World Baseball Classic 48 [Everything Thread]

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions advance to playoffs, to square off against Greater Nordics

Samantha Maxwell, Londinium Courier

The Nova Anglicana Lions, despite their stumbling start, have made it to the playoffs of the 48th World Baseball Classic, clinching first place in their group by defeating Anthor two games to one in their final series. They earned the #7 seed in the Round of 16 and will face the Greater Nordics, the second seed from Group 2 and #10 seed overall, who sport the same record as the Lions, 19-11. Let's take a look at how each team got here. First, the Lions.

Nova Anglicana Lions Road to the Playoffs

Series 1: This first matchup, against Kriegiersien, was the Lions' worst series of the WBC. They were swept, with Wyatt Templeton having an especially rough outing in game 2 (4.2 IP, 6 ER). This is the series that prevented the Lions from securing a better seed. Record: 0-3

Series 2: For their first home series, the Lions washed the bad taste of the Kriegiersien sweep out of their mouths by sweeping Oscioru. This series included a complete game shutout from Erik Russell, his first of three in the group stage, and a 15-run explosion in game 3 in which Jake Bryan had 6 RBI. Record: 3-3

Series 3: On the road against Daskel in their impressive stadium, the Astor Dai, the Lions handled the pesky Daskies fairly easily in games 1 and 2, running out to leads of 8-0 and 5-0 in 8-4 and 7-1 wins. But Daskel struck back in game 3, battering Erik Russell for five runs in the first inning and hitting a pair of Lions relievers hard late in a 9-2 win. Record: 5-4

Series 4: West Phoenicia, the foe the Lions had not bested in either playoff series they faced them in, hosted them in a pivotal first-half matchup. The two teams were the top seeds in their group and had both struggled initially. All three games were close, but the Lions hung on to win games 1 and 3 by scores of 5-4 and 5-3, respectively, while dropping the middle game 4-3. This series win tid them for first with early leaders Anthor. Record: 7-5

Series 5: Hosting Anthor, the Lions were playing for first place in the first half. The winner of the series would be in good shape, the loser would have ground to make up. Things looked bleak when the Lions lost the first game 6-4, but back-to-back shutouts from Erik Russell (6-0) and Hank Jackson (1-0) gave the Lions the series and first place. Jackson accomplished a remarkable feat in shutting out the other team and hitting a solo homer for the game's only run. Record: 9-6

Series 6: The players, the coaches, the fans, seemingly everyone saw the rematch against Kriegiersien as an opportunity for revenge, a chance to get back at their opponents for the ignominious sweep they had inflicted on the Lions. The crowd rored when the Lions won the first game 3-1. They roared when it looked like the Lions might mount a comeback from 5-1 down in the bottom of the 9th in game 2, but were quieted when the game ended 5-2. But they got to roar again when the Lions struck for three runs in the bottom of the 7th of game 3 to take a 4-2 lead and win 5-2. Record: 11-7

Series 7: On the road against Oscioru, there again was a shutout (5-0 by Erik Russell in game 1) and an offensive explosion (an 11-5 win in game 3). What there was not was a sweep. The Oscioruans scored three runs in the second inning of game 2 and the Lions' offense barely showed up in a 4-1 loss. Record: 13-8

Series 8: The rematch against Daskel, this time in Archbishop Stadium, started off so well. The Lions took the first two games 3-1 and 4-0 behind excellent pitching performances from Wyatt Templeton and Dan Cunningham, but dropped the last game 4-3 in 10 innings. That dropped game allowed West Phoenicia, who swept Oscioru, to come within one game of first place. The next series, just like the last, would be crucial. Record: 15-9

Series 9: This crucial matchup, likely determining the winner of the group, started off poorly in front of the home fans, the Lions barely managing a few runners on base against Cliff Samuels and Tiger Singh in a 6-0 loss. That loss tied the Lions and the Confederates at 15-10. But the home team bounced back to take the series by wins of 7-4 and 5-2, giving them a two game lead over West Phoenicia. That meant that even one win against Anthor in the final series would clinch the group for them.Record: 17-10

Series 10: The Lions put all speculation about who would win the group to bed with a 7-5 win in game 1, rallying from down 4-3 to score four runs in the 7th against a parade of Anthor relievers. They rallied again in game 2, tying the game at 4 in the top of the 8th, but Charlie Bowers surrendered a run in the bottom of the inning to lose the game 5-4. In retrospect, that loss might have been fortuitous, as it cost the Lions one spot in the playoffs. Finishing 20-10 would have given them the #6 seed and a series against The Sherpa Empire, current #6 in the world as compared to the Greater Nordics' #12 rank. Free Republics (4) vs. Sherpa Empire (6) is going to be a heck of a Round of 16 clash. The Lions jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never relinquished it in game 3, finishing 19-11 and two games clear of West Phoenicia. Record: 19-11

The Greater Nordics Road to the Playoffs

Series 1: The Greater Nordics started their WBC campaign with a bang, sweeping Terre Septentrionale. Twice they rallied from early deficits, trailing 4-1 in game 2 before rallying to win 8-6 in 11 innings and trailing 5-2 in game 3 before crushing their opponents 10-5. Record: 3-0

Series 2: The United States of Devonta were their next foe, and the Devontans were not up to the challenge. After hanging around in a 6-5 loss, their bats went cold and silent, losing the next two games 4-0 and 4-1. The Greater Nordics showcased their defense and pitching ability in the second series where they had shown off their offensive capabilities in the first series. Record: 6-0

Series 3: TJUN-ia was unable to slow down the Nordic juggernaut, as The Greater Nordics swept their third consecutive series. After putting up a brave fight but losing 3-1 in 12 innings in game 1, TJUN-ia simply had no answer in games 2 and 3, as the Greater Nordics team rolled to wins of 11-4 and 11-2, leading 11-0 in game 3. Record: 9-0

Series 4: Swiaji, the other unranked team in the group, was finally able to trip up the group leaders inn a rollicking, back-and-forth game that saw Swiaji take a 7-0 lead, only to give it back and more in the next two innings, then rally to win 10-9. The Greater Nordics answered back in game 2, winning their third extra inning game, 4-3 in 11 innings. But they had no runs left for game 3, which Swiaji took 4-3. This series loss allowed #1 seed Free Republics to claim a share of first place going into the last series of the first half. Record: 10-2

Series 5: The final first half series was at Free Republics and, true to form, the Greater Nordics rallied to win 3-2 in game 1. But they couldn't sustain their effort in the next two games, losing 4-2 in game 2, then rallying to take a 5-4 lead in game 3 before giving it away. Their last gasp effort in the ninth wasn't enough to avoid a 7-6 loss and second place in the group. Record: 11-4

Series 6: In the rematch against Terre Septentrionale, The Greater Nordics put on a show for the home fans in game 1, scoring runs in six consecutive innings to take it by a score of 8-2. But then they seemingly ran out of offense, succumbing 2-1 in game 2, and mustering not even a single run in a 7-0 game 3 loss that was over by the fourth inning. Record: 12-6

Series 7: They rebounded against United States of Devonta, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and pounding them 9-3 in game 1. They lost their first extra-inning game in game 2, falling 4-2 in 10 innings, before rallying once again, this time from 2-0 down to win 5-3 in game 3. Record: 14-7

Series 8: Despite losing their second extra-inning game in this series against TJUN-ia (5-3 in 11 innings), the Greater Nordics came out on top. This was thanks to an outstanding pitching performance in game 2 of the series, a 1-0 shutout win, and five runs in their final three turns at bat in a 5-2 game 3 win. They remained two games behind Free Republics in their quest for first place.Record: 16-8

Series 9: The ninth series was a rematch against the team that stopped their momentum, Swiaji. And they again arrested the Greater Nordics' forward progress in this series. The Greater Nordics led 5-3 going into the bottom of the 4th in game 1 before allowing five runs in the next four innings and taking a 9-6 loss. They led 3-2 going into the bottom of the 8th in game 2, but Swiaji tallied four runs in that inning and held off a rally in the 9th to take a 6-4 win. A frustrated Greater Nordics club would break open a close game 3 with five runs in the fifth and sixth to take the final game of the series 7-1. Fortunately for them, the United States of Devonta swept Free Republics, allowing the Greater Nordics to gain a game on their rivals for first place. Record: 17-10

Series 10: In the final series, due to an inferior run differential and a 1-2 head-to-head record going into the final clash,the Greater Nordics would either need to sweep Free Republics or win the series with a run differential of at least +17, a tall order. But hope blossomed when they trounced Free Republics 6-1 in game 1 and edged them 2-1 in game 2. The run differential wasn't enough, but they were tied for first and a sweep was within their grasp. They tied the game at two in the bottom of the eighth, but the Free Republics pushed across a run in the top of the ninth to take the game 3-2 and first place on run differential. Record: 19-11

Preview

What can we expect in the series? The Greater Nordics, by reputation and by their five runs per game scoring average, are an aggressive team, both at the bat and on the basepaths. Trevor Goodwin will have his work cut out for him, but he is more than capable behind the plate of controlling the Greater Nordics' running game. The teams' run differentials were remarkably similar, with Greater Nordics scoring six more runs and allowing four more runs. Both teams match a strong if not overpowering offensive with excellent pitching and defense. Perhaps the difference will come down to whoever has the hot hand. If so, I'm taking the Lions. After the opening sweep by Kriegiersien, their record was 19-8 (.714 winning percentage), whereas the Greater Nordics' was only 16-11 (.593 winning percentage). The Lions won 10 second half games to the Greater Nordics' eight, and the difference is especially stark if you look at their records after the first three series. The Greater Nordics started hot, winning their first nine games, but actually had a losing record (10-11) after that, as compared to the Lions' 14-7 record. This will be a grind and a close series, but I like the Lions to pull it out, three games to two.

[TJUN-ia]

CYCLE COMPLETE

4th in our first tournament. Not bad at all!

We will be back.....at some point.

[Hampton Island]

(Scenario: A day prior to leaving for Drawkland)

CEO: The costs to charter a spaceship to Drawkland are pretty high, but I have been able to offset that by charter twelve of them

Assistant: Why twelve?

CEO: Easy, we’ll be selling seats on the other eleven of them. For so many of our fans, space travel has only been a fantasy, so this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. Therefore, they will pay anything to go. And that shows in the prices that we have set for the tickets.

Assistant: Very good, I thought you might do something like that. Obviously most of our fans are not up to speed on the going rate for a spaceship ticket to Sonnel. I am a little more concerns about how Midnight might fare on the trip. The no gravity thing will be especially odd for him.

CEO: Miller told me that he will probably just hibernate for the length of the trip. I have worked with one of the Drawkian spaceship companies to ensure that we will be able to transport Midnight safely and securely as well. They are no stranger to hosting tournaments, so they have dealt with this before.

Assistant: How is Midnight doing with that female?

CEO: It will be tough for her. Think about the human comparison, meet a man, fall in love, and then he leaves you to go on a long trip. Miller has said that she might have some depression, but it will also make her happy to see him when he returns.

Assistant: Is she pregnant yet?

CEO: It is still too early to tell. What do you know about this nation, Sarzonia?

Assistant: We had a better record then them. We’re stuck in that 8-9 series though which is always brutal.

CEO: We’ll get the host nation in the second round if we win, right?

Assistant: Well we’d probably get Cassadaigua.

CEO: Screw them, they’re annoying. I’d rather play Drawkland.

Assistant: I think we’d all rather play Drawkland. That Sarzonia team seems like they can beat. They were in a pretty weak group. The Sherpa Empire never put the group away, and Sarzonia was able to get the tiebreaker on them. I wish we could be playing Sherpa.

CEO: Oh yes. I do too. (OOC: The CEO has a strong dislike of The Sherpa Empire in NSSCRA).

Assistant: The team is doing pretty well though, put away the chickens of Hapilopper. Maybe Sarzonia will not be afraid to pitch to Midnight like they were.

CEO: Back to Midnight, what are the grocery stores like there? Are we going to be able to get enough food to keep well fed?

Assistant: We will, but it might be costly.

CEO: True. Raise the price by $10 for each of those spaceship charter seats then.

Assistant: Will do!

[Drawkland]

DRAWKLAND'S WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 48
PLAYOFF VENUES
No cutoff today! Play will resume tomorrow. I've updated the venue and city information in the information post at the beginning of the thread, and added venues for all the Round of 16 matches!

