World Baseball Classic 51 – Everything Thread (IC)

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

TIKARIOT TO JOIN NSSCRA

by Taylor Larson,

There is quite a bit of time to go before the next season of NSSCRA, but we have received confirmation that the nation of Tikariot will be participating in NSSCRA for the upcoming season. Well, actually we haven't, but it just seems like it. They have been providing a lot of hype lately to the Tikariot Supercars series, and surely this is because they want to appeal the World Baseball Classic nations that have great NSSCRA programs. Of course, as we know, NSSCRA is headquartered here in Newmanistan, but it goes much deeper than that. Look at the nations that are still alive that will be playing in Tikariot:

Cassadaigua? Top NSSCRA program.
Kohnhead? Up and coming NSSCRA program.
Banija? Well, they've been in it the last two years.
Bardney? Surely they would, but they probably prefer to race horse and buggies.
Zwangzug? Well, no, but maybe they were expecting Hampton Island to win that series, and in which case, the answer would be yes.
Sarzonia? No. But we didn't need everyone.

Tikariot Supercars knows there is captive NSSCRA audience here, so it's a great way to begin the hype. But if you want more evidence, remember their co-host, South Newlandia is in NSSCRA. So are The Sherpa Empire and Hapilopper. I look forward to Tikariot in NSSCRA 11.

DIsclaimer: This article is not meant to be taken as a serious statement on Tikariot joining NSSCRA, although we'd love to have them.

[Sarzonia]

Woodstock Daily Mail

Woodstock dismisses NSSCRA comments; Stars to face co-hosts
Marshall: 'We've got bigger fish to fry'

From staff reports

WOODSTOCK (14 April 2021) -- Sarzonia Vice President for Health and Athletics Carter Marshall took the unusual step of addressing foreign media reports that mentioned Sarzonia as it relates to participation in another country's competition.

"The Incorporated Sarzonian Government has no interest in supporting an entry in NSSCRA in any way, shape or form," Marshall said in response to a question raised during a news conference as the Incorporated Baseball Federation announced Sarzonia's pairing against World Baseball Classic 51 co-hosts Tikariot in the Round of 16.

"We've got bigger fish to fry than sending people to drive in a redneck sport with a bunch of hicks," Marshall said, prefacing his comment with a smirk that made clear his comments were not intended to be taken seriously.

"No, auto racing isn't a popular sport here in Sarzonia, and there isn't enough infrastructure to support a board of governors or a federation of any kind," he said. "If we have any individual drivers or teams that want to compete in Newmanistan, we'll certainly take a look at things and see if we can arrange for financial or logistical support, but right now, the demand isn't there."

Marshall's comments, even though they were impromptu and off the cuff, pointed to a facet of Sarzonian culture that most often remained hidden. Most Sarzonians have no interest in auto racing, as attempts to establish NSSCRA-style or so-called Formula 1-styled auto racing circuits never got off the ground, nor did they demonstrate interest in ticket buying among the Sarzonian public.

"There just isn't cultural support in Sarzonia for auto racing," said Somerset State College sociology professor Ned Hemingway, who teaches a culture of sport class at the university. "Too many Sarzonians dismiss the sport as barbaric or racist or homophobic, and that just doesn't work in Sarzonia."

The IBF stated that they were looking forward to a rematch with co-hosts Tikariot in the Round of 16 after they swept Sarzonia in Fleetwood Park in Woodstock during the group stage, saying "we want revenge, and seeing their home fans die mad about it would be perfect revenge."

As for the rest of the WBC, manager Geoff Yancey reacted to the biggest upset of all as 31st seeded and No. 66 ranked Bardney shocked Liventia, the third seeds and No. 18 ranked Liventia 3 games to 2 in the Round of 32.

"That was a shocker," he said. "I still can't believe it."

[Banija]

Banijan manager Ousman Kakay, bottom of the 9th inning of The 189 v. Banija, Game 5

It had been a rough path to this point for the Banijans. After three scoreless innings for both teams, it would be the Banijans who would get on the scoreboard first, with a two run home run from Third baseman Jung Jassey to take a 2-0 lead in the game. They were able to take the ace, Duta Condé, through six and a third strong innings. After allowing a one out double, Kakay had pulled him from the game. Now, it was a do-or-die Game 5. Kakay wanted to skip the middle of his bullpen entirely, and go straight to the back end.

Could the setup man and the closer come out and get eight outs? Well, Bouba Kujabi inherited the runner, and it didn't go great. While he got the first out, he allowed a two out single to allow the tying run to score. He then got out of the inning after that, but he technically had a blown save to his name. Fortunately, the Banijans were able to manufacture a run after that, causing Kakay to leave in the reliver. A blown save and a win to name, potentially? He entered the 8th up 3-2. But then, he allowed a leadoff double. Kakay came out to the mound to talk to Kujabi, and Kujabi convinced Kakay to stay in the game. Kujabi got the next hitter to pop out, and the second hitter to ground out to hold the runner. Maybe Kujabi could get out of this? BUt in a long at-bat, he left a curveball hanging over too much of the plate, and it was blasted into the 10th row in the right field seats.

Kakay swore as the Banijan bench looked dejected. Kujabi got the final out of the inning, and the whole team was in shell shocked silence, essentially. The bottom of the 8th, Banija went 1-2-3. The top of the 9th, at least, Mizpah Askari got The 189 to go 1-2-3 as well. But yet, with the 8-9-1 hitters up for Banija, prospects looked grim. To lead off the inning, catcher Xaaf Geele struck out. Two outs until elimination. Kakay wanted a pinch hitter. Out came Bailo Suso, in came Odera Obea, the team's first ever female player. She hit a base hit right over the head of the second baseman.

"Okay, okay!" Ousman Kakay yelled as he clapped. The first thing to cheer about in a while. Finally, the Banijan half of the stadium was finally getting into it. All the sound was from The 189 fans over the last two innings. But Banijan fans were turning their caps inside out, for the rally caps. Obea's pinch hit single gave them life. And what to do with life? Make the most of it. The team at the top of the order, with a baserunner. Obasey Mazzi hit a single down the right field line. Players on first and second. Ousman Kakay was getting excited.

"Momodou!" He yelled at Banija's #2 hitter. He flashed out the signals for a bunt. It would be a high risk manuever. If he laid down the sacrifice bunt successfully, they'd have players on 2nd and 3rd with two outs, and the 3-4-5 hitters coming up. A single would win the series. So Joof laid it down the first base line. And it was perfect. Joof exploded out of the batter's box, and clearly caught The 189 defense off guard. Joof flew up the first base line, and by the time The 189's first baseman got to the ball, and flipped it back to the bag, Joof was safe.

"Everyone's safe! Let's go!" Ousman Kakay yelled. Bases loaded, one out. The 189's fan bots were quiet- but Banija's men and women were making a ton of noise. Cyper Kandeh got to an 0-2 count, and then worked his way back to a 2-2 count. He hit a deep fly ball to left field. As soon as -------- fielded the ball for the second out, Obea's foot touched the bag at third and she sprinted home. The throw was looping but on line, and she slid to avoid the tag as the ball arrived. A bang bang play at the plate, as her left hand snuck in behind the catcher and touched the plate. The other Banijan baserunners, of course, took advantage of the moment to tag up as well, but in the Bottom of the 9th you had to go home.

Everybody looked at the umpire. "SAAAAFFEEEEE!" He yelled while doing the signal with his hands. The crowd went absolutely crazy.

"FUCK YES!" Ousman Kakay yelled, while the bench celebrated the game-tying run. Obea popped up and pumped her first, and shoulder bumped the 37 year old legend, Yakuba Kah. Ousman Kakay hugged her, confident the season would, at minimum, go onto extras. But Yakuba Kah had other ideas. First pitch, the curveball caught just a little too much of the plate. Yakuba Kah hit a towering shot down the right field line, that everybody knew was gone as soon as his bat made contact.

"HOLY S*!*" The manager yelled as the players leapt out of the dug out and ran to home plate to meet the team's hero. Three run walkoff bomb by Yakuba Kah to win the game and the series. A glorious night for Banijan baseball. He hugged the other coaches on the bench. An exciting game, with a thrilling finish. He'd need to corrall his players shortly- Game 1 against Newmanistan would be in less than 24 hours. But the old man was going to take a few moments to savor it. A bottom of the 9th, walkoff home run, to win the series. What a game. What a series. Banijan lives to fight another day.

[Super-Llamaland]

TIGERS-OUTLIERS: FIVE THINGS TO KNOW AHEAD OF THE WBC51 Ro16
Matthias Gudjohnsen, LBC Baseball

ST. RIECARN, SOUTH NEWLANDIA -- For the first time in sixteen years, the Super-Llamaland Tigers have won a playoff series at the World Baseball Classic. The team’s twelve-year absence from international baseball after the whole "Time Wall" thing was followed by a pair of first-round exits to Banija and South Newlandia, but despite a hard-fought challenge from debutants South Americanastan, the Tigers fended off the Hinto Brews in three straight games. Last night, it was Kai Söderstrom’s turn to continue the incredible hot streak the starters have been on recently, firing seven and two-thirds excellent innings and allowing just one consolation run as the Tigers won 2-1 to finish off the sweep.

Now, the fifteenth-seeded Tigers advance to face their second-seeded opponents, who swept Pluvie in the Round of 32. Who was the second-best team in the WBC group stage - Newmanistan? Cassadaigua? Nova Anglicana? No, incredibly, it was twenty-second-ranked Chromatika, who surged to a 24-6 record - including fourteen wins in their final fifteen games, with only Hicaña (yes, Hicaña still exists) managing a win off of them in a dominant second half. The team, who have recently dubbed themselves the Outliers, have finally shaken off their history of mediocrity and realized their potential, meaning their five-game battle against Super-Llamaland will absolutely be one to watch (although most of the Ro16 matchups feel that way). With that, here are five things to know ahead of the two teams’ Ro16 matchup:

1. These Aren’t Your Parents’ Outliers (or Tigers)

Chromatika and Super-Llamaland have met just once before in the World Baseball Classic - in WBC36, hosted at Chromatika, the two teams were both drawn into Group B. Then, Super-Llamaland won both group stage series 2-1 en route to securing the #1 overall seed, but Chromatika, after struggling out of the gate, won their final six games and beat Kaboomlandia in the play-in round to advance to the Round of 16 against...Super-Llamaland. To the utter dismay of the home fans, the Tigers won all three games, with Kyle Hogan throwing a complete-game shutout in the clincher.

But while an H2H 7-2 record may seem favorable, before you declare this WBC51 series over, it’s worth noting that both nations have undergone significant changes in the past thirty years - a revolution in Chromatika that consigned showy investment in international baseball to the dustbin of history, and twelve years of enforced isolation in Super-Llamaland. A lot can happen in thirty years, with many dynasties rising and falling since then - and the recent play of both teams shows that they’ve cast aside their pasts as well.

2. These Aren’t Your Slightly Older Cousin’s Chromatika (or Super-Llamaland), either

So, what about WBC49 or 50? Well, there have been major shifts in both nations’ baseball scenes in the past few years as well, which make the consistently mediocre Anomalies and the underperforming sabermetric darlings of the Tigers poor comparisons as well. In Super-Llamaland, after many years of hardcore sabermetric thinking, Isaac Oladipo has come in to completely revamp the national team’s strategy. It’s yielded impressive results so far, although it’s hard to dispute that the WBC49 and WBC50 teams could’ve also advanced if they hadn’t had such tough playoff draws, and has some Tigers fans really starting to believe.

Meanwhile, Chromatika has come out of years of mediocrity and hit its stride as a national team at the perfect time. As a relatively young team now entering their prime at a similar time, there is a real sense of destiny between the twenty-five players who feel disrespected by the press and who feel that their 17-1 run is the start of something much greater. Increased professionalization amongst the players, who have increasingly started to flock to South Newlandia’s more established baseball league, has also played a key role in Chromatika’s baseball team shedding their old monikers and becoming the Outliers.

