WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC XXIV - LYCRABON

[Lycrabon]

Day three cutoff......any 3-0 teams? any 0-3? Let's find out!

Group One

Byfugland             100 120 000 - 4				
The Tidal Wake        110 001 000 - 3				
				
				
Ko-oren               012 002 010 4 - 10				
Saugeais              200 210 001 0 - 6				
				
				
The Jahistic Unified  120 110 000 010 0 - 6				
Pathogeria            001 013 000 010 1 - 7

Group Two

The Kytler Peninsula  102 110 020 - 7			
Riyahda               010 000 001 - 2			
			
			
Cyborg Holland        050 010 001 - 7			
Yesopalitha           101 210 003 - 8			
			
			
Kintratar             100 120 200 - 6			
Pugh                  001 021 000 - 4

Group Three

Karditan              100 110 010 - 4			
Shadowbourne          122 002 00X - 7			
			
			
Maklohi Vai           000 000 001 - 1			
Milchama              210 220 50X - 12			
			
			
Kerblaekistan         100 110 000 - 3			
Free Swiss States     100 040 02X - 7

Group Four

Sakurakoku            300 112 021 - 10			
Unified Hyrule        001 000 001 - 2			
			
			
Torisakia             000 000 010 - 1			
Darmen                301 310 12X - 11			
			
			
Branta Island         100 210 100 - 5			
Ezryel                151 001 01X - 9

Group Five

THRILLEDGE            600 121 200 - 12			
STORMCHASE            001 111 003 - 7			
			
			
Super-Llamaland       000 020 031 - 6			
Civil Citzenry        121 311 01X - 10			
			
			
Mapletish             201 001 100 - 5			
Madsen                002 040 00X - 6

Group Six

New Montreal States   300 132 205 - 16			
Raxillion             000 000 200 - 2			
			
			
Sicountimont          101 010 000 - 3			
Lycrabon              100 121 00X - 5			
			
			
Allinlia              000 111 000 - 3			
Powersith             003 200 00X - 5

Group Seven

Tyneala               104 110 000 - 7			
Weatherdon            101 001 401 - 8			
			
			
Equestrian States     213 100 000 - 7			
Zwangzug              201 111 000 - 6			
			
			
Backyard Sports       102 501 000 - 9			
Lunar Republic Islan  001 001 08X - 10

Group Eight

Michael VII           200 111 010 - 6			
Slembana              000 300 000 - 3			
			
			
Cosumar               000 021 010 0 - 4			
Western cuba          100 120 000 2 - 6			
			
			
Westros               102 210 441 - 15			
The Royal Kingdom of  002 000 100 - 3

Group Nine

Homelands our         600 210 002 - 11			
Zandistan             101 113 001 - 8			
			
			
Free South Califas    001 100 000 - 2			
Qazox                 103 125 01X - 13			
			
			
Belshaw and Peveness  100 000 032 01 - 7			
Pacificus             111 011 100 00 - 6

Group Ten

West Guiana           100 120 000 - 4			
Wyztrkstan            300 100 20X - 6			
			
			
Lymantia              100 001 001 - 3			
Taeshan               103 110 00X - 6			
			
			
Birolika              700 200 100 - 10			
Estope                101 100 000 - 3

[Qazox]

Eagles rebound with laugher over FSC.

The night after losing Sean Reyes to a fluke injury and losing in a blowout, Qazox came home and unleashed the offense in a 13-2 win over Free South Califas. Mark Hummel went 7 strong innings, allowing 6 hits. On the offensive side, Eric Hamilton and Thomas Zimmerman each hit 3-run HR's to pace the Eagles. Up next, Qazox travels to Belshaw and Pevenessy, who beat Pacificus 7-6 in 11 innings last night.

Free South Califas    001 100 000 -  2  8 0			
Qazox                 103 125 01X - 13 20 0

SCORING SUMMARY

Qazox 1st: Hodgman singled to right, Jimenez doubled to center, Hodgman to 3rd. Hamilton flied out to left, Hodgman scored. Dodge grounded out to third. Zimmerman flied out to left. 1 run on 2 hits, 1 LOB; 1-0 Qazox

Free South Califas 3rd: Dubanowski doubled to center. Aiolos singled to left, Dubanowski to 3rd. Antonio struck out. Epifanio flied out to right, Dubanowski scored. Eran grounded into fielder's choice (4-6), Aiolos out at 2nd. Claribel struck out. 1 run on 2 hits, 1 LOB; 1-1

Qazox 3rd: Hummel struck out looking. Hodgman singled to third. Jimenez singled to center, Hodgman to third. Hamilton 411ft HR to right, Hodgman, Jimenez and Hamilton scored. Dodge flied out to center. Zimmerman lined out to short. 3 runs on 3 hits, 0 LOB; 4-1 Qazox

Free South Califas 4th: Hisakawa 422ft HR to right-center, Hisakawa scored. Merce singled to center. Gutierrez flied out to left. Dubanowski grounded out to third, Merce to second. Aiolos struck out looking. 1 run on 2 hits, 1 LOB; 4-2 Qazox

Qazox 4th: Espinoza singled to left. Lee flied out to right. Bryant singled to center, Espinoza to second. Hummel sacrifice to pitcher, Espinoza to third, Bryant to second. Hodgman singled to right, Espinoza scored. Jimenez struck out. 1 run on 3 hits, 2 LOB; 5-2 Qazox

Qazox 5th: Hamilton struck out looking. Dodge doubled to left-center. Zimmerman singled to right, Dodge to third. Espinoza doubled to right-center, Dodge and Zimmerman scored. <PITCHING CHANGE: Aldona Haylie in for Antonio>. Lee struck out. Bryant flied out to center. 2 runs on 3 hits, 1 LOB; 7-2 Qazox

Qazox 6th: Hummel flied out to right. Hodgman tripled to left-center. Jimenez flied out to center, Hodgman scored. Hamilton walked. Dodge singled to right, Hamilton to second. Zimmerman 403ft HR to left, Hamilton, Dodge and Zimmerman scored. <Pitching change: Salvador Mendez in for Haylie>. Espinoza doubled to left. Lee singled to center, Espinoza to third. Bryant singled to left, Espinoza scored, Lee to second. Hummel grounded out to pitcher. 5 runs on 6 hits, 1 LOB; 12-2 Qazox

Qazox 8th: Zimmerman struck out. Espinoza doubled to left. Lee singled to right-center, Espinoza scored, Lee to second on throw. Bryant struck out. <PINCH-HITTER: Artie Ramos batting for Desmond Montero> Ramos grounded out to short. 1 run on 2 hits, 1 LOB; 13-2 Qazox

[Sakurakoku]

Like Matchsticks
Namiya, Saito allow eleven hits but only two runs as Wolves prepare for rematch with Torisakia

*photo: Yuuhi Katou smacks the ball dead center for a homer in the 8th inning to put the Wolves up by 8 runs.*

Sakurakoku            300 112 021 - 10 12 1
Unified Hyrule        001 000 001 -  2 11 2

Partial Box Score:
Hitting

Hitters                  AB  R  H  RBI  BB  SO
Y. Katou, CF              4  2  1    2   1   0
M. Kaneko, 3B             4  2  1    0   1   1
-> (a) M. Dojima, 3B      0  0  0    0   0   0
H. Horie, DH              5  1  2    1   0   0
G. Furukawa, 2B           5  1  1    2   0   1
A. Kimihara, 1B           3  0  0    0   1   0
-> (b) O. Tanonaka, 1B    1  1  1    0   0   0
M. Yamagishi, RF          3  1  2    1   2   0
S. Takeda, SS             5  1  3    1   0   0
K. Kusao, LF              4  0  1    1   1   0
K. Suzuki, C              4  1  0    0   0   2

(a) Defensive sub in 8th
(b) Defensive sub in 8th

Batting:
2B - Furukawa in 1st, Yamagishi in 1st, Takeda in 4th
HR - Katou in 8th
Reached on error - Horie in 6th, Suzuki in 8th
GIDP - Suzuki in 2nd, Takeda in 7th

Baserunning:
SB - Takeda (2B) in 6th

Fielding:
E - Furukawa in 2nd
Outfield Assist - Katou in 7th

Pitching

Pitchers                 IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
K. Namiya (W, 1-0)      6.1  7  1   1   3   6
Y. Saito                2.2  4  1   1   2   2

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: Furukawa doubled to center-right, Kaneko scored, Horie scored. Sakurakoku, 2-0.
Top 1st: Yamagishi doubled to left, Furukawa scored. Sakurakoku, 3-0.
Bottom 3rd: *smudge* homered to right-center. Sakurakoku, 3-1.
Top 4th: Takeda doubled to right, Yamagishi scored. Sakurakoku, 4-1.
Top 5th: Horie doubled to right, Kaneko scored. Sakurakoku, 5-1.
Top 6th: Kusao singled to right, Takeda scored. Sakurakoku, 6-1.
Top 6th: Horie reached on error by third baseman *smudge*, Katou scored, Kaneko to second. Sakurakoku, 7-1.
Top 8th: Katou homered to left-center, Suzuki scored. Sakurakoku, 9-1.
Top 9th: Takeda singled to center, Tanonaka scored, Yamagishi out at home. Sakurakoku, 10-1.
Bottom 9th: *smudge* doubled to left, *smudge* scored, *smudge* to third. Sakurakoku, 10-2.

