International Baseball Slam XI (Everything)

[Falisiand]

The time is now. Will Falisiand Baseball survive?

[Super-Llamaland]

MD16-18

Who will be going to the playoffs, and who will be homebound?

Group A:

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tikariot Thunderforge  0  1  1  3  1  2  0  0  0   8
The Jovannic Emperors  0  0  0  1  0  1  0  0  1   3

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tikariot Thunderforge  1  0  2  3  2  1  0  0  1   10
The Jovannic Emperors  0  0  1  1  3  0  0  1  0   6

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tikariot Thunderforge  3  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   5
The Jovannic Emperors  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   2

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kalactin U21s                1  1  1  0  3  0  1  3  0   10
United Civil Republic Bears  0  0  0  3  1  1  1  0  0   6

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kalactin U21s                0  1  0  0  0  0  0  5  0   6
United Civil Republic Bears  0  2  0  0  2  0  0  0  3   7

Team Name                    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kalactin U21s                0  1  4  1  0  2  0  0  1   9
United Civil Republic Bears  2  2  2  0  0  2  1  1  X   10

                               G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1       Tikariot Thunderforge 18 13  5 119  81 +38 0.722 Q
2       The Jovannic Emperors 18  9  9 110  88 +22 0.500 P/O
3               Kalactin U21s 18  9  9 102 107  -5 0.500 P/O
4 United Civil Republic Bears 18  5 13  77 132 -55 0.278

Group B:

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ethane Red Kites      0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Nova Anglicana Lions  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  X   3

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Ethane Red Kites      0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1   2
Nova Anglicana Lions  0  2  0  1  0  2  1  0  X   6

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Ethane Red Kites      0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1   2
Nova Anglicana Lions  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Terre Septentrionale Nordiques  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   1
Sarzonia Junior Stars           0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  4   5

Team Name                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Terre Septentrionale Nordiques  0  0  0  1  3  0  0  0  0   4
Sarzonia Junior Stars           1  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0   3

Team Name                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Terre Septentrionale Nordiques  1  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1   3
Sarzonia Junior Stars           0  2  0  0  2  4  0  0  X   8

                                  G  W  L RF RA  RD Win Pct.
1 Terre Septentrionale Nordiques 18 11  7 78 60 +18 0.611 Q
2          Sarzonia Junior Stars 18 11  7 77 61 +16 0.611 Q
3           Nova Anglicana Lions 18 10  8 67 62  +5 0.556
4               Ethane Red Kites 18  4 14 56 95 -39 0.222

Group C:

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Mathuvan Union Moose  0  1  1  0  0  2  0  0  1   5
Maniladrid Mariners   0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 Total
Mathuvan Union Moose  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  1   5
Maniladrid Mariners   0  0  1  1  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  0  0   4

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Mathuvan Union Moose  0  0  0  0  4  1  0  2  0   7
Maniladrid Mariners   0  0  2  0  0  1  0  1  0   4

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Falisiand U22s        0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  0   2
South Newlandia U22s  0  2  0  0  1  1  0  0  X   4

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Falisiand U22s        0  0  0  0  2  2  1  0  0   5
South Newlandia U22s  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0   2

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Falisiand U22s        0  3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   3
South Newlandia U22s  1  1  1  1  0  0  3  0  X   7

                        G  W  L  RF RA  RD Win Pct.
1 South Newlandia U22s 18 13  5 100 60 +40 0.722 Q
2 Mathuvan Union Moose 18 11  7  74 71  +3 0.611 Q
3       Falisiand U22s 18  9  9  67 65  +2 0.500
4  Maniladrid Mariners 18  3 15  52 97 -45 0.167

Group D:

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Cassadaigua U18s                      1  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1   3
Northern Moravica University Cougars  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0   2

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Cassadaigua U18s                      0  0  1  1  0  2  0  2  0   6
Northern Moravica University Cougars  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   1

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Cassadaigua U18s                      6  2  0  1  1  0  2  0  2   14
Northern Moravica University Cougars  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  3  0   4

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Random Place Fools                    5  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   6
Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers  2  0  1  0  1  0  0  1  0   5

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Random Place Fools                    1  0  1  1  0  0  1  0  0   4
Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers  0  0  0  2  0  0  3  0  X   5

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Random Place Fools                    0  0  0  1  0  0  2  0  0   3
Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers  1  1  1  0  1  0  0  0  X   4

                                        G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1                     Cassadaigua U18s 18 13  5 127  78 +49 0.722 Q
2 Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers 18  9  9  85  95 -10 0.500 Q
3                   Random Place Fools 18  8 10 112 121  -9 0.444
4 Northern Moravica University Cougars 18  6 12  86 116 -30 0.333

Group E:

Team Name               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kohnhead Pandas         0  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0   2
Super-Llamaland Tigers  0  0  2  3  0  0  0  4  X   9

Team Name               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kohnhead Pandas         2  2  1  0  0  2  0  0  0   7
Super-Llamaland Tigers  3  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  3   8

Team Name               1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Kohnhead Pandas         1  1  0  0  0  0  1  2  1   6
Super-Llamaland Tigers  4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   5

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Mitarian Pelicans  0  1  1  1  0  2  0  1  1   7
Jeckland Spuds     1  2  1  1  0  0  2  2  X   9

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Mitarian Pelicans  1  0  0  2  3  0  1  0  1   8
Jeckland Spuds     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Team Name          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Mitarian Pelicans  0  0  0  1  0  3  0  0  0   4
Jeckland Spuds     0  0  0  0  0  1  0  1  0   2

                          G  W  L  RF RA  RD Win Pct.
1 Super-Llamaland Tigers 18 11  7 109 97 +12 0.611 Q
2         Jeckland Spuds 18 11  7  81 80  +1 0.611 Q
3        Kohnhead Pandas 18  7 11  93 94  -1 0.389
4      Mitarian Pelicans 18  7 11  80 92 -12 0.389

Group F:

Team Name                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Starcom Starboys                0  0  0  1  2  0  0  0  2  0  1   6
Pripet Socialist Republic U21s  0  1  1  0  0  0  1  2  0  0  0   5

Team Name                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Starcom Starboys                1  0  1  0  0  0  1  0  2   5
Pripet Socialist Republic U21s  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  1  0   3

Team Name                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Starcom Starboys                0  0  0  0  0  0  0  4  0   4
Pripet Socialist Republic U21s  0  1  3  0  0  0  0  0  1   5

Team Name                        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Newmanistan U16s                 0  0  1  0  1  1  2  3  0  0   8
Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars  0  1  2  1  1  0  2  1  0  1   9

Team Name                        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Newmanistan U16s                 1  0  0  1  2  0  1  0  0   5
Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars  1  3  0  1  0  1  1  0  X   7

Team Name                        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Newmanistan U16s                 3  0  1  0  1  2  1  0  1   9
Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars  1  0  0  0  3  0  0  1  0   5

                                   G  W  L  RF  RA  RD Win Pct.
1                Newmanistan U16s 18 10  8 108 106  +2 0.556 Q
2                Starcom Starboys 18 10  8  76  89 -13 0.556 Q
3 Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars 18  9  9 100  86 +14 0.500
4  Pripet Socialist Republic U21s 18  7 11 106 109  -3 0.389

IBS XI: PLAYOFF SEEDING

1. Cassadaigua U18s (13-5, +49)
2. South Newlandia U22s (13-5, +40)
3. Tikariot Thunderforge (13-5, +38)
4. Terre Septentrionale Nordiques (11-7, +18)

5. Super-Llamaland Tigers (11-7, +12)
6. Newmanistan U16s (10-8, +2)
7. Sarzonia Junior Stars (11-7, +16)
8. Mathuvan Union Moose (11-7, +3)
9. Jeckland Spuds (11-7, +1)
10. Starcom Starboys (10-8, -13)
11. The Jovannic Emperors (9-9, +22)/Kalactin U21s (9-9, -5)*
12. Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers (9-9, -10)

*The Jovannic Emperors and Kalactin U21s will play a one-game playoff to determine who advances to the IBS XI playoffs. This will take place on July 5, with the rest of the playoffs being moved back one day. Since The Jovannic has a higher run differential, they will be the home team.

[Super-Llamaland]

IBS XI: Ro12 MATCHUPS

Teams listed first will be the home team in Games 1 and 3.

(5) Super-Llamaland Tigers v. (12) Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers
Tyler Rocke Memorial Stadium, New Llama City

(6) Newmanistan U16s v. (11) The Jovannic Emperors/Kalactin U21s
Diamond Park, Ruby Fals

(7) Sarzonia Junior Stars v. (10) Starcom Starboys
Earnest Field, Kyrinson

(8) Mathuvan Union Moose v. (9) Jeckland Spuds
The Ultra-Dome, Emerald Springs

[Sarzonia]

The players-only meeting worked. The Sarzonian Under 21 national team won two out of three games against Terre Septentrionale in their group stage finale, and the Ethane Red Kites took the third game of their series against Nova Anglicana, thus sending the Junior Stars through to the knockouts.

