World Baseball Classic 43- Everything (Finals G6 Posted)

[Free Republics]

Sporting World

Nicholls Enterprises Purchases National Football Team, Announces Plans to Introduce Female Players at Next Year's World Bowl
by: Alda Piazza

The official logo for the National Baseball Team's Stand Up to Sexism Campaign (OOC: This logo was made by North Prarie.)

In a major victory for the Stand Up to Sexism Campaign, Nicholls Enterprises purchased the National Football Team today from retiring coach Jak Hamilton for 100 million thalers. That this sale comes so soon after the National Football Team's 9-3 victory over the Main Nation Ministry in the World Bowl XXXV third place game is a major surprise to observers of sports business, but everybody expected Coach Hamilton to sell his team. Equally surprising is the buyer: Nicholls Enterprises, the mega-corporation owned by Consul Robert Nicholls, father of Liberty Party presumptive nominee for Consul Scarlett Nicholls who has been a vocal critic of Hamilton's views regarding women in football. Consul Nicholls announced the purchase from the Nicholls Enterprises corporate branch office in Republica.

During the press conference announcing the sale of this team, Consul Nicholls openly stated his strategy for leading the National Football Team into a future that will hopefully include multiple World Bowl titles: "First of all, we will be fully integrating the National Football Team going forward. It is unacceptable for a national sports team to exclude one half of the population of our great Federation with sexist policies just as it would be unacceptable for a national sports team to exclude players on account of their background as immigrants or the children of immigrants. We wish to create an inclusive National Football Team that reflects who we are and we will hire a coach who believes in the direction our Federation is going rather than hearkening back to those dark days of a decade ago. As your Acting Senior Consul for these many years, I have sought to return this nation, which my son Veleik and his Legion fought to set free, to normalcy. In the past 15 years, I have been falsely blamed for an assassination that was likely carried out by the Holy Party. I have had my property vandalized by angry mobs. I have been forced to flee my own country. I have been imprisoned by a Junior Consul who was being controlled by some sinister robot network accidentally created by one of our Federation's major technology companies. I have even faced a number of Republics rebelling against my Federation Government, founding a terror state and waging guerilla warfare against our nation. These have often been dark times for our Federation but I have always done everything in my power to fight the darkness with every ounce of my energy and, in doing so, restore this nation to her former glory that we all took for granted just 15 short years ago before various evil men and evil women wrecked havoc upon our glorious country, which has always been Freedom's True Home. Now, with my career as your Consul winding down, I will be putting my efforts going forward into guiding our National Football Team as an owner who will let the football people make football decisions while expecting the team to reflect what is best about our Federation and to perform at a level that makes all of us proud."

The announcement was met with widespread acclaim throughout Republican sports. Quarterback Kayleigh Clarke of the Baseton Babes, a team in the Northern Lingerie Football League, called the decision "a historic moment for women's football. I am so happy that the National Football Team will now provide an opportunity for women to play real football, not touch football in skimpy outfits. It is about time that somebody decided to move the sport of football forward towards the full gender equality that has been achieved in other sports like baseball." However, not everybody was pleased with the decision. National Football Team starting quarterback Wibe Rus, who is coming off of a historically bad performance in World Bowl XXXV, called the decision "a complete farce that shows that Consul Nicholls knows absolutely nothing about football. While I love women like my mother and my beautiful girlfriend Henriette Lecuyer, they simply do not belong on the football field and I refuse to play for any team that permits a woman to play. Their bodies are just too fragile to play football and its such a shame that nations like Cassadaigua and I assume the Nicholls Enterprises Free Republics team that I won't be playing for would put women on the football field, exposing them to extremely high risk of severe injuries. What ever happened to the traditional idea that men are supposed to protect women?" I imagine everybody who watched the Free Republics National Team at the recent World Bowl will be pleased to hear that Rus has quit as the team's quarterback and it would not surprise me if Consul Nicholls found a girl who can throw the ball better than he can in time for the next World Bowl!

