last game before the crucial game against Milchama. Milchama won again, 9-3, and they are still unbeaten in the group. Meanwhile Ko-oren is 4-1, so that is only a minimal difference. Cyborg Holland and Sangti are below that on 2-3, so the second place will stay Greenblue for at least another match day, possibly even two match days, even with Ko-oren losing both next games. Sangti could have taken #3 with 3-2, but they lost 6-8 against RKQ. They needed a tenth inning in which RKQ scored two runs.

The Ko-oren match was not per se one of the more exciting, but at least all statistics give hope. A shutout is not always fun to watch for a neutral baseball fan. At least, if the winning team scores a lot, it can be a bit sad towards the losing team, but at least you'll see a lot of runs. The kind of game that Ko-oren v. Cyborg Holland was, did not have a lot of runs. Actually, only two innings were interesting: the third and the sixth. A home-run in the sixth inning was enough for three runs, but the third inning was good for the Ko-orenites with two runs. In fact, the most positive statistic about this game is the shutout, while the five runs scored are okay, but not fantastic.

Everything was of course a preparation for Milchama. The WBC 23 winners that are topping this group unbeaten. After that is the game against Sangti, and with a little luck they are still on 2 wins by that time. Once you're below second place, it seems like anyone can beat anyone. At least, if the two coming match days have at least one victory for the Greenblues, chances to advance to the WBC will be pretty high compared to now.

Overall box score:

Ko-oren               2 2 2 2 3 5 5 3 7  | 31
Others                3 0 4 0 0 1 3 2 3  | 16

Ko-oren's Colonies #5 - New Ko-oren

In the far southeastern side of Greater Ko-oren is New Ko-oren. The colony that resembles the main country of Ko-oren most. It is also the most populous of all colonies. The colony consists of one large island with several very small islands around the eastern coast. These islands are barely populated, but still have some decent towns. Most of the largest cities are located on the bay of New Ko-oren, the bay that opens up the island to the south. The climate is also a lot like Ko-oren's north: no extremes, though a bit on the cold side throughout the year. There is not something like a rain season, and clouds are not broken apart by a mountain range or something like that in the middle of the country. No, New Ko-oren is remarkably flat for such a large piece of land, even. Weather can change quickly, but it is predictable.

The government often copies Ko-oren's legislation, to the point that New Ko-oren and Ko-oren have no trouble recognizing each other. Some colonies, such as Arhoren, are not bothered at all with independence, but there is no tension at all between New Ko-oren and the main nation. The population of New Ko-oren is 100% composed of settlers, and since there has never been an (armed) conflict, there is no problem.

Sports in New Ko-oren are not exactly the same. Gridiron and Football are most popular in New Ko-oren: baseball is nowhere to be seen. Basketball is also quite popular in the colony. Ice Hockey is virtually non-existent. New Ko-orenite football teams are included in the Greater Ko-orenite Cup, and they have the biggest league structure of any colony. There are two leagues, with 38 teams total. Some cities are overrepresented, but these cities are very large. Rural areas generally have no teams at all. The teams used to be eliminated early, yet now they stay in for a while. Apart from professional football, there are plans to set up professional Basketball and Gridiron leagues.