World Baseball Classic 53 Everything Thread

[Quintessence of Dust]

(Provisional) box scores as posted on the TalkBaseball.qd website. This tournament, TBQ will be summarising results entirely through The Wire quotes.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
T. Brøndum RF              4   0   0   0   1   0   1  .000   0   0
S. Borgþórsson 1B          5   0   1   0   0   0   3  .200   0   0
T. Watanabe 2B             4   1   1   1   0   0   2  .250   1   1
L. Chevalier LF            4   1   2   0   0   0   0  .500   0   0
J. Theriault SS            3   1   1   1   1   0   2  .333   0   1
L. Dai 3B                  3   1   1   1   1   0   1  .333   0   1
Y. Long C                  4   0   0   0   0   2   3  .000   0   0
J. Martin P                3   0   1   0   0   0   1  .333   0   0
  a–R. Weber PH            1   0   0   0   0   1   1  .000   0   0
  M. Ibsen P               0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  K. Wahl P                0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  H. Liang P               0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
J. Stevens CF              4   0   1   1   0   0   1  .250   0   1

a–R. Weber pinch-hit for J. Martin in the 8th

Doubles: J. Stevens (1, 3rd inning, 0 on, 0 outs), S. Borgþórsson (1, 6th inning, 0 on, 1 out), J. Theriault (1, 8th inning, 1 on, 1 out)
Home runs: T. Watanabe (1, 1st inning, 0 on, 2 outs)
Total bases: T. Watanabe 4, J. Stevens 2, S. Borgþórsson 2, L. Chevalier 2, J. Theriault 2, J. Martin, L. Dai
2-out RBI: T. Watanabe
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Martin, T. Watanabe, J. Theriault, S. Borgþórsson
Team LOB: 8

BASERUNNING
SB: J. Theriault 2 (2)

FIELDING
Errors: J. Theriault (1), L. Dai (1)
Double plays: 1 (Dai – Watanabe – Borgþórsson)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Martin W (1 – 0)        7.0  4   2   1   2   7   1 107  69  1.29
M. Ibsen H (1)             1.0  0   0   0   0   2   0  10   7  0.00
K. Wahl                    0.1  0   0   0   1   0   0   7   3  0.00
H. Liang SV (1)            0.2  1   0   0   0   2   0  14  10  0.00

Game score: J. Martin 68
Batters faced: J. Martin 28, M. Ibsen 3, K. Wahl 2, H. Liang 3
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Martin 8 – 5,  M. Ibsen 1 – 0, K. Wahl 1 – 0, H. Liang 0 – 0
Inherited runners – scored: H. Liang 1 – 0

Scoring summary:

1.2: Teijo Watanabe homers (9D). Teijo Watanabe scores.

6.1: Barrett Satterfield homers (7LD). Barrett Satterfield scores.

6.2: Jordan Lacoste reaches base on error (E5). Vincent Saint-Denis scores.

7.1: Jay Stevens grounds out (6–3). Lingxin Dai scores.

8.1: Jack Theriault doubles (7LM). Luka Chevalier scores.

8.1: Lingxin Dai singles (4MD). Jack Theriault scores.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
T. Brøndum RF              5   1   2   0   0   1   1  .222   0   0
S. Borgþórsson 1B          5   1   3   1   0   1   1  .400   0   1
T. Watanabe 2B             5   0   2   0   0   2   3  .333   1   1
L. Chevalier LF            5   0   1   0   0   1   3  .333   0   0
J. Theriault SS            3   1   1   0   1   0   2  .000   0   1
L. Dai 3B                  4   0   2   2   0   1   3  .000   0   3
  H. Liang P               0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
Y. Long C                  4   1   1   0   0   1   3  .125   0   0
H. Kalberg P               2   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  a–R. Weber PH            1   0   1   1   0   0   0  .500   0   1
  B. Beaufiils P           0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  J. Grant P               0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  b–M.P. Yang PH, 3B       1   1   1   1   0   0   0 1.000   1   1
J. Stevens CF              4   0   1   0   0   1   0  .000   0   1

a–R. Weber pinch-hit for H. Kalberg in the 7th
b–M.P. Yang pinch-hit for J. Grant in the 9th

Doubles: L. Dai (1, 4th inning, 1 on, 0 outs), T. Brøndum (1, 9th inning, 0 on, 1 out)
Home runs: M.P. Yang (1, 9th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: M.P. Yang 4, L. Dai 3, T. Brøndum 3, S. Borgþórsson 3, T. Watanabe 2, L. Chevalier, J. Stevens, J. Theriault, Y. Long, R. Weber
2-out RBI: L. Dai
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: L. Dai 2, Y. Long
GIDP: L. Chevalier, H. Kalberg
Team LOB: 8

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
H. Kalberg                 6.0  3   1   1   2   6   0  92  55  1.50
B. Amundsen BS (1)         0.2  1   1   1   1   0   0  11   4 13.50
B. Beaufils W (1 – 0)      0.1  1   0   0   0   0   0   7   5  0.00
J. Grant H (1)             1.0  0   0   0   1   1   0  14  10  0.00
H. Liang SV (2)            1.0  0   0   0   0   1   0   9   7  0.00

Game score: H. Kalberg 65
Batters faced: H. Kalberg 23, B. Amundsen 4, B. Beaufils 2, J. Grant 4, H. Liang 3
Ground outs – fly outs: H. Kalberg 8 – 4, B. Amundsen 2 – 0, B. Beaufils 0 – 1, J. Grant 0 – 2, H. Liang 1 – 1
Inherited runners – scored: B. Beaufils 1 – 0

Game notes: A bee flew in the scorer's box. Aah! This, rather than sheer incompetence, obviously explains why some of the running average totals are missing or wrong in this box score.

Scoring summary:

4.1: Lingxin Dai doubles (89D). Jack Theriault scores.

5.2: Hank Oliver doubles (7LS). Nolan Dunning scores.

7.0: Rémy Weber singles (8LS, out at 2nd trying to stretch hit). Yazhu Long scores.

7.2: Jake Wright singles (7LS). Nolan Dunning scores.

8.2: Lingxin Dai singles (34D). Sigurkarl Borgþórsson scores.

9.0: Maas Pheng Yang homers (7LXD). Maas Pheng Yang scores.

9.1: Sigurkarl Borgþórsson singles (56D). Tom Brøndum scores.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            5   1   3   1   0   2   1  .455   0   2
T. Brøndum RF              5   0   2   0   0   1   5  .286   0   0
T. Watanabe 2B             5   0   0   0   0   3   4  .214   1   1
L. Chevalier LF            4   0   1   1   1   0   3  .308   0   1
S. Borgþórsson 1B          4   1   1   0   1   1   1  .357   0   1
L. Dai 3B                  4   1   2   0   1   0   0  .455   0   3
Y. Long C                  4   0   0   0   1   1   2  .083   0   0
J. Sakaguchi P             2   0   0   0   0   2   5  .000   0   0
  K. Wahl P                0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  a–M.P. Yang PH           1   1   1   1   0   0   0 1.000   1   2
  J. Scherer P             0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  b–K. Kawasuda PH         1   0   0   0   0   1   0  .000   0   0
  B. Amundsen P            0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  M. Ryan P                0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  H. Liang P               0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
J. Stevens CF              4   1   2   2   0   1   3  .000   1   3

a–M.P. Yang pinch-hit for K. Wahl in the 5th
b–K. Kawasuda pinch-hit for J. Scherer in the 7th

Triples: J. Theriault (1, 1st inning, 0 on, 0 outs), L. Dai (1, 5th inning, 0 on, 2 outs) M.P. Yang (1, 5th inning, 1 on, 2 outs)
Home runs: J. Stevenes (1, 4th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: J. Stevens 5, J. Theriault 5, L. Dai 4, M.P. Yang 3, T. Brøndum 2, L. Chevalier, S. Borgþórsson
2-out RBI: M.P. Yang 2, L. Chevalier, J. Theriault, J. Stevens
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: T. Brøndum, J. Sakaguchi, L. Chevalier
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
CS: L. Chevalier (1)

FIELDING
Errors: J. Stevens (1)
Double plays: 1 (Theriault – Watanabe – Borgþórsson)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Sakaguchi               3.1  6   5   4   1   3   1  69  41 10.81
K. Wahl W (1 – 0)          0.2  0   0   0   1   0   0   8   4  0.00
J. Scherer H (1)           2.0  0   0   0   0   3   0  16  14  0.00
B. Amundsen H (1)          1.0  0   0   0   0   1   0  12  10  5.40
M. Ryan                    0.0  0   0   0   2   0   0   9   1  0.00
H. Liang SV (3)            2.0  0   0   0   0   3   0  17  15  0.00

Game score: J. Sakaguchi 32
Batters faced: J. Sakaguchi 18, K. Wahl 2, J. Scherer 6, B. Amundsen 3, M. Ryan 2, H. Liang 6
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Sakaguchi 4 – 3, K. Wahl 1 – 0, J. Scherer 1 – 2, B. Amundsen 0 – 2, M. Ryan 0 – 0, H. Liang 0 – 3
Inherited runners – scored: H. Liang 2 – 0

Scoring summary:

1.2: Luka Chevalier singles (4MD). Jack Theriault scores.

2.2: Jack Theriaul singles (34D). Sigurkarl Borgþórsson scores.

2.1: Nolan Dunning singles (89S). Vincent-Saint Dennis scores.

2.1: Davis Shipley singles (34D). Joey Keller scores.

4.0: Jay Stevens homers (8RXD). Jay Stevens scores.

4.1: Jonathan Drake homers (8LXD). David Conner scores. Nolan Dunning scores. Jonathan Drake scores.

5.2: Yazhu Long reaches base on error (E6). Lingxin Dai scores.

5.2: Maas Pheng Yang triples (7LS). Yazhu Long scores.

5.2: Jay Stevens singles (8LS). Maas Pheng Yang scores.

"Sound like one of them good problems." -- Marlo Stanfield

Londinium Invitational MVP Maas Pheng Yang had a home run and a triple in his pinch-hitting performances as the Things swept Nova Anglicana. Jun Jiang now faces difficult decisions on how to get Yang's hot bat into the lineup. Yet starting third baseperson Lingxin Dai has also enjoyed a productive start to the tournament, hitting .455 and sharing the lead in hits, extra base hits and RBIs. Compounding the dilemma for Jiang, first baseperson Sigurkarl Borgþórsson has also been hitting strongly, though has yet to hit a home run. Starting the first game, against left hander Christian Hammond, was a change for Borgþórsson, who in previous tournaments was platooned against left-handers; he went 1-5 but did hit a double in the 6th. With the Things abandoning the designated hitter for the group stage, there appears to be no way of getting all three bats in. Jiang at present appears unfazed. "There will be rest and rotation across the 30 games, and we'll experiment with lineups," he said. "And even then, having a good pinch-hitter available is always valuable."

[The Sherpa Empire]

(OOC: Sorry for not having this up for MD 1. I completely glossed over the fact that cutoffs were in the morning instead of evening.)

Sherpa National Baseball Team Roster

C: Nima Unnikrishnan (Bengal Tigers)
C: Pratap Johar (Delhi Rajas)
1B: Phuntsok Bahadurzada (Guilin Pangolins)
2B: Nitish Thakuri (Bengal Tigers)
3B: Tandi Ojha (Islamabad Snow Leopards, switch hitter who can hit just about anything, even if he's just fouling it off)
SS: Kai Liao (Kunming Dragons)
IF: Dendi Shewade (Khumbu Icefall Doctors)
IF: Haider Balouch (Islamabad Snow Leopards)
IF: Qian Liu (Chengdu Pandas)
LF: Smanla Kumari (Lhasa Lamas)
RF: Zhiku Tsongba Sherpa (Jaipur Jewelers, loves to swing for the fences)
CF: Kalden Shi (Guangzhou Pirates)
OF: Namgel Rai (Lhasa Lamas)
OF: Ongchu Xiang (Fuzhou Bats)
RHP Sarki Sachdeva (Darjeeling Green Sox)
LHP Weiyun Gan (Nanjing Mandarins, diligent about going over the scouting reports, classy guy)
RHP Kami Akunjee (Khumbu Icefall Doctors, chubby slob, but can still throw a 90s fastball when he really wants to)
LHP Sudhir Kandola (Kunming Dragons)
RHP Ula Bao (Guiyang Grasshoppers)
LHP Mujibur Sitharaman (Bengal Tigers)
RHP Shubman Divekar (Delhi Rajas)
LHP Tsering Tenzing Chung (Chengdu Pandas, usually a long relief guy on his domestic club, but might see some shorter outings in the WBC since the national team has Daki Chuan)
RHP Wangdi Ai (Hangzhou Brewers, big-time fireballer)
RHP Gombu Park (Nanjing Mandarinsm, set up man)
RHP Temba Karsang Sherpa (Changsha Turtles)
LHP Panu Nong (Darjeeling Green Sox, closer)


Starting Rotation:

Sudhir Kandola
Sarki Sachdeva
Weiyun Gan
Wangdi Ai
Kami Akunjee


Coaches: Phurwa Thapa, Ayappan Banerjee, Phurba Rahman, Lhakpa Das

Manager: Chongba Lee

The teams listed after each player's name are where they play during the regular season. The "Bats" in "Fuzhou Bats" refers to the winged animal, not a baseball bat. The meaning of the name is clearer in the local languages. The Khumbu Icefall Doctors are named after the people who prepare the path for mountain climbers up the Khumbu Icefall every year at the start of climbing season, and the team's logo is a pair of picks for rock-climbing -- but the name is often shortened to "Doctors" or "Docs" and there are some pun-loving fans that wear lab coats and stethoscopes to show their support. (The capital has unusually high rates of English language literacy because people learn it to work in government and tourism.) These people are most commonly found at Syangboche, but some of them may travel elsewhere.

It's also common to find fans using prayer wheels to cheer on the team. Some people find the practice tacky and disrespectful toward religion, but people still do it. There are even special prayer wheels made for this purpose, which are about as classy as those foam hands with the pointy fingers that you sometimes see sports fans waving around.

The Sherpa Empire uses dark blue uniforms for many sports teams that represent the Empire in international competition, including the WBC teams. If you see a Sherpa sports fan wandering around with dyed blue hair, that's usually a clue that they're going to be really noisy and obnoxious. However, they could also be a racing fan who dyed their hair to look like Shuzhen Zhu.

The national language is Sherpa. Nepali, Hindi, Arabic, and Mandarin are used regionally alongside Sherpa (Arabic in the West, Hindi in the South, etc.). Many people are multilingual, but it is kind of a crapshoot which languages they speak. You may find people that speak 6 different languages -- but none that are useful internationally.

Starting Line-Up

SS Liao
3B Ojha
2B Thakuri
CF Shi
LF Kumari
RF Zhiku
1B Bahadurzada
C Unnikrishnan
pitcher

Batting Order With DH

SS Liao
3B Ojha
2B Thakuri
CF Shi
LF Kumari
DH Rai
RF Zhiku
1B Bahadurzada
C Unnikrishnan

Stadia

Series 5-7 vs Abanhfleft, Equestria, and Sevendia:
Syangboche Athletic Complex
Namche, Khumbu Capital District
Capacity 43,800
Built on a mountaintop overlooking the national capital at an elevation of 3780m (12,402ft), this is one of the most extreme hitter's parks in the world because of the high altitude and the short left field. In addition to the altitude, cold weather and high winds are common. Building a ballpark here was pure idiocy, but SIBA and the Ministry of Culture continue to use it anyway because it's the national capital. There is plenty of hot tea, chang (mild local beer), and stew for anyone who needs to warm up. Under the stadium is a museum detailing the history of baseball in the Sherpa Empire. It is common for government officials or members of the royal family to attend games, especially since the new Empress is a baseball fan.

Series 3 vs Brookstation:
Queen of the Hills Sports Complex
Darjeeling, Gorkhaland
Capacity 37,300
This is one of the smaller ballparks in the Empire, but its cozy feel, quaint brick work, and the pretty landscaping around the park are beloved by the fans. There are also other activities like mini-golf nearby if fans want something to do before the game. It has a short outfield, though the outfield wall is relatively tall and long fly balls often bounce off instead of going out. At an elevation of 2,042m above sea level, players and fans are unlikely to suffer severe altitude sickness, but you might still notice some effects such as fly balls carrying farther than usual or starting pitchers struggling to go deep into games.

Series 9 vs. Chromatika
Mandarin Park
Nanjing, Jiangsu Territory
Capacity 61,443
Mandarin Park is the home stadium of the Nanjing Mandarins. It is known for its sleek modern design and was voted as having the best food of any ballpark in the Sherpa Empire. There are a wide variety of dumplings, potstickers, spring rolls, and steamed buns. The stands are decorated with red Chinese lanterns, giving the park a bit of local flair. Because it is a large park, it doesn't get many home runs. Weather in Nanjing is usually cool and damp this time of year, but not bitterly cold.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my run-scorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: Generally yes, but try to keep any variations somewhat realistic
Follow my Pitching Rotation: Follow what I have posted
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Occasional minor injuries are OK, ask first if you want to do anything major
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Eject my players: If you eject a similar number of your own, and/or it's a character that I've RPed being a dumbass.
DH used at home: No
Godmod other events: No
Other Info: My team are conservative base-runners (not a lot of stealing or getting caught stealing) and they aren't too fixated on pitch counts. They usually plan on having the starter pitch 7 innings. This can vary depending on how the pitcher is doing, but pitch count doesn't play a big role in the decision.

[Milchama]

"...And now we go live to Alexandria where our Milchama Warriors are playing the Mylderm Republics, we think, unclear, they don't have a nickname in their RP so far. Either way it's the bottom of the 9th inning and the Warriors and Republics are tied at 3 as the Warriors come up to the plate."

"Mylderm has a very weird roster where they only have one pitcher, Abner Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has 12 pitches, pitches from 3 different arm angles, sidearm, underarm, and overarm, and is able to pitch both lefty and righty."

"Yeah many have compared Fitzgerald with the fictional Old Hoss Radbourn who supposedly pitched 678.2 innings in 1884 for the Providence Greys when all their other pitchers quit"

"Although Radbourn did not have 12 different pitches"

"No, nor do news reports or his Twii.tur seem to indicate that he could throw with both hands"

"The Warriors have been struggling with Fitzgerald. Only 2 solo homers in game 1 of the series were the only runs the Warriors scored."

"This game hasn't been much better, Baker manufactured a run in the first inning, it took awhile in the 5th but Michael Handston was able to drive in Emmett Willis for the second run, and a McNeesh home run have been the only runs so far."

"Meanwhile the other story has been the pitching. After seven solid innings from Shmuel Shmornen the bullpen took over and was a disaster."

