Plus seventy-five. Through the first fifteen games of the World Baseball Classic Group Stage, the Elephants have outscored their opponents (who include notable baseball nations like Tikariot, Eshialand and Benjium) by seventy-five runs. That’s five on average. It shouldn’t come as a shock that this leads all WBC teams in this Classic, although there is some remarkably close company – the Stronk Snow Bears from Ranoria, the Zebras of Zwangzug, and LPB friends Chromatika are also eclipsing 50, with the Grim Reapers of Quebec and Shingoryeo over 60.
While the road-trip WBC in Drawkland had a couple teams even hotter at the halfway mark (including the Elephants), counting only other 30-game group stages, the last time a team was better after 15 than these Elephants were the Super-Llamanean Tigers back in WBC41, at +82. Hey, they shared a group with Drawkland; I bet being part of that statistic was the only embarrassing thing the Base Corps got up to in that Classic.
The team that came closest in the modern era were Cassadaigua, at +66 in WBC51. Pretty good company, all in all.
Predictably, despite being very good at scoring runs (109 of them – best in the WBC) and preventing runs (34 – also best in the WBC, tied with the Grim Reapers), the Elephants did not win every game. And while it’s easy to look at big numbers of Elephant home runs and Elephant strikeouts, the far more interesting games were the ones where this did not happen.
Things already threatened to go awry in the opening game in Eshialand. Despite a strong start for Maike Bookmer, the Elephants led only 3-0, failing to score in any inning but the fourth, with Grant Porter successfully keeping the Elephants relatively docile. Bookmer ultimately exited with 7 IP and 2 ER striking out eight, still in line for the win; but with the Elephants still failing to score more runs, Barnaby Butt came in to protect a one-run lead. This did not work, with an RBI double for Harry Brentwood tying the game at 3, before a Kyle Reznor single put the Owls up ahead.
This gave Bianca Lemieux a chance to get a save against the Elephants in the top of the ninth, but she, too, would surrender the tying run, with a Toni Schäfer sacrifice fly scoring Mike Larsen, who had doubled earlier in the inning. After Dhruv Webber managed to prevent a walk-off in the bottom of the frame, Brad Moore would uncork a tenth-inning go-ahead solo home run, and Darlene Le was able to sit down the heart of the Owls’ line-up in order, striking out Reznor to end the game.
The Elephants ran into loads more problems in their first home series, hosting the other Owls, from Tikariot. Starter [TBD] had the Elephants under control, finishing with a line of 7 IP, 2 ER (1 unearned) and allowing just four hits. Meanwhile, Elephants’ starter Hailey Clark got touched up for four runs in as many innings, taking a loss; and the Elephants were unable to get a comeback going.
Game two looked like it was going the same way, with a two-run home run by [TBD] against Ben Gonzalo putting the Owls ahead early. Despite Gonzalo otherwise pitching well, his counterpart, [TBD], was even better, holding the Elephants to just one run and three hits in eight innings. Turning the game over to closer [TBD], however, would not go smoothly. After a pair of walks, Shawn Zimmerman punched a single through the left side, tying the game and putting runners on the corners with just one out. With the speedy Hurley pinch-running, Mike Larsen only needed to get the ball into the outfield; and he did so with plenty room to spare, crushing a three-run walk-off home run.
Game three was close again, a hard-fought pitching duel between Maike Bookmer and [TBD]. Ultimately, a two-run single for Nicolas Perez in the first scored the only runs in the ballgame, with Bookmer managing eight scoreless, again striking out eight, this time being rewarded with the win.
Despite losing the series, the Owls of Tikariot showed commendable fight, holding the Elephants to just ten runs across three games, remarkable given how much other pitching staffs struggled.
After some uneventful beatdowns visiting The Spartan Dominion, the Elephants travelled to Benjium, where they opened with two more beatdowns. This game was much closer; another Maike Bookmer start. This one, though, went wrong early, with Benjium recording three early runs. While the Elephants matched that pace, they only actually got ahead in the eighth, thanks to Daryl Dunlop and David Drum each driving in a run. The eighth was uneventful, with Dhruv Webber striking out the side, giving Darlene Le another save opportunity in the ninth.
This one went very badly, though, with her surrendering a couple of walks to open the frame, before inducing a groundball towards the middle. David Drum couldn’t quite make the tough play, though, with [TBD] safe at first, loading the bases. Ramussen decided to let her stick it out, for now, but with the winning run now on first with none out, it was a tall task. She seemed to work her way back into it, though, inducing a flyout that scored an irrelephant run and striking out [TBD]. Still runners at first and second, one-run lead, two out.