They will remember the bottom of the ninth inning of Game One of the series against the Nordiques for a long time. With the score level at one and a position player warming up in the bullpen, Cristobal Vargas stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. The Nordiques pitcher left a fastball over the plate.

"Vargas swings! There's a long drive to DEEP RIGHT FIELD!!! WAAAAY BACK! GRAND SLAM! GRAND SLAM! GRAND SLAM! THE JUNIOR STARS WIN IT! CRISTOBAL VARGAS WALKS OFF THE NORDIQUES IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH INNING AND THE JUNIOR STARS WIN IT FIVE TO ONE!"

Sarzonia will go through with a record of 11-7, level with the Nordiques in the Group B table, but since the Nordiques won four of the six games against Sarzonia, it will be them and not Sarzonia going through as group winners.

"If we'd just won one more fucking game," rightfielder Martaye Adams fumed after the Ethane-Nova Anglicana result knocking the "Last Chance All-Stars" out of the competition flashed on the television set in the dressing room. "We could have gotten the bye and set our rotation the way we wanted it."

Two more victories, either against the Nordiques or the Lions or one victory against each, would have been enough to be at least level for one of the top four seeds. Either way, the Junior Stars were packing their gear for a trip to Kyrinson instead of clearing out their lockers for trips back to their respective homes.

They would face the Starcom Starboys, who finished as Group F runners up after winning two out of three games against Pripet Socialist Republic's Under 21 national team. Newmanistan's Under 16 national team won the group despite losing two of three to Abanhfleft.

Manager Edwin Crawford will send out ace Nate Kingston in Game One of the best-of-three series between the Junior Stars and the Starboys. Crawford added that he hoped to be able to use both fourth starter Kiki Felton and fifth starter Will Morgan out of the bullpen if Sarzonia advance far enough.

"It would mean that we're still here," he said. "We're going to be all hands on deck from here on out."

Morgan took the decision to send him to the bullpen in stride, saying that the bullpen needed help after the Nova Anglicana series.

"A lot of guys out there are gassed," he said. "Some rest and a fresh arm would be of great benefit." The Incorporated Baseball Federation clearly agreed, as they added two additional relief pitchers to Sarzonia's beleaguered bullpen. Adding Morgan and possibly Felton to the mix will give Crawford more options out of the pen.

"It's going to be huge," he said. "We won't have to rely on position players going to the mound in pressure situations."

[The Jovannic]

It was now.

It was lucky that Northwest Kalactin lost 2/3 of the games against the bears, but luck could not help them now. This was the deciding factor. One Chance for The Jovannic. Their first real shot at a multiverse Knockout stages. They just had to win. They had to.

Boys, today is the game we have all been waiting for. The important matchup, the big one, The Qwez Joja.

We must be clinical out there. make sure there don't get a chance to strike back!

Be patient while pitching. don't rush Proceedings.

We better see you win. Or we will feed you Overly boiled porridge plain without any condiments! The home crowd is counting on you!

Lets just do our best yeah?

YEAH!


They stepped onto the field, ready for the match that we decide their fate.

[Mitary]

This is it. The hopes and dreams of many Mitarans shattered. The Pelicans have been eliminated after a surprisingly good start. There are many questions to be answered.

WILL they enter next time?

WILL they be eliminated again?

HOW did they beat Jeckland?

WILL I ever be able to spell surprise without Grammarly?

And now, quotes from the players:

"You gotta stay strong. It's all about getting hit and getting back up again, all that Judy crap." - Nick Jonas

"Everyone's got a job to do. If they don't do it as well as we want, we help them fix it. If we don't fix it on time, like this year, we lose. Its never your fault." - The Coach, who I forgot the name of.

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Youth Baseball
South Newlandia makes IBS Quarterfinals!

South Newlandia was close to the playoffs before the last match against the Falisiand U22s, and in front of their own fans in the Elephant Stadium, they wanted to make everything clear. As they had realistic chances to be one of the four best first placed teams, they decided they wanted to aim for that. The Elephant Stadium was almost completely full, as the recent successes of the team earned them a lot of support countrywide. Meanwhile, Falisiand needed every win they could get, needing to do at least as well as the Moose. Everyone knew that this battle would be interesting.

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Falisiand U22s        0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  0   2
South Newlandia U22s  0  2  0  0  1  1  0  0  X   4

Roberto Goodman wasn’t rested as much as Matteo Maxbar and Jean-Luc Conrad would have liked, but he needed to take the mount in game one anyway. Ryan Hunter was in absolutely no condition to pitch. South Newlandia took the lead in the second inning. Fred Burn and Jack Mine managed to the first two runs of the day, the latter partly thanks to a sacrifice fly by Mike Larsen. After that, both pitchers played solid innings, and the next run didn’t happen until the bottom of the 5th inning. Daryl Dunlop managed to get on the scoresheet after previously hitting a nice triple. Over time, you could watch Roberto Goodman getting more and more tired, and in the top of the 6th inning, he allowed a home run by Rashaan Sebert, scoring a run for Sandro Cristiano as well. Suddenly, Falisiand was back in the game, only a single run behind. In the bottom of the 6th, Jack Mine got another run to extend the lead back to two runs. The closers came in, and Barnaby Butt finished the job, shutting Falisiand out for the remaining three innings. With that, South Newlandia won the first game, and officially made the playoffs at that point. Obviously, there was still something to gain, namely qualification for the Quarterfinals. The team would later learn that this one win would already have been enough, but of course, they didn’t know that at the time.

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Falisiand U22s        0  0  0  0  2  2  1  0  0   5
South Newlandia U22s  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0   2

Marcus Raj has been the least successful pitcher from South Newlandia so far, but he was trusted with the second game. The game was a slow one in the beginning, with the Falisiandian pitcher providing enough problems for South Newlandia. They got a single run in the third inning, scored by Daryl Dunlop. In the fifth and sixth inning, Raj gave up four runs combined. The young pitcher had struggled through the first innings, but he seemed to be breaking apart now. In the fifth inning, Kwame Keahi and Sandro Cristiano scored the runs to give Falisiand a 2-1 lead, and in the sixth, a home run by Kodey Kenton scored a run for Ryan “Grant” Grantham as well, and South Newlandia was down by three runs all of a sudden. Raj managed to finish the inning, and Ian Capan came from the bullpen to stop the bleeding. That didn’t work perfectly, as Roque Greg scored yet another run in the 7th to increase the Falisiandian lead to 4 runs. South Newlandia managed only one more run by Mike Larsen in the eighth inning, as the batters seemed to struggle in this second game. Surely, something had to change for game three.

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Falisiand U22s        0  3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   3
South Newlandia U22s  1  1  1  1  0  0  3  0  X   7

Jay Kramer took the mount in game three. The 18-year-old performed very strong so far in the tournament, and Maxbar was hoping for him to play another good match. Adam King scored a run in the bottom of the first inning, but then, Jay Kramer made a big mistake. He allowed three runs for Falisiand in the top of the second inning, putting South Newlandia down two runs. The runs for Falisiand came from a home run by Rashaan Sebert; he scored for Kwame Keahi and Val Gladwin as well. South Newlandia had work to do, and somehow, they scored in the second, third and fourth inning. It was just one run each, but it was enough to take the lead again. Jack Mine, David Drum and Fred Burn scored these runs. Nothing happened for a while; Jay Kramer allowed no more runs until Barnaby Butt came in in the 7th inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Sophia Smiths was at bat first. She managed to get a double. Next was Fred Burn, but his ball was caught and he the first one out. Mitch Sneider managed to get a single in, and South Newlandia now had runners on the corners. Jack Mine got retired, and it was Mike Larsen at bat now. He saw the first two pitches as balls, but swung on the third one. After another ball, Mike Larsen hit the following 3-1 pitch nicely, and the ball flew just over the railing. Mike Larsen got the first home run for South Newlandia of the day, and the fans were ecstatic. The run for Mike Larsen was the 100th for South Newlandia in this tournament, and it was also the last notable scene of the day. South Newlandia took game three by 7-3, won Group C, and took the shortcut directly to the quarterfinals.

Final group standings

P Team Name            G  W   L  RF RA  RD Win Pct.
1 South Newlandia U22s 18 13  5 100 60 +40 0.722 Quarterfinals
2 Mathuvan Union Moose 18 11  7  74 71  +3 0.611 Round of 12
3       Falisiand U22s 18  9  9  67 65  +2 0.500
4  Maniladrid Mariners 18  3 15  52 97 -45 0.167

South Newlandia will have loads of time to travel to Super-Llamaland now, and they have more than enough time to relax until their Quarterfinal game. We will look at some stats and at the other playoff candidates soon enough before the next matches for the South Newlandian U22s.