[Zandistan]

COASTAL ZANDAR SENTINEL

report compiled by Jacques Coleman

---

Homelands our         600 210 002 - 11 19 0			
Zandistan             101 113 001 -  8 13 0

Casper Martins should’ve listened. Was it not us who warned him to not get destroyed? Well, he didn’t last through the first inning. Six runs from Homelands our and he was pulled in two-thirds of an inning. Strikeout, double, RBI single, walk, RBI double, 3 RBI homer, triple, popout, RBI single by the pitcher. See-ya, Casper. One trip through the lineup, six hits, a walk, and six earned runs, and two outs. Painful stat line, there. Craig Miller was whisked out to the bullpen and joined the game, getting the last out. Homelands our 6, Zandistan 0.

And our squad went down soft in the bottom of the inning. Couch struck out, Migliotti hit a fly ball that just squeaked past the outfield wall for a homer, Carlitos grounded out, and Vardell popped out. Homelands our 6, Zandistan 1.

Miller held strong, and Zandistan was able to squeak another run across in the third. Über Q singled, and Miller surprisingly stayed in the game, bunting him over to second. Couch grounded out, but Q snuck over to third, and a Migliotti single brought him home. Homelands our 6, Zandistan 2.

Leaving in Miller was a mistake. He got two outs in the fourth, but a single and a homer were his doom. A fairly strong three innings, only allowing three hits, but sadly two earned runs, and the score was now Homelands our 8, Zandistan 2.

Vardell quickly got one back, slamming a solo shot to right to open the fourth. Homelands our 8, Zandistan 3. Still, a semi-shaky Tibor Ruki allowed a solo homer right back to Homelands our in the top of the fifth. Ruki finished with an inning-and-a-third, one hit, and one earned run allowed. Homelands our 9, Zandistan 3.

Zandistan would not give up. In the bottom of the fifth, Q grounded out, then Fredricks pinch-hit a double, followed by a Couch RBI single. Homelands our 9, Zandistan 4. And after Zack Trent shut down Homelands our in the sixth, Zandistan struck again. Vardell flew out, but Xavier Shedemik and Felipe Tresor hit back-to-back singles. Kamohui Sander struck out, but the opportunistic Q smacked a three-run shot, and suddenly the game was close again. Homelands our 9, Zandistan 7.

A scoreless seventh and eighth paved the way for an exciting ninth. The crowd rocked. If Zandistan could hold Homelands our, they would have a chance to win in the bottom of the inning, with the top of the order coming up. One problem faced Zandistan: With Martins leaving in the first inning, they were all out of pitchers, save their one-out lefty specialist. So Salvatore came in, and promptly got the first two outs, a lucky feeling for Zandistan. And a single, which the crowd brushed off their minds; he surely would get the next out, right? Wrong. The ball was flying tonight, and a two-run homer was smacked over the fence. Homelands our 11, Zandistan 7.

Our pesky boys fought back yet again, with three singles to lead off the bottom of the inning, scoring a run. Vardell was up with no outs, and a homer would have tied it up. But he struck out, Shedemik fouled out, and despite Tresor’s hope-sustaining walk, the pathetic Kamohui Sander grounded out to end it. Homelands our 11, Zandistan 8.

Zandington was not happy after the game. Two of our three starters had failed to produce, and the bullpen was especially weary. Three games in, and they were unraveling. “We scored eight runs. Eight. Magnificent, terrific, eight runs is amazing. So how did we lose? How? We’ll work on our pitching, but something has got to improve. Two losses, twenty runs allowed. No can do.”

I tried to ask Zandington about potentially creating a positive air in the locker room, but he blew me off, heading to the showers himself. Not promising for our team, I can tell you that. I guess we hope Asambwe can show up against an unranked team and put up a performance like Pollard’s. And if not, don’t be surprised if Roque Carlitos pitches. Honestly. Oh, and please can we see Wily Collander? He isn’t a bad catcher. Maybe move the opportunistic Über Q up in the lineup. Hey, I should be manager, yes? Good idea, I’m sure you all agree. I guess we now wait and follow Asambwe, hoping to even our record. I’ll see y’all in a week.

WBC SUMMARY
Overall: 1-2
vs. Qazox, L 0-9
at Belshaw and Pevenessy, W 6-2
vs. Homelands our, L 8-11
Next: at Pacificius (1-2)

[Zwangzug]

You know, maybe it's for the best that I don't want to publish this, because I'm not sure whether I want the fans to read all of this. Not that we're getting up to anything risqué, but it's getting to be kind of frustrating for me. With the Bears, sure, we're going to lose plenty of games and we just shrug it off and get ready for the next game. But the national team? When we get through with this--which, on current form, looks like it could be sooner rather than later--we're going to go back to trying to beat the heck out of each other in the league.

A day like today, I can pitch five shutout innings in relief, watch my teammates claw back a run at a time for me...and still lose. Maybe back home I'd just be more inclined to congratulate the other guys but here it's just like "what other guys, exactly"? I'm pretty sure the rematch is in Everfree, which is like the home of the Dragons or whatever, but that's one heck of a long way from Kerlagrad.

They do not have any self-identified "mustangs" on their team, although Boipelo is itching for a rematch. At least he's not physically itching, what with the virus they've got back home, he's just impatient. Myself...I'm hopefully not letting on how nervous I am. Most of the others are keeping their distance, maybe afraid of what I'll write about them just disappointed in the result?

They're also getting a taste of the Cobara school of management for (most of them) the first time. Which, is actually the most hilarious part of the whole enterprise, just the way she gets so stony when things don't go well. I sort of want to tell them that she knows perfectly well it's just a game and that she knows they're all excellent, but who knows, maybe this approach will work for some of the others. Although seven games is not a whole lot of time to win them over so we'll see Backyard Sports are next. They sound cool.

[Ko-oren]

Today's column starts with a bit of an apology. I really do try to cover the WBC, especially the national team and the rest of Group One. But sometimes... the deadline for tomorrow's paper is even before some matches end. I know this happens in football from time to time, when taking penalties takes so long, or the kick off is so late, that we can't have the newspaper up to date. This is not often the case in baseball: 9 innings do not tend to last much longer than four hours or so. I guess you know what my apology is about.

Yesterday's match between Ko-oren and Saugeais was not finished yet after nine innings and the deadline for today's paper. It was 6-6 after 9 innings, and it was tense enough... Saugeais, one of the best teams in the world, could they lose against a team like ours? Could the Greenblues pull off the impossible and upset a team such as Saugeais? It was a wonder that the team were still fighting for something after nine innings... but that made the match last so long, that we just do not know the outcome of last night's match. A similar thing happened at JUR v. Pathogeria, expect a detailed match report of that match tomorrow too. Or check the website, we'll probably have a match report by now if that match ended.

To recap: baseball is not a sport that tends to take so long the deadline can't be done. It happened. In one group. Twice. On one night. We're very sorry.

---

Ko-oren (27) v. Saugeais (4)
MD3, WBC XXIV
Montbenoit, Saugeais

At least 6 - At least 6*

Yesterday night, something incredible happened. The Ko-orenite NT played like they've never done before and were up 6-6 by the end of the ninth inning, we can only hope they persevered and won it. Not bad for a team ranked 27th in the world, especially if it did turn out to be an upset versus the fourth ranked team in the world! The Rangers did not even appear to be weakened or fatigued at the beginning of the match: they had the first 2 runs at home in the Stade de Saugeais. By the end of the third inning, Ko-oren got back at them and scored three runs, conceding none: 3-2.

The following three innings were a complete opposite of the previous three innings: where Ko-oren got 0-1-2 runs, Saugeais got 2-1-0, and where Saugeais scored 2-0-0 runs in the first part of the match, Ko-oren got 0-0-2. This meant the game was tied after 6 innings: 5-5. Garret Garner had a great part in this play, batting two runs in. Unfortunately for the Rangers, he had to be subbed out after the sixth inning shortly after a sliding tackle by Tsunayoshi, but he recovered quickly. He still could not finish the game, which was typical for the sudden decline in power with the Saugeais side.

The final three innings were not especially interesting either: 2 runs total, one for each team. That got the score to 6-6, and only our future selves know what that turned out to be.

