NationStates Jolt Archive

Welcome to the opening of the second World Baseball Classic. We here in Az-cz are proud to be the official hosts of the second cup. We'd first like to thank the nation of Qazox for their great work in arranging the first World Baseball Classic and their support for us in arranging the second. Now I'd like to explain the format of the tournament.

The first round of the tournament will be a home and away round robin group stage consisting of five groups of five teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to the second round. The two best third place teams will also advance. Those teams will be determined first by record, then by run differential. If both teams are still tied at that point the team with the fewest number of runs allowed would be the next tie breaker. If after those three tie breakers are checked if teams are still tied for a spot there will be a one game playoff in Az-cz.

The twelve teams who advance will then be put into seeded groups. The order for determining seeding will be:

1. Win-Loss Record
2. Group Position
3. Pre-tournament rank
4. Runs differential
5. Number of teams advancing from your group
6. Rank of highest ranked team advancing from your group

There will be four groups of three teams. Group A2 will consist of teams ranked 1,8,12. Group B2 will consist of teams 2,7,11. Group C2 will consist of teams 3,6,10. Group D2 will consist of teams 4,5,9. Each group will then play a home and away match with each other team in their group. The winner of each group will then advance to the semifinals.

The semifinals will be seeded based on:

1. Win-Loss Record in second round
2. Rank at the end of 1st round

The semifinals will be a best of three series to be played in Az-cz. The two teams who win will then advance to the finals which will also be a best of five series.

Now I will announce the group draws:

Group A1

Az-cz
Qazox
Calizorinstan
Demot
Quakmybush

Group B1

Assegai Developments
ESF
Lovisa
Yafor 2
Nitrodymium

Group C1

Milchama
Zwangzug
Ambrose-Douglas
Scotchpinestan
Vephrall

Group D1

Kiryu-shi
St. Samuel
Cookesland
Kura-Pelland
Central Prestonia

Group E1

Kampfers
Iansisle
Angry Chimpanzees
New Montreal States
Liverpool England

If you have any questions or concern please contact us. We wish each team best of luck and hope to have a great tournament. Let's play ball.

OOC: Yeah, let's get the ball rolling, I am excited this is my first time at the WBC, and I hope my team does well...

OOC: Assuming I can figure out the scorinator first scores should come Monday night Japan time. Let me know if that's too soon, it can be delayed if people wish.

Second Round Schedule:

A2

Az-cz v Qazox, St. Samuel
Qazox v St. Samuel, Az-cz
St. Samuel v Az-cz, Qazox
Qazox v Az-cz, St. Samuel
St. Samuel v Qazox, Az-cz
Az-cz v St. Samuel, Qazox

B2

Kampfers v Kiryu-shi, Ambrose-Douglas
Kiryu-shi v Ambrose-Douglas, Kampfers
Ambrose-Douglas v Kampfers, Kiryu-shi
Kiryu-shi v Kampfers, Ambrose-Douglas
Ambrose-Douglas v Kiryu-shi, Kampfers
Ambrose-Douglas v Kampfers, Kiryu-shi

C2

Zwangzug v Kura-Pelland, Iansisle
Kura-Pelland v Iansisle, Zwangzug
Iansisle v Zwangzug, Kura-Pelland
Kura-Pelland v Zwangzug, Iansisle
Iansisle v Kura-Pelland, Zwangzug
Zwangzug v Iansisle, Kura-Pelland

D2

ESF v Assegai Developments, Milchama
Assegai Developments v Milchama, ESF
Milchama v ESF, Assegai Developments
Assegai Developments v ESF, Milchama
Milchama v Assegai Developments, ESF
ESF v Milchama, Assegai Developments


Here is the general schedule. These numbers are not the same order as those listed in the group draw, but rather match those that will be listed below for randomized group order. Also note that the home team is listed first in each of these matchups:

1v2, 3v4, 5
2v3, 5v1, 4
4v1, 2v5, 3
1v3, 5v4, 2
3v5, 4v2, 1
1v4, 5v2, 3
2v1, 4v3, 5
3v2, 1v5, 4
5v3, 2v4, 1
3v1, 4v5, 2

Now here are the specific schedules for each group:

Group A1:

Calizorinstan
Quakmybush
Qazox
Az-cz
Demot

MD1: Calizorinstan v Quakmybush, Qazox v Az-cz, Demot
MD2: Quakmybush v Qazox, Demot v Calizorinstan, Az-cz
MD3: Az-cz v Calizorinstan, Quakmybush v Demot, Qazox
MD4: Calizorinstan v Qazox, Demot v Az-cz, Quakmybush
MD5: Qazox v Demot, Az-cz v Quakmybush, Calizorinstan
MD6: Calizorinstan v Az-cz, Demot v Quakmybush, Qazox
MD7: Quakmybush v Calizorinstan, Az-cz v Qazox, Demot
MD8: Qazox v Quakmybush, Calizorinstan v Demot, Az-cz
MD9: Demot v Qazox, Quakmybush v Az-cz, Calizorinstan
MD0: Qazox v Calizorinstan, Az-cz v Demot, Quakmybush

Group B1

Lovisa
Elves Security Forces (ESF)
Yafor 2
Nitrodymium
Assegai Developments

MD1: Lovisa v ESF, Yafor 2 v Nitrodymium, Assegai Developments
MD2: ESF v Yafor 2, Assegai Developments v Lovisa, Nitrodymium
MD3: Nitrodymium v Lovisa, ESF v Assegai Developments, Yafor 2
MD4: Lovisa v Yafor 2, Assegai Developments v Nitrodymium, ESF
MD5: Yafor 2 v Assegai Developments, Nitrodymium v ESF, Lovisa
MD6: Lovisa v Nitrodymium, Assegai Developments v ESF, Yafor 2
MD7: ESF v Lovisa, Nitrodymium v Yafor 2, Assegai Developments
MD8: Yafor 2 v ESF, Lovisa v Assegai Developments, Nitrodymium
MD9: Assegai Developments v Yafor 2, ESF v Nitrodymium, Lovisa
MD0: Yafor 2 v Lovisa, Nitrodymium v Assegai Developments, ESF

Group C1:

Zwangzug
Vephrall
Milchama
Scotchpinestan
Ambrose-Douglas

MD1: Zwangzug v Vephrall, Milchama v Scotchpinestan, Ambrose-Douglas
MD2: Vephrall v Milchama, Ambrose-Douglas v Zwangzug, Scotchpinestan
MD3: Scotchpinestan v Zwangzug, Vephrall v Ambrose-Douglas, Milchama
MD4: Zwangzug v Milchama, Ambrose-Douglas v Scotchpinestan, Vephrall
MD5: Milchama v Ambrose-Douglas, Scotchpinestan v Vephrall, Zwangzug
MD6: Zwangzug v Scotchpinestan, Ambrose-Douglas v Vephrall, Milchama
MD7: Vephrall v Zwangzug, Scotchpinestan v Milchama, Ambrose-Douglas
MD8: Milchama v Vephrall, Zwangzug v Ambrose-Douglas, Scotchpinestan
MD9: Ambrose-Douglas v Milchama, Vephrall v Scotchpinestan, Zwangzug
MD0: Milchama v Zwangzug, Scotchpinestan v Ambrose-Douglas, Vephrall

Group D1:

Kiryu-shi
Central Prestonia
St. Samuel
Kura-Pelland
Cookesland

MD1: Kiryu-shi v Central Prestonia, St. Samuel v Kura-Pelland, Cookesland
MD2: Central Prestonia v St. Samuel, Cookesland v Kiryu-shi, Kura-Pelland
MD3: Kura-Pelland v Kiryu-shi, Central Prestonia v Cookesland, St. Samuel
MD4: Kiryu-shi v St. Samuel, Cookesland v Kura-Pelland, Central Prestonia
MD5: St. Samuel v Cookesland, Kura-Pelland v Central Prestonia, Kiryu-shi
MD6: Kiryu-shi v Kura-Pelland, Cookesland v Central Prestonia, St. Samuel
MD7: Central Prestonia v Kiryu-shi, Kura-Pelland v St. Samuel, Cookesland
MD8: St. Samuel v Central Prestonia, Kiryu-shi v Cookesland, Kura-Pelland
MD9: Cookesland v St. Samuel, Central Prestonia v Kura-Pelland, Kiryu-shi
MD0: St. Samuel v Kiryu-shi, Kura-Pelland v Cookesland, Central Prestonia

Group E1:

Angry Chimpanzees
New Montreal States (NMS)
Liverpool England (LE)
Iansisle
Kampfers

MD1: Angry Chimpanzees v NMS, LE v Iansisle, Kampfers
MD2: NMS v LE, Kampfers v Angry Chimpanzees, Iansisle
MD3: Iansisle v Angry Chimpanzees, NMS v Kampfers, LE
MD4: Angry Chimpanzees v LE, Kampfers v Iansisle, NMS
MD5: LE v Kampfers, Iansisle v NMS, Angry Chimpanzees
MD6: Angry Chimpanzees v Iansisle, Kampfers v NMS, LE
MD7: NMS v Angry Chimpanzees, Iansisle v LE, Kampfers
MD8: LE v NMS, Angry Chimpanzees v Kampfers, Iansisle
MD9: Kampfers v LE, NMS v Iansisle, Angry Chimpanzees
MD0: LE v Angry Chimpanzees, Iansisle v Kampfers, NMS

Lineup v LHP
SS: Alexander Parikans (S)
CF: Fredai Weelers (R)
3B: Kria Mandawell (R)
RF: Julian Mazak (R)
LF: Zedax Hollan (L)
1B: Nikali Waque (L)
2B: Javier Manuz (S)
C: Olan Bradles (R)
P

Lineup v RHP
CF: Fredai Weelers (R)
3B: Kria Mandawell (R)
RF: Julian Mazak(R)
1B: Nikali Waque (L)
2B: Javier Manuz (S)
LF: Zedax Hollan (L)
SS: Alexander Parikans (R)
C: Olan Bradles (R)
P
*DH bats fourth on both lineups if used

Bench
3B: Roger Cartes (R)
SS: Jonthas Wrighas (S)
1B: Justinian Lisans (L)
C: Sutton Saet (L)
2B: Korhas Coltai (S)
OF: Fransis Poardu (R)
OF: Xavzx Iguan (S)
DH: Briese Cax (R)

Staff
SP: Daviar Feas (R)
SP: Samui Inaol (L)
SP: Versaz Kiles (R)
MRP: Rick Exantai (R)
MRP: Travak Mars (R)
MRP: Rafiel Kopan (L)
LRP: Brehe Juas (R)
LRP: Martaien Floze (R)
CP: Xanier Don (L)

Stadium (0 Nuetral Park): The Battleground (59,000)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/chellote/ESF%20Stadiums/RaynorCity.jpg

If you RP before me you may:
Choose My Starting Pitcher: N
Choose My Relief Pitcher(s): Y
Choose How I Scored: Y
Ejections: N

The Cookesland Nationals


Sarien Memorial Field
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w107/Cookesland/dcbpkmain.jpg



STARTERS: 5
RELIEF: 6
HITTING: 8
POWER: 9
SPEED:7
DEFENSE: 10

Sarien Memorial Field is +1 hitters stadium

If you RP before me you may:
CHOOSE MY STARTING PITCHER: Y
CHOOSE MY RELIEF PITCHER(S): Y
CHOOSE HOW I SCORED: Y
EJECTIONS: N
GODMODE: Y


TEAM

Manager:
Coaches:
Roster
(Pos. – No. – Name, (Bats/Throws)

Starters
First Base – No. 19 – Fernando Sue, (R/R)
Second Base – No. 14 – Erik Theroux (L/L)
Shortstop – No. 08– David Bowling (R/R)
Third Base – No. 22 – Ryan Case (L/L)
Catcher – No. 23 – Cody Slate (R/R)
Right Field – No. 04 –Chris Deville (R/R)
Center Field – No. 33 – Richie Delrio (L/L)
Left Field – No. 17 – Greg Coney (L/L)

Reserves

Infielders:
No. 31 – Adam Carson (L/L)
No. 09– Derick Liston (B/B)
No. 30 – Tom Easton (R/R)
No. 27 – Geoff Lawyer (R/R)
Outfielders:
No. 05 – Phil Crosslin (R/R)
No. 20 – Sean Murphy (L/L)
No. 18 – Bryan Kavanagh (R/R)

Pitchers

Starting Rotation
No. 22 – Pete Seawell (L/L)
No. 26 – John Prete (L/L)
No. 04 – Sara Verita (R/R)

Bullpen
Long Relief
No. 21 – Mike Arodorna (R/R)
No. 15 – Chris Talrent (L/L)
No. 14 – Fred Sanders (L/L)

Short Relief
No. 02 – Pat Benson (R/R)
No. 07– Dennis Natordino (L/L)
No. 13 – Dan Sunsa(R/R)

Closer
No. 10 – Alex Daston(R/R)

The Zwangzug Zebras, so dubbed by the more-than-slightly eccentric "Vox" (who will not be broadcasting this tournament) return! With exactly the same roster as last time around.

Home games to be played in the neutral Worm Hole.

Starters: 10
Relief: 10
Hitting: 8
Power: 4
Speed: 5
Defense: 8

Starting lineup:

Dwight Eastman
Nathan Ellis
Richie Stagg
Terry Quave
Thomas Grush
Karen Lee
Ben Ridge
I Don't Care
Pitcher

(When there is a DH, Rob Staun will fill that role, batting fifth. All others will be scooted down one rank.)

Choose my starters: No. Rotation is Runnon/Macdougal/Soyne/Bartnett.
Choose my relievers/methods of scoring/ejection: Sure.

Roster: asterisks after uniform number indicate left-handedness.
Tomorrow, catcher, 2
I Don't Care, shortstop, 6
Because, center field, 8
Alexis Paige, infield, 9*
Lou Stirk, infield, 10
Karen Lee, left field, 11*
Rob Staun, outfield, 12
Ben Ridge, third base, 13
Terry Quave, center field, 16*
Nathan Ellis, right field, 18
Scott Macdougal, starting pitcher, 19*
Thomas Grush, catcher, 20
Stan Donatelli, reliever, 24*
Caleb Runnon, starting pitcher, 27
Julian Williams, outfield, 28*
Jamie Cooper, closer, 30
John Meyers, long reliever, 32*
Dwight Eastman, second base, 37
Will Bartnett, starting pitcher, 44
Trevor Root, reliever, 45
Matthew Leon, reliever, 47
Richie Stagg, first base, 55
Jeff Keer, reliever, 63*
Nicholas Soyne, starting pitcher, 81
Jack Percival, reliever, 98*

(Ooc: Sorry I haven't been on in a few days, family emergency, but every thing is good now)


TEAM QAZOX Home field: Oxen Stadium, Fromburg (-1) There is no DH rule in Qazox.

overhead picture: http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/nebraska/omaha_rosenblatt1.jpg

STARTERS: 7
RELIEF: 7
HITTING: 8
POWER: 5
SPEED: 8
DEFENSE: 10)

Starting Lineup: No DH (Bats/Throws)
2B- Juan Reed (R/R)
CF- Gabe Reyes (S/R)
3B- David Ramierez (L/L)
RF- Juan Ortiz (R/R)
C- Henry Bonds (L/L)
LF- Jack Sun (L/R)
1B- Qadi Olea (S/L)
SS- Paul Assen (R/R)
Pitcher

Starting Lineup: With DH (Bats/Throws)
2B- Juan Reed (R/R)
CF- Gabe Reyes (S/R)
DH- John Green (R/R)
3B- David Ramierez (L/L)
RF- Juan Ortiz (R/R)
C- Henry Bonds (L/L)
LF- Jack Sun (L/R)
1B- Qadi Olea (S/L)
SS- Paul Assen (R/R)

Starting Rotation: (Throws/Bats)
Ryan Olds (L/L)
Eric Johnsen (L/L)
Kyle Pollack (R/R)
Frank Tinker (R/R)

Relief PitchersThrows/Bats)
Jason Dawes (R/R)
Eric Dawes (R/R)
Pablo Rincon (L/R)
Ivan Trok (R/R)

Closer:
Mark Winchester (R/L)

Bench: (Bats/Throws)
OF/DH: John Green (R/R)
OF: Thomas Franks (L/L)
C: Manuel Ortega (R/R)
SS/2B: Orlando Jackson (L/L)
1B: Kyle Werth (L/L)
INF: Jack Spade (R/R)

If you RP before me you may:
CHOOSE MY STARTING PITCHER: Y
CHOOSE MY RELIEF PITCHER(S): Y
CHOOSE HOW I SCORED: Y
EJECTIONS: N

OOC: Here's the Calizorinstan Thunder's team:
Calizorinstan Thunders
STARTERS: 6
RELIEF: 8
HITTING: 7
POWER: 10
SPEED: 5
DEFENSE: 9


Home Ball Park: Continental Park

The Team:

Starting Lineup: No DH (Bats/Throws)
2B- Bob Wood's (R/R)
CF- Rod Wesley (S/R)
3B- Muhammed Al (L/L)
RF- Alex Redren (R/R)
C- Barry Wiseman (L/L)
LF- Tom Arnold (L/R)
1B- Qadffia Osan (S/L)
SS- Jerry Macked(R/R)
Pitcher

Starting Lineup: With DH (Bats/Throws)
2B- Bob Wood's (R/R)
CF- Rod Wesley (S/R)
3B- Muhammed Al (L/L)
RF- Alex Redren (R/R)
C- Barry Wiseman (L/L)
LF- Tom Arnold (L/R)
1B- Qadffia Osan (S/L)
SS- Jerry Macked(R/R)
Pitcher

Starting Rotation: (Throws/Bats)
Robin Ford (L/L)
Tom Johnanssen (L/L)
Barry Jackson (R/R)
Bob Atwood (R/R)

Relief PitchersThrows/Bats)
Henry Ford (R/R)
Tom Riddle (R/R)
Alan Potter (L/R)
Antonov Dolhin (R/R)

Closer:
Quadiffai Ali (R/L)

Bench: (Bats/Throws)
OF/DH: Alex Rod (R/R)
OF: Bob Frank (L/L)
C: Joseph Riddle (R/R)
SS/2B: Logan Harold (L/L)
1B: Terry Slovick (L/L)
INF: Jack Moon (R/R)

If you RP before me you may:
CHOOSE MY STARTING PITCHER: Y
CHOOSE MY RELIEF PITCHER(S): Y
CHOOSE HOW I SCORED: Y
EJECTIONS: N

Milchama National News- Tribune- Sun- Times- Post- Gazette- Chronicle- Journal- Dispatch- Telegram- Star- Monitor- Enquirer


Sports Section

Let's see if they fail this time


STARTERS: 8
RELIEF: 8
HITTING: 8
POWER: 5
SPEED: 8
DEFENSE: 8

All stats from the old An Archy scorinator don't worry about them.

Outfielders
1 Matan Williams LF
3 Barrett Hamilton RF
4 Kenny Marrick CF
5 Kevin Jollins
7 Daggert Bob
8 Marcus Loshe DH

Infielders
11 Meir Slavsky
12 Michael Flinter 2B
15 Ronny Bjork SS
16 Kent Monarch 3B
2 Tal Gool 1B

Catchers:
14 Yonatan Horowitz C
18 Del Carmic

Pitching 58 348
Starters
15 Philip Foster Right
16 Manny Rodriguez 59 Left
17 Stan Romanson 59 Right
19 James Rickey Left

Relievers
21 Pat Vernon Right
22 Dvir Lalton Left
23 Chad Fernayo Left
24 Scott Mayer Right
25 Matt Commnick Switch

Order w/DH:
1 Kenny Merrick Left
2 Micheal Flinter Right
3 Tal Gool Left
4 Barrett Hamilton Right
5 Marcus Loshe Right
6 Kent Monarch Right
7 Matan Williams Switch
8 Ronny Bjork Right
9 Del Carmic Left

Order w/o DH
1 Kenny Merrick Left- Typical leadoff man. Takes the Wee Willie Keeler approach to hitting "hit it where they ain't"
2 Micheal Flinter Right- Good OBP, not much power.
3 Tal Gool Left- He is the Milchamian Adam Dunn.
4 Barrett Hamilton Right- Another strike out risk but better overall hitter.
5 Marcus Loshe Right- Great all around hitter.
6 Kent Monarch Right- .280 hitter with 20 homer power. Not great at anything but good at everything.
7 Ronny Bjork Right- Sporadic hot streaks with a lot of nothing in between. Capable of both a 57 game hit streak and a 57 game hitless streak.
8 Del Carmic Left- Typical hitting catcher. He sucks.

