World Baseball Classic 49- Everything Thread (IC)

[Ethane]

"Coach?" Sutton pushed open his door, observing Graham examining the opponents for the next game. He was concentrating; Joseph could tell by the way his eyebrows were slanted downwards. This was not the best time to talk to him about this, but it had to be done.

Graham grumbled. He hated being disturbed while in the middle of something important. He knew that these coming series needed his utmost focus. The chances of progressing from the group stages relied on a solid performance. Not only that; the coach knew he was in murky waters. The team under him hadn't being advancing, progressing towards another trophy or even a group win. They had been a disappointment, failing to leave the group stages in numerous baseball tournaments, and in some cases not even participating in them. No: this wasn't just about the team. This was about his job. If the Red Kites didn't perform, he knew the coach would be blamed even if it was the players that were lacklustre in their effort and performances.

Looking up from his work, he cleared his throat, slightly surprised by the entrance of Joseph into the room. One of the older lads; he'd been here for a while now. He actually tried; he wasn't a freeloader like many of the younger players, just here for the money and fame. "Yes, Joseph?"

"Well, coach, as a team we've been chatting." He paused, unsure how to word what was about to emerge from his mouth. The coach looked worried; only problems arose when the team talked together behind the coaches back. Had he lost the dressing room? Was this it?

"We know that we're not doing too bright right now, what with us likely to lose out on progressing beyond the group stages." Joseph looked at the coach, pain flashing across his eyes at the admission that they wouldn't make it. "You're likely to be blamed, coach, and we don't want that. You're a great coach, I just thought we would tell you that."

"Thanks," the coach muttered under his breath, "but what is the point in this. Spit it out."

"The EBA is obviously going to blame you for our poor performance and non-participation in previous WBCs. But that's obviously not your fault. We can't blame you for their lackadaisical attitude to baseball in Ethane, and the corruption endemic in that organisation." He paused briefly. "So we've decided we will support you all the way, coach. If they try to discredit you, I promise we will correct the narrative in the media, and if they try to fire you, we can and will go nuclear."

Graham looked shocked. To have this level of support from the whole team, that meant something to him. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so harsh about some of the players. "What's the nuclear option?", he queried, recognising the potentially monumental scale of what his captain was about to say to him.

"As the international baseball team for Ethane, representing the nation around the multiverse, we'd be prepared to call out the EBA on their bullshit, and just leave the organisation."

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Childhood, Traces
PART 8.2. - Graffiti (2)

There was something special, with how retrospective the time ran, and how vivid images can get. One thing I recall was how her eyes, while not the brightest of the shades of blue, seemed to bring rain wherever the humidity became too much. If I noticed she had been crying, for whatever the reason I do not recall, I would feel the same. Of course, I could not just indulge upon alcohol or marijuana that the older children of the Lake actively sought out, but we did, however, enjoy cherry pop soda and occasional tea. One day, as we were dancing to a bunch of old LPs that had returned to its vogue state not too long ago here, the lights went out for a solid hour. Yet, all that there was for us to slow dance because the Record Player was still going on and the music slowed down, to the point where we were getting transported back in time. So bizarre was such, that I all could think of saying was, ‘May god forgive, May it all quiet down, to the point where time would not surpass us.’

I had a specific plan that I assumed would not be major, but would just be enough. Besides, what else I could have done in middle of timeless, Victorian space where everything were moving as if Queen Arlene was still reigning, and the Commonwealth was still very much the Quebecois Empire and the allies? The fiddle tunes were all that I could hear, the ones I had used to hear from old Golden Hills of Anticosti Island. One night, I stayed up a little bit later than usual, talking to my cousins and planning on how to get by with this. The nods and the strums, along the melodies of a bard’s caravan or two on the road, rose and buzzed in the darkness and then just went on.

Of our actual trial, there’s little to be said about it. My memory reminds me of how her face dimply llit, somewhat reflecting into the cinema screen, as our Kenna-Lundrigan cousins, Kenzie and Myeong-Shin (Myeong-Yoon was busy rafting upstream that weekend), were busy watching a Bakerian classic on the other side. The next thing I remember was the proximity of the scene. There we sat, holding hands, and then she turned around outta blue and we kissed. All I remembered was the softness and how the earth, soul and the body met, as my eyes were firmly closed with all the nerves and fatigue attached to it. Beyond that, I’m afraid I would be doing a great disservice by describing such feeling. My final glimpse is all of us going to the local galleries under the direction of Dr. Heo and my mother, before being led back to the all-stops, mail train around seven in the evening.

My final glimpse is all of us going to the local galleries under the direction of Dr. Heo and my mother, before being led back to the all-stops, mail train around seven in the evening. My stocky legs and thick thighs, of old, moved with weariness and I could remember how amused both of them were, upon such sight. My cousin Alexis, a high school junior, kept looking at me with particular amazement, as if she’s deliberately peering at me with both warranted and unwarranted interest.

And then the summer went along, and along, as we continued to meet in same spirals and senses, but eventually all things were to end early and prematurely so. Eileen was back in her small southwestern time by the time my summer ended and I had to start grade seven at Dongseong Middle School, but by the virtue of luck, I saw her for the last time in what was likely a matter agreed upon by my parents. She wore a lavender coloured straw hat, which did not fit her head at all, and it appeared to me that she was in town for something different, in a more important matter found in more autumnal, Metropolitan (referring to the two metropoles of the nation in Montreal and Quebec City), and a haute-classe manner. We had a slow walk for half an hour, grabbed an ice cream, and then it was time for my clan to head southwest again- she slipped into my hand a farewell present, a golden ring with small gemstone (later turned out to be emerald, however tiny it may have been), which I knew it was something for me. Then she was off, like the leaves that were to start fall at the beginning of autumn here. Like all good things the time you share with them is short, and like all heart-strung moments, the time you linger over them is long.

---

‘Well, that’s one way to end today’s part of the series. With a nice recap of how things eventually ended up, but unremarkably so.’

‘Well, you see, Mark. That’s not the end. There’s much more to that than what you’d imagine. But it does require us to look a bit more into my teenage years, so we’ll have to jump time a bit.’

‘Lundrigan? Bryant-Schumacher?’

‘Yeah, I’m fine with that. You know, Asher, your stories are entertaining enough to keep me listening...and that’s why we’re recording it! What else is there for us to do that?’

‘Lundrigan?’

‘Of course, that’s a valid argument to put forth and whatnot. Now, you see my high school days weren’t so easy or even smooth as I’d be describing them, so just be careful with that. You know, being an unreliable narrator’s my specialty, you see…’

‘ASHER C. LUNDRIGAN! COME TO MY OFFICE.’

[Newmanistan]

Series 9, Game 1

Group 1
Se Vende Skooma                       2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Chromatika                            0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 2  5

Marigred                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
South Covello                         0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 X  4

Newmanistan                           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  2
TJUN-ia                               0 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 X  5

Series 9, Game 2

Group 1
Se Vende Skooma                       6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  8
Chromatika                            3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  6

Marigred                              0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  4
South Covello                         0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2  5

Newmanistan                           0 3 0 0 0 3 0 1 1  8
TJUN-ia                               0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Series 9, Game 3

Group 1
Se Vende Skooma                       1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Chromatika                            2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  4

Marigred                              0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0  3
South Covello                         1 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 X  7

Newmanistan                           0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
TJUN-ia                               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan            27   21   0   6   143   83  +60    63 Q
2 TJUN-ia                27   15   0  12   124   96  +28    45
3 Chromatika             27   13   0  14    93  107  −14    39
4 South Covello          27   12   0  15    99  118  −19    36
5 Se Vende Skooma        27   11   0  16    94  123  −29    33
6 Marigred               27    9   0  18   108  134  −26    27

Series 9, Game 1

Group 2
Banija                                0 2 1 0 2 2 0 1 0  8
Liventia                              0 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 1  6

The Jovannic                          0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Kohnhead                              0 3 3 0 1 4 0 4 X 15

Daskel                                0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  5
Sarzonia                              0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  2

Series 9, Game 2

Group 2
Banija                                1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Liventia                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

The Jovannic                          0 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 0  5
Kohnhead                              0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2  6

Daskel                                0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0  2
Sarzonia                              0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 X  3

Series 9, Game 3

Group 2
Banija                                1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Liventia                              0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3

The Jovannic                          0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0  3
Kohnhead                              0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2  4

Daskel                                0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0  4
Sarzonia                              0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Banija                 27   19   0   8   153   94  +59    57 Q
2 Sarzonia               27   17   0  10   121  107  +14    51 Q
3 Liventia               27   13   0  14   116  113   +3    39
4 Kohnhead               27   13   0  14   119  130  −11    39
5 Daskel                 27   13   0  14   118  124   −6    39
6 The Jovannic           27    6   0  21   104  163  −59    18

Series 9, Game 1

Group 3
Quebecois Acadiana                    0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 1  7
The Greater Nordics                   0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 2  8

Drunk People at the Local Tavern      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Hampton Island                        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

South Newlandia                       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  2
Torisakia                             0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  3

Series 9, Game 2

Group 3
Quebecois Acadiana                    0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
The Greater Nordics                   0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1  3

Drunk People at the Local Tavern      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2  3
Hampton Island                        0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 X  4

South Newlandia                       1 2 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 11
Torisakia                             0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 0  5

Series 9, Game 3

Group 3
Quebecois Acadiana                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
The Greater Nordics                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Drunk People at the Local Tavern      2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  6
Hampton Island                        0 0 0 1 1 1 4 0 X  7

South Newlandia                       0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  4
Torisakia                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2

*                                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia                    27   19   0   8   158  120  +38    57 Q
2 Hampton Island                     27   18   0   9   145  121  +24    54 Q
3 The Greater Nordics                27   15   0  12   125  119   +6    45
4 Torisakia                          27   13   0  14   108  119  −11    39
5 Quebecois Acadiana                 27    8   0  19   116  138  −22    24
6 Drunk People at the Local Tavern   27    8   0  19   116  151  −35    24

- Hampton Island has H2H tiebreaker on The Greater Nordics, so cannot be passed by them.

Series 9, Game 1

Group 4
The Fair Republic                     0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2
Cassadaigua                           0 0 7 2 4 0 0 4 X 17

Drawkland                             3 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0  7
Northwest Kalactin                    2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  5

Ethane                                0 0 0 2 6 0 2 0 0 10
Lovisa                                1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0  5

Series 9, Game 2

Group 4
The Fair Republic                     0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3
Cassadaigua                           2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  4

Drawkland                             0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  4
Northwest Kalactin                    0 8 0 1 0 0 0 3 X 12

Ethane                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3
Lovisa                                0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 X  5

Series 9, Game 3

Group 4
The Fair Republic                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Cassadaigua                           1 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 X  8

Drawkland                             0 0 4 0 0 0 0 3 1  8
Northwest Kalactin                    1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0  5

Ethane                                0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
Lovisa                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cassadaigua            27   21   0   6   155   91  +64    63 Q
2 Northwest Kalactin     27   16   0  11   144  130  +14    48
3 Drawkland              27   15   0  12   135  133   +2    45
4 Ethane                 27   13   0  14   124  112  +12    39
5 Lovisa                 27    8   0  19   117  162  −45    24
6 The Fair Republic      27    8   0  19   108  155  −47    24

Series 9, Game 1

Group 5
Jeckland                              0 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 6 11
Nova Anglicana                        0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 1  6

Equestrian States                     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Ihilthracna                           1 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 X  5

Zwangzug                              0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 1  9
Hapilopper                            2 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 2 10

Series 9, Game 2

Group 5
Jeckland                              1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1  5
Nova Anglicana                        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 X  6

Equestrian States                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2  4
Ihilthracna                           0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

Zwangzug                              0 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0  6
Hapilopper                            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Series 9, Game 3

Group 5
Jeckland                              0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  6
Nova Anglicana                        1 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 1  7

Equestrian States                     1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  4
Ihilthracna                           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Zwangzug                              0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Hapilopper                            2 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 X  7

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana         27   21   0   6   139  101  +38    63 Q
2 Hapilopper             27   17   0  10   126  112  +14    51
3 Equestrian States      27   14   0  13    98  118  −20    42
4 Zwangzug               27   14   0  13   137  114  +23    42
5 Jeckland               27    8   0  19   112  145  −33    24
6 Ihilthracna            27    7   0  20    90  112  −22    21

- Hapilopper has H2H on Zwangzug, but would not have it against Equestrian States, if EQS sweeps the next series.
- Equestrian States holds H2H on Zwangzug, therefore Zwangzug is eliminated.

