World Baseball Classic 48 [Everything Thread]

[Drawkland]

DRAWKLAND'S WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 48
GROUP STAGE - SERIES 5
Results killing you? Better Get A Doctor real quick ...

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Group 1

Game 1
Abanhfleft                         0 0 0 2 2 3 0 1 0  8
Hampton Island                     0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 2  6

Nooooooooooooooo                   0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2  4
Hapilopper                         0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2

Pripet Socialist Republic          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Democratic Publicity Stunts        0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 X  3

Game 2
Abanhfleft                         0 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 0  6
Hampton Island                     0 3 0 0 2 0 0 4 X  9

Nooooooooooooooo                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Hapilopper                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2  3

Pripet Socialist Republic          0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  5
Democratic Publicity Stunts        0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  4

Game 3
Abanhfleft                         0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2  5
Hampton Island                     2 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 X  7

Nooooooooooooooo                   0 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 0  6
Hapilopper                         2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  4

Pripet Socialist Republic          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Democratic Publicity Stunts        0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 X  3

  Group 1                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Abanhfleft                    15   12   3    84   59  +25
2 Hampton Island                15    9   6    70   52  +18
3 Democratic Publicity Stunts   15    8   7    47   51   −4
4 Hapilopper                    15    7   8    64   61   +3
5 Nooooooooooooooo              15    5  10    57   75  −18
6 Pripet Socialist Republic     15    4  11    45   69  −24

Group 2

Game 1
The Greater Nordics                0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1  3
Free Republics                     0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  2

Terre Septentrionale               0 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 0  6
Swiaji                             0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Devonta                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
TJUN-ia                            2 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 X  6

Game 2
The Greater Nordics                0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  2
Free Republics                     0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 X  4

Terre Septentrionale               1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  3
Swiaji                             0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

Devonta                            0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0  5
TJUN-ia                            0 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 X  7

Game 3
The Greater Nordics                0 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 1  6
Free Republics                     0 2 2 0 3 0 0 0 X  7

Terre Septentrionale               2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Swiaji                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Devonta                            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
TJUN-ia                            0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

  Group 2               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Free Republics         15   12   3    83   45  +38
2 The Greater Nordics    15   11   4    87   54  +33
3 Terre Septentrionale   15    9   6    59   56   +3
4 TJUN-ia                15    6   9    49   65  −16
5 Swiaji                 15    6   9    52   64  −12
6 Devonta                15    1  14    35   81  −46

Group 3

Game 1
South Newlandia                    0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Ko-oren                            0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2  4

Xanneria                           0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0  5
Equestrian States                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Northwest Kalactin                 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1  4
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec        4 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 X  9

Game 2
South Newlandia                    3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  4
Ko-oren                            0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

Xanneria                           1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Equestrian States                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Northwest Kalactin                 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0  4
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Game 3
South Newlandia                    1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0  4
Ko-oren                            0 0 1 3 1 0 0 1 X  6

Xanneria                           0 1 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 11
Equestrian States                  0 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  5

Northwest Kalactin                 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec        0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 X  5

  Group 3                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ko-oren                       15   11   4    83   58  +25
2 South Newlandia               15   10   5    56   46  +10
3 Xanneria                      15    8   7    64   56   +8
4 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   15    7   8    69   71   −2
5 Northwest Kalactin            15    6   9    62   66   −4
6 Equestrian States             15    3  12    46   83  −37

Group 4

Game 1
West Phoenicia                     0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0  4
Daskel                             0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 X  7

Anthor                             0 0 4 0 1 1 0 0 0  6
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2  4

Kriegiersien                       0 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 1  8
Oscioru                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  3

Game 2
West Phoenicia                     0 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 1  6
Daskel                             0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0  5

Anthor                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 X  6

Kriegiersien                       0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  3
Oscioru                            2 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 X  5

Game 3
West Phoenicia                     0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0  4
Daskel                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Anthor                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 X  1

Kriegiersien                       0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  4
Oscioru                            0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0  3

  Group 4               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Nova Anglicana         15    9   6    76   51  +25
2 Anthor                 15    8   7    60   54   +6
3 West Phoenicia         15    8   7    72   67   +5
4 Daskel                 15    7   8    72   73   −1
5 Kriegiersien           15    7   8    58   67   −9
6 Oscioru                15    6   9    60   86  −26

Group 5

Game 1
Cascom                             1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  3
The Sherpa Empire                  2 4 0 0 1 0 3 2 X 12

Sarzonia                           0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3
Lisander                           0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  2

Bolgano                            0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
St. Saratoga                       0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2

Game 2
Cascom                             0 2 1 0 3 0 0 0 0  6
The Sherpa Empire                  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Sarzonia                           0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2  5
Lisander                           5 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  7

Bolgano                            1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  4
St. Saratoga                       2 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 X  8

Game 3
Cascom                             0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
The Sherpa Empire                  0 0 0 0 2 2 0 3 X  7

Sarzonia                           2 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0  9
Lisander                           0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 0  5

Bolgano                            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
St. Saratoga                       0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  4

  Group 5               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 St. Saratoga           15   10   5    68   59   +9
2 Sarzonia               15    8   7    60   55   +5
3 Lisander               15    8   7    85   71  +14
4 The Sherpa Empire      15    7   8    62   59   +3
5 Cascom                 15    6   9    60   71  −11
6 Bolgano                15    6   9    56   76  −20

Group 6

Game 1
Cassadaigua                        2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2  7
Mushroom Kingdom                   2 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  6

Imperial Joseon                    0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2
Saintland                          1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 X  4

The Sarian                         2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  4
Gekkeom                            1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Game 2
Cassadaigua                        0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Mushroom Kingdom                   0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Imperial Joseon                    2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0  5
Saintland                          1 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 X  6

The Sarian                         5 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0  8
Gekkeom                            0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2

Game 3
Cassadaigua                        0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0  5
Mushroom Kingdom                   0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0  4

Imperial Joseon                    8 0 1 2 0 1 4 0 0 16
Saintland                          0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

The Sarian                         1 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0  7
Gekkeom                            0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  3

  Group 6               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Cassadaigua            15   11   4    96   54  +42
2 Mushroom Kingdom       15    9   6    74   61  +13
3 Saintland              15    7   8    53   75  −22
4 The Sarian             15    7   8    71   78   −7
5 Imperial Joseon        15    7   8    71   66   +5
6 Gekkeom                15    4  11    53   84  −31

Group 7

Game 1
Liventia                           0 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 0  6
Newmanistan                        2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  5

Brooklyn and Queens                0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  5
Chromatika                         0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  6

South Covello                      0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0  4
Teyniyji                           1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

Game 2
Liventia                           0 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 0  6
Newmanistan                        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2

Brooklyn and Queens                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Chromatika                         2 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 X  6

South Covello                      1 0 0 4 0 0 3 0 0  8
Teyniyji                           2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Game 3
Liventia                           0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Newmanistan                        0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 X  5

Brooklyn and Queens                2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Chromatika                         0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3  5

South Covello                      2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0  7
Teyniyji                           3 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 X  8

  Group 7               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Newmanistan            15   11   4    90   60  +30
2 South Covello          15   10   5    71   49  +22
3 Liventia               15    8   7    54   57   −3
4 Chromatika             15    7   8    50   53   −3
5 Brooklyn and Queens    15    6   9    51   68  −17
6 Teyniyji               15    3  12    52   81  −29

Group 8

Game 1
Drawkland                          1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Banija                             0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 X  2

Kita-Hinode                        0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  4
Drunk People at the Local Tavern   1 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 X  5

HUElavia                           3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
Inner AginanaUsordia               0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 3  7

Game 2
Drawkland                          0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0  5
Banija                             0 1 0 0 1 1 2 3 X  8

Kita-Hinode                        0 2 0 1 0 3 2 0 0  8
Drunk People at the Local Tavern   0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0  3

HUElavia                           1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 1  7
Inner AginanaUsordia               2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

Game 3
Drawkland                          0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 1  5
Banija                             0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Kita-Hinode                        0 0 2 0 4 0 0 2 0  8
Drunk People at the Local Tavern   2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

HUElavia                           1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Inner AginanaUsordia               0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 X  5

  Group 8                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Banija                             15   11   4    75   47  +28
2 HUElavia                           15    8   7    63   75  −12
3 Drawkland                          15    8   7    71   75   −4
4 Inner AginanaUsordia               15    7   8    68   68    0
5 Kita-Hinode                        15    6   9    64   64    0
6 Drunk People at the Local Tavern   15    5  10    65   77  −12

[The Sherpa Empire]

Karan Bhansali still had his job, which was a great relief, but he was annoyed to discover that Kami Akunjee's video of his table-flipping vein-popping tirade had been leaked on social media. It quickly drew several thousand views and several comments saying things like, "I guess Hampton Island aren't the only ones with a bear on their team! XD"

"I think Midnight is calmer."

"That's just training. Get a good trainer and I'm sure Bhansali the Bear can be tamed."

"What did that water cooler ever do to YOU?"

Bhansali was embarrassed and he called Akunjee into his office for a very serious talk. "Listen Akunjee, sometimes people need a wake-up call, and I can't have you putting it on the internet every time I give it to them," Bhansali said.

Akunjee didn't look convinced. "If you say so."

Bhansali folded his arms and glowered at Akunjee, trying to gauge whether Akunjee was going to grudgingly obey or if he would continue causing trouble. He remembered that Akunjee had been involved in a feud with the previous director of the Sports Department, and it had ended with the director of the Sports Department losing his job. "I'm not going to be a dumbass like Patel and threaten to get you kicked off the Docs. I don't run that team, but I DO run the national team, and the next time you film anything in the clubhouse without my permission, I absolutely WILL cut you."

Akunjee didn't say anything, but the expression on his face suggested that he hadn't got the message.

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IHS Nanjing was relieved when the Sherpa Empire-Cascom series was over and the WBC moved on to other cities. They were relieved that it had come and gone without being disrupted by SARS 2. And they were relieved that the number of reservations at the city's hotels would drop, giving them room to relocate people if they converted a hotel or two to quarantines. Now they could think about opening the Yangtze River Bridge for Sherpa travelers returning from the North...

[West Phoenicia]

WP||The West Phoenicia Times

Sports || Health || Technology || Gossip || Domestic Politics || International Politics || Entertainment || World || Religion || Weather

Confederates devise new strategy

The West Phoenician Confederates 2 out of three games win against Daskel, has done wonders in boosting the confidence of fans around the nation. However many fans have blasted the team for not doing enough in game 1, which saw Daskel win 7 runs to 4. It was the bottom of the 6th that cost the team dearly. Under the pitching of David Zealish, 6 runs were given away. A move that cost the team dearly. And has called on for David Zealish to be benched until further notice.