[Terre Septentrionale]

Terre Septentrionale makes the playoffs

Portland, Sarzonia - The International Baseball Slam has been unnoticed in Terre Septentrionale so far but guess what? We made the playoffs! First let's mentions that Nova Anglicana is in the hall of fame with 26 points. Ethane have 11 points so they could be in but they aren't yet. And Sarzonia are almost in with 9 points. Terre Septentrionale? Well, we debuted in the WBC 47 so we have no point. The Nordiques are actually playing against 3 giants and have qualified for the playoffs ahead of them. Well, if we take a look at everyone's roster, Terre Septentrionale is an U24 team with probably 4 players also on the WBC roster. Nova Anglicana sent fringe players who are fighting for their last chance for a career in their top league and that's probably why they haven't qualified. Sarzonia sent a U21 roster and Ethane sent a bunch of no names. Here's a recap of the group stage:

Series 1 vs Nova Anglicana Lions

It started with a 2-1 loss in a game which Lions pitcher John Yates totally owned our batters. Then we won 8-3 in game 2, a game which we scored a run in almost all innings. The player of the game is Carson McGinness who had a 2 runs homerun in the top 2nd inning and have 3 RBIs in total. Game 3 ended with a score of 6-1. Everyone contributed offensively and on the pitching side, Marie-Anne Galarraga (Nova Anglicana called her Gallagher but her name is Galarraga) played very well by allowing 1 run in 7 innings and striking out 5 batters.

Series 2 vs Ethane Red Kites

A 11-5 win in game one with the Nordiques scoring 6 runs in the 7th inning. Let's take a look at this particular inning: Pinch hitter Mieczyslawa Szczutkowska batted first and hitted a double. Katarina Radovnikovic followed with a single, Szczutkowska advanced to 3rd base. Katelyn Olszewski hitted a sacrifice fly, Szczutkowska scored and Radovnikovic stayed at 1st base. Melanie Wojciechowski followed with a 2 runs homerun. Trevor McGarry walked, Carson McGinness struck out, Logan O'Rourke hitted a single, McGarry advanced to 3rd base. Finally, Urska Trstenjak hitted a 3 runs homerun. Wow that was quite a fun inning to watch! In game 2 Travis O'Rear pitched a complete game and almost a perfect one, he only allowed 2 hits and one walk in a 5-0 win and struck out 10 batters in 9 innings. And we lost game 3 by the score of 6-4. In the 9th inning, Logan O'Rourke hitted a double that send Melanie Wojciechowski and Trevor McGarry to the plate but it wasn't enough.

Series 3 vs Sarzonia Junior Stars

It was another good game from Marie-Anne Galarraga and the Nordiques won 3-2 in 10 innings thanks to a solo homerun by Trevor McGarry in the bottom 10th inning. Terre Septentrionale also won game 2 in a dramatic fashion by the score of 5-3, with a 2 runs homerun by Logan O'Rourke in the bottom 9th inning. The Reprezentacja Nordycki swept Sarzonia by winning game 3 3-2. Travis O'Real played really well, allowing one run in 8 innings. Closer Catalina Ramirez allowed the other run in the top 9th inning.

Series 4 vs Nova Anglicana Lions

Game 1 is a game to forget. Louis-Philip Jolicoeur played well, allowing just one run in 8 innings but Lions' pitcher Bryce Duncan played even better, not allowing any run and we lost 1-0. The Nordiques also won game 2 in a dramatic fashion in the bottom 9th inning when 2nd baseman Zlatko Popović-Vejnović hitted a double that sent Logan O'Rourke to the plate and the Northmen won 4-3. And we lost game 3 by the score of 6-5.

Series 5 vs Ethane Red Kites

It started with a 4-3 loss and it was O'Rear's first real bad game even if he has a 2-2 record. Game 2 was won 3-2, another good game from Louis-Philip Jolicoeur and the highlight of the game was Melanie Wojciechowski's two runs homerun in the top 8th inning. Game 3 was won 9-4 and Marie-Anne Galarraga has now a 4-0 record but she was helped by our batters, with another two runs homerun by Melanie Wojciechowski in the 7th inning. Then in the 8th inning, Urska Trstenjak batted first and hitted a single. Zlatko Popović-Vejnović followed with a double, Trstenjak advanced to 3rd base. Pinch hitter Kristen McKissock hitted a sacrifice fly, Trstenjak scored and Popović-Vejnović stayed at 2nd base. Then, Katarina Radovnikovic hitted a double and Popović-Vejnović scored. The final score was 9-4.

Series 6 vs Sarzonia Junior Stars

Hunter Kloehn pitched very well, allowing just one run in 8 innings, but Phoebe McClelland came in in the 9th inning with a score of 1-1 and allowed 2 hits and walked one. With the bases loaded, coach Jean-Charles Delasablonnière decided it was time to replace McClelland, so Catalina Ramirez came in to face Cristobal Vargas. He hitted a grand slam and the Nordiques lost 5-1. Terre Septentrionale won game two 4-3 thanks to a solo homerun by Urska Trstenjak followed by a two runs batted in single by Katelyn Olszewski in the top 5th inning. Then we lost 8-3 in game three, a very bad start from Louis-Philip Jolicoeur.

So, Terre Septentrionale has a 11-7 record, finished 1st in the group of baseball giants and will watch the round of 12, the Nordiques have the 4th seed. We don't know who will be our next opponent, but here is our pitching rotation for the playoffs. because we used 4 pitchers in 18 games, Marie-Anne Galarraga (4-0 in 4 starts) is the next one on the rotation and she will pitch in game 1. Then Hunter Kloehn (1-0 in 4 starts) will skip and Travis O'Rear (3-2 in 5 starts) will pitch in game 2 and Louis-Philip Jolicoeur (2-3 in 5 starts) in game 3 if necessary. Hunter Kloehn will follow in the rotation if we advance to the semi final.

Dragomir Kovacevic,
La tribune Septentrionale

[Super-Llamaland]

GROUP A PLAYOFF

Who will go back to a life in grey, and who will experience the technicolor wave of the playoffs?

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 Total
Kalactin U21s          1  0  1  1  0  0  0  1  0  0   4
The Jovannic Emperors  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  1  2   6

The Jovannic advances, will be the (11) seed in the playoffs

IBS XI: Ro12 MATCHUPS

Teams listed first will be the home team in Games 1 and 3.

(5) Super-Llamaland Tigers v. (12) Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers
Tyler Rocke Memorial Stadium, New Llama City

(6) Newmanistan U16s v. (11) The Jovannic Emperors
Diamond Park, Ruby Falls

(7) Sarzonia Junior Stars v. (10) Starcom Starboys
Earnest Field, Kyrinson

(8) Mathuvan Union Moose v. (9) Jeckland Spuds
The Ultra-Dome, Emerald Springs

[The Jovannic]

JSS Haika arrives in Jovannica.

The JSS Haika has arrived yesterday at her first destination on her maiden tour around Jovannican Ports. Lets follow what they did.

8.30am: JSS Haika seen in horizion.

8.35am: JSS Haika enters the Port Jovannica, to cheers by a small crowd.

8.40am: Jovannic Sailors begin disembarking.

9.00am: Traditional Royal Parade begins with a trumpet performance.

9.40am: Royal Marching Dance Finishes the Parade.

10.00am: Speech by Jovannican Admiral

10.25am: Free Time for the Sailors



7.30am Sailors return to ship.

8.00am: JSS Haika departs for Varla Crlak.

JSS Haika departs from Jovannica

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Youth Baseball
What are we supposed to do?

With South Newlandia waiting for their Quarterfinal matchup, which won’t take place for a few more days, we don’t exactly have scores to look at. While the team relaxes and prepares, we are going to look at our playoff predictions for the tournament. Here goes nothing.


Round of 12

(8) Mathuvan Union Moose vs. (9) Jeckland Spuds
The groupmates of the South Newlandian U22s faces another team familiar to South Newlandian sports fans, the team from Jeckland. The Spuds missed out on the group win only on run differential, a bit behind the Super-Llamaland Tigers. Despite the Moose actually taking three from the South Newlandian U22s, we think that the Spuds will advance from this matchup without even breaking a sweat. Jeckland played very well in a difficult group with the hosts, the Kohnhead Pandas and the Mitarian Pelicans, finishing on 11-7.
Jeckland Spuds in two.

(5) Super-Llamaland Tigers vs. (12) Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers
The matchup between the hosts and the team with the absurdly long name will be the second one in the Round of 12. We just talked about the group Super-Llamaland was in, and they won it, even though it was close. They were just six runs away from the shortcut to the Quarterfinals. The Grim Reapers, meanwhile, have the worst record among the playoff teams, finishing 9-9 with a negative run differential. In fact, they only qualified after beating the Random Place Fools in the last two games. Like the last one, this series will not even be close, the Tigers will advance easily.
Super-Llamaland Tigers in two.

