World Baseball Classic 59 (IC thread)

by **Diarcesia** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 3:25 pm

OOC: Correction to the previous post after realizing it's impossible for an away team to walk-off grand slam. Please disregard my previous MD8 RP.

Baseball Commentator wrote:"A grand slam while down by three against the ninth-ranked team!? I can't believe it!"

"This team is on fire, and that was a magnificent way to take the lead and, if Banija cannot answer, finish a hard-fought game. The Marionets were really making their mark in this tournament!"

Diarcesia's win against Banija in a thrilling 7-6 match has turned heads and sparked conversations among baseball fans, players, and analysts alike. The game was a true showcase of endurance from the Diarcesians as they clawed their way back into knockouts contention after their first three match days all ended in defeat.

The game-clinching grand slam was courtesy of Kodey Patton, who made the fateful swing with two outs at the bottom of the ninth inning. This magnificent display not only sealed the victory for his side but also demonstrated how anything can happen on any given day. Questions will be asked on whether the Diarcesian leagues are a dark horse in multiversal baseball, or, more likely, if the Banijans were caught sleeping and let down their guard against their unranked foe.

In addition to Patton's literally show-stopping performance, fans have also taken note of other key players who contributed significantly: Stheneboea Văduva held strong on the mound holding opponent runs down, Europe Justice continued to be one of the starters and pitched well while allowing only two runs, and Chinasa van Hofwegen showed her exceptional defensive command.

Their four-game winning streak boosted the Marionets' confidence and showed that at the very least, they can realistically aim for reaching the knockouts if they keep top form. Their recent surge has created a palpable buzz within Diarcesia's baseball community, and many are now looking to their representative's matches in the competitive Group Nine as critical junctions for Diarcesian baseball's future trajectory. Currently sitting at third place after seven days played, the team looks forward to a path to attain every win possible.

Completing their revenge tour should they win, Diarcesia will head back to Vecetxe-Arcedatus Field to face off against Oscioru next. While the Saints stand below the Marionets in the group rankings, they still pose potential threats given how unpredictable most of the group has proven thus far.

by **Avisora** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 4:43 pm

Avisora win first international baseball game!
August 6, 2024

The Penguins have finally won their first international baseball game, 7 games into their first participation in the World Baseball Classic. Nonetheless, it was an imperssive victory as they pushed 14 runs past the Crpostran pitchers to grab the win. The game was tied 4-4 by the 6th but a 2-RBI double from Crispín Barragán gave the Avisoran team a lead which they never gave up. With a 4 run lead in the 9th, the Penguin's offense exploded as they hit around and scored 5, including a three run homer from 3B Eztli Zishu.

The Community's hopes might be over for the 59th WBC, but at least we can go home with a win and a proud offensive performance throughout the tournament.

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 4:45 pm

logo credit: Sacha

Ratzupalfu Rhinos Preview

Starting Pitchers
SP Odongo Lutaakome (Banija)
SP Ben Gonzalo (South Newlandia)
SP Melissa Silvestri (South Newlandia)
SP Lio Günther (South Newlandia)
SP Nic Huang (Super-Llamaland)
6th SP Zeno Beyer (South Newlandia)
Bullpen
RP Dhruv Webber (South Newlandia)
RP Mladen Manevski (Abanhfleft)
RP Liam Scott (South Newlandia)
RP Michael Otto (South Newlandia)
RP Abby Conrad (South Newlandia)
RP Carlota Miller (South Newlandia)

Starting Fielders
C Wilson Moore (South Newlandia)
1B Gouta Rehana (Banija)
2B Cedric Colon (Abanhfleft)
SS Atla Gadifele (Banija)
3B Rachel Estrada (Super-Llamaland)
LF Veer Murphy (South Newlandia)
CF Joanna Adoyo (Banija)
RF Shawn Zimmerman (South Newlandia)
DH Soline Devi (South Newlandia)
Bench players
C Luigi Kelley (South Newlandia)
1B Tom Abbott (Sanford)
SS Charlotte Valdes (Super-Llamaland)
RF David Lange (South Newlandia)
OF Filip O'Doral (Banijan Esportivan Territories)

Does it count as a championship hangover if you actually won back-to-back titles?
Of course, the Rhinos did not manage to win the Multiverse Series against the Llamanean Champion in either of their championship years, but failed to reach the postseason last season with a disappointing record of 81-79. It was a down year for multiple of their stars, including an injury to young Elephants pitcher Melissa Silvestri. Still, the Rhinos, managed by Banijan Addo Jassey, were considered to be among the SNL contenders again.

In the offseason, they mostly focused on keeping the players from their championship seasons around, rather than signing many new players. It worked quite well for them, as the only real loss was power-hitting outfielder Kilian Hansen, who signed with South Falls in Free Agency. Critical, in this case, was resigning Silvestri. Many experts had expected that her injury would cost her significantly in her new contract, but the Rhinos made a big bet on her health by giving her a big long-term contract. They also resigned star Banijan Joanna Adoyo, who is the spiritual captain of the team – being a former MVP and all. Like some other key contributors on this squad, she’s not getting any younger, and the Rhinos may eventually be forced to hit the reset button after their excellent start since moving to Ratzupalfu.
The Rhinos did little in terms of actual signings – Michael Otto and Soline Devi promise to be fine role players, decent incremental additions to the team without paying anyone too much money.

The first thing to consider for the Rhinos is the presence of Addo Jassey. The impact a manager has on the performance of a baseball team is typically quite limited, but Addo Jassey is the rare manager that absolutely makes his presence felt. He’s clearly one of the best managers the LPB has to offer, and will elevate this team.
The pitching rotation is certainly a fun one, led by Banijan right-hander Odongo Lutaakome and two fringe Elephants. Ben Gonzalo is long-time pachyderm, but age will continue to catch up to the 35-year-old; while Silvestri is still working her way back from her injury. Behind this trio, they have a solid grouping of self-developed former first-round picks – in fact, Günther, Silvestri, Huang and Beyer were all taken in the first round by the Rhinos in consecutive drafts. Only Silvestri has thus far proven to be a real hit, able to play at an All-Star level.
The bullpen is led by a pair of co-closers, that being Elephant Dhruv Webber and Fleftic Mladen Manevski. The latter is getting the opportunities more and more often, with Webber also part of the old-folks-home group on this team. This club also claims former Elephant Abby Conrad. Liam Scott, meanwhile, has been a revelation in the bullpen for the Rhinos. Drafted out of local RUoN, the reliever has far exceeded what analysts believed he was capable of, and has developed into a great option.

In the lineup, the Rhinos feature some more old players. That includes two outfielders who were legends in their prime – Adoyo with Banija and Shawn Zimmerman, now 37, Elephants legend. Adoyo does also have a few more Banijans around in Gouta Rehana and Atla Gadifele, who have each been good for this team, and there’s also Fleftic Cedric Colon, who has been great for this team on both sides of the ball.
Perhaps the most intriguing player in the lineup is youngster Veer Murphy. Still a very recent draft selection, very late in the first round out of Ratzupalfu UoN (one of the favourite spots to draft from for this team, for obvious reasons), he has developed into a hit machine. Though he doesn’t have the best power stroke for a corner outfielder, he has been great at getting on base while playing good defense in the outfield ever since his big league promotion late in the last season.
The team definitely also some weaker spots, like Rachel Estrada, who age has not been kind to, and their catcher position. That had been a weakness for them for a while, but their current pair of backstops is a combined 70 years of age, and they were never that good in their prime either.
There’s some nice help from the bench, although each of them is also 30 and up; Tom Abbott in particular has been a great clubhouse addition wherever he’s gone so far.

Even without a first-round pick in the last draft, the Rhinos were still able to restock their AAA affiliate, the Malidridad Fishermen – although they arguably went too far with their love for RUoN, picking four of their first five picks out of that particular college. Still, they now have the sixth-ranked AAA affiliate in the SNL. They went back-to-back Banijans in the second round, snagging 3B Elisabeth Sa and CF Natukunda Jambo. Sa is younger and mostly a contact hitter, while Jambo is more of a power-hitter who transferred into RUoN after missing a year to an injury. If she can bounce back, she could turn out as an excellent steal.
The Rhinos took a brief break from RUoN picks by picking left-hander Reid Hoffpauir out of the Llamanean HS system, a teenager with spotty command, before also adding Osterhaltenian Ronnie Metcalfe, another contact-happy first baseman.

Despite not being at their peak of powers anymore, the Rhinos are poised to be contenders in the SNL South again. They have it in them to return from their playoff hiatus, although they don’t look like a top contender this season to make it all the way again. Perhaps, two championships in the last three seasons has to be enough, but a team with Addo Jassey at the helm can always make some magic happen.

by **Dhemixia** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 4:50 pm

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The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)

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Serpents tack 8 runs on Juldonia, appear to be getting it together

Somehow the Serpents have done it again. Just when you think there's nowhere to turn, they pull a rabbit out of their hat and upset a major power in this group. This time, it's the now 4-3 Juldonia squad, who beat the Serpents at home on MD2 6-4, losing an absolute nailbiter, 8-7.

Carl Robertson was solid as ever, going 6 innings, and only allowing 3 runs on 4 hits on the bump. However, the usually rock-steady bullpen had some trouble, as a unit allowing 4 runs on 5 hits, their most by far this season, and almost blowing the save (and then promptly the game afterwards). Luckily, with only a 1-run lead, LPB closer Alexandra Graham was available to come in, and sat down the next 3 batters she faced without letting the ball even leave the infield.

On the batting side of things, both Kassandra Dawson and Terry Hjalmarsson played the games of their lives, each going 3-3 with 2 HRs and 3 RBIs. However, it was Dawson who came up more clutch of the two, as she took a 94 mph 2-seam fastball 419 feet into center field, promptly scoring the run that would win the Serpents the game.

However, the Serpents can't afford to celebrate just yet. Even though it may seem like the offense is finally back, they will come back home to face off against 7-0 Super-Llamaland in MD8, having to stare down another potential August Tai masterclass. Fear not, though, as the rookie Dhemixian Hayden Young will be on the bump to try and upset the #7 ranked team in the WBC. We'll just have to see if they are successful.

Schedule
*blue signifies a home game
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~~@ HaIvrim (Jack Guzman vs. Neta Rothsenns)~~ W 3-2
~~vs. Juldonia (Morgan Andrews vs. __________)~~ L 4-6
~~@ Super-Llamaland (Cael Robertson vs. August Tai)~~ L 2-7
~~@ TJUN-ia (Hayden Young vs. Joseph McAlbo)~~ W 3-2
~~vs. Hapilopper (Jack Guzman vs. Pete Lord)~~ L 0-1
~~vs. HaIvrim (Morgan Andrews vs. Bella Thoron)~~ W 7-2
~~@ Juldonia (Cael Robertson vs. __________)~~ W 8-7
vs. Super-Llamaland (Hayden Young vs. August Tai)
vs. TJUN-ia (Jack Guzman vs. Joseph McAlbo)
@ Hapilopper (Morgan Andrews vs. Pete Lord)

by **Sarzonia** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 4:55 pm

The powers that be amongst the organisers of the World Baseball Classic decided long ago to allow the home country to determine whether or not to allow a designated hitter to take the place of the pitcher's spot in the batting order.

It's not a decision that entirely satisfies all parties. On one hand, you have the "baseball purists," aka boring old codgers whose idea of excitement was finding a brand new Victrola under their holiday tree in December. Or the relentless seamheads who develop a brand new stat for every conceivable scenario, not to mention the ones I ain't even thought up yet.

Those fuddy duddys both whinge endlessly about inane bullshit like OPS, WAR, and likely average with runners in scoring position after banging your mom. Either way, they cry for the loss of "purity" in the game when teams use a DH.

Then there are real alpha males, the ones who naturally ooze testosterone in every pore, the manly men who know the most fundamental truth there is in baseball: Chicks dig the long ball. They go ga-ga over a real man who can grip his thick wood and stroke it, causing screaming line drives and cheering fans as he trots the bases.

Unfortunately for Sarzonia, their 10-match group stage schedule during the 59th World Baseball Classic takes then to Zwangzug, which does not allow the DH. [Editor's note, that's QUITE enough of the Andy Fuentes bullshit to last a fucking lifetime. Now back to your regularly scheduled content already in progress.]

Sarzonia manager Desmond St. John employed more hit-and-run and aggressive baserunning than he typically does when Yasi Gonzalez is able to occupy the designated hitter spot and hit cleanup. It led to the unranked Stars scoring single runs in the tops of the first and second innings.

However, Zwangzug would get their own big bat into the contest courtesy of a three-run home run off the bat of first baseman Henry Calvo-Rich, whom starting pitcher Marcus Greenberg had kept in check with grounders to short in the second and to third base in the fourth.

Greenberg left a 3-1 slider out over the plate to rightfielder Joshua Erasmus with two outs in the seventh to account for the other run on a solo shot as the Zebras outpaced the Stars 4-3.

Sarzonia will have to rally against group leaders Nova Calania, who lost to Oclea 2-1, suffering their first defeat of the group stage. That result only puts more pressure on St. John and Sarzonia with Oclea seizing the tiebreaker for third place and the automatic berth in the Round of Thirty-Two that goes with it.

"We just didn't get it done when we needed to," St. John said. "We're running out of time and room for error."

by **Kamijiro** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 5:17 pm

Kamijiroan Diamond IX, Part VII: Miraisaki Dreamin'

OOC: Due to previous buffoonery on my part, I am RPing this as if this game took place in Kamijiro. However, on the schedule, it takes place in South Americanastan. I will RP the game with SA pitching first, to match the inning scoreboard provided by Zwangzug's Scorination.