Neutral Park, no DH used.

You can do anything while RPing, although it would be appreciated if you went in the order of the rotation for the starters, also seniority in the bullpen is top down with Vernon being the closer.
__________________

The Quakmybush Sea Dogs WBC II Roster

Logo: http://logoserver.com/baseball/PortlandSeaDogs.GIF

Home Park: http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/new_york/buffalo_dunn_tire1.jpg
Hitters Park

There is a DH is Quakmybush.


Starting Lineup: (Bats/Throws)
1. RF Marcio Ceferino (L/R)
2. SS Tristán Gabino (S/L)
3. C Ramón Aarón (L/L)
4. DH Domingo Bolivar (L/R)
5. 1B Gaspar Octavio (R/R)
6. 3B Gabino Sebastián (R/L)
7. CF Clemente Tito (S/R)
8. LF Aurelio Federico (R/L)
9. 2B Antonio Che (S/R)

When playing in a non-DH setting switch Octavio to 2B and put Bolivar at first, remove Che from lineup. With pitcher hitting in 9 spot.

Bench (Bats/Throws)
1. INF Wilfredo Daniel (L/L)
2. INF Diego Tancredo (S/R)
3. INF Tadeo Baltasar (R/R)
4. INF Adolfo Modesto (L/R)
5. OF Nazario Javier (R/L)
6. OF Conrado Leocadio (S/L)
7. OF Prospero Santos (L/R)
8. OF Salvador José (R/L)
9. C Paquito Cruz (L/R)


Pitchers (Bats/Throws)
1. SP Trent Hughes (R/R)
2. SP George Turris (R/R)
3. SP Neil DiMarchino (L/L)
4. SP Dale Erat (L/R)
5. SP Mariano Geas (R/L) (A knuckleballer)
6. RP Adam Macloed (L/R)
7. RP Mark Hughes (L/R)
8. RP Tomas Fulum (R/R)
9. CP Joe Quimby (L/L)

KURA-PELLAND NATIONAL BASEBALL SQUAD
"The Magicians"

STARTING HITTERS UNDER DH RULE:

1. CF - Michael Vincent [S/R]
2. SS - Henry Graham [L/L]
3. LF - Rush Charlton [L/L]
4. DH - Daniel Harrison [R/R]
5. 3B - Vincenzo Del Horno [S/L]
6. C - Dylan Rickers [R/R]
7. 2B - Mike Wombacher [S/L]
8. RF - Stephen Baek [R/R]
9. 1B - Antoine Luchini [S/L]

STARTING HITTERS UNDER NO-DH RULE:

1. CF - Michael Vincent [S/R]
2. SS - Henry Graham [L/L]
3. LF - Rush Charlton [L/L]
4. C - Dylan Rickers [R/R]
5. 3B - Vincenzo Del Horno [S/L]
6. 2B - Mike Wombacher [S/L]
7. RF - Stephen Baek [R/R]
8. 1B - Antoine Luchini [S/L]
9. PITCHER

STARTING PITCHER ROTATION:

1. Jack Harmison [R]
2. Grover Geagan [L]
3. Monte Murphy [L]
4. Sean Rahbari [R]

RELIEVER ROTATION:

1. Kevin Jekyll [L]
2. Murphy Robinson [R]
3. Zachary Wiedenheft [L]
4. Teddy Brozina [S]

CLOSER: Giorgio Lavertu [R]

You can do anything you want bar godmodding, should you beat me to the RPing punch.

Kura-Pelland's team is based around solid defence and great speed, and plenty of variation in the pitching staff (Harmison and Murphy have serious power in their pitches, Geagan is immensely unpredictable with a nasty curveball, Rahbari has a great sinker and changeup). Where they are likely to fall down is in their hitting; simply put, not enough of them get bat to ball enough to threaten the elite sides, and many of them lack power too. All told, though, this is a reasonably well-rounded side with no glaring weaknesses, though the team could sure use a reliable contact hitter.

When playing in Kura-Pelland, there is no DH.

Central Prestonia Roster

Starting Lineup:
1B: David McMillan (S/L) #2
2B: John Thompson (R/R) #17
3B: Brandon Dominguez (R/R) #15
SS: Eddie Swain (R/R) #20
RF: Brett "The Wrecker" Rucker (L/L) #24
CF: Matt Hudson (S/R) #13
LF: Nathan Daniels (L/L) #11
C: Kieth Cleary (S/R) #9
DH: Frank "The Tank" Davidson #30
Pitcher

Batting Order w/ no DH rule

1. Cleary
2. Hudson
3. Daniels
4. Rucker
5. Dominguez
6. Thompson
7. McMillan
8. Swain
9. Pitcher

Batting order w/ DH rule
1. Cleary
2. Hudson
3. Davidson
4. Rucker
5. Daniels
6. Dominguez
7. Thompson
8. McMillan
9. Swain

Starting Pitcher Rotation

Aaron Hamilton #42 [LHP]
Micheal Murray #26 [RHP]
James Matthews #19 [RHP]
George Davis #21 [LHP]
Pablo Ortiz #33 [LHP]

Relievers

Ricky Gutierriez #41 [RHP]
Martin Baker #55 [LHP]
Juan Rodriguez #16 [LHP]
Sang-Hyung Kim #25 [RHP]

Closer: Daisuke Nakamura #18 [RHP]

When RPing the games the starting pitcher rotation goes from the top down, relievers can be randomized.

Joehio Herald

Qazox returns to WBC, expects improvement

As the Host of the first World Baseball Classic, Qazox Hosted 16 teams from around the world in a competition to determine the best, and Az-cz won it over West Pasco.

Now 4 years later, with a quarterfinal result at the 1st, and a decent showing at the Olympics, Qazox comes into the the 2nd WBC with a decent chance to do some damage. The young team, most of which were in their late teens/early 20's now are in their mid 20's and look good. Ryan Olds has now a fastball that has hit 101 mph on the gun and wicked 11-5 slider that just freezes right-handed batters. Juan Reed and Gabe Reyes are faster than ever, and have seriously turned into hitting machines. But the team still has some flaws, The relief is decent, and besides Olds, the starters are not very good. And most of the starting line-up strike out too much, But still hope spring eternal. Below is the group Draw and the schedule for the Team, which is now offically named the Qazox Sidewinders.

Logo: http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF


Group A1:

Calizorinstan
Quakmybush
Qazox
Az-cz
Demot

MD1: Qazox v Az-cz
MD2: Quakmybush v Qazox
MD3: BYE
MD4: Calizorinstan v Qazox
MD5: Qazox v Demot
MD6: BYE
MD7: Az-cz v Qazox
MD8: Qazox v Quakmybush
MD9: Demot v Qazox
MD10: Qazox v Calizorinstan

A tough test to start off as the Sidewinders will take on the Hosts and defending champs, Az-cz. The other teams in the group are making thier first appearance at the WBC, so Qazox has a decent shot to advance to the next round.

Starting Pitching: 7
Relief Pitching: 6
Contact: 10
Power: 8
Speed: 7
Defense: 7

Shocker Stadium in Orean is a hitter's park, +1.

There is a designated hitter rule in place when games are played in Orean.

Starting Lineup (B/T) v. LHP w/ DH
SS. Jonas Cable (R/R)
1B. Cortez Rosenstiehl (L/L)
3B. Grant Pittman (R/R)
DH. Danilo Seidner (R)
RF. Clay Easter (L/R)
C. Todd Allshouse (S/R)
LF. Douglas Shafer (L/L)
CF. Chung Rohtin (S/L)
2B. Jarvis Wells (L/L)

Starting Lineup (B) v. LHP w/o DH
SS. Jonas Cable (R)
3B. Grant Pittman (R)
2B. Danilo Seidner (R/R)
1B. Cortez Rosenstiehl (L)
CF. Chung Rohtin (S)
RF. Clay Easter (L)
C. Todd Allshouse (S)
LF. Douglas Shafer (L)
P. Pitcher

Starting Lineup (B) v. RHP w/ DH
SS. Jonas Cable (R)
1B. Cortez Rosenstiehl (L)
LF. Douglas Shafer (L)
3B. Grant Pittman (R)
CF. Chung Rohtin (S)
DH. Danilo Seidner (R)
RF. Clay Easter (L)
C. Todd Allshouse (S)
2B. Jarvis Wells (L)

Starting Lineup (B) v. RHP w/o DH
SS. Jonas Cable (R)
1B. Cortez Rosenstiehl (L)
LF. Douglas Shafer (L)
3B. Grant Pittman (R)
CF. Chung Rohtin (S)
2B. Danilo Seidner (R)
RF. Clay Easter (L)
C. Todd Allshouse (S)
P. Pitcher

Backup position players (Pos/B/T)
Pierre Mackendoer (IF/L/L)
Brent Judge (LF/R/R)
Andrew Johnstone (C/S/R)
Damion Trevithick (Util/R/L)

Pitching staff (B/T/pitches)
Starting rotation
1. Michael Taylor (L/L/4-seam FB, slider, splitter, cutter)
2. David Kieferfer (R/R/knuckleball, curveball, 4-seam FB, changeup)
3. Stephen Wegley (R/R/screwball, changeup, 4-seam FB, sinker)
4. Darren Shupert (S/L/4-seam FB, slider, changeup, cutter)
5. Ted Schaeffer (R/R/4-seam FB, curveball, slider)
Relief pitching
Julian Brenstein (LRP/R/R/4-seam FB, curveball, cutter)
Nicky James (MRP/L/L/4-seam FB, 2-seam FB, knucklecurve)
Wilford McMichaels (MRP/R/R/4-seam FB, splitter, slurve, circle change)
Rory Billimek (SU/R/R/4-seam FB, sinker, slider)
Terrence Orbell (CP/R/R/4-seam FB, curveball, changeup, splitter)

When RPing, if you RP first, please follow my rotation. You may choose relief pitchers (sensibly, I don't want my closer coming in in the sixth), and how I score. Ejections are fine (again, sensibly, unless it can make me laugh), and godmodding is frowned upon unless it can make me laugh.

Scotchpinestan's home games will be played at Woodlands Park in downtown Douglas. It is a neutral park. We do not use the designated hitter.

Starting Pitching: 10
Relief Pitching: 6
Contact: 7
Power: 7
Speed: 6
Defense: 9


Starting Lineup: (Bats/Throws)

1. CF Alex Small (L/R)
2. 2B Scott Stieb (R/R)
3. RF Cam Kerrigan (R/R)
4. 1B Douglas Moreland (S/L)
5. LF Tetsuo Kobayashi (L/L)
6. 3B Gavin O'Mahony (S/R)
7. C Fred Lee (R/R)
8. SS Cory McWilliams (R/R)
9. P

The DH, when it is used, will be Raul Ramirez (R/R). He will bat sixth and everyone below him will bump down one spot.

Bench: (Bats/Throws)

C Jim Fox (L/L)
IF Jesse Wang (R/R)
IF Hideki Saputro (S/R)
OF Raul Ramirez (R/R) (Starting DH when used)
OF Slava Zubov (L/L)
OF Ricardo Smith (R/L)

Starting Rotation: (Bats/Throws)

1. Roger O'Dell (R/R)
2. Akinori Suzuki (L/R)
3. Sam Santiago (L/L)
4. Derek Brantley (S/R)
5. Chase Rodriguez (R/R)

Bullpen:

Kosuke Morimoto (R/R)
Frank McRae (L/L)
Gerry Holstein (R/L)
Yuri Konstantinov (R/R)
Quincy Riley (R/R)

Closer:

Zeke Bullock (R/R)


If you RP before me, I ask that you please not godmode and please follow my rotation. Everything else is fair game.

THE NMS REFORMED EXPOS

Starters: 9
Relievers: 8
Contact: 8
Power: 6
Speed: 6
Defense: 8

The Reformed Expos were once a power on the international baseball stage, winning the inaugural Summer Olympic Gold Medal, and earning respectable placings in both previous tournaments held in An Archy. Now they make their return to a much changed international field. Herewith, a breakdown of our opponents:

Angry Chimpanzees - Bipedal Apes? No?
New Montreal States (NMS) - Hail to the Paladins, er, Reformed Expos!
Liverpool England (LE) - They're still hanging around?
Iansisle - They're back again? Maybe shit hasn't changed too much since we were last around.
Kampfers - Maybe things have. Nice to meet you gentlemen, we're NMS.

And the lineup. The DH, #43 Jean-Claude Poussin (switchhitter), will bat 5th and push everyone down one spot. The DH is not used above high-school level in NMS.

CF (Throws R/Bats L) #9 Louis Bierdrot
2B (R/R) #33 Joey Barnsworth
RF (R/S) #12 Kyle Babbit
3B (R/L) #4 André Pépin
1B (R/R) #6 Pierre Bourot
LF (L/S) #10 Patrick Fuller
C (R/R) #80 Daniel St-Urban
SS (R/S) #51 Brad Thivierge
The Pitcher goes here.

The rotation. Each ptcher's "strikeout" pitch is listed as well.

LHP #13 Chris Barker (sinker)
RHP #40 Michel Boulanger (changeup)
RHP #75 Chad Alswick (sinking curve)
RHP #9 "Snowball" Sam Phelps (dead heat)
LHP #8 Lucien Thibault (screwball)

The bullpen.

RHP #29 Billy Newman
RHP #58 Théodore Rigault
LHP #99 Greg Ubeck
LHP #30 Phil Cory
LHP #46 Jules Pierre-Labranche (set-up)
RHP #00 Luc Richard (closer)

Home stadium will be the Snowfield in Moncton Sands (against LE and Iansisle) and War Memorial Field in Sorel (against Angry Chimpanzees and Kampfer.) Both are pitcher's parks (-1.)

Az-cz Roster

The Champions bring back most of the same team with just a few changes from last cup. All of the main players are back with some changes around the edges.

Pitchers:

Starters:

Jason Schmidt R
Juan Marichal R
Li-Van L
Mk-Krk R


Relievers:

Bar-Tuls R
Blake Hoffer L
Mat-Zk R
Jazop-Jazop L
Phil Ford L
Ku-Lar L

Batters:

RF Ich-Ro R
2B Ray Durham S
LF Br-Bnd L
CF Wl-My R
1B Will Clark R
3B Mt-Wl S
C Bn-Sntg R
SS Hoz-Yrb S

Bench:

1B Jay-Tee S (in case of DH he will start at 1B bat 9th and Will Clark will play DH)
OF Lf-Tn
3B Al-Ou
OF Mk-Cvy
C Andrew Bartels
IF Dn-Stn
IF Kz-Mts (mostly a pinch runner)


OOC:

If you RP first:
CHOOSE MY STARTING PITCHER: N (If you RP first assume the pitcher is the next in the rotation)
CHOOSE MY RELIEF PITCHER(S): Y
CHOOSE HOW I SCORED: Y
EJECTIONS: Y (as long as it wouldn't lead to a supsension of the player)

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz
Ya-Kyu

Gnomes back to defend their title

While it took a while for fans to come around to the World Baseball Classic the first time around the second time they're very very excited. With Az-cz stepping up to the plate and organizing the tournament as well as hosting the later rounds they have a much more involved posititon this time around. As per the Az-cz tradition of making random predictions, let's take a look at the group. Unlike the world cup with a long history most of these teams are playing in their first tournament so it's hard to gauge their strength.

Group A1

This is our group and we didn't do ourselves any favors. Joining us our Qazox, Calizorinstan, Demot and Quakmybush. Qazox is an incredibly dedicated baseball nation as can be seen in organizing the first tournament and doing a lot of leg work in helping us run the second. So they're going to be incredibly tough. The Thunders from Calizorinstan are unknowns but seem feisty and we all know about the athletes from Demot and Quakmybush, so it will be tough. But considering the way we rolled through last tournament I think we'll advance with Qazox coming through as well.

Group B1

Assegai Developments, ESF, Lovisa, Yafor 2, Nitrodymium are the five teams who make up this group. The Elves ought to run away with the group, and also earn the highest finish of any team and I'll go out on a limb and guess the team from Nitrodymium will take second.

Group C1

C1 is an interesting group. The Milchamans, who gave us a heck of a time in the semis lead the group and the very dangerous Zwangzug team is the two seed. Ambrose-Douglas, Scotchpinestan, and Vephrall are all in their first cups but could be quite dangerous sides. Still the top two ought to be easily clear of the rest.

Group D1

I think this group is a lock to send one of the extra teams. Kiryu-shi leads the way with St. Samuel and Cookesland close behind. Kura-Pelland and Central Prestonia are both also showing plenty of signs of life. Some of those teams will rise up and those that do will advance. I'll go with Kiryu-shi and Cookesland and Central Prestonia taking a third place qualification spot.

Group E1

The weakest group on the top with Kampfers the weakest top seed and Iansisle the weakest second seed could lead to a suprise from the back. Indeed I think New Montreal States will top the group with Kampfers in suprise. But don't forget about Angry Chimpanzees or Liverpool England both of whom could be possible spoilers.

I think the twelfth spot will come from our group with the Thunders being a big suprise and taking the twelfth spot. Here are my guesses at the rankings after one round:

1. ESF
2. Az-cz
3. Milchama
4. Zwangzug
5. Kiryu-shi
6. Qazox
7. New Montreal States
8. Cookesland
9. Kampfers
10. Nitrodymium
11. Central Prestonia
12. Calizorinstan

Thus setting up these four second round groups:

A2: ESF, Cookesland, Calizorinstan
B2: Az-cz, New Montreal States, Central Prestonia
C2: Milchama, Qazox, Nitrodymium
D2: Zwangzug, Kiryu-shi, Kampfers

The Elves should continue to roll and advance to Az-cz as the top overall seed and we'll be close behind as the two seed. I think Qazox will knock off Milchama and take the third spot and Zwangzug will win a tough struggle to take the fourth spot.

That leaves these semifinal matchups:

ESF v Zwangzug
Az-cz v Qazox

The Elves run of good luck will come to an end against Zwangzug and despite having home field advantage Qazox will get revenge against us.

In the finals I think Qazox will vault to the top and trump Zwangzug making a nice reversal. We win when they organize and they win when we do. Still let's hope for a second title for the Gnomes.

MD1

Quakmybush 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3
Calizorinstan 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Az-cz 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 6
Qazox 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 4

ESF 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 1 1 10
Lovisa 1 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 9

Nitrodymium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yafor 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 X 1

Vephrall 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 5
Zwangzug 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6

Scotchpinestan 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
Milchama 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 X 11

C. Prestonia 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 5
Kiryu-shi 1 0 2 0 6 0 0 3 X 12

Kura-Pelland 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 7
St. Samuel 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 8


NMS 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
Angry Chimps 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2

Iansisle 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
LE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 X 3


OOC: Any suggestions on easy ways to do formatting?

(OOC: Only put spaces between every three innings, if at all?
Also, the group draw said that home teams were on the left. Is they're a reason they're on top in the line scores?)

"#s!"

"This is basbal, we get a lot of them."

"!"

The sportswriter sighed. With his boss gone, it was theoretically a time for him to be in charge, not this up-and-coming...up-and-comer. "U get the boxscore riten up. I'l rit a pom."

"Y^"

"Bcuz u sem 2 no boxscores."

"Y r u guna rit a pom^"

"Bcuz basbal is poetic."

"Ok."

With his responsibility sufficiently occupied, the Scoresheet writer got to work. The nuances of Descriptive were a guilty pleasure of his.

An early spark leads to a surge of runs
In the first inning for the Zebras. Then
Vephrall quietly puts a row of ones
Upon the scoreboard. In inning six, when

Runnon departed and Meyers came in,
A three-run rally started. Ellis, though
Maintained the Zebras' lead, and then their win
By tripling to score Eastman. Even so,

Cooper needed to come and close it out.
While Vephrall tried to tie it, Grush assured
That the outcome would never be in doubt.
A strike-out, throw from home to first, secured

The win. His grand slam was a thrilling play
But in the end, his defense saved the day.