"Absolute travesty as Edwin Filip gave up two runs in the 8th inning to tie the game"

"Milchama hasn't had a runner on since the 6th inning McNeesh homerun and this is looking like a game where the Warriors will lose to the Republics"

"Fitzgerald looks like he's throwing righty sidearm to Martin Jondon"

"First pitch...inside"

"A little too inside"

"Yeah, brushed the inside of his arm and Milchama have the leadoff hitter on"

"Fitzgerald throwing righty again. Looks like overarm this time. Not sure the pitch, might be a changeup, inside anyway, ball 1"

"Jondon leads off, still crazy to think through Fitzgerald like a cricket bowler. Are we going to see spin or pace? What handedness is coming? What's the next pitch? That's gotta be confusing for the batter and the next pitch is in and it's swung on and missed 1-1"

"Fitzgerald working quickly, this looks like an underarmer and it is and it's floated into the middle of the plate and Yehudon crushes it and it's going back to the track and caught. Just didn't quite have the distance and Milchama have one out"

"Yehudon really got all of that one but hit it to left center field which not only has the longest boundaries but also seems to get a weird wind current going which can knock balls down, especially late in games so just a long loud out"

"Jondon wasn't tagging, he very clearly thought that was going over the fence but it was not to be from Yehudon so one out, runner on first and Willitts up to bat"

"Willitts has always been more known for the glove then the bat but his .375 OBP last year was a big reason he was on the team"

"Yeah, he came into the league as a defense first framer but has slowly grown the bat. He's even been hitting 3rd for the Sailors"

"Definitely some incredible depth to this Milchamian lineup"

"Certainly"

"Anyway Fitzgerald pitches into Willits who takes low ball 1. By the way, still righty and that looked like curveball"

"Always hard to say Fitzgerald"

"The other thing is that with so many pitches and angles there really isn't a times through the order penalty like with other pitchers"

"Not at all because you're basically facing a new pitcher every time"

"Second pitch is low again and it's 2-0 on Willitts"

"Again with that .375 OBP, he's a very patient hitter"

"Yep and Fitzgerald looks ready, expect an underarmer, nope a sidearmer right down the middle and Willitts slaps it through the hole for a single. Right in between the shortstop and second base as he skips on over to first. Jondon forced to stop at second as Lavigne playing deep in the left, in the 'no doubles' defense moved in very quickly to stop the turn"

"Great defense by Lavigne to keep Jondon at second, you never want the winning run at third with less than 2 out"

"Yeah and it looks like Mylderm is going to switch their defense up now as the outfielders come in aggressively"

"Makes sense, if there's a double the game is already over but a short single could be much more killer with 1 out so you want to cut those off before you worry about the ball going over your head"

"Lawrence Nails up now he's been ok so far but not been a big player this series"

"Nails was by far the most controversial pick for the team. A lot of people felt that Holot Nervy deserved the spot but instead Nervy is playing with the B team in the AOBS"

"I'm still not sure there, not a lot to pick from for either of them"

"Yep and by the way it's already 0-2 on Nails"

"Not looking good and now a nasty lefty slider and Nails is fishing"

"Ugh, what a terrible at bat"

"Yep, very clearly over eager to be the hero"

"You just need to let the game come to you, at bats like that are not going to help his case to stay on the team over Nervy"

"Not at all though, in fairness, I don't know if I want someone named Nervy up in this situation"

"I guess that's true but anyways there are two outs and the Warriors are sending up a pinch hitter"

"As much as Haynes can hit with 2 outs in the 9th you don't need a pitcher up there"

"Nope, and Maia Tennons comes up to the plate"

"Tennons was incredible in the MBL this year with 42 homers along with an additional 31 doubles"

"If it wasn't for McNeesh's play in the foreign league I think Tennons would be starting for this team"

"Yeah it doesn't help her that she really can't play defense"

"Not at all but she is absolutely the person you want up to the plate at this point"

"Definitely"

"The pitching coach comes out to talk to Fitzgerald, not that they can replace him"

"Still incredible that Mylderm went with one pitcher for the whole tournament"

"Insane stuff from the Republics"

"Tennons ready, Fitzgerald ready, bottom of the 9th, two outs, runners on first and second and a tie game."

"This is basically everything you dream about as a kid"

"Yep and here we go with Fitzgerald throwing lefty sidearm for ball 1"

"Fitzgerald's been behind on every hitter so far this inning except Nails"

"Really telling because one thing he's been great about has been getting out ahead of the count. Good patience by the Milchamian hitters to make sure he pitches to them"

"Fitzgerald toes the mound, gets ready to throw and delivers, righty this time, overarm fastball. Tennons was not ready for it and was way behind 1-1"

"Great pitch there, good deception and I think changing hands really confused Tennons"

"Yeah it's one thing to see all the video of the different pitches but it's just totally different to face it"

"Back to lefty for Fitzgerald and it's underarm and slow and Tennons is way out in front. 1-2"

"That looked like for a second that she had timed that but it wasn't even close. Great trickery from Fitzgerald, I think Tennons really thought she had it but it was not close at all"

"I'd expect an overarm throw here, Fitzgerald tends to throw heat when ahead in the count"

"1-2, Tennons up, tie game, bottom of 9 and Milchama with runners on first and second. Abner Fitzgerald throws and here's the pitch fouled away. Overarm fastball that Tennons just gets enough of to hit over the first base dugout to keep the count at 1-2."

"Good piece of hitting by Tennons, she looked surprised by the speed but was able to pick up enough of it to get a piece of it and stop the strikeout"

"Yep. Fitzgerald ready again, moving back to lefty, he's pulled out all the stops this innings, and it's a side armer. Whoa! That got away from him way outside but Martens is over to stop it. 2-2"

"Great play by Martens, I thought for sure that was a wild pitch"

"Yeah, Martens had to move 2 feet to his right and stick the glove out to get that one. What a play"

"Martens goes out now to talk to Fitzgerald, need to settle the pitcher after that tough pitch"

"Fitzgerald settled now, Martens goes back to the plate, Fitzgerald lining up as a righty. I'd expect the overarm curve here"

"Interesting, I'd expect the sidearm fastball"

"We'll see which one"

"Yep Fitzgerald winds and the pitch and it's hit. OH IS IT HIT, THAT'S LOOKING UP, OVER THE HEAD OF LAVIGNE IN LEFT AND GONE! HOME RUN MAIA TENNONS! MILCHAMA WINS THE GAME 6-3! A WALK OFF 3 RUN HOME RUN BY MAIA TENNONS HAS BROUGHT MILCHAMA HOME! What an ending!"

*Listen to crowd screaming for 30 seconds*

"What a play by Tennons! It was the curveball and she was ready this time and crushed it. It's exactly why they brought her onto the team and exactly why she was hitting in this situation"

"What a play by Tennons! Just an incredible hit! A walk off win for the Warriors! The start to the WBC has been everything we want in a game so far"

"Wow! What an incredible job by Milchama!"

"And we'll see you tomorrow where Milchama takes on Mylderm in the third game of the series going for the sweep. See you then!"

"Thank you for the call"

[Soldera]

Ned Willingham was standing pensively in the dugout, looking out at the action on the field with his arms folded and resting on his chest.

It was Opening Day at Prince Francis Stadium in Branwen. The pomp and ceremony of the opener had been a distraction, as he got called away from his normal duties to attend to press junkets, interviews, and also logistical matters no bench boss should have to, since the Ministry of Sport still hadn't hired a technical director or the staff who would normally be responsible for things as important as parking, granting press credentials, ensuring the media had enough food, and the concession stands were ready to handle a sold out crowd.

It was enough to drive any manager to exhaustion. And yet, there were 29 more matches after this one. In this one, Willingham's unranked Solderan national baseball team were trailing Aji No Moto by a run in the bottom of the ninth. Both hitters struck out and Soldera were down to their final strike after first baseman Chris Roberts and third baseman Leo Hollingsworth slinked back to the dugout. Shortstop Dakota Long had swung and missed badly on two offerings from Aji No Moto's closer. Shorten your swing, he thought. Don't try to be the hero. He knew that's what Willingham would have told him had he looked back to the dugout. In any event, he dug in for the 0-2. The pitch barely grazed his uniform shirt, but the Delaclav home plate umpire spotted it and tapped his left arm and pointed to first.

"It hit him!" the umpire yelled out. That would send a pinch hitter as right fielder Brad Dwight collided with the wall in right field and had been taken back to the clubhouse for observation. He would be evaluated for a concussion. Fortunately, he did not have one. But with a depth player batting in Dwight's place, Willingham decided to send up reserve Matt Stallings as a pinch hitter. Stallings took a couple of fastballs just off the plate for balls, then fouled off a tough curveball. He watched a changeup just miss the outside corner at the knees. With the count now at 3-1, Stallings figured he'd get a good pitch to hit. He did.

We'll let his father Dave Stallings, who was the play-by-play announcer, describe the results.

"Here's the 3-1 delivery. Fastball swung on and driven to centerfield and deep. On the track, IT'S GONE! GOODBYE! THE SNAKES HAVE WON IT!"

The walk-off victory on Opening Day resulted in the brand new stadium suddenly erupting in cheers as the fans celebrated in the stands and the Snakes players mobbed Stallings at home plate. It wouldn't be the only walk-off win, as the highest seeded team in Group C, fourth ranked Sarzonia would get three in the bottom of the 10th to defeat South Americanastan 5-2. But for one day, at least, Soldera could feel good about themselves and their fortunes.

That good feeling would continue on Matchday 2 as they'd get another walkoff win by a 6-4 scoreline, this time with Dwight pinch hitting for Stallings and hitting a two-run homer after Soldera tied it in the bottom of the ninth. For a brief moment, the unranked Snakes were suddenly atop the Group C tables at 2-0.

They would drop to a tie for first place after losing on Matchday 3 as Stallings left two runners in scoring position by taking a called third strike, which he argued about to no avail. It didn't matter. Soldera were off to a 2-1 start by taking their first home series ever. They would travel to Hannasea for a three-match set, and there was a strong possibility they would be brought back to earth against a highly-regarded team. But for one series at least, the Solderans could think about baseball and their early success in this sport. And Willingham knew there'd come a day when all he'd have to think about was baseball.

[South Americanastan]

Fleetwood Park, Sarzonia

10th Inning, Game 1

"We welcome you back from our commercial break to the SABC Broadcast of World Baseball Class Opening Day, brought to you by Hinto Brew. For anyone who's just arrived, the game is tied, 2-2. The Stars at bat and have runners on first and second, with just one out in the tenth inning. Monteforte has been substituted for Walter Rowe after an elbow injury, he's marked down as questionable for Game 2."

Matt Jackson toes the rubber, sizing up Ryan Brady. He takes a deep breath, gripping the ball tightly. He shakes off a fastball sign from catcher Jack Manning, nodding on the next sign for a slider. He raises his leg, and his arm comes forward, sending the ball flying towards home plate at 92 Miles Per Hour. The ball ducks under Brady's bat just before contact. A yell comes from the umpire.

"STRIKE ONE!"

Jackson receives the ball back from Manning, toeing the rubber again as he nods at a sign from Manning.

Jackson throws a fastball on the low end of the strike zone, but Brady gets his bat on it, sending it flying towards left field. Frank Monteforte goes into a dead sprint to snag the ball on it's first bounce. Monteforte turns towards third, and fires an absolute shot towards third base, barely catching Matt Lopez sliding into third.

"Lopez sprinting towards third... Monteforte, firing it in, and... he's OUT! WHAT A PLAY BY FRANK MONTEFORTE TO BRING THE BEARS ONE STEP CLOSER TO A CHANCE TO TAKE IT ALL IN THE TOP 11TH!"

"That may have been a great play from Monteforte, but let's see if the Bears can keep it from going to waste with Luke Brinkley coming to bat."

Jackson throws another fastball, barely clipping the bottom edge of the strike zone for strike one.

"Good start for Jackson on this at bat, 0-1 on Brinkley, all he needs is two more."

And then he throws a curveball.

The curveball hangs, and Jackson can practically see Brinkley's smile. Brinkley throws all of his power into the swing, sending it flying over Jackson's head.

"It is high! It is far! Garry O'Hannagan's sprinting back to rob it, it looks like he may have it... NO! BARELY SLIPS PAST HIS GLOVE TO GIVE THE STARS THE WIN!

The SABC broadcast cuts to a replay of the home run, showing the trajectory, exit velocity, and angle of the hit. It zooms in to slow motion on O'Hannagan's attempt at robbing the home run.

"Wait a minute... is that a Stars fan grabbing his arm?"

"Looks more like someone who was leaning over the fence with their drink at the wrong time, but this could be controversial, nonetheless. Doesn't look like O'Hannagan would have got it anyway, though."

"You've almost gotta feel bad for Monteforte after that play he made."

"Hey, at least he'll know that this might not be the only start he makes at this rate."

5th Inning, Game 2

"And that's gonna close out the fourth inning, no runs scored by either team again, still 1-1"

"Pretty big contrast from last game, no home runs by either team. We've got a real pitching duel on our hands."

"We'll see if that changes with Jack Manning coming up to the plate for his third at-bat of the game"

Manning swaggers towards the plate, spitting his chewing gum onto the dirt near the batters box, earning him more than a few boos from fans.

Manning's 1-for-2 on the day and- oh! Spits his chewing gum next to the plate and the Sarzonians do NOT like that."

"Pretty big sign of disrespect from Manning there, Tom. We'll see if Conroy can punish him for that"

Conroy throws a fastball high and inside, and Manning steps out of the box, holding his bat upwards between his middle and ring knuckles to imitate a middle finger.

"These two clearly are not big fans of each other"

"1-0, though. Conroy's gotta get serious if he wants to get Manning out"

Conroy then throws a hard slider towards the top of the zone, and Manning meets him there, driving it along the third base line.

"And that's a hard line drive by Manning down the foul line, over the outstretched arm of Jose Garcia"

"Manning stops and takes the single, though you've gotta wonder if he could have made it to second."

"Doesn't matter if Sevriens can go yard."

Gareth Sevriens steps up to the plate, ritually tapping it three times before stepping his back foot into the box.

Let's see if Conroy can rebound."

Conroy throws a hard fastball on the outside edge, and Sevriens barely manages to hit it foul.

Sevriens steps out of the box, in an attempt to cool his nerves - and rile up the crowd by encouraging them to cheer as if it was an South Americanastan home game.

He steps back in, and readies for the next pitch.

Conroy throws another scalding fastball, but Sevriens expects it and drives it up the middle between first and second, while Manning slides in to avoid a tag which never comes.

"Another single by the Bears, they might have something here."

"I hope they do, and with Malone up next, they very well might"

Malone proceeds to take great care in grinding Manning's chewing gum into the dirt on his way to the left box.

This does not please the Sarzonian crowd.

He takes a strike on the first pitch, a fastball, before knocking a Conroy changeup down the third base line for an infield hit, loading the bases.

"And now we have bases loaded for the cleanup hitter, David Timberlake. Perfect position to be in for South Americanastan, they can blow this game open right here.

"Conroy's toeing the mound, looks like the Bears have managed to rattle him with their antics."

Conroy throws a fastball in an attempt to clip the edge of the plate. He does, but the Umpire doesn't think so.

"BALL!"

He tries again.

"BALL!"

"2-0 on Timberlake, two questionable calls by the Ump, but the Bear's aren't complaining."

"Kelly's trying to maintain his stoicism in the dugout but you can see the smile shining through."

Conroy throws a changeup in an attempt to get Timberlake to swing and miss. Timberlake hits the ball right on the "Sweet Spot" of his bat, sending it flying.

"BIG HIT BY TIMBERLAKE, IT IS HIGH... IT IS FAR... IT IS... GONE! AND THE BEARS BLOW THE GAME WIDE OPEN WITH A GRAND SLAM!"

"Conroy's definitely rattled now, it doesn't look like they'll be pulling him, though."

"Jacob Monte's up, so this might not be the end of it."

Jacob Monte steps up to the plate, taking an obscenely long time to get himself in the box, only entering on the umpire's order in an attempt to ice Conroy.

Conroy throws a curveball, forcing a swing and miss from Monte.

Then a fastball, forcing another swing and miss from Monte.

Conroy toes the mound, raising his leg, going into his windup, and throwing a slider. Monte hits a blooper over third base to get to second.

"And here comes Frank Monteforte, a lot of swagger in his step and muscle in his arms, fresh out of the South Americanastan Defense Force and clearly ready to rumble for his third at bat of the game.

Monteforte strides towards the batter's box, sparing no time in getting ready, as the Bear's attempt to keep the inning's momentum on a string, switching from fast pace to slow pace and back again to prevent Conroy from getting into a rythym.

Monteforte swings on the first pitch, a hard fastball high in the zone. The crack of the bat reverbs through the stadium as the ball flies.

MONTEFORTE WITH A BOMB OF HIS OWN! HIGH! FAR! GONE! AND THAT'S GOING TO PUT THE BEARS UP 7-1!"

"And the Stars are now pulling Conroy in favor of reliever Alfred Wagner. His fastball is scalding, so the Bears'll have to watch out for this one"

Sure enough, the Bears go down 3 in a row on strikeouts to end the inning.

[Sarzonia]

By now, Opening Days were old hat for Geoff Yancey.

From the days he served as hitting coach for the Sarzonian national baseball team through his tenure as bench coach under Khalil Dennis to his current tenure as manager, Yancey had seen plenty of Opening Days. He'd remembered them way back when he was a player, he remembered them as a parent watching his boys, and he remembered them as a grandfather.

The Opening Day contest, this one against 20th ranked South Americanastan, had a little bit more riding on it because the Sarzonian national baseball team still had vivid memories of losing two of three matches to Venmere. Granted, those were away matches, but it led to Sarzonia stumbling badly out of the gate despite being the No. 2 ranked team in the baseball playing multiverse. They finished the first half of qualifying with an unsightly 7-8 record and they had a nightmare of a home series against Venmere. Until it turned out to just be a nightmare. A literal nightmare. The Stars swept the three-match home series at Fleetwood Park against Venmere and took two out of every three matches in all the other series, rallying to an 18-12 record and the group title.

Now? They were facing a team that walked into Fleetwood Park with considerably more pedigree than Venmere carried. And the Stars were determined to not take their opponents for granted this time.

But there was one thing Yancey admitted as he saw his teenage grandnephew paying him a visit in his private office after he'd changed into his kit.

"Yeah, I still get nervous," Yancey admitted to Kyle Yancey, his baby brother's 17-year-old son. The first time I have to pick up that phone [to call the bullpen], I have to check my pants."

There was pomp and circumstance at Fleetwood Park, sure. There was a sold out crowd of Stars supporters clad in navy and silver cheering on their team. Granted, it would be a very different scene than what existed for a team that was hosting an international opponent for the first time at a brand new venue. For Yancey, he could focus strictly on baseball matters, on whether or not to play percentages, such as stacking the lineup with righthanders against Bears lefthanded starter Casey Kellahan.

