World Baseball Classic 46- Everything Thread

[Hapilopper]

GARDNER, FOREST SENT HOME AFTER UGLY INCIDENT IN FREE REPUBLICS - SUSPENDED FOR ONE GAME
By Cassandra Jennings
Hapilopper Television Network

LAMBRIDGE, TCS, FREE REPUBLICS - Charlton Forest and HNBT manager Carl Gardner have been sent home and suspended one game each after an ugly incident in the botton of the 8th inning of their game with the Free Republics National Baseball Game.

The incident marred what had been a very good game which saw the Hapiloppians tied with the Republicans going into that inning. The inning was led off by Designated Hitter Nicholas Fisher, who had been the center of some controversy, even though he hadn't even done anything.

There had been a philosophical disagreement over the use of the Designated Hitter. The National League of Hapilopper has adamantly been opposed to the use of the DH, and the DH is not used in HNBT home games.

However, the DH is used in Free Republics, giving a bat to a player that doesn't even have to take the field like real players. It had been rumored that the Republicans took offense to not being allowed to use a DH and took it out on Hapilopper in game one, leading to a five-run first inning.

Forest had run a complete game into the 8th inning, even striking Fisher out on two occasions, generating an unusual amount of celebration from the normally-reserved ace of the Hapilopper staff. When Fisher came up in the bottom of the 8th, however, several things happened.

According to video footage from HTN's broadcast of the game, Gardner pointed to his head, indicating to Forest that it was time to throw inside. Sure enough, his very first pitch of Fisher's 4th at-bat of the game was a fastball aimed at the DH's head. Fortunately, Fisher ducked, but the message was sent. The benches quickly cleared, and after about a dozen minutes, order was restored, but the umpiring crew ejected both Forest and Gardner.

The brushback pitch was ill-timed. The Republicans came alive, scoring two runs, first from a Fisher home run, then from Evelin Norberg, who scored from first on a Philipp Schmitz single, in one of the most impressive baserunning displays in the young WBC thus far.

After the game ended, the WBC confirmed both Forest and Gardner was suspended for the attempted beanball.

"The World Baseball Classic has confirmed that Charlton Forest, on orders from manager Carl Gardner, threw a pitch with obvious intent of hitting Nicholas Fisher in the head," read a release from WBC officials. "This action is unacceptable in our eyes, and thus, both individuals have been suspended for one game."

Levi Berry, frustrated over the loss, was angered by the actions of both Gardner and Forest.

"That stunt took us out of the game," he said angrily. "The Republican bats came alive and we had nothing for it. What the hell are we going to do the next time we play them? We can't keep doing things like this."

The stunt overshadowed a frustrating week of baseball, when an inability to bring runners home in the Hampton Island game led to extra innings before their trained bear, Midnight, blasted a tape-measure shot to deep center field to walk it off for the Golden Bears in the 14th, in one of the longest home runs ever recorded in Hampton Island.

"You see, the time was right for me to take care of business," Midnight said through an interpreter to HTN. "Hapilopper had gotten to the point where their backup catcher had taken the hill, and fortunately for me, the ball sailed perfectly for me to hit it with all my might. The HNBT are tremendous competitors in the field of battle, and real sportsmen."

It also overshadowed a magnificent performance in game five where solid hitting, most notably Brandt Williamson's "Oppo-Taco Bell" grand slam put the HNBT over Trastamar, who never really had a chance in their game.

"You know, we were in position to advance after the Trastamar game," said Leroy Hunnisett, visibly angry after the Free Republics game. "We were 2nd on run differential, and if we hadn't screwed this up, heaven knows what we might have done. Now what?"

Hapilopper now sits 4th of the six-team group and with a real shot of getting eliminated in the group stage.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Matchday 4

Group 4
Ancherion                0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  5
The Greater Nordics      0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  6

Ethane                   0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  7
Scootalove City          0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 0  5

Devonta                  0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2  5
Newmanistan              0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan               4    3   1    26   12  +14     9
2 The Greater Nordics       4    2   2    14   21   −7     6
3 Devonta                   4    2   2    17   13   +4     6
4 Ancherion                 4    2   2    20   20    0     6
5 Ethane                    4    2   2    19   26   −7     6
6 Scootalove City           4    1   3    20   24   −4     3

Group 5
Abanhfleft               0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1  5
Anthor                   0 5 3 0 0 1 0 0 X  9

Schiltzberg              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Banija                   0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 X  3

Ko-Oren                  1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2  5
Pratapgadh               0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  3


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                    4    4   0    15    8   +7    12
2 Ko-Oren                   4    3   1    18   13   +5     9
3 Anthor                    4    2   2    17   19   −2     6
4 Abanhfleft                4    2   2    16   13   +3     6
5 Schiltzberg               4    1   3    11   15   −4     3
6 Pratapgadh                4    0   4    13   22   −9     0

Group 6
Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 2  8
Xanneria                 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Equestrian States        3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2  9
The Aurian Plains        0 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 0  5

West Phoenicia           1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3
Alpine Union             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana            4    4   0    22    9  +13    12
2 Alpine Union              4    3   1    29   16  +13     9
3 Equestrian States         4    2   2    14   19   −5     6
4 West Phoenicia            4    2   2    12    8   +4     6
5 The Aurian Plains         4    1   3    23   33  −10     3
6 Xanneria                  4    0   4    12   27  −15     0

Matchday 5

Group 4
Newmanistan              1 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 1  8
Ancherion                0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  3

Scootalove City          1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0  6
Devonta                  0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 5  9

The Greater Nordics      1 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 0  6
Ethane                   2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan               5    4   1    34   15  +19    12
2 The Greater Nordics       5    3   2    20   24   −4     9
3 Devonta                   5    3   2    26   19   +7     9
4 Ethane                    5    2   3    22   32  −10     6
5 Ancherion                 5    2   3    23   28   −5     6
6 Scootalove City           5    1   4    26   33   −7     3

Group 5
Pratapgadh               1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0  4
Abanhfleft               0 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 X  5

Banija                   0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1  7
Ko-Oren                  0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0  6

Anthor                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4  4
Schiltzberg              0 0 0 1 0 2 3 0 X  6


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                    5    5   0    22   14   +8    15
2 Abanhfleft                5    3   2    21   17   +4     9
3 Ko-Oren                   5    3   2    24   20   +4     9
4 Schiltzberg               5    2   3    17   19   −2     6
5 Anthor                    5    2   3    21   25   −4     6
6 Pratapgadh                5    0   5    17   27  −10     0

Group 6
Alpine Union             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Nova Anglicana           0 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 X  5

The Aurian Plains        0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1  5
West Phoenicia           0 1 0 0 0 0 6 1 X  8

Xanneria                 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0  4
Equestrian States        0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 X  5


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana            5    5   0    27    9  +18    15
2 Alpine Union              5    3   2    29   21   +8     9
3 West Phoenicia            5    3   2    20   13   +7     9
4 Equestrian States         5    3   2    19   23   −4     9
5 The Aurian Plains         5    1   4    28   41  −13     3
6 Xanneria                  5    0   5    16   32  −16     0

Matchday 6

Group 4
Ancherion                2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0  7
Ethane                   0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 3  9

The Greater Nordics      0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Devonta                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2

Scootalove City          0 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0  7
Newmanistan              0 0 0 1 1 0 4 0 0  6


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Devonta                   6    4   2    28   20   +8    12
2 Newmanistan               6    4   2    40   22  +18    12
3 The Greater Nordics       6    3   3    21   26   −5     9
4 Ethane                    6    3   3    31   39   −8     9
5 Ancherion                 6    2   4    30   37   −7     6
6 Scootalove City           6    2   4    33   39   −6     6

Group 5
Abanhfleft               0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Schiltzberg              2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  4

Anthor                   0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0  4
Ko-Oren                  8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 X  9

Banija                   0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3  4
Pratapgadh               1 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 X  6


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                    6    5   1    26   20   +6    15
2 Ko-Oren                   6    4   2    33   24   +9    12
3 Abanhfleft                6    3   3    22   21   +1     9
  Schiltzberg               6    3   3    21   20   +1     9
5 Anthor                    6    2   4    25   34   −9     6
6 Pratapgadh                6    1   5    23   31   −8     3

Group 6
Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0  4
Equestrian States        0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  3

Xanneria                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
West Phoenicia           1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 X  2

The Aurian Plains        2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  6
Alpine Union             2 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  5


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana            6    6   0    31   12  +19    18
2 West Phoenicia            6    4   2    22   13   +9    12
3 Alpine Union              6    3   3    34   27   +7     9
4 Equestrian States         6    3   3    22   27   −5     9
5 The Aurian Plains         6    2   4    34   46  −12     6
6 Xanneria                  6    0   6    16   34  −18     0

[Lycrabon]

Strong run continues

ST. CATHERINE - 5-1. Pretty good start.

Starting pitching continued in the second set of three, as a 3-hit, 1-run performance was followed by the only loss thus far, a 4-2 defeat to Tornado Queendom. Even at that, the Jays only allowed 7hits. The second run through the group was a sluggish 5-3 win over the Cosumar Dragons. The sky blue and black allowed 6 hits in the game.

The current stats for the pitchers:

Jason Hagan (2-0) 5 R, 13 H, 23K, 7 BB, 1.25 ERA
Zachary Horton (1-0) 3 R, 10 H, 6 K, 2 BB, 3.00 ERA
Jason Gentry (1-0) 3 R, 10 H, 4 K, 6 BB, 3.00 ERA
Jay Kearns (1-0) 1R, 3 H, 16 K, 1 BB, 1.00 ERA
Will Anderson (0-1) 4 R, 7 H, 6 K, 4 BB, 4.00 ERA

[The Sherpa Empire]

Although it is legal to practice Christianity in the Sherpa Empire, including the version that is called "the True Church" in Saintland, it is very uncommon. Buddhism is the national religion of the Sherpas, and most people that aren't Buddhist are Hindu, Muslim, or atheist. Because of this, the team from Saintland did not receive a warm welcome. When they arrived in Guilin, a border control officer told King Paulus rather pointedly, in heavily accented English with broken grammar, that it was illegal for foreign visitors to proselytize for any religion other than Buddhism.

And it didn't get any better after that...

An irreverent local man -- an overweight computer programmer whose entire apartment was packed with beer steins, ornate baijiu bottles, and Guilin Pangolins merchandise -- had organized a crowd-funding campaign, attempting to hire local celebrities Kai Qiang and Zaoju Gang to come to Seven Star Stadium in drag and put on a raunchy spectacle for the visiting Sanctii. Qiang was an NSSCRA driver who had a reputation for gender-bending kink and a real flair for dance. Gang was an exceptionally large sumo wrestler with a lot of body hair and absolutely no flair for dance whatsoever.

At first Qiang and Gang both laughed it off as a bad joke, and neither of them seriously considered showing up in drag -- but when the campaign raised upwards of 20 million rupees, it was kind of hard to say no. Qiang still refused, but Gang took the money. In the middle of the 5th inning, while the Sanctii were making their way onto the field and some pretty girl in a silk dress was firing a t-shirt cannon into the crowd, Gang climbed onto the roof of the Santii dugout and tore off his tunic, revealing a sparkling red bikini and his huge rolls of fat. Fans laughed as he bounced to the music, jiggling his flab, but park security was NOT amused. Gang was escorted out of the stadium, still waving to the crowd and shimmying for their amusement.

Kai Qiang, who had come to the park wearing totally ordinary black jeans and a Lakpa Fang Pangolins jersey, was still laughing about it with his wife when park security figured out what had happened and took him aside for a thorough search and some aggressive questioning. Since they did not find any evidence that Qiang had brought props for a similar stunt, they allowed him to return to his seat and watch the rest of the game, but he had missed a good chunk of the 6th inning by then and he was annoyed about the search.

After the game, when there was time to review the case more thoroughly and actual law enforcement got involved, the money was confiscated and the man who had organized the crowd-funding campaign was arrested -- but too late to stop the incident from becoming a national embarrassment and too late to stop the moral crusaders like Kencha Adhikari from being outraged.

[Ko-oren]

Roster moves and Stadium plans

Never change a winning strategy! Is what you'd normally say, but we also all know that not adapting your style means that other teams will overtake you before long. The WBC is cutthroat enough that if you don't develop between tournaments, the likes of Newmanistan and West Phoenicia (who are both masters at this) will make you pay. The Dragonflies never really were in a position where they could do much worse than before, only... we're entering this WBC as champions. And we're not ready to give up that title.