The 2-1 loss against their biggest rivals in this pool, Nova Anglicana, had placed a massive dent in the West Phoenician game plan to thrust itself into the top two. Their rivals were now sitting comfortably in the number one spot and West Phoenicia was hovering in third place. With each team now played once, the Confederates will need to pick up their game to make it to the Round of 16.
While it stands, it still is anyone's game to win the covered top two spots. For West Phoenicia to stand a chance they will need to utterly destroy Anthor when they meet up with them again. Last time they won only one of their games, to make any impact they will need to win two of those three games.
West Phoenicia who rarely changes their pitching lineup and rotation, hope that the last minute change before the games against Anthor, will see a better improved pitching rotation to take on their opponents. Newcomer to the team Carmen Nguyen, who has shown she is a natural with the changeup pitching.Has been bumped up the rotation lists as she continues to show she is becoming a great asset for the team.

For the games against Anthor, and until advised the new pItching line up will be.

RRHP Mateo Vergas
* RHP Ashwyn Sid
* RHP Carmen Nguyen
* LHP Mandeep Singh
* LHP Cliff Samuels
* RP Ross Mendez
* RP Barry Parry
* CP Tiger Singh
* CP Pedro Timms
*,RP David Zealish

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West Phoenicia has always been at war with Greater Phoenicia.

On the 26th of January 1586, West Phoenicia finally won its independence from Greater Phoenicia. The road to that freedom started in 1565 with a number of uprisings in Greater Phoenicia, and the eventual civil war of 1570 to 1580 that left thousands dead.

However the end justifies the means, and West Phoenicia was free to run their own nation the way they chose when a peace settlement was sketched out
While they were independently their own nation, that did not ease tensions between the two nations.

A ceasefire was declared in 1580, but for the last 434 years the two nations have been in a state of war with tensions, conflicts, skirmishes and wars breaking out on a very regular basis. Many citizens in both nations have voiced, is now the time for peace? Can the conflict finally end and the two work together on a friendly basis? Many in both governments and the military say no, that neither country can be trusted.
However it appears during these perilous times, many citizens and members in the medical field have called for a permanent peace plan and to join together to fight a common enemy, the Coronavirus.
During the years of 1628 to 1632, West Phoenicia lost a quarter of their population to the Lavender Plague. At its height, Greater Phoenicia failed to even raise a finger to help their neighbours. However now it appears Greater Phoenicia is in need of desperate help.
While West Phoenicia has officially confirmed there are 350 cases of infection with 40 dead. Greater Phoenicia is suffering worse; with reports the infection rate is over 12,000 with over 1000 dead. The infection continues to grow in their nation and they have called on the assistance of the international community.
West Phoenicia has a moral obligation to assist their neighbours, and in doing so, they discover that in helping their enemies, both nations may finally be free of the chains that have bound them in hate for so long.

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A very Merry Beach Volleyball weekend

20 two-man, and 20 two- women teams will be descending upon Aestas Beach this weekend, in the West Phoenician city-state of Deception Bay to take part in the West Phoenician Beach Volleyball Cup.
The West Phoenician Beach Volleyball Cup will be the deciding factor for two male, and two female teams to qualify for the delegation which West Phoenicia will send to the next Summer Olympics.

Hot favourites for one of the men's spots are Darren Eastlow and Tom Eastlow, the popular brother duo who have attended the last two Summer games. While they are extremely talented within their own borders, they fail to deliver at an international level. Both brothers are hoping the next Summer Olympics will be their gold medal winning moment.
On the female side, hot favourites to take one of the two female spots is Kylie Wolfe andCleopatra True-Path. Since dropping her old partner Kylie Wolfe has confirmed the new duo are reaching new heights. They won, easily dominating the competition and look forward to being part of the next Olympic delegation.

Newcomer Paula Stephens who has teamed up with seasoned player AlabasterTrue-Path, says she is looking forward to the competition, and has her fingers crossed that her pair will win a spot to compete at the games. Wolfe and True-Path have tried and failed at an international level. It's time for a newcomer to show West Phoenicia they can pull in a medal win.

Many beach volleyball players are extremely nervous. Beach volleyball is on the list of sports that are on the list to have funding cut due to poor performance. A win by any of the four teams attending, will ensure their funding goes up and now down.


The Beach Volleyball Cup is expected to bring huge crowds to watch the games and cheer on their favourite pairs. Over the coming months, more and more sports will hold their qualifiers as they prepare for the Olympic Games.

[Sarzonia]

The wait for the interview wasn't all that long, but it seemed to take forever.

Geoff Yancey was still in the dugout following Sarzonia's 9-5 victory in the rubber game of the three-game away set against Lisander. The Stars not only took two out of three games against the 15th ranked team in the world, but they suddenly found themselves in second place in Group 5. If the qualifying stage ended today, the Stars would be on their way to Drawkland.

The Stars weathered a tough Game 2 the night before that saw fourth starter Jamie Pearson. He struck out the side in the bottom of the first, but only after allowing five runs including a grand slam to the cleanup hitter and a solo homer to the sixth man in the batting order. The long relievers kept that game from getting out of hand.

Brian Lynch pitched well through seven innings, even though he coughed up a tenuous one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh. The eighth inning proved to be the big story, as the Stars batted around and scored six runs against three Lisander pitchers to blow the game wide open.

Because of the bullpen being taxed in Game 2, Lynch lobbied to pitch the eighth inning. Yancey agreed, but regretted his decision when Kynch gave up back-to-back jacks to lead off the frame.

Pitching coach Nolan Channing jogged out to talk to Lynch and suggested the junkballer reach back for a little extra. Lynch kept lobbing offspeed stuff and sinkers and got two grounders, to shortstop and first, respectively. Then, after a pinch hitter worked the count full with Lynch's pitch count approaching 130, Lynch finally reached back.

"The 3-2. FASTBALL, STRUCK HIM OUT SWINGING! THAT WAS 96 ON THE GUN, FOLKS!" play by play announcer Alden Quirk exclaimed in the Sarzonian radio network booth. The threat over, Yancey turned things over to his lefty specialist Myron Daniels, who retired the side in the ninth.

Yancey was pleased to answer questions from his mentor about his decision making over the course of the tournament thus far. With the return leg away to fellow unranked side Cascom beginning, the Stars were now wary since they lost their first two games of this classic at Fleetwood Park to this same team.

Like his two bosses before him, Yancey knew better than to underestimate his opponent again. Especially if there's going to be something at stake that might actually be more than pride.

[Ko-oren]

Six ballpark tickets. Eighteen train tickets. Fourteen days. Five hotels. This summer, we, Micael and Zaquiel Pineiro, are making our pilgrimage to Yoshima to visit the great ballparks on the other side of the strait. As baseball fans from a young age, our father took us to all kinds of major and minor diamonds in Finisterre. It all started in Paleganes, where were born, where we grew up, where we still spend a lot of our time. It's so close to Santa Teresa that you can use all of big city Teresa's services but also far enough away that you have a lovely spot at land's end all to yourself (after all, that's what Finisterre means). Paleganes does not have a major baseball team. Hell no, it's far too small for that. In fact, us Finisterrans have always thought that there should have been far more top league teams on our side of the strait. Sure, we're a little smaller than Yoshima, the other baseball-crazy province, but honestly is there any reason they deserve to have twice as many teams in the top league compared to us? So, back to visiting ballparks. Local heroes in Paleganes, the Finisterran league, we've seen them time and time again. For our 12th birthday, we went to Santa Teresa to see the Stars in action – the professional team – and promptly saw them lose 7-2 to the Knights. Once we were old enough to travel by ourselves, we made it a mission to go around Finisterre to visit every diamond used in the Finisterran league (a highly ranked minor league) and the Pros. And we did. And we probably should have chosen any other season to do it in. We knew Finisterre was a desert, but you don't always realise that living on the furthest part of the mainland as you can get. Anyway, 30+ degrees for three straight weeks, dust storms, and a cancelled game due to electricity issues later, we thought that we'd have to do this again, but set our sights on ever stranger places. Enter Yoshima. The islands to our east, too far to see them, but close enough to hear them brag. Home to two-thirds of the pro league, and too busy fighting out their own grudge matches to care about Santa Teresa and Ferrovente, even though we've been part of this league for as long as they have!



This World Baseball Classic, we've saved up to visit the six final home games for the group stage. Xanneria thrice, in Teraoka, Echizen, and Teragaseki. Northwest Kalactin thrice, in Arakura, and two different places in Katashi. From the friendly islands we venture right into the heart of those that pretend baseball doesn't exist outside of Yoshima. Meanwhile, the national team, the DRAGONFLIES, and don't let anyone fool you on the nickname, is defending first place in an attempt to stay among the world's best four-to-eight teams. The team, playing in glorious green and blue – not YELLOW and ORANGE – with our heroes since we were little, in one of TWO of baseball's heartlands. For sure we will rock the Finisterran flag in unsuspecting Yoshima, and we will cheer on Lema, Berganza and Agramonte most of all. The other players should get plenty of support in their own homes already. Things start off really well with Figueredo and Vahamonde pitching the first and second game of our slate.



The first part of our trip will be to take a train to Esporro, from which our flight to Alara will leave. After that, we can take any train we want: it's one massive ring, and we have to be on the exact opposite part of the island, from the northwest to the southeast. That's Teraoka, the least likely of host cities – but here we are. Before we can even see Alara and Echizen, we have to go to tiny Teraoka. Sure, Yoshima, conquer us with your small town charm. Do your worst.

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports
South Newlandia puts up great fight, loses 1-2

South Newlandia played a good match against group favorite and world number three Ko-oren, but lost two of the three games anyway, as Ko-oren proved to be a number big for the young South Newlandian team. But the game was still surprisingly close, with South Newlandia proving to be a challenge, even for a WBC favourite.

Game 1

South Newlandia                    0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Ko-oren                            0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2  4

The score was opened in the Top of the 2nd inning, with a run by Gregor Garner to take the lead for South Newlandia. Ko-oren came back in the 7th inning after a home run by Garrett Strzelecki, getting a run for Gustavo Mendoza as well. South Newlandia got the game to extra innings in the 9th after a run for Igor White, after a great play to steal the last base. Ko-oren won this game anyway, after they got two more runs in the 12th inning, scored by Stefan Boissonneault and Szandra Szucsanszki.

