World Baseball Classic 42 Everything Thread

[Free Republics]

World Baseball Classic 42: Free Republics

This is your Sixth Series Cutoff presented by RepublicSoft Doors 13: Content Producers Update! The 100% Backdoor-Free Doors 13 just got even better!

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Results

Group 1:

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Fungsland       0  0  1  0  0  2  0  0  4   7
Nova Anglicana  0  4  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   5

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Fungsland       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1
Nova Anglicana  0  0  1  2  1  3  1  0  X   8

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Fungsland       1  0  1  1  1  0  3  0  0   7
Nova Anglicana  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  1   3

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Juvencus   1  0  0  0  0  2  1  0  2   6
Drawkland  0  2  1  1  0  0  0  1  0   5

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Juvencus   4  2  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   8
Drawkland  1  0  3  0  0  1  0  1  0   6

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Juvencus   0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   2
Drawkland  0  4  0  0  0  2  0  0  X   6

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Gratissima  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   1
Cosumar     0  0  0  0  0  1  1  1  X   3

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Gratissima  0  4  0  2  0  2  0  1  2   11
Cosumar     0  1  1  0  1  1  2  2  0   8

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Gratissima  0  0  2  1  2  0  1  0  0   6
Cosumar     0  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0   2

                  G  W  L RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1        Cosumar 18 12  6 93  80 +13 0.667
2 Nova Anglicana 18 11  7 77  70  +7 0.611
3      Fungsland 18  9  9 76  81  -5 0.500
4     Gratissima 18  8 10 92  85  +7 0.444
5      Drawkland 18  7 11 99 106  -7 0.389
6       Juvencus 18  7 11 82  97 -15 0.389

Group 2:

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Pripet Socialist Republic  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   1
Ethane                     1  0  1  0  1  0  1  0  X   4

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Pripet Socialist Republic  0  1  2  0  1  0  1  0  0   5
Ethane                     0  3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   3

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Pripet Socialist Republic  2  3  0  0  1  0  0  2  0   8
Ethane                     0  0  0  1  2  1  0  0  0   4

Team Name            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ferret Civilization  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   3
Alpine Union         0  0  1  3  2  1  2  0  X   9

Team Name            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 Total
Ferret Civilization  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  1  1   4
Alpine Union         0  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   3

Team Name            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ferret Civilization  0  3  1  3  1  0  0  1  0   9
Alpine Union         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
New Jarwel               0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
New Jarwel               0  0  0  1  1  0  0  2  2  1   7
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  1  0  1  1  0  2  0  0  1  0   6

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Jarwel               0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0   1
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  2  X   4

                             G  W  L RF RA  RD Win Pct.
1                    Ethane 18 10  8 80 54 +26 0.556
2 Pripet Socialist Republic 18  9  9 70 91 -21 0.500
3              Alpine Union 18  9  9 82 85  -3 0.500
4   Royal Kingdom of Quebec 18  9  9 86 76 +10 0.500
5                New Jarwel 18  9  9 83 85  -2 0.500
6       Ferret Civilization 18  8 10 76 86 -10 0.444

Group 3:

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  1  2  1  2  0  0  1  0  0   7
Darmen                       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  0  0  2  0  0  1  0  0  0   3
Darmen                       0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   3
Darmen                       0  0  0  1  2  0  0  0  1   4

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Doltania  0  1  1  0  1  0  0  0  0   3
Abanhfleft    2  0  5  0  0  1  0  0  X   8

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Doltania  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Abanhfleft    0  1  1  1  0  0  2  1  X   6

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Doltania  2  0  0  1  2  0  0  0  0   5
Abanhfleft    1  1  1  3  0  1  1  0  X   8

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Azadeshia   1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   1
New Sangti  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  X   2

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Azadeshia   0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   1
New Sangti  0  2  0  0  1  0  0  0  X   3

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Azadeshia   0  2  0  0  0  0  1  1  0   4
New Sangti  1  1  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   3

                               G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1                  New Sangti 18 13  5  75  50 +25 0.722
2                      Darmen 18 10  8  90  80 +10 0.556
3                  Abanhfleft 18 10  8 114  88 +26 0.556
4                   Azadeshia 18 10  8  92  76 +16 0.556
5 Vakolicci Haven and Celeria 18  6 12  63  86 -23 0.333
6                New Doltania 18  5 13  55 109 -54 0.278

Group 4:

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Krossa       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Newmanistan  0  0  1  0  0  1  2  0  X   4

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Krossa       0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  1   3
Newmanistan  0  3  0  2  1  0  1  1  X   8

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Krossa       0  0  0  1  0  1  1  0  0   3
Newmanistan  0  0  2  2  0  1  0  0  X   5

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 Total
Yoannes        0  1  2  1  1  2  0  0  2  0  0  0   9
South Covello  1  2  0  2  2  0  0  1  1  0  0  1   10

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Yoannes        1  2  0  1  1  0  0  0  2   7
South Covello  0  0  3  0  2  0  0  0  1   6

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Yoannes        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
South Covello  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  X   1

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Carstantinopipal  3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   4
Free Republics    0  1  0  3  0  0  0  1  X   5

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Carstantinopipal  1  0  0  3  2  2  0  0  1   9
Free Republics    0  1  0  1  2  0  0  1  1   6

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Carstantinopipal  4  1  2  0  0  0  0  1  1   9
Free Republics    1  0  1  0  1  1  3  1  0   8

                    G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1      Newmanistan 18 14  4  78  55 +23 0.778
2   Free Republics 18 11  7 116  77 +39 0.611
3    South Covello 18 11  7  95  68 +27 0.611
4           Krossa 18  7 11  78 115 -37 0.389
5 Carstantinopipal 18  6 12  84 116 -32 0.333
6          Yoannes 18  5 13  83 103 -20 0.278

Group 5:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
North Prarie     0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1   2
Super-Llamaland  0  0  0  0  0  1  3  0  X   4

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
North Prarie     0  0  0  0  0  2  1  0  0   3
Super-Llamaland  0  1  0  1  2  2  0  0  X   6

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
North Prarie     3  1  0  0  1  1  0  0  0   6
Super-Llamaland  0  0  2  0  0  0  1  0  0   3

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sorrentopia  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0   2
Maklohi Vai  0  0  2  1  1  1  2  1  X   8

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sorrentopia  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   1
Maklohi Vai  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sorrentopia  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Maklohi Vai  0  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  X   2

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Siroy      0  0  1  0  0  0  1  0  0   2
Sandberg   0  0  2  0  0  0  1  0  X   3

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Siroy      1  4  0  2  0  0  0  1  1   9
Sandberg   2  1  1  0  0  0  1  1  4   10

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Siroy      0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Sandberg   2  0  0  0  0  2  0  1  X   5

                   G  W  L RF RA  RD Win Pct.
1 Super-Llamaland 18 14  4 84 48 +36 0.778
2     Maklohi Vai 18 11  7 79 67 +12 0.611
3    North Prarie 18  9  9 60 68  -8 0.500
4        Sandberg 18  9  9 85 81  +4 0.500
5           Siroy 18  8 10 68 78 -10 0.444
6     Sorrentopia 18  3 15 60 94 -34 0.167

Group 6:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Humaliwo         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Scootalove City  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  X   2

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Humaliwo         0  1  2  2  0  2  0  0  2   9
Scootalove City  2  1  1  1  1  3  6  0  X   15

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Humaliwo         0  0  1  1  1  0  1  3  0   7
Scootalove City  1  3  0  0  0  0  0  4  X   8

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
DEAT By Chocolate  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  0  0   2
Hicana             0  0  1  0  0  0  2  0  X   3

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
DEAT By Chocolate  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  6   7
Hicana             0  1  1  0  1  1  2  2  X   8

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
DEAT By Chocolate  1  1  0  2  0  1  0  2  1   8
Hicana             2  0  1  0  0  0  0  2  1   6

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Banija          2  1  0  1  0  1  0  0  0   5
Hampton Island  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   1

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Banija          0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1   2
Hampton Island  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Banija          3  0  0  1  0  0  0  2  0   6
Hampton Island  0  1  1  0  0  4  1  0  X   7

                     G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1   Scootalove City 18 14  4 129 100 +29 0.778
2            Hicana 18 12  6 152 132 +20 0.667
3            Banija 18 10  8 100  95  +5 0.556
4    Hampton Island 18  7 11  81  92 -11 0.389
5          Humaliwo 18  6 12 101 105  -4 0.333
6 DEAT By Chocolate 18  5 13  73 112 -39 0.278

Group 7:

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Melbergia    0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Schiltzberg  0  3  0  0  2  0  0  0  X   5

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Melbergia    1  0  1  1  1  1  0  0  0   5
Schiltzberg  0  0  0  2  1  0  0  0  1   4

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Melbergia    0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Schiltzberg  0  0  1  2  1  0  0  0  X   4

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
The Sherpa Empire  1  0  1  1  0  0  1  0  1   5
Tenburg            0  0  0  1  0  1  0  0  2   4

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
The Sherpa Empire  1  1  1  0  0  0  1  4  0   8
Tenburg            0  1  0  0  1  2  0  0  1   5

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
The Sherpa Empire  1  1  0  1  3  1  0  0  2   9
Tenburg            0  0  0  0  2  0  2  0  0   4

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga         2  5  0  2  0  0  0  0  0   9
Northwest Kalactin  0  1  3  0  1  0  2  0  0   7

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga         0  3  0  0  0  2  0  0  0   5
Northwest Kalactin  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga         0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   1
Northwest Kalactin  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  X   2

                      G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1        Schiltzberg 18 13  5  98  65 +33 0.722
2        St Saratoga 18 11  7 103  92 +11 0.611
3 Northwest Kalactin 18 11  7  93  74 +19 0.611
4  The Sherpa Empire 18  9  9 120 119  +1 0.500
5            Tenburg 18  7 11  87  87  +0 0.389
6          Melbergia 18  3 15  56 120 -64 0.167

Group 8:

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kita-Hinode  0  1  1  0  1  1  1  1  0   6
Cassadaigua  0  0  2  1  0  0  0  0  1   4

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kita-Hinode  0  0  1  0  0  3  0  0  0   4
Cassadaigua  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  0  1   3

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kita-Hinode  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2   2
Cassadaigua  1  2  0  1  0  0  2  5  X   11

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Ngongo             0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Equestrian States  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ngongo             2  0  0  0  3  0  0  0  0   5
Equestrian States  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ngongo             0  0  1  0  0  0  1  0  0   2
Equestrian States  2  2  1  0  2  0  1  0  X   8

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ko-oren    0  1  2  1  0  0  2  1  0   7
Lisander   0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ko-oren    1  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  1   4
Lisander   0  1  1  0  0  0  1  0  3   6

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ko-oren    0  0  0  0  1  1  1  0  0   3
Lisander   0  0  2  0  0  1  1  1  X   5

                     G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1           Ko-oren 18 13  5 114  73 +41 0.722
2       Cassadaigua 18 12  6 111  84 +27 0.667
3 Equestrian States 18 12  6  84  75  +9 0.667
4          Lisander 18  8 10 116 113  +3 0.444
5            Ngongo 18  5 13  69  97 -28 0.278
6       Kita-Hinode 18  4 14  75 127 -52 0.222

Group 9:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Philamer Island  0  0  0  1  0  1  1  0  1   4
West Phoenicia   0  6  0  1  0  0  0  0  X   7

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Philamer Island  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1  2   4
West Phoenicia   2  0  0  0  2  3  0  0  X   7

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Philamer Island  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   1
West Phoenicia   0  0  0  0  1  0  0  1  X   2

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tierra Fuego              1  0  0  0  0  0  4  0  2   7
United States of Devonta  1  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  0   3

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tierra Fuego              0  0  0  0  1  0  1  1  0   3
United States of Devonta  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0   2

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tierra Fuego              1  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   2
United States of Devonta  4  0  0  1  0  0  1  2  X   8

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Lycrabon     0  1  0  0  0  0  0  3  1   5
Vangaziland  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Lycrabon     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Vangaziland  0  0  0  1  4  1  2  1  X   9

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Lycrabon     1  0  1  0  0  1  1  0  0  1   5
Vangaziland  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  1  1  0   4

                            G  W  L RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1           West Phoenicia 18 13  5 96  53 +43 0.722
2                 Lycrabon 18 11  7 91  91  +0 0.611
3              Vangaziland 18 11  7 89  62 +27 0.611
4 United States of Devonta 18  9  9 96  82 +14 0.500
5             Tierra Fuego 18  6 12 63 103 -40 0.333
6          Philamer Island 18  4 14 65 109 -44 0.222

[North Prarie]

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Sandberg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
North Prarie 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 X 2

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Sandberg 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 4
North Prarie 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 X 5

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Sandberg 1 6 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 13
North Prarie 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 4

Great job, boys! Looks like we took care of business at Bank of the Atlantic Park. North Prarie is now still sitting 4th in their division, getting ready to play Super Llamaland. Lets' have a summary of the games, shall we?
Game 1
Logan Collinson was on the hill for this game, and he did a great job. Logan shut down the Siroy offense after a rally in the 4th, and then took the game until the 8th, where he was replaced by the closer, Louis Cook. As for the offense, Nick Munksgaard continued his great WBC42 with a double to right-center in the 3rd, getting on base so Aiden Aaning could knock him in with a single up the middle. After that, Logan Violet came through with a very risky suicide squeeze which was executed perfectly, scoring Aaning and getting Logan V on 2nd base. However, the inning then died out with a groundout by Benny Buckley.
Game 2
A very eventful game this was. Chad Brady was on the mound to start, and let Sandberg get to a 2-0 lead by the 3rd. Chad only made it to the 6th inning. Our offense came through, though, with a home run by Andrew Esler after a Bob Dufault single. The next inning, Nick Munksgaard started it off with a double down the 3rd base line, then being knocked in by a Aiden Aaning single up the middle. After that, Jake Lindholm knocked Aiden and him in with a 409 foot bomb to right field. A rally started up by Sandberg in the 9th, but they could only muster 1 run before being shut down.
Game 3
This game was a train wreck, to say the least. The starter Tyler Rose came out in only the 2nd inning after giving up 4 runs to Sandberg. For the rest of the game, relievers like Isreal Mendoza (Midandian refugee), Troy Tate, and Abel Simon had to keep Sandberg in check, which they largely did not. Our offense spat out 4 runs, with home runs by Jordy Bosch and Nick Munksgaard. Let's hope we can heave a better series next time.