3. Time to Change It Up

Hillary Angelou and Oscar de Witt, Chromatika’s starters for the first two games, both lean heavily on a fastball-changeup combination, albeit in two very different ways. Angelou is a fireballer who won’t hesitate to push you off the plate with a nearly-triple-digit heater, before humiliating you by dropping the changeup when you least expect it. Expect the Tigers to struggle with the combination of heat and veteran savvy, although contact hitters like Lily Scutaro and Summer Huang are most likely to keep up. Meanwhile, the young workhorse de Witt is more of a finesse pitcher, mixing up his fastball and changeup to constantly keep hitters off-balance despite only having two pitches. Both have been excellent so far and will pose a tough challenge for Oladipo’s starting nine to tackle.

4. (A)lisen Up!

For the most part, Chromatika’s lineup is full of contact hitters who are tough to strike out, but who tend to keep the ball in the infield. It’s a good matchup for the Llamanean starters, who have one of the world’s best defenses hoovering up ground balls behind them, but there are still some powerful bats to keep an eye on. Chief among them is Alisen Moyamoto of the Elephant Valley Homers. A legend for club and country, Moyamoto is a legitimate five-tool shortstop who will run amok if Strauss and Colón aren’t careful. The free-swinging Duster and reliable Valle also have enough pop to pose a concern, and the other hitters will still be tough outs.

5. Luck of the Draw

For all of Super-Llamaland’s past history, and all of Chromatika’s momentum, it’s hard to deny that they’re in a softer part of the bracket than most. While Oladipo has consistently warned against “playing the game on paper” or “looking too far ahead”, we’re the media! And it’s undeniable that if you just look at the rankings, there is a very real chance that the Tigers winning here could spark a very deep championship run, with favorites Cassadaigua, Newmanistan, and Nova Anglicana (, and Hapilopper, and The Sherpa Empire, and Banija. Yeah, it’s bad) all fighting each other for a spot in the final rather than Super-Llamaland. But Chromatika will undoubtedly be thinking the same thing, and would likely see a Ro16 upset over the Tigers as a signature victory at the start of a Golden Age of Outliers baseball. There’s only one way to find out who will be right, and who will be sent packing. And it all starts tomorrow night on LBC.

[Cassadaigua]

Get to know the Fillies,
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Most likely to give a long answer to a question: Katie Stephens
Most likely to give a short answer to a question: Hailey Morris
Player likely to buy the most tickets for family members: Brianna Shirley
Player likely to buy the most tickets for friends: Rachel Kessler
Biggest sense of humor: Steffie Kennedy
Biggest neat freak: Zoey Valor
Biggest jewelry collection: Jennifer Mandrick
Most likely to name have a teddy bear named Midnight: Kaitlin Beane
Most likely to pursue a career in NSSCRA: Madison Mahoney
Most likely to become a broadcaster after retirement: Katie Stephens
Most likely to become a manager after retirement: Meghan Thompson
Best driver: Madison Mahoney
Biggest football (gridiron) fan: Macy Hamel
Biggest football (soccer) fan: Jessica Ashfield
Biggest hockey fan: Sierra Ogletree
Biggest “cat” person: Hannah Phelan
Biggest “dog” person: Desiree Plummer
Biggest “bear” (non baseball playing) person: Ashley McKnight
Most likely to create logic puzzles: Becca Fisher
Most likely to bean someone from Bardney: Victoria Vassar
Most likely to call the 189 the 187: Avery Breen
Most likely to get into an accident at the routes 187 and 189 junction (in Cassadaigua): Tori Fullerton
Most likely to read this article: Katie Stephens
Most likely to read this article and tell me I should have picked them somewhere: Rachel Kessler

[Nova Anglicana]

Elizabeth Avenue

Sports, Politics, Pop Culture and a whole lot more

50 at 50: Outfielders

Jonathan McGillivray-Smith, Staff Writer

During WBC 51, to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of Nova Anglicana's participation in the WBC, we'll be counting down the best 50 players in Nova Anglican baseball history. We started with catchers, continued with first and second basemen, did shortstops then completed the infield with third basemen. Now we'll take a look at the outfield, which has six players. This list shows off some of the most iconic and skilled Nova Anglican players and we feel confident we picked the best guys for the job.

First team outfielders

Left field: Roman Jennings: WBC 27-30

Were you expecting someone else? I know that some of you may question why a player with only four WBCs under his belt is our #1 left fielder of all time. I'll admit that this is a bit of a sentimental pick, but is there a player more iconic than the Lions' first WBC captain? Roman Jennings led the Lions into the World Baseball Classic as complete newbies and emerged on the other side having never failed to make the quarterfinals and earning two trips to the semifinals as well. Not too shabby for a fledgling nation. On the baseball side of things, Jennings was a consistent .300/.400/.500 guy, which is the mark of a talented baseball player. His consistent 30/15 seasons revealed him to be possessed of both power and speed, and while offense was his calling card, his arm and defense in left were nothing to sneeze at. But it was his leadership qualities for a new nation that really earn him this spot on our first team. He was the consummate professional, and teammates had nothing but good things to say about him as a clubhouse guy. With someone else in left, it's quite possible the Lions founder and never make the playoffs in WBC 27, which might have changed history as we know it. He turned 80 this week, and we can't think of a better birthday present than naming him to our first team of all-time great Lions.

Center field: Matthew Gilbert: WBC 43-50

Matthew Gilbert is a bit like the Luke Mills of center field for the Lions. Center field and shortstop are traditionally positions valued for their defense, not their offensive prowess, but Mills and Gilbert turned those positions into rocks for the national team by being all-around stars. Blessed with blazing speed and a strong arm, he also brought good range to the table and was a great defender when he debuted with the national team at the age of 21. This didn't make him that different from other center fielders, but he hit for power, smashing 20 homers or more in each of his NABL seasons. The one hole in his game was that he never batted higher than .292 (one season, more typically in the .270s) or had an on-base percentage higher than .353 (again, one season, more typically in the .330s), but he more than made up for it with his other skills. His debut at a young age and his remarkable longevity makes him the best center fielder in Nova Anglican history.

Right field: Ty Oliver: WBC 35-42

Ty Oliver was the classic "big tools" guy that clubs draft because of his physical potential, hoping to turn him into a major league ballplayer. Unlike many of these types, who never pan out, Oliver was a national team starter at age 21. He was an incredible athlete who brought power, speed, and an amazing arm to the table. Although a bit of a free swinger and a defensive handicap when he started out, he refined his game until he could hit for power and average, take walks, steal bases, throw people out, and play a good defensive right field. He's one of, if not the best athlete in Nova Anglican baseball history, and he's a darn good baseball player too. He debuted when the Lions hosted WBC 35, and ended his career in WBC 42. In between, he earned a second place (WBC 39), a third place (WBC 36), and a fourth place (WBC 38). Not too shabby, though not as decorated as some other folks.

What's more, he went on to become a manager, beginning with Londinium's AA Placentia Destroyers, leading them to three division titles and one TPL title in four years. In a somewhat surprising move, he was named manager of the Londinium Capitols at age 45. They finished with a winning record in all three years he had coached them so far, missing out on the division title by one game in his first year, and then winning the division and advancing to the Anglican Series in his third year. He was also a dark horse candidate for the manager job that went to Mark Singleton. He's forged a pretty great baseball career for just being an athlete at the beginning.

Second team outfielders

Left field: Kelvin Freeman: WBC 30-36

We're just moving down the line here in left, putting Roman Jennings' replacement in left, Kelvin Freeman, on our second team all-time. Now, Freeman wasn't the leader Jennings was, but he was just as talented. He won Rookie of the Year and went on to win multiple MVPs as well as carrying a career .297 average and slugging nearly .500 even into his twilight years. As a younger player, his speed was more developed than his power, but he went on to become a 30 homer player pretty much without fail as he grew more mature. One thing we never had to worry about with Freeman was his cannon arm. Oftentimes poor defenders with good bats are placed in left in order to hide their defensive deficiencies, but that was never the case with Freeman. His routes got better as time went on, but you didn't challenge him in the outfield, and he cut down his fair share of runners trying to leg out a double or make it home. And of course you knew him as a ladies' man. Rarely seen in public without his latest girlfriend, he eventually settled down and has been married for 37 years to his wife Felicia, with whom he has four children. A amazing next-generation Lion, Freeman blended speed, power, and defense in ways you rarely see from a left fielder. For that, he's more than deserving of our second spot.

Center field: Lance Manning: WBC 30-36

Manning was the prototypical center fielder for the Lions during his WBC career: a switch-hitter with speed to burn who racked up plenty of stolen bases, beat out a lot of infield hits and bunts, and showed out on defense, running balls down with aplomb. Yes, it's a bit of a black mark that he didn't have much power, or that he belonged to the only WBC team in Nova Anglican history not to make the playoffs, but second teamers aren't perfect. What mattered was that this 5'10 guy gave it all he had on every play, expending maximum effort in service of his team and country. He constantly seemed to be tormenting opposing pitchers by bunting for base hits and then stealing once on base, or opposing hitters by robbing them of what seemed like sure hits. In some ways, current NT CF Hank Oliver seems a lot like Manning. If he has a career that's half as impressive as Lance, he'll have something to be proud of.

Right field: Jerome Duplantier: WBC 46-51

When you think about Jerome Duplantier, you probably think about the power bat, and rightly so. A consistent 30-homer player in the NABL, he's hit his fair share of long bombs in the World Baseball Classic. It's that classic left-handed uppercut that punishes pitches, and we've grown to know and love it. But he's also possessed of a fearsome arm, and that's kept runners from advancing in key moments or been part of relays that gunned runners down when it counted. Even though he's typically hit sixth or lower in the order, his power threat has been consistent and deadly in his six-Classic career. Along the way, he's won a championship, lost a championship, and finished in fourth place, the best three-Classic stretch in Lions history. He was a big factor in the Lions' WBC 48 defeat of Cassadaigua to win the title, even though Jake Bryan probably takes centre stage in that series.While this is likely his final WBC with the team, he's had a great career as a Nova Anglican international and that's why he takes our #2 spot for right fielders all time.

Honorable Mention

Left field: Brandon Maynard: WBC 35-39/Michael Holt: WBC 39-44

Maynard's WBC career might have been a little shorter than others, but it wasn't any less noticeable. Brandon Maynard never let you forget he was on the field. Whether it was his trademark gold chain and diamond earring studs, his woofing at the crowd, or his brilliant play in left, you couldn't ignore Brandon Maynard. Maynard and Oliver played in the corners during WBCs 35-39, and I'm not sure there was a more athletic corner outfield pairing in Lions' history. He had great speed and a rocket of an arm, but he also was a strong defender and a heads-up player in left, and of course he hit bombs. He showed out for big games too, being a big part of the Lions' defeat of then unstoppable Schiltzberg in WBC 39, en route to advancing to their first-ever World Baseball Classic finals series. He might not have been around the longest, but his batting, his defense, and his personality made anyone who saw him love him.

Holt bookended his career with losses in the Lions' two previous championship appearances, and it's a shame that that's pretty much what he's remembered for. What's overlooked is his consistency and all-around skill. Holt never hit below .280, always stole at least 15 bases a season, always knocked in at least 90 RBI, hit 20 homers, and never finished with an OBP below .340. That's consistent excellence. In the Classic, he was a consistent masher. He didn't hit the most homers in that stretch or drive in the most runs, but he was good to bat second in the order and either smash doubles or homers, find the holes in the defense with singles, or move the runner over and draw walks when needed. He was an utterly dependable player who inspired his teammates to be better around him.

Center field: Martin Torres: WBC 27-30/Moses Deng: WBC 40-45

Here's another original to join Roman Jennings in the excellent outfield crowd. Martin Torres was the Lions' original starting center fielder, and while he was only a starter for three Classics (being a reserve in WBC 30), he deserves a mention. In addition, he remains one of the Lions' only Latino players at the national level. Torres was a speed merchant and a defensive whiz in center, able to run down just about anything from deep fly balls to sinking liners to screamers in the gap. He also was a consistent .300 hitter who was an instant threat to steal whenever he got on. He has the honor of taking the first at-bat in Lions history, as their leadoff hitter in WBC 27. If he had a flaw, he didn't have much power, and his arm was subpar, but he provided a lot of excitement in the Lions' first Classics.

