World Baseball Classic 46- Everything Thread

[Free Republics]

Sporting World

WBC 46: Free Republics win Game 2 on pinch hit homer by Nicholas Fisher
by: Clarice Cormier

Nicholas Fisher, the designated hitter for the Free Republics National Team, is used to playing every day. However, Cassadaigua was designated the "home team" for the first 2 games of the WBC championship series and does not use the DH for their home games so pitchers had to hit in these games. The Republican response to this, in game 2, was to pinch hit for the pitcher every single time he came up to the plate. This paid off big time with Fisher's home run in the 8th inning to break the tie and win the game for the Free Republics.

Kacie Munro opened for the Free Republics, striking out 5 Cassadagan batters in 2 innings of hitless work. For game 2, Kyle Thomas elected to move Philipp Schmitz to the 2 hole, moving Sarah Fuerst to Fisher's #6 spot. After Bergeron opened the game with a ground out to short, Schmitz drew a walk and Honomi Kamei doubled him home. "Wild" Ralph Fiedler came in for the 3rd and 4th innings but proved to be ineffective, giving up a 2 run homer to Cassadagan pitcher Kayla Mason in the bottom of the 3rd before giving up another 2 runs in a 4th inning that could have been a complete disaster. Fortunately for the Republican National Team's hopes, the pitcher slot came up to the plate in the top of the 5th, allowing Alexander Capon to hit a mammoth home run to tie the game up at 4. The Republicans had previously scored 2 runs on a Sarah Fuerst triple in the 4th before she was thrown out at the plate trying to turn it into an inside the park homer. The Republicans would go on to load the bases in that inning. Ferrau Bergeron would score the go-ahead run on a Hollie Rogers sac fly. A long foul ball off the bat of Sarah Fuerst was caught in spectacular fashion by Taylor Bryant and Cassadaigua had somehow gotten out of the inning.

The Republicans would get an inning of relief out of Ecio Saucedo, who was brought in because Thomas knew the pitcher slot would bat again in the next inning. Cassadaigua would tie the game up in the 6th after Jordyn Prosser drove in Bryant on a ground rule double off of Rhys McIntyre. McIntyre would get out of the 6th and survive the 7th. Eventually, there were 2 outs in the top of the 8th and the game was still tied. The pitcher slot came up to bat again and Kyle Thomas finally sent his designated hitter Nicholas Fisher in to bat. Making his first appearance of the WBC championship series, Fisher was eager to swing a bat. So eager in fact that he only needed to see one Elizabeth Chapman pitch, a mistake right down the middle, to put the Republicans up for good. With a 6 to 5 lead, Thomas decided to bring his closer Kiyosumi Takeuchi into the game immediately. Takeuchi would shut down the Dagans for 2 innings and the Republicans tied the series at 1.

Game 3 will be tonight. The Free Republics are designated the "home team" for this game. Namo Busque will open tonight for the Free Republics and, as he is a starting pitcher for the New City Time Bombs of the XBL, he might actually go more than 1 or 2 innings but, as the Free Republics National Team have abandoned the distinction between starters and relievers, you can never be sure how long a Republican pitcher will pitch. Cassadaigua has yet to announce their starter but Desiree Plummer is next in their rotation. If they are shortening their rotation, then Katia Tavarez would start instead as Plummer is listed as their 5th starter. Regardless, both teams will be starting a left-handed pitcher tonight. We'll keep you updated but you can see it for yourself, as always, on FBC, the official broadcast partner of the National Baseball Team.

Clarice Cormier is Sporting World's international baseball correspondent and our lead beat writer for the Republica Vipers of the X Baseball League. She is a graduate of the Barteaux University School of Journalism and an alumnus of the Barjavel Academy at Republica. Clarice is a former cheerleader who has always been a huge baseball fan. After graduating college, she decided that she would rather do sportswriting instead of political reporting and, luckily for her, Sporting World has always been happy to hire young journalists straight out of college. She has also appeared in our annual lingerie issue 6 years in a row!

[Cassadaigua]

Back and Forth Game Goes Their Way,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

The second game of the championship series of this World Baseball Classic was certainly entertaining for the neutral viewer, a back and forth affair that in the end, did not go our way. Kayla Mason was the starter for the game, and giving up five runs in five innings is a stat line that will not look very good, but it could have been a little worse. She did get some help by the defense at points of the game, especially by Taylor Bryant, who in the fourth fired a laser to catch Sarah Fuerst at home as she tried to stretch a triple into an inside the park home run. Bryant, however, credited the relay throw of Cassie Daniels. “Yes, I got a great throw in, but that’s my job. Cassie has the skill part of the play with the quick catch and throw, and she didn’t waste a millisecond, which was critical in us getting that out.” Daniels followed suit, “I think the inside the park home run is very tempting to go for. If you can do it in the World Baseball Classic, and in the championship series, it will go in the highlights for all eternity and can be one of your signature plays. I like Sarah Fuerst, she’s a great player and plays with a lot of passion. I would have went for it, too.” Fuerst might not like Taylor Bryant, at least for this one game anyway, as Bryant robbed her an inning later of at least a double with a diving catch. “I felt good about getting that ball. If I didn’t then we were in some trouble, but I always thought I was going to get there,” Bryant said of the play.