OOC: First hint is not to use tabbing, Jolt doesn't like tabbing. Use Notepad and your spacebar. ;)

IC:

TEAM/INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
IANSISLE 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 VISITORS
LIVERPOOL ENGLAND 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 X 3 8 0 HOME

IANSISLE

Statistics unavailable

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND BATTING
POS AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
JONAS CABLE SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 .250
CORTEZ ROSENSTIEHL 1B 3 0 0 0 1 1 .000
DOUGLAS SHAFER LF 4 1 1 3 0 1 .250
GRANT PITTMAN 3B 3 0 2 0 1 0 .667
ROHTIN CHUNG CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 .250
DANILO SEIDNER DH 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000
ANDREW JOHNSTONE DH 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000
CLAY EASTER RF 3 0 1 0 0 1 .333
TODD ALLSHOUSE C 3 1 2 0 0 0 .667
JARVIS WELLS 2B 2 1 0 0 1 1 .000
TEAM TOTAL 28 3 8 3 3 8

BATTING
2B: Cable (1)
3B: Pittman (1)
HR: Shafer (1, 8th inning, 2 on, 2 out)
GIDP: Chung, Pittman

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND PITCHING
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
MICHAEL TAYLOR (W, 1-0) 8.0 4 1 1 2 7 1 1.13
TERRENCE ORBELL (S, 1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Shocker Stadium, Orean, Liverpool England
Attendance: 18,461
Game time: 2 hours 42 minutes, began 3:05 p.m. local time
Wind: Blowing out to left field, 14 mph
Notes:
Liverpool England designated hitter Danilo Seidner ejected in 5th
for arguing strike three call

National baseball team win first competitive game in years
Back on the world stage after a long layoff, baseball has returned to the forefront of Liverpool England sport. With the national football team having been disbanded, most sports fans in the country had taken to supporting other teams in the various sports. However, the national baseball federation entered a team in this year's World Baseball Classic in Az-cz, making them the first sporting representatives of the country at any level in almost 15 years.

The first game saw a relatively average-sized crowd of just under 18,500 people at Shocker Stadium. However, the home fans were given a rude shock. If they expected this team to do well, giving up a home run on the very first pitch thrown by ace Michael Taylor was not the way to impress your fans. A high cutter was easily hit 395 feet over the right-field wall for a leadoff solo shot. After some fairly mediocre play by both sides threatened to spoil the game, things got interesting in the fifth when Liverpool England designated hitter Danilo Seidner struck out to end the bottom of the inning. Clearly displeased, he let the umpire know just how he felt about a strike three call with certain choice phrases, leading to his ejection from the game.

At the press conference after the game Seidner appeared unrepentant and unapologetic for his comments. "I took the pitch because it very clearly was outside. The ump's strike zone seemed to change with every pitch. I'm not sure, maybe he needs to get glasses." His manager, Justin Wilson, was not pleased either. "I didn't go out there and protest because this ump clearly was not going to listen. Perhaps I should have restrained Dani, but there was no use in arguing here. The slider clearly broke outside of the zone."

There was more in store for the home fans. With the Iansisle starting pitcher starting to wear out in the bottom of the eighth, sensing something, Wilson called to the pen to get closer Terrence Orbell warming up. Indeed his instincts were right. Todd Allshouse opened the inning with a bloop-single to left, and second-baseman Jarvis Wells helped by getting on base in five pitches. With the starting pitching clearly struggling, Iansisle called to the bullpen and sent in a lefty reliever, who promptly struck Jonas Cable and Cortez Rosensteihl out. However, left-fielder Douglas Shafer, commonly a lefty-batter, dug into the plate and with two outs, took a risk to hit right-handed against the pitcher. It worked, and on the 1-1 count he took a high fastball deep to left for a three-run bomb that left Iansisle reeling. Immediately after that the reliever gave up a walk to Grant Pittman and a single to Rohtin Chung, which led to another reliever coming in. However, the next batter up, replacement DH Andrew Johnstone, struck out.

Liverpool England closer Orbell came in in the top ninth and did himself a huge favour by striking out the leadoff batter. The second batter took his sixth pitch on a full count on the ground to the left, but third-baseman Pittman dealt with it easily. And Orbell promptly ended the game on the very next pitch when the pinch-hitter popped out to first base, leaving the home fans cheering a very hard-earned win.

This was a historic occasion; Kura-Pelland's first ever international match in any sport. The stadium was full to capacity and absolutely rocking, and when Jack Harmison opened up with a goose-egg and Michael Vincent hit a 391-foot homer into right-centre it just got louder. Consecutive doubles from Vincenzo Del Horno and Dylan Rickers doubled the lead, but St Samuel repeated the feat and then hit a homer to boot, a flaming fastball returned even harder by St Samuel's #4 hitter for a 442-foot homer into left-centre. That just made the fans make even more noise to buoy their team on though, and the pressure got to the pitcher - two players in a row got walks, and a double followed to level the scores. For once, it seemed, Kura-Pelland's batting was working. That or the defence were struggling in the atmosphere. The prevailing wind blowing away from the diamond and towards the outfield probably had something to do with it too - 3-3 in the third did not look even plausible on this park, but anything is possible when the pitchers aren't playing as well as the hitters.

The fourth and fifth innings bought homers (411 feet into right field by Michael Vincent, 389 feet into left-centre by Del Horno) while at the other end, reliever Kevin Jekyll was tying up the defence superbly. Another homer in the seventh came from no less than Jekyll himself, 391 feet into right field, and that seemed to be that. The crowd sensed it. Two gooseeggs in the eighth. The script dictated Kura-Pelland won the game.

Nobody showed St Samuel the script. Giorgio Lavertu's attempted changeup was read perfectly by St Samuel's shortstop hitting at #2, smashed for a 441-foot homer into centre. Then the #3 hitter delivered a double... and the #4 nailed a 421-foot homer into right-centre. 6-6.

The drama wasn't over. Antoine Luchini was called as out on home plate by a narrow margin, to the fury of the entire stadium; his anger and passion boiled over and he was ejected. St Samuel picked up a run in the 10th courtesy of two doubles, but Henry Graham's 385-foot fly ball into left field kept the game going. St Samuel had the last word though, with a 412-foot strike into right-centre.

It wasn't the movie-script ending. But it came close enough to be a memorable encounter. 'We'll rewrite that script next time. This one's been written. Didn't Rocky lose his first fight anyway?' asked Kura-Pelland's manager Arnold Bright after the game. 'But boy oh boy that was a slugfest. I have no idea how but it was. We've excelled in areas I didn't expect us to, but sadly they did the same, and our pitching wasn't all that great. But we've got something to seriously build upon now.'

The Daily Quak
First Game, First Win

The Quakmybush Sea Dogs played their first ever baseball game against Calizorinstan. The Sea Dogs went down 1-0 when Alex Redren knocked in a run with an RBI single. The Sea Dogs got even in the top of the next inning when Gaspar Octavio got a hold of one and sent it to deep left field, tying the game. Calizorinstan re took the lead in the bottom of the inning of a fielders choice. Then in the top of the next inning, the score was evened when Robin Ford threw a wild pitch. There was no scoring until the top of the 9th, when Domingo Bolivar stepped up to the plate. The first pitch was a slider that got away from Henry Ford, and Domingo made no mistake and sent the ball into the stratosphere. The Sea Dogs were up by one. In a rare win appearance, "Diamond" Joe Quimby game in. He struck out 2 batters, and had the other one fly out, Quakmybush had won the game. Next up for Quakmybush is their first home game, against Qazox.

Az-cz Scroll
Qazox
Ya-Kyu

Gnomes start title defense with more of the same

If there was a theme to the championship the robbers earned last time around it's that they basically never do anything the easy way. And once again they opened up with a win, but a tough win over the strong Qazox team.

The game was a true see-saw battle at the beginning. Ich-Ro singled then stole second and third and Br-Bnd got it deep enough into the outfield to let him tag up to score. Unfortunately for the Gnomes that lead wouldn't last long. After getting through the first two batters ok Schmidt let David Ramierez blast a solo shot to even the game up.

The second inning saw a repeat with the Gnomes using a double, a bunt and a sac fly to nickle and dime a run in and Qazox answer with one big swing from the bat of Henry Bonds leading off the bottom of the second.

Single runs in the fourth from Ich-Ro and fifth from Will Clark gave the Gnomes some breathing room but gave back one in the sixth. Both teams added a run in the eighth as Qazox kept their fighting spirit. A walked in run in the top of the 9th hurt Qazox and Blake Hoffer came in to close the ninth and sent the Gnomes out of Qazox winners. Next up is the bye and then Calizorinstan comes to Az-cz.

Milchama National News- Tribune- Sun- Times- Post- Gazette- Chronicle- Journal- Dispatch- Telegram- Star- Monitor- Enquirer

Sports Section

So far so good

After the Soca Warriors embarrassing defeat at the hands of Vilita the Baseball Warriors helped Milchama get out of the sports doldrums with an impressive opening game victory over Scotchpinestan scoring at least one run in every inning. New Milchamian National team manager Jack Bogal was happy with the result saying, "You realize this has only happened a few time throughout MBL history not to mention that it has happened in a World Cup before. This just shows our guys are hungry and ready to not fail."

Considering the daily score report would be sufficiently long and boring and nobody would really want to read it we'll give you a quick summary of the game. 2 homeruns by Barrett Hamilton plus 4 runs by Kenny Merrick helped the Warriors as they became co stars in the game. Philip Foster also was brilliant pitching 8 strong innings allowing 5 hits and 2 runs. Considering his poor performance last time this looks to be a much better WC for him and that can only lead to good things for the Milchamians.

Tomorrow look for Manny Rodriguez to continue the pace as Milchama picks up another victory.

W: Foster (1-0)
L: Odell (0-1)

HR: Hamilton 2 (2) Carmic (1) Gool (1)

OOC: Sorry that this is late, but luckily I had day one off.

The Federation Phoenixes
STARTERS: 10
RELIEF: 5
HITTING: 8
POWER: 5
SPEED: 8
DEFENSE: 9

Federation Park: -1
DH is in effect in Federation Park

Lineup (vs R, no DH) (Batting order/Jersey Number/Name/Side(Hitting/Throwing)/Position)
1. 22 Brock Templeton L/L LF
2. 17 Andrew Karlson S/R 3B
3. 1 Usar Davis R/R CF
4. 13 Benjamin Isnaris L/L 1B
5. 31 Carson Isnaris R/R RF
6. 8 Victor Bruce S/R SS
7. 46 Henry Samuelson R/R C
8. 7 Jacob Farthington L/R 2B
9. Pitcher

Vs L, no DH
1. 1 Usar Davis R/R CF
2. 17 Andrew Karlson S/R 3B
3. 8 Victor Bruce S/R SS
4. 31 Carson Isnaris R/R RF
5. 13 Benjamin Isnaris L/L 1B
6. 22 Brock Templeton L/L LF
7. 7 Jacob Farthington L/R 2B
8. 46 Henry Samuelson R/R C
9. Pitcher

Vs R, with DH
1. 22 Brock Templeton L/L LF
2. 17 Andrew Karlson S/R 3B
3. 29 Cameron Xerxes L/L DH
4. 13 Benjamin Isnaris L/L 1B
5. 31 Carson Isnaris R/R RF
6. 1 Usar Davis R/R CF
7. 46 Henry Samuelson R/R C
8. 7 Jacob Farthington L/R 2B
9. 8 Victor Bruce S/R SS

Vs L, with DH
1. 1 Usar Davis R/R CF
2. 17 Andrew Karlson S/R 3B
3. 8 Victor Bruce S/R SS
4. 31 Carson Isnaris R/R RF
5. 13 Benjamin Isnaris L/L 1B
6. 22 Brock Templeton L/L LF
7. 7 Jacob Farthington L/R 2B
8. 29 Cameron Xerxes L/L DH
9. 46 Henry Samuelson R/R C

Bullpen: (S=Starter, L=Long Relief, M=Middle Relief, SU=Set Up, C=Closer) (Type/Jersey Number/Name/Throws-Hits/Strikeout Pitch)
S 21 Will Powers L/L Cut fastball
S 38 Franklin Egon R/R Slider
S 27 Justin Powell R/R Curveball
S 3 David Rolland L/L Knuckleball
S 19 Peter Hampton R/L Change-up
L 10 Greg Olson R/R Forkball
L 40 Stanley Parsons L/L Submarine Sinker
M 16 Edward Gigante R/R Screwball
M 00 Chris Togan R/R Curveball
M 55 Steven Hasselton L/L Slider
M 32 Randy Yugnes R/R Knuckleball
M 41 Alan "Pops" Earlson L/L Changeup
SU 71 Zoltan Loasser R/R Changeup
C 99 Danny Tartarus R/R Cut Fastball

Bench: (Jersey Number/Name/Position)
42 Howie Bergan C/1B
5 Jamie Reeton OF
11 Patrick Legor OF
77 Nick Veral IF
51 Mike Dolon IF

You can choose how I score, please go in order for starting pitchers, no ejections, and no godmodding, please.

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

A tough way to start out as the Sidewinders took on the hosts and 1st champs, Az-cz.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Az-cz 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 6 12 0
Qazox 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 4 10 0


David Ramierez hit a homerun in the 1st after a sac fly allowed the gnomes to take an early 1-0 lead inthe top of the inning. The second was almost a repeat of the first as the gnomes scrapped a run in on fundementals, and Henry Bonds went deep off of Schmidt to lead off the bottom of the 2nd to tie it again at 2-2.

Az-cz managed to scrape a couple more runs in the 4th and 5th, while Qazox managed to only get one run in the 6th despite having the bases loaded with no one out. The teams each traded runs in the 8th, but a bases-loaded walk in the top of the 9th by Ivan Trok made it 6-4 and Az-cz' Blake Hoffer shut down the sidewinders in the bottom to send the defending champs home with a tough win.

Up next is a trip to Quakmybush where the pitching match-up will be Eric Johnsen vs. George Turris.


QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 4 1 1 0 .250
CF- Gabe Reyes 4 2 1 0 .500
3B- David Ramierez 2 1 1 2 .500
RF- Juan Ortiz 4 2 0 1 .500
C- Henry Bonds 4 1 1 1 .250
LF- Jack Sun 3 0 0 0 .000
1B- Qadi Olea 4 1 0 0 .250
SS- Paul Assen 4 0 0 0 .000
P- Ryan Olds 2 0 0 0 .000
P- Eric Dawes 0 0 0 0 .000
PH- Manuel Ortega 1 0 0 0 .000
P- Ivan Trok 1 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 34 10 4 4 .294

HITTING:
Doubles- Reyes
Homeruns- Ramierez, Bonds
Stolen Bases- Reyes
GIDP- Olea, Bonds, Sun



PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Ryan Olds (0-1) 6.1 9 4 4 1 5 5.68
Eric Dawes 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
Ivan Trok 2.0 3 2 2 2 1 9.00
TOTALS 9.0 12 6 6 3 7 6.00

WP- Dawes
Balk- Olds

REFORMED EXPOS PULL OFF ROAD UPSET

Barker delivers 3-hit outing as Expos take down Chimps 3-2

ANGRY CHIMPANZEES - In a nation that provides one hell of an odd byline, the baseball was familiarly staid.

Manager Felipe Alou clone number 3A (the original clone 3 having expired from old age) said before the game that in order to do well at the tourney the Expos would have to ride their pitching and defense, and they certainly seem capable of doing so. Chris Barker delivered a 3-hit, 3-walk outing over 7 and 2/3 innings and the Reformed Expos backed him up admirably in the field with an error-free ballgame as they earned a 3-2 victory over Angry Chimpanzees. Greg Ubeck bailed the side out in the bottom of the 8th, getting a foul=pop out with runners on the corners to end a tenacious 2-out rally that had the home fans out of their seats. After Brad Thivierge came home on a suicide squeeze by Joey Barnsworth to put the visiting Expos back on top in the top of the ninth, Luc Richard retired the side in order to earn his first save of the tournament.

Alou was taken in for routine maintenance after the game and was unavailable for comment. A severely baked Barker, wearing a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" T-shirt, said after the match that being denied the win was "like being hit in the nuts with an 8-pound sack of frozen corn." Attempts to get him to clarify this statement were met with a "talk to the mutant 3-foot-long tentacle-like appendage growing out of my spine." Ubeck, on being asked how he felt about claiming a win that should have gone to Barker, said: "I feel a little guilty, sure. But once I use the win to get laid three or four times it should fade."

Here are the scores for second group stage.

Qazox 1 1 2 3 2 3 1 1 3 17
Quakmybush 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 7

Calizorinstan 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Demot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Yafor 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 5
ESF 0 0 3 3 3 0 0 1 X 10

Lovisa 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Assegai 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 X 6

Milchama 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 5 9
Vephrall 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 5

Zwangzug 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 5
A-Douglas 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

St. Samuel 2 2 0 1 0 0 3 0 2 10
C. Prestonia 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 4

Kiryu-shi 1 1 0 2 0 0 4 0 2 10
Cookesland 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 7

LE 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3
NMS 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 X 4

Angry Chimps 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 5
Kampfers 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 X 9


Tables

Group A1


Wins Losses RF RA RD
Az-cz 1 0 6 4 2
Qazox 1 1 21 13 8
Calizorinstan 1 1 4 4 0
Quakmybush 1 1 10 19 -9
Demot 0 1 1 2 -1


Group B1


Wins Losses RF RA RD
ESF 2 0 20 14 6
Assegai 1 0 6 4 2
Yafor 2 1 1 6 10 -4
Nitrodymium 0 1 0 1 -1
Lovisa 0 2 13 16 -3



Group C1

Wins Losses RF RA RD
Milchama 2 0 20 7 13
Zwangzug 2 0 11 6 5
A-Douglas 0 1 1 5 -4
Scotchpinestan 0 1 2 11 -9
Vephrall 0 2 10 15 -5

Group D1

Wins Losses RF RA RD
Kiryu-shi 2 0 22 12 10
St. Samuel 2 0 18 11 7
Kura-Pelland 0 1 7 8 -1
Cookesland 0 1 7 10 -3
C. Prestonia 0 2 9 22 -13

Group E1

Wins Losses RF RA RD
NMS 2 0 7 5 2
Kampfers 1 0 9 5 4
LE 1 1 6 5 1
Iansisle 0 1 1 3 -2
Angry Chimps 0 2 7 12 -5

FNN Sports Report

This is Franklin Snar reporting from the Second World Baseball Classic.

In it's first international game as a Federation, and first for anyone from the nation in more than 50 years, the Federation Phoenixes fell to the Zwangzug Zebras 5-1 at home.

Last time the Classic was played, Zwangzug had an extremely strong team, and it showed in this game. Both teams are in group C1, with Zwangzug as the #2 seed, and Ambrose-Douglas as the #3.


Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 - Final
Zwangzug 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 5
A-Douglas 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

The pitching matchup for the game was Caleb Runnon for the Zebras, a righty, and Will Powers, a lefty, for the Phoenixes.

The Zebras started off the game hot against Powers, a rarity, but it shows just how dangerous this team is. Dwight Eastman started off the game with a double to the left-center gap for the Zebras, and he was advanced to third on Nathan Ellis' sac bunt down the first base line. Next up was Richie Stagg, who belted it deep into right field for a sac fly that was caught by Carson Isnaris for the Phoenixes at the wall. Powers was able to calm down after that and strike out Terry Quave to end the inning.

Brock Templeton struck out swinging to start off the bottom of the first again Runnon, but Andrew Karlson must have seen something because he lined a first pitch double down the left field line. Cameron Xerxes stuck out looking, and then Benjamin Isnaris placed a perfect bunt down the third base line and beat the throw by inches. His twin brother, Carson Isnaris, came up next and knocked one into the left center gap, scoring Karlson. However, Benjamin tried to stretch it to home as well and was nailed by the throw home by Terry Quave in center to end the inning, and all of the Federation's scoring for the rest of the night.

Powers was shaken to start the second as well as Thomas Grush blasted a second pitch changeup over the left field fence to give the Zebras the lead back at 2-1. They never looked back.