Ko-oren               413 224 032 - 21*
Opponent              300 711 101 - 14*

Hidetada (Ekhiv) (3)
Yoshimune (Dasthan) (3)
Fujiwara (Kalatutrthu) (2)
Minamoto (Hagru) (2)
Nobunaga (Ohasa) (2)
Ashikaga (Ekhiv) (2)
Yoshinobu (Othushuno) (2)
Shotoku (Ohasa)
Godaigo (Yulai)
Ienari (Anhatham)
Ieharu (Anhatham)*

* Game not finished by deadline

---

Statistic update:

Ko-oren               413 224 032 4 - 25
Opponent              300 711 101 0 - 14

Hidetada (Ekhiv) (4)
Yoshimune (Dasthan) (3)
Fujiwara (Kalatutrthu) (3)
Minamoto (Hagru) (3)
Nobunaga (Ohasa) (2)
Ashikaga (Ekhiv) (2)
Yoshinobu (Othushuno) (2)
Shotoku (Ohasa) (2)
Godaigo (Yulai)
Ienari (Anhatham)
Ieharu (Anhatham)

[Equestrian States]

I made a table for my own group, but then figured I might as well do the rest of them as well. Thus, here are the standings for each group. I used the xkoranate table generator with the established tiebreakers (see OP for details), then made them look nicer with WBC rankings in parenthesis. Just remember guys, you shouldn't take these too seriously until at least halfway through the group stage, and even then it's best to wait until there are three or so games to be played.

Expect another edition of "Low Expectations" to be posted later tonight. It'll be a bit tough to put a negative spin on an upset on the road in my favor, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

The Pony Republic of Equestrian States
World Baseball Classic 24 - Tournament Standings

  Group 1                            Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Ko-oren (27)                         3    3   0    25   14  +11    1.000
2 Saugeais (4)                         3    2   1    25   21   +4    0.667
3 Byfugland (13)                       3    2   1    11   13   −2    0.667
4 Pathogeria                           3    1   2    11   15   −4    0.333
5 The Jahistic Unified Republic (44)   3    1   2    20   21   −1    0.333
6 The Tidal Wake                       3    0   3    15   23   −8    0.000

  Group 2                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Yesopalitha (8)              3    3   0    25   16   +9    1.000
2 Cyborg Holland (31)          3    2   1    24   17   +7    0.667
3 The Kytler Peninsulae (16)   3    2   1    18    9   +9    0.667
4 Kintratar (52)               3    2   1    15   10   +5    0.667
5 Riyahda                      3    0   3    10   23  −13    0.000
6 Pugh                         3    0   3    10   27  −17    0.000

  Group 3               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Free Swiss States       3    3   0    26   15  +11    1.000
2 Shadowbourne            3    2   1    20   19   +1    0.667
3 Milchama (2)            3    2   1    26   11  +15    0.667
4 Maklohi Vai (28)        3    1   2    22   20   +2    0.333
5 Kerblaekistan (55)      3    1   2    15   28  −13    0.333
6 Karditan (22)           3    0   3    13   29  −16    0.000

  Group 4               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Darmen (3)              3    3   0    34   11  +23    1.000
2 Sakurakoku (18)         3    2   1    20   15   +5    0.667
3 Ezryel                  3    2   1    22   18   +4    0.667
4 Torisakia (35)          3    1   2    17   21   −4    0.333
5 Branta Island (49)      3    1   2    17   24   −7    0.333
6 Unified Hyrule          3    0   3    14   35  −21    0.000

  Group 5               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Civil Citizenry (9)     3    3   0    28   13  +15    1.000
2 THRILLEDGE (13)         3    2   1    26   16  +10    0.667
3 Super-Llamaland (33)    3    2   1    22   17   +5    0.667
4 STORMCHASE              3    1   2    17   25   −8    0.333
5 Madsen                  3    1   2    10   24  −14    0.333
6 Mapletish (68)          3    0   3    12   20   −8    0.000

  Group 6                  Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Lycrabon (7)               3    2   1    20   12   +8    0.667
2 New Montreal States (20)   3    2   1    24   14  +10    0.667
3 Sicountimont (36)          3    2   1    27   18   +9    0.667
4 Powersith                  3    1   2    15   18   −3    0.333
5 Allinlia                   3    1   2    16   23   −7    0.333
6 Raxillion                  3    1   2    12   29  −17    0.333

  Group 7                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Backyard Sports           3    2   1    27   21   +6    0.667
2 Lunar Republic Islands    3    2   1    24   23   +1    0.667
3 Equestrian States (25)    3    2   1    21   23   −2    0.667
4 Zwangzug (6)              3    1   2    23   18   +5    0.333
5 Tyneala (23)              3    1   2    23   22   +1    0.333
6 Weatherdon                3    1   2    14   25  −11    0.333

  Group 8                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Western Cuba (1)               3    3   0    23    9  +14    1.000
2 Cosumar (26)                   3    2   1    21   19   +2    0.667
3 Westros (54)                   3    2   1    28   15  +13    0.667
4 Michael VII (12)               3    2   1    17   16   +1    0.667
5 Slembana                       3    0   3     4   18  −14    0.000
6 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec    3    0   3    11   27  −16    0.000

  Group 9                  Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Homelands our (19)         3    2   1    31   22   +9    0.667
2 Qazox (11)                 3    2   1    30   17  +13    0.667
3 Free South Califas (34)    3    2   1    23   31   −8    0.667
4 Zandistan                  3    1   2    14   22   −8    0.333
5 Belshaw and Pevenessy      3    1   2    15   20   −5    0.333
6 Pacificus                  3    1   2    24   25   −1    0.333

  Group 10              Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Birolika                3    2   1    22   20   +2    0.667
2 Wyztrkstan              3    2   1    18   16   +2    0.667
3 Taeshan (5)             3    2   1    15    9   +6    0.667
4 Estope                  3    2   1    16   19   −3    0.667
5 Lymantatia (41)         3    1   2    16   16    0    0.333
6 West Guiana (14)        3    0   3    11   18   −7    0.000

[Birolika]

----------------AB	H	R	RBI	SO	BB	B
Freddy Bronx 	5	2	1	2	2	1	4
Jack Harlow 	4	2	2	1	1	1	2
Peter Zanders	4	2	1	0	1	1	1
Daniel Winters	4	1	1	2	2	1	2
Reg Molton	5	1	1	3	3	0	4
James Chester	4	2	0	1	1	1	3
Garret Yook	3	1	2	1	0	2	2
Ryan Helk	4	1	0	0	2	0	1
Brian Munster	5	1	1	0	3	0	2

----------------IP	H	R	BB	SO
Lucas Peel	6	5	3	2	6
Tim Asil	3.1	1	0	1	4
Alan Squash	0.2	0	0	0	1

----------------AB	H	R	RBI	SO	BB	B
Freddy Bronx 	5	2	1	0	2	0	3
Jack Harlow 	5	2	0	2	1	0	3
Peter Zanders	5	2	1	2	2	0	6
Daniel Winters	5	1	1	1	1	0	4
Reg Molton	4	2	2	1	1	1	6
James Chester	5	1	1	0	2	0	1
Tim Ocks	5	1	0	0	1	0	1
Ryan Helk	4	2	2	1	1	1	3
Brian Munster	2	1	1	0	1	2	2

----------------IP	H	R	BB	SO
Martin Belton	3.2	4	3	4	1
Simon Polch	4.1	5	2	2	5
Alan Squash	0.1	5	3	1	1
Wesley Cash	0.2	0	0	0	1

Today's stat: AVG

1 Freddy Bronx	.400
2 Ryan Helk	.364
3 Reg Molton	.357
3 James Chester	.357
5 Garret Yook	.333

So Birolika seem to have picked themselves back up from a dissapointing first game the rewards of which being a spectacular home win and a well edged out away win. This record has left us on 2-1 at the top of our group, however we've only played the worst teams in our group so far and several teams are drawn with us on wins as well. The other two key teams in the group are Taeshan and West Guiana and we still have both of them to play, twice, and West Guiana are on bottom and aren't much to worry about; Taeshan however are on the same number of wins and could easily sweep us up and throw us away.

What seems to be our weakness now is pitching, we have the best batting record in our group although we have the worst record in defence. Also errors in the field are far too many, however it does seem to come back to pitching. The best ERA in our team is 4.50 for a starter and the worst is 24.5. This of course does need improvement and we have to hope that it comes quickly.

[Shadowbourne]

OOC: Sorry about not RPing the first 3 games, I was out of town and didn't really have time for much roleplaying.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is the most-clicked on headline from Shadowbourne's most popular sports website, snsn.sdb, from 21-November, 2012.
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Shadowbourne Emerges Victorious in Tough Win
By: Jacques Kov | SNSN
21-November, 2012


Star center fielder Mikael Mclaughlin being interviewed post-game.