Game 2

South Newlandia                    3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  4
Ko-oren                            0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

Game 2 could hardly have started better, after a home run by Jake Davidson got runs for Fabio Ventura and Adam King as well, taking an early 3-point lead. Ko-oren fought hard, scoring a run in both the second and third inning. The young Ryan Hunter played a great gamewith few mistakes, and Ko-oren had a hard time breaking through. In the 7th inning, South Newlandia improved their lead with another run by Jake Davidson, but Ko-oren struck right back, getting a run as well, scored by Keegan McCullough. After this, Ryan Hunter played almost flawlessly, striking out 5 players in two innings, and only allowing a single hit, which was caught by George Webber to secure the 4-3 win.

Game 3

South Newlandia                    1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0  4
Ko-oren                            0 0 1 3 1 0 0 1 X  6

Game 3 started with a run for South Newlandia, after Fabio Ventura hit a home run of the very first pitch. In the 3rd inning, South Newlandia improved their lead to 2-0. The run was scored by Fabio Ventura again, this time after a triple by Adam King. Ko-oren came back instantly, scoring a run in the 3rd inning, and Szandra Szucsanszki hit a home run for Ko-orenin the 4th, getting three runs. In the 5th inning, Ko-oren improved their lead to 5-2, when Stefan Boissonneault got another run. South Newlandia had hope again after Ian Pearce and Steve Ruiz scored two more runs in the 8th, but another run for Ko-oren killed the dreams at last.
With this win, Ko-oren keeps first place in the standings, while South Newlandia remains in second. Both teams still have good chances to make the playoffs, and both coaches will surely be pleased.


All matches:
Ko-oren 2-1 South Newlandia (4-2; 3-4; 6-4)

Equestrian States 0-3 Xanneria (0-5; 0-1; 5-11)
The States got swept for the third time already, which is really disappointing for a second-seed team, and Xanneria is back in contention after the win. The States, now on 3-12, will almost certainly miss the playoffs after this.

The Royal Kingdom of Quebec 2-1 Northwest Kalactin (9-4; 1-4; 5-3)
This game doesn’t really help either team, as both teams remain in the bottom of the group, with Quebec now on 7-8 and Kalactin on 6-9, both teams would have needed a sweep.


Current standings:

Group 3                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ko-oren                       15   11   4    83   58  +25
2 South Newlandia               15   10   5    56   46  +10
3 Xanneria                      15    8   7    64   56   +8
4 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   15    7   8    69   71   −2
5 Northwest Kalactin            15    6   9    62   66   −4
6 Equestrian States             15    3  12    46   83  −37

Schedule:
Xanneria @ South Newlandia
Ko-oren @ The Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Northwest Kalactin @ Equestrian States

The 6th series will be played at home for South Newlandia against Xanneria. This series might be crucial because South Newlandia lost 1-2 in Xanneria, so a win would be great to keep the H2H score at least even. The game will also see the two strongest defences of the group so far matching up.

[Hampton Island]

Setting: The same wooded area as in the last RP, a few days later

Miller: Like I said, if we are going to do this, we are going to do it right. We saw the pack here last time. Is Jack okay from his emotional trauma?

Jack: Yes sir. I watched the games against Abanhfleft and it had me feeling pretty good to do this again.

Partner 1: I have to say, I don’t think Midnight looked sluggish in that series.

Miller: I agree, I think the signs are that Midnight is approaching old age, but has something left in the tank, like a 38-year old human.

Partner 2: I’m getting the bait.

Camera Guy: I’ll start filming.

Jack: The bait are garbage cans?

Miller: Of course, we’re looking for bears, and want to get one to isolate themselves from the pack. As you can smell, there is food in each one.

Jack: What if we get another male?

Miller: Then we try again, after caring for the male, the way we did the last one. He was released back to the wild yesterday.

Partner 1: Hopefully he doesn’t remember you.

Jack: Will he remember me?

Miller: Probably, but you are not going to be a position of danger this time if you listen to us. And please, listen to us.

Partner 2: Cans set up!

Miller: (to Camera Guy): Camera set up?

Camera Guy: Yes!

Miller: Everyone to the black van.

Jack: All of us?

Miller: Yes, and we’re going to pull up the other non-essential vehicles out of the way.

Jack: Then what?

Miller: We wait.

Jack: That sounds boring.

Miller: It wasn’t my idea to turn this into a reality show. This is the right way to do it.

(They wait about 30 minutes).

Partner 1: There it is, it’s coming.

Partner 2: Good, get in position.

Jack: Please be a female, please be a female.

Miller: Has the mannerisms of a female.

Camera Guy: How do you know?

Miller: I’m an expert, remember.

(Partner 1 fires tranquilizer)

Partner 1: Got it!

Jack: Please be a female!

(Crew leaves vehicle)

Miller: Female! Just like I told you all in the van. (Everyone cheers!) Load her up and we’ll move on to the next phase of this plan and introduce her to Midnight.

Jack: Will they like each other?

Partner 2: Let’s hope. Or we’ll have to try again and maybe try your way of throwing a baseball at a back at them again but this time we won’t fire the tranquilizer.

Jack: That’s ok, your way was better.

[Northwest Kalactin]

Meeting In Gold Coast
In a room of about 30 people they all sat down to discuss the SARS 2 pandemic, it was lingering in the Far Wast of northwest Kalactin over in the mount Kyater area.
“So what are we looking at for the death rate of this virus?” Leader Hue Nène III said
“I think at this point so far in Kalactin we have a 5 percent death rate which could very well be more deadly for the elderly, but it spreads very quickly so it could be a horrible virus if we don’t control it in Northwest Kalactin.”
“And who will the Virus target if it gets out?”
“Again, like I said earlier there is a good chance that if it gets out we could be looking at a 15-20 percent death rate for the elderly.”
“So how fast does the virus spread and how does it spread?”
“Well the science of it shows that the virus can be spread through water droplets and some people may not start showing symptoms for a while.”
“So that’s very dangerous because it could possibly happen when someone has not showed symptoms and you could get it very easily.”
“Even worse is that the SARS 2 can live on hard surfaces for 1-3 days and you could possibly get it from someone who touched something 1-3 days before you did.”
“Okay so what is our action plan for dealing with this virus.”
“Well I would think that we should close schools out in the West part of the country and stop public gatherings of more than about 50 people.”
“Alright that sounds pretty good what about sports teams though can we cancel any sporting events to control the virus?”
“Well I think we should tell Kyater to play all of their domestic games behind closed doors and possibly extend that to other parts of the country later. Also I think we should not hold any international events in our country until it finishes with the exception of the KAAF which is the soccer association between us NNSW and PSR.”
“Well PSR also reports some cases in Lutka and they have a team in our league what should we do about that?”
“Okay we will tell them to continue playing but they can only play In Èntland so they can’t have any home games.”
“Okay, I will reach out to their owner and tell them that.”
“Alright that concludes this meeting we will have another one next week, goodbye.”

[TJUN-ia]

Our first home stand looks tricky with both the Free Republics and Swiaji on the horizon. But first we must play the United States of Devonta - ranked 24th, the 3rd seed in this group, but also the bottom team so far. Devonta has not had a good time at all so far in WBC48, only winning 1 game so far. Some of the crowd might think TJUN-ia the favourite here, but we could never be sure. Their ranked 24th for a reason, and we needed to make sure we didn't forget that.

Still, the atmosphere in Portside suggested that many thought that the 2nd home series in TJUN-ian baseball history would be better that the 1st.

GAME 1
Devonta capitulated pretty quickly, to the surprise of many in the crowd. A 2-run homer from Ki in the 1st took a lead we would never look back from. Chris Harris pulled off another shut-out as TJUN-ia recorded it's first ever home win. 6-0 final, 1-0 in the series.

GAME 2
Davis Johnson was starting his first ever game, as Baseball TJUN-ia finally created a multi-pitcher set-up for a series. This game would be tighter that Game 1, absolutely. 3 runs in the 6th, via a triple from Enrique, helped secure a home series victory for the Jaguars. 7-5 final.

GAME 3
Gene Almac was involved in this tight rubber game. We scored first in the 5th, a nice play by Fulmer to run-in Moires. But Devonta hit back with a run of their own in the 7th. 1-1 after 9, so onto extras. The game turned into a endurance game as both Almac and [REDACTED] retires batter after batter. The breaking point was the 12th, when the Devontan pitcher faced the now-batting Almac. His slowball was sent straight out of the ballpark. TJUN-ia walked-off Game 3 2-1 after 12, completing our first ever series sweep. The crowd cheered and celebrated long into the night.

After our first 5 series, we are 5 games back off The Greater Nordics in 2nd. We take on the leading Free Republics
in series 2 of the home-stand, a team that has been given a nickname by the Jaguar faithful: The Sign Stealin' Republicans.

YOU ARE ENTERING THE JUNGLE

FAIR PLAY SHALL BE OBSERVED HERE AT ALL TIMES

IF NOT, THE CROWD SHALL EAT YOU ALIVE

SCHEDULE
S1 (G1/G2/G3): @Free Republics (4) - Nicholls Air Park, Baseton L 0-3 (4th [Run Differential])
S2 (G4/G5/G6): @Swiaji (UR) W 2-1 (4th [Run Differential])
S3 (G7/G8/G9): vs The Greater Nordics (12) - Rounders Field, Portside L 0-3 (5th)
S4 (G10/G11/G12): @Terre Septentrionale (29) - Park Filipowicz, Trzeszczyn L 1-2 (5th)
S5 (G13/G14/G15): vs United States of Devonta (24) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (4th [H2H])
S6 (G16/G17/G18): vs Free Republics (4) - Rounders Field, Portside
S7 (G19/G20/G21): vs Swiaji (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
S8 (G22/G23/G24): @The Greater Nordics (12) - National Baseball Stadium, Copenhagen
S9 (G25/G26/G27): vs Terre Spetentrionale (29) - Rounders Field, Portside
S10 (G28/G29/G30): @United States of Devonta (24)

[Democratic Publicity Stunts]

When the DNC originally proposed that the Democratic presidential candidates should compete in the World Baseball Classic to boost their popularity with sport-loving working class voters, many people were skeptical. Some said the candidates were too old. A few Bernie Sanders supporters questioned the DNC's motives saying they were trying to give poor old Bernie another heart attack.

Sanders himself grumbled about it too, asking, "Why are we playing baseball instead of talking about our broken healthcare system?"

But it had gone surprisingly well.

In fact they had a winning record after Amy Klobuchar pitched a complete game shut out in the most recent game. Pete Buttigieg attributed Klobuchar's success on the pitcher's mound to her years of experience throwing things. "I guess if you throw things around the office enough, you eventually learn how to aim," Buttigieg said sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren was searching for her glasses, which she had dropped while running the bases, and Jay Inslee was praising the decision to hold three-game series instead of having the teams travel to a different city after every game. "Less travel between games means less impact on the environment!" Inslee explained cheerfully.