(7) Sarzonia Junior Stars vs. (10) Starcom Starboys
The matchup with confusingly many stars is also the one relevant for the South Newlandian U22s, as the winner from this matchup will face South Newlandia in the Quarterfinals. The Junior Stars were the most successful 2nd-placed team, finishing with an 11-7 record. They played in the “Group of Death”, facing the Terre Septentrionale Nordiques, the Nova Anglicana Lions and the Ethane Red Kites, and somehow made it out of the group alive. The Starboys finished on 10-8, only behind the group winners because of run differential. Group F was very close, and the Starboys advancing surprised many. They are the playoff team with the worst run record at -13. This series will be closer, but in the end, the Junior Stars will take it after a big fight.
Sarzonia Junior Stars in three.

(6) Newmanistan U16s vs. (11) The Jovannic Emperors
The Emperors made it in as the last team thanks to beating the Kalactin U21s in a one-game playoff. The finished with 9 wins and 9 losses, but had a surprisingly strong run differential of +22. They finished level with the Kalactin team, but far behind Tikariot Thunderforge in Group A. They are the only playoff team that had to play a nineteenth game to get there, but it might only be momentum for the playoffs now. The Newmanistan U16s are not only the youngest team in the tournament, but they even won their group ahead of the Starboys and Abanhfleft, but only with a 10-8 record. This series will basically be a coin-flip, but somehow, the Emperors prevail.
The Jovannic Emperors in three.

Quarterfinals

(1) Cassadaigua U18s vs. (9) Jeckland Spuds
The Cassadaiguan team are the top seed for the playoffs, but some say their group, featuring the Grim Reapers and the Random Place Fools along with a college team, was one of the easiest there was. In any case, they finished with 13-5 record and the best run differential of any team. The under 18-year-old team will face the Spuds, coming fresh off a convincing win against the Moose. Cassadaigua will go into the series as the favourites, but the Spuds win it.
Jeckland Spuds in three.

(4) Terre Septentrionale Nordiques vs. (5) Super-Llamaland Tigers
What did we just say about absurd names? The Nordiques won the “Group of Death” Group B, ahead of the Junior Stars and the Nova Anglicana Lions. They went 11-7, just barely enough to make it to the Quarterfinals directly, thanks to a few runs over the team they will play now. The Tigers, playing on their home soil, will take this series as well to make the Semifinals, but it will be a very close matchup.
Super-Llamaland Tigers in three.

(2) South Newlandia U22s vs. (7) Sarzonia Junior Stars
Hey, that’s us! The South Newlandian team will face the Junior Stars in this series, the best second-placed team. South Newlandia won their group 13-5, but some say that their group C was the easiest group to claim a lot of wins. This series was one of the hardest to estimate. Both teams seem to be about level, and it will be a very important game for both sides. It will be close, but we believe that the Junior Stars end the South Newlandian run.
Sarzonia Junior Stars in three.

(3) Tikariot Thunderforge vs. The Jovannic Emperors (11)
This one is another close match. The Thunderforge won their group A, ahead of the Emperors, but since then, the Emperors gained a lot of self-confidence in the playoffs to this point. Nevertheless, the Thunderforge is one of the strongest teams, finishing on 13-5. They will break the Jovannic again, and they will be the only top-four team to make the Semi-finals. The Emperors will try their very best, but it won’t be enough.
Tikariot Thunderforge in two.

Semi-finals

(9) Jeckland Spuds vs. (5) Super-Llamaland Tigers
In a very interesting all-Esportivan matchup, the Spuds, having just taken down the top seed, will now face the host. Both teams came off of two won playoff series, but only one can take this one. In a tight match, the Tigers will win in front of their own fans.
Super-Llamaland Tigers in three.

(7) Sarzonia Junior Stars vs. (3) Tikariot Thunderforge
Another very interesting series to look for another finalist isn’t it? Well, we belive that the Thunderforge will go down in this match. Something is going to happen, and The Junior Stars will take the series to face the hosts in the final. The Junior Stars might not have been a team that many expected to make the final series, but after taking South Newlandia down, they will have the confidence to do it.
Sarzonia Junior Stars in two.

Final

(5) Super-Llamaland Tigers vs. Sarzonia Junior Stars (7)
That sure is a juicy final series we predicted here. Both teams had to go through the Round of 12, and eliminated no fewer than three teams on their way to this final series. Both teams will give their all, but with the huge expectations of the home crowd, the Tigers choke. The Junior Stars weren’t a team predicted to have many chanches, seeing that they didn’t even win their own group, but that’s what’s going to happen. Having just made their return to international baseball with a Round of 16 appearance of the 48th World Baseball Classic, they now win the eleventh edition of this tournament against the hosts. Oh, and the Spuds win third place.
Sarzonia Junior Stars in four.

[Super-Llamaland]

RASMUSSEN TO USE OPENER AGAINST QUEBEC

Jason Pereira, LSN Baseball

NEW LLAMA CITY -- Tigers manager Sofia Rasmussen announced in a press conference earlier today that teenaged University of Vargas reliever Peter Romero would start the first two games of Super-Llamaland's first-round series against The Royal Kingdom of Quebec. It marks the first time the Llamanean national team has utilized the "opener" strategy, where a reliever starts the game before deferring to a more traditional starting pitcher, in international play. However, Rasmussen's announcement of the plan, as well as the usage of an eighteen-year-old with limited international experience to open the game, has not gone over well with many Llamanean sports fans.

"I know I'll get a lot of flak for this decision, win or lose, but this is the best way for us to play our hand against Quebec. Peter is excellent against left-handed hitters, and I still intend to bring my starters in as usual after the first inning or two," Rasmussen noted. The move is believed to have come in response to Quebec's group-stage lineup, which featured no right-handed hitters in its first four spots - with the switch-hitter Carlini-Mwambutsya the only non-left-handed-hitting batter. As a result, Romero, who is nominally the team's left-handed specialist, has been given the nod.

While it's uncertain which members of Super-Llamaland's rotation will relieve Romero, it is believed that the right-handed Isaac Colón and Danielle Nørregaard will be favored in Games 1 and 2, respectively, with Edward Zhuang and Simon Chu (whose unique repertoire has given him a bit of a reverse split) in reserve if Quebec attempts to counter with a predominantly right-handed lineup. Y.P. Ying, another left-handed reliever, is also expected to play an outsize role in the series, and could potentially start Game 3.

Starting Lineup to Face Quebec (Game 1):

1. CF Ivy Werner (S)
2. 3B Miranda Gray (R)
3. LF Tyson Long (S)
4. DH Noah Slater (S)
5. RF Liam Desjardins (L)
6. SS Caitlin Rosario (R)
7. 1B Albert Vaughn (L)
8. 2B Miles Villeneuve (S)
9. C Derrick Armstrong (S)

[Jeckland]

JECKLAND FACE TOUGH DRAW AFTER MITARY SLIP UP

Jeckland will go to Super-Llamaland as the ninth seed in the knockout rounds of the International Baseball Slam after falling to a 2-1 loss against Mitary saw them surrender their group lead.

The Spuds had looked likely to progress as group winners and potentially bypass the Round of 12 entirely, as they led the group going into the final series against the already eliminated Pelicans. Jeckland only had to match the results of Super-Llamaland to win the group, and got off to a good start in the first match. Unlike most games thus far in this campaign it was a high scoring thriller, but Jeckland led all the way to the top of the sixth, where a two run innings by the Pelicans was replied to with a brace from Jeckland in the 7th and 8th, sealing the game with an innings to spare.

Julyan Gabriels was selected to pitch in the second game, with the Spuds seeking to close out the series. But it all went disastrously for the 27 year old, with five runs conceded in the fourth and fifth innings. The body language of the whole team noticeably deflated after that, slumping to an embarassing 8-1 defeat that not only allowed the Tigers to get ahead before the final matchday, but severely hampered Jeckland's run differential, the tiebreaker used to seed teams level in group position and wins. There was still a lot to play for in the last match, but the Spuds were once again flat in a 4-2 defeat. As it turned out, victory in that game would have won Jeckland the group and made them the fourth seeds, bypassing the round of 12 after Super-Llamaland lost to Kohnhead. But it wasn't to be and now Jeckland will face a tough route through the bracket.

The Round of 12 sees them play eighth seeds Mathuvan Union Moose, who finished on an identical record with just two runs difference between the sides. Gabriels, after apologising for his performance in that second game, has called for an improved performance in the rest of the tournament. "What happened against Mitary was not acceptable. Yes, I know I am a large part of the blame for that, but the lads agree there was a noticeable dip in attitude and focus during those last games. That's the bare minimum a sports team has to achieve and we've failed in that regard."