The note was the first thing Orielle de Côteaux noticed when she woke up the next morning. She reads it and knows instantly who sent it - Atsuji "Red Wolf" Akaminai. She's torn between crumpling it up and tossing it or holding onto it. She stares at the messy handwriting for a bit, reading it over and over. "One night in Miraisaki?" she says aloud, unsure if he meant one night in the city or one night in the city. And the not knowing was ticking her off.

She folds up the note and puts it in her bag. That's a problem for later. For now, the issue at hand was South Americanastan and continuing the Diamond IX's winning streak. A win today would keep the team as the pace keepers of the group, but a loss would mean a chance for Abanhfleft to catch back up to them. Sitting first on the table also gives them a considerable advantage over their prospective opponents in the next round as well, as it means they'd (in theory) be playing a weaker side than if they finished a lower seed in the group.

The team is to meet in the hotel lobby at seven in the morning for their early island hopper flight to Jiro Island. It's quarter 'til seven now and the hotel buffet breakfast is on the menu for the squad, with several members of the team digging into bowls of cereal and several others going for bacon and eggs. Orielle is actually the last to arrive, much to her embarrassment. She's never last to anything, ever. That note really threw her off her schedule. She makes brief eye contact with Atsuji before looking away again, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of even potentially being the cause of her tardiness to the team breakfast. That flicker of eye contact was enough for the Red Wolf, though. He knows she's considering it. And that's enough for him.

One wolfed down (no pun intended) meal later and the team is on a shuttle from the airport hotel to the private hangar for their short flight from Miraisaki International to Jiro Island. The flight is a quick and quiet affair, with the team still being half-asleep. However, at the back of the cabin, Atsuji sat with his boys, Maou "Devil King" Ashiya and Tenshi "Death's Hand" Hikari. They were whispering to each other about the fact that the Red Wolf had pulled the trigger on asking Orielle out.

"No way, you actually did it?" Maou whispered.
Atsuji nodded.
"You're either really brave or really stupid," Tenshi murmured, "and I hope it's just the brave one. If she doesn't take this well, it could ruin our team chemistry."
"I've already thought of all of the outcomes - either she says yes to me and nothing bad happens or she says no, I back off and nothing bad happens."

The flight from Miraisaki Int'l to Jiro Island is no more than an hour. The plane lands and the team steps out onto the tarmac, heading for the field just a few minutes away. Magurix "Wings" Gaëtan walked with Orielle, chatting with her in fluent French. Maou and Tenshi looked at Atsuji, who looked unbothered by that fact.

"You ain't jealous, Wolfie?" ribbed Maou.
"Why should I be? She ain't exactly his type. It ain't a competition between us."
"Every woman is a man's type." replied Tenshi.
"Not that man's. I'll put it like this - if us three swing lefty, he swings righty."
"But I'm a righty!" complained Maou. "You callin' me gay?"
"It's a metaphor, dumbass."

The squad arrived at the field and warmed up for a couple of hours before retreating to the team clubhouse for a water break. At this point, Atsuji decided to make his move. Wandering over towards Orielle's locker and saying...
"Did'ja get my message?"
"Yes, Atsuji, I did."
"And...?"
"I'm focused on South Americanastan."
"Is that a no?"
"No, it's a 'I'm focused on South Americanastan,' how about you come back after the game?"
"Deal."

The team heads out for lunch and comes back once again to the clubhouse, with some players taping up pre-game and others getting a nap in to re-charge. The game is scheduled for the early evening, and the cold front that just came through is in full effect - it's an unusually cold August day for Jiro Island. Some of the players throw on undershirts before heading out onto the field. The field is dewy and has a slight fog to it, though the overhead lights take care of most of that issue. The ceremonial first pitch is taken by the manager of the national football team, Raiji Kagawa. The national anthem is performed by a local youth choir and the game is set to get underway.

The game starts off with a walk to Félix "Knee Socks" Cavaco, followed by a Ryuji "Sun King" Phaëthon strikeout and a Emi "Sun Queen" Phaëthon double. Napoleon "Little Emperor" Sarre drove both of them in on a single to left. Lucian Belvedere grounded into a double play to end the inning.

From there, Clarence "Sunrise" Bartley took the bump and proceeded to start painting the corners of the strike zone, striking out two in the frame, the other batter popping out. The game, from there, takes a defensive turn. No runs were scored from the bottom of the first to the top of the sixth. Maou Ashiya brought Napoleon Sarre home for a run, before Magurix Gaëtan struck out to end that offensive ending for the Kamijiroans.

It was the seventh inning when the Lightning blew the game open. Starting at the top of the order, Félix got on base via being hit by a pitch. The Sun King proceeded to hit a grounder for a single, and the Sun Queen brought Félix home on another single. With Ryuji Phaëthon on third, Emi Phaëthon on first and one out (Napoleon Sarre struck out), Lucian Belvedere teed off on a fastball and sent it to the moon, bringing in another three runs, blowing the game from a 4-0 lead to a 7-0 lead. Daijiro "Island" Kamada popped out to the catcher after that and Maou blooped a hit over the third baseman to get on base. Magurix brought him home on a double to right for 8-0. The inning ended with Magurix getting picked off stealing third.

The single run scored by South Americanastan was a comedy of errors by the Lightning, with a rare fielding mistake by Daijiro "Island" Kamada misjudging the flight of the ball and not being far enough back on a pop-up. The ball dropped and he went back for it, but the dew got him and he slipped as he turned to throw, sending the ball basically straight down into the ground. By this point, the batter was rounding second and by the time Kamada got up, the runner was already basically to third. And despite Daijiro's cannon arm, his throw got beaten home.

The game, from there, was smooth sailing. An 8-1 win over the same side that handed the Diamond IX their only loss of the competition thus far? Great success. However, Atsuji had other things on his mind as the team island hopper departed the Jiro Island airport. Walking from the back of the cabin to the front, the Red Wolf called to Orielle.

"Orielle!"
"Yes, Atsuji?"
"About my offer earlier?"
"What of it?"
"What do you say now that we aren't focused on South Americanastan?"
"... one night," she looks him dead in the eye. "And don't forget. I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine. Don't make me regret this."
Atsuji nods respectfully. "As you wish, m'lady."
Orielle has to stifle a laugh. "Do not ever use that term again, please." She cracks, giggling after the words come out.
"Noted."

And so, the 'date night' has been set. The ball is back in Atsuji's court. Or mitt, as this is baseball. Where would he take her? What would they do? He's got less than thirty minutes to figure it out with his boys before the minijet lands back at Miraisaki International. Let the brainstorming begin...

Les jeux sont faits. Onto Libonesia!

by **The Kytler Peninsulae** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 5:29 pm

Kytlerian baseball was shaken up yesterday.

Not by conceding seven runs in the bottom of the first to Equestria en route to their second defeat of this World Baseball Classic - that is almost certainly not going to make a difference given how many teams will go through the group stage in this format, the only implications relating to who their playoff opponents will be in Zwangzug and even those being unknown and unknowable at this point.

Instead, the sport's association with RTX Radio - which dates back multiple generations, ever since Kytlerian baseball was meaningfully A Thing worthy of a broadcast partner frankly - is set to come to an end, as it was announced that the public-private state broadcaster NBO will acquire Kytlerian radio rights to the World Baseball Classic and the Kytlerian Baseball League. This deal will take effect from the next WBC, and while financial terms were not disclosed, it is understood they are broadly comparable to the previous RTX Radio deal for both competitions.

The timing of the announcement led to immediate suspicions that this was a response to the controversy surrounding RTX Radio's coverage after commentator Brendan Thompson's remarks during the game against South Newlandia, followed by an instantly-mocked apology that was interrupted by calling the game-tying home run for the Phoenix in what was eventually an 8-6 defeat to the Elephants. Hours later, a KBL spokesperson effectively confirmed them correct.

"It was clear that the unacceptable remarks during the commentary of the Phoenix-Elephants game did not reflect the values of Kytlerian baseball, a sport that has welcomed the country's cultural diversity and embraced the emergence of mixed-gender teams within Kytlerian sport in recent years. Anecdotally, even before this, fan surveys showed that the RTX Radio deal was sometimes a deterrent to younger fans, who associated the sport with RTX values they did not share. We believe this new rights agreement reinforces baseball's status as the nation's #1 summer sport, not only in the short term, but with the young fanbase needed to continue this for generations to come."

Of course, there's a physics law about actions and reactions, and it duly applied here. Social media saw as many jeers as cheers in response to the news - and to be clear, there were a lot of both, reflecting the continuing presence of a Kytlerian culture war on some level even after its central battleground of international sporting involvement has been ceded by the right - and fans of the Borlfield Victors prepared a boycott of home openers in the conservative state in the next KBL season. "We've waited a long time for a proper season (after the effective cancellation of the last campaign due to the energy crisis), we can wait one more day," argued John Randolph, a former RTX Radio producer and longtime season ticket holder for the KBL's only team in the right-wing stronghold of Varn. "We won't stand for our sport being sold to a leftist state broadcaster."

Amidst the row, the Phoenix are just setting about playing their own games. "I heard what happened (in the Elephants game), it definitely sounded awkward," remarked manager Kevin Anderson after this Equestria defeat. "I'm more concerned with how we let this game slip before it even began. I don't care who broadcasts our games if they give us enough money to develop the sport and build the foundations of a winning team. Then it's my job to make the most of that."

Time will tell if this diplomatic silence can hold up. Especially if protests disturb the consecutive home games the Phoenix face next, first against Panay Islands and Guimaras, then the rematch with the Ellies.

by **Taxonomic Kingdoms** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 5:49 pm

A colorful assortment of birds adorned the tree branches, rooftops, and windowsills of Maniraptora. Even the broken rooftops of half-fossilized structures that were embedded in lawns and sidewalks had their share of feathery little visitors. Several species of passerine songbirds twittered sweetly as the gentle golden dawn crept over the town. And then suddenly the tranquility was broken by a clan of kookaburras screaming at the top of their lungs for several minutes. This was followed by the shrill crowing of a rooster and some aggressive honking from a flock of geese.

"Okay, I'm awake! You can shut up already!" Kentrosaurus grumbled at the birds as he lumbered out of his bed.

"Is that any way to talk to a living creature?" demanded a kookaburra who seemed to swoop in from nowhere.

"I'm sorry, Lord Dacelo," Kentrosaurus replied apologetically. "I haven't eaten yet, and I must be hangry."

"Well, you should eat something and calm down," said Dacelo.

"Yes, Lord."

The Maniraptora Colosseum was partially sunken thanks to millions of years of dust and leaves accumulating on the ground in the plaza outside. The main entrance was dug out at the bottom of a long ramp so everyone who went in that way could see the giant raptor statues on either side of the gate. The statues had been broken and repaired so many times they were more cement than stone, but they still looked impressive. The back entrance that led to the locker rooms was more inconspicuous and tunnel-like.

As the players arrived and wandered down the tunnel, Dromaeosaurus questioned whether they should shake up the pitching rotation so Therizinosaurus didn't have to pitch to the Elephants after how badly it went last time. Therizinosaurus reared up so the feathers on the crest of his head brushed the ceiling, brandished his giant claws, and let out a terrifying snarl. He was hungry for redemption and revenge, and he was not going to let anyone come between him and the Elephants.

Things didn't start too badly. Therizinosaurus was still struggling a little with the placement of his pitches, but considering he was up against some of the best hitters in the world, he did a respectable job of keeping the game close until the dinosaurs' offense could get going. And boy did the offense get going! Deinonychus led off the bottom of the 4th with a single, then started inching toward 2nd base, daring the pitcher to try and pick him off. He could see the pitcher glancing back at him, and he thought the pitcher looked annoyed. Dilophosaurus hit the ball over the shortstop's head for an RBI double. Velociraptor walked. She and Dilophosaurus both scored on a Coelophysis single. It went on like that until they had batted around and put 7 runs on the board. Even after Velociraptor struck out to end the inning, the dinosaurs were still pretty chuffed. It felt pretty good to be ahead 8-3 against the best team in baseball.

But the game wasn't over yet.

The Elephants started their comeback with a 5 run rally in the top of the 6th, and the two teams swapped the lead a couple of times before going into extra innings. By the 11th inning, the dinosaurs had more or less exhausted their bullpen. They tried bringing in Parasaurolophus, who gave up 3 runs, and they couldn't answer in the bottom of the inning.

by **Drawkland** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 6:31 pm

Matchday 6       1 2 3  4 5 6  7 8 9   R  H  E
Drawkland        1 2 0  1 0 1  4 0 2  11 14  0
New Jarwel       0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0   0  3  0

W: T. Coleman (1-0)
L: New Jarwel starter

Game MVP: Lane Kavana (2-for-4, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB)

There was some worry going into this game. It was an away game, with Tyrell Coleman taking his first start as a member of the Base Corps. A pitcher meant to be more of a long reliever with spot start capability is a good asset to have, but you never know what you're gonna get. It could be a glorified bullpen game, it could be a masterful start, it could be a disaster. Thankfully, Tyrell Coleman put all the worries to rest. He allowed only 1 hit through 6 innings of work, and netted the quality start almost effortlessly. Darnell Rivers and Dion McDaniel handled the seventh and eighth. They both allowed a hit, but kept the shutout intact. In a bit of a surprise, Trevor Bell came in for the ninth in an 11-run game to close it out. It's not his typical role, as with the Corps he's usually a setup reliever or backup closer, but he hadn't pitched since MD2 and had the most rest of any pitcher. Rhythm is important, so Bell finished the game with a pair of strikeouts.

