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

by **The Jovannic** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:27 pm

The Jovannicwins first game after rocky start against UN University

It was victory at last for The Jovannic after they beat down fellow unranked groupmate UN University 2-1 in a bottom of the group clash.

Initially however, The Jovannic had the worst possible start, and after The Jovannic failed to take the lead at the top of the first inning, Harry Chong stepped up to deliver what could be the worst pitching performance from The Emperors this WBC. A dogpile of Wild Pitches followed by an absolute meatball that was served right on a plate for the UN University batter to sweep it high and far for a 3 point home run.

4 points would be let in, and The Jovannic never really recovered from that inning, with the UN University now playing with confidence. Bremin Henson did not do any better, and the game would end 4-10.

After such a disastrous outing, the Emperors were hard pressed to improve in the second game, and things were looking grim after Boris Cadalasa allowed the UN University batter to hit a line drive to the far right, giving them a point. By the second last inning the UN University were leading 4-2, and the Emperors needed something to get back in contention. Up stepped Raye Qui, who with all bases loaded served up a fabulous home run for 4 points. With that, the floodgates opened, and The Jovannic scored 7 points that inning, jumping ahead of the UN University. The game would end 9-5, and The Jovannic were back on track.

The third game was definitely a more defensive affair, and the UN University seemed to be more cautious to prevent a rerun of the last game. Bielsa Lee pitched well, keeping them to a singular point, and The Jovannic would get the game and series victory with a well timed ground ball, ending the game 2-1.

Fuchie Salusi commended the team back at the press interview. "I like how the team didn't collapse after a less than ideal first game" He stated. "We'll need to keep up this resilience throughout the tournament."

The Jovannic will face group leaders Cassadaigua in the next series, who defeated Dod Rava 2-1 and sit 9 points above the Emperors.

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

by **South Newlandia** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:59 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 3

SNL North (Elephant Valley teams)

Elephant Valley Homers

Departures:
The previous season ended the era of Homers dominance. They had won the division each time in the first three seasons of the LPB era, and even though they didn’t have a championship to show for it, it was clear that the Homers were running the North. Last season, though, everything fell apart, as the Homers fell to 81-103, leading to the firing of manager Tanya Ericsson and the Homers entering an almost complete rebuild.
Few teams had a team shakeup as dramatic as the Homers did. Granted, most of the losses weren’t great players, but that’s largely because the Homers didn’t have that many of those left anymore. Undoubtedly the highest-profile retirement for the season was Drawkian Darien Rodriguez, long-time Base Corps starter. Alongside him, Llamanean reliever Kyle Fang and Peyton Arias of Bollonich also hung up their cleats. Lachlan Cocrine also did not make a return, with the Sylestonean returning home to cricket.
Llamanean corner infielder Albert Vaughn also did not return, signing a free agency contract with the Kingfishers; while SP Jack Beard (former top ten redraft pick), 1B Bucky Jimenez and SS Fatima da Silva were all cut at various stages; signing with EVU, the Saints, and the Rhinos respectively.
Most of these losses were minor, with the most concerning the losses of Tanya Ericsson and Darien Rodrigiez, tearing a hole into the already spiralling clubhouse culture.

Draft: (Position: 7)
The Homers did not have a first-round pick after trading said pick to the Apple Valley Vipers in the deal that landed them Chromatik Rose Dawson. The more eagle-eyed among the fans did note that Dawson had, in fact, left years ago already, so starting the draft at pick 25 (which came in return in that same trade) definitely hurt. To open the second round of the amateur draft, the Homers took a defensively-minded infielder in Devin Amalfi, a young Llamanean widely regarded as a draft-day reach.
With pick 31, the Homers went Llamanean again, drafting utility man Francis X. Buntazzo.
They spent their later-round picks at 55 and 79 on another Llamanean in Kylie Zhaxi, an outfielder who’ll bring plenty of speed and questionable hitting, and Matteo Fischer, a dart throw on a Newlandian 1B right out of High School.
Considering how bad the Homers were the previous season, it was a pretty underwhelming haul, although everyone but the young Fischer made it to the 25-man roster as a rookie.

Other additions:

The real additions to the roster for the Homers came in free agency. At the end of things, of the Homers 25-man roster, 14 of them had arrived just this season; and that’s not even counting the new coach they brought in. That manager ended up being Dana Hussel, who has extensive experience with the Quebecois national team and had most recently been with the St. Riecarn Saints.
Her appointment undoubtedly helped the Homers attract some more premium Quebecois talent. They made two major signings in that direction – bringing in left-hander Hye-Yeon Yi to complement Buchanan at the top of the rotation, and Benoit Everson to bring another great player into the bullpen.
They also scouted talent from Farfadillis, bringing in Indujan fireballer Thinerimo Yraskarjá, who impressed scouts with his fastball despite limited experience. Fellow Indujan signing, Patiris Eká Molos, is almost the polar opposite to Yraskarjá; where the pitchers attitude matches his fiery pitches, Eká Molos is much more reserved, a fair better option for a catcher.
For some more batting, the Homers went to look at the Banijan Esportivan Territories, signing power-hitting first baseman Masango Ekangaki and not-power-hitting (but everything else) second baseman Awli Rubis. Both of them are under 25, showing a clear direction towards building for the future by bringing in young players to develop the team around.
Next up, the Homers signed a pair of players from Dod Rava; with starter Rosa Sánchez instantly becoming one of the youngest players in the league. She’ll be coming out of the bullpen in her rookie season as a teenager. Shortstop Feliks Korab is only two years older, and he, too, will most likely not find a permanent starting role in season one; instead being backup to Rubis and Pellegrino.
The last of the foreign signings was Miles Haines. The former cricket player from Drehda decided on a surprising career change after injuries limited his cricketing effectiveness. Even among a cast of very wildcard players, Haines might be the biggest one, but the Homers believe in him enough to give him a spot on the bullpen.
To round out the roster, the Homers signed a pair of former Saints after they were each cut, with third baseman Mitch Sneider and outfielder Gena Smith coming in, both of them Newlandians to serve as backups, and possibly as (in the case of Smith, relative) veteran presences to balance out a very young team.

Outlook:
It’s a very weird team, to say the least. One thing is clear, this Homers team isn’t really looking to compete now. They’ll most likely have a premium pick in the next LPB draft, one that appears stronger than the most recent one, which is the good news. The bad news is these Homers will probably be pretty mediocre at best. They still have great pieces, like a great one-two punch in the rotation with the Quebecois Buchanan/Hye-Yeon pairing, even if they don’t have a lot behind them.
The bullpen is almost impossible to project. Pandolt and Everson are the best players here by far, with the rest of them including some unclear newcomers, and Jordan Jam-Jams of Qasden, who continues to hang around.
The line-up seems to be the biggest weakness of the time. There’s the five new players we’ve looked at, who range from below average to just above average, but none of them project to make a major impact in year one. There’s also Left Fielder Juriel Santos, who might be one of the worst starters in the league at this point, and a pair of players from Lozho. Like starter Zappacosta, Zexair and Zaratrianias will surely continue to receive lots of love from the fans, but none of them are a major impact either. That pretty much just leaves Andrea Pellegrino, who hasn’t really shown yet why she was drafted 11th overall three seasons ago. In addition to that, she’ll be asked to play a lot of shortstop to accommodate Rubis, something we don’t know for sure she can do.
Something that speaks in favour of this team is a reasonably deep bench, and if any team will see a surprise minor league ascension, it’ll likely be the Homers; alongside Fischer, they also have 1B Barker and DH Gray down there. Gray had received an unreasonable amount of at-bats the previous season, and it’s telling no team wanted to pick up the free-swinging recent #67 pick.
It’s a tough group for Dana Hussel. In her first year in the capital, she might have to focus mainly on making sure the team doesn’t fall completely apart, as well as building a decent culture to allow this team to grow in the future. It will not be easy, but Hussel has the experience to make that happen.

Elephant Valley United

Departures:
Elephant Valley United was as close to a South Newlandian title as they could possibly have been. A blown save meant that slipped through their grasp in front of their own fans, but the team still had the best record last season, and is looking eager to retool and regroup.
That won’t be perfectly possible, of course, as EVU will have to compensate a few retirements. In the previous two seasons, the team had a pair of shortstops splitting the workload in Tikariotian Carlton Baines and Ranorian legend Leonardo Harrison. Now, they’re both gone, tearing a hole in the middle of the infield, with both international players hanging up their cleats. They were joined by reliever Sam Vandenberg, long-time Llamanean Tiger, and long-time Elephant starter Jacob Conroy. Certainly quite a few key spots to address; Dotivijan center fielder Ivana Lozanović also leaving was the least of their worries at that point.
Fortunately, they were limit things to those five, agreeing on a new contract with Ranorian slugger Julian Breit, the MVP of the previous season, as well as former #1 overall pick Hansel Eriksen, who has since made a name for himself on the Tigers. Both of them did, as the baseball expert would say, get a major bag; it remains to be seen how well EVU can juggle the competing contract demands on the future.
Another, less important offseason change was far more cultural – due to the abundance of Ranorians on the team, many fans have begun to affectionately nickname this team the “Snow Bears”, which has swiftly been adopted by most of the fanbase. While Elephant Valley United will remain the official name of the team, the Snow Bears will be a perfectly acceptable alternate.

Draft: (Position: 23)
Perhaps their aversion to going fully all-in at the previous deadline was the thing that held them back in the SNLCS a year ago, but on the upside, the Snow Bears still held their first-round pick.
They spent in one young Llamanean fireballer Nathan Johanssen, a right-handed teenage fireballer will lots of potential, but also a lot to prove.
EVU doubled up on young pitchers by grabbing an even younger Llamanean with the 47th pick. Jenny Strauss, a left-handed pitcher, excels more through her off-speed stuff, but she, too, is extremely raw and unproven.
At #71, the Snow Bears also added a backup catcher, drafting Manuela Simon out of Ruditown Biologics. The 21-year-old Newlandian is unlikely to challenge for serious playing time, but she should have a change to play as a backup, being the latest-picked player to immediately make the 25-man roster. Strauss, meanwhile, did not – not surprising at age 18.

Other additions:

That wouldn’t be all the additions the Snow Bears would make, and where would they go if not getting some more Snow Bears, or Ranorians. They made that happen by first addressing the shortstop hole by bringing in Justin Derrick, and then addressing Center Field by bringing in Judas Acker; two Ranorian internationals that’ll surely boost the team.
Other than that, EVU wasn’t quite able to bring in more high-calibre additions to the squad, with constrains on the salary becoming increasingly obvious. Instead, they brought in a variety of players on cheap deals. In the starting rotation, those were Michael Michaelson, who had just pitched against them in the SNLCS, and Jack Beard, who’d been with the rival Homers. They brought in another former Rhino in reliever Henrietta Chang, and added ex-Dachshund David Lange to get a significant chunk of the looks at DH. To round out the additions, they signed corner outfielder Alana Gonzalez after the Llamanean was cut by the Stingrays.

Outlook:
This team is still excellent. Elephantastic, if you will. That starts with a top-two starter punch that can go toe-to-toe with anyone, with Ranorians Jorge Billing and “The Cannon” Bohannon. Brandon Jackson, who projects as the #3 starter, is not quite an elephant, but at 23, he’s certainly closer than ever. Behind that, there’s a bit of a drop-off, to be sure. But still, Billing started the last All-Star game, and Bohannon was an All-Star as well.
In the bullpen, the team is still led by fellow All-Star closer Miellen Walker, reinforced by Tikariotian Owl Canterbury (another recent All-Star), Llamanean Reefe and about-to-be-elephant Mats Molina. Johanssen, too, might make some meaningful contributions as a rookie. That’s a unit that can certainly stack up with the others in the LPB – if Molina and Johanssen can hit their upside, they might well be the best bullpen in the SNL.
The true strength of the Snow Bears, though, comes from their elite lineup, almost certainly the best in the SNL. The weakest link is DH Lange, followed by Wesley Reid – the former top five pick never really panned out in Sun City or Elephant Valley. Other than that? Eriksen – Llamanean Tiger, All-Star. Ghirardello – Tikariotian Owl, All-Star. Fleming – Tikariotian Owl, All-Star. Then, there’s the quartet of Ranorians, with All-Star Solomons, the two newcomers in Derrick and Acker, and reigning SNL MVP Julian Breit.
Even on the bench, the team have some roleplayers, most notably Llamanean Maxine Eckstein, who has displayed some great play despite her short stature.
All in all, all the pieces are in place for manager Jonas Nuhl to run it back and lead the Snow Bears to another terrific season, and first place in the pretty soft SNL North. For that to fail, there’d probably have to be something pretty weird happening.

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 7:37 pm

OOC: For those wondering what is going on after two cycles (this had originally begun right after the XVI Summer Olympics and right around World Cup 92), this is the final section of Dr. Heo and the Portal of Madness, a special Phase II storyline that details Dr. Heo Dong-Soo, a self-insert and father of legendary Quebecois sportsmen Myeong-Shin, of Concord Heights Royals and Kingston Tigers fame, and Myeong-Yoon.

It also features Jang Joon-Gweon, a young cricketing phenom with haunted past, whose discovery and actualisation of his own magical abilities that have haunted him for years will be a major part of the storyline. They, together and with special cast of characters, have to fix the dimensional fissure that is cracking Quebec and Shingoryeo on the seams between Anaia and Atlantian Oceania, effectively settling into a dual-region status that I hope this fully details and explains by the end.

TWGS megathread is currently listed up to the penultimate chapter of the Dr. Heo and the Portal of Madness I's penultimate chapter. I will be writing the DHPM I's finale as part of the IBC 37 final RP tomorrow, and from onwards you will see close to daily update on the megathread for chronicling, on top of the megathread itself.

As I resume this storyline for the final stretch, set to end in seven/eight chapters' time, I would like to thank all parties for their support and feedback with the storylines so far. Without your support, this would not be possible.

- Q&S -

Dr. Heo and the Portal of Madness II: Map of the Problematique

PART 2.12 (45) - Bitter Wind

Put, put, put, put.

The feeling of dust blowing at their face and pebbles dropping sideways, all the way to the very pit of the mining shaft, was jarring as The Creator and Dr. Heo-711 quietly descended to the very bottom of the pit. The very abandoned uranium mining pit, one that had come from the years of resource extraction, contained a narrow chamber at the very bottom, and there was no other way to reach it other than to walk for several hours.

Slowly but gradually reaching the end of their course, The Creator and his alternate-universal creation would find their steps getting faster, especially with increasing darkness shrouding them. Long familiar to the two years of black-and-white sceneries of the downtown days begone, The Creator knew he was heading into the right space of mind. While there would be some who would find greater solace in staying home under the silence brought by the Plague that had struck his world, he himself found it to be defibrillating and instead chose to stash those times into a drawer, rarely to be re-opened.

Does he know? The Creator thought, as he turned to look at Dr. Heo-711 descend right in front of him. His eyes were closed, mouth zipped and limbs loose, and the silence continued to follow around them. Maybe he does, and what's underneath the pit connects the multiple worlds and even different dimensions...