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Round of 16 Matchups

#1 Cassadaigua vs #15 Drawkland
@ Seven Stars Stadium, Centivar County

#2 Abanhfleft vs #16 Imperial Joseon
@ The Starfield, Chelstio

#3 Banija vs #14 West Phoenicia
@ Hydrogen Cyanide Field, Drawk City

#4 Ko-oren vs #13 Liventia
@ Valsum Hills Ballpark, Raikennax

#5 Newmanistan vs #12 South Newlandia
@ Corps Central Park, Drawk City

#6 Free Republics vs #11 The Sherpa Empire
@ Capital Park, Metropolon

#7 Nova Anglicana vs #10 The Greater Nordics
@ Riverfront Field, Pittsennat

#8 Sarzonia vs #9 Hampton Island
@ Pickmen Park, Cemmendy

[The Sherpa Empire]

The sports bar in the lobby of the Friendship Bridge Hotel was packed with cheering baseball fans. Some of them had drinks in their hands. Some were already drunk. Some were bouncing around and hugging each other. A man in a panda costume was swinging from a chandelier while his friends egged him on and the bartender yelled at him to get down.

An irate IHS quarantine officer appeared in the doorway all decked out in protective gear with a mask, rubber gloves, eye goggles, and a plastic gown. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS??? THIS IS NOT HOW YOU QUARANTINE!!!"

"Says you!" a drunken reveler retorted.

"WE'RE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!" someone else yelled.

"He must be a Doctors fan," someone else piped in. "Those Khumbu people don't know how to have fun!"

"I am NOT a Khumbu fan!" the quarantine officer said angrily. "I was born right and raised right here in Wuchang and I root for the Pandas just like everyone else, but this is NOT how you quarantine! Are you TRYING to get infected???"

The man in the panda costume lost his grip on the chandelier and fell on a table. The table broke under the force of the impact and several glasses and bottles tumbled on the floor, along with the dazed panda-man. A few people cheered or laughed, but the ones who were not as drunk had fallen silent. The celebratory mood had been ruined when they realized there was a very real chance that someone had brought SARS 2 to the party and spread it to everyone else in the room.

"Nobody is leaving this hotel for at least a week!" the officer told them. "If you were scheduled to leave sooner, your quarantine just got extended. And you're all getting tested again before you can leave!" He started shooing people out of the bar. "Go back to your damn rooms!"

Most people took the hint and broke it up, but there was one group that were too drunk and fired up to think straight. "Fuck that noise!" one of them yelled. Someone smashed a bottle over the quarantine officer's head and shoved him aside, intending to go outside and party in the street. Other revelers intervened and a brawl broke out, with some people tackling others to stop them from leaving the hotel.

The Wuchang Police and additional IHS staff were not amused when they arrived on the scene.

The next morning, the man who had bottled the quarantine officer learned the hard way that there were some criminal charges you couldn't bribe your way out of.

---

---

Meanwhile, in the national capital, some people at the Sports Department were trying to figure out how to get the national baseball team to Sonnel. The plan they eventually came up with involved hiring a Sherpa shaman and a Drawkian that was visiting Earth for some reason. The shaman would use a scrying spell to retrace the Drawkian's travels back to the spaceport where they departed from Drawkland, then open a portal to that location. Opening portals with hereditary magic wasn't that difficult, but you had to know where you were opening a portal to. It wasn't easy to pin down a precise location when you were traveling to another planet, so that is why they recruited a Drawkian and used the scrying spell.

[West Phoenicia]

West Phoenician Confederates celebrate a 2-1 victory against Daskel, to secure a spot in the round of 16.

It was a tense time for the West Phoenician Baseball team in the lead up to the last series. Team Manager Jacob Prosper had not had a drink in six months, but the suspense of the last three games in the series, which would determine if West Phoenicia would progress, had him wanting to reach for a bottle of bourbon.
The Confederates had gone down in a blaze against Nova Anglicana. The 2-1 loss shook their confidence, the West Phoenician arrogance faded from their faces.
Many sports pundits doubted if West Phoenicia would progress. Die hard fans crossed their fingers in hopes their beloved team would make the round of 16. Fair weather fans were ready to bet against them with the bookies. Daskel was an unranked team, however it was those teams that often surprised the sporting world. Everyone once in a while an unranked team would destroy a ranked team, showing the world unranked did not mean untalented or unprofessional. West Phoenicia had made the mistake of underestimating unranked teams before. They would be on full alert against Daskel.

The last couple of years West Phoenicia has failed to live up to their past glory, they had become mediocre as a team and many wondered if they would bounce back from their slump. Gone were the days of Olympic Gold medals and titles, could they reclaim the glory of the past?
Series 10 was simple, they had to avoid Daskel performing a clean sweep, something that was highly doubtful, but yet still a possibility.

Game one of series 10 saw little action from both sides. Even the announcers could be heard yawning as they made a feeble attempt to breathe life into the game. One would think the last games before the round of 16 where this was the moment to shine would have more alert players.
Some fans disagreed, it wasn't that both teams didn't care, both teams were not giving an inch to the opposition. Runs weren't being made, as both sides had amazing pitchers and fieldsman determined not to be the one to mess up the series.
It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth that The Confederates ignited a spark. Wayne Sorbent, Abigail Wittman and Cliff Samuels each hit the ball from an onslaught of curve and fast balls. Fully loading the bases. Glen Melbourne and Emanuel Army; both failed to hit the balls pitched to them. It came down to Jack Navy to save the day in the
Form of crazy grand slam, that saw all bases slowly emptied as each player reached the home plate, pushing the Confederates run rate to 4.
Daskel put up a small fight at the top of the seventh, scoring two runs. However they failed to secure any further runs in the game, giving the Confederates the win.

Carmen Nguyen was slammed by die hard Confederate fans during Game two.
If fans love you they would sing your praises, when they hated you West Phoenician fans were savage and toxic. Security was called on many times during the game to inject fans who resorted to explicit language.
Six runs were made at the top of the seventh. Her fast ball technique seemed to have vanished as the Daskel batters were smacking the ball as if she was tossing grapefruit.
"I dishonored the team, nothing I pitched seemed to stop Daskel, all I can say is will do better next game. We all have our bad days," Carmen Nguyen said during the post game interview. Sweat running down her face, creating a stinging sensation in her eyes.
All up Daskel had scored 12 runs off of the West Phoenician pitchers. That allowed the team a foot in the door to stop West Phoenicia from progressing.
The Confederates played a lousy sloppy game, allowing their opponents to reach double digits, while the batting line up could barely scrape 5 runs.
No matter how much the West Phoenician Sports writers tried to spin the game, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Daskel had outplayed the Confederates.

Game three was do or die for the Confederates, it would determine if they stayed home washing their uniforms or had the privilege to travel to Drawkland.
The West Phoenician dream by the end of game three was still alive, 5 runs to 2.
The pitchers and baseman had played their part well.
Only allowing one run at the top of the second which was aided by a Daskel player stealing a base from second to third, The risky attempt allowed one lone player to reach home that inning. The other run was in the form of a home run that escaped them at the top of the 9th. It was a wasted home runs when none of the bases were even loaded. More damage could have occurred if Daskel had stacked their bases before slugging one out of the reach of the outfielders, right passed the centre fielder who looked on as if observing a comet in the night sky.
The Daskel home run at the top of the ninth, edged them closer, but with four runs needed to win the game, Mandeep Singh and Closing pitcher Tiger Singh were not going to allow a loss on their turf.
The last strike at the top of the ninth performed by Tiger Singh had the crowds in a mad frenzy. The Confederates were ahead by three and were not required to bat again, they had won the game and taken out the series 2-1, they would now be travelling to Drawland.

Their round of 16 game against Banija would be held at the Hydrogen Cyanide Field in Drawk City. It was a worry they were to play the current number one ranked team in the World Baseball Classic, but someone had to play them. There was some concern now that West Phoenicia had slipped out of the top 10. But for them, it would be looking up. For a number 1 ranked team, who had to be on guard against hungrier teams, the future could be bleak as down was the only option. The Confederates would definitely be giving it their all, using all the skills, talent and energy they posses.
Players would no doubt be praying to the West Phoenician deities for a win against Banija, in the hopes that their rivals would sink faster than the Antebellum Violet.

The Antebellum Violet which was a passenger luxury ocean liner enroute to the United States of America sailing from Savannah Grove, West Phoenicia during World War I.

On board were 400 First Class Passengers, 600 Second Class passengers and 500 Third Class passengers as well as 650 crew members.

On the night of February 14th 1915 a German U-Boat torpedoed the ocean liner, the Antebellum Violet sunk within the hour. Barley giving the crew enough time to launch roughly half of their lifeboats. It was the catalyst that drove the nation to declare war.
West Phoenicia would be engaging in a baseball war with Banija at the round of 16, where they hoped their rivals would sink faster than the doomed ocean liner.

[Cassadaigua]

Off to Drawkland to play..... Drawkland,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

The group stage for the 48th World Baseball Classic has concluded, and Cassadaigua has found themselves as the #1 seed in the entire playoff bracket. Heading into the final series, at home against A Mushroom Kingdom, Cassadaigua was slated to be the #4 seed. A highly impressive three game sweep of that series, which I will touch upon at the end of this article, propelled the Fillies to a 22-8 record, and sent them into a tie with Abanhfleft. The Fleftics had a tough final series and lost two out of three to the group’s other qualifier, Hampton Island. Ko-oren dropped two out of three to South Newlandia, the first time nation that has also made the playoffs. South Newlandia is one of three unranked nations that have advanced to Drawkland, but along with Imperial Joseon, who is not as highly regarded, they are true first time nations. Sarzonia, a former World Baseball Classic champion, is the other unranked nation. Now, as for the other team that had been ahead of Cassadaigua, that was Banija. They also dropped two out of three, and they were to Drawkland themselves. It was an important series for the Drawks to give their fans confidence that they could play well in the playoffs against whoever their first round opponent would be.

That first round opponent would be our Fillies. Before I go further with this, note that the hosts elected to flip their seed with Imperial Joseon on the grounds of not wanting a group stage rematch in the playoffs. This is something that pops up in competitions now and then, and Cassadagans really do not have a strong feeling about it, one way or the other. I highly doubt that Drawkland would have wanted to play us instead of the #2 seed, Abanhfleft, so theoretically this move just created a more difficult path for them. Even in the event that we do not hope for, and that is they find a way to win our series, they then draw a tough second round matchup between the very, very underrated squad from Hampton Island, and the former champions in Sarzonia. It also puts them on the same side of the bracket as Ko-oren and Newmanistan. From Cassadaigua’s perspective, the third series against Imperial Joseon would have been, on paper, easier. However, this is where the “no rematches” policy that has been enacted by Drawkland is a good one, because if we were to have a rematch against, the opponents have plenty of scouting material against us already, and likewise we would have had against them. Some people could say that would put us at a disadvantage. Instead, we get to go to Drawkland, and take on the host nation.

Drawkland’s baseball history is summed up with one game. It is a game that is a punchline used against them in pretty much every sport, even if it is not baseball, so you know what game I am talking about. It may be a little unfair to them, as they have been fairly successful in the tournament, despite not every having an extended run in the playoffs that I can recall. As such, they are known more for football (known to some as gridiron) and basketball. They have established a good soccer program as well, but have had as much success in the World Cup as they have had in the World Baseball Classic. I do like the passion of their fan base, and the locals do a very good job welcoming fans of other sports. We would have been treated with wide open arms here if we were not their first round opponent. Now, those arms are only extended halfway, welcoming our team to the nation, while hoping we will pull a hamstring as we board the bus to go to the hotel.

The series will be played at the beautiful Seven Stars Stadium in Centivar County, and no, I am not just saying that to kiss up to the locals. This is a massive facility with a capacity of 250,000. Those seats also have plenty of leg room for the interstellar fan making a trip to stadium since they are designed with the extra tall Drawkian citizen in mind. The stadium was constructed for World Cup 79, and I remember when they held a naming contest for the stadium in the build up to the final. In some respects this reminds me of the Proving Grounds in Newmanistan without the additional sporting facilities and the race track surround the complex. It’s focal point is on hosting international championships, but domestically it is used for championship games in all sorts of different venues. It has never hosted baseball at an international level, so our team will be honored to be in the visiting dugout of this historic event. They will look for the same result the Cassadagan soccer team registered when they were on the visiting end of the ceremonial opening game of the new national stadium in Baker Park that was used for the third place game of World Baseball Classic 84. Cassadaigua won that mid-qualifying friendly by the score of 5-2. (And if you missed the final score of the home leg game against Baker Park played in Cassadaigua, we won that 8-3). Manager Maddie Polanco said of the stadium placement, “I am glad that we get a chance to play at the Seven Stars Stadium. It is a great facility, and it seats an astounding number of people. I realize that it is not cheap for our fans to travel to Drawkland, but if you can do so, it would be worth it!”