Oh, we mentioned the 11-run lead in the ninth. Did you want to hear about that? Well, the top of the lineup got the game started earlier, with Aaron Frost singling and Lane Kavana doubling him in to get Drawkland on the board. Next inning, Alexander Gates and Elizabeth Houston singled and walked to get some early action on the basepaths. Richelle Shard was in the nine hole, getting the start in right field due to Abram Kavana's mediocre hitting thus far. She made that lineup change by Sutton look ingenious, as she doubled on the first pitch of the at-bat to score both Gates and Houston. The next few innings featured a couple scattered solo shots off the bats of Cooper Calebs and Ted Honeycutt?

With how Coleman had pitched, and the offense getting out to a 5-0 lead, it felt like Drawkland was unlikely to lose to New Jarwel after six innings. The seventh inning really put the game to bed. Richelle Shard began a rally, starting with a single. Then Frost singled, Kavana worked a walk, and Silvanus cleaned the bases with a 3-run double. Zac MacBay singled to allow Silvanus to score, and Drawkland had a 4-spot on the board. 9-0 is a good enough lead, but nobody will complain about some extra insurance. Lane Kavana singled in the ninth, then back-to-back doubles from MacBay and Honeycutt brought the score into double digits.

11-0 was the final tally, and Drawkland had their first blowout win of the campaign. A couple more wins, and playoffs would be ensured. At this point, it's time to play for seeding.

Matchday 7                         1 2 3  4 5 6  7 8 9   R  H  E
Drawkland                          0 6 0  0 0 0  0 1 9  16  x  x
North and South Slavo-Baltia       2 0 0  0 0 1  0 1 0   4  x  x

W: T. Silvanus (2-0)
L: V. Duric (1-1)
Sv: S. Barton (1)

Game MVP: Abram Kavana (3-for-5, 2 HR, 1 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI)

After the first inning of work, few expected this game to turn out as the second consecutive blowout road win for Drawkland. Tyler Silvanus, back on the bump for the first time since Opening Day, allowed a two-run home run in the first inning (after the Corps went down in order in the first inning). Thankfully for Silvanus, run support was on the way.

Abram Kavana was batting cleanup for this game, as the Corps was facing lefty Vasilije Duric to begin. The younger Kavana brother had an OPS of .488 through the first 5 games of the season, futile enough to be subbed out for Richelle Shard in the previous matchup. Facing a lefty, and perhaps a little pissed about being left out of the slugfest the previous day, he came out with a bang. Abram started the second inning with a no-doubt solo shot to left center, and that ignited a rally that led to a total of 6 runs after the dust settled. Jimmy Todd made it back-to-back solo shots, and at that point Duric found it hard to find the strike zone. Lizzie Houston walked, MacBay singled, and Honeycutt walked again to load the bases. Alex Gates got a little underneath an upstairs fastball, flying out but getting Houston to score and MacBay to move to third. Aaron Frost grounded to deep shortstop, which led to Honeycutt being forced out at second. Frost beat out the double play though, turning it into a fielder's choice which scored MacBay. Lane Kavana put the final exclamation point on the inning, lasering a home run over the left field wall.

From there, the action really settled down. Silvanus was striking out the Slavo-Baltic lineup with excellent efficiency, and Duric was pitching pretty well when he didn't have runners on base. Silvanus got the quality start when he finished six innings, though he did allowed a manufactured run (walk/steal/moved on groundout/sac fly) that scored Paulius Petrov in the sixth. Sara Barton came in for relief for her first action since MD4, and she was clearly expected to pitch a couple innings. Both teams scored in the eighth inning. Abram Kavana scored from a Houston single following a leadoff double in the top of the inning, then that was matched with a solo shot from Paviel Kral in the bottom of the inning. It seemed like Lorraine Lockwood was going to come out for the ninth, the Corps holding on to a solid 7-4 lead. Then the top of the ninth came.

Bratislav Genadiev came on, hoping to keep the score close enough to give the Baltics a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth. Ted Honeycutt immediately killed those hopes, leading off the inning with a mammoth home run, at least 410 feet to right field. Genadiev did not keep things calm from there. Gates, Frost, and Lane Kavana scrapped shallow singles three straight ABs in a row, loading the bases for the lefty Tyler Silvanus. Right-handed Genadiev had absolutely no intentions of giving Silvanus a pitch to hit, throwing two pitches way outside and two pitches well below the zone. Silvanus wasn't desperate enough to offer at any of them, and he accepted the RBI walk to keep the bases loaded. Then came Abram Kavana to the plate with a load of confidence. He can still hit against righties, if you're wondering. He proved it with a no-doubt grand slam to dead center to clear the bases. Roman Simon came on in relief for Genadiev, but at this point it was too little, too late. In case you thought the second six-spot of the game wasn't enough insurance, the Corps wasn't done. Lizzie and Zac both singled, Ted popped out, but Alex cleaned the bases again with a triple sliced down the right field line. Frost laid down a bunt, rolling it perfectly down the third base line so Gates could score on the safety squeeze, and he had the speed to get safe at first. Lane Kavana finally ended the rally with a fielder's choice grounded up the middle to the second baseman.

With the huge cushion, Sara Barton decided to come back out and finish the game, tossing a clean inning and earning the old-fashioned three-inning save. Drawkland had their second blowout in as many games. I suppose Drawkland finally knows what it's like to score a stupid amount of runs in the ninth inning! Too bad they were already winning the game at that point. Abram Kavana probably looked the best today, proving why it's a bad idea to take him out of the lineup (even though Shard had a good day in MD6). If you're Glenn Sutton, this isn't a terrible problem to have.

At 6-1, Drawkland now sits poised to aim for a top playoff spot. Can they really seal the deal with three games to go?

by **Zwangzug** » Wed Aug 07, 2024 6:36 pm

There's not much between despair and ecstasy. Where will you be after MD8?

Scheduling announcement: scorination tomorrow, MD9, will be on the later side, but still in the same general ballpark (pun intended). MD10, I'm not sure, I'm on the road a bit IRL and it's possible there will be some disruption (ie having phone but not computer internet) as well as the extra work of checking tiebreakers. So the entire process of posting seedings/brackets/that stuff may be delayed slightly. I'll keep you posted. There will be at least one and possibly two off days before the playoffs begin.

Group 1

Yakk                               0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0  4
Avisora                            0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  5

Crpostran                          0 0 0 3 2 1 1 0 4 11
Srednjaci                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Eshialand                          1 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 2  8
Quebec and Shingoryeo              2 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0  6

* Group 1                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Quebec and Shingoryeo               8    7   1    70   16  +54
2 Crpostran                           8    6   2    53   23  +30
3 Eshialand                           8    5   3    45   34  +11
4 Srednjaci                           8    3   5    18   40  −22
5 Avisora                             8    2   6    33   57  −24
6 Yakk                                8    1   7    13   62  −49

Group 2

North and South Slavo-Baltia       0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2
StrayaRoos                         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 X  3

Tikariot                           4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
New Jarwel                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

So uh lab here                     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  2
Drawkland                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

* Group 2                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Drawkland                           8    6   2    54   26  +28
2 Tikariot                            8    5   3    43   36   +7
3 StrayaRoos                          8    4   4    33   31   +2
4 So uh lab here                      8    4   4    33   34   −1
5 North and South Slavo-Baltia        8    3   5    36   49  −13
6 New Jarwel                          8    2   6    27   50  −23

Group 3

Super-Llamaland                    0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Dhemixia                           0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 X  3

Juldonia                           0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0  3
TJUN-ia                            0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2

HaIvrim                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Hapilopper                         0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 X  2

* Group 3                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Super-Llamaland                     8    7   1    58   24  +34
2 Juldonia                            8    5   3    40   52  −12
3 Dhemixia                            8    5   3    30   28   +2
4 Hapilopper                          8    3   5    29   35   −6
5 TJUN-ia                             8    3   5    31   37   −6
6 HaIvrim                             8    1   7    27   39  −12

Group 4

Liventia                           0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0  5
Valanora                           0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 2  6

Milchama                           0 0 0 5 1 0 0 4 0 10
Holy Marsh                         1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  3

Fezziktopia                        1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  3
Ardsk                              1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2  5

* Group 4                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Milchama                            8    7   1    47   15  +32
2 Ardsk                               8    5   3    37   22  +15
3 Fezziktopia                         8    4   4    37   43   −6
4 Liventia                            8    3   5    26   37  −11
5 Valanora                            8    3   5    24   46  −22
6 Holy Marsh                          8    2   6    30   38   −8

Group 5

United States of Nova Calania      0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  3
Sarzonia                           0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 X  5

Zwangzug                           0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Vaishnavaria                       0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1  3

Caribbia                           0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Oclea                              1 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 X  6

* Group 5                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 United States of Nova Calania       8    6   2    31   17  +14
2 Zwangzug                            8    4   4    40   27  +13
3 Oclea                               8    4   4    36   34   +2
4 Vaishnavaria                        8    4   4    33   50  −17
5 Sarzonia                            8    4   4    37   36   +1
6 Caribbia                            8    2   6    30   43  −13

Group 6

South Americanastan                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
The Fortem                         0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  1

Abanhfleft                         0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1  4
Ochre Islands                      1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Libonesia                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Kamijiro                           0 1 0 0 4 0 0 1 X  6

* Group 6                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Kamijiro                            8    7   1    48   24  +24
2 Abanhfleft                          8    6   2    45   27  +18
3 The Fortem                          8    4   4    22   29   −7
4 Ochre Islands                       8    3   5    25   38  −13
5 South Americanastan                 8    3   5    26   30   −4
6 Libonesia                           8    1   7    25   43  −18

Group 7

Farfadillis                        0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0  4
Ko-oren                            5 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 X  8

The 189                            0 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 2  8
Kronbia                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Dod Rava                           0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Mercatoren                         0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 X  4

* Group 7                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ko-oren                             8    5   3    53   28  +25
2 Mercatoren                          8    5   3    33   31   +2
3 The 189                             8    5   3    31   27   +4
4 Dod Rava                            8    4   4    24   22   +2
5 Kronbia                             8    3   5    20   31  −11
6 Farfadillis                         8    2   6    27   49  −22

Group 8

Panay Islands and Guimaras         0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
The Kytler Peninsulae              0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 X  5

Equestria                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
South Newlandia                    0 1 3 3 0 7 0 4 X 18

Taxonomic Kingdoms                 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  3
Dotivija                           0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 X  4

* Group 8                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 South Newlandia                     8    8   0    91   27  +64
2 The Kytler Peninsulae               8    6   2    39   33   +6
3 Panay Islands and Guimaras          8    4   4    38   42   −4
4 Taxonomic Kingdoms                  8    2   6    35   55  −20
5 Equestria                           8    2   6    25   52  −27
6 Dotivija                            8    2   6    25   44  −19

Group 9

Oscioru                            1 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 0  8
Diarcesia                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0  4

Banija                             0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  4
Kanmer                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Zug um Zug                         0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Nationy Mcstateface                0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 X  3

* Group 9                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Banija                              8    7   1    54   24  +30
2 Diarcesia                           8    4   4    43   53  −10
3 Nationy Mcstateface                 8    4   4    23   34  −11
4 Zug um Zug                          8    4   4    35   30   +5
5 Kanmer                              8    3   5    25   27   −2
6 Oscioru                             8    2   6    27   39  −12

by **Panay Islands and Guimaras** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:13 am

A CLOSE ONE FOR THE PANAYENSES
Zwischen, Zwangzug

The Panayenses needed a revenge against the Kytlerians started with a homerun by Florentín Chieh in the 2nd inning, even though the Kytlerians responded their homerun of theirs in the 3rd inning. The Panayenses showed their competitive side especially in the 7th inning when Adalberto Yoo hits another homerun for the Panayenses. But the Kytlerians showed their sheer domination with bases loaded and scored a homerun, making it 2-5. The Panayenses were so close for a win, but they did their best to show the crowd what they were made of. "We lost the game but I'm happy with the performance.", says Solórzano. "Hope our match against Taxonomic Kingdoms will still be the same result before going to the next round." They would play again against their similar rivals, Taxonomic Kingdoms.

by **Ko-oren** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 12:06 pm

*                             W    L         %     RF     RA     RF/G     RA/G     P    Division Rank    Playoff     GB       Home    Away
1    Ferrovente Whales     21    9     0,667    148    110    1,233    0,917    30    West        1    Div Round    0       13-2    8-7
2    Santa Teresa Stars    18    12    0,600    109     88    0,908    0,733    30    West        2    Wildcard     3       12-9    6-3
3    Aviansola Admirals    17    13    0,550    114    110    0,950    0,917    30    South       1    Div Round    0       12-6    5-7
4    Desierto Challengers  17    13    0,517    136    118    1,133    0,983    30    West        3    Wildcard     4       15-6    2-7
5    Katashi Giants        16    14    0,508    112     99    0,933    0,825    30    South       2                 1        9-6    7-8
6    Furune Bees           16    14    0,492    136    111    1,133    0,925    30    North       1    Div Round    0        8-7    8-7
7    Nitoya Silvers        15    15    0,475     93     98    0,775    0,817    30    South       3                 2       10-5    5-10
8    Echizen Dragons       15    15    0,467    122    136    1,017    1,133    30    North       2                 1        6-3    9-12
9    Katashi Generals      14    16    0,458    109    110    0,908    0,917    30    South       4                 3        8-4    6-12
X    Amandine Wanderers    12    18    0,442    100    124    0,833    1,033    30    West        4                 9        8-7    4-11
=    Arakura Knights       10    20    0,433     83    108    0,692    0,900    30    North       3                 6        3-9    7-11
10   Teragaseki Originals   9    21    0,392     80    130    0,667    1,083    30    North       4                 7        2-10   7-11

West
The hyped Western division delivers: their teams take up the first, second, fourth... and tenth spot on the overall rankings, meaning that three out of four teams would be in the playoffs right now - a division champion and all two wildcards. And it's the hyped

Amandine Wanderers - first overall in our pre-season power rankings - who are the only disappointing team in the league at 12-18. Passable at home (8-7) but awful on the road (4-11) with none of their hitting coming together and their pitching getting shown up big time, and their opening series - against the

Desierto Challengers - says it all. Three attempts, away from home, all losses. They immediately recoup somewhat in a second straight away series, this time at the

Santa Teresa Stars, with two wins and a loss. In a weird quirk of scheduling - many more of those to come - we get another three-game series of Wanderers @ Stars and this time it's three Thelesran wins, so at 2-7, Amandine don't have the greatest start to the season. Then again: the season's still long, and the schedule is wholly unbalanced. We can't stress just how unbalanced the schedule can be: in the Western division, you can really just run into the Whales and Stars for nearly an entire quarter of the season... and it's the

Ferrovente Whales who go into the quarter season 21-9, untouchable at home (13-2), high scoring, and spectacular. The

Santa Teresa Stars run right behind them and any Stars-Whales series this season will get that extra oopmh we're used to. Forget Giants-Generals, the rivalry with the highest stakes has been this one for a while. And we haven't had any of those in the first quarter yet. The

Desierto Challengers are holding on, close by, at 17-13.