The first match turned into a pitchers' duel as Kellahan battled Stars ace Jeff Parrish through eight tough innings. Parrish conceded a run in the fifth inning courtesy of a sacrifice fly by third baseman Frank Malone. Sarzonia got two back in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run double off the bat of third baseman José García. However, closer Tyrell Douglass blew the save, coughing up a solo home run to leftfielder Walter Rowe to draw the score level and visibly upset Parrish, who'd tried in vain to convince Yancey to leave him in to pitch the ninth. Yancey would give the ball to eighth inning set-up man Scott Lassiter who worked a scoreless top of the 10th. Then it was the bottom of the frame.

Left fielder Jodie Schein drew a walk, then centrefielder Ryan Brady hit a slow tapper down the line that Malone could only just get his bare hand onto and hold on. That would send up designated hitter Luke Brinkley. With the count one ball and two strikes, he got a hanging curveball and crushed it well into the second deck in left field. Ballgame. Stars won.

In Game 2, second starter Mark Conroy pitched horribly, as he couldn't get out of the fifth without allowing six runs, five earned, and the visitors took a 9-3 decision. Fortunately for Yancey and company, Jamie Pearson bailed out the Stars with a superb seven inning, three hit, one run, 11 strikeout effort that allowed the Stars to render their two losses from three matches against Venmere merely a memory. They would have to board the plane for an away series to Cassadaigua that was suddenly going to carry much more importance than merely an early series. For the Fillies, it was their chance to rebound from dropping two matches in a row, including a walkoff defeat in extra innings away to Hannasea. For the Stars, they would have to at least match the intensity they expected from a team that ended their World Baseball Classic revels a few times.

Perhaps they'd have to deal with some of the pomp and circumstance of Opening Day at Dagan Airways Stadium in Concord Heights since it was the Dagan home opener. But at least they were already off to a better beginning in this World Baseball Classic than they were to start off No. 52.

[StrayaRoos]

As the baseball world Descends on banija for the 53rd World Baseball Classic,The Roosian public is Descending on the City of Circunses to Watch the Opening Day games against alazovla starting with the now-traditional throwing of flares into the players tunnel and onto the out field which started in 1934 when Panem state fans hated their team losing and accidently killed an Flock of birds and it has been done over the past 50 years in StrayaRoos and it most recently occured in Hannasea where The Emus beat the Frozen Forest Lynx in the 15th International Baseball Slam

18:Lucilla Treay,21,Panem Revolution (Pro League W)
19:Paul Kingao,31,Coal Coast Baseball Club (StrayaRoosProLeague.2)
20:Junisk,20,Richmond Fire (Pro League W)
21:Harry Loi,17,Pale High School (National Schools Cup)
22:Jamie Werat,19,Panem Revolution (Pro League W)

[Tikariot]

Tikariot Roster
Trigramme: TKT
Nickname: The Owls

COACH
Manager: Jonathan Villiers, 45 - Taking over from Graham McCrory in an attempt to break the Round of 16 curse, Villiers is a former national team first baseman, who has made a name for himself for thinking outside the box and sometimes refusing to acknowledge the existence of a box.

ROSTER
Starters
LF #12 Michael Romanov, 33, R - Avanaroch Nightwatch
Tikariot's biggest offensive threat, Romanov has been the runaway home run leader of the TBL. With an incredibly powerful swing he has been dubbed the 'Romanov Rocket' that also has resulted in several doubles and even triples as well as a few injuries in opposing players when hit by the ball. Defensively he is less reliable, mostly due to his lack of speed, even though his arm is very capable. He proved himself as the team leader with his experience and competitive fire smouldering inside him.

RF #31 Emilia Chamberlain, 23, L - Thorncliff Venom
Twin sister of Vedonia Chamberlain, she might not be as much of a breakthrough star, but still has seen a remarkable rise to fame within the league. What she lacks in power on the plate, she makes up for with her ability to hit the ball to any side of the ball park, making her a nightmare to defend against. She also throws with extreme precision, which has gotten the Venom several outs that can be attributed to that.

3B #26 Foster Fleming, 23, L - Avanaroch Nightwatch
Foster Fleming has been one of the budding stars of the TBL, but he surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. He promises to grow into an all-rounder, who can contribute both offensively and defensively. Blessed with a strong arm he can cross the diamond with ease and precision also is always good for a home run, unfortunately he is not the most disciplined player and tends to get distracted more than he should. Despite his young age he is, however, the league leader in stolen bases.

C #22 William Carruthers, 32, R - Tikariot Thunderforge
One of the biggest enigmas of the Tikariotian team, Carruthers personifies genius and insanity like no other. He calls the game with the best of them, being one of the TBL's base stealers' nightmares, if it was not for some inexplicable easy errors that some attribute to a few too many stray balls hitting him where they shouldn't. Same goes for his offensive game, which can either be magnificent or go horribly wrong.

CF #67 JJ Bernardetti, 26, R - Port Rhovanyon Paladins
Has a cannon of an arm being able to reach any of the bases from almost anywhere on the outfield, but still has some issues with the precision of his aim. Spotty hitter, often either scoring the homer or going for the strike out.

1B #88 Bronson Ghirardello, 29, R - Elephant Valley United (South Newlandia)
Possesses incredible reflexes, which serve him very well on first base, however his arm is his biggest weakness. He will get the ball where it has to go, but lacks the power to go for the quick throws. His reflexes also help him at the plate being able to adjust to the opposing pitcher very well.

2B #42 Vedonia Chamberlain, 23, R - Thorncliff Venom
Twin sister of Emilia Chamberlain, Vedonia had been a diamond in the rough for a few seasons before finally seeing her breakthrough in the TBL. Blessed with speed, her biggest asset is agility, though. She is able to catch balls and translate them into throws very quickly and accurately, having given her team a remarkable double-play ratio. Combined with Ghirardello great reflexes to catch balls that might be a little off the beaten path coming his way on first base, these two have formed a formidable team.

SS #2 Carlton Baines, 30, L - Elephant Valley United (South Newlandia)
If there is something Baines excels in, it is speed. He reads the game extremely well and manages to to reach balls (and sometimes bases) that he rationally should not be able to. On the plate he is sketchy at best, adopting an all or nothing attitude that so far has not been to his advantage. When he does make it to a base, though, he uses his speed to steal them very efficiently.

Reserves
RF #33 Yevani Fernandez, 30, L - Alcassar Eagles
Also called the Iceman, Fernandez is one player that will not crack under pressure, even if he is one strike away from the team losing the game. His composure has unnerved opposing pitchers many times and while he is not the most powerful of hitters, his aim is uncanny and he can spot holes in the opponent's defense easily. He rose to prominence with his incredible catch in the third game of the semis of the International Baseball Slam XI, where he stole a surefire homerun and sealed his team's road to the finals. Injury problems have sidelined him for parts of the last season, making him the designated hitter more often than not.

OF #20 Steven Marangoudakis, 31, R - Baraldhur Behemoths
Marangoudakis is the designated hitter of the Tikariot Thunderforge, but has excelled offensively as one of the biggest surprises in the team. With a good eye for the ball and a powerful swing, he can hit with the best of them. The defensive side is his biggest weakness so far, where is average speed has gotten the better of him more than once, but he has been running extra shifts with the fitness coaches to improve in this sector.

OF #52 Kieran Fletcher, 24, L - Kinjestad Peacocks (South Newlandia)
Fletcher is somewhat the opposite of Marangoudakis, being blessed with speed and amazing catching skills, however his offensive play is sketchy and has so far kept him out of regular first team action.

OF #33 Søren Christensen, 27, R - Morannon Militia
Christensen is a solid outfield allrounder who, while not known for any particularly outstanding skills, will get the job done wherever the coaches stick him, making him a very dependable squad player, something that might be worth gold in an event as big and long as the WBC.

2B #7 Vincent Pelmore, 28, L - Oriannor Mountaineers
A rock solid player both offensively and defensively. He will get the job done very unspectacularly and rarely will excite the crowd, but he is as dependable as they come.

IF #6 Corey Allen, 30, L - Paladon Citadels
Allen is small, but quick, making up for his lack in size with speed. Given his stature he has had problems with high balls in the past, but if any ground balls come his way, he's your man. Offensively he has a strong swing, just lacks a bit of precision.

IF #16 Stuart Hernandez, 28, R - St. Riecarn Saints (South Newlandia)
Dependable allrounder with a strong arm and precise throw. He is known to mar excellent performances with sometimes very avoidable errors, but if he is on par, he can double play with the best of them. A solid hitter he is not known for many home runs, but his precise swing has him high in the double statistics in the league.

IF #26 Faitalia Letutusa, 26, R - Alcassar Eagles
Letutusa is the only professional player from the Cardannon Archipelago to date. He is not great in his defensive play outside of his speed, but there are very few players in the nation with a harder swing than Letutusa. With him it is either homerun or at least extra base hit or nothing.

C #27 Rutger Heidenfeld, 32, L - Soharr Scimitars
Heidenfeld is the almost polar opposite to William Carruthers. Where Carruthers is quirky and unique, Heidenfeld is the grey mouse that nobody hardly notices. He is not known for any flamboyant plays, but while he does not show the flashes of brilliance the starting catcher is capable of, he does not have any of the defensive liabilities either.

Starting pitchers
RHP #37 Patrick Lundgren, 27 - Tikariot Thunderforge
Lundgren has the hardest pitch on the team, but while his fastballs should require a gun licence, he is prone to wild pitches that have spelled trouble for his catcher more than the coaches would like to admit, but has been working successfully to reduce these over the course of the last few months. He has been improving his curveball over the last season and is also quite capable with his slider.

LHP #72 Graham Pettersson, 34 - Avanaroch Nightwatch
While not excelling in any of his pitches, Pettersson is a wylie veteran that is very unpredictable with which kind of throw he'll come up with next. He works extremely well with Carruthers in calling the game and this unpredictability is his biggest asset.

LHP #18 Garrett Yarbrough, 31 - Baraldhur Behemoths
Yarbrough has the potential to become the team's top pitcher with a very strong fastball and excellent ball control with both slider and curveball, with the occasional sinker, but his biggest weakness are his nerves. Whereas Pettersson is unpredictable for opponents, Yarbrough can become unpredictable for his own team once things begin to go sideways. He has been working on it under the tutelage of Stevens, even with Stevens having retired from the national team, and it clearly shows.

RHP #9 Jayson Carfield, 26 - Xanark Sluggers
Originally a long reliever, Carfield has been promoted to starting pitcher after Anthony Garcia had shown major inconsistencies in his play. A versatile pitcher he has a strong curveball and slider and passable palmball. Despite his age he has has a very calm demeanor, which has helped him during high pressure situations.

RHP #3 Jean-Francois Beauregard, 27 - Paladon Citadels
The successor to De'Andre Stevens both in the Tikariotian league as well as the national team has been making some waves nationally with a wicked fastball with exceptional spin, a tricky slider and what is almost more important, incredible stamina, which means that he can throw further into the game as most other starters.

Bullpen
Long reliever: RHP #11 Tuva Wikberg, 24 - Fastball, curveball. - Ceramadhion Vipers
Long reliever: LHP #1 Santiago Mantillo, 30 - Cutter, screwball. - Emerald Coast Phantoms
Left-handed specialist: LHP #17 Randall McCarthy, 28 - Splitter, slider, palmball. Tikariot Thunderforge
Middle reliever: RHP #41 Devon Cargill, 25 - Sinker, curveball, changeup. - Paladon Citadels
Set up reliever: RHP #13 Flint Carmona, 27 - Knuckle curveball, sinker, changeup. Tovaca Tigers
Closer: LHP #32 Nicholas Canterbury, 29 - Fastball, sinker-slider. Very precise. - Silicon Valley Wizards

Starting lineup (with DH)
1. LF Michael Romanov (R)
2. 1B Bronson Ghirardello (R)
3. RF Emilia Chamberlain (L)
4. 3B Foster Fleming (L)
5. 2B Vedonia Chamberlain (R)
6. SS Carlton Baines (L)
7. DH Yevani Fernandez (L)
8. CF JJ Bernardetti (R)
9. C William Carruthers (R)

Starting lineup (without DH)
1. LF Michael Romanov (R)
2. 1B Bronson Ghirardello (R)
3. RF Emilia Chamberlain (L)
4. 3B Foster Fleming (L)
5. 2B Vedonia Chamberlain (R)
6. SS Carlton Baines (L)
7. CF JJ Bernardetti (R)
8. C William Carruthers (R)
9. Pitcher

Stadium:
Oceanview Park is part of Port Rhovanyon's Sports City, a large area close to the ocean front, where several sports facilities are centrally located. The proximity of the 36,000 seater stadium to the ocean front has proven to be a challenge for both pitchers and hitters with a tendency for unpredictable wind currents to interfere with play, leading to a Park Factor of 125.

RP Permissions
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: Yes, within reason
Follow my pitching rotation: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes, within reason
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Eject my players: TG for approval
Godmod other events: TG for approval
Use DH at home: Yes

[Super-Llamaland]

LSN RAPID RECAP: WIZARDS STEAL FIRST LPB GAME LATE AGAINST MONARCHS
Naomi Svensson, LlamaSportsNet Baseball

SCM: Maike Bookmer - 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 5 K/1 BB, 94 pitches
Patrick Kenyon - IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K/1 BB, 21 pitches
Jasmine Daniels (L, 0-1) - 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 K/1 BB, 17 pitches
Abby Conrad - 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K/0 BB, 20 pitches
---
MVP: 2B Malika Bains - 2-4, 2B, RBI, R

NLW: Kelsie Carmichael (W, 1-0) - 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 9 K/3 BB, 112 pitches
Jan Scherer - 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K/1 BB, 19 pitches
Matt Decker - 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K/0 BB, 3 pitches
Sam Vandenberg - 0.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K/0 BB, 8 pitches
---
MVP: SS Summer Huang - 2-4, RBI

SOPHIE CITY, SOUTH NEWLANDIA -- The inaugural game of the newly-founded Llamaphant Pro Baseball joint league ended in Llamanean victory and Newlandian heartbreak, as a late go-ahead triple off the bat of Summer Huang gave the New Llama Wizards a 3-2 lead that they would never relinquish. One of the most highly-anticipated domestic matches in recent memory, the clash between the defending champions of the now-defunct Newlandian and Llamanean leagues didn't always live up to the hype of the new season - but provided enough heroics in the end for the first of many Opening Days to be worth it. With the remainder of the LPB's teams set to kick off the inaugural LPB season tomorrow, Llamanean baseball fans have to be ecstatic.

While both teams are nominally champions of their respective countries, the Wizards were viewed as favorites against a Monarchs side who finished well under .500 in the regular season and lost Emily Innis in the offseason. This was reflected in the starting lineups - Sophie City being more domestically-based, while New Llama was full of foreign stars such as George Ducat, Summer Huang, and the night's starter, Newmanistan's Kelsie Carmichael. But the Monarchs put up a fight as soon as the first pitch was thrown, and South Newlandia would draw first blood in the opening frame when star 2B Malika Bains' line drive into right-center scored rookie speedster Fiona Niemi from first. Meanwhile, the less hyped but incredibly talented Maike Bookmer got off to a stronger start, and was perfect through four.

It would be the top of the fifth that would be the beginning of the end for Bookmer, who was unlucky to walk Devon Jimenez with two outs on a borderline sinker. It would be young Ranorian stud Vincent Veltrone to step up next, and the first baseman would rip a Bookmer fastball down the right-field line for an RBI double to tie the game. Bookmer would then give up a second run to Jayce Duncan's bloop single, putting the Wizards up 2-1 at the game's halfway point. Bookmer would be pulled after a scoreless - but still somewhat shaky - sixth, ultimately turning in a quality performance as the first South Newlandian starter in the LPB.

However, after failing to convert chances in the fifth and sixth, and after reliever Patrick Kenyon suffered a close call in the top of the seventh before escaping a second-and-third, one-out jam, the Monarchs would finally break through again against the tiring Kelsie Carmichael in the bottom of the seventh. With runners on first and second, Alice Wheeler would show her class by gutting out a game-tying single after a grueling nine-pitch at-bat. The damage could've been worse as Nikki Wang controversially chose to stick with the Newmanistani ace, but TJUN-ia's Joe Gregory would incredibly pick off his fellow catcher at first to end the inning.

This would send things to the top of the eighth against young reliever and recent first-round pick Jasmine Daniels, who would struggle after starting strong with two quick strikeouts. Up 0-2 in the count against leadoff hitter Nikko Norsholm, Daniels would let a slider slip and spin into Norsholm, putting a man on first. Powerful Chromatik outfielder George Ducat would follow this with a booming double into left-field. With the Monarchs turning to NT relief ace Abby Conrad, it would be Llamanean star Summer Huang with a chance to put the Wizards back on top. And, with a 2-1 count, she delivered, lining a fastball into left-field to score Norsholm and give New Llama the lead.

And, with Nikki Wang playing the matchup game with three relievers in the ninth, the lead would hold and become a historic LPB win, immortalizing Conrad and Huang in trivia answers. The two teams face off again in the second game of the series tomorrow night at the same time, with Kai Söderstrom going up against Bethany Riddle. They'll do so alongside eleven other games that will mark the real Opening Day. Like today, and hopefully the rest of the season, it promises to be one hell of a watch.

[Barnettsville]

Matchday 1

Daskel                    0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  5
Barnettsville             1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  4

ST. CATHERINE - The Blue Jays had another inausicious start, with visiting Daskel taking two of three in the opening homestand for Barnettsville. The visitors recieved a very generous standing ovation before and after all three games in appreciation for the tradition of bowing to the opposition in respect.

Game 1 started off well as Arthur Rodgers led off the Blue Jay first with a towering home run to left for a 1-0 lead. Daskel too a 2-1 lead in the third as Tyler Randall served up a river ball to lead-off hitter Reizei Seijirō. The Jays retied it on a double off the right field wall by Stefan Huber, soring Philip Vinson. The teams traded goose eggs until the eighth, when doubles by Rokutani Daizo Cho, Juzou Kohei and Seijro scored Cho and Kohei for a 4-2 lead. Rodgers led off the eighth with his second bomb, and Zane Franklin scored from a sacrifice fly by Bert Powell to tie it at four. It stayed that way until the tenth, when Seijro knocked in Juzou with a triple off of Yu Bryant. Franklin was on third with a two-out triple, but Bobby Kramer struck out to end it.