Eventually The Creator explained to himself that the very bottom of the pit carried a device that would fasten the facilitation of the Shingoryeoite domains' nettings. After hours of deliberation The Creator had figured out that, while he had recommended Jang Joon-Gweon and the other, Dr. Heo-1 (the actual one) to bring everybody together, he did make a judgment error of his own where the instructions were sparse, spread apart and also did not exactly explain why it would be the Doc, and not he, who had to bring it together back at the Rink of the Dreams.

Naturally he had known why - it couldn't be the same person. The magical box in the middle of the Rink of Dreams, one that Joon-Gweon had touched and led into all of them separated into different spheres, did not allow for the same person, both living and dead, to touch it multiple times.

So there was the issue. The first time they were there, it would be Joon-Gweon who had managed to decode it to unveil the sequences of his own, but it couldn't be him doing it again. With the way that the box inside the Rink of Dreams worked and the way it had repelled the others, it had to be somebody else doing it for the first and only time, and the number of people were finite as a result.

There was also the issue of exposure to him the accidental Creator of it, which had more or less eliminated Fabrice Nelson-Ryong, Alexandre Browne-Hahm and Henri VIII altogether. Now, while such line of thought would have qualified for Hannah, who had much more advanced understanding of her abilities than Joon-Gweon or Dr. Heo did with theirs, the same would not have been applicable for Isabel Jurado, whose foreign origins, and the source of her dimension-tampering magic had only worsened the effect of the explosion back in the Rink of Dreams. As for Hannah, he knew she couldn't - not only Hannah's type of water magic would not be able to unlock it in the inland, she would be needed for greater purposes with another box in future-time, whether be in near future or several decades from now. This meant that there really stood only one of his creations.

Once the pair had arrived with the final steps bringing them to the flat flatter than that of the Earth, they would find themselves in middle of a narrow chamber. Once there, it would start to whirr and clank from all directions, and would continue so for several minutes. Dr. Heo-711 told The Creator that the chamber itself, or the being controlling it that is, usually took some time to figure out if the darkness inside the chamber would choose to 1) crush the occupant to their death, 2) expel them to the top of the pit, or 3) keep them inside the pit with possibility of revealing the unknown. And with the way that they were invited here, especially with The Creator's certainty implied, it looked like the three was the likeliest option. The Creator thought too that this would be the likeliest outcome.

He decided to break ice and ask a little bit further. 'Is the world of yours as technophiliac as mine seems to be?' said Dr. Heo-711. 'Almost to the point where everybody's trying to find the way to explain something as unexplainable as this, or someone falling from the sky, or whatever?'

'Not really, it's still a fairly devout world with Christine the Second,' answered The Creator. 'Who is your sovereign once again?'

'Louis, the son of William III and Queen Katherine (de Kitemah),' answered Dr. Heo-711. 'I like him, but don't ask what had happened between the three princes.'

It was right at that moment when a mysterious fountain appeared on the other side of the chamber, as Dr. Heo-711 and The Creator turned around to look at the green glow that had emerged. Made out of finest jade not native to Quebecovello-Sud, the fountain was behind the dark shrouds of the chamber until its unveiling.

Huh, was all that's come out of The Creator's head as the whirring sound surrounding them would come to an end.

Both of them immediately felt how cool, tranquil and yet tempting the fountain invited them, and how this had meant something different, almost as if it had the ability to defy the normal sense. In how clean the materials were made, how strong it was, and how inviting and yet repellent it was in the energy produced, they had realised that whatever this may be would prove to be an instrument of significance.

'I don't think I've seen that before,' said Dr. Heo-711, as he would recall past instances. 'And this place gives a lot of things - those you have seen back in my place. I've seen mirrors, diaries, and even books of the alternate universes coming out of there, but not...a full fountain.'

'So you are saying that, this object is...?' The Creator asked, before coming short of right words.

'Somebody's got to move closer towards it,' said Dr. Heo-711, giving the younger man a light nudge. He had a feeling this would cause greater effect than what he would desire, but also knew that it wasn't up to the rancher, who had left his homeland many decades ago, to decide. 'If that's not what you are here for, then who am I to judge you over it?'

So the Creator slowly made his way towards the Jade Fountain. Watching his body moving slower each step he would make, The Creator pressed his own limbs and mind towards it, in a matter of not only determination but also hope. The calmness of the jade that might calm the lands if brought home, thought he. Could it calm down the rage and the fury inside me? and bring back some of what I had and lost from the pre-plague times?

Eventually he would make his way right in front of the Fountain. Now directly in his gaze, the Fountain seemed even more alive than before. While appearing clear from some distance, the fountain themselves were engraved with ever-changing tapestry of scenes both of Shingoryeoite history, but also the future. Each scene was carved to the very vein of a young child, individual gemstone generated with different glows of green and white implied, and the very foundation of its movements set by that of a men's chorus aged as richly as a century-old wine.

'My own narrative, that runs past the space and time I give,' said The Creator, as he would look into a tapestry scene of Hannah and Joon-Gweon. In there, he was seeing the very future that had awaited them - the one of promise and forgiveness, one that he had hoped would tie well into the Christinian era that, in future time, would be remembered for the liberal, self-deterministic course.

Of course, The Creator himself knew that what was drawn here held more promise than what he had actually in mind, and thus wouldn't exactly translate into what would eventually happen in time. He, after all, was a tragedian rather than comedian in heart. The 25-year-old Creator also held greater penchant towards historicals - which always held an open room towards lyricism and soliloquies - over universality and ubiquity, which had meant this outcome, while desirable and alluring, was not meant to happen.

But it did give him a sense of doubt over it all, a sense of tingling that he had difficulty ignoring. He would continue to read into the said tapestry, one that promised them the lifetime of prosperity and redemption for young Joon-Gweon Jang-Moran, the son of a long-executed convoyist, and his beloved Hannah Moran, the eventual second-in-command to Irene Kweon Binnington, the visionary Prime Minister The Creator knew would define the course of the nation. The ideal, fable-esque vision of their love, similarly to the story of Caspian the Duke of Brattleboro/Halifax and Christine II, was one that he knew many of his readers would want.

Stop. A quiet, inner voice of his rang as The Creator had looked up. Right in front of him stood a touchpad shaped like that of a human hand. He had not seen this one before, and if anything it looked out of place especially when it front of this mysterious object, but he knew that he, if were to figure out what this Jade Fountain had meant, had to place his hands there.

'Alright, let's do this,' The Creator said to himself as he placed his hand on the pad.

by **Cassadaigua** » Thu Jun 22, 2023 7:43 pm

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 57- Series 4

Group A:

MD10:

TJUN-ia                4 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 12
Liventia               0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1  5

Chromatika             0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 2  7
Magnus Phoenicia       0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0  5

The Star Enpire        1 0 2 3 1 0 0 0 0  7
Neibeskiya             0 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 0  6

MD11:

TJUN-ia                0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  2
Liventia               0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 X  3

Chromatika             0 0 0 1 1 2 1 3 0  8
Magnus Phoenicia       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

The Star Enpire        1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0  7
Neibeskiya             2 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0  6

MD12:

TJUN-ia                0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 1  6
Liventia               0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1  3

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

The Star Enpire        1 0 2 3 2 0 0 3 2 13
Neibeskiya             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

P Group A               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Chromatika             12   11   1    72   21  +51    33
2 Liventia               12    8   4    64   58   +6    24
3 TJUN-ia                12    7   5    55   46   +9    21
4 The Star Enpire        12    5   7    57   60   −3    15
5 Magnus Phoenicia       12    4   8    50   72  −22    12
6 Neibeskiya             12    1  11    47   88  −41     3

Group B:

MD10:

Dod Rava               0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0  5
Loyo                   0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  3

The UN University      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Banija                 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 X  3

Cassadaigua            1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  4
The Jovannic           0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

MD11:

Dod Rava               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0  4
Loyo                   1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2  5

The UN University      0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1  5
Banija                 1 2 0 4 2 0 0 0 X  9

Cassadaigua            1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
The Jovannic           0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 X  6

MD12:

Dod Rava               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Loyo                   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3  4

The UN University      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3
Banija                 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3  4

Cassadaigua            0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 1  6
The Jovannic           0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 0  5

P Group B               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cassadaigua            12    9   3    83   53  +30    27
2 Banija                 12    9   3    73   50  +23    27
3 Loyo                   12    6   6    48   54   −6    18
4 Dod Rava               12    6   6    64   71   −7    18
5 The Jovannic           12    5   7    50   62  −12    15
6 The UN University      12    1  11    50   78  −28     3

Group C:

MD10:

Drawkland                0 2 4 0 2 0 1 0 2 11
Oscioru                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

South Americanastan      0 1 3 0 0 0 3 0 0  7
Nova Anglicana           0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 1  5

Torisakia                1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
Ethane                   0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 X  5

MD11:

Drawkland                0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  5
Oscioru                  0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  3

South Americanastan      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Nova Anglicana           0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 X  4

Torisakia                0 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 0  6
Ethane                   0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1  4

MD12:

Drawkland                0 0 1 0 5 3 0 5 3 17
Oscioru                  0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

South Americanastan      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4  5
Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0  4

Torisakia                1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  4
Ethane                   2 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 X  5

P Group C               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Americanastan    12    9   3    64   51  +13    27
2 Nova Anglicana         12    8   4    76   54  +22    24
3 Drawkland              12    8   4    82   45  +37    24
4 Oscioru                12    5   7    58   75  −17    15
5 Ethane                 12    3   9    43   75  −32     9
6 Torisakia              12    3   9    34   57  −23     9

Group D:

MD10:

The Spartan Dominion            0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Eshialand                       2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 X  4

Tikariot                        0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 X  3

South Newlandia                 5 0 0 7 0 0 2 0 0 14
Benjium                         0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  3

MD11:

The Spartan Dominion            1 1 0 0 0 6 0 1 1 10
Eshialand                       2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

Tikariot                        0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 0  5
Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  4

South Newlandia                 0 0 1 3 2 2 0 0 0  8
Benjium                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

MD12:

The Spartan Dominion            1 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 0  7
Eshialand                       0 1 2 0 6 2 3 0 X 14

Tikariot                        1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 X  3

South Newlandia                 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0  5
Benjium                         2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  6

P Group D                     Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia              12   10   2    84   29  +55    30
2 Eshialand                    12    7   5    63   56   +7    21
3 Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer   12    6   6    36   39   −3    18
4 Tikariot                     12    6   6    45   38   +7    18
5 Benjium                      12    4   8    33   70  −37    12
6 The Spartan Dominion         12    3   9    48   77  −29     9

Group E:

MD10:

Atheara                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Zwangzug               1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 X  4

Kharakia               0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2
Milchama               1 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 X  7

The Emeraldreach       0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Barnettsville          2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 X  4

MD11:

Atheara                1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Zwangzug               0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 X  5

Kharakia               0 0 0 0 4 1 1 0 1  7
Milchama               1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3  6

The Emeraldreach       1 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 0  9
Barnettsville          0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2  4

MD12:

Atheara                3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0  6
Zwangzug               2 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 X  7

Kharakia               0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Milchama               0 1 0 1 0 0 4 0 X  6

The Emeraldreach       0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Barnettsville          0 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 X  7

P Group E               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Milchama               12    9   3    64   46  +18    27
2 Zwangzug               12    9   3    74   32  +42    27
3 Barnettsville          12    6   6    48   52   −4    18
4 Kharakia               12    4   8    56   69  −13    12
5 The Emeraldreach       12    4   8    46   71  −25    12
6 Atheara                12    4   8    54   72  −18    12

Group F:

MD10:

Quebec & Shingoryeo      1 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 0  7
Shieldstan               0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Abanhfleft               0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  5
HUElavia                 1 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 X  6

Ochre Islands            0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 1  5
Delaclava                0 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 X  6

MD11:

Quebec & Shingoryeo      1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3  7
Shieldstan               0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  4

Abanhfleft               0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  4
HUElavia                 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  3

Ochre Islands            0 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 0  7
Delaclava                2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

MD12:

Quebec & Shingoryeo      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  4
Shieldstan               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Abanhfleft               1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1  5
HUElavia                 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Ochre Islands            0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Delaclava                3 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 X  8

P Group F               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Quebec & Shingoryeo    12   11   1    75   29  +46    33
2 Abanhfleft             12    7   5    67   48  +19    21
3 Delaclava              12    7   5    52   55   −3    21
4 Shieldstan             12    4   8    36   52  −16    12
5 HUElavia               12    4   8    36   58  −22    12
6 Ochre Islands          12    3   9    40   64  −24     9

Group G:

MD10:

Cardenao               1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Super-Llamaland        2 1 9 2 0 0 2 0 X 16

United Adaikes         0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5  7
Montana Verde          1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Ranoria                4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 X  7

MD11:

Cardenao               1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Super-Llamaland        0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 X  4

United Adaikes         2 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0  7
Montana Verde          1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3

Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  4
Ranoria                2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

MD12:

Cardenao               0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2
Super-Llamaland        0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 X  4

United Adaikes         0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Montana Verde          0 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 X  6

Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2  4
Ranoria                0 3 0 0 0 2 3 0 X  8

P Group G               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ranoria                12    9   3    75   31  +44    27
2 Super-Llamaland        12    8   4    61   40  +21    24
3 Ko-oren                12    8   4    73   45  +28    24
4 Cardenao               12    4   8    44   83  −39    12
5 United Adaikes         12    4   8    47   69  −22    12
6 Montana Verde          12    3   9    47   79  −32     9

by **Shieldstan** » Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:36 am

The 1st Match With Quebec & Shingoryeo

Shieldstan's Baseball team was too stressed because Quebec & Shingoryeo's Baseball Team play.Shieldstan couldn't do anything,Shieldstan was losing badly but the team and Shieldstanis didn't lose hope.

Quebec & Shingoryeo's Team unfortunately hit a home run but,Luckily Chase caught it.Dan said “even though Chase catches it,there's no way we're winning...”.In response,King said “Don't lose hope,you're the only one losing hope on our team.”

The other team was winning,This is the first time Shieldstan is actually losing instead of winning.
King said “Come on Chase!”.Chase Catched the ball but that wasn't stopping them.still,they were so good.Jade got Shieldstan one point but that can't do anything with Quebec & Shingoryeo.Still they were keep on doing good.Hunter wanted to just win,but he only saw losing.

Hunter:We can't do anything,we're going to lose anytime!
King:There has to be some way we could win.
Dan:Let Jade focus!He's our only hope.

Both Hunter And King keep on arguing when suddenly,one of the other team's player sees them and says “Why are you guys so angry?that we're winning?”.Hunter Replied “No,Jade isn't playing good!”
“that's great” said the player as he went to play.Shieldstan's Next Player was Chris,who was playing too bad,he couldn't get Shieldstan Even one point.same happened with every other player.

The 2nd Match With Quebec & Shingoryeo

Shieldstan did atleast good with 2 homeruns,they were atleast better than they're last match With Quebec & Shingoryeo.Shieldstanis We're excited to see Shieldstan win but the opposite happened when the other team hit a home run.

Kevin:We have no hope anymore...
King:What?Don't just give up!
Dan:No,how about we completely give up?
King:Are you serious Dan?
The match kept on going with Quebec & Shingoryeo keeping on getting more and more points.at the end,they had won.