So, the staff made some changes to the standard game plan. Not only has the 'all defence all the time' motto gone out of the window, some eternal national teamers have not been selected as well. First of all, shortstop Ritsushima, who has been defensively solid all WBC 45, showcased huge speed and reached first base more than expected. He's been moved to the top of the order, and we expect a few stolen bases here and there. Next up is a new face, Esumi, from the Katashi Generals, and with his 28 years of age he is a younger player than the person he replaced. Left fielder Peredo is still on the team, as a starter now, one of the better hitters in the league. Another new player is Lema, third baseman. Now we're up to the cleanup crew, batting fifth and sixth (in non-DH games), Vamada and Viera, 26 and 24 respectively, and the youngest members of the team. Normally you'd see slower, usually older players, in these positions, but the staff has gone for contact/speed for the top of the order and hitting/speed in the middle. Solely hitting the ball and bringing in runs isn't enough. The entire lineup should be able to reach first, rather than having a few pinch runners and a few pinch hitters. Kagulazaka, the catcher, is a returnee from the 45 squad, a pure defender and likely the best member of that winning team. Fouquet is the last one in the order, even after the pitcher, as a first baseman who is really good at not letting anything reach first - but not much else. At least, he's not good enough at the other skills.

As you see, base running and contact are the selection criteria - but defensive skills obviously still play a decent role.

Stadium assignment per game is also the same as last Classic. The highest ranked opponents will play in the largest cities with the largest stadiums, and the lower ranked teams will visit our smaller venues. Every city with a top league team will host a WBC match.

MD2 v Schiltzberg @ Katashi Dome (58,000), Katashi, Yoshima
MD5 v Banija @ Obsidian Park (35,000), Suvira, Yoshima
MD6 v Anthor @ Naminaka Park (11,500), Schemerdrecht, Intermare
MD8 v Abanhfleft @ Ventovente (20,000), Ferrovente, Finisterre
MD9 v Pratapgadh @ Ginofruit Field (28,000), Arakura, Yoshima
MD12 v Schiltzberg @ Katashi Dome (58,000), Katashi, Yoshima
MD15 v Banija @ Twin Field (27,000), Nitoya, Yoshima
MD16 v Anthor @ Vamada Océanique (12,700), Étouille, Côte Austral
MD18 v Abanhfleft @ The Citadel (37,000), Santa Teresa, Finisterre
MD19 v Pratapgadh @ Uvesaki Field (24,000), Echizen, Yoshima
MD22 v Schiltzberg @ Katashi Dome (58,000), Katashi, Yoshima
MD25 v Banija @ Obsidian Park (35,000), Suvira, Yoshima
MD26 v Anthor @ Le Losange (20,000), Aminey, Côte Austral
MD28 v Abanhfleft @ Ventovente (20,000), Ferrovente, Finisterre
MD29 v Pratapgadh @ Vidari Stadium (22,000), Teragaseki, Yoshima

Schiltzberg will visit Katashi Dome, our largest baseball stadium, in the largest baseball city. Abanhfleft will visit the two powerhouses in Finisterre, the desert-like Romance-speaking cities. Banija will visit the places that were snubbed last time: Suvira and Nitoya. Anthor will go to the non-typical baseball cities of Schemerdrecht, Étouille and Aminey, that have all gotten their professional team in the last 3 years. These are cities that cricket is also trying to encroach on, but the administration behind the baseball league has unilaterally decided that its teams should move to those areas in order to secure a following before cricket can. Pratapgadh will visit the smaller cities in Yoshima that have hosted matches before: the three northern Yoshima islands where Echizen, Teragaseki, and Arakura are located.

[Free Republics]

For the third WBC in a row, the Free Republics visited the Taxachusetts Charter Society, an allegedly communist charter society owned by the Safari corporation, an online retailing giant. Upon its takeover of Taxachusetts, Safari had run every other company out of business, leaving only Safari jobs and jobs in the Safari-run government open to residents of Taxachusetts. The decision to play here was not popular with members of the team, but the contract had specified that Conway Park would receive 3 WBC games so the National Team had to return here (OOC: Actually, I forgot to replace that ballpark on my roster after WBC 44 so contractually requiring the team to play 3 games there explains why they're still playing there.). The contract also prohibited the National Baseball Team from "disparaging" Safari during the term of the contract under penalty of paying a heavy penalty to Safari. Safari would have made the "non-disparagement" term permanent but the Republican courts had ruled such clauses unenforceable violations of freedom of speech if they still applied after a business relationship was terminated and Safari rightly assumed that they would not be able to get away with sending the case to the Taxachusetts "courts" which now had Safari executives with no legal background whatsoever masquerading as judges and overseeing farcical trials.

Sometime during the past year, Safari had changed its policies due to a "labor shortage" to require students at its high schools to work part-time jobs for Safari after-school including full 10 hour days on the weekends. This was done to increase Safari's profits which had been flat over the previous year and thus raise the price of Safari stock. It was also in keeping with Safari CEO Laban Hakansson's philosophy of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" which was the founding principle of the Charter Society with "need" interpreted specifically as "the minimum level of comfort needed for the workers to continue working" to make stuff so that Safari's executives could make lots of money selling cheap stuff to people fortunate enough to be born somewhere other than Safari's Taxachusetts fiefdom.

Remarkably, Safari managed to avoid public outrage by limiting media scrutiny of their Charter Society. It also didn't hurt them that Malifornia was now a crypto-totalitarian theocracy run by religious fanatics from a sect considered by most to be only slightly more moderate than the Church of Saintland. Since reports about religious extremism in Malifornia drew more clicks than reports about Safari enslaving the people of Taxachusetts to enrich Safari, the media focused on the former and ignored the latter. This was exactly as Hakansson, who now owned the Republica Post and had tons of connections within the media, liked it.

Conway Park was packed with the best performing Safari serfs plus all of the company's executives to watch the Free Republics face Hapilopper in a game that turned ugly after the pitcher for Hapilopper intentionally threw at Nicholas Fisher's head. The news media found out that Hapilopper had been offended by the fact that the Republicans use the DH rule and had decided to attempt to deliberately injure the Republican DH as part of an insane attempt to get the Republicans to let pitchers bat at home games. Republican baseball had long since gotten rid of pitcher batting because they regarded the idea of letting a terrible hitter bat and produce a guaranteed out as cheating the fans out of a competitive at bat. Both the pitcher and catcher involved in the plot would be suspended for 1 game, a complete slap on the wrist since their catcher probably needed a day off anyway and their pitcher wasn't going to be starting back to back games.

Ultimately, the stunt would cost them the game as Fisher would get out of the way of the pitch, a brawl would ensue that Fisher went to great lengths to stay out of, the umpire would toss the 2 instigators and the Free Republics would take the lead on a Fisher home run. The Free Republics reached 5-1. The only blemish had come against Tierra de Castro due to a Mario Rothschild meltdown in the bottom of the 8th, culminating in a 2 out Adan Carita grand slam. Isaias Tejeda had led off the inning with a solo homer on Rothschild's first pitch so he allowed 5 runs in total in the inning.

In Republica, a couple of college students watched the Hapilopper game live. After the game, they headed to the local AllMart MegaCenter to purchase ingredients for an apple pie. Both Elio Lucchese and Sarah Fuerst had been accepted into Sister Polus's procession of local Christian kids who would serve as glorified props for her speech outside the Supreme Court building. The local youth came from a variety of different denominations though Polus insisted that all young women who wished to participate wear the head covering. The Salvation Circle and the True Church had secretly put lots of money into an advocacy front that advocated the Sanctii-style head covering as a symbol of Christian faith for women and within the Free Republics it had become accepted as a mostly nondenominational symbol of Christianity over the past generation, especially among the various fundamentalist denominations who increasingly saw a need to adopt more radical theological views to avoid losing believers to the Salvation Circle.

All week long, the Supreme Court had been announcing ruling after ruling, usually ruling in favor of the position favored by the Liberty Party which was the political party of both Kyle Bolton and Scarlett Nicholls and was currently the ruling party in the Assembly as well, in coalition with the Radical Alliance. While the Senate was still mostly controlled by Moderate Liberal Conservative senators despite that party's implosion in all of the democratically elected bodies, they mostly rubber-stamped the Liberty Party's agenda out of deference to democracy and a desire to avoid a return to the Imperial Consul, governing independently of the legislature, of the Kulseth and O'Reilly periods. While most of the religious extremists expected to win the Doe v. Malifornia case, Sister Polus was already preparing a speech on the assumption that her side would lose in the hope that she could turn the defeat into a rallying cry that would fill up the Assembly with Christians in the midterm elections later in the year...

[West Phoenicia]

The West Phoenician Confederates started the World Baseball Classic 46th edition with a slight hiccup. Only winning 1 of their first 3 games. The two upsets were caused by Nova Anglicana and Equestrian States.
With so many strong ranked teams in this classic the Confederates are fully awake to the realisation this will be a tough series.
There first game on home soil at the Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II Stadium against The Equestrian States was a nightmare. Their opponent won the day in a 2-0 game, a slap in the face to the first game in the season.
West Phoenician fans who are some of the most outspoken did not hesitate to yell and curse at the opposing team. Extra security had to be called in to get the opposing team safely on the boss. While other fans critiqued the new players to the Confederate squad who they felt let down the team.

But the Confederates to their credit did not sorrow in the misery of 2 losses, they regrouped and came out fighting taking the next 3 games and placing them second in the pool. Confederate management have advised this will be a tough season and the grouping is liking to yo-yo alot has each team struggles to win to stay at the top.

[The Greater Nordics]

The WBC has started and the Nordic baseball team is off to a good start. They are 3-3 through the first 6 games, which is pretty good in this tough group. The first 3 games weren't good for the team as they went 1-2 but the team responded, going 2-1 in the next set of games. This team will continue to get tested in this tough group but they have the experience to battle. We will see how the team finishes up this time but it is looking to be better than last time.

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

After a good start, the Alpine Union loses three in a row

Potosi, Sonoma - (NAP) The Alpine Union was off to a good start, winning it's first three games and scoring 29 runs in these three games. Then the Bisons were blanked 3-0 by West Phoenicia and 5-0 by Nova Anglicana. The on matchday six, the Reprezentacja Alpejski lost 6-5 at home against The Aurian Plains, an unranked team.

Starting pitchers were Tyler Floyd (1-0) and Izaya Enumota (0-1). In the top first inning, Nolan Parenko was the first at bat and he hitted a single. Then Jessie Carragher hitted a hit and run, he was safe at the first base and Parenko reached the 3rd base. Wallace Corky followed at bat and he struck out. Harold Schneider hitted a double, Parenko scored and Carragher advanced to the 3rd base. Francesco di Firenzo followed with a sacrife fly, Carragher scored and the score was 2-0 Aurian Plains. Wilton Jimenez was the first at bat in the bottom 1st inning and he hitted a triple. Stijn Bolsenbroek was grounded out, Jimenez stayed at 3rd base. Szandra Szucsanszki followed with a double, Jimenez scored. Gustavo Mendoza was flied out. Kevin McNeill followed with a single, Szucsanszki scored from the 1st base and the game was tied at 2-2.

In the top 2nd inning, Kory Xavier hitted a single. Joseph Elmont was safe on fielder's choice. Izaya Enumota hitted a sacrifice bunt, Elmont was safe at the 2nd base. Nolan Parenko hitted a two runs homerun and the score was 4-2 Golden Foxes. Wallace Corky was the first at bat in the 3rd inning and he hitted a solo homerun to put the score at 5-2 Aurian Plains.

Kevin McNeill batted first in the bottom 4th inning and he hitted a double. Esmeralda Sanchez walked. Zlatan Belec hitted a single, McNeill scored from the 2nd base, Sanchez advanced to 2nd base. Madison O'Keefe was flied out. Runners stays on bases. Pinch hitter Logan Hamburger hitted a single, Sanchez advanced to 3rd base, Belec to 2nd base. Bases were loaded for Wilton Jimenez and he walked, Sanchez scored. Bases were still loaded for Stijn Bolsenbroek but he hitted in a double play to end the inning. The score was 5-4 Aurian Plains.

Jessie Carragher was the first at bat in the 5th inning and he was grounded out. Wallace Corky hitted a double. Harold Schneider also hitted a double, Corky scored. The Aurian Plains were leading 6-4. Szandra Szucsanszki batted first in the bottom 5th and she was flyed out. Gustavo Mendoza followed with a solo homerun and Aurian Plains lead was cut to 6-5. Then no one scored for the remainder of the game and it was the final score. Winning pitcher was Izaya Enumota (1-1), Elmo Ryerson got the save and Tyler Floyd (1-1) was the losing pitcher.