Series 9, Game 1

Group 6
Abanhfleft                            0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ranoria                               0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 X  4

Nagore                                0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  3
Free Republics                        0 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 X  5

HUElavia                              1 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1  6
Delaclava                             0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 2  7

Series 9, Game 2

Group 6
Abanhfleft                            0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0  3
Ranoria                               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Nagore                                0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0  4
Free Republics                        0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 2  5

HUElavia                              0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Delaclava                             1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  2

Series 9, Game 3

Group 6
Abanhfleft                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3
Ranoria                               1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 X  5

Nagore                                3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Free Republics                        0 0 1 1 0 1 0 4 X  7

HUElavia                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Delaclava                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Free Republics         27   18   0   9   145  120  +25    54
2 Delaclava              27   17   0  10   123   99  +24    51
3 Abanhfleft             27   15   0  12   116  101  +15    45
4 Ranoria                27   14   0  13   126  120   +6    42
5 HUElavia               27   11   0  16   113  109   +4    33
6 Nagore                 27    6   0  21    84  158  −74    18

Series 9, Game 1

Group 7
Mathuvan Union                        1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2  6
The Sarian                            1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  4

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

Ko-oren                               0 1 0 1 2 0 3 1 0  8
Tikariot                              0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0  3

Series 9, Game 2

Group 7
Mathuvan Union                        0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1  5
The Sarian                            0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0  3

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

Ko-oren                               0 0 0 5 2 0 0 1 0  8
Tikariot                              1 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  6

Series 9, Game 3

Group 7
Mathuvan Union                        0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1  4
The Sarian                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Falisiand                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2
Royal Kingdom of Quebec               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3

Ko-oren                               0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0  4
Tikariot                              0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2

*                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                   27   19   0   8   142   88  +54    57 Q
2 Royal Kingdom of Quebec   27   17   0  10   122  108  +14    51
3 Tikariot                  27   16   0  11    95   99   −4    48
4 Falisiand                 27   13   0  14   106   95  +11    39
5 Mathuvan Union            27    9   0  18    90  135  −45    27
6 The Sarian                27    7   0  20    88  118  −30    21

- Ko-oren holds H2H on Tikariot, so they have clinched

Series 9, Game 1

Group 8
Megistos                              0 1 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1  7
Pripet Socialist Republic             2 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  6

Devonta                               0 0 0 0 2 2 1 2 1  8
Terre Septentrionale                  0 0 1 2 1 2 0 0 0  6

Super-Llamaland                       2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  5
The Sherpa Empire                     1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  3

Series 9, Game 2

Group 8
Megistos                              0 6 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 10
Pripet Socialist Republic             0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2  6

Devonta                               0 0 0 7 0 0 3 0 0 10
Terre Septentrionale                  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Super-Llamaland                       0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  2
The Sherpa Empire                     0 0 1 6 0 0 2 1 X 10

Series 9, Game 3

Group 8
Megistos                              0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0  5
Pripet Socialist Republic             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Devonta                               1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3
Terre Septentrionale                  0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Super-Llamaland                       0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2  4
The Sherpa Empire                     0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  5

*                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire           27   19   0   8   134  103  +31    57 Q
2 Super-Llamaland             27   16   0  11   128  113  +15    48
3 Terre Septentrionale        27   15   0  12   107  100   +7    45
4 Megistos                    27   12   0  15   130  139   −9    36
5 Devonta                     27   10   0  17   132  134   −2    30
6 Pripet Socialist Republic   27    9   0  18    96  138  −42    27

[Northwest Kalactin]

Northwest Kalactin Finishes Series 1 Game Ahead Of Drawkland
There was no stressing how important this series was to the chances for advancing for the Kalactanians. If the Kalactanians did not perform well enough to hold their second place spot in the group, it was pretty much game over for them. As the Drawkland team has a relatively easy matchup coming up, in Lovisa, a team that is tied for the prized last place position in the group right now. Of course that's not saying that they can't beat Drawkland, 8-19 is not a horrible record for the first WBC that the team participates in, but they have shown lately that they are one of the weakest teams in the group, and that they can't compete with the larger and better nations in the group. The Fair Republic, who will be the opponents for the Kalactanians in the coming series, are another team that is quite simply, not good enough to go out there and win baseball games. If the Kalactanians are able to sweep them, then they will have clinched a spot in the playoffs, likely one of the low seeds though. The team just recently got thrashed by Cassadaigua 17-2, so we don't think they should be too hard of a team to go out there and beat, but that is not saying that they can't win games. Cassadaigua, who is world’s ahead of their next competitors, have already clinched their spot in the playoffs, they have an 18 point lead on the group right now, so this comes at no surprise for them. All that they really have to play for now is the top seed in the playoffs, both Newmnistan and Nova Anglicana are tied with them right now in terms of point levels, so the next series will be very important in determining the top seed. You could argue for any one of these teams being the best in the world right now, as they are all pot 1 power teams that have an extremely good history in the Classic.

When we look at the actual series that happened against Drawkland, it was a decent, but not great one. By that we mean going 1-2 against the number 12 team in the world is necessarily bad, but we probably could have played much better and grabbed ourselves an extra win or 2 during the series. An 8 run second inning during the second game of the series was certainly a highlight of the series for the Kalactanian team, as this inning alone would end up bringing them their only win of the series. Bobby Williams was a highlight player in the series, going 7-12 along with 3 extra base hits throughout the entirety of the series. Mike Harnabo, the famous Outfielder that has been playing with the team since edition 42 of the classic, officially announced he would be retiring from international play after the Classic was over. This is sad news as he has been a pivotal part of the team for many years, we wish him the absolute best during retirement.

[Super-Llamaland]

Thanks to Sherpa for providing info about her players.

Syangboche Athletic Complex - Namche, Khumbu Capital District

It'd been a rough first WBC for Gabriel Acosta. The 23-year-old first baseman had started off strong, batting over .400 in his first two series and hitting a go-ahead double against Megistos to fuel a solid start. But things had rapidly tailed off after that - it had gotten to the point where Sofia Rasmussen wasn't even starting him against left-handed pitchers, instead favoring Noah Slater at first, Caitlin Rosario or Ian Hart at second, and Dominic Kastner as the designated hitter. His once-pristine batting average had slumped toward .225, and after three home runs in his first nine games, his power had rapidly dried up.

But if there was one place where he could have some success, it would have to be Synagboche Athletic Complex. Incredibly built at an altitude of over 12,000 feet, the mountaintop stadium had the thinnest air, the strongest winds, and the shortest left field of any WBC stadium out there. Luckily, the wind was blowing out today, and Sofia Rasmussen had let everyone know that a home run-heavy game was very likely. Not exactly good news for Savanna Wladecki, who was forced to contend with - amongst everything else - pitching to the world's #6 team in such conditions. But fantastic news for a struggling power hitter like Gabriel.

So he'd stepped up in the first, optimistic if not outright confident, and dug in against Kami Akunjee. He'd read Akunjee's scouting report religiously - with a batting average veering toward the Mendoza line, he needed any advantage he could get. Unfortunately, Akunjee had a pretty good handle of four pitches - a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup - and could spot all of them in the zone. The reports had indicated that he was a much better pitcher than his status as the fifth starter would indicate, and that he was only in that position because he had "pissed everyone off". Syangboche was also his home park, meaning he would probably have a better idea of how to pitch to Gabriel than, say, Savanna Wladecki. And Akunjee had also probably read up on his scouting reports, and would know that the struggling Acosta would chase just about anything.

As Gabriel settled in, Summer Huang took a short lead off of first. She'd been pretty lucky to get there at all, especially since Akunjee had started strong with strikeouts of both Lily Scutaro and Dominic Kastner. But although she'd fallen behind in the count, when Akunjee had challenged her with a high fastball, she'd reacted just in time to punch the ball between Zia and Qu. All he had to do was to get an extra-base hit to the outfield, and she would be home with the game's first run.

Akunjee's first pitch was a high fastball, far too high for anyone to actually make contact with. Gabriel, undeterred, swung for the fences. And missed by about half a foot. Cursing himself for playing right into Akunjee's plans to get him to chase, Gabriel stepped out of the box to reorient himself, before stepping back in and resolving to be more patient.

Akunjee came back with another chase pitch - this time a curveball, starting around Gabriel's knees before dropping rapidly out of the zone. But this time, Gabriel was expecting it, and let the pitch harmlessly fall into Pei Tan's glove. 1-1. The next pitch was another chase pitch - which, to be fair, Gabriel had probably earned after an entire WBC group stage of swinging for the fences. But this time, he was able to stop himself from chasing the high heat, and his reward was a 2-1 count. As he stepped out again, he noticed Akunjee was glancing toward the dugout, looking a little distracted. The next pitch looked as if he'd meant to place it in the zone, but the slider had tailed just a little too much, and suddenly he was up 3-1 in the count.

With a runner on first already, he knew that Akunjee couldn't afford to throw another chase pitch - even if he would probably chase it. After all, any ball here would put runners on first and second with the powerful bat of Tyson Long on its way from the on-deck circle. So as he settled in for the fifth pitch of the at-bat, he knew he was getting something hittable.

Akunjee also knew he knew he was getting something hittable. Which is probably why his fastball was a full six inches up and out of the zone - just close enough to be a tantalizing chase pitch, just far enough for Acosta to be unable to hit it. Gabriel managed to get his bat to it - but he was late, and he knew he hadn't made the best contact with the ball. Cursing his impatience - especially with such a favorable count - he began to jog toward first.

As he did so, the home crowd suddenly went silent - and the small but dedicated contingent of travelling Tigers fans broke into wild cheers. While he hadn't exactly barrelled the ball, in Synagboche conditions, he'd managed to get just enough contact to send it over the short left-field wall. It wasn't exactly the light-tower home run he was hoping for. But he was more than willing to take it.

[The Sherpa Empire]

The Sherpa national baseball team had a car to themselves on the train to the capital. It was often called "the capital" instead of one of its proper names because the government offices and urban area were spread across a large area broken up by tall rugged mountains and deep crevasses. The train station was in Lukla, the ballpark was in Namche, the monastery where the nation's top magical experts worked was in Tengboche, etc.

The train made a stop in Kathmandu and let some people on and off from the other cars. An announcement welcomed the new passengers aboard, explaining where to find snacks, bathrooms, and emergency oxygen tanks. And then they began the slow winding climb into the high Himalayas. Daki Chuan was admiring the breathtaking scenery rolling by her window when Kami Akunjee came over and asked, "When we get to the capital, would you like to come to my house for dinner? I'd like you to meet my wife."

Chuan accidentally spat out her tea all over the seatback in front of her. "You're--" She gasped for breath and coughed up some tea that had gone down the wrong way. "You're MARRIED???"

Akunjee smiled and nodded. "I think you'll like my wife. She's a Kathmandu fan, but she still thinks you're cool."

"Every time you look at me you look like you're trying to stare through my clothes!" said Chuan. "When were you going to tell me you were married?"

"I just told you right now," said Akunjee.

"Does your wife know you've been hitting on me?" Chuan demanded angrily.

Akunjee looked like he didn't understand what the problem was. "Yes, I've told her all about you."

"Does she know the way you look at me?"

"She knows I make eyes at other women, but I still come home to her."

Chuan was absolutely disgusted. "And what about me? Did you think you could just do whatever you want with me and I wouldn't care that you're already married to someone else?"

Now Akunjee realized that he had put his foot in it. "Daki, it's not what you think," he said. "I don't talk about my wife because she doesn't want to be in the public eye, but I really think you would like her. Please let me introduce you."

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Chuan shouted, loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the train car.

"Just let me introduce you..."

"NO!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" Chuan stood up from her seat and pushed Akunjee away down the aisle, bashing him over the head with her duffel bag when he tried to stand his ground.

Chongba Lee stormed over to break up the fight. "Akunjee, get away from her! Chuan, sit down! All of you, the soap opera bullshit ends NOW! Nobody is allowed to tell Chuan she doesn't belong on the team. Akunjee, whatever happened just now, you need to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"I was just inviting her to come to my house for dinner," said Akunjee.

"Yeah, well, I don't think she's coming," said Lee. He turned to Chuan and said, "If he bothers you again, please tell me what's going on before it gets to the point where you're beating him over the head with your duffel bag. I can't have you assaulting one of your own teammates."

"He's been flirting with me this whole time and he never told me he was MARRIED!" said Chuan.

Akunjee sat down a few rows away and pulled out his phone to tell his wife that Chuan wasn't coming to dinner. Intellectually, he knew why she assumed he was just another asshole cheating on his wife. A lot ballplayers were like that. But it still bothered him that she had taken it so badly.

---

---

Akunjee knew he needed to put the misunderstanding with Chuan out of his mind and focus on his pitching, but it was easier said than done. He wasn't totally out of it, but he made a few careless mistakes and the Llamaneans made him pay. By the 4th inning, he had settled in and got into the rhythm of the game, but by then the Sherpas were already trailing 4-1. In the 6th he started to slip again, loading the bases and only getting out of the jam thanks to a double play turned by Ojha and Zia. Since his slot in the batting order was coming up in the bottom of the inning and Akunjee was not a great batter, Lee pulled him and brought in Yangzhi Yi to pinch hit. The Sherpas never came back from the hole that Akunjee had dug them into with his early bumbling. The game ended with an anti-climactic strikeout by Pei Tan and a disappointing loss.

Daki Chuan was in a gloomy mood as she left Syangboche. The conflicts with her teammates the last few weeks had taken their toll, and the outcome of the game had not done anything to brighten her mood. On her way out of the ballpark, she noticed Kami Akunjee talking with a woman in a motorized wheelchair. At first she thought he was just signing an autograph for a fan, but Akunjee was being unusually friendly with her. They were talking like they knew each other. There was something weird about the woman's hands, and Chuan realized they were prosthetics with robotic joints and plastic casing. She had a beautiful smile, though. If Chuan had seen a ballplayer talking to an able-bodied woman with a face like that she would have assumed it was... his wife?

She clapped a hand over her mouth. "No way..."

[Zwangzug]

The Kerlagrad Courier

The government of Zwangzug is known for its zealous--some might say overzealous--environmentalist restrictions as they attempt to preserve native species of zebras, morning glories, loons, corvidae, temperate rainforests, and so on. However, in one area they are sorely lacking, and this is their protection of annelids. Despite the fact that the national baseball stadium is named the "Worm Hole" in honor of the Spenson Worms who play there during the regular season, Parliament shows a remarkable callousness towards our invertebrate friends, deeming them "gross" and "icky." Not only are countless specimens destroyed by heedless schoolchildren in the aftermath of rain, but our citizens are blind to the sufferings of the Win Expectancy Worm family.

As you know, the win expectancy of a baseball team is their likelihood of winning at a certain point, based on historical data from other high-level teams that have found themselves facing comparable leads or deficits. When one team racks up an unanswered lead, the win expectancy sedately increases over time, and this can be plotted on a graph, which has been done for many leagues near and far.

Quintessence of Dust, home of the Things baseball team, popularized the notion of anthropomorphizing this display by introducing the world to Wally the Win Expectancy Worm, who contorted and squiggled according to dramatic games. While the Quodites no longer populate the multiverse, Wally's descendants Willy, Woolly, and Wriggly still faithfully record game outcomes. Everywhere, that is, except in Zwangzug, where they are no longer welcome due to a surplus of bullpen collapses and last-minute twists of fate that have these scorekeepers on strike. "I mean, we've seen extra innings," complained Willy after Zwangzug's tenth inning defeat to Hapilopper, "but this is ridiculous."



