World Baseball Classic 57- Everything Thread (Final G6 Up!)

by **Ranoria** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:42 am

Constance Airlines Field
Game Three of the Super-Llamaland @ Ranoria series

Rylan had spent most of this game rolling a baseball around in his hand - in a tight one like this, he wasn't getting any action - or so he thought.

With a one run lead at the top of the ninth, Miellan Walker was out there to close it out. But Trevor Mikkelson-Yao had knocked in the Tigers' only run of the day so far, and with him out there, this thing could turn around more quickly than anyone would have liked to admit.

Walker started his motion, but just as he began his wind up a whistle stopped him in his tracks, and he stumbled a bit, looking to the umpire with outspread arms. But in the corner of his eye, a flash of white drew his attention away. "Is that a snow bear?" He muttered. The adolescent - it clearly was, even if it was still the biggest living thing in the stadium, had beaten the ball boy to the last foul-off and was prancing around with his trophy, clearly proud of his achievement.

Ranorian snow bears tend to be a bit more friendly - they're not domesticated by any means, but being the national wildlife animal in a country who's over-funded military has little to do beyond some engineering projects and cracking down on poaching, they're used to being treated well and seem to have learned to reciprocate that. However, no one was in a hurry to try and apprehend an almost quarter-ton of hyper-carnivorous bear. Or so they thought.

Miellan heard a string of expletives from his dugout, and looked over to see Rylan Rodgers Jr, in his first national team callup, sprinting across the diamond at breakneck pace.

"Klaw, buddy, you can't be on the field right now!" Rylan exclaimed when he caught up to his longtime snow-bear-friend, "You're supposed to be with the old man," he ruffled the top of the bear's head, "Where's your lea..." he trailed off, tilting his head to get a better view of the chewed-up remnants of a leash that never had much of a chance to stop him anyway. "Right, c'mon pal."

He started leading the bear to the tunnel in another sprint, with the bear keeping up without any issue. "Sorry everyone!" Rylan shouted with a wave, slowing to a jog then a walk as he made his way to the locker room. "Alright, you chill here for a second," the cheers from outside indicated that Walker had pulled it off and helped the Krauts to escape with a 2-1 victory, "I'll call the old man and see what's going on."

Klaw waited patiently, still chewing what had been a baseball while Rylan leaned on the doorframe, frowning when the call went to voicemail. "Weird, I'll try Anna," Rylan this time called his girlfriend, and fortunately got an answer this time.

"Everything alright? Couldn't get dad on the phone, had to get Klaw off the field." His shoulders sagged a bit at whatever it was she replied, and he pinched the bridge of his nose, ""Kay, thanks. I'll be right there." His hand fell to his side with a deep breath, and his eyes only came open after a few seconds to address the elephant in the room, "We're not done tonight big guy."

Ranoria Wins Home Opener, Escapes Third Matchup With Tigers To Hold Onto The Group

Krauts players celebrating after a Mikkelson-Yao flyout clinched their fifth victory

No one can say it wasn't a fight - after Jesse Griffith's three-run long ball won their first matchup with Super-Llamaland, the Tigers thrashed them in the rematch, and gave themselves a chance to make it a three-way-tie atop Group G with a win. Fortunately for us, we were back at the top of our rotation, and The Cannon was in top form. Despite surrendering a run in the third inning, he pitched nearly eight good innings before a walk - and three balls to the prior runner - forced the team to pull him. It's a trend we've seen with him here and in the LPB, Bohannon's tough to beat, but there are times where his pitch count balloons early and makes it hard to leave him in.

Regardless, putting Miellan Walker in there did the trick...with maybe a bit of help.

Trevor Mikkelson-Yao was at the plate, and if the Tigers were asked who they wanted at the plate with the game on the line, he's the man. Two strikes deep though, and the game was stopped when a snow bear - one that has now been identified as Rylan Rodgers Jr's pet, who caused a bit of a stir at Richardson University when he was adopted, made his way onto the field and no one besides Rodgers was going to try to reign him in. The snow bear had attended the game with Rylan's father, who reportedly suffered an anxiety attack, leading to the incident.

For better or worse, it may have thrown Mikkelson-Yao off his groove a bit, and the batter didn't quite get enough of the next pitch, which ended up as a deep fly ball to fellow slugger Julian Breit. With one of their toughest matchups out of the way, Ranoria's got United Adaikes - a team sitting at a paltry 1-5 at this stage after Ko-oren secured a sweep by scoring 21 runs in their three matchups (their baseball team may have a bit more firepower than the defensive juggernaut that we've become familiar with on the gridiron) - up next. After that, we'll be hosting that same Ko-orenite squad again in Constance Airlines Field. In a group that's likely to come down to the last couple of games, that's a second matchup circled in red in this opening slate.

by **Ko-oren** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 9:21 am

LPB Playoffs, Season Four, Ko-orenite Conference, Rounds Zero, One, and Two

A small reminder of what is to come, in the weirdest playoffs we've had in ~~a while~~ forever, given we're still quite new to postseason series in baseball:

Round 0:
- Echizen Dragons v Furune Bees (winner takes 3rd seed and Northern division title, loser is eliminated from playoffs)
- Santa Teresa Stars v Aviansola Admirals (winner takes 1st seed, loser takes 2nd seed)

What awaits us is just two games, scheduled between the two best and the two okayest teams in the country. The de facto Northern division final sees South Newlandian Grady Good face off against Furune's batters, with Furune - who don't boast as high powered a rotation - rolling with TJUN-ian Holvanen. The Dragons will look for performances by Kagulazaka (C) and Pijpenbroek (2B), trying to get on base early and often and advancing without relying on slugging, while the Bees have Jimenez (2B) and Reille (3B) and boasting slightly better depth.

Most eyes will be on the other game, though. A potential preview of the Conference Series. The Admirals - not exactly sure how they made it here; they were probably the best team in a mediocre Southern division but were they truly 100+ win material? Versus the Stars, a team that was always going to compete for the division - if not conference - title. Now that they're here, the Admirals are rolling with TJUN-ian pitcher Fennatti versus the Stars' Osborn. Santa Teresa definitely takes more star power into this game, with Berganza (C) and a pretty hard hitting outfield (Desjardins, Parga) but the Admirals have amassed a surprisingly good lineup in a short time of dealing - and keep in mind that they traded away players for future draft picks expecting not to go far this year! Aviansola has a mostly Chromatik outfield that will have to do quite a bit of work (Sop, Billings), with support by Sivurila and Kanamoli in the infield.

With that out of the way, here's the games.

Santa Teresa Stars        0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Aviansola Admirals        0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 X  3

Echizen Dragons           2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3
Furune Bees               0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

That's the thing with one-offs. The Stars would have won a 3-game series - probably - but it's only one game, and apart from scoring a run on one poor reliever (Cevocalu) they couldn't get enough going. An error landed the Admirals on the scoreboard in the third inning, then they got a HR in the fifth through designated hitter Amachi, and they finished it off in the 8th with a walk and a stolen base followed by actual hitting. The Admirals are your regular season Ko-orenite champions, let's see if it's worth anything after facing off against a wild card opponent to be determined later.

The Stars will face off against the Northern division winner, which turned out to be Echizen. The Dragons generated a tonne of base hits and not even the 100+ win teams will be able to withstand the team in red in that situation. Special mention goes to Takata and Ayslynn, two unlikely heroes who played a part in both the first and fifth inning scoring affairs. Kagulazaka ended up batting in the first two runs, Fouquet the third, and Jimenez, Oshita, and Pijpenbroek rounded the bases for the three runs. The Bees got nothing on that, and when the bullpen got involved, neither offence generated much.

Still, two close games, and that's what we want. A day later we get ready for the first round of the playoffs: the Wild Card game.

Round 1 (Wild Card Round):
- Ferrovente Whales v Amandine Wanderers (winner takes 4th seed, loser is eliminated from playoffs)

The Whales ended up here after a monumental season that unfortunately saw them finish second in the division against a near-flawless Stars team (although, there were definitely some flaws given their pretty uninspiring loss to the Admirals. We can't stress enough how much people don't rate Aviansola only partially because Katashi media do about 80% of the talking in the South). The Wanderers might just be happy to be here, in year two of their existence and being so close to the two heavyweights of that division - the Stars and the Whales - already.

Amandine Wanderers        0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1  3
Ferrovente Whales         0 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 X  7

Well, that optimism for Amandine didn't last long. Or rather, it lasted quite a while but about two hours in, it all fell apart. The Whales batted around with Pearce being the first to reach a base and then batting in a colleague, and then Qasden's Striker finishing the innings by getting the sixth run in with a sac fly. Two pitchers were on the receiving end of that: first Ewing gave up four runs for an out, then Moriyama gave up the other two for the remaining two outs - an all South Newlandian affair in that part of the bullpen. 7-3: that's not exactly close anymore, and if this were a 3, 5, or even 7-game series I doubt we would've seen a different outcome.

We finally have our playoff picture, to be contested two days later. By this point, the other three conferences were impatiently waiting for us to get things over with.

Round 2 (Divisional Round):
- Aviansola Admirals v Ferrovente Whales
- Santa Teresa Stars v Echizen Dragons

The teams have been introduced a bit in the previous parts. The overperforming, young Admirals, the high octane, massive Whales (but underdogs only to one team: the Stars forever outshine their rivals much like Santa Teresa is just a bit of a nicer city than nearby Ferrovente), the all-round awesome Stars, and the (p)lucky but sneaky good Dragons. Let's zoom in on the latter for a second: we mentioned the big names but that glosses over the unpredictable outfield with Ayslynn and Deguchi, but that's not why the Dragons are here. No, it's a rotation with Good, Gotou, Jembembe, and Kramer (and Doi, don't worry about it). A bullpen with Chuan, Makino, Watase, and Everson. We don't necessarily expect Echizen to score a lot, but it'll be hard to put a lot past them. If all goes well, that is.

Ferrovente Whales           0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0  4
Aviansola Admirals          0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Ferrovente Whales           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Aviansola Admirals          0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 X  5

Aviansola Admirals          1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Ferrovente Whales           0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 X  4

Aviansola Admirals          0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
Ferrovente Whales           0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0  3

Ferrovente Whales          0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2
Aviansola Admirals         2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 X  6

The Admirals start at home, but don't really get a lot out of it. Night one is a resounding Ferrovente win, with Qasden's Jeff Bitches [sic, but that's also why they picked him] getting lit up for three runs early on. Night two was much better, with Sivurila and Kanamoli getting on base three times each - though walks and a hit by pitch might have helped - and Sop cleaning up with a homerun and a one-run double. Then the series moved to Ferrovente, where the Whales turned their home advantage into a win, with four late runs - the Admirals might have thought they had survived the worst in the fifth inning, but they got picked apart with Aviansola finding the gaps in the infield a few times. Lucky, sure, but by the end of that stretch it was also a mental thing. You gotta run as fast when preventing that first run as you have to run to prevent the fourth, and Aviansola kind of didn't.

The Admirals got three early runs to all but lock up game four for a 2-2 series standing, but Ferrovente looked to come back - and then they left four on base in the final four innings to lose 4-3. And so it all comes down to game five - and this one was all Aviansola, back on home soil, with an early home run by Billings bringing in him and Gallois, and another amazing inning later on to get the biggest score on the board thus far. The

Aviansola Admirals advance - and I think a lot of brackets died that night.

Echizen Dragons             0 5 0 0 0 0 3 0 1  9
Santa Teresa Stars          0 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 0  8

Echizen Dragons             0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Santa Teresa Stars          1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 X  6

Santa Teresa Stars          0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  3
Echizen Dragons             0 0 4 0 1 1 0 0 X  6

Santa Teresa Stars          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2
Echizen Dragons             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3

We were promised low-scoring games, and we got the opposite. That's fine, it was definitely fun for neutral fans. We certainly didn't put money on Dragons-Stars being 5-4 after two innings in game one, and we certainly would have advised against betting on the over on total runs scored that game (O/U 5.5 - they scored over three times that). The Stars would host another fun game, this time falling the other way, with the home team scoring four runs early through various individual feats of brilliance and holding off the late comeback.

A 'short' trip to Echizen later - Ko-oren already has a lot of green laws and regulations, and sports leagues, who account for a decent part of travel, try to one-up those, with Santa Teresa to Echizen not only a frequent route but also a really impractical one - the home team wins both remaining games, through a four-run inning in game three that Echizen's bullpen was never going to mess up, and our first game of extra innings: this time, the bullpens did mess up, first by letting the Dragons go ahead 2-0 in the eighth (lighting up Cervantes, a particularly good hit by Pijpenbroek) and then Hinouchi gifting two to Rust and Hyllik - the Chromatik duo got Santa Teresa back in the fight. The only game to hit the under on total runs ended immediately after that, with Oshita rounding the bases on two separate hits. The

Echizen Dragons move on, the 91-93 team casually eliminating the 103-81 Stars.

And again, a lot of brackets died that night.

by **Nova Anglicana** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 9:23 am

Lions pass first real test

The Nova Anglicana Lions' sweep of Ethane in their first series of WBC 57 was welcome, but perhaps expected. After all, the Red Kites are a shadow of the team that defeated the Lions in WBC 39, more than 30 years ago. The Lions' rotation of young guns acquitted themselves well, but it was a largely veteran lineup that backed them to the sweep. Still, most observers saw Ethane as merely a speedbump on the road to the all-important second series of WBC 57: a home matchup with 11th-ranked and second-seeded Drawkland. The Base Corps have had difficulties making it deep into previous WBCs and were coming off a disappointing series loss to third-seeded South Americanastan, but that didn't mean they should have been underestimated.

The Lions would throw their #1 set of starters for this series, beginning with Nate Barrett, the former #3 starter who emerged as a key piece in the Lions' run to the championship series of WBC 56. Barrett looked brilliant to start the game, striking out two of the three batters he faced, but quickly ran into trouble in the second. He lost the zone against Cooper Calebs, the Drawkian backstop, and after inducing a pop-up from rookie Cassius McCoy, left a slider over the plate that Richelle Shard punished into the left-field corner, putting runners on third and second with one down. Trent Rubio then singled home both players, putting the Base Corps up 2-0. A double-play ball from Louie Wade ended the inning, but the damage had been done.

In the fourth, Abram Kavana led off with a single and stole second, no mean feat considering that Barrett, as a lefty, could more easily attempt a pickoff. Calebs swung over a changeup for the first out, and when Cassius McCoy hit a harmless fly ball to Gary McKinney in left, it looked like Barrett might escape with no damage. But Shard, who'd already hit one pitch well, smashed a 2-2 changeup over the wall in left-center, making it 4-0 and inducing a furious curse into his glove from Barrett. Although Barrett would make it through five with no more damage, five innings and four runs wasn't exactly what the Lions were looking for from their #1 starter.