Moses Deng is a wonderful Nova Anglican success story; he entered the country as a refugee from South Sudan, learned to play baseball at the age of 15, quickly became both a citizen and a highly touted prospect, and then went on to play for the national team in six Classics. Yes, he played in the "dark 40s", but he was one of the lights in the darkness during that time. And why? Because of his 80-grade speed. The rest of his tools may have hovered around average, but he was lightning quick, both on the basepaths and in the field. He could play anywhere, but center field was his best position, where he tracked down innumerable fly balls that seemed almost impossible to catch when they left the bat. When he got on, he was an immediate stolen base threat, and he lulled more than one pitcher into a false sense of security before dashing headlong into a stolen base attempt, which he almost always converted. Such a joy to watch, both because of the swiftness of his movements, but also because he embraced a game and a country that he didn't know until he was a teenager with a reckless abandon and exuberance that was incredibly infectious.

Right field: Tony "Flick" Barnes: WBC 29-34/Ryan Glover: WBC 42-45

"Flick" Barnes! One of the few Nova Anglican national team players we remember best by his nickname rather than his given names. Called "Flick" because of his sweet swing at the plate, Barnes made right field his own as the successor to Austin Reeves. You're never going to confuse "Flick" with the defensive ace Reeves, or really with any defensive guy that was above average, but that wasn't his game. He was competent in right, yes, but he made his bones as a hitter. That wonderful line-drive swing that was endlessly repeatable sent balls flying all over the yard, including out of it. It was a pleasure to watch.

Ryan Glover, another veteran of the "dark 40s", earns an honorable mention here. He was built, at 6'4 and 225, but that wasn't his calling card. Like any good right fielder, he was incredibly solid defensively, with a very strong arm and a good sense of how best to get to balls, even if he couldn't catch them. He didn't let guys take the extra base, which proved valuable as the Lions took on their share of speedsters. His quintessential hit was a ringing double into one of the gaps, but he hit his fair share of homers as well. He started out as a guy who walked a lot, but struck out a lot too. Eventually, he curbed the strikeouts and became a very solid #3 hitter.

Verdict

Jennings, Oliver, and Gilbert make our first team, but the list goes on and on. We probably could have listed an extra three or four guys beyond the twelve we put, but we decided to cut off here for the sake of brevity. This is a very deep position, but it doesn't lack for star power or excitement either. We'll tackle the bench next, and then conclude with our two pitching positions.

For those of you keeping track, this is what our teams look like so far:

1st team

C - Josh Heckman
1B - Jake Bryan
2B - Chris Fletcher
SS - Luke Mills
3B - Marc Dufors
LF - Roman Jennings
CF - Matthew Gilbert
RF - Ty Oliver

C2 - Trevor Goodwin

2nd team

C - Max Pope
1B - Kareem Al-Aniz
2B - John Carr
SS - Darrin Werner
3B - Ken Morton
LF - Kelvin Freeman
CF - Lance Manning
RF - Jerome Duplantier

C2 - Bryan Lamb

Series against Kriegiersien

Game 1 winning pitcher: Cory Sharpe, 9 IP, 1 ER

Game 2 winning pitcher: Erik Russell, 8 IP, 0 ER (Eric Norton 1 IP, 0 ER)

Game 3 losing pitcher: Christian Hammond, 1.1 IP, 6 ER (Cody Brock 0.2 IP, 2 ER, Aaron Spencer 3 IP, 0 ER, Justin Chandler 1 IP, 0 ER, Jonathan Drake, 3 IP, 1 ER)

Game 4 winning pitcher: Rocky Gantt, 7 IP, 2 ER (Roger Bizet 1 IP, 0 ER, Dallas Hawkins 1 IP, 0 ER)

Note for playoff series against Sherpa Empire: Rotation for first three games will be Sharpe/Russell/Boyd. If needed, Christian Hammond will pitch game four and Rocky Gantt game five.

[Zwangzug]

(OOC: I'm extrapolating a little bit based on RL history--if I've made incorrect assumptions about any of these leagues, it's both IC and OOC ignorance rather than deliberate misinformation.)

The Bassabook Baritone

On the face of it, Bardney's NAPBBC and Zwangzug's league are organized very differently. Not only are their field dimensions and balls and strikes rules different from ours (seriously, what's pace of play like there?!), but the economic structures are quite different; there, franchises and alcoholic vendors operate under a capitalist system, and here, the government clamps down on free markets, and you're not going to be able to get anything stronger than peanuts or Cracker Jack in the stands.

However, in some ways, I suspect that these two systems may be more similar than we give them credit for. And that is in the relationship of players to teams. In societies such as Cassadaigua or Quebec, owners and general managers need to aggressively seek out players from at home or overseas, and offer them attractive salaries; after their contract expires, many are free to take their talents elsewhere. In Bardney, the relationship between the managerial and labor class is more paternalistic. I would suspect that if the "base ball" gentlement who eschew amateurism find themselves dissatisfied with their employers, they have little opportunity but to defect to the anarchy of dis-"organized" leagues.

What about Zwangzug? Agitating for workers' rights and freedom from managerial whims was not the prerogative of elite athletes; it was also for ordinary comrades. Therefore, with their rights protected by more general bureaucratic considerations, the players had less need to form their own union. As long as they can negotiate for equitable salaries and stuff with their clubs, they don't need free agency. Which means that they stick to their franchises for longer, spurring fan loyalty that might provoke resentment in more nostalgic, capitalist societies. [That, or we're just too lazy to go into details about trades that swap the rosters around and make everybody mad. -ed]

What?

Anyway, it's definitely an intriguing matchup on display; if Bardney find Liventia too new-school, I can't imagine they'll find us and our womenfolk much more approachable. Then again, maybe they can sympathize with the struggles of having a large, diverse country plagued by religious, irreligious, socialist, and ist-ist squabbling. If nothing else, the way our cyborgs seem to be handling free expression and social individualism is going to make more people than usual nostalgic for ye olden days. As the last series made very clear, anything can happen. Well, anything except losing a perfect game in the ninth by hitting a dude on his shoelaces, that'd just be weird.

[Tikariot]

After internet issues prevented me from doing so yesterday, an official note concerning the RP bonus grading.

As my half had the "day off" yesterday, so to say, all RPs submitted up until last night will be graded for yesterday, so everybody can submit another RP today to be graded separately so that nations that did not have a game yesterday will not be disadvantaged in terms of accumulation of RP bonus!

[South Newlandia]

After the Quodite search for the best play of their tournament, South Newlandian officials decided to hold a vote over the best play of the Elephants’ tournament so far, too. Just like in the original, 5 plays were selected, along with some other fun facts about the players. Unfortunately, Marco Ihsusay, the young intern, lost the results. The team scrambled trying to remember the facts, but they could only come up with the following:

1) There was a 6-4-3 double play, where the fielder made a great bare-handed grab and throw to second.
2) The man who made the double-play throw to home has a horse.
3) Fabio Ventura’s play was made against Banija.
4) The clutch walk-off hit came in the playoffs.
5) Fabio Ventura placed one place ahead of Shawn Zimmerman.
6) The player liking Pizza owns a Dog.
7) Nicolas Perez likes Steak.
8) The play against Sicoutimont placed third.
9) The Pinch-hit walk-off homer was voted as the best play.
10) The player liking Chocolate cake and the player with a cat placed right next to each other.
11) Similarly, the player liking Steak placed next to the Budgie-owner.
12) Sushi is the favourite food of the player who made the play against Kohnhead.
13) The player that had the 4-for-4 day likes Asparagus.
14) The Pinch-hit walk-off homer and the play by Daryl Dunlop placed right next to each other.
15) The player liking Chocolate cake placed right next to the player that made the play against St. Saratoga.
16) David Drum plays Shortstop.

Can you help the team to find out who won the contest, and, more importantly; who owns the Owlephant?

For RP-attributing purposes

I did not create this puzzle. Instead, I changed the details of an existing puzzle to change the narrative.

[Bardney]

Success leads to further chances to forestall base ball errors

Rudolph Colburn, Bristol Herald

Victory is ours! The Bardneyian national team, led by another excellent effort from Horace Geiger, defeated the base ball heretics of Liventia 8-4 in the final game of the Round of 32 series. This victory, helped on its way by six runs in the top of the seventh inning, proved to the world that traditional base ball is not dead, and in fact has much to teach the world about its ways. Although Mr. Geiger did not contribute to his team's success at the plate, he allowed only eight hits and four runs in his nine innings pitched, holding Liventia to a much more reasonable score that his teammates were able to overcome. In the seventh, they struck the decisive blow by recording eight hits in the inning; a flood of doubles, singles, and even a triple from "Quickbat" McGee overwhelmed the Liventian opposition. Sterling Greer, the catcher, was the only player not to record a hit in the inning, but he did his usual excellent job behind the plate, working with Mr. Geiger to stifle the Liventian strikers.

I must confess to you, my readers, that I am conflicted with regards to the national team's Round of 16 opponent, Zwangzug. I must consider what I know of them to make a proper judgment. First, the name and culture of the country seems to suggest that they enjoy chess, the ancient game of kings. This is a noteworthy and most excellent pursuit, though one wonders why they insist on playing base ball like it. I will commend Zwangzug for not persisting in the Liventian heresy of power striking and power hurling above all else, and for recognizing the true value of defenders in the field. Nevertheless, one does not play base ball like chess. In chess, one must consider each and every move and never put a pawn out of line for fear that it would cost one the game. Thus chess is a cautious game, rather than an ambitious one. Zwangzug plays base ball like it plays chess, eschewing the risky yet exciting play of base stealing and preferring to emphasize defense over offense.

Zwangzug remains gravely disordered, despite its admirable qualities. How might I make this determination? It offers a team of mixed genders, that is, men and women compete for its team. This is an error of such magnitude that it outweighs almost any praise I might offer them. Base ball is a man's game, or if women must compete, they should compete against other women. There are, I hear, a few ladies' teams in Bardney, and while I wish they would attend to their womanly duties or participate in sports such as tennis or croquet in lieu of base ball, they at least have the sense to play each other instead of men. Women are simply unsuited, physically and mentally, to play against men in such a game as base ball. Although it would be the chivalrous course to play at half strength, in order to allow the women of Zwangzug to have a fair chance in the competition, I am afraid it would set a poor example both at home and abroad. We cannot compromise the integrity of our moral values or the proper ordering of our society in allowing women to believe they may do a man's job, and thus I hope that Bardney soundly disciplines this Zwangzug team. As if this were not a grave enough problem, they also practice socialism, that vile leveling ideology, and further pervert it (as if such a thing were even possible) by allowing a mechanical device that thinks like a man to make economic decisions for the nation. Such decisions are more rightly taken by producers and consumers, moderated by the forces of supply and demand and the invisible hand of the market. Thus they fall into the heresy of using machines to do a man's job, that is, to think, just as Liventia did. One might label them doubly heretics for their gender egalitarian stance and for their mechanical errors.

I have been informed that the Bardneyian rotation for the Round of 16, due to the absence of an "off day", will not revert to Kermit Connelly at its head, but continue with Thaddeus O'Neill pitching in game one and Mr. Connelly following. I should mention that the lack of a Sabbath rest is another reason to prefer the Bardneyian form of base ball; the lack of play on Sundays means that men and women have time to attend to their Lord, their home, their family, and their rest, unlike this helter-skelter pace at which international base ball is played. There have also been persistent rumors that Cocky McArty would remove Mr. Connelly from the pitching rotation in favor of Stanford Otis. I am pleased to announce that this rumors are unfounded; Mr. Connelly has not hurled up to his potential in recent games, but he should not be removed and all who considered it ought to be censured for their disloyalty. We stand by our teammates, our friends, and our heroes in their time of tribulation, and pray fervently for their return to success. I have no doubt that Mr. Connelly will return to form in due time and continue to be an integral part of Bardney's success in the World Base Ball Classic. At the very least, the fact that he shall not have to endure playing in a cave, but will play in a proper stadium in Paladon Park should give him (and us) some comfort.