A Rob Staun double in the sixth that scored Terry Quave from first chased Powers from the game, where he went 5 1/3, letting in 3 ER on 7 hits. Chris Togan, a righty curveballer, then came in, trying to hold the lead at 3-1. He wasn't able to. The Phoenixes got out of the sixth with no more damage done, but the Zebras scored consecutively in the 7th and 8th to make it 5-1. Togan was chased midway through the 8th and Alan "Pops" Earlson finished the game for the losing side. Closer Jamie Cooper came in for the Zebras to pitch a perfect 9th to get the save.

The Phoenixes are currently third in the standings with one loss and no wins. They take on Vephrall next.

Vephrall lost to Zwangzug 6-5 in their first game, then fell to Michama 9-5 in their second. Franklin Egon, the 6'3 righty with that nasty slider of his, is slated to get the start against Vephrall tomorrow.

TEAM/INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
LIVERPOOL ENGLAND 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 8 0 VISITORS
NEW MONTREAL STATES 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 X 4 9 0 HOME

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND BATTING
POS AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
JONAS CABLE SS 4 1 2 0 0 1 .375
CORTEZ ROSENSTIEHL 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 .000
DOUGLAS SHAFER LF 3 0 0 1 0 0 .143
GRANT PITTMAN 3B 3 0 1 1 1 0 .500
ROHTIN CHUNG CF 3 0 1 0 1 1 .286
DANILO SEIDNER 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 .167
CLAY EASTER RF 4 0 1 1 0 1 .286
TODD ALLSHOUSE C 3 0 1 0 1 1 .500
DAVID KIEFERFER P 2 0 1 0 0 1 .500
a-BRENT JUDGE PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
NICKY JAMES P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-ANDREW JOHNSTONE PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 31 3 8 3 3 6

BATTING
2B: Cable 2 (3), Pittman
SH: Rosenstiehl
SF: Shafer
RBI: Shafer 1 (4), Easter 1, Pittman 1
GIDP: Easter, Seidner, Johnstone
IBB: Allshouse (7th inning, 1 on, 2 out)
a- Grounded out for Kieferfer in the 7th
b- Grounded into double play for James in 9th


LIVERPOOL ENGLAND PITCHING
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
DAVID KIEFERFER (L, 0-1) 6.0 8 4 4 0 7 2 6.00
NICKY JAMES 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

NEW MONTREAL STATES BATTING
POS AB R H RBI BB SO
LOUIS BIERDROT CF 4 1 1 0 0 1
JOEY BARNSWORTH 2B 3 0 0 1 0 1
KYLE BABBIT RF 3 1 1 1 0 1
ANDRÉ PÉPIN 3B 4 0 2 0 0 1
PIERRE BOUROT 1B 4 1 2 1 0 1
PATRICK FULLER LF 4 0 0 0 0 1
DANIEL ST-URBAN C 3 0 1 1 0 0
BRAD THIVIERGE SS 3 1 2 0 0 1
MICHEL BOULANGER P 3 0 0 0 0 1
LUC RICHARD P 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING
2B: Bourot
3B: Bierdrot
SF: Barnsworth
HBP: Babbit (by Kieferfer, 1st inning, 0 on, 2 out)
HR: Bourot (off Kieferfer, 2nd inning, 0 on, 0 out);
Babbit (off Kieferfer, 3rd inning, 0 on, 2 out)
GIDP: Bourot

NEW MONTREAL STATES PITCHING
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
MICHEL BOULANGER (W, 1-0) 8.0 7 3 3 3 6 0 3.38
LUC RICHARD (S, 2) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Snowfield, Moncton Sands, New Montreal States
Attendance: 36,210
Game time: 2 hours 34 minutes, began 1:05 p.m. local time
Wind: Slight wind L to R, 4 mph

OOC: I really apologise, but the stats are all I've got time for today, I've spent 40 minutes on them and have to rush some schoolwork, so no RP. Just FYI to NMS that Cable scored the first-inning run after being bunted along to third by Rosenstiehl and then scoring on a sac-fly from Shafer. The other two runs I'll leave it to you to decide.

Um, is it too late to join or can i join?

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

It's too late, but if you're interested in sports RPs the signups for world cup 36 (soccer) are open and there should be another one of these in a while.

Milchama National News- Tribune- Sun- Times- Post- Gazette- Chronicle- Journal- Dispatch- Telegram- Star- Monitor- Enquirer

Sports Section

5 run 9th gives Milchama victory

It looked like a bad day for the Warriors as they gave up runs in the bottom of the 7th and 8th innings to be down 5-4 going into the top of the 9th only for 7 straight hits to come and 5 runs to cross the plate in a dramatic hitting display that destroyed the Vephralian bullpen and gave Milchama the much needed victory 9-5 to move into first place in the standings. Now for the daily report of how they scored:

Top 4th: The top of the order was starting the inning after the Vephralian pitcher retired the side in order the first 3 innings. Then Merrick started off with an out, followed by a single by Flinter. Gool then doubled to put runners at second and third with one out. This led to a meeting on the mound and a drive by Barrett Hamilton that almost exited the stadium but instead two runs as both Gool and Flinter scored from tag ups.

Top 5th: Milchama extended their lead as after a Monarch lead off single Ronny Bjork hit the ball 432 ft to deep left center field and clearly out of the ball park for a 4-0 lead and it looked like the Warriors would cruise.

Bottom 5th: Unfortunately it was not to be as Rodriguez walked the first two Vephralian hitters. Then a bases clearing double by the first basemen Urkeyro led to two runs and a 4-2 lead for the Milchamians.

Bottom 7th:After an easy 6th inning Rodriguez again faced trouble walking the leadoff batter. A stolen base, and a rare error by Micheal Flinter followed to put runners on first and third with nobody out. This prompted manager Jack Krecken to sub in Matt Commnick to pitch. Commnick immediately gave up another two run double to tie the game at 4. After that double though he set down the remaining men in order.

Bottom 8th:Commnick started the inning against the righty second basemen who singled prompting Krecken to put in another pitcher. This time screwballer Chad Fernayo who got a double play ball then gave up a homerun to Kman to give the Vephrallians the lead as the crowd went wild. Even though he got the next guy out it all looked over for Milchama.

Top 9th: Espiecially after the closer retired pinch hitter Kevin Jollins on 3 straight pitches. Then the rally happened, first Merrick singled then Flinter singled then Gool doubled and Merrick scored to tie the game then Hamilton singled and Flinter and Gool scored to give Milchama the lead. This was followed by Loshe singling to put runners on first and third. Monarch also singled to a run and put runners on first and second. Then Ronny Bjork doubled to score two more runs give Milchama a 9-5 lead and end the day for the unfortunate closer. A new man came in and summarily retired both Del Carmic and Kevin Jollins.

Chad Fernayo then got the final 3 outs for the victory.

W: Fernayo (1-0)
L: Mitina (0-1)

HR: Urkero (1), Bjork (1)

The Armed Republic of Assegai Developments National Baseball Team

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a371/DUBKansas/assegai_developments.jpg

National Stadium: Valendia Park
Capacity: 58,000
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a371/DUBKansas/AssegaiNationalStadium.jpg

National Media:
Newspaper – The Crimson Blade
TV – Assegai Sports Network
Radio – Assegai Sports Network

TEAM

Manager: Jimmy Roastbucket
Coaches: Joe Sanders, James Joyce, T.S. Elliot

Roster
(Pos. – No. – Name, (Bats/Throws)

Starting Lineup
First Base – No. 97 – Alan Spicer, (R/R)
Second Base – No. 31 – Benedict Dye (L/L)
Shortstop – No. 3 – Joan Sparrow (R/R)
Third Base – No. 22 – Maynard Cole (R/R)
Catcher – No. 0 – Johnny Savage (B/B)
Right Field – No. 21 – Sarah de Thorp (R/R)
Center Field – No. 69 – Letitia Metcalfe (L/L)
Left Field – No. 72 – Arthur Mallowburne (L/L)

Reserves

Infielders:
No. 66 – Adam Fowler (L/L)
No. 8 – Alan Smyth (B/B)
No. 17 – Arnald Clere (R/R)
No. 88 – Audrey Lucy (R/R)
Outfielders:
No. 1 – Joan Fogg (R/R)
No. 60 – Matthew Crane (L/L)
No. 9 – Philip Saint-John (R/R)

Pitchers

Starting Rotation
No. 55 – Ivo Mayne (L/L)
No. 32 – Gauwyn Skipwyth (R/R)
No. 4 – Joan Coffyn (R/R)
No. 81 – John Selwyn (L/L)

Bullpen
Long Relief
No. 22 – Isabel Gage (R/R)
No. 35 – Matthew Cotton (L/L)
No. 99 – Winnefred Waleys (L/L)

Short Relief
No. 10 – Katherine Holt (R/R)
No. 5 – Lawrence Kyngeston (L/L)
No. 43 – Lewis de Monteacute (R/R)

Closer
No. 38 – James Logan Howlett (R/R)

RATINGS:

Starters: 8
Relief: 8
Hitting: 7
Power: 7
Speed: 7
Defense: 8

Valendia Park is a (-1) PITCHER’S PARK

If you RP before me you may:
CHOOSE MY STARTING PITCHER: N
CHOOSE MY RELIEF PITCHER(S): Y
CHOOSE HOW I SCORED: Y
EJECTIONS: Y

[OOC: Good thing Milchama accosted me on IRC to let me know we'd started...]

Team Vephrall
"Just because we started 0-2 doesn't mean we aren't too cool to have a nickname!"

National Stadium: Illokel Park, capacity 35,205. There's no DH here - everyone does their part. :p

Manager: Prorim Rempidar

Batting Order v. LHP (no DH)

Pos/Num Player [Bats/Throws]
3B/31 Sanani Hahnea [R/R]
2B/6 Pinteps Soscren [R/R]
CF/20 Mopukest Apyrphung [S/R]
SS/24 Scunt Persas [R/R]
RF/26 Rirvymoles Ailos [R/R]
C/49 Baspaalt Cilleng [R/L]
LF/34 Fyls Ferrys [R/R]
1B/46 Voreght Urkero [R/R]
P Pitcher [?/?]

Bench:
1B/1 Pevonsont Tolspong [S/L]
SS/45 Dotsmens Solivasas [L/R]
CF/19 Mantlom Neencrycks [R/L]
3B/3 Ostalir Turpres [R/R]
C/39 Irupe Persas [R/R]

Batting Order v. RHP (no DH)

Pos/Num Player [Bats/Throws]
3B/31 Sanani Hahnea [R/R]
CF/20 Mopukest Apyrphung [S/R]
SS/45 Dotsmens Solivasas [L/R]
2B/6 Pinteps Soscren [R/R]
RF/26 Rirvymoles Ailos [R/R]
C/49 Baspaalt Cilleng [R/L]
1B/1 Pevonsont Tolspong [S/L]
LF/34 Fyls Ferrys [R/R]
P Pitcher [?/?]

Bench:
1B/46 Voreght Urkero [R/R]
CF/19 Mantlom Neencrycks [R/L]
3B/3 Ostalir Turpres [R/R]
C/39 Irupe Persas [R/R]
SS/24 Scunt Persas [R/R]

Batting Order v. LHP (with DH)

Pos/Num Player [Bats/Throws]
3B/31 Sanani Hahnea [R/R]
2B/6 Pinteps Soscren [R/R]
CF/20 Mopukest Apyrphung [S/R]
SS/24 Scunt Persas [R/R]
RF/26 Rirvymoles Ailos [R/R]
DH/44 Rictavos Shrifflu [R/R]
C/49 Baspaalt Cilleng [R/L]
LF/34 Fyls Ferrys [R/R]
1B/46 Voreght Urkero [R/R]

Bench:
1B/1 Pevonsont Tolspong [S/L]
SS/45 Dotsmens Solivasas [L/R]
CF/19 Mantlom Neencrycks [R/L]
3B/3 Ostalir Turpres [R/R]
C/39 Irupe Persas [R/R]

Batting Order v. RHP (with DH)

Pos/Num Player [Bats/Throws]
3B/31 Sanani Hahnea [R/R]
CF/20 Mopukest Apyrphung [S/R]
SS/45 Dotsmens Solivasas [L/R]
2B/6 Pinteps Soscren [R/R]
RF/26 Rirvymoles Ailos [R/R]
DH/44 Rictavos Shrifflu [R/R]
C/49 Baspaalt Cilleng [R/L]
1B/1 Pevonsont Tolspong [S/L]
LF/34 Fyls Ferrys [R/R]

Bench:
1B/46 Voreght Urkero [R/R]
CF/19 Mantlom Neencrycks [R/L]
3B/3 Ostalir Turpres [R/R]
C/39 Irupe Persas [R/R]
SS/24 Scunt Persas [R/R]


Pitching Rotation:
SP/26 Parogam Bunsars [R] (both Zwangzug matches)
SP/17 Ceedast Idaleis [L] (both Milchama matches)
SP/66 Voreght Lit [R] (1st Ambrose-Douglas/2nd Scotchpinestan)
SP/69 Taratchy Diors [L] (first Scotchpinestan match)
SP/59 Fihor Langis [L] (second Ambrose-Douglas match)


Bullpen:
RP/43 Diors Izorigor [R]
RP/90 Baspaalt Ocilla [L]
RP/15 Wecoisus Limpents [R]
RP/62 Prarbens Persas [L]
RP/87 Ochaates Prorim [R]
CP/36 Sperobis Misina [R]

BASEBALL COMES HOME

Babbit, Bourot light up Snowfield as Expos beat LE

MONCTON SANDS - The States emerged triumphant in a match which one wit in An Archy once noted broke all records for combined number of characters in the competing nations' names. To get an opinion on this matter, we asked Yves Cloutier, reigning national spelling-bee champion in the 13-and-under division, for his opinion on this orthographically enhanced matchup. He quickly and flawlessly replied: "My mommies don't let me talk to strangers."

The game itself would have been noteworthy even if it hadn't been as close as it was, being the first international-level game played in the States in several decades. The Snowfield in Moncton Sands was near capacity at the opening pitch, a fastball from Michel Boulanger which just brushed the outside corner. Jonas Cable, the Liverpool leadoff man, turned on it and sent it hurtling into the leftfield gap for a very inauspiciuous beginning to the triumphant return of the national side after a win abroad at Angry Chimpanzees. Cortez Rosenstiehl laid a beautiful bunt down the third-base line which got Cable over, and then Douglas Shafer was robbed of extra bases by a diving catch from Bierdrot, who was playing a fairly deep centerfield against the number 3 hitter. Although he quickly sprang to hit feet and threw home, Cable was well across home by the time the ball one-hopped into the catcher's mitt, and before you could say "manufactured run" LE had a 1-0 lead.

And so it went until the bottom of the second inning, when Pierre Bourot took a poorly placed hanging slider and sent it for a spin into the near leftfield bleachers. Not quite as subtle as the LE trot around the bases, but the end result was the same. A lead was taken in the bottom of the third by the same unsubtle method.

And it was gradually expanded, and although LE came on strong in the final innings the game was ended when Andrew Johnstone, pinch-hitting for the pitcher, grounded into a double play, earning Luc Ricahrd his second save. And now I need to go to work, so I apologize for the brusque ending to what was going to be a drawn-out post. Lo siento mucho.

OOC: Damn, can't believe I missed this. Oh well, i'm still undefeated...

IC:

Official Kampferian Roster:

TEAM Kampfers
Home field: Kampferian Stadium, Kampfers Stadt(0)

STARTERS: 10
RELIEF: 9
HITTING: 10
POWER: 10
SPEED: 1
DEFENSE: 5)

Starting Lineup: No DH (Bats/Throws)
2B- Daniel Miller(S/R)
CF- Johnny Crawford (S/R)
3B- Hank Blalock (L/L)
RF- Kontrovers (R/R)
C- Das Ist (R/R)
LF- Jack Bauer (R/L)
1B- Mein Zimmer (S/L)
SS- Wo Ist (R/R)
Pitcher

Starting Lineup: With DH (Bats/Throws)
2B- Daniel Miller(S/R)
CF- Johnny Crawford (S/R)
3B- Hank Blalock (L/L)
DH- Billy Bob (R/R)
RF- Kontrovers (R/R)
C- Das Ist (R/R)
LF- Jack Bauer (R/L)
1B- Mein Zimmer (S/L)
SS- Wo Ist (R/R)

Starting Rotation: (Throws/Bats)
Billy Joe (L/L)
Eric Bob (L/L)
Silly Goose (R/R)
Goose Goslin (R/R)

Relief PitchersThrows/Bats)
Rollie Fingers (R/R)
Dan Dan (R/R)
Crack Job (L/R)
Sofa King (R/R)

Closer:
We Tah Dead (L/L)

Bench: (Bats/Throws)
OF/DH: Munel Rodrigues (R/R)
OF: Weiner Frank (L/L)
C: Eric Feric (R/R)
SS/2B: Orlando Bloom (L/L)
1B: Aint Werth Nuttin (L/L)
INF: Clubs Spade (R/R)

If you RP before me you may:
CHOOSE MY STARTING PITCHER: Y
CHOOSE MY RELIEF PITCHER(S): Y
CHOOSE HOW I SCORED: Y
EJECTIONS: N

Demot Typhoons Roster

Lineup v LHP
SS: Darrell Sandoval (S)
CF: Gary Anderson (R)
3B: Jeremy Cannon (R)
RF: Javier West (L)
LF: Hazel Baker (R)
1B: Alvin Nguyễn (L)
2B: Edward Sherman (S)
C: Esther Cleveland (R)
P

Lineup v RHP
CF: Gary Anderson (R)
3B: Jeremy Cannon (R)
RF: Javier West (L)
1B: Alvin Nguyễn (L)
2B: Edward Sherman (S)
LF: Hazel Baker (R)
SS: Darrell Sandoval (S)
C: Esther Cleveland (R)
P
*DH bats fourth on both lineups if used

Bench
3B: Christopher Puckett (R)
SS: Edwin Davies (S)
1B: Rickardo Roth (L)
C: Ron Phillips (R)
2B: Lawrence Brown (S)
OF: Erik Bones (R)
OF: Clifford Dunne (S)
DH: Jeanne Dennis (R)

Staff
SP: Matthew Duncan (R)
SP: Timothy Miller (L)
SP: Manuel Preston (L)
MRP: Steven Cameron (R)
MRP: Bruce Crown (R)
MRP: Alan Sanders (L)
LRP: Alan Dams (R)
LRP: Phill McKenzie (R)
CP: Juan Reyes (L)

Stadium (-1 Pitchers Park): Sylvia Bell United Center (42,000)
http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/arizona/phoenix_bank_one_ballpark2.jpg

If you RP before me you may:
Choose My Starting Pitcher: N
Choose My Relief Pitcher(s): Y
Choose How I Scored: Y
Ejections: N

Milchama easily handles Scotchpinestan in opener

The Allied States of Scotchpinestan had high hopes going into its first World Baseball Classic. And those hopes were stoked even higher as the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Douglas Moreland. Ace pitcher Roger O'Dell took the mound knowing the game plan: Pitch solidly, knowing that he already had the lead. Pitching and defense were belived to be the hallmarks of Scotchpinestan's team, and the team planned to use it's pitching and defense to its advantage.

That plan lasted all of four pitches.

Kenny Merrick very nearly took O'Dell's first pitch out of the park, just missing the foul pole by about a foot. Then on the next pitch, Merrick went the other way into the gap and raced all the way to third.

O'Dell's third pitch plunked Micheal Flinter on the forearm. He did not appear to have any lingering effects, as he would collect two hits later in the contest.

And on the fourth pitch, Tal Gool delivered a single to center that tied the game.

O'Dell did get through the rest of the inning unscathed, but the tone had been set. O'Dell only lasted 3 2/3 innings, letting up four runs on eight hits, three walks, and a hit batsman, while striking out only one. And the bullpen failed to register even one scorleess inning as Milchama cruised, 11-2.

After a bye, Scotchpinestan hopes to regroup in their next game against Zwangzug. On the mound will be right-hander Akinori Suzuki. Known as the "Pint-Sized Samurai" because he only stands 5 feet 3 inches tall, Suzuki wows fans with his fastball that occasionally tops 100 miles per hour, as well as the loud yell he unleashes with every pitch.

"Heya, Damon."

"Hey there, Nicholas."