Fortunately for these diligent laborers, Zwangzug has been eliminated from the tournament, so after the series in Nova Anglicana, there will be no more linescores to reckon with. The Lions are highly favored and should have the advantage at home, but you never know.

[TJUN-ia]

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

Six series wins in a row. That was the main point of the hype surrounding TJUN-ian Baseball. This unexpected run had driven the Jaguars to the brink of making it to the playoffs for the first time ever in any of the "American Big 4" sports. We could have qualified in Portside, in The Jungle, but that would've required us taking down the Rockets once again. Newmainstan, though already qualified, were looking for revenge after TJUN-ia took the reverse series in Loudon. No matter who would come out as the victors, the crowd at Rounders Stadium would be ready. The 5th ranked team in the Multiverse was in our Jungle...

---

Game 1
Newmanistan 2-5 TJUN-ia, TJU leads series 1-0
Kyle McNash was, once again, faced with the task of starting against the 5th ranked team in the multiverse. Unlike in Loudon, however, he was certainly up to the challenge. His great play on the mound allow the Jags to focus on the bat early in the game, and they certainly did. A 3-run homer by Rafael Llorente in the 2nd kicked off the scoring before another was scored in the 3rd. Then the bats started to coll down and the mind games began. The Rockets would get 2 runs at the end of the game, but TJUN-ia scored one more themselves to ensure that Game 1 was theirs.

Game 2
Newmanistan 8-1 TJUN-ia, Series tied 1-1
Chris Harris didn't deserve this. He had been playing well up to this point, but in Game 2 he fell apart. 3 runs in the 2nd inning started the pain and then in the 6th, a 3-run bomb by Mikayla Larson forced Phillip Hellas-Verona into action. Harris left the field in disgrace, and many felt that he must do better if we are to make it to the playoffs. Shin Suzuki was tasked with slowing the runs down and he did that, only allowing another 2. But it only made the scoreline better as the Rockets showed why they were dominant in this group.

Game 3
Newmanistan 3-2 TJUN-ia, NEW wins series 2-1
The series decider was certainly tighter, with Davis Johnson looking to make a case for P1 if the change is required at the next WBC. He didn't start well, allowing 3 runs early, but he would improve closer to the end. The batting looked to try and bring the advantage down, but the Rockets were having none of it. They only allowed 1 more run as they cruised to the series win. An eye of an eye indeed...

Disapointing, but understandable. That was the main message from PHV after the series, But if we are to head to Newmanistan again, then we will be expected to do better against the "big boys". The maths is simple: we must win 2 games in Marigred in order to punch our ticket and make history. We must not be complacient about facing the bottom-side in the group - not when we're this close. 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 W 2-1 (2nd)
S9 (G25/G26/G27): vs Newmanistan (5) - Rounders Field, Portside L 1-2 (2nd)
S10 (G28/G29/G30): @Marigred (UR)

[Banija]

Banijans in prime position to clinch Group 2 as the knockout stages of WBC 49 loom


A section of Banijan fans dressed in orange in their away games against Liventia

ISTRIA, MORAVICA- The group stages of World Baseball Classic 49 are coming to a close, with just three games left in this 30 match group stage. Once again Banija, one of the top ranked teams in this World Baseball Classic, have clinched a berth in the knockout stages before the final series, and are now finding themselves in the position of playing for playoff positioning. With a record of 19-8, it has been a strong group stage for the Banijans so far. While they aren't quite at the pace of those who are 21-6, they, if they finish strong in this last series, could finish with a seed as high as #3 for the knockout stages. And, unless they completely blow it in the final series, they are nearly there in terms of winning the group, the lowest likely seed that they could get is an eight seed.

It has been a journey. We talked a little in our last article about how the starting pitching, particularly, was struggling a little bit. But this away series, against #10 Liventia, it felt like a turning point for the pitching staff. First on the mound, was Duta Condé, the ace of this staff. He wasn't super on top of his stuff. In fact, he almost got chased in the third inning. Having already allowed 2 runs in that inning, he had loaded the bases. However, instead of making a bad inning catastrophic, he was able to keep his wits about him, and after falling down 2-0 in the count, come back and earn a swinging strikeout to get out of the inning.

His final line was four earned, 9 hits, over six innings. Not the greatest start. But- with his offense rolling, he did enough to keep his team in the game in order for them to earn a victory. The type of gritty pitching performance that every good pitcher has to go through, and he did it well. And then Suntukung Kandeh, the next day, came out and pitched like an ace. He pitched 8 and 2/3s innings of three hit baseball, with one walk and 11 strikeouts, absolutely dominating the Liventian side. After allowing a walk and a hit with 2 outs in the 9th, Ousman Kakay would call upon Sarjo Touré, even though it was technically a non-save situation, to come in and slam the door.

And then the third game of the series. It was a long affair, a pitcher's duel, between Ramata Kabba and the Liventian pitcher. Kabba, in her final start of the group stages, pitched like an absolute ace. She went 7 and 2/3s, allowing just 2 runs, both in the second inning. It was a no decision for her, as the Liventians eventually won the game in the bottom of the 11th inning, in their final home game of the tournament. But Ousman Kakay was still upbeat about the team's prospects after the series.

"Look, Liventia is one of the best sides in the multiverse." He told reporters. "They may have struggled during this tournament, but they've got all the talent in the world. And our pitching is finally making the proper strides. Our starters are able to go out there, pitch themselves out of jams. Suntukung Kandeh and Ramata Kabba both absolutely dominating the talented lineup of our Rushmori friends. I've said this before, and I'll say this again- great pitching wins championships. It's not a guarantee- there are usually three or four teams every classic who have 'great' pitching. But it is a hallmark of any championship side. That is the expectation in this country, and I believe that our pitching is closing in on the level it needs to be at for us to compete for a title."

Ousman Kakay was also asked about the last series, against Kohnhead. "Well, as you know, there's always a bit of a layoff between the group stages and the knockout stages- allowing for teams to do things like reset their rotations, and give everyone time to figure out their travel plans to the host nation, this time Newmanistan. That's part of the reason why you want to finish strong- you don't want to spend a week dwelling on a few bad games. And there is still plenty to play for. Improve our seeding, make sure that we win the group, etc... And getting our starters final reps before the big games roll around."

Ensa Suso will start game 1 against Kohnhead, while Tairu Seesay will start game 2, and Banijan ace Duta Condé will start the final game of the group stages. Of course, there will be enough off days for him to start the end of the group stage, and the beginning of the knockout stages- the beauty of the break between group play and knockout play. All three will look for a strong start to take them into the knockout stages. While obviously Duta Condé is the Game 1 starter for the Round of 16, and Ensa Suso will surely start Game 3, Tairu Seesay is in an interesting spot. The knockouts only need a 4 man rotation, because of the built in off days. So somebody will go down. Seesay was thought to be going to stay up, but there may be an argument to keep Ramata Kabba in the rotation instead. Her stuff doesn't translate as well to a bullpen role, and her final start against Liventia has to give Kakay some thought.

Ultimately though, those decisions will be made soon enough. Here's what we do know- Banija will be in the last 16. Everything else? We'll figure out as it comes. The focus is all in Kohnhead- hopefully the fans can see the Banijans win a couple in their final home games of World Baseball Classic 49. As always, go Banija!

[Tikariot]

Tikariot Sports Gazette
Analysis by Quentin Stockmeyer

So the day of reckoning has come, the last series of the group stage in the World Baseball Classic is on the menu tonight and things have grown considerably tougher for Tikariot. As feared, Ko-oren swept the Devil's Rejects in their return series, taking the head to head advantage, since Tikariot had won the first series, but only 2-1. The Royal Kingdom of Quebec then added further insult to injury by sweeping Falisiand themselves. Now this is resulting in the very undesirable sitation of sitting in third spot, one win behind the Kingdom, while Ko-oren already is qualified thanks to the head to head win.

So this means that absolutely everything hinges on how we play against Falisiand tonight, who will either be out for vengeance after last night's sweep or, given that they are fully out of contention now, might just give up and make it at least a little easier on us. Can we rely on either happening? Not whatsoever. Now things could be further compounded by the fact that the Kingdom will be facing the Mathuvan Union tonight, who had been completely off the rails at the beginning of the tournament, but swept The Sarian yesterday, so there definitely still is life in this team even though they have no chance of reaching Falisiand, so the only way they can look is down and there might have the interest in staying ahead of The Sarian, so I am seriously hoping that they will bring their A-game to finish off the tournament. Now that being said, the same could obviously also be said about Falisiand, but I'm trying to stay positive here.

Falisiand. Tikariot won the first series 2-1, a result that could be enough, but only if the Kingdom gets swept, which is unlikely. Therefore we have to hope for a sweep and at least a 1-2 loss of the Kingdom against the Mathuvan Union, a combination that at this point in time looks unlikely, but if there is one thing we learned over the last few weeks, then that the Devil's Rejects are capable of literally anything. Positive as negative, but the point I'm trying to make here is that they have defied all odds several times in the past, so maybe, just maybe we will be able to pull off another upset.

Let's have a quick look at the Falisiand team and who the key players are. Offensively definitely Kodey Kenton, Richard McBride and Amaan Pruitt, who have been the best hitters and scorers in the WBC so far for the Bison. If our pitchers are capable of keeping these threequiet, it will be a major step towards a victory. On the flip side third baseman Leroy Pratt has shown extraordinary defensive qualities, so if possible any hits should be directed away from him as he has proved many times that he is capable of catching the uncatchable.

The pitching department so far has been Falisiand's biggest weakness with highly inconsistent performances which has cost the Bison several games by now. Rufus Hammond seems to have been the best of the bunch and Austin Wilkerson also has been ok, but beyond that it has been sketchy at best. And this, I believe, is where we have to cash in the most. Keep the pressure up, make them nervous and then try to capitalize.

Overall eight teams already have clinched playoff spots prior to the last game day, groups 2 and 3 already are completely locked in. Group 6 is still wide open with four of the six teams still having chances to qualify. Right now Tikariot is the third placed team with the most points and might end up a third-paced team with more points than some second placed teams, which would be highly frustrating, but let's look ahead and focus on the task at hand and hope that the Devil's Rejects can defy all naysayers and all logic and pull off a big win tonight.

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Baseball
South Newlandia clinches spot in Newmanistan

With one series left to play, the Elephants have secured their advancement in Torisakia. They won two of three games there, and are now four games ahead of third place, a lead you can’t drop anymore in just three more games. There is still something left to play for, of course, as both the group victory and a better seeding are still up for grabs. The last series, against The Greater Nordics, the current 11th best team in the world, will see the team under less pressure now, but winning at least a few games would be helpful anyway.

South Newlandia                       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  2
Torisakia                             0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  3

Ryan Hunter started on the mount in the first game. He has, apparently, successfully put the incident with Midnight behind himself, and was pitching fantastically. The coaching staff attempted to shield Hunter from the media for the most part, and with respect to his privacy, we haven’t done any deep digging. We do know that Hunter was supported by a psychiatrist, and we do know that the well-known Barry Fursome, a psychiatrist specialising in traumatic bear attacks, was not seen anywhere since the attack on Ryan Hunter. Everything else is only speculation. On the mount, Ryan Hunter gave up just one run on four hits and two walks over seven innings. After that, Marcel Adams came into the game, and he didn’t allow any runs in the eighth either. Heading into the ninth inning, there was only one problem – the Elephants were yet to score a run. Over eight innings, they had barely gotten any hits, and not even one run. The Torisakian pitcher was doing very well, and the Elephants had to score on demand now. Fortunately, they did, with Adam King getting a much-needed equalizer. The game had to go to extra innings, and the tenth started well for South Newlandia after Ian Pearce managed to score the 2-1. Now it was Torisakia who had to score on demand, and they managed to find an equalizer as well. After an scoreless eleventh inning and the Elephants not scoring in the 12th either, Marcel Adams broke apart between pitching and batting. He gave up one final run, ending the game with a defeat for South Newlandia in a game they really could’ve won on a better day.

South Newlandia                       1 2 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 11
Torisakia                             0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 0  5

The second game went much, much better for the Elephants. Jacob Conroy was on the mount for South Newlandia, and the game seemed to be over after the top of the fifth. South Newlandia lead by 10-0 at this point, a lead that they started building in the very first inning, with Fabio Ventura collecting a run. In the second, it was Daryl Dunlop and Ian Pearce, and in the third, a homer hit by Shawn Zimmerman and additional runs scored by Fabio Ventura, David Drum and Igor White extended the lead further. Three more runs thanks to another home run, this one for Daryl Dunlop, including runs for Adam King and Shawn Zimmerman, brought the lead to ten runs. After eight innings, the score was still 10-5, and while the lead had melted quite a bit, it was enough to take the win. Fabio Paul had pitched the last three innings, and while those weren’t his best with four conceded runs, it didn’t really matter. Another run for Fabio Ventura in the 9th was the cherry on top of a great win.

South Newlandia                       0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  4
Torisakia                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2

The last game was pitched by Jay Kramer, and like the last one, this one started better for South Newlandia too. After Gregor Garner had recorded a run in the second inning, both pitchers dominated for a while. We skip straight into the eighth inning. After six innings without a conceded run, Kramer was replaced by Barnaby Butt, who was supposed to close for the last three innings. The eighth inning featured a three-run homer, hit by Adam King, scoring Fabio Ventura and the pitcher as well. Two more runs given up by Butt didn’t change much about the end result.