Players		ab	r	h	rbi
Rodgers 2b	5	2	3	2
Huber ss	5	0	1	1
Franklin cf	4	1	3	0
Kramer lf	4	0	0	0
Powell 1b	4	0	0	1
Pittman c	4	0	1	0
Cortes 3b	4	0	0	0
Vinson rf	4	1	1	0
Randall p	4	0	0	0
Bryant p	1	0	0	0
TOTAL		35	4	9	4

PITCHING:
Randall - 7.1 IP 7 H 4 R, 4 ER, 6 K, 2 BB
Bryant (L, 0-1) - 2.2 6 H 1 R, 1 ER, 3 K, 2 BB

HR - Rodgers (2, 2) 3B - Franklin (1, 1) 2B - Huber (1, 1), Franklin (1, 1), Vinson (1, 1) SB - Franklin (1, 1) K - Kramer (2, 2), Rodgers (1, 1), Powell (1, 1), Cortes (1, 1), Randall (1, 1) BB - Kramer (1, 1) SF - Powell (1, 1)

Daskel                    0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 -  4
Barnettsville             0 0 0	0 0 0 0 2 0 -  2

In game two, Ian MacGregor pitched a complete game loss, giving up 4 runs on fourteen hits. The Jays were no-hit through six plus innings, until Zane Franklin picked up an infield single with one out in the seventh off of Kanal Toru. Willis Pittman led off the eighth with a triple, and scored off a double by Felix Cortes. Philip Vinson then knocked him in with a single down the right field line.

BOX SCORE MISSING

PITCHING:
MacGregor (L, 0-1) - CG, 4 R, 4 ER, 14 H, 7 K, 4 BB

3B - Pittman (1, 1), 2B - Cortes (1, 1), K - Huber (1, 1), BB - Pittman (1, 1)

Daskel                    1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 - 5
Barnettsville             0 0 0	0 0 1 2 0 4 - 7

Game three ended up being a shootout as Kane Chandler picked up the win in relief. For Daskel, the bullpen let Tomidokoro Ryo with a vengeance, allowing 6 runs over the last two innings. Seijoro has destroyed Blue Jay pitching, blasting a solo shot to lead off against Rick Benson. Ryo scattered five hits over his six innings over work, striking out seven. Bobby Kramer knocked in Stefan Huber in the sixth to score Barnettsville’s first run, cutting the Daskel lead to 2-1. The Blue Jay seventh saw the home team take the lead with back-to-back home runs by Arthur Rogers and Huber, and then the rally dying. Jon-Paul Graham gave back the lead, allowing a two-run homer by Ito Makoto for a 4-3 Daskel lead, and back-to-back doubles in the ninth by Daizo and Juzou tied the game at four. A stolen base by Juzuo and a sacrifice fly by the pitcher gave Daskel a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.

FROM the BSPN broadcast:

“Vinson, Chandler, and Rodgers to start.....
2-1 on the way....and it’s a low liner that drops in the gap, and Vinson rolls into second with a double. That’s the way to start the inning! Now comes the pitcher spot, and not surprisingly, the skipper calls on a pinch hitter. Brendon Meyer will hit for Chandler ending his night allowing 1 run on 2 hits.”
“And that’s a beautiful bunt up the first base line, and....wait a minute! They are calling obstruction on the pitcher! Runners at first and third, no outs, and Rodgers now represents the winning run at the plate.”
“First pitch....it’s a called strike, and the throw at second is....not in time! Second and third now. One strike count. The 0-1 pitch....and it hits him right in the hip.....Rodgers will take his base, though with a glare to the mound.”

“That could come back to haunt Daskel, bases loaded and no outs.”

“Huber now, and catbird seats for he, Franklin and Kramer.”
“Full count, the pitch....a swing and a miss down low. One down.”
“Zane Franklin, 2-2 count, the pitch....and it’s long fly ball, deep center towards the batter’s eye.....and it’s gone! Walk off grand slam! The Jays are 7-5 winners!”

Players		ab	r	h	rbi
Rodgers 2b	4	2	1	1
Huber ss	5	2	2	1
Franklin cf	4	1	2	4
Kramer lf	4	0	2	1
Powell 1b	3	0	1	0
Pittman c	4	0	0	0
Cortes 3b	3	0	0	0
Vinson rf	3	1	1	0
Benson p	2	0	0	0
Graham p	1	0	0	0
Chandler p	0	0	0	0
Meyer ph	0	1	0	0
TOTAL		3	7	9	7

HR - Rodgers (1, 3), Franklin (1, 1) BB - Rodgers (1, 1), Franklin (1, 1), Cortes (1, 1) K - Huber (2, 3), Pittman (2, 2), Cortes (2, 3), Franklin (1, 1), Kramer (1, 3), Vinson (1, 1), Benson (1, 1) SB - Meyer (1, 1)

PITCHING:
Benson - 6 IP 2 R, 1 ER, 9 H, 9 K, 5 BB
Graham - 2 IP 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 1 BB
Chandler (W, 1-0) - 1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 0 BB

[Cassadaigua]

After opening win, Fillies lit up,
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

The 53rd World Baseball Classic began for Cassadaigua in the nation of Hannasea and their #29 ranked side at the Questionable Ballpark. Following the series, there was plenty that was questionable about the way the pink and black played. The opening game, yeah, that was fine with the Fillies taking care of business, 7-4. You could find some imperfections in that game, but it was a great way to begin the Classic after the team’s premature exit last time out. It was after that where the team struggled, getting thoroughly outplayed in the second game, falling 7-1. The final game was closer on the scoreboard than it was in reality, with the Dagans falling 8-7 in ten innings, but with the Choughs getting 19 hits in that game, and leaving the bases loaded in each of the 7th and 8th innings with only one run scored, you really had to feel as though it could have been as much of a blowout defeat as the second game. So, this is where we are, and you have to give credit where credit is due. Hannasea does have a good baseball program, and with the nation hosting the most recent International Baseball Slam, they were found to get some momentum off of that. But, Cassadaigua did them no favors.

This is not really a team that should struggle. Many of the players are returnees from World Baseball Classic 52, so even if Maddie Polanco has moved on and with an adjustment period for a new manager, the personnel on the field should get the job done. However, I have to ask, was that Taylor Bryant’s first mistake as manager? Bringing back the vast majority of the last roster? After all, that roster underachieved with one of Cassadaigua’s worst performances in recent memory in the Classic. Our expectations are high here, so yes, World Baseball Classic 52 was a complete failure. Surely, they were better than they played, and they deserved another chance this time out. That roster also brought back many of the team from Classic 51, and there are still holdovers from our championship squad in Classic 50. We have great baseball players here. Losses can be accepted, but losses when the team was flat are not.

Let’s look at that opening day win, the 7-4 triumph. All things considered this was a complete effort, highlighted by Ashley McKnight’s four RBI’s. Brianna Shirley was not poor on the mound, but we’ve seen better from her as well. Still, she gave six solid innings, allowing just three runs, so a quality start by anyone’s count. In game two, Jennifer Mandrick, fresh off a huge season that saw her elevated to the #2 spot in the national rotation, was highly ineffective. While she threw strikes, her command of the strike zone was not there, and she hung a few too many curveballs. 2 ⅓ innings would be as much as she would go, allowing six earned runs. The bullpen did a great job for a while, so let’s give Stacie Harper, who pitched three innings of hitless relief, some props. But with the bats not generating any offense, the game was lost early. That brings us to game three, and Hannah Phelan’s subpar start. On paper, it will show the same three runs in six innings as Shirley’s start in the opener, but she put herself in multiple jams that she eventually pitched out of. The bullpen did the same, and really this game could have been a blowout for Hannasea. We were able to piece some hits together in the ninth, and were in the position to win, but would not.

Maybe this will just be three games and the down point of our Classic. Soldera is our next opponent, and we’ll need to rebound. If we can, we might be able to breathe a little easier. We will soon see.

[Eshialand]

The Beginning of Another Beginning
Eshialand 7-4 Banija
Eshialand 3-1 Banija
Eshialand 3-5 Banija (10)

"Can you hear it? Can you feel it??"
"What is it, Will..." Michael asked, knowing exactly what the king was about to say but still dreading the response.
"It's time for Eshian baseball again!! Opening day, live from Banija, time to make some noise and support our team... BASEBALL'S BACK!!"
"Great, but can you not interrupt me while I'm trying to go to the bathroom?"

Life as the king's assistant was never that easy for Michael Wylen. Sure, he had been excited to take the job at first, after all, it was a job with the king, but since then, he had grown tired of the king's enthusiasm over everything. Every once in a while, he would remind himself that he too used to be that guy, the one who used to get excited over the smallest of things... but lately, the king had just been a little weird. It felt like he'd gone a little insane. Granted, he'd always been known for being a little... ambitious? Hyper? Juvenile? This, however, seemed to be something else... and he needed to find out the answers.

What made the king tick?

Where would this search for knowledge even begin? How does one go about, frankly, violating the personal privacy of the most important man in the country? How does one do that? What does a project like this even entail?

The key to all of this was finding out when he went... shall we say bonkers. That's the rub, that's where it all lies. But when was the key moment?

He spent much of the night of the opening game, not with the watch party, but rather in his office, trying to think about where he could start looking first, where the answers may lie... was it when he first opened up to the multiverse? Nah, he was a joker after that, sure, but not in a weird, unhinged, privacy-invading kind of way. What about the assassination attempt? No, too late, he was odd before that. It didn't help, sure, but it wasn't the root cause.

Wait, what about the wizards?

When he found out about the wizarding community in the far north, the one that went to the Quidditch World Cup, what happened then? That's definitely the sort of thing that could break any man, especially someone as... close to the edge as he tended to be. But who on the planet could he call to get information on that? Who would know what even he didn't?

Perhaps he'd have to go to the source. He'd have to visit Brightonsea to find out.

[Ranoria]

Introducing, the one and only...
Ranorian Krauts,
the international arm of the Federation of Ranorian Baseball.

And, in all reality, not the only Krauts. 'Krauts' has become the moniker for all professional Ranorian national teams at this point

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my run scorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: No
Follow my pitching rotation: Do what you want with it! Have fun
Godmod scoring events: Yep
RP injuries to my players: Yep, shoot me a DM or TG please!
Godmod injuries to my players: Yep, shoot me a DM or TG please!
Eject my players: Yep, shoot me a DM or TG please!
Godmod other events: Sure! Get in touch with me for anything crazy
Use DH at home: Ranoria=No DH. Up to you at yours, I suppose
Special Note: No Covid stuff. There is no COVID in Ranoria, just like there is no war in Ba Sing Se

Style Modifier: 0

Records:

WBC 44: 12-18; Team MVP: Leonardo Harrison
WBC 49: 15-15; Team MVP: Leonardo Harrison
WBC 50: 19-11; Team MVP: Leonardo Harrison
WBC 51: 14-16; Team MVP: Nicholas Lux     
WBC 52: 13-17; Team MVP: Leonardo Harrison

Overall: 73-77

Home field: Constance Airlines Field
Ranoria City, Ranoria

Background

The Ranorian Krauts are a privately funded team, supported by the joint funds of the Federation of Ranorian Baseball. In their first attempt, in the 44th edition, was a disaster. No talented players agreed to sign up with the exception of Leonardo Harrison. Predictably, the team finished a paltry 12-18 record, with Harrison being the only bright spot, 19 at the time. However, five years later, they fielded a stronger squad, with star players from home along with Ranorians playing abroad. As such, the team gave us a better showing with a somewhat successful 15-15 campaign in the World Baseball Classic 49, they were able to generate some level of intrigue from the nation as a whole.

The concept of starting a national team started when the Federation saw the massive dollars that Ranoria’s internationally competing Gridiron teams were raking in, and decided that, should they field such a team, they would be able to generate revenue in the country by piquing its interest. So far, they’re right, but a true run would be indicative of baseball emerging as a truly impactful sport in Ranorian culture.

Now, World Baseball Classic 50 was something else entirely. Leonardo Harrison initially issued a guarantee that the team would not only win 20 games in the group stage, but would advance in the knockout rounds. Well, we stumbled out of the gate a bit with a 9-10 record, so that didn't happen, but everything changed after that. Our Krauts went on a 10-1 tear to end the group stage and secure a spot in the knockout stages, where they managed to knock off one of the best teams in baseball: The Sherpa Empire. Now, Newmanistan would proceed to thrash us in the second round, but that's alright!

After such an electrifying finish showed that we can compete with the best of the best, baseball quickly became more mainstream in the nation, with highlight videos peppering television and social media while plans to construct legitimate stadiums are going on. As a result, visiting teams will be treated to the brand-new Constance Airlines Field in Ranoria City rather than the dingy Cardinal Auditorium of past editions as the Krauts look to bounce back from a 14-16 run in WBC 51.

So, with all the excitement...what can the Krauts bring to the table in the 52nd edition of the World Baseball Classic?



Constance Airlines Field is the beating heart of the expanding Federation of Ranorian Baseball, and the largest stadium of several new fields being built. International competition - a 19-11 run with a knockout stage victory included - in this competition's 50th edition helped to spark that expansion, but a 14-16 run the next go round was a disappointment. Leonardo Harrison and crew will be hard pressed to prove that World Baseball Classic 50 was no fluke, but if there's a team to do it, this is the one.

Capacity: 42,150
Left: 313 feet
Left Centre power alley: 395 feet
Centre: 406 feet
Right Centre power alley: 383 feet
Right: 314 feet
Walls: ~9 feet high


Coaching Staff:

Manager/HC: Henderson Mausse
Bench Coach: Jonas Nuhl
First Base: Brandon Bolan
Third Base: Justin Cruz
Hitting: Noah Hess
Pitching: Alfred Arnoldi
Bullpen: Hugo Fromm

Position    Number     Name            Ht.     Wt.   Age           Team
Catcher     16      Nicholas Lux       5-10    205    29     Ranoria City Sluggers
1st Base     12    Vincent Veltrone   5-11   195    22     Newport Valley Dolphins (SNL)
2nd Base     13   Philip Franklin      6-2     195    32     Cleveland Thunder
Shortstop    2   Leonardo Harrison     6-2     215    30     Nashville Maestros
3rd Base     99    Jesse Griffith      6-5     215    20     Cincinnati Warbirds
L. Field     23     Julian Breit         6-3      235    22    Elephant Valley United (SNL)
C. field     51     Judas Acker         6      200    27     Cleveland Thunder
R. Field     22      Rubin Graves      6-2     205    31     Edmunton Rebels
DH           41     Tim von Kuhn       6-3     240    39     Moncton Dinos (Quebec)

Leonardo Harrison: A fluid athlete on pace to be one of the best players in Ranorian history...not that that's saying much. At shortstop, he's the centerpiece of the defense, and he's been playing professionally since he was just under 17 years old. Ranorian baseball has become more mainstream in large part due to his efforts. There are discussions now, though, of Jesse Griffith having passed this legend up.

Tim von Kuhn: There's a reason he's hiding in left field...or was. Von Kuhn has lost a lost of his speed, and with young power hitter Julian Breit taking his spot in the outfield, he's been regulated to DH. He and his brother, Wolfram, have won plenty of championships off of sheer batting prowess. It's made for some exciting championships to be sure, especially if both happen to be playing defense, as opponents will pick on their ineptitude for fielding while they hammer away homers. Tim von Kuhn has been playing for the QBO's Moncton Dinos for most of his professional career, while Wolfram was never quite good enough to get out of Ranoria. Both are likely nearing retirement.

Nicholas Lux: Essentially the consensus second best player in Ranoria..Until he signed in Quebec. Expect a good hitting percentage and more than enough homers to keep you on your toes. Much faster than his frame would have you believe. Known as the "mercenary" to Ranorian fans after taking a blockbuster contract to play in Quebec's QBO rather than Ranoria's fledgling Federation.

Jesse Griffith: Do you believe in taking chances? That's what the Krauts did with this signing. Griffith is the youngest man (er, boy?) to ever play professional Ranorian baseball, at just 15 years old. Griffith was streaky in his first pair of seasons on the team, but he's really come into his own as one of - if not the - the best players in Ranorian baseball.

Judas Acker: Considered an up and comer for the Thunder, this youngster managed to break his way into the Krauts's starting lineup last season. The centerfielder is easily the fastest player on the team, able to cover plenty of ground fielding or stealing.

Vincent Veltrone: Veltrone is a solid youngster who took his talents to South Newlandia to get the publicity and money he is worth before coming back to participate with the Krauts. Fluid athlete. Along with Vincent Veltrone, the Krauts are pinning their hopes on these two young guns - and the ascension of Jesse Griffith to help turn this franchise around.

Julian Breit:Breit was in the same high school class as Veltrone, and also plays in South Newlandia. Breit is a big power swinger and the Krauts hope he'll bring some extra juice to a locker room that hasn't been relevant since WBC 50.

Position    Number     Name            Ht.     Wt.   Age           Team
Catcher      77    Philbert Kelsin     6-2    210    30    Ranoria City Sluggers
Infield     7   Abraham Leinhardt      6      205    33     Vricksinburg Blaze
Infield      19    Arthur Jackson      5-9    175    30    Vricksinburg Blaze
Infield      6     Maximus Tillman     5-11   190    37    Raleigh Firstmates
Outfield     55    Damian Horace       5-11   190    33     Edmunton Rebels
Outfield     30  Stephen Reichenbach   5-10   185    31    Nashville Maestros
Outfield     59     Tristen Feng       6-1    205    32    Cincinnati Warbirds
DH           42   Wolfram von Kuhn     6-4     245    41        Free Agent

Maximus Tillman: A starter on this team a year ago, Tillman's job was taken by a 15 year old. However, he is more than happy to continue to earn an extra paycheck on top of what he is paid by the Firstmates.

Tristen Feng: Veteran teammate of the talented but raw Jesse Griffith, Feng has taken the kid under his wing, as they are far and away the best athletes on their squad, at the very least.

Starters
Strength   Number        Name            Ht.     Wt.   Age         Team
Fastball     60       Tommy Verona      6-4      220    32    California City Dodgers (Quebec)
Fastball     55       Erik Schmidt      6-5      225    29        Banija
Fastball     71       Parker Majors     6-4      215    28        Banija
Fastball     86       John Stallone     6-1      215    31    Edmunton Rebels
Fastball     70       Erin Phelps       6-2      215    30    Cleveland Rebels

---

Bullpen
Role       Number        Name            Ht.     Wt.   Age         Team
Reliever     73     Thomas Barnet        6-1      200    27    Nashville Maestros
Fastball     64     Corey Nielman        6-3      195    25    Vricksinburg Blaze
Reliever    68     Sylvester Wayne      6-4      210    34    Vricksinburg Blaze
Closer       62     Brady Behringer      6-2      190    25    Ranoria City Sluggers
Reliever    68     Alabaster Cappa      6-3      190    29    Nashville Maestros

Tommy Verona: The best pitcher on this roster, Verona can hit a top speed of 100 mp/h and is more than capable of playing with the world's best. He has spent most of his career in Quebec, playing for the California City Dodgers. Brother of 5x All Star RFL Quarterback Paul Verona, uncle of Richardson starting QB Astrid Verona.

Erik Schmidt: Played most of his career in Banija in order to, well, make some friggin' money. Schmidt's bread and butter is a basic fastball, expect top speed of 94-95 mp/h when pitching, not quite as accurate as Verona, however.