"Nice endurance."

"Thank you."

"Want to cover for me next game?"

"Not a chance."

"Never hurts to ask."

"Never does."

"Hey, Will?"

"What?"

"You know you're pitching against Milchama?"

"Not if Damon takes over for me."

"Oh, shut up you two."

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

A huge blow out as Qazox sets two WBC records with 17 runs and 28 hits in a 17-7 win over the Quakmybush Sea Dogs.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Qazox 1 1 2 3 2 3 1 1 3 17 28 0
Quakb 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 15 0


Juan Reed went 4-6 and hit for the Cycle, also the 1st in WBC history. Reed's day started with a lead-off triple to left center, and he came in to score on Reyes' ground out. Quakmybush got a run back in the bottom of the 1st, but then the Sidewinders' bats came to life, scoring at least once in every inning and with the exception of the first they had at least 2 hits an inning as well. Eric Johnsen got the win, despite allowing 7 runs in 8+ innings of work. Mark Winchester came in and got the final 3 outs to end the game. Qadi Olea knocked in a team record 6 runs and was just a Homerun shy of hitting for the cycle as well.

Up next is a bye date then a trip to Calizorinstan where Kyle Pollack will try to get Qazox a second win.


QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 6 4 4 2 .667
CF- Gabe Reyes 5 3 2 1 .600
DH- John Green 5 3 2 4 .600
3B- David Ramierez 5 1 1 0 .200
RF- Juan Ortiz 6 3 2 0 .500
C- Henry Bonds 6 4 2 2 .666
LF- Jack Sun 6 4 3 2 .666
1B- Qadi Olea 5 4 1 6 .800
SS/3B- Paul Assen 5 1 0 0 .200
SS- Jack Spade 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 49 28 17 17 .571

HITTING:
Doubles- Reed, Green 2, Sun 2, Olea 2
Triples- Reed, Olea
Homeruns- Bonds (2), Reed
GIDP- Ortiz, Reyes
Sac- Olea
Sac Fly- Olea


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Eric Johnsen (1-0) 8.0 15 7 7 4 10 7.88
Mark Winchester 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
TOTALS 9.0 15 7 7 4 11 7.00
Johnsen pitched to 4 batters in the 9th.

For those that may care, the link to the NSwiki for WBC2:

http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

Scores for MD3

Calizorinstan 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 4
Az-cz 0 2 1 2 0 1 2 0 X 8

Demot 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
Quakmybush 1 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 X 7

Lovisa 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 6
Nitrodymium 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2

Assegai 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 5
ESF 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 6

Zwangzug 2 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 9
Scotchpinestan 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 4

A-Douglas 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 5
Vephrall 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 3

Kiryu-shi 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3
Kura-Pelland 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 X 4

Cookesland 0 2 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 8
C. Prestonia 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 4

Angry Chimps 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Iansisle 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 X 2

Kampfers 1 0 3 0 2 0 1 3 4 14
NMS 2 1 2 0 0 2 2 2 2 13

Tables

Group A1

Az-cz 2 0 14 8 6
Quakmybush 2 1 17 21 -4
Qazox 1 1 21 13 8
Calizorinstan 1 2 8 12 -4
Demot 0 2 3 9 -6

Group B1


ESF 3 0 26 19 7
Assegai 1 1 11 10 1
Yafor 2 1 1 6 10 -4
Lovisa 1 2 19 18 1
Nitrodymium 0 2 2 7 -5


Group C1

Zwangzug 3 0 20 10 10
Milchama 2 0 20 7 13
A-Douglas 1 1 6 8 -2
Scotchpinestan 0 2 6 20 -14
Vephrall 0 3 13 20 -7


Group D1

St. Samuel 2 0 18 11 7
Kiryu-shi 2 1 25 16 9
Cookesland 1 1 15 14 1
Kura-Pelland 1 1 11 11 0
C. Prestonia 0 3 13 30 -17

Group E1

Kampfers 2 0 23 18 5
NMS 2 1 20 19 1
LE 1 1 6 5 1
Iansisle 1 1 3 3 0
Angry Chimps 0 3 7 14 -7

OOC: Geez, my guy's stink, I wonder if they'll get any better as the WBC goes on, or if in the next WBC that they'll do better, ah, ei. I am not a sore loser, it's just that their result's have been less then sucessfull, ah well, at least they scored some hits...

Ummmm... really you're doing just about as well as could be expected. You lost by a run, won, and lost when visiting the defending champs and tournament hosts. You have no rank and you haven't done any RPing. There are three things that effect the results (not listed in any particular order):

1. Random chance
2. Role Playing
3. Previous rank

There's no way you can improve your rank during this tournament. Chance is chance, but if you'd like to improve your odds a bit RPing would help. Even if you don't RP you will be better next time around, but if you want to win a reasonable fraction of your games you'll want to RP well and get lucky. Feel free to ask more questions.

I will try to RP next round, I am very good at International Incident RP'ing, just not up to snuff on this RP'ing. But I will try, that's all I can do at this point, sorry if I came off as a complainer, I am happy with my score's so far... Thank you Az-cz.

FNN Sports News

Phoenixes Win First Game in WBC, Now 1-1

Franklin Snar reporting from Vephrall and the 2nd World Baseball Classic.

The Federation Phoenixes took their no-DH lineup to Illokel Park in Vephrall, to play before a standing room-only crowd of 35,205. In a hard fought, close game, the Phoenixes were able to pull out a win over Vephrall, 5-3.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
A-Douglas 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 5 12 1
Vephrall 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 8 1

Voreght Lit, a righty, started for the home team in this game. The Phoenixes started Franklin Egon, the righty kid with a nasty slider.

Brock Templeton got things started off for the Phoenixes with a double off the left field wall. Lit seemed to settle down after that, striking out Andrew Kalrson swinging and getting Usar Davis to ground to short. But Benjamin Isnaris made sure that his team would get on the board first when he ripped a ball down the right field line that scored Templeton from second on an RBI single. Another single by Carson Isnaris occurred before the inning was out, with the Phoenixes up 1-0.

Egon was able to keep the home team under control, only allowing one hit through the first four innings of play. His offense responded for him, as Benjamin Isnaris scored from first off of a fielding error by the Vephrall center fielder, Mopukest Apyrphung, on what should have been a harmless single by Victor Bruce.

Egon lost his poise in the bottom of the fifth, though, when he disagreed with a ball four call by the umpire and proceeded to walk two more batters to load the bases with two outs. After a quick chat with his catcher, Henry Samuelson, Egon gave up a hit to Pinteps Soscren that scored Sanani Hahnea from third. Templeton was able to preserve the lead, however, as a beautiful throw home nailed Apyrphung at the plate. 2-1 Phoenixes through five.

Hits were deposited throughout the following innings, though no scoring occurred until the top of the 7th, when Carson Isnaris absolutely plastered a 3-1 pitch into the center field bleachers to give the Federation a 3-1 lead. Vephrall answered back in the bottom of the inning, however, as Voreght Lit actually helped his cause by hitting a high sac fly into left to score Baspaalt Cilleng from third. 3-2, Phoenixes.

After his sac fly, Lit was pulled in favor of Diors Izorigor. Izorigor pitched a perfect eighth, and then fell apart in the ninth, allowing Templeton to single to lead off the inning, and then steal second. Karlson struck out again, but Davis carried out a perfect hit and run, with Templeton scoring easily to make the score 4-2. Benjamin Isnaris struck out looking, his brother, Carson, hit a single that sent Davis to third, and then Victor Bruce came up, slicing a hit that kissed the line down in right field. Davis walked home and Carson was tagged out trying to stretch to third to end the inning. 5-2, Federation.

Danny Tartarus was called in from the bullpen for the Phoenixes to close out the game. For a moment, it didn't look like he would be able to. Dotsmens Solivasas belted a first pitch fastball over the right field fence. After a quick chat from Samuelson, Tartarus then calmed down, striking out the next two with his signature cut fastball, and then getting Baspaalt Cilleng to ground to third to end the game.

The Federation plays Scotchpinestan at home tomorrow, and the starting pitchers will be Sam Santiago, a lefty, for the visitors, and Justin Powell for the home team, a righty with a decent curveball.

When asked about the 0-2 Scotchpinestan team, Powell had this to say. "No team can be taken lightly. We need to go out there and play our best, no matter who we play. Every game is important and we want to make it to the next round. I'll be pitching like it's the final game of the championship tomorrow."

The game is at 2pm at Federation field.

W - Franklin Egon (1-0, 2.25 ERA)
L - Diors Izorigor (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
S - Danny Tartarus (1) 9.00 ERA

Calizorinstan,

Didn't think you were complaining, just reminding you that there's no point in jumping to conclusions at this point and to encourage you to lower your expectations for now. Being put with me and Qazox won't be helpful to you so I'd just be aiming for a few wins at this point.

Everyone,

I know it's early, but we should start thinking about a ranking system for WBC3. Clearly we want one a bit more detailed than the one we have now. I thank Qazox for putting that list together but it would be better to have a more detailed one. But considering that this is not nearly as structured as the WC is we can't just steal the KpBs. Ideas?

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz
Ya-Kyu

Calizorinstan provides a tasty snack for Gnomes

After an impressive win over the Qazox Sidewinders in their first game the team enjoyed a leisurely break before welcomed Calizorinstan to Az-cz. While they had looked decent in their first two games, splitting a pair against fellow first timers Demot and Qazox they weren't prepared for the Robbers team.

Both teams made quick work of the first but while the Gnomes mowed all three batters down in the second as well Calizorinstan found some troubles. Br-Bnd, Wl-My, and Will Clark all singled which allowed Br-Bnd to plate the first run. A groundout move Wl-My to second before a pop fly brought him home to give the Gnomes a two run cushion. They added another in the third with Ich-Ro stealing second and third after a leadoff walk.

Calizorinstan finally found some offense their second time through their lineup. A leadoff double and a two out single brought home a run to cut into the Az-cz advantage. Fortunately for the Gnomes they plated both Wl-My and Will Clark in the bottom half of the inning to extend their lead.

The two teams played evenly from there with the Gnomes responding in the bottom half of both innings that Calizorinstan scored in. The thunders added a run in the top of the 9th but by that point it was too little too late as the Gnomes weren't about to blow a five run lead in the ninth in their home opener.

Next up on the schedule is the trip to Demot. The team hopes to follow in the footsteps of the football team and dominate the Demotians.

Re: ranking system

Off the top of my head I'm thinking of something such as 10 pts for champions, 8 for second place, 6 for quarterfinal appearance, 4 for qualification to knockout stages, 2 for qualification to second round of group play (applicable for this tournament but not the last one), 1 for participation, multiplied by a factor of (1/2)^x depending on how many tournaments ago it was: this allows for continuous accumulation of points.

This is aesthetically pleasing, but I'm guessing it would be too skewed. I can actually put some serious thought into it...later.

I'd like to see some way to account for record and not just finish. There's a difference between going say 3-5 and 0-8 even if both teams are eliminated.

Maybe a KPB-esque 'points divided by maximum number of games' only with bonuses for each stage of progression?

IC POST:

'STRIKE THREE!! THEY'VE DONE IT... SENSATIONAL UPSET... REMEMBER THE DAY, THIS IS THE DAWN OF THIS SPORTING NATION!'

Stadium announcer Graham Harrison summed up the mood pretty accurately.

Four hits from Rush Charlton - including a homer and a run-scoring triple - proved the difference as Kura-Pelland came back from behind to overcome group top seeds Kiryu-shi in an epic clash in Trilan. Disciplined pitching from Grover Geagan and Murphy Robinson caused the visitors to scrap for anything, and their defence lacked that discipline.

'We were tough and went for anything we could, but I never expected it to be enough against these guys,' manager Arnold Bright told press after the game. 'I really think this team is better than I imagined before - they're young guys, I thought their best was a few years away and for all I know maybe it is, but they're delivering the goods now. What we just have to hope for is that we don't slip up against the other two sides. And we've got road trips to face too. This is just one win, there's eight games left and we're still a long way from being truly treated seriously. But we have a foundation now, and a stronger one than I anticipated at that.'

The baseball side are now hugely popular across the country, and are providing a valuable tool in uniting a nation that originated out of division.

As the Zebras cruised to another victory on the road, a bitter argument was raging back in the Worm Hole. "A wuden scorbord?!?"

"It'd b gr8 !"

"We'd ned so mane #s. Lukit, tha just got 9."

"So we cud turn the 6 upsidown."

"Simple, no. We r the modern stadeum, remember."

"It wud b a nis...um..." The innovator's position was being eroded. "Tribut to r oponents."

"Wut r u talking abowt^."

"Scotchpinestan. We cud mak it owt of wud."

"U think they'l b hapi if we cut down thar namsak."

"Um..." One final gambit. "Ok. Fin. U win. Metal and electronix al the way. Let's play with aluminum bats."

"?? Do u car abowt the purity of the game ∨ ¬??"

"Yep..."

Calizorinstan loses to the Gnome's by 50%

The Calizorinstanian Thunder's lost to the Gnome's 4-8, but the team vow's to make up for their loss in consecutive games, Tom Arnold did well for a batter, but sadly the Thunder's struck out too many time's and thus lost the game...

OOC: I know this stink's, but I am trying to RP this at least...

Kampfers Wins Again, In 1st place!
Kampfers Showed why they are a top 10 team in the world with their 14-13 victory over NMS. This victory puts them in 1st place in their division, which should be expected from the #6 overall team in the world. The bats have been hot lately, and Kampfers hopes to continue that trend as the tournament progresses. Fans in Kampfers hope that this is not a repeat of last year, where Kampfers won their division easily and then lost in the first round of single elimination. The way the Kampferian squad has been playing lately makes that unlikely, though. Kampfers has already had its bye week and will be playing again next week. Hopefully they can continue on in this tournament and win it all this year.


OOC: pretty poor RP if you ask me, but meh. an rp is an rp.

OOC: Yeah, I'll edit it later, but Kampf, it's my first time at this gig, so I'll edit it later, I have band practice..

As for the RANKINGs for WBC3 here's some things that may work:


1- Slightly borrowed from the WWC, (sorry)

1st- 3.00
2nd- 2.90
3rd- 2.80
4th- 2.70
5th- 2.62
6th- 2.54
7th- 2.46
8th- 2.38
9th- 2.32
10th- 2.26
11th- 2.20
12th- 2.14
13th- 2.08
14th- 2.02
15th- 1.96
16th- 1.90
17th thru 20th- 1.80
All others- 1.70

The rankings are based on the tiebreakers. (I.E: a 5-5 team with a 4.79 ERA is better than a 6-6 team with a 6.39 ERA). Under this system the most number of points any team can have is 5.25 points and the worst anyone can have (after competing in 3 cups or qualifying stages) would be 2.975 points; leaving a difference of 2.275 points between the highest ranked team and the lowest ranked team.

2- Rank teams using this formula:
(RSP9I= runs scored per 9 innings)

{(Win% WBC1+ Win% WBC2)/.75= [x]}+{(RSP9I WBC2- ERA WBC2)/9= [y]}
Add x+y plus the finish (10 for 1st, 7 for 2nd, 5 for 3rd 4 for 4th, 2.5 for each 2nd round team and 1 points for 1st round teams)= z
Then rank the teams by the Z score. for each successive WBC add the win% to the X part of the formula. The X takes into account how the team performed overall in the WBC, while the Y part takes into account the current WBC perfromance based on the batting and pitching results.

Example:
Team A finished 4th at WBC2 with a record of 9-6; with an ERA of 4.86 and a RSP9I of 5.63. Team A did not compete in the 1st WBC.
Team B finsihed in the 2nd round with a record of 5-7; with an ERA of 3.89 and a RSP9I of 4.23. Team B finsihed 3-3 in the 1st WBC.

Rank calculations:
TEAM A: .600*.75=0.8+ .086=.886+4= 4.886
TEAM B= .444*.75=.592+.038=.630+2.5= 3.130

The first is interesting and a possibility. The second I want to check that it makes no difference whether a team scores a lot of runs or not many runs. Secondly I think we can't use win percentage cause then it punishes people for making the second round and then struggling there. And that doesn't make any sense

Calizorinstan:
You realize that this type of RPing is easier than II. All you need to do is a newspaper report on the games. Look at your local newspaper report a baseball game then copy the format (heck copy everything if you want) and use that to make a RP.

Oh as for the ranking system considering that I don't even begin to understand Qazox's it's probably a good system.

Oh as for the ranking system considering that I don't even begin to understand Qazox's it's probably a good system.

It makes more sense than the KPB rankings... lol

Az-cz, it shouldn't matter if they score many runs, unless they give up very few. We could just do an average of the last 3 WBC's for the finish as well. The Y part of the formula is only statistically how much better/worse over each inning a team was vs. their opponents., while the X is the W-L record of the team in all WBC's

examples:{(Win% WBC1+ Win% WBC2...)/.75= [x]}+{(RSP9I WBC2- ERA WBC2)/9= [y]}+ Avg. finish last three WBC's


TEAM C finished 4th at WBC2 with a record of 9-6; with an ERA of 2.86 and a RSP9I of 7.63. Team C did not compete in the 1st WBC.

Team D finished in the 2nd round with a record of 5-7; with an ERA of 4.89 and a RSP9I of 8.23. Team D finished 3-3 in the 1st WBC.

Rank calculations:
TEAM C: {(.600*.75=(0.8))+((7.63-2.86)/9)=0.53}=1.330+(4/2)= 3.330
TEAM D: {(.444*.75=(.592))+(8.23-4.89)/9)=0.371}=0.963+(2/2)= 1.963

That's for 2 WBC's.. for example now, TEAM D wins WBC3 while TEAM C finished 4th again.
TEAM C'S ERA this time was 5.00 and the RSP9I was 6.34 and had a 10-5 record.
TEAM D's ERA this time was 2.36 and the RSP9I was 4.67 with a 11-4 record.

Rank calculations:
TEAM C: 19-11(w-l)={(.633/.75)=(.844))+((6.34-5.00)/9)=0.149}=0.992+(8/3)=3.659

TEAM D: 19-14={(.576/.75=(.768))+((4.67-2.36)/9)=0.257}=1.025+(12/3)=5.025

This formula does somewhat skew the rankings to high finishers, but as you notice team C gained points, even though their offense and pitching were worse in the theoretical 3rd WBC. The main variable in this the the points given for the finsihers. other than that TEAM C and TEAM D were not that far off (1.025 to .992). I think this can work, but i need someone with a slightly better grounding in math to help tweak it.

The KPBs are actually very simple to understand. It's just adding a lot of simple formulas together. The spreadsheet ends up looking complicated because there's so many numbers, but really they're quite simple.

I'm still not overly pleased about making runs scored and runs allowed part of the formula. What do people think of just using a simplified version of the KpBs?

Treat the most recently finished tournament as 4X, the second most recent as 2X and the third most recent as X. Then give two points for each win and divide by the number of games played by the team who played the most games.

OUCH

Early winning streak laid low against Kampfers

SOREL - After two close wins, dominated by pitching and defense, the Reformed Expos were on the losing end of an ugly, ugly 14-13 slugfest that had little to no redeeming value. It had no spectacular pitching performances - that much should be obvious to anyone familiar with the game of baseball who casts the merest glance at the scoreline - and not even a massive rally by one side or the other, but merely a constant string of piddling one-and-two run innings, an error here, a pair of bloop singles and a stolen base there. The highlight "reel" if you will, was short on the kind of acrobatic defensive plays and knee-buckling strikeout pitches favored by Montrealais and had little to recommend it, being as it was nothing but a monotonous parade of balls go flying the 380 or more feet it takes to get into the bleachers of War Memorial Field. Zzzz.

In fact, we were going to do a full write-up of the match, but since it's so boring, why bother. We're going to go home and watch the FC Valdemont-Brasserie Thivierge match instead, and hope it's a bit more exciting than this was.

Stepping Out of Character for this double post:

I like Az-Cz's formula. Nice, simple, straightforward. Makes life easy on my tiny tiny brain.