Shadowbourne's national team has emerged victorious for the second time in group play after a difficult but convincing win against Karditan. Shadowbourne cam out of the gates strong, scoring 5 of their 7 runs in the first three innings en route to a 7 - 4 victory. The team's bullpen was a key to their success, allowing only one run after relieving starter Javier Stoyanov with one out and the bases loaded in the 5th inning. When asked about the win, team manager Rasmus Ramadan was relatively unimpressed, saying, "while we hit well early on in the first few innings, and the bullpen really came through late, we need to work on our starting pitching, as well as continuing to be aggressive on the base paths." Ramadan's last point is a good one: during the first three innings, Shadowbourne attempted 3 steals, converting on all of them, and scored 5 runs, the last of which came on a close play at home when shortstop Achmed Kronborg successfully attempted to stretch a sure triple into an inside-the-park home run. However, during the last 6 innings, the team attempted to steal only once, converting on that one attempt, and scoring only two runs. The last out of the 8th inning (the team's last offensive inning), came with 2nd baseman Nedjenko Merino stranded on 3rd after he chose to stay there rather than attempting to score on a passed ball. However, if the squad can stay energetic and aggressive, they have a good chance of winning their next game. They play tonight against first-place team the Free Swiss States. Abdulkerim Hanses will start on the mound for Shadowbourne. The game will be televised live on SNSN, and will be available for streaming on snsn.sdb and on our mobile app.

234,129 people like this | 1,79,645 people tweeted this | 2 people +1'd this

2 Comments

xlpro1xl - 9 up | 1 down
cant wait for tonite's game...ahmed kronborg is a BEAST!!!

moon jump guy - 0 up | 16 down
shadowbourne sux! go fss! trololol

[Torisakia]

Radio Commercial: You're listening to 102.2 The RUSH. The home of World Baseball Classic coverage.

Golightly: Hey everyone, welcome back to 102.2 The RUSH. After a crushing loss to Darmen 11-1, Torisakia DH Carlos Divine and CF Adrian Pizzo are on the line right now. Hey guys, how you doing?

Carlos: Hey Ralph, how are you?

Golightly: Can you guys explain your loss?

Carlos: Looks like Jason was right, our backup RF does suck.

Adrian: He's not that bad, he's a pretty good hitter.

Golightly: So would you guys have done better if your old RF back.

Carlos: No. No one wants to see that dumbf**k back here. Especially not me.

Adrian: He said he left because he was tired of Carlos' attitude.

Golightly: One person doesn't take the whole blame for the team.

Adrian: That's what Jason said, but Carlos said that no one on the team is as good as himself.

Carlos: Well, it's true. Not one person on this pitiful team can compete with me.

Golightly: You aren't afraid that your teammates and coach aren't listening in right now?

Carlos: They'd probably agree. Without me, this team wouldn't even exist.

Adrian: You say the same thing every day.

Carlos: Well, if you guys would play better, I wouldn't say it.

Golightly: Okay, that's all the time we have today. Thanks for talking with us, and good luck with your game tonight.

Adrian: Thank you, Ralph. Good night.

BOX SCORE

Torisakia             000 000 010 - 1	
Darmen                301 310 12X - 11		

TOR (1-2)
DAR (3-0)

UP NEXT:
vs. (18)Sakurakoku

TV: TSPN
RADIO: 102.2 The RЏSH

[Karditan]

Ledée held his head in his hands. "What am I going to do with my starters?"

Assistant coach Marcus Venezan stood behind him holding the box score from the Shadowbourne game. "We could give Delmar a shot back in the rotation. He's been doing... decently out of the pen."

"No... no. I have to show confidence in my starters. If I second-guess them they'll second-guess themselves, and that's not going to help anyone." He sighed. "Let's at least see what Kasmeer can do tomorrow before making anything final. Maybe we'll switch to a five-man rotation."

Marcus gasped. "You wouldn't! The baseball establishment in Karditan would throw coup!"

Ricky slammed a fist on the desk. "Maybe we need to start one! The four-starter system that's so prolific in the KBL is killing our young pitchers now that airplanes are catching on!"

"Huh? Whad'ya mean?"

Sighing, he pulled a map of Karditan (admittedly out-of-date; Ibex had been replaced by a large artificial lake in the time since the cartographer had made his rounds) and rolled it out on the table. It took a moment or two smoothing over to keep the sides from rolling back up. He beconed Marcus closer and put a finger on San Dineighgo. "You know how the Madres and the Mariners are in the same division?"

"...yeah. They're always fighting for the division title."

"And since they're in the same division, how often do they play each other?"

"Well... a lot?"

Ricky traced his finger up along almost the entire western coast, stopping it over Seaddle, home of the Mariners. "That's quite a distance that they travel a lot. Do you know how long it is from San Dineighgo to Seaddle by train?"

"Um... I've never actually been south of the Avroz (the river Fillydelphia is on). But I'd guess... four or five days?"

"More or less. That's why series are so spread apart, to accomodate travel times. But as more and more teams are switching the air travel now that airlines are starting to seriously compete with the railroads, travel times are shrinking. Saxet is the one major team that's holding onto their trains. Once they switch--and they will switch--to planes, the KBL will rework the schedule and shorten up the breaks between series. There'll be less time between starts. The four-man rotation won't survive the change. It's just too much stress on the pitchers. Maybe rubber-arms like Delmar could pull it off, and perhaps bulls like Brant, but the average pitcher can't pitch on such little rest. They'll burn out in no time."

"But you can't just chuck tradition out the window! The railroad-to-plane thing was easy because that's behind-the-scenes logistics. But all the writers and the fans wouldn't take such a big change to the way the game works! Especially since the bottom-feeder teams like Fatlanta have switched to five starters. Everyone things using five pitchers is just for bad teams. It'll never work on a large scale."

Ricky sighed yet again and rolled the map back up. "You'll see. You'll all see. When the next generation of star pitchers blow out their arms before they turn 24, don't come crying to me."

[Powersith]

VICTORY IN POWERSITH!

Allinlia 000 111 000 - 3
Powersith 003 200 00X - 5

The whole population of 267 million watched our Baseball Giants win 5-3, and improve to 1-2! Our pitcher Willie Ways Jr. kept the opponent at bay with only 3 runs allowed. Our closer Joseph Wasco however, sealed the deal as he struck out the final 3 batters! Tonight young pitching prodigy Willie Ways III starts tonight. He can throw fastballs at 102 MPH and curveballs at 98 MPH. He has got the arm! "I guess it runs in the family, but I will prove myself on the international stage tonight and try my best to bring out the win, and bring honor to the country," Willie Ways III said when asked, "How did you get such great talent, and how will you use it tonight?" He hopes to improve our momentum in this tournament! We are currently in 4th place.

Player Bio:
Name: Willie Ways III
Age: 16
ERA (in high school state and national competition): .60
Record (in high school state and national cometition): 7-1

Pitcher updates:
Update On Pitchers:
Mentov Rislo - 42 - L - L #1 Record: 0-0 5.0 ERA
Willie Ways - 52 - L - L- #22 Record: 0-1 9.0 ERA
Willie Ways Jr. - 34 - R - R #12 Record: 1-0 3.0 ERA
Willie Ways III - 16 - L - L # 33
Lei Wingo - 32 - L - L #13
Closers :
Joseph Wasco - 33 - L - L #2 Saves: 1
Jermey Les - 21 - R - R- #3
Relief:
Kivnov Reknov - 22 - R - R #5 Record: 0-1 1.0 ERA
Nino Rodriguesz- 27 - L - L #7
Michael Mendez - Age 40 - L - L #10

Reporting from Imperial Capital City,
I am Rachel Crazty reporter for PSSN

[Yesopalitha]

Cyborg Holland provided a much stiffer test for the Assassins, but they were able to come through with a three-run double by Valentin Sorin at the bottom of the ninth to carry them to another win that put them in the drivers' seat in Group 2. With victories over the second and third seeds in Cyborg Holland and The Kytler Peninsulae, a clean sweep is expected of the Assassins in the first half of group play as they will take on Pugh and Kintratar.

Sorin and Smathers continues to carry the team offensively, while Mohammed Boisse was impressive in his first outing. The weakness for the Assassins continues to be the bullpen, which will have to get its act together if the Assassins are to go for their first run past the Quarterfinals in team history.

However, first, they must get through this group stage and to Lycrabon. So far, so good.

[Lycrabon]

Cutoff number four....

Six unbeaten, nine winless going into the holiday....do those numbers shrink??


OOC: To those who celebrate it, Happy Thanksgiving! (or if it's a different name, whatever that name is....)