Parker Majors: Played one year professionally in the Federation before immigrating to Banija. Similar to Schmidt in that he has a solid fastball, although he doesn't quite have the gas of the above two guys. Decent curveball for a change up.

John Stallone: Stallone has the fastest ball in the Federation of Ranorian baseball, hitting a personal best this season with a 97 mp/h throw, although usually he will top out around 94 mp/h and average 91-92. Poor ball control.

Erin Phelps: Fastball pitcher, expect the 88 mp/h to 92 mp/h range consistently, with good accuracy. He can hit 94 mp/h but tends to throw a lot fewer strikes doing so.

Sylvester Wayne: Throws a lot of sliders and curveballs, and has a knuckleball that approaches 65 mp/h. His tricky style often results in a good deal of walks, however. Used as a setup guy to bridge between the starter and closer.

Corey Nielman: Nielman is a youngster with a big arm. Currently used as a closer, can throw up to 97 mp/h. Nielman is hoping to knock off John Stallone as the fastest pitcher in the country.

Thomas Barnet: Emergency pitcher or a setup guy, Barnet's good enough to not screw things up too badly between the starter and the closer. Another youngster that the Federation's fans have high hopes for.

Brady Behringer: Behringer is capable of stepping into a starting role - and generally does for the Ranoria City Sluggers, but is best served as a closer with a cannon for an arm.

Alabaster Cappa: Older brother of former #1 overall pick in the RFL draft, Ricky Cappa, quarterback at Ranoria State. Alabaster's a solid pitcher with a big arm, and a very solid curveball as a changeup. Probably best kept to short stretches, however... and certainly more successful than his brother, who lasted two seasons with his original team.

Normal Starting Lineup

DH Starting Lineup

Nicholas Lux
Leonardo Harrison
Jesse Griffith
Julian Breit
Tim von Kuhn
Vincent Veltrone
Philip Franklin
Judas Acker
Rubin Graves

Nicholas Lux
Leonardo Harrison
Jesse Griffith
Julian Breit
Vincent Veltrone
Philip Franklin
Judas Acker
Rubin Graves
Pitcher

[Ranoria]

The RANPAC Diamond - Home of the Warbirds
Cincinnatti, Ranoria
Game one of The Ranorian Finals Series

"I still don't know why you were so insistent on dragging me with you pap." Astrid Verona flopped her head to the side to look at her father, Paul, "I mean thanks, seats are great, company's passable, but I'd rather be training."

"Time for that later," the five time all star quarterback waved his daughter off, "You're getting a chance to watch the best players in Ranoria. Leo Harrison has been for awhile, first ballot hall of fame-"

"I don't live under a rock Dad, I know who Leonardo Harrison is." Niche sport or not, she at least knew who the best in the country was.

Paul never skipped a beat, "And Jesse Griffith down there?" He gestured to the young man listed at six foot five, two hundred fifteen pounds taking the plate. "Media from all around the world is saying he's good enough to get Ranoria back to being relevant on the international stage. Your uncle Tommy raves about his work ethic constantly."

"Uncle Tommy plays with him?" Astrid questioned, referring to the Krauts' long time top gun at pitcher, "Isn't he a little old to lead us back to relevance if he's on the national team already?"

"Astrid," Paul Verona chuckled and took a sip of his drink, "He was on that team at 16 years old, and he's only 20 now. Kid's a transcendent athlete."

Poor Thomas Barnett wasn't a bad pitcher. Hell, he was a capable international stage guy...but damn if Griffith cared. Barnett only got one pitch off, and that nice screwball got blasted just below the upper deck on the opposite end of the stadium. Griffith exhaled after the swing, nodded with a smirk at his work, and then grimaced when he looked at the splintered remains of his bat.

"Well, our baseball sucks." She nonchalantly looked down to her phone after the home run hit, "Even if he is good, the diamond's Krauts aren't going anywhere."

"Get off your phone," Paul chided, "We're on the big screen."

Astrid glanced up at the big board, and flashed a grin and a wave as her and her father's names flashed on the bottom of the screen. "Sorry old man, think they're more interested in me." She shrugged as the screen moved onto some other minor celebrity, "You're out of style anymore."

"Oh really?"

Whatever she was going to say next was interrupted when she saw that baseball player her father had been hyping up trip on his way around the bases. "Transcendent athlete...right."

---

Jesse Griffith couldn't be totally blamed for the mishap. He'd been waving to the crowd as he jogged his obligatory lap, and while looking around his eyes had landed on the jumbotron. And suddenly his feet didn't run in the correct order, and he got a nice taste of the RANPAC Diamond's dirt.

The collective laughter of his adoring (?) fanbase made the young man blush a bit, but the second he got back to the dugout, he ignored any and all of the jabs and jests coming his way, walking straight to the oldest player on the team: grizzled veteran Tristan Feng.

"Tristan, who was that, on the jumbotron?"

"Uh," the thirty two year old was caught a bit off guard, and set down his water, "Tommy Verona? He's a pretty big name in the RFL. Won the championship a couple years ago, got a few all stars, been over four thousand yards four times now."

"No no, the girl! The girl! She was beautiful!"

"Oh!" Feng laughed, "Right, you're a young man, I should've known. That's the other Verona buddy."

"W-wait," the gears turned in his head, and poor Jesse Griffith slouched over, defeated. "That's his wife?"

Feng let him stew in his misery for a moment, "No champ," Feng lightly rapped the youngster's head with a spare bat, "That's his daughter. Do you even watch football? She plays quarterback for Richardson University."

"Oh!" Jesse perked up, rubbing the top of his head, "That's Astrid Verona!? Alright! Yeah, of course I watch NSCF, I know who she is! Just uh, never seen her without a helmet and pads I guess."

"Had me worried there for a minute," the veteran grumbled.

---

Jesse Griffith tossed his hand over his head when his phone beeped. Must be time to wake up. After going 3/5 and hitting two home runs in an overall dominant win, he deserved to sleep in, but damn if that was going to happen.

But when he moved to shut it off, he realized that it wasn't his alarm. That wouldn't go off for another fifteen minutes. No, this was a twi.ttur notification. Odd, with how many likes his posts got he generally didn't get those anymore.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and checked on the notification.

Astrid Verona followed you back

And hey, you know what? Star athlete or not, the young man was allowed a grin at seeing that from his new celebrity crush.

[Muralos]

The Muralosian National Baseball Team's Thoughts on Their Most Recent Series, And Extras
Revealed in Quotes and Vignettes

Roberto Huerta, manager: "Say, Nobuo, do you think there's any overlap between your AI research and your baseball playing?"

Nobuo Nakamura, third baseman: "Yeah, there's actually a lot. I mean, the nicest thing about AI is that you get something that can process a ton of information. So, you could get all the relevant information you need to know about a team – all the stats you can name – and then you can see your team's odds of beating that other team. Or you could get a ton of information about your own body, your strengths and weaknesses, et cetera, so that you can figure out how best to train. But I think that'd be a little overkill, and you're talking to someone who loves this kind of thing!"

Roberto: "So, I wonder what the verdict would have been for a Muralos vs. TJUN-ia series. That was clearly a very tough series for us."

Nobuo Nakamura: "Oh, you probably wouldn't want to have seen that. It's honestly a very soul-crushing sort of thing. People find it hard to believe, but world rankings are actually a really good predictor of team success. And when it comes to beating the world no. 3 team, an unranked team has a snowball's chance in the Hainan Union. Throw in other factors, like the very impressive stats TJUN-ia's players have racked up through years in the WBC, and it's humbling to see how stacked they are compared to us."

Matvei Golovin, catcher, interjecting: Why do we say "snowball's chance in the Hainan Union" when it's such a nice place to be? Oh, because it's hot and never snows... and it's not as vulgar... okay. Yeah. Go on.

Roberto: (laughs and gestures vaguely at Matvei, as though trying to brush him away) Well, Nobuo, I can take it, I mean! And you all should be able to. If that's where we are, then that's where we are. We need to adjust in terms of skill, and you can't rack up stats in the WBC if you never play and you never train for it. So what's the big deal, anyway?"

Nobuo Nakamura: "Yeah, I just felt like throwing what little I know about AI-driven sports stuff out there. You definitely can't discard the human element of actually training. And maybe having some reserves on this team."

Roberto: "Gosh, yeah, I can't believe I have to scramble to do this now. We've got people, though, so that's nice. I don't know why the MLB forbade us from getting more people onto the team. I mean yes we're in season, but anyone is going to be loopy after being forced to play 9 straight innings. Even Lin, so it's good that we have a relief pitcher."

Matvei Golovin: "Well, soccer could do it, I guess. But soccer is 90 to 120 minutes, full stop."

Nobuo Nakamura: "Yeah, the soccer team was not expected to do well with that kind of disadvantage. It works against them. I mean, I've looked at the data on things like that, too, but I think it's pretty obvious."

~ ~ ~

Sara Donaldson, left fielder: "Why does every single Muralosian sports team think it's okay to send a roster of starters and nobody else? Yeah, yeah, you might have gotten away with it that one time in Squidroidia, but that was soccer. SOCCER. Apples to oranges, yes, but when baseball games are triple or quadruple the length of soccer games, and you're straining yourself physically and mentally? Come on."

Aleksandro Chen, relief pitcher: "Ma'am, this is a Baobao's Baos..." (One of the popular chain restaurants in all of Muralos, serving Chinese baozi – often called "bao buns" in English – and other comfort food from northeast China.)

Matvei Golovin: "Sara, I hate it too, but it's literally just us and soccer that have done stuff like this. Oh, and handball."

Rebeka Clark: "WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE DISASTROUS MURALOSIAN HANDBALL WORLD CUP RUN OF 2016!"

Matvei Golovin: "You're making it really hard for us to not talk about the disastrous Muralosian Handball World Cup run of 2016, Rebeka..."

~ ~ ~

(At a team Powerpoint presentation party, a month before the start of the World Baseball Classic. At these parties, everyone presents a Powerpoint presentation on a topic they're passionate about. These are usually lighthearted, but Vilhelmo Lin's presentation is also informative.)

Vilhelmo Lin, national team member and player for the Okha Wanderers: "So, this is my presentation on the Muralosian city of Oleo, soon to be renamed Okha."

"Okha is in the north of Sakhalin and it was founded in 1878 by the Russians, who called it 'Okha' after a Nivkh word meaning 'bad water.' That's because we had a ton of petroleum here, and you can connect the dots. There were and are a lot of Nivkh and Orok people who live around here, but the city itself was indeed founded by Russians."

"The Russians basically made this town thrive around the oil industry, but things changed around the 1960s or 1970s after this city became part of a whole different country – Muralos."

"First of all, it's extremely cold here, but the country was like – okay, we're going to build a wind farm over the course of a decade because we can only do it in the summer, but we're gonna do it. Eventually, we were able to transfer some geothermal power from the south of Sakhalin up north, as well. And believe it or not, solar isn't absolutely useless up here. Pretty much all we need oil for right now is fertilizer, because there's a small fertilizer industry here in Okha and it's one of our main exports. [OOC: I don't think this is the case for the real life Okha in Sakhalin.]"

"Our university has also become a pretty big force in Muralos, if not in the larger um, intellectual community. We have one of the world's largest permafrost research centers, where people go on trips to Siberia and the Arctic Circle to collect permafrost samples to send back home. We also do a bunch of research on fossil fuel-free energy and things like how to make fertilizer without fossil fuels. It's about time, didn't you think!"

"Also, while you need to do pretty well on the exam to get into the university and get a degree, they allow people to attend select classes for a small fee. If you're a resident of Okha, it's free. If you're traveling, it's like a very small sum, like 5 steloj per class. But those steloj add up and it's an economy booster, believe it or not, because you bring tourism here, and your fees go to both professors and other staff at the school. I recommend it, too, by the way."

"Oh, we have a jazz festival where people basically play the tune 'Oleo' while they're in Oleo! People literally come here just to do that, oh and travel to the Arctic by way of our port. So yeah, I guess tourism is pretty big here. Not sure what the jazz people will do after 2022, though."

"Thankfully, there's not an overtourism problem at Okha, because the group of people who are interested in taking classes on permafrost and stuff, people who want to travel to the Arctic, and people who come to a jazz festival where they play exactly one song...... is very small. Think about it."

"A note on food. Seafood is big here, and it figures very prominently in Nivkhi cuisine. I'm sure you have some in Havenurbo, right? Not as much? Okay. Well, some of the Nivkhi cuisine I know of and love includes raw and boiled salmon, dried fish (NOT the packaged kind that you get down here), jam made from local berries, and salad with fish fat and berries." [OOC: This is one of my sources on Nivkhi cuisine.]

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Quebec and Shingoryeo National Baseball Team

Nickname: Grim Reapers
Acronym: QUE
Denonym: Quebecois (Preferred), Quebecer (that's fine)

Home Colours: Blue, White and Yellow
Away Colours:Red, Black and White
Official Supporters Group: The Bubonic Plague
WBC Season : December 2051-February 2052
Stadium: Commonwealth Park, Montreal, Montreal (Cap. 67,930, Park Factor: 111)
Style Mod: -2

Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Choe Bong-Hak, 47 - M - California City Dodgers
Bench Coach: Kate McLelland-Gong, 52 - F - Saguenay Lions
Pitching Coach: Eric Beland-Michaud, 54 - M - Montreal Twins
Fielding Coach: Levinson Webster, 36 - M - University of Kingston (Collegiate)
Hitting Coach: Grazibella Tuzzio, 57 - F - Ottawa Eagles
Battery Coach: Uhm Min-Ha, 40 - F - Attawapiskat Wiz
Bullpen Coach: Xavier-Luc Allen, 43 - M - Prince Eric Athletics

Pitching rotation (6)
#99 - FIRST - LHP - Baek Nam-Soo, 22 - M - New Lakeland Tycoons (Cassadaigua)
#4 - SECOND - RHP - Kevin Buchanan, 29 - M - Kingston Blue Jays
#47 - THIRD - LHP - Marc-Andre Hosmer, 24 - Montreal Twins
#16 - FOURTH - RHP - Mathieu Berard, 28 - M - Saguenay Lions
#61 - FIFTH - LHP - Kim Gi-Joong, 30 - M - Ottawa Eagles
#7 - SIXTH - RHP - Helene Bigras, 23 - Kingston Tigers

Bullpen (8)
Long Relief : #6 - LHP - Noemie Pegula, 25 - F - Saint John Green Sox
Long Relief : #18 - RHP - Ousmane Diop, 21 - M - Prince Eric Athletics
Middle Relief : #40 - RHP - Lara Yoon, 27 - F - Winnipeg Rangers
Middle Relief : #26 - RHP - Eric Neeson-Gallagher, 26 - M - California City Dodgers
Short Relief/One Point Pitcher : #57 - LHP - Samuel-Lee Akers, 26 - Montreal Twins
High Leverage: #18 - RHP - Alexandre Farias, 30 - M - Levis Wyverns - SIDEARM
Setup Man : #47 - LHP - Arabella Sen-Gong, 24 - F - Saguenay Lions
Setup Man : #20 - RHP - Jang Hyo-Seung, 32 - M - Elephant Valley Homers (South Newlandia)
Closer : #21 - LHP - Benoit Everson, 21 - M - Kingston Blue Jays

Catchers (3) - Throws/Bats
#16 - R/R - Joh Hyeon-Myeong, 24 - M - California City Dodgers
#25 - R/S - Kelsey Altherr, 31 - F - Moncton Dinos
#47 - R/R - Horace Choo, 33 - M - Elephant Valley Homers (South Newlandia)

Infielders (7) - Throws/Bats
#8 - R/L - SS - Noh Ye-Rang, 24 - Quebec Bears
#52 - L/L - 1B/LF/DH - Theo-Alexandre Pinson, 31 - M - Brattleboro Brats (Cassadaigua)
#14 - R/S - 2B/SS - Anika Nesterovic, 24 - California City Dodgers
#10 - R/R - 3B - Heo Myeong-Shin, 31 - M - Concord Heights Royals (Cassadaigua)
#37 - R/R - UTILITY - Benedict Calles III, 21 - M - Kingston Tigers
#49 - L/L - 1B/DH - Samuel Maybin, 25 - Ottawa Eagles

Outfielders (5) - Throws/Bats
#5 - R/L - RF/1B/LF - Kang Ye-Rim, 28 - F - Attawapiskat Wiz
#11 - R/S - CF/2B - Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya, 30 - M - Kingston Blue Jays
#8 - R/R - RF/CF - Park Jeong-Gyu, 25 - Kingston Tigers
#34 - L/L - LF/RF - Jean-Noel Bellefeuille, 24 - Moncton Dinos
#72 - R/L - CF/2B/UTILITY - Yi Sang-Gook, 22 - Saguenay Lions

Notes on our Grim Reapers

Traditionally, the Grim Reapers have taken the pitcher use with great dose of liberalism. Assuming the pitcher has a solid game, the pitching count is loosely observed, and it's absolutely in sight for the starter to go well into seventh or even eighth inning. That said, it is just as likely for the starting pitcher to get yanked within first three innings if one allows too many runs early into the game, which of course have happened before. In those cases, expect at three to five pitchers to be used for remainder of the game.

The Grim Reapers, as with their equivalents in other sports, are very aggressive- it's in their playing colours and will stay like that forever. While they do lack fast players, most of the outfielders and some infielders do have very good sense in stealing bases or making right decisions when taking risks, so while an occasional whoopsie-daisie with early outs do happen, it's not be all end all. Of course, we also have to remember that this is counted into the selection criteria, which means that both the infielders and outfielders are expected to be proficient in defence and even prepare for multiple positions. This is more the case with infielders than outfielders, but both have seen flexible use of such players before anyway.

Of course, there is a bit of complicated situation with the Quebecois history and geographic realities. Traditionally, baseball has been a fairly racially and regionally ubiquitous sport in Quebec, though there are strong regional and ethnic elements that are noticeable to it. Traditionally, there is strong sense of regional pride that derives from many of the iconic QBO franchises that have defined its history, as six regions traditionally dominate in both high school and pro baseball output, which reflects well into the first round of QBO Drafts. There is somewhat divide between those of Central Quebec (Montreal Twins vs. Quebec Bears), Southwest (Kingston Tigers vs. Kingston Blue Jays), Manitoba (California City Dodgers), Southeast (Halifax Giants), Northwest (Attawapiskat Wiz) and Northeast (Ottawa Eagles). There are minor stylistic differences between the regions and how their players' play, but those don't factor as much as how they used to be. Ethnically, the sport does have more Korean-Quebecois players in general rule of thumb, though that means little in this day and age where most Quebecois, whether Indigenous, Caucasian, Korean or of other Commonwealth origins, are fairly mixed-raced. Still, Korean is the lingua franca of the baseball diamond and that continues to be a defining feature of the Quebecois baseball scene as whole.