Cassadaigua struggled in the first two innings to get anything going off of opener Kacie Munro, but could be glad that the southpaw from the Republica Vipers was not a starter that was going to stay out there. They were glad to see her leave, and the Republics bring in “Wild” Ralph Fiedler, and got a two-run home run from a very unlikely source, pitcher Kayla Mason. She hit three homers during the last season, so she has shown that she can hit for power, but in retrospect, she says it made a tough day a little better, “My job is to pitch, and I didn’t get that done. The home run was incredible and short lived excitement for me. I will look back at it later and smile more about it, I suppose.” After flip flopping with the lead, the score was tied at five until the eighth inning when Nicholas Fisher hit a solo homer run off of Elizabeth Chapman, who was disappointed with missing the target. “Was supposed to be an inside corner pitch, obviously it wasn’t. I missed and a good hitter took advantage of it.” The Fillies could not get anything going off of Republican closer Kiyosumi Takeuchi, who pitched two innings, and did not allow a baserunner.

For Game 3, it will be Desiree Plummer on the mound for the Dagans. Free Republics will continue to use openers for this series, and Namo Busque gets the nod. Manager Maddie Polanco said that no adjustments are needed for the strategy of counterpart Kyle Thomas. “The first two games show how an opener can work, and how it can’t. We had success in the first game, and not the second game.” Free Republics prefers usage of the DH, so in games 3 and 4, we will have to use one. Natalie Shattuck gets the opportunity in Game 3. “I look forward to helping the team in a greater role,” she stated. With the series tied at one, this is obviously a very pivotal game.

#27Classicsistoolong
#Four4CDG

[Newmanistan]

WBC 46 Championship: Cassadaigua vs Free Republics @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan

Game 3:

Cassadaigua            3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
Free Republics         0 1 2 0 2 0 1 0 X  6

Free Republics leads series, 2-1

[The Sherpa Empire]

3rd place series: Banija vs. Lycrabon @ Mandarin Park, Nanjing, Jiangsu

Game 3:

Banija                 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1  4
Lycrabon               0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2

Banija leads series 2-1

[Free Republics]

Namo Busque did not make it out of the first inning in game 3, getting shelled for 3 runs. With 3 runs already scored and the bases loaded with 2 outs, Kyle Thomas made the call for Taryn Russell to come into the game. Russell would strike out the 9th Cassadagan batter of the inning (OOC: I'm unsure where Natalie Shattuck is batting in the order so I didn't specify the identity of this batter.) to avoid any further damage. The first inning was a 1-2-3 inning for Desiree Plummer so Cassadaigua led by 3.

Russell was absolutely dominant in this game so Kyle Thomas allowed her to pitch into the 9th inning. Nicholas Fisher would open the scoring for the Free Republics in the second with his second home run of the series which was followed by an Oskar Bjorgum single an inning later that scored both Sarah Fuerst and Honomi Kamei, tying the game at 3 apiece. The Republicans would take the lead in the 5th after Ferrau Bergeron would walk, steal a base and be driven in by a Honomi Kamei single. Kamei would then go on to steal both 2nd and 3rd bases before scoring on a sac fly off the bat of Oskar Bjorgum. The Republican scoring would conclude with an Evelin Norberg solo shot to lead off the bottom of the 7th.

Going into the 9th inning, Taryn Russell had not allowed a run and struck out 13 batters. Russell would get into trouble with 1 out, finally walking Jenna Bailey to load the bases. At this point, Kyle Thomas made the call to the bullpen to bring in Mario Rothschild. Kiyosumi Takeuchi was not available after having pitched 2 innings in game 2. Rothschild would get out #2 on a Julie Sherman sac fly, bringing up Macy Hamel with 2 outs and the game on the line. The veteran closer for the Albertope Forsakers, Rothschild had been demoted to setup man for the national team prior to this WBC due to his decline in domestic play and Takeuchi entering his prime as the Tohoko Giants closer. With the game on the line, Rothschild looked several years younger, eventually striking out Hamel with a fastball that clocked in at 101.4 miles per hour on the radar gun. Rothschild had notoriously lost a bit of velocity on his fastball and was now typically throwing in the 98 mile per hour range so this was unexpected but he had delivered a critical save to secure a 2 games to 1 series lead for the Free Republics.

For the first time ever, the Free Republics now led in a WBC championship series. In their previous series against Newmanistan, they had never led and had last tied the series at 1-1 after game 2 before Newmanistan took games 3 and 4, requiring the then-heavy underdogs to fight back in game 5 before Sheamus O'Conner's freak injury forced the 39-year-old Leon Eichel into stealth opener duty. The Republicans would miraculously win game 5 in before falling in game 6 with Namo Busque on the mound. Eichel would be replaced by Taryn Russell at WBC 44 after he lost his effectiveness domestically and suffered a career ending rotator cuff injury.