All matches

Torisakia 1-2 South Newlandia (3-2, 5-11, 2-4)
Hampton Island 3-0 Drunk People at the Local Tavern (2-1, 4-3, 7-6)
The Greater Nordics 2-1 Quebecois Acadiana (8-7, 3-2, 0-2)

Current standings

*                                    Pld   W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia                    27   19   0   8   158  120  +38    57 Q
2 Hampton Island                     27   18   0   9   145  121  +24    54
3 The Greater Nordics                27   15   0  12   125  119   +6    45
4 Torisakia                          27   13   0  14   108  119  −11    39
5 Quebecois Acadiana                 27    8   0  19   116  138  −22    24
6 Drunk People at the Local Tavern   27    8   0  19   116  151  −35    24

South Newlandia has clinched the knockouts, but with many top teams on their way to high seeds, winning the group would be extremely helpful. A sweep against The Greater Nordics would win it for them outright, and winning at least as many games as Hampton Island would clinch as well. If South Newlandia wins one game less than Hampton Island, it comes down to run differential. Meanwhile, Hampton Island isn’t quite through yet. Because they are behind in H2H against The Greater Nordics (2-4), a sweep for The Greater Nordics and a sweep against Hampton Island would eliminate Midnight and his human teammates. The last series, to be played in Dolphin Stadium in Newport, will see Larry Cain, Blake Robbins and Jay Kramer as the starting pitchers. We wish the Elephants luck, as a favourable seed could lead to an easier matchup in the Round of 16, something the Elephants should try to get.

Other news that might interest you:

Rumour: Huge takeover in the second flight of the SNSL?
Campianato hosts for the next cycle still unknown
Comment: Why the Designated Hitter is a bad thing
Taxes increased for something again, announces minister
Best hotels and sights in Newmanistan for baseball fans

[Nova Anglicana]

Competition for top seed heats up as group stage comes to a close

Samantha Maxwell, Londinium Courier

The top seed in any playoff competition is a coveted prize, promising the easiest path to the finals, as well as displaying the holders' prowess and laying claim to the top team in the world. The World Baseball Classic is no exception, and there are three teams vying for that top spot currently: hosts and #5 team in the world Newmanistan, finals runners-up and current #1 in the world, Cassadaigua, and our very own Nova Anglicana Lions, defending champions and #3 team in the world. All three are giants of the sport, each with at least one title (Cassadaigua and Newmanistan have multiple), and all feature a current 21-6 record. If the playoffs began now, Cassadaigua's impressive +64 run differential would give them the top spot, but with three games to go, Newmanistan's +60 run differential is looking to give them a run for their money. As for the Lions, their +38 run differential, impressive in any other context, looks quite pedestrian and won't get them the top spot. So they have to win as many of their final three as they can, and hope the other teams slip up if they want the #1 seed. Let's take a look at the Lions' last series against Jeckland, and their chances as they enter the final series of the group stage against Zwangzug.

Game one pitted Lions #5 starter Hank Jackson against Jeckland's Carrol Irvin. While Jeckland struck first, going up 1-0 in the third, the Lions scored two in the bottom of the fourth when Jake Bryan hit a massive homer into the bay outside of Archbishop Stadium, a "splash hit", to give them a 2-1 lead. Jackson departed after six innings having given up just the one run, but Charlie Brock immediately ran into trouble. He sandwiched a walk and a hit-by-pitch around a strikeout, and then gave up an RBI single to tie the game. He was lifted for Grant Graham, who would face a left-handed batter, but Graham couldn't get the two outs needed to end the inning, instead giving up another RBI single. Jeckland would tack on two more in the eighth on a couple of basehits off Vic Fleming, giving them a 5-2 lead entering the bottom of the inning. But Irvin tired at this point, and two walks and a single produced a run to cut the deficit to 5-3. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Lions had three outs to score at least two runs. The bottom of the lineup was coming up, which didn't offer much hope. But Jerome Duplantier coaxed a walk to begin the inning, and Marc Dufors followed up with a single. Trevor Goodwin's chopper to the right side forced Dufors at second, but moved Duplantier to third. Manager Mark Singleton sent Kelvin Hill to the plate, and he stroked a first-pitch fastball back up the middle for an RBI single, closing the gap to 5-4. Tommy Moran sent a screamer to the right side, but 20 year-old Braxton Hilliam, his opposite number at second base, made a brilliant grab to rob him of a hit, and nearly caught Hill off of first for a double play. But Luke Mills pulled one down the line past a diving London Jeffery, scoring Goodwin from second and tying the ballgame. That got the Lions to the top of the 10th. Then the wheels came off. Charlie Bowers, Jon Klein, and Dallas Hawkins combined to walk four batters and give up six runs in that half-inning, dooming the Lions. Their one run in the bottom half made no difference, as they lost 11-6.

Game two saw ace Cory Sharpe give it all he had for seven and a third, but Jeckland got to him and he would depart with a disappointing four runs allowed in what was otherwise a great pitching performance (1 BB, 9 K). The Lions entered the bottom of the eighth down 4-0, as Trueman John had allowed just four baserunners to that point. Trevor Goodwin led off the inning with a seeing-eye single, which brought pinch-hitter Erik Austin to the plate. Austin fouled off six consecutive two-strike pitches before finally drawing a walk from the pitcher John. Tommy Moran grounded out, but Goodwin and Austin moved up a base. John intentionally walked Mills to set up the force at any base, bringing Joey Keller to the plate. Keller crushed a pitch to deep right-center, but "Triples Alley" swallowed it up, and it was just a long fly out. However, it did score Goodwin and Austin tagged up and moved to third. With one down, Jake Bryan stepped up. His chopper to the left side seemed like it might be a double play for a moment, but as third baseman Collin Allison cut it off and prepared to throw to third, he lost his grip on the ball and the throw sailed over Hilliam's head and into right field. Austin scored, and Mills moved up to third. It was 4-2 and the Lions had a little momentum. The Jeckish manager lifted John at that point and brought in young Earnest Keen. Matthew Gilbert greeted him with an RBI single to score Mills and make it 4-3. Duplantier then crushed the young pitcher's spirits with a moon shot that sailed out well beyond the center field fence, scoring Bryan and Gilbert and making it 6-4. Archbishop Stadium exploded with enthusiasm after that hit, and the noise level stayed high as Zach Kelley struggled through the ninth, giving up one run but preserving the game, a 6-5 Lions victory.

Game three was Wyatt Templeton's turn to take the ball, and despite three runs of early run support, his slider was flat and his fastball was hittable. The Jeckish players took full advantage, scoring six runs in three innings. Aaron Spencer pitched three innings of nearly-perfect relief, walking just one batter before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth. Dusty Davidson hit an RBI single, and Luke Mills had one of his own in that same inning to close the Lions' deficit to 6-5. Rex Boyd pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth, walking one batter, but striking out three to keep the Lions in it. In the eighth, Kelvin Hill had a pinch-hit homer to tie the score at six, and after Jon Klein's scoreless ninth, the Lions had a chance to win it. Mills led off the inning with a walk, and Keller singled him to second. After a fielder's choice put runners at the corners, the corner infielders and the outfielders came in to prevent a possible winning hit. Gilbert looked at five pitches, running the count full, before a mighty hack on the sixth pitch of the at-bat sent the ball soaring through the night, landing on the warning track for a walk-off RBI single. Some might have said that the Jeckish players could have played back to catch that hit, but it would have been a sacrifice fly anyway, which would have ended the game too. Gilbert's teammates mobbed him after he touched first, and the Lions were series victors.

The final series will be against unranked and 14-13 Zwangzug. The Zebras have a storied WBC history, and they're not going to give up easily. The Lions swept them last time, but two wins were by one run following late-inning rallies, and the third took 12 innings to resolve 8-6 in favor of the Lions. It will not be easy, but a win could put the Lions in the #1 seed and presumably the driver's seat for the playoffs. This last series will be crucial in the Lions' quest for back-to-back championships.

If everything stays the same, the playoffs would look like this:

#1 Cassadaigua vs. #16 TJUN-ia
#2 Newmanistan vs. #15 Northwest Kalactin
#3 Nova Anglicana vs. #14 Super-Llamaland
#4 Banija vs. #13 Royal Kingdom of Quebec*
#5 Ko-oren vs. #12 Hapilopper*
#6 South Newlandia vs. #11 Sarzonia*
#7 Sherpa Empire vs. #10 Delaclava
#8 Free Republics vs. #9 Hampton Island

*These three teams are tied on record and run differential, this is merely an approximation, results may vary should the same conditions hold

Cassadaigua, as the #1 seed, would get a favorable matchup against TJUN-ia in the first round, but then would face 7th ranked Free Republics or 8th ranked Hampton Island in the quarterfinals, a daunting matchup. The winner of that series would presumably (on rank) get the winner of Banija-Ko-oren, the #2 and #4 teams in the world in the semifinals. Perhaps it's better not to finish first, after all. Newmanistan gets a good matchup against NWK, and then would get (presumably) Sherpa Empire and the winner of Nova Anglicana-South Newlandia, not an easy path, but not quite as hard. The Lions would face old rivals Super-Llamaland; the Tigers haven't competed in a while, but are as formidable as ever. That's not an easy first round matchup. South Newlandia or Sarzonia in the quarterfinals aren't as daunting as Hampton Island or Sherpa Empire, but those two teams are good nonetheless. We'll see how things shake out, but the Lions will need a lot of fortitude, luck, and skill to make it as deep as they did last time.

[Falisiand]

Falisiand got swept by Royal Kingdom of Quebec and have been eliminated, let's recap that.

Rufus Hammond was on the mound in the first game, Falisiand scored first with a Aidan Singleton home run, but Rufus Hammond allowed a run to score making it 1-1 in the 2nd, then in the 8th, the Grim Reapers scored a run and won 1-2, Hammond pitched 7.0 innings with 2 walks and 9 stikeouts.

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

Xerxes Anscom was on the mound in the second game, where the Grim Reapers scored 2 runs in the 3rd right away, Falisiand could only 1 run off of a Ciaran Krueger home run, though Leroy Pratt showed his fielding ability with a bare handed fly out and then throwing out the runner from foul territory, making a legendary double play, Falisiand did lose 1-2 though with Xerxes pitching 7.0 innings, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts

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

Kyron Burnett was on the mound in the final game, where Royal Kingdom of Quebec scored in the 4th, but then in the 7th, Richard Mcbride hit a home run to tie it and make it 1-1, then in the 12th, Richard Mcbride hit another home run to make it 2-1, but with Logan Vinson on the mound, the former starting pitcher allowed a 2-run walk off home run to complete the sweep and allowing us to lose 3-2. Burnett pitched 6.0 innings with 3 walks and 8 strikeouts.

Falisiand                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2
Royal Kingdom of Quebec               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3

Falisiand was eliminated from WBC contention, but the coaches and players all say they have the desire to go at least have a positive record in the end, they have been training the pitchers to help them have their best performance and have now changed the lineup to have the best hitters hit, here is the new lineup for the final series

1. Kodey Kenton
2. Amaan Pruitt
3. Richard Mcbride
4. Junior Brown
5. Aidan Singleton
6. Ciaran Krueger
7. Ryan Grantham
8. Leroy Pratt
9. DH Anita Goodman/ the pitcher

Falisiand thanks you for watching out team compete in the WBC and good luck to all of the contestant, our final series is against Tikariot, who beat us 2-1 on the road in some very close games, but this time we are at home, we hope to see our fans one last time in the WBC.

[Sarzonia]

Even though the Sarzonian national baseball team lost two out of three games to No. 42 Daskel in their final series at Fleetwood Park during the group stage of the World Baseball Classic, they still clinched a spot in the knockout rounds.

After the Stars finished the third game of the series, manager Geoff Yancey made public what some people privately speculated about. He announced that Jeff Parrish would be the starter in Game 2 of the knockout round series after Mark Conroy starts Game 1. Jamie Pearson would get the ball in Game 3 if necessary, dropping Uriel Jimenez to fourth in the rotation.

"Jeff Parrish has clearly been our best pitcher other than Mark Conroy," Yancey said. "I liked having a mix of styles and arm slots and styles of pitching, but we're going to have to go with our best pitchers in the knockouts."

Pearson and fifth starter Brian Lynch will start the final two games of the series against The Jovannic after Dima Ostrelov gets the start in what amounts to a bullpen game. He's expected to pitch the first three innings of Game One of that series before Alfred Wagner gets the ball. The Stars will use the travel day to get the rotation and the bullpen ready.

[Delaclava]

Bedin Egozhevy knew the score when he took the field against HUElavia. It was Game 3, and Delaclava was in a race to the playoffs against Abanhfleft. Game 1 was crucial, as Abanhfleft dropped their opener to Ranoria and the Phoenixes survived a ten-inning battle to win. Both teams held serve in Game 2, but the Phoenixes had the inside track on that second spot in Group 6, and they didn't want to give it up.

Denton Wolfe Field in Químero, a suburb of Santa Lourdes, was packed to the gills, 34,128 fans roaring and making their support known as Bedin walked out to the mound, tossed his last few warmup pitches to Edy Franco, and awaited the HUElavian leadoff pitcher.

It was so loud that Bedin could barely hear the umpire shout, "play ball!". He leaned in for the first signal from Franco, a fastball low and inside, stood, wound up and fired.

"Strike one!" the umpire called as the ball went by.

Bedin sighed with a little relief: the game had now begun. The next pitch, a breaking ball for the outside corner. He leaned back and delivered, but the lead-off hitter got a hold of it and slapped a grounder down the third base line, just past Yames Rivas into the outfield for a single.

Damn, Bedin thought. Taking the ball back, he focused on the second hitter, batting righty. He'd had trouble with this batter in his previous outing, so he needed to be careful. But he was too careful. Five pitches later, the HUElavian was jogging down to first base, it was already two men on with no outs.

Bedin settled down, and worked through the rest of the lineup with a strikeout, a grounder to third for a force, and a flyout later, he was out of the brief spot of trouble. But it seemed that he was barely sat down on the bench, nursing a cup of water when it was already time to head back out, with Pavel Malek, Sam Stapleton, and Rivas retired in quick order.

And before long, Bedin was in trouble again - with a long fly ball that somewhat harmlessly settled in the corner for a double, and another walk. Not doing it easy today, are we, he thought, silently cursing himself.

The first five innings proceeded in a similar manner - Bedin Egozhevy would get through the inning after a man or two on base, and the HUElavian pitcher would mow through the other side. He was looking dominant, Bedin could attest to this himself with a quick strikeout to end the third. By the sixth inning, Bedin was hurting, regretting those batters he hadn't retired in the first few innings, while his counterpart was still working on a no-hitter - he'd walked one batter in the fourth.