South
The dreaded

Katashi Generals dominance is not exactly here, and the team that's proven so strong in the absence of any Katahshi city tyranny has taken the lead for now. The

Aviansola Admirals, 17-13, are the only team that can keep up with the violence the West has thrown at the ProNine, barely breaking even in run differential, with a poor away record, but hey, it's good enough for now and it might be good enough for the long run. A mid-quarter series between the Generals and Admirals has produced the biggest scoreline of the season so far with a 15-2 win in a swept series. You basically only need to keep the rest of your division below you and the Admirals are succeeding there. In fifth overall it's the

Katashi Giants - yes, we might not have expected it but here they are - at 16-14, a remarkably decent away record (7-8), very good pitching and fielding in the sense of just 99 runs allowed, and a team that's producing stats that are somewhat repeatable on the long run, maybe. They're out of the wildcard so far. And so are the

Nitoya Silvers, 15-15, seventh in the overall table, producing very low scores, and the kind of play that makes people go 'aye, that's Ko-oren for you'. At 14-16, three games out of the division lead, it's the

Katashi Generals, after all. They'll get there. It's only three games. It's barely a series.

North
This division's laying a bunch of goose eggs and not making any omelettes with them, if you allow the mixed imagery. In first are the 16-14

Furune Bees, sixth in the table but with the third seed if the playoffs started today, with a fearsome bat and one of only two teams with a positive away record (8-7, Whales also 8-7 away). Never count out the

Echizen Dragons (8th, 15-15) if you can ignore the terrible run against (136, 12th in the league) as they've only played 9 home games to 21 away. That'll get corrected as the season goes, and so will their record, probably. Further down it's the two remaining teams from this division in 11th and 12th overall: the 10-20

Arakura Knights (two games behind 9th) and the

Teragaseki Originals (9-21) who are both producing some awful, awful play, refusing to get on base and refusing to score if any player ever gets there. The Originals are 2-10 at home (!!) and the Knights are 50% better than that at 3-9 in Arakura. Oof.

by **Diarcesia** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 3:57 pm

The Marionets lost again to Oscioru. They were not able to get any run until the eighth inning with a grand slam. However, they failed to follow up and the Saints maintained their lead.

With two other teams in the group sharing Diarcesia's 4-4 record, their remaining two games would be pivotal in determining their chances of advancing to the knockouts. The Diarcesian fans in Vecetxe-Arcedatus were left disappointed as their home team lost steam in MD8. The game started off strongly for Oscioru with being able to score their first run right away.

Even with a substantial lead at the top of the fifth inning, Oscioru continued to turn up the heat with by Todor Tahirović hitting a two-run homer off Europe Justice's pitch.

If a Diarcesian had a decabal (0.10 Diarcesian Gold) for every time the Marionets lost to Oscioru, they'd have two decabals—which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?

by **Taxonomic Kingdoms** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 5:02 pm

The dinosaurs had just suffered their third loss in a row, and they were getting pretty frustrated with it. "I know we're extinct and all, but this is still embarrassing," Kentrosaurus grumbled as they made their way back to the visitors' clubhouse.

"It's tough when you don't have opposable thumbs to grip the bat," Psittacosaurus mused. That wasn't an excuse of course. Everyone had to play the same game, no matter what kind of creature they were -- or even if they weren't alive at all.

Velociraptor might have added something to the conversation, but she was too busy picking tattered bits of leather out of her teeth. Her glove didn't fit well, so she frequently adjusted it, and after 8 games of using her claws and teeth to adjust the glove, it had finally disintegrated. It had started falling apart around the 5th inning and only got worse as the game went on, becoming totally unusable by the end of the 7th inning.

Since the clubhouse was designed for human athletes, some of the spaces were too small to comfortably hold large dinosaurs, and they had to get a little creative. Sometimes they took turns or used hallways for extra space, and some of the small birdlike dinosaurs took dustbaths in the dirt along the foul line instead of going to the showers to wash up. This got them some funny looks from the locals. Dromaeosaurus stopped mid-dustbath and asked the groundskeeper who was staring at him, "What are YOU looking at?"

Velociraptor usually liked a good dustbath, but right now she was more interested in going inside to look for a toothpick.

Although it had been a rough day, there was a silver lining: Since Tawa had pitched a complete game, the rest of the pitching staff was able to get some much needed rest.

Their chances of making it to the playoffs looked pretty slim -- but if they were going to turn things around, the upcoming game in Iloílo City would be critical.

by **Sarzonia** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 5:06 pm

All of a sudden, being the first team to lose to Oclea doesn't look so bad after all.

The most optimistic projections for the Sarzonian national baseball team would have had Sarzonia defeating all three of their fellow unranked opponents in both home and away legs, but losing all four matches against No. 5 Zwangzug and ranked Nova Calania.

Their 5-0 defeat against Oclea meant they had to play their matches against host nation Zwangzug and Nova Calania with more urgency. They managed to parlay that added intensity into a 5-3 victory over Nova Calania that created a four-way tie for second place in Group Five.

More to the point, the loss for the Tapirs prevented them from automatically clinching their spot in the knockout rounds, dropping them to 6-2, two matches ahead of four of the remaining five teams in the group. Only Caribbia at 2-6 are effectively out of the race.

Sarzonia (4-4) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning after Tapirs starter Vladimir Gonzalez Jr. retired the Stars in order in the first. He needed just eight pitches to breeze through the first, but it took 37 to get out of the second allowing two runs.

Designated hitter Yasi Gonzalez coaxed a 12-pitch walk from Vladimir Gonzalez leading off the second before shortstop Jaia Thornton lashed a 3-1 fastball down the right field line for a double. First baseman Wade Emerson struck out, then centrefielder Elijah Hoskins doubled off McVie Mountain in right to give the Stars the lead.

Casey Flanagan limited Nova Calania to four hits over seven innings, though he gave up two runs in the fourth on a two-out walk and a home run by centrefiekder François-Xavier Couillard. However, Thornton bailed him out with a tape measure three-run shot to deep left field.

"It felt good to get a win against a quality opponent," Thornton, who went 3-for-5 against the Tapirs, said. "Casey pitched effectively for us and it helped our bullpen out."

The result also helped St. John, who admitted privately to former manager Geoff Yancey that he was feeling pressure about his performance.

"We played our best match thus far against our strong opponent," he said. "But it's going to be tough from here on out no matter whom we play."

by **The Kytler Peninsulae** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 5:29 pm

Arndór Asbjørnsson had managed one homer in this WBC so far, and while it was a significant one at the time, it had made him essentially a sideshow in someone else's story.

That's because that homer was the one that interrupted Brendan Thompson's apology on RTX Radio for his earlier remark in that game against the Elephants of South Newlandia - who overturned the 5-0 deficit that chased Hailey Lewis from the game (the notional spark for Thompson's remark) to pull 6-5 in front before the drive into deep left field by Asbjørnsson squared it at 6-6. The Elephants won that one - as they have every game in this group, though that was the only one they were actually troubled in - but the Phoenix had just lost badly to Equestria, and now trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth against debutants Panay Islands and Guimaras. If it finished that way, the two sides would have identical 5-3 records and the Phoenix would, at a minimum, be facing a likely formidable opponent in the first playoff round.

But when he stepped up to the plate, the bases were loaded and the pressure was on the Panayenses' pitcher Vladimir Contreras de Jesús. Unable to even walk the Kytlerian slugger without driving in the tying run, he probably had to pray to Jesús for a punchout. Instead, he fell behind 2-0, then left a hanging slider in a hittable location. The result? A drive into deep left field by Asbjørnsson. And while the Donaldson Diamond is far deeper to left than right - a legacy of its multi-sport use for both baseball and lacrosse - it wasn't deep enough to contain this long bomb, which flew a projected 132m (443 feet) and was caught only by a fan at the back of her section of bleachers.

Turns out that fan was 15-year-old skateboarder Lisa Burkhead, who is set to represent her country at the upcoming Olympics. "I was actually slightly nervous I'd get injured from other fans fighting for that ball! But it came almost right to me and I basically just had to stand up to get it, and the guys next to me happened to recognise me, once they saw I got the ball they were like 'woah! It's you!' and before the top of the ninth they were wishing me luck and obviously we got hyped about the game as well, and one of them was like 'one Kytlerian hero to another?' and I was like 'hope so!' and we fist-bumped and it was amazing."

With the Phoenix at 6-2 ahead of a home clash with the Ellies, their progress is not in doubt, only their seeding. But, just like Burkhead, they're going to need to pull off some serious trickery to hold off some of the best in the business.

by **South Newlandia** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 5:50 pm

The rematch

logo credit: Sacha

LPB STANDINGS -  20 / 160 games played

  SNL NORTH                     SNL CENTRAL                   SNL SOUTH
           W-L     GB  WCGB              W-L     GB  WCGB              W-L     GB  WCGB
  JADR   11-9     --   +1       NEDO   11-9     --   +1       RARH   11-9     --   +1
  RUDA   11-9     --   +1       SCMO   10-10     1   --       STRS    9-11     2    1
  EVSB   10-10     1   --       NEOW    9-11     2    1       SCFL    6-14     5    4
  EVHO    9-11     2    1       RÜBS    9-11     2    1       WAST    5-15     6    5

It’s hard to take a lot from the standings as they are. No team managed to win 12 of their first 20 fixtures, and at the same time, all but two teams won at least 9, so everyone’s basically at the same point. That’s not to say there weren’t some notable results. The Homers, hosting the Dynamo for a pair of games, absolutely smashed them in both games – 22-2 and 11-2. That 22-2 would set the season record for winning margin across the entire LPB, and to follow that up with another blowout is just rude. Still, after losing both to Peninsulara, they finish the first month with a losing record and last in the North.

The Rhinos managed to pick up an eight-game winning streak in this set, but only won three of their other games, because baseball is just weird like that. The Dolphins started their season hot, only to lose a series in Sun City. They felt like one of the teams of the season so far, but had some very weird games where they struggled against the Flames and Stingrays – so far, the only two teams that have been interesting. Unfortunately, that was in the bad way, with the Stingrays already absorbing a (separate) fifteen-zip bludgeoning against the Dolphins and the Flames losing 1-16 in Nikcoro. It’s bordering on impressive to be almost as bad as the Stingrays, but actually notch series wins against both Ratzupalfu and the Dolphins, who look like actually good teams. The Rays have already conceded double digits four times.

The team with the best record, tie broken by run differential, are actually the Ruditown Dachshunds. They’ve been doing it with an excellent pitching staff, having held opponents to 2 runs or fewer more often than not. The player of the month award went to a Dachshund as well, with Yolande Sirapui picking up the award. Through her first four starts, she’s picked up a 3-0 record while allowing only 3 earned runs through 27.2 innings of work.

Meanwhile, the RTC Trophy kicked off – as per usual, the tournament runs concurrent to the regular season, with the last four SNLDS participants entering the action at the Quarterfinals.
The Monarchs quickly disposed of the Stingrays without even breaking a sweat – for those keeping score, that’s the 5th and 6th time this month the Rays have allowed double figures. The Flames managed to outduel the Homers on home field, with Evie Johnstone shining with a pair of home runs.
Closer games saw the Blue Sox advance at home against the Dachshunds. In game one, a Benjamin Ígorsson RBI double put the Sox up in the eighth before Graham locked down the save, and in game two, Rüsselsheim stopped a bullpen implosion just in time before the Dachshunds had a chance to complete an incredible comeback from trailing 1-6 in the ninth.
In the only series to three games, the Rhinos rallied back after losing game one against Jaffro thanks to excellent pitching performances from their Elephants; with Gonzalo and Silvestri shutting down the high-powered Drawks attack. They still needed some late-innings heroics in both games, with Cedric Colon providing the lead in the eighth in game two and Joanna Adoyo coming through with a big home run in the seventh in the deciding game three.