On the other side, rookie Andrew Boone was incredibly effective. Time and again, he got Lions hitters to swing at 2-seamers and sinkers at the bottom of the zone and pound the ball into the ground. He mixed in his sweeper and changeup to record just four strikeouts, but he didn't need strikeouts to stop the Lions. He stymied them for seven innings, yielding just five hits and two walks, and erasing baserunners on two different occasions with double plays. Fortunately for the Lions, the deficit didn't grow until the ninth, as rookie Leo Matthews and his triple-digit fastball survived two walks in the sixth to put up a scoreless inning, and Steven Gray, Christian Williamson, and Adrien Turcotte mixed and matched their way through the seventh and eighth innings with little trouble. Lorraine Lockwood struck out the side in the eighth, and the game was headed to the ninth with the Base Corps still up 4-0. They would tack on two runs against Scott Hunter as Trent Rubio added a two-run homer to give him four RBI for the game. With a six-run lead, there was no need for veteran closer Franklin Bell, and instead, Elly Jacobs was summoned from the bullpen to get three outs. At this point, the Lions' bats decided to wake up a tiny bit and give the home crowd something to cheer about. Xavier Pineault, Sean Wilson, and Mathieu Tremblay all singled to start the inning, loading the bases with none down. With the infield playing back, Peter Abbott grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, scoring Pineault, but putting the Lions down to their last out. Mickey Hearn came on to pinch-hit and smashed a grounder up the middle for his first hit and RBI in his first national team at-bat, making it 6-2, but Jacobs got Buddy Bohannon to pop up, ending the game.

Where game one was anti-climactic, with the Lions mostly stifled for the entire game, game two was a back-and-forth affair that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. Félix Clermont, who was also a pop-up star for the Lions last Classic, took the ball and immediately put the Lions down 2-0 by giving up runs in the first two innings on three hits and two walks. The faithful in the stands would have been forgiven for thinking that this was more of the same as Clermont pitched through traffic, but he settled down and only allowed one baserunner over the next three innings. The veteran knuckleballing righty Bruce Moore toed the rubber for the Base Corps and was the exact opposite of Clermont for the first two, setting down six Lions hitters in order. But the Lions did show some life in the third, with Mathieu Tremblay leading off with a bunt single and moving up to second on a sacrifice by Clermont. Bohannon's sharp grounder up the middle was snared by Abram Kavana, and the strong throw got him, with Tremblay moving up to third. On a 1-2 count, Michael O'Connor reached out and poked an outside-corner fastball to right, scoring Tremblay and cutting the deficit in half.

But it was the bottom of the fifth that proved to be the deciding moment in the game. Tremblay again led off with a single, and this time Peter Abbott drew a walk. Clermont, with two aboard, was not pinch-hit for and managed to get down the sacrifice bunt and move the runners up to third and second. Bohannon, 0-2 so far, hit a duck snort that just eluded Kavana in short right, scoring Tremblay and moving Abbott up to third. With one down, Michael O'Connor took a mighty rip at Moore's knuckler and hit it far, just in the vertical direction rather than horizontally. The pop-up traveled high in the air and Aaron Frost battled the swirling winds to record the second out. That brought up Gary McKinney, the veteran left fielder who had yet to record a hit. He watched five knucklers dance in and out of the zone, making the count 3-2. But when the sixth pitch came, it didn't seem like he was surprised to see the knuckle curve, instead belting it into the left-center gap. Abbott scored walking from third, and Bohannon, running with the pitch, also cruised home, putting the Lions up 4-2. McKinney, psyched up, clapped his hands on second and made the chomping lion motion that has become the team's extra-base hit celebration.

Clermont would leave after six after having given up another run in the top of the inning, cutting the Lions' lead to 4-3, but his teammates picked him up in the bottom half, with Abbott singling home Xavier Pineault, who singled and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Nick Pierce and Adrien Dumas would protect this 5-3 lead in the seventh and eighth, recording three strikeouts between them. The stage was set for Brandon Norris to pick up his first save of the Classic. It looked easy, with him facing the bottom third of the order. Aaron Frost, however, slapped his sinker into the 5.5 hole, and even an excellent jump throw by Pineault couldn't get the speedy shortstop. Everybody in the stadium knew Frost would try to steal to avoid the double play, but he beat Abbott's throw in an extremely close play, putting a runner on second with none down. Taylor Smart's grounder to Shane Frazier prevented Frost from moving up, and the switch-hitting Joëlle Grayson came off the bench to pinch-hit. She smashed a sinker basically directly into the ground, which took a big hop over Norris (no mean feat at 6'4), and it took a charging, bare-handed play by Pineault to get her at first by half a step, with Frost advancing to third. Louie Wade dug out a sinker and flipped it into right, scoring Frost and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of Lane Kavana, the Drawkian superstar. To this point, Norris had thrown 90% sinkers, so Kavana was clearly surprised when he curled a backdoor slider around the outside corner for strike one. Three straight changeups followed, pushing the count to 2-2. A slider just missed, and Kavana then fouled off two straight sinkers. On 3-2, the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Norris threw his little nickel curve, a pitch he throws just once every couple of appearances, and Kavana was caught off-balance. He skied a high fly ball to center, and Tremblay had plenty of time to get under it and secure the win. Series tied, 1-1.

Game three was tight until the late innings, but one never got the sense that Sean Caldwell was ever letting things out of hand. Back-to-back doubles from Cam Dalton and Frost produced the only run for the Base Corps, and Caldwell didn't allow back-to-back baserunners at any other point in his outing. In fact, he only allowed six baserunners total in his seven innings of work, striking out seven and walking just two. Leo Roy, the Base Corps ace, mowed down the Lions in order his first time through the lineup, striking out five, but Shane Frazier got to him in the fourth, taking a cutter that didn't quite cut in on his hands the way Roy wanted it to deep into the night air, splashing down in the bay outside the stadium and giving the Lions a 2-1 lead. A walk and a base hit in the fifth came to nothing when Bohannon grounded out to end the inning, but Michael O'Connor led off with a 418-foot homer to straightaway center in the sixth, extending the lead to 3-1. Sean Wilson's leadoff double in the seventh looked about to be stranded, but Andy Hudson came on to pinch-hit for Caldwell with two down and, despite being pitched around, used a mighty uppercut to take a pitch below the zone out to right-center, the deepest part of the yard. That made it 5-1 and chased Roy. The Lions picked up two more in the eighth, and Adrien Turcotte and Darren Sharp pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to preserve the lead and close out the series.

A series victory against the #2 seed is always welcome, but it's only a small part of the overall picture. A 5-1 record after six games is impressive, but it's also only six games. The Lions will face their first road test as they visit 56th-ranked Oscioru in the next series, with their #2 trio of starters taking the bump. The fourth seed took two of three from Ethane in their series, including 8-2 wins sandwiched around a walk-off loss that could easily have been a win for a series sweep. They aren't to be underestimated, and although a sweep would seemingly be the mandate, if the Lions come away with two wins, they might just count that as a win.

by **Banija** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 10:04 am

Banijan Manager Isaac Oladipo, during the top of the 9th inning of the second game of the Dod Rava series

Isaac Oladipo was pacing around. Nothing got him going quite like the bullpen blowing a lead- they had already done so once, pretty badly, in the last series. It happens to everybody once in a while, of course- no closer has an 100% save rate throughout their entire career. But it had already happened to them once, just last series- giving away games, especially gifting away home games, in a tournament as cut throat as the World Baseball Classic, is never a good idea. Oladipo knew that. Not that he feared his chance to make the knockout stages- but he knew just two guaranteed berths, out of 6, would be difficult to claim. Especially with Cassadaigua almost certainly not going to miss the opportunity for a home field knockout stage.

So going into this game, up 8-4, in the top of the 9th inning, he thought that the team would be able to cruise. "I'll just throw in a middle reliever, it's not a save situation- let Kristina Fanja get some outs." He told his pitching coach. However, the decision turned out to be an utter disaster, to say the least. Fanja only faced four batters, and got just one out. But what happened to her? She allowed a bunt single to lead off the 9th. Not her fault- you lay one down, you lay one down. Then, a double to the gap in right-center- the runner scored all the way from first. 8-5. Followed by a strikeout, and then, a walk on four pitches- simply losing all sorts of command.

That was when Oladipo visited the mound. "Better luck next time, Kristina." She simply handed him the ball and walked to the dugout, frustrated with her appearance. He made the signal for his closer, Oyella Lagum, to come out. He was 0/1 in save opportunities this classic, and even with runners on, Oladipo thought this would be a perfect chance to get Lagum's confidence back. He explained it to reporters after the game. "Look, this is his job, there's a reason that we have a closer of his quality. He's a world champion, remember? I thought we'd be able to get him back on his groove- but it looks like we've got to go back to the drawing board."

Lagum's appearance was a flaming disaster, to say the least. Came into the game with one out, and runners on first and second. First batter hits a double- fortunately for Lagum, he gets an out. The runner from second scored, and the runner from first tried to score- but he was gunned down by an Ugonna Akachi throw from right field to the 2B Ipe Chafukwa, who's relay gunned the runner down at the plate. One out from victory, right? Gets to a full count, within a strike- walk. Then, a single. Runner scores from second. Runners on the corners- it's 8-7.

Then, another walk. Bases loaded. "Son of a bitch." Oladipo muttered to himself. He walked up for a mound visit.

"Oyella, you good?" Oladipo asked him. "Just take a breath, slow it down- you're rushing things, putting all of this pressure on yourself. Just relax. Breathe in- breathe out." Lagum took a couple of deep breaths.

"Coach, I'm good." Lagum told the manager. "I only need one out- we'll get this guy out." Oladipo nodded, and jogged back to the dugout.

Yet- disaster. Very next pitch was a meatball- and seconds later, Dod Rava's cleanup hitter had smashed a 413 foot go-ahead grand slam into left field. Oladipo, even at his ripe old age, was pissed. "FUCK!" He yelled, as he picked up his water bottle, and slammed it on the ground in the dugout. Allowing 7 runs in the 9th? Utter disaster.

Banija take 2 of 3 from Dod Rava to finish homestand but closer problems mount

ISTRIA, MORAVICA- "There's a lot of good to take away from this series." Banija's manager, Isaac Oladipo, insisted. And look- for that, he's probably correct. They scored exactly 8 runs in each of the three games in this series- that should be plenty of runs to be able to get a series sweep. Indeed, the bats are absolutely raking for team Banija right now- led by Sadiiq Xoosh, being able to consistently score like that, in bunches, shows that they certainly have the offensive talent to go far in this tournament. And the starting pitching has been excellent as well. Banija's 4 wins this tournament have come by 7 runs, 6 runs, and two wins by 5 runs each. They can go ahead of a team in a hurry.

But even though we are 4-2, currently in the top 2 in this group(although it's FAR too early to talk about standings), there's still a ton of nervousness around this team. Why? Well, in games where we've had a save situation in the 9th, we're 0-2. Our closer seems to either not find the plate at all, or just serve up meatballs for opposing hitters to snack on. And everybody knows- if you want to make a title run, you need the backend of the bullpen to pull their weight. Otherwise, this team has 'absolutely no chance' of doing anything more than, say, winning a singular series in the knockout stages. There's simply no room for a team in the last 4 of the WBC when our closer pitches like this.

And make no mistake about it- there's championship expectations for this team. So we could be talking about Xoosh, or Akachi, or all those runs were scoring. But instead? We're questioning the manager, Isaac Oladipo, on how we plan on dealing with this. "Well, we obviously need to figure out the back end of the pen." He said after game 5. "The games only get more difficult- great to take 4 of 6 at home to start the tournament, but now we're going on the road to take on a very talented Loyo team. We're not going to able to get these big wins forever- we've got to fix our closer. I plan on doing so."

Roster regulations mean that the only point he can make changes to the roster is after Matchday 15- so he's stuck with Lagum for at least 9 games. And with no obvious choice to replace him, he's best off figuring it out with his closer. "We're going to give this guy a few days off, leave him here in Banija, do this three game series with a closer by committee approach, and then re-insert him. A few days off, working on his command, even mid-tournament, can fix whatever's wrong right now- and still give us our best chance to compete for a championship."

We'll see if Banija can survive three road games with the closer by committee approach- and if a couple day sabbatical for Lagum will be the best way for him to regain his form. Because if it fails... This team will find themselves in some serious trouble.

by **Drawkland** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 10:27 am

With that important piece of business taken care of, it was time for Lane Kavana to undertake a great quest, a crusade, if you will. No, Lane was not about to embark on some magical journey that you would read in a fantasy novel. This was a crusade of passion and determination; one man’s goal to turn around the fortunes of an entire nation.

The regular season and playoff awards were great. Every day Lane gave thanks for his divinely gifted talent (metaphorically speaking), and he never took that for granted. Now though, he was at the top of the hill. He’d achieved pretty much everything besides the career volume numbers, which would take a long time to accumulate, though he had a nice head start. In the borders of Drawkland, there was nothing left to prove.

The moment you step off the shores of Drawkland, the attitude towards Drawkian baseball shifts completely. Instead of imagining the beautiful and exciting history of the PBL, one thinks of the terrible exploits of the cursëd Base Corps, and how the entire nation of Drawkland must be bad at baseball. After all, if their national team is so bad they can’t even make a quarterfinal in twenty tries, you have to make assumptions about the talent level. One can’t use the excuse of a Generally Bad sports infrastructure on a national scale - the Corps in gridiron, soccer, and basketball had no trouble competing for titles in their respective tournaments.

By some standards, you could say the Base Corps had never put a genuine effort towards the World Baseball Classic. The first iteration was an excellent combination of the All-Star rosters that first season, for the most part. The pitching was suspect and there was no telling if the lineup would have any cohesion. The fears would be correct, as the Corps went on to have two losing seasons and two decent seasons with gut-wrenching Round of 16 losses. If only they knew what the future would hold.

From there, the Elite Eleven took the reins for two cycles (they went 15-15 and 14-16, missing the playoffs both times). It was a mediocre run, but it gave time for DISC to build up hype and interest for a rebooted Base Corps. The problem? Nobody was interested anymore. Owners hated the idea of risking their best players, and players didn’t feel any pride to join the team in a long-term investment. At best they viewed the games as meaningless, at worst they saw them as humiliating.

Finally DISC got a management team together and got enough interested players to fill out a roster. This new iteration of the Base Corps debuted in WBC 41, which was immediately hallmarked by the infamous 10-3 game. That team never really recovered, and for about a decade they waded through some truly mid seasons, because no other Drawkian in their right mind was about to sign up to play on such a snakebit team.

WBC 47 brought the debut of rookie sensation Lane Kavana, who exploded into the league very soon after being drafted. This began a new era of the Base Corps, one which is just now starting to really phase out. Through thick and thin, Lane and Abram Kavana have been the faces of the Corps, a rare bright spot of consistency and great play that fans could count on. Still, this wasn’t enough. Even going up 2-0 in a Round of 16 series wasn’t enough.

The Base Corps had some good players, but they weren’t good enough. Drawkland could do better, though many were unwilling or unable to admit it. Now freed from the shackles of worry and expectation, Lane Kavana had a new goal in mind. He was going to pull the Base Corps to the impossible, by whatever means necessary. If that meant recruiting nearly half a roster in new blood from Drawkland’s best, then he’d do exactly that.

Two weeks after Hessport’s championship win, Lane Kavana jetted down to Gelia to meet with Base Corps skipper Glenn Sutton. The veteran manager had joined the Corps for the first time the previous cycle and had done a decent job with an odd roster. Sutton was old school, and his love for the game of baseball was obvious. Whether this was intentional or just dumb luck by DISC, who could say? Regardless, Lane felt like he could trust Sutton with his plans and aspirations. The previous manager, Blanton Evergreen, was a mostly-incompetent fall guy who was kept around because every other manager in Drawkland considers the Base Corps job a career-ending move. Sutton, though, seemed like he really believed in the Base Corps.