Consul Nicholls also announced the creation of the Nicholls Enterprises Football League (NEFL), a new nationwide football league that will include 64 teams and which will become one of the first leagues in Republican football to permit both men and women to play on the same teams on the same field at the same time. The National Baseball Team will be wearing an NEFL logo patch on their jerseys for tonight's Game 4 against Newmanistan. The game will be broadcast on FBC, which was announced as one of the NEFL's broadcast partners at today's Nicholls Enterprises press conference and FBC's broadcast will likely spend a great deal of time promoting the new football league which is expected to be a feeder for the new Republican National Football Team.

Alda Piazza is the youngest daughter of the late Consul Venicio Piazza. She is a graduate of the Keronama Republic University School of Journalism with a minor in business and Sporting World's sports business correspondent.

[Cassadaigua]

CHAMPIONSHIP: BEST OF SEVEN: (2) Newmanistan vs (4) Free Republics @ Concord Heights Stadium, Concord Heights

Game 4:

Newmanistan            0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0  6
Free Republics         1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  4

Newmanistan leads series, 3G-1

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

FUTURE LOOKS TO CLINCH THE PRESENT

by Brianne Henry,

Thanks to an impressive come-from-behind victory in the eighth inning of game 4, highlighted by a three-run homer by Kayla Carey, the Rockets are on the brink of winning a championship. Just like Tarrentum was after three games of World Baseball Classic 17. Don’t worry, these Rockets aren’t going to think they have won anything yet, but they would love to put away the Republicans in the fifth game of this series to avoid any heroics by Free Republics in later games. On the mound for Newmanistan will be Cassie Burke, the starting pitcher for the clinching game 5 against Schiltzberg, as well as the clinching game 4 against Alpine Union. Perhaps there is something about Cassadaigua that brings out the best in Burke, but the pitcher who isn’t even old enough to drink in some countries (she’s fine in Newmanistan, though), looks to pitch a clinching game again. On a veteran roster, there stands this 20-year old pitcher from the Seminole Bay Gators. Selected #1 overall in the ENBL draft a few years ago, Burke has lived up to her hype. Whether or not Seminole Bay can ultimately afford to keep her in the future is a story for another time and day. For now, Burke is not pitching for a 100-loss team in the regular season, and has thrived with the run support that she has gotten. I caught up with Cassie Burke, and we talked about the meaning of this fifth game.

Henry: Good afternoon, Cassie, thank you for joining us today.

Burke: My pleasure.

Henry: I am sure you are enjoying your time in Cassadaigua, we always thought this would be a good omen.

Burke: Absolutely, it is a real honor to be here.

Henry: A couple Classics ago, Hannah Lee was talked about as being out next one, that she would be the one who took over the top spot from Courtney Duvall, and that has happened during this Classic. Now, you are the next next one. How are you handling it?

Burke: I am just grateful for the opportunity that I am given. To be able to start as a part of this rotation was quite an honor. When Ashley (Stevens) told me I was getting the nod over Jessica Gray, I was so ecstatic. This is amazing, and I did not want to let anyone down.

Henry: The average age of the team being up there is something we mention a lot. It hasn’t been an issue, but the writing seems to be on the wall eventually. You are seen as being a key player in the turnover, when it eventually happens, to a younger roster. Is there much pressure now about that?

Burke: Right now, not really. I don’t think we’re as worried about the age of the rotation as possibly it is with the batting lineup. Hannah is only 25. Shannon Kelly is 28, so both of them can pitch a while. Jennifer Hughes at 31, may not be as young, but nothing is imminent with her. So, I guess I really don’t feel the pressure in regards to that.

Henry: Looking at Hannah Lee, who was 21 when she played a big role on our title team, how much of a role model has she been for you?

Burke: I really appreciate Hannah. She’s someone I can look up too, but Courtney Duvall is a real leader for us younger pitchers, too. Courtney always has time to talk to me, and Hannah says it was the same for her, and still is.

Henry: Nice to hear that Courtney still plays that kind of role.

Burke: She does. She wants to see us succeed, and not just on this team. She knows what it was like to be a young pitcher in the ENBL as well.