After the game, Kyle Thomas informed Kacie Munro that she would be opening again in game 4. However, this remained a secret until a couple hours before the game was scheduled to start. He planned on bringing in Ming Hsing at an appropriate time. Since the designated hitter was in effect, Hsing would have the opportunity to continue pitching as long as he was effective. The big surprise when Thomas announced his lineup was J.L. Longoria replacing Evelin Norberg in left and the 8 hole. With the lefty ace Katia Tavarez expected to start for Cassadaigua, Thomas wanted the platoon advantage.

In other news, Sister Polus released a new video. She did not mention the World Baseball Classic at all. No matter who won, the result would be an embarrassment for her propaganda efforts. Instead, she focused on explaining why the filioque clause is so important a part of the Nicene Creed. This particular video rant was not shared very widely.

[Cassadaigua]

Playing in the Championship,
by Macy Hamel- 3B

A lot of time has past since I wrote my first blog that talked about how excited I was to become a part of this team. I figured that I would at least make the team after the season that I had, but I was not fully confident that I would be a starter. Now, here we are, playing in a series that many of us hoped to be a part of. Those who have been on this team talk about it as being a long time going given some of the recent semifinal appearance that we have had as a nation. I know that manager Maddie Polanco really wants to win this title, as her mission when coming here was never just to make us a good team, it was to turn us into the championship team that we were back when our grandparents were our age. Or, at least my age. The tag line for our team now is 27 classics is too long, and while I agree with that, those titles were only something that I was able to read about.

As a player, I have been spoiled, getting to the championship series in the my first time around on this team. I can look back at the group stage and smile about what I did individually as we, as a team, earned the top seed for the playoffs. I had the opportunity to play against a live bear in the second round. Our opponent, Free Republics got to do that in the group stage. That is one of the memorable moments, but the Banija series was where I was at my best. I got hits and home runs, and the team got over a hurdle that has stopped us in the past, the semifinals. Now, here we are in the finals, like you know. Three games have been played, and we have only been able to win one of them.

What has gone wrong? Honestly, I don’t think that anything is going wrong. We are playing a good team. The answer to this is that we need to step it up a little more. Free Republics is not only a very talented group of players, they have the eyes of a nation that want to win a major title. As a nation, in the sporting world, we have traveled there quite often for various events, though I have never personally been there. Eventually, it is a place I would like to visit, and maybe they will host this one day again and I will be able to do that and play in the Classic at the same time. As we move to the fourth game, we have the confidence in our ace going to the mound in Katia Tavarez against opener Kacie Munro, who stifled us a little bit last time. Natalie Shattuck gets another chance as the designated hitter while batting ninth in the lineup. Katia is pitching well, including a big win the important game three against Banija. If there is someone that we want on the mound when playing catchup like this, she is the one. She has been going through her normal daily routine before a start and feels good. Team morale is great, someone has to be down 2-1 after three, and for now it is us in that spot. A win here makes it a best of three, and I don’t think anyone expected this to be easy.

[Newmanistan]

WBC 46 Championship: Cassadaigua vs Free Republics @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan

Game 4:

Cassadaigua            0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1  3
Free Republics         0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

series tied at 2.

[The Sherpa Empire]

3rd place series: Banija vs. Lycrabon @ Mandarin Park, Nanjing, Jiangsu

Game 4:

Banija                 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 0 0  7
Lycrabon               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Banija wins series 3-1

[Banija]

Following Third Place WBC Finish, Olympic Committee decides to launch Banijan professional baseball league


Banijan players rush the mound after clinching third place in the World Baseball Classic

NANJING, JAINGSU TERRITORY, SHERPA EMPIRE- The Banijan baseball team has now finished their greatest WBC tournament run in team history with their first ever WBC medal. After painfully falling in 4 games to Cassadaigua in their cinderella run to the World Baseball Classic semifinals, they were able to regroup and bring it all together for the Third Place Series, as they won the Best of 5 series, by 3 games to 1, and they found themselves bronze medalists here. It is a fitting end to an excellent run by Banijan baseball here, and it serves as their arrival on the world stage as a baseball program that truly needs to be taken seriously. Can this success be sustained in the next classic? Only time will tell, but expect a rise up the rankings as the Banijans will certainly head to the next classic with energy.

Once again, Banija went the way of its starting pitching. Not that they didn’t throw excellent games against Cassadaigua, but of course, they could not match against 5 of the multiverse’s most decorated pitchers. And Banta Jawara struggled in Game 1 of this series, getting rocked for 5 earned runs through 1+ innings of work, and making Ousman Kakay have to go to the bullpen extremely early into the matchup. Getting the bullpen 8 innings of work in a game that doesn’t go deep into extras is never good, and it isn’t surprising that the pen wasn’t able to hold up, allowing 2 runs in the 8th, and another in the 9th, for an 8-6 loss to start this series for the Banijans.