Lane made it into town without incident. He suggested to Sutton that they could meet in Sutton’s office across the street from Broadway Ninth Ballpark, where the Gelia Blues played, but Sutton instead suggested that they grab a late lunch at a greasy local diner. Lane tried to avoid that kind of food but hey, it was the offseason and the business he was there for was more important. He wasn’t going to haggle about location.

When Lane arrived, he found the place was mostly empty. It was after the lunch rush, and this place was particularly niche, which likely played into Sutton’s decision to hold the meeting there. Lane found the old manager sitting in a small booth in a corner of the restaurant, facing the wall. He slid into the opposing seat, and just asked for water when the waitress came by.

“Thanks for meeting with me, skip,” Lane started.

“No need to thank me.” Sutton inclined his head. “I’ve not got much else going on, and I enjoy the company. The pleasure is all mine.”

“Indeed.” Lane nodded. He took a deep breath before beginning his small spiel. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this year. This season was great, and now I feel like I’ve achieved just about everything a player would want to achieve. There’s more record chasing to do, but I’m patient enough for that. Now there’s just one thing left on my mind … the Corps, that is.”

“They got to you, didn’t they?” Sutton interrupted gruffly. He shook his head slightly, wispy white hair waving in response, as if he already knew the answer.

“Who’s gotten to me?” Lane asked, confused.

“You’ve got your accolades. You’ve got your trophies. You’ve got your storybook season.” Sutton, who hadn’t made eye contact yet, suddenly looked up with a piercing gaze. “And now you’re past the point of having to care. You’re gonna just leave this behind and ride out your career until they stop giving you money. I have to say, I didn’t expect this from you, Kavana. I thought your daddy raised you better than that.”

“He did, sir.” Lane crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not quitting the Corps. Far from it.”

“Oh?” Sutton took a sip from his coffee. “Then why are you here?”

“I want to rebuild this team better than ever before,” Lane replied flatly. “It’s time for the curse to end.”

“Sure it is.” Sutton chuckled through another sip. “And how do you expect to make that happen?”

“I think we both know that we need a few more pieces. This Corps can get to the brink, but I have to be honest. We’re not winning playoff games if we’re throwing some guy like Syd Masterson on the mound. There’s so much talent here in the PBL, if we could just get a few of them to commit to the Corps, it could make such a difference.”

“That’s it, huh?”

“I’ll help build the roster myself. I’ll recruit the right guys and girls, talk to them personally.” Lane shrugged. “We already have a decent core, but a few more all-stars and we’ll be able to break through. I’m sure of it.”

“Good luck with that. You’ll need it.” Sutton paused and grimaced, as if he was going to say more, but he offered nothing else.

“What do you mean?” Lane cocked his head. “Listen, I know a lot of players and managers balk at the concept of the Corps nowadays, but it can’t be that bad.”

“You don’t know how deep it goes.”

“Is there some sort of conspiracy I don’t know about?”

“Not a conspiracy, no.” Sutton shrugged. “Just a bunch of cowards or idiots, whichever you prefer. You can use whatever angle you want. Glory, patriotism, the love of the game. It doesn’t matter. It’s in one ear and out the other. The narrative has sunk its festering roots far too deep in the hearts of Drawkian baseball. The Corps is nothing, the Corps is pointless, the Corps is embarrassing. It goes from top to bottom, there is no escaping it.”

“Well, a narrative is just that, right? It’s a story. That doesn’t make it true.” Lane took a sip from water. “Surely some people can see reason.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s true or false. If people believe it, then it might as well be the case.” Sutton shook his head sadly. “It’s sickening, really. You know I tried to turn this roster around last cycle. Once I got the job from DISC, I called all around the league. I talked to GMs, coaches, players. They all said the same things. Nobody wants to be associated with this ‘dumpster fire.’ Nobody wants their career to be tarnished by participating in this ‘farce.’ Nobody wants to be on a team with no hope, one destined to lose and continue losing. Quite honestly, I lost some friends over this job, because they don’t understand.”

“They probably weren’t your friends to begin with.” Lane offered, but he was definitely feeling discouraged. He didn’t realize how deep everything went.

“Ain’t that the truth.” Sutton scoffed. “A sad truth, at that. It’s things like that which make me think the game is dead. People only care about the money or the titles nowadays. Precious few play for the love of the game anymore. You’re one of the good ones in that regard.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Lane smiled mirthlessly. “Whatever that’s worth.”

“It could be worth more than you think.” Sutton leaned back in the booth, taking a scrutinizing glance across the table.

“So what is it worth?” Lane returned the gaze with narrowed eyes. “It doesn’t matter in the long run anyway, right? Is this not a fruitless venture doomed to fail?”

“I never said that.”

“Then what are you saying? All you’re doing is giving me reasons that we can’t get more players on our side.”

“I’m just trying to prepare you for the gauntlet you want to undertake.” Sutton pursed his lips. “Baseball is easy for you, kid. But trying to put a team together, that’s another thing entirely. Especially given the circumstances.”

“Fair enough,” Lane took another sip. “We don’t have to start from square one, at least. We have a good core, we just need to improve our depth. I have a couple ideas already, if you’d like to see.” He produced a folded sheet of paper from his jacket pocket and placed it on the table.

“Let’s see, then.” Sutton put on a pair of glasses, and carefully unfolded the sheet. He read through each line carefully, nodding intermittently.

“What do you think?” Lane asked after a few long minutes of silence.

“I think you’ve got your work cut out for you.” Sutton sighed. “Some of these guys are real assets, but there’s no telling if they’d bother suiting up for the Corps.”

“I get it. You don’t have to keep telling me. Can you at least tell me which ones you prefer?”

“I’ll chew on it for a bit. Then I’ll get back to you.” Sutton flipped the sheet over, not realizing that there was more writing on the back. When he read the first few lines, he gave a gruff chuckle. “Now these are some you’ll have an especially hard time convincing.”

“Huh?” Lane looked closer, trying to see what Sutton was currently reading.

“Listen, there’s a lot of respect for you in this league. Even with your WBC participation, many guys still consider you the greatest of our age. You can really use that to your advantage, in fact, it may be your only advantage in this sort of negotiation.” Sutton smiled and waved the page in the air. “But these guys? You may not be the best person to give that sales pitch to them.”

“That’s just the list of pitchers I wrote out,” Lane replied, a little confused. “What’s wrong with them?”

“I hate to break it to you, kid, but you’re not very popular among the hurlers in this league.” Sutton chuckled again. “Something about, hm, the high average? The slugging percentage, too. I’ve also heard complaints about your complete disregard for the standard home run etiquette. Hell, some just don’t like the way you stand in the box.”

“Well maybe those bastards shouldn’t give me pitches I can take deep,” Lane huffed. “I just made a list of the guys I hate facing the most, I figured they’d be the most effective.”

“That’s a good place to start. Unfortunately for you, I don’t think you’ll be able to finish that job yourself. You’re gonna need some outside help.” Sutton grinned from ear to ear.

“You don’t mean …” Lane suddenly understood.

“You gotta give your friend Roy a call.”

“Fine.” Lane folded his arms in annoyance. His relationship with Base Corps ace Leo Roy was, to put it lightly, a little rocky. “It better work, though.”

“You already have a snowball’s chance in hell of pulling this off.” Sutton shrugged. “I’m just trying to give you an ice chest for the road.”

“Point taken.”

by **Zwangzug** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 1:59 pm

"MacSaruh on the mound to confer with Shieh-Kuo, as Dhamir warms in the bullpen."

"The Zebras fortunate to take the lead on Gulnoi-Kedren's double in the top of this inning, but here they are, giving us yet more bullpen drama."

"Tanner gets under a fastball, pops it up--Arbuthnot settles under it and makes the catch! One away."

"That'll bring up Lila Hart."

"Oh-for-two with a walk so far, she'll be batting from the left against the righty Shieh-Kuo. In modeling her team after the Dagans, Bruce hasn't just gone for the all-female approach, but also included plenty of switch hitters as well."

"This one's taken...a little high, but they'll call it a strike."

"Infielders playing deep, looking for the double play."

"The pitch--hit into center, Iwamura can't get there, this'll tie the game at least--Lane comes into score as well, and that's it. A 6-5 walkoff for the Blue Jays, and, Irulan, that's going to sting."

"No doubt about it, Nellie. Barnettsville celebrating at home plate, Brianna Bruce trotting out to join in the festivities as well."

"I don't think that's exactly what she's doing, Irulan."

"What?"

"Bruce appears to be giving the umpire a piece of her mind. Some inconsistent strike zones all day, and of course, the play at the plate when Petre-Sherman jarred the ball loose from Miles. And...yes, it looks like he's going to send her back to the dugout."

"Can he do that?"

"He just did, Irulan."

"I mean, the game's already over."

"Sure, and she'll probably be issued a meaningless and symbolic fine from the Council after the game. It's just posturing."

"But they won!"

"I don't know, I think it's admirably consistent. If the calls are bad, you shouldn't just be willing to set that aside because your team pulls it out."

"I get the sense it's not exactly constructive criticism she's giving him, there, Nellie."

"Why not?"

"Well, you know, Bruce is...Newmanistanian, they're not really renowned for their muted or placid rhetoric..."

"That's kinda biased."

"What? The Rockets aren't around, what are they gonna do about it?"

"You can't just say mean things about countries just because they don't send teams to a tournament."

"It's not stereotypes, it's...bulletin board material."

"The Rockets don't even have a locker room, so how can they have a bulletin board."

"Whatever. Game one of the series goes to Barnettsville, 6-5, we'll see if the Zebras can turn things around next time."

"Rookie Gisele Cambefort set to take the hill, the Blue Jays will go back to the top of their four-woman rotation with Tammy Burke."

by **The Star Enpire** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 2:55 pm

The Redmont Journal: International
[...]
Chromatika Beats The Star Enpire 2-1: Despite a solid effort by Mars Fiydèsésil, weak Starnian hitting failed to overcome Karla Levey's pitching, with only a Koizumi home run in the 7th. The Outliers' two runs were driven in by DH Zeng Quan in the 4th and by 2nd Base Raitis Ranta in the 7th.
[...]
Early Collapse for TSE Dreamers: Valéri Fisdèlidi lost control of his pitching in the first inning, allowing Chromatika to score 7 runs as they batted around the order. The Dreamers were forced to play a "bullpen game", and gave up two more runs before the end of the game.
[...]
Chromatika Outliers Wins 6 Games in a Row: Chromatika's batters scored hit after hit, eventually reaching 9 runs in total, while the Starnians only put one run in opposition. Chromatika is currently undefeated in the Baseball Classic. The Outliers' next series will be playing at home against Neibeskiya, where they will no doubt maintain their winning streak. The bruised Dreamers will be visiting the TJUN-ia Jaguars for their next series.
[...]

by **TJUN-ia** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 3:14 pm

After capitulating in spectacular fashion in the opening series, the Battin' Jaguars of TJUN-ia were 0-3 and in desperate need of a way to revitalise their season already. It certainly hurt to see a team like Chromatika pick us apart like that and Phillip Hellas-Verona certainly wasn't happy at all after that, so what was he hoping for this time? A game won, for a start!

Game 1: TJU 8-6 MNP (1-3)
The fight back would have to start at the Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II Stadium against the returning Magnus Phoenicia, who won a WBC title of their own way back in WBC44. Maddison "Missy" Jembembe would start against Lucy Pujol and this battle we ended up having with the Halos would end up being a very entertaining one for the neutrals. We started off on the strongest foot as Anastasia Mykvinich hit a 3-run bomb in the top of the 1st before our hosts got one back thanks to Stephanie Dhaliwal in the 2nd. Both of us would get one more run each in the 3rd thanks to RBIs from Santino Fenatti (via Palila Kalawai’a) and Daniel Kovačević (via Pujol) before cemented our control thanks to a Martina Andrade de Souza 3-run bomb and that would force Lee Sook-Mi to enter proceedings just in time for Anastasia Mykvinich to hit her 2nd bomb of the night. At 8-2, things certainly looked comfortable on our side of things and while yes, we did concede 2 more homers (solo from Stephanie Dhaliwal and 3-run from Hasaga de Silva), Trinity Shelby-Dowora did enough to ensure that this game wasn't falling from our grasp this time. Finally, we won a game...but we wanted more.

Game 2: TJU 7-1 MNP (2-3)
Yolande Sirapui would start against Dianne Von Sandilands for Game 2 but this one wasn't even close...in a good way this time. It started off so well, with this game being scoreless in 4 but that would change quickly as Holly Davids pulled off a fucking Grand Slam and Stephanie Dhaliwal responded with a solo bomb of her own. From there, It would end up being a one-way parade as Li Chen Sho's 2-run bomb forced Jupiter Sanchez into play and Santino Fenatti's final HR would ensure this series was indeed ours.

Game 3: TJU 5-2 MNP (3-3)
Finally, we had the rubber match and Kim Tsu-Ka would look for a bounceback performance against Duncan Bryce...and that is exactly what happened. This game developed into one with multiple 1-score half-innings but I don't have the time nor the patience to recount all of them, so I will simply say that we won this one 5-2. It was a cracking game and one that will certainly go down as the one that got us back to an even record.

TJUN-ia is now back in business and things certainly feel a lot better than they did after Series 1. Now, we head back to Portside to face The Star Enpire for a series that we hope will see us push on towards greater things. GO BATTIN' JAGS!

SCHEDULE
S1: vs Chromatika (4) - Rounders Field, Portside L 0-3 (6th)
S2: @Magnus Phoenicia (UR) - Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II Stadium, ??? W 3-0 (3rd)
S3: vs The Star Enpire (42) - Rounders Field, Portside
S4: @Liventia (17)
S5: vs Neibeskiya (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
S6: @Chromatika (4)
S7: vs Magnus Phoenicia (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S8: @The Star Enpire (42) - Dubwa Field, Redmont
S9: vs Liventia (17) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S10: @Neibeskiya (UR)

by **South Newlandia** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 4:00 pm

Disclaimers:
* this project would not be possible without the efforts from Chromatika, Ko-oren and especially Super-Llamaland. The words and pictures on screen right now were made by me, but would not be possible without extensive background work from all of us. Please do grade accordingly.
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them.

South Newlandian League

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 2

SNL Central (except Monarchs)

Newport Dolphins

Departures:
Out of all the South Newlandia-based teams, the Dolphins just might have had the most interesting offseason. Coming off a SNLDS defeat at the hand of Elephant Valley United, the Dolphins were deily projected to be a team in freefall after four consecutive season in the playoffs, including winning two national championships.
In season five of the LPB era, they were going to have to do with quite a few departures. Arguably most importantly, the coach they had found so much success with, Vincenco Goodman, decided to jump ship, instead being hired by the Peninsulara Kingfishers.
That might actually be one of their smallest problems. They lost no fewer than five international players, starting with Llamanean Tiger LF Tyson Long returning to Super-Llamaland, signing with Kyrinson in free agency. Second to go was Tikariotian 2B Stuart Hernandez, with the Owl choosing to take his talents to Vargas City. Around this time, former Quodite international Luka Chevalier decided to hang up his cleats, leaving another outfield position vacant.
While the Fins didn’t get anything in return for those three, they did at least get stuff back with the two trades they made – Quodite closer Benoît Beaufils was traded to the Cyclones, while Chromatik international CF was dealt to the Saints.