Group 1

The Tidal Wake        010 102 110 - 6			
Pathogeria            000 012 100 - 4			
			
			
Saugeais              110 620 000 - 10			
The Jahistic Unified  021 100 000 - 4			
			
			
Byfugland             021 110 000 - 5			
Ko-oren               000 201 000 - 3

Group 2

Riyahda               200 014 200 - 9			
Pugh                  041 101 001 - 8			
			
			
Yesopalitha           101 210 100 - 6			
Kintratar             200 011 000 - 4			
			
			
The Kytler Peninsula  100 200 000 - 3			
Cyborg Holland        000 000 000 - 0

Group 3

Shadowbourne          020 100 000 01 - 4			
Free Swiss States     101 010 000 00 - 3			
			
			
Milchama              100 110 000 00 - 3			
Kerblaekistan         021 000 000 01 - 4			
			
			
Karditan              200 110 000 - 4			
Maklohi Vai           122 200 22X - 11

Group 4

Unified Hyrule        001 100 001 - 3				
Ezryel                120 000 60X - 9				
				
				
Darmen                200 120 000 000 0 - 5				
Branta Island         000 020 201 000 2 - 7				
				
				
Sakurakoku            100 122 021 - 9				
Torisakia             100 102 010 - 5

Group 5

STORMCHASE            122 300 000 - 8			
Madsen                002 200 000 - 4			
			
			
Civil Citzenry        105 112 001 - 11			
Mapletish             012 013 010 - 8			
			
			
THRILLEDGE            100 110 010 - 4			
Super-Llamaland       000 000 000 - 0

Group 6

Raxillion             000 000 000 - 0			
Powersith             410 200 10X - 8			
			
			
Lycrabon              222 120 001 - 10			
Allinlia              121 005 000 - 9			
			
			
New Montreal States   100 110 110 - 5			
Sicountimont          000 000 001 - 1

Group 7

Weatherdon            000 100 001 - 2			
Lunar Republic Islan  000 100 000 - 1			
			
			
Zwangzug              100 121 000 - 5			
Backyard Sports       002 001 000 - 3			
			
			
Tyneala               000 010 010 1 - 3			
Equestrian States     000 011 000 0 - 2

Group 8

Slembana              001 000 002 - 3			
The Royal Kingdom of  001 003 10X - 5			
			
			
Western cuba          200 210 012 1 - 9			
Westros               401 300 000 0 - 8			
			
			
Michael VII           102 110 000 - 5			
Cosumar               221 040 00X - 9

Group 9

Zandistan             200 010 200 - 5			
Pacificus             000 000 130 - 4			
			
			
Qazox                 100 212 000 - 6			
Belshaw and Peveness  201 010 204 - 10			
			
			
Homelands our         100 110 020 - 5			
Free South Califas    000 000 000 - 0

Group 10

Wyztrkstan            002 001 000 0 - 3			
Estope                200 001 000 1 - 4			
			
			
Taeshan               120 110 220 - 9			
Birolika              001 111 110 - 6			
			
			
West Guiana           100 112 100 - 6			
Lymantia              000 000 100 - 1

[Maklohi Vai]

This was originally to be for MD 3, but got ninja'd by the cutoff. There will be an RP for MD 4 up later.

(OOC: Deep apologies for the short RP. Family in town for Thanksgiving=less time for NS)

"DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A PITCHER?"
"I believe I do, sir. I have had success."
"Well guess what. You're not in WBC 23. THIS IS 24!"
"In my defense, sir--"
"THERE'S NOTHING IN YOUR DEFENSE! YOU PITCHED HORRIBLY!"
"Well, sir, I assure you it was a one time thing."
"I would sure hope so. 7 runs in 5 innings is horrible against any team."
"But sir---"
"I DON'T CARE IF THEY'RE NUMBER 2 IN THE WORLD. THEY'RE JUST ONE TEAM. NINE PLAYERS ON THE FIELD."
"Yessir."
"I'm angry at you, Aonmai. You are in this rotation because you can bounce back, but you never showed that."
"I'm very sorry, sir. It won't happen again."
"It won't. Or you're out of the rotation."
"Understood, sir. I will be leaving."

Maklohi Vai's lone run was scored on a double by Mae'ao to drive in Iao Laina.
An update on stats for this tournament:
HR: Mae'ao 6, Koilani Ruputuo 1, Moalna’akai Lai 1, Ri'ino Ulnai 1, Iao Laina 1
RBI: Mae'ao 12, Aputo Roma'ai 3, Moalna’akai Lai 2, Wolo Rakinalmanai 2, Koilani Ruputuo 1, Iao Laina 1, Ri'ino Ulnai 1

[Lycrabon]

As promised, the standings after four games will be up tonight or tomorrow morning - tomorrow night at the latest.


Baseball version of stick tap to Equestrian States for confirming my math with their post. (Yahoo Sports theft...)

[Sakurakoku]

Girl Power
Kaneko, Yamagishi combine for four home runs, three key defensive plays as Wolves defeat Ice Birds 9-5

*photo: Wolves third baseman Mami Kaneko appears to give a wink to Torisaka left fielder Carlos Divine as the two pass by each other at the pitcher's mound at the end of the 5th inning. Kaneko had scooped up a grounder from Divine's bat and pirouetted a quick throw towards second baseman Genji Furukawa to start an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.*

Sakurakoku            100 122 021 - 9 12 1
Torisakia             100 102 010 - 5 13 1

Partial Box Score:
Hitting

Hitters                  AB  R  H  RBI  BB  SO
Y. Katou, CF              5  1  2    1   0   1
M. Kaneko, 3B             5  3  4    4   0   0
G. Furukawa, 2B           5  0  1    0   0   1
A. Kimihara, 1B           5  1  1    1   0   0
M. Yamagishi, RF          5  2  3    2   0   1
S. Takeda, SS             4  1  1    0   1   0
K. Kusao, LF              4  0  0    0   0   2
K. Suzuki, C              1  1  0    0   1   1
-> (a) H. Horie, PH       0  0  0    1   1   0
-> O. Tanonaka, C         1  0  0    0   0   0
S. Aishi, P               2  0  0    0   0   2
-> S. Miyanohara, P       0  0  0    0   0   0
-> (b) S. Yasuzumi, PH    1  0  0    0   0   1
-> R. Tachibana, P        0  0  0    0   0   0
-> Y. Hanamura, P         0  0  0    0   0   0 

(a) Walked for Suzuki in 6th
(b) Struck out for Miyanohara in 8th

Batting:
2B - Kaneko in 1st, Furukawa in 7th
HR - Yamagishi in 4th, Kaneko in 5th, Kaneko in 8th, Yamagishi in 9th
Sacrifice hit - Aishi in 5th
Hit by Pitch - Kusao in 6th
Reached on Error - Kimihara in 6th

Baserunning:
SB - Katou in 8th

Fielding:
DP - Kaneko/Furukawa/Kimihara in 5th
Outfield Assist - Yamagishi in 7th
E - Aishi in 4th

Pitching

Pitchers                 IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
S. Aishi (W, 1-0)       5.2  9  4   3   3   5
S. Miyanohara           1.1  2  0   0   1   0
R. Tachibana            1.0  2  1   1   0   2
Y. Hanamura             1.0  0  0   0   1   0

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: Kimihara singled to right-center, Kaneko scored. Sakurakoku, 1-0.
Bottom 1st: Vučković singled to left, Jernigan scored. Tied, 1-1.
Top 4th: Yamagishi homered to center. Sakurakoku, 2-1.
Bottom 4th: Hoffman doubled to left, Jernigan scored. Tied, 2-2.
Top 5th: Kaneko homered to left, Suzuki scored. Sakurakoku, 4-2.
Top 6th: Horie walked, Kimihara scored, Takeda to 3rd, Kusao to 2nd. Sakurakoku, 5-2.
Top 6th: Katou infield singled, Takeda scored, Kusao to 3rd, Horie to 2nd. Sakurakoku, 6-2.
Bottom 6th: *smudge* sacrificed flied out to center, Pizzo scored. Sakurakoku, 6-3.
Bottom 6th: Hoffman singled to right, Jernigan scored. Sakurakoku, 6-4.
Top 8th: Kaneko homered to right-center, Katou scored. Sakurakoku, 8-4.
Bottom 8th: Melton singled to center, Jernigan scored. Sakurakoku, 8-5.
Top 9th: Yamagishi homered to left-center. Sakurakoku, 9-5.

[Qazox]

Eagles' bullpen blows another one.

Leading 6-4 after 6 innings, and David Christian having been taken out after throwing 117 pitches, one wouldn't think the newcomers of Belshaw and Pevenessy would have a comeback in them. One was wrong, as the Qazox bullpen allowed 6 runs in 2.1 innings, including a walk-off Grand Slam, as Qazox falls to 2-2 in group play and the questions of not only the wisdom of having the basically the same team for 9 years play in the WBC but Humberto Noesi's strategy or lack there of. So far, the bullpen has given up 20 runs in just 10.1 innings (an ERA of 17.42) and with the average age of the Bullpen at 34, Qazox needs to either have their starters basically throw complete games or have an insurmountable lead. But the way the 'pen is pitching as of late, only a lead of 100-0 might be enough to assure a win for Qazox.

Up next Qazox heads home for three games, starting with Pacificius.