Qazox 2 0 0 2 7 0 0 0 2 13
Calizorinstan 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 6

Az-cz 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 10
Demot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

Yafor 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lovisa 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 X 3

Nitrodymium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Assegai 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 X 4

Milchama 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 3
Zwangzug 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 X 4

Scotchpinestan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
A-Douglas 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 X 2

St. Samuel 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Kiryu-shi 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 X 5

Kura-Pelland 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 0 11
Cookesland 2 2 0 2 0 1 2 0 1 10

LE 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 8
Angry Chimps 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 4

Iansisle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kampfers 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 X 4

Tables

A1

Wins Losses RF RA RD
Az-cz 3 0 24 9 15
Qazox 2 1 34 19 15
Quakmybush 2 1 17 21 -4
Calizorinstan 1 3 14 25 -11
Demot 0 3 4 19 -15

B1

ESF 3 0 26 19 7
Assegai 2 1 15 10 5
Lovisa 2 2 22 18 4
Yafor 2 1 2 6 13 -7
Nitrodymium 0 3 2 11 -9

C1

Zwangzug 4 0 24 13 11
Milchama 2 1 23 11 12
A-Douglas 2 1 8 9 -1
Vephrall 0 3 13 20 -7
Scotchpinestan 0 3 7 22 -15

D1

Kiryu-shi 3 1 30 17 13
St. Samuel 2 1 19 16 3
Kura-Pelland 2 1 22 21 1
Cookesland 1 2 25 25 0
C. Prestonia 0 3 13 30 -17

E1

Kampfers 3 0 27 18 9
LE 2 1 14 9 5
NMS 2 1 20 19 1
Iansisle 1 2 3 7 -4
Angry Chimps 0 4 11 22 -11

FNN Sports News

Phoenixes Win Pitcher's Duel, Tied for Second in Group

Franklin Snar reporting from Federation Field, and boy, did the capacity crowd of 40,000 get a treat here today. This must have been one of the greatest pitcher's duels in the history of the WBC.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Scotchpinestan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 0
A-Douglas 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 X 2 5 0

Our two pitcher's today certainly put on a show, with Sam Santiago for Scotchpinestan pitching a game that would have won any other day, but today was not his day as Justin Powell outdid him in this duel today at Federation Field.

The first inning was certainly an omen of things to come as both pitchers struck out two batters in their respective half innings, and no harm was done. End of the first, zeros across the board. In the second it was more of the same for Scotchpinestan, with Douglas Moreland popping out to shortstop, Tetsuo Kobayashi striking out looking, and Raul Ramirez grounding to second. In the bottom of the inning, however, the most dangerous part of the Federation lineup got to the plate, and they produced.

Carson Isnaris zipped a hot grounder through the hole at second for a single to start off the inning. His twin brother, Benjamin, did the rest. He pulled a 2-1 changeup down the line into right, the ball traveling all the way into the deep right field corner that Federation Field has. Benjamin pulled in safely at second with a double, and Carson scored all the way from first to make it 1-0 Phoenixes. The next pitch, however, Brock Templeton laid down a fake bunt as Isnaris tried to steal third, but was gunned down. Templeton proceeded to strike out, Jacob Farthington managed to knock a single into left, but the DH Cameron Xerxes, batting eighth, grounded into an easy 6-4-3 double play. End of 2, 1-0 Federation.

Over the next three innings, the score remained the same, with the pitchers continuing their stellar performances. Each struck out four more and neither allowed a hit. As it was going into the top of the sixth, Powell was still aiming for a perfect game, while Santiago had allowed just one run on three hits, all in the second. Each pitcher had seven strikeouts to their name through five.

The top of the sixth was more of the same, again, for Scotchpinestan. A single strikeout and two harmless groundouts ended their half-inning as the Phoenixes came to the plate again, looking to extend their slim lead.

Henry Samuelson, the team's stalwart catcher and nine hitter, came to the plate first, hitless on the day with one strikeout. He had worked Santiago for seven pitches in his first plate appearance, and must have picked up on something, because he took a 0-1 pitch from the Scotchpinestan pitcher and put it over the left field wall to make it 2-0, Phoenixes. Two skipping grounders for outs followed the blast, before Victor Bruce gave Santiago another scare with a deep shot that was caught with an amazing leaping catch by Scotchpinestan left fielder Tetsuo Kobayashi to end the inning. 2-0 Federation with Powell still carrying a perfect game into the seventh.

That perfect game bid ended with his first pitch though, as he left his signature curveball hanging, and Scotchpinestan center fielder Alex Small dropped a bloop single in front of right fielder Carson Isnaris. An audible groan could be heard from the crowd as Powell hung his head, knowing his mistake had ended his historic bid. After taking a minute to regain his composure and talk with catcher Henry Samuelson, Powell proceeded to strike out Scotchpinestan second baseman Scott Stieb with a nasty nose-to-toes curveball and got Cam Kerrigan to ground to Farthington at second for a 4-6-3 double play. Powell walked off the field to a standing ovation as set-up man Zoltan Loasser was called in from the bullpen to pitch the eighth. Powell left the game with 0 ER, 1 H, 0 E, and eight Ks.

Santiago struck out both Isnaris brothers before Templeton put a liner off the right field wall for a double, and the team's fifth hit. Farthington grounded out to first to end the inning, and no damage was done. 2-0 Federation through seven, with Scotchpinestan having one hit, and the Phoenixes having five.

Loasser, unfortunately, wasn't able to keep the shut out alive. A quick, three pitch strikeout of Douglas Moreland looked like a sign of things to come, especially when Moreland was about five feet ahead of a backbreaking changeup, but Tetsuo Kabayashi made sure to let everyone know that Scotchpinestan wasn't dead yet. He blasted a 2-2 pitch deep over the center field wall... in fact, I think they're still looking for the ball. In all seriousness though, that's how far that thing went. As soon as Kobayashi made contact with that changeup, Loasser crouched down on the mound, not even watching as Kobayashi circled the bases. Zoltan was visibly rattled by the home run, and the next batter, third baseman Gavin O'Mahony, ripped a single through the gap at shortstop. Samuelson quickly called timeout and went out to the mound to talk his pitcher down. It seemed to work, whatever he said. Scotchpinestan catcher Fred Lee grounded straight back to Loasser, who tossed it to second to start a rare 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. 2-1 Phoenixes heading into the bottom of the eighth.

The Phoenixes tried to get something going in the bottom of the eighth, trying to get their lead back up to two, but nothing would come. Cameron Xerxes finally put the bat on the ball, but lined to short, Samuelson watched a curveball that froze him dead for strike three, and Usar Davis' bunt attempt was foiled as he fouled it up and back to the catcher for the final out.

The top of the ninth was the last chance for Scotchpinestan, but they'd have to stage their rally against Danny Tartarus, the Federation's closer. Tartarus had let in one run in the Phoenixes' last win, but this time he had a look in his eyes that said he was determined not to let it happen again. And he sure didn't. He made Cory McWilliams look downright silly with a rarely used curveball on a 3-2 pitch to start the inning, was able to get Alex Small to ground out to third, and then downed Scott Stieb with his signature cut fastball to end the inning and the game.

With the win, the Phoenixes move to 2-1, tied with Milchama for second in Group C1, but placed in third because of the tie-breaker in run differential (the Federation has a -1 run differential, Milchama has a +12). Scotchpinestan falls to 0-3 and now sits in the basement of the group. James Rickey, a lefty, is scheduled to start against the Phoenixes, while David Rolland, the Federation's lefty knuckleballer, will be getting the nod for the visitors.

When asked about their upcoming opponent, Rolland had this to say, "This is our most important game yet. Justin (Powell) pitched amazing today, and that gives us a lot of confidence and momentum going into our next game. We know Milchama has been here, and they are expected to win, and that's fine with us. We don't mind being the underdogs. If we win, though, that puts us in sole second, and we control our destiny. If we lose... well, we can't lose."

All told, this was a great pitcher's duel, one for the ages. Sam Santiago went the distance for Scotchpinestan, registering ten strikeouts through eight full innings of work, and letting in two earned runs on five hits, with no errors behind him in the losing effort. Justin Powell lasted seven innings, striking out eight, and allowing no earned runs on one hit and no errors for the win. Zoltan Loasser pitched the eighth, allowing one earned run on two hits with one strikeout, while Danny Tartarus pitched a perfect ninth for the save, with two strikeouts. Overall, twenty one strikeouts peppered today's ballgame, with only three runs on eight hits. A great game. Let's hope the one in Milchama is just as good.

This is Franklin Snar, FNN Sports.

W - Justin Powell (7.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 ER, 8 K, 1 H)
L - Sam Santiago (8.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 2 ER, 10 K, 5 H)
S - Danny Tartarus (1.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 H)
Other pitchers - Zoltan Loasser (AD) (1.0 IP, 9.00 ERA, 1 ER, 1 K, 2 H)

Kampfers Wins Again, Remains Undefeated!

Kampfers extended their winning streak to 3 games today, this time on the strength of their pitching. The 4-0 shutout of Iansisle extends their lead in their division. It also increases their run differential to 9, 6th in the tournament. Kampfers is one of 3 undefeated teams left in this tournament, joining ESF, whom Kampfers defeated in divisional play last yewar before losing to them in the knockout round, Az-cz, and Zwangzug, who is the only team with four wins. Hopefully Kampfers' run will continue and lead them right into the World Championship!

I'm fine with Az-cz's proposed system.

"Jamie? Jamie?"

"It's over?" he muttered, reaching for his glove.

"Not yet it isn't. Ready to close them down?"

Gulping, he looked around: Nathan and Terry were already trotting out to their positions. "They just tied it up." Loshe had hit a wicked double in the eighth that had gone far over Karen's head, and Bjork had brought him around to score.

"And we took the lead again."

He stumbled out of the dugout. "How?"

"Uh...I think Dwight walked, stole, and Nathan singled for him to score."

"Okay." Jamie walked to the mound, vaguely fiddled with the rosin bag, and chucked a warm-up toss that didn't make it to the plate. Blearily, he tried to pull himself together in time to face...Kenny Merrick.

Low, ball one, and outside, ball two. He grooved it, but Merrick could only poke it past Dwight. He scurried easily down to first.

Flinter. Jamie edgily gripped the ball, fingered with it, released haphazardly: and it nailed him on the hip. Jamie froze, trying to keep cool. It had been an accident. The umpire waved Flinter down to first, seemed to glare at Jamie for a second, and tossed another ball back to him.

Tal Gool. Silly name, Jamie thought, but he couldn't let it distract him. It echoed, bouncing around his head. Tal Gool Tal Gool Tal Strike one. Tal Ta- Driven to I Don't Care, who grabbed it on one bounce, landed decisively on second, and whirled to first. Two away, but now Merrick was on third. What was he doing against Milchama?

Barrett Hamilton: was there a first name in there somewhere? Whatever. Ball, high. Strike: inside but not too. Don't aim for them. Don't aim near them. Focus.

Strike two.

And?

Swing and a miss: they'd won.

In a breathless encounter full of big hits and big fielding mistakes, Kura-Pelland just about kept their head to claim an epic 11-10 victory over Cookesland.

Coming back from 4-2 down after two, the Kura-Pellandi batters proved ruthless in their efficiency, with no fewer than six homers in all, two of them for two runs. In fact the team were generally ruthless and relentless, scoring in the first eight innings; by the time Cookesland got a goose-egg on the board, it was almost too late. Two runs were required in the ninth, only one came, and Kura-Pelland had scraped a second win.

Some fans are now anticipating a long run in this competition, but analysts still aren't sure. 'This is truly wonderful, seeing Kura-Pelland winning in their first international competition in any sport,' PBS Sport reporter Jack Stallone said. 'But we absolutely cannot get carried away. There's five games to go and two of them are away to the top two sides. But this road win is something to take a lot of confidence from.' When pushed, Stallone predicted the team would finish in their current third place in the group, a position which would put their second-phase qualification in the hands of their overall win-loss record. 'That just makes every game critical.'

Milchama National News- Tribune- Sun- Times- Post- Gazette- Chronicle- Journal- Dispatch- Telegram- Star- Monitor- Enquirer

Sports Section

FAIL!

As usual against good competition the baseball team dissapointed again giving up a run in the bottom of the 8th to lose to the still undefeated Zwangzung 4-3. It's bloody typical of the Milchamian team after two opening wins where they were dominant and looked well on their way to a wonderful victory in the group at least if not the tournament they come back and lose a heartbreaker like this. They're like the fucking Chi Cubs doing good then making it look like they could actually win something only to fail miserably god this sucks feckers. I hate them all those morons can't even kiss my shoes. Feck! Even with runners and first and second and nobody out in the 9th they couldn't push across one! ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! measly run it really was pathetic. It really wasn't Milchamian baseball at all.

Good Milchamian baseball involves getting your chances and taking them, scoring one run at a time winning every game 5-3 with very few big innings but a lot of small ones. Or conversely getting one big inning and sitting on the lead for the rest of the game. This wasn't it, it wasn't even close besides coming back from behind which isn't like the Warriors at all we don't squander leads or ties. We go on forward grab the lead and hold it for easy wins. Milchamians never lose.

This team while looking good against weak competition can't play against the big boys just like last tournament when we failed miserably against Az-cz good teams don't fail in that situation. Even our old baseball team failed all the time losing the first 2 baseball world cups in the finals and semis the other two times. This is just typical Warriors and Milchama baseball failing against a good team like Zwangzung. Tommorow look for more failure as we lose to Ambrose-Douglas, who also seem to have a good team, 5-2 after we give up 4 runs in the 8th inning.

Oof I hate Milchamian baseball yet I can't wait for tommorow when we start this terrible cycle all over again.

OOC: Love the article Milchama... four runs in the top of the eighth, eh? We'll see. I usually don't put up runs in bunches. Anyways, do you want to write the RP for tomorrow's game or do you want me to?

OOC: Love the article Milchama... four runs in the top of the eighth, eh? We'll see. I usually don't put up runs in bunches. Anyways, do you want to write the RP for tomorrow's game or do you want me to?

OOC: You can do the RP first if nothing else for the box score. Oh and if we blow it late put an error in there.

OOC: You can do the RP first if nothing else for the box score. Oh and if we blow it late put an error in there.

OOC: Roger that... any particular player you'd like it to happen to who you'd love to rip on?

OOC: Roger that... any particular player you'd like it to happen to who you'd love to rip on?

No not really and you should come onto IRC.

Log on to Espernet then go to #nssport

No not really and you should come onto IRC.

Log on to Espernet then go to #nssport

I don't use IRC... how do I get it?

I don't use IRC... how do I get it?
You need an IRC client. I would recommend irssi (http://www.irssi.org) if you use Linux and other Unices or bersirc (http://bersirc.free2code.net/index.php/downloads/) if you use windows.

when you connect, you select irc.esper.net as server. In bersirc, use the Connect-dialogue (or similar named, I am no Winnie and use localized software), in irssi type: "/connect irc.esper.net". When a lot of text is displayed in the server window, type "/nick Ambrose-Douglas" and then "/join #nssport"

You need an IRC client. I would recommend irssi (http://www.irssi.org) if you use Linux and other Unices or bersirc (http://bersirc.free2code.net/index.php/downloads/) if you use windows.

when you connect, you select irc.esper.net as server. In bersirc, use the Connect-dialogue (or similar named, I am no Winnie and use localized software), in irssi type: "/connect irc.esper.net". When a lot of text is displayed in the server window, type "/nick Ambrose-Douglas" and then "/join #nssport"

I'm on... at least it says I am

OOC: I am going to be on and off for a couple of day's, I know my baseball RP suck's, but I'll improve in the future, plus I am playing in a concert, and I have to practice alot, so this is just a head's up, so that you aren't worried when I am not on for a period of time.

Hopes still high for Scotchpinestan

Despite their 0-3 record, Scotchpinestan's team is feeling good about their chances in the rest of the tournament. Sam Santiago's complete game against Ambrose-Douglas provided the team with a much-needed lift, even though the offense couldn't do much to help him.

It also helps that their next opponent is also winless.

"We should be able to beat Vephrall," said closer Zeke Bullock, who hasn't gotten into a game yet. "I think we'll be able to knock Diors out early; he doesn't throw all that hard. We should get out to a quick lead and then hold them with our pitching. Capped off by yours truly, of course."

Derek Brantley will get the start for Scotchpinestan, and if he falters, the well-rested bullpen should be ready to step in. Brantley claimed before the WBC started that he would be debuting a new pitch at the tournament - one that he says the tree frogs taught him. It remains to be seen what this pitch could be.

Of course, none of that will matter unless Scotchpinestan scores some runs, which has been a problem in the first three games.

"We've got to do more on offense," said first baseman Douglas Moreland. "I know I was pressing during most of that Ambrose-Douglas game. We can't do that. We have to get back to playing smart, not hard. We can't win if we don't score."

The Meice Journal
English Version
5 Sirchismy 1733

Team Hopes to Receive Boost from Off Day

Three games, three losses. Not exactly what Vephrall wanted in its first ever international sporting competition.

Things got ugly in the first inning of the first game, when starter Parogam Bunsars gave up five runs. Team Vephrall's defense was solid for the rest of that game, but it couldn't make up for that awful inning and the team lost to Zwangzug by a score of 6-5. Game two started out better, with Vephrall going into the ninth inning with a 5-4 lead. But this time it was closer Sperobis Misina with the five-run inning, and with no retaliation in the bottom of the inning, a 9-5 loss was the final. And the Ambrose-Douglas game wasn't much better, with the fans at Illokel Park seeing their team fall once again, 5-3.

During the fourth day of games, the team from Vephrall got what can only be described as a much-needed rest.

"We have to regain focus," said manager Prorim Rempidar. "It's not over yet, with five games still to go. But I know we're probably going to need to win all of them in order to advance."

Lefty Taratchy Diors will be the starting pitcher against Scotchpinestan in the next game. Scotchpinestan, like Vephrall, has started the tournament with three losses, so one team's losing streak must by definition be broken. On paper, the advantage would seem to go to Vephrall, who have scored thirteen runs so far to Scotchpinestan's seven. Scotchpinestan starter Derek Brantley will be trying to keep Vephrall out of the R column (and the W column), but Vephrese batters remain confident. They're hitting a not-exactly-stellar .235 (25-for-106) so far in the tournament, but know that things could certainly be worse.

"We just hope not to find that out firsthand against Scotchpinestan," jokes third baseman and leadoff hitter Sanani Hahnea.

As for the rankings, what ever works... Hell we could be like the NCAA and have two separate rankings, of which 90% matches and the other 10% is changed. I'll still do my rankings, and Az-cz can do theirs. The only thing I don't like about the KPB's is that we haven't had enough tourneys yet for it to be "accurate'', which is also a drawback to mine as well. So until after WBC 3, I suggest we just rank teams based on the overall record in WBC games, which is what i did for after the 1st one.

(RP to follow)

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

the sidewinders offense continues to impress as they score more than 10 runs for the 2nd straight game in a 13-6 win over Calizorinstan. The key inning was the 7 run fifth in which every starter had a hit.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Qazox 2 0 0 2 7 0 0 0 2 13 18 0
Caliz 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 6 10 0


As with the win over Quakmybush, one player had a tremendous day at the plate, and this time it was Jack Sun, who hit 3 homeruns, setting a Qazox record on the day. Sun's 7 RBI also broke the record of 6 RBIs set by Qadi Olea just yesterday against Quakmybush. Kyle Pollack went 6 2/3rds for the win, while Jason Dawes pitched 2 /13 innings of scoreless relief, after allowing an inherited runner to score.

Up next is a home game against Demot.


QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 6 1 1 0 .167
CF- Gabe Reyes 6 3 1 1 .500
DH- John Green 4 3 2 0 .750
3B- David Ramierez 5 2 1 1 .400
RF- Juan Ortiz 5 2 2 3 .400
C- Henry Bonds 5 3 2 1 .600
LF- Jack Sun 5 3 3 7 .600
1B- Qadi Olea 5 2 1 0 .400
SS- Jack Spade 5 1 0 0 .200
TOTALS 46 18 13 13 .391

HITTING:
Doubles- Ramierez, Ortiz, Reyes (2), Bonds
Homeruns- Sun 3
Stolen Base- Reed
Sac Fly- Ortiz
GIDP- Ramierez


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Kyle Pollack (1-0) 6.2 9 5 6 2 5 8.10
Jason Dawes 2.1 1 1 0 1 3 0.00
TOTALS 9.0 10 6 6 3 8 6.00
WP- Pollack 2
HBPs- Pollack

http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2#Preliminary_Groups Newly Updated NSWIKI!!!!