So forward the buffs and full steam ahead as Bardney prepares to clash with the Zebras of Zwangzug! The locomotive of Bardney's team rolls on, and with all of us working the engines through our persistent support, its momentum cannot be stopped.

OOC: With regards to Zwang's RP, the "reserve clause" forbidding players to change teams does exist in Bardneyian base ball and is one reason for the formation of the new Bardneyian Association of Professional Base Ball. Also, unsurprisingly, Rudolph Colburn's a sexist. What else is new for the 19th century?

[Tikariot]

The Provincial Flags of Tikariot


Acrassia is Tikariot's westernmost province and is known for its hot, tropical climate and its flag reflects this. The main colour is green, representing the jungles that can be found in good parts of the country, while the golden stripe stands for the golden beaches and the azure for the pristine oceans surrounding most of the province. The white star is the symbol of hope and freedom, as Acrassia had historically been one of the most fought-over areas in the region. The crossed cris daggers finally are also harkening back to the times, where Acrassians had to fight back against intruders and protect their freedom.


Balkash's history is one of many feudal wars and with the often utilized scorched earth tactics meant that the province had to rebuild many, many times. Once the warring factions agreed to a thankfully lasting union they chose a phoenix to adorn the flag to represent the many times Balkash had to rise from the ashes of wars and their outcomes, white for peace on the traditional dark blue background that has been considered Balkash's colour since times immemorial.


The Bashperian Darklands are what many consider the heartlands of Tikariot, even though they are located in the very east of the countries. It is now the main province where the old native tribes still have full control over affairs and while the term "darklands" might evoke images of a backwards region, it actually refers to the dark earth and trees of darker foliage than usual. The golden saltire represents the branches of the trees that gave shelter and food to the ancient tribes in the colour of the rays of the sun that gives life to all living beings. The dark blue background stands for the dark waters of Turgan Lake, which borders the province to the north.


The Cardannon Archipelago is a tropical group of islands in the far southwest of Tikariot and its flag reflects the nature of the archipelago. The Cardannian flag is a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of black and turquoise, with a white, equilateral triangle at the hoist. The turtle is the national animal of the archipelago and is considered a sacred animal among the tribes. The five eight-point stars represent the five main tribes that inhabit the archipelago, the turquoise stands for the beautiful waters surrounding the islands and black for the fertile black earth of volcanic origin that can be found on many of the islands.


Dhaencunor's flag is fairly close to the flag of Tikariot, with the same black, purple and white colours as well as the Nordic cross. Contrary to the national flag, however, it also depicts the lily, which is the provincial flag of Dhaencunor, in the centre of the cross. The colours go all the way back to the old royal house of Dhaencunor, whose family crest was held in black and purple and was adopted as provincial colours even after the fall of royalty.


The Emerald Coast's flag is almost self-explanatory. The province is a long stretched peninsula with the Rhovanyon Sea to the north and the Xandrian Sea to the south, with widespread forests and beautiful coastlines. This is represented in the flag with the green standing for the lush forests and the blue white for the seas surrounding the peninsula, while the white stands for the whitecaps of the Xandrian Sea. The five stars are the Northern Cross constellation.


Frahaul is the smallest province of Tikariot and is almost exclusively mountainous. Similar to Khazagh, one of the provinces main industries is mining, so the colours of the flag represent similar values. Forming a diagonal tri-stripe, the black stands for the coal that is extracted from the mountains, the silver for the silver ores and the blue for the skies above Frahaul. Finally the golden star has been the provincial symbol since the founding of Frahaul, representing the sun and stars in the skies above the mountain peaks.


The Khazaghian flag is a a horizontal tricolor of black, dark blue with silver-edged white lines, and yellow, with a dark blue triangle based on the hoist-side, bearing a stylized diamond to signify Khazagh's long mining history. The black symbolizes the coal of the mountains, the yellow the precious metals, the dark blue the sapphires that can be found in the Oriannor area, the white the snow of the mountains and finally the silver the silver mines.


Paladon is one of the oldest provinces of Tikariot and its flag represents its origins from the two noble houses of Paladon contributing the black and red colours of the respective halves with the yellow diagonal band standing for the bright future the two houses had for the province. The emblem in the centre represents the mountains in the north of Paladon and the five small stars the counties and duchies that were united into the one Paladon, which is represented by the big star in the centre.


The Rhovanian flag, like several other provincial flags, was put together by different elements of its origins. The foundation was the old royal flag of Rhovannyr with the burgundy and blue Nordic cross on a white background and the Rhovanian eagle in the cross' centre, which is still the symbol of Crimsonhawke, the old capital of the then kingdom. The six stars stand for the baronies and duchies that were annexed by Rhovanyon when the province was formed while the six horizontal blue lines represent the winds that seem to be constantly blowing over the province.


The Saburnian flag is black on the upper hoist side, teal on the lower fly-side with a silver-edged purple diagonal band. The colours stand for the famed fertile black earth of Saburnia, the teal for the old royal house of Saburnia, the purple for the Tikariotian flag and finally the silver lining of hope that threads through its history as a province that had been repeatedly raided and occupied for its rich fertile soil.


The flag of Soharr, just like Tikariot, Dhaencunor, Rhovannyr and Viljamark, bears the Nordic Cross. The white background represents the snow and ice of the often harsh winters, the blue the waters of Turgan Lake, the yellow the bright sun shining over the province and finally the red for the blood shed in the wars of the past.


Taeria is the most southeastern province of Tikariot and features a hot and arid climate in most parts. The 16-rayed sun is legacy to the heat and shows some shared heritage with the mysterious lands of Qusmo, while the red and white colours have traditionally been flown by the old ruling houses of Taeria and even though they are long gone, their tradition is kept alive through the flag.


The northeastern province of Viljamark is known for its tundra climate with long, cold winters and the Viljan flag represents this in the white background of ice and snow, while the Nordic cross as well as the black and purple colours are the origin of the Tikariotian flag, as Viljamark had been instrumental in the fight for independence. The swallowtail to the right stands for the cold winds that come down from Lake Viljan during winter.


The Xarkian flag is divided diagonally from the upper hoist-side corner to the lower fly-side corner: the upper triangle is dark purple with an image of legendary dragon Xuroar's head in gold and the lower triangle is dark green with the Northern Cross of four white larger five-pointed stars and the smaller star. Xark is the only province, which has not revealed the meaning of the colours on the flag as all records of its creation have been lost in time.

[TJUN-ia]

Game 1: Daskel (21) 5-3 TJUN-ia (9) (F/10) (TJU lead series 2-1)
After two tight wins to kick off this series, Daskel sent out Kanao Tōru in Game 3 to face Gene Almac in a good-old-fashioned ballgame in which 1 team was fighting for a series win and another was fighting for Game 4 at least. This series has seen the early innings, especially the 2nd, be a magnet for action and that would still be the case today as Daskel took another early lead, this time via a 3-run bomb by Nagae Kōtarō. TJUN-ia would be playing catch-up once again in this series and they would get the ball rolling with a 2-run bomb by Angel Enrique in the 5th, but that would still leave them a run short for most of this contest. Things were certainly tense for a while but TJUN-ia would make things hotter in the bottom of the 9th, Almac allowed to score the tying run, and with nothing else to come, this game headed to extras. This would be decided very quickly however as a 2-run bomb by Cho Juzou would seal this one up and mean this series was indeed heading to a 4th bout.

Game 2: TJUN-ia (9) 3-2 Daskel (21) (TJU wins series 3-1)
Game 4 would be Jose Almas vs Ten Takaichi and with Hapilopper awaiting the winner of this series in the next round, the pressure was certainly on both teams to earn their way into the Round of 16. The 2nd inning was at it again in Sophie CIty and TJUN-ia was taking advantage this time as Enrique sent a 2-run bomb out of the park to give the Jags an early lead. That lead would be extended in the 5th as Rafael Llorente was allowed to get a 3rd on the board and things were generally looking rosy for TJUN-ia in this game, but a 2-run bomb by Cho Juzou would bring Carlos Buena into the contest in order to ensure that this lead wasn't blown in spectacular fashion for the whole world to see. Thankfully, he did his job and TJUN-ia took the 3-1 series win after some very tight games of baseball overall. GGs to Daskel, a definite one to watch for the future.

We don't know where we will play the Thrashers, but we will play them nonetheless. This team reached the final of WBC49 out of nowhere, kinda like our Semifinal run at WBC50, and we all know just how powerful (and egotistical) teams from this land can be in any sport they touch. No matter who you support, the prospect of #8 vs #9 is something too powerful to ignore. If we are to advance, we must beat the team we "copied". GO JAGS!

---

Round of 32 Series vs Daskel (21, 17-13 in Group 1) (@Sophie City Base-Bowl, Sophie City, South Newlandia)
G1: W 6-5 (1-0)
G2: W 2-1 (2-0)
G3: L 3-5 (F/10) (2-1)
G4: W 3-2 (3-1)
G5:

TJUN-ia wins series 3-1

---

Round of 16 Series vs Hapilopper (8, 22-8 in Group 1) (@??????, South Newlandia)
G1:
G2:
G3:
G4:
G5:

[South Newlandia]

Cutoff for the South Newlandian half, Round of 16, games 1 and 2! If you haven't liked my music so far, I'm so sorry.

Round of 16

#4 Newmanistan vs #13 Banija
@ Oceanview Park (Port Rhovanyon, Rhovannyr), Tikariot

Game 1 
Banija                 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2
Newmanistan            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

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

Series tied 1-1

#5 Cassadaigua vs #21 Kohnhead
@ Dhaendome (Tikariot City, Dhaencunor), Tikariot

Game 1 
Kohnhead               0 1 1 3 1 0 0 1 1  8
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2

Game 2 
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
Kohnhead               0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  4

Kohnhead leads series 2-0

#19 Zwangzug vs #31 Bardney
@ Paladon Park (Avanaroch, Paladon), Tikariot

Game 1 
Bardney                3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1  8
Zwangzug               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Game 2 
Zwangzug               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  3
Bardney                0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2  5

Bardney leads series 2-0

#6 Tikariot vs #11 Sarzonia
@ The Cavern (Oriannor, Khazagh), Tikariot

Game 1 
Sarzonia               0 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0  5
Tikariot               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Game 2 
Tikariot               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Sarzonia               0 1 2 0 4 0 3 1 X 11

Sarzonia leads series 2-0

[The Sherpa Empire]

Yangji, Empress of Sherpaland, folded her arms and gave the TV a disapproving scowl. There was a baseball game on TV. She hated baseball because her daughter, the crown princess, had married a baseball player who had no noble blood whatsoever.

The commentary on the TV was in English with Sherpa subtitles. A big strapping man in a Nova Anglicana Lions uniform was settling himself in the batter's box. The Emperor was propped up on some pillows so he could watch the game, the crown princess and her husband were sitting nearby, and there was an exquisite table full of tea and snacks.

"What are you watching?" Yangji asked. "This isn't even our team. It's not even in Sherpa."

"Our team's not playing today," her daughter, Princess Yahia, explained. "We won our series in 3 games, so we have an extra day off and they're showing Nova Anglicana vs. Kriegiersien."

"Sit down, my love," Emperor Karsang said to his wife. "I did not ask you to come so you could watch the game with us. There is something else I want to talk about." He muted the TV, but the game continued and Sherpa text at the bottom of the screen continued to explain what was going on. Yangji sat in a richly upholstered chair.

"I am sick, and I am not getting better," the Emperor explained. "The doctors and priests may be able to keep me alive, but it is hard for the country to have an Emperor who is sick. I am not well enough to make public appearances and inspire the people. So I have decided that I will abdicate and I will leave my throne to Yahia."

Yahia looked more upset than excited. "But what if you get better?" she said.

"If I get better then I will have time to enjoy a nice retirement," the Emperor answered.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to name Prince Wangdi as your heir?" Yangji protested. "The monarchy is a symbol of our national strength. It should be led by a man! And someone who is not married to a foreigner. Please, think about what this means for future generations?"