Making it to Seven Stars Stadium out of your budget? Never fear! Five Star Mobile, sponsor of Brattleboro Stadium and top NSSCRA driver Stacie Houston, and known for promotional giveaways, has launched the “Add Two Stars” campaign. It is a contest that will, in total, send 27 groups of 4 (the numbers are symbolic to them) to Drawkland, covering all of their expenses. This is not a random drawing, either. In a contest that is on their website, you are asked a series of 27 random questions that pertain to World Baseball Classic history, dating all the way back to World Baseball Classic 9 (when Cassadaigua debuted, and Classics during the period in which Cassadaigua did not participate are not included). Questions will vary from user to user. The 27 users that get the most questions right, and did that the quickest, win the tickets. The promotion has begun already, but does have about ten hours left to when it officially ends and winners are named. Those winners then will receive an all-expense paid trip to Drawkland to watch our first round series. Should we advance, Five Star Mobile has announced there will be more promotions to send people to Drawkland. We continue to be impressed with the generosity that the company has had in the sporting world, and creating prize packages for our fans. A trip to Drawkland, even if not for a sporting event, is not a reality for the vast majority of Cassadagans as it is not as affordable as traveling within Rushmore or traveling to Atlantian Oceania or Esportiva.

I could end this article here, but I would be remiss if I did not talk about our excellent series over A Mushroom Kingdom a little. Like always, there is more detailed game analysis elsewhere on this website or in the paper, but it was a good looking sweep that saw the Fillies dominate a nation that was in position to be the second team to qualify out of the group. The team won 7-0, 5-0, and 5-2, and in total had a 24-inning scoreless stretch. In that period of games, we saw Kayla Mason pitch against A Mushroom Kingdom for the second time, after tossing a no-hitter in the first leg. That no-hitter was unusual, because she allowed two runs in the process. This time, the “0" and the “2" were reversed. In the second game of the series, she pitched a complete game shutout, allowing two hits. A Mushroom Kingdom did not get one of their two hits until the sixth inning, meaning that in total, Kayla tossed 14 1/3 innings of no-hit ball against the country. “Sometimes you have a team’s number,” Kayla said, “There is so much more to do in this tournament. I will look fondly about that when this is all over, but I am looking to do that while saying in the Classic that we won, I was able to achieve that. That is my only goal right now.” Sweeping A Mushroom Kingdom opened the door for our rivals from Saintland to come on through, but they were unable to have success against Imperial Joseon.

I’m ready. The team is ready. Let’s do this!

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

PLAYOFF TIME

by Brianne Henry,

It is playoff time in the World Baseball Classic, and getting here was not easy for the Rockets. A stretch of four losses in six games became five in seven with an ugly loss in the first game of the Liventia series. With South Covello getting an expected win over last place Tenyiyji, Newmanistan’s lead was shrunk even further over the cut line while the Liventians pulled even at the top. That would, thankfully, be rock bottom for this team. They would group, winning the last two games of the series, and getting their ticket to the post-season.

I talked about the struggles of Lexi Burrows and Sierra McKinley in my last write up after the team lost two of three to South Covello. Those slumps continued in the first game of the Liventia series, with each of them going 0-for-4. McKinley struck out two more times, increasing the number to eight times in four games. This led to a hard decision for manager Ashley Hedstrom, but she opted to get the lineup the same for the second game. This led to a lot of scrutiny within the Empire, with the Loudon Loudmouth calling Ashley, “Too afraid to make a major decision at this level. She is too loyal to her current players, and it is that type of decision making which will see her get fired.” Chelsea Nicolette of Southport Baseball Tonight referred to it as, “We have two players on this team who are not getting it done recently. The yare young, and I respect that making a lineup move right now could alter their confidence, but there is no time to lose in this series. I hope there has been some kind of internal meeting between coach Hedstrom and Burrows and McKinley to iron things out. At the same time, I am not for making them the scapegoats either. They have been the two least effective players over the last seven games, but to act as if they are the only problems on this roster is laughable. They only three batters on this team that have been consistent are the top three players in the batting lineup.” That cannot be disputed. The speedsters at the top of the lineup had done a great job generating offense throughout the qualifying stage, but you cannot expect them to reach base everytime. Mikayla Larson, the number three hitter has been great, and better when Brooke Sauter and Jenna Schuster are on base. When each are on base, Larson is hitting an impressive .467. When one of them is on base, Larson is hitting .385. When neither are on base, Larson is hitting just .200. Those numbers at least go the right way. In the first inning of the second game, Brooke and Jenna led the inning off with singles, putting runners on the corners. Schuster stole second without a throw attempting to get her, since Sauter would obviously break for home. Larson then swung at a 2-1 pitch, and only because of an incredible leaping play by shortstop Kian Sergeant, she would be retired. Thankfully, Schuster was alert and got back to second in a timely fashion. If anyone was still wondering how Sergeant has won the CBL (Liventia’s baseball league) Outstanding Defence Award at SS, they just got a very good example of it. That brought up Lexi Burrows. Sometimes, a long home run is a great way to break out of a slump. Other times, a fortuitous bloop single into left center is all you need. That’s all she did. But it was a hit. And two RBI’s. Better then a solo HR. You could see the big smile on Lexi’s face afterwards, too, because it was a such a simple hit, but could be a big sigh of relief coming early in this game. The Rockets got two more in the top of the second, this with a home run (two run shot by Chelsea Harlow) to make it 4-0. That would be all the offense Newmanistan would get, and Paige Norwood shut down the home side to give Newmanistan a 4-1 win. Playoffs, officially clinched. You can exhale now.

Still, the team had lost five out of seven before that game, and one win was not going to break out of a slump. If they lost the third game of the series, they would be heading into the playoffs with six losses in nine games, and that is something that no one wanted. A win could leave us simply saying we were going to Drawkland on a winning streak, even if it were a small one. The game did not start well. Ok, it started poorly as Kelsie Carmichael got hit a bit over the first four innings, allowing five runs. Newmanistan was kept off the scoreboard until the seventh inning, when the speedy twosome (Sauter and Schuster), each reached base again. Mikayla (I almost accidentally was about to type Taylor here) Larson, singled to drive in the two of them. Taylor Larson is a colleague here at The Rocket Report. They are not related. Lexi Burrows stepped up the plate and doubled in Larson to close the gap to 5-3. Newmanistan tied in the eighth, and loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, and Sierra McKinley stepping up to the plate. Was this going to be a strike out again? On a 1-2 pitch, she checked her swing just in time to be called 2-2, leading to some in the crowd to boo the umpire. The next offering was lifted 460 feet, over the left field fence. A grand slam to end a slump? Sounds pretty good to me. Newmanistan got one more in the inning, too, and won the game by the score of 10-5. In the long run, the media was wrong about Ashley Hedstrom. Her loyalty to the players she put in the lineup was rewarded greatly. Would Southport Baseball Tonight and the Loudon Loudmouth eat their words? Chelsea Nicolette, from Southport Baseball Tonight would saying, “I will be baking crow tonight and eating it. Congratulations to Ashley Hedstrom and the Rockets for sticking to your plan, showing your ten times more intelligent at this stuff then us reporters are, and I wish you all the best in Drawkland!” Good job to them. The Loudon Loudmouth? No acknowledgment whatsoever that they were proving wrong, but it’s Loudon so what should we expect.

On to the playoffs:

First Round: “Old New” (us) vs “New New” (them) - (5) Newmanistan vs (12) South Newlandia

About South Newlandia: The nation is located in the Union of German States region, a small region of only ten nations. They seem to have a fascination with elephants, as that is the national animal, the name (partially) of the capital city, and the name of the stadium.

About their baseball team: It is South Newlandia’s first ever attempt at qualifying for the World Baseball Classic, and they were able to advance this far. Now, they are looking to duplicate what Newmanistan did back in the 7th edition and make the championship series, or even take that further and do what Schiltzberg did in the 33rd Classic, and win that series. They had a record of 19-11 within Group 3, a good overall debut. That group also consisted of former champion Ko-oren, who were the winners of the group. Others that were in the group included Equestrian States and Quebec, nations who were disappointments. Traditional also-rans Northwest Kalactin and Xanneria were also there. The team has a pretty small roster, and relies a lot on their starting pitchers to get people out. We do the same thing, but we still do bring relievers with us, too.

Who to watch: The team carries four pitchers, and Jacob Conroy seems as though he is the most consistent of the group. Fabio Ventura seems to be the top batter on the team. It’s an interesting team that seems to take more pride in their pitching then their hitting, despite the small staff. Pitching wins championships, and we are evidence of that. It is the best way to go.

How Newmanistan will win: Even though the Rockets are bringing a young roster in terms of their offense, they are the experienced team here and should take care of business if they simply play to their potential. Our fans will hope that they got the bad baseball out of their system during the period that they went 2-5 in a seven game stretch, and now are ready to show the world that we are still an elite team. There’s a bit of a friendly competitive rivalry between Newmanistan and Drawkland in other sports, and we think that, perhaps, the way respect their superiority on the gridiron field, they will respect our history on the diamond, and be supportive of us, at least in this series.

How South Newlandia will win: The key for the opponents is to not look at all of the amazing past accolades of the Rockets. We have as many assorted trophies in baseball as they have players on their roster, so it can be easy to be intimidated. They will need to tune it out. They are the underdog that no one expects to win, except for the friends and family of the players and maybe even some of them are skeptical. That underdog role makes it easy to tune out all of the noise, and just play baseball. Focus on what got you this far, and keep doing it. Above all else, enjoy the games and have fun. Everyone starts somewhere in this Classic, and you have been on a good run.


Classic Predictions:
(1) Cassadaigua vs (15) Drawkland- Cassadaigua in 5. (Yeah, I think Drawkland will be feisty in this series).
(8) Sarzonia vs (9) Hampton Island- Hampton Island in 4. (Midnight has not looked old to me)
(5) Newmanistan vs (12) South Newlandia- Newmanistan in 4.
(4) Ko-oren vs (13) Liventia- Liventia in 5. (Ko-oren gets a feel for what we went through in WBC 46).

(6) Free Republics vs (11) The Sherpa Empire- Free Republics in 4 (Now is not a good time to plan a vacation to The Sherpa Empire, I have been told).
(3) Banija vs (14) West Phoenicia- Banija in 3 (Banija basketball cheerleaders vs West Phoenicia baseball cheerleaders- Banija, again)
(7) Nova Anglicana vs (10) Greater Nordics- Nova Anglicana in 4. (Greater Nordics struggled down the stretch)
(2) Abanhfleft vs (15) Imperial Joseon- Abanhfleft in 3. (Easy series, Imperial Joseon got an easy group outside of Cassadaigua).

Second Round:
(1) Cassadaigua vs (9) Hampton Island- Cassadaigua in 4 (And back to the reality show for Midnight)
(5) Newmanistan vs (13) Liventa- Newmanistan in 5 (Did I just pick Liventia in the first round so I could pick us eliminating them? Mayyybe).

(3) Banija vs (6) Free Republics- Banija in 5 (This is a juicy series, isn’t it?)
(2) Abanhfleft vs (7) Nova Anglicana- Nova Anglicana in 4 (Is there seriously a soft road for Nova Anglicana in the playoffs? Could this be the year? I ask that seriously, folks).

Semifinals:
(1) Cassadaigua vs (5) Newmanistan- Cassadaigua in 5. (Please make this series happen! Huge interest here!)
(3) Banija vs (7) Nova Anglicana- Nova Anglicana in 5. (No joke folks, something might be developing here).

Finals:
(1) Cassadaigua vs (7) Nova Anglicana- Cassadaigua in 6. (On one hand, a team that has been knocking on the door for a while since returning. On the other hand, a team that has been knocking on the door for a while. Period. This would be an exciting series, especially for the old timers).

[Banija]

Pre-game Press Conference, day of Game 1 v. West Phoenicia

Ousman Kakay, the Banijan manager for his side at the World Baseball Classic, was sitting here at the podium. It was, of course, time for the media to get their chance to talk to them. They had been in Drawkland for the past 8 days. They, of course, played their last series of the group stages in the country, and had dropped, 2 out of 3, to the host nation Drawkland. And then, of course, five days between the group stages and the beginning of the knockouts. There was no reason to leave for Banija just to fly back. An advantage. A slight advantage, of course, but an advantage.

This tournament was obviously very different from past ones. Banija had that #1 overall ranking- a just reward for their success in WBC 46 and WBC 47, which yielded a bronze and a gold medal, respectively. There was a different kind of pressure. But the group stages were fantastic. Baseball was a growing sport in Banija. It wasn't necessarily a part of the social fabric like gridiron or association football, the two sports that Banijans really could not live without. But the sports growth was explosive. They were able to pack their ballpark in Istria for this tournament. Not quite as well as the Casaran format, where they got opponents like the Free Republics and archrivals Ko-oren coming to town, but the energy was palpable.

And he felt as if the fans would be able to match that energy. The Olympic Committee had told him that they had been 'very pleased' with ticket sales from their country, as fans would be coming in to watch them take on West Phoenicia here in the Round of 16. But sitting here for the press conference, Kakay started to take questions from the media.