Starting Lineup (Position, Bats)
1: Nesterovic (2B, S)
2: Y.R. Kang (RF, L)
3: M.S. Heo (3B, R)
4: Carlini-Mwambutsya (CF, S)
5: Pinson (1B, L)
6: Maybin (DH, L)
7: Choo (C, R)
8: Bellefeuille (LF, L)
9: Y.R. Noh (SS, L)

Unusual, DH-less Starting Lineup (Position, Bats)
1: Y.R. Noh (SS, L)
2: Y.R. Kang (RF, L)
3: M.S. Heo (3B, R)
4: Carlini-Mwambutsya (CF, S)
5: Pinson (1B, L)
6: Bellefeuille (LF, L)
7: Choo (C, R)
8: PITCHER
9: Nesterovic (2B, S)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: Sure
Follow my pitching rotation: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod injuries to my players: No!
Eject my players: Go ahead
Godmod other events: TG me in advance
Use DH at home: Hellyeah!

[TJUN-ia]

Game 1: Muralos (UR) 1-14 TJUN-ia (3) (TJU lead 1-0)
Baseball is back in TJUN-ia and oh baby, is it good to say that! Everyone was very excited to see the return of baseball within these fair isles and the Battin' Jags, with the experience in the LPBL and the #3 ranked now with them, they were ready to try and do some magic once again. The road back to the Final 4 began against unranked Muralos at Rounders Field and Portside was certainly ready to welcome these "Friends from Football", managed by Roberto Huerta, into The Jungle for 3 days of expected fun...for the hosts, that is.

Everyone probably expected that the new #3 in the world to win on the Opening Day of the entire tournament but to win by the way we did was certainly an added bonus for the morale of everyone in Portside tonight. Chris Harris was the starter against Lin Ruiz, the only SP on Muralos' whole roster, but it was certainly obvious that one was going to last longer than the other here. We scored 12 runs unanswered in the first 6 innings of the game, with anyone and everyone in our starting lineup just getting involved in the fun and Ruiz could do nothing about it in their first WBC start. Eventually, they had to make way for the sole RP in Aleksandro Chen but they at least brought some much-needed stability to proceedings by conceding only a further 2 runs. They did manage to break Harris' shutout through 17-year-old Matvei Golovin but when the "Loverboys" of Pedro Moires and Angel Enrique scored 4 runs by themselves, that's when you know how dominant things were here. The statement made, the gauntlet thrown and all that jazz after a final score of 14-1.

Game 2: Muralos (UR) 2-6 TJUN-ia (3) (TJU won 2-0)
Davis Johnson would start Game 2 against Ruiz but clearly, Roberto Huerta managed to instil some sort of professionalism in his side as this game was certainly not the blowout of before. They even held a lead for most of this contest as a run by Sara Donaldson and a homer by Ruiz of all people cancelled out a bomb by Bryce Calhoun to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Things were certainly looking good for the visitors at that point but eventually, the thundering comeback of the Battin' Jags arrived in style as a 2-run bomb by Johnson himself and a 3-run homer by Calhoun again saw the game blown wide open and the series won in style. 6-2 the final score, series won at that.

Game 3: Muralos (UR) 1-3 TJUN-ia (3) (TJU win series 3-0)
The final game of the Opening Series was the closest of them all as Lin Ruiz and Gene Almac engaged in a great pitching duel that finally showed what Muralos is capable of as a baseball nation. For 5 innings, nothing could be taken advantage of as both of the pitchers decided to just let their battle be the battle of the entire game. It certainly was entertaining to watch and a thrill to figure it all out but in the end, we needed a winner and Joe Gregory declared Almac the victor with his 2-run shot into the stands. Steven Fulmer then managed a run himself before the visitors tried to mount a fightback via Kinalabukk's run, but to no avail. 3-1 the final, series sweep complete but Muralos certainly got better over time. The best start, of course, but we still have a long way to go and that continues in our first road series in Mylderm, the 2nd debutant in this group. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group G)
S1: vs Muralos (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (1st)
S2: @Mylderm (UR)
S3: vs Milchama (39) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S4: vs Liventia (15) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S5: @Kriegiersien (18)
S6: @Muralos (UR) - Venko Field, Okcidenta-Havenurbo
S7: vs Mylderm (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
S8: @Milchama (39)
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S9: @Liventia (15)
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S10: vs Kriegiersien (18) - Rounders Field, Portside

[Chromatika]

Dropping two games out of three wasn't what the Outliers had been banking on after winning their inaugural title. Though Gammond and Mayamoto were able to help Clara Ayonara in Game 2, Chromatika lost the series overall in front of a sold out crowd and couldn't follow up their title win.

The World Baseball Classic Group Stage is a marathon. Thirty games allows there to be some room for error. Much harder opponents - Abanhfleft and The Sherpa Empire to name a few - will make things difficult for the Outliers. They need to recover and do it fast - before there can be huge repercussions.

For the home fan, there will be four more home series to come, and Chromatika will do better.

Count on it.

[Abanhfleft]

MUSINGS OF AN ARMORED DINNER JACKET
Official blog of Ibrahim Ahmadinejad, former Right Fielder of the Verbergerkinnh Cubs and the Abanhfleft Revolution

TAKING YET ANOTHER SHOT AT THE CLASSIC

WRITING FROM IMGORTUR, VERBERGERKINNH PROVINCE - I have to say that it feels very good seeing baseball being taken seriously in Abanhfleft once again. It’s no secret that the past few years (and by few, I actually mean 15 years) have been rough for baseball in this country as a whole, especially given that the Revolution have made it a habit of either not making it out of the group stages of the World Baseball Classic at all, and in the few occasions that they did make it out, they were immediately knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. But winning the 15th International Baseball Slam in the Hannasean Federation has given the sport a newfound appreciation in the country as the stars that have tried (and failed) to win a baseball championship for the Democratic Republic have finally come home with some silverware. Sure, it’s not the World Baseball Classic itself, but it’s still a baseball trophy, and nobody would ever be able to take it away from us, the players, and us, the fans.

But now it’s time to move from the open-top bus parades and the ticker tape and get back to work. The World Baseball Classic is upon us once again, and it’s now on its 53rd edition. Thanks to winning the IBS, people are beginning to tune back in to the WBC, where this time the Revolution hope that they will be able to emulate the All-Stars and actually do something of note in this competition instead of just bowing out in either the group stage or the first round of the knockouts once again. It’s a tough road ahead of us though. We have in the same group as us the likes of the Equestrian States, the Sherpa Empire, Chromatika, Sevendia, and Brookstation. A long and extensive history of covering the Abanhfleft Revolution both from the inside and out has taught me that there is just no use picking any specific team as being an easy victory for the Revolution because, as I have learned during the past fifteen years of covering the Revolution in the WBC and the IBS, there is no such thing as an easy victory for this team. It’s the truth, plain and simple. There’s no use denying it, and there’s no use fighting against it as well, so let’s just accept the truth and move on.

Our opponents for the first three-game series of the WBC 53 group stage are Sevendia. They as a nation are incredibly obsessed with the number seven, and I really do mean obsessed. Everywhere that the number seven could be squeezed in, they will squeeze in. Their names are all seemingly derivatives of seven and the like, and everything that could be shaped into a seven is indeed shaped like a seven. Even things that aren’t and probably shouldn’t be shaped like a seven are, anyway. This makes this time the first that I have seen the likes of seven-shaped bats, seven-shaped caps, and even seven-shaped shoes and seven-shaped pants. And I believe that if I should mention seven once again, I might just scream in absolutely batshit craziness. Personally, I don’t think that the seven-shaped baseball bats are actually legal under the Official Rules of Baseball, but then again, this is a competition where ponies, ferrets, and even broomsticks have played baseball to no detriment at all, so all I can really do about this is shrug and offer a (slightly biased) recap of events.

The first game was held at the Stadion de December 27 in Imgortur, Verbergerkinnh Province (as were the two games after this). Bertram Benedetto was against Sebastian-Seven Rottesven on the mound, and since Sevendia had a “no DH” policy, Abanhfleft didn’t use one as well, meaning Booker Draves sat out this series (until he was given a chance to pinch hit for Jarred Hardwick, but we’ll get to that later). Game 1 against Sevendia actually started off nicely for us, with Hashim Khateb Bansamun getting a double hit before he was RBI’ed by Jarred Hardwick, who got a double of his own. Hardwick was then able to get back to home plate thanks to an Aedan Soto sac fly. Sejal-seven Seventy-seven (who also happens to be the daughter of Sevendian manager Seven-Seven Seventy-seven) would then score a home run for the visitors, and she would also be credited with an RBI for helping Seira-Seven Hulven make it home in the fourth inning to tie the game. Hulven would then turn into the provider as she smashed the ball to left field and scored a two-run homer for herself and Sela-Seven Loveveven. Selinda-Seven Uhlmeven would get another run on the board for Sevendia in the seventh inning, and Abanhfleft were seemingly doomed to start off this World Baseball Classic with a loss after leading in the first inning. And then Giovanni Perkinson showed up and struck back with a three-run homer to tie things up and eventually force extra innings.

Now remember Booker Draves, the DH that I mentioned wouldn’t be able to play in this series because of Sevendia not playing with a DH at all? Well, come the tenth inning, with Sevendia having been prevented from scoring by Petey Langford, and with the bases being loaded, Draves was brought in to pinch hit for Jarred Hardwick, and boy did that work out well for us! Booker D hit that ball on the very first pitch, and it was all that he needed to get the walk-off grand slam. It was the kind of high-scoring baseball game that the average Fleftic loved, and so when Game 2 ended with only a single run having been scored (and that run coming from Elroy Combs of all people), people were slightly disappointed that their team couldn’t carry on scoring like they had the night previous. But at least that was now two games won in favor of the Revolution, so fans both old and new were still happy to come back to Imgortur for the third and final game of the series. Of course, they hoped that it would be more like Game 1 than Game 2 in terms of runs scored, but in baseball, as we have all learned, nothing at all is given.

Game 3 started almost exactly like Game 1, with Abanhfleft getting two runs in the first inning. This time it was Yorge Freyas who got on base first, but after first Hashim Khateb and then Jarred Hardwick struck out, he looked like he was in danger of being left stranded until Aedan Soto hit the ball into the stands beside right field and scored a two-run homer. Gaston Panek got lucky enough to score his first home run of the competition in the second inning, but the Sevendians started slowly chipping away at Abanhfleft's lead until they had slimmed it down to just one run. Hashim Khateb made up for almost stranding Yorge Freyas in the first by hitting a double that allowed Freyas to get around the diamond once again in the sixth, and then Kristopher Hine just actually dropped a three-run homer in the seventh inning to make the score seven runs to Abanhfleft and convince Sevendia that their favorite number had seemingly abandoned them. Sevendia did try to come back, but all they could muster up was one more run before they were ultimately defeated by the Revolution for a third time. With a 3-0 record to start off the WBC, Abanhfleft now find themselves on top of Group F, right above their next opponents Brookstation. They are on 2-1 but they will also face us at their place, and home advantage looks like it might be a small advantage in their favor. One thing that we have going for us though is the fact that Booker Draves is now back in the order because of Brookstation allowing a DH at their place. This could well turn out to be another interesting series for the Revolution. This is the Armored Dinner Jacket saying ciao, peace, Catch you in my next post.

[Brookstation]

This video was uploaded on Wetube on Scott Parker's channel on 6th December 2021

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in the video was based on my personal opinions. Anything in this video doesn't reflect on the Brook Baseball Association's opinions.

I knew this was coming !! I just don't know why but I always had this feeling.....

Right so welcome back to the channel - your boy is back with another new video. My name is Scott Parker and I make videos on everything related to sports. So if you are a Brook and a sports lover, go and change the colour of the subscribe button.

For the past few days, I was greatly disturbed by a particular result of Brookstation. I mean Brookstation specializes in traumatizing their fans with awkward results but this particular result was very disappointing. In the fifteenth International Baseball Slam, we were one of the last six surviving teams until we went on to face a "high school". Yes, literally a high school comprised of teenagers against this very Brook team, but as I said we lost terribly against a high school. Seeing these old men cry while teenagers rejoicing was more heartbreaking. But anyway, we managed to take revenge on the actual Chromatik team at home.
This perhaps is the biggest win for Brookstation ever. Now if you bring up the win over Nephara, it is still understandable to a certain extent because football is the most popular sport in Brookstation. But winning against the best team and the current holders of the trophy in a sport which I myself was unaware of is something different. In my entire life, I had never seen anyone play baseball in the streets or fields. I had been to Halebid numerous times to watch football matches but I never knew that there existed a stadium, I mean ballpark where Brookstation is going to nail their biggest victory ever. This win is going to be very important for the development of baseball in Brookstation.

After seeing what happened to Brookstation in the IBS, I had no intention to watch us suffer a bigger defeat. Thus I decided to turn my wi-fi off, sign out of social media and keep my tv off during the first match against Chromatika. Yes, to be honest, I didnt watch the game live. I was listening to Echoes. Then, when I became aware of the results, I was shocked. A feeling of great regret mixed with happiness aroused me. Anyway, I watched the match on repeat later. Connor Harris the captain of Brookstation looked determined to take revenge. His pitches were outstanding and also I must give credit to the fielding of the team. Chromatika got their first run in the second innings when Ranta homered to left center and Moyamoto scored. In the very next innings, Chromatika scored another run when Valle homered centre. This was enough to worry any Brook fan as Brookstation's scoreboard was dry by the first three innings. It was in the fourth innings that Brookstation opened their account when Malouf homered to right centre and Mitchell scored. The seventh inning was the last innings in which runs were scored and it was hopefully in Brookstation's favour. Cahill and Malouf homered for Brookstation.

The results of the first match got me excited and the next day, I brought over my friends to watch the game together in hopes of another victory but as legends have it, things don't go in your favour when you want it to. We lost to Chromatika but that loss was justified. Chromatika were in their actual form that day and there is no way in which Brookstation can manage a win against Chromatika when they play in their prime form. Brookstation had high hopes for this match, considering their win last day but things didn't go as pleased. Chromatika got their first run in the second inning just like the last match when Ducat homered. The similar start as that of last game brought some hopes for us and when Tommy Smith homered a 432 feet to center which is probably one of the highest of Brookstation and Kollman scored. Brookstation getting lead just raised hopes. The score got level in the 5th innings when Ponce homered. Everything was more or less fine except for the last innings when Chromatika suddenly scored 4 points. Gammond grounded out to the pitcher, Moyamoto scored, Ayonara to second and Ponce on third. Then, Rant doubled to deep center and Dawson scored. [sighs] I really dont want to speak about this game anymore.

The third match was the deciding factor. I developed some courage and went on to see the match and yes, that was what I was waiting for sooooo long. Chromatika got a run in their first inning but it didn't take long for Brookstation two score two home runs. Oh boy, Malouf I love you. The fifth inning was literally something extremely unique. 5 home runs !!! Ripeppi, Cahill, Malouf, Mitchell, Harris one after the other. Then, Smith doubled to the right and Kollman scored. And last but not the least of course, Jensen singled to the left. Ripeppi scored and Moore
seconded. Chromatika tried to make a comeback but it was too late now. One innings was enough to decide the match and also, Connor Harris and Tommy Smith weren't going to give their runs easily.

Anyway, its time we bring an end to all this happiness and excitement and get ready for the next result. This joy is not going to stay for long as our next opponent is Abanhfleft !! Literally the country which won trophies in every sport, the country which blanked Sevendia, the country which just won the IBS, the country whose puppets shattered our dreams in the Copa Rushmori. I mean heaven knows what these people have against us. The players are literally going to visit their own graveyards. There is no way, we are gonna defeat Abanhfleft, so all we can do is hope that we don't get battered. I don't have any choice but to roast our players in the next video. Till then, good bye.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

OOC: Only grade part 4, of course, since Parts 1-3 were roleplayed back in WBC 51. It's just I am continuing from where I left off last time due to time constraints back then.

Memoires d'Athletes

Do Or Die

Ten years ago.

The Battle between the Greatest Team in Paper and the Challenger happened.

Erskine CI vs. Sangwon CVI for the last championship final of the Year.

This is the story of that game, from those who played, and those who witnessed it.

---

10->52. 18->9->10. 25.....7->5->7.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: It was a tough year altogether, and nobody was feeling the numbs.

The extra innings, with the Hwanggeumsajagi (Golden Lion Championship) finals tied at 0-0....you know somebody was going to be a hero that night. It was a really unusual night for all of us out there. I think I'd be lying if I told you that we were going to win, or that it would happen on a walk-off home run. That level of pressure, even when you are in high school, is quite something. I remember the final out of the ninth, being like 'well here we go'.

We all looked at our coach (head coach Jang Min-Gi) on the dugout, and coach told us not to worry. It was then that we knew it wasn't going to be easy.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: We were ready to win the triple. Everybody came to the final, the third straight we were making in, with some sort of energy. All of us were expecting something special to happen, whether it be crowning of what could possibly be the greatest team in the history of Quebecois high school baseball, or a successful prevention of it by another powerhouse program. Like a lot of kids know we do live in a golden age of Quebecois baseball, especially with how many of our players play in Cassadaigua or South Newlandia these days, but to us- the golden age was when were still in high school. The level of talent on those high schools...unbelievable. You know what I'm saying?

Heo Myeong-Shin: You bet. I remember that Spring-Summer season being a really tough one, because everybody knew who were the ones to watch, but at the same time none of us knew. It was that hard to predict, and it did end up being a phenomenal season!

Kelsey Altherr: That's one brilliant thing about the high school sports, but especially baseball, here. The energy level, no matter what school you go, is gonna be there, and the crowd is always gonna watch you once you are on the nationals. Then, once you actually make it, that's when you really see the key differences. I remember playing Erskine on, what was it, Hwangjebae semifinals? I remember you, Myeong-Shin, were resting that day.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Yeah, I was. We ran different pitchers, closing it out with Gaugin Jones, who did turn out quite nicely for (California City) Dodgers.

Kelsey Altherr: Exactly. For us, it was the first time in five years we made it to a semifinal on a natty (note: Quebec and Shingoryeo has five national championships for high school baseball, with one school eligible to participate up to three tournaments). For them, it was sixth in three years and they had already won three in that period. Kinda a bummer it didn't turn out that way.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I know that feeling. It was hellish playing against those guys, especially since the depth Erskine had on all positions...was quite impossible to create. Almost as if we were seeing some U18 version of QBO: The Show.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Then you beat us anyway so...

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Yes, but we'll get to that later anyway. Myeong-Shin and I always had that bond from the beginning, and we did want the same number ten after all, though it did take you the long way.