"I have thought about it," the Emperor said. "In modern times, diplomacy is more important than war. Kindness is more important than strength. I have already decided what I am going to do, and I want to do it soon." He turned to Yahia and added, "This way I will be able to see your coronation, and if anyone argues about you being a woman, I will have time to set them straight."

"Ohh!" said Yahia. Her father's decision was starting to make more sense now. "It will be so nice to have you there!"

Yangji still didn't look convinced that this was a good idea.

The Emperor started talking about what he had in mind for Yahia's coronation. He wanted to invite a bunch of foreign royals and dignitaries, revered figures from the Sherpa Empire's Buddhist clergy, Debashish's family (both the Morrisons who were his biological family, and the Duke and Duchess of Gorkhaland who had "adopted" him in an effort to make his marriage with Yahia more palatable to conservative monarchists), and some players from the Icefall Doctors and the Green Sox.

---

OOC notes: The coronation ceremony will take place after the WBC, but any human WBC nation can send a member of your royal family, or if you're not a monarchy you can send some sort of diplomat. There will be no ponies, robots, etc. because the Sherpa Empire is speciesist.

The Sherpas will start from the top of the pitching rotation in their series with Nova Anglicana. Gan in game 1, Akunjee in game 2, etc.

[Ko-oren]

Kotaro Higashi, Kasper Brands announce retirement after WBC
Doing quite a bit of heavy lifting for not just this Dragonflies squad but also many past teams, both pitchers announced - independently from one another - that this World Baseball Classic is the last competitive baseball they'll play. "It's been on my mind for a while," Higashi said. The Echizen closer added that narrowly missing out on the playoffs last year, in which only three out of twelve teams play a part, weighed heavily on him. His team finished fifth on 72 wins where 74 wins would have been enough for second place, after all 132 rounds were over. In the years before, he did take this team to not just the final series, but a series win (5-1 over Katashi Giants). "Having won it all once did make the decision easier for me," he jokingly added.

For Brands, things were a little different. He played for the Aminey Wanderers, though at the start of his career they were just the 'Western Wanderers', a team that had multiple home bases in cities around the bay. Far removed from the baseball heartland in Finisterre and Yoshima, he was a neutral factor on his Wanderers as well as the national team. He was an influential peacekeeper in the many Finisterre v Yoshima 'fights', including during the Classic where the Yoshimans flat out refused to play if not given more attention - they were placated by ditching the nickname 'Dragonflies' for a while, and a change to the uniforms. He commented on how close the Wanderers have been over the course of his career, making one final series (the most recent one, a 4-1 series loss to Santa Teresa), the only time he made the playoffs at all. Counting the number of times Aminey finished fourth or fifth and were just on the outside looking in, however...

His choice was partially based on the pedestrian Classic he's having, saying "My body just isn't recovering after a game or a series like before. It's telling me to really consider quitting the sport... and I'm seeing so much talent popping up from all over Ko-oren, not just the east, that I feel safe in passing on the legacy." He'll reportedly stay in the sport immediately after the Classic ends, as a scout or coach for the Rozenvoorde Oracles, in the short-season Western League.

Both legends will be sorely missed: the dugout will be a different place without them. Their experience and view on things certainly helped younger teammates and coaches alike - Brands always was the voice of reason, and Higashi was always the fearless closer.

Clubs get ready for (hopefully) a long season!
After a strike-shortened season, hopefully all 12 clubs will play 132 games in the upcoming season! The roster deadlines are past us now, and we can look ahead to the season knowing all there is to know until the first pitch. In exchange for several Ko-orenites, a few players from South Newlandia will join our clubs. We're especially looking forward to the services of Fred Burn, for the Ferrovente Whales, or Ian Pierce, also for the Whales, as well as Fabio Paul, the veteran closer who will join the Katashi Giants who look dead-serious in their title chase this season. That said: the differences at the top are smaller than ever. It's easy to isolate a few teams that will likely not do as well, but calling the top three is a difficult task. The Katashi Generals, Echizen Dragons, and Santa Teresa Stars have all put in great efforts, with the Katashi Giants and Suvira Quarry also making a strong bid for the postseason. For the Quarry, that'll be a nice cherry on top after several seasons of rebuilding the small market team. The Giants, Generals, and Stars all have just one goal: leveraging their incredible amount of support (and pressure) into a title - only the Generals have won a title under the new system, further fueling the other two teams. The Echizen Dragons have been building their squad in silence for a while, and it's paying off ever more.

Biggest challenge for every club
Katashi Giants: Handedness. Nearly the entire team is right-handed - what can they do in a pinch?
Katashi Generals: Infield. On a star-studded roster, how are they going to make the infield work with only shortstop Gotou there to defend?
Teragaseki Dynamo: Overall roster quality. Certainly a team in rebuilding mode, their fairly large roster is full of has-beens, hopefuls, and, probably, never-will-bes.
Intermare Admirals: Starting pitchers. Sure, they have Nijveld and Wassens, but they can't pitch an entire season between the two of them!
Santa Teresa Stars: Outfield. This honestly feels like a very complete team, but their outfield - apart from the stellar Leyton, feels leaky and lacking firepower.
Ferrovente Whales: Outfield. Despite adding Sev Ballak from South Newlandia, they didn't select youngsters at these positions as well as they've recruited pitchers.
Suvira Quarry: Outfield. What's quickly becoming a theme is the lack of great outfielders, and the Quarry also had a hard time signing them. The difference is that they have zero decent outfielders, from what we can see now.
Amandine Challengers: Bullpen. A shaky roster, with poor catching under contract, also has a big problem once the starters burn out. After Janagimoto, that is.
Echizen Dragons: Roster age. Joshivumi, Iyenaga, Fouquet, the Takata brothers, and Shinkai are all within a few years of retirement (probably) - that's nearly an entire lineup.
Nitoya Silvers: Infield! Aging yet inexperienced, the Silvers pieced together a few spare infielders from other clubs, and it didn't turn out well.
Arakura Knights: Catcher. Days away from the first pitch, the Knights haven't got a catcher on roster. Anyone in decent health in the Arakura area: drop your phone number now!
Aminey Wanderers: Roster size. With the retirement of Brands, a few players leaving, and some players that didn't pan out at the highest level, the Wanderers have all positions covered but not with much left in the dugout after that.

[Sarzonia]

Revenge.

It's one of humanity's most basic instincts and motivations.

The Sarzonian national baseball team wouldn't say it publicly, but that was on their minds as they faced World Baseball Classic 51 co-hosts Tikariot in their Round of Sixteen series at The Cavern in Oriannor. Sarzonia were swept in a three-game series against Tikariot at Fleetwood Park in Woodstock and were seething over not even winning a single match in front of their supporters.

The Stars carved out a measure of revenge in Game 1 of the best of five series, winning 5-0 behind top starter Jeff Parrish. He tossed a complete game one-hit shutout, striking out 15 batters and only walking one. Designated hitter Luke Brinkley made Tikariot pay for hitting him to lead off the second inning by drilling a tape measure grand slam in the top of the fourth to put Sarzonia well into cruise control.

As for Game 2, the Stars may technically have been the home team in the match, and they batted last, but manager Geoff Yancey made a point to remind his team they were playing in a hostile environment.

He needn't have worried. The Stars brought out their bats as both Brinkley and first baseman Cody Frazier launched three-run home runs during the match. Mark Conroy worked eight innings and allowed two runs on four hits as Sarzonia won it 11-2. Carnie Weston pitched the ninth inning.

The two games to none series lead for the 11th seeded Stars wasn't even the biggest stunner so far as No. 31 Bardney, fresh off a shocking elimination of third seeds Liventia, took a 2-0 series lead of their own against 19th seeds Zwangzug and 21st seeds Kohnhead put fifth seeded and No. 1 ranked Cassadaigua in a 2-0 hole. No. 13 seeds and multi-sport arch rivals Banija are level with fourth seeds and six-time WBC champions Newmanistan with one victory apiece in their series.

Parrish said he was too busy focusing on his job against Tikariot to worry about other things like revenge or the other teams in the bracket.

"I've got enough on my plate trying to get their hitters out," he said. "They're a very good team and I can't get caught up in that distraction."

Jamie Pearson will toe the rubber for Game 3 as the Stars hope to counter Tikariot's sweep of the Stars in Woodstock with one of the hosts in their building.

"It would be poetic justice," Conroy said.

[Chromatika]

Chromatik Baseball: No Problem!

Game 3
Pluvie                      0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  3
Chromatika                  6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 X  8
Pitching: J. St. Augustine 6.1 IP, 2 ER, W (4-1); B. Castreaux 2.2 IP, 1 ER

Pitching Staff:
Starters:
H. Angelou: 7 Starts, 48.2 IP, 20 ER, (4-1), 2ND - 3.70 ERA
O. de Witt: 7 Starts, 50 IP, 13 ER, (3-1), 2ND - 2.34 ERA
J. St. Augustine: 7 Starts, 48.2 IP, 21 ER, (4-1), 2ND - 3.88 ERA
M. Savey: 6 Starts, 52 IP, 14 ER, (4-0), 2ND - 2.42 ERA

Bullpen:
S. Han: 6 Starts, 39 IP, 22 ER, (4-1), 1ND - 5.08 ERA
B. Castreaux: 13.2 IP, 4 ER (2-0) - 2.76 ERA
O. Bier: 12.1 IP, 4 ER, (3-0) - 2.92 ERA
V. Beux: 9.1 IP, 7 ER - 6.75 ERA
T. Savant: 10.1 IP, 2 ER, (1-1), 2 Saves - 1.74 ERA
C. Bennett: 0.2 IP, 0 ER - 0.00 ERA
J. Edward, Jr.: 6 IP, 2 ER, (1-1) - 3.00 ERA
H. Salle: 10.2 IP, 5 ER, 9 Saves - 4.22 ERA

Outliers vs. Tigers: Five Players That Must Show Up

1. Hilary Angelou - The Outliers' Ace has been around the block a few times, and remain one of the most consistent pitchers that Chromatika has ever had. Though de Witt and Savey do have better ERAs, Angelou is by far the most seasoned pitcher. Has a wicked fastball and a serviceable changeup, she loves to throw at people and make them flinch without hitting them. When the speed is not enough to get by, Angelou is smart enough to switch things just enough to prevail. She'll be faced with opposing the Tigers' ace, Genevieve Strauss. Strauss, she of 36 years of age that's been around the block a few times and still contributes. Angelou must stay ahead of the count, not get burned early, and get into the groove.

2. Alisen Mayamoto - Miss Baseball in Chromatika, Mayamoto is the one name that even the most casual of baseball watchers known within the country. A jack of all trades who can field, hit, and run, she is the most prolific of the entire squad. With a calm demeanor and quiet confidence that has helped lead the Outliers to this point, Mayamoto's role in the team has only grown with time. With the squad facing their most highly anticipated series in years, she will continue t do what she does best - try to lead by example with both success and composure. On a squad with no coaching staff, the leaders come to the forefront; every single step that the Outiiers take forward will be another chapter in Mayamoto's legacy.

3. Oscar de Witt - The biggest surprise of the Chromatik pitching staff has been the emergence of one Oscar de Witt. Known as a key member of the Rhoni Rhonin pitching staff that won the last season of the CBL, de Witt always had the potential but would often times psyche himself out; his consistency and newfound aplomb has been a joy to keep an eye on. With the lowest ERA among Chromatik Starters (2.34) and the second most innings pitched, Oscar is becoming a more complete pitcher that the squad can rely upon. The Outliers have decided to put him on the #2 spot come playoffs, and he will need to make sure that he doesn't get into his own head and overcomplicate matters.

4. Jason Duster - The wildcard for the Outliers, Duster leads the team in home runs and strikeouts. When he's hot, he can utterly take over a game, often times hitting more than one home run and scoring multiple runs. When he's cold, he can strike out four times in a game. The power that he hits with is the reason behind it all - though he often gets criticized for going too far into the pitch, it is also the very reason why he hits so many balls out of the park. As the rest of the squad struggles with power, he will be relied upon to provide the deep threat that will be needed to get past a team like Super-Llamaland.