But the ball was then handed to Suntukung Kandeh. He closed out both the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals, combining for 13.2 innings pitched in those games, allowing just a single run. The back of the rotation youngster, with the Banijans down 1-0 in the series, stepped up in a big spot once again. With the Banijans needing their starter to go deep, as their bullpen was essentially depleted after the games from the day before, Suntukung Kandeh answered the bell. He went 7 innings strong, allowing only a single run, to bring his knockout stage pitching totals to 20.2 innings across 3 games, just a lone earned run, and a perfect 3-0 record.

And then, of course, more stellar pitching performances. The ace, Assan Condé, took the mound in Game 3, and stunned his opponents. The Banijan ace went to outdo the youngster, and he had the game of the tournament. He pitched a complete game, allowing just two runs, as he dominated the Lycrabon lineup. And then, Duta Condé was available to close them out. Duta Condé pitched 8 strong innings, while Baturu got the final 3 outs in the 9th. While Games 1-3 were close, this one was a domination- the Banijan bats woke up, as they dropped 7 runs on Lycrabon. And when the game was over, they sprinted to the field to celebrate their bronze medals.

It was shortly after the game where the Olympic Committee announced that they would form a professional baseball league. “We believe that there is enough interest to form a baseball league.” Said an OCB spokeswoman in a statement. “This team has gathered a large following, and if we want them to continue to be successful, we must ensure that there is a way for the sport to grow, within the country. While starting an independent federation does not make sense at this time, starting a professional league does. We will look to have 8 different teams in this league, and are looking at multiple cities- details will be provided when they come. We look to get this off the ground as soon as possible.”

With professional baseball coming to Banija, will the standards rise for this country? Regardless, one thing should be said- enjoy this run for what it is. Whether a one off, or the start of something much, much bigger, it was quite a run where nobody named us contenders, and we took a team like Cassadaigua, one of the sport's historic powers, to the brink, and even beat modern powers like the Sherpa Empire and Ethane. It was an incredible journey, and don't worry- we'll be back.

My last entry, here from Nanjing. Enjoy, Banija!

[Cassadaigua]

Tavarez Brings Us Level,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Being down two games to one, it is always nice to be able to turn to a starting pitcher that you know that you can trust. For Team Cassadaigua, Katia Tavarez has been in the number one spot of the rotation for multiple Classic now, and is in the prime of her career. She has a trophy case full of accolades at home, but one thing that she is missing is an international title. She has pitched on successful national teams before, but never has been in the final. That holds true for everyone on our roster, but Tavarez was certainly very motivated to get it down. She was opposed by Kacie Munro, who serves as the opener for the Republicans, and who did a fantastic job in the second game. Katia, however, is glad that Maddie Polanco does not have openers too, as she said in the pre-game, “If you can’t trust a starting pitcher three times through the batting order, then they should not be on the team. When I get the ball, I intend on going all nine innings. I don’t need someone to open for me. While I may not go all nine innings, that is always the intention.”

Tavarez would go eight innings in the Fillies 3-1 win in game four to even up the series, before giving way to closer Rachel Sauter, who tossed a 1-2-3 ninth. Katia allowed a lone run on five hits, walked one, and struck out nine in the win. Cassadaigua was shut down by Munro again over the first two innings, but in the third, Jenna Bailey hit a two out double to left-center, and scored on a bloop single from Julie Sherman. In the sixth, the Fillies added to their lead with Sherman delivering again with another single, and ultimately scoring on a Macy Hamel single. Free Republics got one back in the bottom of the seventh when Hollie Rogers doubled in Honomi Kamei, who was the lone batter that Tavarez walked in the game. The next batter, Nicholas Fisher, was robbed of a hit on yet another defensive gem by Taylor Bryant. Cassadaigua added ninth inning insurance on a Danielle Trufant RBI-single to account for the games final run.

For Game 5, Lauren Sutter is back on the hill, and hopes to put Cassadaigua back in front in this series.

[Free Republics]

Gioacchino Arcuri read the comments of Cassadagan ace Katia Tavarez to the Concord Heights Times and was infuriated. Tavarez had said “If you can’t trust a starting pitcher three times through the batting order, then they should not be on the team. When I get the ball, I intend on going all nine innings. I don’t need someone to open for me. While I may not go all nine innings, that is always the intention.” Arcuri, who had yet to pitch in the finals, did not appreciate the implication that Republican pitchers were incapable of throwing a complete game. Prior to the game, Arcuri charged into Kyle Thomas's office:

Kyle Thomas - Hello, Gio. You look upset. What's wrong?

Gioacchino Arcuri - Have you seen what Tavarez is saying about us in their papers?

Kyle Thomas - I have not.