Henry: As far as the ENBL is concerned, you pitch for Seminole Bay, who lost over 100 games last year. It’s a small market team, and I know you want the best for them. So, how different is it, to be on a team like this? Knowing that you have the big guns in the lineup.

Burke: One of the things I talked to Courtney about and I thought I was crazy, is that I feel more pressure pitching for Seminole Bay then I am right now for the Rockets. With the Gators, there is not as much room for error. I want it to get better, but right now, that one mistake you may make that is costly can result in a loss. Here, with this team, it is more relaxing because I know that I can get that run back.

Henry: Helps you be more aggressive on this team with your pitches?

Burke: I think so. It’s helped me a lot, and I hope to bring that back to Seminole Bay with me.

Henry: You are becoming the series finisher. Got the big win over Schiltzberg in Game 5, and you also pitched the deciding game against Alpine Union. They say, things come in threes.

Burke: I am still grateful for Ashley having the faith in me to have pitched that Schiltzberg game. I would love to get this win.

Henry: Feeling pressure?

Burke: Not really. We have the lead in the series, so it’s not like the Schiltzberg game where its do-or-die. Here, while we want to finish it off tonight, we’re in the catbird seat with the series right now. So that can help me be aggressive on the mound, and I like that. Not really feeling pressure.

Henry: Well good luck, Cassie. Hopefully we can finish this off tonight.

Burke: I hope so too. Thank you!

[Free Republics]

Sporting World

Breaking News: Sheamus O'Connor Out for WBC after Freak Injury in Hotel Shower
by: Clarice Cormier

Sheamus O'Connor is out for the rest of the WBC after falling in the shower this morning at the hotel in Concord Heights where the National Baseball Team is staying. O'Connor was scheduled to pitch for the team in Game 5. The Republican National Team is down 3 games to 1 against Newmanistan and will be facing potential elimination in this game. Manager Kyle Thomas told Sporting World that, "O'Connor fell really badly on his non-throwing elbow and is currently at a Cassadagan hospital undergoing medical tests. He will unfortunately not be part of our plans going forward as he is currently in no condition to pitch."

The move leaves the Free Republics in an even more difficult spot facing potential elimination tonight. While my understanding is that Namo Busque, who signed a 3-year, 90 million thaler contract with the reigning XBL champion New City Time Bombs earlier today, was Kyle Thomas's first choice to pitch today, he reportedly informed his manager that he lacks confidence in his ability to pitch on short rest. This left Thomas with a tough decision between college starters Ming Hsing and Rhys McIntyre or 39-year-old veteran Leon Eichel. Ultimately, Thomas decided to go with the 39-year-old Oldston Arsonists starter. A year ago, Eichel signed a 1-year contract with the Arsonists for the XBL minimum after missing 3 consecutive seasons with various arm injuries and undergoing multiple surgeries. He was not expected to make the team but surprised everybody in spring training and shockingly managed to return to form, going 10-14 with a 3.32 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 194 innings of work for an Arsonists team that was absolutely ravaged by injuries on the pitching staff. Were it not for Eichel's strong play, the Arsonists, previously a .500 team that had great pitching and terrible hitting, would have given up far more than 108 additional runs. For this, he was named the XBL Comeback Player of the Year and was selected to the National Baseball Team as a career achievement award.

Nobody would have ever predicted that Leon Eichel would be starting Game 5 of the WBC finals and fewer still would have predicted that he'd be pitching against Newmanistan's ace-in-waiting Cassie Burke in such a critical game. Burke has closed out two series for Newmanistan at this WBC and has been every bit as dominant for them as Namo Busque has been for the Free Republics. Even our own oddsmakers have Newmanistan as a prohibitive favorite in this one with the Free Republics sitting at 9-to-1 odds to survive Game 5. Even more foreboding for the Free Republics is the fact that they will not have the designated hitter today. Newmanistan is the designated "home" team and they have, once again, chosen to force the pitchers to bat. Tonight's game can be seen on FBC.