[Inner AginanaUsordia]

.467
The win percentage of your Inner AginanaUsordia Lions is one game away from .500!
Experience their greatness in beautiful 1080p resolution, only on Channel 7

DON'T FORGET TO TUNE IN TO OUR LIVE BROADCASTS AND ANALYSES,
ON LADISLAVA CITY'S OWN CHANNEL 7 NEWS!
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AU LES NOUVELLES DE LADISLAVA, CHAÎNE 7e!

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions close disappointing first half with momentum, look to ramp up in second half

Samantha Maxwell, Londinium Courier

Nova Anglicana First Half Review

9-6 is a decent record. It is also the worst among group leaders, though not the worst among top-seeded teams. That honor belongs to The Sherpa Empire at 7-8. The sweep against Kriegiersien really hurt. Losing three games to an unranked team is something you never want to do. And it put the Lions behind the 8-ball for the entire first half. They went 9-3 the rest of the way, which is a .750 winning percentage, but had they won the series against Kriegiersien, they would be in the mix for a good playoff seed and be at least three games clear of the group, instead of just a precarious one. Let's look at just one aspect of the Lions squad to get a feel for the first half, the rotation.

#1 Cory Sharpe: 1-1, 20 IP, 4.05 ERA
#2 Wyatt Templeton: 2-1, 17.2 IP, 6.11 ERA
#3 Dan Cunningham: 1-2, 19 IP, 4.26 ERA
#4 Erik Russell: 2-1, 22 IP, 2.05 ERA
#5 Hank Jackson: 3-0, 21.2 IP, 1.66 ERA
Overall: 9-5, 100.1 IP, 3.68 ERA

Sharpe, the staff ace, has been somewhat inconsistent. In innings 1-3 of his three starts, he has an 8.00 ERA. In the other eleven innings he's pitched, he has an ERA of 0.81. Getting settled in has been a problem. Templeton continues to suffer from his first outing, where he gave up six runs in five innings against Kriegiersien. He's probably on the hot seat; if he doesn't improve, then somebody like fireman Rex Boyd or long man Aaron Spencer may get a shot in his place. Dan Cunningham's first two outings were fairly strong; he allowed three runs in seven innings against Kriegiersien, but wasn't backed up by the offense. Then he gave up just one run in seven innings in a win over Daskel. But his final outing, a loss against Anthor, saw him surrender five runs in five innings, to put a crimp in his solid overall numbers. Russell has sandwiched a putrid four innings, five runs outing against Daskel around two complete game shutouts, against Oscioru and Anthor. Jackson's WBC includes a clutch two-run double against Oscioru, and a solo home run against Anthor in a game in which he also pitched a shutout. So overall, it's been the bottom of the rotation really carrying the team. Russell and Jackson have combined for three complete-game shutouts, which have made a big difference.

Second Half Preview

The Lions will look to improve on their first half results, as if the playoffs began now, they'd be sitting at #8, facing 12th-ranked The Greater Nordics in the Round of 16, a tough draw. They open with Kriegiersien, Oscioru, and Daskel, two of those three at home. Winning the vast majority of those games is a must. I said before the Classic began that beating up on the low-ranked teams would be the key, but the Lions managed just a 5-4 record against these three. If they can go 7-2 or better, they should be set up well, even if they struggle against Anthor and West Phoenicia. A strong or weak start out of the second-half gates will likely determine whether or not this team will make the playoffs or not.

Around the Classic

Let's take a look at how the other teams around the Classic are doing, spotlight some leaders and some teams lagging behind, as well as look at the playoff picture.

Leaders

Best Record: Free Republics (12-3), Abanhfleft (12-3)

Two teams have jumped ahead of everyone else, winning a full 80% of their games: Free Republics and Abanhfleft. Abanhfleft is actually the second-seeded team in their group, but they lead top-seeded Hampton Island by two games, despite losing two of three to them in their most recent series. Look for that group-stage ending series to have a decisive effect on who wins the group. As for Free Republics, they lead The Greater Nordics by a single game in their group, and won two of three games against them in close fashion. Other contenders: Ko-oren, Cassadaigua, Newmanistan, Banija, The Greater Nordics (11-4)

Most Runs Scored: Cassadaigua (96 runs, 6.4/game)

Cassadaigua, always a contender, three-time WBC champions, and full of strong and skilled women (which makes this writer's heart sing), are absolutely crushing the ball. At nearly 100 runs and 6.4 runs per game, they have an incredibly potent offense. It's taken them to an 11-4 record and will easily carry them into the playoffs. The question is, will it hold up against consistently good competition? Other contenders: Newmanistan (90 runs) and The Greater Nordics (87 runs) are the only teams within ten runs of the Daiguans.

Fewest Runs Allowed: Free Republics (45 runs, 3.0/game)

Free Republics' pitching and defense has really been on point this Classic, allowing a minuscule three runs per game. The rotation of Fiedler, McIntyre, Russell, Arcuri, and Hsing have dominated the competition. Usually when you look at pro stats for these Classic teams and see absurdly low ERAs or ridiculously high HR totals, you take it with a massive grain of salt, but this is clearly a strong rotation and deserves those low ERAs. Other contenders: South Newlandia (46 runs), Banija (47), South Covello (49)

Laggers

Worst Record: United States of Devonta (1-14)

It's been a Classic to forget for the United States of Devonta. They came into WBC 48 ranked 24th, seeded third in the group, expecting to at least have a chance for contention, but they have managed to lose 14 of 15 games played, an almost impossible stat. They really aren't this bad; look for them to turn it around and at least be respectable in the second half. Other contenders: Equestrian States (3-12), Teyneyji (3-12)

Fewest Runs Scored: United States of Devonta (35, 2.3/game)

It makes sense that a 1-14 team would have trouble scoring runs, but this is awful. 2.3 runs per game is an atrocious number, one that perhaps reflects a true talent level of 1-14. The bats have been tremendously cold, with Devonta scoring one or no runs in nearly half of their games, seven out of fifteen. Other contenders: Pripet Socialist Republic (45 runs) is the only team within ten runs of the Devontans.

Most Runs Allowed: Oscioru (86, 5.7/game)

Oscioru, a team that happens to share a group with the Lions, has had the worst combination of pitching and defense so far, allowing 86 runs in just 15 games. With a -26 run differential, they've been pretty lucky to just be 6-9. Other contenders: Gekkeom 84 runs allowed, Equestrian States 83, United States of Devonta 81, Teyneyji 81

Potential Playoff Matchups

Assuming the eight group winners would be seeded 1-8, regardless of record, let's see what the playoffs might look like.

#1 Free Republics (4) vs. #16 HUELavia (47)
#2 Abanhfleft (11) vs. #15 Sarzonia (UR)
#3 Cassadaigua (2) vs. #14 Anthor (20)
#4 Newmanistan (7) vs. #13 Mushroom Kingdom (22)
#5 Banija (1) vs. #12 Hampton Island (9)
#6 Ko-oren (3) vs. #11 South Newlandia (UR)
#7 St. Saratoga (21) vs. #10 South Covello (25)
#8 Nova Anglicana (8) vs. #9 Greater Nordics (12)

[Cassadaigua]

A Sweep with an unusual accomplishment,
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Finally, the Cassadagan national baseball team was able to complete a three game sweep of an opponent during the 48th World Baseball Classic. In consideration of what the actual standings were in the group going into the series, there was not a better team to sweep. A Mushroom Kingdom, despite not seeming like they would be our chief opposition within Group 6 had become that. They were leading the group with a 9-3 record, and were certainly excited about hosting our 8-4 Fillies. I am sure the players were excited, I mean. Though Cassadaigua won all three games, they were all close with the game tied to seeing Cassadaigua trail heading into the ninth in two of the three games. The other was a one-run victory where the ladies in pink and black had to hang on until the very end before they could take a deep breath.

When I first arrived in A Mushroom Kingdom, myself and my staff walked through the airport looking for any signs of decor or promotional material for the World Baseball Classic, and it was pretty depressing to not see anything. Perhaps there was something tucked away in a corner somewhere, but nothing that I saw. There were some restaurants in the airport, and so we went to one and not surprisingly, mushrooms seemed to be a large part of any of the options on the menu. They were very good, though. We all opted for stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer, and were pleased. You have to feel for the players on this Esportivan nation, though, they are playing real well, but no press attention seems to be coming their way. At least their names were made public. Recent events that are logged on A Mushroom Kingdom’s page say that it isn’t what it used to be. Maybe they are right, hopefully that urge to be successful in this competition can come back to them. We shall see, maybe they are too focused on stock car racing and rooting for Eddie Walters Jr or Jeff Shreeves.

Like I said though, these games were close. The first game was a back and forth affair especially in the early innings. We get two in the first and second; they get two in the first and second. We get one in the fourth, they get one in the fourth. This is exciting baseball, and will have you glued to your seat, it’s just too bad that the stadium was not full to capacity. A lot of Cassadagans made the trip, however, and it was great to see you. I guess because it was being held in a known sporting region, one of which has been quite successful in the World Baseball Classic for a long time now, that it seemed like a good place to go. Plus, there was interest to see what A Mushroom Kingdom really was all about. Sadly, there was not a lot of information about this nation to be seen to get a handle on what the status of mushrooms in the country. Or if they were magical mushrooms. Back to the game, it settled down for a while, but the Fillies were down 6-5 going into the ninth. The closer Zoe Lee was brought into the game, and got the first batter out that she faced, but surrendered consecutive hits to Rachel Kessler, Macy Hamel, and Cassie Daniels that accounted for two runs, and the Fillies were victorious, 7-6.

Unusual history was made in the second game (OOC: I have the puppet master’s blessing to do this), as Kayla Mason tossed one of the most interesting no-hitters in Cassadagan World Baseball Classic history. At no time did Kayla surrender a hit to any of the A Mushroom Kingdom batters, but she did allow a couple runs, ironically enough. With Cassadaigua leading 2-0 in the top of the third, Mason walked Troy Shellowitzski and George Springs-DeShellback to lead off the inning. The next batter, Jorge Del Monte, sacrificed them each over a base. With one out, the Fillies pitched to Rodney Bombastic, who hit a routine grounder to third. Macy Hamel fielded the ball cleanly and stared Shellowitzski to keep him on the base. However, her throw was wild, sailing over the head of Jordyn Prosser, and going into right field. On the error, both runners scored, and the game was all tied up at two. Kayla recovered, and eventually Macy Hamel did as well, as she blasted a two-run homer in the ninth inning to put the Fillies up 4-2. Then, everyone looked at Kayla, and double checked the scoreboard. Indeed, A Mushroom Kingdom still did not have any hits, but Kayla had walked four batters and had a pitch count at 109. Typically, she can get close to 115 or 120 pitches before you start to worry about her. Maddie Polanco had closer Roxanne Gomez warmed up and ready to go, and afterwards told reports that, “I told Kayla that I wanted her to go for the no-hitter, but if she allowed a hit, Roxanne was coming in immediately. She understood.” Mason was composed, and the Mushroom Kingdom batters helped her by swinging at the first pitch twice, leading to two quick outs. After a strike out, the game as then over, with Cassadaigua winning 4-2, and Mason with an unusual no-hitter. “I have never thrown a no-hitter like that. It wasn’t until the sixth inning did I even realize that I had not surrendered a hit yet. They had scored twice, the game was tied, so it just never really entered my mind. I think I will cherish it more years from now. Right it seems weird, to be honest.” The third game saw Cassadaigua win 5-4, and complete their first sweep in the World Baseball Classic.