Then came [TBD], who quickly got ahead in the count, and pounced on 3-1 fastball, roping it down the line. Daryl Dunlop in his prime might have been able to come up with a good throw to challenge the runner at home plate, but it was not to be, with pinch-runner [TBD] legging it out all the way from first to win the game for Benjium.
Le was ultimately the one to blame; the defensive plays for Drum and Dunlop were far from easy. The way to prevent a three-run game winning ninth would have been to prevent the surprisingly feisty Benjium hitters from managing a pair of walks and a pair of hits.
The Elephants concluded their first half hosting Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer, which was again mostly uneventful, although they had Ryan Hunter to thank in the second game. The run support came only late, so Hunter pitching seven scoreless was absolutely vital, with the Ellies only leading 1-0 at the time, with Juan Diego Salazar Valenzuela, also a lefty, coming very close to matching the Newport Dolphin the entire way.
While these Elephants are undoubtedly quite strong, they did have multiple mediocre games, and the bullpen did not look as good as it should in high leverage. With plenty room to improve, the Elephants will open half two hosting Eshialand. These Owls are currently in second place, at 9-6, with half of their losses coming in that initial series – a .750 win rate since.
All the way back in WBC41, Super-Llamaland proceeded all the way to the WBC Finals, where they narrowly lost to the Rockets in what remains one of the most memorable finals in the last fifty years. Current Elephants manager, Sofia Rasmussen, was catching for the Tigers in that series. The current Cassadaiguan hosts, while not in the Finals themselves, did also win a medal in that tournament. While it is far too early to project another run as deep on these Elephants, one thing is clear – the Elephants are not done yet. The short WBC53-55 era of dominance was not all this country has to offer.
South Newlandian College Baseball, Part 1: Egrets fly
Eastern Conference Recap
Eastern Conference Recap
Ratzupalfu University of Nature
Nickname: Egrets
Relative Size: Very Big
Stadium: Egrets Stadium
Last seasons: 27-13 (won Eastern Division), 19-21
Notable players:
RHSP Banda Kujabi (BNJ, sophomore)
SP Carter Perrier (HUR, sophomore)
1B Ronnie Metcalfe (HUR, sophomore)
3B Elisabeth Sa (BNJ, sophomore)
RF Veer Murphy (junior)
Notable freshmen:
LHRP Gaia Colombo
2B Carla Santana
Rivalries: Elephant Valley University, Newport College for International Relations, Walstreim Business University
It was supposed to be the Egrets’ year in the last season, with one of the strongest crops of freshmen that the Big 14 had seen in a long while. Of course, that starts with Banda Kujabi, the right-hander who went to High School in Busukuma, his Banijan home. The pitcher was able to improve on an already strong freshman season, quickly ascending to one of the best pitchers in the Big 14. Alongside him, Carter Perrier has been developing nicely. The left-handed pitcher from Huron League has a fastball that can rival that of Kujabi, even if his off-speed isn’t all there.
The team was able to further upgrade their pitching staff by bringing in left-handed reliever Gaia Colombo, who has sky-high potential, even though there’s a lot of rawness to her game.
On the other side of the ball, there’s Ronnie Metcalfe, who improved after a mediocre freshman season, and Elisabeth Sa, another talented Banijan. She’s still struggling to add more power to her game, but she’s an entirely fine contact-hitter as is. Veer Murphy might be the most pro-ready player in the field at this time, as any team could use an outfielder who can provide a decent glove and can get on base well, even if his contact-first approach doesn’t lend itself to many home runs.
Here, too, the Egrets brought in some rookies, with a pair of players that grew up in Ratzupalfu – second baseman Carla Santana mostly excels thanks to being good at the plate while providing strong fielding at a tough position, while speed and a better arm are things that might come along eventually. Dylan Thomas, meanwhile, is mostly here thanks to his built-for-slugging body, even if the actual baseball abilities haven’t quite shown through yet – a typical boom-or-bust player.
If you want to have a good season, general baseball wisdom would tell you that starting 11-0 in a 40-game season is generally conducive to that. There’s not much more to be added, honestly, as the Egrets easily cruised to a record of 29-11, despite a short period of sputtering around midseason. In fact, the Egrets finished with the most runs, second-fewest runs against, and best record in the entire Big 14 – Ratz very stronk. We’ll just stop long enough to note that the Egrets still only split the season series with their big rivals, EVU (3-3), and that their opening win streak was broken by the Ducks (after a 14-0 in game one) at home.