This is for MD4. No RP because I've been busy, but stats/game log provided, but I'll be able to RP MD5 (TGIF!).

TEAM/INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
LIVERPOOL ENGLAND 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 8 15 0 VISITORS
ANGRY CHIMPANZEES 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 7 1 HOME

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND BATTING
POS AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
JONAS CABLE SS 4 2 1 1 1 1 .333
CORTEZ ROSENSTIEHL 1B 5 1 1 0 0 0 .091
GRANT PITTMAN 3B 5 1 2 1 0 1 .455
DANILO SEIDNER DH 5 1 2 3 0 1 .273
CLAY EASTER RF 5 0 2 0 0 1 .333
TODD ALLSHOUSE C 4 2 0 0 0 0 .300
DOUGLAS SHAFER LF 4 1 3 1 0 0 .364
ROHTIN CHUNG CF 3 0 2 1 0 1 .400
JARVIS WELLS 2B 1 0 1 0 0 0 .333
BRENT JUDGE PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
PIERRE MACKENDOER 2B 3 0 1 1 0 0 .333
TOTALS 39 8 15 8 1 5

BATTING
2B: Pittman (2), Mackendoer, Easter (1)
HR: Seidner (1), Shafer (2), Cable (1)
RBI: Pittman (2), Seidner 3 (3), Shafer (5), Mackendoer (1), Cable (1)
IBB: Cable
SH: Chung
SB: Cable (1)
CS: Mackendoer
GIDP: Cable, Mackendoer

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND PITCHING
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
STEPHEN WEGLEY (W, 1-0) 7.0 5 3 3 2 5 0 3.86
NICKY JAMES 1.1 2 1 1 0 1 0 2.70
WILFORD MCMICHAELS 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Notes:
Liverpool England second baseman Jarvis Wells injured in 2nd inning
running the basepaths

INNING 1
CABLE GROUNDED OUT TO FIRST
ROSENSTIEHL SINGLED TO SHALLOW RIGHT
PITTMAN DOUBLED TO DEEP LEFT-CENTRE, ROSENSTIEHL SCORES
SEIDNER FOULED OUT TO THIRD
EASTER SINGLED TO LEFT, PITTMAN TO THIRD
ALLSHOUSE GROUNDED INTO FIELDER'S CHOICE AT SECOND

INNING 2
SHAFER SINGLED TO SHALLOW LEFT
CHUNG STRUCK OUT SWINGING
WELLS SINGLED IN THE INFIELD BUT WAS INJURED RUNNING THE BASES
PINCH RUNNER ON FIRST: BRENT JUDGE
CABLE GROUNDED INTO DOUBLE-PLAY
NEW SECOND BASEMAN: PIERRE MACKENDOER

INNING 3
ROSENSTIEHL FLEW OUT TO CENTRE
PITTMAN SINGLED TO RIGHT
SEIDNER HOMERED TO DEEP CENTRE, PITTMAN SCORES
EASTER GROUNDED OUT, THIRD BASEMAN TO FIRST
ALLSHOUSE FLEW OUT TO CENTRE

INNING 4
SHAFER HOMERED TO RIGHT-CENTRE
CHUNG SINGLED DOWN THE LEFT FIELD LINE
MACKENDOER GROUNDED INTO DOUBLE-PLAY
CABLE INTENTIONALLY WALKED
ROSENSTIEHL POPPED OUT TO PITCHER

INNING 5
PITTMAN GROUNDED OUT, PITCHER TO FIRST BASEMAN
SEIDNER STRUCK OUT LOOKING
EASTER STRUCK OUT SWINGING

INNING 6
ALLSHOUSE REACHED ON ERROR
SHAFER FLEW OUT TO DEEP CENTRE, ALLSHOUSE REACHES SECOND SAFELY
CHUNG BUNTED ALLSHOUSE ALONG, SACRIFICE HIT
MACKENDOER GROUND-RULE DOUBLED TO SHALLOW LEFT, ALLSHOUSE SCORES
MACKENDOER CAUGHT STEALING AT THIRD

INNING 7
CABLE HOMERED TO RIGHT OFF THE FOUL POLE
ROSENSTIEHL GROUNDED OUT, SECOND BASEMAN TO FIRST
PITTMAN FLEW OUT TO RIGHT
SEIDNER GROUNDED OUT, CATCHER TO FIRST BASEMAN

INNING 8
EASTER GROUND-RULE DOUBLED TO THIRD - FAN INTERFERENCE
ALLSHOUSE GROUNDED INTO FIELDER'S CHOICE, EASTER OUT AT THIRD
SHAFER SINGLED TO LEFT, ALLSHOUSE TO SECOND
CHUNG SINGLED TO RIGHT, ALLSHOUSE SCORES, SHAFER OUT AT THIRD
MACKENDOER GROUNDED INTO FIELDER'S CHOICE, CHUNG OUT AT SECOND

INNING 9
CABLE STRUCK OUT SWINGING, REACHED ON WILD PITCH
CABLE STOLE SECOND
ROSENSTIEHL GROUNDED OUT TO FIRST, CABLE TO THIRD
PITTMAN STRUCK OUT SWINGING
SEIDNER SINGLED TO DEEP LEFT, CABLE SCORES
EASTER GROUNDED INTO FIELDER'S CHOICE, SEIDNER OUT AT SECOND

Az-cz Scroll
Demot
Ya-Kyu

What's a little bloodbath amongst friends?

Having met on the football pitch a quite large number of times for two countries as young as ours we now got our first chance to see Demot in other sporting realms. And once again the Gnomes left Demot clinging to an AOCAF victory a number of cups back as their successes against the Robbers.

The pink & green applied the Starblaydian Water Torture Technique to the Demot squad slowly bringing run after run across the plate. A single run plated in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th innings. Most of the damag was done through dink plays as only the run scored in the 4th was scored on a hit, the other five coming on sacrifices. As for the pitching it was absolutely briliant. Mk-Krk only allowed three hits through seven innings.

The eighth saw Az-cz's first home run of the tournament as Ich-Ro rapped a one out single. After Durham squeezed him over Br-Bnd blasted a gift for the Demot fans. However in the bottom of the half Mk-Krk finally got touched up allowing a two out homer of his own. But he settled down and got through the inning. After another two runs were tacked on in the top of the inning he got three ground balls on three pitches for a very quick ninth inning.

The gnomes now come home to welcome their world cup 33 cohosts. Quakmybush has looked good winning two of three games, but the third was a brutalization at the hands of Qazox. Az-cz is definitely hoping to join Zwangzug on the list of unbeaten teams at the half way point.

MD5 Scores

Demot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qazox 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 1 X 8

Quakmybush 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Az-cz 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 X 7

Assegai 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Yafor 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ESF 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 4 0 8
Nitrodymium 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 7

A-Douglas 1 0 2 1 0 2 1 1 0 8
Milchama 1 1 1 2 2 0 2 3 X 12

Vephrall 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 5
Scotchpinestan 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 4

Cookesland 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 1 8
St. Samuel 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 7

C. Prestonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kura-Pelland 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 X 3

Kampfers 3 3 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 13
LE 0 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 1 7

NMS 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 3
Iansisle 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 4

Tables

Group A1

Az-cz 4 0 31 9 22
Qazox 3 1 42 19 23
Quakmybush 2 2 17 28 -11
Calizorinstan 1 3 14 25 -11
Demot 0 4 4 27 -23

Group B1

ESF 4 0 34 26 8
Assegai 3 1 16 10 6
Lovisa 2 2 22 18 4
Yafor 2 1 3 6 14 -8
Nitrodymium 0 4 9 19 -10

Group C1


Zwangzug 4 0 24 13 11
Milchama 3 1 35 19 16
A-Douglas 2 2 16 21 -5
Vephrall 1 3 18 24 -6
Scotchpinestan 0 4 11 27 -16

Group D1


Kiryu-shi 3 1 30 17 13
Kura-Pelland 3 1 25 21 4
St. Samuel 2 2 26 24 2
Cookesland 2 2 33 32 1
C. Prestonia 0 4 13 33 -20


Group E1

Kampfers 4 0 40 25 15
NMS 2 2 23 23 0
LE 2 2 21 22 -1
Iansisle 2 2 7 10 -3
Angry Chimps 0 4 11 22 -11

Overall Standings (not necessarily the same as order for second knockout stage)

Az-cz 4 0 31 9 22
Kampfers 4 0 40 25 15
Zwangzug 4 0 24 13 11
ESF 4 0 34 26 8
Qazox 3 1 42 19 23
Milchama 3 1 35 19 16
Kiryu-shi 3 1 30 17 13
Assegai 3 1 16 10 6
Kura-Pelland 3 1 25 21 4
Lovisa 2 2 22 18 4
St. Samuel 2 2 26 24 2
Cookesland 2 2 33 32 1
NMS 2 2 23 23 0
LE 2 2 21 22 -1
Iansisle 2 2 7 10 -3
A-Douglas 2 2 16 21 -5
Quakmybush 2 2 17 28 -11
Vephrall 1 3 18 24 -6
Yafor 2 1 3 6 14 -8
Calizorinstan 1 3 14 25 -11
Nitrodymium 0 4 9 19 -10
Angry Chimps 0 4 11 22 -11
Scotchpinestan 0 4 11 27 -16
C. Prestonia 0 4 13 33 -20
Demot 0 4 4 27 -23

No scores tomorrow. Next scores should come Sunday evening Japan time.

Kampfers Demolishes LE!

With this victory, Kampfers improves to 4-0 in the group play round of the tournament. In last nights game, Kampfers put up 13 runs to crush LE. It seems like there is no stopping this Kampferian squad! Fuhrer Richtoff flew out to watch this game in person, a rareity for the Fuhrer. He is expected to show up at more and more games if this winning streak continues.

*Editors Note: Last week we incorrectly said that ESF knocked Kampfers out of the World Baseball Classic. The correct team was West Pasco.

FNN Sports News

This is Franklin Snar of FNN Sports.

The Federation Phoenixes dropped an ugly game to Michama 12-8. The loss dropped the Phoenixes to 2-2 and third place in group C1, and 17th overall in the standings. Milchama improved to 3-1 and second place in C1 and fifth overall. Only the top 12 teams overall advance to the next round.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
A-Douglas 1 0 2 1 0 2 1 1 0 8 14 3
Milchama 1 1 1 2 2 0 2 3 X 12 20 2

Both starting pitchers were pounded in this game, so I guess that each team likes lefties, and I guess Milchama really likes knuckleballers, because they were all over Federation starting pitcher David Rolland from the beginning.

James Rickey got the nod for Milchama, and the game started looking much like the last game the Federation played in, the 2-1 pitcher's duel over Scotchpinestan. Usar Davis and Andrew Karlson both struck out, Davis swinging and Karlson looking, for the for the first two outs. Victor Bruce knocked a pitch into left field that went past Marcus Losche and allowed him to advance to second. Bruce got credit for his single, and Losche got the error for the runner advancing. Carson Isnaris was up next, and he ripped a triple down the third base line that scored Bruce easily from second, and put the Phoenixes up 1-0 with two outs in the top of the first. His older twin brother, Benjamin Isnaris, came to the plate next and, with Carson charging home, laid a bunt down the third base line. Rickey got to the ball first and flipped it to catcher Del Carmic, who came down on top of the younger Isnaris brother in what appeared to be a late tag. However, the umpire called Carson out at the plate, and, after an argument, the younger Isnaris brother was ejected and the inning was over. Number 11 Patrick Legor was brought in to take Carson's spot in the field and lineup.

The pressure of the game may have gotten to starting Federation pitcher David Rolland. After the Scotchpinestan game, he spoke of how huge it would be for his team to win this one. But he never seemed to be comfortable on the mound and never found his rhythm. From the first batter, he couldn't even get his bread and butter, the knuckleball, to work. He left one hanging on a 2-0 pitch and lead-off man Kenny Merrick ripped it for a double into the left center gap. He then walked Michael Flinter on five pitches to have men on first and second with no one out. He seemed to regain a little control, striking out Tal Gool with a sneaky fastball and then getting Barrett Hamilton to ground into a fielder's choice at third. But Marcus Losche was able to make up for his error in the top of the first when he hit a single into right field and replacement Patrick Legor's throw was off, allowing Flinter to score from second. With men on first and third and two out, Kent Monarch nailed a pitch that would have scored Hamilton at third and perhaps Losche from first, but Rolland stuck out his glove and the ball found it. With a relieved "look what I found" expression on his face, Rolland walked off the mound with no further damage being done.

Brock Templeton started off the top of the second well for the Phoenixes, knocking a hot grounder through the gap at short for a lead-off single. Jacob Farthington came up next and struck out looking on a curveball that froze him and dropped straight through the zone. Henry Samuelson was able to draw a walk on a close 3-2 fastball that just missed outside for Rickey. However, Rickey made up for the walk when pitcher David Rolland came up to bat, making him look silly on a three pitch swinging strikeout, especially the last pitch, a curveball that made Rolland look like he was swinging at a piñata blindfolded, and made us wish Rolland would never swing a bat again in his life. Usar Davis was up next and grounded into a fielder's choice at second, ending the inning with no damage done by the Phoenixes.

Ronny Bjork led off for Milchama in the bottom of the second and smacked a hot liner off the wall in left for a double. Del Carmic came up next and tried to hit a sacrifice fly to advance Bjork to third, but the hit to right was too shallow, so Bjork stayed on second with one out. Pitcher James Rickey was up next and did not give Rolland the same pleasure he had had just a half inning before. Rickey laid a perfect bunt down the third base line, advancing Bjork to third as he was thrown out at first by Andrew Karlson. Kenny Merrick was up next, and his "hit it where they ain't" approach worked again, blooping a single in front of hard charging Brock Templeton in left to score Bjork and put Milchama up 2-1. Rolland seemed to recover faster this time as a 3-2 knuckleball struck Flinter out looking to end the inning.

Andrew Karlson started off the inning for the Phoenixes with a 2-1 grounder that dribbled to shortstop Ronny Bjork who made a nice barehanded grab and throw to get Karlson out at first. Victor Bruce stepped to the plate next and this time ripped a legitimate double into the right center gap to improve to 2 for 2 on the day. Patrick Legor reminded the team just how much they missed Carson Isnaris as he popped out in foul territory to catcher Del Carmic. Benjamin Isnaris then stepped to the plate, with Bruce on second and two outs. After a first pitch strike on the inside corner, Rickey made a mistake and left a curveball hanging out over the middle of the plate, and Isnaris made him pay. With one swing of the bat, and a ball traveling into the upper deck, the elder brother on the team put the Federation side ahead, 3-2. Brock Templeton struck out on five pitches to end the inning.

With the lead once again, Rolland finally seemed to settle down a little. He put a changeup below Tal Gool's knees, which he promptly grounded to second on for the first out, and Barrett Hamilton struck out on four pitches. However, Marcus Losche continued his scoring ways when Rolland left a 2-2 knuckleball hanging and Losche took it right over the center field wall, just over the outstretched glove of Usar Davis, to tie the game at 3-3. Kent Monarch hit another hot liner that got through this time for a single, and then Ronny Bjork improved to 2 for 2 as well as he knocked a hot grounder down the first base line that got past Benjamin Isnaris for a hit. Del Carmic was up next and worked Rolland for a walk to load the bases up with two outs. After a quick chat from catcher Henry Samuelson, it was Rolland's turn to make Rickey look silly, as a 1-2 knuckleball froze him for strike three, making Rickey mouth "Wow," as he walked away.

Jacob Farthington continued his bad day as he struck out for a second time, again looking, this time at a high and tight fastball. Henry Samuelson hit a deep shot into right field that Barrett Hamilton misplayed, allowing him to advance all the way to third on the error. Rolland was up next and actually helped his cause as he hit a sac fly into left field to score Samuelson and get the lead back, 4-3. Usar Davis hit the ball solidly, but an excellent diving stop and from-the-knees throw by Ronny Bjork nailed him at first to end the top of the fourth.

Milchama finally took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. Kenny Merrick started it off with a hot single into left that zipped over a leaping Victor Bruce at short. Michael Flinter did the same, except over Jacob Farthington's head at second. Tal Gool was out in front of a 1-2 changeup, a nice follow up pitch to the fastball previously thrown, to strike out swinging. Then Barrett Hamilton walked on four straight pitches to load the bases for Milchama's best overall hitter, Marcus Losche. With just one pitch, Losche made Rolland pay. A screaming double into the left center gap scored Merrick and Flinter with Hamilton stopping at third. Milchama took the lead 5-4. Rolland was visibly shaken and got lucky that Kent Monarch flew out to first on a 3-1 pitch that Monarch slammed his bat into the ground after he hit it, knowing he had missed a chance on a changeup left over the plate. Ronny Bjork worked out a walk, loading the bases once again for Milchama. However, Del Carmic grounded back to Rolland who threw him out at first to end the inning. But the damage was already done.

The top of the fifth was the final turning point of the game. With his team in the lead again by one, James Rickey went out determined to make sure that the Phoenixes never threatened again. He struck out the side of Andrew Karlson, Victor Bruce, and Patrick Legor on only ten pitches, and walked to the dugout to a standing ovation.

The bottom of the fifth might have been the nail in the coffin for the Federation side. James Rickey led off and, fresh from his three strikeout inning, hit the ball hard at third baseman Andrew Karlson. Karlson must have still be thinking about that strikeout, because he bobbled the ball and by the time he recovered, Rickey was safe at first on the error. That proved costly as the next batter, Kenny Merrick, not known for his hitting power, hit a high fly ball that rode the wind just over the fence in left field, making the game 7-4, Milchama. That proved to be all for Rolland as he was pulled in favor of Stanley Parsons, another lefty pitcher, but with a submarine motion and a killer sinker. Rolland left the game after pitching four innings, letting in six earned runs on eleven hits and one error. He also had five strikeouts and four walks. Milchama seemed to have trouble adjusting to Parsons' pitching style at first, as Michael Flinter grounded out weakly to third, and both Tal Gool and Barrett Hamilton struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Phoenixes knew they had to get something going in the top of the sixth if they wanted to stay in the game, and they had just the guy to do it for them at the plate... Benjamin Isnaris. With already one home run to his name today, he was eagerly looking for another. And he got one. With Rickey only pitching fastballs after Isnaris' home run had come off a curve, Benjamin connected solidly with one and sent it streaking over the center field fence for a solo shot. Rickey turned to watch the ball's flight and just shook his head. The Phoenixes weren't finished yet though, as Brock Templeton got to the plate and nailed a triple deep into the right field corner. Jacob Farthington continued his awful game by popping out to the catcher in foul territory while trying to hit a sac fly. Henry Samuelson made sure it didn't hurt the team. He placed a single through the gap at shortstop to score Templeton and make it 7-6, Milchama. Stanley Parsons was up next, and worked the count to 3-2, including a couple foul balls. However, a mental error then cost the Phoenixes dearly. One the pitch, Samuelson started running, thinking there were two outs. Parsons swung and missed, and catcher Del Carmic gunned down the slow Samuelson to end the inning, and the Federation threat. Rickey was done after the top of the sixth, having pitched six full innings, letting in five earned runs on nine hits and two errors. He struck out ten and walked one. Scott Mayer, a righty, replaced him.

Stanley Parsons continued his mastery into the bottom of the sixth. Marcus Losche started off the inning with a first pitch single, but Kent Monarch grounded into a fielder's choice at second, Ronny Bjork flew out to deep center, and Del Carmic struck out on a killer sinker to end the inning with no damage done, and the Federation still down just one.

Usar Davis grounded out to first to start the top of the 7th inning against new pitcher Scott Mayer. Andrew Karlson switched sides to bat lefty with the new pitcher, and it payed off immediately, as he sent an opposite-field single into left. Victor Bruce, also now batting lefty, hit a single into the right-center gap that advanced Karlson all the way to third. Patrick Legor came up and continued his horrid replacement duty, popping up to shallow right, where second baseman Michael Flinter snagged it and prevented Karlson from scoring. Next up was Benjamin Isnaris, 2 for 3 today with two home runs and three RBIs. Mayer chose to pitch to him, and Isnaris once again made them pay. He cracked a deep shot into left that was caught at the wall by Marcus Losche, and scored Karlson on what was scored as a sac fly. The score was once again tied, 7-7, with Victor Bruce on first. Unfortunately, Brock Templeton grounded into a first pitch 4-6-3 double play to end the inning, and the Federation side could not take advantage of their momentum.