Draft: (Position: 17)
The Dolphins didn’t have a first-round pick in this draft – they’d sent that to Nikcoro way back in the trade that originally landed them Tyson Long. They instead started their draft at 38, where they selected a Llamanean outfielder in Amber Jia who can cover any outfield spot and excels defensively, even if what she brings to the plate is limited. However, with all three outfield spots unaccounted for, the Fins were probably happy to have a decent band-aid there at minimum.
They later threw a pair of darts at left-hander Carlota Miller, right out of High School (65th) and pure hitter David Schulze (66th), who played a year at NCfIR. Despite Schulze being seen as the much more promising player, it was Miller who actually made the 25-man roster, while Schulze did not.

Other additions:The first spot relating to the team the Dolphins would have to fix was obviously that of the manager, and they managed to get the cream of the crop of all the possible coaches they could’ve gotten. Zwangzugian Ernest Telyatin had most recently been with the sinking Nikcoro Suns, and was persuaded to join the Dolphins, reuniting him with some of his countrymen.

Telyatin being there surely helped the Dolphins making some more additions from Zwangzug as well. From the current Zebra squad, they signing relief pitcher Jolene McIntyre, who'll quickly share top leverage duties with Caell-Amoy. Additionally, they fixed their need in Right Field by signing Bradley Petre-Sherman as well.
They weren’t done acquiring Zwangzugian elite players, either, as they next swung a deal with the Ratzupalfu Rhinos to add Atori Cragun to their squad. Sending a package around a future first-rounder to Ratzupalfu, the Dolphins gained one of the best shortstops in the game for the time being.
They further added to the plate by adding Batya Jones, a Milchaman Warrior, in center field; and also signing her teammate Tenli Food, who should be an excellent addition to the bullpen, hopefully not to be feasted on by their opponents.
To round out their roster moves, they claimed catcher Elias Nilssen and first baseman Kurt Sweet off waivers from St. Riecarn and Rüsselsheim; both of them will bring veteran presence to the bench.

Outlook:
Many people expected the Dolphins to continue declining after a disappointing end to the previous season, where Newport fell to EVU without putting much of a fight in the SNLDS. Most of those voices have now been silenced, because although the Dolphins lost the predictable amount of players, they somehow managed to find some spare cap room between the couch cushions, signed a top-tier coach, and assembled a highly competitive team.
Sure, there are some weaknesses – the rotation is quite top-heavy, with the Fins failing to attract any big name starters, but there’s still veteran pitchers Ryan Hunter and Julian Mecc-Sanders anchoring the rotation. Mecc-Sanders, the defending Evan Masorka award winner, and Ryan Hunter, the two-time WBC champ, certainly have the skills to make that happen. Behind them, there’s mostly only Jael Ballin of Ha’Yarok, who’d been ballin out the previous season; it remains to be seen if he can continue doing that.
The bullpen, while also top-heavy, has one of the best tops of any unit, with McIntyre, Caell-Amoy, Tekblam and Food sure to create a fearsome four that no team wants to face late in games.
The line-up is all ups and downs, with some elite players, like the newly added Cragun, Petre-Sherman and Jones, as well as Zebras Enrico-Nieves Gau and Kelly Tallis, and Elephant Mike Larsen. Zane Gestetner at catcher is a minor question mark, while Amber Jia in her rookie year and Jason Valbuena are big ones – the Dolphins managed to fill most holes, but not all of them. The bench also won’t exactly scare anyone, although Tom Abbott of Sanford deserves a shoutout for still hanging around. He’ll probably get a bunch of games at DH with Larsen moving into Left.
Sure, the depth is pretty non-existent, but if the Dolphins can stay healthy at the top, Ernest Telyatin has a shot to lead this team to the playoffs once again, despite the fact that the team lost half their All-Stars.

Newport Owls

Departures:
The Owls were very bad in the previous year, finishing with a mere 75 wins and the worst record in the South Newlandian League. While there was some progress, the Owls are continuing to also mix in steps back at the same time. For one, they’re changing their coach yet again, with Alfonso Moreira out the door after just one season. Furthermore, Brooke Sauter, the big star from Newmanistan that served as an anchor to the team throughout the LPB era, has retired, leaving a void both for play on the field and leadership.
Three more players are also gone, with the Owls letting a pair of players from Daskel, Rokukawa Daisuke and Nakajima Yasunobu, walk in the free agency. Caitlin Rosario also retired, ending a short, unremarkable Owls tenure.

Draft: (Position: 3)
In the amateur draft, the Owls had the highest selection of any South Newlandian team, starting with the third overall pick. They went with 22-year-old Gaia Bianco, the big star out of WBU at first base, who’s proven to be a complete hitter in college, but especially shining with speed few other hitters of her size possess. Her draft is a clear sign that the Owls are ready to move on from fan favourite Bradley Guo after just one season.
Having traded Ian Capan to South Falls ages ago finally appreciated in value, with the Athletics ending up in the unfortunate circumstance of sending the 15th-overall to Newport. The Owls went with Penny Herrera, a 20-year-old Llamanean in what was widely viewed as a reach, despite Herrera having a high-velo fastball, due to her questionable secondary arsenal that they’re clearly hoping to mould.
Early in the second, they added corner infielder Varun Patel, clearly intended for third base. The 22-year-old out of NCfIR definitely has the agility to pull that off, but he, too, was seen a reach as well, lacking speed and overall hitting for a player just outside of the first round.
In the third and fourth rounds, the Owls took outfielder Melanie Doyle, another Llamanean with power, and first baseman Ronald Pozzi, also primarily a power bat out of a lower-level Newlandian college; clearly both dart throws. Very interestingly, while Doyle managed to make the 25-man roster, Patel did not; but that is likely only due to the Owls having an overabundance of infielders. Patel will almost certainly get a call-up early on.

Other additions:

The Owls filled their vacant manager position with Terry Stryre, who’d previously worked for another Owls team – the Eshialand national team. He should hopefully finally bring some stability to the locker room, and lead this time out of the cellar of the South Newlandian League.
With him, Stryre managed to bring a number of other Owls, with Starter Alex Mann, Catcher Wyatt Carew, and Center Fielder Evelyn Brown signing in Newport.
Arguably more excitingly, the Owls also managed to lure a pair of players from Vdara. Despite the fact that the average Vdaran probably has no idea how to base a ball, Xanthippi Zurlalli (Relief Pitcher) and Kassandra Galanalli have managed to show enough flash to earn contracts with the team. While Zurlalli is as average as they come, Galanalli has a unique skillset, being able to defend almost any position, while also being quick on her feet on the basepaths, making her the perfect utility player.

Outlook:
The rebuilding process is always a slow one, and if any team can afford to take things slow, it’s the team with the players from Eshialand. Even though the rebuild is far from complete, the pieces are beginning to fit together.
The top of the starting rotation has a pair of Eshialand Owls in Gray and Mann, but not much otherwise, even though Morrigan Lyall of Brenecia continues to dutifully eat innings as a pitch-to-contact machine, for better and worse.
The bullpen, too, features pieces, but no complete picture. Paige Bell, although aging, is a former Reliever of the Season and current All-Star, and so is Todd Pearson. While the Cassadaiguan has been dropped to the bullpen for his national team, the lefty will also make starts in this season, possibly even back into a permanent starting position. Considering Pearson was an All-Star alternate as a starter the previous season, it’s puzzling that he was dropped to the pen in the first place. Herrera is another candidate to take a starting role, and Zurlalli and Higgins round out a perfectly adequate bullpen.
The focus for the Owls seemed to have been on building a strong line-up before addressing the pitching as much. Carew will be a big upgrade at catcher, while Brentwood and reigning Silver Slugger Dunbar will be a powerful middle infield. As in, literally full power, little defense. That should be fine, though. Brown will also be a lateral move at worst in Center Field, as she’s quite likely the best outfielder on the roster. Santiago, Ready and Bautista of Gortelekua have all declined in the previous season, bit aren’t bad, either, with Mia Cole and Galanalli being good options from the bench.
How far Terry Stryre can take this team in the long-term remains to be seen, but for now, focus should be on developing players like Bianco, Herrera, Brown and others. An immediate turnaround seems unlikely in a strong SNL Central, but when the Dolphins and Sox eventually decline, the only bird team in the South Newlandian League will be able to ascend.

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox

Departures:
The Sox were fortunate enough to get another really strong season unexpectedly in the previous season. Unfortunately, they swiftly fell to the Rhinos in the SNLDS, and will now have to deal with another massive round of player-losing. Having overspent like few teams in the previous seasons, the Blue Sox were desperate to free up cap space in this season. In some cases, they just had to let players walk – starter Fletcher Crouch went to Xingcheng, while Lucca Hahn’s retirement also took some Newls off the books.
In other cases, they actually got something in return, too. Rémy Weber, former WBC MVP and Quodite All-Star slugger was dealt to the New Llama Wizards for a future first. Catcher Tachikake, meanwhile, went to the A’s for a half-eaten ham sandwich. Exaggerating, but only slightly. Another departure they’d have to deal with was Llamanean Tiger Morgan Hedegaard, with the reliever entering retirement.
And manager Ember Marshall of Kohnhead also left the team, an unusual move for a division winner in the offseason. Marshall cited health concerns for his decision, adding another thing for the Sox to address.

Draft: (Position: 21)
The Sox had traded their first-round selection in the draft to Masmow, now Jaffro, when they added Daryl Dunlop at the trade deadline, and therefore only entered the drafting action at pick 45. They used said pick to pick Newlandian Paula Günther right out of High School; while she’s a reliever with, at times, questionable command, few had expected the talented young pitcher to be available this late in the draft.
Later, the Sox had the 69th (nice) pick, using it on 23-year-old Emilia Hou, a Llamanean left fielder with good plate discipline; she, too, was a surprise to be available this late. Otherwise, they grabbed Isidro Short from the Chariots to be their backup catcher.

Other additions:
The Sox got to work trying to patch up holes on a budget. In the trades involving Weber and Tachikake, they managed to get infielder Zhu Kun and first baseman Kurt Sweet in return; although they ultimately ended up cutting Kurt Sweet, who signed with the Dolphins.
The main moves they made, however, involved watching the team that stayed in Rüsselsheim for the International Baseball Slam. The Ochre Islands managed to embark on a surprisingly deep run, and the Sox were able to lure the manager of the Nines, Rick Velsman, to take over the Blue Sox.

Alongside the man who went chronically underappreciated at home, the Sox brought in a trio of players he managed in the Slam – starter Tommy Bellflower, catcher Ryan Flamerty, and Center Fielder Roland Dolmer; each of who will have big shoes to fill.
That ended up being all the Blue Sox would manage to bring in – in an age where all teams are always eagerly looking to add more big talents in free agency, the Sox are a rare team that probably ended up worse.

Outlook:
It’s an interesting team that Velsman is inheriting, and certainly one with a lot of question marks. Llamanean Tiger Griffin Gonzalez remains an excellent ace pitcher, and Juzo Sakaguchi is still here; the Quodite appeared in the All-Star game last season. Beyond that, however? Can Bellflower adjust to an LPB workload? Can Tanner use his above-average fastball to another above-average season? That one seems decently likely, with the Xannerian a fast fan favourite for his pitching style, unafraid to challenge even the best hitters down the middle. Also, Mark Warren is still starting here, which seems dubious, but the veteran from Sanford will certainly do his best.
The bullpen has Hannasean closer Tom DiVicenzo – he may not be the best closer in the league, but he shouldn’t be the problem either. Mark Ellis will likely make another step forward in season two, and Facundo Saavedra Cicerón of Montaña Verde is one of the most underrated players in the division. Not much else there, but maybe that’s all they need.
In the field, there are the two players from the Ochre Islands, and there’s Raitis Ranta, who’ll likely turn in another All-Star calibre season. Everyone else has question marks. For Adam King and Daryl Dunlop, its their age; the Elephants are both 37, heading into their final seasons, and no longer as good as they were in their prime. Quodite Jack Theriault, too, is declining. Cade Templeton is fine, but has yet to show her first-round draft status on the field. Mac Jefferson hasn’t shown any elite traits yet, either.
There is some hope that the two other Xannerians can continue to be good. Anderson-Hoag has surpassed expectations, while Watts Phillipson remains an excellent presence as a backup with his elite speed, even if there isn’t a consistent spot on the field for him. Speaking of the bench, Zhu Kun and Jake Persson are more above-average infield backups – they probably don’t have to worry too much about injuries there, unless it hits Ranta.

by **Eshialand** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 4:54 pm

Tomorrow Can't Come Soon Enough

"So, I hope the two of you buffoons know why I want to talk to the both you today."
"Please, don't call me a buffoon... I'm silly in a fun way!"

Minister DuBois couldn't believe the way the king was talking. Silly in a fun way? That's no quality for a king! She was starting to wish that Fiona Reval, as terrible as she was, remained in power...

"Look... I think the two of you are really going too fast on this whole foreign affairs thing-- the global chessboard is complicated, and you never know when you'll accidentally leave a rook hanging!"

"Look at Mrs. All Talk No Action over here..." Prime Minister Labbett muttered to the king.
"Are you kidding-- HOW ARE YOU TWO IN CHARGE OF THIS COUNTRY????? You aren't acting like leaders, you're acting like a couple of frat boys doing everything for 'teh lulz' without ever thinking about the consequences!!"
"Mrs. DuBois... you don't think the people are sick of people like you? Who overthink everything until their four years are up, never getting any real action done?"

The minister took a deep breath before responding to this comment. "Honestly... I'm not sure what the two of you are planning. I really don't. But if both of you want to be reckless, haphazardly running around with big dreams and small heads, go right ahead. But you two are going to need a new Minister of Foreign Affairs, I QUIT."

The king and prime minister looked at each other before responding in unison "Bye!"

Now-former Minister DuBois stormed out of the room in utter disbelief. What the hell were these two thinking...

"Now, Kevin..." the king asked the prime minister, "have you ever heard of rifting?"
"No... what is it?"
"My plan for moving regions, if we end up going that route."
"Hang on... you have the science of moving regions figured out?"
"Leave that to the brains at Eshialand City University. They know what they're doing..."
"But what if we don't end up moving? After all that's kinda something we do have to ask the people about, we can't just do it..."
"I think they'll be happy once we've convinced them it's the right thing for us."

by **Chromatika** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:09 pm

3-0. 15 scored, 3 conceded after the first series.
6-0. 35 scored, 7 conceded after the second series.

The Outliers continue to roll, Karla Levey going seven strong innings before having to be bailed out at the bottom of the eighth and the ninth, Pandolt coming through once again; Jones would have far more run support - seven runs at the top of the first is a lot - while they'd score nine more in the series finale to help Clara Ayonara score her second win as a starter this WBC. Chromatika is living large so far, and it shouldn't stop, with their next series being against unranked Neibeskiya at home. Truly, they shouldn't be tested again until the series against Liventia - which is then followed up by the next series against TJUN-ia, who will be looking for revenge.

