World Baseball Classic 49- Everything Thread (IC)

[Se Vende Skooma]

Decobart Aix had heard a lot of "fat nerd" comments. It was a foundational belief in Test Baseball circles that anyone who wrote about baseball instead of playing it did so because of a lack of physical fitness, hand-eye coordination or social skills. The social skills part was a bit rich from a league that had an entire ritual built around the opening of a new container of chewing tobacco, but Aix wasn't really high enough on the social ladder to press the point.

However, being forgett had certain upshots. Like, for instance, when a bunch of schadenfreude-and-rye drunk apparatchiks at McClarendon County added him on copy to their email thread gloating over TJUN-ia's 14-1 death knell for the Cool Dudes' WBC playoff hopes, instead of their Director of Player Finance Deborah Aire. They were laughing about how much they were saving on free-agency money by keeping Rando Johnson and Sixtus McGruff from being called up for another year, and what suckers they were for having to pretend to buy in to the idea that playing 9-inning baseball meant anything for their development as Test players, in between speculating about how much their bar tabs would be and what they'd have to do in order to get them expensed.

Decobart was going to stay up all night in a dark room staring into his computer screen, just like those self-righteous, insular gatekeeping pricks thought he would, but for much better reasons than they usually attributed to him. This was going to be the bombshell that got him out of data analysis and into baseball writing full-time.

[Tikariot]

The picture opens to the TSG TV's studio in the catacombs of Port Rhovanyon's Oceanview Park, with the hosts of TSG TV's coverage of the World Baseball Classic rearing to go.

Kenneth Burgess: Good evening and welcome back to our coverage of Tikariot's journey through the World Baseball Classic. The sixth series is behind us and it went exactly how the first one went, with a 2-1 series win against the Mathuvan Union. Before we go more into analysis, here's a quick recap by Sean Callahan.

Sean Callahan: In the light of having to push for qualifying for the knock-out stage, a win against the Mathuvan Union was a must. After having won the first series 2-1, the goal was to aim for a sweep to make up for the three point deficit towards the Royal Kingdom of Quebec and things started out the worst way possible. Blustery winds at the Oceanview Park here in Port Rhovanyon proved to be a great distraction for players of either team and the Mathuvan Union came out the luckier of the two teams, blanking the home side 3-0. Asked about the performance after the game, Coach McCrory was unusually calm, citing the wind as main reason for how things went.

Game two righted the ship with a 2-1 win, which again was somewhat of a wind lottery, but the Devil's Rejects showed themselves better adjusted than their opponents, at least up to the point to go up by two runs and not relinquishing their lead until the end. So the third game of the series would be decisive, if Tikariot would suffer a severe blow in their playoff run or salvage at least something. News that Ko-ren swept Falisiand made the rounds, but at least the series between The Sarian and the Royal Kingdom of Quebec was tied at the point with The Sarian in the lead 5-4 runs after five innings.

The Devil's Rejects came out of the gates flying, scoring in three of the first four innings, going up 5-0, giving the fans hope that the series would end well, but in the fifth inning things became decidedly hairy after the Mathuvan Union pulled back three runs. Thankfully closer Rory McElhinney proved to have nerves of steel, finishing off the game without conceding a single run, giving us a 2-1 win overall.

Kenneth Burgess: Thank you Sean. As you can see, Angelo Mori is joining us again, as is Sarah Ladle. So how do things look right now? We are still in third position, one more win behind Ko-oren, but still at the same distance to the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, who ended up pulling back from their deficit against The Sarian and winning their series 2-1. Now the next series might be the most important one of the whole tournament so far - against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec.

Angelo Mori: The Kingdom won the first series against Tikariot with 2-1, which gives them a distinct advantage, so a win tonight is more imortant than ever. Coach McCrory has announced that he will re-start the pitcher rotation with De'Andre Stevens starting the first game. But let's have a look at how things could play out, let's do a little fortune telling, shall we?

Sarah Ladle: Sure, I'm game.

Mori: So, in my opinion Ko-oren is the by far and wide biggest favourite to take the group. Both we and the Kingdom still have to play them and even though we won the first series, I'm calculating that as a loss. I'm hopeful that we'll be able to take The Sarian, Falisiand is somewhat a wild card that could tip the scales either way, so it'll all come down to tonight's series. I feel that if we manage to win this series, the door is wide open for us to advance, as long as we don't get cocky.

Burgess: I agree that this series could be decisive, especially since we're past the what most observers view as the easiest opponent in the group, one that the Kingdom still has to play against, so this is going to be what it comes down to: We have to either sweep the Kingdom or scrape by another win against Ko-oren and hope that the Kingdom will slip up somehow. The biggest problem with this scenario is that we already are down in the head-to-head against the Kingdom, so if we win, but don't sweep them and give us the advantage in the direct record, we have to rely on the run differential, where we are in a clear disadvantage already. So we're going to have to be very diligent in trying to win big and if we lose to keep it right, something that we unfortunately have not been very good with in the tournament so far.

Ladle: Yes, we've been suffering too much from these heavy defeats, I totally agree. If Coach McCrory manages to get that under control, we definitely should have a fighting chance to go through with this. Now, what if Ko-oren slips up against either the Kingdom or us or maybe even both?

Mori: Things are definitely close enough that this could definitely also become a scenario, even though somewhat less likely than the above. However, just because it's not something we should count on does not mean that it could happen and wouldn't it be ironic, if with all the back and forth suddenly both of the combatants would go through?

Ladle: Haha, yes, but still I wouldn't waste too many thoughts on that side of the road, the most important thing that lies ahead of us is the series tonight, which could very well be a pointer as to which direction we're headed in. Sure, things could go sideways in any of the other series, but we really have got to focus on these next three games and be fully aware of the possible implications.

Mori: Now wouldn't that be putting a lot of pressure on the players who, mind you, haven't got a lot of experience on this level?

Burgess: Yes and no. But then again, look at what happened at the Slam, we defied all odds and went all the way, so talk about sudden pressure to perform. Sure, this here is on a completely different level, but still, they have been continuously surprising everybody, so I'm willing to have a little faith in them and hope for the best.

Ladle: True that. Anyways, we're out of time for right now, but let us know your thoughts on Headbook, Tweeter or Instapound and we'll read some of the answers when we come back for our live coverage of the series against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec later tonight. I'm Sarah Ladle and all I can really say is - Up the Irons!

[TJUN-ia]

YOU ARE ENTERING THE JUNGLE
FAIR PLAY SHALL BE OBSERVED HERE AT ALL TIMES
IF NOT, THE CROWD SHALL EAT YOU ALIVE

Welcome back to the Jungle of Rounders Field and welcome back to WBC49! Last you saw us, the Jaguars had done alright but it was good enough for third as they entered the break. But the 2nd half is just as important as the first, and the Battin' Jags need to take as many opportinuites as they can if they desire playoff baseball in Newmanistan. Our first series back saw 3rd host 2nd, as the Cool Dudes of Se Vende Skooma came to town. Even though they treat this sport like cricket, they have come out of nowhere to be in the top 2 by a single game at the break. For both sides, a series win would be important to try and keep both Chormatika and South Covello behind.

---

Game 1
Se Vende Skooma 1-2 TJUN-ia, TJU leads series 1-0
As it was the first game back, both managers relied on their 1st pitchers: Bum Skanderbeg had Toots Angstrom while Phillip Hellas-Verona had Chris Harris. Both of these men did a fine job of shutting down most of the batter that came their ways, and the game was still scoreless by the time we got to the 7th inning. There, TJUN-ia (or Pedro Moires in this case) finally put runs on the board via a nice triple from a shot by Ki Yung-son. Brian Lads would respond with scoring a HR, but then Rafael Llorente did the same to bring the lead back to the home team. The Cool Dudes tried to make things interesting in the 9th but in the end, TJUN-ia held firm to win this tight game 2-1.

Game 2
Se Vende Skooma 1-14 TJUN-ia, TJU wins series 2-0
I'm not even going to attempt to try and describe what happened in Game 2. Not because it was bad, but because my description would do a disservice to the performance the Battin' Jags put on in this game. 14-1 was the final score. 14 to fucking 1. It was a beat down of epic proportions and everything seemed to click: Davis Johnson pitched brilliantly, the batting lineup looked like it was having fun as the runs kept on coming and the managers looked the same too. This TJUN-ia side is still a bit rough around the edges, but the side that played in Game 2 looked like a championship-winning team. It looked like...baseball, in it's best form.

Game 3
Se Vende Skooma 7-6 TJUN-ia, TJU wins series 2-1
So, the series was ours. But it wouldn't be TJUN-ian baseball without losing that extra game. This game was actually pretty tight, just like Game 1, and can be described like so. Se Vende Skooma scores 3, TJUN-ia scores 3. Se Vende gets another and TJUN-ia gets another eventually. Se Vende scores another 3 but TJUN-ia could only get 2 before the game was over. I'm not sure either Gene Almac or Curtis Bacon would be happy with their numbers tonight, but it certainly produced a cracking ballgame.

After beating the Cool Dudes, the Jaguars are now in that 2nd spot. With 3 teams sniffing around like sharks for qualification, these next 3 series will be crucial in deciding of TJUN-ia has a shot of making it to Newmainstan. The only road series in that stretch starts us off, as we're off to 5th-placed South Covello. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group 1)
S1 (G1/G2/G3): @Se Vende Skooma (UR) - SublimeBurger Park W 2-1 (3rd)
S2 (G4/G5/G6): vs South Covello (22) - Rounders Field, Portside L 1-2 (4th)
S3 (G7/G8/G9): @Chromatika (26) - National Stadium, Chromatik City L 1-2 (4th)
S4 (G10/G11/G12): @Newmanistan (5) - The Jungle, Loudon W 2-1 (2nd)
S5 (G13/G14/G15): vs Marigred (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington W 2-1 (3rd/8-7)
---------------------------MIDWAY BREAK---------------------------
S6 (G16/G17/G18): vs Se Vende Skooma (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 2-1 (2nd)
S7 (G19/G20/G21):@South Covello (22)
S8 (G22/G23/G24): vs Chromatika (26) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S9 (G25/G26/G27): vs Newmanistan (5) - Rounders Field, Portside
S10 (G28/G29/G30): @Marigred (UR)

[The Sherpa Empire]

The series against Megistos went well, with the Sherpas winning all 3 games. A couple of the players questioned why it was being held in Chengdu instead of just staying in Nanjing where they had just finished 3 games against Devonta. "It's not for us; it's for the fans," Tandi Ojha told his teammates who were complaining about the extra travel.

Game 2 of the Megistos series was a comfortable 8-3 win with Ai pitching 6 innings, and Chuan, Murthy, and Sangakkar coming out of the bullpen for the last 3. The team were pleased with it, but some feminist activists had noticed that Chongba Lee only used Daki Chuan in situations where it wouldn't be that important if she gave up a run or two. Some of the activists said it was sexist discrimination, and the debate spread around enough that Changyi Ihawa, a field reporter for SISN, decided to ask about it in a post-game interview at the end of game 3.