"Ousman, Game 1 we're putting our ace on the mound." Said a reporter from the All-Banija Sports Magazine. "Do you think we have the advantage in today's pitching matchup?"

"Well, it is my personal belief that we have the strongest pitching staff in the world." Answered Ousman Kakay. "West Phoenicia have excellent pitchers as well, of course- there's a reason that they got this far in this year's tournament. Getting top two in a six team group is not an easy task, and it has to be earned, and you've got to congratulate West Phoenicia for accomplishing that feat. I have great respect for Jason Prosper, my counterpart. He's an excellent manager. They have a rich history in this sport as well, winning this whole tournament not that long ago. And Mateo Vargas can certainly pitch."

Kakay paused, and then he continued. "However, Assan Conde, I believe, has a legitimate claim to be the best pitcher in the game today. There are a lot of aces out there- but Conde is at the top of the list. He can throw all sorts of pitches. He moves at a steady pace. He rarely slumps. He's not a streaky pitcher. He is a composed ace, who can outduel anyone on the planet. I'm confident, with him on the mound, we can win in Game 1."

Another reporter from the same magazine asked a question. "How important is this game? Even though we won Game 30, we lost back to back games, and that means we dropped 2 of 3 in this country. And tournament, we of course went down 0-2 in the Round of 16?"

"Getting off to a strong start is hugely important in a short playoff series." Ousman answered. "We don't want to go down 0-2 to a team like West Phoenicia- that will reduce our margin for error to zero, and put humongous pressure on this team. You can get away with a poor start once in a while, but the knockout stages and playoff series are often about momentum. Who can gather momentum, who can carry that forward, and ride it. We have a chance to pick up good momentum and gain confidence with a good performance in games 1 and 2, and I fully expect us to go out here and make sure that we do so."

A reporter from the Istria Post then stood up. "Ousman, what's your definition of success here?"

Ousman paused for a bit, and then replied. "I think we know what this team is capable of. This is the third consecutive tournament for this core, and across the last two tournaments, we've had the greatest run that any Banijan team has had in an international sport. There's a reason that this was our first team to win a major international title- this team is resilient, this team is consistent, this team is strong. But we can't sit on our laurels. We have to keep that hunger, we have to keep that drive. Keep pushing. I won't say we need to get to a specific round for this tournament to be a success- the further you go, the harder it is to win. However, we need to keep playing with everything we got. Preparing, both mentally and physically, to withstand the grind of the knockout stages. What would others say? Probably, all things considering, that we need to get to the semifinals. As for me? We play our game, we play like we are capable of playing, we go all in, not 25 individuals, but as one team, and that's all I can ask."

He answered a few more questions, and then the press conference ended. He walked away from the media room at Hydrogen Cyanide Field, and walked into the locker room. He began looking at the lineup card, and started to fill it in. The knockout stages were here. The pressure was rising, the big lights were on. Was his side ready?

[Sarzonia]

The Sarzonian national baseball team was familiar with many ways to travel. The team was familiar with traveling by planes, trains, and automobiles both within and outside of Sarzonia.

One mode of transport no one on the team ever experienced before was space travel.

"I hope I don't get, uh, is it called space lag?" Game 1 starting pitcher Mark Conroy said.

"I hope nobody ages 90 years before we get back home with time dilation," said designated hitter Luke Brinkley. "Hopefully that isn't a problem with faster-than-light travel."

Regardless, the Stars arrived at futuristic Pickmen Park with a noticeable chip on their shoulders. They were the eighth seeds as Group 5 champions, but try telling that to a cranky manager Geoff Yancey. He brandished a copy of The Rocket Report and jabbed the tip of his index finger on their prediction of Hampton Island beating the Stars in four games in the best-of-five Round of 16 series.

"The first series is always going to be a challenge," Yancey said. "Hampton Island is a strong team. We respect the fact that they won 20 games," he continued. "They took two out of three in an away series against Abanhfleft and deprived an outstanding team of the number one overall seed."

However, he took umbrage at talk that Group 5 was an "easy" group and scuttlebutt that Hampton Island powers that be considered the Stars beatable.

"Look, an unranked team facing a group that has the sixth ranked team in the world is going to consider every game to be a tough one. We can't control the draw we got. We can only play the game we play and make our own breaks."

As for potential quarterfinals opponent and top seeded Cassadaigua, Yancey was muted in his assessment of a team he warned was "as good a team as it gets."

When asked about Concord Heights Times columnist Chelsea Dufresne's emphasis on the Stars being former world champions, back when Yancey was Khalil Dennis's bench coach, Yancey demurred briefly.

"We're a long way away from being able to contend on the level of that (WBC 18) team," he said. "I don't want this team to approach the series with any more pressure than they already have."

Finally, a reporter asked Yancey about the prediction in The Rocket Report by Brianne Henry of a Hampton Island victory in four games.

""We earned our way here," Yancey said, adding an edge to his voice. "Hopefully, we'll get a chance to let them see that first hand."

As for the team's final practice at Pickmen Stadium, bench coach Brad Howland noted the massive gleaming, metallic structure and futuristic backdrop were a sharp contrast from Sarzonia's home grounds, the quaintly retro appearing Fleetwood Park in Woodstock. Some baseball observers felt the home ballpark for the first-ever Cyanea Series champion Woodstock Mountaineers was too big, especially for a ballpark with a brick exterior and bright green grass.

Yancey said the team was still adapting to the blue colour of the grass at Pickmen Stadium.

And that wasn't all the Stars had to adjust to.

"Everything seems to be much more advanced than I expected," Yancey said. "I'd hate to be a technophobe!"

[Drawkland]

DRAWKLAND'S WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 48
ROUND of 16 - GAMES 1 & 2
So you made the playoffs, but Don't Stop Runnin' yet!

---

ROUND of 16

#1 Cassadaigua vs #15 Drawkland
@ Seven Stars Stadium, Centivar County

Game 1
Drawkland              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2  3
Cassadaigua            0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Game 2
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0  2
Drawkland              0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Series Tied 1-1

#2 Abanhfleft vs #16 Imperial Joseon
@ The Starfield, Chelstio

Game 1
Imperial Joseon        0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Abanhfleft             0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4  7

Game 2
Abanhfleft             0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4  7
Imperial Joseon        0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3

Abanhfleft Leads 2-0

#3 Banija vs #14 West Phoenicia
@ Hydrogen Cyanide Field, Drawk City

Game 1
West Phoenicia         0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 1  6
Banija                 6 3 3 0 0 1 0 1 X 14

Game 2
Banija                 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1  4
West Phoenicia         0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Banija Leads 2-0

#4 Ko-oren vs #13 Liventia
@ Valsum Hills Ballpark, Raikennax

Game 1
Liventia               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ko-oren                0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 X  4

Game 2
Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3
Liventia               0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 X  4

Series Tied 1-1

#5 Newmanistan vs #12 South Newlandia
@ Corps Central Park, Drawk City

Game 1
South Newlandia        0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2
Newmanistan            0 1 4 0 0 0 0 1 X  6

Game 2
Newmanistan            0 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0  4
South Newlandia        2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3

Newmanistan Leads 2-0

#6 Free Republics vs #11 The Sherpa Empire
@ Capital Park, Metropolon

Game 1
The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Free Republics         0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 X  5

Game 2
Free Republics         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2  4
The Sherpa Empire      1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4  8

Series Tied 1-1

#7 Nova Anglicana vs #10 The Greater Nordics
@ Riverfront Field, Pittsennat

Game 1
The Greater Nordics    0 0 3 0 1 3 1 1 0  9
Nova Anglicana         0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 1  7

Game 2
Nova Anglicana         0 0 2 5 0 0 1 1 0  9
The Greater Nordics    1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0  4

Series Tied 1-1

#8 Sarzonia vs #9 Hampton Island
@ Pickmen Park, Cemmendy

Game 1
Hampton Island         1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1  4
Sarzonia               3 1 0 1 3 1 0 0 X  9

Game 2
Sarzonia               0 0 0 0 2 3 3 0 3 11
Hampton Island         0 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 0  7

Sarzonia Leads 2-0

[Sarzonia]

Game 1 of the best of five series between the eighth seeded Sarzonian national baseball team and No. 9 seed Hampton Island belonged to Mark Conroy and Luke Brinkley.

Conroy worked around two solo home runs by Midnight of the three the bear blasted overall, working eight innings and striking out nine in Sarzonia's 9-4 victory to open the Round of 16 against a lower seeded team that had a better win-loss record.

Meanwhile, Brinkley brought his own power display to Pickmen Park in Cemmendy with two three-run shots, in the bottom of the first and the sixth innings, respectively. The second homer blew the game wide open and allowed Conroy to cruise through eight innings. He allowed seven hits and walked three in a 128-pitch outing.

Uriel Jimenez walked out to the mound to start Game 2 with very little pressure. The Stsrs comfortably took Game 1, and a split of the first two games wouldn't be a horrible result. He didn't allow a hit for the first 4 2/3 innings of Game 2, and only a walk prevented him from retiring all 14 batters in a row.

However, catcher Danny Hackerbee worked the count full after spoiling six consecutive two-strike pitches in what became a 15-pitch at bat. He then smacked a double into the right centre field gap. Rightfielder Mario Cortez grounded out to second baseman Ian Danielson to move Hackerbee up 90 feet. Designated hitter Dave Sheridan grounded a single past diving shortstop Christine Andersen to get Hampton Island on the scoreboard. Denny Ramirez grounded into a fielder's choice to end the frame.

In the sixth, first baseman Cody Frazier belted a three-run dinger to deep right centre to give the Stars breathing room at 5-1. The Stars coughed up a two-run drive by Midnight to close the gap to 5-3 after six. Centrefielder Ryan Brady cleared the bases with a double to put the Stars up 8-3. Manager Geoff Yancey handed the ball to lefty specialist Myron Daniels, but he coughed up a two-run homer to Larry Huxton before Yancey ended Daniels' misery by going and getting him in favour of Carnie Weston.

Scott Lassiter was tagged for a two-run homer himself, forcing Yancey to get Tyrell Douglass warming up in a game where he didn't expect to use his closer in a save situation. However, Brinkley had other ideas. He belted the first pitch he saw from Bryan Prater deep over the left field fence to give the Stars badly needed breathing room.

Douglass entered the game and mowed down the Hampton Island batters in order and Sarzonia had a two games to none series lead. Second seeded Abanhfleft, No. 3 seed Banija, and fifth seed Newmanistan all held serve to the tune of 2-0 series leads. Notably absent from the dominance was top seeded Cassadaigua, facing host country Drawkland and splitting the first two games of their series.

Yancey warned the team that they couldn't afford to get ahead of themselves.

"They didn't win 20 games including two out of three in Abanhfleft without being a damn good team," he told the team in the home clubhouse after Game 2. Jeff Parrish will start Game 3 with the Stars being designated the away team for that game and a potential Game 4. If Game 5 is necessary, the Stars would be considered the home side.

The Stars won despite the stands being bereft of Stars supporters due to External Affairs Department travel restrictions due to the SARS 2 novel Coronavirus outbreak that took the life of assistant traveling secretary Todd Meyers. The stands were filled with a mix of Hampton Island and Drawkland supporters.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Metropolon was awe-inspiring in its orderliness and its grand scale, but it was the most un-Sherpa thing imaginable. The Sherpa Empire was a land of rambling disjointed streets, elaborate ornamentation, eclectic architecture, and general visual clutter. Some of the visiting players thought Metropolon's careful organization was something to aspire to; others thought it was creepy. Xiao Wen -- who must have been in an especially xenophobic mood -- began questioning whether Drawks were really people or if they had more in common with bees and their very orderly hives. "Hey, Wen," the team's hitting coach said.

"What?"

"Most people around here probably don't speak Sherpa, but you never know when you might find someone who does, so don't talk about the Drawks that way. It's rude."

Indoor stadia and turf were basically unheard of in the Sherpa Empire, so even at the ballpark, the strangeness of the city was still immediately obvious. Unfortunately, what happened on the field was all too familiar: Kami Akunjee was okay, but not his most brilliant, and he got no run support.

When an interviewer spoke with Karan Bhansali after the game, Bhansali stated the obvious: "Obviously, we need to score some runs. That didn't happen today, but obviously we need to score some runs in the next couple of games if we're going to win this series."

Game 2 was a contest to see whose bullpen fell apart worse. Qiao batted in Qu to give the Sherpas an early lead, but the Republicans tied it up in the 3rd inning with a solo homer from Schmitz. At the end of 7 innings, it was still tied 1-1, but once the starting pitchers were pulled, both teams started hitting and both teams found themselves scrambling to find any way to get those last few outs. The Republicans took the lead in the top of the 8th, but the Sherpas came back in the bottom of the inning. Sahu lead off with a single, Tan struck out, Zhiku pinch hit for another single, which moved Sahu to 3rd, Qureshi hit a bases-clearing double, bringing Sahu and Zhiku in to score, and Ojha batted in Qureshi to bring in a 3rd run. Qu hit into a double play to end the inning, but the Sherpas were up 4-2.

