Sports -> Youth Baseball
Bear with us
South Newlandia travelled to their region-mate Hampton Island for their third series. Both teams entered with 5-1 records, both two games clear of everyone else in the group. Hampton Island, ranked 8th in the world, went into the game as the natural favourites. Despite that, the South Newlandian team had hope, as they had upset big teams in the past. The pitchers were excited to pitch against a literal bear, even though they would start to annoy him very soon. The pitchers had decided that all of them would intentionally walk Midnight, the bear, over and over again. They knew the bear hated that. They had it coming.
South Newlandia 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Hampton Island 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 X 4
The first game, pitched by Blake Robbins, didn’t start as expected, as Robbins gave up three runs in the very first inning, partly influenced by walking Midnight, which let three players advance in total, all of which would later get runs. It took the South Newlandian batters, who were so dominant in the two series before this one, until the fifth inning, and even then they managed just a single run, scored by Fabio Ventura. Hampton Island struck right back, getting the 4-1. After that, no further runs were scored, but at least Fabio Paul, who closed for the last three innings, didn’t record any runs either.
South Newlandia 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Hampton Island 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 X 6
The second game, pitched by Larry Cain on shorter rest, started arguably even worse, as the South Newlandian team was down 0-4 after three innings already. Midnight was starting to get really annoyed, getting walked again and again, but a homer by Mario Cortez in the third made Cain pay for that. Once again, South Newlandia struggled to get any runs in for long. Barnaby Butt came in to close for the last three innings, and after Mike Larsen got a honorary run in the 7th, another homer by Cortez in the 8th ended the match 6-1.
South Newlandia 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 5
Hampton Island 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 4
Ryan Hunter pitching against a bear was slightly ironic because of his last name, but the 21-year-old was going to go for it anyway. Hunter gave up a triple on the very first pitch to Denny Ramirez, but retired the next two batters. Midnight was at bat now, and Hunter started to intentionally walk him again, like the pitchers before him. After the first ball, the bear suddenly started to charge at Hunter. The stadium gasped nearly in unison, and Hunter, with no way to defend himself, was only saved by the 1st base coach from Hampton Island. He had a tranquilizer gun ready, and shot the bear just in time to save the day, the stadium and most specifically Ryan Hunter. While the bear was carried off of the field, Hunter still had a horrified look on his face. Damian Bolton went onto the field and talked to him, and while we do not know what he told him, Hunter was able to finish the game. The team would later learn that that wasn’t the first such incident, as the bear had apparently done something similar years ago already. Without Midnight batting, South Newlandia suddenly had a chance, and a close and interesting game began.
Hampton Island scored in the first and second inning to get them the lead while Hunter still lacked his usual precision after the shock. In the fourth inning, South Newlandia equalized thanks to runs by Zimmerman and White. The Golden Bears took the lead right back in the 5th after a solo homer by Bryce Mueller. Nothing happened for a while, and after seven innings had passed, Marcel Adams came in to close the game. The Elephants equalized again in the top of the 8th after Adam King scored, but in the bottom of the inning, Hampton Island took the lead once again. With one inning to go, South Newlandia was only trailing by one; and after a homer by Fabio Ventura that also scored Mike Larsen, they were actually ahead, and Hampton Island had to score on demand. Despite allowing a double to Phillip Greene, he managed to retire three batters in time, and the South Newlandians took game three by 5-4.
We are pleased to announce an interview with the South Newlandian batting coach, Anthony Smith-Miller.
Our reporter: Good evening Anthony Smith-Miller, and congratulations for the strong start.
Anthony Smith-Miller: Good evening, and thank you.
OR: What happened there at the start of game three, can you explain your personal view?
ASM: I didn’t think the bear had it in him. He seemed so polite. I mean, he can’t talk, but I think he made a friendly grunt at me. Maybe not, now that I think about it, it might have been something else. Anyways, I was just as surprised as everyone else. We probably shouldn’t have angered him like that.
OR: Are you going to launch official complaints or something like that?
ASM: The story went through the media enough; the authorities should be in the know. We will see if anything comes of that, but I don’t think so. I mean, it’s okay, nobody got eaten or injured, and there even is a decent chance Ryan doesn’t develop a bear-phobia.
OR: On the field, the South Newlandian batters only scored seven runs today after scoring 44 in the six games before that. What happened?
ASM: Hampton Island has great pitchers, and we had some problems. But still, that wasn’t great today. We already know we are kind of weak away from home, but today has been really bad. This can’t go on like that if we want to qualify for Newmanistan.
OR: What do you think about Mr. Kartoffer’s unofficial rankings, is that something the coaches are using?
ASM: With all due respect, doesn’t he have better things to do? This is merely speculation, and not relevant for us right now. It certainly is interesting if you are some kind of numbers geek, but we are here to play baseball.
OR: Can you tell us who pitches in the next series against Torisakia?
ASM: We are trying to get Ryan back on the mount, and make him think about other stuff. Otherwise, Jacob and Jay are on. I can’t say anything about the order yet.
OR: After nine games, the South Newlandian squad is looking strong so far. Do you think they can qualify for the Round of 16 again, even in this tight, competitive group?
ASM: No idea.
OR: Um, okay. I guess we will see. Anyways, thanks for the interview, and good luck!
ASM: Thank you, and good night.
All matches
Hampton Island 2-1 South Newlandia (4-1, 6-1, 4-5)
The Greater Nordics 2-1 Torisakia (4-1, 3-2, 1-10)
The Greater Nordics clinch two close games, but seemingly fall apart in the last one.
Quebecois Acadiana 2-1 Drunk People at the Local Tavern (6-9, 6-3, 5-4)
The Drunk People are the first team to lose wins here, and they dropped two at once. Had they gotten a sweep, they would’ve been tied with the Elephants now.
Current standings
* Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Hampton Island 9 7 0 2 46 27 +19 21
2 South Newlandia 9 6 0 3 51 47 +4 18
3 Torisakia 9 4 0 5 36 33 +3 12
4 Drunk People at the Local Tavern 9 4 0 5 47 49 −2 12
5 The Greater Nordics 9 4 0 5 30 41 −11 12
6 Quebecois Acadiana 9 2 0 7 40 53 −13 6
Currently, South Newlandia is two games clear of third place, but since that is tied between three teams and South Newlandia still has Torisakia and The Greater Nordics, the 11th best team in the world, to play, things couldn’t be more far from over.
The next series will see the Elephants play on Dragon Island, namely in the Dragon Island Arena of Masmow, northeast of South Newlandias mainland. Their opponent will be Torisakia, a young unranked side that has performed quite well so far. We will see how far they can go in this one, as the series might end up being very important in the final standings.