On the next three matchdays, the Bisons will travel to Xanneria, receive the Equestrian States at Kovacic Sportni Park in Dobravlje and travel to West Phoenicia. Starting pitchers for the Greens will be Rusty Castillo (1-0), Alejandro Gonzalez (1-0) and Zvonimir Hajrovic (0-1).

Dragomir Kovacevic,
National Alpine Press

[Hapilopper]

NLH FIRES MANAGER GARDNER, PUBLICLY APOLOGIZES TO FREE REPUBLICS
By Cassandra Jennings
Hapilopper Television Network

HAPILOPPER CITY - Carl Gardner was fired as manager of the Hapilopper National Baseball Team today as part of the fallout behind an intended hit-by-pitch in their game against Free Republics.

In addition, the National League of Hapilopper, who operates the team, as well as pitcher Charlton Forest, who threw the pitch, issued separate public apologies for the incident.

In Forest's statement, he made it clear that the attempted beaning of Nicholas Fisher in the bottom of the 8th inning of the Republican/HNBT game was the idea of Gardner and not him.

"I was against it, I didn't want to do it, and I thought it was a stupid idea," Forest said. "Gardner said something about playing baseball the right way, and to him, that meant pitchers hitting. I don't know of a dumber reason to hit someone. Fisher didn't do anything to deserve it, and I don't understand why I was ordered to go up there and bean him."

Forest explained that Gardner told him that he would have been pulled in favor of another pitcher if he didn't agree to the beaning.

"He threatened to pull me and throw me off the team if I didn't throw the beanball," Forest said. "I wish I would have just lied to him and just pitch to him. That cost us a big win."

NLH Commissioner James Parkhurst was less diplomatic in his statement, angrily suggesting that Gardner could face possible sanctions that would prevent him from going back to the HC Nationals, where he serves as the team's manager.

"We're not going to tolerate something that would reflect poorly on Hapilopper as a country," Parkhurst said. "The fact is, Gardner ordered an unprovoked beaning of a player, and based off interviews we have conducted with Mr. Charlton Forest, Mr. Morris Beverly and Mr. Carl Gardner, we have determined the beaning was ordered due to Gardner's frustrations over the Free Republics team using the Designated Hitter position. This action is unconscionable and will not be tolerated. Because of that, we also feel that action beyond removal from the national team could become necessary and could be announced at a later date."

Beverly, when asked by Venerable Television about his role, said he was also coerced into ordering the beaning.

"Skip said if Forest threw anything other than a fastball at the DH's head, he'd call time and sub both myself and Charlton out of the game," Beverly said. "I wasn't in favor of it, Charlton wasn't in favor of it and it cost us the game."

Gardner's replacement is Samuel Kitchens, the current manager of the Buckridge Blues, a manager known to protect his players from ejection when warranted.

Gardner declined to comment, and said he would make a detailed statement at a later date.

"I'll say my piece once the HNBT is out of the WBC," Gardner said on social media.

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions burst out of the gate at WBC 46

Samantha Maxwell, Londinium Courier

The Nova Anglicana Lions national baseball team have started hot, winning each of their first six games at WBC 46. They have played three at home and three on the road, but it has made very little difference to the team. Manager Orlando Murray, when asked about the team's start, "These boys love playing baseball and they love doing it on the big stage. Rookies, vets, at home or away, whatever it is, they rise to the challenge and I'm proud of them. We need to keep it up, though; it's a mighty long group stage and we're only a fifth of the way through."

The performance of the pitching staff has to be making Murray particularly glad. They've yielded just twelve runs so far (fewest of any team), for an average of a meager two runs per game. No team has scored more than four runs against them, with that number belonging to the unranked nation of The Aurian Plains. Leading the way has been the starting pitching with a 1.84 ERA. They have yielded just nine runs in 44 innings pitched, with a complete game mixed in. Particularly notable has been the starting pitching against the #1 and #3 seeds in the group, what many would consider to be the most difficult assignments.

In the first matchup against #2 overall West Phoenicia, it was Damian Ryan against the Confederates' Hieu Phan. While Phan pitched competently (a quality start of 6 IP and 3 ER), Ryan set down the first 14 hitters he faced before walking the 6th place hitter in the bottom of the 5th. He carried a no-hitter into the 7th, when, with two outs, the cleanup hitter Glen Melbourne singled sharply to right field to break it up. But Ryan forged on, setting down the next four batters in order. He entered the 9th with a hit and a walk allowed to go with 8 strikeouts. The pinch-hitter Gavin Tong singled softly to left, and after a strikeout of the leadoff hitter, back-to-back singles loaded the bases with one out and Melbourne striding to the plate. Murray made his move; calling to the bullpen, he thanked Ryan and brought in Nick Christensen. Christensen's pretty much a two-pitch pitcher, hard fastball and hard slider. Melbourne battled and fought off eight pitches before lofting a medium-depth fly ball to Matthew Gilbert in center. It was a close play at the plate, but Tong beat the throw and it was 3-1. Christensen set down the #5 hitter on three pitches to get the save and preserve the win.

A rookie, Erik Russell, drew the short straw for the matchup against the #14 Alpine Union. The Alpine Union had a strong 3-1 record, but Russell completely baffled them. Russell can throw his fastball four different ways, has two different changeups, a knuckle curve, and a slider. With him, you really never know what to expect, and data suggests he threw a lot at them. In his complete game shutout, Russell threw 101 pitches. Just 8 of them registered as conventional four-seam fastballs, just 10 as sliders, and a shockingly low 6 circle changeups. In between, he mixed in 21 knuckle curves and 16 sinking fastballs. But his primary pitch against the Alpines was the cutter, which he threw 40 times. Boring in on right-handers and slipping away from left-handers, it befuddled batters all night. Russell generated just six strikeouts on the night, but he only walked one and yielded just three hits. It was incredibly good for a first-time pitcher on the big stage. What's more, Russell says he'll have a different approach next time he faces them: "I threw a lot of cutters tonight. It's a good pitch, no doubt, but those guys are smart. They'll have me pegged next time. But I've got a couple of pitches I didn't use tonight, and a few that they only got a glimpse of. Pitch mix and changing speeds, different looks to the hitter, that's what I'm all about. So I think [pitching coach] Greg [Richardson] and I are going to sit down and strategize a different set of pitches and a couple of different looks for the next go-round."

While the offense hasn't been slouching (5.2 runs per game), it has been the pitching carrying the team so far. The Lions are hoping to keep up their good performance as they head into a three-game stretch against The Aurian Plains, West Phoenicia, and Xanneria.

[Newmanistan]

Matchday 7:

Group 1
Saintland                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Vangaziland                  0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X  3

Lisander                     4 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 0  9
The Holy Athonite State      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

The Sherpa Empire            0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1  3
Liventia                     1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1


  Group 1                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Lisander                      7    6   1    38   20  +18    18
2 The Sherpa Empire             7    4   3    39   24  +15    12
3 Saintland                     7    3   4    25   19   +6     9
4 Liventia                      7    3   4    17   23   −6     9
5 Vangaziland                   7    3   4    23   32   −9     9
6 The Holy Athonite State       7    2   5    20   44  −24     6

Group 2
Tierra de Castro             0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  3
Hapilopper                   0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1  4

Trastamar                    0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Hampton Island               2 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 X  6

Oscioru                      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0  3
Free Republics               0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 2  5


  Group 2                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Free Republics                7    6   1    35   22  +13    18
2 Hampton Island                7    4   3    33   26   +7    12
3 Hapilopper                    7    4   3    31   28   +3    12
4 Tierra de Castro              7    4   3    22   22    0    12
5 Oscioru                       7    3   4    17   20   −3     9
6 Trastamar                     7    0   7    17   37  −20     0

Group 3
St Saratoga                  0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0  3
Cosumar                      1 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 X  7

Cassadaigua                  0 3 2 0 1 0 0 3 0  9
Tornado Queendom             0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0  3

Drawkland                    1 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  5
Lycrabon                     1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5  7


  Group 3                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Cassadaigua                   7    6   1    48   21  +27    18
2 Lycrabon                      7    6   1    39   21  +18    18
3 Drawkland                     7    4   3    44   40   +4    12
4 Tornado Queendom              7    2   5    29   45  −16     6
5 Cosumar                       7    2   5    19   36  −17     6
6 St Saratoga                   7    1   6    25   41  −16     3

Matchday 8:

Group 1
Vangaziland                  1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  4
The Sherpa Empire            7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  8

Liventia                     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  2
Lisander                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

The Holy Athonite State      0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2  3
Saintland                    0 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 X  5


  Group 1                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Lisander                      8    6   2    38   22  +16    18
2 The Sherpa Empire             8    5   3    47   28  +19    15
3 Saintland                     8    4   4    30   22   +8    12
4 Liventia                      8    4   4    19   23   −4    12
5 Vangaziland                   8    3   5    27   40  −13     9
6 The Holy Athonite State       8    2   6    23   49  −26     6

Group 2
Hapilopper                   1 0 3 4 0 0 2 0 2 12
Oscioru                      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Free Republics               0 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 0  6
Trastamar                    1 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 X  7

Hampton Island               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Tierra de Castro             0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 X  1


  Group 2                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Free Republics                8    6   2    41   29  +12    18
2 Hapilopper                    8    5   3    43   29  +14    15
3 Tierra de Castro              8    5   3    23   22   +1    15
4 Hampton Island                8    4   4    33   27   +6    12
5 Oscioru                       8    3   5    18   32  −14     9
6 Trastamar                     8    1   7    24   43  −19     3

Group 3
Cosumar                      1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Drawkland                    0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 X  3

Lycrabon                     2 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  7
Cassadaigua                  0 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 0  6

Tornado Queendom             3 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0  8
St Saratoga                  0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2


  Group 3                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Lycrabon                      8    7   1    46   27  +19    21
2 Cassadaigua                   8    6   2    54   28  +26    18
3 Drawkland                     8    5   3    47   41   +6    15
4 Tornado Queendom              8    3   5    37   47  −10     9
5 Cosumar                       8    2   6    20   39  −19     6
6 St Saratoga                   8    1   7    27   49  −22     3

Matchday 9:

Group 1
The Holy Athonite State      0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 0  5
Vangaziland                  1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Saintland                    0 0 0 2 1 2 1 0 0  6
Liventia                     1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Lisander                     0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
The Sherpa Empire            3 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 X  7


  Group 1                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire             9    6   3    54   29  +25    18
2 Lisander                      9    6   3    39   29  +10    18
3 Saintland                     9    5   4    36   23  +13    15
4 Liventia                      9    4   5    20   29   −9    12
5 Vangaziland                   9    3   6    29   45  −16     9
6 The Holy Athonite State       9    3   6    28   51  −23     9

Group 2
Hampton Island               0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1  4
Hapilopper                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  3

Tierra de Castro             0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0  5
Free Republics               0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0  4

Trastamar                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Oscioru                      0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  3


  Group 2                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Free Republics                9    6   3    45   34  +11    18
2 Tierra de Castro              9    6   3    28   26   +2    18
3 Hapilopper                    9    5   4    46   33  +13    15
4 Hampton Island                9    5   4    37   30   +7    15
5 Oscioru                       9    4   5    21   33  −12    12
6 Trastamar                     9    1   8    25   46  −21     3

Group 3
Tornado Queendom             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Cosumar                      1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  1

St Saratoga                  0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Lycrabon                     0 5 5 0 3 2 0 0 X 15

Cassadaigua                  1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Drawkland                    1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 X  3


  Group 3                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Lycrabon                      9    8   1    61   28  +33    24
2 Cassadaigua                   9    6   3    56   31  +25    18
3 Drawkland                     9    6   3    50   43   +7    18
4 Tornado Queendom              9    3   6    37   48  −11     9
5 Cosumar                       9    3   6    21   39  −18     9
6 St Saratoga                   9    1   8    28   64  −36     3

[The Sherpa Empire]

Matchday 7

Group 4
Scootalove City          1 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0  5
Ancherion                0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2

Newmanistan              0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 0  5
The Greater Nordics      0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0  3

Devonta                  0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0  3
Ethane                   0 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 X  6


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan               7    5   2    45   25  +20    15
2 Devonta                   7    4   3    31   26   +5    12
3 Ethane                    7    4   3    37   42   −5    12
4 Scootalove City           7    3   4    38   41   −3     9
5 The Greater Nordics       7    3   4    24   31   −7     9
6 Ancherion                 7    2   5    32   42  −10     6