Seven runs allowed in six games so far is the best in the WBC, while 35 runs isn't shabby either - only Quebec and Shingoryeo with 37, Zwangzug with 43, Nova Anglicana with 38, Cassadaigua with 47, and Banija with 43 have more. Though six games is hardly enough of a sample size - we are only 20% through - this roster of veterans and emerging talents have proven to work well together.

Now they return to the home confines of the National Stadium in Chromia - and home cooking should be good.

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:27 pm

OOC: The IC information behind this RP is assisted by Drawkland.

Primary reference material:Memoires d'Athletes - Do Or Die, the 2038 story of Quebecois HS Baseball's Greatest Match
Other reference materials: RPs from WBC 53 (Theo and Myeong-Shin's story with Haley's song, a Grim Reapers' anthem), TWGS Season Two 'Auld Lang Syne' (involves the story of the narrator)

Part 1 - Intro
Part 2 - Tigers: Heo
Part 3 - Dodgers: Pinson
Part 4 - Tigers: Pre-season (Zwangzug)

Part 5 - Dodgers: Pre-season (Drawkland)

Drawkland, two weeks later..

Narrator: And anytime the two meet, you know there will be serious anticipation. Kingston Tigers and Montevicio Dodgers share relatively little history between the two - the Tigers have a famous rivalry with the in-town Blue Jays or the Saguenay Lions, while Montevicio's long used to facing the Saint John Green Sox or, of course, Songak Twins. But the longstanding rivalry between the two, whose numbers were bound to be retired to the rafters of the Commonwealth Park later that very season, too has crossed over to a quiet matchup between the Big Six sides. The tensions have been climbing since Pinson's signing with the Dodgers in a move that many were still discussing two years on, and now, with both teams building up to a showdown, the hype's starting to hit the baseball world immensely right from the start of preseason...

The camera heads straight into the players' entrance into the pitch at a decently-sized ballpark. The hallway is dark, with the lights purposefully turned off by the Dodgers' coaching staff to keep the players from getting distracted with each other. This allows the players to have solitary light, that of the ballpark and its pitch, as their sole focus.

'One, two, Three!' The voice of their captain, Theo-Alexandre, rings in the darkness. 'Vamos los Doyers!' Some footsteps are being heard as players swing back and forth in darkness, before they all enter into the bright lights of the stadium. The camera follows the thirty players, slowly zooming out of the players and moving into the sky to show a more comprehensive image of a ballpark filled with sellout crowd of Quebecois and Drawkian origins.

Once there then the camera shifts to that of the Quebecois anthem montage, initially looking at the pitch before moving towards both the Dodgers and the Tigers' players. Most are keeping their eyes closed, and while some open their mouth while singing the words of 'I vow to thee, my Shingoryeo', most stay quiet and mutter them with mouths closed.

Once that's over, the camera would then move into the Dodgers' dugout, as their manager, 51-year old Choe Bong-Hak, is the one to talk next with the people. Twenty of his players are at the dugout with their coaches, while Choe, a relatively quiet man known for his poker face, talks somewhat awkwardly back at the mic.

'Let's not talk about whatever Montewood stuff that's out there,' says Choe, preferring to focus on the baseball-related matters. 'We aren't here for that.'

Choe Bong-Hak is the eighth-year head coach of the Montevicio Dodgers. Once known for his actor-like appearance with long, dark hair and thin, charismatic face, age has since hit the man who's better remembered among the younger generation of fans and players with his bald head and more rounded face. He, as with Pinson, comes from Chicoutimi, the nation's seventh-largest city in the northeast. It is usually known for the Lions, the second-winningest team in all of QBO, and Heart of Saguenay multi-sport team best known for their football division.

Choe has pitched with the Lions for a decade, with a half-dozen years in Newmanistan between, but spent his managerial career entirely outside of his hometown, with all but one year spent with the Dodgers. As with Keith Bankosky, the only Quebecois pitcher to have hit 300 wins since 1970s, he is a product of the era that came just before the Taewha Trio, and as a result missed much of the excitement and glory that would come with the Grim Reapers' official entrance to the WBC. Naturally, this also meant that he ended up missing out, just by few years, on playing for the LPB or the CBL, so his interest stood on leading the players to glories both domestic and international.

'Do I feel unfortunate at missing out? Not really sure if I do, if I'm being honest.' Choe answered. 'I did have a five, six year period of pitching well in Newmanistan, which had the biggest league at the time, and a decade of success with Saguenay Lions, so I guess it's a pretty decent career I've had.'

Choe Bong-Hak's part of the long lineage of Saguenay Lions' starters who have represented the Quebecois national team years prior and since his time, and his three Quebec Series rings, which he had won with a veteran group of players for first two and for the last one Pinson and his successor Mathieu Berard, were strong enough testament to show his calibre.

'But really, I'm happy where I stand.' He continued, as the first inning began with a rookie starting. Coming straight out of local powerhouse University of Southern Manitoba, it is clear Esther Moreno was slightly nervous heading into tonight's match. Choe and his pitching coach, Makihara Jun, expect three innings pitched to be good enough of a barometer. 'At this point in my career, I have done enough to move into a decent managerial career, both with the Dodgers and the Reapers, and there's nothing better than that. It is just as important to wrap up my time with baseball as strongly as the way I had started it earlier.'

He has reasons to be proud of his success, after all, especially when considering the Dodgers' representation at the Miracle Quebec team: Pinson, while slowly phased out with rise of Samuel Maybin, would come useful as a first baseman 5th on lineup and substitute DH, while Joh Hyeon-Myeong backed up Horace Choo as catcher. Then there's rookie Krista Gallant-Jamison drafted to them while pitching middle relief, while Eric Neeson-Gallagher, normally a closer for them, proved formidable as a middle relief partner alongside Krista. Right at the centre, however, would be second baseman Anika Nesterovic who, as an ever underrated member of the Grim Reapers' infield, would do her job.

'As a head coach of the program I was happy to lead this squad to the success,' he would smile back at the producer. 'We have made it to three Round of Sixteens before, but have never really gotten over the hurdle. So to get over the hurdle with these guys in Zwangzug, who I have been proud to coach, was an honour in itself.'

Then the camera shifts to show the players. The Tigers are on the first match of their 6-team spring season in Drawkland after two weeks in Zwangzug, while the Dodgers are coming all the way from Super-Llamaland, where they have been participating in first stage of preseason for multiple years now. After multiple weeks abroad and under the sun - whether here or in Esportiva - the players looked much more in shape and in motion with their mitts and footwork.

'This year the players seem more ready than usual, mostly because they know the value of training individually and well, and not to just call it after a day,' he says, with the game now heading into the fifth inning. The Dodgers are leading it, 3-2, and now have moved onto their second pitcher, the aforementioned Gallant-Jamison who's included as part of a 1+1. 'Losing it out at the ILCS last year, especially after all the anticipation, did hurt, so our aim's to start early, not to overpace, and just finish consistently. That's how we'll get it.'

'Mr. Choe, who do you see as the player to watch for the season?' a producer asks.

'Krista. You are watching her play right now,' answers he, as the skipper keeps his attention on the rookie pitcher, who strikes out her third straight batter with a slider at that moment. 'We have a good group of starters, but consistency and actual on-game performance are different things. So I want Krista to be the difference-maker here, and while it may be a while for her to emerge as an national team ace, I expect her to continue her strong career especially after her time with Hanyang College.'

'What about on the fielders? As we all know, the Montevicio Dodgers have been known for strong group of fielders, both inside and out-'

'Anika. I have faith in most really - and this includes her, Theo and others - but she's the commander in the infield, our lead-off. Everything starts with her, and I wanna see that.'

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, a rare error by usually-successful Nesterovic would allow a Tigers' runner on third and second to crash home, flipping the score upside down to 3-4. After a few more minutes of back-and-forth affair that would end without additional runs, the game would finish with a Tigers win, 4-3. While the game itself would end quite amicably, with both team captains shaking their hands like old friends they are, we all know the media will be extrapolating a lot from this pre-season game.

This would continue from three more weeks, before all QBO sides start heading back to Quebec, to get ready for the upcoming QBO season.

by **The Jovannic** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:34 pm

Emperors take game of Loyo, Salusi says progress being made

Another 2-1 series loss to Loyo was the result of The Jovannic's second outing this WBC.

It was a spirited performance, and Boris Cadalasa once again proved to the side's greatest asset.

The first game started off well for the Emperors; they scored the first point in the second inning through an absolutely blister of a ball by Raye Qui. Eventually though, the ability of Loyo eventually showed itself, and though The Jovannic fought hard keep the game within touching distance, the opponents had greater endurance and were able to pull out for the win within the last two innings.

Up stepped Boris Cadalasa, who looked sharp during the Banija game and was on his game against Loyo as well, shutting them out until the second last inning, where Neremiah Basaili let 3 points past him. The Jovannic would do one better though, thanks to a Psceledais Moironis home run in the second last inning that gave The Jovannic two points and the game.

It was a one point affair in the last game as well, and although The Jovannic took a 2 point lead, they would fumble a daddy hack fly ball from Jimi Fiazzo, costing them 2 points. A solo home run would see taking the lead, and with The Jovannic unable to score another point, the game.

Salusi was optimistic about his side's chances going into the third series. "We see ourselves improving every game."

The Jovannic will face the UN University, who sit pointless after being swept by both Dod Rava and Cassadaigua. Perhaps the most winnable fixture for the Emperors, getting a positive result is necessary if they are to challenge for qualification to the knockout rounds.

Catch the Jovannicans at the WBC in action on the SportJovannic News Network Channel 3 or AuroraTel Sports 1.

by **Loyo** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:39 pm

Pressure Sets in For Loyon Ace

Loyo’s qualifying period has just started, but the pressure is only increasing for Seung Hawoo.

9-7 in his WBC career, Hawoo has been called up for every tournament the nation has entered so far. After making the tournament proper, Hawoo was expected to be a major key in Chase Min-Son’s WBC 57 squad. His performance was lengths above any other pitcher in WBC 55, but since then, the star is hearing murmurs that he might not be the best choice for Loyon ace.

Hawoo ran into two massive roadblocks last tournament, losing a game 14-3 to Chromatika, and then a week later giving the Cassadagans a sweep on the final series of qualifying, 11-3. Two games with double-digit opposing runs. Not a good thing for a pitcher. In big games, Hawoo hasn’t been doing as hot. Batters have had time to analyze the pitcher’s game, and have made adjustments accordingly. For the best teams in the world, it’s working well, to the pitcher’s dismay.

For Chase Min-Son, the situation comes at the worst time. At the same time Hawoo is struggling, Loyo’s bats have been as silent as ever.

“When you have a pitcher going through a slump, like we see with Hawoo, you really need some other members of the team to step up and alleviate some of that weight,” said Min-Son. “These periods of underperformance are normal, they should be expected at various times during player development.”

While Min-Son had a tempered public response, sources inside the Sunshine Tigers clubhouse say that the manager might have personal worries that the situation will not be alleviated quickly. Improving the hitting performance of the Sunshine Tigers has been a priority for the manager, but negative trends are still continuing.

The People’s National Sporting Committee has identified hitting power as a focus for youth development, but officials say that it could be decades before the country sees improvement in this area.

“Experienced baseball nations have been competing among each other for a long time. Loyo is a new face at this table,” said PNSC Chairman Kuma Sumay. “If we thought that we could change the traditions of our nation with a three-step hitting practice, we’re sorely mistaken.”

Coming into a crucial early qualifying series against Banija, both Hawoo and the Loyon hitters are expected to be tested. While Banija and Loyo share similar defensive numbers, the Sunshine Tigers fall far behind the Banijans when it comes to offensive production.

Sonny James, Jimi Fiazzo, and Bo Ayoyara have all underperformed at the plate so far, with leadoff hitter James only batting .153 thus far.

Dod Rava managed to take a game off of Banija in the last series, can Chase Min-Son’s team do it in Loyo? Only the baseball gods know!

Lineup for Series III: Banija
1B: #17 Shiryo Gerras, 33, R (St. Hayahoma’s)
3B: #13 Jimi Fiazzo, 31, R (SNL’s St. Riecarn Saints)
2B: #11 Ra Min-Joo, 28, R (St. Mianho’s)
CF: #6 (RF/CF) Francis Koo, 31, L (St. Donghai’s)
DH: (If Applicable) #7 Nika Vulkae, 28 (SLL’s New Llama Cyclones)
SS: #18 Bo Ayoyara, 30, R (SLL’s New Llama Wizards)
LF: #20 Isabel Morata, 30, R (SNL’s St. Riecarn Saints)
RF: #22 Meung Boma, 32, L (United Sugar)
C: #1 Hyon Shin, 29, R (St. Yoosan’s)

Pitching Rotation (Use relievers and closers as needed)
Game One
SP: #33 Lukas Wren, 32, R (United Sugar)
RP: #14 Kim Lin, 31, L (SLL’s Xingcheng Renaissance)
CP: #10 Ari Mun, 31, R (SLL’s Denison Dynamo)

Game Two
SP: #15 Seung Hawoo, 29, R (St. Yoosan’s)
RP: #28 Marcos Avantaje, 31, R (SLL’s South Falls Athletics)
CP: #34 Ju Hajoon, 33, L (Kamisusunai Steel)

Game Three
SP: #56 Amon Zao, 27, R (SLL’s Xingcheng Renaissance)
RP: #14 Kim Lin, 31, L (SLL’s Xingcheng Renaissance)
CP:#39 Kuma Pordazi, 25, R (St. Yoosan’s)

by **Cassadaigua** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:48 pm

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 57- Series 3

Group A:

MD7:

The Star Enpire        0 0 2 4 0 0 1 4 0 11
TJUN-ia                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1  6

Neibeskiya             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Chromatika             4 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 X  8

Magnus Phoenicia       0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Liventia               2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 X  5

MD8:

The Star Enpire        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
TJUN-ia                0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 X  1

Neibeskiya             0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Chromatika             2 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 X  6

Magnus Phoenicia       0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  2
Liventia               0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 X  4

MD9:

The Star Enpire        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
TJUN-ia                2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 X  5

Neibeskiya             0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Chromatika             0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3  5

Magnus Phoenicia       0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 5  9
Liventia               1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3

P Group A               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Chromatika              9    9   0    54   11  +43    27
2 Liventia                9    7   2    53   38  +15    21
3 TJUN-ia                 9    5   4    35   35    0    15
4 Magnus Phoenicia        9    3   6    40   54  −14     9
5 The Star Enpire         9    2   7    30   48  −18     6
6 Neibeskiya              9    1   8    35   61  −26     3

Group B:

MD7:

Cassadaigua            2 2 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 10
Dod Rava               1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2  5

The Jovannic           0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2  4
The UN University      4 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 X 10

Banija                 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1  7
Loyo                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2

MD8:

Cassadaigua            1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1  6
Dod Rava               0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0  5

The Jovannic           0 0 0 1 1 0 0 7 0  9
The UN University      0 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0  5

Banija                 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1  5
Loyo                   0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0  4

MD9:

Cassadaigua            0 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 1  6
Dod Rava               0 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 X  7

The Jovannic           0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
The UN University      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Banija                 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  2
Loyo                   0 2 0 3 0 1 0 0 X  6