Spotlight: Walstreim Stingrays

Manager: Jack Helstrom-Satanique, TJUN-ia
Home: Seaside Park, 18,700
Record last season: 47-113
Playoff / Division drought: 3 / 3
Modern era titles: 0
Top pitcher: Jonathan Roe (7-13, 3.98 ERA)
Top hitter: Masayoshi Kuramochi (.302 OBP, +9 DRS, did not murder any teammates)

This team isn’t good. That much was clear from the outset, and the important thing is that there was some progress compared to the last season. Granted, that’s the lowest possible bar.
Finishing with the worst record in the SNL yet again can’t feel good. There’s only one other team that has done this in the LPB era, with the early Monarchs teams; but the Stingrays actually just did it for the third time in a row. Their pitching was bad, surrendering 810 runs; the only SNL team to crack 800, and also the only SNL team to crack 750. Jonathan Roe was at least watchable, but after Trevor Arcidiacono eventually got shut down for the season, things unravelled even harder than they’d already unravelled. The Sanford duo is trying their best, but they’re just not built to carry a team in the hypercompetitive environment that is Llamaphant Pro Baseball.
In the lineup, they did somehow worse, finishing with a league-worst 547 runs; every other LPB team scored at least 50 more than that. There were some bright spots – rookie Masterson led the team in homers, and Kuramochi nearly won the Golden Glove. Abeer Mahto continues to look like a serious, LPB-starting-calibre shortstop. But this team is also starting Naik, Samuel Parra, and Israel Harper. That is not serious-team behaviour. It’s a bad sign when you can’t really sell at the deadline because you do not have anything.

That leads us to take a look at their AAA squad, the Waterfrogs. Unfortunately, Llamanean right-hander Mikayla Gordon was quickly shut down for the season with an UCL injury, setting the timeline back for the Llamanean High School prospect. Their other top pick, Hannes-Maximilian Evans, also wasn’t able to have the impact the Rays were hoping for; still looking very rough around the edges even though the power is clearly there.
With many other teams calling up their top prospects, which the Rays did not (for good reason), they still jumped to third in the SNL, with their top prospect actually becoming outfielder Antonio Caballero out of WBU, who they’d picked in the second round. He’s established himself as a power threat alongside playing good defence in Center.
Looking ahead, the Stingrays secured their spot in the Pick-off tournament about the assignment of the first four picks, where some stars may be waiting. Thanks to some trade deals, they also have a few additional selections. Though they missed out on a potential high pick from Rüsselsheim, they receive the 19th- and 15th-overall selections in the upcoming draft, to hopefully hit on some of those.

by **Kamijiro** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 5:53 pm

Kamijiroan Diamond IX, Part VIII: Naraku-shi

Naraku-shi is the inner-most district of Miraisaki. A hub for the illegal drugs trade and an area which "boasts" the highest crime rate in the entire country. This is also the home to Atsuji "Red Wolf" Akaminai and his associates, two of which are on the Diamond IX roster with him. It's also known for being home to the best nightlife in the country, a fact that Atsuji is banking on for his date with Orielle de Côteaux. He's just waiting for her to arrive at his apartment...

He's dressed to the nines when she knocks on the doorbell. She, on the other hand, is dressed much more low-key than he. This has more to do with where they are versus how serious she's taking this 'date.' Atsuji unlatches the door and flips the deadbolt, swinging the door open for her and letting her in.

"Hey, hey! You made it, Orielle!"
"Hey. You're taking this really serious, huh? A red sports jacket and a black button-up? Where are we headed?"
"Not too far from here. Little place known as Machikado no Ito. The best damn nightclub in the world. Well, maybe just Kamijiro. Still..."
"Do they have a dress code? I almost feel underdressed now."
"Pfft, no. This is Naraku-shi. As long as you aren't butt-ass naked, they really don't care. I'm only dressed up because I want to look nice for ya."
"Well, I appreciate the gesture. I assume they have food at this club?"
"Yeah. It's got a restaurant and bar in it. We're gonna be set for the night. I dunno what the theme is, though. They always got a theme."

With that, he leads her back out of his apartment, bolting it shut. They continue talking as they make their way to the street level and wander out. He leads her down the street towards Machikado no Ito. As they approach the line, Atsuji calls out to the bouncer.

"Aye, Kazu! It's Red Wolf. Can ya let us skip? I got a date for once."
"Hey, Atsuji. You still got the VIP pass, go on in."
"What's the theme tonight, Kaz?"
"Eighties."

Once inside, he nods to the woman working the desk and helps Orielle navigate the bustling club. Before long, they're being sat on a sound-isolated balcony overlooking the dancefloor, a part of the restaurant within the club. They order drinks and appetizers as The Human League's "Don't You Want Me?" blares over the speakers below, the synth-heavy bass lightly vibrating the floor.

"How's this, Orielle? Better than you expected, huh?"
"Yes, actually. I kind of expected this to be some seedy dive that I was going to be assaulted in. I underestimated your taste. Well done."
"Thanks, I guess? I wanted to spoil you. Everything's on me tonight. I'm cool with the owner, so I called a favor."
"Really? You did that for me?"
"I mean, yeah. I'm serious about this, you know. I ain't just looking for a fling."

Her red wine arrives and his whiskey comes shortly after. Clinking their glasses together in cheers, they take their first sips of the night.

---

The next morning, Atsuji awakes alone. This, of course, was expected. She did say she wanted to be back at her hotel room before their island hopper flight to Jiro Island the next morning. He had ordered her a ride to the hotel and given her a kiss goodnight, much to both of their surprises. Atsuji rolls off his bed and grabs his things once again, ready to go to the airport. Their game against Libonesia was a matinée set for one in the afternoon and he wanted to be there on time for the flight. Sure, it wouldn't leave without him, but still. Orielle's rubbing off on him with the whole "be on time" thing.

For the first time, Tenshi "Death's Hand" Hikari would be the starting pitcher. Normally the closer, Orielle wanted to give the bullpen free reign over a game to see what they could do in a higher spot in the rotation. And so the bullpen said screw it and put together a combined no-hitter. Tenshi pitched the first two innings and recorded five strikeouts before being pulled for Hailey "Comet" Fox, who pitched one inning before coming out for Miguel "Tiger Claw" dos Santos. Miguel recorded four strikeouts in three innings before being replaced by Shousuke "Ice Cold" Takagi. Takagi pitched one and a third innings before Ellis "Shadow Dance" Xanthe finished up the game. Between five pitchers, they recorded fourteen strikeouts and didn't allow a single hit. They did allow two bases on balls, though.

The Diamond IX bats stayed hot, too. A home run from Napoleon Sarre in the bottom of the second gave the Lightning the lead, followed by a grand slam from Lucian Belvedere in the bottom of the fifth. And one more run from Maou "Devil King" Ashiya in the bottom of the eighth, driven in by Magurix "Wings" Gaëtan took the lead to six.

A quick game which barely lasted two hours total, the players immediately took a load off and relaxed afterwards, having pushed their record in the group stage to seven wins and one loss. Elsewhere, Abanhfleft kept pace against the Ochre Islands and just one game behind the Kamijiroans.

Les Joux Sont Faits!

by **Drawkland** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 5:59 pm

SEASON OF THE SKYHAWKS

THE SECOND MVP - Zac MacBay

Among the four former Skyhawks, Zac MacBay is the closest to being a fully complete player. Really, each one is a superstar and a great asset to their team, but MacBay's biggest weakness is his average arm strength, hence why he usually patrols left field or center. In this season, he had all his other tools fully loaded and operating at their highest capacity. In his first few years as an outfielder for the Drawk City Scouts, he was a doubles machine, mostly playing in the 2-hole. His power was always apparent, but he really had a Lane Kavana-esque plate approach prioritizing ball placement and catching the ball with the barrel.

Zac started the season with a 2-for-5 game at the plate including a home run, and his batting average never dipped below .300 after that point. That was not out of the ordinary, as Zac typically floated around the .300 mark every season. The big difference was in the huge power increase. MacBay had hit at least 25 homers in each of his previous PBL seasons, but he almost hit that mark by the All-Star break this time around. The sudden burst of power wasn't wholly unexpected, as the Scouts manager had started placing Zac in the 3-hole from the beginning of the season. All offseason he worked with the Scouts hitting coach and got advice from several big power bats in the PBL and even the Base Corps. What resulted was a slight change in his approach which increased his launch angle without killing his batting average with pop flies and whiffs. He also gained about 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason.

His power surge was talked about for most of the year, highlighted by a 7-game stretch where he hit 6 homers. As the regular season came to a close, MacBay was closing in on the elusive 50-homer mark. Despite a flurry of homers in the last two weeks, he couldn't get the ball over the fence in the Scouts' final homestand. He ended the year with 48 homers to his name, a little disappointing to those who dig round number milestones, but those nerds can hang their caps on the fact that he also stole 41 bases.

Drawk City's lineup is already one of the best in the league, featuring many stars like former Corps third baseman Cassius McCoy. Even so, MacBay was undoubtedly the engine behind all of that this season. It's hard to deny the greatness of a 40/40 season, especially when that comes with an additional 24 doubles. Many fans and talking heads were considering the possibility of MacBay making a run at MVP before the All-Star Break. By the end of the season, it was essentially a foregone conclusion.

In the Major League, one of the two leagues that comprise Drawkland's Professional Baseball League, there are a fair amount of talented players (including Zac's former teammate Elizabeth Houston). MacBay was absolutely the best among them. This season's ML MVP was Zac MacBay, his first such award. If he continues to play like he did this season, it may not be the only one he earns in his career.

THE THIRD MVP - Alexander Gates

On the other side of the PBL, you have the Drawk's League, also known as the DL. This league is home to the Bellator Cavaliers, a team that's used to housing superstars. The Cavaliers won the services of Lane Kavana two decades ago when he was approaching the end of his rookie contract. The Shire-Port Marauders had enjoyed Kavana's power/contact skills for four years, but a combination of bad injury luck, cheap management, and an aging core sent the Marauders off the deep end. Kavana's value was huge, as he was coming off PBL's first-ever 50/50 season. The Marauders decided to flip him, and the Cavaliers had the right combination of prospects to entice the trade. Bellator smartly offered Kavana an excellent contract extension after that next year, which he accepted. Don't worry, we'll get to Gates in a second.

Though the Cavaliers managed to win one ring with a core built around Kavana, they could never achieve sustained success or real dynasty status. Of course, when Kavana left Bellator at the end of his nine-year Cavalier tenure, he immediately found playoff success in Hessport, helping create a dynasty for the Blockade. Bellator's GM Chester Ingram wasn't content to let the team fall into mediocrity, though. Ingram is notoriously great at scoping out talent. It feels like the Cavaliers already have a fully-loaded farm system, and they had a scary core emerging in Kavana's absence. Most of those names wouldn't be recognized by a multiversal audience, but you might know Brett Sadler or some guy named Tyler Silvanus. This core came up all around the same time, spearheaded by the two-way talent of Silvanus, and Bellator's AAA affiliate was still hilariously stacked.

Despite this, the Cavaliers lineup seemed to have a hole. They had excellent power hitters, a few incredible defenders with good-enough bats, and a couple guys that can work effectively from leadoff. They were missing a player who could excel at cleanup duties, and also needed another infielder as most of their prospects were outfielders. In this offseason, the Sadeg Knights in the ML were suffering from money issues. They had a couple enormous contracts (Claire Kirkland needs to be paid, of course) and even with some pitchers and outfielders leaving in free agency, there didn't seem to be enough money to go around, and too many holes to fill. There was also this infielder who had reached arbitration and demanded an annoying amount of money. That player was Alexander Gates.

There was a mutual need. Chester Ingram of the Cavaliers saw the opportunity and pounced. For a few elite outfield and pitching prospects, the Cavaliers got Alex Gates. This is exactly what they needed. Alex came into Bellator and immediately started producing. He was hitting like a madman, well over a .300 average. More interestingly, he was batting close to .400 with runners in scoring position. For a guy with barely above-average power, it sure didn't seem like it. Gates was taking advantage of the short porches in left and right field of the Bellator Batting Grounds, as well as the deep center field and gaps. More than anything, he was a doubles machine, cleaning the bases dozens of times for the Cavies.

Now, was he really a candidate for MVP? Tyler Silvanus has been the presumptive MVP in the DL for a half-decade, only losing out to historic seasons from other players on occasion. Could a player in the same lineup as him really have a shot at the award? Alex Gates did enough to challenge this notion. For one, Gates was an everyday player. And we mean every day. He started all 176 games of the season. Most at third, a few at DH and shortstop. Silvanus, meanwhile, took the day off almost every game after a start on the mound. It's hard to ignore the value of being an elite hitter and arguably being an ace on the mound. Silvanus started to have shoulder issues in the second half of the season, though. He missed more games, even skipping a few starts, and his hitting stats were only "elite" rather than "completely otherworldly." Meanwhile, Gates was an absolute machine in the 3-4 area of the lineup. While the Cavaliers continued producing, Gates was there driving them home every step of the way.

Gates didn't really enter the MVP conversation until late in the season. With Silvanus falling behind, not many other big candidates throughout, people suddenly realized the trajectory Alex was on. With about a month left in the season, fans and pundits noticed Gates was floating around 170 RBIs on the season. If he continued producing as he had, there was a legitimate chance that he would break PBL's single-season record for RBIs, 202. It became one of the biggest narratives in the final month of the year. And unlike his former Skyhawk teammate, when Gates entered the final homestand of the season just a few knocks away from a milestone, he delivered. The penultimate game of the season featured Gates clearing out an inside fastball for a 3-run shot down the right field line, tying the RBI mark. In game 176, he knocked in Tyler Silvanus with a gapper double to stand alone atop the record.