"Our job is to win games," Chongba Lee answered. "Every player has a role in that, and I think Daki Chuan is doing well in her role, but I'm only going to use her when I think it's good for the team."

Chuan herself said she wasn't bothered by the way Lee had been managing his pitching staff. She was just glad the team was doing well. Privately, she did want to play more and to be trusted in critical situations, but she knew it was a big step just being put on the national team in the first place, and she felt like she was still on her way up, like she hadn't hit the glass ceiling yet. Maybe she just needed some time to earn the team's trust.

[Sarzonia]

Losing two of three games at home to the likes of unranked Kohnhead is enough to get your team a closed door meeting with the manager throwing stuff and screaming.

Losing two of three games against Banija, the No. 2 ranked team in the multiverse when your team are ranked 28th is a completely different story. The Sarzonian national baseball team lost the first two games of their series against Banija before their bats and Jeff Parrish bailed them out in Game Three to avoid a sweep.

Manager Geoff Yancey said he was pleased with the overall result against Banija, getting a split of the six matches between the two teams before the Stars return to an away series against Kohnhead.

"You get a split of the series against Banija, you're doing well," Yancey said. The Stars were potentially a walkoff defeat in Banija away from winning four of six against them.

Neither ace Mark Conroy nor No. 2 starter Uriel Jimenez had their best stuff, forcing Conroy to adjust by trying to keep the ball down and forcing grounders. He still managed to pitch six innings before Yancey turned matters over to the bullpen in Sarzonia's 4-2 loss in Game One.

Jimenez wasn't nearly as fortunate, getting chased after three innings-plus. He was responsible for two runners on base, and first baseman Yakuba Kah was responsible for driving them both home with a screaming double on the first pitch from Alfred Wagner that caromed off McVie Mountain in right field. Other than that, Wagner threw three innings and otherwise kept Banija from doing further damage.

Game Three made a case for Yancey to possibly move Parrish up in the rotation as he tossed eight innings and limited Banija to two runs on four hits. Meanwhile, Sarzonia made their mark with 14 batters strolling to the plate in the bottom of the third and scoring seven runs chasing Ensa Suso with a titanic blast from rightfielder Kenny Evans plating three runs and extending Sarzonia's lead to 5-0.

Tyrell Douglass worked the ninth inning since he hadn't faced a save situation since before the midqualifying break. Sarzonia return to Fleetwood Park against world No. 10 Liventia. Yancey said he was ruling out holding Conroy back to face the Red and Gold.

"I'd rather stay with our rotation the way it is, but if Parrish keeps pitching well, I might make an adjustment there," he said.

[Super-Llamaland]

Stadium Museum Alley Road Rocket

May 31, 3131
4042 Bartlett Ave.
Emerald Springs, ?

“Quick! Throw your backpack in the shed,” Dr. Sorescu hissed. Alex did so without hesitation. Immediately afterward, Dr. Sorescu slapped a button on the side of the shed. The two watched as the building shimmered, as if immaterial, then sank into the ground. Then they turned and ran for the front yard.

When they got there, the scene was as expected - Dr. Sorescu’s nephew (whose name Alex still hadn’t learned) slumped on the ground as a group of either humanoid robots or heavily armored humans went through his possessions. Before either of them could react, one of the figures turned and began to fire. Alex was out cold before he hit the ground.

The room he awoke in was blindingly white with spotless walls. There was a metallic taste in the air, which seemed unnecessarily cold. Standing above him was a woman, who smiled as she recognized that he was waking up.

“Welcome to the future, Alex Kirk. We’ve been expecting you.”

VI. The Wall
June 1, 3131
???
??, ?

Out of all of the mind-breaking things that Alex had heard, seen, or learned since his arrival in the thirty-second century, this had arguably been the mind-breakingiest.

“...Sorry, what?”

“Alexander Everett Kirk, right? Middle infielder for World Baseball Classics 29-32, disappeared and presumed dead post-Event.”

“...How do you know any of this? Who are you?”

“My name is Annora Wu, and I am the thirty-ninth and final President of the Llamanean Baseball Association. As for how I know who you are, well, let’s just say that our technology has advanced a lot since Pre-Event Llamanea.”

“...?”

Annora sighed, and extended a hand out to help him up. “This might be easier if you get some context first.” She pulled out what appeared to be a series of memory tabs bundled together, and in one smooth motion stuck it into the back of Alex’s neck, into an orifice that Alex didn’t previously know he had.

August 31, 3128
Conference Room 2332
Rasmussen Space Center, 25 miles north of Dinschria City

“Are we sure about the implications of this experiment?” Annora asked, frowning at the live feed being projected in front of them again.

“We’ve quadruple-checked everything,” said Mikayla Hörst, the Llamanean Baseball Association’s Head of Rocketry. “Our models have been able to predict all experimental interactions with the Wall for the past fifty years. Unless our laws of physics, which have been repeatedly proven true for centuries now, somehow change, this rocket will make it through.”

“And, to be clear, if it doesn’t…”

Hörst winced. “Then we have no choice but to accept Jensen’s hypothesis, yes.”

February 9, 3068
Conference Room 3443
Rasmussen Space Center, 25 miles north of Dinschria City

Eron Jensen hadn’t had the easiest time getting into the swing of things at her new job. There’d been the incident back in September where she’d accidentally calibrated her model on a file of New Llama Wizards baseball results rather than Wall interactions, of course, and the resulting nightmare of a presentation had nearly gotten her fired. But the higher-ups had seen her potential as a data analyst, and she’d rapidly improved over the next few months.

Presently, she was cleaning out her file systems, using a projector to swipe through old data files and models that she no longer needed. Seeing the file name cursedwizardsprojections.da, she laughed, and moved to delete it - in a way, it was sort of like an exorcism of old demons, as she settled into her new role. But something had prompted her to see how good the predictions actually were. She whipped out the play-by-play logs for the President’s Cup final, as well as the prediction files, and had her computer compare the two.

They were exactly the same.

February 9, 3076
Conference Room 3443
Rasmussen Space Center, 25 miles north of Dinschria City

It’d been eight years to the day that Eron Jensen had run that ill-fated test. Since then, she’d rapidly been promoted to the head of a new department under the RSC’s theoretical physics division, one that solely focused on predicting baseball results using “noise” generated from the data that physical interactions left after colliding with The Wall. Since then, their model had predicted with perfect accuracy the results of the 3123, 3124, and 3125 baseball seasons - not only that, but every pitch thrown, the result of every at-bat, even ejections and injuries. As a result, Eron had been instructed to present the results to a board of LBA and RSC higher-ups.

“...so the conclusion is inevitable, as you can see from the data we’ve collected. We don’t know how or why, but the results of the LBL are all predetermined.”

“Have you tried to predict anything else using this data?” That was Mikayla Hörst, one of the top physicists studying the Wall.

“We have, and nothing else has been predictable in this way. In fact, the noise data we used has no predictive properties for anything else that we’ve tried. And we’ve basically tried everything.”

“Do you know why?” now it was the LBA President Fyodor Cameron’s turn to ask questions.

“I have my own hypotheses, as do the rest of the team. But only one of them has held up to any amount of scrutiny.”

“What is it?”

Eron swallowed heavily. “The theory is that the country known to us as Super-Llamaland - at least post-Event - is a simulated construct. The only reason for our existence is apparently to produce LBL results and international WBC scores. Everything else produced by our society - the thousand years of technological progress, novels, music, culture, every non-baseball related facet of our lives - is just random noise.”

The room went quiet.

August 31, 3128
Conference Room 2332
Rasmussen Space Center, 25 miles north of Dinschria City

Annora swallowed heavily. “Go for launch,” she said. Ten seconds later, a brilliant, 150-foot rocket burst into the air on the live feed, completely melting the Dinschria snowscape around it.

The rocket majestically shrieked through the air, trailing smoke and fire behind it. Until, abruptly, it stopped, turned one hundred and eighty degrees, and was sent spiraling back down to Earth, the hopes of the entire room sinking down with the broken rocket into the abyss. It had collided with the wall. Against all known laws of aviation, the Wall had won again. The implications of what the live stream had just showed hit the conference room like the rocket itself hitting the floor.

It felt like an eternity before Annora could find the right words to say. “Now what?” In front of her, one of the LBA board members began to cry, loud, heaving sobs that tore into Annora’s heart.

June 1, 3131
???
??, ?

“...So, none of it’s real?”

“I’m sorry, Alex. It’s not easy for anyone to accept this.”

“...What did you do next?”

Annora smiled sadly. “The only thing we could do. We shut down the Llamanean Baseball League. But it wasn’t enough - people would’ve wanted it to come back. So we had to erase baseball from the memory of Super-Llamaland.”

“The Enhancement chips made it surprisingly easy. Basically every Llamanean has already had a neural implant since around the 2800s, so we just convinced the government to wipe baseball out of everyone’s memories and fill them in with anything else. A group of holdouts managed to de-Enhance themselves just in time and started smuggling baseball memories - but we managed to capture and forcibly wipe all of them. Of course, they didn't know what we know. But then again, this is all old news to you, Alex."

“I...I didn’t know about any of that. I was just-”

“Yes, I understand. We’re not going to kill you, Alex.”

“...so what do I do now?”

“Why do you think it matters what you do? None of this is real, Alex. You can do whatever you want.”

“...aren’t you worried I’ll tell anyone else?” In response now, Annora gently took Alex’s hand and guided it to the back of his neck. As he felt what almost seemed to be a USB port there, his blood ran cold.

“You’re Enhanced now, Alex. You’re not going to tell anyone else. In thirty seconds, you won’t even have anything to tell.”

[Zwangzug]

The Kerlagrad Courier

Sources close to your Uncle Chris who keeps saying pointless tangents like "they should really save some of those runs for tomorrow" have confirmed that your mother's brother is just about insufferable right now.

"Yeah, the whole run differential thing being used as a tiebreaker, he won't shut up about it," says cousin Myra. "And that whole 'Pythagorean record' algorithm for predicting pennant winners over a long season. As if thirty days is a decent sample size."

Aunt Linda confirms that after Zwangzug put up six runs in the fourth inning to take a 10-1 lead against the Equestrian States, Chris' smugness was unbearable. "He kept going on about how [Naomi] Elsen wasn't as reliable and we would need to give her some run support, as if the Equestrians didn't also have a changing pitching rotation." She adds that Chris' adage about "defense wins championships" can now directly be borne out by the existence of a "goals [sic] against" column.

"I really think they should be appreciating me," Chris said. "I mean, how often have I said something like 'if we could turn back the clock, we wouldn't have pinch-hit for Burnham?' And they make fun of me because you can't turn back the clock. Well, I heard about this guy in Super-Llamaland--" Chris was interrupted by Uncle Theo stifling his unbearable asides.

"To be fair, announcing is hard when you don't have corporate sponsorship and can't namedrop who different plays were brought to you by," admits Anita Obermeyer, color commentator for the Zebras this cycle. "It makes me appreciate what my predecessors went through, no wonder all of them burned out quickly. Still, even I have never sunk to the level of pondering hypotheticals that blatantly ignore the rules of the game and/or physics."