The 3rd Match With Quebec & Shingoryeo

This was Shieldstan's worst match with them miserably losing 3 times in a row.Shieldstanis Loses all hope as The other team hit a home run.

Hunter:Here is it.we lose here.
King:Let's wait,maybe we can play the best in the next match?
Hunter:Look,We lost 3 times in a row!What else can we do...
Shieldstan got 0 points from Jade and all the players.making this Shieldstan's worst match in their life.

At the end,Quebec & Shingoryeo had won.

by **Ko-oren** » Fri Jun 23, 2023 11:08 am

LPB Playoffs, Season Four, Ko-orenite Conference Series

Before the season started, the Dragons were viewed as the second best team - and by far the best team in the Northern division - and the Admirals as the sixth team of the conference, behind both Katashi teams. The pundits got it pretty much not right as only one of the top three eventually played in the conference series. A conference series in which playing nine innings was merely a suggestion, and teams didn't exactly mind playing more than that.

Echizen Dragons             2 0 0 0 1 0 3 4 0 0 0 0 1 11
Aviansola Admirals          3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 10

Game one was Grady Good for the Dragons and Jeff Bitches for the Admirals. Yes, headlines for the game made plenty of use of those surnames. Good Bitches, Making Good the Enemy of Perfect, Bitches Please, you name it. Not a ton of Ko-orenite starting pitchers this series, no matter how long it is, with the Dragons having Gotou and Doi under contract and the Admirals only having Medal amidst Qasden, Nova Anglicana, TJUN-ia, and Chromatika nationals.

Grady wasn't so Good and Jeff's Pitches weren't amazing either with both leadoff crews getting a fair few base hits. Pijpenbroek circled the field first for the Dragons, with Kagulazaka close behind, for an early 2-0 lead, but the Admirals wouldn't let that be. Kanamoli got on base, Sivurila got out, Fernandez got to first while Kanamoli escaped to third, then Amachi got Kanamoli home and Fernandez to third. Gallois was the second out, then Sop got Fernandez and Amachi home, then Billings was the third out. No strikeouts among the six outs so far. From then on, the starters cleaned up their game proving it was all just a fluke.

Then the relievers came on, and the batters went back to work. Exchanging runs in the fifth and sixth, it wasn't until later in the bullpen that Oshita recorded a homerun for the Dragons (5-4) with Oliver getting around (6-4) for a fairly decisive lead in the seventh. Deguchi and Takata both reached a full count in the eighth, with one getting walked and the other struck out looking, and then the Dragons' rotation was back around. Pijpenbroek, Komamura, Kagulazaka, and Jimenez all ran circles (literally) around Eidhrugun (10-4) and the Admirals were done.

Except, they weren't. Now it was up to the slightly weaker batting lineup of Aviansola to match the effort despite all the odds. What the Dragons have in speed and contact - look at those infielders - the Admirals make up for in outfielders who can put some power behind their swings. It all hinged on getting guys on base, and Amachi and Kanamoli did exactly that. Fernandez got them home (10-7) and now we have a game. Shame for the Admirals is that the next three guys all went out (strikeout, ground out, strikeout) versus the Dragons' new reliever, Minagawa, hastily put in after suffering the 10-7.

The Admirals closer, Go, swiftly took care of the next four - one slipped through and got to second - with two strikeouts. He returned to the dugout and watched the show, not entirely convinced of his teammates getting the three runs necessary to extend game one. Everson was now pitching for Echizen. First up, and he got an out. Then he walked Dunaltinden, a slow third baseman and probably the easiest of the bunch to catch up to later. Starting at the top of the batting order, Sivurila got to first (Dunaltinden to second), and then Kanamoli hit Dunaltinden home (10-8), Sivurila to third, and himself to second.

Oh boy, Everson. How are you getting out of this one?

It turned out, he had no plan, served a few easy fastballs that Sop returned for a double. 10-10. Kanamoli and Sivurila home. Bottom of the ninth. To extra innings we go.

Forced to make some weird changes, we're going back to long relievers, and they kept everything surprisingly clean. In the thirteenth inning (!) the Dragons got the first homerun of the day, off an exhausted reliever, a fastball hit into the upper level. 11-10. And the Admirals, forgetting all about the 6-run comeback, had nothing in return. After leading 10-4, Echizen wins game one in extras.

Echizen Dragons             0 0 3 6 5 0 0 0 1 15
Aviansola Admirals          3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

And so we expected more of the same in game two. Still in Echizen, now it's Gotou versus Rouillard, and arguably that's an upgrade for the Admirals who do have a pretty damn good rotation to be fair. Gotou gets lit up in the first inning, and exactly like the day before, Aviansola scores three in the first, and then just kind of sits back. Content with their effort for the day, they then see Rouillard give up 5 runs, get replaced by Cevocalu, see him give up five more, get replaced by Peterson, and see him give up another four runs and at 14-3, that's an even safer lead than 10-4, are Echizen giving this up?

Gotou comes and goes, Chuan comes and goes, Watase comes and goes, and then Everson goes for the redemption... and it's three up, three down, one strikeout, and it's 15-3. Come on Echizen, it could/should have been this easy yesterday.

Aviansola Admirals          0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3
Echizen Dragons             0 0 1 0 2 0 1 2 X  6

It's 2-0 in the best-of-7. What can the Admirals do in this one? They were so close in game one - did losing in the end after such an effort break them? Or was it the 12-run defeat in game two? Either way, Aviansola didn't look like themselves as the Dragons scored runs off three different pitchers in a fairly easy 6-3 win. This is their lowest run total of the series - their lowest of the entire playoffs being a 2-6 loss to the Stars, but since then the Dragons are on a five-game win streak including a 3-2 win in that same divisional series, but it's like they've changed the setting to 'easy' once the conference final started. The Admirals? Yeah, they scored three runs again. If they can stop leaking runs, they could actually win one - but at 3-0, it looks like Echizen has them exactly where they want them. Mentally broken.

Aviansola Admirals          1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Echizen Dragons             0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  4

Still in Aviansola, the game starts with an inspirational speech by Fenatti, who turned out to be quite the locker room leader. Under his guidance, the Admirals grabbed another lead, slim as it may be. At 3-0, this is their last chance: the previous three games were unfortunate but are they really giving up that easily after all that?

Komamura notched a double to drive Oliver home in the second after both teams reshuffled their orders quite a bit but stuck to the same eight names* as the games before. Aviansola had their lead nullified, but they got stuck in for a while and actually didn't give up a lot of runs after that - just one, in the seventh, to a De Waard homerun. HRs have been surprisingly scarce but they're not easily gotten in either Echizen or Aviansola. Now the cyan squad were looking at another deficit, but much like in game one, it was fairly easy to overcome: Everson, the Quebecois closer, had a starring role once again by giving up another lead in the ninth - sometimes it's just not your series. We're in extras again.

The tenth. The eleventh. The twelfth. The thirteenth inning also goes by, and we're still not looking at a longer duration than game 1 (because that had a lot of scoring) but we're officially into the most innings in a playoff game in the Ko-orenite conference. We see several teams get players on base... and then Kagulazaka launches the second homerun of the game for the 4-2 win... and Aviansola doesn't even get three more outs to draw level.

4-0, we're done. Echizen is representing Ko-oren in the Anaia series.

by **Ranoria** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 12:50 am

Griffith's Three-Run Homer Caps Off Winning Series Against Mighty Ko-oren

Even veteran manager Henderson Mausse had to smile a bit after a victory gave
Ranoria a head-to-head advantage over the other two (literal) heavy hitters in the group

Coming into this series, the Krauts and Ko-orenite side were tied atop group G. Two games in, and nothing had changed. Parker Majors had gotten a win in the first one, but Bohannon took his first loss of the tournament, giving up two runs and setting up another of the four scored in the seventh. But it did mean that the winner would be in the driver's seat if only by a slim margin. The Krauts fandom showed up in full force for this one, nearly selling out Constance Airlines Field to watch a game with playoff implications, even this early on.

After the Krauts batters went 1-2-3 against Bieito Vasquez in the first inning, Jesse Griffith was the first man to get on base, launching a double into the warning track for a double - Lukas Valentine pushed him to third with a single before Clark Weaver got himself a groundout, and up came RJ Hall. He's not an established star yet, but he's on watch after a strong showing in the WBC 56 playoffs, and he's a projected top pick in the upcoming LPB draft. He took another step towards becoming a household name though, slapping a home run just inside the foul line to earn his squad a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.

Jorge Billing pitched a strong game, finishing with five strikeouts. By the time Jesse Griffith stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, his team was up five zip, and with two runners on and just one out, an intentional walk may have been a bit much - unfortunately, Jesse Griffith smelled blood in the water, and he pounced at the opportunity, cranking Ranoria's second long ball of the day on the second pitch to put this thing out of reach with more than a touchdown's difference between them. That would seal the deal - at least early, the Krauts will stay in the driver's seat with a head-to-head advantage over the two most likely culprits to sink our playoff hopes.

Jorge Billing finally started to slip up a bit in the eight, allowing a pair of runs before he called it a day, but Ko-oren's last-gasp effort was thwarted after two more in the ninth - Ranoria was 9-3 after their first four series. There's no time to rest of course, as Ko-oren and Super-Llamaland are only a half-step behind at 8-4 apiece. Ranoria's going to have to buckle up, because the teeth of their schedule will start now - of their next five series, three will be away and only one of the home stands will be at Constance Airlines Field, as we'll be hosting Montana Verde in The Eyrie at RANPAC Stadium in front of a crowd of less than twenty thousand. Two of the away series, meanwhile, will come against those worrisome Tigers and Ko-oren. While at the moment, all signs point to Ranoria being able to come out on top of what's undoubtedly the most top-heavy group in this Classic, any small disruption could change that, and we've already gotten one.

Longtime veteran starter Judas Acker pulled a hamstring in that final showdown with Ko-oren in Ranoria City, prompting the team to bump Rylan Rodgers Jr into a starting role. The youngster has upside, even with the earlier snow bear incident, but he's seen very limited action in this Classic, as even Acker's sub par batting is at least a known quantity on a championship-caliber squad. If he proves to be a boon and shows some of that home run power he's displayed at the collegiate level, we could have the last piece of the puzzle. Otherwise...teams are going to start breathing a sigh of relief when we get to the bottom of our order.

A trip to Cardenao will round up the first leg of this group stage. They're in a slump following a strong 4-2 start against the less established teams in the group, they've lost six straight to Ko-oren and Super-Llamaland, including an 18-1 and 16-2 demolition in the opening games of those respective series. The Krauts will of course be looking to make it nine straight - letting Cardenao's bounce back start at our expense is not a winning strategy. They're bound to show their potential at some point, but let that come against someone else, please and thank you.

by **Dod Rava** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 1:55 am

Ravska reprezentacja czy może Rawska? Artykuł Piotra Kozła

Dlaczego większość zawodników naszej reprezentacji gra w Rawa Marineros? To pytanie zadaje sobie dużo fanów zarówno nowych do sportu i tych bardziej doświadczonych, bowiem z dwudziestu siedmiu zawodników składu na tę edycję WBC, aż trzynaście gra w Rawie, ale dlaczego tak jest? Żeby zrozumieć ten fenomen musimy cofnąć się do lat sześćdziesiątych ubiegłego wieku, gdzie rawscy marynarze przywieźli ze sobą baseball. Właśnie w porcie rawskim rozgrywane były pierwsze mecze na betonowych płytach portu, przez stoczniowców i marynarzy, aby zabić czas i uzyskać jakąś formę rozrywki, trwało tak kilka lat, mieszkańcy południowej strony miasta coraz mocniej wiązali się z tą grą, mężowie do domów przynosili kije, dzieci próbowały wejść na teren portu, aby zobaczyć, jak starsi grają oczywiście było to wielce niebezpieczne, dlatego portowcy postanowili utworzyć drużynę dla każdego na w tamtym czasie niezagospodarowanym płacie terenu jakiś kilometr za portem. Właśnie wtedy powstało Rawa Marineros była to pierwsza drużyna baseballa w kraju która napotkała dosyć spory entuzjazm utworzono kilka drużyn, seniorów i młodzieżowych którzy rozgrywali między sobą mecze, i tak to trwało, potem pojawiło się kilka innych amatorskich drużyn w Rawie. Utworzono nieoficjalną ligę krajową i grano dalej, wiele drużyn się rozpadło, ale nie Marineros tam sport tak utkwił w umysłach mieszkańców i pozostał ich integralną częścią, co pozwoliło na utworzeniu największej drużyny, która przyciąga najwięcej krajowego talentu. Czytaj dalej...

by **Cassadaigua** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 9:04 am

Time to see what we're made of,
by Kenzie Sherman, Concord Heights Times

It's time! The defending World Baseball Classic Champions, Banija, are making their way to Dagan Airways Stadium and we will finally be able to see if this team really has made any improvements after last year. If you recall the last Classic's group stage, Cassadaigua did very well against most of the group, but when it came time to face Chromatika, they were curb stomped almost the same way that the Outliers did to TJUN-ia in their opening series. Eventually, we did better in the playoffs, so that head to head would, when all was said and done, serve as a credit to Chromatika and not as an insult to us. But now, here we are again, looking sharp (though not perfect) through our first twelve games as we have a 9-3 record. The Banijans assume the role of Chromatika this time around as the top seed in our group, and are also 9-3. Both teams will generally be happy with how they played up to this point, but also have some aspects that they need to clean up.

It did not take long for this series to sell out in Concord Heights, as Cassadagans quickly got their tickets while Banijan fans got their allotment that the stadium reserves as a courtesy to traveling fans. Group B has been competitive, so it cannot simply said that both teams will finish first and second, getting a positive result in this series is important. If someone pulls off a sweep here, the winner will be sitting pretty, but the loser will be at 9-6 and directly in the clutches of Loyo and Dod Rava, who are tied at 6-6, with 5-7 The Jovannic in striking range. Even if someone takes two out of three, the loser at 10-5 will not be fully comfortable. This format does allow for a couple of third place teams to also make it to the playoffs but the situations in both Group C and Group G suggest that the two wild cards are probable to come from those groups, and not from here in Group B.

"It's exciting to have someone like Banija in your group," third baseman Kristen Martorella said on the topic, "and I hope they feel the same way about us. You have to play well against everyone in your group in order to make the playoffs, but when you get some head to head matches at this point against someone else that is capable of winning the whole damn thing because they have done so in the past, then you get a chance to see where you really stand. In their case, obviously, they are the defending champions." Martorella said that the humbling that they got from Chromatika in the last Classic is something to keep in mind but not dwell on, "We're not thinking about what happened there to try and use it as inspiration now. If we were playing the Outliers again, then it might make a little more sense to do that, but Banija is someone different, their own accomplished entity, and one that you should never have a hard time getting up to play against. Right now we have a competitive group, it's a challenge. But when Banija is in other dugout, it hits different. It's exciting because they're one of the team's you dream about playing against as a little kid, and when you have that dream, it's probably for the championship, or at least a later round." In World Baseball Classic 56, Banija defeated Nova Anglicana in a seven game thriller while the Fillies were ousted in the quarterfinals to Ranoria. Had they won that series, Cassadaigua would have played Banija in the semifinals. That doesn't make Martorella think about what might have been, however, "Nah, not really. Sure, you wish things may have played out differently, but it's been a couple of years since then and we are thinking about the present more than the past."