Group 5
Banija                   0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Abanhfleft               1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 X  4

Pratapgadh               0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Anthor                   0 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 X  6

Ko-Oren                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Schiltzberg              0 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 X  8


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                    7    5   2    29   24   +5    15
2 Schiltzberg               7    4   3    29   21   +8    12
3 Abanhfleft                7    4   3    26   24   +2    12
4 Ko-Oren                   7    4   3    34   32   +2    12
5 Anthor                    7    3   4    31   36   −5     9
6 Pratapgadh                7    1   6    25   37  −12     3

Group 6
The Aurian Plains        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Nova Anglicana           3 1 2 1 2 0 0 1 X 10

Alpine Union             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Xanneria                 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 X  2

West Phoenicia           0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0  4
Equestrian States        0 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 X  6


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana            7    7   0    41   12  +29    21
2 Equestrian States         7    4   3    28   31   −3    12
3 West Phoenicia            7    4   3    26   19   +7    12
4 Alpine Union              7    3   4    34   29   +5     9
5 The Aurian Plains         7    2   5    34   56  −22     6
6 Xanneria                  7    1   6    18   34  −16     3

Matchday 8

Group 4
Ancherion                0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Devonta                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Ethane                   0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 2  5
Newmanistan              0 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 X  7

The Greater Nordics      1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  5
Scootalove City          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan               8    6   2    52   30  +22    18
2 Devonta                   8    4   4    31   28   +3    12
3 The Greater Nordics       8    4   4    29   32   −3    12
4 Ethane                    8    4   4    42   49   −7    12
5 Scootalove City           8    3   5    39   46   −7     9
6 Ancherion                 8    3   5    34   42   −8     9

Group 5
Abanhfleft               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ko-Oren                  0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 X  5

Schiltzberg              0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0  4
Pratapgadh               0 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 X  6

Anthor                   1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  4
Banija                   0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  2


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                    8    5   3    31   28   +3    15
2 Ko-Oren                   8    5   3    39   32   +7    15
3 Schiltzberg               8    4   4    33   27   +6    12
4 Anthor                    8    4   4    35   38   −3    12
5 Abanhfleft                8    4   4    26   29   −3    12
6 Pratapgadh                8    2   6    31   41  −10     6

Group 6
Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
West Phoenicia           0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 X  5

Equestrian States        1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  5
Alpine Union             0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2  7

Xanneria                 4 2 0 3 2 0 2 0 1 14
The Aurian Plains        1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0  4


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana            8    7   1    42   17  +25    21
2 West Phoenicia            8    5   3    31   20  +11    15
3 Alpine Union              8    4   4    41   34   +7    12
4 Equestrian States         8    4   4    33   38   −5    12
5 Xanneria                  8    2   6    32   38   −6     6
6 The Aurian Plains         8    2   6    38   70  −32     6

Matchday 9

Group 4
The Greater Nordics      0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1  6
Ancherion                0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  5

Scootalove City          0 2 0 0 0 0 3 1 0  6
Ethane                   0 2 0 1 3 1 1 0 X  8

Newmanistan              0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  5
Devonta                  0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan               9    7   2    57   32  +25    21
2 The Greater Nordics       9    5   4    35   37   −2    15
3 Ethane                    9    5   4    50   55   −5    15
4 Devonta                   9    4   5    33   33    0    12
5 Ancherion                 9    3   6    39   48   −9     9
  Scootalove City           9    3   6    45   54   −9     9

Group 5
Anthor                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Abanhfleft               0 6 0 0 0 2 1 0 X  9

Banija                   2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Schiltzberg              0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  2

Pratapgadh               0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  3
Ko-Oren                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                    9    6   3    34   30   +4    18
2 Abanhfleft                9    5   4    35   29   +6    15
3 Ko-Oren                   9    5   4    40   35   +5    15
4 Schiltzberg               9    4   5    35   30   +5    12
5 Anthor                    9    4   5    35   47  −12    12
6 Pratapgadh                9    3   6    34   42   −8     9

Group 6
Xanneria                 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 0  8
Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3  5

The Aurian Plains        0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  3
Equestrian States        0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2

Alpine Union             2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  4
West Phoenicia           0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1  5


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana            9    7   2    47   25  +22    21
2 West Phoenicia            9    6   3    36   24  +12    18
3 Alpine Union              9    4   5    45   39   +6    12
4 Equestrian States         9    4   5    35   41   −6    12
5 Xanneria                  9    3   6    40   43   −3     9
6 The Aurian Plains         9    3   6    41   72  −31     9

[Lycrabon]

Still rolling

ST. CATHERINE - For once, the Jays had to go to the bullpen.

Against Drawkland, starting pitcher #2 only went 6 1/3 innings, allowing all 5 runs on 12 hits. His walk/strikeout ratio was 7/1, but thanks to late offense, he ended up with a no-decision. A five-run 9th inning, highlighted by a walk-off three-run river shot by Tim Bray, gave Lycrabon a 7-5 win, with reliever Theodore Gilmore the third of the night, getting the win

Pitchers:
Horton: 6.1 IP, 5 R, 12 H, 1K, 7 BB
McGowan: .2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB
O' Sullivan: 1IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K, 1 BB
Gilmore: (W, 1-0), 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB



Game 8 against Cassadaigua was another barn burner, and a little more contentious than the first matchup. Jason Gentry was thrown out after an up and in pitch knocked down - but did not hit - Dagan newcomer Macy Hamel. The Cassadaiguan umpire, ironically the same one that ejected Garry Barnett III last Classic, immediately tossed both the pitcher and Garry Barnett Jr. Barnett hadn't even moved before she gave him the thumb.

Pitching:
Gentry: 2.2 IP, 1 R, 2 K, 1 BB, 4 H
Mooney (W, 1-0): 4.1 IP, 5 R, 6 K, 2 BB, 10 H
Gilmore (S, 1): 2 IP, 0 R, 2 K, 0 BB, 0 H

Game 9 was a laugher, 15-1. Jay Kearns went the distance, allowing 2 hits, 1 a solo homer.

Kearns: CG, 1 R, 2 H, 16 K, 2 BB


TOTAL STATS:
Jason Hagan (2-0) 18 IP, 5 R, 13 H, 23K, 7 BB
Zachary Horton (1-0) 15.1 IP R, 10 H, 6 K, 2 BB
Jason Gentry (1-0) 11.2 IP, 4 R, 14 H, 6 K, 7 BB
Jay Kearns (2-0) 18 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 32 K, 3 BB
Will Anderson (0-1) 9 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 6 K, 4 BB
Trent McGowan .2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB
Mitchell Mooney (1-0): 4.1 IP, 5 R, 6 K, 2 BB, 10 H
Daniel O'Sullivan 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K, 1 BB
Theodore Gilmore (1-0, 2 SV) 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 5 K, 0 BB

BATTING:
Bradford - 13-42, 8 RBI
Bray - 11-38, 11 RBI
Daniels - 7-34, 6 RBI
Walton 3-5, 2-4, 1-5, 0-5, 0-4, 0-4, 0-4, 1-3, 2-4 3 RBI
Johnston 2-3, 3-5, 1-4, 2-4, 2-4, 1-3, 0-4, 2-5, 2-3 7 RBI
Kreuger 1-3, 2-2, 1-4, 1-4, 0-3, 2-3, 1-4, 0-4, 2-5 5 RBI
Gonzalez 0-4, 1-5, 0-4, 1-4, 2-3, 0-4, 1-3, 0-3, 0-5 1 RBI

Buxton - 12-37, 7 RBI
Gale - 5-12, 2 RBI

PITCHERS:
Horton - 0-8 (.000)
Gentry - 2-4 (.500), 6 RBI
Hagan - 0-4 (.000)
Mooney - 1-3 (.333), 1 RBI
Anderson - 1-3 (.333), 1 RBI

[The Sherpa Empire]

Zaoju Gang and the fan who had recruited him to dance on the dugout were both released soon after they were arrested. This was partly because the Territorial government of Guangxi thought the money they'd confiscated was adequate compensation for the public embarrassment Gang had caused, and partly because they didn't want to have bands of rainbow-clad protesters marching through the streets of Guilin later on when they hosted Vangaziland and Lisander.

"So arrest the protesters!" Kencha Adhikari said when the reasoning was explained to him. He was talking to Xue Gong at the Ministry of Culture rather than hearing it directly from the people in Guilin.

"Guilin has had enough protests lately and it's better not to stir things up," said Gong. "It's an embarrassing incident, but no one really got hurt."

"I want Kai Qiang and Zaoju Gang banned from professional sports," said Adhikari.

"But Qiang didn't DO anything," Gong protested. "There was no evidence that he was planning to do anything except watch the game."

"We don't need a Chinese drag queen representing the Empire on the international stage, and we don't need to be known for stock car racing. I intend to have IRACT disbanded anyway, and I want to make sure he doesn't pop up somewhere else."

"I think that's a really bad idea," said Gong. "You can't make Kai Qiang go away. If he can't race, he'll still pop up somewhere else. It just won't be sports."

"Hmm... We'll see about that," said Adhikari.

Gong didn't like the sound of that.

On the baseball field, things were going better. The national team had won their last 3 games, one in Liventia and two in the dizzying heights of Chokpori Stadium. Chokpori is known to have a significant home field advantage because of the altitude, but all is fair in love and war and baseball. Both the home games at Chokpori put the bullpen to the test since the starting pitchers Pham and Zhang weren't acclimated to the high elevation and had to be pulled relatively early, but the bullpen was well-rested after Ali pitched a complete game in Liventia, and they rose to the occasion. Zhiku Tsongba Sherpa was put in the starting line-up for both the Chokpori games, playing right field against the Vangazis and center field against the Lisanderian Arminhos, and he proved to be very effective, batting in two runs during the 1st inning slugfest against the Vangazis and hitting a 3 run homer in the 3rd inning against Lisander.

Xue Gong smiled as he watched the highlight reel from the Lisander game. At least something was going right...

[West Phoenicia]

The West Phoenician Confederates continue their struggle in pool 6 as they cling precariously to the second place in their pool.

Match Day 8 saw the Confederates back on their home turf at the Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II Stadium. With stands packed they played off against Nova Anglicana, a team they are battling for the top spot in their grouping.

During their first meet on match day 3, Nova Anglicana was able to get the upper hand with some amazing pitching, ending with a score of 3-1.

Coach Julian Pancretè was determined not to have a second loss against Nova Anglicans as it has with Equestrian States.

West Phoenician pitchers Hieu Phan and Cliff Samuel were called in to pitch for 6 innings while Mandeep Singh took control of the last three innings. The trio sending a clear message thst Nova Anglicans batters were not going to get through their lines today.

All in all only Cal Stephens was able to make it to home plate without being struck out or caught out.

Team management also applauded the work of the fielders who keep the game tight and fell to no mistakes or errors, avoiding their opposition the ability to steal a base or a run.

The Confederates shot to victory in a 5-1 game. Something they will need to keep doing to push Nova Anglicana from the top spot.

[Hapilopper]

TURNING POINT FOR THE NATIONAL TEAM
By Cassandra Jennings
Hapilopper Television Network

HAPILOPPER CITY - It will forever be remembered as one of the most memorable moments in the history of sport in Hapilopper. Bottom of the 9th, two out, and the HNBT tied 3-3 with Tierra de Castro. The Federación Castrollana de Béisbol's reliever, Luis Obregón had the hill against Jerome Hayden, the shortstop and resident showboat of the Hapilopper National Baseball Team.

The 63,605 in attendance - a record attendance for baseball games at the 49-year old Capital Stadium - stood and watched nervously as Hayden fouled ball after ball into the seats behind him. Obregón got nervous and threw pitches way out of the strike zone. For a moment, it would appear that Obregón would walk Jerome to bring up Chandler Harrell, who had been put in to pinch-hit for Leroy Hunnisett. Harrell watched nervously as Hayden fouled pitch after pitch off. The at-bat reached its 19th pitch before Jerome got the pitch he wanted. And for a moment, all of Capital Stadium, and all of Hapilopper, watched in stunned silence.

The silence was enough for everyone in the stadium - fans, announcers, players, concessionaires, and of course, Jerome Hayden himself - to hear the loud *crack* of the bat slamming a 97 mph fastball right down the middle.

A split second later, that silence had been replaced by the cacophonous din of over 63,000 fans screaming with joy. They knew it was gone. So did Hayden, who stood there, dropped his bat and raised his arms in celebration. When the ball ended up in the second deck in left field, Hayden strolled around the bases screaming and ranting with an intensity not seen since before the start of the World Baseball Classic. Streamers flew through the air. An estimated $20,000 worth of beer was thrown into the air. Fireworks were set off. By the time Hayden made it back to home plate, he was greeted by the entire HNBT, all of them waiting for the hero of the day.