Qazox                  100 212 000 -  6  15 0	
Belshaw and Pevenessy  201 010 204 - 10  19 3

(1 out when winning runs scored)

SCORING SUMMARY

Qazox 1st: Hodgman popped out to catcher, Jimenez doubled to center, Jimenez advanced to third on CF throwing error. Hamilton grounded out to second, Jimenez scored. Dodge struck out. 1 run on 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB; 1-0 Qazox

Belshaw and Pevenessy 1st: SS singled to right. SS stole second. LF doubled to center, SS scored. C flied out to right, LF to 3rd. 3B flied out to center, LF scored. RF grounded out to first. 2 runs on 2 hits, 0 LOB; 2-1 Belshaw and Pevenessy

Belshaw and Pevenessy 3rd: CF reached first on dropped third strike. SS singled to center, CF to second. LF grounded out to first. CF to third, SS to second. C singled to left, CF scored, SS out advancing (7-5-2-6-3-5), C to second on play. 3B struck out. 1 run on 2 hits, 1 LOB; 3-1 Belshaw and Pevenessy

Qazox 4th: Hamilton reached on 3B throwing error, Hamilton to second. Dodge singled to center, Hamilton to third. Zimmerman doubled to left, Hamilton scored, Dodge to third. Espinoza popped out to third. Santos grounded out to short, Dodge scored, Zimmerman to third. Lee flied out to center. 2 runs on 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB; 3-3

Qazox 5th: Bryant struck out. Hodgman flied out to center. Jimenez 347 ft HR off right foul-pole, Jimenez scored. Hamilton grounded out to pitcher. 1 run on 1 hit, 0 LOB; 4-3 Qazox

Belshaw and Pevenessy 5th: 2B doubled to left. CF walked. SS singled to center, 2B scored, CF to second. LF grounded into double play (4-6-3), CF to third, SS out at second. C flied out to left. 1 run on 2 hits, 1 LOB; 4-4

Qazox 5th: Dodge doubled to left. Zimmerman flied out to center. Espinoza doubled to right, Dodge scored. Santos reached on SS throwing error, Espinoza scored, Santos to second on play. Lee grounded out to third. Bryant flied out to left. 2 runs on 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB; 6-4 Qazox

Belshaw and Pevenessy 7th: <PITCHING CHANGE: Terry Olney in for Christian> DH 403ft HR to left-center, DH scored. 2B doubled to left. CF sacrificed to pitcher, 2B to third. SS flied out to center, 2B scored. LF struck out. 2 runs on 4 hits, 2 LOB; 6-6

Belshaw and Pevenessy 3rd: 1B singled to right. DH singled to center, 1B to second. <PITCHING CHANGE: David Scott in for Sean Leva> 2B sacrified to third, 1B to third, DH to second. CF intentionally walked. <PINCH-HITTER: C#2 batting for SS> C#2 443 ft HR to right-center, 1B, DH, CF and C#2 scored. 4 runs on 3 hits, 0 LOB; 10-6 Belshaw and Pevenessy

[New West Guiana]

Whew!
Liz Sith

Finally a win, for a while there it seemed as if to many that this entire World Baseball Championship was a waste of time seeing how the odds weren't going into our favor. But finally a dominating 6-1 win over Lymantia put many expect Manager Luse at rest. Still though West Guiana now is 1-3 and with no official group table released currently it looks like this:

Team           W   L     RF    RA   +/-
Taeshan        3     1      24    15    +9
Estope         3     1      20     22    -2
Wyztrstan      2     2     21   20     +1
Birolika       2     2      28     29    -2
Lymantia       1     3       17     22    -5 
West Guiana    1      3     17    19   -2

Well with this being only the fourth game our odds at moving onto the next round aren't looking the best, with six games left we have to win at lest all of them get advanced back into the playoffs. Ray Luse was asked about how he feels, "Look, we've made way to many god ----- mistakes and that has killed us and right now I don't give a flying ----- about the playoffs rigt now. My main concern is to whip this team into shape so that we don't embarrass our selves anymore. This bull---- ball that we've been playing has go to stop."

Well from that comment who couldn't agree with him any more, the team came in with very high expectations and the way they've been playing it will indeed take a miracle to get to that needed second spot. Now this isn't impossible as you can see we have a few high scoring teams here, but at the same time they've allowed a lot of runs. Now this come from behind needs to start after the bye where at home we play Birolika who is that type of high scoring team. If we lose that game it would be all over this time, because being at 1-4 at the mid point isn't going to get us anywhere and that record we'll be getting ready to pack our bags and head home. So win, win, win.

[Powersith]

Baseball Prodigy Willie Ways III Shuts out Raxillion

What a way to head into the holiday break! Powersith Baseball Giants win their 2nd straight game as Willie Ways III Shuts out Raxillion!
Here's the score:

Raxillion 000 000 000 - 0
Powersith 410 200 10X - 8

What started this slaughter was the early grand slam, creating our home crowd to go wild here in Imperial Capital City. Inning after inning in this complete game Willie Ways III pitched, it was strike out after strike out. He nearly had a no-hitter, but that was ended in the top of the 8th after a single shot. However, he had 25 K's in his first start internationally. "I never knew I can do this, I mean oh shi," when he got his face smeared with whipped cream by his teammates.

The manager states, "With the 2 straight wins going 2-2, I feel we have a chance to go on to the next round, but its still early." "With Lycrabon we face on Friday, it's gonna be one hell of a game" "However, we need the rest, but come Friday I see a shootout.

With Lycrabon on Friday, we are just 1 game behind 1st, and so this group is anyone's game. Also starting Friday, we hit a 2 game road trip! Will our streak end on the road? Or can we get 2 straight wins heading back home?

Pitcher's update:
Mentov Rislo - 42 - L - L #1 Record: 0-0 5.0 ERA
Willie Ways - 52 - L - L- #22 Record: 0-1 9.0 ERA
Willie Ways Jr. - 34 - R - R #12 Record: 1-0 3.0 ERA
Willie Ways III - 16 - L - L # 33 Record: 1-0 0.0 ERA
Lei Wingo - 32 - L - L #13
Closers :
Joseph Wasco - 33 - L - L #2 Saves: 1
Jermey Les - 21 - R - R- #3
Relief:
Kivnov Reknov - 22 - R - R #5 Record: 0-1 1.0 ERA
Nino Rodriguesz- 27 - L - L #7
Michael Mendez - Age 40 - L - L #10

Lei Wingo starts on Friday, and us back home hope to display the same performance as our prodigy.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and see you Friday!

Player Bio:
Name: Lei Wingo
Age: 32
PSPBL (Powersith Professional Baseball League) Record: 23-5
PSBL ERA: 2.23
Awards: Best Pitcher of the Year

Lei is the latest winner of Best Pitcher of the Year having a 23-5 record and an ERA of 2.23. Like everyone else, this is his first World Baseball Classic start. He throws sliders and change-ups. The speed of his sliders are 87 MPH, however his change-ups are 82 MPH.

Reporting from Imperial Capital City,
Luke Vantov, Baseball Expert for PSSN

[Estope]

Sorry about the lack of report yesterday but a power outage in the newspaper headquarters prevented printing. Therefor today we will have a two-part feature recapping yesterdays and todays games.

Estope first loss was an embarrassing blowout loss to an unranked Birolika. Playing at home again didn't help as they were out of it from the beginning and never threatened to get back into the game. Estope allowed Birolika to score seven runs in the first inning including 3 homeruns. Estope could not get anything going at the plate and put together their poorest pitching performance yet. The starting pitcher for Estope was Garrett Masser who, in his first start of the tournament, allowed 7 runs in the first inning before being pulled out. The bullpen did much better but still allowed their first runs against them. Depth was clearly an issue for the pitching staff as after the bad start there was not enough pitchers to carry the last eight innings. Felipe Sweigart, manager for Estope, took some of the blame and recognized that next tournament they will definitely add more depth. Also he contributed the big wins over ranked opponents to possibly hindering the focus of the team. This loss moves Estope down to fourth in the group and makes the road much more challenging. Estope hosts another unranked opponet, Wyztrkstan tomorrow.(See below for results)

Birolika              700 200 100 - 10			
Estope                101 100 000 - 3

BIR (2-1) EST (2-1)

Hitters                  AB  R  H  RBI   BB   SO
Alex Avez SS             4   1  3    0    0    0
Max Meister LF           4   0  1    0    0    1
Cory Keys 1B             3   0  2    1    1    1
Jessie Driggers RF       4   0  1    0    0    2
Henry Fowler CF          3   1  2    0    1    0
Fabio Fernandez 3B       3   1  2    0    1    0
Austin Forde 2B          4   0  2    2    0    0
Bryant Bolman DH         3   0  2    0    0    1
James Campella C         3   0  1    0    0    2

Batting:
2B - Keys - 1st
     Fowler - 3rd
     Bolman - 9th
       
3B - None

HR - None

SAC - None

Baserunning:
SB - Driggers - 4th
     Driggers - 8th

CS - None

Fielding:
E - Meister - 1st
    Meister - 4th
A - Forde - 7
    Avez - 4
    Fernandez - 5     