Clarice Cormier is Sporting World's international baseball correspondent and our lead beat writer for the Republica Vipers of the X Baseball League. She is a graduate of the Barteaux University School of Journalism and an alumnus of the Barjavel Academy at Republica. Clarice is a former cheerleader who has always been a huge baseball fan. After graduating college, she decided that she would rather do sportswriting instead of political reporting and, luckily for her, Sporting World has always been happy to hire young journalists straight out of college. She has also appeared in our annual lingerie issue 5 years in a row!

---

Free Republics Lineup for Game 5

CF Ferrau Bergeron
2B Ethan Joyner
SS Honomi Kamei
1B Oskar Bjorgum
RF Evelin Norberg
3B Hollie Rogers
LF Randy Baran
C Brock Shield
Pinch Hitter*

*Yes, the Free Republics will pinch hit every single time the pitcher slot comes up tonight. This is a bullpen game, though the press is pretending that Eichel will pitch a normal starter's workload.

[Cassadaigua]

CHAMPIONSHIP: BEST OF SEVEN: (2) Newmanistan vs (4) Free Republics @ Concord Heights Stadium, Concord Heights

Free Republics         0 0 0 1 2 0 2 1 0  6
Newmanistan            0 1 0 2 0 1 1 0 0  5

Newmanistan leads series, 3G-2

[Newmanistan]

Using the #sixpack tag that has been common throughout Newmanistan throughout the World Baseball Classic. We found out what some Rocket fans are thinking as the championship series heads to a sixth game.

“Only natural. #sixpack in six games.”
@Chris_DPC12

“I thought it was fate that we’d win a title in Cassadaigua with a Cassie pitching. Oh well, no one does it like Hannah Lee, anyway. #sixpack”
@CondorsBabe25

“I could go for a #sixpack right now. Oh yeah, and the Rockets winning this game would be helpful, too.”
@DrunkDannyD

“I am just glad Ralph Fielder won’t be the losing pitcher. He’s my favorite player. On the Condors, that is. #sixpack”
@WildForWildRalph

“The choke begins. The only #sixpack will be from Super-Llamaland in the next Classic. Rockets are about to choke.”
@CyclonesRuleSLL

“When was the last time the Rockets lost two in a row? Get ready to party tonight! #sixpack.”
@PockCity4306

“I wasn’t too mad about the loss last night. I had money on Rockets in 6, not Rockets in 5. I wouldn’t have collected if they won yesterday! #sixpack”
@StudForTaylorLarson001

“I already called out from work tomorrow. #sixpack!”
@LeopardDude_DG

“Rockets just wanted to make it more exciting. Good game last night, but we’ll be fine. Not worried. #sixpack”
@Chelsea241

“Those Republicans are resilient. Their best two pitchers are coming up again. I hope we didn’t let it slide away last night. Please let there still be a #sixpack.”
@DownerDon012

[Free Republics]

Sporting World

WBC 43: Republican Bullpen pitches National Team to 6-5 victory in Game 5
by: Clarice Cormier

The Free Republics have survived for one more day. On a night where sportsbooks throughout the Free Republics lost over 50 million thalers thanks to a wave of massive upsets in the Sporting World Cup, one of the biggest upsets in international sports happened in Cassadaigua where the Republican National Team somehow found a way to defeat Newmanistan without a starting pitcher. Republican pinch hitters would go 4-for-4 on the night, with two home run, a double and 5 RBI as the Free Republics managed to turn the lack of a designated hitter into an advantage.