[Schiltzberg]

The Passionate Hostage to His Love

We were set to get married on that day in the spring.
When that rebel ship docked, I thought I’d met my fate.
Those boys took the town, looting every last thing.
I got taken as a hostage, chained to the prison gate.

The beatings were awful; the wretched food made me surmise
That when my prison mate died, it was more than the flu,
But as the lone beam between the floorboards shone down on my eyes,
I just couldn’t stop thinking about my last days with you.

I kept over-hearing they didn’t need me anymore,
So I sweet-talked the jailkeeper and I bribed him with bread
To postpone my planking and create a little war.
To this day, I believe it’s the only reason I’m not dead.

They called me to the deck; the jailor undid my chains.
The captain held me for hostage; I soon held him by the throat,
As the rage of the mutiny roared through the crew’s veins.
I could still hear him breathing before I threw him off the boat.

As soon as I killed the skipper, all the sailors rejoiced.
I was made the ship’s captain by all the ship’s men.
I lacked proper shipping knowledge, but I hadn’t much choice,
And when the ship hit that storm, I thought I’d never see you again.

The ship wrecked on Malta’s Mediterranean shore.
Only three others survived, one so wounded I put him down,
And when that snake bit me, I swear if I’d waited a second more
Before I sucked out that venom, I wouldn’t be here right now.

Hallucinations plagued my days; traumatic dreams plagued my nights.
Anyone who described me said my mind was gone,
But when I thought of your face and your eyes, dark and white,
It gave me the strength and the will to go on.

As we slashed through the forest, one of us got sick and died.
We were lost for four days, which does sound quite absurd.
When the food ran out, my partner turned to homicide,
But I drew my gun quicker, and I took down that bastard.

When I reached civilization, I had to change all my clothes.
I shaved off my beard and was death sick for seven days,
But when I got better, I booked a ship home.
I’ll be back by November, if you’ll still take me anyways.

I’ve been gone for so long, you probably thought me a goner,
But every second I’m gone, for you my soul implores.
Aside from my stories, I haven’t got much to offer,
But if you’ll still take my hand, my heart is all yours.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

TDDROH Sports chat

no news today

Group 6:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Humaliwo         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Scootalove City  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  X   2

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Humaliwo         0  1  2  2  0  2  0  0  2   9
Scootalove City  2  1  1  1  1  3  6  0  X   15

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Humaliwo         0  0  1  1  1  0  1  3  0   7
Scootalove City  1  3  0  0  0  0  0  4  X   8

                     G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1   Scootalove City 18 14  4 129 100 +29 0.778
2            Hicana 18 12  6 152 132 +20 0.667
3            Banija 18 10  8 100  95  +5 0.556
4    Hampton Island 18  7 11  81  92 -11 0.389
5          Humaliwo 18  6 12 101 105  -4 0.333
6 DEAT By Chocolate 18  5 13  73 112 -39 0.278

Cat siting on computer, i'm typing this on a phone.

We won a bunch of games so that's good.

[West Phoenicia]

The West Phoenicia Confederates took out a 3 game clean sweep in the 6th series of the World Baseball Classic when they came up against Philamer Island on West Phoenician home turf.

With the support of thousands of fans the Confederates took out the first game 7-4 with the biggest innings being the bottom of the second where the Confederates did the most damage with 6 players reaching the home plate.

Philamer Islands had learnt from their original meet up and their fielding technique had improved 100% becoming tighter and more unified in avoiding too many Confederate players hits from escaping their grasps.

Game 2 had the Confederates finish with 7-4 and game 3 was the best game yet. It was the pitchers game where both sides struck out each others players with a vengeance. It was a low scoring game finishing with the Confederates 2-1. Glen Melbourne was the saving grace to avoiding extra innings by securing a win at the bottom of the 8th.

---

Confederates Coach Jacob Prosper was eleated with the outcome. He slammed
Coach Don Haverly of the Vangaziland of the Royals for comments about their previous meet where the Royals had won their first game against The Confederates on their home turf.

"2-1." Coach Proper laughed. "They won 1 of 3 games and they think they took out the series. They played a great game 1 against us, but at the end of the day we won the series. Coach Haverly needs to do more training of his team and less media opportunities if they want to come out on top. Meanwhile congratulations to Lycrabon who defeated the Royals 2-1 in this latest series."

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

DUVALL SPARKLES OVER KROSSA

by Brianne Henry,

Courtney Duvall has finally had one of those games. You know, the ones that have made her a complete legend in this game. As I highlighted in my previous article, she has done very well in qualifying so far, with two wins and a no decision, and in the first game of the series against Krossa, it was time for her to atone for the game that gave her that no-decision. Perhaps Krossa was too over-confident in their ability against her, since they did get some hits and runs against her.

Not this time, Courtney was shutting them down, one after the other, and was perfect through six innings, striking out 11 over that period. With one out in the seven, Krossa was able to bloop a single into left-centerfield to prevent Courtney from getting her second career World Baseball Classic perfect game. It would be one of two hits Krossa was able to get, and at no time did they have a runner in scoring position as the Rockets cruised to the 4-0 victory. Duvall fanned 17 in the win, and was as dominant as one can be. If you are new to the World Baseball Classic, this is the Courtney Duvall that the world has seen ever since the 38th Classic. Offensively, the Rockets were still scattering hits and unable to piece a big inning together, but behind Duvall, it would not matter in this game.

The final two games against Krossa also went well. Jennifer Hughes, who blanked Krossa on the road, tossed seven innings, allowing two runs, as the Rockets won the game 8-3. In this game, they got a somewhat big inning, scoring three in the second, thanks to five consecutive hits by the middle of the lineup. It was one of those rare times when the bats seemed to be flowing. Unfortunately, the inning ended with a bases loaded double play to make you think as good as the inning was, even that one could have been more. With Hughes on the hill, Krossa also was unable to get much going.

Hannah Lee, in the third game, had a similar stat-line with three runs allowed over seven innings as she picked up the win. This three game sweep now means that the Rockets are 11-1 in Duvall, Hughes, and Lee starts during qualifying. Newmanistan got a couple of two-run bombs in this game: Michelle Covington in the 3rd, and then Mallory Harris in the fourth, and the team never looked back. With this sweep, Newmanistan is 14-4, and it was good to see a threesome of games that seemed to be more along the lines of how this team is supposed to be playing. Krossa, though, is not the Free Republics or South Covello, and both of those teams are going at each other hard as they want to be playoff bound as well.

[Northwest Kalactin]

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga         2  5  0  2  0  0  0  0  0   9
Northwest Kalactin  0  1  3  0  1  0  2  0  0   7

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga         0  3  0  0  0  2  0  0  0   5
Northwest Kalactin  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga         0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   1
Northwest Kalactin  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  X   2

Okay we did okay there isn’t very much news today except the Winter Olympics are starting very soon Northwest kalactanians are very excited

[Fungsland]

Victory is Sweet, Revenge is Sweeter Featured Article 4 of The Fungsland Sports Enquirer

The FIBT (Fungsland International Baseball Team) shocked everyone again by winning the series 2-1 against the Nova Anglicana Lions, an opponent that had previously swept them in the first round. The total point differential between the two teams over the series was -1 for the FIBT, so overall it was a close one. Assistant Coach Otto Crosby stated that he is "happy in which the direction the team is going" and that "the odds of us making the playoffs at this point are higher than most people want to believe." The way that they played in the series showed how much the team has grown since the beginning of the tournament. However, in this series they were as unpredictable as always.

In the first game, the Lions jumped out to an early lead thanks to the 4 runs in the 2nd inning. The FIBT later found themselves in a 2 point deficit going into the ninth inning. This game was looking like all the previous games had in the first series. But, the FIBT pulled off an amazing comeback, outscoring the Lions 4-0 in the ninth and winning the game 7-5.

The second game was brutal from start to finish. The Lions consistently made trips to home plate, scoring points in five out of the eight innings they played, and it took the FIBT until the ninth to score a point. The final score was 1-8, making it the biggest loss in terms of point differential they've had in the tournament (-7). This game served as a reminder to the FIBT that this was still their rookie season and they still are the underdogs.

Even though the game before they were blown out, the FIBT maintained their confidence going into game three. The FIBT were able to outscore the Lions 7-0 at the top of the sixth. They went from being blown out, to blowing their opponents out. The Lions tried to make a comeback near the end with two runs in the seventh and another in the ninth, but it was too little too late. The final score was 7-3, and the FIBT had won the series.

Head Coach Ivan Greene said this in an interview following the series. "The direction of this team is very promising. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to be doing this well in the tournament. But the determination of our players to succeed could very well push us to a playoff start. Who knows what'll happen from there if we get in."

The FIBT now has the same number of losses as they do wins for the first time since the start of the tournament at 9-9. As of now they are now only two games behind 2nd place thanks to winning the series against them, and now only three games behind 1st. A playoff game could very well be in the future, as the FIBT seems to be on a hot streak currently. But, they are still a very inconsistent team, shown clearly by the 1-8 loss followed by a 7-3 victory. Only time will tell what happens next.

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Fungsland 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 4 7
Nova Anglicana 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Fungsland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Nova Anglicana 0 0 1 2 1 3 1 0 X 8

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Fungsland 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 0 7
Nova Anglicana 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3

G W L RF RA RD Win Pct.
1 Cosumar 18 12 6 93 80 +13 0.667
2 Nova Anglicana 18 11 7 77 70 +7 0.611
3 Fungsland 18 9 9 76 81 -5 0.500
4 Gratissima 18 8 10 92 85 +7 0.444
5 Drawkland 18 7 11 99 106 -7 0.389
6 Juvencus 18 7 11 82 97 -15 0.389

[The Sherpa Empire]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

You never know what you're going to see when you turn on a TV in the Sherpa Empire. Sometimes it's beautiful. Sometimes it's ridiculous. In a country that has united people from hundreds of different ethnic groups, all with their own languages and artforms, you can find almost anything.

On this night, a portly brown-skinned man with a bushy mustache and a thick Indian accent was attempting to rap in English:

"Must be a circus in town,
The Sherpa Shakedown.
What up,
Can I get a witness?

"The Sherpa national baseball team has swept the Tenburg Mets, winning a decisive 9 to 4 victory in today's game. The Sherpas took an early lead when a single by Subramaniyan Patel brought Nawang Gurung in to score from second base, and they held the lead for the rest of the game. It was a good night for Mingma Al Ali, who pitched 7 and 1/3 innings and picked up the win. He also picked up an RBI on a sacrifice bunt in the 6th inning.

"For their next series, the national baseball team will be coming home to Syangboche, where they will face Northwest Kalactin.

"In other baseball news, the Lamas and the Tigers have been discussing a trade deal that could send Dewa Liang to Bengal in exchange for Tigers outfielder Rajinder Singh. The Lamas are facing pressure to trade Liang due to his controversial comments about the Tibetan separatist movement, and the Tigers need to replace longtime catcher Gunjit Qu, who recently announced he is retiring. The Tigers would most likely make an offer to Yuri Tsang to replace Singh if they trade him to Lhasa. Tsang is currently a free agent."

---

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

---

The PA in the border control area at Tenzing Lukla Airport announced in many different languages, "All travelers must carry their own luggage through the customs screening area, even if Lukla-Namche is not your final destination. If you have checked bags, you must pick them up from the baggage carousel and carry them through the security checkpoint. If Lukla-Namche is not your final destination, you may re-check your bags on the other side of the security checkpoint. Thank you for your cooperation."

Nawang Gurung hauled his suitcase and duffel bag off the baggage carousel and lugged them over to the security screening. Every piece of luggage that came into the Sherpa Empire had to go through an X-ray machine, and a few people got chosen at random for an additional hand search. They made Dorjee Sherpa open the cooler he was carrying to confirm that he was trafficking gourmet smoked sausages -- not drugs, human organs, or anything made from endangered animal species.