P Group B               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cassadaigua             9    7   2    69   40  +29    21
2 Banija                  9    6   3    57   41  +16    18
3 Dod Rava                9    5   4    54   59   −5    15
4 Loyo                    9    4   5    36   44   −8    12
5 The Jovannic            9    4   5    37   48  −11    12
6 The UN University       9    1   8    41   62  −21     3

Group C:

MD7:

Torisakia                0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0  4
Drawkland                0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2  5

Ethane                   0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  2
South Americanastan      1 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 X  6

Nova Anglicana           0 0 1 2 0 3 1 0 0 3 10
Oscioru                  0 0 0 1 0 1 5 0 0 2  9

MD8:

Torisakia                0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Drawkland                0 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 X  7

Ethane                   0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3  5
South Americanastan      2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3  7

Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0  4
Oscioru                  2 0 0 1 1 0 0 7 X 11

MD9:

Torisakia                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Drawkland                0 1 0 3 1 0 1 1 X  7

Ethane                   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
South Americanastan      0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2  4

Nova Anglicana           0 0 6 4 1 0 0 0 0 11
Oscioru                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2

P Group C               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana          9    7   2    63   41  +22    21
2 South Americanastan     9    7   2    51   38  +13    21
3 Oscioru                 9    5   4    53   42  +11    15
4 Drawkland               9    5   4    49   40   +9    15
5 Torisakia               9    2   7    22   43  −21     6
6 Ethane                  9    1   8    29   63  −34     3

Group D:

MD7:

South Newlandia                 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 2 1 13
The Spartan Dominion            1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

Benjium                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Tikariot                        2 1 1 3 1 0 0 0 X  8

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Eshialand                       0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 X  4

MD8:

South Newlandia                 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 2  9
The Spartan Dominion            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Benjium                         0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  4
Tikariot                        0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1  4
Eshialand                       0 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 X  6

MD9:

South Newlandia                 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 1  7
The Spartan Dominion            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  2

Benjium                         2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Tikariot                        0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 X  3

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  3
Eshialand                       0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2

P Group D                     Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia               9    8   1    57   20  +37    24
2 Tikariot                      9    5   4    37   28   +9    15
3 Eshialand                     9    5   4    42   36   +6    15
4 Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer    9    4   5    26   31   −5    12
5 Benjium                       9    3   6    24   43  −19     9
6 The Spartan Dominion          9    2   7    28   56  −28     6

Group E:

MD7:

The Emeraldreach       1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  3
Atheara                0 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 X  7

Barnettsville          0 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 0  7
Kharakia               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2

Milchama               0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0  4
Zwangzug               0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1  3

MD8:

The Emeraldreach       0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0  6
Atheara                1 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 X  7

Barnettsville          0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0  4
Kharakia               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  2

Milchama               0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3  6
Zwangzug               0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  5

MD9:

The Emeraldreach       0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  3
Atheara                0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2

Barnettsville          0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  5
Kharakia               2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  4

Milchama               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Zwangzug               0 0 3 0 1 0 3 0 X  7

P Group E               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Milchama                9    7   2    45   35  +10    21
2 Zwangzug                9    6   3    58   24  +34    18
3 Barnettsville           9    4   5    33   38   −5    12
4 Atheara                 9    4   5    46   56  −10    12
5 The Emeraldreach        9    3   6    32   56  −24     9
6 Kharakia                9    3   6    45   50   −5     9

Group F:

MD7:

Ochre Islands            2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Quebec & Shingoryeo      0 0 0 2 1 2 0 1 X  6

Delaclava                0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3
Abanhfleft               3 7 1 0 0 0 0 3 X 14

HUElavia                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
Shieldstan               2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 X  6

MD8:

Ochre Islands            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Quebec & Shingoryeo      1 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 X  6

Delaclava                0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 4  8
Abanhfleft               0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1  4

HUElavia                 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2  6
Shieldstan               0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0  5

MD9:

Ochre Islands            0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  3
Quebec & Shingoryeo      3 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 X  8

Delaclava                0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0  4
Abanhfleft               1 0 1 0 1 2 2 1 X  8

HUElavia                 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Shieldstan               0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X  3

P Group F               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Quebec & Shingoryeo     9    8   1    57   24  +33    24
2 Abanhfleft              9    5   4    53   38  +15    15
3 Delaclava               9    5   4    36   40   −4    15
4 Shieldstan              9    4   5    31   34   −3    12
5 HUElavia                9    3   6    26   44  −18     9
6 Ochre Islands           9    2   7    25   48  −23     6

Group G:

MD7:

Ko-oren                0 3 0 0 2 3 0 0 0  8
Cardenao               0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1  4

Ranoria                2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1  5
United Adaikes         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  3

Montana Verde          0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  4
Super-Llamaland        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3

MD8:

Ko-oren                0 1 0 0 4 6 1 1 5 18
Cardenao               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Ranoria                6 0 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 13
United Adaikes         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Montana Verde          0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 1  6
Super-Llamaland        2 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 X  8

MD9:

Ko-oren                0 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 0  5
Cardenao               2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

Ranoria                0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0  6
United Adaikes         0 1 0 0 0 2 0 4 X  7

Montana Verde          0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1  5
Super-Llamaland        1 3 0 3 0 1 0 1 X  9

P Group G               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                 9    7   2    64   27  +37    21
2 Ranoria                 9    7   2    57   22  +35    21
3 Super-Llamaland         9    5   4    37   34   +3    15
4 Cardenao                9    4   5    38   59  −21    12
5 Montana Verde           9    2   7    36   63  −27     6
  United Adaikes          9    2   7    31   58  −27     6

by **Barnettsville** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 9:30 am

Alright, Alright, Alright

KHARAKIA - Now, THAT is Blue Jay baseball.

The trio of Maggie English (1-1), Aubrey Carroll (1-0), and Tammy Burke (1-2) (in that order), all pitched complete-game victories against Kharakia to pull Barnettsville from last place and into the discussion of the wild-card race. They’re still three games back of group leading Milchama, but the sweep of the new squad was just what the doctor ordered.

Maggie English threw the best game of the series, pitching perfect ball through eight innings before allowing two garbage time runs in the bottom of the ninth. Even the home fans had to acknowledge the mastery, as she gave up only five hits, all in that final frame.

“She was only at about eighty,” said Brianna Bruce post-game. “Perfect game, 80 pitches. I was letting her finish regardless. We were up 7-0 at that point. Whe the (censored) not?

Carroll had a masterful performance, allowing two runs over just 5 hits, gibing up just two walks to boot. Burke struggled quite a bit, allowing 4 runs from a dozen hits, but the bats came through enough in the first five innings.

by **Ranoria** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:21 am

"Weather The Storm,"
Ko-oren Rides Six Game Winning Streak Into Ranoria, Co-Leaders Of Group G Slated To Break Their Stalemate

Outfielder Julian Breit shortly before tanking another ball into the stands

Ko-oren might be the hottest team in baseball right now - outside of the Outliers of course - and it's the Krauts that'll get a crack at trying to put that fire out. After taking their lumps in their opening series against Super-Llamaland (who doesn't?), they're the winners of six straight and have outscored the opposition by an outlandish mark of 52-18. Throw in our slip up against United Adaikes in our last outing, and we're tied with Ko-oren atop Group G.

That was a tough one to watch. Our bats started cold, but in the fourth inning, something clicked. With two runners on, Julian Breit cranked a long ball well past left field, and Jesse Griffith couldn't help but match his co-star, catching just enough of a pitch on the next at bat to loft it over the fence. With four runs so far, the momentum continued - the second out came on a Clark Weaver ground ball, but Lukas Valentine was able to get on, followed by RJ Hall.

Judas Acker was next, and he was at the bottom of the order for a reason. But if he's got an asset, it's speed. The veteran didn't hit the best ball, but he was fast. He beat the throw to first, and with Lukas Valentine already trotting through home, it was RJ Hall's turn. He plays wide receiver in the Celestia conference on the side - he's got speed to burn. He barely managed to beat the throw, but beat it he did to make it a six-run inning and give the team a massive lead.

Ironically, Acker would get caught stealing second, ending the run-up, but it seemed like we were in for a blowout.

Unfortunately, pitcher Brady Behringer failed to get out of first gear in his second start for the Krauts, allowing three runs in just six innings before he was pulled. All the while, our bats had gone silent after that earlier explosion. Thomas Barnett got us five outs between the sixth and the seventh, but manager Henderson Mausse yanked him after a double got a runner from second to home in the eighth to make it a 6-4 advantage. Corey Nielman stepped up next, and Mausse could only cringe as he allowed first a single, and then a monster three run bomb that would give the UA team an advantage they'd never relinquish - a Judas Acker strikeout would end the contest.

Ideally, we should have a pretty good shot thanks to our pitching. The Krauts have allowed just 22 runs to this point, 3rd best in the tournament so far behind only South Newlandia and Chromatika (though plenty of teams are pretty close). That's two LPB home nations with better pitching than us, and two that our in our group.

Anyway! Parker Majors will get the start in the first game out, it'll be the fireballer Yahweh Bohannon and Jorge Billing on the mound for the closing two games of the series. Throw in our homefield advantage, and we've got everything we need to put the brakes on the Ko-orenite push to stand alone atop Group G at the halfway point. Their bats have been making some noise, so the latter two games of the series will be a matchup to keep an eye on, but the Krauts have plenty of firepower at their disposal as well. With Jesse Griffith and Julian Breit of course leading the charge, RJ Hall is coming into his own as another star in the outfield alongside the latter, and most of the other guys in the lineup seem to be holding up really well - especially with Clark Weaver replacing Justin Derrick at shortstop.

"We'll have to weather the storm," Bohannon said at a pre-game presser leading up to the series, "Those guys can put up points in bunches, and their pitching rotation won't be slacking. Our job on the mound is to slow them down enough to give our teammates at the plate a chance, and that's what we're gonna do." Bohannon has allowed just one run in his two starts to this point, conceding that score against Super-Llamaland. He'll have to stay on top of his game if we're to come out on top against Ko-oren.

by **Drawkland** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:45 pm

Lane Kavana had spent the entire afternoon pacing around his house in the suburbs of Hessport. He wasn’t exactly dreading this phone call, but he certainly wasn’t looking forward to it. Base Corps manager Glenn Sutton had been relatively receptive to Lane’s quest to recruit some of Drawkland’s best players to pump up the Corps, but he tasked the slugger to bring the Corps ace starter Leo Roy into the fold.

The issue? Roy and Kavana weren’t exactly on friendly terms. Sure, they were both big names on the Base Corps and had been for years. They had interacted on brief occasions, but kept away from each other. All these meetings had frosty relations at best. Simply put, they didn’t like each other’s company.

In a way, they were too similar. Lane was an excellent hitter who, above all else, hated getting out. Even being a great power hitter, he cared more for putting the ball in play and getting on base. That’s what he considered a win, and he hated to lose to pitchers. Leo represented the inverse: a pitcher who was most frustrated when hitters stymied his excellent pitching and scrapped their way onto the basepaths, ruining his rhythm. He wanted to beat every batter, and getting outs was the only thing to satisfy him.

The most time the two had spent together was a single session of full-strength at-bat practice in an empty stadium prior to a pre-WBC camp. It was a clash of baseball greatness, but no other soul witnessed the event. Almost nobody knew that it even happened, and none until after the fact. In that session, Lane found a way to slap base hits and even a couple home runs, only striking out 3 times. Roy was so frustrated that he called it off himself, visibly irate at being unable to get Lane out consistently. Batting practice counts for very little of course, even though Roy was giving a genuine effort. The adrenaline and pressure of a real game situation would change things, but this is the closest either could get to a direct head-to-head.

Since that day, Roy has avoided talking to Lane at all costs, and vice versa. An exception had to be made for this, however. The future of the Corps rode heavily on what Lane Kavana planned to accomplish this offseason … and for better or for worse, Roy had to be part of that.

So, Lane finally put himself up to the task. The rarely-used contact page of Leo Roy had stared back at Lane from his phone for too long. It was time to make the call.

“Hello?” Leo Roy’s voice came in after a minute of ringing.

“Hey,” Lane started hesitantly. “How’ve you been? How’s the move to Jaffro going?” He was referencing how Roy’s LPB team had recently decided to relocate from Masmow, South Newlandia, to Jaffro, Drawkland. It had nothing to do with the intent of the call, but he figured an icebreaker was necessary.

“It’s nice,” Roy replied curtly. “Good to be Sonnelside again, I suppose.”

“Oh yeah, of course. Welcome back, and all.” Lane paused again.

“Alright, what’s this going to be about?” Roy sighed, cutting to the chase. “I know you didn’t dig up my number to exchange pleasantries. What do you want from me?”

“Ah, it’s about the Classic,” Lane offered. He wasn’t expecting to dive into it this quickly, but it was probably less annoying this way.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Listen,” Lane started, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this team. I think we both know that the Base Corps is having trouble breaking through.”

“That’s true.”

“What frustrates me is that this team is so close to breaking through, and yet we don’t have enough to get through the glass ceiling. I’m sure this frustrates you too.”

“It might.” Roy added more after a second. “Are you quitting or something?”

“No, I’m not quitting.” Lane groaned. That was the second time he made someone think that. Maybe he needed to adjust his approach. “I’m saying this team just needs a little extra to get over the edge. A few more pieces. A more complete roster.”

“That’s for sure. You never give me enough run support.”

“Funny.” Lane bit his tongue hard to stop himself from countering. “I’m serious, though. I honestly believe Drawkland could compete for championships, and to do that we need to have better contributors. The era of the Corps being a laughing stock has to end.”

“That’s a lofty goal there, Mr. Kavana.” Roy seemed unimpressed. “I don’t think it matters who you get, though. If you’re going to keep swinging for the fences, you’re going to keep falling short. It doesn’t matter who bats behind you if you keep making easy outs.”

“And yet, that’s my entire point.” Lane replied quickly. “I hate trying to hit for power so aggressively. I hate having to be the one everyone depends on every time. I would love to focus on my hitting craft and just set the table for greater things more often. You’re right, I can’t do that when I can’t trust the hitters behind me. I’m going on a recruiting drive this offseason, and that’s why.”

“Good for you, I guess. Good luck, you’re going to need it.”

“I’m not done yet,” Lane interrupted. He took a breath to collect himself. “I’m calling because I need your help with this.”

“My help? Why would you need me?” Roy replied sarcastically. “You’re God’s gift to the sport, or something. I thought you could do EVERYTHING.”

“In this circumstance, I can’t do it all by myself.” Lane clenched his fist and tried to stay on topic. “The Corps needs better pitching, too. I think you and I both know that no pitcher is going to want to listen to me or do anything I ask them to do.”

“Myself included.”

“Yeah.” Lane huffed slightly. This was going nowhere. He was almost tempted to hang up, but he thought about what Sutton had said to him in the diner last week. He needed Roy’s help, whether he liked it or not.

“Quite frankly, I don’t see the incentive in this.” Roy sighed after a moment. “I’m not entirely convinced that even Drawkland’s actual best could sniff at a WBC ring. Especially not right now.”

“Maybe it’s not about right now.” Lane offered. “I would love to bring this team to a championship, but I know that’s not necessarily realistic. I do think we could at least make a quarterfinal though, within our tenure. I think all our legacies would be secure after that. Even still, even if the fruits of our labor aren’t ripe until long after we retire, it would still be worth it. We could set the precedent. We could change the narrative. We could give the Corps hope for the future, one where the players on the roster aren’t considered tainted.”