Gioacchino Arcuri - She's claiming that we use openers because our pitchers can't go the full 9 innings.

Kyle Thomas burst out laughing.

Kyle Thomas - Well, we'll see about that tomorrow in game 5, won't we?

Gioacchino Arcuri - So, I'm going to start game 5?

Kyle Thomas - Yes. Publicly, I'll announce that Luana Cremonesi will start but 15 minutes before the game starts, I will change our starting lineup and put you on the mound.

Gioacchino Arcuri - Thank you, Mr. Thomas.

Kyle Thomas - Now, don't let me down out there.

Both the Republican manager and his one-time #3 starter were well-aware that they were using the opener strategy to play mind games with the opposition. Republican pitchers were fully capable, just like an Cassadagan or Newmanistani pitcher, of going the full 9 innings. It also increased Thomas's options later on in a game as only Taryn Russell, Ming Hsing and Kacie Munro were unavailable for game 5. Every other Republican pitcher was available to come in out of the pen, if needed. Hsing was likely done for the series after going 6 innings in game 4. Munro would be available again for game 6 or game 7. Russell would be available in a hypothetical game 7. Thomas was hoping that Arcuri would be able to go the distance in game 5, allowing him to rely upon most of his starters in the critical games 6 and 7. OOC: This is assuming that the MLB 2-3-2 home team rules are in effect which would give Thomas the use of a DH in game 5 but not in game 6 or game 7.

Thomas had also decided to sit Oskar Bjorgum for game 5 and start Alexander Capon at first instead, batting in the same spot in the lineup. Thomas had a hunch that Capon would produce in a big way against Lauren Sutter. In batting practice before game 5, the Republican batters were all noticeably trying to hit the ball to right field. Taylor Bryant had simply made too many spectacular defensive plays in this series so Republican batting coach Geoffrey Amato had asked his hitters to try not to hit anything that Bryant could catch. He also instructed his hitters to hit balls to left field instead if Cassadaigua responded to this tactic with defensive shifts. The Republican National Team never stopped looking for a tactical advantage...

[Newmanistan]

WBC 46 Championship: Cassadaigua vs Free Republics @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan

Game 5:

Cassadaigua            0 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 0  7
Free Republics         4 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 X  9

Free Republics leads series 3-2

[Cassadaigua]

Backs Against The Wall,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

It’s been a little while since I talked about one of our starters simply not having it. Most efforts have been good, or at least tolerable, but Game 5 was the first time in quite some time where our starter was simply, not good. Lauren Sutter had pitched well in the playoffs, overall, but did not do herself any favors when she walked the first two batters that she faced. On her first pitch, to third batter, Honomi Kamei, she tried to be a little too perfect with the fastball and Kamei destroyed the offering, almost as much to the point we saw Midnight power home runs for Hampton Island in the second round. Just like that, Cassadaigua was faced with a 3-0 deficit. She started to get a little better, but it did not end there, as Free Republics put up a four for the their first inning of work.

Cassadaigua had prepared for Luana Cremonesi to be the starter, but when the lineup cards were exchanged behind the plate, it was Gioacchino Arcuri on the lineup card. (OOC: I am going with the assumption that this would have, legally, needed to have been declared at this time). At first, we wondered if something had happened to Cremonesi, but have been told it was planned all along that Free Republics would try to dupe us like this, and Maddie Polanco was not thrilled about that. “My respect level for Kyle Thomas just dropped a notch,” she said in an interview after the game, “He is still a great manager, but that kind of move is bush league. It’s one thing if its due to an injury but to find out when we exchange the lineup cards, and for him to not even say anything about it on the exchange of cards is not something I expect out of one of the smartest managers in the baseball world.” Polanco went on to say it’s one of those unwritten rules, “There are a thousand unwritten baseball rules it seems like, but I do feel like some etiquette got broken there. It’s his call, and fortunately we were able to get to Arcuri over the next couple innings.”

Cassadaigua scored two in the second and two more in the third to close the deficit to 5-4, but a three run third off of Meghan Townsend spoiled the come back effort. Cassadaigua still chipped away, and got to within 8-7, before the Republicans added insurance. The final score is 9-7, and now the Fillies are on the brink. Players are being upbeat about it. Cassie Daniels told us, “We have won two games in a row before, we can do it again. This team is still doing a lot of things right, and when you look at the games that we have lost, we are showing character in them and are fighting until the end. We just need to swing the momentum back in our favor.” Macy Hamel, who hit a two run homer in third, agrees, “Spirits are still really high. It’ll be a challenge, but we still very much believe in ourselves.”

Samantha Owens returns to the mound for Game 6. Honestly.