Nawang blanched when a customs officer beckoned him and said, "Sir, we need to search your luggage." His heart pounded and he could feel sweat breaking out on his forehead. It would take FOREVER to search his luggage with all the extraneous stuff his mother had packed for him, but how he could explain that to the customs officer without seeming suspicious? He went to the table where they did the hand searches, feeling as if he was going to the gallows.

"Do you really have to do this?" Nawang asked. "I play first base on the Bengal Tigers and the Sherpa national baseball team. There must be someone here that knows who I am."

"I'm sorry, sir, but once we select someone for a hand search, we have to complete the search. It should only take a minute."

Nawang wanted to scream.

After 20 minutes of rummaging through Nawang's luggage, pulling out unusual items like a fire extinguisher and an inflatable raft, the customs officer understood why Nawang had been so horrified when he got stopped. "This is going to take a while, isn't it?" the customs officer said.

"Can't you just let me go through?" Nawang asked. "I have a lot of stuff because my mom helped me pack and she's kind of overprotective. I don't want to keep the whole team waiting just because my mom packed this extra stuff in my luggage."

The customs officer sighed. "No, once we start a search, we have to finish it." He looked at how much stuff he had pulled out of Nawang's bags. "In fact, I'm going to take you to a private room so we can do this without holding up other passengers." He put everything back into the bags, then beckoned for Nawang to follow him and said, "This way, please."

The officer led Nawang to a private room and handed him over to another customs officer, who said, "Hey, isn't that Nawang Gurung?"

"Yeah," said the first customs officer. "It's just a random search, but I need you to help because he has so much stuff in his luggage."

"He's only got two bags," said the second customs officer.

"Just look inside them and you'll see what I mean," said the first one. "Good luck." With that, he left and presumably returned to his post at the security checkpoint.

"Can I call my manager to tell him what's going on?" Nawang asked.

"Sure, go ahead," said the customs officer who was conducting the search in the private room. "I don't really think it's necessary, though. This should only take a minute."

Nawang called Dinesh Mohn, sheepishly explained the situation, and recommended that the team go ahead and leave without him. He watched the hands of the clock on the wall slowly creep around the dial while the customs officer dug through his luggage, pulling out all manner of random paraphernalia. The angle of the sunlight coming through the window shifted slowly around the room, and then the light began to fade. "Why do you have an enigma machine?" the customs officer asked.

Nawang shrugged. He didn't have a good answer. "You never know when you might need it."

"Do the Nazis have a team in the World Baseball Classic?"

"No," Nawang admitted. He shrugged again. "You never know. It's just something my mom does, packing all this extra stuff. She just does it because she's worried about me."

"Okay, but you're playing baseball, not fighting Nazis," said the customs officer.

Nawang shrugged.

The sun had sunk out of sight behind the mountains and the reddish glow was fading from the sky when the customs officer announced that he was taking a break to get some food. "Are you hungry?" he asked. "I can get you some noodles or something."

"Can I just go?" Nawang asked. "I'm not smuggling drugs or anything like that. It's just random stuff my mom packed."

"I know, but we have a procedure," said the customs officer. "I could lose my job if I start letting people go without searching their bags like I'm supposed to."

Nawang's whole body slumped in despair. "Yeah, get me something to eat, then."

The customs officer got one of his colleagues to take over while he went to get dinner. A while later he returned with a cardboard tray that held two bowls and two cups. He handed one of the bowls and one of the cups to Nawang, and kept the other set for himself. The cup was filled with tea and the bowl was filled with beef and noodles. Nawang ate them, then went back to being simultaneously bored out of his mind and a nervous wreck. If the search took too long, he wouldn't have any time to sleep before the first game against Northwest Kalactin.

He interrupted the search to ask if he could go to the bathroom. "Sure," said the customs officer, but he had to escort Nawang to and from the men's room.

The sky was pitch black and the hands of the clock crept toward midnight. "I have a game tomorrow," Nawang said. "I'm supposed to be at Syangboche at 9 in the morning so I have time to get ready before the game. I really need to get to my hotel and get some rest."

"I'm really sorry, but once we pull someone aside to search their bags, we have to finish the search," the customs officer said.

Around 1AM, the customs officer handed off the search to someone else so that he could go home and get some rest. The new officer who took over was a woman with a round face and squinty eyes. Nawang tried pleading with her to let him leave, but just like the male customs officers, she insisted that she had to finish the search. "Why do you have a hazmat suit?" she asked.

"Don't ask."

Nawang dozed intermittently as the hours wore on, but he couldn't sleep properly where he was sitting.

It was around 5AM when the first hint of dawn appeared, the black outline of the mountains silhouetted against the faint glow of the sky. "Oh, gods, it's morning!" Nawang wailed miserably. He buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe this, I'm going to miss the game!"

"I know!" said the customs officer. She was getting frustrated too because she hadn't planned on keeping him for so long. "Why did you pack so much stuff?"

Nawang told her about his mother.

"Well, next time you play abroad, you should pack your own luggage with just the stuff you need and leave the rest in Lukla-Namche," the customs officer told him.

"I see that now," Nawang said defensively, "but it's too late now! I can't believe I'm going to miss a game over this!"

"I think I'm almost done," the customs officer said as she reached into his suitcase to pull out the last few items.

"Yeah, but I haven't slept," Nawang whimpered, "and I still have to put all this stuff back in my bags. I don't believe this! Is it all right if I call my manager to tell him I can't play today?"

"Sure, go ahead. I'm really sorry we had to put you through all this, but it's procedure, you know."

Nawang called Dinesh Mohn, but it went to voicemail. He left a message sheepishly explaining the situation, apologizing profusely, and promising it wouldn't happen again.

Outside the window, the mountains gleamed pink and gold in the dawn light, and they looked magical.

---

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[Vangaziland]

Bjornberg On Late Night TV

Vannish pitcher Del Bjornberg appeared on Late Night with Chuck Derry the night after the series against Lycrabon. It was the first game back after the team's mid-season break. As usual, the Vannish populace lived, breathed and ate sports. Even at 11pm, millions tuned in to watch Vangaziland's top pitcher make an appearance.

Things were not all peaches and cream. Bjornberg and the Royals fell 5 - 2 the series' first night. Bjornberg was taken out in the mid 7th. To his credit, he allowed only 1 run. Things got ugly after Khris Olaf came in. He got through the 7th, but gave up a 3 run homer in the 8th. This brought Manny Mathissen in to stop momentum. Even he gave up another run in the 9th.

"Lycrabon is real", Del said to Chuck towards the end of his interview. "I wish I had a joke about that, since this is late night. I thought I had them. But yeah."

The crowd laughed on his awkward use of 'yeah' as an ending. The host responded. "Well, The Crown is a hitter's park. That works both ways."

"That's what she said", responded the pitcher immediately and sophomorically. The crowded responded with laughter, partially because the applause sign was lit. The producer was quick enough to light that sign even for such improvised quips.

"Speaking of Lycrabon, your coach ticked somebody off. Take a look at this clip."

Screens on stage showed what would appear on TVs at home. It was Coach Jacob Prosper, shot somewhere in West Phoenicia. He looked as unhappy as his words would sound. "Coach Haverly needs to do more training of his team and less media opportunities if they want to come out on top. Meanwhile congratulations to Lycrabon who defeated the Royals 2-1 in this latest series."

The crowd erupted in laughter less canned than usual. The isolated clip was hard to take seriously. The coach looked so upset. The average fan would have to ask why. Nothing so dramatic was said that should upset him. Maybe the heat of a close race was getting to him. A slight lead appeared to give him a major boost in confidence.

"Happy coach", said Chuck. "Want him to manage the Royals?"

"No way", said Del. "He's that grouchy after winning? He won our series, he's first in the group. And THAT'S on his mind? No other analysis about his team? He's just upset. Coach Don also never said we took the series. Just the home opener. Baseball fans usually understand that to mean the first game at home."

"Going back to Lycrabon", said the host. "Guess who else lost 2 games to 1 against Lycrabon?"

"West Phoenicia did", said the pitcher. "I know. Lycrabon is having a decent season."

"Make sure to tell your coach", said the comedian. "Cut back on your media opps. Stay away from that newfangled TV."

"MMMM hhhmmm", said Del in a faux/mocking antebellum accent. The crowd loved it. "No seriously. I wish Coach Prosper the best of luck. They did enough witchcraft at their home opener to earn Margaret's graces for the both of us." Bjornberg was talking about the eerie mask-clad chorus which sung before Vangaziland's victory over the Phoenicians.

"Del Bjornberg everybody!" The comedian made his announcement as the crowd roared to applause as the camera panned out to show the studio. It wrapped up the brief interview.

In Vangaziland, sports was a business. The players and the teams were there to get exposure and make money in the process. They also chased the title, but every team has their own definition of success. Lycrabon threw a monkey wrench into the Royal's season, but the team has compensated by doing well against Devonta. The Royals are in third place with a tied record.

The Vannish media and the team's appearances are important. The Vannish people demand entertainment. They demand news. Vannish athletes have exciting personalities. Drama surrounds the teams and each moment is captured, whether the team is having a great season or a terrible one. It is about the global spectacle.

Haverly replied to Prosper's statement. "Old Jake can say what he wants." Don chuckled at his Confederate counterpart.

Meanwhile, on social media, an image of a frowning Jacob Prosper became one of the most memed photographs of the month. #JakeDissapproves

[Free Republics]

World Baseball Classic 42: Free Republics

This is your Seventh Series Cutoff presented by RT&T! RT&T: Landline, Cellular and Fiber-optic!

---

Results

Group 1:

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Drawkland       0  0  1  0  0  2  1  0  0   4
Nova Anglicana  2  0  0  0  0  1  1  1  X   5

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Drawkland       0  0  0  2  0  1  1  1  0   5
Nova Anglicana  0  0  1  0  0  1  1  4  X   7

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Drawkland       0  0  3  0  2  1  2  2  0   10
Nova Anglicana  0  0  2  2  0  0  2  1  0   7

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Cosumar    2  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  1  1   6
Juvencus   0  1  0  0  1  0  0  2  1  0   5

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Cosumar    0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0   2
Juvencus   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   1

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Cosumar    0  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  1   3
Juvencus   0  0  1  1  1  0  0  1  X   4

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Gratissima  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   2
Fungsland   4  0  0  2  0  0  3  0  X   9

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Gratissima  0  3  0  0  2  0  1  1  0   7
Fungsland   0  0  1  0  2  0  1  1  0   5

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Gratissima  0  0  0  1  2  1  0  0  1   5
Fungsland   0  6  0  0  0  2  1  0  X   9

                  G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1        Cosumar 21 14  7 104  90 +14 0.667
2 Nova Anglicana 21 13  8  96  89  +7 0.619
3      Fungsland 21 11 10  99  95  +4 0.524
4     Gratissima 21  9 12 106 108  -2 0.429
5      Drawkland 21  8 13 118 125  -7 0.381
6       Juvencus 21  8 13  92 108 -16 0.381

Group 2:

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 Total
Alpine Union  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1
Ethane        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Alpine Union  0  4  3  0  0  0  0  0  1   8
Ethane        2  0  3  1  0  2  0  3  X   11

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Alpine Union  2  0  2  0  0  0  0  0  0   4
Ethane        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  1  0  0  1  0  0  4  1  0   7
Ferret Civilization      0  0  2  2  0  0  0  0  0   4

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  1   3
Ferret Civilization      3  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  X   4

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  0  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  0   2
Ferret Civilization      0  1  0  1  2  0  1  0  X   5

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Jarwel                 0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   1
Pripet Socialist Republic  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Jarwel                 0  0  1  1  0  1  0  1  0   4
Pripet Socialist Republic  0  0  3  0  2  0  0  1  X   6

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Jarwel                 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Pripet Socialist Republic  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  X   1

                             G  W  L RF RA  RD Win Pct.
1                    Ethane 21 11 10 92 67 +25 0.524
2 Pripet Socialist Republic 21 11 10 77 96 -19 0.524
3              Alpine Union 21 11 10 95 97  -2 0.524
4       Ferret Civilization 21 10 11 89 98  -9 0.476
5   Royal Kingdom of Quebec 21 10 11 98 89  +9 0.476
6                New Jarwel 21 10 11 88 92  -4 0.476

Group 3:

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Abanhfleft  1  1  1  0  2  1  2  0  4   12
Darmen      1  6  2  0  0  2  1  0  1   13

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Abanhfleft  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  1   3
Darmen      0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 Total
Abanhfleft  0  0  1  3  1  0  0  1  0  0  0  1   7
Darmen      0  2  0  1  1  0  0  2  0  0  0  0   6

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Sangti    5  3  0  8  0  0  0  0  0   16
New Doltania  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   3

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Sangti    4  1  1  1  0  1  2  0  1   11
New Doltania  1  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0   3

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Sangti    0  2  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   3
New Doltania  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  0  0   2

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Azadeshia                    0  0  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   2
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  2   4

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Azadeshia                    0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   1
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Azadeshia                    1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  3   5
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   2

                               G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1                  New Sangti 21 16  5 105  58 +47 0.762
2                  Abanhfleft 21 12  9 136 108 +28 0.571
3                   Azadeshia 21 12  9 100  82 +18 0.571
4                      Darmen 21 11 10 110 102  +8 0.524
5 Vakolicci Haven and Celeria 21  7 14  69  94 -25 0.333
6                New Doltania 21  5 16  63 139 -76 0.238