5. Hine Salle - The closer for the Outliers, Salle has 9 saves in 11 tries so far, with Truman Savant picking up the slack. She's still unshaken when it comes to high-pressure situations, and the best bet when you need three outs to close out the game. With an ear-splitting fastball and a killer look on her face, she's the assassin of the squad if there ever was one.

Chromatika vs. Super-Llamaland: Games 1 and 2
If the Outliers lose both of these, their tournament is over. This team is a team of momentum; they haven't lost a game that mattered in eighteen games, with the only loss during the streak being against Hicaña when nothing mattered. With Angelou and de Witt, the Outliers definitely have the pitching staff to do it; will Mayamoto and Duster lead the bats?

This is the most important baseball series in Chromatik history in recent history. Either Super-Llamaland will put them back in their place as a squad with a bit of a ways to go, or they'll declare to their nation and the world at large that they should be taken seriously.

Are the Outliers up to the task? Or will their performance so far be... An Outlier?

[Zwangzug]

The Bassabook Baritone

After an excellent start from Kermit Connelly, the "Dartford Flash," in Game 2 of the round of 16 series, the Zebras' bats came alive in the eighth inning, scoring three runs to send the game to extra innings. This allowed them to chase the durable Connelly--only to meet their match in Noel Osbourne, who shut them down until Connie McGee's home run won the game for Bardney in the tenth inning. Despite the suggestive name, McGee seems to be neither a woman nor part of the Bigtopian diaspora [many Bigtopian-Zwangzugians use the "Mc" prefix, though this is not universal -ed]. On the other hand, at least he isn't a bear.

Prior to that, most of the action had been from Bardney, after they added on late in game 1 to turn an untroubled lead into a decisive one. In the second inning, Gerhard Zeidler's single scored Emmett Harrison, who had doubled to lead off the frame. Zeidler would try to steal second, but Josefina Gomez would throw him out to minimize the damage. Saffie Ross-Singh allowed a couple scattered hits, but nothing materialized. However, she walked Hamish Monaghan to lead off the seventh, and Maia Solloway's overthrow on a bunt attempt from Zeidler put runners on the corners with no outs. Ross-Singh departed for Xiaodong Jia, who struck out Sterling Greer. Clarence McArty let Connelly hit for himself, to the surprise of a few Zebras fans (but not the ones more familiar with this style of "base ball"). A sacrifice fly scored Monaghan, and McGee would double to push in Zeidler before Bobby Slocum fouled out to get out of the inning.

The Zebras finally got their offense going in the eighth. After Oliver Crant-Bridge struck out looking, Veronica Adler worked a walk, and Phebe McNell-Weiss singled to put two on. Harris hit a sharp line drive to left, scoring Adler. That brought up Solloway. Perhaps attempting to make up for her miscue, she swung hard at a couple noisy fouls, but finally doubled to tie the game. Doug Pratt and Greg Callan-Milton could not add on, however, popping back to Connelly and flying to Zeidler in right, respectively. That the rally was an all-woman affair may stoke Zebra pride that no one should try to patronize or disparage them; fans are unlikely to see it that way, however, because of the whole "being down two games to none" thing.

Connelly returned for the ninth, though he was well over a hundred pitches and his velocity was dipping into the low seventies on the radar gun. (To be fair, we don't think the first statistic meant anything to McArty, and the radar gun was probably dismissed as "newfangled jiggery-pokery.") However, despite Gomez' leadoff walk, he would erase her on a Crant-Bridge double play and then get Adler to ground to third. Isaac Pafok-Deil allowed a two-out single to Monaghan, but had little trouble in the ninth, by Zebras bullpen standards.

Even the Dartford Flash had seen enough, and--ironically for a side critical of Zwangzugian statistics and cold-hearted bureaucracies--it was up to "Numbers" Osbourne. He did an excellent job, fanning McNell-Weiss (admittely, there was a lot of swinging early from the Zebras hitters), getting Harris to foul out to Harrison (no relation) in left, and spearing a comebacker from Solloway to end the inning. Bare-handed, of course.

Quentin Sirin would take over in the bottom half. Laplace grounded to second, but Greer blooped a single into right. Orville Jennings, batting for Osbourne, struck out looking. Two gone. McGee was next; he took two balls, then smashed one into the left-center bleachers.

Other news:
*Sherpa Emperor abdicates; lack of Zwangzugian response "definitely a protest against monarchy and not at all a fixture of us being too lazy to know who our diplomats are," anonymous source reports
*Local puzzler stares into space blankly, remembers significance of shortstops, stares into space blankly again
*Six stars on local flag clearly inferior to Sarzonian vexillography
*International federations discuss bookkeeping and logistics in mature and responsible fashion; observers impressed

[Tikariot]

And Tikariot cuts off for our side. Is it time for some "Calls to the World"?

Round of 16

#1 Nova Anglicana vs #16 The Sherpa Empire
@ Elephant Stadium (Elephant Valley), South Newlandia

Game 1
The Sherpa Empire      0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Nova Anglicana         1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Game 2
Nova Anglicana         0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0  4
The Sherpa Empire      3 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 X  7

The Sherpa Empire leads series 2-0

#8 Hapilopper vs #9 TJUN-ia
@ Ratzupalfu Arena (Ratzupalfu), South Newlandia

Game 1
TJUN-ia                1 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 0  6
Hapilopper             0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0  5

Game 2
Hapilopper             0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3  5
TJUN-ia                0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0  4

Series tied at 1-1

#2 Chromatika vs #15 Super-Llamaland
@ Sophie City Base-Bowl (Sophie City), South Newlandia

Game 1
Super-Llamaland        0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1  5
Chromatika             0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  4

Game 2
Chromatika             0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0  6
Super-Llamaland        0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 1  7

Super-Llamaland leads series 2-0

#7 South Newlandia vs #10 Ko-oren
Dachshund Stadium (Ruditown), South Newlandia

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

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

South Newlandia leads series 2-0

[The Sherpa Empire]

Kami Akunjee was usually not as diligent as Weiyun Gan about preparing for his starts, but he was still annoyed when everyone kept interrupting to tease him about the invitation he'd received. Akunjee had been invited to Princess Yahia's coronation, and his teammates kept asking things like, "Why the hell did they invite you?" When Akunjee said he didn't want to go out with two of his teammates, they joked, "Oh, he's too good for us now!"

On the bright side, Chongba Lee didn't join in. Lee found it ironic that someone as uncouth as Akunjee had been invited to a formal event at the imperial palace, but he mostly kept to himself. He laughed and shook his head when Akunjee showed him the invitation -- a beautiful thing printed in red and gold and decorated with ashtamangalas (auspicious symbols) -- but then he let it go and moved on. They had a game to worry about, and Lee needed Akunjee the brilliant ace of the Icefall Doctors' pitching staff, not Akunjee the bumbling idiot that he turned into when he felt persecuted.

The Sherpas' first game against Nova Anglicana had been a narrow win after tense pitchers' duel between Gan and Sharpe. But they still needed two more wins to advance, and they were not expecting the Lions to go down easily.

The 2nd game was the offense's turn to shine. Liao knocked Russell's first pitch into the outfield grass, and that kind of set the tone for the game. The Sherpas had three runs by the end of the 1st inning, and they went on to win 7-4. Akunjee gave up 2 runs in 7 innings, Sudhakaran gave up another 2 in the 8th, and Roshan held the Lions scoreless in the 9th.

[Kohnhead]

Did that just happen? - Kohnhead take 2-0 lead on Cassadaigua in a potential major upset



At the Dhaendome in Tikariot City something remarkable might be brewing in the Round of 16 of the 51st World Baseball Classic in Tikariot and South Newlandia. Taking on the defending champions and top ranked team in the multiverse in Cassadaigua the Pandas assumed that their days left in the tournament would be numbered. After all Cassadaigua were this good and had rolled through a very difficult group to finish 22-8 (only two wins better than our 20-10 record) but they got the 5th seed while we got the 21st seed.

The first round of the playoffs couldn't have gone any smoother for the WBC 50 hosts when they swept Tierra de Castro with a combined score of 26-5 including a 10-1 and an 11-1 win. While we dispatched of a decent side in The Fortem it took us four games and they outscored us during those four games despite only picking up one win as it was in a 9-2 fashion. In addition to this and the fact that we were and still are a lowly 26th ranked no one expected us to do anything other than get swept and maybe pick up a win if we were lucky.

The Pandas would have been perfectly content with a Round of 16 exit which would have shown improvement over our first two cycles and considering none of our basketball, gridiron, hockey, or football teams have yet to make it past the Group Stage baseball would still be our best of the Big Five. However the team was completely ready to embrace the underdog card because we rightly were the underdogs and with Cassadaigua potentially already looking ahead to a meeting with reigning third place and a team they beat by a single run in a do or die game in the semifinals in Newmanistan in the next round we struck.

Kohnhead               0 1 1 3 1 0 0 1 1  8
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2

Game one of the series was a battle of aces with Brianna Shirley for our opponents while we sent ours in Ralphie Bloggs as the prior series had not gone to five games. It was all Kohnhead from the start as we absolutely lit up Shirley for six runs in her five innings which included a Callie Dudley two run homerun in the fourth as well as homers from Cherry and Hahn that were both solo shots. All this while Bloggs absolutely dominated showing us why he's our ace even after some struggles early on in the Classic allowing one run in 7.2 innings of work allowing one run a Tori Fullerton home run in the bottom of the fourth.

However this was Cassadaigua, we know how good they are and we knew we couldn't take the foot off the gas pedal even with a 6-1 lead and we added some insurance runs in the 8th and 9th innings thanks to an Alvin Clayton run and Cecilia Dickerson crossing the plate in the 9th to make it 8-1 due to a Wagstaff double. Maddy Lane came out to pitch the bottom of the ninth and while under normal circumstances we might not send her out with a seven run lead we were taking no risks against Cassadaigua they scored a run and it could have been two if not for a great backhanded catch by Cherry at short who had a great game. Kohnhead were up 1-0 against Cassadaigua shocking the world with a massive 8-2 victory and we expected large resistance in game two with the Fillies trying to avoid a 2-0 hole.

Cassadaigua            0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
Kohnhead               0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  4

And what a game, game two was going 11 innings as Kohnhead escapes to make it a 2-0 series lead stunning the world in the process now only needing one win in three games to avoid a colossal choke and to complete a huge upset. This was quite the entertaining game with Fletcher Crouch taking the mound for us and Jessica Ashfield on tap for the Fillies. Both starting pitchers played decent with Crouch allowing three runs to an extremely talented Dagan side over the course of his 6.1 innings pitched while Ashfield lasted into the 7th as well but a screaming ground rule double from Ratliff scored Hahn and ended Ashfield's day with the game tied at three. Next up both sides turned it over to their bullpens which both pitched phenomenally.

We turned it over to the ever reliable Jasmine Millington who has been our best reliever this classic and we felt confident giving the ball to in such an important situation. However there would be no runs in the 8th, 9th, or 10th innings after which we would take Millington out as she appeared to lose some composure and we brought on Conroy for the top of the 11th inning as Arroyo was dealing with some soreness after pitching the day prior. It was a major situation for such a young and inexperienced pitcher against such a good team but after walking the first two batters on a combined ten pitches a mound visit settled her down.

Maybe those were good walks as she was facing their 3 and 4 hitters in Tori Fullerton and Macy Hamel who could go yard at any time, and now she was facing weaker parts of their lineup although it's Cassadaigua so the weaker parts of their lineup are still some of the best players in the multiverses. She struck the ever dangerous Steffie Kennedy out before forcing Chloe Sorenston to hit a grounder that Wagstaff got to. However it was hit hard enough that all he could do was get Sorenston out at first unable to stop the double play. Meghan Thompson who was next up attacked on a 3-1 count when the pitch was right over the middle but she didn't get the contact she would have liked and while it was a decently deep fly ball, Clayton made a pretty routine catch to end the inning.