“Hmm.” Roy didn’t betray much emotion, but he also wasn’t immediately shooting the idea down.

“So again, I’m asking if you could maybe lobby on my behalf, or rather the Corps’ behalf, to a few of Drawkland’s best pitchers. I have a shortlist in mind, but I’m sure you have ideas of your own to that end.”

“Perhaps,” Roy replied shortly again. He couldn’t lie, the prospect of bringing some of the pitchers he respected the most onto the Corps was intriguing. It was going to be tough work, though. And the thought of doing something at Lane Kavana’s behest was nausea-inducing.

“At least give it some thought. You can get back to me.”

“Who did you have in mind?” Roy figured he would see what level of pitcher Lane was considering, if nothing else to see what his strategy would be.

“I’m talking big guns.” Lane checked the list he’d written down. “Boone, for instance. Colt Hayden, Ollie McCracken. We could have a nasty rotation there. Matt Boyle and Rudy Wilson for the pen.”

“I’m surprised. You have decent taste in pitching. Not perfect though,” Roy couldn’t help but smirk a bit. He couldn’t believe he was saying it, but he’d made up his mind, at least for now. “Okay, I may give it a shot. I wouldn’t mind jawing with some of those guys anyway. Plus a few more of my choosing.”

“Knock yourself out!” Lane replied, a little too quickly. “By all means, get whoever you can.”

“I will. Expect to see some new faces in the spring.”

“There’s one more thing …” Lane trailed off. This request he was dreading the most.

“What now?” Roy asked, a little annoyed as his finger was already about to hit the hang-up button.

“I need you to get Silvanus.” Lane answered. The silence on the other end of the line was deafening, and he scrambled to regain conversational purchase. “He’s unfortunately more of a pitching mind than a hitting mind, even though he’s a transcendent hitter. I also don’t think he likes me that much. I feel like you’d have a better chance of convincing him than I.”

“I refuse to speak to that traitor.” Roy growled into the phone. “Acts like his hitting is the only thing that makes him important, and lets his pitching fall to the wayside. Disgustingly wasted potential.”

“Maybe you could change his mind,” Lane suggested. He was just hoping something would stick at this point. “Talking to such a pitching guru like you could reignite his passion for it.”

“Nice try. Still not going to talk to him.”

“He could be the biggest piece we need,” Lane tried again. “You can’t deny that. He’d be a fiery #2 in the rotation, and he’d fill the hole at DH for the lineup. With his kind of power, I’d have a lot more flexibility at the plate. He makes the lineup better. He makes the pitching better. You have to at least try.”

“Mhm.” Roy muttered. “Fine, but you’re going to owe me. Big time.”

“If we make the quarterfinals, I’ll do whatever you ask.” Lane replied, hoping the sarcasm was clear enough.

“I’m sure.” Roy rolled his eyes. He was done with this conversation. “Alright, I’ll look at this over the next couple weeks. No promises.”

“Thank you. I mean it.” Lane gave his best shot at being genuine.

“Pleasure.”

The call didn’t exactly go smoothly, but Lane figured it was good enough to get the job done. At the very least, now he didn’t have to sweat about making the call. It was done, and now he could concentrate on an arguably more difficult challenge: getting the hitters he wanted to buy in on the Corps. If Sutton was to be believed, it was going to be nigh impossible to break through the attitude of derision towards the Base Corps. At this point, though, Lane had no other choice. He’d already started down the path. There was no turning back now.

by **Shieldstan** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 2:39 am

King Royal Is tired after playing with the experienced players.even though,It is Shieldstan's first world cup,Shieldstan Is dominating every player.Dan said to Daniel“Well,That was crazy.I'm baseball after a long time.”.
Daniel Replied With“But we-” right when he was saying the sentence,Mike Made a homerun.“I know Mike is good at-” When he said that,the other team catched the ball and Mike was out.The next player was Justin,He was playing bad until he hit a homerun,Justin actually did it and he was still in.

Back To Where King was watching
King was watching as he was already out.Suddenly,Justin hit another homerun but was out before he could do anything but he made Shieldstan look glorious,For their first world cup.
Back To The Match
Kevin was the next player,he was playing good until he went out after 9 minutes of playing.Shieldstanis in the stadium lost hope.But,Daniel Blue played great and every player played great.when alot of the players had played,Daniel said “we'll remember the day we will win” One of HUElavia's player said“you can't win.” Then It was time to win,Kraft was here to win Shieldstan and he did by keep on winning.It was also time for Jade too,Jade played the best out of Shieldstan's players.Chris And Timmy Didn't play so well,being out immediately.Brown played atleast good,but he was out when we were about to win.It was Blacks' turn to win us and he did.all players were playing bad until,Steven won us,Shieldstan's Cheered and Shieldstan is now ready to actually win.

by **Cassadaigua** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 7:04 am

Fillies improve to 7-2,
by Kenzie Sherman, Concord Heights Times

After nine games, Team Cassadaigua sits atop Group B with a 7-2 record, a game ahead of Banija, as we await the eventual series between the two nations. There are other games to be played before then, and right now we need to focus on them. This is pretty similar to the last Classic, where we were so good against everyone in the group other than Chromatika. The Outliers, in turn, made us look bad in pretty much every head to head game. That is something that we can think about when we ultimately see the Banijans. First things first, was a series in Dod Rava.

Stella Freeman took to the mound for the opening game of the series, and was strong in seven innings of work, allowing three runs on eight hits. She would get plenty of run support, with the pink and black getting a pair of runs in both the first and the second innings. Carly Hodges and Isabella Tejeda each delivered a 2-run double in those innings to jump out to what was then a 4-1 lead. Although the home team closed to 4-3 in the third, Freeman shut them down over the middle innings. Cassadaigua broke the game open in the seventh, scoring four, highlighted by a three run homer off the bat of Kristen Martorella. The Fillies would eventually win, 10-5.

The second game was more of a nail biter, with Breanne LaViolette not having a game that she will fondly remember. She was not terrible, but allowing five runs over five innings where she still threw 103 pitches and never had an easy inning. Cassadaigua was showing some fight of their own, but Breanne LaViolette left the game down, 5-4. After the game, Allyson McIntosh said that perhaps, she should have taken her out after four, "Yeah, I was thinking about it, and maybe that would have been the better plan. Sometimes, the pitch count isn't the big team, it is the pressure situations that those pitches are thrown under, and she was under pressure most of her outing. Credit Dod Rava for working the count well." Still, the Fillies were resilient, tying it in the eighth on a sac fly from Isabelle Tejeda, and winning in the ninth on an RBI double from Cailey Huff.

The final game of the series saw Natalia Gomez get lit up in the second inning. Some of have questioned her role on the team, saying that despite her success with the Concord Heights Royals, that she has not been effective against good teams in the Classic. They feel that she should be in the bullpen, and that perhaps, Todd Pearson, should be in the rotation. That argument got a boost with her ineffectiveness here, and only going an inning and a third . Pearson did come in, but did not impress, giving up a run in the third, but pitching himself into a bases loaded and no outs situation where the team was fortunate to only concede a lone run. Kristen Duncan then came an was dominant from the fourth through the eighth, retiring all twelve batters she faced. Cassadaigua began to nip away, and got it to 7-6 with the tying run on second with one out before Makenna Anglin struck out and Baylee Crighton flew out to the warning track in left.

The Fillies will remain on the road for a series against The Jovannic, before a six-game homestand with three against Banija on the horizon.

by **Milchama** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 8:38 am

"After a 3 run 11th inning it did seem like the Warriors were going to be able to rest easy but it sure isn't working that way"

"Not at all, Food not able to get it done today as drinks are deemed significantly more important"

"Are you seriously going to say that instead of recapping the game?"

"I was about to get to that Stacey, just wait"

"Ok, well go along then"

"Anyway, Food walked Hummels, gave up a single to Arbuthnot, and then hit Iwamura to load the bases with nobody out. He was, of course, pulled by Terron for Galit Schachar and now it's pinch hitter Wanda Hopkins up at the plate"

"I know it's cliche to say but this is going to be a key at bat"

"That is ridiculously cliche"

"Like I said, anyway, Hopkins has had a mixed record as a pinch hitter"

"How do you know that?"

"I made it up"

"Ok then"

"So Schachar to throw first pitch fastball, fouled off, a rarity there, as Schachar is known for her breaking balls, especially the screwball"

"She's definitely screwy"

"Ugh, anyway, here comes the 2nd pitch and taken for ball 1. There was the screwball"

"It looked like a slider"

"That's because they're basically the same pitch"

"Fair enough"

"And she gets ready, the set, the pitch is swung on and missed. Wow! What a pitch that was"

"That was a beauty, I don't know how you could hit a pitch like that, just impossible for Hopkins to lay off or even get any bat on that"

"1-2 on Hopkins, no outs, bases full of Zebras, and the pitch is hit hard grounder just past Schacher up the middle base hit!"

"Hummels scores easily from third, Arbuthnot coming around and will score from second as the throw comes into the infield!"

"Great defense there from Batya Jones who made sure to keep Hopkins and Iwamura on 1st and 2nd, saving the double play and also no sac flies"

"Not a great start from Schachar however"

"No, really couldn't be worse"

"Well now it's the top of the Zwangzug order with Cragun coming up to bat"

"This is only going to get worse isn't it?"

"Almost certainly"

"Well then here we go Galit Schachar throws her screwball first pitch and it's hit right to Kerenton at 3rd, throws to second for one, onto first. Double play!"

"Wow! That's huge! 2 outs tying runner on third base now as Schachar is able to induce the double play from Cragun"

"It almost looked close enough that I thought she thought about stepping on 3rd base for a second"

"It kinda did look like that but to have a literal triple play to end the game felt a bit too godmod-y for safety"

"Oh definitely, keep it with a double play, much more normal"

"Bradley Petre-Sherman right fielder for the Newport Dolphins in the LPB comes out to bat and it's all up to him"

"Yeah, basically, runner on third two outs, Milchama up by 1. Schachar lines up and the pitch fouled off"

"That's a great pitch there but one thing I keep noticing is that Zwangzug keeps on swinging at that first pitch. Haven't seen a single take this inning, usually the Zebras are a more patient team I wonder what's happening"

"You have to think the pressure's getting to them right? That's pretty crazy to think about"

"Well here's the second pitch and it is taken for strike 2"

"Wow! That's really close right on the corner and it looks like it's a ball on K zone"

"Oof, tough one there for the Zebras but, honestly, that's a really close call. Hard to blame the umpire"

"Oh definitely a tough one to blame and Schachar with an 0-2 count winds up and throws a fastball and it's hit hard to centerfield, Jones races back but there's plenty of room there and she makes the catch!"

"Milchama win! They take the 2nd game over Zwangzug and guarantee a win in this all important top 2 series!"

"That's a huge game here by the Warriors despite the awful start to the inning, Galit Schachar was able to turn it around and get the important 3 outs to seal the game"

"We're going to have more to say about this after we send it back to the studio...Mark over to you"

by **Nova Anglicana** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 10:00 am

Nova Anglicana manager Charlie Snyder watched as the ball sailed into the night air and over the fence. A two-run homer for Oscioru broke the shutout, but it was still 11-2, Lions. A big lead, but he'd hoped his beleaguered bullpen would have been able to go one game without giving up a run in this series.

Coming into the series at 5-1, Snyder had felt pretty confident that the Lions could pull off a road sweep and continue their momentum. Yes, Oscioru was 4-2, but they'd played unranked Torisakia and 63rd-ranked Ethane, the two teams you figured they could beat. So when Ryan Montgomery tossed six innings of two-run ball and the Lions backed him up with seven runs, including four RBI from star third baseman Shane Frazier, he'd figured the lead was safe. Now was the time to get Aiden Fréchette, the 20 year-old wonder lefty, his first taste of international ball. And things had gone well initially. He'd struck out the first-ever batter he faced on four pitches, burying a slider at the back foot to get the swing and miss. But then he'd lost the zone. Fastball after fastball missed to the arm side, up and away or up and in. The slider could get strikes, but the Oscioru hitters, credit to them, fouled it off multiple times. He managed a strikeout, but it came in between three walks and a hit batsman, forcing in a run and forcing Snyder to pull him. The tying run was at the plate and he went with rookie Christian Williamson, another guy who could use some confidence. Bad move. Williamson's third pitch was deposited into the seats for a grand slam. Tie ballgame, and Aiden Fréchette was sitting on a 54.00 ERA for his career. Williamson got the last out, but it was devastating. Adrien Dumas and Brandon Norris locked down the 8th and 9th, but the Lions couldn't come up with any runs, so the game went to the 10th. Fortunately, a two-run double from Frazier and an RBI single from Ben Poole gave the Lions a 10-7 lead, so even when normally reliable Darren Sharp conceded three hits and two runs, they could hold on.

If you thought game one was bad, game two was worse. Tommy Logan gutted his way through five innings and 93 pitches, giving up four runs along the way. Jonah Quinlan came through with a two-run single in the sixth, and Théophile Berthiaume and Xavier Pineault each knocked in runs in the following innings, tying the game at four heading into the bottom of the eighth. So far, Jake Cunningham had provided three innings of scoreless relief, but it was time for a change. In a tie ballgame, on came Adrien Turcotte, he of the excellent curve. But it wasn't so excellent. Turcotte went single, single, strikeout, RBI double, walk, RBI single before being lifted for Scott Hunter. Facing a bases-loaded situation with his team down 6-4, Hunter did what any reasonable person would do: he hit the first batter. The next four batters followed with RBI single, RBI single, pop-up, RBI single. That prompted Nick Pierce to come in, who threw a wild pitch to score the 7th run of the inning and the 11th run of the game. He struck out the batter, but the bullpen had killed the chance of victory. They took the 11-4 loss.

(Pitching lines: Adrien Turcotte 0.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, Scott Hunter 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP)

So it was a relief when the Lions buried Oscioru early in game three. The third inning saw the Lions bat around before a single man was retired, going walk, walk, RBI double, hit batsman, RBI single, RBI single, RBI walk, RBI single, RBI single to score six runs and knock the Oscioru pitcher out of the box. Unfortunately, the reliever managed to strike out two of the next three hitters and put an end to the inning, but would get knocked around themselves in the fourth. Following two singles and a walk, Jonah Quinlan crushed a pitch 432 feet into left center field for a grand slam, chasing the reliever and making the score 10-0. Guillaume Barbeau tacked on with a solo shot in the fifth to make it 11-0. That let Snyder resolve to lift his starter, "Sly" Miller, after five innings. Miller had scattered three hits and one walk while striking out six, an impressive debut for the rookie. Brent Lee came on and tossed three scoreless innings before just now giving up that two-run homer. But as the Oscioru hitter swung through his 93-mph fastball for strike three, that ended the game and, Snyder was pretty sure, either tied or put him in the team lead for saves with two. It was his second straight outing of four innings and two runs in mop-up work, but since he pitched at least three and ended the game, that qualified him for the save.