The Fillies are coming off taking two out of three against The Jovannic. In the first game, we saw Sarah Curtis have another great start in her WBC debut, allowing two runs over eight innings in a 4-2 win. A three run homer by Makenna Anglin in the fifth inning was the big hit there. In game two, Lacey Maxwell was gifted a 4-0 lead, with Martorella getting a two-run double along the way, but Cassadaigua could not hold on, giving three right back in the bottom of the third. Lacey would pitch into the sixth, and gave up another before the bullpen gave up the final two runs in the 6-4 loss. The final game went extras, with the bullpen surrendering a lead in the bottom of the ninth, but in the top of the 11th, Cailey Huff's RBI single was all the was needed to secure a 6-5 win.

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 11:04 am

Game 1: TJU 12-5 LIV (6-4)
The last series was a hard-fought win against a lowly-ranked team at home, a victory that the Battin' Jaguars of TJUN-ia certainly needed, but Phillip Hellas-Verona knew that coming to the Orean Capital Grounds to face Liventia was going to be a very different test, one that may make or break our hopes overall. Yolande Sirapui would start Game 1 against Noah Rippin in what was expected to be a tough series overall...but once Svetlana Mykvinich hit a Grand Slam at the top of the 1st, the mindset changed. Things turned into a bit of a run-fest after that, including a 5-run 4th that simply blew the hosts aside with more than half the game still left to play. Liventia would end up doing most of their work in the latter stages of this game, but we did enough in order to surpass them and win this game.

Game 2: TJU 2-3 LIV (6-5)
Kim Tsu-Ka would start Game 2 against Kieran Sheldon for Game 2 and this one would certainly be fun. Liventia took the lead in the in the 2nd but we would respond in the 4th thanks to Santino Fenatti. Liventia would then get their lead back in the 7th, and we responded again in the 8th (Stefan von Shültz via Li Chen Sho's RBI double) but this time, they would get their revenge in the 9th to tie this series up with the 3-2 win.

Game 3: TJU 6-3 LIV (7-5)
So that meant that Jason McRae vs Dean Norman would decide all the marbles in this series and to that end, things would start slowly before kicking off towards the end. Both of us managed a run in the 3rd (HR from Holly Davids) and the 7th (HR from Palila Kalawai’a) before a 3-run blast from Martina Andrade de Souza would seal the deal and the series. It was such a tough series throughout and Liventia certainly gave us a good fight but in the end, we had enough to take them down 2-1...and that will certainly be taken.

Our next series will be our final one at Rounders Field for now and we will look to end it in style against unranked Neibeskiya, who only have 1 win to their name right now. It's these types of opponents we have to take down if we want to keep the good times flowing...and it's these games that may fully impact our campaign. 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) - Orean Capital Grounds, Orean W 2-1 (3rd)
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 **Nova Anglicana** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 2:07 pm

Lions stumble as first half nears end

A 7-2 record through the first nine games of WBC 57 was pretty impressive, especially when it came with a 2-1 series victory over the 2nd-seeded Base Corps of Drawkland. But the Base Corps themselves had run into a formidable foe in 19th-ranked South Americanastan, who took two of three from them and now faced off against the top-seeded Nova Anglicana Lions. This clash would likely determine who sat atop the standings when the first half came to a close after 15 games. And this round, it was the Bears of South Americanastan who came out on top.

In game one, it was the lefty Quinn Kozalski for SA versus the lefty Nate Barrett for Nova Anglicana. Despite the fact that Barrett was considered the ace of the staff, and Kozalski merely the fifth-best pitcher for the Bears, the two dueled evenly, both allowing four runs. For Barrett, it was a tough third inning that was his undoing. Frank Monteforte knocked an RBI single in the second that would have been two runs if it wasn't for a strong throw from Gary McKinney that caught Jacob Monte at the plate with Peter Abbott applying a perfect tag. Facing the top of the order in the third, Barrett battled Jack Manning for eight pitches before finally walking him on the ninth. Frank Malone hit a sharp grounder that moved Manning up to second, followed by an RBI double from the slugging Pete Lancaster, putting the Bears up 2-1. Garry O'Hanagan singled to put runners at the corners, and Pat Larson took a hanging slider and smashed it to left-center, ending up on third with a two-run triple. Although Barrett got out of the jam and in fact would only allow one more baserunner over his next 3.2 innings, the damage had been done and the Bears would carry a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth.

Kozalski, despite allowing a solo shot from Sean Wilson in the second, had pitched very effectively through his first four innings of work, allowing just three baserunners. The bottom of the order got things started for the Lions, as Mathieu Tremblay coaxed a leadoff walk, although Manning thought that he had done a good enough job framing the crucial 3-2 pitch to get the strikeout. Peter Abbott would slap a single through the right side, where Larson was shaded up the middle for the double play, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Rather than go to the bench, Snyder left Barrett in, where he took a big hack at Kozalski's first offering, hoping to knock it out of the ballpark. But it was 0-1 instead, so Barrett laid down a sacrifice on the next pitch to push the runners to third and second. Buddy Bohannon worked the second walk of the inning, loading the bases for Michael O'Connor with one down. O'Connor hit a long fly ball that center fielder Tommy Vincent tracked down, scoring Tremblay and pushing Abbott to third. Kozalski lost his grip and hit McKinney with his next pitch, loading the bases once again with the dangerous power hitter Shane Frazier coming to the plate. Concerned that Kozalski had already allowed four baserunners in the inning, Bears manager Micheal Kelly brought in the young lefty Kofi Woods to face Frazier. Instead of working, however, Frazier pulled a 2-1 fastball past a diving Lancaster, scoring both Abbott and Bohannon and tying the game at four. Barrett would pitch a scoreless sixth before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom half of the inning, with the score still tied at four.

The seventh inning would be the deciding time in the game. Adrien Dumas came in to work the seventh and was rudely greeted by a double from O'Hanagan on his second pitch. Larson, Vincent, and Monte hit consecutive singles, scoring two runs and putting the Bears up 6-4. Scott Hunter, the lefty, came in to replace Dumas and struck out the pinch-hitter Walter Rowe, but Monteforte picked up his second RBI single of the game, extending the SA lead to three runs. Hunter would close out the inning and Louis Langevin and Darren Sharp would pitch two scoreless innings, but other than a solo shot against closer Sam Harrison in the ninth, the Lions were as meek as kittens and succumbed 7-5 for their first loss of the series.

Game two matched up the Bears' ace Casey Kellahan against new star Félix Clermont for the Lions. Clermont allowed three baserunners and one run in the second inning as the Bears drew first blood, but otherwise he pounded the zone with his fastball and worked his curve and change effectively to permit just five more baserunners and no runs while striking out seven in his seven-inning outing. Kellahan recorded four strikeouts as he set down the first six Lions batters in order, but ran into trouble in the third inning. Peter Abbott whacked a double with one out and scored when Bohannon served a line drive to left field that got down in front of Monteforte. Smelling blood, Michael O'Connor doubled to right-center, putting runners on third and second for McKinney. McKinney hit a sharp line drive to score Bohannon, and up came Frazier. Left on left, the pitcher and batter battled through seven pitches, blazing fastballs and tricky off-speed pitches, until on the eighth pitch Frazier hit a soft liner that Larson made a wonderful over-the-shoulder catch at second, keeping the deficit at 2-1.

Two innings later, Abbott drew a leadoff walk, Clermont bunted him to second, and O'Connor victimised Kellahan once again, turning around a hard fastball and depositing it 359 feet into the left-field seats, putting the Lions up 4-1. Although the Lions would put four runners on in the fifth through eighth innings, they couldn't break through against the bullpen and when Clermont left, it was still 4-1. Brandon Norris would get the ball for the eighth, and worked around a single to record a strikeout and a double play, with no runners scoring. Darren Sharp came in for the ninth, and he would surrender a hit and a walk in his 23-pitch inning, but he powered a high fastball past Manning to strike him out, preserving the win and evening the series at one game apiece.

The less said about game three, perhaps the better. Sean Caldwell mixed his four pitches very effectively, striking out eight batters and only allowing one run in seven innings of work. He was matched by knuckleballer John Mikelanton for the first six innings, with the score tied at 1-1. But a barrage of hits from the Lions in the seventh, including a big two-run double by Xavier Pineault, put them up 4-1 and in a good position, or so they thought. Scott Hunter set down the side in order in the eighth, which brought Darren Sharp out to close the game. It would be his third straight game, and perhaps that made a difference in his effectiveness. O'Hanagan reached on a walk, and Larson singled to open up the final frame. Sharp overpowered the speedy Tommy Vincent with his fastball, but Jacob Monte took a lazy curveball and doubled to left, scoring O'Hanagan and bringing the go-ahead run in the form of pinch-hitter J.T. Motumbu to the plate. Motumbu took advantage of a fastball that Sharp left over the middle of the plate at just 95 and doubled home the tying runs. This chased Sharp, bringing up rookie Nick Pierce to face Monteforte. Pierce got Monteforte to swing over the top of a splitter for out number two, temporarily restoring sanity. But Manning whacked that same splitter to left-center for an RBI double, scoring Motumbu and putting the Bears in front 5-4. The collapse was complete and Sam Harrison struck out two of three batters in the ninth, clinching it for South Americanastan.

It was a disappointing result and one that dropped them into a tie for second place with Drawkland at 8-4. A game back of South Americanastan with eighteen to play was no insurmountable feat, but they'd have to head to the Bears' cave next time they saw them, with perhaps first place in the group on the line. This made it all the more imperative that they come up with a sweep of Torisakia. The unranked Ice Birds are just 3-9, the same as Ethane, but they cannot be underestimated. The Lions will need their trio of young starters (Park, Grenon, Worrell) to come up big and keep them in a strong position heading into the second half.

by **South Newlandia** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 3:39 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 4

Dachshunds and Monarchs

Ruditown Dachshunds

Departures:
The Dachshunds are still awaiting their first playoff appearance of the Llamaphant Pro Baseball era, and the most recent 100-loss season didn’t exactly feel like that was going to change any time soon. Following the now prolonged timeframe of little-to-no success, manager Lee Bradley’s seat has been increasingly heating up, but the Nova Anglican managed to hold on to his position, at least for now. For this upcoming season, his biggest hole to fill would be a pair of departing TJUN-ia Jaguars; with starter Gene Almac and left fielder Kilian O’Mally, both long-time Dachshunds, each calling it a career.
Less concerning departures included catcher Wilson Moore, who’d been below average all along, and left for Ratzupalfu in a trade. Outfielder David Lange, meanwhile, was released from the team, and got picked up by division rivals Elephant Valley United. In all, only two really notable departures; giving the team a chance to potentially improve in the offseason.

Draft: (Position: 9)
The Dachshunds, holding the ninth-overall pick, chose to pass on hometown hero John Trunkman, and instead selected EVSI corner outfielder Maria Philipps. She’d been considered a potential number-one pick early in the drafting process with an astounding career with the Pelicans, but concerns over her below-average speed and mediocre fielding ultimately nearly pushed her out of the top ten, to be scooped up by the Dachshunds.
Having traded the 33rd-overall away, the Dachshunds only came back up at 57, where they took NPI Badger Russell Davidson, a right-hander who’d been good for one of the worst teams in the Big 14 lately. Despite a pretty poor fastball velocity, Ruditown scouts clearly saw some potential, but the 22-year-old was left off the 25-man roster.

Other additions:
The biggest addition to the Dachshunds came via trade. The team had been looking for a realibale rock in the middle infield for a while now, and they managed to find one by trading for Elephant Jack Goodson. The infielder, now in the prime of his career, was a former first overall pick, the Dachshunds didn’t need to give up that much to get him; only sending catcher Wilson Moore and picks 33 and 81 to Ratzupalfu. Of course, they’re absorbing a pretty sizeable contract, but it seems worth it for a defensive rock and leader in the clubhouse.
The Dachshunds were far from done with adding. Their next target was Nova Anglican starting pitcher Gwen Lawrence, who played for the Lions at the previous International Baseball Slam, even though she didn’t get a start. Bradley will be happy to have her paired up with the much more experienced Félix Clermont. To replace the retiring TJUN-ian Jaguars, the Dachshunds also brought in more of those, signing TJUN-ian Cubs from the International Baseball Slam. Joseph "JoJo" McAlbo, starting pitcher, and catcher Julian Mertz will be joining the team, both of them still just twenty.

The third country that the Dachshunds targeted in their recruiting was Cap Nord, with the team bringing in a trio of Cap Nordian players. Shortstop Georg Feinmann is the oldest and most experienced of the group, while outfielder Clyde Tindale and first baseman Maarten Den Boer are the young, talented players with batting upside. As the first players from Cap Nord, they are pioneers for yet another Esportivan nation establishing a foothold in the South Newlandian League. Tindale is perhaps the best of the three, combining strong batting with good speed that also makes him a solid defender, but replacing TJUN-ian international O’Mally will be a tall task.
To round out the roster, the Dachshunds signed a pair of players that got waived by their previous teams. Ex-Monarch Jasmine Daniels will be the only upgrade to the bullpen, while Nick Albrecht will become the backup catcher, having most recently shown defensive flashes with the Sun City Flames.

Outlook:
Lee Bradley has an interested team here, most certainly improved from the previous season. The starting rotation looks sound, although both Lawrence and McAlbo are still pretty unproven at this level. Henderson is fine as a veteran fifth starter, while lefty Astrid Abrahamsson will hopefully continue to make strides towards the vision she was a top-ten pick for.
The bullpen is more shaky. Kris Headley, while good, is also 38 all of a sudden, and still probably the best pitcher of this group. The Nova Anglican pair of Ian Klein and Jason Saunders, where the Dachshunds had hoped for at least one starter, has turned out to not really be starting calibre; although they should be fine for the odd spot-start. Jasmine Daniels, who previously had some Elephants appearances before falling off fast and hard, is a major wildcard as well – it’s possible she re-establishes herself as an elite closer, but it seems just as likely that she’ll decline even further.
In the line-up, there are a combination of bright spots and unproven players. Among the stars are slugger Vincent Saint-Denis, who can be counted on for a lot of home runs and tons of strikeouts, newly added Elephant Goodson, and TJUN-ian Jaguar Martina Andrade de Souza in Center Field. Beyond that, there are the four young newcomers (Den Boer, Phillips, Tindale, and Mertz), who are too soon to call. At shortstop, the team still has Hannah Mitchell, one of the last few remaining players from Newmanistan; she’s been one of the best players on this team since she arrived here, and the middle infield of Goodson and her should really be able to take some pressure off the pitchers. Lastly, there’s Soline Devi, who’s fine.
One strength of this team is a remarkably deep bench. Albrecht is likely an above-average backup catcher, Feinmann should bring some strong defense and speed. Feliciano has never quite worked out here on defense, and he’s not quite a good enough hitter to compensate, but he’s an excellent pinch hitter to just have on hand. Lastly, there’s a pair of players from Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom; while Josipic and Halein have limited upside as starters, they are definitely above-average backups.
Lee Bradley has an interesting team to work with, and while the North seems to be in the strong paws of Elephant Valley United, the Dachshunds might be able to challenge for a wildcard spot. If they end up with another losing season, Bradley might be on the way out here, but the pieces are all there for him to succeed.