Group 4:

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
South Covello  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Newmanistan    0  0  0  0  0  1  0  1  X   2

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
South Covello  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0   2
Newmanistan    0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
South Covello  0  0  3  2  2  0  0  0  0   7
Newmanistan    0  1  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   2

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Free Republics  0  0  1  1  1  0  1  0  0   4
Yoannes         0  1  3  1  1  0  0  0  X   6

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Free Republics  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   2
Yoannes         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   1

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Free Republics  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Yoannes         0  2  1  0  1  0  3  0  X   7

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Carstantinopipal  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   1
Krossa            0  0  0  2  1  1  0  0  X   4

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Carstantinopipal  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  4  0   4
Krossa            0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 Total
Carstantinopipal  1  0  2  0  0  1  1  1  2  0  0  0  1   9
Krossa            0  1  2  0  2  1  0  1  1  0  0  0  0   8

                    G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1      Newmanistan 21 15  6  83  64 +19 0.714
2    South Covello 21 13  8 104  73 +31 0.619
3   Free Republics 21 12  9 122  91 +31 0.571
4           Krossa 21  8 13  91 129 -38 0.381
5 Carstantinopipal 21  8 13  98 129 -31 0.381
6          Yoannes 21  7 14  97 109 -12 0.333

Group 5:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Maklohi Vai      0  0  0  2  0  0  0  1  1   4
Super-Llamaland  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Maklohi Vai      1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   2
Super-Llamaland  1  1  1  0  2  0  0  0  X   5

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Maklohi Vai      0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  2   3
Super-Llamaland  0  2  0  1  0  1  5  0  X   9

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sandberg     0  0  0  0  1  0  0  1  1   3
Sorrentopia  0  1  0  0  1  0  1  3  X   6

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sandberg     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Sorrentopia  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  X   2

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sandberg     0  1  0  1  0  2  0  0  0   4
Sorrentopia  0  2  0  1  2  0  0  0  X   5

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Siroy         0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  0   2
North Prarie  3  1  2  0  1  0  0  2  X   9

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Siroy         2  1  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  1  1   7
North Prarie  0  0  0  0  0  1  2  0  2  1  2   8

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Siroy         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
North Prarie  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   1

                   G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1 Super-Llamaland 21 16  5 100  57 +43 0.762
2     Maklohi Vai 21 12  9  88  83  +5 0.571
3    North Prarie 21 12  9  78  77  +1 0.571
4        Sandberg 21  9 12  92  94  -2 0.429
5           Siroy 21  8 13  77  96 -19 0.381
6     Sorrentopia 21  6 15  73 101 -28 0.286

Group 6:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana           0  0  1  0  0  1  1  2  2   7
Scootalove City  0  1  0  0  1  2  4  0  X   8

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana           1  1  2  1  1  0  0  2  1   9
Scootalove City  1  1  0  2  1  3  2  1  X   11

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana           0  1  1  1  0  1  2  0  0   6
Scootalove City  0  0  1  1  0  0  1  2  0   5

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hampton Island     1  0  4  1  0  0  0  1  4   11
DEAT By Chocolate  3  0  0  0  1  2  0  1  0   7

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hampton Island     0  0  0  0  1  0  0  1  0   2
DEAT By Chocolate  0  0  1  2  0  0  0  0  X   3

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hampton Island     1  0  2  0  1  0  0  0  1   5
DEAT By Chocolate  2  0  0  1  3  0  0  0  X   6

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Banija     0  0  0  0  0  1  0  1  0   2
Humaliwo   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   1

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Banija     0  0  0  2  1  0  1  2  2   8
Humaliwo   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Banija     0  1  2  1  0  0  1  1  0   6
Humaliwo   0  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0   2

                     G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1   Scootalove City 21 16  5 153 122 +31 0.762
2            Hicana 21 13  8 174 156 +18 0.619
3            Banija 21 13  8 116  99 +17 0.619
4    Hampton Island 21  8 13  99 108  -9 0.381
5 DEAT By Chocolate 21  7 14  89 130 -41 0.333
6          Humaliwo 21  6 15 105 121 -16 0.286

Group 7:

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tenburg      0  0  3  0  0  0  1  2  0   6
Schiltzberg  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tenburg      1  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   3
Schiltzberg  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  1  2   5

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tenburg      0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0   2
Schiltzberg  1  0  1  1  0  1  0  0  X   4

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Northwest Kalactin  2  1  0  0  0  1  2  1  1   8
The Sherpa Empire   0  0  1  1  0  1  0  0  3   6

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Northwest Kalactin  4  1  2  0  0  0  2  5  1   15
The Sherpa Empire   4  0  0  2  2  1  0  0  1   10

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Northwest Kalactin  4  0  0  2  0  2  1  0  0   9
The Sherpa Empire   2  1  0  0  1  1  4  2  X   11

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  2   3
Melbergia    0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga  2  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   3
Melbergia    0  0  1  0  0  1  1  1  X   4

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
St Saratoga  1  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  1   4
Melbergia    3  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  X   5

                      G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1        Schiltzberg 21 15  6 108  76 +32 0.714
2 Northwest Kalactin 21 13  8 125 101 +24 0.619
3        St Saratoga 21 12  9 113 101 +12 0.571
4  The Sherpa Empire 21 10 11 147 151  -4 0.476
5            Tenburg 21  8 13  98  97  +1 0.381
6          Melbergia 21  5 16  65 130 -65 0.238

Group 8:

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Equestrian States  1  0  0  0  1  0  1  2  0   5
Cassadaigua        0  0  0  2  0  1  0  2  2   7

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Equestrian States  0  2  1  0  2  0  0  0  0   5
Cassadaigua        0  1  0  2  2  1  1  1  X   8

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Equestrian States  0  1  0  0  0  0  2  0  0   3
Cassadaigua        5  1  0  0  0  2  0  0  X   8

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Lisander   0  0  0  0  2  0  0  1  0   3
Ngongo     0  3  1  0  0  0  0  1  X   5

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Lisander   0  0  1  1  1  3  0  2  2   10
Ngongo     0  0  0  2  1  2  0  0  1   6

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Lisander   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Ngongo     0  0  0  1  0  2  0  0  X   3

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ko-oren      1  0  1  0  1  3  0  0  0   6
Kita-Hinode  1  0  0  1  0  0  0  2  0   4

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ko-oren      0  1  1  0  0  1  0  0  0   3
Kita-Hinode  2  1  3  0  1  0  0  0  X   7

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ko-oren      0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   1
Kita-Hinode  0  0  0  2  0  1  1  0  X   4

                     G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1       Cassadaigua 21 15  6 134  97 +37 0.714
2           Ko-oren 21 14  7 124  88 +36 0.667
3 Equestrian States 21 12  9  97  98  -1 0.571
4          Lisander 21  9 12 129 127  +2 0.429
5            Ngongo 21  7 14  83 110 -27 0.333
6       Kita-Hinode 21  6 15  90 137 -47 0.286

Group 9:

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
United States of Devonta  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   1
West Phoenicia            2  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  X   3

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
United States of Devonta  0  1  0  0  1  1  0  1  1   5
West Phoenicia            2  1  3  1  0  0  0  0  X   7

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
United States of Devonta  1  0  0  0  1  1  2  0  0   5
West Phoenicia            0  0  1  0  0  1  0  1  0   3

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Vangaziland   3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   4
Tierra Fuego  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  1  0   3

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Vangaziland   2  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  2   6
Tierra Fuego  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Vangaziland   0  0  0  1  2  0  3  1  0   7
Tierra Fuego  1  0  1  1  2  0  0  0  0   5

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Lycrabon         0  0  1  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  2   5
Philamer Island  0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   3

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Lycrabon         0  3  1  0  1  1  2  1  1   10
Philamer Island  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Lycrabon         0  1  1  0  0  1  3  0  0   6
Philamer Island  2  2  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   5

                            G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1           West Phoenicia 21 15  6 109  64 +45 0.714
2                 Lycrabon 21 14  7 112 100 +12 0.667
3              Vangaziland 21 14  7 106  70 +36 0.667
4 United States of Devonta 21 10 11 107  95 +12 0.476
5             Tierra Fuego 21  6 15  71 120 -49 0.286
6          Philamer Island 21  4 17  74 130 -56 0.190

[Ko-oren]

Six days in Selesi

Sorry for the lack of stories of the last three days! Most of the time I spend on ferries between the islands, I spend writing my articles. I planned two series, six days, for Selesi. The problem with this is that I have no ferry time to write my articles in between these series. I could not find a window to write in otherwise, but I have kept up with my e-mail. I'm glad I'm getting a lot of support from those from Yoshima on showcasing their region, and from those in the rest of Ko-oren about how they never realised that 1) baseball is a thing and 2) Yoshima might just become their next holiday destination. Glad I helped!

With formalities out of the way, let's pick up the story from where I left off. After some unfortunate delays in Etena, I made it back to its capital Teragaseki in time. At this point, there were five series left in the WBC. Two of those I would spend in Selesi, the last three I would cover from Leleia, most populous and most furthest southeast. Unfortunately, the Dragonflies have slowed down the hype train a little bit from the first half of the WBC group stage, and have dropped to second place. Even more unfortunate is that now, finally, interest in the WBC is picking up across Ko-oren for a little bit... and this is definitely killing the hype.

The first of my Selesi series was Lisander. I arrived in Furune, one of two large cities on the island. There is Furune, which is more of a cultural city, and Arakura, which is a rare city not to lie on the coast, but there are sports there. Furune is absolutely the city with more oomph, often named behind Katashi and Alara as the most important city of the region. It has a lot of governmental buildings for the prefecture of Yoshima, universities, museums, and it is absolutely a city to visit during your time here. However... baseball isn't too large here, and neither are other sports. The idea behind this is, according to some locals I found on the train to Arakura, is that so many people in Furune are only there for a short while. Working or studying for a few years, and then return to where they came from. They take their favourite teams with them on their way there, and the few 'native' sports teams to Furune barely survived. Northern Arakura took over most of these teams, and as a more provincial and blue-collar city, embraced these teams. We have the baseball Knights and the rugby league Dragons there. Southern Aonishi, the goal of my last part of the Selesi leg, has the Challengers, one of the oldest teams in the Ko-orenite Baseball League.

Selesi is famous for having some tropical rainforests. Mildly tropical, but tropical nonetheless. Leleia's forests are larger, but Selesi's are arguably older and livelier. This causes some problems in daily life where urban areas collide with natural areas, but these forays into rightfully rainforest area have stopped in the last 3 decades. The rainforest lies in the middle of the island, far away from its cities, but Selesi's towns have crawled up next to the forests nonetheless. The tracks between Furune and Arakura touch on the rainforest, with the forest on one side of the tracks and grasslands on the other. The entire trip takes as much time as my first train trip here from Alara to Echizen, but, I'm sorry Alarans, there is so much more to see here. Selesi is the least densely populated area of Ko-oren apart from our frigid north coast, and it is simply gorgeous here.

Anyway, on to the baseball. Lisander is our opponent, and I've arrived in Arakura in time. Our first game starts with no trouble for the Dragonflies, and it looks like it was just the tough battles against Cassadaigua and the Equestrian States were too much for our inexperienced team. A 7-2 victory on day one. Kasper Brands was the starting pitcher in an attempt to gain momentum. Brands is a marquee pitcher that is often used on big games. For his team, that's often in prime time games, but his talent is equally useful here for the national team. No hometown heroes tonight, with outfielder and designated hitter Kagesuke Kagae on the bench. Still, the games are not any less important to this city. Big screens outside of the Knights' stadium have the game on, and as the game progresses, more and more Arakurans show up to watch.

This was different on days 2 and 3. The game was all equal 3-3 on day two, and Ko-oren even gets the lead briefly, when Lisander pulls away in the bottom of the 9th. A walkoff homerun for three runs, and for the first time in my trip, things get ugly. It starts with an empty plastic bottle thrown at the screen, and before you know it, there's some pushing and shoving. That's still not too bad although a little uncommon with baseball crowds here. It just doesn't stop there, and the crowds and the uproar move to the city centre. All in all, it's not so bad as in some other nations, but some storefronts end up looted (though no broken windows! How?) and there's a trail of trash in the city's central streets. The noise barely dies out by 4 am, and I wake up the next morning after a poor, broken night's sleep. Day 3 of the series ends not much better. I end up checking out early from the hotel, and I head to the stadium once again, this time with most of my luggage on me. Lisander leads 4-3 after the seventh, and that's my cue to move. I make it to the train safely, but I read later on that day two's scenes repeated themselves after the 3-5 loss. Ko-oren still first in the group... but how sustainable is this?

The train takes me past Furune, around the coast, to southern Aonishi. They say you can see Leleia from here. That is a lie. Also, Aonishi means something along the lines of 'the blue west' but it is clearly in the south, on the east side of Ko-oren, and I'm willing to argue its blueness as well. Let's say I did not have a steller experience in Aonishi - it's a nice town, by all accounts, and it has plenty to offer for those who are looking for any kind of recreation in nature. Sailing, surfing, beach activities, as well as beautiful trails just north of it. But the town itself has little to offer, and some parts are in dire need of restoration. The one thing to spice up my three days here was the appearance of Kagakata Suda, right fielder and on base percentage leader of the national team, as well as player for the Aonishi Challengers.