The pitching meltdown on both sides was not done yet, though. Bharadhwaj blew the save and the Republicans tied the score in the top of the 9th. By now the crowd was excited, drawn in by the dramatic back-and-forth, and they were getting loud. With the bases loaded and 2 out, Yangzhi Yi was called in to pinch hit. Excitement rippled through the crowd as they waited to see if Yi could bring any of the runners home and avoid the need for extra innings. The pitch came -- a fastball that wasn't quite as far down in the corner as it was meant to be -- and Yi put it over the outfield wall for a walk-off grand slam.

Yi got a standing ovation, and with that the series was tied at one game apiece.

[Cassadaigua]

The first round begins,
by Jessica Martini- OF

After the first two games of the World Baseball Classic, we find ourselves tied with Drawkland in this best of five. This is going to be a tough series, and I will compare it to any domestic baseball playoff set up that has a smaller amount of team qualify that in other sports. There are no soft spots as it was tough to make it this far. You can throw out the seeding for the Drawks, as playing at home, they have plenty of advantages.

It is my first time in Drawkland, and my first time to ever step foot on a spaceship. I’ve read about it, and know that there have been plenty of athletes within Cassadaigua who have done this trip, and that fans have found a way to travel through the stars. Personally, I never had, nor have many of the younger players on the team. I felt like a little kid when I first entered, because it was like nothing I had ever seen before. In a way, it was like an airplane, but it was also definitely not an airplane. When they told me the speed that this thing would fly at, I was in shock, but there were a lot of tips that were given to make it a smooth ride. Once we were in space, the look of all the stars was interesting, and I gained a new appreciation for gravity and how much I was missing its presence. After getting used to that, it was not much different then an airplane, so after taking some photos of the stars with my Five Star Mobile phone, and I got out my Five Star Mobile tablet and began watching some game film that had been prepared for me. That lasted for about twenty minutes before I realized that I just could not concentrate on it for the time being, and opted to have a couple adult beverages before taking a nap. It was suggested that once we landed in Drawkland that we did not disembark from the spaceship right away, and that we allowed our bodies a chance to get back to normal. That was good advice, but the space lag was real. We immediately went to the hotel and I am pretty sure that all of us went right to bed.

Upon arriving at Seven Stars Stadium, we took the moment to admire the massive facility. There were some media members around, but at the request of Maddie Polanco, security had separated them from us enough to where we could have a moment to ourselves. I have to give a shot out to our training staff, who did a great job at studying the affects of spaceship lag on people who are inexperienced with it, and had us take the necessary precautions. This allowed us to have a good practice session in the morning, and after we talked to the reporters, it was back to hotel for some rest for the rest of the day. The game would be the next day, and once it was time to play, we were feeling good.

The first game of the series started very well for us, as Samantha Owens was picking them and laying them down on the mound. As a taller power pitcher, Samantha would be the type of pitcher that you think would enjoy the taller strike zone that the larger batters of Drawkland have, and it was pretty clear that she was very effective at pitching to them. Drawkland did not get a runner in scoring position against her for the first seven innings of work. Unfortunately, our bats were also contained, as clung to the one run that we scored, coming in the third inning, when I drove in Tori Coufal with an RBI single. I wish it could have been more, but something happened to me in that inning that I absolutely hate: I was caught trying to steal a base. When that is your forte, it really sucks when you are thrown out. I did everything right with the reading the pitcher, and my being caught is a credit to their catcher. I knew he had quite an arm, but I was not going to be timid about trying to steal, and Maddie was not going to let me. When I got the sign, I was off, but the throw beat me, and I could not avoid the tag. It stayed 1-0 until the eighth, but that’s where the game went south. The Drawks tied it in that inning, and won it in the tenth.

Down one game to none, we put Katia Tavarez on the mound for the second game, and she actually is one of the players on the team who had been to Drawkland before, since we have seen them in the group stages of prior tournaments that I was not a part of the team in. She was comfortable with her surroundings, and like Samantha, was enjoying the larger strike zone that she had to work with. Again, we struggled to score, and this is something that will be written about if it continues since our offense was so explosive within the group. Two games do not make a trend, and this time, we got just enough run support for our pitcher to win the game, 2-1.

Like I said, this was never going to be an easy series, and we take nothing for granted. In a tournament like this, you cannot take on the host nation and not expect them to be at their best. Our pitching was very good in the first two games, and that will need to continue. Offensively, we’re going to need to come together a little better. We’ll have a moment now to regroup and collect ourselves before the third game, and will do our part to be at our best as well. I want to thank all of the great Cassadagan fans that made the trip. It is always uplifting to see you when we see you on the road, but making the trip to Drawkland is far more then a road trip. Thank you for that, and we will do all we can to not let you down!

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions, Nordics, take turns battering opposing staff in offensive explosion

Samantha Maxwell, Londinium Courier

Here in Drawkland, after two games, the Lions' Round of 16 series is tied at one. What we've seen is mostly great offense, with the Lions outscoring Greater Nordics 16-13 in two games. Coming into the series, I talked about how both sides had strong but not overwhelming offense combined with excellent defense. That went straight out the window in the first two games of the series.

Cory Sharpe has had trouble getting settled in this Classic, with a bloated ERA in the first two or three innings of games. The first two innings went as well as you could imagine. Six up, six down with three strikeouts. But the bottom of the order got things started, and Sharpe gave up five hits and three runs in the third inning to put the Lions in an early hole. He would yield another run in the fifth before making way for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the inning. Tommy Moran knocked in a run in that inning to cut the deficit to 4-1. But Vic Fleming, who hadn't gotten a huge amount of use in the group stage, came on and yielded consecutive hits to Torsten Eriksson, Mats Patriksson, and Sam Nilsson to load the bases. He struck out the pitcher Saara Olmdahl, but leadoff hitter Soren Vang knocked a two-run single to make it 6-1. On came Clay Wilkerson, who surrendered another run-scoring single, but struck out the next two batters. Still, it was 7-1, a deficit the Lions would not recover from. It was 7-2, then 8-2, then 8-4, then 9-4, then 9-6 before the Lions' final rally fell short against closer Amanda Engberg. The final: 9-7 Nordics.

In game 2, it was the Lions' turn to bushwhack the Greater Nordics' starter, Erna Wolff. The Greater Nordics scored a run in the first inning off Wyatt Templeton, but Luke Mills stroked a two-out double to score Trevor Goodwin and Casey Wheeler followed with an RBI single in the third to make it 2-1. In the fourth, the lefty Wolff began by walking Matthew Gilbert, never a good idea. Gilbert stole second and moved up to third on a ball in the dirt, then scored on Jerome Duplantier's sacrifice fly. With one out and the bases empty (less stressful than no outs and a runner dancing around on third), Wolff might have gotten a little overconfident, as she grooved one to Marc Dufors, who smacked it to right-center for a double. Dufors traditionally has issues with tough lefties, but not there. Trevor Goodwin singled, putting runners on the corners for Wyatt Templeton.

In this situation, it's a tough decision as to what to do. You don't want the pitcher grounding into an inning-ending double play, but a sacrifice bunt in this situation gives up an out for only one base, a suboptimal outcome. Manager Orlando Murray let Templeton swing away, and he rewarded his manager's faith in him by hitting a rocket to the third-short hole. Only a diving stop and excellent throw by Nordics shortstop Ester Isaksson prevented it from being a hit. As it was, another run came in and Goodwin moved up to second. With two outs, Tommy Moran punched a ball the other way just out of the diving glove of second baseman Oscar Christiansen, and it rolled slowly enough to allow Goodwin to score from second. Now the Lions were up 5-1, and Mills put the cherry on top by blasting Wolff's first pitch to the right-field seats to make it 7-1. Although the Nordics weren't completely silenced, Templeton tossed seven innings of two-run ball and the Lions tacked on a couple of runs to make the final score 9-4.

Games 3 and 4 of the series will occur over the next two days, with Dan Cunningham taking on Kai Nieminen in game 3, and Erik Russell matching up against Carl Karstenssen in game 4. Due to the extreme time difference between Drawkland and Nova Anglicana, it'll take a few days to get the results in, so look for both games' results in my next column. Good luck to the Lions and keep rooting at home!

Some personal thoughts

-I try to keep it professional and objective in these columns, but I feel like I need to share this with you because Drawkland is so different.

-First, Drawkland is incredible. Don't get me started on the journey here. We had to get knocked out for the trip because of time dilation, or at least that's what they told me. I've traveled places to cover the Lions for the WBC, but never off of Earth. Maybe some form of hyper-jet lag is why the pitching was so terrible for both teams. Additionally, Drawkians are huge. The average size is something like seven feet tall. The different colors, the feathers, the wings, everything about Drawkians is strange and beautiful at the same time. And the stadiums are bigger too. The current stadium we're playing in, Riverfront Field in Pittsennat, it's laid out a lot like Royal Bank Park in Durovernum Cantiacorum, but it seats a whopping 78,000 instead of Royal Bank's 31,000. And it's not even a big stadium! The championship series will be played in a stadium of over 250,000 spectators. I will tell you, I didn't see many non-Drawkians who made it out for the game. Space travel is expensive. Let's hope the Lions won't be intimidated playing in these big stadiums.

-Second, I want to talk about Brianne Henry's column for the Rocket Report out of Newmanistan. We get copies of all the multiversal papers on the wire, but you can go to rocketreport.new/sports to read it. In her column, she predicted the playoff series as she saw them playing out. Unsurprisingly, she picked #1 seed Cassadaigua to make the finals, including by defeating her own Newmanistan Rockets. What was surprising was who she saw facing them in the finals: our own Nova Anglicana Lions. Of course, she's smart, so she didn't pick a precedent-breaking win for the Lions, but that prediction goes aginst the grain for what I've seen.

-It feels to me like the Lions have been struggling and grinding this whole Classic, starting with the sweep against Kriegiersien. They've played well, but not finals well. The Greater Nordics is a great squad, and if the Lions defeat them, they'll face #2 seed Abanhfleft, a tough matchup. The Fleftics have eliminated the Lions on multiple occasions, and likely to be waiting in the wings is #3 seed and top-ranked Banija. I'll tell you what, if the Lions make it to the finals, I'll pick them over whoever, because they will have run a gauntlet and proven to me that they are a team built on perseverance and grit. Let's hope Brianne Henry's prediction comes true. But first the Lions will need to take down Greater Nordics.

[Hampton Island]

(Setting: Towards the end of the second game, after Sarzonia scored three in the ninth. Contents of this conversation are not known to the outside world)

CEO: Dammit! This fucking bullpen!

Assistant: I know. What the hell?

CEO: I thought Midnight would be our biggest problem, but he has done very well in these two games. That’s three home runs for him in the two games.

Assistant: Being a bear is beneficial for him. He just thinks he is in another country right now. He slept throughout the trip here, as Miller suggested that he would. He might have been a little surprised by the size of the citizens of Drawkland, but that has nothing to do with the Stars.

CEO: This game should not have slipped away. We keep clawing our way back into this game, put ourselves into position to get the come from behind win, and then we deal with this.

Assistant: I have already written to Stafford City newspapers that if they use any variation of “We’re now on the Brink-ley of elimination”, they will lose sponsorship from us.

CEO: Thanks for that. After these two games, I am skeptical that we can win three straight.

Assistant: We’re not the type of team that can surrender nine, and then eleven runs. That’s what needs to change. At this point, I am not optimistic. Do you keep Morton on as manager if we get eliminated in this round?

CEO: That’s a fair question. I think he has done enough, but maybe we will switch out some of the humans.

Assistant: A lot of our fans made the trip, so great to see that, the spaceship charters worked.

CEO: It was an easy sell for our richest of fans. Space travel is something out of the budget for other fans, so you don’t even bother with it. We made good money on it. Have you seen any Sarzonian fans here?

Assistant: I’ve been looking around, have not seen any. They have a bad flu bug going around and they restricted travel.

CEO: I see.

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Baseball
South Newlandia loses first 2 against Newmanistan

South Newlandia lost both of their first two games in the playoffs. Newmanistan therefore leads the series 2-0, and South Newlandia has to win all three of the remaining games to advance to the quarterfinals.
Before we will discuss the games and the teams, we could not help but notice the impressive coverage of “The Rocket Report”. They are the way to get news about Newmanistans squad specifically and about Baseball in general, and there is hardly better coverage to find. For the playoffs, they obviously covered South Newlandia too, and their investigative research found out stuff that even we didn’t know about the team. We can only recommend that you give it a read yourself.
The game was a clash of two very different teams. The record champions against the first-time participants. The well-known nation versus the greenhorns. Newmanistans all-woman team facing the all-men team of South Newlandia. The Rockets against the Elephants.
Corps Central Park was packed, but it was Newmanistan who held the significantly higher number of fans there. South Newlandias fans were few, but that would not stop them from having a good time. Still, Newmanistan must have felt like they were playing at home, a significant advantage for them.