For twenty minutes, nobody appeared to leave Capital Stadium as fans celebrated what HTN commentator Marty Miller called "the turning point to what had been a very rough campaign" for the national team.

Miller wasn't exaggerating. This campaign has seen the Hapilopper National Team face its ups and downs, and has been on the verge of breaking through in the biggest possible way. That breakthrough, however, was stymied by some very unfortunate unforced errors, most notably in the second game against Free Republics, when Charlton Forest - on orders from then-manager Carl Gardner - threw a fastball with intent of striking Republican DH Nicholas Fisher in the head. The team revolted against Gardner's insane order, and mere days after that game, Gardner had received a letter of termination.

When the HNBT arrived at Capital Stadium the day of the Tierra de Castro game, the team was in less than a good mood. Forest was not there, serving a one-game suspension for his role in the incident, but teammates had pretty much absolved him of blame for the incident.

Almost with intentions to prove a point, the HNBT struck and struck early, taking an early lead before a two-run home run from Adan Carita took the lead for the visiting side. The very next inning, Dayton Rowe legged out a triple over the head of TdC third baseman Juan Esteban Capmany, using Capital Stadium's old artificial turf surface to his advantage, as the ball bounced like crazy before resting itself against the left field wall just behind the foul line.

Shockingly, Brandt Williamson opted to bunt in the very next at-bat. With Rowe taking a massive lead, it turned into a suicide squeeze opportunity and Rowe had crossed home plate by the time César de la Cavallería, TdC pitcher, could field the bunt.

While TdC took the lead back from the HNBT with some smooth baserunning courtesy of Emilio Pinto in the very next inning, Hapilopper fought back with an 8th inning home run from Mo Beverly and then Hayden's walk off.

"This was what we needed," said Beverly. "We've had some rough runs lately, and the thing we needed was a huge win for the team. Hopefully it'll give us some confidence moving forward. Maybe we'll win this damn thing yet."

---

TARGET PRACTICE: HAPILOPPER RUNS ALL OVER OSCIORU
By Cassandra Jennings
Hapilopper Television Network

OSCIORU CITY - If the Hapilopper National Team needed a walk-off win, they really needed to whip up on another team. That's precisely what happened at Oscioru National Stadium today, as the HNBT strolled to a 12-1 win over the home team in a game that was well over by the time Whit Dabney, of all people, plated four runs with one swing.

Dabney, Hapilopper's knuckleballer, and a man not known for his power, sent a 2-2 pitch into the right field bleachers, leading to some noticable shock from HTN announcer Marty Miller and from the HNBT, all of whom mobbed Dabney in one of the wildest dugout celebrations in some time.

The game appeared to be over at that point, as the National Team had jumped out to an 8-0 lead at that point. By the time Hapilopper scored their 12th run, a crowd nearing 40,000 had nearly deserted the park, leaving a few Hapiloppians who had made the long journey to Oscioru City. Those fans actually joined the HNBT on the field after the game as they celebrated one of the biggest blowouts of the World Baseball Classic to this point.

"We really, really needed that blowout," said Levi Berry, who got three RBIs on the day. "It helped for run differential, and now we're back in it. We just might win this thing yet, don't count us out yet. We're a united front again, we've got a skipper that's not going to screw us over and we're going to win this damned thing."

Manager Sam Kitchens was delighted over the result.

"The bats caught fire today," Kitchens said. "They caught fire when they needed to, and if we can keep those bats alight for the rest of the group stage, we'll be doing just fine."

As for Dabney, his day ended with 19 strikeouts, three hits and one earned run, as well as one towering grand slam.

"How'd you like that, huh?" Dabney said with a smile. "I actually didn't know I had that in me. I don't think anyone else did, either. I'd like to do that again, and I hope I can for my next start."

---

THAT DAMNED BEAR! MIDNIGHT BREAKS HAPILOPPER'S HEARTS, HOME RUN DISTANCE RECORD
By Cassandra Jennings
Hapilopper Television Network

HAPILOPPER CITY - Relief pitcher Robert Stevens could only watch in disbelief. Midnight, Hampton Island's infamous trained bear, had launched a towering home run over the top of the centerfield bleachers, and it looked like it wasn't about to fall any time soon as it cleared the roof of the Capital Stadium stands. Stevens knew it was gone the second he threw the pitch, too.

Unfortunately for Stevens and the Hapilopper National Baseball Team, it was the top of the 9th and Hampton Island had just taken a 4-3 lead. That would turn out to be the final score, dropping Hapilopper to a very close third place, three points behind Free Republics and Tierra de Castro.

According to WBC StatCast, the home run travelled an estimated 702 feet, smashing the all-time national record for longest home run, with an inhuman exit velocity of 145 mph.

It was the second time this WBC that Midnight had dashed the hopes of the Hapilopper National Baseball Team with a late home run. According to Sam Kitchens, HNBT manager, as well as catcher and team captain Mo Beverly, the loss wasn't because of the bear, but rather because of one simple problem the HNBT couldn't fix for the game.

"We kept stranding runners," Kitchens said. "You can say anything you want about the other team fielding a bear instead of a human, but the fact is, Midnight would have been a non-factor if we wouldn't have left as many runners on base as we did. Midnight didn't beat us. We beat ourselves."

The HNBT stranded eight baserunners in the Hapilopper/Hampton Island game.

"If we brought even two of those runners home, we win the game," Kitchens said. "We can't be stranding runners against a team that can and will hit the ball out of the park at will. We'll be practicing some new tactics to keep us from stranding runners because frankly, it's getting annoying."

Beverly explained what the team intends to do to possibly bring runners home more.

"Bunting," Beverly said. "We don't bunt enough. Nobody bunts enough. We'll be practicing that extensively before our next games so we can possibly bring runners home when they least expect it. We'll also be figuring out other ways to possibly beat shifts. The other teams have really figured us out as far as our tendencies. We need to figure out how to beat those shifts."

For example, Beverly noted that fielders had been loaded on certain sides of the field when different players came to bat.

"I'm not going to name names because I don't want to give up the plot," Beverly said, "but I've seen a few occasions where every fielder will go to left or right field because they know exactly that's where a hitter will send the ball. That shift could have easily have been defeated if we had properly figured out how to beat it. It's a hole and we need to exploit it."

As the topic of "shifts" raged on, a reporter from the Hapilopper City Herald asked Beverly how he would have wanted the fielders to shift for Midnight's at-bats.

"Behind the stands," Beverly said without missing a beat. "Maybe across the West River. That bear can (expletive) hit, man. It's almost an unfair advantage, but we've got to pitch to him better. Maybe if we just intentionally walk the bastard we won't be having these conversations, you know? Maybe that's what we'll do. I'll just motion for an intentional walk for the bear every time."

"Or you could just plunk him," said HNBT pitcher Mill Gibbs, overhearing Beverly's comments.

Beverly gave Gibbs a deadly glare.

"We're not doing that again, alright?" Beverly said. "You can, but I hope you've got your funeral planned."

[Free Republics]

Outside the Supreme Court Building, Republica, Free Republics

Elio Lucchese and Sarah Fuerst were on only a few hours sleep after a late start due to a tornado in the Baseton area caused the Free Republics-Oscioru game to run late into the night. It eventually culminated with a 2 run walk off home run by backup catcher Brock Shield in the bottom of the 9th. The big day had finally arrived. The Supreme Court was finally ready to announce its long-awaited decision in the Doe v. Malifornia Charter Society case regarding the constitutionality of Malifornia's law banning the morning after pill, a popular form of birth control that various religious groups regarded as a form of abortion.

The Supreme Court of the Free Republics consisted of an arbitrary number of justices, one of whom was appointed for a life term by each consul of the Free Republics upon taking office. It had previously been packed by Consul Kulseth and re-packed by Consul O'Reilly but all of their justice appointments except the first one they appointed were later removed from the Court as illegal appointments and decisions made with them on the Court were nullified with the Court and the parties involved retaining the right to a re-trial for each such case. Due to the fact that each consul had exactly 1 appointment to the Court, the number of members fluctuated depending upon how many justices died. The Court was considered non-partisan and the Senate alone had the right to reject a justice appointment or impeach a justice by a three-quarters vote (in either case). The "Chief Justice", by law, is the longest serving justice and has the right to preside over the Court. At the time of this ruling, the Court had 13 members, an all-time record, the oldest of whom was the 103-year-old Chief Justice Finley Hodgson who had been appointed by Consul Joe Tomlinson.

Elio and Sarah arrived outside the Supreme Court Building at 7:13 AM. At this point, only a few of the Christian youths who would flank Sister Polus had arrived. The Court was expected to announce its ruling at 9 AM with Sister Polus's rally set to begin at 9:15 AM. The youths were all expected to arrive early fully dressed in attire that would be appropriate for a church affiliated with Sister Polus's movement to help set up the stage for a rally that was scheduled to last until at least 1 PM. Fortunately for their plan, it was a reasonably cool day with temperatures in the 60s during the morning and an expected high of 73 in the late afternoon so Sarah was able to conceal the weapon with which she would humiliate Sister Polus inside a large shirt pocket under her dress. At 7:30 AM, a few employees of the Ecumenical Coalition for Morality (ECM), which is what Sister Polus was calling her organization, arrived to help oversee the teenagers and young adults who were expected to set up the event. The 2 schemers played the role they were expected to play perfectly, coming across as zealous Christian kids who were eager to help.

At 9 AM, the Supreme Court's ruling was announced on the steps of their building. Justice Celeste Salvini, who had written the opinion, walked out of the Court building and spoke to the crowd assembled outside:

Justice Salvini - On behalf of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Free Republics, it is my honor to announce and summarize the Court's decision in the case of Jane Doe versus Malifornia Charter Society. By an 11 to 2 margin, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Ms. Doe.

Justice Salvini, a 52-year-old woman who had been appointed to the Court by Consul Venicio Piazza 16 years ago, was immediately met with loud jeers from the religious zealots assembled outside the Court.

Justice Salvini - It seems that our decision is not popular with the crowd out here. That is rather surprising but let me remind all of you that the Supreme Court has the responsibility to uphold the Federation Constitution even when it is unpopular to do so.

This statement only served to rile the crowd up even more. One young woman standing next to Sarah Fuerst shouted "Blood is on your hands" while a man in the crowd shouted at her to "get back in the kitchen, you harlot".

Justice Salvini - The Supreme Court of the Free Republics has come to the conclusion that bodily autonomy is a fundamental, inalienable human right guaranteed by the Federation Constitution. Therefore, we reject the notion that any Republic or Charter Society may pass laws restricting a reasonably safe form of birth control or prohibiting the termination of any pregnancy prior to viability of the fetus. Thus, the Malifornia Charter Society's law prohibiting the use of the morning after pill is unconstitutional. We do not rule on the question of whether the morning after is birth control or abortion as it is irrelevant because a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion on the morning after conception. Furthermore, we reject the argument put forward by the Malifornia Charter Society that a Charter Society may violate fundamental, inalienable human rights because Charter Societies are exempt from following the Federation Constitution. Although the Charter Society statute passed by the legislature and signed by Consuls Nicholls the Elder and Bolton may say as much, that is unconstitutional as the Legislature may not grant any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the Federation of Free Republics to violate constitutional rights. Therefore, we rule in favor of the plaintiff and we order Malifornia to cease immediately enforcement of its law against the morning after pill and any other laws that violate the constitutional right to bodily autonomy. This includes their laws prohibiting abortion, in cases where the fetus is not viable outside of the womb. Thank you for your attention. The Supreme Court has spoken.