But Bedin dug in, struck out the first two batters of the inning on just seven pitches. Good, he thought. Let's get this over with. And with a fastball and a slider, he was up 0-2. He looked for the signal. Screwball? Are you kidding, he thought, with his arm lacking the liveness to throw that reverse spin. But it did seem like the right call, and he hadn't thrown it much today. He leaned back and threw it down the middle.

It broke the opposite way and fooled the hitter, swinging wildly - and Franco. The hitter sprinted out of the box on strike three as Franco went to retrieve the ball, but the runner was safe on first.

"Come on!" Bedin shouted.

Franco jogged out to pay his pitcher a visit. "Sorry, man."

"You're killing me," Bedin said, partly frustrated, partially laughing.

Franco smiled. "I know you're tired. Let's just get through this inning and take it from there. Ok?"

Bedin nodded. He got back to work, picked up a fourth strikeout, and headed back to the dugout. He looked at the lineup chart, realised he was due at the plate, and grabbed his bat. Again, the best he could manage was a weak strikeout, and he retired, completely demoralised. Not by the hitting, but seeing his opponent still riding a no-hitter, with no sign of slowing down, when he had three innings left and had nothing left in his arm. He returned to his team head down, but made the slightest bit of eye contact with Josip Oller, who was due up next.

Bedin put the bat down and began circling his arms, getting ready to pitch again. He saw Grady Collins looking at him, gave him a forced smile and a nod, and stayed loose.

He had been doing this for a few minutes, then heard his teammates start to chuckle. He turned around to see the cause, and noticed Oller still at the plate. "How long has this been going on?" he asked Isaac Gilmore, the first baseman.

"Coming up on pitch ten, 2-2," he replied with a smirk.

The pitcher delivered and Oller just barely fouled it off again. The bench was really laughing now, but Oller turned back to look, all business, and looked directly at Bedin, who knew what was going on. Oller wasn't just trying to get on. He was buying his pitcher time.

Bedin was incredibly grateful for the help, and it happened to be Delaclava's best inning too. Oller finally lined out to second, Pavel Malek drew a walk, and Sam Stapleton hit a threatening fly to the warning track in center field which was just barely caught. But Bedin was now feeling a surge of energy, and worked through the next two innings with ease, finding ways to force groundouts and weak flies - almost as efficient as the HUElavian pitcher.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth, It was Bedin's turn to hit. Here we go again, he thought. He and the HUElavian opponent stared each other down, ready to go.

Fastball, strike one. Changeup, strike two. Really? Bedin thought. It was too easy for this guy. But he had one idea. The curveball came, and Bedin suddenly laid down a bunt and charged down the first base line as fast as he could. The throw from the catcher beat Bedin to the base, but not by much.

He jogged back to a smiling team, and Collins gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Nice try, kid," he laughed. "You ready to go?"

"Yes," Bedin lied, and he went to get his glove. He was so tired, but he was locked in a duel with the opposing pitcher. He couldn't blink first. By sheer will, he somehow got through the ninth inning when it was his turn to go out.

His fastballs no longer had pace; his breaking balls no longer had zip. The first hitter got a hold of the first pitch and sent Owen Clark in left field running, making a fantastic grab over his shoulder. The second hitter blasted a slow ball up the middle, nearly taking Bedin's head off, but fortunately Josh Smith had cheated over to the middle and made a diving catch.

One more, Bedin thought. Make it a complete game. Three pitches to go. He reared up a fastball with everything he had, and the batter swung and missed.

"Strike one!" Bedin dug in again, took the signal for... another fastball? Sure, okay. He reared up and slung again, but barely missed high.

"Strike two!"

Huh, I'll take that. Bedin shook his head at Franco until getting a screwball. If he was going to destroy his arm today, he might as well make it count. He set up for the curveball, but he had the reverse spin grip and fired, completely fooling the hitter.

Bedin pumped his fist and screamed, "Let's go!", but that had taken everything out of him. He went back to the bench, mentally preparing himself for whatever might happen next. He figured he'd go ahead and watch this inning.

Pavel Malek stepped up to the plate, and just as Bedin Egozhevy wondered just when the Delaclavs would finally get a hit, Malek pulled the first pitch down the right field line. Over the wall. Game over. 1-0. A complete game shutout for Bedin Egozhevy and a clean sweep for the Phoenixes, somehow. Bedin leant over in exhaustion and relief, and was mobbed and swatted by teammates, rallying around him and cheering as Malek took his trot around the bases to the roar of thirty-four thousand fans.

They all went out to home plate just as Malek jumped up and two-foot-stomped on the pentagon to seal the deal for the home team. He exchanged high fives with the rest of the team, but when Malek came to the young pitcher and the hero of the game, he locked him in a bear hug, then pushed him in the direction of the fans so he could greet his supporters.

Bedin smiled and waved to the cheering crowd, and it was the best feeling he could have possibly imagined - and greeting the beaten HUElavian pitcher, exchanging praises, later finding out about Abanhfleft's epic collapse, that the Phoenixes were now two games ahead of third place, on the cusp of making the WBC playoffs - it was all icing on the cake, could not compare to coming through for his home country, for the fans in attendance when they needed him most.

[Newmanistan]

Series 10, Game 1

Group 1
Chromatika                            1 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0  6
Newmanistan                           0 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 10

TJUN-ia                               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Marigred                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

South Covello                         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Se Vende Skooma                       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Series 10, Game 2

Group 1
Chromatika                            0 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 0  6
Newmanistan                           0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0  3

TJUN-ia                               0 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0  5
Marigred                              0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2

South Covello                         0 0 2 0 5 0 0 0 0  7
Se Vende Skooma                       0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0  3

Series 10, Game 3

Group 1
Chromatika                            1 0 3 0 0 1 2 0 0  7
Newmanistan                           1 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0  6

TJUN-ia                               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3
Marigred                              0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  2

South Covello                         0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Se Vende Skooma                       0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  3

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan            30   22   0   8   162  102  +60    66 Q
2 TJUN-ia                30   17   0  13   132  101  +31    51 Q
3 South Covello          30   15   0  15   111  124  −13    45
4 Chromatika             30   15   0  15   112  126  −14    45
5 Se Vende Skooma        30   11   0  19   100  135  −35    33
6 Marigred               30   10   0  20   113  142  −29    30

Series 10, Game 1

Group 2
Liventia                              0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1  5
Daskel                                0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2

Sarzonia                              3 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 2 11
The Jovannic                          0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Kohnhead                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Banija                                0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 X  6

Series 10, Game 2

Group 2
Liventia                              0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2
Daskel                                1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  4

Sarzonia                              1 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 2  8
The Jovannic                          1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0  6

Kohnhead                              0 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0  5
Banija                                0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0  3

Series 10, Game 3

Group 2
Liventia                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Daskel                                0 0 0 0 3 6 0 0 X  9

Sarzonia                              0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 3  8
The Jovannic                          0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  5

Kohnhead                              0 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 1  6
Banija                                1 2 0 1 0 0 3 0 X  7

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Banija                 30   21   0   9   169  105  +64    63 Q
2 Sarzonia               30   20   0  10   148  119  +29    60 Q
3 Daskel                 30   15   0  15   133  132   +1    45
4 Liventia               30   14   0  16   124  128   −4    42
5 Kohnhead               30   14   0  16   130  146  −16    42
6 The Jovannic           30    6   0  24   116  190  −74    18

Series 10, Game 1

Group 3
The Greater Nordics                   0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1  5
South Newlandia                       0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2

Torisakia                             0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0  5
Drunk People at the Local Tavern      0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2  4

Hampton Island                        0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
Quebecois Acadiana                    1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Series 10, Game 2

Group 3
The Greater Nordics                   2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2  5
South Newlandia                       0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 4  6

Torisakia                             0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Drunk People at the Local Tavern      2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  2

Hampton Island                        0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Quebecois Acadiana                    0 2 0 0 0 2 0 3 X  7

Series 10, Game 3

Group 3
The Greater Nordics                   0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2
South Newlandia                       0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 X  3

Torisakia                             0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Drunk People at the Local Tavern      3 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 X 11

Hampton Island                        0 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0  5
Quebecois Acadiana                    0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0  4

*                                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia                    30   21   0   9   169  132  +37    63 Q
2 Hampton Island                     30   20   0  10   154  133  +21    60 Q
3 The Greater Nordics                30   16   0  14   137  130   +7    48
4 Torisakia                          30   14   0  16   116  136  −20    42
5 Drunk People at the Local Tavern   30   10   0  20   133  159  −26    30
6 Quebecois Acadiana                 30    9   0  21   128  147  −19    27

Series 10, Game 1

Group 4
Cassadaigua                           0 0 0 3 5 0 0 1 0  9
Ethane                                0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 0  6

Lovisa                                0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1  4
Drawkland                             0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 X  5

Northwest Kalactin                    0 0 2 1 0 0 3 0 0  6
The Fair Republic                     0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Series 10, Game 2

Group 4
Cassadaigua                           0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0  4
Ethane                                0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Lovisa                                0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0  5
Drawkland                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Northwest Kalactin                    0 0 0 3 3 1 1 0 0  8
The Fair Republic                     0 1 1 0 2 0 0 4 2 10

Series 10, Game 3

Group 4
Cassadaigua                           0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Ethane                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Lovisa                                0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3
Drawkland                             0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 X  4

Northwest Kalactin                    0 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  7
The Fair Republic                     0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0  4

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cassadaigua            30   24   0   6   170   98  +72    72 Q
2 Northwest Kalactin     30   18   0  12   165  145  +20    54 Q
3 Drawkland              30   17   0  13   145  145    0    51
4 Ethane                 30   13   0  17   131  127   +4    39
5 Lovisa                 30    9   0  21   129  172  −43    27
6 The Fair Republic      30    9   0  21   123  176  −53    27

Series 10, Game 1

Group 5
Nova Anglicana                        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Zwangzug                              0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  1

Hapilopper                            0 0 0 2 0 1 3 0 0  6
Equestrian States                     0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  4

Ihilthracna                           0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0  4
Jeckland                              0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 X  6

Series 10, Game 2

Group 5
Nova Anglicana                        3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  5
Zwangzug                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Hapilopper                            1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  3
Equestrian States                     0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Ihilthracna                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Jeckland                              0 0 0 3 0 1 0 5 X  9

Series 10, Game 3

Group 5
Nova Anglicana                        4 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0  8
Zwangzug                              1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  5

Hapilopper                            0 2 1 0 0 5 0 3 1 12
Equestrian States                     1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3

Ihilthracna                           1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Jeckland                              0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 X  4

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana         30   23   0   7   152  108  +44    69 Q
2 Hapilopper             30   20   0  10   147  121  +26    60 Q
3 Zwangzug               30   15   0  15   144  127  +17    45
4 Equestrian States      30   14   0  16   107  139  −32    42
5 Jeckland               30   11   0  19   131  151  −20    33
6 Ihilthracna            30    7   0  23    96  131  −35    21

Series 10, Game 1

Group 6
Ranoria                               0 0 1 2 0 0 4 1 0  8
HUElavia                              0 1 0 2 2 0 2 1 2 10

Delaclava                             0 2 3 1 0 0 0 1 0  7
Nagore                                0 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 0  5

Free Republics                        0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  3
Abanhfleft                            2 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 X  8

Series 10, Game 2

Group 6
Ranoria                               2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
HUElavia                              5 2 0 0 0 0 1 5 X 13

Delaclava                             0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 3  6
Nagore                                0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Free Republics                        0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0  5
Abanhfleft                            0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3  4

Series 10, Game 3

Group 6
Ranoria                               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
HUElavia                              0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Delaclava                             2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Nagore                                2 1 0 0 0 2 2 2 X  9

Free Republics                        0 0 0 1 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 1  8
Abanhfleft                            1 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0  7

*                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Free Republics         30   20   0  10   161  139  +22    60 DQ
2 Delaclava              30   19   0  11   140  114  +26    57 Q (Seeded as 1st place side)
3 Abanhfleft             30   16   0  14   135  117  +18    48
4 Ranoria                30   15   0  15   141  146   −5    45
5 HUElavia               30   13   0  17   139  124  +15    39
6 Nagore                 30    7   0  23    99  175  −76    21

Series 10, Game 1

Group 7
The Sarian                            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Ko-oren                               1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 X  2

Tikariot                              0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2
Falisiand                             0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 X  3

Royal Kingdom of Quebec               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Mathuvan Union                        0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 X  5

Series 10, Game 2

Group 7
The Sarian                            0 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 0  7
Ko-oren                               1 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0  5

Tikariot                              0 0 1 8 1 1 1 1 0 13
Falisiand                             0 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0  6

Royal Kingdom of Quebec               0 1 0 0 1 1 6 0 1 10
Mathuvan Union                        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3

Series 10, Game 3

Group 7
The Sarian                            0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 1  5
Ko-oren                               2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  4

Tikariot                              0 0 2 0 0 0 5 0 0  7
Falisiand                             2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1  6

Royal Kingdom of Quebec               0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1  4
Mathuvan Union                        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

*                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                   30   20   0  10   153  101  +52    60 Q
2 Royal Kingdom of Quebec   30   19   0  11   137  117  +20    57 Q
3 Tikariot                  30   18   0  12   117  114   +3    54 Q
4 Falisiand                 30   14   0  16   121  117   +4    42
5 Mathuvan Union            30   10   0  20    99  150  −51    30
6 The Sarian                30    9   0  21   101  129  −28    27

Series 10, Game 1

Group 8
Pripet Socialist Republic             0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Super-Llamaland                       0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

The Sherpa Empire                     0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 1  6
Devonta                               0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Terre Septentrionale                  0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1  5
Megistos                              2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  4

Series 10, Game 2

Group 8
Pripet Socialist Republic             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Super-Llamaland                       4 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 X  8

The Sherpa Empire                     1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0  4
Devonta                               0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  3

Terre Septentrionale                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Megistos                              0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 X  3

Series 10, Game 3

Group 8
Pripet Socialist Republic             0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  4
Super-Llamaland                       1 0 4 1 0 1 3 0 X 10

The Sherpa Empire                     0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0  5
Devonta                               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Terre Septentrionale                  0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 2  9
Megistos                              0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  4

*                              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire           30   22   0   8   149  108  +41    66 Q
2 Super-Llamaland             30   19   0  11   148  119  +29    57 Q
3 Terre Septentrionale        30   17   0  13   121  111  +10    51
4 Megistos                    30   13   0  17   141  153  −12    39
5 Devonta                     30   10   0  20   137  149  −12    30
6 Pripet Socialist Republic   30    9   0  21   102  158  −56    27

---

PLAYOFFS: (Beginning Wednesday)
(More information about the IC Free Republic DQ can be found on the discussion thread)
(Newmanistan stadium information will be updated Tuesday evening)

(1) Cassadaigua vs (16) TJUN-ia @ Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City
(8) Delaclava vs (9) Sarzonia @ Keisler Stadium, Southport

(5) Banija vs (12) Super-Llamaland @ The Jungle, Loudon
(4) The Sherpa Empire vs (13) Royal Kingdom of Quebec @ Gladiator Stadium, Olympia

(6) South Newlandia vs (11) Hapilopper @ McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake
(3) Newmanistan vs (14) Northwest Kalactin @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls

(7) Ko-oren vs (10) Hampton Island @ Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville
(2) Nova Anglicana vs (15) Tikariot @ The Fire Pit, Centralia

Hapliopper would have been #10 and Hampton Island #11, but they were swapped to avoid group stage rematch.