At that point, it was hard to deny what Alex had done. The most valuable statistic a team can get is runs, because more runs turns into more wins. ^{[citation needed]} Alex Gates had knocked in more runs than anybody else in PBL history. As many oldheads and veteran players with minimal actually good tools will tell you, the best ability is availability. Gates was always available, and he was always valuable.

The DL MVP voting race was a lot closer than MacBay's runaway ML MVP win. Silvanus himself had to settle for third place, and Alexander Gates somehow stood alone at the top. Both PBL's league MVPs had been won by the former Skyhawks. Lots of naysayers shook their heads at Gates taking home the award, but ultimately it's going in his trophy case no matter what. The question is if this is going to be an unexpected peak, or just a sign of things to come for the kid who also won DOCA MVP in college.

Now, if these MVPs are being revealed in chronological order, then why does MacBay get the "second" MVP while Gates gets the "third"? Essentially, MacBay had virtually sewn up the ML MVP with a month left in the season. He kept his pace going, most of the other contenders wilted, and the last few weeks were a formality. Gates, meanwhile, was still making his case in the final week of the season. He didn't really "win" it until after MacBay had "won" his. At this point it's splitting seams, but who cares?

by **Zwangzug** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 7:01 pm

Thank you for your patience, here comes the penultimatum!

Group 1

Eshialand                          0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  4
Yakk                               0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 4  8

Quebec and Shingoryeo              0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0  4
Crpostran                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2

Srednjaci                          0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
Avisora                            0 0 0 0 2 2 0 5 X  9

* Group 1                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Quebec and Shingoryeo               9    8   1    74   18  +56
2 Crpostran                           9    6   3    55   27  +28
3 Eshialand                           9    5   4    49   42   +7
4 Avisora                             9    3   6    42   59  −17
5 Srednjaci                           9    3   6    20   49  −29
6 Yakk                                9    2   7    21   66  −45

Group 2

So uh lab here                     0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0  3
North and South Slavo-Baltia       1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 X  5

Drawkland                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Tikariot                           0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  2

New Jarwel                         0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2  6
StrayaRoos                         3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  5

* Group 2                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Tikariot                            9    6   3    45   36   +9
2 Drawkland                           9    6   3    54   28  +26
3 North and South Slavo-Baltia        9    4   5    41   52  −11
4 So uh lab here                      9    4   5    36   39   −3
5 StrayaRoos                          9    4   5    38   37   +1
6 New Jarwel                          9    3   6    33   55  −22

Group 3

HaIvrim                            0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 3  6
Super-Llamaland                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Hapilopper                         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Juldonia                           1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

TJUN-ia                            2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1  6
Dhemixia                           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0  3

* Group 3                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Super-Llamaland                     9    7   2    58   30  +28
2 Juldonia                            9    5   4    41   54  −13
3 Dhemixia                            9    5   4    33   34   −1
4 Hapilopper                          9    4   5    31   36   −5
5 TJUN-ia                             9    4   5    37   40   −3
6 HaIvrim                             9    2   7    33   39   −6

Group 4

Fezziktopia                        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1  4
Liventia                           0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

Ardsk                              0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Milchama                           0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 X  4

Holy Marsh                         0 0 3 1 1 0 1 0 0  6
Valanora                           3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  5

* Group 4                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Milchama                            9    8   1    51   17  +34
2 Ardsk                               9    5   4    39   26  +13
3 Fezziktopia                         9    5   4    41   46   −5
4 Liventia                            9    3   6    29   41  −12
5 Valanora                            9    3   6    29   52  −23
6 Holy Marsh                          9    3   6    36   43   −7

Group 5

Caribbia                           0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2  5
United States of Nova Calania      1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Oclea                              0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0  3
Zwangzug                           1 0 0 0 3 1 0 3 X  8

Vaishnavaria                       2 2 3 0 0 2 0 0 0  9
Sarzonia                           0 3 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 10

* Group 5                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 United States of Nova Calania       9    6   3    32   22  +10
2 Zwangzug                            9    5   4    48   30  +18
3 Sarzonia                            9    5   4    47   45   +2
4 Oclea                               9    4   5    39   42   −3
5 Vaishnavaria                        9    4   5    42   60  −18
6 Caribbia                            9    3   6    35   44   −9

Group 6

Libonesia                          0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1  4
South Americanastan                1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Kamijiro                           0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2  4
Abanhfleft                         0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Ochre Islands                      0 0 10 0 0 3 0 0 1 14
The Fortem                         0 1  1 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

* Group 6                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Kamijiro                            9    8   1    52   25  +27
2 Abanhfleft                          9    6   3    46   31  +15
3 Ochre Islands                       9    4   5    39   41   −2
4 The Fortem                          9    4   5    25   43  −18
5 South Americanastan                 9    3   6    29   34   −5
6 Libonesia                           9    2   7    29   46  −17

Group 7

Dod Rava                           1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  3
Farfadillis                        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2

Mercatoren                         0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
The 189                            0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 X  3

Kronbia                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ko-oren                            0 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 X  5

* Group 7                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ko-oren                             9    6   3    58   28  +30
2 The 189                             9    6   3    34   29   +5
3 Mercatoren                          9    5   4    35   34   +1
4 Dod Rava                            9    5   4    27   24   +3
5 Kronbia                             9    3   6    20   36  −16
6 Farfadillis                         9    2   7    29   52  −23

Group 8

Taxonomic Kingdoms                 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Panay Islands and Guimaras         0 4 0 3 1 1 0 0 X  9

Dotivija                           0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Equestria                          0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 X  3

South Newlandia                    0 0 3 0 6 0 1 0 11 21
The Kytler Peninsulae              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  0  1

* Group 8                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 South Newlandia                     9    9   0   112   28  +84
2 The Kytler Peninsulae               9    6   3    40   54  −14
3 Panay Islands and Guimaras          9    5   4    47   43   +4
4 Equestria                           9    3   6    28   54  −26
5 Taxonomic Kingdoms                  9    2   7    36   64  −28
6 Dotivija                            9    2   7    27   47  −20

Group 9

Zug um Zug                         0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 1  7
Oscioru                            0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6 X  8

Nationy Mcstateface                1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0  5
Banija                             0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Kanmer                             3 2 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 12
Diarcesia                          0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

* Group 9                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Banija                              9    7   2    55   29  +26
2 Nationy Mcstateface                 9    5   4    28   35   −7
3 Zug um Zug                          9    4   5    42   38   +4
4 Diarcesia                           9    4   5    44   65  −21
5 Kanmer                              9    4   5    37   28   +9
6 Oscioru                             9    3   6    35   46  −11

by **Panay Islands and Guimaras** » Fri Aug 09, 2024 4:16 am

A BIG WIN FOR THE CARABAOS
Zwischen, Zwangzug

The match started off with a run from the Taxonomic Kingdoms, trying to do their best to get their revenge on them, but in the 2nd bottom, the Panayenses, with their bases loaded, scored 4 runs thanks to a homerun by Cristián Villacampa. And then in the bottom 4th the Panayenses scoring more 3 runs from Salvador, Asanuma, and Legazpi. To finalize the game, in the bottom 5th and 6th, Chieh and Rivera scored their respective runs. Solórzano is happy with the result. "We just did our best.", says Salvador, the captain. "We hope we would win our game against Dotivija to get into the next round." They would find a way to get into the next round against Dotivija.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Aug 09, 2024 8:08 am

logo credit: Sacha

LPB STANDINGS -  40 / 160 games played

  SNL NORTH                     SNL CENTRAL                   SNL SOUTH
           W-L     GB  WCGB              W-L     GB  WCGB              W-L     GB  WCGB
  JADR   27-13    --   +7       NEOW   25-15    --   +5       RARH   20-20    --   --
  RUDA   22-18     5   +2       NEDO   20-20     5   --       STRS   19-21     1    1
  EVHO   17-23    10    3       RÜBS   18-22     7    2       WAST   16-24     4    4
  EVSB   16-24    11    4       SCMO   16-24     9    4       SCFL   14-26     6    6

There were two clear standout teams of the month. In the North, that were the Drawks, winning 16 of their 20 games, easily best of the SNL. The Owls went 14-6, vaulting into first in the Central, building up a quick five-game lead for the division. Granted, a lot of these games were close, with 6 one-run wins on the month. They also won two games on walk-off home runs, each deployed by Harry Brentwood. The Eshian designated hitter clubbed eight home runs in these twenty games, while also adding a good amount of hits and walks, deservedly earning the Player of the Month award.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Sun City Flames have already managed to sink to sub-Stingrays depths, with a few injuries certainly not helping the cause. A few different teams lost 14 games this month, including the Monarchs, who have lost Chromatik starter Eddard Friend for the foreseeable future, and the Snow Bears, who seem to be digging in for another hibernation season with a -60 run differential already.
While Jaffro and the Owls seem like early division frontrunners, no one has launched a strong claim for the South yet. With both Sun City and Walstreim seemingly well on their way for another terrible season, that leaves the Rhinos, currently stuck in park at 20-20, and the Saints, who haven’t quite been able to start Sündstrom-season-ing again. It’s also notable that only three SNL teams can currently showcase a winning record, while the SLL has seven such teams – clearly, the better first quarters of the season can be found on the other side of the Sea of Llamaphants.

Other notable events included the first cycle of the season, with Tali Mironer hitting a home run, a triple, a double and a single in a home loss to the rival Owls, and Ranorian slugger Julian Breit hitting one of the longest home runs of the season, launching a ball 483 feet in Jaffro, also in a loss.

Looking at the second round of the RTC Trophy reveals where the fireworks have actually been. The Monarchs, despite sputtering in the regular season, have managed to defeat their division rivals. Isabella Romero surrounded the late in game one, but the Monarchs rallied back with a strong pitching performance by Darby Nikolasson in game two coupled with a Will Gutierrez go-ahead home run. In game three, both teams traded punches, but the Monarchs took the game out of reach for Newport by tagging reliever Ryan Halamer for three runs, provided by Cody Frazier and their big star, Kristen Martorella, to send them to the Semifinals.
There, they’ll take on the Saints, who won their division matchup against Ratzupalfu. They were driven by a strong Wolodymyr King pitching performance in game one, allowing one run in seven innings of work. In game two, the Rhinos crushed Lucy Walker-Diaz for four runs in the first. The Saints rallied back, then the Rhinos re-took the lead, up 8-5 entering the bottom of the eighth. Three consecutive walks put Evander Stone on first as the tying run, giving Jimi Fiazzo the stage for a bases-clearing two-out double to send the game to extras. Andrew Gilson III held the Rhinos off the board in the tenth, before the Saints put two on for star Apollo Sündstrom with one out. Sündstrom delivered, sending the ball into the stands of Saints Stadium for the semifinal-clinching walkoff.
Heroics took place in Dolphins Stadium as well, as the Flames somehow took down the Dolphins. Charles Morgan paved the way in game one, before a wild game two saw the game tipping back and forth over and over. The Flames sent it to extras with George Torresino coming up big, but the Fins won it in ten thanks to a Bradley Petre-Sherman home run. In game three, both starters Erin Snair-Gannof and Nicușor Muggia felt untouchable. Snair-Gannof cleared seven scoreless before the Flames’ Teresa Mills tied it up with a solo shot in the eighth, sending another game to extra innings. This time, the Flames prevailed, with backstop Samuele Bandini driving in two before John Trunkman shut the door on the Fins, coming out for another three outs after pitching the ninth.
In the only series bordering on normal, the Snow Bears won at home, with Julian Breit giving the team an eighth-inning lead in game one, before a strong Yahweh Bohannon start saw the Snow Bears through despite the Blue Sox threatening to steal the game late. That puts four teams into the final four that have a losing record in the actual regular season, so it seems like the RTC Trophy will end up as a nice bonus for a one of these squads.