Lee and Miller's pitching aside, they were going to need a much better effort against their next opponent. If his team had allowed an unheralded squad like Oscioru to score 22 runs against them, South Americanastan could run wild. Snyder made a mental note to have one-on-ones with Nate Barrett, Félix Clermont, and Sean Caldwell before the upcoming series. He'd need six or seven innings from all of them, with three or fewer runs so that he could hand it off to Dumas, Norris, and Sharp to handle the late innings with a chance of victory. Plus they'd need Hunter to get his act together and probably Pierce as well, and he'd be damned if Steven Gray wasn't going to have to throw two dozen high-leverage pitches before the series was out. They were 7-2, but they needed to start acting like a top-10 team or they were going to get slapped around.

by **TJUN-ia** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:27 pm

Game 1: TSE 11-6 TJU (3-4)
We entered Rounders Field to face the Dreamers of The Star Enpire with momentum at our side, but a situation Phillip Hellas-Verona wanted to improve with haste. Jason McRae would start against Clemence Fiydèleonore Köhler but things would start poorly as HRs from Rae Harrison (2) and Bazza Joyner (4) would force Joseph "JoJo" McAlbo out to play in the 4th. JoJo certainly tried to make things right but HRs from Roc Fisdèyasẽt Sãsõ and Lúka Fisdèvaléri Sharõ (4) would mean Trinity Shelby-Dowora would have to finish things off. We managed 6 runs in the final 2 innings (Li Chen Sho for 3, Martina Andrade de Souza for 2 and Stefan von Shültz with 2 outs) but that would be that.

Game 2: TSE 0-1 TJU (4-4)
Kimi Holvanen would start against Léõ Fisdèrolãd Savatyé in what turned out to be a pitching duel, one in which only 1 run was scored in this entire game. That run was a solo HR from Santino Fenatti in the 4th and that run would end up being the decider of a very tight game on both sides of the ball. The real MVP, however, was certainly Holvanen as his innings would end up being put down in the record books as a No-Hitter - a rarity in this sport.

Game 3: TSE 0-5 TJU (5-4)
Finally, we had the decider between Maddison "Missy" Jembembe and Mars Fiydèsésil Rolã and oh boy, did this one spark a bit more joy in TJUN-ian Baseball. This game was pretty simple to understand: Missy got a Shutout, Palila Kalawai’a got a 2-run bomb, Santino Fenatti got one as well, Li Chen Sho capped things off with a solo bomb and that was that. 5-0, the series won 2-1 and we could ride off into the sunset.

Things certainly do feel like they are back on track, but up next is a very big test against 7-2 Liventia, the 2nd-placed team in this group. We expect a very difficult undertaking but we hope to every lord in the sky we can take something from this road test. GO BATTIN' JAGS!

SCHEDULE
S1: vs Chromatika (4) - Rounders Field, Portside L 0-3 (6th)
S2: @Magnus Phoenicia (UR) - Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II Stadium, ??? W 3-0 (3rd)
S3: vs The Star Enpire (42) - Rounders Field, Portside W 2-1 (3rd)
S4: @Liventia (17)
S5: vs Neibeskiya (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside
S6: @Chromatika (4)
S7: vs Magnus Phoenicia (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S8: @The Star Enpire (42) - Dubwa Field, Redmont
S9: vs Liventia (17) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S10: @Neibeskiya (UR)

by **Loyo** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:31 pm

Loyo Steals Game From Banija
Offensive Sluggishness Still Holds Team Down

The Loyons emerge from a difficult home series against the Banijans with a singular win, losing the series but giving the Sunshine Tigers hope of improvement. Currently, they sit 4th in Group B, 3 wins behind 2nd-place Banija. The following games in the qualifying half are against Dod Rava and the UN University, which might offer a breather for the team. However, it’s clear that there are still bothersome problems impairing the team’s ability to score.

The team is last in scoring in their group, with 5 runs less than 1-win UN University. The only thing keeping Loyo from being further down the table is the defense, which has kept up with the best of the group, just 4 more than Cassadaigua and 3 more than Banija. Defensive play has been as tight thus far in the tournament, with kudos to Isabel Morata and Meung Boma, who have held up left and right field respectively.

The team has struggled with a lack of hits and a decline in base stealing percentage since last tournament. Loyo's hitting changes might be working against the team in the short-term, but baseball officials stand by the decision.

"Even before we debuted to international eyes, we knew that almost all of our offensive culture might be less than ideal for these types of competitions. Hitting, base-stealing… We had to look over everything and make data-driven decisions," said Lao Yijun, head of Loyo's baseball youth development. "The PNSC doesn't make a decision to achieve results in the short-term. We have a long term focus. We cannot make decisions based off of the perceptions of fans that roll in and out as regularly as the tide."

So if the team's not hitting well collectively, is there anyone's that's picking up the slack? 33-year-old Shiryo Gerras, who is widely beloved across the country, is trying his best to keep the Sunshine Tigers on base. Gerras is on a four game hit streak, and has been a critical part in the few rallies the Loyons have managed. His RBI single in the bottom of the second in matchday nine lit up the Loyon side, and was a massive momentum shift that helped the Sunshine Tigers prevail against Banija in that contest.

Gerras has regularly taken opposing pitchers to full counts, and has the highest exit velocity on the team for this tournament. Gerras has been a mainstay for the Sunshine Tigers since their international debut, and his retirement in the next few seasons spells trouble for both domestic club Saint Hayahoma's and the Loyon national team when they have to replace him.

With this in mind, Gerras has been a team leader in implementing hitting changes for the team. Gerras was always more power-minded than the average Loyon ballplayer, but has attempted to mentor younger players on the team that want to prioritizing on improving their hitting. Gerras has formed a development group with Ra Min-Joo, Hyon Shin and Nika Vulkae for specialized training.

"It's really unprecedented," said manager Chase Min-Son. "There's a pretty intense rivalry between the military clubs, Yoosan's and Hayahoma's in particular. What Gerras has done is not common, and I think the entire coaching staff is curious to see what the result of it will be."

"I've always had one love, and that's been baseball. If I can make my mark on the game in my home country, that will be the best investment I can give to the work our country is doing," said Gerras.

Some fans of Saint Hayahoma's have expressed frustration over Gerras training rivals in his signature style.

"Gerras was a baseball legend before all this. He's giving up club secrets that have helped him succeed at Hayahoma's to our closest rivals as we bleed talent to other countries," said Mitsuda resident Duan Miza. "It's not a good long-term strategy, giving Hyon Shin personal lessons from one of the greatest players in Loyon history. Gerras retires in two or three years, but we'll have to compete against Shin for the next half decade or more. There's only so far that Hayahoma fans can be pushed, and we won't lie down forever!"

Beyond hitting woes, Loyon baseball authorities will have to carefully balance the interests of domestic clubs with those of the national team. The bull-headed approach taken by the PNSC may lead to massive developmental benefit for the next generation of Loyon players, but it runs the risk of alienating the nation's most passionate baseball supporters. As it stands currently, the PNSC and LRL clubs and fans are prime for a collision.

Lineup for Series IV: Dod Rava
1B: #17 Shiryo Gerras, 33, R (St. Hayahoma’s)
3B: #13 Jimi Fiazzo, 31, R (SNL’s St. Riecarn Saints)
2B: #11 Ra Min-Joo, 28, R (St. Mianho’s)
CF: #6 (RF/CF) Francis Koo, 31, L (St. Donghai’s)
DH: (If Applicable) #7 Nika Vulkae, 28 (SLL’s New Llama Cyclones)
SS: #18 Bo Ayoyara, 30, R (SLL’s New Llama Wizards)
LF: #20 Isabel Morata, 30, R (SNL’s St. Riecarn Saints)
RF: #22 Meung Boma, 32, L (United Sugar)
C: #1 Hyon Shin, 29, R (St. Yoosan’s)

Pitching Rotation (Use relievers and closers as needed)
Game One
SP: #23 Kyla Maccz, 29, L (SLL’s Nikcoro Suns)
RP: #25 Avery Min, 32, L (St. Yoosan’s)
CP: #10 Ari Mun, 31, R (SLL’s Denison Dynamo)
Game Two
SP: #33 Lukas Wren, 32, R (United Sugar)
RP: #28 Marcos Avantaje, 31, R (SLL’s South Falls Athletics)
CP: #34 Ju Hajoon, 33, L (Kamisusunai Steel)
Game Three
SP: #15 Seung Hawoo, 29, R (St. Yoosan’s)
RP: #14 Kim Lin, 31, L (SLL’s Xingcheng Renaissance)
CP: #39 Kuma Pordazi, 25, R (St. Yoosan’s)

by **Banija** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:05 pm

Banijan closer Oyella Lagum, during his one series sabbatical from the team, in Busukuma

Oyella Lagum was an experienced closer. He was a world champion, damnit. And yet- everything was off during this WBC. Two blown saves across his first two appearances of the tournament- the only difference for Banija between starting 4-2, and starting 6-0. This wouldn't put a huge dent in their knockout stage chances, of course, but their seeding- it is something that could certainly come back to effect their seeding. And the lower your seed, tougher your route, the tougher path you have back to the WBC Championship Series... The team wanted desperately to get back to those heights.

And so, he had the second game of the Banija @ Loyo series on television, in front of him. It was the first extra innings game of the tournament for Banija- reaching deep into the bullpen for this one. But in the top of the inning, which he was watching, a Banijan hitter, in a 4-4 game, caused him to leap out of his seat- Ugonna Akachi's solo shot to straightaway center field made the score 5-4, giving Banija the go-ahead run, and the chance to earn the sweep the next night. Lagum was wondering- they had a save situation for this game. He, of course, wasn't there. Who would go on the mound?

Sebaga Atla had already pitched in the 9th and 10th. Would they bring him out for the 11th, to try and get the save? The answer was no. The manager turned to... A middle reliever, Diko Maatle. And Maatle was ready- going a perfect 1-2-3 (groundout, popup, strikeout) to end the game, record his first save of the tournament(and the first successful save attempt, in general, for Banija this classic), and get Banija win #6. As the commentators started talking about Maatle, Lagum switched off the television. He didn't want to hear about how he might be losing his job. He went to bed...

Banijan closer Oyella Lagum, the next morning, with his wife

"Good morning, honey." Oyella Lagum's wife kissed him. It was 6 AM- the sun shining bright, Lagum had breathed deeply- he certainly did not want to lose his job to a freaking middle reliever, of all people. He was proud of being the closer of a world champion baseball team- but Isaac Oladipo was focused on the next one, not the last one (as he should be), and Lagum knew that if he continued to blow saves like he was doing, he needed to get things fixed- and fast.

Lagum, unlike most Banijans, was not a Mormon. On the NT, he was the only mainland player who wasn't Mormon (although Kiribata, born in BET Njaza, wasn't Mormon either). He was a believer in one of Banija's indigenous religions- mostly wiped out, but practiced by a few minority groups within Banija. He was an Iturbide, and a few still held to the old ways of their forefathers. Long discriminated against, they mostly had equal religious rights from a legal standpoint- however, those dudes simply knew not to talk about it in public.

But in this time of great stress, Lagum decided to dive into that. He had just spent two days with the team psychiatrist- a waste of time, in his mind. This day was supposed to be a day of rest. But he was going to drive out to rural Banija- about an hour and a half away, to go see somebody that he could never tell anyone, including his Mormon wife, that he saw- a shaman. Or, as most of the world knows them- a witch doctor.

"I'll see you tonight, honey!" Oyella Lagum called as he left the door. She had known he was stressing- she had promised him quite a night when he returned. A night that wasn't PG-13, to say the least. Lagum first corralled the kids, and drove them to his brother-in-law's house, where they would stay for the day and the night. "Thanks, man." Oyella grunted. He knew he had to be out of there.

After 90 minutes, he finally got to the destination. He was in a tiny village- population of probably 200 or less? But he had called ahead. This shaman- a crazy man, to say the least. If you were going to see him, he would leave a horse at a stable, and you had to ride it, one mile, bare back, without help, from the edge of his property up to his house. Nobody in this village dare stole the horse from him- would YOU steal from a shaman?

So Oyella got on the horse, and rode it to the Shaman's hut. Then, the shaman let him in.

"Good day, Oyella." The shaman said. "What brings you here?"

"Well," Oyella said, stuttering.

"To the point! I don't have all day."

"You know, my pitching has been... Off. My command is terrible. I'm either throwing meatballs over the heart of the plate, or I can't throw a strike to save my life. Two blown saves- at the WBC! My coach blames me-"

"I don't want to here your sob stories, Oyella." The shaman was always straight to the point. "But I know who you are. I've been watching. Can't pitch anymore, eh?" He opened a huge book- one that seemed ancient. Oyella glanced as the shaman kept flipping through the pages. "Ah-ha! It's your job- this spell will do." He showed it to Lagum- who simply shook his head. He didn't read Iturbide.

"You don't read the language of your ancestors, eh? Shame on you Oyella- shame on you." The shaman shook his head. "But doesn't matter- we can still help you. Here- I will concoct you a potion." Then, shockingly, the shaman opened a trap door- and they rolled into what was a massive basement.

"How the hell..." Oyella muttered to himself. Lives in a small hut, the lone building on an acre- how the hell does he have a basement 5X the square area of his house?

"You know, in case those damned LDSers find this place." The shaman said. Suddenly, the lights flipped off- and they flipped back on. Two more people were there. Oyella's head was spinning. Where did they come from? How did they get into this place? The shaman looked as if he was throwing 6 or 7 potions into a bowl.

"Alright- stir it." Said one of the two mysterious men who had just appeared, almost out of thin air. Lagum started to stir the mix.

"Alright, now we're going to take a hair" - and they plucked one from the top of his head, throwing it into the mixture "and you're going to continue to stir." So stir Lagum did. Finally, they told him to stop, and he looked at the shaman. The shaman, and the two mysterious men, looked him in the eye.

"You have called upon your ancestors, and the spirits, to help you perform in your job- high pressure, high stakes, sporting events. Is this correct?"

"Yes." Lagum replied.

"Then drink this." The shaman said. Oyella Lagum looked at the portion- the smell was terrible, BUt what choice did he have? He grabbed it, and started drinking away. He drank the entire thing- every last drop. "You have called upon your ancestors, and you have answered the call. But be forewarned- there are consequences, disastrous consequences, if things go wrong." The shaman paused, and then continued. "You know you must pay a price."

Oyella nodded. "What is my price?" The price usually wasn't too bad.

"You must eat goat meat- every single day, for the remainder of the tournament. Then your performances will return." Oyella looked at him, with round eyes. Goat meat was everywhere in Banija- but where was he supposed to find goat meat on the road?

"Uh..."

"YOUR TERMS HAVE BEEN IMPOSED." All three men exclaimed. He knew this would be a challenge- the NT never served goat meat to the team, saying that it doesn't help take you to peak performance. They were strict about diet during the tournament. He'd have to figure it out- but figure it out he would.

"OK." Oyella Lagum said. Then, he was ushered up the stairs, out the door, and to the horse- rode it back to the road, where his car was waiting. Time to buy some goat meat. Things would be easy in Busukuma, theoretically- but it'd be the series after next, away to Cassadaigua, where he'd face some serious challenges...

World Baseball Classic 57- Everything Thread (Final G6 Up!)

Kavana's Crusade (3) The Crusade Begins

Batter Up!: Now We Are Here

Kavana's Crusade (4) Mutual Distaste

Shieldstan Wins?

Batter Up!: On The Long Trail Back

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