Heading into the bottom of the 11th we had a very good lineup and if there was a time to get the game winning run this would be the time. First up was Alvin Clayton our nine hitter because we were the "home" team for this one and thus Dudley is the DH. Clayton would strike out leading to Lucca Hahn the guy who has been very clutch for us and is widely regarded as the best baseball player from Kohnhead. With a 3-2 count Sierra Ogletree sent in the pitch and Hahn hit it perfectly clearing the left field wall barely to make it 4-3 Kohnhead putting us up 2-0 on the defending champs.


It's getting intense here in Tikariot and Kohnhead now need to win one of the three final games to complete this major upset, if we win game three a sweep of them would send shockwaves through the baseball world. For us it will be Allan Fox on the mound facing Desiree Plummer in this crucial game three. Can the Pandas pull it off?

[Banija]

Suntukung Kandeh 'dominates' Game 1 as Banijans split first two games with the sport's most decorated nation


Banijans celebrate Game 1 win against Newmanistan

PORT RHOVANYON, RHOVANNYR, TIKARIOT- This was an intimidating series matchup for Banija. Newmanistan is the most decorated baseball nation, with a large number of world titles. Them, Nova Anglicana, and Cassadaigua pretty much form the current 'Big 3' of the sport. How do we know? In both WBC 48 and WBC 50, they were only eliminated by each other, and all three finished in some combination of first, second, and third. So drawing one of those squads as your second round opponent? Not something you'd necessarily want to do.

Especially considering these circumstances. Banija scrapped to a win over The 189 in stunning, walkoff fashion. Newmanistan, on the other hand, blitzed through the first round. Banija, of course, is still top 5. We've been to the last 8 in the previous five World Baseball Classics- and we're determined to make it 6, right? The second longest active streak behind Cassadaigua(who's at, like 14! or something ridiculous). So the Rockets came into the series as favorites. Banija's ace pitched Game 5, so we would call upon our #2 pitcher, Suntukung Kandeh, to open the series against the Rockets.

We needed, desperately, to give our bullpen rest. So much of the bullpen struggled against The 189, especially in the late stages of Game 5. Strong starters but a weak bullpen is how it goes sometimes. But this game was a throwback to the olden days. Forget all the modern B.S. of openers and all that. Both starting pitchers went to work. Truly, one of the greatest pitching duels that I have ever seen. Kelsie Carmichael and Suntukung Kandeh going at it. Nine baserunners in the game, total. Just four for us, and five for Newmanistan. Both Kandeh and Carmichael were at the absolute top of their games.

Carmichael allowed 2 out singles in the first and the third, that were both harmless. In the sixth, she allowed another two out single, this time to Momodou Joof. But with veteran left fielder Cyper Kandeh up, she left a ball a little too much over the plate, and Kandeh crushed it. 440 feet into left center, getting absolutely all of it. Banijans fans were excited for obvious reasons- the lead! 2-0. And as they should be, as Kandeh was their last baserunner of the night. That would be another run support for the other Kandeh, Suntukung. He had actually only allowed three baserunners through 7. Nicole Hoskins, the catcher, led off the 8th. She blasted it into the gap in right field, for a leadoff double. Newmanistan's manager had a decision to make- take out the red-hot pitcher to pinch hit, or let her lay one down?

Carmichael would lay one down. The sacrifice bunt was perfect, pulling the third baseman off the bag and allowing Hoskins to advance. Brooke Sauter singled her home to make it 2-1. But Kandeh would eventually slam the door. A historic pitching duel, with both Kelsie Carmichael and Suntukung Kandeh throwing complete games. Game 2 was disastrous, as Ensa Suso didn't pitch particularly well, and the back end of the bullpen got blasted, so there really isn't much to say.

But we have a hell of a series on our hands. Game 3 will feature the return of our ace, Duta Condé, on three days rest. Although 36, he says that he's ready. "I know I'm pitching on short rest from Game 5 on Sunday- but I'll be ready. I'm gonna do my part to try and get us to the next round." Games 3 and 4. It's been a while since Banija defeated a truly elite opponent at the WBC. Sherpa Empire dumping us out of WBC 48 & 49, while Nova Anglicana smoked us last tournament. Newmanistan is an elite opponent, like those squads. Can we prove that we belong in that conversation by upsetting the rockets here in North Rushmore?

[Nova Anglicana]

Elizabeth Avenue

Sports, Politics, Pop Culture and a whole lot more

50 at 50: Relievers, Part 1

Jonathan McGillivray-Smith, Staff Writer

During WBC 51, to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of Nova Anglicana's participation in the WBC, we'll be counting down the best 50 players in Nova Anglican baseball history. We started with catchers, continued with first and second basemen, did shortstops, then completed the infield with third basemen. We finished off position players with the six best outfielders in Nova Anglican history. We've decided to break relievers into two groups, since there will be fourteen of them plus honorable mentions. The first-team relievers weren't so difficult, as it includes most of the closers in Nova Anglican history.

First team relievers

First lefty: Kyle Pauley: WBC 27-32

When you think of lefties out of the Lions' pen, Kyle Pauley's probably the most iconic one and for good reason. Typically, the Lions carry a left-handed long reliever, a left-handed specialist, and a left-handed generalist. Pauley was the first generalist, and he lasted six Classics, from WBC 27 to 32. And he was always good. Whether he was setting up for Eddy Cavazos or Jamey Conroy, or coming in to get a tough left-hander out, he was always good. His three-pitch mix of fastball/curve/changeup wasn't fancy, and his velocity was in the 91-93 range, so not terribly impressive by modern standards, but he got the job done. He was a trusted and reliable member of the Lions bullpen and part of those early teams that had so much success.

Second lefty: Clay Wilkerson: WBC 43-48

Another six-Classic lefty generalist, Clay Wilkerson debuted as a 24 year-old in WBC 43. In a lot of ways, he was quite similar to Kyle Pauley, with a fastball/changeup/curve pitch mix. His fastball was a couple of miles faster, he tended to rely on the changeup instead of the curve, and his curve was a big 12-6 one instead of Pauley's that broke more laterally, but the two players were quite alike. Wilkerson proved an integral part of the team that finished as runners-up in WBC 44 and finally broke through in WBC 48. Whether it was hopping out of the bullpen to solve an early jam, pitching in the sixth or seventh as a bridge to the setup guys, or getting a tough lefty at any time, Wilkerson was long-tenured and excellent left-handed generalist. He was never a real setup guy like Pauley, so that's why he's second on the list, but he was still incredible.

Sixth inning guy: Trent Burkhardt: WBC 27-33

The only non-closer right-hander on our first team, Burkhardt lands in the sixth inning role by virtue of that status. But it's not for lack of stuff. Anyone who knows anything about Trent Burkhardt knows that he was the first Lion to ever throw 100 MPH, and he did it in a time when hitting triple digits was very uncommon. His fastball wasn't just completely straight either; batters often described it as having a kind of rising quality that made it even harder to hit. He never was a national team closer, though, because he never quite solved his control problem. He walked his fair share of batters and even hit a few. Later, he developed a tight slider and a changeup that paired well with his incredibly fast fast ball. Because of his stuff, he's first team; because of his inconsistency, he's the sixth inning guy.

Seventh inning guy: Eddie Cavazos: WBC 27-28

"Blasphemy!" you cry. How can we relegate the national team's first closer and his disappearing splitter to the seventh inning? Would it surprise you if I told you it was a question of putting him on the first team at all? After all, Cavazos was 35 when he made his national team debut and only pitched in WBCs 27 and 28, as well as IBS III/IV. He later became a special assistant in WBC 30, but his national team career as a player wasn't that long. Nevertheless, he makes the first team because he was so dynamite in his short time as a closer. He featured the best splitter you've ever seen, a hard, sweeping slider, and his fastball that was hitting 93 even at age 37 was no joke either. He had his control issues too, and he was known to be the reason for a bullpen blowup every now and then, but the pure beauty of watching hitters swing over his splitter time and time again is a joy to behold. Seriously, go and search "Eddy Cavazos splitter compilation" and watch it over and over again. He was an incredibly fun and fun-loving person, too, definitely deserving of a first-team spot.

Fireman: Nick Christensen: WBC 39-46

Christensen was an incredibly dynamic closer, but he lands in the fireman role because he's a former starter. At the beginning of his career, he was a highly touted starting pitcher, but injuries forced him into a reliever role, which he took to like a fish to water. He consistently posted ERAs under 2.00 and found himself as the national team closer after just one Classic. But it wasn't unusual for him to get four or even five outs, plus with the starter background, we're putting him in the fireman role. We think he could get six outs if needed or even just one in a really tight situation. He didn't have the widest variety of stuff in the land, but it was some of the best. In his prime, he brought a 98 MPH fastball that he could ramp up to 100 if needed, plus an 88 MPH slider. He had a changeup, too, but he might have thrown five changeups in every 100 pitches. The power fastball and the power slider were his bread and butter, and the slider was in that sweet spot of being fast enough to be tough for a slider, but enough of a change of pace from the fastball to be really difficult to hit if you saw them back-to-back. Christensen never won a championship in two tries, and finished outside of the quarterfinals in half of his eight Classics, but he was one of the best relievers Nova Anglicans have ever known.

Set-up man: Zach Kelley: WBC 47-50

Ah yes, the recently retired Zach Kelley. It's fashionable to malign him because he was a two-pitch guy (2-seamers and sliders) and because he struggled a bit as a closer in WBC 50. But that's recency bias, and his stuff was as good as anyone's. You can't say that a guy whose career was WBC quarterfinal, WBC championship, 4th place, WBC runner-up, was anything but good. You don't reach those heights by having an unreliable guy locking down the ninth inning for you. He came right in at 26 and claimed the closer role, and he didn't relinquish it, even when people doubted him. He just came in and pumped 95-97 MPH two-seamers over and over, mixing them judiciously with an 89-91 MPH slider, with that low three-quarters arm slot bedeviling hitters. The funky arm slot plus the big movement on both of his pitches made him incredibly hard to hit, except when he wasn't on. In those rare moments when he didn't have his best stuff, he could get knocked around a bit. That's why he's not the closer for this team, but he was one of the hardest guys to hit out of Nova Anglicana ever. I'll take that in the eighth inning every time.

Closer: Jamey Conroy: WBC 28-34

Jamey Conroy is the crown jewel of the Nova Anglican bullpen and the undisputed best reliever ever to throw a pitch for the Nova Anglican national team. He came in as a 24 year-old rookie in WBC 28, pitched one Classic as a high-leverage guy (though he even got a couple of saves back then), then proceeded to hold down the closer's job for six straight Classics, until he was a 36 year-old veteran. He was consistently described in media reports as having a "stranglehold on national-team closer role", and he deserved it, because he consistently led the NABL in saves, even as an older guy. Like Kelley, he featured a hard, nasty 2-seamer from the low 3/4 arm slot. But what differentiated him from Kelley was not his velocity (mid to upper 90s), or his hard-breaking slider. It was his immaculate pitch mix (blending the 2-seamer and slider with a changeup and the occasional curveball) and the fact that he consistently baffled hitters by being able to hit his spots anywhere at any time, with any pitch. While Kelley and the other relievers on this list could at times be a little wild, Conroy was the consummate strike-thrower. And even though he threw so many pitches in the zone, he hit his spots so well that batters had little opportunity to zero in on what pitch was coming next and where it was going. He both had the stuff to blow hitters away and he knew how to use it. That's what made him such an incredible pitcher and what makes him our first-team closer, de facto the best relief pitcher in Nova Anglican history.

Verdict

This is a really great group full of iconic Lions pitchers. Interestingly enough, four of our top seven guys have the "k" sound in their names: Cavazos, Christensen, Kelley, and Conroy. Maybe there's something to having that sound and national team success. Who knows? Regardless, this is a really fun group to watch, responsible for many saves and game-saving pitches that have carried the Lions throughout their national team careers. Relievers tend to rack up lower WAR numbers because of the nature of their position, but measure this group in highlights and you'll see what we mean.