Spotlight: Sophie City Monarchs

Manager: Samantha Owens, Cassadaigua
Home: Sophie City Field, 9,500
Record last season: 69-91
Playoff / Division drought: 1 / 6
Modern era titles: 1
Top pitcher: Kayla Sandlin (30 SV, 2.32 ERA, All-Star Starter)
Top hitter: Kristen Martorella (.243/.332/.472, 32 HR, All-Star Starter, Silver Slugger, Golden Glove)

Sometimes, a team just doesn’t do especially much for an entire season. That was the case with the Monarchs, who finished with a solid mid-table placement, and saw the MVP bid of Kristen Martorella fall apart late. The Monarchs are the only team that is still waiting for their first LPB division win. This season, they weren’t able to impress enough on either side of the ball, despite some remarkable individual achievements. Martorella is an excellent two-way player, who had the best odds for MVP for much of the season, before ultimately having to settle with the combination of Silver and Gold – a rare feat in its own right that only one other player accomplished. She wasn’t the only Silver Slugger on the team, with catcher Will Gutierrez also hitting his way into one; and she was joined at the All-Star game by fellow starter Sandlin and Alternate Griffin Gonzalez.
Besides the already mentioned players, Khris Kirchenbaum stepped up for the Monarchs in his rookie season, filling in as a starter for the injured Friend, and proved to belong, even at just 22. In the outfield, the pairing of Monteforte and Vincent is one of the more underrated duos in the league, especially on defense.
Their front office made the very controversial decision, with their playoff hopes dwindling, to sell at the deadline. In three different deals, the Monarchs were one of the more active deadline teams, shaking up their squad significantly in exchange for, among other things, two future first round picks; mostly the far future, though. They also got to promote Helen Ellis, who had impressed with AAA North Oldsea as a player that can hit a lot of home runs while providing at least good defense at first base. The NCTU product actually got to make an impact, both at first and DH, late in the season. The second-round selection wasn’t the only good news out of North Oldsea. Their top pitchers, Virginia Bai and Kiaan Nayak, both developed extremely well. Both of them are still very young, but given that, they look on track to become future Elephant candidates, hitting the ground running in AAA. Louis Clement also played a good season in the Outfield. Altogether, the Monarchs remain the second-ranked AAA team, so the future is looking bright, even without additional first-rounders in the next draft.
By the end of the season, the Monarchs checked the SNL standings, and actually found themselves with the fifth-best record in the South Newlandian League. Despite looking underwhelming, that sometimes implies a playoff appearance. If it did, that’s a free shot at glory, and if it didn’t, the future still looks bright in Sophie City, with many young players on the way to the big leagues.

by **Ko-oren** » Fri Aug 09, 2024 8:15 am

Halfway: 60/120 games played

*                           W   L        %    RF    RA    RF/G    RA/G    P   Div  Rank   Playoff    GB   Home   Away
1   Ferrovente Whales    38   22   0,633   252   218   2,100   1,817   60   West    1   Div Round   0   19-8   19-14
2   Katashi Giants       37   23   0,617   266   197   2,217   1,642   60   South   1   Div Round   0   19-11  18-12
3   Desierto Challengers 37   23   0,617   257   223   2,142   1,858   60   West    2   Wildcard    1   24-9   13-14
4   Furune Bees          35   25   0,583   280   234   2,333   1,950   60   North   1   Div Round   0   15-12  20-13
5   Nitoya Silvers       32   28   0,533   237   232   1,975   1,933   60   South   2   Wildcard    5   17-10  15-18
6   Aviansola Admirals   31   29   0,517   242   236   2,017   1,967   60   South   3               6   18-15  13-14
7   Santa Teresa Stars   31   29   0,517   220   224   1,833   1,867   60   West    3               7   16-14  15-15
8   Arakura Knights      26   34   0,433   207   238   1,725   1,983   60   North   2               9   17-19   9-15
9   Katashi Generals     26   34   0,433   206   231   1,717   1,925   60   South   4              11   15-15  11-19
X   Teragaseki Originals 23   37   0,383   177   233   1,475   1,942   60   North   3              12    9-18  14-19
=   Echizen Dragons      23   37   0,383   216   250   1,800   2,083   60   North   4              12   12-18  11-19
10  Amandine Wanderers   21   39   0,350   196   240   1,633   2,000   60   West    4              17   13-17   8-22

West
We have to start with this division again. The Whales and Stars, Challengers and Wanderers, all expected to finish in the top six and likely snag both wildcard berths... and look at them now. The Whales, continuing their insane run from last season, are still first by a game over the rest of the ProNine (38-22), great at limiting runs with Tone and Park each performing to their ceiling across the last 10 series. Plenty of pop ups fall right to Norsholm and Ballak. There's some success in ground balls and short base hits, but that's success you need to have throughout an inning to score, and that's just difficult to do. Meanwhile, the

Desierto Challengers are enjoying their 37-23, the best they've been at the halfway mark since moving to the desert, finding hits, getting on base, stealing here and there, with lightning fast Newich, reliable Mulugeta and Davids, and a happy find in CarMichael to get them home. They've upped the stakes for the division lead, going from .550 earlier to .617 now! Unbeatable at home, too, but with a few more away games to go, they'll need a bit extra there to take the Whales to game 120.

And well, that's kind of where the division 'ends'. Yes, the

Santa Teresa Stars are 31-29 and over .500, but they're a little bit behind the division lead and one game out of the wildcard - easy to correct, but it's not the Stars we expected to see. They've all been good, not great - we expected a bit more from Hyllik, and the pitching has, again, been good not great, with Pimmegana vulnerable, and Osborn and Suso mixing in some stinkers among their regular games.

And then there's the

Amandine Wanderers, 21-39, below the Originals - the hallmark of bad play - .350, completely falling apart on the road. The pressure didn't just get to them, it suffocated them, and in a year where they had a real shot of making the playoffs, they've folded. This is on just about everyone in the organisation; Calvo-Rich is making mistakes, Dakritdhen is invisible, Sullivan is whiffing, and Tapia, Chu, Micheaux, and Haekhin are coming up short most nights. There's little to save, though Nicholson has been fine - yet Andry, who should have taken the team through the middle/lower innings, has dropped the ball completely.

South
And when the mainland teams, see above, are not getting anything done, it's the teams from the island of Leleia who show up. The

Katashi Giants - yes, not the Generals - are 37-23, have turned it all around from an already alright 16-14 start, shutting down every lineup and most importantly scoring some more runs themselves. If we left the first quarter picture with a problem for the Giants, it was their suspect hitting, but that's completely fixed, and the results are clear. They're 21-9 in this stretch of 10 series. They've won every series but two (a 1-2 versus rivals Generals and a 1-2 versus Desierto, nothing wrong with that) and swept two series (3-0 over the rivals Generals, 3-0 over the league leading Whales). Incredible stuff.

Behind them, the

Nitoya Silvers (32-28) in possession of the second wildcard and the

Aviansola Admirals (31-29), both above .500 and well and truly in the postseason race. For the Admirals, it's a step down from their earlier 17-13 record when they were leading the division, for the Silvers it's a confirmation that they've figured out their roster. It's been a long time, but one of the smallest ProNine team - the smallest among 'old' teams - have fought for their chance at relevancy and they're taking it. There are questions, it's not a universal success, but most importantly they've gone 4-2 against the Admirals in this stretch (1-2 series loss, 3-0 sweep). The Admirals, then, are a little more up and down, a few lost series... and getting swept by the Originals at home, which was met with a very, very loud discontent from the fans. Stocks in Nitoya are up, stocks in Aviansola are down.

Lastly, the 26-34

Katashi Generals, ProNine royalty. Is it finally happening? Are they finally getting figured out? They were 14-16 and it's not exactly improved since then. The big four - the Dragons, Stars, Whales, Generals - are falling apart, or at least two of them.

North
Let's talk about those

Echizen Dragons. 23-37. Below the Originals. The Northern rivalry is between those two teams and for over a decade, that's been a way for the reds to bolster their winning percentage and tell the orange club they're not much. This year, at least they both suck. The Dragons have been allowing runs everywhere. They were swept by the Originals (of which two in extra innings). They lost FOURTEEN games in a row (sweep by Teragaseki, sweep by Santa Teresa, sweep by Desierto, sweep by Teragaseki, 1-2 against Arakura, with the Dragons' win in game 3). Holy.

In their absence, the

Furune Bees have taken the division. 35-25, nine games over the second team from there. 280 runs scored. 20-13 in away games. Enough said.

The

Arakura Knights are 26-34 and on the wrong side of the divide between 7th and 8th place. At least it's an improvement from their earlier 10-20: they're 16-14 across the last 10 series! And then the

Teragaseki Originals are not last, not second-last, they're third-last! Overall they're down from .392 to .383 but when two other teams have stunk it up way more than them, that's sort of a win. In the long run, they're still likely the worse team given run scores, though. 9-18 at home, too? Come on.

by **Sarzonia** » Fri Aug 09, 2024 9:48 am

There's a big difference between being on the pitch during a tight contest and watching events unfold from streaming video, television, the stands, or a baseball dugout.

Desmond St. John knew about the latter from being a depth player on Sarzonian baseball teams of the past, but being a manager brought a whole different perspective. His Sarzonian national baseball team were trailing Vaishnavaria by a run in the bottom of the ninth inning with the visitors getting two quick outs and the sold out crowd at Fleetwood Park in Woodstock getting restless.

Sarzonia entered the late innings in deep trouble. The visitors from Vaishnavaria jumped out to a 9-3 lead after six innings and looked like a team on cruise control. However, the Sarzonians battled back in the bottom of the seventh with three runs. They added two more runs in the eighth to turn it into a one-run contest, but shortstop Jaia Thornton struck out with the tying run on third to quell the threat in the eighth.

With the No. 9 hitter due up, St. John decided it was time to go to the bench, sending up Quinn Andrews to pinch hit for catcher Harry Mills. Andrews paid for his boss's confidence in him by getting drilled with an 0-2 fastball that looked like the Vaishnavarian hurler simply wanted to waste the pitch. Andrews was OK, and took his place at first.

Tyler Stewart then drew a walk after starting off 0-2, fouling off seven pitches in the at bat. Then Lysa Beaupre hit what amounted to a swinging bunt which third baseman Jamal Robinson could only grab and hold on, and Sarzonia had a bases loaded threat with two out.

Third baseman Lee Worthy then hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Connor McGregor, who only had a routine play to first to end the night, only his throw was wild and caromed off the wall in front of the first base stands. Andrews ran home with the tying run, then Stewart bolted home before first baseman Dante Russo could uncork a desperate throw to the plate to force extra innings.

Sarzonia prevailed 10-9 with a dramatic walk-off victory that improved the Stars to 5-4, level with Zwangzug for second place in Group Five in the 59th World Baseball Classic group stage. Group leaders Nova Calania lost their match, but neither Zwangzug nor Sarzonia can catch the Tapirs for the group title.

The Stars poured out of the dugout and mobbed Stewart, celebrating their dramatic victory and the now real possibility that the Stars, the unranked Stars, might actually be playing knockout round baseball. The remnants of the crowd that stayed til the end erupted in rapturous celebration.

"I don't know how many people were left, but they made it sound like a capacity crowd!" Thornton said, visibly carrying a mix of relief and pure elation as she thought back to the team's and the supporters' wild reaction to the crazy finish.

St. John stood in the dugout barely cracking a smile, but bench coach Brad Jackson knew St. John was hiding how ecstatic he felt about his team's win.

"I don't know if my heart can take much more of this," St. John admitted. "I'd feel differently if I were playing."

Sarzonia (5-4) will travel to Oclea for the group stage finale hoping to clinch a spot in the knockout rounds and seeking revenge for their 5-0 loss at home to close out the first half of qualifying. More importantly, however, was the fact that Oclea were 4-5 heading into a contest that was suddenly of vital importance for both sides.

Only Caribbia are out of the running for a spot in the knockout rounds, but they put a dent in Nova Calania's group championship hopes with a 5-1 away win over the Tapirs. Zwangzug defeated Oclea 8-3 at home in the other Group 5 matchup.

Regardless, Group 5 may well become known as the Group of Death based on how much all the teams playing in it beat the crap out of each other. For Sarzonia, at least, the drama is only just beginning.

by **Banija** » Fri Aug 09, 2024 1:11 pm

Banija National Baseball Team

Coaching Staff
The current manager, Kingston Jassey, is in his first cycle as the manager for the Banijan national team. He was a member of the Banijan coaching staff for WBCs 46-50, which includes the WBC 47 title winning team. He succeeds the great Isaac Oladipo- who was a world champion with Banija as an assistant at WBC 47, went to Super Llamaland as the head man for three cycles, and then came back to Banija, leading us to a pair of back to back appearances in the WCS at 56 & 57, winning the first one. But after a disappointing group stage exit at WBC 58, Oladipo, at 75 years old, was basically forced to retire- and his much younger bench coach, Kingston Jassey, took the reigns.

Like his predecessor, he is an old school manager, less into analytics and more into traditional baseball thinking. He believes in the strength of this team, which are his starting pitchers- he is much more likely to leave a starting pitcher in too long rather than pull them out too quickly. He also strongly rejects the idea of a "bullpen game." He expects to not only get Banija back to the KO stages, but to go beyond that...

Manager- Kingston Jassey. 49 years old. Spent WBC 56-58 as bench coach, now the senior manager. Younger brother of Addo Jassey, who manages the Ratzupalfu Rhinos in the LPB.
Bench Coach- Mpagi Bwakamba. 62 years old. 1st year with the national team. Came from the pro ranks.
Hitting Coach- Kasumba Kyenenya. 39 years old. 1st year with the national team. Came from the pro ranks.
Pitching Coach- Mukisa Kitulazi. 55 years old. 1st year with the national team. Came from the pro ranks.
1st base Coach- Ochola Ssebalabye. 59 years old. 1st year with the national team. Came from the college ranks.
3rd base Coach- Mirembe Kannyo. 50 years old. 1st year with the national team. Came from the pro ranks.

WBBL = Western Banijan Baseball League, Banija's top-flight professional baseball leauge.
If they have never played in a WBC and this is their first cycle, they are italicized.

The team underwent a sea change after failing at WBC 55, with a number of position players and starting pitchers retiring. Of course, the limited roster turnover turned out to be spectacular- as the team won a world title. Unsurprisingly, there are only a few changes to what was already a decently young squad, as the team goes to try and defend their title. They've never been good at the title defense(never having gotten past the QFs in the cycle after winning a WBC), so they are looking to get that fixed.

All players are assumed to be male unless otherwise specified.
Players who are italicized are making their WBC debuts.