We are halfway in the tournament now. At 11-4, Cassadaigua is two games ahead of second place Mushroom Kingdom and four over a three way tied for third. That is where you will find Saintland, but for now the focus is on one of those other teams, the debutante Imperial Joseon as they make their first trip to Concord Heights.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

LIVENTIA STILL A NEMESIS

by Brianne Henry,

An old foe came to Keisler Stadium in Southport and once again found success against us. There are not many teams that can say they consistently have success against the Rockets, but when you talk about Liventia, they do. Newmanistan and Liventia go way back in the tournament, and are the two longest tenured active nations participating. Liventia goes further back then we do, but in the early years of the Classic, both were well known names. Each took extended periods of times off from the competition, and recently can’t seem to get away from one another. Usually, I’d say that was bad for the other nation, but in this case, it’s likely the Rockets who would appreciate the time away.

While Newmanistan and Liventia have been long time entrants in the tournament, there was never a rivalry between them. The paths did not cross all that much, and the Liventians were unable to have the kind of extended playoff success that we were able to as the Classic entered double digits and went through its teenage numbered editions. That rivalry began in World Baseball 46, in the first round of the tournament in we hosted where we were the second seed and Liventia the #15-seed. The Rockets had a great group stage and Liventia did enough to make it into the playoffs. It seemed like it would be an easy series for the sky blue, but not only was it not easy, we didn’t even win. The loss was shocking, and immediately put the team on notice that it must never happen again. Ashley Hedstrom, the manager then experienced a level of failure that we were not ready for, but in the long run, fans kind of knew that one of these years were going to be the victim of a shocking upset early in the playoffs. Another reason the fans accepted the result more then expected was because it was Liventia, a nation with a respected baseball program. It’s not the first time we lost early, but not when we were such a big favorite. Newmanistan did not recover in World Baseball Classic 47, a tournament with an unusual and not widely liked format throughout the Empire. That format gave Ashley Hedstrom another “out”, and I alluded to ger being on the kind-of-hot seat for this Classic. Bear in mind that the Rockets have never fired their baseball manager. The two prior coaches remained in their position from when they we were hired until they decided to retire. Hedstrom, if she wants that same luxury, must perform here. That’s going on a tangent, though, and we can talk about that more later in the tournament.

When the group draw was announced, and Liventia seen within it, there were mixed emotions. Right away, we saw that nemesis again, but maybe this time we can get a little revenge on them. It would never be the same, though, as winning a playoff series is a much bigger deal, but a little consolation would be nice. Playing in Southport, arguably the baseball capital of Newmanistan (Loudon will argue, I hear you guys already), fans were ready to see the Rockets blast by the Liventians. At the end of the three games, they were left with a bad taste in their mouth as Liventia would take two out of three. They took the opener 6-5, the second game 6-2, immediately capturing the series and putting the Rockets in sweep prevention mode for the third game. We did win the third game, on another great start by Kelsie Carmichael I must add, by the score of 5-2. The loss in the first game marked the third start out of three that pitcher Madison Sullivan did not have her best stuff, and that led to the South Tier pitcher hearing the boos when she was taken out in the middle of the sixth inning. That said, South Tier is a big rival of Southport in the ENBL, so these fans were always going to have a little less patience with her. But it doesn’t change the script that Sullivan has not pitched well. Of the boos, Sullivan told me, simply, “I would have booed too.” Paige Norwood was not that great in her start either, but for the competition, she has not been poor.

We are halfway in the competition now, and Newmanistan, at 11-4, is in first place, and three games over the cut line to third place. The best records in the tournament right now belong to Abanhfleft and Free Republics at 12-3. Newmanistan is part of a pack at 11-4 along with The Greater Nordics (who are second to the Free Republics in their group), Ko-oren, Cassadaigua, and Banija.

[Banija]

Link to audio RP.

[Drawkland]

DRAWKLAND'S WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 48
GROUP STAGE - SERIES 6
You better hope your team is worth a Deuce if you want to make the playoffs.

---

Group 1

Game 1
Hampton Island                     0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
Democratic Publicity Stunts        0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Pripet Socialist Republic          0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2
Hapilopper                         0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 X  5

Nooooooooooooooo                   0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Abanhfleft                         0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 X  3

Game 2
Hampton Island                     0 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 2  9
Democratic Publicity Stunts        2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  4

Pripet Socialist Republic          0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0  2
Hapilopper                         0 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 X  7

Nooooooooooooooo                   0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 1  6
Abanhfleft                         0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1  7

Game 3
Hampton Island                     1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  7
Democratic Publicity Stunts        0 0 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  8

Pripet Socialist Republic          0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Hapilopper                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3

Nooooooooooooooo                   0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 2  5
Abanhfleft                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 X  6

  Group 1                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Abanhfleft                    18   15   3   100   72  +28
2 Hampton Island                18   11   7    90   67  +23
3 Hapilopper                    18   10   8    79   66  +13
4 Democratic Publicity Stunts   18    9   9    62   71   −9
5 Nooooooooooooooo              18    5  13    70   91  −21
6 Pripet Socialist Republic     18    4  14    50   84  −34

Group 2

Game 1
Free Republics                     0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1  4
TJUN-ia                            3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  5

Devonta                            0 3 0 3 1 0 3 0 0 10
Swiaji                             0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Terre Septentrionale               0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
The Greater Nordics                0 2 1 1 2 1 1 0 X  8

Game 2
Free Republics                     0 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 0  7
TJUN-ia                            0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  3

Devonta                            0 1 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 0 0  7
Swiaji                             0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 1  8

Terre Septentrionale               0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
The Greater Nordics                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Game 3
Free Republics                     2 1 1 6 1 3 0 0 2 16
TJUN-ia                            0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1  4

Devonta                            0 1 2 5 0 2 0 1 0 11
Swiaji                             0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0  4

Terre Septentrionale               2 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0  7
The Greater Nordics                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

  Group 2               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Free Republics         18   14   4   110   57  +53
2 The Greater Nordics    18   12   6    96   65  +31
3 Terre Septentrionale   18   11   7    70   65   +5
4 TJUN-ia                18    7  11    61   92  −31
5 Swiaji                 18    7  11    65   92  −27
6 Devonta                18    3  15    63   94  −31

Group 3

Game 1
Ko-oren                            0 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 1  7
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec        2 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 X  9

Northwest Kalactin                 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
Equestrian States                  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1  4

Xanneria                           0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
South Newlandia                    2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 X  5

Game 2
Ko-oren                            0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2  4
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Northwest Kalactin                 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0  4
Equestrian States                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Xanneria                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
South Newlandia                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 X  2

Game 3
Ko-oren                            0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3  8
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec        0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0  5

Northwest Kalactin                 0 1 0 2 0 7 2 1 0 13
Equestrian States                  3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1  7

Xanneria                           0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
South Newlandia                    2 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 X  7

  Group 3                      Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ko-oren                       18   13   5   102   73  +29
2 South Newlandia               18   13   5    70   48  +22
3 Northwest Kalactin            18    8  10    82   77   +5
4 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec   18    8  10    84   90   −6
5 Xanneria                      18    8  10    66   70   −4
6 Equestrian States             18    4  14    57  103  −46

Group 4

Game 1
Daskel                             0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 8 13
Oscioru                            2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0  5

Kriegiersien                       0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 X  3

Anthor                             2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1  5
West Phoenicia                     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Game 2
Daskel                             0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3
Oscioru                            1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  7

Kriegiersien                       0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1  5
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

Anthor                             0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
West Phoenicia                     0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 X  5

Game 3
Daskel                             1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
Oscioru                            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4  5

Kriegiersien                       0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 X  5

Anthor                             1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
West Phoenicia                     2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 X  5

  Group 4               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Nova Anglicana         18   11   7    86   59  +27
2 West Phoenicia         18   10   8    83   75   +8
3 Anthor                 18    9   9    68   65   +3
4 Oscioru                18    8  10    77  105  −28
5 Daskel                 18    8  10    91   90   +1
6 Kriegiersien           18    8  10    66   77  −11

Group 5

Game 1
The Sherpa Empire                  3 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0  7
St. Saratoga                       1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Bolgano                            1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  3
Lisander                           0 1 0 3 1 1 0 0 X  6

Sarzonia                           3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1  7
Cascom                             0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Game 2
The Sherpa Empire                  0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0  3
St. Saratoga                       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Bolgano                            1 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0  5
Lisander                           0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 X  6

Sarzonia                           0 1 0 0 4 3 0 1 1 10
Cascom                             0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1  5

Game 3
The Sherpa Empire                  1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
St. Saratoga                       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Bolgano                            0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4  6
Lisander                           1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3

Sarzonia                           0 0 0 2 1 3 0 0 0  6
Cascom                             0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 3  7

  Group 5               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 The Sherpa Empire      18   10   8    74   61  +13
2 Sarzonia               18   10   8    83   68  +15
3 Lisander               18   10   8   100   85  +15
4 St. Saratoga           18   10   8    70   71   −1
5 Cascom                 18    7  11    73   94  −21
6 Bolgano                18    7  11    70   91  −21

Group 6

Game 1
Mushroom Kingdom                   1 0 3 2 0 0 4 0 0 10
Gekkeom                            0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  3

The Sarian                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Saintland                          2 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 X  7

Imperial Joseon                    0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  3
Cassadaigua                        1 1 0 1 0 0 4 2 X  9

Game 2
Mushroom Kingdom                   0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Gekkeom                            0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2  4

The Sarian                         0 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 0  5
Saintland                          0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2

Imperial Joseon                    2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Cassadaigua                        0 2 0 0 1 7 0 0 X 10

Game 3
Mushroom Kingdom                   0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  4
Gekkeom                            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0  3

The Sarian                         0 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 2  8
Saintland                          0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0  3

Imperial Joseon                    0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4  5
Cassadaigua                        2 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 X  7