On top of that, Kita-Hinode doesn't seem like the most challenging opponent. They have had trouble stringing wins together, getting to 4 in 18 games. But this is Ko-oren we're talking about. We bring the heat to any opponent better than us, getting a fair share of upsets, but we're just as capable of crapping the bed against smaller opponents. Just as a momentum swing is the only thing that can save this team, Cassadaigua destroys Equestrian States 3-0 in the series to take first place, while the Dragonflies manage one scrappy win in its series. 6-4, 7-3 and 4-1.

Three series left: Cassadaigua, Equestrian States, and Ngongo. Disappointment is imminent, given that 6 of our 9 remaining games are extremely tough fixtures, which probably means we're definitely going to drop those 3 'easy' ones. We've got a two-win lead over the Equestrian States. My remaining cities to visit on Leleia, Yoshima: Katashi, Nitoya and Aviansola.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

TDDROH Sports chat

Big news: first team eliminated.


Results

Group 6:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana           0  0  1  0  0  1  1  2  2   7
Scootalove City  0  1  0  0  1  2  4  0  X   8

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana           1  1  2  1  1  0  0  2  1   9
Scootalove City  1  1  0  2  1  3  2  1  X   11

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana           0  1  1  1  0  1  2  0  0   6
Scootalove City  0  0  1  1  0  0  1  2  0   5


                     G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1   Scootalove City 21 16  5 153 122 +31 0.762
2            Hicana 21 13  8 174 156 +18 0.619
3            Banija 21 13  8 116  99 +17 0.619
4    Hampton Island 21  8 13  99 108  -9 0.381
5 DEAT By Chocolate 21  7 14  89 130 -41 0.333
6          Humaliwo 21  6 15 105 121 -16 0.286


Group 9:

                            G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1           West Phoenicia 21 15  6 109  64 +45 0.714
2                 Lycrabon 21 14  7 112 100 +12 0.667
3              Vangaziland 21 14  7 106  70 +36 0.667
4 United States of Devonta 21 10 11 107  95 +12 0.476
5             Tierra Fuego 21  6 15  71 120 -49 0.286
6          Philamer Island 21  4 17  74 130 -56 0.190

The team from Philamer Island was the first team removed from postseason contention. This will be happening more often as the postseason approaches. Feels like it was just yesterday that the WBC started too.

Anyway, our unicorns are doing very well. Three games ahead of second place and third place.
First game against Hicana in this series Zeek Donald got a grand slam on the 7th. Second game saw Stuart 'Super' Nova get a three run homer in the 6th. Also saw more pitching from Amalthea 'The Last Unicorn' Beagle in the 6th and the 7th. A close loss for the third game.

Keep on being awesome Unicorns.

[Schiltzberg]

List of Grand Dukes of Schiltzberg

Schiltz Dynasty
1. Nicolas (1718-1747)
2. Antoine (1747-1774)
3. Jean I (1774-1808)
4. Henri (1808-1840)
5. Jean II (1840-1862)
6. Mathias (1862-1908)
7. Elmer (1908-1936)
8. Thomas (1936-1971)
9. Benjamin (1971-1999)
10. Lucas I (1999-2014)
(Position officially abolished January 1, 2015)
-Lucas I (2015-2023)**
-Lucas II (2023-2049)**
-Lucas III (2049-2056)**
(Position reestablished March 31, 2056)
12. Lucas III (2056-2076)
13. Lucas IV (2076-)

**Unofficial rule.

List of Presidents

1. Adam Bailey (2014-2022)
2. Eric Callahan (2023-2030)
3. Darrell Blakeslee (2031-2038)
4. Lauren Robertson (2039-2046)
5. James Williams (2047-2054)*
(Position abolished in October 2054)

*Impeached

List of Emperors

Williams Dynasty
1. James I (2054-2055)
2. James II (2055-2056)
(Position officially abolished February 10, 2056)

List of Temporary Chancellors

1. Darrell Blakeslee (2056)
(Position officially abolished March 31, 2056)

List of Prime Ministers
1. John Hook (March 31, 2056-July 12, 2059)
2. Ryan White (July 12, 2059-October 11, 2068)
3. Gregory Milton (October 11, 2068-May 20, 2072)
4. William Bush (May 20, 2072-September 20, 2076)
5. Diane Aaron (September 20, 2076-December 15, 2079)
6. Allen Reynolds (December 15, 2079-January 10, 2082)
7. Morris McClain (January 10, 2082-December 20, 2082)
8. Donald Nally (December 20, 2082-current)

[The Sherpa Empire]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The imperial family of the Sherpa Empire had a few seats reserved for their use in Syangboche, right behind the home team dugout. Sometimes royals sat there to watch the games. Sometimes they invited other people to use their seats, as a small gesture of gratitude or respect. For the first game of the home stand against Northwest Kalactin, the imperial family gave their seats to a mountain climber who had almost died climbing Chomolungma, and another climber who had stopped to rescue him, even though it meant giving up his own lifelong dream to reach the summit of the mountain. A few of the climbers' family members were also invited. SISN interviewed them about their experience on Chomolungma and what it meant to them to be recognized by the imperial family. They said the thing they wanted people to take away from their story was to appreciate the value of human life. "You know, being able to say I did the right thing is going to help me sleep at night a lot better than being able to say I climbed Chomolungma," said the climber who had stopped to rescue the other. "I couldn't live with myself if I left another human being to die."

---

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

---

For game 2, Princess Yahia decided to go to the ballpark with a group of her friends -- all of them wealthy and powerful people like nobles, religious leaders, or elected officials. Princess Yahia would have gone to every game ever played in Syangboche if her father allowed it. She had a silly teenage crush on Icefall Doctors 3rd baseman Kao Tong, and a habit of flirting with ballplayers in general, which drove her father up the wall. When any of the players came out of the dugout where she could get their attention easily, she would talk to them. Dinesh Mohn asked her to please stop because she was too distracting, but an inning or so later, she would forget and start talking to the players again.

They couldn't eject her from the game because she was a princess.

Some of her friends reminded her that her father didn't want her flirting with ballplayers, and it was beneath her. But her best friend, a noblewoman named Meheruba, just joined in the flirting and gossiping. They compared notes on which players they thought were hottest.

Sometime around the 6th inning, Mohn got fed up and called the bullpen. Finjhok Chang answered the phone, but Mohn told him, "Put Ihawa on the line. I don't need pitching. I need someone of noble birth who can tell Princess Yahia to shut the hell up."

"He's a pitcher, not a lord," Chang said.

"Isn't Ihawa a noble name?" Mohn said.

"The imperial family are named Sherpa," said Chang. "You want me to send José over there?"

"Yeah, but lots of people are named Sherpa."

"Lots of people are named Ihawa, too," said the pitching coach. "Yahia might listen to him because she's a Doctors fan and he's pitched for them forever, but he's not nobility."

"He has supernatural powers. I thought that sort of thing was inherited through noble families."

"Yeah, but he's still a nobody as far as politics are concerned."

"If you're sending someone over there to keep Princess Yahia occupied, you should send someone that's closer to her own age and unmarried," Ihawa said. "It will do less damage to her reputation and the emperor will be less upset if she's talking to an eligible bachelor."

"You could send José," Tsheri Pham suggested.

"Or just ask someone on the bench over there to go up in the stands and talk to her," Ihawa suggested. "You could ask Debashish. She likes infielders, and he's a pretty good conversationalist."

"You know way too much about this."

"She comes to a lot of Doctors games."

---

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

The Alpine Union wins two against Ethane!

Ethane - (NAP) The Alpine Union played a 3 games series on the road against Ethane and won 2 of these 3 games. The Bisons won the first game 1-0 in 12 innings. Zvonimir Hajrovic allowed 2 hits and 2 walk in 10 innings. He also striked 11 batters. Carl Stepweaver was pitching a perfect game until he was relieved at the top 12 inning. Jamie Parkins
comes on the mound to start the top 12 inning. With two outs, pinch hitter Mary Jane Castro comes at bat, she hits an infield homerun deep in center field and the score is 1-0 Reprezentacja Alpejski. Genevieve McGowan is pitching for the Alpine Union in the bottom 12th inning to preserve the win. The Alpine Union won 1-0!

The McTidley arena is renowned to be a pitchers park, but a total of 19 runs were scored in the 2nd game in this 11-8 loss. Ethane took a 2-0 lead in the bottom 1st inning when Jeremiah Wheeler hitted a two runs double. The Alpine Union answered back with 4 points in the top 2nd inning. Travis Layne was the first at bat and he hitted a double. Zlatan Belec walked. Esmeralda Sanchez hitted another double, Layne scored, Belec advanced to 3rd base. Nick Riefenhauser hitted a sacrifice fly, Belec scored, Sanchez advanced to 3rd base and the score was tied at 2-2. Jared Hanson hitted a single but Sanchez stayed at 3rd base. Starting pitcher Amber Thomas comes at bat and she hitted an optionnal, Sanchez scored, but Hanson was out at 2nd base. With two outs, Wilton Jimenez comes at bat and hits a triple, Amber Thomas scores. The next batter, Kevin McNeill, is flied out and the Alpine Union is leading 4-2 after the top 2nd inning. Nate O'Flaherty comes at bat to start the 3rd inning and hits a single. Travis Layne strikes out. Zlatan Belec hits another single, O'Flaherty advances to the 2nd base. Esmeralda Sanchez hits a double, it's her second double of the game, O'Flaherty and Belec both scores. Nick Riefenhauser hits a single, Sanchez scores from the 2nd base and the Reprezentacja Alpejski takes a 7-2 lead. Ethane scored 3 points in the bottom 3rd inning and another one in the bottom 4th inning and the score is 7-6 Alpine Union after 4 innings. Ethane took the lead in the 6th inning and scored 3 more points in the 8th inning to take a 11-7 lead. The Alpine Union finally score one more points on a one run double by Wilton Jimenez in the top 9th inning. Lucas Jaile was the winning pitcher and Amber Thomas was the losing pitcher.

The Alpine Union won the 3rd and final game of the series 4-1. Wilton Jimenez was grounded out to start the game. Kevin McNeill followed with a double. Nate O'Flaherty also hitted a double, McNeill scored. Travis Layne hitted a sacrifice fly in right field, O'Flaherty advanced to 3rd base. Zlatan Belec followed with a single, O'Flaherty scored and the Bisons are leading 2-0 after one inning. Kevin McNeill was the first at bat in the 3rd inning and he hitted a single. Nate O'Flaherty hitted a double, McNeill scored from 1st base. Travis Layne walked. With two men on the bases, Zlatan Belec hitted in an optionnal. O'Flaherty advanced to 3rd base but Layne was out at 2nd base. Esmeralda Sanchez hitted a single, O'Flaherty scored, Belec advanced to 3rd base. Nick Riefenhauser hitted in a double play and the Alpine Union were leading 4-0 after 3 innings. Ethane scored their only run of the game in the 9th inning when Gregory Foster hitted a one run double. Winning pitcher was tyler Floyd and losing pitcher was Jake Tyndall.

The alpines' next series is at home against Pripet Socialist Republic, a friendly socialist nation which we know nothing about them. Starting pitchers for the Bisons will be Rusty Castillo, Alejandro Gonzalez and Zvonimir Hajrovic. Both teams have a 11-10 record.

[West Phoenicia]

West Phoenician Confederats finish 7th series against United States of Devonta 2 wins to 1 loss.

All three games were evenly matched with little action or drama. Both pitching teams kept the batters at bay, allowing minimum hits while both fielding teams did their best in stop any unnecessary balls for staying to far and causing any real damage.

West Phoenician fans always happy to be on home turf where they can parade out all their pomp and extravagance showing other nations the glory of West Phoenicia.

"You win some, you lose some," Coach Jacob Prosper said during a post interview." Neither team fouled up. And most both teams underperformed but made no grave errors.Still those wins allowed The Confederates to stay on top."

When asked what he felt from an interview by Royals player Del Bjornberg on late night television that poked fun at Prospers stern look, Jacob Prosper responded;

" Baseball in West Phoenicia is serious business. Our mind, bodies and souls are here to play and to win. I'll smile when we have a title under our belts. As for Mr Bjornberg; his attempt at a joke on national television is as bad as his attempts as a pitcher. Not wanting to be sexist but our female baseball team pitchers can toss a curveball with more grace and fire than him. He should focus more on good pitching and not worry if he's going to ruin his manicure.If his contract ever came up we could hire him for our under 16's. As my men would say, his gonna need some sunscreen from that burn."


West Phoenicia will next play the Vangaziland Royals on their home turf, the 3 games promises to bring an air of excitement and drama for fans.

[North Prarie]

"How am I here?" Isreal Mendoza thought to himself as he looked out onto Prariean Field, the stadium where the Prarieans would have their potentially division-deciding showdown against Malhoki Vai. Just months ago, he had arrived in Stonebridge with no prior experience in North Prarie. He had just come from Midand, where the Great Meme War was raging. Midand. Then he remembered. The bombing. The fire. The death. Isreal had barely managed to escape by taking a still-running shuttle ferry service from Midandia to Faraday, Volaworand. He was going to start a new life in North Prarie. Midand was too crowded anyways.