[Free Republics]

Consul's Mansion, Republica, Free Republics

Consuls Samuel Izmailov and Nova Hellstrom-Hancock had called in Republican Intelligence Agency assistant director Walter Thornton for a meeting. Thornton arrived a couple of minutes earlier and was invited in on time. Since taking power, Izmailov and Hellstrom insisted that everything run on time.

Samuel Izmailov - Assistant Director Thornton, I've been informed that you have information about that no-good feminist baseball team of ours.

Walter Thornton - Yes, sir. My agents have discovered that the National Baseball Team have been systematically stealing signs for years using an image recognition program developed by Sarah Fuerst ostensibly as an "academic" project.

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - I'm sorry Assistant Director, but this isn't news to me. We've known about this program for years. Fuerst has always claimed it was an artificial intelligence program that studies film to identify the strengths and weaknesses of opponents.

Walter Thornton - What if I told you that the RIA has conclusive proof that its actually a sign stealing program?

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - And what can we do with that?

Samuel Izmailov - Nova, don't you see? If we sent that evidence to the World Baseball Classic Council and to the Newmanistanis organizing the current version of the tournament, we could get the National Baseball Team disqualified.

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - But if we did that, wouldn't they just try to defect? Or worse, come home and become troublemakers?

Samuel Izmailov - That's why we should leak it anonymously and then denounce the disqualification of our National Baseball Team and call it an act of aggression against us!

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - I like the way you think, Samuel. That'll give us a casus belli that will be helpful for our Invade the World plan.

Samuel Izmailov - Exactly. Assistant Director, are you able to discretely send the evidence to the right parties?

Walter Thornton - I am, sir.

Nova Hellstrom-Hancock - Then see to it that this evidence ends up in the right hands and that it can't be traced back to us.

Walter Thornton - Understood, ma'am.

After the Republicans took an 8 to 7 lead in the 12th inning of their final WBC group stage game, their government leaked the evidence of their highly sophisticated cheating to the WBC organizers, the WBC Council organization and any press outlet in the other 47 WBC nations that they could find via a Googol search. Within hours, the scandal broke and the team would be disqualified. Everything had gone according to plan...

---

The Republican government had previously issued a "return home" advisory for all of their nationals abroad except the baseball team. Now, the baseball team was also returning home. Once Izmailov took power, he had immediately reinstated the prior year's measures to prevent foreigners from reading the Republican press and to prevent Republicans from reading the foreign press. The Republican government was already in the process of building up its military by recruiting tons of volunteers. Once the National Baseball Team returned home, the government took the opportunity to ram through the Conscription Act which authorized the conscription into military service of all able-bodied Republicans between the ages of 18 and 45. The fact that the Republican constitution explicitly banned conscription was irrelevant as Izmailov and Hellstrom had previously rammed through the Emergency Act which granted them the right to suspend constitutional provisions whenever necessary for the safety of the Free Republics and the press was quickly intimidated by the Blueshirts into reporting endless propaganda about how the FFR's enemies were preparing to invade.

Over in the Realm of the Gods, the various gods called an emergency meeting. They had already moved large numbers of humans from an alternate reality into the Realm after the version of the Free Republics in that reality won the World Cup (#68, defeating Vilita in the final at Gem of the Oceans Stadium in Republica), elected Izmailov as their consul and destroyed that entire reality in a nuclear war. (OOC: This was the origin story of Ilyseum and the broader universe which I created for it) Now, it was happening yet again and emergency action was necessary to prevent a war that would destroy another reality.

After considering numerous options, the gods of the Realm decided to split this reality into 2. In one reality, the Free Republics would indeed carry out their "Invade the World" policy and would conquer virtually all of Atlantian Oceania, Rushmore and Esportiva. In this reality, there would be no "World Cup 86" and even World Baseball Classic 49 would end up unfinished because of the Republican military. In the other reality, everything would go on as normal but without the Free Republics.

Within a week of the Free Republics baseball team returning home, the realities were split. In the one where the Free Republics no longer existed, it would appear to all other nations as if they had accidentally nuked themselves into oblivion and the Free Republics would become a highly radioactive wasteland. Radars around that reality would show large numbers of nukes coming out of Republican cities and hitting other Republican cities. In the other reality, the Republican armies were soon on the march and, as if guided by a light from above, they would be victorious. As Izmailov and Hellstrom carried out their plan, the gods placed an unbreakable seal between the 2 realms. This was truly the point of no return for the Federation of Free Republics...

[TJUN-ia]

Before I begin, I must mention the events in the Free Republics. Their baseball team, who finished top of their group, were disqualified by the WBC after it was discovered that they used illegal sign-stealing mechanisms in order to better their performance on the field. I guess the TJUN-ian media, who brought rumours of these acts to light when the FFR was in our WBC group, had some validity to their claims. Many wanted answers from the Republicans, but they gave none as they headed back home as part of a recent push towards totalitarianism in their homeland. The era of the Sign-Stealin' Republicans was over, and so might be the FRR itself...

---

TJUN-ian baseball was at a crossroads as it headed to Marigred for an important series. They needed to win 2 games to ensure that Chromatika couldn't overtake the Jags by any metric, securing playoff baseball for the first time in their history. Their fate was in the team's hands, and Phillip Hellas-Verona knew that. He knew that everyone will be nervous as well as pumped up, but which would prevail when all was said and done?

---

Game 1
TJUN-ia 0-1 Marigred, MRG leads series 1-0
Gene Almac was up first to start and he would have a not bad day at all, with no runs allowed for most of the game. But that was coupled with bad TJUN-ian batting, Enrique Lopez furious as he couldn't figure out why this was happening. Nothing seemed to work and even though Chromatika was losing, things weren't looking good at all. And then it happened - Marigred scored a homer in the 9th to walk-off the game. Not what we needed at all, but at least the order was still in place - TJUN-ia now needed only 1 game to go to the Playoffs.

Game 2
TJUN-ia 5-2 Marigred, Series tied 1-1
Jose Almas didn't have to deal with walk-off home runs, but he did have to deal with other things. TJUN-ia scored first in the 2nd and looked to get that win before Almas allowed a 2-run home run to give the hosts the lead. Many thought it was happening again, that TJUN-ia would crumble and allow Chromatika a chance to steal 2nd, but then came a hero. Joe Gregory hit the first ball he saw out of the park to tie the game in the 6th. Then Angel Enrique hit a 3-run homer of his own to blow the game wide open. Almas was effective in shutting down the hosts for the rest of the game and it would be his efforts that made the dream a reality. TJUN-ia would be heading to Newmanistan no matter what happened in the final game. TJUN-ia was safe, with a game to spare. The players celebrated as such and they knew that tomorrow's series decider would mean nothing in terms of qualification. The game TJUN-ia fell in love with has delivered TJUN-ia something quite special...

Game 3
TJUN-ia 3-2 Marigred, TJU wins series 2-1
So, Kyle McNash had to pitch in a game that didn't matter. Sounds easy, right? Well, it was at first but then he allowed his "relaxed" nature to get the better of his and he allowed runs in back-to-back innings. Not so easy after all. It wasn't looking good for the series until a 3-run bomb from closer Carlos Buena swung the game the other way. He then proceeded to stop the hosts from trying to send the game to extras.

The series went to TJUN-ia, who finished 17-13 and 2 games ahead of both South Covello and Chromatika. In a tournament where only 1 team from Pot 2 will make it to Newmanistan, it's nice to see TJUN-ia manage to take advantage. Our first ever playoff series will be in Pocono City as we take on Team Cassadiagua - No1 team in all of baseball, the No1 team in the playoffs, and the team looking for revenge from their finals defeat at the last WBC. This will not be easy at all and the 16th-seeded Jaguars will be expected to be swept in this 5 game series, but if we can take a game from No1 then we can definitely say the TJUN-ian baseball has a future. If we somehow win this series, that might be a good enough excuse for the government to actually show the multiverse what TJUN is. Beacuse if we somehow managed it, then that would be the peak of TJUN-ian sport and one that would be difficult to beat. Emperor Michael I Stadium awaits us, no matter how short the stay might be.

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 W 2-1 (2nd)
S9 (G25/G26/G27): vs Newmanistan (5) - Rounders Field, Portside L 1-2 (2nd)
S10 (G28/G29/G30): @Marigred (UR) W 2-1 (2nd/17-13)

---

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Round of 16 - vs Cassadiagua (1) - Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City
Game 1:
Game 2:
Game 3:
Game 4:
Game 5:

[Ko-oren]

A summer of sports

As our domestic clubs are setting up their rosters for the upcoming season, and we've just recovered from nailbiter finishes in playoff finals, final match rounds, etcetera, we can turn to international tournaments to get our fix over the summer. It's not just the one tournament, though. It's... quite a few.

AOCAF - Football - enjoyed nationwide as our largest sport
WBC - Baseball - enjoyed in Yoshima and Finisterre, as the nation's sixth largest sport
WCOH - Ice Hockey - enjoyed in the northeast, as the nation's eighth largest sport
RLWC - Rugby League - enjoyed in Yoshima and Finisterre, as well as Cote Austral, as the nation's fourth largest sport

Games will follow each other quickly, and each is viewed best in a different city. Along with match reports, we'll turn to the local club scene as we try to get it all done this summer: local stories, proud clubs, national results, regional issues, and obviously a problem in the language department - we'll have to rely on other Ko-orenites speaking enough languages so I can communicate with them.

My name is Leligun Thernasthen, and I've recently moved to Finisterre. From my previous home in Mayara, first off, I was paying almost my entire wage in rent. Secondly, I can't spend time on what I do best and what I love doing the most: travelling. Abroad or domestic. Since moving southeast, I've learned that there's still a lot to discover on the Dragonfly archipelago, and from Finisterre I can travel to the coast on three sides, see tiny towns, see the desert, and go to the Amandine. Since then, I've been going around this part of the country, and I want to spread my wings. Seeing as sports make this country go round (even if I don't really care for it), this summer is a perfect opportunity. I'll be seeing Lunaro Tsukida, for instance, as well as the Pineiro brothers, as well as others, if I can track them down. Here's the plan.

This is the schedule, with all games for each day, including the place we'll watch them from, and how we're getting around, and what I'm hoping to find out there:

Selpernim 2/Sweltersky 2 - Ferrovente (home): Introducing myself
WBC: Ro16 1, 2
RLWC: Match Day 1
Selpernim 3/Sweltersky 3 - Constillán (bus): Two Finisterres, divided by desert
WBC: Ro16 3, 4
WCOH: Match Day 1
RLWC: Match Day 2
Selpernim 4/Sweltersky 4 - Nitoya (ferry): The status of Aviansolan
(WBC: Ro16 5)
AOCAF: Match Day 1
WCOH: Match Day 2
RLWC: Match Day 3
Selpernim 5/Sweltersky 5 - Asakami (train): The Asakami Spirit, and other small teams
WBC: QF 1, 2
WCOH: Match Day 3
Selpernim 6/Sweltersky 6 - Katashi (train): The Katashi Giants, and other massive teams
AOCAF: Match Day 2
WBC QF 3, 4
WCOH: Match Day 4
RLWC: Match Day 4
Selpernim 7/Sweltersky 7 - Teragaseki (ferry): Ko-orenite and Yoshiman symbols
(WBC: QF 5)
WCOH: Match Day 5
RLWC: Match Day 5
Selpernim 8/Sweltersky 8 - Alara (ferry): Democratic Fortress in Meritocracy Country
AOCAF: Match Day 3
WBC: SF 1, 2
RLWC: Match Day 6
Selpernim 9/Sweltersky 9 - Schemerdrecht (ferry): Day off #1
WBC: SF 3, 4
WCOH: Match Day 6
Selpernim 10/Sweltersky 10 - Straudum (train): Ko-oren's minority minority languages
AOCAF: Match Day 4
(WBC: SF 5)
WCOH: Match Day 7
Selpernim 11/Sweltersky 11 - Dartha (train): You can see our economy grow/Growth for Growth's sake
WBC: F 1
RLWC: Round of 16
Selpernim 12/Sweltersky 12 - Lysager (bus): Gehrennan, lesson #1
AOCAF: Match Day 5
WBC: F 2
WCOH: Match Day 8
Selpernim 13/Sweltersky 13 - Narkas (taxi, probably): Ko-oren's minority minority languages #2
WBC: F 3
WCOH: Match Day 9
RLWC: Quarterfinals
Selpernim 14/Sweltersky 14 - Egevea (ferry): Climate change is real
AOCAF: Round of 24
WBC: F 4
WCOH: Match Day 10
Selpernim 15/Sweltersky 15 - Aevanna (bus): The localest of landmarks
(WBC: F 5)
RLWC: Semifinals
Selpernim 16/Sweltersky 16 - Willowbourne (plane): 'Day off' #2
AOCAF: Round of 16
(WBC: F 6)
WCOH: Round of 16
(RLWC: 3PPO)
Selpernim 17/Sweltersky 17 - Soirgues (bicycle): Ko-orenite Heraldry
(WBC: F 7)
WCOH: Quarterfinals
RLWC: Final
Selpernim 18/Sweltersky 18 - Gaulthisoru (train): Gehrennan, lesson #2
AOCAF: Quarterfinals
WCOH: Semifinals
Selpernim 19/Sweltersky 19 - Aminey (train): The Aminey paradox: money doesn't always win
WCOH: 3PPO & Final 1
Selpernim 20/Sweltersky 20 - Roufort (metro, tram, train): City states: a national history
AOCAF: Semifinals
WCOH: Final 2
Selpernim 21/Sweltersky 21 - Marluire (bicycle, taxi): Quebec's minority minority languages #3
WCOH: Final 3
Selpernim 22/Sweltersky 22 - Amigerac (train, train, train, train): Gehrennan outside of Gehrenna
AOCAF: Third Place Playoff
Selpernim 23/Sweltersky 23 - Colenario (bus): Almost back home, I'm tired, mum can you pick me up
AOCAF: AOCAF Cup LIX Final

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions group stage review

The Nova Anglicana Lions have finished the group stage with a record of 23-7, good for the second seed in the playoffs. They trailed only the Fillies of Cassadaigua, who swept The Fair Republic and Ethane by an aggregate score of 44-12 to finish 24-6 and nab the top seed. The Lions' record is a strong improvement from WBC 48, where they won just 19 games and earned the #7 seed. To understand how the national baseball team has been doing, let's look at just one aspect of the Lions squad to get a feel for the group stage, the rotation.