For those of you keeping track, this is what our teams look like so far:

1st team

C - Josh Heckman
1B - Jake Bryan
2B - Chris Fletcher
SS - Luke Mills
3B - Marc Dufors
LF - Roman Jennings
CF - Matthew Gilbert
RF - Ty Oliver

C2 - Trevor Goodwin



LHRP - Kyle Pauley
LHRP - Aaron Spencer
RHRP - Trent Burkhardt
RHRP - Eddie Cavazos
RHRP - Nick Christensen
RHRP - Zach Kelley
RHRP - Jamey Conroy

2nd team

C - Max Pope
1B - Kareem Al-Aniz
2B - John Carr
SS - Darrin Werner
3B - Ken Morton
LF - Kelvin Freeman
CF - Lance Manning
RF - Jerome Duplantier

C2 - Bryan Lamb

Series against Sherpa Empire

Game 1 losing pitcher: Cory Sharpe, 7 IP, 2 ER (Jon Klein 1 IP, 0 ER, Cody Brock 1 IP, 0 ER)

Game 2 losing pitcher: Erik Russell, 4 IP, 5 ER (Aaron Spencer, 2 IP, 0 ER, Roger Bizet 1 IP, 0 ER, Jon Klein 0.1 IP, 2 ER, Grant Graham 0.1 IP, 0 ER, Justin Chandler, 0.1 IP, 0 ER)

Note for playoff series against Sherpa Empire: Boyd will continue to start game three and Christian Hammond will start game four if necessary, but the plan is to bring back Sharpe on short rest for game five if needed.

[Tikariot]

The citadel above Tikariot City looked foreboding in the deep lying grey clouds that the gale coming in from the Rhovanyon Sea was whipping over the city. Rain was coming down in sheets, obscuring much of the city, extinguishing the street lights faster than the workers could re-light them. Every now and then lightning streaked across the skies, bathing the cobblestoned streets in its ghastly light and silhouetting the citadel's outlines menacingly.

Next to nobody was venturing out in this god-forbidding weather and if he was really honest with himself, neither should he have, if it wasn't for the cryptic message he had received from someone claiming that one of the leaders of the Dominion was demanding his presence and that he was demanding it now. He had never had any dealings with this mysterious guild, but he had heard enough about them that if one was summoned, one would heed the call.

The message had said to go to the wharves and search for a house with a silver star on the door. How he was supposed to find that house in weather like this was beyond him, especially since the wharves covered most of the oceanfront of Tikariot City. He had been wandering around for so long that he had lost track of time, trying to retrace his steps when he got lost in the warren of narrow streets and alleys, but to no avail so far. He was soaked to the skin, his oilskin overcoat long having lost the battle against the elements.

He was about to give up when he noticed an alleyway he must have passed a dozen times, but never noticed in the downpour, so narrow that he could almost touch the walls on both sides if he stretched out his arms. It was near impossible to see its entrance, as it was littered with broken crates and other rabble, but he was sure that it was the only place he had not explored yet. Climbing over the obstacles he found himself in almost complete darkness, the overhangs of the houses on either side almost touching above, forcing him to feel his way forward trying to find a doorway. More than halfway into the alleyway he felt the outline of a doorframe and while trying to feel for a star another lightning bolt struck, hitting something closeby with a loud crack that made the earth tremble. The bright flash of light, however, showed the dull gleam of a silver star set high on the door and he knew that he had finally found the right place.

The house in front of him looked deserted, no light visible through the high-set window or under the door, but heavy footsteps heading for the door were a clear sign that this was not the case. A narrow slit in the door opened and the light of a lantern filtered out into the alleyway.

"State your business," a gruff voice barked.

"I received a message to come here, so your guess concerning my business is as good as mine." He tried to keep his annoyance from his voice, but standing there, soaked by the rain it proved more difficult than he cared to admit.

The slit disappeared and he could hear several locks clicking before the door swung inside, revealing a bare room devoid of furniture or anything else in the flickering light of the lantern. He barely had time to slip inside before the door slammed closed again, alerting him to the outline of a bear of a man, relocking the door, checking and re-checking each separate lock before turning towards him. Without a word he pushed past and towards a door in the back of the room. As he followed the man, he began to wonder how large the house was as they snaked through doors, across rooms, up and down staircases, enough to make him lose all sense of direction.

Finally they descended a steep, long staircase that led to a narrow, twisting tunnel, damp with condensation, the earth under his feet making strange sucking noises on his soaked boots. He could see other passages to the left and right of the tunnel, the faint light of the lantern not enough to pierce into their darkness. The guard must have traversed these passages countless times as he turned at seemingly random intervals, sure of his steps. After what seemed like an eternity they arrived at another heavy-set wooden door and the guard knocked in an oddly rhythmic pattern and the door swung open silently, revealing another steep staircase, but this one leading up.

As they ascended the stairs, the glow of torches became brighter and when they stepped through the door at the top, he had to shield his eyes from the sudden bright light of torches set in sconces around a large room with a blazing hearth at its end. Gruff looking men sat around rough wooden tables, staring at him with unveiled hostility and he began to wonder, if it was such a good idea to venture out and find out who was summoning him to the Dominion. Unperturbed by the stares, the guard continued on to the far end of the room, where two even more grim-looking men were standing guard. His escort only gave them a nod and they stepped aside, allowing him to knock on the withered wood of the door. He could hear steps filter through the sound of the rain lashing against the heavily shuttered windows, the wind howling around the perimeter of the house.

When the door opened, the sight he beheld was a stark contrast to the rest of what he had seen so far, lush furnishings, tapestries on the wall, it was almost as if stepping into a different world. The escort pushed him through the door before pulling it closed.

"I am glad you could make it."

The voice from the far corner of the room took him by surprise, because it was the melodious voice of a woman.

[Super-Llamaland]

TIGERS-OUTLIERS: TOP FIVE AT-BATS FROM GAMES ONE AND TWO
Matthias Gudjohnsen, LBC Baseball

SOPHIE CITY, SOUTH NEWLANDIA -- Wow. If you weren't excited about Super-Llamaland's WBC51 before the series against Chromatika kicked off, there's no way you still aren't now. A back-and-forth twelve-inning thriller in Game One, which the Tigers won 5-4, was followed up by an even more back-and-forth fourteen-inning thriller in Game Two, which the Tigers again won by a single run. While neutral fans will be hoping that such a closely contested series goes the distance, and while Outliers fans can take solace in their starting pitchers' strong performances and their batters' clutch hitting, Isaac Oladipo and company will be looking to close out the series tomorrow night in Sophie City. But before that, we'll look at the top five at-bats (by Win Probability Added, as calculated by GraphsForFans.com in Games One and Two.

#5. JASON DUSTER'S THREE-RUN BOMB (T8, Game Two): .399 WPA

Jason Duster had had a quiet start to the series, striking out five times in his first eight at-bats. But a tiring Isaac Colón may have forgotten the "boom" part of Duster's "boom or bust" approach when he faced him in the eighth inning. After a dazzling first seven innings from Colón, who allowed just one run on six scattered hits while striking out eleven, it was clear that the young starter was running on fumes, as a walk to Moyamoto and a single by Ducat to start the seventh put runners on the corners for Duster. With a narrow 3-1 lead, Oladipo may have been overly confident in his starter to work his way out of the jam, confidence that lasted all of two pitches before Duster tattooed a poorly-placed fastball four hundred and fifty feet into left-center, giving Chromatika a 4-3 lead. As Duster trotted around the bases, it really seemed like Chromatika would be taking game two and leveling the series.

#4. EMERY WU's GO-AHEAD DOUBLE (T12, Game One): .400 WPA

When the Outliers called on reliever Truman Savant to hold serve in the top of the twelfth, they may have been concerned about what would happen if Savant was forced to pitch too long and lose effectiveness, but none of them were expecting the Tigers to figure the "nine-pitch specialist" out so quickly. Although Savant lived up to his reputation by striking out Gabriel Acosta on three pitches before inducing a flyout from Miranda Gray (which could have served as a warning shot, as Gray's fly ball might have left a smaller stadium than the Base Bowl). When Trevor Mikkelson-Yao swung and missed at Savant's first two offerings, it looked like the inning was over. But the young outfielder, flashing rare patience, worked the count full and drew a walk on a fastball just high, to the consternation of the Outliers dugout. Up next stepped Emery Wu, who turned on a get-me-over breaking ball on the first pitch and roped one down the left-field line, scoring Mikkelson-Yao easily and putting the Tigers up 5-4, a lead that they would never relinquish.

#3. NOAH SLATER'S WALK-OFF SHOT (B14, Game Two): .420 WPA

After thirteen and a half grueling innings in game two, the score was still even at six runs apiece, as it had been since the exciting eleventh inning that had seen both teams score two runs. With the bullpen rapidly running out of pitchers, the Outliers decided to send the left-handed Vette Beux out for a second full inning of work, with Beux originally entering in the bottom of the twelfth to get the final out of the inning. Unfortunately for the Umbar Corsair, Tigers designated hitter Noah Slater absolutely rakes against lefties, with a career .375 average in the WBC against left-handed pitching. And after a few borderline calls didn't go Beux's way, the Outliers reliever was down in the count 3-1, and had no choice but to throw a fastball. Slater simply turned and ripped the ball just over the fence into left-center for a walk-off solo home run, giving the Tigers a commanding 2-0 series lead.

#2. ALISEN MOYAMOTO'S GO-AHEAD DOUBLE (T11, Game Two): .440 WPA

There's a reason we've talked about Alisen Moyamoto so much. The Chromatik shortstop is a bona fide star, and in the top of the eleventh against Justin Frazier, she proved it once again. Frazier had been brought in to replace Evangeline Lu after the Vipers reliever had had a rough start to the eleventh, putting runners on first and second after getting the first two outs. Frazier got ahead in the count early, but if he had expected that to give him an overwhelming advantage in the at-bat, he was sorely mistaken. An 0-2 chase pitch came just close enough to the plate for Moyamoto to poke it into right-field, scoring one run. The second can be credited to her heads-up baserunning, as she took off for second when she saw Mikkelson-Yao misplay the ball, diverting the throw (which probably could've stopped Gammond from scoring the tying run) away from home and to second, where she dove in just in time to beat it out. With a 6-4 lead in the eleventh, many assumed Moyamoto had just delivered the dagger with a beautiful clutch play. Little did they know that there were still three innings to play.

#1. BRÜNHILD GUNNLAUGSON'S GAME-SAVING SINGLE (T9, Game One): .454 WPA

It's amazing to think that moments two through five wouldn't have happened if Chromatika had just seen out the ninth inning for a 4-2 win, changing the entire complexion of the series and forcing the Tigers to come from behind in Game Two. But although Hine Salle has gained a reputation (both with the Outliers and the SNBL's Walstreim Lions) as being completely unflappable, the pressure of the WBC51 playoffs might have gotten to her just a little. Derrick Armstrong had singled with one out in the inning, blooping a fastball just out of the infield, but although Salle had recovered to strike out Lily Scutaro, Summer Huang had really made things a rally with a hard-hit single into right to put runners on the corners with two outs. Aware that her team needed two runs to tie the game, and correctly surmising that Salle's delivery would slow down in the high-pressure situation, Huang then stole second, a heads-up play that put the tying run in scoring position. It set the stage for Gunnlaugson, who followed in her uncle Isak's footsteps with a clutch single down the left-field line that scored both runners and tied the game.

---

Game Three of this enthralling Tigers-Outliers series promises to be another barnburner. With both bullpens worn bare, the pressure will be on Kai Söderstrom and Miles Savey to pitch deep into the game. Meanwhile, after two exhausting games, the Tigers will be looking to finish their opponents off and move on to the quarterfinals (likely a rematch against South Newlandia, although Ko-oren coming back from a 2-0 deficit isn't out of the question), while the Outliers look to mount a comeback of their own after blowing leads in each of the first two games. Will the Tigers finish off a sweep (which would make them 18-3 since the sweep to The Luck of Jirachi), or will the Outliers make it a series? Find out tonight on LBC Baseball.