Justice Salvini rushed back inside the building and immediately locked the door. The ruling had been worse than even Sister Polus had expected and was likely a shock to the entire Republican government which had not been expecting such a broad ruling from the Court. The ruling had major implications for all Charter Societies, drawing into question whether or not there was a reason for the Charter Society to exist. The crowd was furious as the Supreme Court had now effectively legalized abortion throughout the Free Republics even in Republics like Nejax and Jolarus where it had previously been illegal after a fetal heartbeat. The first speaker, Senator Marco Henderson (Independent-Jolarus), formerly of the Holy Party, took the stage at 9:17 AM and spent his speech blasting the Supreme Court. A long list of figures followed, including religious leaders, celebrities, politicians and a former abortion clinic employee who'd quit her job after joining the Salvation Circle at her husband's request. The rally continued for hours with every single speaker running well over their allotted time. Finally, at 3:34 PM, some terrible song from Sanctii girl group Neo Cantus Virginum started playing as Sister Polus made her way out for the headline speech. By this point, everybody in the line of young Christians standing behind the speakers on the stage was extremely thirsty and hungry but they were still standing there. Unfortunately, Sarah Fuerst was not standing within Sister Polus's path as the tenured high school teacher and online video star walked onto the stage. Polus began her speech:

Sister Maria Polus - Hello, I am Sister Maria Polus. I am the Housemistress of Tomlinson House at the Barjavel Academy at Republica, the Instructor in Religious Studies, Deportment and Latin at the Academy and the Headmistress of the Barjavel Junior Academy, Republica Branch. I am joining you today at this Rally for the Unborn to speak about the great evil that the wicked Supreme Court has just committed. I had prepared a speech for today expecting the Court to rule in favor of murdering children but I had not expected a ruling anywhere near as terrible as the one that Justice Salvini, who is surely going to burn for eternity in the scorching fires of Infernus, just inflicted upon us today. This was beyond atrocious and just illustrates why we need to Take Republica Back this fall!

As she was speaking, Sarah Fuerst saw an opening and took off towards Sister Polus. She grabbed an apple pie out of her undershirt's extra large pocket, took the cover off of the pie and placed it all over Sister Polus's face. Then, she commandeered the microphone to say a few words to the crowd.

Sarah Fuerst - Today, I want to let the entire multiverse know that Feministvs Sanctvsterra is alive and well!

Sarah was making a false statement here but one that she knew would encourage resistance to the so-called "True Church" across the multiverse.

Sarah Fuerst - We wish to applaud the Supreme Court for making the correct decision and we wish to deliver a further message: Fuck the Salvation Circle! Fuck your fake God and his book of stupid rules that we have to follow! For now on, I have chosen to embrace freedom from religion! Down with God! Up with freedom! Have a nice day!

Elio Lucchese took the opportunity to apprehend Sarah after she had finished her spiel and "discipline" his girlfriend so that the 2 of them could get out of the rally safely. He apologized profusely but completely insincerely to Sister Polus for his girlfriend's actions and made a show of dragging her out of the rally. This was exactly as they had planned. Sister Polus accepted the phony apology and urged Elio to put his girlfriend "in her place" so she wouldn't repeat this in the future.

Sister Polus - Due to these circumstances beyond my control, I will need to cancel the remainder of my speech.

That night, all of the major news broadcasts in the Free Republics led with discussion of the Supreme Court ruling, including the footage of Sister Polus getting pied in the face and the announcement that "Feministvs Sanctvsterra is alive and well". The full video of what had transpired was broadcast on local news broadcasts in Malifornia where Samuel Lucchese, Elio's father, saw the footage and was furious. The elder Lucchese decided to make a visit to Republica ASAP...

[Newmanistan]

Matchday 10:

Group 1
Vangaziland                  1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  4
Lisander                     0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 X  5

The Sherpa Empire            1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  3
Saintland                    0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2

Liventia                     1 3 0 0 0 0 3 1 0  8
The Holy Athonite State      1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3  5


  Group 1                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire            10    7   3    57   31  +26    21
2 Lisander                     10    7   3    44   33  +11    21
3 Saintland                    10    5   5    38   26  +12    15
4 Liventia                     10    5   5    28   34   −6    15
5 Vangaziland                  10    3   7    33   50  −17     9
6 The Holy Athonite State      10    3   7    33   59  −26     9

Group 2
Hapilopper                   1 0 1 0 1 4 2 0 3 12
Trastamar                    1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0  4

Oscioru                      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1  6
Tierra de Castro             0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Free Republics               1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  4
Hampton Island               3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  5


  Group 2                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Hapilopper                   10    6   4    58   37  +21    18
2 Free Republics               10    6   4    49   39  +10    18
3 Hampton Island               10    6   4    42   34   +8    18
4 Tierra de Castro             10    6   4    30   32   −2    18
5 Oscioru                      10    5   5    27   35   −8    15
6 Trastamar                    10    1   9    29   58  −29     3

Group 3
Cosumar                      0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  3
Cassadaigua                  3 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 X  7

Drawkland                    1 0 0 0 6 0 1 0 1  9
St Saratoga                  0 1 0 2 1 1 0 1 1  7

Lycrabon                     0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Tornado Queendom             1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1  5


  Group 3                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Lycrabon                     10    8   2    65   33  +32    24
2 Cassadaigua                  10    7   3    63   34  +29    21
3 Drawkland                    10    7   3    59   50   +9    21
4 Tornado Queendom             10    4   6    42   52  −10    12
5 Cosumar                      10    3   7    24   46  −22     9
6 St Saratoga                  10    1   9    35   73  −38     3

Matchday 11:

Group 1
Liventia                     0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 0  6
Vangaziland                  2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  7

The Sherpa Empire            0 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 0  6
The Holy Athonite State      2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  4

Lisander                     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Saintland                    1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 X  5


  Group 1                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire            11    8   3    63   35  +28    24
2 Lisander                     11    7   4    45   38   +7    21
3 Saintland                    11    6   5    43   27  +16    18
4 Liventia                     11    5   6    34   41   −7    15
5 Vangaziland                  11    4   7    40   56  −16    12
6 The Holy Athonite State      11    3   8    37   65  −28     9

Group 2
Free Republics               0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3  5
Hapilopper                   2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  4

Oscioru                      0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2
Hampton Island               0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 X  5

Trastamar                    2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1  7
Tierra de Castro             0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0  3


  Group 2                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Free Republics               11    7   4    54   43  +11    21
2 Hampton Island               11    7   4    47   36  +11    21
3 Hapilopper                   11    6   5    62   42  +20    18
4 Tierra de Castro             11    6   5    33   39   −6    18
5 Oscioru                      11    5   6    29   40  −11    15
6 Trastamar                    11    2   9    36   61  −25     6

Group 3
Lycrabon                     2 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0  7
Cosumar                      2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  5

Drawkland                    3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  5
Tornado Queendom             0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0  4

Cassadaigua                  0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  3
St Saratoga                  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  2


  Group 3                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Lycrabon                     11    9   2    72   38  +34    27
2 Cassadaigua                  11    8   3    66   36  +30    24
3 Drawkland                    11    8   3    64   54  +10    24
4 Tornado Queendom             11    4   7    46   57  −11    12
5 Cosumar                      11    3   8    29   53  −24     9
6 St Saratoga                  11    1  10    37   76  −39     3

Matchday 12:

Group 1
Vangaziland                  1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0  5
Saintland                    3 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 X  7

The Holy Athonite State      0 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 0  6
Lisander                     0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 0  5

Liventia                     0 0 1 3 0 1 4 0 0  9
The Sherpa Empire            4 0 3 0 2 0 0 1 X 10


  Group 1                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire            12    9   3    73   44  +29    27
2 Saintland                    12    7   5    50   32  +18    21
3 Lisander                     12    7   5    50   44   +6    21
4 Liventia                     12    5   7    43   51   −8    15
5 Vangaziland                  12    4   8    45   63  −18    12
6 The Holy Athonite State      12    4   8    43   70  −27    12

Group 2
Hapilopper                   0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Tierra de Castro             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Hampton Island               0 0 0 1 4 0 1 4 0 10
Trastamar                    0 0 1 0 2 2 0 1 1  7

Free Republics               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Oscioru                      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group 2                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Hampton Island               12    8   4    57   43  +14    24
2 Free Republics               12    8   4    55   43  +12    24
3 Hapilopper                   12    7   5    63   42  +21    21
4 Tierra de Castro             12    6   6    33   40   −7    18
5 Oscioru                      12    5   7    29   41  −12    15
6 Trastamar                    12    2  10    43   71  −28     6

Group 3
Cosumar                      1 2 0 1 7 0 0 0 3 14
St Saratoga                  1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

Tornado Queendom             0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  3
Cassadaigua                  1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 X  6

Lycrabon                     1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 3  8
Drawkland                    0 1 3 2 0 0 1 0 0  7


  Group 3                     Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Lycrabon                     12   10   2    80   45  +35    30
2 Cassadaigua                  12    9   3    72   39  +33    27
3 Drawkland                    12    8   4    71   62   +9    24
4 Cosumar                      12    4   8    43   56  −13    12
5 Tornado Queendom             12    4   8    49   63  −14    12
6 St Saratoga                  12    1  11    40   90  −50     3

[The Sherpa Empire]

Matchday 10

Group 4
Ancherion                0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Newmanistan              0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Devonta                  0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  2
Scootalove City          3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

Ethane                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
The Greater Nordics      0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 X  4


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan              10    7   3    59   36  +23    21
2 The Greater Nordics      10    6   4    39   38   +1    18
3 Ethane                   10    5   5    51   59   −8    15
4 Ancherion                10    4   6    43   50   −7    12
5 Scootalove City          10    4   6    48   56   −8    12
6 Devonta                  10    4   6    35   36   −1    12

Group 5
Abanhfleft               0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0  3
Pratapgadh               2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 X  8

Ko-Oren                  2 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0  6
Banija                   3 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1  7

Schiltzberg              1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Anthor                   0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 X  5


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                   10    7   3    41   36   +5    21
2 Ko-Oren                  10    5   5    46   42   +4    15
3 Abanhfleft               10    5   5    38   37   +1    15
4 Anthor                   10    5   5    40   49   −9    15
5 Schiltzberg              10    4   6    37   35   +2    12
6 Pratapgadh               10    4   6    42   45   −3    12

Group 6
Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
Alpine Union             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  3

West Phoenicia           0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0  6
The Aurian Plains        3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Equestrian States        3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  5
Xanneria                 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0  4


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana           10    7   3    49   28  +21    21
2 West Phoenicia           10    7   3    42   27  +15    21
3 Alpine Union             10    5   5    48   41   +7    15
4 Equestrian States        10    5   5    40   45   −5    15
5 Xanneria                 10    3   7    44   48   −4     9
6 The Aurian Plains        10    3   7    44   78  −34     9

Matchday 11

Group 4
Ethane                   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1  5
Ancherion                1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  4

Devonta                  0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0  5
The Greater Nordics      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Newmanistan              2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  4
Scootalove City          0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan              11    8   3    63   38  +25    24
2 The Greater Nordics      11    6   5    40   43   −3    18
3 Ethane                   11    6   5    56   63   −7    18
4 Devonta                  11    5   6    40   37   +3    15
5 Ancherion                11    4   7    47   55   −8    12
6 Scootalove City          11    4   7    50   60  −10    12

Group 5
Schiltzberg              0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 1  6
Abanhfleft               2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  4

Ko-Oren                  0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 1  5
Anthor                   0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Pratapgadh               2 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 10
Banija                   0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0  3


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                   11    7   4    44   46   −2    21
2 Ko-Oren                  11    6   5    51   45   +6    18
3 Schiltzberg              11    5   6    43   39   +4    15
4 Anthor                   11    5   6    43   54  −11    15
5 Abanhfleft               11    5   6    42   43   −1    15
6 Pratapgadh               11    5   6    52   48   +4    15

Group 6
Equestrian States        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Nova Anglicana           0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

West Phoenicia           0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2
Xanneria                 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 X  4

Alpine Union             0 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 0  5
The Aurian Plains        0 0 0 3 0 5 1 0 X  9


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana           11    8   3    52   28  +24    24
2 West Phoenicia           11    7   4    44   31  +13    21
3 Alpine Union             11    5   6    53   50   +3    15
4 Equestrian States        11    5   6    40   48   −8    15
5 Xanneria                 11    4   7    48   50   −2    12
6 The Aurian Plains        11    4   7    53   83  −30    12

Matchday 12

Group 4
Ancherion                0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 0  5
Scootalove City          0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

The Greater Nordics      1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Newmanistan              0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 X  3

Ethane                   3 7 1 0 3 0 0 1 1 16
Devonta                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group 4                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan              12    9   3    66   40  +26    27
2 Ethane                   12    7   5    72   63   +9    21
3 The Greater Nordics      12    6   6    42   46   −4    18
4 Ancherion                12    5   7    52   56   −4    15
5 Devonta                  12    5   7    40   53  −13    15
6 Scootalove City          12    4   8    51   65  −14    12

Group 5
Abanhfleft               1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
Banija                   1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  3

Anthor                   4 0 0 6 1 1 0 0 0 12
Pratapgadh               0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1  4

Schiltzberg              1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ko-Oren                  0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 X  7


  Group 5                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Banija                   12    8   4    47   48   −1    24
2 Ko-Oren                  12    7   5    58   46  +12    21
3 Anthor                   12    6   6    55   58   −3    18
4 Schiltzberg              12    5   7    44   46   −2    15
5 Abanhfleft               12    5   7    44   46   −2    15
6 Pratapgadh               12    5   7    56   60   −4    15

Group 6
Nova Anglicana           2 0 1 0 4 0 0 2 0  9
The Aurian Plains        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Xanneria                 0 3 1 1 1 2 0 0 0  8
Alpine Union             1 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0  5

Equestrian States        0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3  4
West Phoenicia           0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  3


  Group 6                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana           12    9   3    61   29  +32    27
2 West Phoenicia           12    7   5    47   35  +12    21
3 Equestrian States        12    6   6    44   51   −7    18
4 Xanneria                 12    5   7    56   55   +1    15
5 Alpine Union             12    5   7    58   58    0    15
6 The Aurian Plains        12    4   8    54   92  −38    12

[West Phoenicia]

West Phoenician pitcher Mateo Vargas has been suspended for 6 games by order of the West Phoenician Baseball Federation after the third straight loss against Equestrian States. After losing on their home soil and then their rivals stadium, the Confederates were hoping to change the bad luck they have been having with the opposing team.