Batting Order with DH
1 SS Atla Gadifele. 30 years old. Left-Handed. Female. Alumnus of Northern Moravica University, plays in the WBBL. Elite defender, freaky fast, hits for almost 0 power. Plays for the Ratzupalfu Rhinos in the LPB.
2 2B Lolong Fadiya. 27 years old. Switch hitter. Two years at the University of Moravica, then transferred to play one year of college ball at Newport CfIR in South Newlandia. Plays for the Jaffro Drawks in the LPB.
3 LF Sadiiq Xoosh. 30 years old. Right-handed. Former Loyola-Istria player. Plays for the New Llama Cyclones in the LPB. Captain.
4 1B Gouta Rehana. 28 years old. Left-Handed. Female. Never went to college, went straight to WBBL ball after high school. Former WBBL rookie of the year, now plays for the Ratzupalfu Rhinos in the LPB. Second cycle on the roster, both as a starter.
5 RF Ugonna Akachi. 34 years old. Right-Handed. Hits for a lot of power, has improved his batting average. Big arm, but very little, if any, range in the outfield. Alumnus of Northern Moravica University. Plays for the Busukuma Rhinos in the MBL.
6 DH Madongo Kiribata. 34 years old. Left-Handed. From the Banijan Esportiva Territories, plays in the MBL. Alumnus of Loyola-West Bay.
7 C Mutebi Nvunyi. 25 years old. Switch-hitter. Youngest player to ever receive a national baseball team callup, at age 16 for WBC 56. Considered the 'next great Banijan catcher' (of which would be the first), and now taking the mantle of the everyday starter. Plays in the MBL.
8 3B Ocan Luzira. 30 years old. Banijan/Busogan dual-national- but Busoga does not enter the WBC, so he plays for Banija. Alumnus of the Islamic University of Busoga. Didn't become a starter until midway through the semifinals of the WBC. Plays in the MBL.
9 CF Joanna Adoyo. #22. 37 years old. Female. Right-handed. Formerly known as a speedy, defensive specialist. Plays for the Ratzupalfu Rhinos in the LPB. Taken big strides at the plate ever since she got access to LPB level coaching, now just an all-around elite hitter.

Bench with a Designated Hitter
OF Akia Nameleego. 22 years old. Right-handed. Senior at Loyola-Istria.
IF Tombe Namukoka. 20 years old. Right-handed. Rookie in the MBL. Did not play college baseball.
2B/SS Kato Mukuye. 23 years old. Right-handed. Rookie in the MBL. Alumnus of Northern Moravica University.
C Caku Jula. 31 years old. Left-Handed. Plays in the MBL. Alumnus of Bunyoro A&M.
OF Wasa Malo. 25 years old. Switch-hitter, throws right-handed. Plays in the MBL. Alumnus of the University of Aksum.
3B/1B Abothi Kakooza. 25 years old. Female. Right-Handed. Most recent rookie of the year. Hits for a lot of contact, but needs to improve baserunning and power. Very raw, only started playing baseball at age 15 after getting cut from her high school socccer team, but just 'oozes' potential. Currently plays in the MBL. Former WBBL rookie of the year. Starter from beginning of WBC 57, benched in the middle of the WBC 57 Semifinal Series. Still on the bench.

Batting Order without DH
1 SS Atla Gadifele. 30 years old. Left-Handed. Female. Alumnus of Northern Moravica University, plays in the WBBL. Elite defender, freaky fast, hits for almost 0 power. Plays for the Ratzupalfu Rhinos in the LPB.
2 2B Lolong Fadiya. 27 years old. Switch hitter. Two years at the University of Moravica, then transferred to play one year of college ball at Newport CfIR in South Newlandia. Plays for the Jaffro Drawks in the LPB.
3 LF Sadiiq Xoosh. 30 years old. Right-handed. Former Loyola-Istria player. Plays for the New Llama Cyclones in the LPB. Captain.
4 1B Gouta Rehana. 28 years old. Left-Handed. Female. Never went to college, went straight to WBBL ball after high school. Former WBBL rookie of the year, now plays for the Ratzupalfu Rhinos in the LPB. Second cycle on the roster, both as a starter.
5 RF Ugonna Akachi. 34 years old. Right-Handed. Hits for a lot of power, has improved his batting average. Big arm, but very little, if any, range in the outfield. Alumnus of Northern Moravica University. Plays for the Busukuma Rhinos in the MBL.
6 C Mutebi Nvunyi. 25 years old. Switch-hitter. Youngest player to ever receive a national baseball team callup, at age 16 for WBC 56. Considered the 'next great Banijan catcher' (of which would be the first), and now taking the mantle of the everyday starter. Plays in the MBL.
7 3B Ocan Luzira. 30 years old. Banijan/Busogan dual-national- but Busoga does not enter the WBC, so he plays for Banija. Alumnus of the Islamic University of Busoga. Didn't become a starter until midway through the semifinals of the WBC. Plays in the MBL.
8 CF Joanna Adoyo. #22. 37 years old. Female. Right-handed. Formerly known as a speedy, defensive specialist. Plays for the Ratzupalfu Rhinos in the LPB. Taken big strides at the plate ever since she got access to LPB level coaching, now just an all-around elite hitter.
9 PITCHER

Bench without a Designated Hitter
C/1B Madongo Kiribata. 34 years old. Left-Handed. From the Banijan Esportiva Territories, plays in the MBL. Alumnus of Loyola-West Bay. Team's regular DH.
OF Akia Nameleego. 22 years old. Right-handed. Senior at Loyola-Istria.
IF Tombe Namukoka. 20 years old. Right-handed. Rookie in the MBL. Did not play college baseball.
2B/SS Kato Mukuye. 23 years old. Right-handed. Rookie in the MBL. Alumnus of Northern Moravica University.
C Caku Jula. 31 years old. Left-Handed. Plays in the MBL. Alumnus of Bunyoro A&M.
OF Wasa Malo. 25 years old. Switch-hitter, throws right-handed. Plays in the MBL. Alumnus of the University of Aksum.
3B/1B Abothi Kakooza. 25 years old. Female. Right-Handed. Most recent rookie of the year. Hits for a lot of contact, but needs to improve baserunning and power. Very raw, only started playing baseball at age 15 after getting cut from her high school socccer team, but just 'oozes' potential. Currently plays in the MBL. Former WBBL rookie of the year. Starter from beginning of WBC 57, benched in the middle of the WBC 57 Semifinal Series. Still on the bench.

Starting Pitcher Rotation
All of our starters are tall pitchers who like to throw the ball hard. With the short group stage, the team is opting for a four man rotation, in order to ensure that their best pitchers get to pitch three times during the short group stage, as opposed to a worse pitcher pitching twice. Same starting rotation as WBC 56.
1 Odongo Lutaakome. 29 years old. Right-Handed. Male. Plays for the Rhinos in the LPB. Throws a four seam fastball(up to 98), a sinker, a slider, and a cutter(up to 90). Alumnus of Bunyoro A&M. WBBL Player.
2 Musabingo Vunaana. 28 years old. Right-Handed. Male. Throws a knuckler, a two seam fastball(up to 85), a curveball, and a slider. Never played college ball. Plays in the MBL.
3 Kigongo Namatiwa. 28 years old. Left-Handed. Male. Alumnus of Loyola-Istria. Was the ace for the All-Loyola All-Stars at the International Baseball Slam, helping the team reach a 2nd place finish. Plays for the Jaffro Drawks in the LPB. Throws a four seam fastball(up to 96), a cutter(up to 91), a circle change, and a splitter.
4 Baaku Kutate. 24 years old. Right-Handed. Male. Alumnus of the University of Kitara. Throws a four seam fastball(up to 99), a curveball, a slider, and a Sweeper. MBL Player.

Bullpen
LRP Dzunani Mazuze. 37 years old. Left-Handed. Male. Throws a four seam fastball(up to 96), a curveball, a slider, and a changeup. Alumnus of Heshima & Usian University. Olympic Gold Medalist and a WBC champion. Former starter for the NT, grizzled veteran. MBL player.
LRP Akiiki Bayegga. 31 years old. Right-Handed. Male. Alumus of Wild Valley University. MBL Player.
MRP Batte Kirulu. 25 years old. Right-Handed. Male. Alumus of Western Hangaza University. MBL Player.
MRP Nakisisa Buwuuyo. 26 years old. Right-Handed. Male. Alumus of Sankt Adelheid University. MBL Player.
MRP Alanyo Matama. 32 years old. RIght-Handed. Alumnus of Northern Moravica University.
MRP Jallom Tate. 21 years old. Right-Handed. Male. Plays at Moravica A&M. MBL Player.
MRP Diko Maatle. #29. 31 years old. Left-Handed. Alumnus of Lesedi University. Can hit 101 with his fastball.
SU Sadiki Walulya. 30 years old. Right-Handed. Alumnus of the University of Bunyoro.
CL Sebaga Atla. #41. 36 years old. Right-Handed. Alumnus of Zakuta State University. MBL player. First cycle as the closer.

Banija Group Stage Schedule for Starting Pitchers and Stadium Information

Matchday 1- Starting Pitcher: Odongo Lutaakome. Opponent: Oscioru(28). Stadium: N/A.
Matchday 2- Starting Pitcher: Musabingo Vunaana. Opponent: Diarcesia(UR). Stadium: Vecetxe-Arcedatus Field(cap. 40,000) in Diarcesia.
Opening Day(MD3)- Starting Pitcher: Kigongo Namatiwa. Opponent: Kanmer(35). Stadium: Capitol Proving Grounds(cap 29,000) in Busukuma, National Capitol Region.
Matchday 4- Starting Pitcher: Baaku Kutate. Opponent: Nationy Mcstateface(UR). Stadium: N/A
Matchday 5- Starting Pitcher: Odongo Lutaakome. Opponent: Zug um Zug(UR). Stadium: Istria City Baseball Diamond(cap. 41,000) in Istria, Moravica, Banija.
Matchday 6- Starting Pitcher: Musabingo Vunaana. Opponent: Oscioru(28). Stadium: Osumba Ball Park(cap. 36,800) in Herzegovina City, Moravica, Banija.
Matchday 7- Starting Pitcher: Kigongo Namatiwa. Opponent: Diarcesia(UR). Stadium: Warrior Field(cap. 33,000) in Mynda, Aksum.
Matchday 8- Starting Pitcher: Baaku Kutate. Opponent: Kanmer(35). Stadium: N/A
Matchday 9- Starting Pitcher: Odongo Lutaakome. Opponent: Nationy Mcstateface(UR). Stadium: Istria City Baseball Diamond(cap. 41,000) in Istria, Moravica.
Matchday 10- Starting Pitcher: Musabingo Vunaana. Opponent: Zug um Zug(UR). Stadium: N/A

Knockout Stage Pitching Schedule
Banijan calendar for 5 game series goes as follows... Games 1 and 2 on Monday/Tuesday, Games 3 and 4 on Thursday/Friday, and Game 5 on Sunday(with Game 1 of the next series 24 hours later). Banijan calendar also has a full IC week off between the group and the KO stages.

Round of 32 Opponent: Ochre Islands
Game 1: Odongo Lutaakome
Game 2: Musabingo Vunaana.
Game 3: Kigongo Namatiwa
Game 4: Baaku Kutate

Round of 16 Opponent: Drawkland
Game 1: Odongo Lutaakome
Game 2: Musabingo Vunaana.
Game 3: Kigongo Namatiwa
Game 4(if applicable): Baaku Kutate
Game 5(if applicable): Odongo Lutaakome

All-Time Records(W-L, Win %):
All-Time AO Baseball Series Record: 11-3, 66.67%
All-Time Olympic Record: 17-11, 50.00%
All-Time LCI Record: 9-1, 90.00%
All-Time WBC Group Stage Record: 345-200, 63.30%
All-Time WBC Knockout Stage Record: 110-73, 60.11%
All-Time WBC Record: 455-273, 62.50%
All-Time Record(All competitions): 492-288, 63.08%
Current Rank: #9

Accomplishments
Champions of World Baseball Classic 47
Champions of World Baseball Classic 51
Champions of World Baseball Classic 56
Champions of AO Baseball Series II
Champions of the Inaugural Londinium Challenge Invitational
Champions of the 4th Londinium Challenge Invitational
Gold Medalists at the XVI Summer Olympiad
2nd place at World Baseball Classic 54
2nd place at World Baseball Classic 57
2nd place at AO Baseball Series I
3rd place at XI Olympiad in Aeropag, Commerce Heights.
3rd place at 46th World Baseball Classic.

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: No(I have it all spelled out for you above! You can make in game substitutions for pinch runners/hitters or defensive subs as you see fit, but please follow the lineup as given above).
Follow my pitching rotation: Yes (I have it labeled game by game to prevent any confusion, so please follow! Make pitching changes of course during games as you please, but please do not have other starters coming into a game in relief, ESPECIALLY during the group stages)
Eject my players:Yes(My manager is a hothead, you can eject him too)
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (Please specify both the injury and the # of games that they will miss)
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes (Please specify both the injury and the # of games that they will miss)
Godmod other events: Yes (Whatever's fair game, but don't godmod scoring events, don't kill anyone w/o my permission, and no COVID/pandemics to effect Banija/any Banijans. Otherwise, have at it!)
Use DH at home: Yes
Other: When we are pitching, they induce a lot of ground balls. The strike out rates aren't terribly high for Banijan pitchers, but they play solid, fundamental defense, and they have strong arms all over the diamond. However, while Banija's rotation is one of the strongest in the multiverse, the bullpen leaves much to be desired, especially the middle relievers, who are well known to be the team's weakest link. For the knockout stages, we'll have one starter in the 4 man rotation available every game for an inning or two out of the bullpen. That is listed in the rotation. If those guys are brought in, it is for an absolute maximum of 35 pitches, however many outs that takes.

World Baseball Classic 59 (IC thread)

Recaps, MD6 & MD7

SotS - MVPs 2 & 3

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