Sophie City Monarchs

Departures:
The Sophie City Monarchs had successfully turned their fortunes around. After multiple season at the very bottom of the South Newlandian League, they had finally managed to return to relevance, and even made the postseason. Sure, they got quickly dispatched by the Dolphins in the Wildcard game, but the team was now looking into the future. In fact, being a young, rebuilding team, they had barely any losses. The only two players that left the team did so after being released by the Monarchs; left-hander Nico Harmon signed with St. Riecarn just a season after being drafted at #26, while ex-Elephant reliever Jasmine Daniels went to Ruditown. It shows how strong the Monarchs’ pitching staff is becoming that these players were simply let go.

Draft: (Position: 14)
Two drafts ago, the South Bryant Chariots traded up with the Monarchs in order to select Apollo Sündstrom second overall. The future first they’d sent to Sophie City in return now came due, and allowed Sophie City to make the #5 overall pick. In a move most analysts considered a reach, the Monarchs went with Melissa Moore, a young pitcher who’d played two seasons with Ratzupalfu University. While she was terrific as an Egret, a lacking fastball might prevent her from reaching the heights you’d expect of a top-5 pick; however, she’s only 20, and has plenty of time to figure things out.
Having traded the 14th pick in the deal that landed them Laure Valle, the Monarchs came up again at #24, from way back when they traded Maike Bookmer to the Cyclones. With Bookmer now the Elephants’ ace and Evan Masorka winner, this trade ultimately aged badly, but it did permit the M’s to pick second baseman Ludwig Pohl, who’d played lower-level college baseball for three years, excelling at the plate and defensively against the weaker opposition.
With the 38th pick New Llama-bound as part of the previously mentioned trade, the Monarchs came up next at 62, where they took Llamanean third baseman August Tai, a Llamanean with a strong bat, but mediocre defensive abilities. While Pohl and Moore were on the opening day roster, Tai was not.

Other additions:
The Monarchs focused their energy of stocking up on more foreign talent. Building on their connections in South Americanastan, they managed to get right-hander Darby Nikolasson and Center Fielder Tommy Vincent, a terrific base stealer – both of them should be major upgrades from a strong WBC squad.
They also managed to sign a trio of players from Katterimunk, with experienced pitcher Grahm Stevenova leading the way, and young Center Fielder Isaac Irodov slotting in as a defensively minded outfield backup. Lastly, reliever Bleaker Marsh, also just 22, found his way onto the Monarchs; but he did not immediately make the 25-man roster, instead staying in the minor leagues awaiting a callup.
With the squad already constructed well, and few departures to address, this was all the roster moves of the Monarchs, who were content just staying put, and letting their current players figure it out. Given the state of the roster, this made some sense, but bringing in an upgrade at third, or a new backup catcher, might not have been the worst idea.

Outlook:

To be specific, this team is pretty good, up and down the roster. In the starting rotation, Llamanean Tiger Carter Wilkinson is the ace ahead of newcomer Darby Nikolasson. Beyond them, the Monarchs also have highly talented Chromatik lefty Eddard Friend in his second season, and Ko-orenite veteran Senzo Utada in one of the last of his career. With South Newlandian Advait Kumar, the team actually has one starting pitcher from each of the four Llamaphant Pro Baseball nations.
The bullpen is similarly strong. Led by Elephant Abby Conrad and Kayla Sandlin, the closer of the national team of Cassadaigua, this unit could already go toe-to-toe with just about anyone. Left-handed Sandlin, who appeared in the previous seasons’ All-Star game, is particularly good.
The Monarchs also have two more All-Stars in the bullpen, with Wally Quinn of South Americanastan and Lucien Ramirez, a Llamanean Tiger. While Ramirez was initially drafted in the top ten as a starter, he has instead turned into a highly valuable bullpen arm with a triple-digit fastball. This bullpen is now joined by Moore and Stevenova, and also features former top-20 pick Gregory Shaw. A strong case can be made that this is the best bullpen in the South Newlandian League, featuring elite players while also being deep.
The lineup is strong too. Laure Valle is probably in her final season at this point, but she’s still an All-Star as well as being a leader in the clubhouse for this fairly young team. Next to her, the infield features the underrated Sarzonian Cody Frazier, Elephant Malika Bains, and Kai Liao, a similarly underestimated shortstop from the Sherpa Empire. The outfield is strong too, featuring the South Americanastan duo of Vincent and Frank Monteforte, with Raffaele Pohl now moving into Right Field. After being drafted second overall, the now 20-year old has settled in. Having proved to be able to hit already at a decent level as a rookie, she now will get significantly more fielding work as well.
The team also has a remarkably strong bench, including rookie Pohl, youngster Irodov, and Licentian outfielder Nat McCann, similarly an excellent fielder. The roster also seems more injury-proof than others, with a pair of ready-any-time players in the minors – this includes fellow Licentian outfielder Harriet Wright. With an abundance of outfielders on the roster, she was demoted from the 25-man roster, but she is still a remarkably decent player. Likewise, Bleaker Marsh is primed and ready, and even rookie Tai might end up challenging fellow Llamanean Tanner Haugen on the roster.
All of this is at the hands of the most recent coach of the season, Phurwa Thapa, who has instrumental in constructing this roster. With strong players up and down the line-up, these Monarchs are definitely able to challenge for the SNL Central, which looks more open than ever.

by **Loyo** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 7:07 pm

The Towering Cathedral of Baisu City

In the heart of the city, there stood a construction that defied the imagination—a towering behemoth that seemed to reach the heavens. It stretched out in every direction, a labyrinthine maze of steel, glass, and concrete. This architectural marvel was a testament to the collective dreams and ambitions of its many architects, each wholeheartedly devoted to his or her own project within its colossal framework.

The structure rose majestically, its silhouette dominated the Baisu City skyline and captured the awe and wonder of all who beheld it. Towering spires and intricate facades adorned its exterior, each bearing the distinctive touch of its creator. Every inch of the construction told a different story, a vibrant tapestry of diverse architectural styles converging in a harmonious symphony of grandeur.

Within its labyrinthine corridors, a bustling energy pulsed, like a living entity. Architects and artisans immersed themselves in their craft, their passionate dedication palpable in every stroke of a brush or chisel. Each architect had envisioned their vision brought to life, weaving together their dreams, ambitions, and expertise into a masterpiece of monumental proportions.

As one traversed the expansive halls, the atmosphere shifted with every turn. From soaring atriums adorned with cascading fountains and verdant gardens to soaring archways leading to hidden alcoves, the construction was a universe unto itself. It was a place where creativity knew no bounds, and imagination ran wild, the boundaries of conventional design pushed to their limits and beyond.

Despite the apparent chaos of myriad architectural styles, there existed an invisible thread that connected every corner of the construction. It was the collective spirit of its creators, the shared passion for their craft, and the deep reverence for the art of architecture. They embraced the diversity of their visions, understanding that the true beauty of their creation lay in the kaleidoscope of revolutionary perspectives and ideas that had birthed it.

And so this towering behemoth stood as a testament to the power of collaboration and the boundless nature of human creativity. It was a living tribute to the visionary architects who, with unwavering devotion, had shaped the architectural marvel into an icon of Loyon innovation. The construction was a testament to the collective dreams of its creators, forever etching their names into the annals of national history.

National Pantheon is a baseball club that's only purpose is to serve the will of Baisu City's Grand Central Cathedral, which, within its depths contains an massive, if curiously constructed stadium. His Holiness, The Grand Priest of Loyo, Jago Quin has a word that's as good as law within the extensive halls of the cathedral. This has caused some deviations from the typical aims of a baseball team. While the PNSC has guaranteed that the team actually plays their games, the environment isn't always conducive to good sports playing. Loudspeakers announce religious sermons shrilly, and the echoes of the giant structure can make any player feel nauseous.

But that hasn't stopped some great ballplayers from coming through the large gates of National Pantheon and having success with the unusual team. Current WBC designated hitter Nika Vulkae had his start with the team, and although he hasn't spoken much about his time there, it's certainly prepared him for playing in strange or unwelcoming environments. Other club legends include pitcher Yutica Menos, who is well known for throwing a pitch at a shouting priest who was interrupting his concentration during a perfect game, and shortstop Joan Merril, who broke home run records in the religious leagues to "get off the field and back into the dugout as soon as possible," to avoid the noise.

Lineup for Series V: The UN University
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)
DH/Pitcher: (If Applicable) #7 (DH) Nika Vulkae, 28 (SLL’s New Llama Cyclones)
CF: #6 (RF/CF) Francis Koo, 31, L (St. Donghai’s)
SS: #18 Bo Ayoyara, 30, R (SLL’s New Llama Wizards)
LF: #5 Germaine DiPiccolo, 28, L (St. Hayahoma’s)
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: #56 Amon Zao, 27, R (SLL’s Xingcheng Renaissance)
RP: #25 Avery Min, 32, L (St. Yoosan’s)
CP: #10 Ari Mun, 31, R (SLL’s Denison Dynamo)
Game Two
SP: #21 Lacy Cross, 31, R (Kamisusunai Steel)
RP: #28 Marcos Avantaje, 31, R (SLL’s South Falls Athletics)
CP: #34 Ju Hajoon, 33, L (Kamisusunai Steel)
Game Three
SP: #23 Kyla Maccz, 29, L (SLL’s Nikcoro Suns)
RP: #14 Kim Lin, 31, L (SLL’s Xingcheng Renaissance)
CP: #24 Dongho Son, 32, R (St. Donghai’s)

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 7:17 pm

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)

Part 6 - Tigers: Offseason, and the Opening Night

Narrator: The Kingston Tigers are the winningest franchise in all of the QBO's ninety year history, and this would mean that for every player, there's the weight of wearing the team's red and black jerseys. For many this had meant the shadows of the dynasty teams back in the eighties and the nineties, and while the Tigers have won ten titles in this century, everybody knows how difficult it would be to live up to the expectation. This is of no expectations with a rookie season interview of Myeong-Shin, as we enter into the QBO's season opening weekend.

'Mr. Heo, do you ever have a sense of destiny or inevitability in what happens to you and your career as a young sportsman? Or are you just taking it a day at the time?' The interviewer asks, while the montage of Myeong-Shin's college football career, which incorporates scenes of him, a linebacker wearing #9 for the Saguenay Fighting Irish, landing crushing hits.

'I just want to be the latest one to hold the torch for the Kingston Tigers organisation,' 22-year old Myeong-Shin smiles back, the third-baseman now wearing a dark suit with red ties. 'The script has been written in the past, like the battles against the Blue Jays or the Lions. Hopefully the organisation can build up another chapter to it, the way our heroes in the eighties and the nineties have done it, and that we will make a difference internationally as well.'

The very rookie self of Myeong-Shin is substituted by a sequence of montages as the Kingston Tigers' three championship rings, combined with the Grim Reapers' World Baseball Classic 54 run, are played with a 1990s R&B track. Also included is Heo's defensive highlights during his time as Concord Heights' third baseman, and him kissing the Cassadagan Series MVP award while holding his 5-year old son.

Between the various scenes one could see the fans celebrate into a form of frenzy not seen by a player and his fame, combined with a famous photo at the Athlone Gala where him and his famous 'Taewha Crew' - that bein Heo, Theo-Alexandre Pinson, legendary quarterback Ian Lautner and a prominent, reclusive writer named Asher Lundrigan - are greeted to a mob of flashlights.

Then the scenes would start turning into black and white, as the camera switches to that of Tigers' owner Seo Seung-Deok, a man in his seventies who is seated in middle of the warmly-lit room. His face looked lot more serious.

'At the end of last season it was very much clear that we were coming close to the end of a transcendent period on our club history,' he said. 'The team's still young and on prime, but it would be lying to say that we will have to prepare for the day when Myeong-Shin and Greg(-ory Reynolds-Walusimbi) will be retiring.'

Similar sentiments were shared by Heo and the Tigers as they would practice back in the fields of Mudeung Field. With snow still on the turf, and the stands covered for another week, the players immediately feel the reality kicking back in now that they are back home. Myeong-Shin doesn't say and start hitting fungoes for younger players, while his voice would play behind. He would then be joined by Gregory Reynolds-Walusimbi and second baseman Celeste Moraes.

'there was a lot of uncertainty around that point in life. We all knew the inevitable was coming,' Heo says. 'I was thirty-six turning thirty-seven, and having a wife whose career's skyrocketing every year and two kids who were growing up very quickly, I knew I wasn't going to have much regret retiring. So my mentality was to really give a run for another ring.'

Then we go back to the Pre-season media night, where representatives from each team are present to answer questions and raise their themes for the season.

Part 1 wrote:'Nervous? Am I?' answers Theo-Alexandre Pinson, tall, grizzled first baseman of the Montevicio Dodgers answering a question at the pre-series media conference. 'If I were nervous I would not have even crossed the Hyeolhae (Quebeco-Korean term for Blood Sea that separates northern Anaia and southern Rushmore -e.d.-) at age 28. Or joining the Dodgers when it was time to come home.'

Theo-Alexandre Pinson's entering his third season with the Montevicio Dodgers, where he is in the final year of a three-year, $63 million NSD (21 million Quebecois pounds) contract. The 37-year-old is nothing new to the travel, having won two Quebec Series with Saguenay Lions over a decade ago, but even then he is feeling slight tension around his face and neck. The pressure of being on what could be the last of five Quebec Series, combined with one trip to the Dagan Series, is certainly there, even as he had promised to go on as long as possible in his career.

'What about you, Myeong-Shin? As with Theo here, you are no stranger to the Quebec Series, but you have made it clear that this, or next year, could be your last one as a baseball player. Do you feel any bit nervous about it?' Same journalist, a twenty-two-year-old male on his first serious business trip since his hiring about two months ago, asks Heo Myeong-Shin, the longtime captain of Kingston Tigers and formerly the Quebecois national baseball team. He had earlier asked the same question to Theo-Alexandre.

'Mmmm,' Myeong-Shin takes a bit longer to answer. Unlike Theo, the Tigers' hot corner is bit more careful with his words. 'I know that the narrative revolves around me and Theo. It goes back two decades - High school, college, and even in Cassadaigua. Is it a matter of coincidence? I believe not - and that's made possible because we worked to best each other. Of course, there will come one time when I'll retire and he will still go on, but that's respective choices we make in our lives and legends remain legends that way.'

'Wish I could say it like he does,' Theo adds a comment, causing everybody including Myeong-Shin to chuckle. The nature of their friendship goes back, all the way to their mothers' friendship dating back to their Queen's College days in the early-2010s. Since starting baseball, they, alongside the likes of Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya, Kevin Buchanan, and Horace Choo, came to define a golden generation of talent who emerged in the early Taewha era of Quebecois baseball. Now, with Choo retiring after a lengthy carrier at the Llamaphant Pro Baseball, Carlini-Mwambutsya on a slowdown phase of his career, what could be their last-ever postseason duel is the one that drives the sporting narrative in Quebec and Shingoryeo. The one that began over twenty years ago.