Game 1

South Newlandia        0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2
Newmanistan            0 1 4 0 0 0 0 1 X  6

Pitching Coach Damian Bolton had decided to place the very first game into the young hands of Ryan Hunter, and that might have been a mistake. Newmanistan was already up 5-0 after 3 innings, and Hunter had already given them two home runs. Newmanistan scored in the 2nd inning after Nicole Larkin brilliantly stole a base, and in the 3rd inning, they scored two home runs by Jenna Schuster and Lexi Burrows, getting runs for Brooke Sauter and Mikayla Larson getting runs as well. South Newlandia never gave up though, scoring a run in the 4th and 6th inning. Fabio Ventura and Igor White went on the scoreboard. The finishing blow was delivered in the 8th, when Lexi Burrows scored another run, again after stealing a base. This made the final standings 2-6.

Game 2

Newmanistan            0 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0  4
South Newlandia        2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3

Game 2 was a much closer affair. South Newlandias pitcher was Blake Robbins, as Damian Bolton had decided not to use Conroy yet. He played better than Hunter, but he did not get the necessary run support either. South Newlandia actually went ahead after a two run-homer by Gregor Garner, scoring Igor White as well. Newmansiatn came back though, and after 7 innings, the score was 4-2 against South Newlandia. The runs were scored by Brooke Sauter, Mikayla Larson and by Lexi Burrows, scoring twice. South Newlandia got close again in the 9th, but one run by Steve Ruiz was not enough. The game was lost 3-4, but South Newlandia was able to show their potential at least. Still, being behind 0-2 almost certainly means elimination, especially against the number 7 of the world.


All matches:
Cassadaigua 1-1 Drawkland (1-3; 2-1)
Two close matches, with both teams grabbing one win with few runs, show that both nations are strong and countered each other well. Everything is still possible here.

Abanhfleft 2-0 Imperial Joseon (7-3; 7-3)
Abanhfleft seems to have their unranked opponent easily covered, and go ahead 2-0. A miracle would be necessary for Imperial Joseon at this point.

Banija 2-0 West Phoenicia (14-6; 4-1)
The world number one seems to be in good form, beating West Phoenicia handily. West Phoenicia needs a miracle just as well.

Ko-oren 1-1 Liventia (4-1; 3-4)
South Newlandias group opponent gave away a game against Liventia. No team seemed too much stronger than the other, this will be interesting.

Newmanistan 2-0 South Newlandia (6-2; 4-3)

Free Republics 1-1 The Sherpa Empire (5-0; 4-8)
Perhaps the most interesting matchup saw one win each, with two clear games. No team is favoured a lot here.

Nova Anglicana 1-1 The Greater Nordics (7-9; 9-4)
This series is tied as well. Both teams have runners in great form, this is unpredictable as well.

Sarzonia 2-0 Hampton Island (9-4; 11-7)
Perhaps the only big surprise so far. Unranked Sarzonia took down Hampton Island and Midnight simply by scoring 20 runs.

Other news:
The recent flag change has impacted South Newlandian Sports as well. Fans seemed confused that such a change would be made in the middle of a major sports tournament. No major officials were available for a comment, but the decision feels very weird. An official statement in writing said that the old flag was “too widely used” by “a variety of different nations” “some of which we don’t […] want to be associated with.” It remains unclear if the change will be upheld long-term, but officials at least demented that the flag change was a late April-Fools-joke.
Discussion about Domestic Baseball is also progressing in South Newlandia. A first step was the founding of the SNBA, the South Newlandian Baseball Association, which will do the planning in the foreseeable future. More developments might soon follow.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS TAKE TWO

by Brianne Henry,

Newmanistanian baseball players made the most of their trip to Drawkland, and more specifically, to Drawk City, for their series against South Newlandia. Making trips to Drawkland is nothing new to our athletes, so even for any space travel rookies, there would be plenty of expert advice for the trip that the veterans could provide. However, 35-year old Hannah Lee told me that the first timers were not allowed to have it so easy. “We told them that while we are on the ship and on the way to Drawkland, that there would still be gravity after we left the atmosphere so they could place any of their drinks in front of them without any sort of lids. Lexi Burrows got splashed pretty good from a soft drink, and Brooke Sauter make the mistake of leaving an open bag of pretzels in front of her, that scattered all over. Naturally, we made her clean of it up.” The older players were in on some of the pranks that were played on the younger players, and that also includes the coaching staff. Manager Ashley Hedstrom took a common sense approach on the matter saying, “No team called the Rockets should be inexperienced in regards to space travel.” After a stressful thirty game group stage, it was nice for the team to stay loose and fool around for a little while as the spaceship made its way to Sonnel.

The team also made 21-year old first baseman Chelsea Harlow and 31-year old starting pitcher Madison Sullivan sit next to one another on the ship. Hedstrom has done a good job keeping the two players cool with one another that notoriously exchanged punches between each other when things got tense between their domestic teams in an ENBL (Empire of Newmanistan Baseball League) game. As the team has gone on, each of those players have said that relations have improved between one another. Madison Sullivan, who will pitch game three told me that, “Chelsea and I have talked. At first we agreed that we would be cordial with one another on this team, but as time has gone on, we’ve gotten to know each other and agreed to put our altercation behind us. We were each caught up in the moment. One of the unique things about play for your country is that it does put people you are rivals with domestically on the same squad, and once you do that, you realize that you all wanted the same thing from the game, and that was a win.” The younger Harlow said similar, “We talked about the incident, and I understand now why she did what we did. It was a good talk for us to have, and our focus now is on winning the seventh World Baseball Classic for the Empire. She was nice to me and did not try to play the pranks on the trip that Hannah Lee and other older veterans were.” Harlow said that she did not take the time to do any star-gazing, “I just want to play baseball. I talked with my teammates on the trip, then just listened to my music. Madison and I have similar music tastes, too, which I was surprised about.”

The Corps Central Park is a short drive from the airport and far from other attractions of Drawk City, making it a great place for our team to play. They are here on business, not to enjoy the sites, and after quickly checking into the hotel after they landed, they were off to this stadium to get themselves situated in the locker room and have a light practice before returning to the hotel and the busier day that followed. For media members, things were different, and we began to get our pieces together. Then, a bomb was dropped on us. No, not that kind of a bomb. South Newlandia had changed their flag! What?! What is this? We had all of these graphics all ready to go for our broadcasts and the website with their old flag, and now we had to replace those images! Now, members of all media outlets were scrambling to find new downloadable images of the new flag, and build them into the website. Print editions of the paper back at home were forced to adjust. Even at the stadium, there were plenty of graphics all around the perimeter of the stadium, and on the field that had both our flag and their flag, and now those stadium personnel were called into action to have to re-prepare with it the new image. All kidding aside, we like the new flag. That old flag was boring and very unoriginal. It’s a simple image with a good color scheme. Two thumbs up! Outfielder Jenna Schuster posted on social media about the flag change, “I think they were trying to trick us by changing their flag mid tournament. Not going to work, but I like the flag.” Mikayla Larson posted as well, saying, “I like images that incorporate green and gold. Catchy new flag!”

There were a lot of Newmanistan fans in attendance, taking advantage of the opportunity and excuse to travel to Drawkland. Our fans will often make immediate travel plans as soon as the tournament schedule is posted because they expect that we will be in the playoffs. It is simply a question of what stadium will we end up playing. If the Rockets are able to find their way into the championship series which is held at the enormous Seven Stars Stadium, a location that Cassadaigua’s Chelsea Dufresne, in the Concord Heights Times, compared to the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds without the additional sports facilities and the track, because of its seating capacity, then you can expect that many more Newmanistanians will make the trip. As for the comparison to the Proving Grounds, it’s not quite the same, but it’s a closer comparison then a lot of the other national stadiums. I’m sure you could create a short track around this place, but auto racing does not have much of a following, if any following, to my knowledge. No place can be perfect, after all.

After all of that, it would be time to play baseball, and the veteran, Hannah Lee would take to the mound in the first game. She would toss an eight inning gem, allowing two runs on seven hits, and striking out six. The team got a big boost in the third inning when the speedster Jenna Schuster blasted a home run over the left field fence to, at the time, make it 3-0 in favor of the Rockets. While Schuster is known more as a contact hitter instead of a power hitter, she can hit the long ball now and then, and it seemed to uplift the team. Lexi Burrows, the team’s main power hitter, then took a page out of Schuster’s playbook when she stole a base later in the game. Burrows told me that, “The shortstop was playing back too far. I didn’t think he would be able to cover the base quick enough if I took off, so I went for it. Like Jenna, you know she can hit home runs every now and then, and I am not a turtle on the base paths just because I am a power hitter.” Schuster points out, though, that, “I hit 35 home runs one season in high school.” After a paused and a laugh, she finished, “Then they started moving the fences back further when I moved into college then the pros.”

In the second game, Cassie Burke would get the start, and the team took a deep breath hoping the good Cassie Burke would show up for the game and not the bad one. In the first inning, there was cause for concern, since she allowed two runs there, surrendering a two-run blast to Gregor Garner. Then, it got better. One thing about Cassie Burke is that we have seen she can be rattled when she starts slowly, so it was very comforting in this game to see her settle in, in the way that she did. Much like you will see her do at home with the Dover City Mountaineers. The Rockets worked their way back, with Jenna Schuster delivering an RBI-single with two outs in fourth, scoring Brooke Sauter to close to within 2-1. Schuster, however, tried to stretch the single into a double, and was thrown out at second, but the run was already in. In the fifth, Mikayla Larson led the inning off with a single, and stole her second base in two games. The next batter, Lexi Burrows, hit a two run homer to center to make it 3-2. Newmanistan got needed insurance in the 7th on a Chelsea Harlow RBI-single, scoring Lexi Burrows who had previously doubled in the inning to make it 4-2. Cassie Burke would be taken out after eight, and South Newlandia got one off our closer, Katrina Payne, but Payne closed the door afterwards, and the Rockets prevailed.

With these wins, Newmanistan leads the series two games to none and will have Madison Sullivan on the mound for the third game, with Paige Norwood waiting in the wings to pitch game four if it were to be necessary. Sarzonia ended up taking the first two games against Hampton Island, so a matchup for the old-timers could be in the cards. But each team still needs one more win, and each team has been doing this long enough to know to not get ahead of yourself.

[Banija]

Banijan bats the highlight as Banijans race off to 2-0 series lead in the Round of 16 of the 48th World Baseball Classic


Lama Ouattara smiles after 1st inning grand slam in Game 1 against West Phoenica

This place has the most interesting stadium name that I, as a writer, have ever been to- Hydrogen Cyanide Field here in Drawk City, the cultural capital of this enormous nation. Have you ever seen a stadium named after poison? I, as a writer, keeping asking around, why is this stadium named Hydrogen Cyanide Field? What is the 'Hydrogen Cyanide' incident? But it seems like an open secret, only for locals. Nobody will tell me, I even searched through the sports section of a local library, and nothing's written down about it. Maybe somebody back at home can research answers?

(Editor's Note to readers: I left the above in there from our on the ground reporter as we thought it was funny- plus, of course, the unvarnished answer of why we can't tell you the reasoning of the name of this stadium. Now, for the actual article!)

DRAWK CITY, DRAWKLAND- And the knockout stages of World Baseball Classic 48 are finally here! While the Banijans had a strong group stage, winning their group with a few games remaining, before the last series, and earning the #3 overall seed, there were some people who worried about the team's lack of momentum. It didn't 'feel' like we were as good as we were in the last tournament. Especially since, in the last series, we dropped 2 out of our last three games to Drawkland, even though we won the last one. And West Phoenicia's side was looking strong. Was it possible that the upset could come?

Ousman Kakay expressed confidence in his pre-game remarks to the press, and so did a lot of the players who attended press conferences. They told fans that they were overreacting, that the team was ready, that they should look at the whole body of work. Banija's veteran center fielder, Duwa Sohna, said it best. "Our fans should be confident in this team!" He said to reporters at a press conference. "This team is just rounding into form. It is all about making sure that you peak at the right time, and belief in each other to make the deep run. This team is just as cohesive a unit as any team we've had, and we have the confidence to make another deep run."