  Group 6               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Cassadaigua            18   14   4   122   64  +58
2 Mushroom Kingdom       18   11   7    90   71  +19
3 The Sarian             18    9   9    84   90   −6
4 Saintland              18    8  10    65   88  −23
5 Imperial Joseon        18    7  11    81   92  −11
6 Gekkeom                18    5  13    63  100  −37

Group 7

Game 1
Newmanistan                        0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 1  5
Teyniyji                           0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  2

South Covello                      0 0 4 0 1 1 0 0 0  6
Chromatika                         0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1  4

Brooklyn and Queens                0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Liventia                           0 0 3 0 4 0 0 0 X  7

Game 2
Newmanistan                        2 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0  7
Teyniyji                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

South Covello                      0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  4
Chromatika                         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  3

Brooklyn and Queens                0 0 1 0 4 1 0 0 0  6
Liventia                           0 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 X  7

Game 3
Newmanistan                        2 1 0 2 2 4 0 0 2 13
Teyniyji                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2

South Covello                      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Chromatika                         0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 X  2

Brooklyn and Queens                0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  3
Liventia                           0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3  6

  Group 7               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Newmanistan            18   14   4   115   64  +51
2 South Covello          18   12   6    82   58  +24
3 Liventia               18   11   7    74   67   +7
4 Chromatika             18    8  10    59   64   −5
5 Brooklyn and Queens    18    6  12    61   88  −27
6 Teyniyji               18    3  15    56  106  −50

Group 8

Game 1
Banija                             0 1 0 0 1 0 1 7 0 10
Inner AginanaUsordia               0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1  4

HUElavia                           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2
Drunk People at the Local Tavern   0 0 0 0 1 1 3 2 X  7

Kita-Hinode                        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Drawkland                          1 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 X  5

Game 2
Banija                             0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  5
Inner AginanaUsordia               1 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 X  6

HUElavia                           0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3  8
Drunk People at the Local Tavern   0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0  5

Kita-Hinode                        0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0  3
Drawkland                          0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 X  4

Game 3
Banija                             0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  3
Inner AginanaUsordia               0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

HUElavia                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Drunk People at the Local Tavern   3 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 X  6

Kita-Hinode                        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Drawkland                          2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  2

  Group 8                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Banija                             18   13   5    93   58  +35
2 Drawkland                          18   11   7    82   78   +4
3 HUElavia                           18    9   9    73   93  −20
4 Inner AginanaUsordia               18    8  10    79   86   −7
5 Drunk People at the Local Tavern   18    7  11    83   87   −4
6 Kita-Hinode                        18    6  12    67   75   −8

[The Sherpa Empire]

The Sherpas arrived in St. Saratoga hungry for revenge after getting swept in the first series of the WBC, and they got their revenge.

Several men in the clubhouse were intent on repairing their reputations. Bhansali felt he had something to prove after getting taken to task by Zora Shafi and humiliated on social media by Kami Akunjee. He needed to show everyone he could do more than just flipping tables and raging at the players.

For his part, Akunjee realize he had crossed a line by leaking the video of Bhansali's tirade, and he needed a solid no-nonsense game so things could settle down. Akunjee's pitching so far had been okay, but okay was not enough when you were top of the order on the national team and you were giving other people flack. He'd been in a couple of close games where things broke the wrong way, and a game in Sarzonia where he wasn't at his best. It was time to stop rocking the boat.

Several of the position players were eager to score some runs so they wouldn't be on the receiving end of another Bhansali temper tantrum. One table-flipping tirade was enough. Tukti Sahu in particular had been more aggressive at the plate the last few games, and it seemed to working for him. He'd reached base at least once in every game of the Cascom series. He'd also had a couple of at bats when he swung at crap and struck out swinging or flew out on a short pop fly, but on balance the more aggressive approach seemed to be an improvement.

And then there was Luochong Zhuang. He was still convinced that SARS 2 was produced by demonic powers spilling out of someone's TV. The epidemiologists said it was probably an animal virus that had jumped species to humans, but Zhuang was not convinced. Scientists had a bad habit of trying to prove their "rationality" by thinking of non-magical explanations for everything -- even when a magical explanation made much more sense.

Zhuang had not let go of his pet theories or his fascination with biology, ecology, and magic -- but after years of being asked not to bring that stuff to the ballpark, the message was FINALLY starting to sink in.

Zhuang did not play in Game 1 because that was Akunjee's game. Akunjee took a couple innings to find his groove, but he was finally getting some run support and the Sherpas won 7-2. Zhuang spent most of that game on the phone to the People's Temple of Jiangxi trying to persuade them to send priests across the river to Hankou to look for demonic magic. But the next day when it was his turn to pitch, he came to the ballpark totally focused on the game at hand. There was not a word about the biology of cuttlefish or the ecological importance of plankton. Zhuang's teammates had never seen him so focused and they did not know what to make of it.

Apparently, the Saratogan batters didn't know what to make of it either, and Zhuang shut them out.

The next morning, he called the People's Temple again and returned to his theory about demonically possessed TVs.

Game 3 was another shut-out to complete the sweep: 7 scoreless innings by Gan and 1 inning each from Murthy and Bharadhwaj.

[West Phoenicia]

The crude hopscotch was outlined in heavy yellow chalk outside the address of number 14 Gumdrop Avenue, in the province of Mary Gardens, in the city-state of Gospela; West Phoenicia.
A little girl in a turquoise short dress, her shiny brown hair in two parts danced around the chalk outline.

It was an average middle class street, in an average suburb in the province of Mary Gardens. Not as wealthy as Upper Gospela and Holy Landings.
But a much better address than Cruifiy Gully, what was considered low class In the city-state of Gospela.
It was a modest city-state of 1.9 million people with Blessed Lamb as its capital city. It wasn't an important capital like Melbourne-Haven, but the citizens of Gospela enjoyed it.

The house with the charcoal coloured door, and porch that could use a brand new paint job, belonged to Damien Bradshaw, a middle management employee of Pearce Exports.
Gospela had a number of city-state industries, primarily consisting of Herbs, Copper Mines, Lemons and Limes and Face cream and cosmetics. Pearce Exports dealt with the Copper mines.
When he wasn't at work Damien loved spending time playing golf, watching baseball and being with his wife and three kids.
His wife Rosemary was a kindergarten teacher, his eldest son Tristan was 14 and in high school. His next oldest daughter was Maggie who was 10 and had dreams of being a famous movie star in Olympia Hills. His youngest child was Trixie, 5 years old and loved playing hopscotch and dressing up her Barbie dolls in Steampunk attire.
Just an average family, in an average suburb in an average city-state. Nothing ever exciting seemed to happen to this family. Well there was this one time when Rosemary won a frozen chicken during a raffle.

Damien was enjoying his weekend off, he had a can of beer sitting on the coffee table, beside his chair. On top of a coaster, as his wife always bugged him about.
He was engrossed in the third game of West Phoenicia vs Anthor. It was a great game, it was top of the 6th, and the Confederates were ahead 5-1.
Anthor had taken out the first game 5-1. It was a nail hitting defeat, that had many Confederate fans worried if there was any chance of coming back, or if they were going to end the series in third place.
The Confederates had bounced back in game two, with a stunning 5-2 win , a sign Jacob Propser said was the result of a change in the pitching rotation. Mateo Vergas, Carmen Nguyen and Mandeep Singh were outstanding in games 1 and 2 in keeping the run rate low. It looked as if Carmen Nguyen and Mandeep Singh were doing a repeated performance during game three.

As long as the pitchers didn't get sloppy, there was a high chance that the Confederates would take out the third game. Fans in the stands waited with baited breath. Damien Bradshaw held his breath too, he had bet $100 for a West Phoenician win this game. He was getting ready for the top of the 6th, his hand reaching out for beer when West Phoenicia News 2, broke regular programming for an important update on the ongoing coronavirus.

"Rosemary, an important news update," Damien called out, his head lopping to one side.
She smiled as she was chopping carrots, preparing a beef stew and dumplings for dinner.
She waved her hands under the tap, and wiped her hands on her pink apron that had little bunnies hopping on the front. It had been a Mother's Day gift last year from her daughter's.

She gave a little sneeze, her left hand thrust into her pocket for her tissue. She felt she was coming down with a cold, already her daughter Maggie was in bed with the flu and her son complained of a runny nose this morning. That's all she needed now was to come down with the flu, while 2 of her three children were also unwell.

[TJUN-ia]

The 4th ranked team in Baseball was in TJUN-ia, a team known for sign-stealing their way to leading this group. The Sign Stealin' Republics had to face to full force of the Portside crowd. The mural we created was specifically made to send a message to this team: we knew what they were doing, and we weren't happy about it. We didn't think we could win this series, but anything better than before will be improvement for this young Jaguar team.

GAME 1
We attacked from the start. 3-run homer from Calhoun in the first, 2-run homer from Kagawa in the 2nd. After 2 innings we were 5-0 up. The Republicans tried to comeback but to no avail. 5-4 over the 4th best team in the multiverse. TJUN-ia's best win by far.

GAME 2
Kyle McNash had a mare of the mid-game. Leading 1-0 he allowed 7 to score over the 4th and 5th before he pulled for 19-yer-old Kim Tsu-Ka's baptism of fire. He managed to keep their bats quiet for the rest of the game, but we could never comeback. 7-3 final, 1-1 in the series.

GAME 3
The Free Republics are ranked 4th for a reason. They trounced us 16-4 to take the series 2-1.

We may have lost heavily in the last 2 game, but we took a game away from the Sign Stealin' Republicans. That is improvement. Our final game of this homestand is against Swiaji.

YOU ARE ENTERING THE JUNGLE

FAIR PLAY SHALL BE OBSERVED HERE AT ALL TIMES

IF NOT, THE CROWD SHALL EAT YOU ALIVE

SCHEDULE
S1 (G1/G2/G3): @Free Republics (4) - Nicholls Air Park, Baseton L 0-3 (4th [Run Differential])
S2 (G4/G5/G6): @Swiaji (UR) W 2-1 (4th [Run Differential])
S3 (G7/G8/G9): vs The Greater Nordics (12) - Rounders Field, Portside L 0-3 (5th)
S4 (G10/G11/G12): @Terre Septentrionale (29) - Park Filipowicz, Trzeszczyn L 1-2 (5th)
S5 (G13/G14/G15): vs United States of Devonta (24) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (4th [H2H])
S6 (G16/G17/G18): vs Free Republics (4) - Rounders Field, Portside L 1-2 (4th [H2H])
S7 (G19/G20/G21): vs Swiaji (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
S8 (G22/G23/G24): @The Greater Nordics (12) - National Baseball Stadium, Copenhagen
S9 (G25/G26/G27): vs Terre Spetentrionale (29) - Rounders Field, Portside
S10 (G28/G29/G30): @United States of Devonta (24)

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

BACK ON TRACK

by Brianne Henry,

After struggling against Liventia, the next opponent was certainly a welcoming sight on the schedule. They would play the unranked Teyniyji squad, who has remained a nation that has not revealed the identities of the players to the general public. This does not usually end well for a team in the World Baseball Classic, and Teyniyji entered the series with a 3-12 record. Any hopes they had at being the next first time nation to experience a high level of success had become evaporated. There’s always one, at least, every Classic, that does flourish, and congratulations to South Newlandia on being that nation. South Newlandia has done it the way it needs to be done, though, by revealing the names of their players and providing steady and consistent press releases along the way. As I look at that Group 3 I cannot help but notice how poorly Equestrian States has been playing. Such a great nation that seems like they should be doing so much more. We won our World Baseball Classic 41 title there. What has happened? I hope that whatever it may be, they get it figured out.