Moving on to the individual contributions, the Egrets had four players make the All-Big 14 team; that being starters Perrier and Kujabi, with the Banijan being selected as the top pitcher in all of South Newlandian College Baseball – a remarkable achievement for a sophomore. Freshman Colombo also made the All-Big 14 selection, although the sample size for relief pitcher is always miniscule; with Elisabeth Sa the only bat to make it on the selection of the All-Division team, narrowly beating out a few other good third basemen. Notably, all of these four will still be around after the sixth LPB draft, as will most of this team. These Egrets might just be the team to beat until this young group ages out.
Newport Law School
Nickname: Gazelles
Relative Size: Medium
Stadium: Legallya Baseball Park
Last seasons: 23-17, 23-17 (won Eastern Division)
Notable players:
RHSP Josephine Girard (senior)
2B Jordan Kühn (junior)
CF Alice Hansen (junior)
Notable freshmen:
RHRP Viyaan Wagner-Kumar
Rivalries: Newport College for International Relations, Newport Politics Institute, Kinjestad Medical School
The Gazelles had just shockingly won the Eastern Conference for the first time in ages, and were hoping to keep that momentum going. In contrast to the Egrets, Newport Law has a relatively experienced team, centred around a few big names. Their big name starter is senior Josephine Girard, one of the best young pitchers in baseball, even though there’s some work left to do locating the nasty stuff. In the field, that player is Jordan Kühn, a junior with excellent on-base skills for his age, especially for a tough position like second base. Surrounding them with a decent group of roleplayers was the objective, and it’s honestly been surprising how much success the Gazelles have had since Kühn and Girard got here, as they are commonly considered the second Newport college, behind NCfIR.
They did make one notable freshman addition, that being Newport native Viyaan Wagner-Kumar. While listed as a reliever, he does have some starter traits, with decent stamina and accuracy, with his strikeout pitch a good, sharp slider. The right-hander ended up struggling as a freshman, especially when asked to start.
In this season, the Gazelles were lucky to get above .500, as their -20 run differential points at some real issues, especially with an underperforming batting line-up.
Quickly dropping to 3-9, already eight games back on the conference-leading Egrets, there was little hope for the team in black. In fact, all three of those games were one-run games, and it would take them until MD18 to record a win in which they won by more than three runs. Winning close games was their speciality, with the team coming away with an 8-4 record in one-run games. Thanks to a decent surge around midseason, NLS did end up second in the East, but a 21-19 record was far from seriously challenging the Egrets at the top.
At the end of the season, both Girard and Kühn were selected on the All-Division selection, the only Gazelles to make that team. Now, with both of them about to leave for pro baseball, Newport Law finds itself in a difficult spot; the next few seasons could be hard here.
Walstreim Business University
Nickname: Foxes
Relative Size: Average
Stadium: Inland Field
Last seasons: 15-25, 15-25
Notable players:
SP Michael Wu (SLL, sophomore)
RHRP Côme Nguyen (senior)
SS Julia Horn (sophomore)
LF Teresa Mills (junior)
Notable freshmen:
RHSP Spruha-Malak Sanz
LF Antonio Caballero
Rivalries: Kinjestad Medical School, Ratzupalfu University of Nature, Newport College for International Relations
It was quite surprising that Walstreim Business was as terrible as they were in the previous seasons, with the Foxes stuck on 15 wins in back-to-back years, as they actually have some players. Sure, Llamanean starter Michael Wu doesn’t exactly scream “ace”, but the sophomore commands the ball well, and senior Côme Nguyen is one of the best relievers in college baseball with a solid approach to any hitter.
In the field, the team had a pair of decent players. Shortstop Julia Horn is one of the best fielders out there, while LF Teresa Mills is a more than serviceable bat with a good glove, despite the tons of strikeouts.
The Fixes also found time to add to their team, bringing in freshman reliever Maria Thompson, who’ll be able to learn from Nguyen, and outfielder Antonio Caballero, both of whom can be described as talented projects.
Despite immediately dropping to 1-6, the Foxes quickly recovered this time, and were an entirely decent 10-10 after 20 games. They kept that pace, finishing 20-20, a big improvement from some poor seasons in the past. In fact, their +35 run differential indicates that they could’ve been much better, with the line-up producing the third-most runs of all Big 14 teams. They hung double-digits on their opponents half a dozen times (6 times from 40 games!). Unfortunately, they also went 5-9 in one-run games (nearly half of their losses were by exactly one run!), preventing them from an even better finish.