Jeckland will certainly need to be at their best to put in an impressive showing in this tournament. Lying in wait in the quarter-finals are the number 1 seed, Cassadaigua's U18 team, with the young players showing some potential in their 13-5 group stage victory. Should the Spuds manage to get past the next two rounds the semi finals would definitely be tough, with one of Terre Septentrionale, Super-Llamaland and Royal Kingdom of Quebec in wait.

[Super-Llamaland]

ROUND OF 12, GAMES 1-2

The playoffs are about to start in Super-Llamaland! Are you ready to rock and roll?

(5) Super-Llamaland Tigers vs. (12) Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers (results scorinated by Northwest Kalactin)

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Total
Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1
Super-Llamaland Tigers                0  1  1  0  2  0  1  0  X  5

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Total
Super-Llamaland Tigers                0  0  3  1  0  1  1  2  0  8
Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers  0  1  1  0  2  1  0  0  0  5

Super-Llamaland advances, 2G-0

(6) Newmanistan U16s vs. (11) The Jovannic Emperors

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
The Jovannic Emperors  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0
Newmanistan U16s       0  0  1  0  1  1  0  0  X   3

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Newmanistan U16s       1  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  0   3
The Jovannic Emperors  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  0  0   2

Newmanistan advances, 2G-0

(7) Sarzonia Junior Stars vs. (10) Starcom Starboys

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Starcom Starboys       1  1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   4
Sarzonia Junior Stars  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  0   2

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sarzonia Junior Stars  0  2  3  0  1  2  2  0  0   10
Starcom Starboys       1  0  1  0  1  0  2  0  0   5

Series tied, 1G-1

(8) Mathuvan Union Moose vs. (9) Jeckland Spuds

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Jeckland Spuds        1  0  4  0  0  0  2  0  2   9
Mathuvan Union Moose  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   2

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Mathuvan Union Moose  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   2
Jeckland Spuds        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1

Series tied, 1G-1

IBS XI: QF MATCHUPS

Teams listed first will be the home team in Games 1 and 3.

(1) Cassadaigua U18s v. (8) Mathuvan Union Moose/(9) Jeckland Spuds
The Ultra-Dome, Emerald Springs

(2) South Newlandia U22s v. (7) Sarzonia Junior Stars/(10) Starcom Starboys
Earnest Field, Kyrinson

(3) Tikariot Thunderforge v. (6) Newmanistan U16s
Diamond Park, Ruby Falls

(4) Terre Septentrionale Nordiques v. (5) Super-Llamaland Tigers
Tyler Rocke Memorial Stadium, New Llama City

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Youth Baseball
A look at some stats

When the South Newlandian U22s arrived on the Kyrinson's Bridges International Airport, the players were stunned. South Newlandia isn’t an ugly place at all, but most players had never seen a city as beautiful as this one. It was truly a fantastic place, and the players seemed for relaxed and comfortable instantly. “It’s almost like free holidays on top!” said Coach Matteo Maxbar, and everyone agreed. The players were not on holiday, however. They would have something to do, namely, preparation for the Quarterfinal game that’s soon to happen. As Starcom and Sarzonia had split their first two games, they didn’t know whom they would play, but they knew the game would be played at Earnest Field. From what the team gathered, it is named after Jake Earnest, an outfielder for Super-Llamaland, active before anyone on the squad, including the coaches, was even born. With a capacity of 46000, the Earnest Field exceeds the biggest Baseball arenas in South Newlandia by far, and most of the younger players were excited to play there.

Since there are still no games for South Newlandia, and we still have room to fill, we are going to look at some stats today.

Pitchers

1. Hunter and Kramer are carrying the team.
Success, for a South Newlandian pitcher, is measured in his win record and in runs given up per inning. Both Ryan Hunter (4-0) and Jay Kramer (5-0) maintain flawless records, and both are only giving up about 0.2 runs per inning. Those are some legendary stats; few pitchers from South Newlandia will even go near this mark. While success for the WBC-veteran Hunter was kind off expected, Kramer is surprising many in this tournament. At only nineteen years old, he might be one of the best talents from South Newlandia.

2. Raj didn’t find his best play so far.
While Hunter and Kramer, and to an extent Roberto Goodman (3-2; 0.35 r/i), are thriving, Marcus Raj seems to be the weakest starting pitcher for South Newlandia. He only won one of his four games, and he is currently pitching 0.75 r/i, which is quite terrible so far. He really needs to pick up his game, but if he manages to do well too, South Newlandia might stand a really good chance.

3. The closers are decent.
South Newlandia brought some closers this time, Barnaby Butt and Ian Capan. They played decently so far, with both of them pitching about 0.4 r/i, with Butt giving up just a tiny bit fewer runs. Curiously, Butt currently has a near-perfect record of 7-1, while Ian Capan is only at 5-4. We don’t know where this big difference comes from, but it’s probably more of a coincidence. There is also the possibility that Butt really is performing better under pressure, saving some of the clutch games; Game Eleven comes to mind here.

4. We didn’t need the relievers a lot, and that’s probably good.
Next to the closers South Newlandia also brought two closers. Mason Cousins hasn’t pitched a single ball yet, while Patrik Bryant pitched five innings. Those didn’t go well at all, as he gave up four runs there. South Newlandia might be better off just pitching decently from the start, really.


Of course, the pitchers are interesting, but the batters are impotant too. That’s why we looked at their stats as well.
Batters

5. We don’t have any power hitters.
For batters, two statistics count – Runs, and Home Runs. After eighteen games, only 10 home runs is a truly horrible statistic. There is not even a single player at three homers, that’s very bad. Even Adam King, who hit the most home runs of any players from South Newlandia in the most recent Classic, managed only two home runs so far. Sophia Smiths and Mike Larsen also hold two homers.

6. We have some great contact hitters.
Considering having scored only ten home runs, a hundred runs are great. Aside from that, all nine batters have at least six runs already, which means that everyone is getting at least a few runs in. Fred Burn, the catcher, hasn’t been lucky so far at only 7 runs, but he hasn’t made any errors as Catcher so far, so he has that going for him. The 17-year-old could really use some more hits anyway. The new Designated Hitter, Mike Larsen, is doing well at 14 runs, but for a batting specialist, there is still room to improve that.

7. The Infield is doing great
The four infielders have an astounding 52 runs between them. Mitch Sneider is the only one of them not doing great, at only seven runs and zero home runs, he makes up for that with strong fielding. Sophia Smiths is exceeding expectations with two homers and 11 runs, which are very impressive stats for the first woman to ever play international Baseball for South Newlandia. But the two WBC-verterans, Adam King and David Drum, are simply crushing. King started off fantastically, scoring 11 runs in the 2nd and 3rd series combined, but he has slowed down since. Rght now, he has sixteen runs and two home runs, one of which was a grand slam. Drum has been playing very consistently strong, and he outscores King with eighteen runs, including one home run. Eighteen runs is, on average, one every single game. He can’t imagine him not taking the role as Shortstop in the next WBC, his performance was a clear application letter.

8. The Outfield isn’t doing so well
Meanwhile, the three outfielders, who would have been expected to do better than the infielders, only 27 runs between them. That’s still solid, especially for Jack Mine at 11 runs and Daryl Dunlop with 10 including a homer, but it’s not something to celebrate over. Shawn Zimmerman, meanwhile, isn’t doing so well at only six runs, the least of the team, with one home run. Manuela Ca probably has been asking herself and Maxbar why there aren’t two female players in the squad by now, but at the moment, the coaches seem confident that Zimmerman is going to pull his form up.

The Round of Twelve

The first two matches of the Round of twelve matchups were played. We already motioned Sarzonia and Starcom splitting their games, and Jeckland and the Moose split theirs as well. The hosts from Super-Llamaland took down Quebec in two (We were right about that), and Newmanistan took out the Jovannic Empore in two (We were wrong about that). Now, we cant do much but wait for the two remaining games.

[Sarzonia]

It all comes down to Darryll Shaw.

After the Sarzonian Under 21 national baseball team's bullpen imploded in a 4-2 loss in Game One of the best of three Round of 12 series against Starcom, Cal Zane and the offence broke out in Game Two en route to a 10-5 victory to even the series and force a deciding third game.

Manager Edwin Crawford said Shaw would be ready, and he would have lefty pitcher Will Morgan ready in relief if Shaw faltered, saying that the contrast in styles from soft tossing righthander to hard throwing lefty was by design.

"I love Kiki [Felton, Sarzonia's fourth starter], and I'm confident that she would do the job, but her style is similar enough to Shaw's that I think the Starboys would be better able to adapt to her than [Morgan]. Shaw doesn't get the ball past 87 and Morgan can get the ball to 97 without even reaching back."

Shortstop Cristobal Vargas went 0-for-4 in Game One with three strikeouts and a double play grounder with the based loaded in the bottom of the eighth that ended Sarzonia's last true threat. Rightfielder Martaye Adams hit a deep fly ball to left centre in the bottom of the ninth, but it died on the warning track.