The Tigers' manager, Baek Yong-Min, chooses to go straight into the theme of the season, as he raises the paper card right in front of him: 'Coda'. Happy with a 12-2 preseason record in Drawkland, the Tigers' skipper chooses to use as little words as possible. 'We are proud to go home and look for the eighteenth championship in the 2057 QBO season. Thank you.' He said, before deferring to his neighbour at the Joongyeong Bears.

The camera would then shift to that of the Northbrook Secondary's hallways, where veteran and ex-Grim Reapers' shortstop Gregory Reynolds-Walusimbi is standing. He is a short man of mixed parentage, with his father of Banijan heritage, and is wearing the Tigers' retro jersey. 'It was a fitting theme, because really, to me and Myeong-Shin, this was it. Coda was the right term for it,' he says, with the subsequent scene showing the back of the Tigers' locker room showing the term 'Coda' laminated in red, black and blue.

We then have a panel of two players, the Tigers' Baek Nam-Soo and the Dodgers' Anika Nesterovic, sitting next to each other. 'The change of guard, an end of an era.' also says Baek Nam-Soo, who is present wearing the Grim Reapers' jersey, while sitting on the sofa of an unidentified cafe. Considered the future face of the franchise following his FA signing with them, he does not embrace the pressure. 'Kill me.'

'For the Dodgers it felt less like an end of an era, but we all knew there stood a lot this season,' Anika answers. The second baseman is a blonde with short hair, and is wearing the old Montevicio Dodgers' jersey from the 1980s. 'For me it was about proving my worth over and over again, so there's a bit of weariness attached to it. I always felt underrated even though I've been one of the best infielders in the league, part of the Miracle Quebec team and whatnot.

'As for others, it was about establishing ourselves more clearly in a post-Bankosky era. It was also about giving a proper send-off to Theo, because if truth be told, everybody knew that he was going to spend his final seasons with the Lions. It's just not something we wanted to think about.'

We then head into the opening night of the season, as the bright lights of the season are out in play. Saguenay Lions, the defending Quebec Series champions, begin a day early with their match against Saint John Green Sox in the re-play of the last year's Quebec Series, and the fans roar out to the cheer. Also making the appearance on the stands, as requested by the QBO Board, are Heo, Pinson, the Blue Jays' Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya, and Ian Lautner (note that he's won two Hector Kweon trophy, a Quebeco-not-Heisman, while quarterbacking the Fighting Irish), with the quartet re-creating the picture from the aforementioned gala.

It would take a while for them to be seen by the crowd, but a round of applause would follow with the in-stadium announcer stopping for solid minute. This part then closes with the opening night montage of games across the league that weekend, with the Tigers and the Dodgers starting on their respective home pitches.

by **The Jovannic** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 7:33 pm

Emperors take one of three games against Cassadaigua

It was another encouraging performance from The Jovannic as they came away with a 3 points after 3 close fought games.

The first game was won by the Fillies through a strong debut from Sarah Curtis, who held The Jovannic to 2 runs, eventually winning 4-2.

The second saw Boris Cadalasa recover from a slight slip in form, and Aydin Latt delivered a strong line drive at the bottom of the third, to go from a 4-0 deficit to 4-3. Boris Cadalasa and Neremiah Basaili would both put on a great showing for the rest of the game, and a single home run + double gave the Emperors a 6-4 victory.

The third was closely fought, extending all the way to the 11th inning, but Cailey Huff managed to nod Cassadaigua ahead to win the series.

"We were almost there." Boris Cadalasa stated during a post match interview. "We just have to keep at it, take the chances that we do have, take some points off the higher ranked teams."

The Jovannic currently sit at 5-7, 12 points behind group leaders Cassadaigua and Banija, and will face Dod Rava in the next fixture, just 3 in front of the Emperors.

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

by **Drawkland** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 7:54 pm

The WBC 57 cliff notes for the first couple Base Corps series:

vs South Americanastan

game 1

South Americanastan      0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  3
Drawkland                0 0 1 0 0 0 2 8 X 11

Summary: Leo Roy on WBC opening day, at home in Drawkland? This tournament was going to start off on the right foot. Roy punched his way through the South Americanastan lineup, allowing two homers and three runs in seven innings of work for the quality start. The win eluded him, though, as the Corps lineup was quiet to begin the game. Casey Kellahan was excellent barring a couple doubles in the third inning, until the seventh inning came around. Locked in a pitcher's duel with Roy, the pressure was on for Kellahan, and he cracked. Three straight hits from the top of the Corps lineup tied the game. Jack West came in for the Corps to pitch the eighth, and he pitched a clean inning. Then came the eighth, where the Corps broke the game open. Eight runs, highlighted by a Tyler Silvanus three-run bomb, put the game firmly out of reach. Matt Boyle took care of the final three outs to record win #1.

game 2

South Americanastan      0 0 0 2 0 0 8 0 0 10
Drawkland                6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  6

Summary: After that exciting finale to game one, it felt only natural that the Corps lineup was going to get it going again. And that they did, with two 2-run homers and a couple RBI hits in the bottom of the first to take a big lead after batting around. This isn't what the Bears needed from John Mikelanton, so he was yanked after nearly allowing more runs in the second inning. Long reliever Nick Kelly came into the game and completely changed the feeling. Suddenly the Corps bats were cold. Tyler Silvanus was dealing on the mound in his first WBC start, only allowing a two-out, two-run homer in the fourth inning following what should've been the final out of the inning, had Norton picked the one-hop throw from Frost. Silvanus fell apart in the seventh inning, and Elly Jacobs was even less effective. History repeated itself in reverse, and the Bears clobbered 8 runs in the seventh inning to take a commanding lead that they would not relinquish. Unfortunate, but who wants the pressure of a winning streak anyway?

game 3

South Americanastan      0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 0  6
Drawkland                0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2

Summary: It's time to take series #1 on home turf. That was the plan, at least, with Claire Kirkland on the mound. The lineup, which hadn't scored since the first inning of game two, continued to fall flat. Darby Nikolasson was excellent for the Bears on the mound, as only two hits left the infield all game, one of which was an RBI double from Taylor Smart in his first action of WBC 57. This was unfortunately the only extra base hit by a Drawkian this game. Kirkland was decent, but she lost control in the fifth, to the tune of three hits and two walks to allow 4 runs and chase her from the game. The Corps bullpen held it down, but the offensive struggles continued until the final out of the ninth. Time to reset, because now the Corps must face their toughest challenge of the campaign.

@ Nova Anglicana

game 1

Drawkland                0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2  6
Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2

Summary: Richelle Shard and Trent Rubio stole the show on offense. All three scoring innings featured work from the newer faces on the Corps roster (2-RBI Rubio single following Shard's double, 2-run homer from Shard, 2-run homer from Rubio). On the other side of the ball, PBL standout veteran Andrew Boone dazzled in his Base Corps debut, tossing 7 innings of scoreless ball and timely outs. Lorraine Lockwood held down the eighth, Rubio's homer gave proper insurance in the ninth, and Elly Jacobs allowed a little excitement before getting the final out. A win against the group front runner to start the series, what more could you ask for?

game 2

Drawkland                1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  4
Nova Anglicana           0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 X  5

Summary: Nova Anglicana's Félix Clermont did a good job at quieting the Corps bats after a rocky start. On the other side, Bruce Moore was keeping a good pace until a 5th-inning rally put the Corps behind. Gary McKinney came up with the clutch rally-capping double to the delight of the home fans, and Moore was sent packing soon after. Lane Kavana cut the deficit in half with a solo homer in the top of the sixth, but Robert Butcher gave that run right back in the bottom of the inning. Things were looking dire, but the Corps still had some juice left to face Brandon Norris in the ninth. Aaron Frost got to third with some savvy baserunning, and Louie Wade knocked him home with a two-out single to bring Kavana to the plate, representing the go-ahead run. An epic battle at the plate ensued, and on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Norris flicked in a nasty curve to catch Kavana off balance and end the game. Disappointing loss, but you can't deny the team has some heart.

game 3

Drawkland                0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 2 0 1 2 2 X  7

Summary: Even with heart, you still gotta put forth a good effort. Leo Roy tried his best to keep the Lions at bay, but his second and third trips through the other were not kind. He was chased off the mound after allowing his fourth and fifth runs in the seventh inning. Meanwhile, Sean Caldwell was excellent at quieting the Corps lineup. Cam Dalton and Aaron Frost hit back-to-back doubles to score the first run of the game, but that was it. The Corps would not string multiple hits for the rest of the game. In short, one lineup was on and the other wasn't. However, you can't expect to win a series against the top team in the group on their home turf. At least this series was competitive!

by **Cassadaigua** » Sat Jun 24, 2023 7:57 pm

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 57- Series 5

Group A:

MD13:

Neibeskiya             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
TJUN-ia                1 0 3 4 0 0 0 0 X  8

Magnus Phoenicia       1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0  5
The Star Enpire        0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1  3

Liventia               0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0  4
Chromatika             0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

MD14:

Neibeskiya             1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
TJUN-ia                0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 X  4

Magnus Phoenicia       0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1  4
The Star Enpire        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Liventia               3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  7
Chromatika             0 0 0 3 1 4 0 0 X  8

MD15:

Neibeskiya             0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
TJUN-ia                1 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 X  6

Magnus Phoenicia       1 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 2  8
The Star Enpire        0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0  4

Liventia               2 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0  8
Chromatika             2 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 3 11

P Group A               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Chromatika             15   13   2    92   40  +52    39
2 TJUN-ia                15   10   5    73   49  +24    30
3 Liventia               15    9   6    83   78   +5    27
4 Magnus Phoenicia       15    7   8    67   79  −12    21
5 The Star Enpire        15    5  10    64   77  −13    15
6 Neibeskiya             15    1  14    50  106  −56     3

Group B:

MD13:

The Jovannic           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
Dod Rava               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Banija                 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 0 0  7
Cassadaigua            0 2 1 4 0 1 0 3 X 11

Loyo                   8 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 13
The UN University      0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  8

MD14:

The Jovannic           1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  4
Dod Rava               0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1  5

Banija                 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0  3
Cassadaigua            2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Loyo                   0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  5
The UN University      0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3

MD15:

The Jovannic           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Dod Rava               0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 X  2

Banija                 0 1 0 0 3 3 0 0 0  7
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  4

Loyo                   2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0  4
The UN University      0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

P Group B               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Banija                 15   11   4    90   67  +23    33
2 Cassadaigua            15   10   5   100   70  +30    30
3 Loyo                   15    9   6    70   66   +4    27
4 Dod Rava               15    8   7    72   78   −6    24
5 The Jovannic           15    6   9    57   70  −13    18
6 The UN University      15    1  14    62  100  −38     3

Group C:

MD13:

Ethane                   2 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0  7
Drawkland                3 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1  8

Nova Anglicana           1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  3
Torisakia                0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Oscioru                  0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
South Americanastan      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3  4

MD14:

Ethane                   0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0  4
Drawkland                5 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 X  7

Nova Anglicana           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2
Torisakia                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Oscioru                  0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
South Americanastan      0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 X  4

MD15:

Ethane                   2 1 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 10
Drawkland                0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1  6

Nova Anglicana           2 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11
Torisakia                0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 2  5

Oscioru                  1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
South Americanastan      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

P Group C               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Americanastan    15   11   4    72   57  +15    33
2 Nova Anglicana         15   11   4    92   61  +31    33
3 Drawkland              15   10   5   103   66  +37    30
4 Oscioru                15    6   9    64   83  −19    18
5 Ethane                 15    4  11    64   96  −32    12
6 Torisakia              15    3  12    41   73  −32     9

Group D:

MD13:

Benjium                         4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  6
The Spartan Dominion            0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  5

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2
South Newlandia                 0 8 0 0 1 2 1 2 X 14

Eshialand                       0 0 0 2 1 0 0 4 0  7
Tikariot                        0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

MD14:

Benjium                         0 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0  6
The Spartan Dominion            0 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 X  7

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
South Newlandia                 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 X  5

Eshialand                       1 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 1  6
Tikariot                        0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

MD15:

Benjium                         2 3 2 0 1 3 0 0 1 12
The Spartan Dominion            1 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0  7

Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer      0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0  3
South Newlandia                 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 2 X  6

Eshialand                       0 0 1 0 0 6 0 0 0  7
Tikariot                        1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 10

P Group D                     Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia              15   13   2   109   34  +75    39
2 Eshialand                    15    9   6    83   69  +14    27
3 Tikariot                     15    7   8    58   58    0    21
4 Benjium                      15    6   9    57   89  −32    18
5 Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer   15    6   9    41   64  −23    18
6 The Spartan Dominion         15    4  11    67  101  −34    12

Group E:

MD13:

Barnettsville          0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2
Atheara                0 1 0 0 1 0 2 1 X  5

Milchama               0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0  4
The Emeraldreach       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Zwangzug               0 0 0 0 1 2 0 4 0  7
Kharakia               0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1  4

MD14:

Barnettsville          0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0  5
Atheara                1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Milchama               1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1  5
The Emeraldreach       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2

Zwangzug               0 0 0 1 0 1 5 0 0  7
Kharakia               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2  6

MD15:

Barnettsville          0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  3
Atheara                1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Milchama               0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
The Emeraldreach       0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2

Zwangzug               0 2 0 0 1 3 0 2 0  8
Kharakia               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

P Group E               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Milchama               15   12   3    76   50  +26    36
2 Zwangzug               15   12   3    96   43  +53    36
3 Barnettsville          15    8   7    58   61   −3    24
4 Atheara                15    5  10    63   82  −19    15
5 The Emeraldreach       15    4  11    50   83  −33    12
6 Kharakia               15    4  11    67   91  −24    12

Group F:

MD13:

Delaclava                1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Quebec & Shingoryeo      0 1 0 0 0 0 6 2 X  9

HUElavia                 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ochre Islands            0 3 0 1 3 0 0 0 X  7

Shieldstan               1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  3
Abanhfleft               1 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 X  6

MD14:

Delaclava                0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  2
Quebec & Shingoryeo      1 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 X  6

HUElavia                 0 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 0  7
Ochre Islands            4 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1  8

Shieldstan               2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3
Abanhfleft               0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

MD15:

Delaclava                1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Quebec & Shingoryeo      3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 X  5

HUElavia                 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ochre Islands            0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 X  2

Shieldstan               0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1  5
Abanhfleft               0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0  4

P Group F               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Quebec & Shingoryeo    15   14   1    95   34  +61    42
2 Abanhfleft             15    8   7    79   59  +20    24
3 Delaclava              15    7   8    57   75  −18    21
4 Shieldstan             15    6   9    47   64  −17    18
5 Ochre Islands          15    6   9    57   73  −16    18
6 HUElavia               15    4  11    45   75  −30    12

Group G:

MD13:

Ranoria                2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1  5
Cardenao               2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Montana Verde          0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0  4
Ko-oren                0 0 3 0 3 1 0 1 X  8

Super-Llamaland        0 4 1 5 0 0 6 0 1 17
United Adaikes         0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0  4

MD14:

Ranoria                1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  3
Cardenao               0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 X  4

Montana Verde          1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Ko-oren                1 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 X  5

Super-Llamaland        1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
United Adaikes         2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

MD15:

Ranoria                0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 8 13
Cardenao               0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  3

Montana Verde          0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 1  5
Ko-oren                0 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 X  6

Super-Llamaland        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3
United Adaikes         0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 X  4

P Group G               Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ranoria                15   11   4    96   40  +56    33
2 Ko-oren                15   11   4    92   56  +36    33
3 Super-Llamaland        15   10   5    85   51  +34    30
4 Cardenao               15    5  10    53  104  −51    15
5 United Adaikes         15    5  10    58   93  −35    15
6 Montana Verde          15    3  12    58   98  −40     9

by **Ko-oren** » Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:43 pm

LPB Playoffs, Season Four, Anaia Series

Felswyr Fire               0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Echizen Dragons            0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Felswyr Fire               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Echizen Dragons            0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  2

The gang first goes to Chromatika - 91 and 93 Echizen versus 100-84 Felswyr, coming out of the CMT South behind 105-win Eyrods, both blown away by the Central Chromia Comets' 112 wins. Much like Ko-oren's playoffs have been all about underdogs mercilessly slaughtering the big teams, our fellow Anaian conference had similar results, although not quite as bad. I mean, let it sink in: we're watching a team under .500 trying to win the Anaian Conference final series. And they almost get away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling batters upstaging Good early on. The trust in the South Newlandian ace wasn't broken, as he made it through the rest of his game without issues, and the Dragons had tied it up 2-2 after three. More extra innings action, but the Fire made short work of it, hitting two runs off Makino after Everson kept it together in the ninth - he's found his form since the divisional round.