And hey, maybe he's right. Let's look at what happened in this game. In Game 1, Assan Condé did not have the greatest start in the 1st inning. Like the last World Baseball Classic, he did not come out like he wanted to. In fact, he allowed a single to the first batter of the game, and then, an 11 pitch walk. Control issues, eh? But you will do what you must. Men on 1st and 2nd with nobody out in the top of the 1st, and the pitching coach already making a mound visit. But Assan Condé was not going to fall behind quickly again in the Round of 16. He got his strength up. He struck out Jack Navy, and then he forced the cleanup hitter, Emmanuel Army, to ground into a routine 6-4-3 double play. He pumped his fist as the Banijan fans applauded him.

And then, came time for the bottom of the 1st inning. And this was the biggest inning of the day for them, the inning that defined the strength of this team. Obasey Mazzi, the shortstop, hit a leadoff single to center field. Duwa Sohna, after battling to a full count, had a fly out to shallow center field. And then, that's when things got really interesting. It would be 30 year old Jonkong Sillah, the right fielder, who would step up to the plate. He ripped one down the left field line, pulling the and having it barely stay fair. It would be a double to the corner. While Mazzi had taken a wide turn around third, the third base coach decided to hold him, as a runner.

And that is when the Banijan cleanup hitter came up to bat. Yakuba Kah, here in the 1st inning, already with a golden opportunity to give the defending champions the lead. And he came through. Of course, he almost went yard, taking big hacks. But since the defense could not shift with runners on base, he hit a single that went right past a diving Confederate second baseman, which gave his side a 1-0 lead, as Mazzi was the first run to cross. Men on the corners, just one out. Cyper Kandeh, the left fielder, battled his way to a walk. The bases were loaded- Sillah on 3rd, Kah on 2nd, Kandeh on first. And with the Designated Hitter up to bat, the West Phoenicians were in trouble.

They were already down 1-0. But it was not about the score at this point- it was all about limiting the damage, to keep the score at 1-0. And, unfortunately for the fans of the Confederates, Mateo Vargas was not able to limit the damage. After throwing a pair of breaking balls off the plate, it was a 2-0 count. A hitters count for Ouattara. Vargas had to attack the strike zone- don't wanna go down 3-0 in the count with the bases loaded. And Ouattara blew the game wide open. The lefty, who might be playing in his last tournament for the Banijans, blasted the ball to right field. It landed in the glove of some random fan, 442 feet away from the plate. A towering shot, the grand slam put the Banijans ahead 5-0, and broke the game open.

Not a good start for the Confederates ace- but with the bases clear, and still essentially the entire game to go, West Phoenicia's manager decided to leave Vargas in the game. Why not? He would need his bullpen. But he could not. The bottom of the order was getting to Vargas. When Diene and Uche hit back-to-back doubles to make the score 6-0, and still just one out in the top of the 1st, West Phoenicia's manager had enough. He wanted to pull from the bullpen then. It's a short series- you can't have your starter just be disastrous. You don't ever want to dip into the bullpen after just one third of an inning, but what choice did they have?

The Banijan offense, however, kept depleting the ranks of the West Phoenicia bullpen. Three more runs in the second, and three more in the 3rd. It was 12-3 in favor of Banija in the bottom of the third. Conde didn't have the greatest start himself- he was pulled after 3.1 innings, allowing 5 earned runnings. Even with that huge lead, Kakay did not want to take any chances. And that was the correct decision. They got three innings of no run ball from Tairu Sesay, who then handed it off to Ensa Suso, who went 2 and 1/3 inning himself. After he allowed a run in the 9th, and then allowed the bases to get loaded with two outs, he was yanked for Gibril Sowe, who slammed the door. A stunning 14-6 win, an emphatic one, one that showed the rest of the tournament that Banija was here to win again.

That took us to Game 2. Both teams wanted to get better starts from their starters, with West Phoenicia's starter not even making it an inning, while Assan Conde got pulled in the fourth. And if you liked quality pitching, Game 2 was more your speed. Banta Jawara was dealing. He threw 8 innings, 111 pitches, and got 9 strikeouts while allowing just one earned run- a solo home run in the 7th. That home run was one of just two hits allowed. Banijan bats were similar silenced- a Jonkong Sillah solo home run in the first being their only run of the game to that point.

But in the 8th inning, things got really interesting. In a 1-1 game, West Phoenicia became the first team to dip into their bullpen. Xaaf Geele, the #9 hitter, led offf the inning with a double off the center field wall. While Mazzi struck out as the next batter, it would be Duwa Sohna who would be the hero. He hit a two run home run, to make it 3-1 for the Banijans, and really break the hearts and spirits of West Phoenicia. Banta Jawara carved through them in the 8th as well, while the up and down closer Sarjo Touré got a 1-2-3 9th inning for the Banijans. They had gotten an insurance run in the 9th, to make it a 4-1 final.

The Banijans are now up 2-0 in this best of 5. One more win for them in this series, and they'll advance to the next round. They'll, of course, want to do so as soon as possible, to ensure that they can keep both their bullpen fresh, and their rotation in the order that they like it, with Conde starting Game 1. Duta Condé, a master of the big game, will be called upon to close out West Phoenicia in Game 3. If he cannot, then it will be Suntukung Kandeh who will be asked to throw in Game 4. The series is far from over, however- a 2-0 lead puts you in the driver's seat, but many good teams are at their most dangerous with their backs against the wall. Expect a fiercely competitive next couple of games at Hydrogen Cyanide Field when these two teams next take the field.

[Drawkland]

DRAWKLAND'S WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 48
ROUND of 16 - GAMES 3 & 4
Will your team have Renegade fans if they lose out of the tournament tonight?

---

ROUND of 16

#1 Cassadaigua vs #15 Drawkland
@ Seven Stars Stadium, Centivar County

Game 3
Drawkland              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Cassadaigua            0 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 X  7

Game 4
Cassadaigua            1 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0  5
Drawkland              0 2 1 3 0 0 3 0 X  9

Series Tied 2-2

#2 Abanhfleft vs #16 Imperial Joseon
@ The Starfield, Chelstio

Game 3
Imperial Joseon        0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0  4
Abanhfleft             1 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 X  7

Abanhfleft Wins Series 3-0

#3 Banija vs #14 West Phoenicia
@ Hydrogen Cyanide Field, Drawk City

Game 3
West Phoenicia         0 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0  8
Banija                 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1  3

Game 4
Banija                 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0  5
West Phoenicia         1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

Banija Wins Series 3-1

#4 Ko-oren vs #13 Liventia
@ Valsum Hills Ballpark, Raikennax

Game 3
Liventia               0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0  4
Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 X  5

Game 4
Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3
Liventia               1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 X  5

Series Tied 2-2

#5 Newmanistan vs #12 South Newlandia
@ Corps Central Park, Drawk City

Game 3
South Newlandia        1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Newmanistan            0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1  4

Newmanistan Wins Series 3-0

#6 Free Republics vs #11 The Sherpa Empire
@ Capital Park, Metropolon

Game 3
The Sherpa Empire      2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1  7
Free Republics         2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  4

Game 4
Free Republics         0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
The Sherpa Empire      1 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 X  6

The Sherpa Empire Wins Series 3-1

#7 Nova Anglicana vs #10 The Greater Nordics
@ Riverfront Field, Pittsennat

Game 3
The Greater Nordics    0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0  5
Nova Anglicana         1 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 X  6

Game 4
Nova Anglicana         2 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  6
The Greater Nordics    1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Nova Anglicana Wins Series 3-1

#8 Sarzonia vs #9 Hampton Island
@ Pickmen Park, Cemmendy

Game 3
Hampton Island         0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  4
Sarzonia               0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Game 4
Sarzonia               2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Hampton Island         0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 X  3

Series Tied 2-2

[Ko-oren]

This series is going to game 5! Twice have Ko-oren taken a lead, only for that to vanish in the very next game. Liventia might be closest to what counts as kryptonite in baseball for us. We've met them before, and regardless of rankings, they've always given us a hard time. Not that other nations have taken care of their opponents in an easy way either: Cassadaigua is 2-2 against Drawkland despite the seeding. There is only one other series, out of eight, that will go to a crucial fifth game: Sarzonia versus Hampton Island. In all other cases, the obvious favourite made good on their seeded status and won the series.

In game 1, having finally touched down in Drawkland, the Dragonflies didn't exactly take off. Liventia scored an early run for a lead they would keep for a while - only for us to score in the third, and it was 1-1 all the way until the seventh. Only then, against a score of relief pitchers, did the cleanup crew succeed in reliably getting the ball into the field, gettting two runs in the 7th and another in the 8th, eventually taking down Liventia 4-1. The series lead didn't last long as we'd drop the very next game, with Ko-oren again finding its groove very late into the game. The starting pitcher was near flawless, surrendering two hits and keeping runners from third base for all of the first six innings. Once the first substitution went through, the Dragonflies did score three runs - but Liventia were already on four and so the series was even again.

Game three was ours again, again scoreless across the first five overs, and then scoring five runs in rapid succession to overtake Liventia's 4 that they've notched by that time. 5-4, with three of our runs coming in the eighth. Game four then, was Liventia's, scoring runs against all four pitchers that we put out there. All of our runs came off a horrible spell of missed throws, a hit by pitch, and two lucky stolen bases, for a 3-5 loss. In every game, both teams have had something to cheer for. All of these have been close until the very end - which might be a problem - and we're expecting the same thing for the final game.

If our run ends here, that marks an end to a fantastic Ko-orenite generation, one that made two finals and won one of them. Obviously they're not ready to roll over and let this amazing streak end. If it does, it's fitting that it happens against Liventia. For game five, everything comes down to Vahamonde, who's put the team in some great situations in WBC 47, but dropped down to fifth in the order for this Classic. He simply hasn't had the season he had last time, and isn't even the best pitcher on his team (that's arguably Figueredo). For the rest, Esumi is probably the man of the series. He has batted in runs in all four games, including a home run in game 3. We expect no changes to the lineup, with Ritsushima leading the charge on his on base percentage and speed alone. Okudaira has been spotty, with some good games, an overall decent on base percentage that was put together through some great games and a few base-less streaks. Lema and Esumi have been solid all around, with Esumi shining through when it counts. Berganza and Agramonte are the masters of the defence, but they both haven't added much in batting except for that inning against Equestria.

If there are any substitutions, we could see Terazawa instead of Okudaira, Oshita instead of Shiro (who's acted as the designated hitter when needed anyway).

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions rally late, start strong early to close out Greater Nordics

Samantha Maxwell, Londinium Courier

It's official; the Nova Anglicana Lions are through to the WBC quarterfinals for the 15th time in their history. They have now reached that plateau in more than two-thirds of their WBC appearances; it's been the exception rather than the rule for them not to reach the quarterfinals. How'd they do it? By keeping up their impressive offense and finding ways to win.

Going into game 3, one would think that lefty Dan Cunningham, having done well in the group stage, would be well prepared to take on a Greater Nordics lineup full of left-handed batters. Well, one would be wrong. Cunningham retired after five innings, having given up five runs on nine hits and two walks against just four strikeouts. But down 5-1 in the bottom of the 5th against Kai Nieminen, Casey Wheeler hit an RBI double, and Jake Bryan followed with a two-RBI double to close the deficit to 5-4. Several Lions relievers held the Nordics in check as Jerome Duplantier hit a solo shot in the 6th to tie the game and Bryan hit a solo homer to give the Lions the lead in the 8th, which would be the final margin.

In game 4, Erik Russell yielded runs in the first two innings; not a great start in a game you need to win the series. Fortunately for him, Luke Mills hit a two-run homer in the first and Tommy Moran hit a two-run double in the second, meaning the Lions led 4-2 after two innings instead of trailing. Russell recovered to pitch seven innings of two-run ball, and the Lions tacked on two more runs in the 6th and 7th innings to put the game away, 6-2.

The Lions' offense was the key in this series. They scored at least six runs in every game and totaled twenty-eight for the series. If they can keep up that level of offensive performance, they will go far. They will need to shore up a defense that allowed twenty runs in the series, or an average of five per game. We'll see what their results will be in the quarterfinals, as the Lions will now go on to face Abanhfleft, winners of three straight against Imperial Joseon.

Elsewhere around the Classic, hosts Drawkland continue to be pesky foes for #1 seed Cassadaigua. The Daiguans shut out Drawkland 7-0 in a dominating performance, putting the hosts in a do-or-die situation in game 4. They responded well, tallying six runs in the first four innings en route to a 9-5 win. Cassadaigua has to be favored in the deciding game 5, but all of Drawkland will be rooting for the upset. Our group stage foes, West Phoenicia, tried to make things interesting against #3 seed Banija by winning game 3 8-3, and they hung with their opponents until the top of the 8th in game 4, but Banija scored two runs to win 5-3 and move on to the quarterfinals. #4 seed Ko-oren had a chance to close out Liventia after a close win in game 3, but the Liventians are a top-10 team and they rebounded to win game 4. The winner of that series will face Newmanistan in the quarterfinals, who closed out South Newlandia 4-3 to complete the sweep. We will see more from South Newlandia in the future, I'm sure; it was an impressive debut. The Sherpa Empire team is rounding into form, as they have moved past their early struggles (7-8 in the first half of the group stage) to make the playoffs and defeated the Free Republics in games 3 and 4 to advance to the quarterfinals against Banija. That ought to be an exciting series, the top-ranked team against #6. And finally, it seemed like Sarzonia, back after a long hiatus, was going to roll into the quarterfinals after defeating Hampton Island in the first two games of their series. But Hampton Island struck back, taking the next two games and tying the series. We'll see if the experience and gumption of the Sarzonians will win out over the success of Hampton Island.