[Free Republics]

Republica, Free Republics

Consul Scarlett Nicholls was out for dinner with her brother Veleik at a sports bar. Game 5 of the WBC championship series was on. The game was in the 6th inning. Giovacchino Arcuri had been pulled after going 5 innings and giving up 6 runs. Neither Scarlett nor Veleik could understand why Thomas had decided to start him last minute or to leave him in so long given how poorly he was pitching. Yet, the Republicans still had the lead. Alexander Capon's 3 RBI double in the third had put the Republicans up 8 to 4. They now led 8 to 6.

The consul was enjoying the short break from her official duties to spend time with her brother when suddenly the game cut out for an FBC News Alert. A Nicholls Air flight had just crashed in Jolarus. The news reporter quickly informed the TV audience that the plane was a Piedalue 1147 SUPERMAX, the 7th Piedalue plane to crash in the past 6 months.

Veleik Nicholls - Scarlett, this isn't good. Another one of those damned Piedalue planes just crashed.

Scarlett Nicholls - I can't believe dad hasn't grounded those planes yet.

Veleik Nicholls - He needs to. We've had too many planes crash lately.

Scarlett Nicholls - This is definitely going to hurt us in the midterms and the polls already have Common Good up double digits on us.

Veleik Nicholls - Common Good? You mean the Church of Saintland's latest front party?

Scarlett Nicholls - Yes. The Supreme Court just fucked us too by letting the Charter Societies vote.

Veleik Nicholls - Surely, there has to be some way to ensure a secret ballot?

Scarlett Nicholls - Unfortunately, there isn't. That would violate the republics rights provision of the Constitution.

Veleik Nicholls - I heard Piedalue outsourced their software to some undeveloped nation. They don't want to pay what it costs for a Republican developer.

Scarlett Nicholls - We really need to do something about that.

Veleik Nicholls - Yes, we do. I can't believe they'd do something so reckless. On the other hand, its their private property and they can do whatever they want in a free country.

Scarlett Nicholls - Veleik, you've always been a doctrinaire capitalizt. I'm not and this kind of behavior that endangers public safety is not going to be tolerated.

Veleik Nicholls - I'll talk to dad about replacing our Piedalue planes.

Scarlett Nicholls - That'd be good but that's not enough for me. I'm going to issue an order to ban the Air Force from buying or flying Piedalue planes. Is there any way I can get a press conference scheduled immediately after the WBC?

Veleik Nicholls - Maybe you should step outside for a minute to call up FBC.

Scarlett Nicholls - I think I'll do that.

Scarlett stepped out for a few minutes to set up a press conference then returned right as the waiter brought their dinner. Cassadaigua's Taylor Bryant had just come back to haunt the Republicans again with a homer off of Luana Cremonesi to make it an 8 to 7 game. The two of them continued talking as they ate their dinner.

Scarlett Nicholls - Its official. I'm doing a press conference at the mansion immediately after the final out of this game.

Veleik Nicholls - Afterwards, how about we play a game of Showtime? (OOC: Veleik is referring to XBL Showtime, a popular action-based baseball video game that is officially licensed by the XBL, the National Team and around half of the leagues affiliated with the World Series.)

Scarlett Nicholls - Veleik, you know I haven't played video games in years.

Veleik Nicholls - Don't worry about it. I'll go easy on you and we'll play on classic mode.

Scarlett Nicholls - OK, I'll play but I call dibs on the Vipers.

Veleik Nicholls - Then I'll play as the Bullies.

Scarlett Nicholls - You're actually going to play as the Baseton Bullies? They haven't ever bullied anybody!

Veleik Nicholls - I said I'd go easy on you.

Scarlett laughed.

Scarlett Nicholls - I see what you mean then.

Veleik Nicholls - Look, Capon just homered. He's now a triple shy of a cycle.

Scarlett Nicholls - I can't see him getting a triple.

Veleik Nicholls - Yeah, that's not going to happen. He's too slow. I hope Mario and Kiyosumi can hold this lead.

Scarlett Nicholls - Right. I've got to get my speech ready.

Veleik Nicholls - There's no way you're going to be able to prepare a speech by the end of this game.

Scarlett Nicholls - I guess not. Looks like I'm going to have to wing it tonight.

Veleik Nicholls - You're the best at that though. Always have been.

Scarlett Nicholls - I'm not sure of that.

Veleik Nicholls - Just stay calm and believe in yourself. I'm sure you'll be able to reassure the public that the government isn't asleep to this danger to public safety.

Scarlett Nicholls - Guess so. What other choice do I have?

Veleik Nicholls - You could always send Consul Bolton out to do the speech.

Scarlett laughed even harder at that suggestion.

Scarlett Nicholls - Kyle is completely useless. He has no interest whatsoever in doing his job. All he cares about is getting drunk, doing wrestler and making sexual advances on me all the time!

Veleik Nicholls - What? Surely, he isn't attempting to cheat on his wife with his junior consul?

Scarlett Nicholls - I'm serious. I'm certain he's cheating on Lucia with a ton of other women.

Veleik Nicholls - Why did this soccer playing idiot beat Abelino?