When he had arrived in Stonebridge, he stayed with a cousin in the Capitol Heights district of the city. Then, he saw that a local NPBL team called the Righteous Bay Lions were holding open tryouts for their B League team, the Worcester Palms Speeders. After all, he had played baseball in Midand as a setup guy for the Midandia City Swords, one of the best teams in the league.

Somehow, he managed to make the team.
Within a month, he was promoted to the A League team, the Youngberg City Oceanics. He was quickly rising up the ranks of the system, and gaining national publicity along the way. The Stonebridge Times had published an article about him! Then, he was part of the PFL Break callups in Mid-October, when the Lions where in the hunt for the Northeast Division Title. By the end of the season, Righteous Bay had won their division, but had been upset in the first round of the Playoffs.

Now, he had a girlfriend, a nice house in Worcester Palms, and a Pompeii Mako. He also had made the National team for the upcoming World Baseball Classic that February.

"I came from the bottom." Isreal thought. "I can only go up more."

[Fungsland]

Revenge Twice, Double Nice Featured Article 5 in The Fungsland Sports Enquirer

Another day, another success for the FIBT (Fungsland International Baseball Team) as they win their series against Gratissima 2-1. Gratissima is ranked 46th overall in the WBC and was trailing the FIBT by one win going into today. This is another act of revenge against a team that had beaten them 1-2 in the second round. This performance wasn't as unpredictable as the FIBT usually are, and showed how dangerous they really are in the diamond if you aren't careful.

Game One

This game was a blowout in every sense of the word. The FIBT got on the board early with 4 points in the first inning. They continued to reach home plate, scoring 2 points in the fourth and 3 points in the seventh. The defense was just as effective, only allowing 2 points to be scored all game. In the series prior against the Nova Anglicana Lions, the FIBT had the worst point differential in a single game all tournament long (-7). In this series, they had the best point differential in a single game since the tournament began by the same amount of points (+7) thanks to the final score of 9-2. How quickly this team can go from losing by seven to winning by seven astounds many, including myself. Starting center-fielder Scott Britt stated "If we played the way we did today on a regular basis, we would be doing a lot more celebrations for certain" after the game.

Game Two

In game two, it was Gratissima who was jumping out to an early lead, scoring 3 points in the second inning. The FIBT then played catch-up all game long. After the bottom of the third, Gratissima and the FIBT scored the same amount of points every inning, resulting in a final score of 5-7. This loss was more tragic to the team than usual, due to the tension of trying to catch up to gain a playoff spot. Assistant Coach Bruce O'Connor said, "Every game matters when it starts drawing near the end of the season. Due to the late and sudden race for playoff glory. Because of this, losing near the end of the season is extra rough, and you can't get the thought out of your head that because of the loss your chances are ruined. You just got to remember there are plenty of games left to win."

Game Three

Game three is similar to game one of this same series. Instead of 4 points early in the first, the FIBT were able to score 6 points in the second inning thanks to a grand slam from Gene Workman. After that eventful inning was over, things slowed down. Gratissima tried to start a comeback, but the offense continued scoring with the FIBT, and the final score was 9-5. It wasn't as much o a blowout as game one, but it was still decided early.

Ivan Greene's Statement

Ivan Greene gave this statement after the series concluded. "I've said it before and i'll say it again. I really like where this team is going. Early on I could tell that we were going to be a defensive team, but this game has shown me that they have made strides when it comes to reaching home plate. I haven't seen this team consistently score so many points on an international level like this ever, and if we make the playoffs we'll be ready to compete."

Group One Standings

The series win over Gratissima gave the FIBT a comfortable two game distance between them and 4th place. However, both teams ahead of the FIBT won two of their three games as well. So, Fungsland is still two games behind 2nd and three games behind 1st. If the FIBT is going to sneak into the playoffs, they would have to start making moves now because there are only nine games left in the season, and teams are already starting to be eliminated from playoff contention.

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Gratissima 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2
Fungsland 4 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 X 9

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Gratissima 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 7
Fungsland 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 0 5

Team Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Gratissima 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 5
Fungsland 0 6 0 0 0 2 1 0 X 9

G W L RF RA RD Win Pct.
1 Cosumar 21 14 7 104 90 +14 0.667
2 Nova Anglicana 21 13 8 96 89 +7 0.619
3 Fungsland 21 11 10 99 95 +4 0.524
4 Gratissima 21 9 12 106 108 -2 0.429
5 Drawkland 21 8 13 118 125 -7 0.381
6 Juvencus 21 8 13 92 108 -16 0.381

[Vangaziland]

The Royals came into the second series against Tierra Fuego needing to make ground. They lost the series to Lycrabon 2 - 1, a costly mistake. The following series would take place against the Confederates of West Phoenicia. Vangaziland stood about where they've always fallen in the WBC, third in their group. They're much more competitive this year, despite a surprising Lycrabon.

The 7th series of the season is past the turning point. The Royals are at a do or die stage. They can't afford to lose any ground against unranked Tierra Fuego. It was time for the Royals to step up and beat less experienced teams, as they did for much of the season's first half. Vangaziland would show up motivated for the latest series, hoping things would fall their way.

Game 19

The Royals came out strong for the first game of the series. Two singles in a row set up CF Jacob Sren. On a 1-1 count, the fielder caught a pitch with the bat's sweet spot and sent it up the middle. Announcer Art Anvaley had the call for WQBX radio.

"And HUGE hit", said Anvaley. "Back, back, back... It is high. It is hard. It is.... GONE!" Art paused a few moments for effect. "Jacob Sren. Three run home run to start the game." Anvaley's most famous international call was for the game winning homerun during the last inning of Olympiad XII's 3rd place game.

Nate Henli came up to pitch with a cushion in place before the bottom of the 1st. It gave him a major confidence boost, which he was able to ride deep into the 7th inning. Solid fielding also helped put Tierra Fuego away, inning after inning. The pitch count was varied, but Henli put up some pretty quick fastballs (97-98 mph). The catcher had him paint the corner, sometimes even pitching inside. It was close, but Henli has the accuracy.

He was swapped out at the start of the 8th for Khris Olaf. Khris gave up a run in the 8th and was swapped out for Manny Mathissen in the 9th. Manny also gave up a run. The game was now tied because Vannish hitting hadn't done much since the 1st.

Luckily, a Chuck Endo RBI double in the 10th, followed by tough pitching from Manny gave Vangaziland the win.

Game 20

Once again, things started off with a big top of the (Vannish) 1st. The Royals would end their first set with 2 runs. Pete Kelderssen caught Tierra Fuego's fielders off guard by pinning the ball deep in a corner. It also didn't help that the ball bounced off the wall and the fielder had to chase it. Pete showed real speed. He still had to make a catch beating slide into 3rd. He was safe by the closest margin.

A line drive brought the first Vannish batter home. The next run took awhile to eek out, but the Vannish batters gave their pitcher a cushion once again. This time, Jamaal Edlund would pitch for Vangaziland. He entered the game 3-0 and hoped to remain undefeated.

Jamaal showed up expecting to pitch 7 innings, maybe 8. Instead, he pitched Vangaziland's second complete game shutout of the season. Del Bjornberg had the first. Bjornberg is known for his speed. Edlund is known for his varied arsenal, which was on full display. His slider was breaking hard and fast. It was the follow up pitch to those which really wreaked havoc. The curveballs almost seemed like feints compared to the fastballs. When one couldn't tell if a pitch was a fastball or slider until the last minute, it could result in strikes. One might be more likely to watch a fastball or swing at a slider.

The Royals didn't slack on the bat. They would win 6-0. There were no home runs, but lots of hits. The Royals would play hard right up to the wire, scoring 2 in the 9th. It was important not to let off the gas because every run counts. The race was quite close and things could easily come down to a team's run differential. It was also just good practice not to play lazy baseball.

Game 21

This time, Tierra Fuego would score the early run. Vangaziland's opponents came out motivated. Bjornberg started on the mound. The first run seemed to get to him, as his body language never seemed relaxed. Del gave up one run in both the 3rd and 4th innings. He also gave up two runs in the 5th.

Pitching Coach Juan Manuel Sanchez came out for a long talk on the mound. He had to make sure Del had his head right. The early game had been ugly. At the time, Vangaziland was down 5-3. Sanchez told Del he needed him to clamp down and get this win.

"Get us to the 7th", Sanchez told Bjornberg as he walked back to the bullpen.

Bjornberg took over with a new fire. Right away, his next pitch was 99 mph. Then a curveball, followed by 100.5 mph. His body language changed. He shook off the early runs and reminded himself where he was.

"It was definitely a wakeup call", said Bjornberg. "Coach Sanchez is a great guy. I'm glad he came up from the Esportivan lands. He's helping our team progress. I knew I had to win this game for him."

Vangaziland's batting order caught up with Tierra Fuego during a big 7th inning. It started off with a line drive rip of a home run by Mack Akoye. There was also a sacrifice RBI and an RBI single. Vangaziland bailed itself out of a close situation.

The Royals would not give up another run. Nick Goodsen came in to pitch the 8th and 9th innings without incident.

Del Bjornberg was now 4 - 1 for the season. After the victory, a reporter reminded the pitcher that coach Prosper had more words following his TV interview, calling his ability into play. Bjornberg laughed while framed in the shot of the team's locker room. "All Prosper is doing is making himself a meme. I bet he couldn't even tell me which of his pitchers have what record. He's a tabloid manager."

The Royals are in high spirits for their match against the Phoenicians.

"This is a series where we aren't expected to win", said Coach Haverly. "We'll look to steal any space we're given. If we go 0-3, then we'll rush to make things up from there. But as for this drama between Del and Prosper, I'm not concerned. It's the concoction of some Confederate gossip mag."

The Vannish coach looked into the camera and said the trending phrase of the tournament. "Hashtag Jake dissapproves."

[Sangti]

The last time the Indios made it to the playoffs of the World Baseball Classic? Some 11 editions ago.

Granted the Sangtians did not enter most of the WBCs between WBC 31 and 41 (only 2: WBC 33 and 36), they sucked when they returned with the original manager's daughter now at the helm when they lost four of their first five games, and ended their first half at 4-11. Eliminated again at the group stages at 13-17, Monica did damage limitation that time, knowing she had to make some changes coming into this edition. Voila, no changes, and the very same pitching rotation as of the last edition. Maybe she trusted the team too much then?

Whatever gamble she had made, it sure is now paying off. Starting the second round of the group stages at 5-1, the very same record they took at the first round - losing once to Azadeshia, then sweeping the games they had against New Doltania. When they looked shaky and needed late runs or holding off to beat Azadeshia in low scoring games, this set of games against New Doltania showed the ruthlessness of this Sangtian battery.

At the first game at New Doltania, the Indios have already scored sixteen, yes, sixteen runs, just in the fourth inning, that made sure pitcher changes were made at the home team, and ensured some of the fans left the stadium just at the middle of the fourth inning, in which the score then was an astounding 16-2 by that time. The game ended 16-3. The next game? Almost the same story as the Sangtians scored runs at ease to score a 11-3 win. The last game gave some Sangtians a tenseful watching as Baba closed the game in a tight 3-2 win.

That leads us to the most important and challenging set of hurdles between New Sangti and a return to playoff baseball: Darmen and Abahnfleft. The Darmenis will visit the underground knowing at any slipups at their side would most likely end their dream of a top spot with 5 games behind the leaders. The Fleftics could also need the Indios to slip up - they are four games behind with Azadeshia. The Revolution will look to pick up the pieces should the Indios start to lose their focus and start losing winnable games.

Pass these challenges, and we will welcome back playoff baseball to New Sangti,

[Free Republics]

World Baseball Classic 42: Free Republics

This is your Eighth Series Cutoff presented by Victory Shoe Company! Victory Shoe Company: The Official Shoe of Champions!