Game two was much luckier: more scoring off starters, with Gotou giving up a single in the third but a combo of Takata and Jimenez finding the equalising run and then the lead on extra effort by Oshima. More classy relieving and finishing by Chuan, Watase, and Everson, as the Dragons tie it up ahead of the long journey back to the island of Alara.

Echizen Dragons            3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Felswyr Fire               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2

Echizen Dragons            0 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 0  5
Felswyr Fire               0 4 0 3 1 0 0 0 X  8

Echizen are welcomed to Uvesaki Field by a loud crowd and the Dragons pay back with a three-run homerun, prompting the Fire to replace their starter immediately. This time, though, Echizen's starter Doi managed to stay on until the sixth and finally there's a team surviving the first few innings without runs. Jembembe pitched the next bits but it wasn't all that great - the Fire were never out of it and 3-0 isn't that much of a lead in the grand scheme of things, and Felswyr caught a whiff of a late comeback in the seventh - and then Everson, as that's the starring role you have to play as a closer, had game one flashbacks as he allowed one Felswyr Fire player to cross home plate, but he swiftly struck out the final two batters to save a 3-2 win. The sub-.500 Dragons are 2-1 up in the Anaia series.

Out with the small scorelines. We're talking juiced balls, metal bats, the works. Baseball is a game of small sample sizes so in between a lot of low scoring games you can have a jump up to 13 total runs on the day and we want it no other way. Felswyr got a good start with four runs in the second to get rid of that aftertaste of being on a two game losing streak, off Kramer, and they kind of didn't look back. Sure, Echizen got back to 4-3, but Kramer was forced off the mound in the middle of a three-run inning that put the Chromatik team up 7-3. There was more scoring, but the contours of the game were clear enough already, and single runs weren't going to change anything. We're going back to Chromatika, 2-2.

Felswyr Fire           0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 1  5
Echizen Dragons        1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  3

We're in the single game zone now - we need at least one more game after this in the best of seven, and that'll be on Alara again. For now, the Fire win two in a row and go up 3-2, dividing up their runs across the entire game and putting a dent in the confidence of four different pitchers, but Echizen was never quite out of it. Still, we're on thin ice now, and Echizen need two from two. In the playoffs so far, Echizen is 10-3 (8-1 before this series) as they clutched up after that 91-93 season.

Echizen Dragons        0 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 0  7
Felswyr Fire           0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2

Backs against the wall, and fighting back with everything they had! Six early runs show the focus of this team. It's 7-2 after nine innings and Felswyr had nothing to offer there. They didn't take any momentum into this game - a good showing here would have taken them to the LPB final and obviously they put in all the work to get there. At this point in the season every player obviously knows what's on the line and there was no slacking on the Fire's side either, but the Dragons' overwhelming energy was something else. Good was back on the mound, both aces featured, and to get a win like this to get back on 3-3 is quite something. Here's to a great final game!

Felswyr Fire           0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2  4
Echizen Dragons        1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 X  5

This time, the Dragons were the team to score all over this game. Everson was lit up for two late runs and a thread of a third, but the closer has been bending without breaking for a while now - whatever's needed to get the win. The Echizen Dragons aren't just your KOR North champions, not just the Ko-orenite conference champions, but Anaian champions! All on Chromatik soil - for now, they've got to get home fast and prepare to receive a surprising opponent from Esportiva - the Xingcheng Renaissance.

by **Zwangzug** » Sun Jun 25, 2023 6:54 pm

"...Zwangzug take game two of this series 5-2 over Atheara, and we'll send it down to the clubhouse. Irulan?"

"Thanks, Nellie. I'm here with today's winning pitcher, Vincent Chavez. Congratulations on the solid start!"

"Thank you."

"What happened in the first inning?"

"Yeah, the Nightwatchers are a solid team, and van Ristegal was able to work the count and reach. After that we knew we shouldn't get too cute, just get out of the inning and let the hitters do their job, so I kept it simple against Rimestone and maybe a little too simple, he connected for a double and that gave them the lead. I don't want to say the nerves got to me, it's just the group stage, a long way ahead of us, but I was maybe nibbling the edges against Hamerov more than I should have, but fortunately for us Pouchier-Nateri couldn't really straighten it out and he got jammed on an inside pitch. We may have gone down one-two-three in the bottom half, but it was enough time to get me to reset and I was able to stay more focused when I went back out there."

"You certainly were, six more shutout innings!"

"Blenov has a unique strategy--the pitcher hitting eighth but the DH will be ninth when we're out at Coldstone. You never want to underestimate your opponents' tactics, however, Coliarey was concentrating on his pitching--just like I was, I should say, goodness knows I was oh-for-three out there!--so he wasn't as much of a threat at the plate, and that may have interrupted their momentum somewhat."

"Does it help to pitch with a lead?"

"You know, Irulan, one of the great honors of playing for the Zebras is that in almost every game for the group stage you're going to be considered the favorites. Almost a month! Now that doesn't mean we'll win every game, far from it, baseball is like that. But it's not enough to say 'oh, I have these great hitters behind me, I'll be fine,' because when I'm back in Frischberg, these same people are batting against me. In the long run, every team is, on average, a .500 team. You can't rely on having the lead."

"What's it like having Jonathan MacSaruh as the new starting catcher?"

"Just because he hasn't been starting doesn't mean he hasn't been around before, we all know he can hit. That grand slam against Barnettsville two cycles ago, what an ending! Now, compared to Gwen, he's not an Algebraic notator, so he can be a little more of a slow drawl out there. Easier to understand, to be honest--Gwen could be a rush of ideas sometimes--but more likely to have the umpire break us up."

"Thanks, Vincent. Now, the fans want to know--what are you like off the field?"

"What?"

"On off days, when you're not pitching. How do you spend your time?"

"Um, well, you know, I think it's on the record that I tend to vote for the Birthday Party, more often than not. But, um, I try not to let that define me, you know, our fans come from across the political spectrum and, uh, it would be bad if we tried to appeal to or alienate any part of the electorate, you know?"

"What about your personal life?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you want kids? Are you seeing anybody?"

"Uh, well, you know, that's a very--"

"Irulan, you're not bleeping allowed to flirt with him!"

by **Ranoria** » Sun Jun 25, 2023 7:22 pm

Richardson International Airport
Following a doctor's visit in response to this incident

"Dad, you heard the man, you're risking a heart attack if you keep this up," Rylan made his case as they approached the parking for departures, "I'm making enough now from NIL, you don't have to keep working."

His father's eyes remained fixated on the road, gripped the steering wheel a bit harder, and grunted, "Not your job to provide for me, I'll be fine." He flicked a blinker on and turned his head to check his blind spot, appearing relatively unconcerned.

"You're right!" Rylan flopped back in his seat and waved a hand for dramatic effect, "My jobs are to run with one ball and hit another one really far. Those happen to pay pretty friggin' well. Just what I'm getting now makes your mortgage and all that whimsical, much less when I get drafted."

The car drifted into a parking space, and his dad sighed as he shifted the vehicle into park. "And if you don't?"

At this Rylan's jaw fell just a bit, "Excuse me?"

"Your knee gets blown out, car accident, any kind of big mishap and all that could go down the drain. What then? You gonna go work in an oilfield or something to pay for everything? I ain't puttin' my poor financial planning on your head."

"Da-"

"You're gonna miss your flight." He cut him off, waving the youngster off, "You're not gonna find another one that'll get you back in time."

Back To Square One:
Ranoria Fails To Create Separation After First Leg, WBC 57's Powerhouses Begin To Emerge

Rylan Rodgers Jr showed out against Cardenao, recording his first pro home run in his first pro start after taking over for the injured Judas Acker in centerfield

Outside of Group G, there are some true favorites making themselves known at this point.

Through this point, three teams really have a record that stands out as "wow." Quebec & Shingoryeo is the best of the crop so far - they're on an absolute tear after a 4-1 loss on opening day, and have ripped off fourteen straight to give themselves great position at the halfway point. Chromatika, meanwhile, was the last unbeaten taem standing for awhile and commands a lofty record of 13-2, while the usual suspects in South Newlandia's elephants can match that - they came in as the top ranked team in the world so, not exactly surprising, long arms are a boon for pitchers, so they can throw a ball really fast with trunks, and we're sure they can hit the ball pretty far too.

A couple other groups are, as expected, very competitive.

Milchama deserves some recognition as well, tied for a group lead with Zwangzug. They're the the only other squads with a dozen wins to their name so far - after that, it's a chop fest. Even the reigning champs are having some trouble at 11-4 - not dissimilar from our situation, they've got Cassadaigua a half-step behind them. The Dagans have one less in the win column, but boast a seven-run lead in the run differential column - their next showdown is going to be huge.

Despite that...don't think any group matches the beating that Group G has subjected itself to

The LPB represents some (but not all!) of the best baseball-ing nations in the world. Two were referenced above. The other two, Super Llamaland and Ko-oren, have accounted for two of our four losses. Ko-oren matches our record at 11-4 while Super-Llamaland is sitting at a nice 10-5, and a single game going the other way in any of the opening skirmishes between those three teams could flip he top half of the group's standings on its head.

Through that first round, no one got much of an advantage. Optimists will point to Ranoria having the best batting and pitching so far in the group - realists know that we played both of the aforementioned powerhouses at Constance Airlines Field, giving us an ever so slight advantage, and if results are to be trusted, that might represent the whole of the apparent separation between these teams. The Krauts are on pace to break their record for most groups stage wins in a Classic at 19 (they'd need to go 9-6 down the stretch to get to 20) but they may, ironically, find themselves at that mark and watching from their couches come playoff time. Super Llamaland is on a 20-10 pace and Ko-oren a 22-8. There's no room to let off the gas in this group, and the Krauts would do well to remember that as the second leg comes around.

"We're going to have to play just a bit better," said Jesse Griffith after a two-home-run day against Cardenao, "It's encouraging that we've posted winning series against two playoff-caliber teams, but I really don't want to go into game thirty in a do-or-die situation, and we're gonna play in Super-Llamaland and Ko-oren next time around. We believe we're a championship team, our rematches against them are where we can prove it to ourselves."

In more exciting news:

Rylan Rodgers Jr has really played well in his first few starts. Mind you, they came against a very cold Cardenao side, but he knocked in his first home run at the tail end of our first game against them and overall batted well while showcasing his game-changing speed at midfield, covering ground at lightning pace - Judas Acker was the fastest player on the team before, but it's clear "The Butler" has taken his place there. If he can keep up these kinds of performances as we get back to the teeth of our schedule, Acker will probably get to ride the rest of this Classic out in total relaxation. No reason to strain that hammy, after all, with his newly minted LPB contract paying more than he made in his entire Federation career combined.

by **Cassadaigua** » Sun Jun 25, 2023 8:37 pm

Fillies unable to send a message to Banija,
by Kenzie Sherman, Concord Heights Times

Heading into their three game series against one another, Cassadaigua and Banija were tied atop Group B with 9-3 records. Through 12 games, that's a nice record that no one is going to complain about, but the reminder for both teams was there that neither had played the other quite yet. Should one of the team's sweep the other, all of the sudden that good looking 9-3 becomes 9-6, and you're back in the clutches of a team like Loyo, who is a valiant third place team right now. Sure, you don't have to finish in the top two of the group as the top two third place teams will also advance, but when you look at the tables in the other groups, Group C and G seem to have the inside track on those spots. Of course, with us only at the midway point after the series was over, there's plenty of time left. Cassadaigua could not have this end as poorly as their games against the pot one team from the last Classic, though. Why do we keep talking about that? Because it was indeed, that bad!

The first game of the series saw Starksville's Breanne LaViolette take to the mound, and she needed to have a good outing. Early on in the game, she would deliver, and the fans had plenty to cheer about as the pink and black jumped out to a commanding 7-0 lead after four innings. Kristen Martorella's three run homer in the fourth was the biggest blow of that stretch, and the Cassadagan fans in the stands loved what they were seeing. But LaViolette, who had only allowed one hit through four, would be touched up in the fifth inning for four runs, and suddenly we had a game on our hands again. The game was turned over the bullpen, and with the team up 8-4, Ugonna Akachi's two-run double off the top of the wall highlighted a three run inning, and suddenly, our lead was only one. That is why Banija is the defending World Baseball Classic champs, folks. On this occasion, Cassadaigua would hold on, and would get valuable insurance in the eighth on a bases clearing three-run double by Morgan Brennan, coming with two outs. Cassadaigua survived, 11-7. Afterwards, manager Allyson McIntosh told the press, "Yes, it is one of those games where you like things and dislike things about it. We played well to start, but even though we gave almost all of the lead up, we didn't quite do that, so we didn't wilt completely. Getting the three runs in the eighth were very beneficial."

Game 2 would see Natalia Gomez on the mound, and this would end up as a great pitching duel. Gomez got run support right away in the bottom of the first, as four singles led to a pair of runs, but little did fans know then, that Cassadaigua would not have another hit again until the bottom of the ninth as Dzunani Mazuze completely shut us down. Gomez did well, but Banija chipped away, and eventually won it in the eighth, 3-2. "Credit Mazuze there," McIntosh said after the game, "he made incredible adjustments after that first inning."