#1 Cory Sharpe: 4-0, 42.1 IP, 12 ER, 2.57 ERA
#2 Wyatt Templeton: 2-1, 35.1 IP, 15 ER, 3.82 ERA
#3 Dan Cunningham: 1-1, 37.1 IP, 17 ER, 4.10 ERA
#4 Erik Russell: 2-1, 35.1 IP, 17 ER, 4.33 ERA
#5 Hank Jackson: 2-0, 37 IP, 11 ER, 2.68 ERA
Overall: 11-3, 187.1 IP, 72 ER, 3.46 ERA

The first thing that stands out to you is the surprisingly low decision rate. A record of 11-3 for the starters means that the bullpen's record is 12-4, and that the bullpen has recorded more than fifty percent of decisions. If you thought the Lions have been playing a lot of extra inning games or that many games have been decided late, you'd be right. Overall, the Lions have played in 7 extra-inning games, or about 23% of their games, and the bullpen has thrown 96.2 IP, or 34% of all IP. This also lets us calculate that the bullpen has allowed 36 ER in those 96.2 IP, for an ERA of 3.35. So as much as we have maligned closer Zach Kelley for blowing saves and the late inning fits and starts, the bullpen hasn't actually pitched that badly. Now on to the individual starters.

Sharpe, the staff ace, has the best ERA and record of the starters. He's been consistently good, tossing six to seven innings per start with a complete game mixed in there. He's not shown the early-inning jitters that plagued him in WBC 48. Wyatt Templeton has one stinker to his name: 3 IP, 6 ER against Jeckland. If you remove that outing, his overall ERA drops by three-quarters of a point, to 3.06. He was a playoff hero for the Lions last time; let's see if he can duplicate it. Dan Cunningham has pitched some good games in which he didn't get enough run support, including the last series against Zwangzug, but 6 IP, 3 ER is a more typical line. He hasn't pitched badly, but he hasn't quite been up to snuff. He may see some kind of change in usage or downshift in the rotation. As for Erik Russell, he started out very poorly, with his first several starts totaling more runs than innings pitched. But he had a great second half that included a complete game, and he's gotten his ERA down to a more respectable 4.33. It's still not good, but he's hotter than some other pitchers in the rotation, which may save him. Hank Jackson has pitched a complete game and had an RBI hit to win it, and overall, he's been the second-best pitcher in the rotation. Last WBC, Orlando Murray used him almost exclusively as an opener for Cory Sharpe; one doubts that Mark Singleton will employ him in the same way. But we'll see how the new manager sets his rotation and lineup for the Round of 16.

The Lions will take on the #15 seed, Tikariot, in their Round of 16 matchup. Tune in tomorrow for more information about this matchup and why Tikariot calls their team "The Devil's Rejects".

[Tikariot]

The picture switches to Angelo Mori, Kenneth Burgess and Sarah Ladle in the TSG TV studios with pictures of a celebrating Tikariot team on the big screen behind them.

Angelo Mori: A grand hello to all baseball fans tuning in to our breaking news special edition. In case you have not heard yet, the Free Republics, originally advancing to the play-offs as winner of group 6, have been disqualified from the World Baseball Classic due to repeated instances of sign stealing!

Sarah Ladle: The World Baseball Classic Council just announced that due to a long ongoing case of sign stealing the Free Republics have been immediately disqualified from the tournament and thus are forced to forfeit their spot in the knock-out portion of the Classic. It has further decreed that the best third-placed team would be awarded their position and as fate has it, Tikariot is exactly that team!

Kenneth Burgess: Now before the last series there had been some analysts pointing out that even as third placed team Tikariot might have more points than some nations qualifying as second of their respective group and that really ended up being the case, leading to Tikariot being the 15-seed in the playoffs, eclipsing TJUN-ia. So very good news indeed for the Devil's Rejects and their fans.

Mori: Not all that glitters is gold, though because now we will be facing Nova Anglicana, second seed and overall ranked number 3 in the world, so this is a completely new level of competition, given that we overall lost the series against fourth-ranked Ko-oren. But then again, we did win the first of the two series against Ko-oren, so that is all it would take against Nova Anglicana as well.

Ladle: What is kind of ironic is that should we get past Nova Anglicana, there is a good chance we would face Ko-oren again, kind of funny if you look at it like that.

Mori: Speaking of looking, let's have a look at Nova Anglicana and their journey through the World Baseball Classic so far.

Ladle: Nova Anglicana was drawn into group 5, together with Hapilopper, Zwangzug, Equestrian States, Jeckland and Ihilthracna, as favourites to win the group. Ranked number 3 in the world, the Lions are the defending world champions, fielding almost the same team that had won them the trophy the last time around, but with a mostly new coaching staff. At the helm they have Mark Singleton, also manager of the Vinovium Gunners that made it into the Nova Anglican series last season. Despite his young age he is considered a very talented coach that embraces the statistics-based approach, using sabermetrics as tool to spice up the traditional methods in order to get the best out of the team. Names don't mean much to him, if it means that he sees an advantage to shake thing up and surprise the opponent.

Burgess: The group stage was a breeze for the Lions, finishing with an impressive 23-7 record and a very comfortable +44 run differential, not dropping a single series in the process. Ihilthracna, the Equestrian States and Zwangzug they blew off 5-1 each, while Hapilopper and Jeckland managed to win two games each in their respective series, showing that Nova Anglicana definitely meant business. Interesting, though, that 5th placed Jeckland technically had the best record against the Lions with a 2-4 and 33-35 aggregated result, which again shows that the level of competition is to tight in the WBC that pretty much almost anything is possible.

Mori: One of the biggest strengths of the Nova Anglican squad undoubtedly is a very tight and experienced core that has been playing together for a long time and under the forward-thinking tutelage of coach Singleton really has shown that they could go all the way for a second time in a row. On the flipside, though, the experience and with that the combined age of the team could work against the Lions, as the WBC is a very intense competition with five series per day and only very few days off, which puts a very high physical strain on the players and as the tournament progresses, this could become a factor. How much experience can outweigh that element is up in the air, as some players have learned over the years how to preserve their strength over a longer period of time, but I think that especially the pitching department could potentially suffer, also because they have had a few long games, so this is something to look out for and hope.

Burgess: So where do we sit in this game?

Ladle: Well, we're one of three unranked teams that made it into the playoffs, which in itself already is quite an achievement, so I don't think anybody would fault us for not advancing any further. So in a way this takes away a lot of pressure from our team, because we already exceeded what was expected from us to begin with. And in turn this also increases the pressure on Nova Anglicana, because they don't want to be the clear favourite to crash out against an unranked, low-seeded team. I think that the opening innings might be crucial in this regard to potentially make them nervous, if things don't go their way and they feel pressure mounting and force them into mistakes.

Burgess: That is true. Baseball is a sport where it is difficult to really put direct pressure on someone, as you don't have this direct contact that you have in football or hockey or basketball, so it is a lot more psychological in nature if you want to unnerve your opponent. And this is something that Tikariot has managed to be able to do, both in the International Baseball Slam and now here in the World Baseball Classic. Now some people have said that the level of expectation on our team has risen as well due to winning the Slam and now making it to the playoffs. While this is true, you have to see the context of the position we are sitting in right now and I firmly believe that the pressure on the Lions is exponentially bigger than on us.

Ladle: Good analysis on this point, Kenneth, now one point all of you made, Angelo, is the pitching of Nova Anglicana. They had seven extra inning games, and a pretty even record for starters and bullpen. Now while one could argue that this means that the workload has been quite evenly split between pitchers, couldn't it rather also be seen as that they don't have any particular player that is really well rested to shoulder a bigger portion of the games?

Mori: That's actually a pretty good point there, Sarah. As it sits right now, Cory Sharpe and Hank Jackson have had the best stats throughout the tournament while Dan Cunningham and Erik Russell have been so-so and Wyatt Templeton has had one abysmal game against Jeckland, so this shows that it's strongly day-to-day here and that this could be one of our chances, if we manage to catch one of the starters on a bad day.

Burgess: On the other hand the bullpen has been pretty consistent, which is definitely a plus for the Lions, but often if the starters start to show nervousness, it can infect the bullpen as well, so at this point I would not necessarily single out the pitching as Nova Anglicana's biggest strength.

Ladle: Alright, let's quickly go to Centralia, where our team has arrived not long ago, Sean Callahan has coach Graham McCrory on the microphone. Sean, how are things looking over there?

Sean Callahan: Thanks Sarah. Things are looking good here, the team seems pumped for a second chance at this thanks to the disqualification of the Free Republics and spirits are high!

Ladle: Great, I heard that you have Coach McCrory with you?

Callahan: Yes, I do. Graham, how does it feel to still be in this?

Graham McCrory: Feels great! You know, when you're packing your things to go home because you've been eliminated and then get the call that you're still alive in this, it's an awesome feeling! Makes you feel that you can take on the world now!

Callahan: Well, you don't quite have to take on the world, but Nova Anglicana, which is quite the heavyweight in international baseball.

McCrory: Sure they are, you don't win a Classic as a fluke, so it means something big. And if you look at them, they still got most of their championship players together, so that's a tight-knit team. But they're getting old. I've watched a few of their games and even though they won most of them, you could see that the arms of their pitchers are getting a bit heavier and if you look at the press, they're pretty much expecting them to go deep again.

Callahan: How do you see the chances for Tikariot in this?

McCrory: We already were gone and now are back in it. We managed to stand tall in a really tough group and what do we really have to lose? Other than the series, of course. Nothing. We managed to put baseball on the map in Tikariot and if anyone would have told me two months ago that we'd be in the playoffs at the Classic, I'd have told them to go play cards with a flowerpot in the outhouse.

Callahan: Interesting metaphor. So do you think you can get by Nova Anglicana?

McCrory: Anything's possible. I'll make sure to have the kids focused and doing what they do best and then we'll see what happens.

Callahan: How is the team looking, any injury worries?

McCrory: Vincent is the only one with some light hamstring issues, so if he can't play, Blair will come on and he's been doing great so far in the Classic, so even if Vincent is out of the lineup I do not foresee any drop in quality.

Callahan: Thank you, Graham, I know that you want to go in and get the team zoned in, good luck tonight! So here you have it, the team is positive and confident, so maybe we'll see another baseball miracle in the makings. Back to you, Angelo.

Mori: Thanks Sean. Good to hear that the staff seems realistic and positive. So what is your prediction on how things will go, Kenneth?

Burgess: This is the hard part, because it is so unpredictable. And head and heart diverge big time. Rationally Nova Anglicana is by far the favourite and one should expect them to walk out of Centralia the winners, but having followed the Devil's Rejects through a tournament and a half now, I can't help but feel that there is a distinct chance that they might stage the upset. And as Sean had mentioned, they have a second life in this, so this could definitely give them another boost of confidence to be able to show the world that they deserve to be in the playoffs. So I'll go out on a limb and predict a 2-1 win for Tikariot, but it'll be a really tight squeeze.

Mori: Sarah?

Ladle: I'm in the same situation here, with my brain and my heart conflicting, but I think that the favourite will take this one. They have the experience and have less fluctation in form, so I am afraid they will make it. Now you're the tie breaker here, Angelo.

Mori: I-I was dreading this moment, haha. Am I allowed to do a coinflip? No? Alright. I'm just going to say Tikariot goes through. There, I said it. Both of you have good points, but I agree with Kenneth, we have less pressure and the younger team, plus that extra confidence boost that we came back after technically already having been eliminated.

Ladle: There we go, I'm outnumbered. However it goes, this is a big day for Tikariotian baseball and who knows, we might still be left standing by the time tomorrow rolls around. Make sure to tune in for our live coverage of our first playoff series against Nova Anglicana, we will be broadcasting extended hours, so we will be on the air an hour before the first pitch to get you up to date with all the latest details and updates on the team before we go into the knock-out stage of the World Baseball Slam. From all of us a good day and see you soon!

[Ranoria]

Surprising Season Nonetheless Ends in Disappointing Finish

Anyone who would have told you that the Ranorian team was expected to win fifteen games would have been tested for narcotics on the spot. Their over under was put at 9.5 games, and they somehow came out at .500 over a 30 game stretch. Sure, the last 9 games weren't pretty, 4-5, but the team displayed the ability to compete at the international level even with an admittedly ragtag group of starters, two of whom have made their living out of country.