However a win was not going to happen, after leading through out the game leading many fans to believe they had the win in the bag, a missed time pitch by Mateo Vargas, led the Equestrian States to get back in the game and score three runs at the top of the 9th, allowing them to move ahead.

Cries and sounds of boos erupted throughout the stadium as Equestian States scored one home run and a double. The confidence quickly drained from the Confederate delegation, anxiety kicked in and none of the players were able to pull any more effort from their arsenal.

While Equestrian States players and fans celebrated the 1 run win,, Confederate pitcher Mateo Vargas began his anti-Equestian States rant. He called the players demons and unholy. Mate to voewed he would not pitch for a non human player as it was unnatural. His outburst caused many fans to also express their feelings towards the opposing team while level heads were drowned out.

The West Phoenician Baseball Federation was quick to condemn the rantings and have chosen to suspend the player for attempting to incite hate at a sporting event.

Mateo Vargas fired back on social media, saying he had a right to his opinion and should not have been suspended.

[Ko-oren]

The Greenblues are just a tad over .500 but that doesn't matter, they're second in the group. As always, the WBC group stage is an incredibly closely contested stage, with only the heavyweights able to escape the 'regress to the mean'-curse. We really want to say that we are now among the heavyweights as a WBC winner, we really do, but at this point we're still looking at Nova Anglicana (9-3), Newmanistan (9-3), and Lycrabon (10-2) for what consistent top-notch play looks like. The Sherpa Empire has also established itself as a modern giant (9-3), and they are most like our own team, in that they show how quickly you can rise. Within a generation, basically. Cassadaigua are also 9-3 but they have the worst luck in being in the same group as Lycrabon.

The fact that we still talk about ourselves as a small nation in baseball is a testament to our humility - though misplaced. We are on a WBC win, but there is barely any WBC hype ahead of this one, and the general consensus seems to be that this group of players cannot repeat the feat. We are currently the only team on a positive run differential in the group! If that doesn't speak for how much this team's improved since last time, where there had been as many wins but they've rarely been dominant.

The fact remains that we have to escape the .500 by a lot. This group's worst team is two wins beneath us, so we have to put together a winning streak like in WBC 45 to advance from the group. That's one thing in baseball: you can win one WBC and fail in the group stages of the next one. Schiltzberg is a big example of how much you can fall in between Classics, their team proudly upholding its incredible history but also devoid of direction...

Our group, it turns out, is full of stories. A small budding rivalry between us and Banija, and the latter's quick ascent to sports greatness from baseball to soccer to gridiron and it doesn't look like they're done growing. Schiltzberg's dramatic turns, Abanhfleft's knack to make things either very difficult or very easy for us, and Anthor and Pratapgadh are two names that keep appearing in the tournaments we want to excel in.

Within the team, finally there is no upheaval about moving teams and players that find out mid-game that they will have to find a new house before the end of the offseason. There hasn't been this kind of serenity around the Greenblues in a very, very, very long time. And relative peace is when we expect the most of this team... except we don't.

Marquee game of the week

Schiltzberg              1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ko-Oren                  0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 X  7

The 6-5 Greenblues faced Schiltzberg at home, at the massive Katashi Dome reserved for our games against one of the sport's biggest ever squads. Kasper Brands was reserved for this one and ended up pitching 7 innings, retiring 8 batters with strikeouts, this is why you save up these kinds of players. A loss would've meant that the Greenblues would be stuck at 6-6 after 12 games, and this keeps us away from the dreaded .500 for a little longer. Brands was followed up by Sotolongo, Igarashi and Ozawa, each of which kept a clean sheet, their two innings combining for two opponents on base. Brands surely didn't keep his bases that clean, and it came down to runners on third, two outs and then getting that final out before the runner got home (or getting that runner out). On the other side, Esumi got on base three out of five times, Peredo did so four out of five, and together they could terrorise the defence as Schiltzberg struggled to get a grip on Lema, Vamada and Viera. Home base came into view just twice, in the third and in the eighth inning - and that final time Vamada had a nice gift, a 3-run home run, to close out the score 7-1. Our hitting is in order, our pitching is good enough. Time to win some games. We're not a small team anymore, and we have to act like a big boy now.

[Banija]

New look Banijan baseball squad strives to make return to knockout stages of the World Baseball Classic


Banijan players celebrate 3-2 road win over Schlitzberg on Matchday 9

ISTRIA, MORAVICA- The Banijans had been building quite a name for themselves in baseball. They weren’t on the verge of becoming powerhouses, mind you, but the team was respectable. They had made consecutive appearances in the knockout stages of the World Baseball Classic, and under the tutelage of Raymond Cloutier, they had seen improvement in each of their first four tournaments with him at the helm. They had developed a good pitching staff, putting together a flexible team that was capable of making adjustments, with a strong bullpen and an excellent staff, especially at the top. But then, of course, came World Baseball Classic 45. National teams, in all sports, go through cycles. As players age out and you can only build from a certain player pool, aka a singular country, it is time to refresh that pool every now and again. Should we have refreshed that after World Baseball Classic 44, when Raymond Cloutier seemed to have reached his peak, getting Banija into the top 15 of the world rankings? That, of course, was quite a feat in and of itself, regardless of anything else. But the 45th World Baseball Classic was a disaster.

Instead of moving forward, this was like a giant leap backwards that the Banijans had taken. Instead of adding another knockout stage appearance to their resume, Banijan baseball took a giant leap backwards, and even though they were ranked 12th in the sport, it was a disaster. But to set up World Baseball Classic 45, you have to go to WBC 44. In the Round of 16, the Banijans were a #7 seed for the knockout stages, paired with 10th seeded Ethane(the home of Raymond Cloutier, and another common opponent for Banijan baseball). In the best of 5, the Banijans won Game 1 in stunning fashion, when Jebel Sowe walked off in the 9th with a solo shot to give the Banijans a 4-3 win. Then, in Game 2, the Banijan pitching staff got clobbered, allowing 17 runs- all of them earned runs, including allowing 7 runs in the first inning and lost 17-2. That one messed them up- pulling their starter in that game after allowing 6 earned runs in just 1/3rd of an inning exhausted their bullpen, as they used the entire pen as nobody seemed to be able to get any outs. And then, they blew a 3 run 9th inning lead in Game 3, only to come back and win Game 4. In the decisive Game 5, down 3-0 in the bottom of the 9th, they scored two runs and then loaded the bases, with Jebel Sowe up at the plate with 2 outs. He struck out looking, frozen on a breaking ball that just painted the corner of the plate for the final pitch of the series, and the Banijans lost in heart wrenching fashion as Ethane advanced to the quarterfinals. Continued a pattern of knockout stage heartbreak for them- Getting swept, 8-1 and 7-1, as the higher seeded team in the Round of 32 of the 43rd World Baseball Classic wasn’t pretty either.

That is quite the knockout stage trauma, isn’t it? But you could say that the Banijans never really recovered from that. They let that sit, and let that fester, and in WBC 45, it was all off. Everything was off. Going 11-13, finishing with a losing record, becoming simply an afterthought in the world of baseball? Not what the Banijans were looking for, not what they were trying to go for. And at that point, it had become clear- the Banijans had to make a chance. They decided to part ways with Raymond Cloutier, the Ethanian manager who had been at the helm for a number of years for the Banijans. They needed new ideas, some fresh blood, a fresh start. And they cast the net far and wide, before landing on local manager Ousman Kakay.

Since the hiring of Kakay, this tournament has been the first, and best, chance for the Banijans to test the theory that looking at a new manager is best for the team’s development. And so far, so good. They came firing out of the gate, walking off to win their first game of the tournament under a new manager, before Banta Jawara put on a pitching clinic against Abanhfleft. Winning those pitcher’s duels is always important- it is quality defense, good baserunning, and above all, strong pitching that will allow a team to make a run in a tournament like this, and the Banijans have plenty of that. Banta Jawara, against Abanhfleft on Matchday 2, went 8 innings and had 9 strikeouts, scattering just 2 hits and a lone walk, as he dominated the Abanhfleft lineup. Abanhfleft’s pitcher almost matched him pitch for pitch, but in the 6th inning of that one, Cyper Kandeh scored from second base on a one out single up the middle. He had just barely beat the throw home for a play at the plate, and gave the Banijans their second straight win of the tournament. And on Matchday 3, the Banijans won again, beating Anthor 4-2 away from home, with the bullpen putting in four solid innings of work.

In the next set of three matches, their biggest win of that one, their most resilient, was against regional rivals, Ko-oren. The 6th ranked team in the multiverse, the highest seeded team of this group, the Banijans had a 6-2 lead in the 9th, and they blew it, with Sarjo Touré blowing the save, big time. But the Banijans did not give up, and did not hang their heads. They stayed the course, and they battled for the rest of the game, winning in 13 innings away from home to become 5-0 in the tournament so far. And that win, very exhausting, took a lot out of the Banijans. It took so much out of them, actually, that they then proceeded to lose 3 in a row- coming back down to Earth after a scorching 5-0 start to the tournament. But still, 5-3 after 8 games, is not a bad start when they are trying to get back to the World Baseball Classic, to finally eliminate their knockout stage demons.

The slide stopped with a pair of important wins over the group’s two highest ranked sides- a 3-2 win over Schlitzberg, followed up by an exciting 7-6 win over Ko-oren. The win against Ko-oren, of course, coming in walk off fashion, working Ko-oren’s bullpen like Ko-oren worked Banija’s in their first matchup, ending the game with a walkoff single by the right fielder, Jonkong Sillah. And now, the Banijans find themselves sitting pretty after 12 games, in first place in the group with an 8-4 record. They have, of course, been near the top of the group for the whole tournament so far, though we must emphasize, there certainly is plenty of baseball left to be played here. They’re only a game ahead, and with 18 games left, you cannot read too much into the standings. Even Kakay emphasized that.

“It’s too early to be worrying about the table- it will play itself out.” Kakay said. “All we can do is focus on ourselves, and how we approach these ball games. We have to go out there, and be focused, and execute. Hit on our pitches, take good at bats, play solid defense. There is a point in time when we can really start looking at the table- but we haven’t reached that. We just have to approach each game, night in and night out, with a focus on doing what is necessary to win that specific game. What happens elsewhere will play out elsewhere, but we need to be focused on our own destiny. We are here to do a job, to bring redemption to this team, and that won’t happen if we’re worried about a game going on in Schlitzberg that we’re not playing in.”

The rotation starts to change around for the Banijans around now, as Kakay wanted to give his best starters innings against the group’s top 10 teams- Schlitzberg and Ko-oren. Look for Assan Condé to give Ko-oren a new challenge, a different kind of matchup, after they roughed up Ensa Suso on Matchday 10, in their second match facing him as a starter. Assan Condé will be on short rest on Matchday 15, but this looks to be an opportunity for the Banijans to give a different kind of challenge to Ko-oren as they look to stay at the front in the marathon that we call the WBC group stages. The team's fortunes are looking up- can they keep this up for the rest of the tournament? We'll have to wait and see.