The final game of the series never saw Cassadaigua get involved, as the team fell behind 7-0. For a brief moment, it looked like just maybe the script of the first game could be reversed when it was us with the 7-0 lead, then giving up a four run inning, as the Fillies did manage four in the bottom of the seventh, but they would never be able to threaten for more, and the series would come to an end with the Banijans taking two out of three, and claiming the top spot in the Group. Losing two out of three here is not as devastating as being swept would be, but with Loyo easily handling The UN University, we only have a one game lead on them with a big head to head series coming up at home. "We knew this six game homestand would be huge," McIntosh said, "We'll need to win the series against Loyo, we've had good success against them up to this point, but that can change in a hurry."

The Fillies will have Lacey Maxwell, Stella Freeman, and Breanne LaViolette on the hill for the series.

by **Milchama** » Sun Jun 25, 2023 10:00 pm

"The halfway point"

"Living on a Prayer"

"I don't think that P should be capitalized"

"Isn't this an oral medium with the quotation marks and all, how can you tell my punctuation?"

"You implied it based on your speech"

"How do you imply capital letters?"

"Not sure, it just felt like you did"

"I did not, anyways"

"Well know we are still halfway there"

"And living on a prayer"

"That's much better"

"Sure, whatever, anyways, do you have anything to say about Milchama?"

"Yeah we're doing well"

"Thank you but that's not particularly useful, people can look at the standings"

"Is this a broadcast?"

"I thought we were ripping off Zwangzug"

"Oh, I thought this was a private conversation"

"You know, it's totally unclear based on context"

"You're right, what do you want it to be?"

"I don't think this is how it works"

"You're right"

"So how are the Warriors doing anyways?"

"Really well, we're in first place and it's a pretty clear two horse race with us and Zwangzug"

"Those Zebras sure are pesky"

"Yeah they've only lost one game against Not Us while we've lost 2 against Not Them"

"We're also the only sides in the group with a positive run differential"

"So we're doing well"

"Exactly"

"So what does that mean?"

"Basically we just need to keep it up."

"So we need to beat Barnettsville again"

"Pretty much"

"You know what I just realized"

"What?"

"Outside of us/Zwangzug Barnettsville is like 8-2 against everybody else"

"So they're doing pretty well but in a tough group"

"Yep"

"Too bad for them"

"Oh yeah they're still going to lose, probably"

"Almost certainly"

"So we'll be ok in the end"

"Exactly in the end it is really going to matter"

"The ball will so far and land so hard"

"Just like baseballs all should"

by **Banija** » Mon Jun 26, 2023 11:07 am

Oyella Lagum Series- Part 1

Banijan closer Oyella Lagum, Matchday 14, road game against Cassadaigua

Oyella Lagum had made sure to have a heaping of goat meat that morning. Just like he was supposed to. And with the Banijan bullpen taxed after getting rocked for 11 runs in the opening game of the series, he knew that he could be called upon to do more than he usually does in this game. And it was matching up like that was going to happen. The lefty, Dzunani Mazuze, who has all sorts of experience in big games, was making all the correct and proper pitches. After allowing two in the first, he was dominant for the rest of the game- up until the 8th inning.

A RBI double by Sadiiq Xoosh in the top of the 8th had given the Banijans a 3-2 lead, a slim, one run lead, here in Concord Heights. Dzunani Mazuze had gotten the first out of the bottom of the 8th- putting himself in line for the win. But at Dagan Airways, the #9 hitter, in the pitcher's slot for Cassadaigua, they brought out a pinch hitter- of course, because no DH out here in Cassadaigua. So when Desiree Arquette rolled up to the plate, Lagum started warming up- just in case. They both fought through the at-bat- but after 12 pitches, Arquette smacked one into the gap. It hit off the wall- a standup double for the pinch hitter.

Oladipo then motioned to Oyella, who started jogging to the mound. Ignoring some hecklers from the crowd, he jogged up to the mound. "5 out save, Oyella- you got this?" The manager asked him. Oyella simply nodded yes. Not something you usually do at the halfway point of the group stages- but this was an important series. The chances of a 3rd place team getting out of Group B were getting slimmer and slimmer- so chasing that top spot in this group was absolutely crucial. Why not ask your closer to come out here and get 5 outs?

Oyella came out. He knew that he had a runner on second base, and the top of the order coming up for Cassadaigua. First three pitches, all fastballs- 96, 96, 98. Two strikes and a ball. Tabitha Serrano, the switch hitter(all Dagans are switch-hitters), sitting there as a left-handed batter. What pitch would Lagum throw here? Breaking ball, down in the dirt- and Serrano couldn't hold off, chasing the pitch. Strike 3. Small fist pump from Lagum. "Hell yeah!" He said to himself. One more out to get. Tying run still on second. Out came Cailey Huff. Arquette would steal third- tying run, here in the 8th, just 90 feet away.

"C'mon." He said to himself. "We're gonna do this." First two pitches- both swinging strikes. Lagum was ahead in the count, 0-2, and delivered a back door breaking ball- JUST missing the strike zone. 1-2. He threw a fastball- Huff hit a comebacker- but straight at Lagum. He threw his glove in the air and snagged it for out #3. "LET'S FUCKING GO!" He yelled, getting himself out of the inning. One more inning.

He would face the 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup in the 9th inning. But that inning, while not perfect, went smoothly. Kristen Martorella would ground out to first base. Then Carly Hodges, hitting in cleanup, hit a single to right field, over the head of the leaping second baseman. But Lagum did not panic, as fans started to put on their rally caps. Chromia Comets 1B Makenna Anglin would ground into a game-ending, prototype, 6-4-3 double play, with Lagum slamming the door shut.

He was only asked one question in the post-game locker room scrum. "Oyella, obviously the start you had to this Classic was disastrous- did that three day sabbatical you have really help you get back on track? Did you ever panic?"

Lagum thought about the question. DId he panic? A little- of course, you don't see a shaman unless you a panicking. But obviously, he wasn't going to say this. "Look, I know that I have the stuff to pitch at this level. Last year I helped win a WBC title- so I knew that I was going to get my stuff back. I thank Oladipo for having faith in me- I want to make another run, I want to get back here, to Concord Heights, and play for another world title- and now that I've gotten myself fixed, I truly think we can make it all the way back."

Despite the 5 out save, he would go out and get a save the very next day, in the final game of the series, to help Banija win their fifth straight series, taking 2 out of 3. He was cruising- what the shaman did was working, right?

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Mon Jun 26, 2023 12:00 pm

Game 1: NEI 1-8 TJU (8-5)
The Battin' Jaguars of TJUN-ia have gotten better and better since they were swept in the very first series of this World Baseball Classic, but things were about to get a bit emotional as this halfway series would be the final one that Rounders Field in Portside shall host in this Classic. Our opponents for this pivotal time were the last team we had yet to face in debutants Neibeskiya and Kimi Holvanen would start Game 1. We started off on the best track thanks to a solo bomb from Santino Fenatti on the 3rd ball of the entire game before he got a 3-run bomb in the 3rd and Martina Andrade de Souza added a Grand Slam into the mix in the 4th to really set the tone. Our visitors did get one back in the 8th and...that was for Game 1. 8-1, simple as that.

Game 2: NEI 1-4 TJU (9-5)
Maddison "Missy" Jembembe would start Game 1 but amazingly, our visitors would strike first with a HR in the top of the 1st. You could certainly tell that they shored up their Run Defence between this game and the last and their pitching seemed to be more "in the zone" as they hunted a 2nd win of the campaign. We certainly had a bit of difficulty in dealing with this new approach to things but the floodgates would finally open in the 6th with a 2-run bomb from MA de Souza and from there, we took over. Anastasia Mykvinich and Holly Davids added more to the pile and just like that, it ended 4-1 and with the series being won.

Game 3: NEI 1-6 TJU (10-5)
Yolande Sirapui would start the final game of this series and the stands were packed to see the final WBC57 game in Portside - and they got their worth almost immediately. Palila Kalawai’a would hit a 1-out solo bomb in the 1st before Li Chen Sho added 2 more in the 2nd. Stefan von Shültz would add 2 more in the 4th before Sirapui did the rare thing and score a HR as a pitcher. Our visitors would add 1 to their tally in the 6th but that would be that - game won 61-, series won in a sweep and an aggregate score of 18-3. Sometimes, it's just your series.

We enter the halfway point at 10-5 - not too bad, considering we started by being swept, but we knew that we had to be careful in order to ensure our progression to the Playoffs were secured. Up next is the revenge series against Chromatika in Chromia, our first of this WBC using the DH, and series we hope we can take something from against a team who has only lost twice. This will be tough...but we need some sort of retribution. 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) - Orean Capital Grounds, Orean W 2-1 (3rd)
S5: vs Neibeskiya (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (2nd)
S6: @Chromatika (4) - National Stadium, Chromia
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 **Nova Anglicana** » Mon Jun 26, 2023 1:59 pm

Close or not? Lions achieve "fortunate" sweep of Ice Birds

Following the Nova Anglicana Lions' 2-1 series loss to the Bears of South Americanastan, they were sitting in second place and needing a real pick-me-up. One way they could get it would be outstanding performances from their young starters Park Sung-Jae, Christophe Grenon, and Sam Worrell. They got it, but turns out that wasn't everything they needed to pick up a sweep of Torisakia. Manager Charlie Snyder called his team "fortunate", saying "[they] got good pitching and timely hitting, but with a few balls this way or that, [they] might have lost the series, so [they] need to be sharper in the second half."

Game one was a thirteen-inning affair, beginning with Park Sung-Jae's four-inning, two-run effort at Steven Douglas Park. Park set down the first three batters in order, including getting Gunner Tipton to whiff on a signature slider. But he ran into trouble in the second, walking a batter and giving up a single before Kayde Bellamy smashed a double into right-center, scoring two runs and putting the Ice Birds up 2-1. Jonah Quinlan had hit a solo shot in the first inning to give the Lions a 1-0 lead earlier. Coming in to relieve Park was the young Aiden Fréchette. Fréchette had an awful debut, getting just two outs and being charged with four runs. But here, against the Ice Birds, he looked good. The fastball was finding the zone, hitters were swinging over the slider, and the changeup was actually getting whiffs against right-handed batters. All in all, Fréchette threw three scoreless, striking out four and giving up just one hit and no walks. A 9.82 ERA isn't pretty, but it's a heck of a lot better than 54.00. Meanwhile, Cliff Hunt had surrendered just two solo homers, the one to Quinlan and a second to Sean Wilson, through seven innings, keeping the Lions in check. From the eighth inning on, Adrien Turcotte, Nick Pierce, Adrien Dumas, Steven Gray, Louis Langevin, and Leo Matthews combined to throw five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just two hits. Still, the Lions were tied 2-2, as Sam McCreery, Ike Garnet, Tristen Hyland, Amaro Dallas, and Rico Mendoz threw five scoreless innings of their own, leaving just the closer Luke Traylor as the Lions came to bat in the 13th. Joey Carlson drew a leadoff walk and was replaced by Jason McCormick as the pinch-runner, sending Alex Burke up to the plate. Burke, the superutilityman, had played sparingly so far, but came through with a big bloop single, putting two runners on with no outs. Buddy Bohannon hit a big chopper to the right side of the infield, and Josh Sweet could only get Burke at second, with no double play. Michael O'Connor then turned around a hard fastball from Traylor, hitting it deep enough into center for McCormick to tag up and score on a sac fly. The Lions took that slim 3-2 lead into the bottom of the 13th, where their own closer, Darren Sharp, worked around a one-out single to strike out the final two batters and secure the exhausting win.

Game two saw Christophe Grenon on his best game, as he didn't allow a baserunner the first time through the order or a hit until the fifth inning. His dizzying array of off-speed pitches baffled the Ice Birds hitters, allowing him to rack up eight Ks and exit after six innings with just two hits and one walk allowed. Unfortunately, Jonah Dodge, Torisakia's own young hurler, matched him zero for zero, walking three and giving up three hits, but no runs allowed through seven innings. He exited for a pinch-hitter in the bottom half of the seventh, but Jake Cunningham, the Lions' multi-inning guy giving the bullpen a bit of a blow, retired the pinch-hitter Austin Derrick, keeping the game tied at zero. Rico Mendoz came on to face the top of the Lions' order and young shortstop Guillaume Barbeau. Barbeau is an excellent athlete, but in this plate appearance, he fouled off three tricky pitches and ultimately worked a walk off of the tough lefty. Mickey Hearn scorched a liner the other way, and although Kenny Trevis, the right fielder, made a good stab and cut the ball off to hold Hearn to a single, he couldn't deal with Barbeau's wheels and the 21 year-old screamed around the bases to third. Jonah Quinlan struck out and when Sean Wilson hit a two-hopper to short, it looked like the Ice Birds might get out of the inning unscathed. But Wilson put on a real burst of hustle and beat out the back end of the double play, meaning that when Barbeau crossed the plate, it counted and the Lions led 1-0. Wilson was removed from the game after that play and later diagnosed with a mild hamstring issue, which would keep him off the field for game three. In his absence, Jonah Quinlan slid over to first, Barbeau moved to third, and Xavier Pineault took over at short. Pineault would make a diving grab in the bottom of the eighth to back up Cunningham's second scoreless inning and keep the score at 1-0. Ben Poole hit a homer in the ninth to make it 2-0 and Darren Sharp closed it out in the bottom of the inning, giving the Lions another close win.

Game three would not be close. Sam Worrell, the lefty with the dynamite fastball-slider combo, gave up four baserunners and two runs in his second inning of work, but it hardly mattered, as his team was already leading 11-0 at the time. Xavier Pineault hit a two-run shot in the first and the Lions batted around in the second, scoring nine runs and chasing both starter Jett Milford and reliever Ike Garnet from the game. Joey Carlson hit a three-run homer and Guillaume Barbeau had a bases-clearing triple as the big hits in the inning. Worrell worked five innings and gave up just one baserunner besides the second inning. Christian Williamson pitched a scoreless inning in the sixth, and Leo Matthews, Adrien Turcotte, and Louis Langevin held down the last three innings, despite allowing three runs between them. The game was well in hand by then, so those garbage-time runs didn't matter all that much. Special mention must be given to Amaro Dallas, Tristen Hyland, and Sam McCreery for throwing 7.1 innings of scoreless relief after the Lions had already racked up eleven runs.

So it was a sweep! Other than game three, it could have easily resulted in a different outcome for the Lions, however. Going into the second half, the Lions are tied with South Americanastan at 11-4 and just a game ahead of Drawkland at 10-5. The other three teams are not playoff contenders, so it will be imperative that the Lions not drop games against them if they expect to make the playoffs in a good position. That mandate starts in the next series as the Lions attempt to move to 6-0 as they take on the Ethane Red Kites for the second time. The Red Kites are just 4-11 and lost by a combined score of 24-8 to Nova Anglicana the first time around. The Lions will need to show no mercy and get bounce-back performances from Ryan Montgomery, Tommy Logan, and Sebastian Miller, who struggled in their first go-round against Oscioru. The Lions played well in the first half, but they'll need to be better in the second half if they expect to make a deep run in WBC 57.

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

Batter Up!: This Team Is Climbing Back Up

Batter Up!: Onwards And Upwards

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