At press time, Chris was on record as saying "maybe we should use that draw column for something" and all your other relatives have decided not to invite him to their next gathering.

[Daskel]

| BASEBALL | ICE HOCKEY | BLOCKBALL | OTHER SPORTS

---

WBC: Daskies keep rolling!
By Nakamura Go (@GomuraOfficial)

Gou Hits a double in game 2

DAITO METROPOLIS -- The first series before the midbreak last day in the Daito Kyūjō. The team played against The Jovannic, winning games 1 and 2 to take the series. With this result, the group stage series against The Jovannic ended overall 4-2 in favor of Daskel. We procceed to revisit the last three-game series here, at the Daikyū. For this, we count with Kishimoto Ryūtarō, first baseman of our team.

Kishimoto (K): A pleasure to be here
Nakamura (N): Last series went good for team Daskel, isn't right?
K: That's correct! We moved a place in the standings following the series
N: Let's make a recap game by game

Series 6, Game 1

The Jovannic                          1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Daskel                                0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 X  3

N: The first half of the game were a back-and-forth commitment between both teams, but Daskel could secure their lead until the end.
K: It was a demanding first game. we managed to get three runs to Itara Crisui, but his pitches and Roger Tang's calls were on spot. After the first series against them on the road, of course both teams had times to adjust tactics to each other. Kojima had a good game as well. I get that he and Shintaro worked pretty hard for this half of the series.
N: You scored in this game as well
K: Yeah. Getting that run on the bottom of the third was so important to preserve momentum. Ben finally got his time and scored a couple of innings afterwards.

Series 6, Game 2

The Jovannic                          0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  2
Daskel                                3 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  6

N: Now, moving on game two. This game was all Daskel from the beginning. You also scored, Mr Kishimoto!
K: That's right! A great first inning to start. I hope Ben doesn't want to end me, but oh how close he was to make the score even higher! Do not worry, Ben, we love you.
N: The Jovannic scored runs on the fourth and seventh
K: Look, we were truly scared on the seventh inning, with Ng and Tan on base. Watanabe is hell of a reliever, through. His submarine pitch motion is hard to hit, and saved us well. Izo is on a roll. That night he closed the game as always. I'm happy to see him back. Hope the yips is forgotten. The Jovannic's bullpen was superb as well. We couldn't score after the fourth.
N: They send the veteran
K: All my respects to Vitoran Kalictaca. What a great pitcher


Series 6, Game 3

The Jovannic                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Daskel                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

N: Game 3 was...
K: Maddening
N: I cannot refute that. eight innings to lose at the last second
K: Cutson Duyst made us crazy. His pitches are fast. He's young, he's talented. We seriously hope to get another opportunity to rematch this game against him. If we have luck, a Duyst vs Kanao battle... yes, that would be awesome


N: Let's talk about the future. Next series is vs Banija on their own field
K: That's right. It's always exciting to be on the road. Istria City Baseball Diamond looks like a brilliant, modern venue for some good baseball
N: Have coach An selected a strategy for the next matches?
K: I cannot reveal much! -laughs-, but what I can say, is that we are a team with a identity. We grind the baseball field for our wins, and you will keep perceiving that in our game style. This a team effort, and we move like a team.
N: Good luck vs Banija, guys. Let's get a victory now
K: Oh sweet, sweet victory


Standings

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Banija                 18   12   0   6    97   67  +30    36
2 Liventia               18   11   0   7    82   68  +14    33
3 Daskel                 18   10   0   8    88   85   +3    30
4 Sarzonia               18   10   0   8    83   75   +8    30
5 Kohnhead               18    7   0  11    66   93  −27    21
6 The Jovannic           18    4   0  14    68   96  −28    12

Schedule
Friday, 7/17: Series 1- The Jovannic 1 - 2 Daskel (2nd)
Saturday, 7/18: Series 2- Daskel 0 - 3 Banija (6th)
Sunday, 7/19: Series 3- Kohnhead 1 - 2 Daskel (4th)
Monday, 7/20: Series 4- Daskel 2 - 1 Sarzonia (3rd)
Tuesday, 7/21: Series 5- Liventia 1 - 2 Daskel (4th)
7/22- Midway break
Thursday, 7/23: Series 6- Daskel 2 - 1 The Jovannic (3rd)

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Friday, 7/24: Series 7- Banija v Daskel
Saturday, 7/25: Series 8- Daskel v Kohnhead
Sunday, 7/26: Series 9- Sarzonia v Daskel
Monday, 7/27: Series 10- Daskel v Liventia

[Hapilopper]

Capital Stadium, Hapilopper City
World Baseball Classic 49 Series 6: Hapilopper v. Jeckland
If there was a sign that the Hapilopper National Baseball Team was a cohesive unit, it was evident during the second Jeckland series in Capital Stadium. Charlton Forest, on the mound for the Hapiloppians, was in the process of pitching to Jeckish center-fielder Sylvan Corwin when he heard something pop in his left arm. The pitch sailed scarily close to Corwin’s head, but that didn’t matter to Charlton. Nothing did. The intense and sudden pain brought him to the ground. It seemed like the rest of the world had ceased to exist around him.

And for once, Capital Stadium went quiet. Fans drinking some of Charlton’s own beer stopped. The HNBT’s training staff rushed out onto the field to check on the ace of the HNBT pitching staff. The players on the field rushed over to check on their teammate, and the players in the Hapiloppian dugout streamed out to get a closer look. It was evident that Charlton was in intense pain, to the point where he couldn’t move or react.

On the field, the entire HNBT took a knee. Jerome Hayden came over from shortstop, crouched down and grabbed Charlton’s hand. Jerome looked down and stared at Charlton, who stared back. Nothing needed to be said. Just before the start of the World Baseball Classic, the two players had been at each other’s throats. Now Jerome was there to show his comrade that he was there for him.

The Haps took two games in the series, but that was less important than how Charlton was doing. At the end of game one, it had been revealed that he had suffered a severe injury to his left forearm, one similar to an injury suffered by Marion Pound in his second career start many years ago. His World Baseball Classic was over, and it was possible his career could be over. Charlton was sent to D.C. Allison Memorial Hospital in Hapilopper City for an operation.

Following the game, it was announced that Martin Meadows, the emergency starter for the HNBT, would be named the team’s starter in the Forest position for the rest of the World Baseball Classic, at least until they could bring in a fifth starter.

Despite the fact the Haps had won the first game, it was clear that nobody was in a particularly positive mood. Nobody was saying anything. They couldn’t help but just stare at the floor, heavily bothered with what had happened to their teammate. Sometimes, a few players would look at each other, but couldn’t say anything. It’s possible that nothing needed to be said.

Manager Dale Moss took a seat in the middle of the Hapiloppian clubhouse and addressed his players. It was obvious he was bothered with what had happened, and he felt it was up to him to cheer his team up – or at least try to say something to get them back into the right frame of mind.

“Guys, there’s no two ways around it,” Dale said. “This sucks. Charlton’s been one of our most reliable players, and he’s grown into a hell of a guy. But I’d imagine he’d want you guys to play on. We are Hapilopper. Occasionally we deal with some shit. Occasionally we get hurt. Occasionally we deal with a pretty awful setback. But the strength of this team is measured on how we react to it. Someone once said it’s not about how you get knocked down, but it’s about how you get back up.”

Players nodded their heads.

“And god damn it, we get back up,” Dale said. “I heard something about us winning together and losing together. Jerome, I remember you saying that to Charlton. We’re going to do that. We’re going to win our ballgames and make it to the playoffs. With or without Charlton, we’re a damn good ballteam and we’re going to make it to the playoffs. And then, who knows where we’ll go?”

“I know where we’ll go,” Mo Beverly said. “We’ll win the whole fucking thing.”

Dale looked at Mo and smiled. This was the answer he was looking for. So was the rest of the team. They were without the ace of their pitching staff, but they were going to do their damnedest to make sure they would be just fine.

[Ethane]

Roster

Pitchers:

NO.  POS.  Age    BAT.  THW.  NAME.
#65  SP    23     L     R   Adam Gilchrest    
#33  SP    26     R     L   Andrew Schilling       
#28  SP    25     R     R   Graham Castillo              
#89  SP    20     L     L   Carlos Mossaco     
#24  SP    29     R     R   Harry Markwright          
#63  RP    31     R     L   James Hannersson             
#29  RP    27     L     L   Jaime Parkersen           
#65  RP    31     R     R   Mark Oswald       
#41  RP    35     L     L   Jamie Parkins                
#43  RP    28     L     R   Henry Francos     
#56  RP    33     R     R   Daniel Steingurst

Catchers:

NO.    POS. Age     BAT.   THW.  NAME.
#09    C    33      R      R     Thomas Harley
#23    C    28      L      L     Damien Greene

Infielders:

NO.    POS.  Age    BAT.  THW.   NAME.
#63    1B    28     R      L     Benjamin Cutleigh
#42    2B    36     L      L     Oliver Curtley
#77    2B    37     R      R     Elizabeth Edleigh
#99    2B    28     R      R     Samuel Mann
#36    3B    33     L      L     Graham Wilde
#03    3B    31     L      L     Kirsty Islington
#06    SS    26     R      L     William Oswelton
#86    SS    35     L      R     Henry Phillipa

Outfielders:

NO.    POS. Age    BAT.  THW.   NAME.
#91   LF    37      L      R     Joseph Sutton
#80   LF    30      R      R     Benjamin Lynch
#54   CF    40      L      L     Ian Fletcher
#39   CF    38      L      R     John Brady
#51   CF    35      R      R     Alan Murphy
#13   RF    37      L      R     Gregory Foster
#19   RF    33      R      R     Michael Carr
#40   RF    31      L      L     Jeremiah Wheeler

Designated Hitter:

NO.   POS.  Age     BAT.  THW.   NAME.
#01   DH    34      R      R     Gerry Myers

Staff:

Manager: Graham Steadhall
Ever since the national team won the World Baseball Classic, it has been downhill from there. The state of the Ethanian national team has got so dismal that for the first time since the start of the nation's time in the tournament, Ethane is now ranked outside the top ten in the World Baseball Classic rankings. Lockie, while he brought good fortune to begin with, had lost his magic spark in the team, so one of the more left-field options has been brought in to try to change the culture in the club. Graham Steadhall leads one of the local-run baseball clubs in Ethane and is well-known for being a tough manager, which is what is seen to be needed for the national team. He won't be their friend; he'll probably be their enemy, but he views it that when that is the case he is doing his job right. It's hoped he can instill a sense of discipline into the side.

Assistant Manager: Jonathan Herts
First Base Coach: Lucas Robinson
Third Base Coach: Damien Malsanger
Batting Coach: George Orcusson
Pitching Coach: Lee Wilkinson

Stadium:


The McTidley arena is the baseball arena recently commissioned after the IBS X by the government, as they felt even though not many baseball games take place in Ethane, that we ought to have a baseball arena in Ethane for those times when we would be playing home matches. The McTidley arena is named after the teacher who tried to set up a baseball league in the humorous reality tv show, ''But it's Baseball'', which ran from 2003-2005, and attracted an average of 3 million viewers an episode in its first 2 series. This stadium has recently been expanded with the increasing popularity of baseball in Ethane, and now can hold around 20,000 spectators and is currently operated by the EBA (Ethane Baseball Association).