Early on, Cassie Burke was dominant, striking out 5 of the first 8 Republican batters. Meanwhile, Leon Eichel wasn't exactly at his best, loading the bases in the first inning before narrowly escaping on a double play. In the second inning, Rachel Landry got to him for a solo home run. While he would strike Cassie Burke out, he would ultimately concede a single and a walk to the two Hannahs and would narrowly escape the inning on a spectacular catch by Evelin Norberg. In the top of the 3rd, pinch hitter Harald Amundsen would pick up the first Republican hit and then steal second base. Ferrau Bergeron would single into the outfield but Stephanie Reynolds would gun Amundsen down at the plate to end the inning. The Free Republics would tie the game in the 4th after Ethan Joyner drew a leadoff walk and Honomi Kamei tripled him home. Burke would miraculously hold the speedy Kamei at third by striking out Bjorgum, forcing Norberg to pop up and getting Rogers to hit a fly ball to the warning track in left center that landed in the glove of Hannah Bates. While Ming Hsing pitched well in his first inning of work, his second would see him walk Lexi Alcorn and Stephanie Reynolds then give up a double to Mallory Harris that put Newmanistan back in the lead. Avdei Kazantsev would come in after Hsing intentionally walked Kayla Carey and would force a double play on his only pitch of the night to get the Republicans out of the inning. In the top of the 5th, the Free Republics would tie the game up again. Randy Baran would open the inning with a single. Brock Shield would strike out. Then, Kyle Thomas would bring in Nicholas Fisher, the starting DH, as a pinch hitter. To this point, Fisher had been hitless in the series. However, Fisher would work Burke to a full count before taking her fastball and sending it to deep right field. Reynolds chased toward the wall but could only watch as the ball landed in the 9th row to tie the game at 3.

With the game tied at 3 as it reached the midway point, the Free Republics turned to Rhys McIntyre as their third pitcher of the game. McIntyre, like Hsing before him, pitched extremely well in his first inning of work then gave up a triple to Lexi Alcorn, who would score on a Stephanie Reynolds sac fly to put Newmanistan back in the lead. McIntyre, unlike Hsing, would finish 2 full innings. In the 7th, the Free Republics started the inning with a Hollie Rogers double, a Randy Baran popup and a Brock Shield single that advanced Rogers to third. This brought up pinch hitter Philipp Schmitz who would double home two runs and bring out Ashley Stevens to take Burke out of the game. Michelle Tremont came in to pitch for Newmanistan and got out of the inning without any further damage. Schmitz stayed in the game in place of Evelin Norberg as the Republicans executed a double switch. Luana Cremonesi would pitch the bottom of the 7th for the FFR and would load the bases with no outs. Up came pinch hitter Kenzie Magee, Newmanistan's DH, who would ground into a double play while driving in a run that tied the game. Hannah Bates would then let Kyle Thomas's team off the hook with an infield fly that ended the inning.

Alexander Capon would be the pinch hitter in the 8th as Newmanistan turned to Katrina Payne to hold the Republicans off the scoreboard. That would prove to be a very wise choice on the part of Kyle Thomas as the backup corner infielder who dominated the Acedonian Baseball League last year would hit a monster home run to straight away center that would hit the upper deck and land in the lower deck. Were it not for the upper deck being in the way, this ball likely would have traveled well over 500 feet. The Free Republics were now up 6 to 5. Payne would put down the remaining Republican batters in this inning but the damage had been done. The bottom of the 8th brought Kiyosumi Takeuchi to the mound and Takeuchi was absolutely dominant on this night, escaping the 8th easily. After the Republicans went three up, three down in the top of the 9th, Mario Rothschild came on to close the game out. His first pitch, a curveball, would result in a Kayla Carey double. A Michelle Covington infield single put runners at 1st and 3rd with nobody out. Then, Rachel Landry and Hannah Kent both struck out. Newmanistan brought on Ashley McCabe as a pinch hitter. McCabe would hit the ball right to Honomi Kamei, who flipped to Joyner to start what would have been a routine 6-4-3 double play if there weren't already two outs. The Free Republics had survived. Luana Cremonesi was awarded the win and Katrina Payne was awarded the loss. Rothschild was credited with a save.

After the game, Cremonesi was interviewed on FBC. She told the interviewer "While I may officially be credited with the 'win' for this game, I believe Rhys [McIntyre] should be credited with the win. While it worked out in the end, I'm going to need to apologize to him for blowing his opportunity to win a WBC finals game. It was truly a team effort tonight and I think its great that 4 RCAA players helped the Free Republics beat the great Newmanistan team in a critical game. If I get the opportunity to pitch again in this WBC, I'll try my best to keep them off the scoreboard." Kyle Thomas told FBC after the game that "We're just taking things one game at a time right now. We have a game to play against Newmanistan tomorrow night and Namo [Busque] is going to be pitching for us. He's come up big so far this tournament." When asked about all of the unearned runs from Nicholas Fisher's errors in game 1, Thomas responded "We're not worried about the past. Yes, we could have won a few of those games if we'd done a few things differently but we can't change what happened in the past. All we can do is look toward the future and continue to win baseball games. Tomorrow, we are playing game 6 with Busque facing Lee." Game 6 can be seen live on FBC.