However, Vargas busted out in Game Two, going two-for-four with a three-run homer in the top of the third and a two-run shot in the top of the sixth to break things open. The new bullpen arms also made their presence felt in Game Two as Tom Crowley pitched the bottom of the seventh until giving up a two-run single that provided the final score. Lefty specialist Claude Bingham worked the eighth and closer Ned Creighton pitched the ninth.

Vargas said he was expecting the Starboys to pitch around him in Game Three, but even if they didn't, he felt "cautiously optimistic" about Sarzonia's chances of advancing.

"We've gotten our bullpen some help and we're going to be even stronger in that area now that we're in the knockout rounds," he said. "We just have to make sure we do all the little things and play sound, fundamental baseball and let everything else sort itself out."

Shaw, meanwhile, said he wasn't going to do anything differently to prepare for his outing because it's a knockout round matchup.

"What am I going to do? Throw 100 on every pitch?" Shaw asked. "I can't be something I'm not just because we're in the knockouts," he said. "Like my boy M.A. [Shaw's nickname for Adams] told me, I got to be me."

"We need to stay within ourselves," Adams said when asked about his advice to Shaw. "We can't do too much and get anxious or it's a recipe for failure."

[Super-Llamaland]

ROUND OF 12, GAME 3

Will you be able to feel it still after tonight?

(7) Sarzonia Junior Stars vs. (10) Starcom Starboys

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Starcom Starboys       0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   1
Sarzonia Junior Stars  1  5  0  0  3  0  2  0  X   11

Sarzonia advances, 2G-1

(8) Mathuvan Union Moose vs. (9) Jeckland Spuds

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 Total
Jeckland Spuds        0  0  0  0  0  1  0  1  1  0  0   3
Mathuvan Union Moose  0  0  2  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  3   6

Mathuvan Union advances, 2G-1

IBS XI: QF MATCHUPS

Teams listed first will be the home team in Games 1 and 3.

(1) Cassadaigua U18s v. (8) Mathuvan Union Moose
The Ultra-Dome, Emerald Springs

(2) South Newlandia U22s v. (7) Sarzonia Junior Stars
Earnest Field, Kyrinson

(3) Tikariot Thunderforge v. (6) Newmanistan U16s
Diamond Park, Ruby Falls

(4) Terre Septentrionale Nordiques v. (5) Super-Llamaland Tigers
Tyler Rocke Memorial Stadium, New Llama City

[Super-Llamaland]

Team Name                             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Total
Royal Kingdom of Quebec Grim Reapers  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1
Super-Llamaland Tigers                0  1  1  0  2  0  1  0  X  5

If there was one thing Sofia Rasmussen could do as a manager, it was tuning out the haters. But just four batters in, the rookie manager's choice of starting pitcher for the Game 1 matchup against Quebec was already looking like a serious mistake. Peter Romero's repertoire performed well against left-handed batters in theory, but the teenager just wasn't getting anyone out. Rasmussen had felt vindicated when Romero had sat down Reynolds-Walusimbi on three pitches, but the right-handed Carlini-Mwambutsya had smoked a hanging breaking ball down the line for a double, and after walking Guerrero, Romero was already down in the count to the dangerous J. W. Noh.

Waiting in the wings was Isaac Colón, who would've started the game if a more traditional manager was in charge. But throwing the mercurial starter into such a jam was a massive risk that could force her into an early hook - a disaster for Game One of what could be a long playoffs campaign. Luckily, Rasmussen wasn't done with audacious bullpen management for the day; instead, she picked up the phone and called the bullpen.

"Sofia! Isaac's ready to come in if you need him," chirped bullpen coach Matt Santangelo.

"About that...tell him he's not coming in this inning. I need Vucevic in, pronto."

"Are you fucking kidd-" Santangelo choked out, then thought better of it. "Christine's up. She'll need a minute, though."

With that settled, Rasmussen watched as Romero induced a weak ground ball down the third-base line. It was hit too weakly to get two outs, but Miranda Gray made a nice sliding stop before firing home for the force out. The crowd went wild with cheering - cheers that mostly silenced themselves when they saw Christine Vucevic, nominally the team's closer, come out in the top of the first inning.

But a first-pitch fastball tapped harmlessly to first later, they were back on their feet. Vucevic would go on to finish the second inning before being pinch-hit for in the bottom of the frame, and Isaac Colón would take over for seven innings of one-run ball. Rasmussen had proven the doubters wrong for what likely wouldn't be the last time - although with a challenging series against Terre Septentrionale incoming, you could never be too sure.

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Youth Baseball
South Newlandia to face Sarzonia Junior Stars in IBS Quarterfinals

The South Newlandian U22s had enough time to relax now, and it is now time to get back to business. In the two games played yesterday, the Sarzonia Junior Stars clearly defeated Starcom (we got that right), and the Mathuvan Union Moose, South Newlandias group opponent, surprisingly took down the Jeckland Spuds (we got that wrong). Because of that, we now know all the Quarterfinal matchups. The Cassadaigua U18s will play against the Mathuvan Union Moose; the hosts, the Super-Llamaland Tigers, will face off against the Terre Septentrionale Nordiques, the Newmanistan U16s will play Tikariot Thunderforge, and of course, South Newlandia will face Sarzonia.
Sarzonia’s national team participated in the 48th World Baseball Classic, just like South Newlandia. Like South Newlandia, they entered as an unranked nation, but they were actually just returning after having won the Classic in the past, namely the 18th edition. Like South Newlandia, they managed to advance to the Round of 16 in WBC48, and like South Newlandia, they were eliminated there. Different to South Newlandia, Sarzonia had actually won their group, and they actually led their series against Hampton Island after two games, but ended up losing it in the end. Now, the two nations are facing off with their respective youth teams, with both sides featuring players 21 years old or under.
Matteo Maxbar and Jean-Luc Conrad announced that Ryan Hunter and Roberto Goodman will pitch in the first two games, and Jay Kramer is going to pitch an eventual tiebreaker game. This was seen as a bold, but understandable move; despite his youth, Kramer had been pitching very solidly throughout the tournament, and the Coaches would probably want to let Ryan Hunter pitch in the semi-finals again. South Newlandia had luck with injuries so far, and Victor Lo announced that all nine regular starters are available to play for the team.

All there’s left for us to do is to wish both teams a great series, and may the better team win.

[Sarzonia]

Any suspense about the do or die Game 3 between Sarzonia and Starcom was essentially over after the second inning.

Martaye Adams had the biggest hit in the five-run inning, clearing the bases with a double that propelled the Junior Stars to a crushing 11-1 victory that slammed the door on the Starboys.

Darryl Shaw may not have a plus fastball, but he was dominating in his own way, getting 21 ground ball outs and striking out four batters. The Starboys only hit three balls in the air, with one of them being a meaningless solo shot in the top of the sixth just after shortstop Cristobal Vargas smashed a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to give Sarzonia a 9-0 lead.

Shaw cruised to a four-hit complete game, giving a previously overworked bullpen a badly needed night off. Shaw said he wanted to go the distance after the two previous games.

"We got some guys dragging arms in the pen," he said. "I figured a complete game would help the pen." Shaw threw 110 pitches.

The Junior Stars will start fourth starter Kiki Felton in Game One of the quarterfinals against South Newlandia's Under 22 national team. Manager Edwin Crawford said if the Junior Stars win Game One, fifth starter Will Morgan will start Game Two.

"Look, we don't want to wear out anyone's arms," Crawford said. "If we need Nate Kingston out there, he'll be ready for Game Two. But we can go a long way toward setting ourselves up for future success if we're mindful."

Crawford said he and the Junior Stars have already started discussing ways that Sarzonia's pitching staff could keep Tiger Cubs hitters in the ballpark. He said the disadvantage of facing a well rested Tiger Cubs side was at least partially cancelled out by the fact that Sarzonia are staying in Kyrinson and have developed some familiarity with Earnest Field.

"We're still learning some of the quirks of the park," he said. "We're more familiar with this park than they are, so that could work to our benefit."

Adams said the team read The Elephant Valley Mail's predictions that Sarzonia would not only defeat the Tiger Cubs, but would win the championship, but said Crawford already told the team multiple times to ignore the press clippings -- good or bad.

"You don't win anything just because media say you will," he said. "They're a great team. We got our work cut out for us."

[Tikariot]

Angelo Mori and Sarah Ladle have relocated to Super-Llamaland to continue the coverage of the Slam. They have taken up their seats in one of the commentator booths at the Diamond Park in Ruby Falls, the location of Tikariot's first playoff series.

Angelo Mori: Good day and welcome to our coverage of the International Baseball Slam in Super-Llamaland. Before the tournament started, nobody and I really mean nobody would have thought that our team would stand a shadow of a chance against the much more established countries taking part in this prestigious event.