Pitching
Pitchers            IP   H  R  ER  BB  SO
Garrett Masser      1.0  8  7   7   3   0
     (L, 0-1)
Noel Pelot          3.0  6  2   1   2   6
Ed Knippenberg      2.0 2   0   0   1   2
Jonathon Nitka      2.0  3  1   1   0   2
Colin Noakes        1.0  0  0   0   0   2

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: Harlow hit two run homerun, Bronx scored. Birolika, 2-0.
Top 1st: Chester singled, Zanders scored. Birolika, 3-0.
Top 1st: Ocks hit singled, Winters scored. Birolika, 4-0.
Top 1st: Helk hit three run homerun, Chester, Ocks, scored. Birolika, 7-0.
Bottom 1st: Keys doubled, Avez scored. Birolika, 7-1
Bottom 3rd: Forde singled, Fowler scored. Birolika, 7-2.
Top 4th: Harlow doubled, Bronx scored. Birolika, 8-2.
Top 4th: Winters singled, Harlow scored. Birolika, 9-2.
Bottom 4th: Forde singled, Fernandez scored. Birolika, 9-3.
Top 7th: Molten doubled, Helk scored. Birolika, 10-3.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estope bounced back from their first loss with a extra inning victory over Wyztrkstan. Playing at home again definitely helped when it came to the tenth inning as the sold out crowd at Thomas-Johnson Field came to life in the tenth inning to lift the team to their thrilling victory. Estope started ace Eric Almanza who allowed three runs but struck out thirteen batters. The bullpen performed very well and allowed no runs. The biggest story of the game, and the entire tournament really, had to have been Austin Forde. The second baseman had two RBI's and a run. He went 4-5 in the game and throughout the entire tournament he had a batting average of 0.6875. He has been the go to batter for Estope and has been somewhat of a surprise. Estope hopes to keep the momentum going when they travel to world number 5 Taeshan. Taeshan started off slow but have responded with a string of wins and are currently playing the championship style baseball they are used to. This will be by fara the toughest challenge and will require an almost perfect game by Estope if they want any chance to score a huge upset. For that upset to happen it will all start with Austin Forde.

Wyztrkstan            002 001 000 0 - 3			
Estope                200 001 000 1 - 4	

WYZ (2-2) EST (3-1)

Hitters                  AB  R  H  RBI   BB   SO
Jessie Driggers RF       5   0  1    1    1    0
Henry Fowler CF          5   1  1    0    0    1
Fabio Fernandez 3B       5   1  2    0    0    0
Austin Forde 2B          5   1  4    2    0    0
Bryant Bolman DH         3   0  2    1    1    1
Alex Avez SS             2   1  2    0    1    2
Max Meister LF           3   0  1    0    1    1
Cory Keys 1B             4   0  1    0    0    3
James Campella C         4   0  0    0    0    2

Batting:
2B - Forde - 1st
     Driggers - 6th
     Forde - 10th
       
3B - None

HR - None

SAC - None

Baserunning:
SB - Fernandez - 8th

CS - None

Fielding:
E - None
A - Forde - 6
    Avez - 4
    Fernandez - 5     

Pitching
Pitchers            IP   H  R  ER  BB  SO
Eric Almanza   6.0  5  3   3   2   7
Jonathon Nitka      3.0  2  0   0   0   4
Colin Noakes        1.0  0  0   0   0   1
     (W, 1-0)

Scoring Summary
Bottom 1st: Forde doubled, Fowler scored. Estope, 1-0.
Bottom 1st: Bolman singled, Forde scored. Estope, 2-0.
Top 3rd: Gavia singled, Tankredo scored. Estope, 2-1.
Top 3rd: Ŝiun doubled, Gavia scored. Estope, 2-2.
Top 5th: Publio singled, Fa scored. Estope, 3-2.
Bottom 5th: Driggers doubled, Avez scored. Estope, 3-3.
Bottom 10th: Forde doubled, Fernandez scored. Estope, 4-3

[Lycrabon]

NOTE: These are unofficial standings, other than the records are official. Standings order is as best I can, based on tiebreakers (H2H where I knew it, Overall RD where I didn't). Based on that, interesting fact: 9 of the 10 top seeds (1-11 in the world) would qualify if the playoffs started Friday - sorry, Milchama. Apologies for the ugliness of it.

World Baseball Classic 24 - Tournament Standings

Group 1            W   L    RF   RA   RD
1 Ko-oren (27)       3 1  28 19  +9
2 Saugeais (4)       3 1 35 25 +10
3 Byfugland (13)    3 1  16  16   E
4 Pathogeria     1 3 15 21  −6
5 Jahistic Uni. Rep. (44) 1 3 24 31 −7
6 The Tidal Wake               1 3 21 27 −6

  Group 2                 W L  RF  RA   RD
1 Yesopalitha (8)        4 0  31 20  +11
2 Kytler Peninsulae (16) 3 1  21  9  +12
3 Cyborg Holland (31)  2  2  24  20  +4
4 Kintratar (52)       2  2   19  16  +3
5 Riyahda               1  3   19  31 −12
6 Pugh                   0  4  18  36  −18

  Group 3             W   L    RF   RA   RD
1 Shadowbourne       3    1    24   22   +2
2 Free Swiss States  3  1   29   19  +10
3 Milchama (2)      2   2    29   15  +14
4 Maklohi Vai (28) 2   2    33   24   +9
5 Kerblaekistan (55) 2  2  19   31  −12
6 Karditan (22)     0   4    17   40  −23

  Group 4             W   L   RF   RA   RD
1 Darmen (3)           3   1    39  18 +21
2 Ezryel              3   1  31   21  +10
3 Sakurakoku (18)   3   1    29   20  +9
4 Branta Island (49) 2   2    24   29  −5
5 Torisakia (35)    1   3    22   30  −8
6 Unified Hyrule    0   4    17   44  −27

 Group 5               W   L   RF   RA   RD
1 Civil Citizenry (9)     4  0 39 21 +18
2 THRILLEDGE (13)        3  1  30  16 +14
3 Super-Llamaland (33)   2  2  22  21  +1
4 STORMCHASE             2  2   25  29  −4
5 Madsen                 1  3   14  32  −18
6 Mapletish (68)       0  4   20   31   −11

  Group 6                  W  L  RF RA  RD
1 Lycrabon (7)             3 1 30 21  +9
2 New Montreal States (20) 3 1 29 15 +14
3 Sicountimont (36)       2 2 28 23  +5
4 Powersith                2  2 23 18  +5
5 Allinlia                 1  3 25 33  −8
6 Raxillion                 1 3 12  37  −25

Group 7                   W  L RF  RA   RD
1 Zwangzug (6)            2  2  28 21   +7
2 Backyard Sports       2  2  30  26  +4
3 Tyneala (23)            2  2  26  24  +2
4 Lunar Republic Islands 2 2  25  25  E
5 Equestrian States (25) 2 2 23  26 −3
6 Weatherdon            2  2  16  26  −10

  Group 8                    W L RF RA RD
1 Western Cuba (1)        4 0 32 17 +15
2 Cosumar (26)              3 1 30 24 +6
3 Westros (54)            2 2 36 24 +12
4 Michael VII (12)       2 2 22 25   -3
5 Royal Kingdom of Quebec 1 3 16 30  −14
6 Slembana                 0 4  7 23  −16

  Group 9                W   L  RF RA   RD
1 Homelands our (19)    3  1 36  22 +14
2 Qazox (11)                 2 2 36  27 +9
3 Belshaw and Pevenessy    2 2  25 26 −1
4 Zandistan                2 2  19  26 −7
5 Free So. Califas (34) 2 2 23 36 −13
6 Pacificus                1 3 28  30  −2

  Group 10            W   L    RF   RA   RD
1 Taeshan (5)	 3   1    24   15   +9
2 Estope	       3   1    20   22   −2
3 Wyztrkstan	 2   2    21   20   +1
4 Birolika	 2   2    28   29   -1
5 West Guiana (14) 1   3    17   19   −2
6 Lymantatia (41)  1   3    17   22   -5

[Allinlia]

Allinlian Entertainment Sports Network SportsWire: The World Baseball Classic

Raxillion             010 100 100 - 3			
Allinlia              012 000 22X - 7

Now that's the way we play!
Allinlians get decisive 7-3 win courtesy of Matt Eastman gem

Laquete, Allinlia-
The Allinlian Imperial all-star team is back on tract with a dominant 7 inning 3 run performance by Stallions ace Matt Eastman. Wall Pargo struck out 2 in the 8th and closer Bobby Lecroy was brought out in the 9th despite being 4 runs ahead, blanking Raxillion to preserve the victory.

The home crowd cheered wildly and was into it from start to finish showing off Allinlia's passion for baseball. Raxillion got off to an early lead in the 2nd but was quickly answered by a bomb of a solo home run into the upper decks by Rexes DH Conan Marteen. Allinlia would take the lead in the third with a 2 run homer from Aiden Stairs.