[Hapilopper]

(NOTE: The following stories were filed after each of Hapilopper's last three games and do not necessarily reflect the HNBT's current standing.)
HAPILOPPER LEADS GROUP TWO! A PITCHER HITS ANOTHER GRAND SLAM!
By Cassandra Jennings
Hapilopper Television Network

TRASTAMAR CITY - Until the top of the 6th inning, Hapilopper and Trastamar were locked in one of the closer ballgames of the season. Hapilopper would score, then Trastamar would follow suit. It had promised to be something of a nailbiter and carried the feeling that this game would last a while.

And then, the Hapiloppians took over, and the pendulum shifted. Mo Beverly hit a Baltimore Chop that bounced over the head of the shortstop. Terry Blanchard, in for the injured Wes Sawyer, plunked a ground ball that went between the legs of the third baseman. Brandt Williamson hit a line drive that landed just short of the right fielder, and just like that, the ducks were on the pond with no outs. Walking to the plate was a smiling Charlton Forest, in his first game since his suspension, and his first game since the beanball incident against Free Republics.

Forest was 0-2 at this point, having failed miserably in efforts to get on base, and in fact, his second at-bat really made the argument for a Designated Hitter, as Forest swung badly at a wild pitch, falling over in his failed attempt to swing, helmet coming off. He was determined to not let this happen again, and sure enough, he wouldn't. Maybe it was the fact he could spot the sweat pouring off the brow of Trastamar's pitcher, who, at 99 pitches, was nearing the end of his day. If he could just get this pitcher out, then get lucky with maybe a double play, he'd get out of the inning and out of a huge jam.

So, what did the pitcher do? He threw a fastball right down the pipe. Forest's timing was perfect. He smashed the best offering he could have hoped for, and practically smashed the cover off the ball. He ran like hell before looking up and seeing the ball end up in the seats in left field. Another grand slam for a Hapiloppian pitcher. The score was 7-2 and it would only go downhill from there for Trastamar.

By the time the game ended, Hapilopper had rolled to a 12-4 victory over Trastamar, putting the team into an improbable four-way tie for first place with Free Republics, Hampton Island and Tierra de Castro. With run differential put into consideration, Hapilopper leads the group, with a run differential of +21 to Free Republics' +10, Hampton Island's +8 and Tierra de Castro's -2.

"Yeah," said manager Sam Kitchens. "We ain't dead yet. We're going to keep fighting until we don't have a breath left in us. We can beat these guys. We're just as good as them, and we're going to advance. We hope."

Charlton Forest, whose grand slam seemingly put the game away for the HNBT, was more than happy to talk about the shot.

"That was cool," Forest said. "The pitcher gave me what I wanted and I delivered. The bases were loaded. We've been talking about stranding runners, and how, quite frankly, it's cost us games. If I can do my part to clear the bases, then frankly, I've done my job. That's all that matters."

While Hapilopper rolled over Trastamar, not all news was good from the HNBT clubhouse. In the top of the 1st inning, Wes Sawyer was seriously injured when attempting to track down a fly ball in right field that became a home run. The ball cleared the fence, and Sawyer turned just in time to slam the wall face-first, knocking him out briefly. According to the HNBT medical staff, Sawyer suffered a concussion when slamming into the right field wall and will be out for at least the next five games. Terry Blanchard will take Sawyer's place in the starting lineup, while Melvin Pemberton, one of three Pemberton brothers that cover the outfield for the Washington Metropolitans, will take Sawyer's place on the roster.

Pemberton, who like his brothers Randall and Scott, is known for his thick-rimmed glasses and his tendency to go all-out when fielding, hitting or baserunning, most infamously last May when he tackled Surrey Wolves first baseman Sampson Allard, stopping the most routine of routine plays at first. A brawl ensued, but Pemberton was safe, and that kind of ballsy baserunning allowed Washington shortstop Jerome Hayden to score the winning run.

---

HAPILOPPER LOSES A HEARTBREAKER TO THE REPUBLICANS
By Cassandra Jennings
Hapilopper Television Network

HAPILOPPER CITY - Well, at least nobody ran up the score or threw a beanball this time.

The Free Republics baseball team scored three in the top of the 9th to steal one from the Hapilopper National Baseball Team tonight at Capital Stadium, in a match where the tension was so thick, one wondered if all hell would break loose again like it had in the previous two matchups between the two teams. An estimated 64,000 fans filled Capital Stadium, many expecting a full-fledged brawl between the two teams as had been the case in the last game.

What those fans didn't know, however, was that members of the HNBT made their way to the visitor's clubhouse several hours before gametime to speak with the Republicans. One of them was Charlton Forest, the pitcher who had thrown the pitch that set off the craziness the last time the two teams faced each other.

Not surprisingly, Forest's presence in the Free Republics' clubhouse was greeted about as warmly as a fart in church. A number of players put themselves between Forest and Nicholas Fisher, the starting Designated Hitter for the Free Republics team, but Forest wasn't there for a fight, and neither was anyone else from the HNBT. They were there to apologize.

Nobody from either team said if the apology had been accepted. Forest didn't play, the day after hitting a grand slam against Trastamar and pitching seven innings, including 12 strikeouts.

"It was important for me to tell them that I didn't want to do it, but strange things happen when you're ordered to do something," he said. "They weren't happy but I didn't expect them to be. We just want to get this behind us, otherwise we're going to keep beating ourselves."

If the apology had, in fact, been accepted, it sure looked like it during the game. While the action was more than tense - after all, the winner of the game would most likely take the lead in the Group 2 standings - it featured none of the violence some had predicted. No pitcher from either Free Republics or Hapilopper even as much considered throwing a pitch at a member of the other team. Any kind of physicality between the two teams was limited to home-plate collisions or attempts to break up a double play. In other words, the two teams played hard, but they played fair with each other. For all intents and purposes, it might have been the best pure baseball game all season in the World Baseball Classic.

At the top of the 9th inning, the Hapiloppians somehow had a two-run lead over the Free Republics. Darren Goodwin, the Hapilopper closer, took the mound ready to record what looked like the final three outs of a major upset. Unfortunately, he was also up against the heart of the Republican order - Honomi Kamei, Oskar Bjorgum, Hollie Rogers to lead off the inning.

Kamei walked on four pitches. Bjorgum flied out, but Kamei was able to advance to 2nd. Rogers hit a liner just shy of right fielder Terry Blanchard. Now up was Teresa Mrazova, who knew what she needed to do. She needed to wait for the right pitch and give it what it deserved.

Knowing there was a problem, catcher Mo Beverly and manager Sam Kitchens held a conference at the mound to try to calm Goodwin down. The meeting lasted a couple of minutes before play resumed. For a few pitches, it looked like their conference worked - Goodwin had gotten ahead to an 0-2 count to Mrazova, which included a pair of foul balls. But then a couple of things happened that completely changed the complexion of the game.

Goodwin stared at Mrazova and dropped the ball. A balk was called, and instead of runners on 1st and 2nd, there were runners on 2nd and 3rd. Goodwin later refused to speak about the incident, but viewers watching the game on HTN could see that the nerves had gotten to him. The look on his face told a tale of pure fear. The Free Republics got to him.

And then, whether it was his nerves or fatigue, Goodwin gave Mrazova what she wanted. A fastball right down the pipe. Like any good hitter would, Mrazova smashed the pitch right on the sweet spot. When it landed, it was in a fan's fishing net in section 327 of Capital Stadium. The Free Republics took their first lead of the game and it was when it mattered. Goodwin left the game, but some suggested he probably should have been pulled before Mrazova walked into the batter's box. Robert Stevens took the hill and cleaned up the mess.

With the win, Free Republics took the lead in Group 2, the hyper-competitive division that has seen five of its six teams in contention for the group victory. Five of the six teams are within six points of each other - Free Republics and Hampton Island with 21 points each, Hapilopper and Tierra de Castro with 18 points each and Oscioru with 15 points.

---

BLANCHARD BEANED, PEMBERTON STEALS HOME TO TAKE WIN FROM TIERRA DE CASTRO
By Cassandra Jennings
Hapilopper Television Network

TIERRA DE CASTRO - Terry Blanchard was sent to a local hospital after taking a fastball right to the face in the 6th inning of Hapilopper's match with Tierra de Castro, a game won by brave baserunning on Hapilopper's behalf.

Blanchard, who replaced Wes Sawyer the other day as the starting right fielder after Sawyer was concussed when slamming into the right field wall, suffered a concussion and a broken jaw when a 2-0 pitch from Orlando Tenorio plunked him. Blanchard was knocked unconscious by the pitch, but the indications were that the pitch was not intentional. Tenorio was experiencing control issues by the time Blanchard came to bat, and a hit batsman was seen as expected at that point.

While Blanchard was put on a stretcher and sent to a nearby hospital, Melvin Pemberton, the outfielder with the long hair, thick glasses and bad attitude, came up to pinch run while Snoopy Martinez took the mound after manager Edgar Abasto pulled Tenorio due to those control issues.

A single from Brandt Williamson advanced Pemberton to third as center fielder Eduardo Ciceron fumbled with the throw, giving Pemberton an opening to take an extra base.

As leadoff man Ernest Brand walked to the batter's box, Pemberton started screaming at the TdC pitcher as he took a huge lead. Pemerton was daring Martinez to throw to third base, rather than pitch to Brand. Brand looked back at Pemberton, who was actually dancing as if he was spoiling for a fight. He might have been, too.

Martinez's first pitch, inside in the dirt for a ball, was fortunate for Brand as he might have been as distracted as the pitcher was. The second pitch, on the inside corner for strike one, was the start of Pemberton's slide. As catcher Adan Carita threw back to Martinez, Pemberton ran like hell for home.

Carita ran in front of the plate, frantically calling for the ball. By the time Martinez could throw the ball back, Pemberton was in full motion to slam into Carita, screaming like a banshee all the way. The impact was sickening. Carita was slammed into the dirt, Martinez's throw now without a target. Realizing he had overshot home plate with his collision, Pemberton crawled back to home plate and emphatically slammed it with his left hand.

It turned out to be the only run of the game as Hapilopper beat Tierra de Castro to stay within three points of Hampton Island and Free Republics in what has been the most competitive group in all of the World Baseball Classic.

Still, the mood was somewhat subdued as players and manager Sam Kitchens worried about Blanchard.

"He got knocked out," Kitchens said. "Plain and simple, he got knocked out. We're going to send him home to recover and we'll get an update on him as soon as we can."

According to doctors from the HNBT, Blanchard will likely be out for the remainder of the World Baseball Classic. If this is indeed the case, the HNBT will likely name a replacement by the end of the business day tomorrow. That replacement will likely be Melvin Pemberton's younger brother Randall, whose tough physical style of play in the outfield is similar to that of his brother.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Lakpa Fang felt very out-of-place in St. Petrus. His involvement in LGBT causes was fairly well-known, and Saintland didn't seem like the sort of place where that would be welcome. He was sufficiently uncomfortable to sit around the hotel and listen to Luochong Zhuang's hours-long explanation of snub-nosed monkey social hierarchies rather than go out and see the sights.

That made it all the more satisfying when he picked up the save in a close-fought game.

The next game in the Holy Anthonite State was another close one after Akunjee had a rough start, giving up 4 runs in the first 3 innings. He managed to pitch the 4th without giving up any more runs, but it was obvious he wasn't in top form, so Oli brought in Sangakkar in the 5th. By this time, the game was tied again after Changmin Le hit a long sac fly that brought Qiao and Qiang in to score. The Sherpas took the lead in the 6th, and they were leading 6-4 when Fang was brought in to pitch the 9th and pick up his 2nd save in a row.

When the Sherpas returned to home to the peaceful green hills of Darjeeling, it didn't look like Fang would be needed. They batted around in the first inning, scoring 4 runs and leaving the bases loaded. It looked like they were on their way to a blow-out -- but their fortunes changed abruptly when Mingma Al Ali twisted his ankle and had to leave the game in the 2nd inning. The bullpen was not well-rested after Akunjee's short outing in the previous game, and the Liventian batters took advantage of the opportunity. Luckily, the Sherpas were hitting too. They were leading 10-9 going into the 9th, where Fang picked up his 3rd save in 3 games.

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In the capital, Kencha Adhikari had made the public announcement that he intended to disband the stock car racing league IRACT, as well as the national ping-pong and chess leagues. At IRACT's headquarters on the outskirts of Guilin, a spokeswoman for the league announced that they could support themselves without government backing, and they would not disband. The press conference at IRACT's headquarters was a minor event, attended mostly by local reporters and a handful of no-name cameramen from the national networks, but it was still clear that IRACT was not going to go down without a fight. "If Tropicorp can run its own racing teams, so can we. We don't need permission from the Ministry of Culture any more than they need permission from the government of Vilita," the spokeswoman said.