Scarlett Nicholls - Because lots of people thought it'd be funny to vote for the guy who didn't have a chance of winning.

Veleik Nicholls - Does the "Soccer General" ever come around the mansion?

Scarlett Nicholls - Oh God yes. I have to deal with Rule Theriault all the time.

Right as they began talking about Theriault, the waiter showed up, realized they were done and asked if they wanted any dessert. Both of them declined and asked for their check. Scarlett charged it to her official expenses account which was normal practice among Republican politicians for all of their personal expenses while in office but which was not something they openly admitted to. By the time they had paid their bill and tipped the waiter, the baseball game had just gone to commercial. Scarlett had looked really flustered on national TV as she announced her order which would be blocked by Kyle Bolton the following morning. Scarlett was infuriated by Bolton's move.

Meanwhile, in Cassadaigua, the Republicans announced that Rhys McIntyre would open game 6. While Kyle Thomas intended to pinch hit every single time the pitcher came up, he would consider leaving McIntyre or any other pitcher in longer if he was pitching well and the Republicans had a lead. Nicholas Fisher was penciled into the lineup as the starting first baseman, a risky move given Fisher's extremely shaky defensive play but Thomas did not want to go without his bat. Thomas had been surprised at how upset Maddie Polanco had been by his last minute bait and switch. Before the game, he decided, he would attempt to apologize to her.

[Newmanistan]

WBC 46 Championship: Cassadaigua vs Free Republics @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan
Game 6:

Free Republics         0 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 0  6
Cassadaigua            0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  3

Free Republics wins series, 4-2

Congratulations to the champs!

[Free Republics]

Nicholas Fisher stepped into the batters box with the bases loaded. The inning had begun with a Ferrau Bergeron walk which had been followed by a Sarah Fuerst double and an intentional walk of Honami Kamei. Samantha Owens did not want Kamei to beat her with runners in scoring position so she chose to pitch to the Republican DH, who was playing first and hitting cleanup on this day, instead. Owens quickly got ahead in the count 0-2 before the ump called a borderline pitch a ball to bring the count to 1-2. On her 1-2 pitch, Owens made a mistake and Fisher took advantage, hitting a moonshot of a grand slam to straight away center that landed some 500 feet from home. With that, the Free Republics had a 4 to 0 lead.

Just moments earlier, 59 year old FBC commentator Giancarlo Bolko, who had played for the Republican National Team 18 years prior as part of their WBC 26 team (OOC: Republican time is based around the World Cup cycle and WBC 26 happened shortly before World Cup 65 so we've had 2 more WBCs than World Cups since I've been entering both.), had remarked that "Both pitchers remarkably have perfect games through 3." Republican "opener" Rhys McIntyre would pitch the Republicans through 3 more perfect innings before losing the perfect game with 2 outs in the 7th on a Macy Hamel solo homer. Taylor Bryant would continue her exceptional series with a homer of her own off of McIntyre before Kyle Thomas made the call to "Wild" Ralph Fiedler to get the last 7 outs.

Fiedler would strike out the first 5 batters he faced but he ran into trouble in the 9th inning, suddenly living up to his nickname by walking the bases loaded. In a cruel twist of fate, Taylor Bryant, heroine of the series for Cassadaigua, would also be the goat, hitting a 3-0 pitch on the ground right to Nicholas Fisher. Fisher fielded it perfectly and tossed the ball to Teresa Mrazova for the force out at the plate. Mrazova then fired a laser back to first where Fisher stepped on the mound for the 3-2-3 double play that clinched the first major senior level "world" championship for the Free Republics.

As the Republican National Baseball Team rushed onto the diamond at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds to celebrate, they were soon joined by all living former Republican players, coaches and managers, by all of the executives of Republican National Baseball, LLC and by the president and vice president of the World Baseball Classic Council (OOC: I think its reasonable to assume that the Cassadagan president and the Republican vice president would both be in attendance for a potential clinching game.). WBC Council vice president Margaret Baker shook hands with the outgoing president as Ralph Oster, CEO of Republican National Baseball, LLC stepped forward to accept the trophy which he handed to Kyle Thomas who then held it up so that each player and coach could touch the trophy.

Following the trophy ceremony, Giancarlo Bolko stepped forward to conduct interviews for FBC's live coverage of the WBC championship celebration.

Giancarlo Bolko - Mr. Oster, the Free Republics are the champions of the world. How do you feel?

Ralph Oster - I feel great, Giancarlo. Its great to see our plans finally bear fruit.

Giancarlo Bolko - Prior to this Classic, there was talk that Kyle Thomas was on thin ice due to the team's failure to make it back to the finals after WBC 43. What is his contract status now?

Ralph Oster - We will be signing Kyle to a long-term extension, if he's willing to accept it. We're not going to let a World Baseball Classic winning manager go win a championship somewhere else if we can avoid it.

Kyle Thomas - Hello, Mr. Oster.

Ralph Oster - Thank you Kyle. I think we can say this is mission accomplished.