Raxillion would cut into Allinlia's lead by scoring a run in the 4th, and Allinlia's hitters were kept at bay through 3 innings until a 2 RBI double from HarvestValley Fireflies star 1st baseman Ferris Silver in the 7th to make it 5-3 Allinlia.

Allinlia would add to its lead in the 8th with RBIs from Terell Hunter and Aiden Stairs to set the final score at 7-3

Rowdy fans poured into the streets after the victory and Allinlia has finally showed the world what they believe they are all about, 1 day later than they wished. The All Stars will be heading off on the road to Power Sith, manager Ron Gardner sounded very confident of the team's chances in his post game interview.

Allinlia is now in good strategic position in the group and is hoping to build onto this momentum with more strong victories, yet their toughest challenge looms ahead: 7th world ranked host nation Lycrabon is storming into Laquete after the short road trip.

--

Allinlia              000 111 000 - 3			
Powersith             003 200 00X - 5

Allinlian Batters Silenced in Powersith
fellow WBC newcomer holds off the imperial all-stars for a close 5-3 victory

A disappointing result for fans watching at home on TV as the Allinlian hitters looked a bit lost, playing in a DH-less lineup for the first time in their lives outside of the few no-DH scrims they played in preparation for this WBC, which would feature home teams that would invoke this previously unheard of in Allinlia ruleset. Ron Gardner's team did little to quiet the rumblings that the manager would not be able to strategically handle a DH-less game with the same skill as other managers in the group as Allinlia's offence did little more than solo RBIs by Cal Gordo, Paul Majuwitz, and Crowder Grimes in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings.

Roos Aces star pitcher Buddy Cox started out looking absolutely unhittable before getting beaten up for 3 runs in the 3rd and 2 more in the 4th ultimately giving up 5 runs in 5 innings pitched before being relieved by Travis Patterson and Tommy Vickers who successively held off Powersith but got little in the way of support from the offence who put forth a good effort at a comeback but stranded too many runners on base, according to Ron Gardner.

"This is a game we should have won, the team is playing better but our progress clearly has not been fast enough to hang in this group, we really need to dig deep if we expect to survive against Lycrabon, but our team has bounced back from a much uglier loss in the past, I think we will surprise the world tomorrow." stated the manager with a sly wink."

the normally hot headed Conan Marteen expressed disappointment in his game, striking out on an 0-3 count with two runners in scoring position in his only appearance at the plate. "I have a new found respect for pinch hitters. Coming into the game off the bench cold like that, I think, is probably the toughest thing to do in this game. That said, I'm unhappy with myself big time."

The game we've all been waiting to see is coming up next, the world will soon learn where Allinlia stands as it will host the mighty Lycrabon, the 7th ranked team in the entire world. Good luck Allinlia!!!

Lycrabon              222 120 001 - 10			
Allinlia              121 005 000 - 9

Close, But No Upset
Allinlia falls by 1 run in the 9th to Lycrabon

Allinlia hanged with the 7th ranked team in the world for 9 innings in an extremely intense and close game before Bobby Lecroy gave up a solo homer in the top of the 9th to make the final score 10-9 Lycrabon.

The crowd was into the game from start to finish and the mood was generally disappointment in the loss but satisfaction that they gave one of the world's most respected teams a scare and showed off their true talent on the world stage.

"This ain't horse shoes, close don't matter in the W-L column which is all that matters at the end of the day, but I am happy with how we played and the grit we showed in this game, now everyone knows that Allinlian baseball is legit, and I think we opened some eyes overseas." said Ron Gardner

Allinlia started off with a solo homer from Paul Majuwitz off of a pitch down and away at the bottom of the 1st inning to try and answer Lycrabon's 2 run 1st.

Lycrabon continued to tee off veteran Tritons ace Bonser Aidrun to run the score up to 4-1 before Allinlia answered again in the bottom half with a 2 run homer from Aiden Stairs.

the Lycrabon hitters remained consistently brutal scoring 2 runs again making the score 6-3 and sending Aidrun away for good with an ugly 6 run 3 inning performance. "Playing one of the world's best isn't an excuse for mediocrity" said Aidrun while watching film "I really should have performed better, I honestly made alot of dumb mistakes that I otherwise may have gotten away with, I think I learned alot from this match." Reece would get an RBI in the bottom of the inning to make the score 6-4

The Allinlian batters would really break through in the bottom of the 6th, sending Lycrabon's starter packing with a 3 run homer from DH Conan Marteen. Crowder Grimes and Ferris Silver would each add an RBI apiece to tie the game at 9-9

Lycrabon would ultimately break the stalemate with deep solo homer into right field, their closer held onto the slim lead with a key strike out against Grimes with runners on 2nd and 3rd.

at 1-3 Allinlia isn't looking good in the standings and tough games remain on the schedule yet the players seemed confident. "I'm having fun honestly, these matches for the most part have been really exciting, I love the challenge of playing on the world stage against the best players these nations have to offer." said center fielder Terrell Hunter.

BrinePort Grays ace Eli Wells is set to start next. "I'm just hoping to put my team in the best position to win possible, watching these last 4 games has shown me the insane level of skill the hitters in this group have. I'll be very prepared, and I'm feeling good about my chances." He said.

AESN Hitting PowerStats
Stairs: 2HR 6RBI
Marteen: 2HR 4RBI
Levins: 2HR 3RBI
Majuwitz 1HR 3RBI
Silver 0HR 3RBI
Grimes 0HR 3RBI
Gordo 0HR 1RBI
Hunter 0HR 1RBI
Reece 0HR 1RBI

[Shadowbourne]

Below is the most-clicked on headline from Shadowbourne's most popular sports website, snsn.sdb, from 22-November, 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shadowbourne Wins Again, Takes Over First Place
By: Jacques Kov | SNSN
22-November, 2012


Manager Rasmus Ramadan at the post game press conference.

Shadowbourne's national team has once again emerged victorious after a hard-fought battle with the Free Swiss States that came down to the last inning. Shadowbourne's prolific shortstop Achmed Kronberg scored what would be the winning run in the top of the ninth while tagging up on a foul pop out to the catcher, narrowly beating the FSS pitcher to the plate before he could receive the throw. Such aggressiveness is exactly what Manager Rasmus Ramadan talked about the last game. When asked about today's win, Ramadan said, "This was a real good win for everyone who's a part of the team. The fans have been great, and the players are really starting to build up some momentum." Ramadan also expressed concern that his team would lose some of that valuable momentum over the 1-day Thanksgiving break. However, Bench Coach Cornell Arroyos was not at all concerned about a loss of momentum, saying, "The way our guys have been acting, I would say that they're so pumped up that there's no way there gonna lose momentum." The win improved the team's record to 3 - 1, and placed them in 1st place in their group. They play again tonight against international veterans Maklohi Vai. Zola Charifi will start on the mound for Shadowbourne. The game will be televised live on SNSN, and will be available for streaming on snsn.sdb and on our mobile app.

253,269 people like this | 199,643 people tweeted this | 4 people +1'd this

2 Comments

sdbfan1 - 12 up | 3 down
ahmed kronberg at it again...best player on the team.

ℓуяαвσηιαη вєαυтιєѕ - 2 up | 19 down (MARKED AS SPAM)
нσт ℓу¢яαвσηιαη вєαυтιєѕ αяє ωαιтιηg ƒσя уσυ ησω! ---ωωω.нσтℓу¢яαвσηιαηвєαυтιєѕ.ηєт! gєт уσυяѕ ησω!

[Milchama]

"Typical"

"What a let down"

"Yeah really"

"You know I heard a rumor"

""What is it?"

"That the MBL is talking about changing the roster for the second half of the tournament"

"Really?"

"Well we're in 3rd place in the group as the second seed, and we've looked bad in two losses to teams that we should beat"

"By the way can we agree that the name change is great"

"Yes, MBL is so much better. Who cares that it's in double use"

"Ok anyway back to the team"

"Well they're 2-2 and it just doesn't look good. There is no way around it. I don't know what else to say"

"No I agree completely, I mean yeah they've dominated in their victories but it doesn't matter. Losing on MD1 was acceptable but this last one was ridiculous"

"Not only that but it wasn't even close"

"Kerblakeistan"

"I don't know what or who or where that is. Quite frankly if I didn't see that they had a baseball team I would doubt their very existence as a nation"

"And in the 9th inning and everything"

"Just awful"

"Beyond awful, painful. There is nothing positive in this"

"Zero positives"

"You know the old adage about how you can change the manager and not the players"

"Sure"

"Well I think we should reverse it"

"Let's give them some more time"

"I don't think so"

"At least the first half"

"I mean I'm sure the MBL will but that doesn't mean I'm going to like it"

"I'm sure"

"Yep"

"Until then we have to root for the team on the field"

"Yeah it's all in the laundry"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"