RP Permissions: My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: Yes
Follow my pitching rotation:
Godmod scoring events: No.
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but I can limit/change if it doesn't fit my narrative.
Godmod injuries to my players: No.
Eject my players: Yes.
Godmod other events: Yes, again don't be too unrealistic.
Use DH at home: No.

No pandemic/virus RPs to affect my players or team, even if an outbreak is occurring in a nation (say we were kept in a protective bubble or something).

[Ethane]

The team that once upon a time, won it all. That looked so promising. Challenging those established baseball nations. Passionate. Underdogs, yet always finding a way to win. They were there, they made it into the Hall of Fame. They thought. But they let up on the throttle. They relaxed, felt they were safe. Once you're in, you're in. But that's not how it works. And now, they find themselves likely absent from even the playoffs. Never really in the fight. This was meant to be their comeback year; the year other teams realised Ethane was back, and meant business. But then they never really turned up.

This is a team that has consistently let down the nation. It's no wonder the passion of baseball has been lost in Ethane. So much for that burst of popularity - baseball over the past couple of years has been on the decline, and fast. Other sports such as cricket and football have consumed us all; while The Flame League has just undergone its biggest revamp yet, Ethane still as of yet does not have a baseball league, despite long overdue promises of the establishment of one. Even cricket looks more likely to restart its domestic league before baseball starts a league. That's not a healthy place for baseball to be.

With the international competition getting better and better, the Red Kites just look further and further in the past, a relic of WBC gone by, but not competitive in the modern era. To change that will require more than goodwill and hope. We can't just say 'we always win as the underdogs so maybe we will win again'. We need a complete restructuring of Ethanese baseball infrastructure from the top to the bottom, a reckoning of our identity as a team, and a new passion. That won't be found by sitting on the sidelines - we need to step up if baseball is to have a future in Ethane again.

[Falisiand]

We got swept by Ko-oren. let's recap that.



Xerxes Anscom was on the mound in the first game, Where he allowed Ko-oren to score early in the 2nd and 4th, Falisiand wasn't able to score any runs so they lost 2-0, Xerxes pitched 8.0 innings with 1 walk and 9 strikeouts.

Falisiand                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ko-oren                               0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 X  2

Kyron Burnett on the mound in the 2nd game, and Falisiand struck first with a Ryan Grantham home runto make it 1-0, but Ko-oren scored 2 runs in the 6th to make it 2-1 and the Bison couldn't score any more runs and lost 2-1, Burnett pitched 7.0 innings with 2 walks and 10 strikeouts.

Falisiand                             1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ko-oren                               0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 X  2

Austin Wilkerson was on the mound in the final game. Ko-oren struck first with 1 run in the first to make it 1-0, then scored another run in the 6th to make it 2-0, Richard Mcbride scored a run in the 9th to try to start a rally, but Falisiand couldn't comeback and lost 2-1 again. Austin Wilkerson pitched 7.0 innings with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts

Falisiand                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Ko-oren                               1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 X  2

Falisiands next series is against The Sarian again, but this time on the road, Falisiand swept them last time, but they have been on a cold streak recently losing their last 8 out of 9 games, what will happen now?

[Newmanistan]

Series 7, Game 1

Group 1
Marigred                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Chromatika                            0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 X  4

Newmanistan                           2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2  7
Se Vende Skooma                       0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

TJUN-ia                               0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 1  6
South Covello                         2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  4

Series 7, Game 2

Group 1
Marigred                              2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Chromatika                            3 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 X  8

Newmanistan                           0 0 0 2 0 0 1 5 1  9
Se Vende Skooma                       0 0 0 0 4 2 1 1 0  8

TJUN-ia                               0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1  4
South Covello                         1 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 X  5

Series 7, Game 3

Group 1
Marigred                              0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  4
Chromatika                            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Newmanistan                           2 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0  6
Se Vende Skooma                       0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

TJUN-ia                               0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 0  7
South Covello                         0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0  3

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan            21   17   0   4   121   66  +55    51
2 TJUN-ia                21   12   0   9   104   77  +27    36
3 Se Vende Skooma        21   10   0  11    76   91  −15    30
4 Chromatika             21   10   0  11    72   82  −10    30
5 South Covello          21    8   0  13    74  101  −27    24
6 Marigred               21    6   0  15    83  113  −30    18

Series 7, Game 1

Group 2
The Jovannic                          0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Liventia                              0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 X  3

Daskel                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Banija                                1 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 X  7

Sarzonia                              0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0  3
Kohnhead                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Series 7, Game 2

Group 2
The Jovannic                          1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1  4
Liventia                              0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0  3

Daskel                                2 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0  5
Banija                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2

Sarzonia                              0 0 1 0 1 0 0 5 0  7
Kohnhead                              0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3  5

Series 7, Game 3

Group 2
The Jovannic                          1 0 0 2 6 1 0 0 0 10
Liventia                              4 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 0  9

Daskel                                0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0  4
Banija                                0 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 X  6

Sarzonia                              0 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 0  6
Kohnhead                              0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1  5

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Banija                 21   14   0   7   112   76  +36    42
2 Sarzonia               21   13   0   8    99   86  +13    39
3 Liventia               21   12   0   9    97   84  +13    36
4 Daskel                 21   11   0  10    97  100   −3    33
5 Kohnhead               21    7   0  14    77  109  −32    21
6 The Jovannic           21    6   0  15    84  111  −27    18

Series 7, Game 1

Group 3
Drunk People at the Local Tavern      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
The Greater Nordics                   1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

South Newlandia                       0 0 0 5 1 1 0 0 1  8
Quebecois Acadiana                    0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Torisakia                             0 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 0  5
Hampton Island                        0 1 0 2 0 6 0 0 X  9

Series 7, Game 2

Group 3
Drunk People at the Local Tavern      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
The Greater Nordics                   1 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 X  6

South Newlandia                       4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  6
Quebecois Acadiana                    0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Torisakia                             0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 4  6
Hampton Island                        1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3  7

Series 7, Game 3

Group 3
Drunk People at the Local Tavern      0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0  4
The Greater Nordics                   3 0 1 0 2 3 1 0 X 10

South Newlandia                       1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1  5
Quebecois Acadiana                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Torisakia                             0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
Hampton Island                        0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 X  4

*                                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia                    21   15   0   6   121   93  +28    45
2 Hampton Island                     21   14   0   7   115   91  +24    42
3 The Greater Nordics                21   11   0  10   100  101   −1    33
4 Torisakia                          21   11   0  10    91   88   +3    33
5 Drunk People at the Local Tavern   21    7   0  14    90  116  −26    21
6 Quebecois Acadiana                 21    5   0  16    83  111  −28    15

Series 7, Game 1

Group 4
Drawkland                             0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2
Cassadaigua                           0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Ethane                                0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2
The Fair Republic                     0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 X  4

Lovisa                                0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2
Northwest Kalactin                    1 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 X  6

Series 7, Game 2

Group 4
Drawkland                             0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Cassadaigua                           0 0 1 0 4 1 0 0 X  6

Ethane                                0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0  4
The Fair Republic                     1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  3

Lovisa                                0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Northwest Kalactin                    0 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 X  5

Series 7, Game 3

Group 4
Drawkland                             0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0  4
Cassadaigua                           0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2  5

Ethane                                1 1 0 0 1 0 2 3 0  8
The Fair Republic                     1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  3

Lovisa                                2 0 0 0 1 1 0  1 0  5
Northwest Kalactin                    0 1 0 0 0 3 0 10 X 14

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cassadaigua            21   16   0   5   112   73  +39    48
2 Northwest Kalactin     21   13   0   8   106   99   +7    39
3 Drawkland              21   11   0  10   110  103   +7    33
4 Ethane                 21   10   0  11    97   85  +12    30
5 The Fair Republic      21    7   0  14    95  120  −25    21
6 Lovisa                 21    6   0  15    93  133  −40    18

Series 7, Game 1

Group 5
Equestrian States                     0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3  5
Nova Anglicana                        0 0 1 6 0 0 0 1 X  8

Zwangzug                              1 2 0 4 0 0 0 1 1  9
Jeckland                              1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Hapilopper                            1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0  4
Ihilthracna                           1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Series 7, Game 2

Group 5
Equestrian States                     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Nova Anglicana                        2 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 X  8

Zwangzug                              3 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 0  8
Jeckland                              2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  6

Hapilopper                            0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0  3
Ihilthracna                           0 0 0 1 4 0 2 0 X  7

Series 7, Game 3

Group 5
Equestrian States                     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Nova Anglicana                        1 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 X  6

Zwangzug                              0 0 2 0 2 0 4 0 0  8
Jeckland                              0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 0  5

Hapilopper                            0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3  6
Ihilthracna                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana         21   17   0   4   105   69  +36    51
2 Hapilopper             21   14   0   7    98   80  +18    42
3 Equestrian States      21   10   0  11    79  102  −23    30
4 Zwangzug               21   10   0  11   105   91  +14    30
5 Ihilthracna            21    6   0  15    76   88  −12    18
6 Jeckland               21    6   0  15    83  116  −33    18

Series 7, Game 1

Group 6
Nagore                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ranoria                               0 1 2 0 0 2 0 1 X  6

HUElavia                              1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Abanhfleft                            0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  2

Delaclava                             0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 2  8
Free Republics                        0 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0  6

Series 7, Game 2

Group 6
Nagore                                0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 1  6
Ranoria                               1 2 1 0 0 2 1 2 X  9

HUElavia                              0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Abanhfleft                            0 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 X  6

Delaclava                             0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  4
Free Republics                        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3

Series 7, Game 3

Group 6
Nagore                                0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0  5
Ranoria                               0 0 2 0 0 0 3 4 X  9

HUElavia                              2 0 3 1 1 1 0 2 0 10
Abanhfleft                            0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Delaclava                             1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3
Free Republics                        0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2  5

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Free Republics         21   13   0   8   111   97  +14    39
2 Delaclava              21   12   0   9    98   78  +20    36
3 Ranoria                21   11   0  10   103   98   +5    33
4 Abanhfleft             21   11   0  10    85   86   −1    33
5 HUElavia               21   10   0  11    93   82  +11    30
6 Nagore                 21    6   0  15    68  117  −49    18

Series 7, Game 1

Group 7
Falisiand                             0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0  5
The Sarian                            0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Ko-oren                               0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  5
Mathuvan Union                        0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  6

Tikariot                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Royal Kingdom of Quebec               1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 X  2

Series 7, Game 2

Group 7
Falisiand                             0 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0  5
The Sarian                            0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  2

Ko-oren                               1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 3  7
Mathuvan Union                        0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 3  8

Tikariot                              0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Royal Kingdom of Quebec               2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Series 7, Game 3

Group 7
Falisiand                             0 1 0 1 1 0 3 2 3 11
The Sarian                            0 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 0  7