---

Results

Group 1:

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Nova Anglicana  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   1
Cosumar         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Nova Anglicana  1  2  0  0  1  1  4  1  1   11
Cosumar         2  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  2   6

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Nova Anglicana  0  0  0  2  2  0  0  0  0   4
Cosumar         0  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0   2

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Drawkland  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Fungsland  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  X   2

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Drawkland  0  2  0  1  0  0  0  0  0   3
Fungsland  0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   2

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Drawkland  0  0  0  1  0  0  6  0  0   7
Fungsland  0  0  0  1  0  0  2  1  0   4

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Juvencus    0  0  1  1  0  0  1  0  0   3
Gratissima  0  1  1  1  2  1  1  0  X   7

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Juvencus    1  0  0  0  0  1  0  2  0   4
Gratissima  0  1  1  0  1  0  1  1  X   5

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Juvencus    0  1  0  0  0  0  2  0  1   4
Gratissima  0  3  0  3  0  0  0  3  X   9

                  G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1 Nova Anglicana 24 16  8 112  97 +15 0.667
2        Cosumar 24 14 10 112 106  +6 0.583
3      Fungsland 24 12 12 107 105  +2 0.500
4     Gratissima 24 12 12 127 119  +8 0.500
5      Drawkland 24 10 14 128 133  -5 0.417
6       Juvencus 24  8 16 103 129 -26 0.333

Group 2:

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ethane                   2  2  0  0  0  1  0  0  4   9
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  1  1  0  2  0  1  0  0  0   5

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Ethane                   0  0  0  0  0  1  0  1  0  0   2
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  1   3

Team Name                1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ethane                   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Royal Kingdom of Quebec  0  0  0  0  -1  1  0  0  1   1

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Alpine Union               0  4  1  0  0  0  1  0  1   7
Pripet Socialist Republic  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Alpine Union               1  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  0   3
Pripet Socialist Republic  0  1  1  0  2  0  1  1  X   6

Team Name                  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Alpine Union               0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Pripet Socialist Republic  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 Total
Ferret Civilization  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  1  0  0  0  0  0   3
New Jarwel           0  1  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   4

Team Name            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ferret Civilization  1  0  1  0  1  3  0  3  0   9
New Jarwel           0  2  0  1  0  0  0  0  3   6

Team Name            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ferret Civilization  1  0  4  1  0  0  0  0  0   6
New Jarwel           1  2  1  1  2  0  0  0  X   7

                             G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1 Pripet Socialist Republic 24 13 11  86 106 -20 0.542
2              Alpine Union 24 12 12 105 106  -1 0.500
3                New Jarwel 24 12 12 105 110  -5 0.500
4                    Ethane 24 12 12 103  76 +27 0.500
5   Royal Kingdom of Quebec 24 12 12 107 100  +7 0.500
6       Ferret Civilization 24 11 13 107 115  -8 0.458

Group 3:

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Darmen      1  0  1  0  2  1  0  1  0   6
New Sangti  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0   2

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Darmen      0  0  0  0  2  1  1  2  3   9
New Sangti  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  3   5

Team Name   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Darmen      1  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   3
New Sangti  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  0   2

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Abanhfleft                   2  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  1   5
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  1   3

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Abanhfleft                   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  0  1  1  0  0  0  1  0  X   3

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Abanhfleft                   1  1  1  0  1  0  0  2  0   6
Vakolicci Haven and Celeria  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Doltania  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   3
Azadeshia     1  0  1  1  0  0  1  0  X   4

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Doltania  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  2   3
Azadeshia     0  1  0  2  0  0  0  2  X   5

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
New Doltania  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Azadeshia     1  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  X   3

                               G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1                  New Sangti 24 16  8 114  76 +38 0.667
2                   Azadeshia 24 15  9 112  88 +24 0.625
3                      Darmen 24 14 10 128 111 +17 0.583
4                  Abanhfleft 24 14 10 147 114 +33 0.583
5 Vakolicci Haven and Celeria 24  8 16  75 105 -30 0.333
6                New Doltania 24  5 19  69 151 -82 0.208

Group 4:

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Newmanistan     0  0  1  0  1  1  2  2  0   7
Free Republics  5  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   5

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Newmanistan     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1
Free Republics  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Newmanistan     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Free Republics  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  0  X   2

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
South Covello  0  2  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  3   7
Krossa         2  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  1   5

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
South Covello  1  1  0  0  1  2  3  4  0   12
Krossa         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   2

Team Name      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
South Covello  2  1  1  0  1  0  0  3  0   8
Krossa         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Yoannes           1  0  2  1  1  0  0  1  0   6
Carstantinopipal  1  0  1  2  0  0  1  3  X   8

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Yoannes           3  0  0  1  0  1  0  0  1   6
Carstantinopipal  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  0  0   2

Team Name         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Yoannes           0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0   2
Carstantinopipal  0  0  0  1  1  2  1  0  X   5

                    G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1      Newmanistan 24 17  7  91  71 +20 0.708
2    South Covello 24 16  8 131  81 +50 0.667
3   Free Republics 24 13 11 129  99 +30 0.542
4 Carstantinopipal 24 10 14 113 143 -30 0.417
5           Krossa 24  8 16  99 156 -57 0.333
6          Yoannes 24  8 16 111 124 -13 0.333

Group 5:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Super-Llamaland  0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   2
Sandberg         0  1  0  1  0  0  0  2  X   4

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Super-Llamaland  0  0  0  0  0  0  3  0  1   4
Sandberg         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Super-Llamaland  0  3  1  0  0  0  1  0  1   6
Sandberg         0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0   2

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Maklohi Vai   0  1  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   2
North Prarie  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Maklohi Vai   0  0  1  2  0  0  1  0  0   4
North Prarie  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Maklohi Vai   2  0  0  2  0  0  0  1  0   5
North Prarie  1  0  1  2  1  1  0  1  X   7

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sorrentopia  0  0  0  0  1  2  0  0  0   3
Siroy        2  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   4

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sorrentopia  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1
Siroy        1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  X   2

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Sorrentopia  2  2  0  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  0   6
Siroy        0  1  0  1  1  1  2  0  0  0  3   9

                   G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1 Super-Llamaland 24 18  6 112  63 +49 0.750
2     Maklohi Vai 24 14 10  99  91  +8 0.583
3    North Prarie 24 13 11  86  88  -2 0.542
4           Siroy 24 11 13  92 106 -14 0.458
5        Sandberg 24 10 14  98 106  -8 0.417
6     Sorrentopia 24  6 18  83 116 -33 0.250

Group 6:

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Scootalove City  0  0  1  0  2  1  1  1  0   6
Hampton Island   0  0  1  0  1  1  0  0  1   4

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Scootalove City  2  0  1  2  0  0  0  1  1   7
Hampton Island   0  1  0  0  0  0  0  2  0   3

Team Name        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Scootalove City  1  0  1  1  0  1  2  0  0   6
Hampton Island   0  1  1  0  1  0  0  0  0   3

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana     1  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0   3
Humaliwo   0  1  0  0  0  0  3  0  X   4

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana     0  0  3  0  0  2  0  0  1   6
Humaliwo   1  2  5  1  1  1  3  1  X   15

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Hicana     2  0  0  0  1  0  3  0  2   8
Humaliwo   1  2  0  0  2  1  1  4  X   11

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
DEAT By Chocolate  0  2  1  1  0  0  0  0  3   7
Banija             1  1  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   4

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
DEAT By Chocolate  0  0  1  1  0  1  0  0  0   3
Banija             0  0  0  2  2  0  0  0  X   4

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
DEAT By Chocolate  1  2  0  0  0  0  1  1  0   5
Banija             1  0  2  2  1  2  0  0  X   8

                     G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1   Scootalove City 24 19  5 172 132 +40 0.792
2            Banija 24 15  9 132 114 +18 0.625
3            Hicana 24 13 11 191 186  +5 0.542
4          Humaliwo 24  9 15 135 138  -3 0.375
5    Hampton Island 24  8 16 109 127 -18 0.333
6 DEAT By Chocolate 24  8 16 104 146 -42 0.333

Group 7:

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Schiltzberg         1  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1   3
Northwest Kalactin  0  1  0  1  1  0  1  0  X   4

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 Total
Schiltzberg         3  1  1  1  2  1  1  1  0  0  0  0  0   11
Northwest Kalactin  2  3  2  0  1  1  1  0  1  0  0  0  1   12

Team Name           1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Schiltzberg         2  1  0  0  3  0  0  2  1   9
Northwest Kalactin  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  0   2

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Tenburg    0  1  0  0  0  0  1  1  2  2   7
Melbergia  0  0  1  2  0  0  1  0  1  0   5

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tenburg    2  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  2   6
Melbergia  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   1

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Tenburg    0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Melbergia  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
The Sherpa Empire  0  0  0  1  0  1  0  1  0   3
St Saratoga        0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
The Sherpa Empire  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   1
St Saratoga        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  X   2

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
The Sherpa Empire  1  1  0  3  1  0  2  0  0  1  1   10
St Saratoga        0  2  2  0  3  1  0  0  0  1  0   9

                      G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1        Schiltzberg 24 16  8 131  94 +37 0.667
2 Northwest Kalactin 24 15  9 143 124 +19 0.625
3        St Saratoga 24 13 11 126 115 +11 0.542
4  The Sherpa Empire 24 12 12 161 164  -3 0.500
5            Tenburg 24 10 14 111 104  +7 0.417
6          Melbergia 24  6 18  72 143 -71 0.250

Group 8:

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Cassadaigua  0  0  0  3  1  2  0  0  3   9
Lisander     1  1  2  0  1  0  1  1  0   7

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Cassadaigua  0  2  0  0  1  1  1  0  0  1   6
Lisander     1  3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   5

Team Name    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Cassadaigua  0  2  0  1  0  2  1  1  0   7
Lisander     0  1  0  3  0  0  0  0  0   4

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Equestrian States  2  0  0  2  0  1  1  1  0   7
Kita-Hinode        2  2  1  0  2  1  0  0  X   8

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Equestrian States  0  2  0  1  0  0  0  2  2   7
Kita-Hinode        0  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0   2

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Equestrian States  0  2  2  0  0  0  2  0  0   6
Kita-Hinode        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ngongo     1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   2
Ko-oren    2  1  0  1  1  1  1  0  X   7

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ngongo     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Ko-oren    2  1  0  1  0  0  0  0  X   4

Team Name  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ngongo     0  0  1  0  1  3  0  0  0   5
Ko-oren    0  0  0  1  0  0  3  4  X   8

                     G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1       Cassadaigua 24 18  6 156 113 +43 0.750
2           Ko-oren 24 17  7 143  95 +48 0.708
3 Equestrian States 24 14 10 117 108  +9 0.583
4          Lisander 24  9 15 145 149  -4 0.375
5            Ngongo 24  7 17  90 129 -39 0.292
6       Kita-Hinode 24  7 17 100 157 -57 0.292

Group 9:

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
West Phoenicia  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   1
Vangaziland     2  0  1  0  0  1  0  1  X   5

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
West Phoenicia  1  1  1  3  0  0  0  1  0  1   8
Vangaziland     0  0  0  2  0  1  2  2  0  0   7

Team Name       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
West Phoenicia  0  1  6  0  0  0  1  0  0   8
Vangaziland     0  0  1  0  2  1  0  0  0   4

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
United States of Devonta  2  3  0  0  1  0  1  3  0   10
Philamer Island           1  2  2  0  0  1  1  0  0   7

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
United States of Devonta  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  1   3
Philamer Island           0  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0   2

Team Name                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
United States of Devonta  0  0  1  0  0  1  1  1  1   5
Philamer Island           0  0  0  1  0  1  1  0  0   3

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tierra Fuego  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0   1
Lycrabon      0  1  0  0  2  1  0  0  X   4

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Tierra Fuego  1  1  0  0  1  0  3  0  1  0   7
Lycrabon      0  0  2  2  0  0  0  0  3  1   8

Team Name     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tierra Fuego  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  1   3
Lycrabon      1  0  1  0  2  1  0  1  X   6

                            G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1                 Lycrabon 24 17  7 130 111 +19 0.708
2           West Phoenicia 24 17  7 126  80 +46 0.708
3              Vangaziland 24 15  9 122  87 +35 0.625
4 United States of Devonta 24 13 11 125 107 +18 0.542
5             Tierra Fuego 24  6 18  82 138 -56 0.250
6          Philamer Island 24  4 20  86 148 -62 0.167

[Schiltzberg]

SCHILTZBERG'S PITCHING IS WHAT IS DRIVING THE TEAM

This year, Schiltzberg's team has not been quite as dominant as predicted, and though they lead their division (by a lone game, mind you), they still have not made the comeback season that was expected of them. Historically, Schiltzberg has always been a double threat, typically leading in hitting as well as pitching, usually across the board. It is understandable that they would no longer be leading across the board, since they are no longer the best team in baseball, but they are not even leading in their own division. Offensively, Schiltzberg averages a meager 5.5 runs per game. For comparison, last year (the bad year), Schiltzberg averaged 5.7 runs per game, and in WBC 39, Schiltzberg averaged 6.1 runs per game. Schiltzberg is not even the top of their group in this category, being outscored by The Sherpa Empire and Northwest Kalactin. Fortunately, their pitching has done better than the others, and that has set them apart. Schiltzberg's pitchers have collectively put up an ERA of 3.81, which is actually higher than Schiltzberg's averages, but luckily, it is the lowest in their division. This division has seen a lot of runs being scored, but fortunately, Schiltzberg's pitchers have held them at bay, and that is what gives them the highest runs differential in the division, and it is why they are number one in their division.

Despite this, Schiltzberg has expected more from their players to this point in the season. They really want to win, but they just have not been performing. Hopefully, things will get better as the season progresses. Here is an update on Schiltzberg's pitching rotation.

1. William McKey, (5-0) 2.60 ERA
William McKey is Schiltzberg's best starter, and as usual, he has performed the best out of anyone this season. He has gone the distance in all of his games thus far, finishing with a complete game shutout in his fourth start. He has not given up more than four runs in any of his starts so far, and that is a good sign. If he can continue to win all of his games, that will be a good thing for Schiltzberg, since he is a very reliable win source for them.

2. David Toups, (2-3) 5.73 ERA
Once again, Toups has put up a sub-par performance for the Schiltzbergers. He has given up four or more runs in all of his starts so far, and he is the only of Schiltzberg's starters to have lost more than half of his games. Toups has done poor in some of the past seasons, but with a poor performance here, he may be removed from the roster for WBC 43, because he simply has not done well lately in international play. His career may be coming to a close. Watch to see if he bounces back in the season with a late comeback.