Given their surprising offensive production, it is surprising that Côme Nguyen was the only Fox on the All-Division selection; but it really was a team effort at the plate. Looking into the future, the Foxes will soon have to do without Horn, Mills, and Nguyen; and the team in white will have to hope that Caballero, Thompson, and Wu can fill their footsteps.
Newport College for International Relations
Nickname: Bees
Relative Size: Big
Stadium: Diplomat Field
Last seasons: 21-19, 20-20
Notable players:
SP Lama Melo (BNJ, sophomore)
1B Asier Rodriguez (sophomore)
SS Lolong Fadiya (BNJ, senior)
Notable freshmen:
RHRP Simon Huber
RF Lawrence Gonzalez
Rivalries: Newport Politics Institute, Newport Law School, Ratzupalfu University of Nature
It is quite surprising that a team like the Bees, that on paper should be powerful and challenging for championships, just can’t put it together year after year. Especially in a big college like NCfIR, traditionally the third-biggest South Newlandian college behind EVU and Ratzupalfu, you would really expect some results.
And yet, after middling results last year, here they are with more middling results despite some excellent players on the roster. Starter Lama Melo had offers to play collegiate gridiron, but he chose to focus on throwing a smaller ball – curiously at the one big school in South Newlandia with no gridiron option. Unfortunately for him, he had a second season of struggles given his hype, as he still hasn’t quite found a third pitch that works for him.
On the batting side, the team revolves around shortstop Lolong Fadiya. After transferring from the University of Moravica for his junior year, the Banijan has played a second season of excellent baseball, both with solid fielding and excellent batting from both sides of the plate, in addition to being the heart and soul of the team. He will surely be missed after entering pro ball.
Sophomore Asier Rodriguez was able to help out on the batting side, with the first baseman contributing some good slugging, even if the swing-and-miss rates were still higher than you’d like.
The freshman crop was surprisingly strong, too, with the Bees bringing in a pair of relievers between the high-velo Ilyes Jones and Simon Huber, who has ice in his veins. They also added Lawrence Gonzalez, who should be a decent OBP outfield bat.
All season, the Bees struggled to string wins together. For most of the season, their longest win streak was three (including a sweep of the Egrets), until a five-win streak pushed them to .500 at the end of the season, beating some of the weakest teams in the Big 14. Ultimately, it was a lost season results-wise, despite producing surprisingly good outcomes defensively, with the Bees surrendering the third-fewest runs in all of the Big 14.
On an individual level, things were better, with Fadiya and Rodriguez earning relatively predictable slots on the Big 14 All-Division team. The inclusion of Simon Huber was more surprising, but given the small sample size, one shouldn’t overreact.
Sophie City College
Nickname: Ducks
Relative Size: Very Small
Stadium: Duck Pond
Notable players:
RHSP Liam Soares-Nuñez (senior)
Last seasons: 15-25, 21-19
Notable freshmen:
none
Rivalries: mostly themselves
It was truly shocking when Sophie City College went on a run to finish 21-19 last season despite having approximately zero notable players. That’s still the case, with the best-known Duck being senior Liam Soares-Nuñez, who would be extremely forgettable on any other team. Their luck ran out this time, with the Duckies finishing 12-28. Honestly, the less time spent here, the better – obviously, no Duck even came close to All-Division-Team honours.
Newport Politics Institute
Nickname: Badgers
Relative Size: Small
Stadium: Nia Freeman Field
Last seasons: 11-29, 17-23
Notable players:
LHSP Dylan Borges (junior)
RHSP Nahia King (senior)
C Eva Mercier (senior)
Notable freshmen:
none
Rivalries: Newport College for International Relations, Newport Law School
The Ducks being bad is entirely predictable. They’re one of the two smallest colleges in the Big 14, and don’t have any good players, it doesn’t get more complicated than that. The NPI Badgers are a different story. While they’re the smallest of the three Newport colleges, they do pride themselves on at least competing with the other two. Instead, they find themselves in dead last again, with the Badgers entirely falling flat despite actually having some decent players. Well, one, starter Dylan Borges, who despite lacking velo commands his stuff really well.
A 12-28 record is slightly embarrassing for a team with a relatively rich history. Starting 5-20 is almost impressive, and so is winning back-to-back games only twice. Even against the other horrible team, the Badgers just couldn’t tread water, going 2-6 against the Ducks. They did go 4-8 against the other two Newport colleges, failing to win a series. Borges, underperforming, did not make the All-Big 14 selection in his final year as a Badger.