Ko-oren                               0 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0  6
Mathuvan Union                        0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Tikariot                              0 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 0  6
Royal Kingdom of Quebec               0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  3

*                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                   21   14   0   7   112   66  +46    42
2 Royal Kingdom of Quebec   21   13   0   8   104   94  +10    39
3 Tikariot                  21   13   0   8    77   78   −1    39
4 Falisiand                 21   10   0  11    88   81   +7    30
5 The Sarian                21    7   0  14    79   96  −17    21
6 Mathuvan Union            21    6   0  15    68  113  −45    18

Series 7, Game 1

Group 8
Devonta                               1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  4
Pripet Socialist Republic             1 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 X  6

Super-Llamaland                       0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  4
Megistos                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2

The Sherpa Empire                     0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1  4
Terre Septentrionale                  0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Series 7, Game 2

Group 8
Devonta                               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3
Pripet Socialist Republic             1 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 X  5

Super-Llamaland                       0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Megistos                              3 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 X  6

The Sherpa Empire                     0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0  4
Terre Septentrionale                  0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3

Series 7, Game 3

Group 8
Devonta                               0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 1  5
Pripet Socialist Republic             0 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 X  6

Super-Llamaland                       1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 10
Megistos                              0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0  7

The Sherpa Empire                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Terre Septentrionale                  0 0 1 0 1 0 2 2 X  6

*                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire           21   16   0   5   108   80  +28    48
2 Terre Septentrionale        21   14   0   7    86   63  +23    42
3 Super-Llamaland             21   13   0   8   101   83  +18    39
4 Megistos                    21    7   0  14    91  111  −20    21
5 Pripet Socialist Republic   21    7   0  14    71  108  −37    21
6 Devonta                     21    6   0  15    96  108  −12    18

[Sarzonia]

Following a disappointing, but not surprising series loss to Banija, the Sarzonian national baseball team was at a crossroads.

They were playing the away series in a stretch of 12 of 15 matches at home against a Kohnhead side that took two out of three games in Fleetwood Park against the Stars. They were sitting fourth in the table at 10-8 and had fourth starter Jamie Pearson and fifth starter Brian Lynch going in the second game. Whether Yancey decided to play a hunch and use a bullpen game in the series finale before a critical series against Liventia back home would be anyone's guess.

A funny thing happened when Pearson toed the rubber. He pitched about as dominant a game as a sinker-slider pitcher can, inducing 19 of his 24 outs via the ground ball en route to an eight inning, three hit performance in Game One that gave Sarzonia a 3-1 victory over the Pandas. Designated hitter Luke Brinkley had an RBI double in the fourth inning and rightfielder Kenny Evans singled in a run in the seventh.

Lynch hung in for seven innings, allowing five hits and a two-run shot to designated hitter Vlad Burch in the bottom of the fifth that drew the match level. Sarzonia's offence went to work in the eighth inning, plating five runs in the top of the frame. First baseman Cody Frazier had the big blow in the inning with a bases loaded double that removed the save situation from closer Tyrell Douglass. Douglass had to come in to notch his second consecutive save after Carnie Weston coughed up a three-run homer to leftfielder Stuart Dorsey to cut Sarzonia's lead to 7-5.

The Fleetwood Park crowd was buzzing when the starting pitcher for the series finale was listed as TBA. The murmurs turned to cheers when ace Mark Conroy strode to the mound from the bullpen. He and reliever Dima Ostrelov were both warming up in the Stars bullpen as if either one would be starting. Conroy hung in despite allowing a two-run jack to Burch in the fourth, ultimately tossing seven innings before turning matters over to Ostrelov in the eighth. Scott Lassiter pitched the ninth to avoid having Douglass pitch three consecutive games in save situations and allowed a solo drive to Dorsey, but otherwise closed the door for the sweep.

Yancey's decision to use Conroy in Game Three of the Pandas series means that Uriel Jimenez will pitch Game One against Liventia, followed by Jeff Parrish and Pearson.

"I'm not overstating the importance of the next series," Yancey said. "We can bring ourselves a long way toward earning a spot in the knockouts if we play well and win."

[Northwest Kalactin]

Kalactin Rallies in 8th Inning to Beat Lovisa

Adam Felix Hits a Pop-Fly During the 5th Inning
Well, 14-5 is a great score to win by, but you know what was even better about that game? The 8th inning. The Kalactanians were down 5-4, they had played pretty decently so far in the series, but in game 3 it would not show well on the scoreboard until later in the game. Nate Johnson, an outfielder for the Kalactanians stepped into the batter's box. Johnson was a good player, one you could count on to go out there and hit well for you, as he had shown so far in the Classic. Johnson stepped into the box, and blasted one far, it was a good hut, but would it make it over the wall? Nope. It bounced off of the wall and the Lovisan Outfielder went to grab it. He fielded the ball cleanly, but the second he started his throwing motion you could see it was going far off target at Third base. The ball flew behind the Kalactanian Third Base coach and bounced over near the Kalactanian dugout. Johnson noticed the error and rounded third, heading for home. The Lovisan team then scrambled to get the ball, and the pitcher went to cover home plate, but he was too late. Nate Johnson had scored the first ever inside the park homerun in Kalactanian National Team History!

Nate Johnson Runs Home During His Historic Feat

The rest of the 8th inning would be a very good one for the Kalactanians, and they would go on to score a single game record for the team with 10 runs! Lovisa is a team that we easily went 3-0 against, although all 3 games of the series were very close ones, the Kalactanian teams played well enough to win all 3 of them in the end. What we have coming up next is an extremely hard test in Ethane. We are currently 2 games ahead of Drawkland, so we need these games here to clinch a prized spot in the playoffs. We doubt that we will catch Cassadaigua in the race for first place, but we will certainly put up a good fight for the second place in the group. Drawkland played a very good series against Cassadaigua, so beating them will be a very tough test, but we think we can pull 1 or 2 games against them, although that series is not until the final one of the group stage.

[Delaclava]

DSGN.com Baseball

One inning from sweep, Phoenixes lose lead, remain in fight for second

Two out of three ain't bad - unless you're the Delaclava national baseball team, needing every game you can in the fight for the playoffs.

East Point, Orlandiana, FFR -- Honomi Kamei hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning off Sean Magary, and Sarah Fuerst walked off with the same in the 11th inning against Nehhton Banks as the Phoenixes squandered a 3-1 lead to #7 Free Republics in front of an enthusiastic Republican crowd of 50,273 at General Milani Park.

"This one stings," an emotional Magary said after the game. "We fought so hard from start to finish. We went 11 innings in Game 1, 10 innings last night. We thought we could do the impossible tonight. I just couldn't close the show."

Magary was the winning pitcher in Game 1, an 8-6 win, with three innings of relief and also picked up the save in Game 2, a 4-3 victory, but finishing a third straight game was a step too far for the 23-year-old.

"We had a successful series," manager Grady Collins proclaimed. "On the road against the best team in the division, we were hoping to pick up maybe one win. Two was fantastic. Three would have been a bonus, but we couldn't quite get it today. We kept it too close for too long."

The Phoenixes started the game strong with a leadoff home run from Pavel Malek, and extended their lead in the fourth with a Shane Healy double that scored Josh Smith, and again in the seventh with a Josip Oller triple that drove in Isaac Gilmore. Bedin Egozhevy put in seven innings, striking out eight batters and only giving up a run in the sixth

Collins also defended the decision to send out Magary for a third consecutive appearance: "He's been dynamite the whole tournament. He said he felt good to go. He wasn't bad today. He gave their best hitter one pitch she liked and she was able to get a hold of it. No shame for him, no shame for any of us."

By most standards, it was still a good series for the Phoenixes (12-9), winning two out of three games on the road against a top-10 team. But while they failed to completed the series sweep, Ranoria (11-10) finished theirs against Nagore (6-15) with a 9-5 win, closing to within one game of second-placed Delaclava. Elsewhere, Abanhfleft (11-10) won two out of three against HUElavia (10-11) to also remain a game behind Delaclava. Free Republics (13-8) still sits in first, only a game ahead of the unranked Phoenixes.

Had Magary closed the game and Delaclava held onto its lead, they would have instead taken possession of first place, and more importantly sat two games clear of third place with all top-10 games out of the way. While the Phoenixes now have Ranoria, HUElavia, and Nagore remaining - and Delaclava had a 7-2 record against those squads in the first half - there is little room for error going forward.

"We felt like we were the better team for 29 innings, we lost it at the end and went 2-1," said captain and third baseman Yames Rivas, who went 2-for-5. "No time to dwell on it - there's still way too much for us to do... We came in here unsure, not of our abilities, but what the other teams would be like, and we expected nothing. Now we know we stack up just fine, we think the playoffs is right there for us, and we're not going to stop until we've gotten that spot."

The next series is significant for the Phoenixes in more ways than one: they finally come home to Dillobourne to play in front of their home crowd at Banks Community Center Grandstand. The venue seats 10,000, but last-minute plans are underway to temporarily expand the town's largest baseball stadium. Added to the pressure is a matchup against Ranoria. Given the Phoenixes' favorable schedule, taking at least two wins would at least put Ranoria out of contention, although Abanhfleft could still be hot on their heels.

Are the Dillobourne players feeling the nerves, the pressure to perform in front of friends and family? Rivas laughed at this question: "Ask me again when we actually get home. But I think we'll be fine. We're all really excited to see everybody again - that hasn't happened since we left for Abanhfleft for Opening Day. We've been playing great, we have a quality team visiting, and we think they'll push us to show off our very best."

In a span of twenty-one games, the Dillobourne team has acquitted themselves well - a highly effective rotation of Ryan Dausch, Rhys Hackett, and Egozhevy, a bullpen headlined by Magary, and the surprisingly hot bats of Josip Oller and Healy. It is fitting that they will return to where it all started, on the recreational fields of Dillobourne, and showcase their progress to the community that helped to raise them, for a pivotal trio of games. Egozhevy put it best:

"When we were kids, we all played around and imagined that we were playing in the World Series, or the Olympic final. Now, we're all back on our home fields playing a World Series, and this one's for real."

[Ko-oren]

The precarious balance persists. As we've seen in previous Classics, as long as the results are right, players can work together towards a single goal - getting as far into this tournament as possible. When the results get harder to come by, though, that balance shifts. So far, Ko-oren are still atop Group 7, but with occasional 1-2 series coming through. We're lucky that Quebec and Tikariot are winning exactly as many games as us, but one bad series against either of them puts us in third - and that's when the vitriol starts.