3. Roger Simmons, (3-2) 3.60 ERA
In his WBC debut, Simmons did incredibly well, pitching a complete game shut out three-hitter, but he has been very hit and miss this season. He has three wins, including two shutouts, but he also has two losses, including a game that Schiltzberg gave up 12 runs. When Simmons is in control, he does very well, but he seems to have the tendency to let it get to his head once players start hitting against him, and he has let two games get away from him. If he can get this under control and just pitch every game with the lights out stuff we have seen a little bit of thus far, he has the potential to be one of the highlights of Schiltzberg's rotation.

4. Oliver Davis, (3-2) 4.31 ERA
Davis has done decently well for his first time in the WBC. He has three wins, but two losses, and he still has to prove himself to the team and the fans that he deserves to be in this great rotation. He gave up six or more runs in both of his losses, and his first win was high scoring too, as he gave up seven runs in that game. Fortunately, he has pulled the win more times than not, but if he wants to succeed, he cannot bank on Schiltzberg's offense bailing him out, and he will have to keep the opposing runners from scoring against him.

5. Steven Murray, (3-1), 3.00 ERA
Murray had a great WBC debut, throwing a complete game shutout against Tenburg, and overall, he has done very well. Him and Simmons seem to be the two gems of the new players this season, as they have both done very well to this point, and both will likely return as a part of next year's roster. Murray had one bad game, which was his second start. He gave up five runs, earning the loss, but he came back and won his next two games, so that was good. He has a lot of potential, and we hope that he can give Schiltzberg that extra edge by getting them the win in those fifth-starter games, sort of a dark horse pitcher.

This Is Your New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News!

[Ko-oren]

The Big One

I'm in Katashi. I knew this city was big. I knew this city wasn't always in the national spotlight with equally large cities like Willowbourne, Greencaster and Aminey lying close together. I definitely didn't know that Katashi has it all - any office, company, store, anything, you name it, it's in Katashi as well. Whereas some duties are shared between the three cities previously mentioned, every single facility is present in Katashi alone, it even has a metro system. The way the city grew, in many short bursts, gives every neighbourhood its own character, too. There's downtown (Kanatsu), indistinguishable from many modern metropolises. Glass and steel laid in between perfectly square roads. Then there's Maesaki, the historical area, which has most shops and commercial areas. Maesaki is littered with small parks, too. Yonenomura, once a completely detached city, is the harbour suburb, with its own difficulties and opportunities. Kurino has the spread-out eastern suburbs, with many architectural quirks to hide the fact that it's just a lot of houses. Takigahara is the hilly west side, with historically many estates, but nowadays also has many houses for regular folk. Omabe is the new downtown, offering a lot of employment without bogging down the already existing areas, cutting down commutes for many. Omabe also holds a lot of other public buildings: the stadiums, the museums, and it's just slightly less of a boring grid-glass-steel area. Odahayashi, lastly, is a technological hub, with universities, corporations, many foreign workers and therefore many exotic cuisines in its restaurants. Apart from the big businesses, there are also many small shops and restaurants aimed towards people from any place.

That's the touristy bit done. Katashi has absolutely stolen my heart, in a big city way. It doesn't have the loveliness of Alara and Etena, neither the nature of Selesi, but I'll pick Katashi any day of the week over Greencaster, Willowbourne or Aminey.

My plan for the remaining three series is as follows: one series in Katashi, one series in western Leleia, one series in eastern Leleia. Katashi is situated on a landbridge connecting the two parts of Leleia, which means that between series two and three, I'll have to go back through Katashi. And I don't think that's any kind of punishment at all.

Katashi is also the only place home to two baseball teams. One (the Generals) plays from Omabe, the other (the Giants) from a much more homely Maesaki. The difference between the two is obvious. The Generals are a star-riddled team, as fast as the area they're in, with fans from all over Katashi. The Giants are a team that have as much of a professional staff, but haven't lost touch with their roots, from the small-business Maesaki.

My opponent for these three days was Ngongo. Just before the crucial series against Cassadaigua and the Equestrian States, there was a bit of a warm-up opponent first. But as we've seen recently, that doesn't mean we're walking away with three victories easily. To keep the Equestrian States at bay, we'd need at least one more win than them, so we have a complete series on them. Our last six games might very well be 0-6 or 1-5 or something, and that means we only need the States to do just a little better than us for no negative consequences. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, and get to the games.

Day one was reminiscent of some of the first 15 games. A lead from the start and only running away from there. Ngongo scored a run on their first inning, but had to wait until the seventh for another one. The Dragonflies had scored 6 in that span, and added a 7th in the bottom of the 7th. Game two was an even bigger victory defensively. For the first time in so long, the Dragonflies had managed to not give up a run at all. Not just that, but the first hit came in the sixth inning, which meant that our homegrown pitcher Tsunehisa Kumagaya, playing for the local Giants, did not give up a hit. There were more Giants on the field today. Catcher Kimura was playing all game and was errorless. Ishimaki had a good game in centre field. Those were the Giants. Gotou, a Generals player, had himself a solid game as short stop. Ishimaki was not just good defensively, offensively he reached first base on every single at bat. Gotou was the one to bat him in on one occasion, for a cross-town play to get Ko-oren up 3-0. There was one more run for 4-0, and by the end of the fourth, that was it for runs. There was some sloppy play by Ngongo, but nothing was capitalised on. Then the third game: Ngongo did score 5 runs, but the Dragonflies seemed to have a base hit every third or fourth ball, and they were unstoppable. Often it still went wrong once there was somebody on third base, but eight runs are nothing to laugh at. It wasn't a 15+ run game for Ko-oren, but an 8-5 win is still pretty good on the offensive side of things. It was 5-1 after the sixth inning, when Ko-oren started a policy of a homerun per inning to turn the 1 into an 8 within two innings.

Cassadaigua won three games against Lisander and are still one game ahead of us. Equestrian States went 2-1 over Kita-Hinode, and are now 3 games behind us. Next up is Cassadaigua, which I'll watch from Nitoya. Even if all goes as wrong as it possibly could, we'll be tied with Equestrian States at 17 wins after that. And then it's time for the last series against Equestrian States which could very well decide which of these two teams goes to the Round of 18/16. For the optimists: two wins over the Equestrian States get us in the top 2 whatever we do against Cassadaigua. One win against the Equestrian States and one against Cassadaigua gets us to 19 and gets the Equestrian States to a possible maximum of 19, which should still be enough. For the pessimists: we're not in yet. Not by a long shot.

[Banija]

Banija baseball in pole position for knockout stages with two series, but must face two top 20 teams to get there


Buba Ceesay(#9) throws a ball into the crowd after a win against the Japan

HERZEGOVINA CITY- The Kingdom of Banija national baseball team has already accomplished their original goal, putting baseball back on the map in Banija. With 15 wins from their first 24 games, they have already vastly improved upon their win total at the last edition of this event, when they started 1-8 and finished with a 9-21 record in group play. Now, of course, look where this team is. In an extremely tough group, and Banija being the fourth highest ranked team out of six in this group, find themselves in second place in group play, and barring a miracle by Hulaliwo, seem guaranteed to finish at least in the top half of the group stages. Not bad for a team that, at the beginning of the last World Baseball Classic, couldn't seem to beat anybody to save their own lives.

Of course, how has this team done this? Through pitching and defense. Banija was never known as an offensive juggernaut, but they are here, playing excellent defense, pitchers pitching some outstanding games, and keeping their opponents off the scoreboard. That is putting Banija in a position that nobody thought possible- they are on the cusp of completing a miracle, and qualifying for the knockout stages of this tournament. Of course, this is all relative to the competition that Banija is playing. Every single team in Group 6 has allowed over 100 runs thus far in the tournament, and this is the only group that statement is true for. It is also one of two groups where every single team has hit the century mark in total runs over this season, so this is a group where offense is king.

That said, Banija, in this group, while keeping up, is doing a great job of keeping their opponents off the board. While our squad has scored 132 runs, which is a pretty good total, we have also allowed "only" 114 runs in this group defined by great hitting and base-running, which is good for the best runs allowed total in group play, by quite a bit- Hampton Island, already eliminated, is second best with "only" allowing 127 runs. Why then, have we been praising Banija's pitchers? Well, our pitchers are a young group, in a country without much of a baseball culture. Without a full-time professional league, their ability to develop is very limited.

Our pitchers are coming in and making big pitches. We play also, of course, at a pitcher's ballpark, with large dimensions and great grass that make it hard for a ball to fly out of the park, and is good for outfielders to run on. The ball, as Herzegovina City is not at altitude, does not fly as well here, as balls that would be home runs in more hitters ballparks tend to die out over the outfield here. We have bullpen pitchers who are making big pitches in big situations. Just take a look at game two in our last series, how we were able to hold on and scrape for a win in that game.

Idi Sene came on the mound, in the top of the 6th, with a 4-2 lead but men on the corners with nobody out. What did he do? He then forced Tom Taffy to ground into a double play, and while the runner from third scored, he cleared the bases, to allow his squad to keep a 4-3 lead. But then, of course, three more innings. Banija could not score against their opponent's bullpen, but Banija's bullpen stepped up to the plate. Idi Sene got the final out of the sixth, and got two more outs in the 7th, before allowing a two out double. Having gotten 5 outs, he then relinquished the baseball to Karamo Jammeh, who immediately allowed a single. However, the ball was hit extremely hard, and it went on a perfect one-hopper to Kamara Singateh, and he gunned the runner down at the plate to keep the lead 4-3 for the hosts. Branco pitched the 8th, while Kayode closed out the 9th.

And then, of course, it was Banija's offense that woke up, scoring 8 runs in the high scoring affair against DEAT by Chocolate. This was an intriguing game- both teams scored in the first inning, and then in the second inning, Adama Jobateh was getting rocked. He had allowed a home run in the first, and had loaded the bases, before an inning ending double play. That took him 38 pitches. Then, in the second inning, he loaded the bases again, and allowed a 2 run double. He then walked the number 9 hitter, meaning that the bases were loaded, with only one out, and he was 62 pitches into the game. Cloutier had a choice to make- keep his starter in, or pull him after only 4 outs?

It was a tough choice, but with the stakes getting higher as there are fewer and fewer games left to be played, and with every single win being a huge step towards Banija's goal of making the knockout stages, Cloutier pulled his starter, and inserted his long reliever. Buwa Kabba immediately got a double play, and pitched all the way through the 7th inning, only allowing one run. It could have been a disaster for Banija's bullpen, but Kabba logging all those innings really saved the pen. Banija's offense ended up coming alive, scoring in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings, to make sure this game was out of reach.

Now, of course, Banija is 15-9, and we are in second place. The group is looking interesting. With 5th ranked Scootalove City at 19-5, Banija at 15-9, and Hicana at 13-11, it will be a tight race until the end. And, of course, who are Banija's last two opponents? We have a three game set in Scootalove City, where we will try to steal a game as we likely watch Scootalove City clinch a spot in the knockout stages, as the only way for them to miss the knockout stages would be to lose out while HIcana win out, which we don't think is happening. After that, of course, we have a massive three game set at home against Hicana, and the group's second representative in the knockout stages will be decided at Mugisha III Field.

There is expected record attendance for that series, as that is the only series of this tournament where it has been sold out this far in advance. The Olympic Committee of Banija, the operators of that stadium, are adding 4,000 standing room only tickets, and those have been sold out too. It is going to be a huge series, though it's going to be a tough one. Here's what's up though- what's going to happen in Banija's next series, against Scootalove City? Scootalove City swept Banija the first time around, at Mugisha III Field. Is it going to be any different for the Banijans away from home? We doubt it, but stealing a win on the road would be a massive step towards the knockout stages.

Of course, the rotation is going to be interesting. Will Raymond Cloutier scramble the rotation? Of course, at this point, for our last 6 games, we have Lallo Ndiaye starting the next game, and then we go 1-5 down the line. Cloutier has only confirmed that staff ace Musa Sidibeh will pitch game 2 of the Scootalove City series, while Sidibeh would prepare to start on three days rest for game 30 against Hicana, and that he is 'confident' Sidibeh could do so, despite Sidibeh never having done so in his life. How will the other pitchers line up, however? We have Junkung Corr scheduled to pitch game 3 of the Scootalove City series. But would he be better off pitching the next game, game 1 against Hicana? Putting up your best pitchers in the biggest moments is what you want to do in this chess game we play on a diamond in front of 40,000+, and we are unlikely to win that game anyways.

It might depend on what happens with Hicana's series. Hicana is playing the group's #3 seed, Hampton Island, who are ranked 32nd but have had an extremely disappointing tournament, as they are currently in last place. If Hicana looks on the way to sweeping Hampton Island, and Banija is on its way to getting swept by Scootalove City, then he might start Corr in the last game to try and desperately get a win against a top 5 squad. It's hard to say, but all we know for sure is that Lallo Ndiaye is getting the ball in game 1, while Musa Sidibeh will get the ball in game 2.

What a tournament this shaping out to be. But here's the question- can Banija shock the world and enter the knockout stages of the World Baseball Classic? Crazier things have happened- like Banija's magical run to the quarterfinals in their first ever World Cup of Hockey, only to fall on a last minute goal to #1 seed and host nation Savojarna. We'll keep our eyes peeled on this massive three game set with Scootalove City.