Teyniyji had a fair amount of fans at their home stadium for the games, and interestingly enough it seemed like they were more interested in taking pictures of the Rockets players then they were there own. That can come with the territory when you have the reputation that we do in the competition, and your own national team seems as though it has become abandoned of any kind of support. Here, it seemed like it happened a little more then usual, but the Rockets really took it in stride and enjoyed it. During batting practice, it was very clear that manager Ashley Hedstrom was having a more hands on approach in watching the session, making sure that no one was going into this series thinking they could win just by showing up. That would not be the case.

With fifteen games in the first half and fifteen in the second, and the opponents in the same order for the second leg, this means that all of the pitching matchups for the Rockets will be exactly the same as they were in the first leg unless Hedstrom does something specific to alter that. Therefore, Hannah Lee took to the mound in the opening game with the knowledge of what went and what went wrong before, which is especially useful when you don’t know a thing about the opponent, otherwise. The 35-year old did not have a great start against South Covello in her last outing, but was in control from the get go here, shutting down the batters of Teyniyji, surrendering just one hit in the first five innings of the work. She got some run support in the third inning on a two-run single by Mikayla Larson, but that was all that Lee had to work with early. Lee ended up pitching eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits over that period of time and was happy with the effort overall. “The situation they were in was a lot different then when I pitched against them on opening day. At that time, you are full of enthusiasm, and now you are 3-12. Much more deflated, and I could see it in their mannerisms. Therefore, I went after them with my fastball a lot more then I did in the first game, and they were not able to adjust to it.”

Teyniyji was not able to adjust to anything in the second game of the series when Cassie Burke took to the mound. Our beloved Cassie Burke, known for her inconsistency in the World Baseball Classic, and you just keep waiting for her to have a bad start. That might have been against South Covello, but it was a no-decision, and the type of outing that some nations without such high standards for starting pitchers would consider acceptable. Her first two starts, including the one against Teyniyji in Tundra Falls were excellent, so there was hope that the Cassie Burke that ENBL fans know would be the one who showed up here, and that was definitely the case. She would have one of her best outings of her international career, shutting down the Teyniyji batters entirely with a complete game shutout, scattering four hits, and fanning 15. She had ample run support, with Newmanistan getting two in the first and the second and cruising with the bats to a 7-0 win. It was another good game for Mikayla Larson, who had four RBI’s, two in the first and two in the fifth, each coming when the two speedsters in front of her in the batting lineup, Brooke Sauter and Jenna Schuster were able to get on base. As long as that keeps happening, expect Larson to get a good amount of RBI’s.

Finally, the third game saw Madison Sullivan take the mound, and she has struggled this tournament, and that included against Teyniyji. We can all remember when the Rockets scored nine runs in the bottom of the third, to go up 10-0 at the time, only to see Madison surrender seven runs in the top of the fourth. Newmanistan won the game, but Sullivan could only get a no decision due to not lasting five innings. She was not any better in her next two games, and was booed in Southport after being knocked around by Liventia in her last outing. Something needed to give, and at last, she had a good start. She would have plenty of run support in the game as well, but it was all spread out this time. Through seven, Sullivan pitched shutout ball, allowing just three hits and starting to get some of her international swagger back. Teyniyji scored one in the 8th, which actually put to an end a 17-inning shutout streak that Rockets pitchers had going, but Newmanistan was comfortably up 11-1 at the time, so no worries. Sullivan remained in for the ninth, tossing the complete game, and Newmanistan picked up the win 13-2. Afterwards, Sullivan admitted that the game was important, “What happened in Southport was embarrassing. I deserved the boos, but to walk off the field like that in front of the world, was not something that I enjoyed, and not something that I want to experience again. I was confident that this game could be better, even though I gave up runs to them last time. The situation was a little different. This game will not change how things went in my first three starts, but I hope that it can be a step in the right direction.”

After 18 games, Newmanistan has a 14-4 record and leads South Covello by two games, and three over Liventia, who is actually 10-2 in their last twelve games. It’s nice to be in the lead, but there is no room for error here. Next up, they will take on both Brooklyn and Queens once again, and The Jungle in Loudon will get their opportunity to host a series.

[Sarzonia]

All of a sudden, that three-game series against The Sherpa Empire in Islamabad is going to be crucial for the Sarzonian national baseball team.

When the draw showing the Stars facing the top seed in Group 5 in an away series, as the final leg of a nine-game roadtrip came out, most pundits had low expectations for the Stars. They figured the series might be important for the Sherpas, but fully expected Sarzonia to be playing out the string.

Instead, the Stars (10-8) are level with the world's sixth ranked team in the Group 5 table despite being unranked. They are also carrying a 6-3 away record in spite of closer Tyrell Douglass blowing a save for the first time in the World Baseball Classic as fellow unranked side Cascom walked off with a dramatic 7-6 victory.

Stars manager Geoff Yancey faced questions after the Cascom series why he didn't save his best three starters for the Sherpas.

"I don't want to throw the rotation out of whack for one series during the group stage," Yancey said. "We feel confident in all five of our starters."

For the most part, that confidence has been well placed. Until Cascom scored seven runs against the Stars in Game 3 after Sarzonia won Game 2 10-5, the Stars had conceded the fewest runs of any Group 5 side. Their offence was also coming around after scoring 23 runs against Cascom.

However in the series against The Sherpa Empire, the Stars will be forced to take designated hitter Luke Brinkley out of the lineup for the first time. Yancey will use right fielder Kenny Evans in the cleanup spot.

"That's part of the game," Yancey said. "Sure, we're going to lose some pop in the lineup, but we might get more aggressive in the base paths. I know one thing: I'm going to have to brush up on the double switch."

Having a critical series against The Sherpas play out at Jinnah Stadium may be a dream come true for the players who weren't expecting it, but it will be a nightmare for the fans, as the External Affairs Department [OOC: Sarzonia's equivalent of the State Department] issued a travel ban for all but team personnel and close family members of the team in light of the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus in the Empire.

"We wanted to take preventative measures to ensure the safety of Sarzonians who might otherwise be at risk," a spokeswoman for Senior Vice President and External Affairs Officer Bryan Conway said. "We are directing team personnel to wash their hands, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and limit exposure to the general public in Islamabad and outside Jinnah Stadium.

The Sarzonian baseball federation also sent a letter requesting the series be moved to a neutral site "in an effort to mitigate the risk of infection by the team's assistant traveling secretary Todd Meyers, who suffers from asthma.

[Northwest Kalactin]

Kalactanians win series 2-1

Northwest Kalactin                 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
Equestrian States                  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1  4

After the first inning of this game where both teams did not have a hit the Kalactanians scored 3 runs in 3 innings off of a Home Run by Adam Felix, and RBI double by Jake Brown and a single to right field by Mike Harbano. The starting pitcher of the Kalactanian team who was Bobby King played well despite being the last pitcher in the order. The team from Equestrian States struggled hitting at first although in the eighth inning they started hitting well again. In the eighth inning the Equestrian States got a guy on first and then hit a ball over the head of Nate Johnson just as he thought that he could have gotten it took a weird bounce over the head of Johnson and it was a ground rule double. In the next inning when it was tied 3-3 the Kalactanians left a guy on second and the Equestrian States capitalized on that. They came out and put guys on first and second with one out and and a walk by Christian brooks loaded the bases and then the equestrian states player hit a easy ball for Jake Brown straight to him in left field. He dropped it. The equestrian states guy sprinted home easily and they won the game 4-3.
“It’s okay Jake.” Said Christian Brooks
“No, it was my fault we lost that game we could have won it if I didn’t drop the ball.”
“Don’t worry Jake we could have won it earlier if our offense could actually play.”
“Yeah I guess sorry I dropped it though.”
“It’s fine Jake.”

Northwest Kalactin                 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0  4
Equestrian States                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

This game was a bit different for the Kalactanian team they didn’t start out as well but they did end up winning. In the first 2 innings of the game no one had a hit, in the third inning the Kalactanians had a guy on first and then Charles Hernandez hit it it was looking like it would go over the wall although he got robbed by an Equestrian States player. It was still tied 0-0 and it looked liked this game would definitely become a pitchers duel. No one had scored until the fifth inning when David Carter hit a solo home run into Right field to break the tie. Next inning it stayed a pitchers duel with both teams going 123 and getting out. The Kalactanian team had a great inning in the seventh inning when they scored 3 runs to make the game 4-0. The first one came on a RBI single by Jake Bannon another one came on a 2 run homer by Nate Johnson. With them winning the game 4-0 the Kalactanian team just needed to play good defense and they would easily win. And that’s just what they did they only gave up 1 hit the rest of the game and it was a easy win 4-0.

Northwest Kalactin                 0 1 0 2 0 7 2 1 0 13
Equestrian States                  3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1  7

This game has what the other games lacked, a lot of scoring. In the start the game did not start well for the Kalactanian team as they went out there and gave up a 3 run home run against the Equestrian States. But they also struck back with a RBI double by Adam Felix to put them behind by only 2 runs. In the next inning it was really the only quiet part of the game no one scored any runs and there were no hits either. In the next inning the Kalactanian team tied it up 3-3 on a 2 run homer by second baseman Jake Bannon. In the next inning both teams had a hit that they were unable to capitalize on during their times batting. The next inning was a huge inning for the Kalactanians. They got right to work with zero outs when they loaded the bases with Bannon, Hernandez and Brown they drove all three of them in on 2 hits by Harbano and Felix. Both of them were driven in on a three run homer by Chris Howard who had not seen very much action the entire tournament. For the last run of the inning Bannon got his second run on a tape measure blast to center field. The Equestrian States struck back with 3 runs although the game was already 10-6 at this point and it was getting out of reach for them. In the Next 2 innings the Kalactanian team scored 3 times and the equestrian states only scored once on a solo home run. Final Score 13-7.