Against the Mathuvan Union, there have been some toxic moments. Starting the series 0-2, conceding a lot of runs, Ogasawara did turn on his teammates. He really only took to Oshita in left field or Gotou at short stop, the only other Yoshiman starters, and as luck would have it, those were the positions that some of these runs were to blame on. Gotou was inaccurate all game, with quite a few hits in his direction, but delivering only a handful at first base. Ogasawara, realising it was his 'compatriots' that were not helping his chances, quieted down. This, in turn, gave way to the Finisterrans to made their discontent known, and the first two games looked more like the Ko-orenites beat themselves rather than that the Mathuvan Union was overpowering. Obviously, they were the better team, but if Ogasawara or Barrande and Berganza would have stayed quiet, this might have been a 2-1 series instead. Barrande is not the most vocal member of the squad, but as the first baseman, in a Ko-orenite system, he has earned quite the respect. He used up a bit of it in a fifth-inning complaint towards Ogasawara - as a right fielder, backing up Barrande. Berganza, the catcher, is normally a beacon of piece behind home plate, but if need be, he can speak up. Loudly. In the seventh inning, he blew up, seemingly over nothing. He launched his complaints towards Gotou, apparently not lining up correctly, making stealing bases too easy. It wasn't a very large thing to get this vocal about, and the coaches had to step in here. The verbal abuse didn't end there, as the bullpen also got in on the fun later in the game. Brands was replaced by reliever Murata, a cool guy who isn't very argumentative - but the Yoshimans couldn't do anything right this game in the eyes of the teammates, so it's a mystery why the coaching staff thought this would be the right substitution to make. Anyway, Murata survived by the skin of his teeth, to be replaced by Chastain, foregoing the set-up pitchers (both Yoshimans) Igarashi, and Hoga. Closing duties were for (again, only Yoshimans here) Higashi, a senior member of the team and above criticism, at least, at the start of his inning. By the end, he was part of giving up runs to the Mathuvans, who took both of the first games.

In the third, there was a little bit of shake-up in the starting order, and immediately the relatively calm, less-burdened-by-the-past players who usually sit on the bench took game three, 6-1. Maybe this is the way forward.

[Free Republics]

Republica General Hospital, Republica, Free Republics

Consul Nova Hellstrom-Hancock once again arrived to visit her fellow consul Scarlett Nicholls in the hospital. Scarlett was recovering from being shot by what appeared to be a Nordernian agent as part of that nation's scheme to rig the election in favor of Samuel Izmailov. So far, Republican intelligence had found no evidence of collusion between Izmailov and the government of Nordernious. Nova had been visiting Scarlett in the hospital every day to bring her documents to sign as part of keeping the government running. Previously, one such document had been a Continuity of Office Act which would permit the remaining consul to appoint an Acting Consul if one of the consul offices became vacant.

Scarlett Nicholls - Hello, Nova. I presume I need to sign something else.

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - I only have one document for you to sign today. Its a very important piece of legislation that needs to take effect immediately.

Scarlett Nicholls - And it doesn't involve appointing an administrator for the Competitive Market Administration.

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - Heavens no, girl. I respect your wishes to wait until you make a full recovery before exercising that power.

Scarlett Nicholls - Then give it to me so I can sign it.

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - Here you go.

Nova put a piece of paper on Scarlett's portable laptop desk and handed Scarlett a pen. In the state she was in, Scarlett could not read whatever she was signing. The drugs the nurses had given her were too strong but she signed on the dotted line anyway.

Scarlett Nicholls - Anything else?

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - No, that's everything for today. Thank you.

Nova walked out of Scarlett's hospital room and got away from earshot of the door before running into a "nurse".

"Nurse" - Did she sign it?

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - Yes she did. Thank you for your service.

"Nurse" - You're welcome. Anything for the Greater Good of our Federation...

---

Within minutes, the document was scanned and uploaded to the official web site of the Consul's Mansion:

Due to my injuries suffered in the recent assassination attempt, I am unable to perform my official duties as your consul any longer. Therefore, I resign the office of consul effective immediately.

Scarlett Nicholls
Consul of the Free Republics

Hours later, the press were assembled on the steps of the Consul's Mansion for a speech by Nova Hellstrom-Hancock where she would introduce the new acting consul of the Free Republics. Most were expecting a representative from Golden Age, a Nicholls family member or even Nicholls family friend and former president of Falatulu Abelino Greece. They were stunned when they discovered who their new consul was:

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - It is my pleasure to announce my new co-consul of the Federation of Free Republics, Samuel Izmailov!

The plan concocted by Nova Hellstrom-Hancock and Samuel Izmailov had finally come to full fruition.

...

Samuel Izmailov - I want to make very clear to foreign powers that my talk of immediately Invading the World upon taking office was just campaign rhetoric. At this time, the Free Republics have no plan of invading any countries.

...

Izmailov felt he needed to disavow his "Invade the World" promise to lull the rest of the multiverse into a false sense of security while he built up the Republican war machine. However, he ordered the immediate withdrawal of all Republican national sports teams from all international competitions. Only the National Baseball Team was granted an exemption as the World Baseball Classic was currently in progress. Besides, Izmailov and Hellstrom-Hancock didn't expect the baseball team to obey them regardless...

OOC: The next part of this (and final FFRP ever) will be posted after my final game of this tournament. Feel free to react to this RP as you wish ICly (other than pre-emptively invading the FFR).

[Ranoria]

First Series Sweep for Upstart Krauts
Puts Ranoria in Position to Earn a Playoff Bid

Tommy Verona, who has played most of his career out of the country, has been pivotal in this season's success

When Ranoria last played Nagore, we were outscored by a total of 16-11, and lost the series 1-2. This time around, they managed a full sweep in an exciting turnaround that has scene the baseball team steadily improving. At the beginning, it seemed that we could barely keep up (team went 1-2 in each of first three series) before finally breaking through against a quality Abanhfleft team.

At 3-6, it looked as if Ranoria would be lucky to not end up limping home, embarrassed with their tails between their legs. Fortunately, the team managed to go 5-4 in their next three series total, a much better result that made them, at the very least, respectable with an 8-10 mark. Interestingly enough, that 5-4 run came after the team was given a logo, and a name, the Ranorian Krauts.

It seems that the moniker has given them some sort of inspiration, but we would like to point out that we made this prediction. When the team was sitting at a humiliating 3-6, we pointed out that it would take time to get used to a frankly higher level of competition than that of Ranoria, especially when batting.


It would set them up for this massive breakthrough today. As predicted, Leonardo Harrison and Philip Lux have regained their usual form, knocking off ball after ball once they got used to the pitch speed of their opposition and studied film. Tim and Wolfram von Kuhn have also been hitting better, the former in particular, each nailing a pair of home runs in the last series. It's been a huge part of making this turnaround happen, and it's set them up for a huge series coming up against Delaclava.

With Ranoria now at 11-10, their first winning record of the tournament, they will be teeing off against Delaclava's national team next week. Delaclava is a game ahead of them at 12-9, meaning that if Ranoria can go 2-1 against them, the team's will be tied in the standings. If Delaclava wins the series, however, the playoff odds for this resurgent Krauts squad will be slim to none. At best, that would put Ranoria at 12-12, and Delaclava at 13-10. With the Free Republics at 13-8, and likely to continue piling on wins, it is absolutely crucial for the Ranorian team to at least make up lost ground at this point.

And record certainly makes it seem that Delaclava has an edge. But we must point out here, that Ranoria has been 8-4 now, since being minted as the Krauts. Leonardo Harrison and Philip Lux have been batting at .341 and .344 since that mark as well, respectively. Both have also managed to establish themselves as a threat to nail a home run in this tournament.

Leonardo Harrison (pictured) is the best player on this team, and Philip Lux isn't far behind. These two have performed admirably to lead the squad to a winning record thus far

After the series sweep against Nagore, reporters managed to get a hold of Leonardo Harrison, whom seems to already be reaping the rewards of trying to lead this national team. When questioned about the financial benefits, he pointed out that this 30 game stretch, with more to come assuming a tournament bid, providing a solid bonus. Better yet, he took a sponsorship deal with a sports beverage company that will pay him at least 450,000 per year, with a few bonuses built into the contract, for the next four years.

We managed to ask about this team's playoff chances as well, just before he went in with the rest of his team, and we'll quote him here.

We're on the outside looking in, of course. But which one would you rather watch? Richardson and Cold Hill going 11-2 or 12-1 every season and walking into the playoffs, or an upstart baseball team? Some ragtag group of guys that was given no chance to get anywhere, and we're coming now. We're hot right now, and next series, we're going to prove it, prove that we can be that comeback story. I made it clear from the start that I want to make baseball as big as football in Ranoria, and we're going to do everything in our power to make it happen.

After that emotional win, we're hoping that Harrison and crew can live up to their own expectations. Frankly, they've already surpassed ours. Go Krauts, we'll see you next week!

[Nova Anglicana]

Inaugural Londinium Challenge Invitational

The first-ever Londinium Challenge Invitational was conceived by the sub-ministry of Sport following the Lions' first-ever WBC championship. It was thoguht of as a small tournament pitting the best of the best against Nova Anglicana, both as a warmup for the WBC team and a way to whet fans' appetite for the upcoming tournament. The tournament, as conceived of, would see the two finals participants and the best debut team visiting Nova Anglicana. This year, since Nova Anglicana was one of the two finals participants, the #2 ranked team was invited instead. This meant that the inaugural LCI participants were: Cassadaigua, Banija, South Newlandia, and Nova Anglicana. The format would be: a single round-robin group stage consisting of three games and then a three-game championship series and a three-game third-place series. All games would take place at Archbishop Stadium in Londinium. All told, the tournament would take about a week.

Going into the LCI, Mark Singleton, Lions manager, saw it as both critical and unimportant. Critical because these would be his first exhibition games as manager and a real test against some of the best in the world. A lot of media attention would ride on his team's performance. But it was also fairly unimportant, as they were just exhibition games, and as a good student of sabermetrics, he knew it was a small sample size. There isn't much you can learn from three individual group-stage games and a three-game series. Sure, winning was important, but for publicity reasons much more than actual skill reasons. This was a play by the sub-ministry of Sport to build up attention before the WBC, make a little money, and say, "Hey world, we're important in this baseball thing." In his pre-tournament press conferences, Singleton repeatedly emphasized the small sample size, the strength of the opponents, and the opportunity to learn and grow. He said he'd be trying out a few things in the LCI and that he was honored to lead the Lions against top competition.

The results were as follows:

Banija                 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1  7
Nova Anglicana         1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3

South Newlandia        0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2  4
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Nova Anglicana         1 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0  5
Cassadaigua            1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  3

Banija                 0 0 2 0 5 2 0 0 0  9
South Newlandia        0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  3

South Newlandia        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3  4
Nova Anglicana         1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  3

Cassadaigua            1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  3
Banija                 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 X  4


                         Pld   W    L    RF   RA   RD    Pts
1 Banija                  3    3    0    20    9  +11     9
2 South Newlandia         3    2    1    11   13   −2     6
3 Nova Anglicana          3    1    2    11   14   −3     3
4 Cassadaigua             3    0    3     7   13   −6     0

LCI Championship
Banija                 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 1  6
South Newlandia        0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0  5

Banija leads series 1-0

LCI Championship
South Newlandia        1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Banija                 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 1 X  6

Banija wins series 2-0

LCI 3rd Place
Nova Anglicana         0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
Cassadaigua            0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 X  6

Cassadaigua leads series 1-0

Cassadaigua            0 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2  7
Nova Anglicana         0 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0  5

Cassadaigua wins series 2-0

The reaction in the press was devastating. 1-2? And a two-game exit at the hands of Cassadaigua, the team they just beat to win the WBC championship? This was an outrage. Singleton had embarrassed the nation and this was proof that "analytics" just couldn't beat the best teams in the world. They were especially furious with the Lions bullpen and closer Zach Kelley for blowing a 3-1 9th inning lead against South Newlandia and then yielding two runs in the 11th against Cassadaigua in the third place series. Never mind that new starter Joey Keller had hit three homers and driven in eight of the Lions' 18 runs, never mind that Dan Cunningham had pitched six shutout innings against South Newlandia, never mind that the Lions had played four of their five games against the top two teams in the world, or that Cassadaigua, the world's #1, had lost all three of their group stage games. The press reaction was to the failure of the opener strategy against Banija, the 4th place finish, and the 1-4 record.