Sarah Ladle: But against all odds the Devil's Rejects have not just surprised everybody by being competitive, but they won their group and were one of four teams to directly qualify for the quarter finals, which now sees the team travel to Ruby Falls to meet up with the Newmanistan U16s.

Mori: So we feel that now is the time to take a look back at the tournament and our team's journey so far. Here's Kenneth Burgess with the story so far.

Kenneth Burgess: When Tikariot announced its participation in the eleventh International Baseball Slam, the reaction by the media had been anything but enthusiastic. Given that the Tikariotian Baseball League has had only one season under its belt spelled already predetermined desaster for most critics and so-called experts, to the point that despite the national team's official name of Thunderforge the players themselves gave themselves the nickname of Devil's Rejects.

The team went off to a marvelous start, blowing the United Civil Republic Bears out of the water with a sweep, taking everybody by surprised, including themselves. The second matchup against the Kalactin U21s did not quite go as swimmingly, but they still managed to get away with a 2-1 win, but The Jovannic Emperors proved to be the first real stumbling stone for the team, falling to them three nothing, even though at least each game was only decided by one run.

As he touches on each series, the picture switches to brief highlights from each to illustrate the Devil's Rejects' progress so far.

Burgess: Then we went into the second half of the group stage and it was clear that we were no longer looking at a ragtag band of players just thrown together, but an actual, real team. Another sweep against the Bears did not come as a surprise as they only managed 5 wins in the 18 games overall, but when it really mattered, they showed that they were there when it mattered.

Another 2-1 series against the Kalactin U21s put Tikariot into a great position where they had it in their own hands to secure the qualification for the play-offs and they duly delivered, sweeping The Jovannic Emperors with a clear 3-0 series not only guaranteeing themselves the first spot in their group, but even the no. 3 seed.

It already has been a fairy tale story so far for the Devil's Rejects, now we have to see if they can add another chapter to it when they meet up with the Newmanistan U16s in the quarter finals in the Diamond Park of Ruby Falls.

Ladle: Thank you Kenneth for this great summary of the group stage. Now we would have loved to get you some words directly from the team and the coaches, but they have requested to allow them to prepare for their next series and of course we respected their wishes.

Mori: Instead we will have a quick look at the team for the series. Coach McCrory has decided to forego the rotation for this series and is sending De'Andre Stevens, Patrick Lundgren and Graham Pettersson into these three games, who so far have 4, 3 and 3 wins under their belt, with Stevens still without any loss.

Ladle: In the infield the quartet of Ghirardello, Fleming, Pelmore and Baines is still in limbo with Pelmore nursing a hamstring injury and it still up in the air if he will be fit on time, Corey Allen and Stuart Hernandez are ready to jump in. William Carruthers is going to be behind the plate again, but he would be out on the field even if he was missing a leg, so no surprise there.

Mori: In outfield we already know that Yosvani Fernandez is out for the series at least with an elbow injury that he had sustained in game three of the second Kalactin series, but his stand-in Steven Marangoudakis has done an outstanding job in right field so far and will start against Newmanistan as well.

Ladle: It looks like the team is ready to take on the Newmanistan U16s tomorrow here in Ruby Falls' Diamond Park and so are we. We hope to be able to welcome you tomorrow for our live coverage of the quarter finals and hopefully a continuation of the Devil's Rejects' soaring story. Until then I'm Sarah Ladle.

Mori: And I'm Angelo Mori, have a good evening.

[Super-Llamaland]

QUARTERFINALS GAMES 1-2

Eight strong teams are left in this IBS, but only four can advance to the semifinals...will you be worthy of one of those spots?

(1) Cassadaigua U18s v. (8) Mathuvan Union Moose

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Mathuvan Union Moose  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0   1
Cassadaigua U18s      2  0  2  0  0  0  0  1  X   5

Team Name             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Cassadaigua U18s      0  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  2   4
Mathuvan Union Moose  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  1   3

Cassadaigua advances, 2G-0

(2) South Newlandia U22s v. (7) Sarzonia Junior Stars

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sarzonia Junior Stars  1  0  0  2  0  0  0  0  0   3
South Newlandia U22s   2  0  1  2  0  1  0  0  X   6

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
South Newlandia U22s   2  1  1  0  1  2  0  0  0   7
Sarzonia Junior Stars  0  2  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   3

South Newlandia advances, 2G-0

(3) Tikariot Thunderforge v. (6) Newmanistan U16s

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Newmanistan U16s       1  1  2  0  1  1  0  0  0   6
Tikariot Thunderforge  2  2  3  3  7  0  0  0  X   17

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Tikariot Thunderforge  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  3   5
Newmanistan U16s       0  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  0   2

Tikariot advances, 2G-0

(4) Terre Septentrionale Nordiques v. (5) Super-Llamaland Tigers (Scorinated by Northwest Kalactin)

Team Name                        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Super-Llamaland Tigers           0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1  0  2
Terre Septentrionale Nordiques   1  1  0  0  2  0  0  0  X  4

Team Name                        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Terre Septentrionale Nordiques   1  0  0  3  0  0  1  0  1  6
Super-Llamaland Tigers           0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1

Terre Septentrionale advances, 2G-0

IBS XI: SF MATCHUPS

Teams listed first will be the home team in Games 1 and 3.

(1) Cassadaigua U18s v. (4) Terre Septentrionale Nordiques
Tyler Rocke Memorial Stadium, New Llama City

(2) South Newlandia U22s v. (3) Tikariot Thunderforge
Earnest Field, Kyrinson

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Youth Baseball
Sometimes, it’s good to be wrong.

South Newlandia surprisingly managed to reach the semi-finals of the International Baseball Slam after defeating the Sarzonia Junior Stars. The game was much closer than the result makes it appear to be, as the Sarzonians were putting in a great effort, but they were also coming straight from the decider against the Starcom Starboys. Against the South Newlandian U22s, a team that was way better rested, they ended up behind. The second game was a weird one for South Newlandia, as Ryan Hunter was batting. The Sarzonian team was wishing to play without a Designated Hitter, and because of that, the first game was played with a Designated Hitter, while game two was played with the pitchers batting.

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
Sarzonia Junior Stars  1  0  0  2  0  0  0  0  0   3
South Newlandia U22s   2  0  1  2  0  1  0  0  X   6

Roberto Goodman took the mount for South Newlandia in the first game, while Kiki Felton was pitching for the Sarzonian team. Goodman was going to be pitching first, and he stepped onto the plate under the noises of a packed Earnest Field. Goodman threw two balls first, neither of which could fool Kyle Monahan. On the next pitch, Monahan swung, and the ball flew deep into Left Field, right past Daryl Dunlop. Dunlop was quick to collect the ball however, and Monahan only got a double. Unfortunately for South Newlandia, he stole third base right after that. After that, Goodman managed to get his pitching together, but he couldn’t stop Monahan from getting the first run of the game after a single by Cristobal Vargas. South Newlandias batters could soon get the team’s fans in a better mood. After Daryl Dunlop had gotten a walk, Shawn Zimmerman managed to get the first home run of the day after an unlucky pitch by Felton. With that, South Newlandia was now up a run after the first inning. Earnest Field saw more action in the bottom of the third, as a nice triple got Mike Larsen in a great position. South Newlandia didn’t manage any more good hits, but after a sacrifice fly by David Drum, Larsen was able to extend the South Newlandian lead. The fourth inning brought more excitement, as this time, it was Goodman who gave up a home run. Martaye Adams, who should have been known to the South Newlandian coaches as a threat with a strong arm, managed to get the home run to score himself and Anderson Bradley to equalize the score. South Newlandians batters would not accept that, and it was Fred Burn who got the next home run, also scoring Sophia Smiths to reinstate the old difference of two runs. In the bottom of the 6th inning, South Newlandia managed to get another run, scored by David Drum, to take a 6-3 lead. Ian Capan came to close the game in the seventh inning, and he didn’t allow any more runs. With that, the South Newlandian U22s took the first game, and with Ryan Hunter pitching next, they had hope to make it through.