[Free Republics]

OOC: The Free Republics have not yet been caught stealing signs ICly though, of course, they have been doing so since Fuerst joined the team during their WBC 46 title run.

Sporting World

Setting the Record Straight: TJUN-ia's "Sign Stealing" Claims are Lies
by: Sarah Fuerst

By now, you've undoubtedly heard the conspiracy theories coming from TJUN-ia where their press are desperately trying to explain to their people why their all-male teams are losing while our diverse team led by a number of world-class women ballplayers are winning. The theory they've settled upon is that we're somehow "stealing signs" and using these stolen signs to beat them. Of course, this is nothing more than sour grapes coming from a nation that has lost to us in sport after sport and is understandably frustrated that Republican athletes are simply better than their athletes. However, to be sore losers and spread vicious lies about us is inexcusable.

Recently, we had the misfortune of having to go to TJUN-ia and put up with abuse from their misinformed fans who call us the "Sign Stealing Republicans" and other names that are not fit to print in the pages of this publication. While I had fun hitting for the cycle in the 3rd and final game of the series after hitting a grand slam the day before, I felt that wasn't enough of a response to this classless nation. Fortunately, Sporting World's Editor in Chief Gloria Trentini reached out to me.

Right now, we are staying in a military barracks at East Point as we prepare to play Terre Septentrionale. I'm amazed by the contrast between the abuse we faced everywhere in TJUN-ia and the warm reception we've seen from the fine young men here at Army Academy who will be our next generation of officers. These cadets represent the best of the Free Republics, heroes who will literally put their lives on the line so that we may be free. However, I spoke with a number of them who have asked that we expand our Stand Up to Sexism campaign to allow their sisters to join the military and serve our nation. I promised that we would use our platform to fight for them just as we've used it to fought for gender equality in other areas of Republican life. In fact, my good friend Dania Sandberg, the incomparable starting quarterback of our reigning World Bowl champion National Football Team credits our team's efforts with paving the way for her to become the face of our national sport around the multiverse.

Back to the point, though. Over the past few days, I've gone back and forth over whether or not I should say this in public but here we go: The secret to our success is indeed a highly sophisticated computer program that I wrote which studies film. For the sake of this program, which is an academic research project that I am working on for my masters thesis, we have begun a program of recording baseball games in order to identify the strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of baseball players around the multiverse. This tool has allowed us to identify and correct weaknesses in our own game and has helped us exploit weaknesses in the game of our opposition. This program is NOT a sign-stealing program and I will not apologize for using my intelligence and my education to make us better at baseball and advance the science of artificial intelligence. If you are interested in how the program works, you may attend my thesis defense whenever I finish my research or you may read the academic paper that I will be publishing, hopefully in a prestigious research journal. You will also be able to purchase a license to my software from the University of Republica. (OOC: Her research project is genuine and the sign-stealing software is an offshoot of it.)

With that out of the way, I just want to say that I look forward to playing baseball and that any further claims that we are "stealing signs" or otherwise cheating may face legal action. I know the rest of my teammates are every bit as furious about these vicious falsehoods as I am and we are simply not going to tolerate it any longer. So, I'll finish with this message to our opponents: I wish you the best of luck against us because you're going to need it!

Sarah Fuerst is the starting second baseman for the Free Republics National Baseball Team and the University of Republica Vipers. When not playing baseball, Sarah studies computer science with a specialization in visual artificial intelligence. While she has thus far declined offers to leave school early to play professional baseball, Sarah is widely considered one of the best baseball players in the multiverse and the second best player in the Free Republics, second only to her best friend Honomi Kamei.

[Nova Anglicana]

Lion's Roar

A SportsWorld Weblog

Lions defeat Kriegiersien, but sweep continues to haunt us
by Omega Lion



It's just never enough.

Right now, I'm spending my days asking, "When is the breakout coming?" All the other cool kids in Pot 1 (except Sherpa Empire and Hampton Island) have at least 13 wins and multiple sweeps under their belt. They're lapping the field (unless they have a particularly tenacious second place team) and we're barely ahead. I mean, my goodness, Abanhfleft is leading the entire Classic at 15-3 and we don't even know who's on their team! Yes, I know it's more doom and gloom from me, but the Lions are playing better than their record indicates, I think. There are some really tough teams seeded 1-6 right now, and if our boys don't shape up, they will be facing an early exit.

So enough of the doom and gloom for the moment. The good news is, the Lions have won five consecutive series and are sporting an 11-4 record over their past fifteen games, which, if replicated over thirty games, is a 22-8 record. That's a very solid record; a first-place in the group record. And in fact, the Lions are in first place in their group. But there is one thing that is dragging them backwards: the opening sweep against Kriegiersien.

Yes, losing those three games at the beginning put the Lions in a hole that they are just now beginning to dig out of. Even if they won all the rest of their series 2-1, compiling a winning percentage of .667 (an 85-win pace in a 128-game NABL season, better than any recent champion), they would finish with a pedestrian record of 18-12, which is more like a second-place record. So the Lions have to be far better than any NABL champion ever has been just to finish in second place. If they had won their first series, say 2-1, they would only have to go 16-11 (a .593 winning percentage and 76 win-pace, about the level of an NABL division champion) to finish at that same 18-12 record.

But if the Lions wanted to finish in first place after having lost their first three games, which generally take 20 wins or better, they would have to win 20 of their remaining 27 games (a .741 winning percentage and an astounding 95-win pace). So you can see what kind of a hole the Lions are in with that opening sweep.

As for the second time around against Kriegiersien, Cory Sharpe was on it, even if the bats initially weren't. He allowed just five hits, one run, and one walk against nine strikeouts in seven innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. The bats did score three runs and get the boys a 3-1 win in game one. In game two, Wyatt Templeton, who has really struggled in the Classic so far, gutted it out, giving up three runs in six innings to at least stay competitive, but the bats just weren't there. The Kriegiersien team tacked on two against Charlie Bowers and Clay Wilkerson to make the final run scored in the 9th meaningless. 5-2 loss for the Lions.

After the game, Orlando was cagey about Templeton's next start. "We're going to see how he feels and look at all our options; obviously Wyatt would rather have pitched better today, but I don't think the big issue was his pitching. We've got to get the bats going for our next game." I wouldn't mind seeing Rex Boyd get the start next time around, but Templeton really got well against Daskel the first time he saw them, so it might be better for him to keep going.

In game three, the bats did wake up. Not as much as some of the other teams in this series, but five runs is nothing to sneeze at. After falling behind 2-0 early, Dan Cunningham knocked in a run with a single in the third, but the top of the lineup couldn't capitalize and they couldn't push across any more runs that inning. Cunningham pitched a strong seven innings of two-run ball, and Cliff Garner knocked a big three-run homer in the seventh to put the Lions ahead. Final score, 5-2 to the Lions.

So a 2-1 series win and sweet vengeance against Kriegiersien, but we're going to need more if we expect to go deep into the Classic. Oscioru and Daskel are up next, and we really need to sweep one or both of those low-ranked opponents.

Some tidbits from around the Classic:
-Boy did United States of Devonta's bats wake up. After scoring just 35 runs in the first half, by far the worst in the Classic, they put up 28 runs in three games against Swiaji.
-Cassadaigua continues to score runs unabated; after averaging more than six runs a game in the first half, they put up 26 more against Imperial Joseon.
-The Sherpa Empire remembered they were a number one seed. They struggle-bused their way to a 7-8 record in the first half, then swept St. Saratoga, allowing only two runs in the entire series. Group 5 now has a four-way tie between the Sherpa Empire, Sarzonia, Lisander, and St. Saratoga.
-Abanhfleft looked like they might lose a couple against Nooooooooooooooo, but they rallied from 5-0 and 3-0 deficits to get the sweep.
-Daskel scored 8 runs in the top of the 10th to defeat Oscioru 13-5. That's a big hurt on Oscioru's bullpen; maybe the Lions can jump on them too. We could really use a sweep in our next series.

More from Lion's Roar
Food appreciation thread
Who are the next NABL players in line for the national team?
Is it time for Nova Anglican basketball to make a comeback?

(OOC: Logo at top shamelessly cribbed from Pride of Detroit, Detroit Lions blog. The opinions expressed above are the opinions of the writer and not necessarily indicative of the opinions of Nova Anglicans or the user behind Nova Anglicana.)

[Hampton Island]

Scenario: Stafford City Stadium CEO and Richard Miller (wildlife expert) converse

Miller: The female has fully recovered from being tranquilized and is ready to be brought to the field area.

CEO: Very good. We will bring Midnight there as well when the team returns from Democratic Publicity Stunts.

Miller: From what?

CEO: I didn’t name it. That is the name of the country.

Miller: Country names are getting stranger and stranger.

CEO: Don’t worry, we trumped them. Built a wall around any hopes they might have had, though they complained that in the first game, that we won 4-3, that they should be declared the winner because they had more hits then us in the game.

Miller: Seriously?

CEO: Unfortunately, yes. There was also a group of their fans that complained that by having a bear on our team that we were being cruel to animals.

Miller: Strange fan base. Midnight loves playing baseball.

CEO: Of course he does. So how long do you think it will take him to start mating with the female?

Miller: It completely depends. The female is going to be very confused at first and will be focused on trying to get out more then she will on Midnight. It will be interesting to see how Midnight reacts to another bear, I don’t think we have ever seen that. They might fight a little.

CEO: They can’t be fighting.

Miller: Fighting would be perfectly normal. It’s like a married couple. You can have an argument with each other in the evening, then at night, be enjoying one another’s company, if you know what I mean. The bears would be the same way.

CEO: What about getting this on the show?

Miller: We have cameras set up for live streaming how they interact. The people to deal with the show can do whatever they want with it. And by the way, I realize that you put that in small print about me signing up to do the show, and that I should have read it, but don’t you think that was a bit unprofessional to do?

CEO: Good, so we’ll get some footage, maybe they can get Jack in there to talk about what is going on. And I do that in contracts all the time. Sorry but not sorry.

Miller: Well, I’ll remember that.

CEO: What if they never mate? And how about getting more females in there so more cubs can be produced.

Miller: You don’t want more females in there right now. And Midnight can’t become distracted from baseball completely.

CEO: He doesn’t watch game tape like everyone else. And I am sure other human players are getting it on between games too. Let Midnight be a bear.

Miller: We just have to wait and see. Hopefully this doesn’t affect him on the field.

CEO: You’re the expert, what do you think?

Miller: On bears in the wild. Not on the ability of a bear to hit a baseball. We have to wait and see.

CEO: Very well.