The sub-ministry of Sport, though disappointed with the results, had been happy with the attendance figures (sell-outs of the Nova Anglicana games and 20,000+ for the other games), and the TV numbers (30 million estimated viewers for the 10 games). The sub-ministry of Tourism was happy about the number of foreign fans that traveled to see the games and the money they spent as well. They immediately went to work playing up the Lions-Fillies rivalry for the WBC, and both the "defending champions" and "LCI revenge" narratives as well. So in terms of official spin, it gave them plenty to work with. Pre-orders of WBC tickets reflected that their media strategy had been working, despite the LCI losses that might have turned some fans off.

Meanwhile, Mark Singleton remained cool as a cucumber, repeating the small sample size, great opponents, and player development-focus of his approach to the LCI. No, the fact that the opener didn't work well against Banija doesn't mean it's something he'd would never do again; Orlando Murray had used it pretty well in the WBC 48 playoffs. No, he wasn't concerned about his team's level of play; they were playing great teams and anything can happen in baseball. Of course they had room for improvement; there is always room for improvement. He was very proud of his team for giving a good effort and he knew they'd be ready for the upcoming WBC. The players were disappointed of course, but they saw it like their manager had seen it: a few games against great teams means anything can happen. They'd get Cassadaigua back in the WBC for sure.

OOC: Xkoranate with adjusted NSFS formula, max rank was Cassadaigua's rank of 4.54. Slight home team bonus of 3% of own rank was given to Nova Anglicana. I view the results mainly through the small sample size lens, you are free to interpret them however you like. Again, this takes place ICly before the LCI.

[Tikariot]

Jacob Leyland: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming by today for our press conference, I have Coach McCrory and Michael Romanov right here to answer your questions. Please try to keep them brief, so we are able to get as many of you as we can in the short time we have available. Thank you. So let's begin, yes, you over there.

Priscilla Montgomery for the Paladon New Press. Coach McCrory, you did manage to even up the series with the Royal Kingdom of Quebec yesterday, can we agree that things went according to plan?

Graham McCrory: Well, I'd have loved to see a sweep, but since we lost the first game that was getting increasingly difficult. It says a lot about the guys, though, that in both other games they rallied from being behind and I'm very happy that we ended up winning the series.

Does it count more because it was against a direct competitor?

McCrory: Depends on how you look at it. In a way no, because it still only got us six points total, but it also obviously means that they did not make those points, so in a way yeah, it kinda counts more.

Justin Hayworth, Dhaencunor Sports News. You are even with the Kingdom now and only one win behind Ko-oren. Does that give you renewed energy to attack?

McCrory: Son, we didn't have any problems with energy. We've been within striking distance with Ko-oren and the Kingdom for a while now and our focus hasn't changed. But you also have to look at the bigger picture. The level of quality is high, very high, so in the end it can make a difference, if you win or lose by one or three games. Or if you trip up against a team that some people will call an underdog. I mean, look in the first half. We lost against the Kingdom, but won against Ko-oren. Now we won against the Kingdom, but God knows how we'll do against Ko-oren. And also look at yesterday, when Ko-oren lost against the Mathuvan Union, who are dead last. Anything's possible, so we can't take anything for granted or take a day off.

Domenica Mastrogiovanni, Shadow News Network. Mr. Romanov, there have been rumours that you have failed a doping test during the International Baseball Slam and your country pressured the authorities in covering it up. What is your take on this?

Michael Romanov: What? I did not fail any tests and there was no cover-up! Where did you get that from?

Sources. So you are denying any participation in the big doping scandal surrounding your team?

McCrory: Excuse me, ma'am, but what the hell are you talking about? There is no scandal, there is no doping, what kinda cockamamie slander are you throwing out here? Hey, HEY! Someone stop that woman! Dang.

Gordon Stewart, Tikariot Sports Gazette. I have covered the Slam for the Gazette and there has not been any kind of indication that there was any wrong-doing by your part or the authorities. To be honest, I have never heard of that alleged network of hers either.

McCrory: Thanks son, I'm happy people are not buying into this horse manure.

Mr. Romanov, you so far are in the top 5 for home runs at the Classic, but still your team are fifth to last in total runs scored. Is there too big of a quality difference within the team?

Romanov: No, I don't think so. A lot of times it is a matter of luck how you hit that ball and like the coach had said, the level of play here at the Classic is really high. You shouldn't forget that this is only the second tournament we are playing ever, so some of the young players are not used to this kind of rapid fire play with a lot of press coverage. The other day we found a reporter dressed up as a housemaid waiting in one of the corridors, trying to get into our rooms, so that's also something to consider.

Jean-Claude Malaparte, Xanark Journal. How has the perception of the team changed in Tikariot since your upset win at the Slam?

Romanov: It's like day and night. Before it we could walk the streets without anybody even knowing we were there and now we have fans everywhere stopping us for pictures and autographs.

Do you miss the anonymity?

Romanov: Sometimes yeah, when I'd like to do something with my family, but so far the fans have been pretty understanding and so is my family. It is great to see a whole nation becoming passionate about the game and our team, so I personally enjoy it a lot.

Is this also because it will give you leverage when it comes to a new contract?

Romanov: Well, I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't part of the whole package. The career of an athlete is short compared to a regular dayjob, so I think it's just natural that you try to get better contracts when the league is doing better.

Jason Brawner, Port Rhovanyon Courier. Coach McCrory, there have been some reports that the team has donated the winning bonus of the Slam to a charity?

McCrory: Yeah, they have and I'm really proud of 'em. They donated all the money to the Rural Baseball Initiative, which helps small town teams, especially in remote areas, to get equipment and proper diamonds, so that the kids and also adults have the opportunity to play properly. And the Tikariot Baseball League has matched their donations, so this has been a huge boost for the RBI and I hope that they'll be able to help a lot of people with this.

Craig Stevenson, Alcassar Tribune. So the next series is against The Sarian, who just were swept by Falisiand and you also won the first series, are you confident you'll win?

McCrory: Yeah, you have to be confident. If you go into a game with your tail between the legs already, you might just as well stay out of it. Anything's possible and what's even more interesting is how Ko-oren and the Kingdom are going to fare against each other. If we can do our part, then we'll be ahead of either of them and that could be a huge confidence boost and I have all intention to cash in on any boost we can get.

Leyland: Thank you gentlemen and thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the press, this is the end of the press conference, but I'm sure that tomorrow you'll have another opportunity. Have a good day.

[TJUN-ia]

After beating Se Vende Skooma to take 2nd on head-to-head, the Battin' Jags were faced with the new strategy: take as many games as possible from the next 3 series in order to be in the best position possible before the final 3 games. That stretch includes 2 opponents we lost to before and one looking for revenge after we came to them and took them down. Our first series in this important stretch was on the road at South Covello, who beat us 2 games to 1 in the reverse fixtures in Portside. But Phillip Hellas-Verona knew his team could play up to their opponents. It's not as if this team is like the Free Republics who, after all that talk of being "Kings of the Multiverse", are crawling back into their shells after they saw the first sign of something they do not like. Unlike those sign stealin' Republicans, Phillp believed that fairness and belief are the only ways to go far in this tournament.

---

Game 1
TJUN-ia 6-4 South Covello, TJU leads series 1-0
Jose Almas was the starter for Game 1, but he allowed 2 runs from the off. A 3-run Home Run by Steven Fulmer inn the 2nd saved Almas' skin and gave TJUN-ian the lead but after that, the runs were exchanged by both sides. In the end, it was TJUN-ia who had the best of the batting form the rest of the innings. 6-4, tight but manageable. Onwards to Game 2.

Game 2
TJUN-ia 4-5 South Covello, Series tied 1-1
Kyle McNash looked at how bad Almas started in the last game and thought "Hold my beer". He had a torrid time to begin with, allowing 4 runs in the space of the first 4 innings. He managed to be quite stable after that, allowing 1 other run for the rest of the game, but it was the batting that let us down. Don't get me wrong, we were closing in scoring 4 runs including 3 late on, but we shouldn't be relying on late pushes to try and win games from a starting disadvantage. If we must lose, then make it a shootout and not a recovery drive. Anyway, we just couldn't score more than we did and that cost us this game. Series tied, now for a decider...

Game 3
TJUN-ia 7-3 South Covello, TJU wins series 2-1
Deciders are usually tense, and this one was - to begin with. Chris Harris killed it for most of this game and certainly proved that he is worthy of being P1 in this setup. But once 6th inning arrived, the bats of the Jaguars came alive. 2 runs here, another 2 there and another 3 to add to the chaos means they went from 0-1 to 7-3 in the space of 3 innings. Carlos Buena closed this series well and with that, another one goes to TJUN-ia.

We're actually quite good at this baseball stuff, aren't we? That was our 4 series win in a row and it's a case of so far, so good for the Jaguars. But now we have to focus on making sure that this momentum isn't halted too much over the final 9 games. Next up is the 2nd and final series in New Washington, as The Diamond hosts Chromatika in a series that must be won if we want to keep them behind us in the standings. A 2-game lead is not much in baseball, so we musn't faulter if we want to be in the best position when we take on the hosts in Portside. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group 1)
S1 (G1/G2/G3): @Se Vende Skooma (UR) - SublimeBurger Park W 2-1 (3rd)
S2 (G4/G5/G6): vs South Covello (22) - Rounders Field, Portside L 1-2 (4th)
S3 (G7/G8/G9): @Chromatika (26) - National Stadium, Chromatik City L 1-2 (4th)
S4 (G10/G11/G12): @Newmanistan (5) - The Jungle, Loudon W 2-1 (2nd)
S5 (G13/G14/G15): vs Marigred (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington W 2-1 (3rd/8-7)
---------------------------MIDWAY BREAK---------------------------
S6 (G16/G17/G18): vs Se Vende Skooma (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 2-1 (2nd)
S7 (G19/G20/G21):@South Covello (22) W 2-1 (2nd)
S8 (G22/G23/G24): vs Chromatika (26) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S9 (G25/G26/G27): vs Newmanistan (5) - Rounders Field, Portside
S10 (G28/G29/G30): @Marigred (UR)

[Cassadaigua]

Smooth sailing continues,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

The Fillies continue to do all that they need to do right now, taking two out of three against Drawkland. In the third game of the series, they rallied from a 4-0 deficit after six and a half to get the win, showing that they are able to still be resilient and pull out close games even when everything is unofficially wrapped up. In the World Cup, manager Stephanie Sweeney will always say that, “there is no backing down until we see the ‘Q’ next to our name”. Maddie Polanco appears to be doing the same thing with the baseball team, and was happy with the way that they battled back in the third game. “We won a game that we were about to lose,” she began, “everything was pointing that way, but they stayed with it. Look, we expect that from any team, right? I have to say that because, you know, there are some that think we are just going through the motions right now and do not really care about things until the playoffs start. We want to win games because we want to win a baseball game. That’s why we put on the uniform.” The win improved Cassadaigua to 16-5, where they would be the #3-seed if the playoffs began right now. Newmanistan and Nova Anglicana would be tied for the #1 honor right now with identical 17-4 records and +36 run differential. Either way, that would be a juicy semifinal if we got that far.