As for our star players, Leonardo Harrison is the team's MVP without question. With a batting average of .330 flat, and 11 home runs, his bat was crucial to the team's high scoring outings, and at shortstop he was the man of the defense. Just behind him was Philip Lux, who finished with a .332 average and 9 homers. Lux, at catcher, was pivotal to the defense as well, and caught every pitch thrown to him.

The von Kuhn brothers were...effective in their own way. Tim's batting average of .295 and 10 home runs were a major contribution to the cause, with his DH brother, Wolfram, finishing at .277 and 4 out of the park. Of course, Tim was a liability on defense, and Wolfram was fortunately never asked to field. It should also be noted that Wolfram participated in about 40% of the team's contests.

Leonardo Harrison knocks out his 11th homer of the year, a one score home run to end a 17 inning marathon against HUElavia

While we knew, going into the final series against HUElavia, that Ranoria was for all intents and purposes out of the knockout stages, there was hope that they could at least secure a winning record to put a stamp on an upstart season. No such luck, as our Krauts were toppled 10-8 and then blown out in a 13-3 crucifixion of a game.

That final game, now that they sat at 14-15, was their chance to secure at least a record of .500. The Krauts took an early lead on Leonardo Harrison's tenth home run of the year early on. Unfortunately, no one else had gotten on base, but the 3rd and 6th innings saw Ranoria let up a pair of runs. They answered with a pair of their own, and HUElavia tied them up with another immedietely after.

A scoreless 9th meant extra innings. As did a scoreless tenth. Eleventh. Twelfth, it just kept going on.

HUElavia did nearly end it in the 16th inning, with a man on third darting for home, but Philip Lux managed to contort his body to secure a poor throw from Tim von Kuhn in the outfield and secure the third out. Fortunately, Leonardo Harrison was the first up in the 17th, and on the very first pitch, a fastball, he nailed his second ball out of the park on the day, a team leading 11th on the year, that would be the final score on the day. HUElavia was unable to overcome Tommy Verona, who came in in the 15th inning despite having been scheduled to sit this one out.

With the win, Ranorians across the nation celebrated, and perhaps some have been converted into casual baseball fans. Should the federation reel in more dollars, its possible that we could see more players whom have left the country return, if only to participate in the World Baseball Classic.

[Sarzonia]

If the Sarzonian national baseball team didn't have a couple of travel days, manager Geoff Yancey might have regretted his decision to open the final series of World Baseball Classic qualifying against The Jovannic by using a bullpen game.

The Stars won that game easily 11-1, and starting pitcher Dima Ostrelov even helped his own cause with a run-scoring double in the top of the third inning en route to a five-inning performance that qualified him for the victory. He was working on a perfect game through five, but Yancey went with previously scheduled starter Jeff Parrish for two innings to keep him sharp for the knockout rounds.

Second baseman Kuchie Far greeted Parrish with a solo homer that ended the no-hit bid and the shutout, but Myron Daniels tossed two more scoreless innings to wrap things up for the Stars.

In Game Two, Jamie Pearson strode to the mound hoping to solidify his place in the knockout round starting rotation with a strong performance. He was shaky, allowing three runs in the first four innings, but somehow managed to work through six frames. Carnie Weston came on to pitch the seventh inning, but served up a two-run double to third baseman Gundun Tan before pinch hitter Luke Brinkley banged a solo homer in the eighth to give the Stars a lead.

Scott Lassiter worked an uneventful eighth, but Tyrell Douglass gave up a run scoring single to Yui Ng to blow the save. It forced Yancey to send out Alfred Wagner to work the 10th inning. After pinch hitter Desmond St. John hit a two-run shot to give the Stars the lead in the 11th, Wagner closed things out to give Sarzonia the series win.

Brian Lynch went out to the mound with an opportunity he wasn't expecting at the start of this World Baseball Classic: A chance to pitch his way into the starting rotation for the knockout rounds. Unfortunately for Lynch, his outing looked much like the one Pearson had. He struggled to get through six, Weston coughed up two runs in the seventh, and now the Stars were on the verge of an embarrassing finale against one of the worst teams in the World Baseball Classic.

However, first baseman Cody Frazier was having none of that. He led off the top of the eighth with a booming home run to right to cut the home side's lead to one. Pinch hitter Luke Brinkley tagged a fastball from Swong Frera for a game-tying home run in the ninth. Lassiter wound up pitching three innings with most of the rest of the bullpen gassed, but St. John would once again make the most of his opportunity as he pinch hit for Lassiter and doubled home three runs in the top of the 11th. Douglass slammed the door on The Jovannic's six-win campaign for the save.

However, as the players gathered in the clubhouse to find out their fare, they would learn about Free Republics being disqualified from the World Baseball Classic.

"Those fuckers stole signs! I can't fucking believe it!" Brinkley said.

"Not only that, but they relayed pitches to their hitters," shortstop Christine Andersen said. "It was a very advanced operation."

"So what does that mean to us?" Frazier asked.

"They were the group winners from Group 6, so their place as group winners goes to the second placed finisher," Andersen said. "That means Delaclava."

"So who are we facing in the knockouts?" Frazier asked.

"Delaclava," Andersen said. Since WBC organisers were treating Delaclava as Group 6 winners, they inherited the seeding they would have had as actual group winners. That meant they were through as Group 6 champions with a 19-11 record and the No. 8 seed, the lowest seed among the group winners.

That meant Delaclava pulled the baseball equivalent of a Sarzonia, as the Stars won their group in the previous World Baseball Classic as an unranked side with a 19-11 record and the No. 8 seed. That team would face a Hampton Island side that was a runner up in their group with a 20-10 record. The Stars won the first two games of the best-of-five series against Hampton Island, but lost the last three as their bats fell silent.

The irony of the Stars being in the reverse position of their previous trip to the World Baseball Classic wasn't lost on Yancey.

"It's definitely interesting to be the underdog against a team that won its group with a worse record than ours after we did the same previously," he said. However, Yancey said he regretted that the series would be played in Stockport instead of possibly Dennis Stadium in Catherina and Fleetwood Park in Woodstock.

"It almost doesn't feel right to play these games at Keisler Stadium," he said, spitting out the name of the ballpark featuring the series between the two dear friends and fierce rivals representing Cyanea with no small measure of scorn. "But it is what it is, and we look forward to a great series and catching up with our friends when one of us advances."

Sarzonia's Knockout Round Rotation
Game 1: Mark Conroy
Game 2: Jeff Parrish
Game 3: Uriel Jimenez if Sarzonia leads 2-0; Jamie Pearson otherwise
Game 4 (if necessary): Brian Lynch if Sarzonia leads 2-1. Conroy if Sarzonia are down 2-1
Game 5 (if necessary): Conroy or Parrish

[Delaclava]

DSGN.com Baseball

Surprise DQ shakes up playoffs, Delaclava now a top seed

The Delaclava national baseball team has been given the #8 seed in the World Baseball Classic playoffs and will play #9 seed Sarzonia in the Round of 16 at Keisler Stadium in Southport, Newmanistan.

The Phoenixes were expecting to have a lower seed after winning two out of three games in Nagore, losing the finale 9-4, and finishing 19-11, one game behind Group 6 winners Free Republics (20-10). However, the final group stage standings published by the Newmanistanian organisers have disqualified the seventh-ranked Republicans for undisclosed reasons. While Delaclava was not promoted to first place in Group 6, they will take Free Republics' group winners' spot in the playoffs, handing their own spot to Tikariot, who finished third in Group 7.

"It's been weird - we haven't heard anything about why they're out of the tournament, not a peep," shortstop Josip Oller said in a text message. "At this point, it doesn't really concern us. The bracket's been drawn and we're moving forward now.

"I'm sure we'll see Free Republics out on the field again soon."

While the Phoenixes have now been seeded as if they were the group winners, Oller insisted that his team has gotten no additional boost of confidence from that distinction: "We know what we did in the group stage. We know we were second place. We lost 11 games, and we lost our last game, even if we were resting some guys. So we know we have work to do if we want to keep playing."

With the business of the group stage concluded, second baseman Josh Smith described the team as "over the moon" that the Phoenixes were still around at this stage of the tournament. The Delaclav squad, which was assembled from the town of Dillobourne, Hess, came into the tournament with low expectations but high hopes. After finding their footing in the first two series and managing a 2-4 record against Top 10 teams, they took charge of their destiny by winning seven of the next nine, and outdid themselves in the second half to finish 19-11, just one game off the group win and a whopping three games clear of third-placed Abanhfleft - despite winning just two of six against the #9 team.

"This is unbelievable," Smith told reporters in a remote press conference, with press gathered at the DOC headquarters and Smith video-calling in from Southport, where the Phoenixes have already arrived to begin preparations. "We always believed we could do this, especially after we got our feet wet and found out we could keep up with the competition. But it's surpassed any of our predictions for how well this could go. And we're not ready to call it quits either."

The Dillobourne squad has not only intrigued and inspired fans at home and around the world, but also has convinced the Delaclava Olympic Committee to re-establish and fund the Delaclava Baseball Association for future development and international appearances. Furthermore, the palpable chemistry and goodwill among the community-based WBC team has inspired the DBA to select a similarly local squad for the upcoming AO Baseball Series - a group of major league, farm system, and semipro players from Mersatha.

As for the remainder of this tournament, the players look forward to the next challenge - the Sarzonia Stars, who are the ninth seed with a slightly superior record of 20-10, one game adrift of Banija in Group 2 and a whopping five games clear of any other team.

"They're going to be a great match for us," according to left fielder Owen Clark. "They're stingy on defense and with their bullpen, they know how to win tight games, and they've got a championship legacy. We're both going to be ready."

The matchup is particularly attractive for Clark, one of the younger players on the team, for another reason: "Delaclava wasn't reunited that long ago, so most of us haven't always felt that connected to our country. But representing the Phoenixes, wearing the red and gold has really been a privilege. And playing Sarzonia is like a rite of passage for Delaclav athletes, isn't it? Getting the opportunity to play a longtime national rival - it definitely makes me feel more Delaclav."

The Phoenixes are also excited to have made the trip to Newmanistan. "It's another new experience for us, and an incredible one so far," Smith said. "The people of Southport have been really welcoming to us. It's a baseball city and they're excited to see us play, even if we're not the home team. We can't wait to take the field."

"Thirty games after Opening Day, we still have more baseball ahead, and we don't plan on stopping anytime soon."

Round of 16 Matchups
Game 1 Bedin Egozhevy vs. Mark Conroy
Game 2: Rhys Hackett vs. Jeff Parrish
Game 3: Ryan Dausch vs. TBD
Game 4*: Egozhevy vs. TBD
Game 5*: Hackett vs. TBD

[Northwest Kalactin]

Kalactin Makes WBC Playoff Stage
Yup folks! You read that right. The Kalactanians have played well enough during the group stage to secure a spot in the playoffs, for our playoff match we will be playing nobody other than the current hosts, Newmanistan! They are one of the best teams in the world and will be an extremely tough test for the team, who came into this WBC ranked 37th in the world. They are not alone however, as many other low ranked teams have made the playoffs along with them. That includes the team that came in unranked during the tournament, Delaclava winning the group that included the Free Republican team. There was a large scandal that included the FFR team that forced them to give up their spot in the playoffs, that allowed Tikariot to grab the 15th seed in the tournament, where they will be pitted against the most recent runner-ups, Nova Anglicana. There will be many good matchups to watch as the round of 16 starts up, and that will definitely include the Sarzonia vs. Delaclava matchup, which is a multi sport rivalry that is sure to get heated on the field. Cassadaigua, the Kalactanians group mate would go onto top the tables and earn the first seed, where they will be playing against another newer team to the tournament, TJUN-ia.

As we look at the Kalactanians matchup, in Newmanistan it is sure to be a very tough one. We will be forced to beat them on their home fields after having to scramble the team from Northwest Kalactin over to Esportiva. They did however, finish off a very weak series against Chromatika, who is a team that is mediocre at best. The hitting for the Kalactanians will be a key part in winning the series, as the Kalactanian hitting is a large part of their game. If the Kalactanians go on and win the series against Newmanistan, they will play the winner if the South Newlandia vs. Hapilloper matchup. As the team was arriving in Newmanistan today for their matchup in 1 week, we were able to catch up with the star catcher from the Kalactanians, Adam Felix. We asked him if he thought that they would be able to play a good series against Newmanistan and win, he replied with “Newmanistan will be an extremely hard team to play against, they are one of the best all around teams in the world and can be beaten by few. However, our team is a team that is a rising force in the world, and we soon hope to be a team that challenges for the top spots in the world, with this team, anything is possible.”

Our Ro16 predictions

(1) Cassadaigua 3-0 (16) TJUN-ia @ Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City
Cassafaigua gets an easy sweep against an inferior team here, no surprises.
(8) Delaclava 2-3 (9) Sarzonia @ Keisler Stadium, Southport
In one of the most heated series of the WBC, Sarzonia pulls out in Game 5 to win the series.
(5) Banija 3-1 (12) Super-Llamaland @ The Jungle, Loudon
Banija wins this game based on pure skill and experience compared to the newer SLL team.
(4) The Sherpa Empire 2-3 (13) Royal Kingdom of Quebec @ Gladiator Stadium, Olympia
Quebec pulls a nice upset against one of the top teams in the world.
(6) South Newlandia 3-0 (11) Hapilopper @ McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake
The newest rising force in the world starts a rise towards dominance
(3) Newmanistan 3-1 (14) Northwest Kalactin @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
The hosts win a series on their own turf, but some games will come down to the wire.
(7) Ko-oren 3-2 (10) Hampton Island @ Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville
Ko-oren is able to pull away at the end of the series for a hard fought win.
(2) Nova Anglicana 3-0 (15) Tikariot @ The Fire Pit, Centralia
NA is one of the best teams, so it is no surprise they are able to beat Tikariot easily here.