Heo Myeong-Shin: It did take me the long way for sure. When I was starting baseball at Sydenham Central (Public School) as a grade two, I had number ten because my dad, you've all met him before, he's the Chicoutimi Lions fan. He never grew up there, but my paternal family's all from Gaspesie. So of course his favourite player was Hong Man-Seok, and he suggested why don't I wear the ten after the 'Hongshin'? I said sure, and agreed to it.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: You wore eighteen and nine for Erskine and college though.

Heo Myeong-Shin: I think I received eighteen because you know, an ace's number. I told coach that I didn't want number one anyway. And number nine was because Saguenay football doesn't give out eighteen for linebackers- that's usually for quarterbacks or safeties. Though I did play safety up to senior year of high school, that was thrown out of the window pretty quickly anyway. So nine it was, and playing both baseball and football had meant, eighteen.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Yeah, I see what you mean there. I remember getting number ten because of same reason actually- your dad recommended number ten to me as well because of that reason. Back then I was in Habpo though- Muhak (Primary School) did have a good team and there I was until mum got a job in Chicoutimi. I still kept the number until Queen's College, and then Lions came. Can't really wear the retired number, so fifty-two was the next best thing.

Kelsey Altherr: I feel that. I like number twenty-five on me. Anyways, let's go back to that special night. I remember watching it back home because we had choice between Cheongryonggi (Blue Dragon Cup) and this one and we went for Cheongryonggi. Even on the television, there's that odd weight...you could feel it all the way to your seat. Only those who have played in it would know.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Oh certainly. I remember, being that freshman shortstop who played on the team that won double two years prior, there was that high expectation. This team lost to Gyeongbuk in a downer at Bonghwanggi (Phoenix Cup) final last year and lost in quarters, so there's that hope that we could hit the finals for all three. The little did we know that the further we went into that season, which was my junior year, more pressure we got from everybody! It wasn't easy to deal with it, especially since the expectations were that we would still be there for classes and do all our work and whatnot. So, by the very last night, at that Hwanggeumsajagi Final, I think we were ready to go all in, feel our happiest at achieving history or be heartbroken at having fallen short.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: It was my second national finals, so I was trying my best to enjoy it. Sangwon had such a good class of seniors and as a guy who was going to play college ball at Queen's College, I was trying my best to not spoil it as the captain. I think all 35 of us knew what was coming, but still it was scary. To be there, as the captain on his final high school tournament, and to make it all the way to the final...at that point I remember all those dinners after the match on gameday or practices during days off that the alumni association paid for us, and you know, they were now cheering from the stands! Man. They were taking the winning traditions that seriously here.

Kelsey Altherr: To be fair, they did expect a lot from all of us in the end.

2. Entering the Scene

Diane Salah Bergeron: I remember that feeling the night before, after pulling off a couple of big upsets from Westlake, Western Quebec and I think it was Gyeongnam Collegiate on semifinals. The next thing, you knew you were going to play Erskine for what's going to be do-or-die...that's when the nerves hit. I remember the coaches, on our bus back to the hotel, telling us not to think too much and go to bed once we were back there. Obviously, that was because a lot of us were feeling that nervous- though I'm sure enough of our guys wanted to kick their asses and keep the pursuit for trio going.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: To make it worse, it was a seven-p.m. start, and the Bears and Wyverns both had away series, so everybody in Quebec City was watching it happen. So the heat continued well into both our hotels, so nobody could really sleep the night before.

Asher Lundrigan: I agree with you there. It was probably the most nervous twenty-four hours I've ever had in what ended up being a very short career for me. (*chuckles*) It was the matchup everybody wanted- Erskine versus Sangwon, Pinson versus Heo, Northeast versus Southwest- the storyline was written the night they beat us right off the bat. Funnily enough, my family's actually from the Northeast, though Anticosti is mostly Welsh-speaking and baseball wasn't so much a thing there, and most of my family members came to watch us with that in mind.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I remember Myeong-Shin and I couldn't really sleep the night before. Our mothers were close college friends, all the way back to their freshmen year at Queen's College, and we all thought both of us would play together. Of course, that's not how it worked out and now we were bound to face each other at the last high school game of our careers- like bloody hell. After Myeong-Shin losing his mother and us really going to rival schools...man, it was a tough year because of conflicting emotions and all that. Being eighteen, it was a lot to handle.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Yeah, the cottage crew really had a tough time because you know my mum. My mum, your mum, aunties Michelle, Mara and Alexanne. She would have really loved watching us face off in Quebec City of all places, and into the pros because we knew he's going to Lions and me Tigers.

Dianne Salah Bergeron: I think the toughest part about that evening match was how we had all day to wait. I don't know about Erskine, but we decided not to practice all day long either. We didn't want the pressure to get to us by being at the park earlier. Some of us napped, others started preparing for the final exams, etc. Not much else to do, because going to the city would have been a bad idea. Coach didn't let us right?

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Not that I recall. I remember Kendrick Ayisi, Andrew Weintraub and Kelsey Kim going to the game lounge and playing some pool, and us going to the convenience store at the main floor. That was probably the best way for us to keep our minds off and destress.

Asher Lundrigan: And I don't disagree with you on that. With me, Eileen came over from Montreal and we were having lunch at the restaurant just next to the Hotel R. I think the name was 'Le Vaisseau d'Or' - that place was still around last time I was in the area. I remember her not telling me to worry so much about it, but to see it as a day in life. Oh, how naive we were of life in those days!

Heo Myeong-Shin: And now, you and her are future parents. Who would have thought? (A round of applause) Seriously though, the tension in the stadium...the way the cars honked and the fanfares ran all match was a surreal experience. You know, the kind you could only expect so much from college football- and even majority of college stadiums didn't have that much fanfare as the final match did that day. Just by looking at everybody's eyes, we were feeling something special. Something different for sure.

Diane Salah Bergeron: God, I remember warming up for an hour ahead of the game. All thirty of us were just thinking, being like 'alright, here we go, let's do this'...I think the good part about having a night game was that we could have gone back to hotel right after it ends if we lose, and if we win....I guess we would have partied all night. But the hours leading up to it, soaking up the vibes and whatnot...not fun.

Asher Lundrigan: I remember having a good feeling about the day, because Myeong-Shin's pitches were really on point. His sinkers and fourseam (fastball) all hitting 93, 95, 97 miles...and with good control and command on own too! It was of course weird for sure, but the summer heat certainly had us anticipate.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I think the buzz in the air was really palpable. Almost unbearable when we all entered into the middle of the turf, sang the national anthem, and went back into the dugout. Like...jesus fuck.

3. The Zone

Andrew Weintraub: I think, the more I think about this game, the more I get amazed with the sheer scale of pitching contest we had that day. Not just any contest, but one that ended up last seventeen innings too. Just by the quality of the pitching, where you only had what? Five pitchers in both teams combined. It was a really incredible game to watch.

Kelsey Altherr: Certainly. And nobody expected the game to really go that way either, not with how much momentum both sides had seen. I remember so many people were bagging it on the chance the match would end up being an anticlimatic one, with either side just ramming and running it down the lane.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: I think it was inevitable, especially with how hyped up the matchup between me and Myeong-Shin were going to be. Really this was it for a lot of seniors, and I think that may have been why both sides did end up having juniors as starting pitchers. The seniors would then take over for later innings, and work things out accordingly.

Asher Lundrigan: Oh, certainly. It's once in a lifetime thing for Coach Sung to use an opener, followed by another bullpen, and then go for Myeong-Shin at the bullpen. Of course, the intensity of those first few pitches...you could tell that these guys were still nervous over it. I remember thinking, right before the game, about the decision, on whether Gaugin (Jones) could handle the pressure, because his shot, then and now, were that 88-mile slider, and we weren't getting the angles we wanted. So, to see Sangwon come ahead early 2-0, by the end of the first inning, did feel suck.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: It was a couple of unfortunate bounces on the infielding. I remember feeling really bad about a miss from second base, and him feeling bad about poor base coverage for the second hit, but it was still early into the game. Like the first inning doesn't matter so much if we could just get a couple of runs going, and that wasn't really the problem we had. Not with our bats, I don't think.

Asher Lundrigan: Yeah, I still think that some kind of a change was needed by the end of the second inning, because we were really not getting it going at all. We weren't really hitting at the rates expected and the pitching was a bit..problematic. It was almost as if the team was somehow feeling its narrative...I don't know, shaken? I remember the bench was still pumped up though, and that worked out nicely especially as Myeong-Shin was warming up for his final match.

Andrew Weintraub: I remember watching on the other side, and be like 'shit, this isn't going to get any easier' the moment he started warming up. Like we've all heard about how great he was as a submarine pitcher, but let's be honest, that aura wasn't just something you see often. He's been there for his eighth championship final at the time, and knew how to really get into the opponent's heads. I knew our coach being like 'Let's just pitch a bit, seven innings at a time, and see how it goes.' I think that was the goal because really, it's gonna be a long game.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: It's never easy for anybody. I remember Ezra Beasley, who scored the double in that 1-0 score, feeling frozen to the ground by what I still think was the nastiest sinker. He must have shit his pants the moment they got the first strike, and man did the whole dugout freeze.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Are you sure that pitch was a sinker? I thought I threw more sliders at the time.

Asher Lundrigan: It was a slider. You started throwing more sliders by the extra innings, but it was mostly sinker, fastball, sinker, fastball. Like you were throwing 153, 154, 158 and 156 so early, it was ridiculous.

Diane Salah Bergeron: It was then that the match started to become what we now know of a classic. The next thing I remember Erskine scoring a homer, a clean 440-feeter to the left by, on top 4th. Lester Currie really hit a hard fastball by Andrew, and it just went like a shooting star, off to its neverending heights. That was tough luck, I remember a couple of guys saying 'shite', and that's when the tide seemed to have turned around.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: But the match still went on, and neither side wasn't really feeling busted. Andrew's pitching was still spot-on, and the cornerwork was superb that day, while Myeong-Shin flat out crushed the hitters. I remember the toughest inning from that match being the top 7th. It was still 2-1. I think we had two runners loaded, with one out- I was on second, Arabella Hannon first. I remember sliding to the third base off a rough pitch by Andrew (Weintraub) there, and all of sudden, we knew we could really turn it around here. And then it was Myeong-Shin on the third, we knew he was feeling on brand and whatnot...

Diane Salah Bergeron: And then he hit the pitch.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Exactly! That was a double to the gap between centre and right fielders, so I went home with ease. The problem was that Arabella thought she could hit the home as well, and reached all the way. Like any right-fielder would have missed that, but Bae Sung-Geun really drove it home and she was caught out right at home.

Heo Myeong-Shin: And then it was Asher's turn. But all day long, he was having trouble hitting the ball, and it was a quick three-strikes out.

Asher Lundrigan: Really I did, and it did suck. Not gonna lie, that was a helluva effort by Andrew. Like, let’s be clear here- you did end up pitching at one of the greatest pitching performances in the past 115 years of high school baseball. But one of the reasons why it really shone was because of how great the adversary was, and for a junior to do that, with no fear? Like you don't throw a high fastball at a slugger I was, but he did catch me right there. Bravo.

Diane Salah Bergeron: That's how I also remembered the rest of the regular innings as well. We really had full of passion for the sweaty jerseys and rainy caps. It was great because of what happened and what did not happen, I guess.

Kelsey Altherr: You gotta give full respect for not breaking when it could have happened at any moment. Nobody didn't expect a two-nil lead broken down so quickly, and I'm sure nobody expected both Andrew and Myeong-Shin to combine for sixteen strikeouts (Andrew Weintraub: 9K in 9 innings, Heo Myeong-Shin: 7k in 7 innings), or three consecutive runners shot down by Pascal Chen-Villeneuve, or a triple by Lee Rutherford.

Heo Myeong-Shin: Then we had life again. 89 pitches gone, but still lot more to go.

4. Extra Innings

TEAM NAME                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
#3 Sangwon CVI - CHICOUTIMI  0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  0  0  0  0  0
#1 Erskine CI  - KINGSTON    2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  0  0  0  0

Heo Myeong-Shin: So we went into the extra innings after a ten-minute break, with the staff quickly checking the mound to see if the grass was still good to go.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Right, and that was the longest wait ever...(checks the clock) God, has it already been an hour? Hard to believe that we've been having this interview session for this long. How has the time already passed so quickly?

Asher Lundrigan: We all ended up having lots of tea and coffee and desserts, and so it ended up going on a bit longer than expected. (Clears throat) Besides....who would have thought that a bunch of high-schoolers, who just happened to be good at playing baseball, end up carving the greatest story in the history of high school ball? Some of us are just mere parents, some of us still playing and some of us just abroad.

Diane Salah Bergeron: Right, but the story isn't about ourselves and especially not about famous spouses some of us have. So let's go back to talking about the extra game.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Mmm-sure. So we went back into the game after that inning off, and I felt the huge drop of the clock at the very top of the hour....you know. Now it all came down to just one score, the one that you couldn't really turn around from, and it really came down to that one moment that's going to decide it all. I'm sure I felt that, so did Myeong-Shin, and a lot of us out there on the stadium that night must have felt the stadium roar all the way from the mantle of the earth.

Heo Myeong-Shin: I remember entering the pitch at the bottom of the tenth and feeling like...'this is it'. You know. The one chance for Erskine Collegiate to do the undoable, that being the first school since Gyeongbuk Collegiate in 1971 to win three national championships in a single year...and it all came down to my hands. It was heckuva feeling, and I remember Asher telling me something as we entered the pitch, saying something important-

Asher Lundrigan: I think it was something silly, like 'I wonder what Naomi and Eileen must be thinking right now.' I remember myself on the dugout shortly before the mid-10th, and being like 'man, what was she thinking right now'. Like I knew she wasn't really a baseball person, so being here alone wasn't an easy task...

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Wasn't the best of things to say no? Like lover boy, please!

Asher Lundrigan: Certainly not. But that wasn't even the most important part of what I said to Myeong-Shin either. We still have to share us here about how you had to ask around for Natalie Gregoris's number the night before that match-

Theo-Alexandre Pinson:Right, but I'll get to that once we get to 'The Home Run'. Now can we go back to what you guys talked about?

Kelsey Altherr: Calm down, guys. Calm down. Now let's go back to it.

Asher Lundrigan:Alright, let's do that. (Clears throat) Anyways, I think at that point I was still amazed we were still in this game. Kinda expected it to either end with a big bang or a downer of a loss...but instead we were heading into the extra innings. I think that inning we went with a fairly straightforward combination, that being fourseam bottom-fourseam top-add a twoseam and sinker to the bottom. Didn't want to go for a tricky fight, and there was no need for it anyway when Myeong-Shin was having an unbelievable match too.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: No doubt. It's hard to say what exactly happened, but the next five innings went by like a flash, as we went into the extra innings. Myeong-Shin, of course, was still pitching like he was at the very end of his time as a pitcher, and I think we, on the other hand, had to start sending in bullpen every possible inning. Leftie, Rightie, Sidearm, just throw everybody into the mound.

Diane Salah Bergeron: It was a weird feeling, where the matches felt long and short because of how many changes there were, even if all the batters were registering an out every other minute, maximum five pitches...there were so many changes, and we started to lose focus on the bat. I remember there was one hit on the eleventh when Remi Aubry-Bossaka, a double, but it went unconverted and we went back to the drawing board.

Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya: Oh, that play? It was a double play that fell right into my glove...it was a rare one that I didn't expect to happen so easily, but that day the infielder glove did feel lot bigger and all the hits went into a groundball out....a day like that certainly was what I needed.

Theo-Alexandre Pinson: Right. (eyerolls) I think as it went on, became clearer and clearer that whatever the outcome we were gonna get had to be done out of spontaneity. Maybe a home run or just a triple that would be completed on a sacrifice bunt. Something that's straightforward on surface, but hard to actualise - you know, we were throwing everybody at them and it was working, and they had Myeong-Shin. And everybody knew he's gonna finish the game. Period.

[Hannasea]

Posted on the In Brief section of the GS SuperSports+ website.

Choughs down Fillies in 3 despite lack of home run power

Hannasea beat former World Champions Cassadaigua 2–1 in the fifth series between the two teams, scoring 19 runs across the three games despite just 3 home runs. A barrage of 19 hits in the deciding game took apart Hannah Phelan and delivered an 8–7 win for the visitors in 10 innings. Assistant to the Manager John said the offensive performance, in which many runners had been left on base, had been a “mixed bag”. “We don’t want to clog up the basepaths,” he said.

The team’s power threats have been notably quiet so far. Jason Mathis and Aaron Green have yet to clear the fences, and while Jesse Lowe launched a towering blast off Jennifer Mandrick in Game 2, he was left out of the lineup in Games 1 and 3 as the team favoured a split. Chase Lee, who went 4–4 with 4 RBI and a triple in Game 3, justified being picked as first base ahead of him, but John acknowledged that it was difficult for Lowe. “We’re facing another two left handed starters against the [Sarzonian] Stars,” he said. “But Jesse understands the numbers.”

The team have also picked up their first injury loss. Shortstop Joe Mills limped off late in Game 2 and was replaced by Alex Hamilton for Game 3; Hamilton will play the Sarzonian series, although designated hitter Sam Pearce could also cover the position, allowing Bryan Taylor or Connor Baker, considered stronger bats than Hamilton, into the lineup. The injury is not thought to be serious. “It’s just a bruised heel, but speed’s a big part of Joe’s game and we’d rather be cautious at this stage of a tournament,” said John.

Scoring summaries:


1st inning
Hailey Morris homers, Hailey Morris scores 1 – 0


1 – 1 Zach Walker doubles, Ethan Harman scores

2nd inning
Chloe Sorenston homers, Chloe Sorenston scores 2 – 1
Ashley McKnight homers, Hailey Morris and Ashley McKnight score 4 – 1


5th inning
4 – 2 Sam Pearce grounds out, Jason Mathis scores
4 – 3 Alex Hamilton singles, Joe Mills scores

6th inning
Chloe Sorenston doubles, Natalia Coleman scores 5 – 3
Ashley McKnight homers, Chloe Sorenston and Ashley McKnight score 7 – 3


7th inning
7 – 4 Dominik Fox doubles, Sam Pearce scores


2nd inning
Melanie Putnam singles, Erin Jeffries scores 1 – 0


1 – 2 Jake Walsh homers, Joe Mills and Jake Walsh score

3rd inning
1 – 4 Zach Walker homers, Jason Mathis and Zach Walker score
1 – 6 Jesse Lowe homers, Sam Pearce and Jesse Lowe score

8th inning
1 – 7 Zach Walker singles, Joe Mills scores


1st inning
Hailey Morris singles, Chloe Sorenston scores 1 – 0


1 – 1 Sam Pearce doubles, Zach Walker scores

3rd inning
1 – 3 Chase Lee singles, Zach Walker and Aaron Green score

4th inning
Steffie Kennedy doubles, Hailey Morris and Ashley McKnight score 3 – 3
Erin Jeffries singles, Steffie Kennedy scores 4 – 3

7th inning
Sarah Peluso homers, Sarah Peluso scores 5 – 3


5 – 4 Chase Lee singles, Aaron Green scores

8th inning
5 – 5 Wild pitch, Ethan Harman scores

9th inning
Hailey Morris singles, Sarah Peluso and Chloe Sorenston score 7 – 5


7 – 6 Chase Lee triples, Sam Pearce scores
7 – 7 Alex Hamilton singles, Chase Lee scores

10th inning
7 – 8 Aaron Green singles, Ethan Harman scores

[South Newlandia]

Elephants versus Dragonflies – a view back to history

… there is South Newlandia, who are complete strangers to us and we're curious to see what kind of team steps up to the plate.