If the playoffs began right now, this would be your bracket.
(1) Newmanistan* vs (16) Delaclava
(8) Free Republics vs (9) Hampton Island
(5) South Newlandia vs (12) Sarzonia
(4) The Sherpa Empire vs (13) Northwest Kalactin**
(6) Ko-oren vs (11) Hapilopper
(3) Cassadaigua vs (14) Royal Kingdom of Quebec**
(7) Banija vs (10) Terre Septentrionale
(2) Nova Anglicana* vs (15) TJUN-ia

*- Since how I seed this is unimportant and I don’t feel like figuring RD/9 for not much of a reason, I am just going to organize these two like this.

**- Quebec should be ahead of Northwest Kalactin, but since the bid says there will not be group stage rematches in the first round, I switched them.

Some interesting potential matchups right there, especially if you start imagining out a little further what happens if top seeds take care of business in the first round. Banija vs Nova Anglicana in the second round is very tasty as an early meeting. Banija is not doing anything wrong during qualifying, and it could be said that they are just methodically taking care of business within their Group, but the good play of Sarzonia and Liventia, as well as still very new Daskel are keeping Banija from having a more glamorous record at this point. The same can probably be said for Ko-oren in Group 6. There have been some excellent first timers this time around, such as Tikariot, Super-Llamaland and Delaclava. Ok, the last two are not first-timers at all, but they started as unknowns given their unranked status. So, when we look at the actual playoff matchups when the group stage is done, it would not surprise me if it looks drastically different then how it does right now.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

OOC : Typing this just as I'm about to take off from YVR to ICN. My apologies for this short, poor quality RP in advance.

'So, that was a disappointing series loss.'

'Yes it was. Losing to a bunch of nobodies, however undetected on the radar, is always disappointing. They did win IBS, but its value mean little in this day and age where you have seen all sorts of age groups, including toddlers (OOC: OP's misinterpretation of a couple of U18 squads in presence), play.'

'Regardless, it's just as much on many errors committed thereafter. Too many fielding mistakes committed on infield, too many pitches that went high without strikeouts, and not to mention poor hitting patterns across the board. It was a show of poor conduct and disappointment which, all in all, were terrible to watch.'

'Of course. It was close to blinding my eyes as well. Nobody was happy by the end of the series, certainly not. That said, I am more concerned about the next series though.'

'Oh, absolutely. Up next we have our rivals in Ko-oren, who have been doing fine but not blowing the opposition out. Still, these kinds of national rivalries haven't been on our strengths and that's not looking so favourable either.'

'Yeah. Better to look ahead and think a bit more about what's next.'

'Frankly this isn't be all, end all, by any means. This edition of the Grim Reapers we have here haven't really peaked to the level they are expected to do so, and that's fine. We may get an occasional surpriser, like the complete game Keith Bankosky pitched on what many viewed as his retro moment from the keydays. But we should also remember that everything takes a process and lots of time these days and, like what I just said, there's still lots of room for growth. Eventually we'll nail it and get there to the zones expected of ourselves, so need not worry yet.'

'You sure that's the only way to read the situation though?'

'Well...I guess?'

'Then what is the whole news about the Mjölnir, which was previously used for 50 spankings delegated to each and every Grim Reapers' footballer after their Cup of Harmony loss to Sylestone?'

'.....so they are back?'

'Of course! With lots of pain, according to The Northwestern Rnquirer.'

'Hmm...classic.'

'Well that's indeed something.'

'Oh well. As you see, and you know, this is Quebec. Where such punishments exist for truly awful performances, especially the ones against those they should be winning, only makes so much sense.'

'Indeed it is. We live in Quebec and we are Quebecois. This shouldn't surprise us anyway, but oh well.'

[Super-Llamaland]

Stadium Museum Alley Road Rocket Wall

VII. The Launch
October 12, 2031
Tyler Rocke Memorial Stadium
New Llama City, Super-Llamaland

Alex Kirk watched alongside all of New Llama City as Tyler Brennaman leaned in to get the signal. The Wizards closer had come in with a fairly comfortable 6-4 lead in what could be the deciding Game 6 of the President’s Cup, but after getting the first two batters out and twice coming within one strike of closing the game out, he’d somehow managed to load the bases. Everyone knew that with the speed of the New Llama Cyclones’ Michelle Colham on second, any ball that got out of the infield would probably tie the game up - and one mistake could send the series to a Game 7.

The batter, Xander Fiers, dug in for the first pitch. Brennaman fired a two-seam fastball down and in; Fiers managed to turn on it and send a sharp ground ball up the middle, sending the Cyclones fans in the crowd into a frenzy - at least, for half a second. Alex Kirk had read the ball perfectly as soon as it came off of Fiers’ bat, took two steps toward second, and launched himself at the ball, somehow spearing it in his glove. Without hesitation, he spun, flipped the ball to second, and watched as it sailed into the waiting glove of Justin Donald for the final out of the 2031 season.

Alex flopped back on the grass, elated. For a few seconds, while his jubilant teammates rushed the mound from every corner of the field, and the Wizards fans in the crowd lost their absolute minds, he stayed there, taking the scene in.

If only he’d known it would be the last championship the Wizards would ever win.

June 1, 3131
???
??, ?

“Alright, that’s enough,” Annora said, pulling the memory tab from his neck. “We really have to get moving with this, and honestly you weren’t supposed to see any of these.”

Alex sighed. “I guess we should.” He’d thought about trying to run, fight Annora, or anything else that would delay his fate. But none of it was real, so why even bother? Annora nodded, then walked over to her computer and began typing. Before she could start anything, though, the door to the room burst open.

It was Nik Sorescu. “Wait - did you erase him yet?”

“Not yet, Dr. Sorescu,” Annora said looking up, to Alex’s confusion.

“Wait, you were going to wipe my memory, but he gets to walk around?”

Annora looked over. “As far as we can tell, Dr. Sorescu was either brought here from the past by The Event like you were and was living under a rock the whole time, or he’s actually from the future. As far as we can tell, there’s no baseball in the future, so there’s nothing for us to wipe. Although he has also been E-”

“Yeah, what she said,” Nik interjected. “Anyways, I think I have a solution to all of this if you haven’t wiped him yet.”

Alex and Annora looked at each other, then back at Nik expectantly.

“Right. So we take Alex and all his contraband memories,” Nik said confidently, “and we put him on my rocket. And then we launch him at the Wall.”

Annora cleared her throat. “So your great plan is to...kill him?”

“Well, hopefully not. I’ve looked over your attempts to break the Wall with spacecraft, and they were..well, they were fine. But the thing is, if we’re in a simulation, then none of the physics behind it matters. The only thing that matters is if whoever’s running the simulation wants my rocket to go through or not. And if the entire point of the simulation is to generate baseball results, then we just need to send someone with some sentimental value to baseball.”

“How do you know whoever’s running this simulation is listening at all? They probably just turned the simulation on, then decided to enclose it from every other country, and then went about their day.”

“We don’t. But if what you’re saying is true, then we’re never breaking the Wall anyway. And I know that the Wall is coming down eventually.” he turned to Alex. “Besides, I think he’d rather take his chances with my rocket then get his brain fried here, right Alex?”

Alex’s mind drifted back to that October night in Tyler Rocke, then nodded. “I just want to go home.”

Annora pursed her lips, then acquiesced. “Fine. I can get you a launch pad at Rasmussen.”

June 4, 3131
Launch Pad #49
Rasmussen Space Center, 25 miles north of Dinschria City

Alex hadn’t thought twice about his decision in the three days since the plan had been formulated. But now that Nik Sorescu was actually strapping him into the cockpit, he was starting to have the faintest of doubts.

“So how did you even find all the building materials for this thing?” he asked, while Nik fiddled with some controls.

“Honestly? Mostly just dumpster diving,” came the absent-minded response.

“Great. Love to hear that.”

Nik finished doing whatever it was that he was doing, and turned to Alex for one final time. “Right, so just to be clear, again, you don’t need to do anything unless you actually make it through the Wall. We’ll be remotely piloting this craft until it hits the Wall, after which we’re not sure if our signals or communication will actually reach the spaceship. Basically, if you can hear us talking after you get past the Wall, don’t do anything. If not, just press this and it’ll turn the spacecraft around and send it back in our general direction. Got it?”

“Sure?”

“Right. Good luck, then,” he said, and left, the door clicking shut behind him. Thirty seconds later, he was back - at least, his voice was, over the comms system that Nik had set up. “Right, can you hear me? We’ll have you off in about half a minute, contact with the Wall should come fifteen seconds after that, and then after that, well, your guess is as good as mine. But I’m confident that you’ll at least be able to break the wall, if not survive contact.”
“Uh, yeah, thanks for the encouragement. Don’t you have to like, make sure this thing works or something? And then there’s a countdown after that?”

“No need,” came Annora’s voice over the system. She’d decided to make the trip to watch as well, if only out of morbid curiosity. “As Nik put it, ‘we’re just going to yeet him,’ whatever that means.”

“Got it,” he said. Ten seconds later, he was off.

The launch was smoother than Alex had expected, but early 4000s rocketry was probably ahead of whatever the Llamanean Space Administration could manage in his past life. As Annora counted down the seconds until contact with the Wall, Alex felt nothing short of total serenity. His fate was out of his hands now.

“Six...five...four...”

Before Annora could finish the countdown, out of the corner of his eye, Alex could see a piece of the spacecraft give way. With a great crack, a hole opened up on the outside of the spacecraft, as the piece of metal flew off and was sent falling back to Earth.

“Three…two…oh shit, look...”

Cracks began to spiderweb across the surface of the rocket, stemming from where the hole had opened up. Pieces of the outer wall began to peel off as the cracks continued to grow, and parts of the rocket’s interior started to get sucked into the gaping hole that had been punched into the rocket’s side as well.

“One...we have contact...”

Alex felt himself flung from the cockpit. There was a sonic boom and a rush of wind around him as the rocket fell to pieces underneath him. He closed his eyes as his vision began to go blurry and he felt himself starting to fade out of consciousness. For a brief moment, he was flying.

Underneath him, a similar crack had opened up in the Wall, large enough for him to make it through. Similarly to its compatriots on the rocket walls, the crack began to grow, enveloping the entirety of Super-Llamaland in their embrace, before the barrier that had kept Super-Llamaland from the outside world for a millennium shattered.