Abanhfleft Preview

-Abanhfleft is ranked #11 in the world and has the #2 seed overall.

-They won 22 of their 30 group-stage games, but stumbled late. They won 17 of their first 21 games, but went just 5-4 down the stretch.

-They swept Imperial Joseon (7-3, 7-3, 7-4) in their Round of 16 series, which isn't much of a surprise, seeing as Imperial Joseon was the #16 seed. It does confirm that they won't make silly mistakes like dropping a game to a highly inferior team.

-They averaged 4.7 runs scored/game and 3.8 runs allowed/game in the group stage, which is roughly on par with the Lions, though a little poorer on defense. They definitely showed a high-powered offense against Imperial Joseon, but the Lions' pitching should be able to hold them below 7 runs per game.

-The biggest issue with doing a series preview against Abanhfleft is that we have no information to work with other than the results of their games. We have yet to see an official roster released, or even read anything from their domestic media about them. We usually get courtesy copies of most of the other multiversal press for the Classic, but there hasn't been a peep from Abanhfleft. Maybe this team of anonymous heroes is drawing strength from being ignored. Nevertheless, the Lions will need a good performance to beat these guys.

-Manager Orlando Murray has confirmed that he will be using Hank Jackson as an opener in game 1 of the series; Cory Sharpe has trouble getting through the first few innings and Jackson did not get the chance to pitch in the Round of 16 series. Jackson will throw 2-3 innings and then give way to Sharpe. Murray has also said that he expects Jackson to start game 5, if necessary, but that Sharpe will also be available.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS WALK OFF TO SECOND ROUND

by Brianne Henry,

Newmanistan will be going to the second round of the World Baseball Classic 48 playoffs thanks to a thrilling walk off victory over South Newlandia in the third game of their first round series, completing the sweep. The 4-3 win means that the Rockets will be awaiting the winner of the Ko-oren- Liventia series in the quarterfinals. The Liventians are giving Ko-oren a fight, and that series is tied at two.

In the game, Madison Sullivan took to the mound and was not necessarily stellar right at the start of the game, allowing a single run in each of the first three innings. The South Newlandian batters did a good job working up the pitch count as Madison struggled with the command of her curveball in those innings. She was able to make the adjustment and used her fastball more then she typically does to keep those innings from getting worse. It goes without saying then, that the team is grateful that each of those innings only saw one run scored against them. Sullivan would settle in, and she would have some support in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a three run home run by Chelsea Harlow. Harlow joked after the game that, “I didn’t want to look at the home run longer then I should, but I figured if I did that Madison would not get mad like she did last time.” Sullivan also thanked her former combatant, “Chelsea is a good hitter. Yes, I enjoyed that home run a lot more then the one she hit against us back home.” The game was tied at three for a while, as the South Newlandians also did a great job in settling down after the blast. Sullivan would end up pitching seven innings, and allowed three earned runs on nine hits. However, South Newlandian only had two of those hits after the fourth inning. The bullpen did their job, and sent us to bottom of the ninth.

Without having a bullpen, South Newlandia lacked a closer to come into the game and try to settle down the Rockets. With Brooke Sauter leading off the inning, the plan would be to use her speed. Brooke dragged a bunt perfectly down the third base line, and beat the throw with room to spare to get the team going. Sauter would steal second, but Jenna Schuster would strike out in her at bat. This brought up Mikayla Larson, who’s been the team leader throughout the World Baseball Classic in the RBI category. As outlined in a prior article, she has been significantly better with runners on base, and in scoring position, and in this at bat, she did not have to hammer the ball. Instead, it would be a perfectly executed hit and run, as Sauter took off and Larson hit a seeing-eye single up the middle. Sauter, still running full speed, rounded third, and there would be no stopping her at this point. They tried, but Brooke did not even have to slide as she touched home plate with the game winning and series winning run. “When Mikayla hit that ball through the hole, I knew that was going to be it unless I tripped and fell,” Sauter said, “And that’s not something I do.”

The team will enjoy a few days off, and will have the ability to go back to the top of their rotation with Hannah Lee for the second round series. Manager Ashley Hedstrom confirmed that will be the plan.

[Sarzonia]

An offence that torched Hampton Island pitching to the tune of 20 runs in the first two games of the best-of-five Round of 16 series suddenly had trouble scoring in either of the next two games.

Hampton Island evened the series at two games apiece with 4-1 and 3-2 victories despite the Stars holding Midnight to a combined 1-for-8 with his only hit a tape measure shot to the deepest part of the ballpark in Game 3.

All of a sudden, the Stars are at a crossroads. Not only that, but they're at that crossroads without their pitching coach Chad Rossinger, who developed symptoms consistent with the SARS 2 novel Coronavirus. The Stars medical staff chartered a spaceship to transport him back to the Salk Centre for Viral Disease Treatment in Woodstock, leaving Calen George to possibly pick up the slack as acting pitching coach.

"We extend our thoughts to Chad as he undergoes treatment at one of the country's foremost treatment centers for viral diseases and infections," Yancey said. "His will be a huge role to fill, but we will explore our options."

Yancey wouldn't comment when a reporter asked if former Stars manager Khalil Dennis was among the options being discussed. Bench coach Brad Howland shot down the prospect.

"Khalil has given everything he can as a Hall of Fame-calibre pitcher, coach, and World Baseball Classic-winning manager" Howland said. "Let the man enjoy his life with his husband in peace."

Normally, a fifth game would call for Brian Lynch to toe the rubber, but with the Stars in a win or go home Game 5, Manager Geoff Yancey said he was sending Game 1 starter Mark Conroy out to pitch on three day rest despite throwing well over 100 pitches in Game 1.

"It's the knockout rounds. It's Game 5 of a best-of-five," Conroy said. "Gimme the damn ball!" he said to a gathering of reporters. Yancey quickly clarified that Conroy's actual quote was, "a bit more colourful than that."

"The first words he said were, 'Gimme the fucking ball!' even before I had a chance to say hello," Yancey said.

If Conroy tires quickly or the Stars need to go to the bullpen, Yancey said "everyone's available," even Game 4 starter Jamie Pearson if need be."

"If we lose this game, everybody will have months of rest, " Yancey said. He acknowledged that Lynch was the first option since he had not yet pitched in the series.

Meanwhile, the Stars relished the fact that they were playing past the prediction that Rockeg Report columnist Brianne Henry made before the first pitch of the postseason.

"We're still here when Brianne Henry thought we'd be done," shortstop Christine Andersen said. "We're the only unranked team still playing right now. That's worth something."

[Banija]

Banijans knock out West Phoenicia as they advance to the Quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic


Banijan players high-five each other as go-ahead runs cross the plate in 8th inning of Game 4

DRAWK CITY, DRAKWLAND- Going into Game 3, the Banijans were feeling confident. They had taken the first two from West Phoenicia, and were trying to win the series clincher. Of course, the weight of history is always felt in the present, so there were two streaks that we wanted to talk about. First, the closeout game streak. Banija, in the Ousman Kakay era(since WBC 46), has been deadly in closeout games. With an opportunity to win a knockout stage series under his tutelage, they have won 7 straight closeout games. First opportunity to win the series, they close the door. The only exception is the Cassadaigua semifinal series at WBC 46, but that doesn't effect the streak as they never had a closeout game- they were beaten by the ladies of Cassadaigua, 3 games to 1.

There was also another streak on the line. Banija, in the knockout stages of WBC 47, had really peaked and gotten hot at the right time. An already good team, they had gone down 0-2 in the first series to the Appalachian Nation. Since then, of course, they hadn't lost a knockout stage game in this tournament. They won 13 straight to win WBC 47- winning Games 3-5 against the Appalachian Nation, and then sweeping their opponents in the quarterfinals, in the semifinals, and in the Finals. It was a dominant run, for a single tournament, on par with the great sides of WBC history. And they opened this series by winning the first 2 games. That meant they had won 15 knockout stage World Baseball Classic games in a row.

So those two streaks were put on the line in Game 3. And they put up big game maestro Duta Condé. His career knockout stage line is this- 8 starts, with a 5-1 record, and an ERA of 2.28. In WBC 47, he was particularly dominant during the knockout stages. Across 4 starts, he was 3-0 and had a 1.20 ERA. And all those starts were high pressure. Pitching a Game 3 when the team was down 2-0 in a Best of 5. Pitching Game 1 in the quarterfinals, where he got his no decision. Pitching the closeout game of the semifinals. And then, pitching Game 3 of the Championship Series- which is, of course, the Championship Series. SO Banijans had a lot of faith. But he's been so good for so long in these high-leverage moments. Unfortunately for him, he faltered. He was pulled after 3.1 innings, allowing 6 earned runs. His own knockout stage hot streak took a dent, and Banija's pair of winning streaks- 7 straight closeout games, 15 straight knockout wins, died, as West Phoenicia dominated in a 8-3 victory.

Game 4 was interesting as well. Suntukung Kandeh came onto the mound in the second closeout game of this series. Many reporters were talking about how important this game was. A Best of 5 series is short, and when momentum swings, it can be hard to gain it back. If you're up 2-0 in a series, you don't want to get to a Game 5- the momentum would be all gone, and the pressure would be historic. The margin for error is minuscule. Both starters were on shaky ground early, with the game being 2-2 after just 3 innings. Although it took each pitcher a couple of innings to get settled down, the next few innings were a pitcher's duel. Neither team allowed another run through the 6th. And they entered the seventh inning of Game 4, tied at 2 runs a piece.

That's when both offenses decided to wake up again. Suntukung Kandeh was put in line for the win, when, with two outs in the top of the seventh, Duwa Sohna singled. That brought Jonkong Sillah up to the plate. Sillah ripped one the other way down the line, a fair ball. Sohna was hustling around the bases, getting a good jump off the bag at first. The third base coach was waving his arms- sending him home. Sohna hustled in, and had a great slide. Head first, and although he and the ball got there at the same time, just barely avoided the tag with his arm, and was able to sneak his left arm onto the plate. A RBI double to give them a 3-2 lead, late on. But Suntukung Kandeh could not hold on in the 7th. Kakay wanted his starter to finish the seventh. But a leadoff triple for the Confederates, followed by a RBI double to tie the game up with no outs, forced Kakay's hand. He'd call upon Bouba Kujabi. Kujabi got the first batter he faced to strike out, and then the next one to pop up. But he walked the third batter, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. Kakay was taking no chances- the leash could not be long in a situation like this. Jebel Darboe came on. A sharp single was hit out to left field. West Phoenicia waved their runner around third- testing the arm of Cyper Kandeh. But it was a line drive, hit on a perfect bounce to the glove of Cyper Kandeh. Kandeh geared up and launched the ball towards home, having a perfect throw to get the baserunner out, who was trying to go home from 2nd on the 2 out single.

It was a stunning throw, one that'd ensure the game was still tied, and give the Banijans a chance to win this thing. Kandeh, leading off the inning, hit a single back up the middle. Then, Lama Ouattara hit a ground-rule double, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. They called upon Ifeatu Chee to pinch run for Ouattara. They intentionally walked Diene, and then Odera Obea came on to pinch hit for Uche. Nobody out, bases loaded. She, after working a full count, was able to slap a ball just over the head of the leaping West Phoenicia first baseman. One run easily scored, and the pinch runner, Ifeatu Chee, just barely beat the throw from right field. It was 5-3, and the team was pumped. Then, the bullpen slammed the door on this game. Jebel Darboe got the 1st out of the 8th, then Gibril Sowe got the next two, and Sarjo Touré, although he allowed two baserunners in the 9th, slammed the door on the game. The series was clinched, and the party began.

Ousman Kakay spoke to reporters after the game. "This game, this series, showed what this team is capable of." Said Ousman Kakay. "Some people may doubt our grit, may doubt our ability to struggle when the times are tough. But we showed that, even when our backs are against the wall, we are capable of playing with anybody. All credit to West Phoenicia. After Game 1, after going down 2-0, they could have easily lied down. But they were not done until the final out. They fought, and deserved more. But this is an important win for our side. I'm excited to see the Sherpa Empire again in the quarterfinals. That will be a great series, and we will have to be sure that we are ready for them."