Nobody really knows about South Newlandia although if they come out and start winning they could come to be one of the power nations in some later classics.

… Any hopes they had at being the next first time nation to experience a high level of success had become evaporated. There’s always one, at least, every Classic, that does flourish, and congratulations to South Newlandia on being that nation.

When the unranked squad has talent though, as we are seeing from South Newlandia, then they can have success.

We will see more from South Newlandia in the future, I'm sure; it was an impressive debut.

It seems like forever ago. In reality, the Elephants arrived to the World of international sports just ten years, just a decade ago. Once again, they are back to the World Baseball Classic; their sixth run at the tournament. The upcoming one will be hosted by Banija, oddly reminiscent of the first one South Newlandia participated in, hosted in Drawkland.

For one, the format is exactly the same, with 8 groups of 6 and only the top two advancing, a difficult task even for established nations. Additionally, the setup of the group is similar, with three top-20 ranked nations in the group. And the highest-ranked team South Newlandia will have to face is Ko-oren. The Dragonflies probably don’t have good memories about the Elephants; the games back in WBC48 were split, 3 and 3, and the Elephants eliminated the Dragonflies in the knockouts of 51 and 52 each, with the latter being a sweep.

There are some key differences between WBC48 and WBC51 as well. For one, the surrounding cast is different – the other 4 South Newlandian groupmates include Daskel, a team that debuted in WBC48 as well, and that first gained it claim to fame when they won the 12th International Baseball Slam, the first tournament hosted in South Newlandia. The Daskies never actually stepped foot into South Newlandia, but still. There’s also Ethane, the Esportivan equivalent to playing Xanneria in WBC48. The Elephants just blew the Red Kites to hell in the Esportivan Baseball Trophy, but the Red Kites turned around and still went deeper in the tournament than the Elephants did. Next to Ethane, there’s Barnettsville and Caleon, two teams South Newlandia has yet to build baseball history yet;
but the Barnettsville’s Fair Haven State NSCF team lost its first encounters with EVU and RUoN thus far.

Oh, and there’s the biggest difference of all – back in WBC48, South Newlandia was the unranked 6th-seed. Now, they’re the sixth-ranked top seed. A distinct advantage, sure, but the Elephants proved it doesn’t mean that much back in 48.


Unlike in WBC48, when the Elephants started with an away series in Xanneria, they will start their journey at home, hosting the Dragonflies for the fifth meeting in six cycles.
The first game was a pitchers duel, with the Elephants’ ace Ryan Hunter battling Senzo Utada, the Ko-orenite ace. Hunter was pulled with a no-decision in 1-1 ballgame, having allowed 6 hits and one walk, including the RBI single that scored Mason Bennett in the first inning. The action would really begin in extras, when Titi Barrande took Abby Conrad deep to break the tie in the top of the tenth, only for Varunobu Ozawa to give the run right back. With a man on second, catcher Brad Moore was pinch-hit for, and Nicolas Perez singled to put runners on the corners with one out. A sacrifice fly by Mike Larsen tied the game again, sending it to the 11th inning. Gostaf Sjabard managed to get out of the inning, while Shawn Zimmerman walked to get the winning run on base with none out. Following a single by Adam King, David Drum bunted to move the winning run to third. The bunt rolled right down the first-base line; with no play possible at second, Barrande had to settle for the out at first. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Malika Bains was intentionally walked, as the Dragonflies hoped for a double play to get them out of the inning. With the infield in, all Fabio Ventura needed was to get the ball into the outfield. He did not get it into the outfield, choosing the stands instead, which worked as well.

The second game was another pitchers’ duel, with Suno Matsuda battling the Elephants’ Jay Kramer. The latter, as usual, came up short despite a Quality Start; 2 earned runs in seven innings were too much, as the Elephants once again only managed one run.

In game three, the Elephants took the series thanks to a Ben Gonzalo holding the Elephants to a single run in eight, allowing six hits and three walks. The Elephants’ bats woke up this time, contributing four runs to set up an easy save for Barnaby Butt.

This opening series win against the toughest opponent in the group sets the Elephants up well. Next up, they will take a trip to Daskel, who opened their tournament by winning two of three as well.

[Bardney]

Bardney National Base Ball Team

Base Ball in Bardney

Bardney plays an earlier form of the game of baseball. The dimensions are mostly the same, but the rules are a little different.

The pitching mound is 50 feet away, not 60 feet, 6 inches, and pitching cannot be overhand. This is not to imply that pitching looks like slow pitch softball, but only that pitchers cannot throw overhand. An underhand delivery or a sidearm delivery is common. Pitchers are allowed and do put movement on the ball and throw with some speed.

Click here to see what speeds from Bardney's 50 feet distance are equivalent to on a 60 feet, 6 inches, mound.

The number of called balls for a walk is 5, and the number of called strikes for a strikeout is 4 (if the batter swings and misses at the third strike, then that is a strikeout, i.e the batter cannot "strike out looking" on the third strike). There is no official strike zone, instead, it is up to the discretion of the umpire to call a strike or ball. Foul balls do not count as strikes.

Catchers typically wear gloves, but do not wear other protective equipment.

Foul balls caught on one bounce are considered outs, and gloves are not typically used.

A ball that bounces over the fence on one bounce, in modern baseball considered a "Ground rule double", is a home run.

In terms of the fan experience, most tickets are SRO and beer is cheap.

There are no uniform numbers.

How is Bardney going to compete with modern teams?

Players have been practicing under the international rules. They are getting used to pitching from 60 feet out and wearing gloves. They have hired some rogue international ballplayers to pitch to them overhand and at the speeds they will be seeing.

As for the pitchers, expect submarine, sidearm, or perhaps even low three-quarters releases with fastballs ranging from the 77-84 range. Also expect curves, sinkers, screwballs, and "rising" fastballs. Pitchers have been listed with their typical deliveries, but they can and will change deliveries if needed. Please also note that it is not the custom of Bardney catchers to immediately throw out balls that have been scuffed in some way. Bardney catchers, pitchers, and position players may even try to intentionally scuff the ball or rub some dirt on it to obtain extra movement. It is up to your discretion as to how much you want to RP Bardney players trying to skirt the rules around the ball and whether or not they are successful. Bardney players, however, have been warned strictly against the spitball, so that shouldn't be an issue.

As for the hitters, they don't have a huge amount of raw power, but they can hit home runs, since they'll be facing faster pitching than normal. But this isn't a team of bunters, either. They will try to hit as many line drives as they can, steal when they can, and take the extra base when they can.

Please also expect the stadiums you play in to be not always kept in perfect condition; the grass might be clipped too short or too long, or the basepaths might be too soft or too hard, or the dimensions might be a bit odd, or there might be too much foul ground for your liking. Some of this is just the way it is, based on how stadiums were constructed. Some of it is gamesmanship by the groundskeepers; it's up to your discretion how much you want to RP this affecting your team.

Will there be different rules when I play in Bardney?

No. Bardney will play by current WBC international rules. They just may play with a different style.

Roster

Starting Pitchers

RHP Kermit "Dartford Flash" Connelly, 33, sidearm, Dartford Mutuals
RHP "Honest" Horace Geiger, 36, submarine, Bristol Excelsiors
LHP Thaddeus "Too-Tall Tad" O'Neill, 30, low three-quarters, Ludlow Redcaps

Note: They will pitch all 9 innings unless being battered around

Relief Pitchers

RHP Stanford "Big Stan" Otis, 32, sidearm, Bristol Atlantics
LHP Noel "Numbers" Osbourne, 29, sidearm, St. Clair Bluelegs

These pitchers will act as long relievers, though they may come in late to offer a change of pitching side if there is a run of same-handed batters

Catchers

C Sterling "Silver" Greer, 34, R/R, Cambridge Red Stockings
C Enright "Politician" McFadden, 30, R/R, Columbia Nationals

Infielders

1B Nelson "Big Six" Colquitt, S/R, 29, Maxentia Westerns
2B "Little" Bobby Slocum, 31, L/R, Lakeport White Stockings
SS Roland "Frenchy" Laplace, 35, R/R, Perryville Eries
3B Hilton "Drayman" Rudd, 30, L/R, Carrollton Canaries
CI Silas "Pup" Bartlett, 24, R/R, Wolfstown Buckeyes
MI Jonathan "Sparky" Buchanan, 32, R/R, Ludlow Redcaps

Outfielders

LF Emmett "Duquesne Dynamite" Harrison, 31, R/R, Duquesne Grays
CF Connie "Quickbat" McGee, 32, L/L, Lakeport Olympics
RF Gerhard "Long Gerry" Zeidler, 35, R/R, Schonburg Unions
OF Bertram "Porky" Epps, 28, L/R, Bristol Gothams

Manager: Clarence "Cocky" McArty, 59

Batting Lineup w/o DH
CF McGee
2B Slocum
1B Colquitt
LF Harrison
3B Rudd
RF Zeidler
SS Laplace
C Greer
P Pitcher's spot

Batting Lineup w/DH
CF McGee
2B Slocum
1B Colquitt
LF Harrison
DH Bartlett vs LHP/Epps vs RHP
3B Rudd
RF Zeidler
SS Laplace
C Greer

RP Permissions
Choose my run-scorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: No
Follow my Pitching Rotation: Yes
Godmod scoring events: TG me if you want to do something and I'll let you know
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Eject my players: Yes
DH used at home: No
Godmod other events: TG me if you want to do something and I'll let you know
Other Info: See above
Style Mod (if applicable): +4

[Banija]

Matchdays 4-6! Welcome to the second cutoff of the World Baseball Classic. Even if you're only here because your father brought you to a village expecting to see a marching band, you at least have plenty of baseball to watch.

Each MD I will be offering a small prompt. These prompts are not required and there is no extra bonus for doing them compared with doing a match report or any other type of RP; they’re simply there because, with a long group stage format and many tournaments competing for attention, inspiration may be running thin. Feel free to respond in whatever format you like – or ignore them entirely.

Today's prompt is about analytics. Does baseball in your country use analytics? How modern is your game? Does baseball in your country lean more traditional, or more modern? Why do you use the Designated Hitter- or why don't you?

---

Matchday 4-6 Scores

Note- for the games that are not line scores, the home team is listed first. In the line scores, obviously, the home team is listed second. I apologize for the confusion.

Group A

Matchday 4
Bardney                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ranoria                   0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 X  2

Banija                    1 0 0 1 0 0 5 1 0  8
Drawkland                 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  7

Ardengard                 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 1  7
Eshialand                 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 0  5

Matchday 5
Bardney                   0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 2  6
Ranoria                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3

Banija                    1 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 2  8
Drawkland                 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2

Ardengard                 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0  3
Eshialand                 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  5

Matchday 6
Bardney                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ranoria                   0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  3

Banija                    0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2  4
Drawkland                 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Ardengard                 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 0  5
Eshialand                 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 X  6

Group A                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ranoria                 6    4   2    29   12  +17
2 Eshialand               6    4   2    29   25   +4
3 Bardney                 6    4   2    24   16   +8
4 Banija                  6    4   2    30   24   +6
5 Ardengard               6    1   5    23   34  −11
6 Drawkland               6    1   5    17   41  −24

Group B

Matchday 4
Kohnhead                  0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
StrayaRoos                1 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 X  7

Quebec & Shingoryeo       6 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 11
Alzavola                  0 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 0  6

HUElavia                  0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  3
Tikariot                  3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  4

Matchday 5
Kohnhead                  0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0  4
StrayaRoos                0 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 X  6

Quebec & Shingoryeo       5 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 11
Alzavola                  0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  3

HUElavia                  3 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0  9
Tikariot                  2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

Matchday 6
Kohnhead                  1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  4
StrayaRoos                0 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 X  5

Quebec & Shingoryeo       1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1  5
Alzavola                  1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 X  7

HUElavia                  0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
Tikariot                  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  3

Group  B                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 StrayaRoos              6    4   2    31   25   +6
2 Quebec & Shingoyreo     6    3   3    38   28  +10
3 Tikariot                6    3   3    22   27   −5
4 Alzavola                6    3   3    31   40   −9
5 Kohnhead                6    3   3    29   28   +1
6 HUElavia                6    2   4    26   29   −3

Group C

Matchday 4
Sarzonia                  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Hannasea                  2 3 1 0 7 0 0 0 X 13

Soldera                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Cassadaigua               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 X  2

South Americanastan       0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 3 10
Aji No Moto               1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2

Matchday 5
Sarzonia                  0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0  4
Hannasea                  2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Soldera                   0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0  4
Cassadaigua               0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3

South Americanastan       2 1 0 0 3 0 2 0 3 11
Aji No Moto               0 0 0 4 1 0 0 1 3  9

Matchday 6
Sarzonia                  0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2
Hannasea                  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Soldera                   0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Cassadaigua               8 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 X 11

South Americanastan       0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  3
Aji No Moto               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Group C                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Sarzonia                6    4   2    23   28   −5
2 South Americanastan     6    4   2    36   27   +9
3 Cassadaigua             6    3   3    31   26   +5
4 Hannasea                6    3   3    35   23  +12
5 Soldera                 6    3   3    26   33   −7
6 Aji No Moto             6    1   5    29   43  −14

Group D

Matchday 4
Sangti                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2  3
United Adaikes            2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  4

Nova Anglicana            0 0 5 0 2 0 0 1 0  8
Delaclava                 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

The Greater Nordics       1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  7
Quintessence of Dust      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Matchday 5
Sangti                    0 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 0  5
United Adaikes            2 2 1 4 0 0 0 2 X 11

Nova Anglicana            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2  5
Delaclava                 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  4

The Greater Nordics       0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Quintessence of Dust      0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 X  5

Matchday 6
Sangti                    1 1 0 3 0 1 0 1 0  7
United Adaikes            0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Nova Anglicana            0 1 1 0 2 0 2 2 0  8
Delaclava                 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0  3

The Greater Nordics       0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 2  5
Quintessence of Dust      3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 X  8

Group D                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Quintessence of Dust    6    5   1    29   22   +7
2 The Greater Nordics     6    3   3    32   24   +8
3 Nova Anglicana          6    3   3    30   23   +7
4 United Adaikes          6    3   3    22   29   −7
5 Delaclava               6    2   4    22   27   −5
6 Sangti                  6    2   4    25   35  −10

Group E

Matchday 4
Le Choix                  1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Super-Llamaland           1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 X  4

The 189                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 7 1 0 4 1 X 13

Atheara                   0 1 0 0 5 0 1 1 0  8
Behetij                   1 1 4 0 8 1 1 0 X 16

Matchday 5
Le Choix                  0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0  6
Super-Llamaland           0 0 2 4 0 1 0 3 X 10

The 189                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Zwangzug                  0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 X  3

Atheara                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3
Behetij                   1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 X  5

Matchday 6
Le Choix                  0 0 2 0 0 2 3 1 0  8
Super-Llamaland           0 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 1  7

The 189                   1 0 2 0 1 2 2 0 0  8
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1  3

Atheara                   0 2 1 0 0 0 2 3 1  9
Behetij                   0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0  4

Group E                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Zwangzug                6    4   2    38   20  +18
2 The 189                 6    4   2    25   25    0
3 Atheara                 6    3   3    35   38   −3
4 Super-Llamaland         6    3   3    31   36   −5
5 Behetij                 6    2   4    31   35   −4
6 Le Choix                6    2   4    30   36   −6

Group F

Matchday 4
Equestrian States         2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Chromatika                0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Abanhfleft                1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 0  6
Brookstation              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

The Sherpa Empire         0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Sevendia                  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 X  2

Matchday 5
Equestrian States         0 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 3  9
Chromatika                0 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 1  7

Abanhfleft                0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
Brookstation              0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 X  4

The Sherpa Empire         0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0  4
Sevendia                  0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Matchday 6
Equestrian States         0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Chromatika                0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 X  3

Abanhfleft                0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Brookstation              0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 X  3

The Sherpa Empire         1 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 2  9
Sevendia                  1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1  4

Group F                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Brookstation            6    4   2    25   22   +3
2 Abanhfleft              6    4   2    25   16   +9
3 The Sherpa Empire       6    4   2    28   20   +8
4 Equestrian States       6    3   3    26   26    0
5 Chromatika              6    2   4    26   31   −5
6 Sevendia                6    1   5    16   31  −15

Group G

Matchday 4
Liventia                  1 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 1  7
Milchama                  1 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 1  8

TJUN-ia                   0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 1  6
Mylderm                   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Kriegiersien              0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  3
Muralos                   0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 X  7

Matchday 5
Liventia                  0 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0  6
Milchama                  0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 3  7

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

Kriegiersien              0 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 0  5
Muralos                   0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0  3

Matchday 6
Liventia                  0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0  5
Milchama                  1 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 X  6

TJUN-ia                   0 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0  6
Mylderm                   1 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 1  7

Kriegiersien              0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
Muralos                   0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 X  5

Group G                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Milchama                6    6   0    36   23  +13
2 TJUN-ia                 6    5   1    40   14  +26
3 Liventia                6    2   4    28   25   +3
4 Muralos                 6    2   4    19   32  −13
5 Kriegiersien            6    2   4    13   25  −12
6 Mylderm                 6    1   5    15   32  −17

Group H

Matchday 4
Ethane                    0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1  4
Barnettsville             0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0  3

South Newlandia           1 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 1  6
Daskel                    0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Caleon                    0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0  3
Ko-oren                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

Matchday 5
Ethane                    2 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 0  8
Barnettsville             5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  7

South Newlandia           0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 1  7
Daskel                    0 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0  5

Caleon                    0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0  4
Ko-oren                   0 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 X  5

Matchday 6
Ethane                    2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  5
Barnettsville             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

South Newlandia           2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2  5
Daskel                    1 3 1 3 4 1 0 0 X 13

Caleon                    0 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  5
Ko-oren                   2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1  6

Group H                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ethane                  6    6   0    26   16  +10
2 South Newlandia         6    4   2    29   24   +5
3 Daskel                  6    3   3    33   31   +2
4 Ko-oren                 6    3   3    18   23   −5
5 Caleon                  6    1   5    17   22   −5
6 Barnettsville           6    1   5    24   31   −7