Clarice Cormier is Sporting World's international baseball correspondent and our lead beat writer for the Republica Vipers of the X Baseball League. She is a graduate of the Barteaux University School of Journalism and an alumnus of the Barjavel Academy at Republica. Clarice is a former cheerleader who has always been a huge baseball fan. After graduating college, she decided that she would rather do sportswriting instead of political reporting and, luckily for her, Sporting World has always been happy to hire young journalists straight out of college. She has also appeared in our annual lingerie issue 5 years in a row!

OOC: "Wild" Ralph Fiedler will be available out of the bullpen in appropriate situations for the remainder of this WBC. This was not announced by the Republican press as Kyle Thomas has kept the news a secret in the hope that he can catch Newmanistan by surprise. The Republican lineup for Game 6 will be the regular lineup from my roster. Namo Busque will start.

[Cassadaigua]

CHAMPIONSHIP: BEST OF SEVEN: (2) Newmanistan vs (4) Free Republics @ Concord Heights Stadium, Concord Heights

Game 6:

Newmanistan            0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3
Free Republics         0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Newmanistan wins series, 4G-2


This will conclude World Baseball Classic 43. It's been a blast to host this event, starting with the record number of signups to what is probably a record number of posts in the thread. The RP was outstanding, thank you! Congratulations to our champions!

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS WIN SIXTH TITLE

by Brianne Henry,

The Newmanistan Rockets are once again the undisputed greatest World Baseball Classic nation of all time, as they won their sixth title in six games by virtue of defeating Free Republics by the score of 3-1. This gives them one more then Super-Llamaland, who tied us at five by winning the last Classic in the Free Republics.

As expected, this game was a pitching duel between the ace of the Rockets staff, Hannah Lee, and Namo Busque, who’s done quite well in his own right. Busque, you may recall, was a tough luck loser in game one, as five unearned runs were registered against him, as costly errors were made to give the Rockets extra outs. Newmanistan took advantage of those opportunities. This time, Busque had better defense behind him, and both he and Hannah Lee were lights out early on. Each pitched a 1-2-3 inning for the first three innings of the ball game, but in the fifth inning the Rockets would finally strike. Kayla Carey led the inning off with a routine single up the middle. She would score on a double into right field off the bat of Michelle Covington, a player who may have been a bit of an unsung hero for this entire playoff run. Rachel Landry stepped up to the plate, and singled to score Covington. Busque struck out Hannah Kent, and retired Hannah Lee when she sacrificed Landry to second. The Hannah brigade was strong in game one, and next up, it would be Hannah Bates, who drew a walk. Seemed to be an unintentional intentional walk, but it would not go according to plan when Lexi Alcorn lined a single to right center. That scored Landry, and the Rockets sent Bates home as well hoping to score from first, but that proved to be a little too ambitious, and Bates was out at the plate. Still, the three runs gave Hannah Lee a comfortable lead, and she would dominate the Republican batters. They did get one in the sixth, but otherwise, Free Republics was never able to threaten.

Lee went the distance, striking out ten, in one of her top starts of the entire Classic. During World Baseball Classic 40 and 41 were reveled about how clutch she was becoming, and she stepped it up nicely here. Rockets players had a nice celebration on the field, before heading to the clubhouse and continuing the fun. While we will wonder if this will be a cue for several players to want to go out on top in regards to their Classic careers, we can enjoy this for now.

We would like to congratulate Free Republics on having their best run ever in this tournament. They are a great baseball nation, and they showed the world that this year. We would also like to thank Cassadaigua for the wonderful accommodations throughout the tournament.