Kyle Thomas - Its a great feeling to finally win the championship but I don't think we're satisfied yet.

Giancarlo Bolko - Mr. Thomas, you introduced new strategies that, to the best of my knowledge, have never been used before in a World Baseball Classic. How did the openers help you deliver a championship to the Free Republics?

Kyle Thomas - I think you saw the answer to that tonight. If we'd gone with a traditional starting rotation for the playoffs, "Wild" Ralph wouldn't have been available to go for the save today.

Giancarlo Bolko - It was a really gutsy call to go with the South Charlotte Condors ace to close out the WBC.

Kyle Thomas - Well, our goal was to keep our opponents on their toes, making it impossible for them to prepare for any pitcher. By constantly switching back and forth between pitchers, we were able to use whatever pitcher made the most sense given the situation.

Giancarlo Bolko - Are you going to continue using openers going forward?

Kyle Thomas - I'm hoping to expand our pitching staff next Classic and we're going to continue our unconventional pitcher usage.

Giancarlo Bolko - What do you say to those who say that you're using openers because Republican pitchers can't go the full 9 innings?

Kyle Thomas - If that's what you want to believe, go ahead and believe it but don't be surprised when one of our pitchers throws a complete game shutout. We don't use openers to avoid going through the order a 3rd time with the same pitcher. We use openers to retain the element of surprise so that we can use our best pitchers when we need them most. Besides, Taryn pitched 7 and 2 thirds innings of relief in game 3 which was a big part of why we won that game.

Giancarlo Bolko - Indeed. The distinction between starting pitcher and relief pitcher no longer exists for the Free Republics.

Kyle Thomas - It shouldn't. Its always been arbitrary. Going forward, we will have "long" pitchers and "short" pitchers.

Nicholas Fisher walked over towards his manager.

Giancarlo Bolko - Nicholas, you came up huge today and throughout this entire Classic for the Free Republics. What was going through your mind in the 4th when you stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded?

Nicholas Fisher - I just wanted to get a base hit and get us on the scoreboard. Samantha Owens is a great pitcher. She doesn't make mistakes very often but I'm sure she wants that pitch back. I knew as soon as I made contact that it was gone.

Giancarlo Bolko - How does it feel to turn a 3-2-3 double play to clinch a championship?

Nicholas Fisher - Its unbelievable. I'm 36 years old and I think its probably time for me to retire from international play. I don't know of any better way to go out than that.

Clarice Cormier - If you don't mind, Mr. Bolko, I would like to present the Sporting World WBC 46 Most Valuable Player Award to Honomi Kamei. I don't think there is anybody who watched this WBC who would dispute that she has earned the award. Honomi, please come forward.

Honomi Kamei - Thank you Clarice. I'm honored to be named the Sporting World MVP but honestly it is an even greater honor to win a WBC championship. I want to thank Newmanistan for being a great host. Its too bad that their team had to be upset so early on as I'd have loved to have had the opportunity to play them. I also want to thank Cassadaigua, Lycrabon, West Phoenicia and Hapilopper for giving us everything they had. Its been a long hard road to this championship and it wouldn't have been possible without each and every one of my teammates, each and every one of my coaches, our incredible manager Kyle Thomas and our fans. We did it for all of you!

Clarice Cormier - You made a great play today in the 6th to save Rhys McIntyre's perfect game for the moment. How did you deal with all of the pressure?

Honomi Kamei - Well, it helped to have a six to nothing lead! It was really nerve-wrecking when I made that throw and hoped it would make it in time because I didn't want to be the one responsible for their first hit. On another note, I want to send my condolences to the families of all the people who died on those defective Piedalue planes and I want to urge everybody who plans on flying to make sure you use an airline that values safety enough to ground all of their planes until they bring their software jobs back to the Free Republics and fix their defective software! Everybody, stay safe. Its not worth dying just to save a few bucks on a flight!

Clarice Cormier - Indeed, it sure isn't. I can't believe those crashing planes haven't been grounded yet.

Honomi Kamei - I also want to specifically thank Sarah Fuerst for the help she provided after joining our team mid-tournament due to an untimely injury to Ethan Joyner. Where's Sarah? Oh, there you are! Stop hiding and come over here!

Sarah Fuerst - Honomi, I can't believe we actually did it!

Honomi Kamei - You were incredible. Girl, you really should go pro right now.

Sarah Fuerst - I've got an education to finish first but I'd love to join you on the Vipers once I'm done in school.

Honomi Kamei - I'll make sure to hold you to that.

Giancarlo Bolko - Well, that's all of the time we have today. The Free Republics are WBC champions. Your local news is next.

---

A few days later, the Republican National Team had a parade through the streets of Republica that culminated with a visit to the consul's mansion where they had the opportunity to meet Consul Scarlett Nicholls and take photos. As they returned to their domestic teams, they savored their championship while looking forward to their opportunity to defend it...