Team Name              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 Total
South Newlandia U22s   2  1  1  0  1  2  0  0  0   7
Sarzonia Junior Stars  0  2  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   3

We already mentioned Ryan Hunter pitching this game for South Newlandia, and Nate Kingston, the Sarzonian first starter, was pitching for the Junior Stars. He would not end up having a good day, however. South Newlandia would begin batting this time, and they started off nearly perfectly with Shawn Zimmerman scoring yet another home run, scoring Daryl Dunlop as well. Zimmerman didn’t have a good start to his tournament, but the 17-year-old is playing convincingly now. In the top of the second inning, South Newlandia increased their lead to three after Fred Burn scored a nice run. The Junior Stars would not give themselves up easily, and they got closer in the bottom of the second. Ryan Hunter gave up a rare home run, with Anderson Bradley profiting off of that. He scored a run for Deanna Parker as well, and suddenly, the difference was narrowed down to one run only. Like in the first game, South Newlandia struck back instantly, and Adam King got a run in the 4th inning after a sacrifice fly by David Drum. After that, Ryan Hunter seemed to have one of his famously good days, and the Junior Stars struggled to get any hits, yet alone runs off of him. In the top of the 5th inning, Jack Mine got a run, and in the top of the sixth, they made a huge step to the semi-finals. With Daryl Dunlop on second base, Sophia Smiths managed to get a home run barely above the railing, and South Newlandia now took a 7-2 lead. Sarzonia would have to come up with something soon. Because he was also batting at the same time, Hunter left the mount after the bottom of the sixth already, unusually early for him. Barnaby Butt took over for him, and he started off by giving up a run in the bottom of the seventh. Xavier Felton took a solo home run, but the difference would remain at four runs until the end of the match. While that means that we got our prediction wrong, South Newlandia is very happy about the first semi-final appearance from any team from the nation.

All the other Quarterfinals are actually already over as well, and all four of them saw the higher seed advance. Cassadiagua took out the South Newlandian group opponent from the Mathuvan Union, The Nordiques took down the hosts from Super-Llamaland, and Newmanistans U16-team fell to the Tikariot Thunderforge. The Thunderforge will be the semi-final opponent for the South Newlandia U22s, and because of all the series already being over, the hosts from Super-Llamaland announced that play would resume without a break during the now unnecessary second Quarterfinal day. That means that South Newlandia will be back to playing baseball soon again, and it also means that Jean-Luc Conrad will not have time to rest his pitchers. Because of that, the two pitchers not pitching against Sarzonia, Marcus Raj and Jay Kramer will be playing the first two games against the Thunderforge, while Ryan Hunter should be available for a possible third semi-final match. Both the Tikariot Thunderforge and the South Newlandian U22s have a record of 15-5 so far, as they both managed to skip the Round of 12. South Newlandia might gain a small edge as the semifinal series will be held in Kyrinson as well. While South Newlandia can stay near Earnest Field, the Thunderforge will have to travel over from Ruby Falls. Despite this, Tikariot Thunderforge may be the toughest team the South Newlandian U22s will face in the tournament, at least to this point. Different to some teams in the IBS, they aren’t a youth team, and they managed to get a strong record in a tough group. Sweeping Newmanistan, even if it’s just their U16s, isn’t a small feat either, and they dominated especially in the first game, winning with seventeen (!) scored runs. The South Newlandian pitchers will certainly have to play their best if they want to stop those batters. We wish both teams good luck, and may the better team win.

[Terre Septentrionale]

Terre Septentrionale wins the series against Super-Llamaland

New Llama City, Super-Llamaland - Terre septentrionale swept the series against Super Llamaland! In the 1st game, the Nordiques won 4-2 or maybe it's 5-2 and they won the 2nd game 6-1. Marie-Anne Galarraga was the starting pitcher for game one and she allowed just one run in 7 innings and striked out 6 batters. In the 5th inning when the score was 2-1 for Terre Septentrionale, Katarina Radovnikovic's double sent Zlatko Popović-Vejnović to the plate. Then, Katelyn Olszewski followed with a double, Radovnikovic also crossed the plate and the score was 4-1. Both teams added one more runs in the 8th inning but the final score shows 4-2. Marie-Anne Galarraga (5-0) was the winning pitcher and Molly Czapkowski had a save.

In the 2nd game, when the score was 1-0 for the Reprezentacja Nordycki in the 4th inning, Carson McGinness hitted a 3 runs homerun which sent Melanie Wojciechowski and designated hitter Ryan McGough to the plate. The score was 4-0 at that time and the final score was 6-1. Travis O'Rear (4-2) was the starting pitcher and he earned his 4th win of the tournament. He allowed no run and striked out 8 batters in 8 innings. Anna Nyquist is the one who allowed the run in 9th inning.

In the semi final, the Northmen will play against Cassadaigua's under 18 team. Terre Septentrionale's pitchers will be Louis-Philip Jolicoeur (2-3) for game 1, Hunter Kloehn (1-0 in 4 starts) for game 2 and, if necessary, Marie-Anne Galarraga (5-0).

Dragomir Kovacevic,
La tribune Septentrionale

[Tikariot]

Angelo Mori and Sarah Ladle are standing in their booth at the Diamond Park in Ruby Falls right after the second game of the quarter finals against the Newmanistan U16.

Angelo Mori: Here we are in Ruby Falls and we have seen history being written. At least Tikariotian history, that is!

Sarah Ladle: A 2-0 series sweep against the Newmanistan U16s in the International Baseball Slam quarter finals and now we are on our way to Kyrinson, where we will meet the South Newlandia U22s, so we're moving up in the age groups!

Mori: Game one was a stunning offensive display by the Devil's Rejects, which completely overshadowed the defense. Led by the trio Michael Romanov, Foster Fleming and Steven Marangoudakis they had the U16s under pressure from the beginning. In the first five innings De'Andre Stevens allowed five runs, but while this in some games could have spelled trouble, the offense was on fire, with ten runs after the first four innings.

Ladle: Coming off a single RBI for only 15 year old Tara Lapour, the U16s brough in short reliever Kristen Pearson, first facing off against Steven Marangoudakis. She managed to get him to swing on a beautiful sinker before throwing a tad too high in the second pitch, but then she tried another sinker, but it went down too early, hitting the ground just before catcher Alexa Coates and touching the home base just enough to alter its trajectory, missing her glove. Marangoudakis immediately went for the sprint and with a nice slide reached first base just before Rachel McNulty could tag him.

Mori: Carlton Baines struck out after some outstanding pitching by Pearson, but as JJ Bernardetti came on, Marangoudakis managed to steal a base, which apparently made Pearson a little nervous, because with the next pitch Bernardetti connected well and sent the ball right into left field, giving himself a double and an RBI as Marangoudakis reached home base. But that was just the beginning. William Carruthers was next and while his catching was somewhat hit and miss in the first few innings, earning him some choice words by coach Graham McCrory, he swung for a ball that was far off the box, but hit just near the end of the bat and sliced it right over McNulty for a single and Bernardetti on third.

Ladle: Michael Romanov was next and I am not quite sure what he did, but while other batters would swing and fidget before the pitch, he stood there like a statue, fixating Kristen Pearson. Now it was her turn to fidget, checking first and third base to avoid another steal. She opted for a fastball that came straight down the middle, but Romanov did not move, I don't even think he blinked, but continued to stare at Pearson. She tried a cutter next, but Romanov's unnerving stare most have gotten to her, because Romanov hit the sweet spot and the outfielders did not even have to try to run, because it was obvious that this ball was a goner, giving Tikariot runs 2 to 4.

Mori: The Newmanistan coach then pulled Pearson, bringing on Hallie Dwyer, who walked Bronson Ghirardello, then struck out Stuart Hernandez, bringing Foster Fleming to the batter's box. After a very nice changeup and a foul ball, Fleming was at 0-2. He looked like a tightly coiled spring, ready to burst at any moment and it was a hail Mary kind of hit, because he swung for the fences even though the ball was slightly off. It went into center field, just over Courtney Greenleaf as short stop. She did manage to get the edge of her glove on the ball, but could not bring it down, so both Ghirardello and Fleming advanced one base.

Ladle: Next up was Steven Marangoudakis again and after the stolen base and scored run earlier in the inning, he was brimming with confidence. The first knuckle curveball curved in just in time for a first strike, followed by two balls and a foul ball by Marangoudakis. The next pitch would either see Marangoudakis walk or end the inning and he opted for the third option, hitting the ball square and with that a double with Ghirardello scoring and Fleming on third, himself on second. Carlton Baines looked a little unsure as he had struck out earlier, but a nice strike into right field had Ghirardello and Fleming score for a 7 run inning that put the game to bed for good.

Mori: In game two the tables turned in a way that defense dominated, only allowing two runs all night, while scoring five, sending the Devil's Rejects into the semis. Now the South Newlandia U22s are a completely different calibre, though, who swept the Sarzonia Junior Stars and so far have the same 15-5 record throughout the competition. Given that they are not going to have to travel for their series, they might have a slight advantage, but I am sure that the adrenaline will make up for any potential tiredness from the flight to Kyrinson.

Ladle: I hope that Coach McCrory will be able to keep the celebrations to a minimum, because the last thing we will need is a hungover team, but so far he has done a great job with that, so I am confident that he will be able to reign them in. We will be with you live from Kyrinson tomorrow for the semi final between the Tikariot Thunderforge and the South Newlandia U22s, which promises to be an exciting clash of two teams that have been on a roll all tournament so far. I'm Sarah Ladle and over there is Angelo Mori, who is not listening at all anymore, see you all tomorrow!