There were a couple smiles on the faces of Federation players as they took the field after the seventh inning stretch. They had fought their way back, Parsons was pitching magnificently, and they were doing all this on the road. Things seemed to be great. Until Parsons' second pitch. As soon as he released the ball, he grabbed his right hamstring and grimaced. The pitch was a ball, bringing the count to 1-1 against Scott Mayer, but no one on the Federation side seemed to care. Parsons was helped off the field, limping gingerly. The trainers said he had a tweaked hamstring and his status was listed as day-to-day. Chris Togan was rushed in from the bullpen to replace him. On his first pitch he got Mayer to ground back to him for an easy out. He ran into trouble after that, though. Kenny Merrick lined a single into left, and then Michael Flinter cracked a shot right at Patrick Legor, who must have lost the ball in the sun, because it ricocheted off his glove and into the right field corner. Merrick scored, and Flinter reached third off the error. Tal Gool finally put his bat on the ball in a positive way, hitting the ball to deep center field for a sacrifice fly and extending the lead to 9-7 Milchama. After a chat with Samuelson, Togan was able to get Barrett Hamilton to strike out swinging, ending the inning with the Federation down by two.

Jacob Farthington finally snapped out of his funk with a double that he crushed off the wall in center field of the first pitch of the eighth inning. Henry Samuelson knocked him in the very next pitch as he put the ball into right for a single. Federation fans thought that maybe their team was going to be able to stage another comeback, but it was not to be. Chris Togan struck out looking on three pitches, Usar Davis lined out to first, and Andrew Karlson popped out into foul territory down the third base line. 9-8 Milchama.

Chris Togan came out in the bottom of the eighth knowing that his team was down one and that he'd have to hold Milchama scoreless for his team to have a chance to win. Unfortunately, he was not able to do so. Milchama's bats came alive for seven hits and three runs in the bottom of the eighth, with every hitter except for Mayer and Carmic getting a hit, and Losche, Bjork, and Gool scoring for Milchama. One of the runs was not earned because of an error on a throw to first by Victor Bruce that could have ended the inning.

Pat Vernon was brought in to close out the game for Milchama. He managed to get Victor Bruce to ground out to shortstop and struck out Legor on three pitches. Benjamin Isnaris improved to three of four on the day with a single, but Brock Templeton grounded to first to end the game and the Federation's hopes of a comeback.

Neither of the starters received the decision for today's game. Scott Mayer earned the win with two innings of work while allowing two earned runs on two hits with one strikeout. Chris Togan got the loss, pitching two innings for two earned runs on eight hits and two errors, with two strikeouts and a walk.

The Phoenixes play Vephrall next, a team they beat 5-3 two games ago. Either Will Powers or Peter Hampton will get the nod for the Federation, while Vephrall will be putting forward Fihor Langis, a lefty. Vephrall is now 1-3 as they beat Scotchpinestan today in Scotchpinestan 5-4.

Federation Pitchers
Rolland - 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 13.50 ERA, 5K, 4BB, 11 H, 1 E
Parsons - 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA, 3K, 0BB, 1 H, 0 E
Togan - 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 9.00 ERA, 2K, 1BB, 8 H, 2 E

Milchama Pitchers
Rickey - 6.0 IP, 5 ER, 7.50 ERA, 10K, 1BB, 9 H, 2 E
Mayer - 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 9.00 ERA, 1K, 0BB, 4 H, 0 E
Vernon - 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA, 2K, 0BB, 1 H, 0 E

http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2#Preliminary_Groups#Preliminary_Groups= Newest Update of NSwiki page. My RP to follow.

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

A Historic day for Sidewinders baseball as Frank Tinker throws the 1st no-hitter in Qazox and WBC history in a 8-0 win over Demot.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Demot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qazox 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 x 8 11 1



Tinker only allowed 3 runners to reach base, Two via walk in the 5th and an error by Juan Reed in the 7th. The offense quieted down a bit back home in Oxen Stadium, which usually is the case. Kyle Werth hit two home runs to pace the offense.


QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 4 1 1 0 .250
CF- Gabe Reyes 5 3 2 1 .600
3B- David Ramierez 4 2 0 1 .500
RF- Juan Ortiz 4 1 0 1 .250
C- Henry Bonds 4 1 1 1 .250
LF- Jack Sun 3 0 1 0 .000
1B- Kyle Werth 4 3 2 4 .750
SS- Paul Assen 4 1 1 0 .250
P- Frank Tinker 4 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 46 11 8 8 .391

HITTING:
Doubles- Reyes (3), Werth
Triples- Reyes
Homeruns- Werth 2
Stolen Bases- Sun
GIDP-Bonds (2)
HBP- Bonds
ERROR- Juan Reed, 7th throwing

PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Frank Tinker (1-0) 9.0 0 0 0 2 6 0.00
TOTALS 9.0 0 0 0 2 6 0.00

OOC: And finally... it is finished. A-D vs. Milchama game finally up and done. No more edits.

Half-way Mark Stats:

RANK BY ERA:

Az-cz: 2.25
Assegai Developments: 2.54
Iansisle: 2.65
Zwangzug: 3.25
Yafor 2: 3.71
Kiryu-shi: 4.37
Lovisa: 4.38
Qazox: 4.75
Milchama: 4.89
Nitrodymium: 5.03
Kura-Pelland: 5.04
Ambrose-Douglas: 5.40
St. Samuel: 5.40
Angry Chimpanzees: 5.66
Liverpool England: 5.66
New Montreal States: 5.67
Elves Security Forces: 6.16
Vephrall: 6.17
Kampfers: 6.25
Calizorinstan: 6.43
Demot: 7.15
Scotchpinestan: 7.15
Quakmybush: 7.20
Cookesland: 7.38
Central Prestonia: 7.94

BY GROUP (collectively):
GROUP B1: 4.39
GROUP E1: 5.20
GROUP C1: 5.35
GROUP A1: 5.52
GROUP D1: 6.02



RSP9I (Runs Scored per 9 innings):


Qazox: 10.50
Kampfers: 10.00
Milchama: 9.00
Elves Security Forces: 8.05
Az-cz: 7.75
Kiryu-shi: 7.71
Cookesland: 7.62
Kura-Pelland: 6.00
Zwangzug: 6.00
St. Samuel: 5.85
New Montreal States: 5.67
Liverpool England: 5.40
Lovisa: 5.35
Vephrall: 4.63
Quakmybush: 4.37
Ambrose-Douglas: 4.11
Assegai Developments: 4.06
Calizorinstan: 3.60
Central Prestonia: 3.44
Scotchpinestan: 2.91
Angry Chimpanzees: 2.83
Nitrodymium: 2.38
Iansisle: 1.85
Yafor 2: 1.59
Demot: 1.06

BY GROUP (collectively):
GROUP D1: 6.02
GROUP A1: 5.52
GROUP C1: 5.35
GROUP E1: 5.20
GROUP B1: 4.39


Biggest differences between ERA and RSP9I:
TOP 3 positive:
Qazox: +5.75
Az-cz: +5.50
Milchama: +4.11

TOP 3 Negative:
Demot: -6.09
Central Prestonia: -4.50
Scotchpinestan: -4.24

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz
Ya-Kyu

Practice makes perfect

The team took the field after watching the earlier game from Qazox and Frank Tinker's amazing no hitter against Demot and knew they'd have to put together a great performance to keep ahead of the strong Qazox side. And all three phases of the game came together great. But it was the defense that was the most amazing as all nine inninges ended on double plays.

Things started out dangerously for Li-Van who had been dropped in the rotation because of the flu he contracted just before the Demot match. He gave up a walk to start the inning and after a strike out allowed a single and a walk to load the bases before delivering the first ground ball double play to end the inning.

Thankfully the offense came out strong and got a two run lead that would've stood up by itself. Ich-Ro continued his excellent play and showed his true value with a single, stolen base, and then drew a balk to get to third before Durham swung. He singled Ich-Ro home and then stole second himself to which Br-Bnd drove him home with a stand-up double and then a walk to Wl-My. Things were looking to get out of hand for Quakmybush. However a strikeout and a pop up allowed them to get to two outs and after another walk they got Hoz-Yrb to strikeout to end the inning.

The second inning proved no better for the Sharks as a three pitch strikeout was followed by a walk and then the second double play. In the bottom half of the inning Li-Van tripled and then Ich-Ro drove him home. Another single and a walk followed but good pitching allowed the Sharks to again end the inning with the bases loaded. Amazingly they were down 3-0 after two innings but had to feel good because they avoided so much more.

When they lead the third inning off single, single, walk they though that they might indeed be rewarded for escaping the first two innings with the damage contained. However Li-Van earned a strikeout for the first out and when the third double play of the afternoon came to pass the Quakmybush fans who made the trip just let up a groan as they realized today just wasn't going to be their day. Another run in the bottom of the third extended the Gnomes lead to four.

The next three innings saw little offense for either team. Quakmybush had singles in all three innings but never moved a runner past first and Az-cz failed to get a single runner on board. When the Sharks lead off with two singles and a walk in the seventh they again had hope. Up to this point they actually had more hits than the Gnomes, so maybe they'd finally be rewarded. But then Li-Van managed to again go strikeout-double play and the Sharks just gave up. This double play was truly brutal cause it looked to the world like it was going to be a sure hit. But Ich-Ro made an incredible catch that no one thought he could get to and then popped up and fired to second to get the runner who had rounded third before he knew what happened. The Gnomes scraped together a couple of runs together in the bottom of the seventh and Quakmybush fans knew they were done and started to head out of the stadium. And the fans who stayed were regretting it. All they got to see was the team make ignominous history with two more double plays.

So like the Qazox team earlier the Gnomes made history and earned a shutout. The win keeps them top of the group and leaves them as the top overall team in the tournament, although the Sidewinders have the best run differential. The rematch between the two teams on match day seven is going to be a huge game.

OOC to Qazox: How exactly do you calculate the ERA? Are you taking into account errors? Do you assume that matches that aren't RPed went error-free? Etc., etc.

Milchama National News- Tribune- Sun- Times- Post- Gazette- Chronicle- Journal- Dispatch- Telegram- Star- Monitor- Enquirer

Sports Section

Shockingly Warriors play well

Against a seemingly promising Ambrose Douglas side the Milchama Warriors shockingly showed some skill in the offense department scoring 12 runs in a win that puts them at 3-1 and well in the drivers seat against crappy teams. The offense was brilliant scoring 12 runs. This is the kind of offensive performance we need espiecially with old out dated bums like James Rickey pitching. For the love of god he's fecking 45 years old. We have better starters like Terry Flonton or Kyle Willmony. These guys can pitch, they're dominating the MBL instead of Rickey and his piss poor 4.15 ERA. God damnit and we wonder why the baseball team fails. This isn't hard people, they don't change ANYBODY.

Anyway the top of the order was brilliant going a combined over .500 with only Flinter making out. Actually the entire order was awesome we scored in every inning but the 6th and even in the 6th we had a chance to threaten if not for some spectacular play by the center fielder on Bjork's long hit.

Manager Jack Korenleo said, "This game proves Milchamian brilliance and that we are the best team in the world. When we play our game we win, it's that simple even though Rickey struggled today he still should have gotten the win and our pitchers pitched well enough to keep us in it and our offense beat the living snot out of the ball. I think this bodes well for the second half"

With 20 hits for the Warriors spread out generously with at least everybody in the lineup getting 1 hit only good things have come from this game which should only lead for a better second half of group 1 and easy advancement for the Warriors.

ooc: Roster and stadium info added on PG 1 of the thread.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w107/Cookesland/cbc_logo.jpg

CBC Sports News

Cookesland 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 1 8
St. Samuel 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 7

This is Milchama Banks reporting tonight, Cookesland won today in a 8-7 victory over St. Samuel. The Nationals seemed to slow, pitcher Pete Seawell threw a no hitter the first inning. The St. Samuel team did get a man home in the second inning, but the team rallied back to also get a score. After several innings of back and forth it was down to the bottom of the twelth...

A new player on the team, Sara Verita, was at the full count, the tensions were high, the game was tied. the pitcher threw and *BAM* a home run past center field which won the game for Cookesland. Congrats to Sara and the rest of the Nationals from everyone at CBC.

'Til next time

PNN Sports News
Report by Philip Katz
Central Prestonia's team has been eliminated from the 2nd World Baseball Classic after going 0-4 in first round play. The team, which had been expected to advance to the 2nd round, was disappointed but optimistic for next year. "We're going to train hard and be ready for next year. This was our first year and I think we gave it our best shot. But like I said, we'll definately be ready for next year," the manager was quoted as saying. When asked who the he would cheer for, the manager declined to name any team specificly, but was quoted as saying that he hopes somebody from his group takes home the cup.

CNN Sports News:

Calizorinstan has been eliminated from the WBC2 after having a record of 1 win to three loss's, but the team manager, Jerry Brown says "We did decent I think, we gave it our best shot, and I'm going to hope that Az-cz wins the cup, and we'll try again next year in WBC3, ah well, you win some you lose some.." Calizorinstan will be hopeful that the Thunders will do better next year, and we hope so too, CNN Sport's news, over and out..

(OOC: Everyone knows group play involves playing everyone in your group twice, right?)

OOC to Qazox: How exactly do you calculate the ERA? Are you taking into account errors? Do you assume that matches that aren't RPed went error-free? Etc., etc.

I count the total number of innings (if a game is won by the home team in the bottom of the 9th or in extra innings, then i count that inning as a 1/2 inning for the away team) each team has played. I don't count errors, as there is no sure way to know if any runs were scored via error. And yes non-RP'ed matches i count as error free. Then i just use the ERA formula {(ER/IP)*9} to get them. Same way with RSP9I, which is {(RS/IP) *9}.

QAZOX' STATS thru 4 games

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
1B- Kyle Werth 4 3 2 4 .750
DH- John Green 9 6 4 4 .667
CF- Gabe Reyes 20 11 6 3 .550
C- Henry Bonds 19 9 6 5 .474
RF- Juan Ortiz 19 8 4 5 .421
LF- Jack Sun 17 7 7 9 .412
3B- David Ramierez 16 6 3 4 .375
2B- Juan Reed 20 7 7 2 .350
SS- Paul Assen 13 2 1 0 .250
SS- Jack Spade 5 1 0 0 .200
P- Frank Tinker 4 0 0 0 .000
P- Ryan Olds 2 0 0 0 .000
PH- Manuel Ortega 1 0 0 0 .000
P- Ivan Trok 1 0 0 0 .000
P- Eric Dawes 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 150 60 42 42 .400

HITTING:
Doubles- Reyes (3), Green (2), Sun (2), Olea (2), Reed, Ramierez, Ortiz, Werth
Triples- Reyes (2), Reed, Olea
Homeruns-Sun (3), Bonds(2), Werth (2), Ramierez, Reed
Stolen Bases- Reyes, Reed, Sun
GIDP-Bonds (2), Olea, Sun, Ortiz, Reyes, Ramierez
HBP- Bonds
ERROR- Reed

PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Frank Tinker (1-0) 9.0 0 0 0 2 6 0.00
Jason Dawes 2.1 1 1 0 1 3 0.00
Mark Winchester 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
Eric Dawes 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
Ryan Olds (0-1) 6.1 9 4 4 1 5 5.68
Eric Johnsen (1-0) 8.0 15 7 7 4 10 7.88
Kyle Pollack (1-0) 6.2 9 5 6 2 5 8.10
Ivan Trok 2.0 3 2 2 2 1 9.00
TOTALS 36.0 37 19 19 12 32 4.75
WP- Pollack 2, E Dawes
HBPs- Pollack
Balk- Olds

OOC notes:

About the stats it should just be runs allowed/9 innings. Calling it ERA is misleading and wrong. So Just assume it's RA/9I as the offensive stat is and things are fine. Qaz, please continue to do the stats they're very helpful. And everyone should feel free to calculate their own ERA. I won't do it, and I expect Qaz won't do it cause it's a pain to determine just which runs are earned and which aren't.

To Cookesland:

Where are your roster and stadium updated? Also you are aware that your game against St. Samuel was a 12 inning game in St. Samuel not nine innings in Cookesland, right?

To Central Prestonia and Calizorinstan:

There are still four more games in the first round. With basically half of the teams advancing there is plenty of time to recover to make the second half. No one has clinched nor has anyone been eliminated at this point.

Az-cz 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 1 1 16
Calizorinstan 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 6

Quakmybush 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Demot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Nitrodymium 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 6
Lovisa 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7

ESF 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
Assegai 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 X 4

Scotchpinestan 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Zwangzug 1 2 1 2 3 0 2 2 X 13

Vephrall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A-Douglas 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 X 6

Kura-Pelland 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 5
Kiryu-shi 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 X 6

C. Prestonia 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 5
Cookesland 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 X 8

Iansisle 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 9
Angry Chimps 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 3

NMS 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3
Kampfers 1 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 X 8

Tables

Group A1

Az-cz 5 0 47 15 32
Qazox 3 1 42 19 23
Quakmybush 3 2 18 28 -10
Calizorinstan 1 4 20 41 -21
Demot 0 5 4 28 -24

Group B1

Assegai 4 1 20 12 8
ESF 4 1 36 30 6
Lovisa 3 2 29 24 5
Yafor 2 1 3 6 14 -8
Nitrodymium 0 5 15 26 -11

Group C1

Zwangzug 5 0 37 14 23
Milchama 3 1 35 19 16
A-Douglas 3 2 22 21 1
Vephrall 1 4 18 30 -12
Scotchpinestan 0 5 12 40 -28


Group D1

Kiryu-shi 4 1 36 22 14
Cookesland 3 2 41 37 4
Kura-Pelland 3 2 30 27 3
St. Samuel 2 2 26 24 2
C. Prestonia 0 5 18 41 -23

Group E1


Kampfers 5 0 48 28 20
Iansisle 3 2 16 13 3
LE 2 2 21 22 -1
NMS 2 3 26 31 -5
Angry Chimps 0 5 14 31 -17


11&12th qualification spot standings


Lovisa 3 2 29 24 5
Kura-Pelland 3 2 30 27 3
Iansisle 3 2 16 13 3
A-Douglas 3 2 22 21 1
Quakmybush 3 2 18 28 -10
St. Samuel 2 2 26 24 2
LE 2 2 21 22 -1
NMS 2 3 26 31 -5

To Cookesland:

Where are your roster and stadium updated? Also you are aware that your game against St. Samuel was a 12 inning game in St. Samuel not nine innings in Cookesland, right?

ooc: The Roster 'n Team are on the first page of the thread, the rest is fixed

The long journey to Kiryu-shi was never likely to be rewarding, and so it proved - but the narrow 6-5 nature of the defeat was welcomed, as it means Kura-Pelland remain in a qualifying position on runs scored.

'For what that's worth,' reported pitching coach George Pidgeon. 'But we're showing we are capable of ruffling the odd feather. Remember, we weren't expected to qualify and many thought we wouldn't even come close.'

They were certainly close in this one, with tit-for-tat runs in each of the first three innings followed by two gooseeggs as the relievers got to work. Kura-Pelland again took the lead in the sixth but a two-run 380-foot homer for Kiryu-shi established what proved a vital lead that would remain throughout, extended with two doubles in the eighth, narrowed but not removed with two doubles in the ninth.

One more tough road trip remains, against Cookesland who were unexpectedly beaten in Trilan first time around, before the two easier matches against St Samuel and Central Prestonia. Most analysts expect two wins out of three; a 5-3 record in third place may or may not be enough. 'It's already looking like it may come down to run difference, so we've got to be at our sharpest in every inning even if the result is a foregone conclusion one way or the other,' Pidgeon told reporters.

"Welcome back to the Anti-Government Hour.And now it's time for the call-in section of the show, where listeners can share their gripes with the corrupt socialist menace. We've got a caller on the line here: hello?"

"Hi. When are you people going to start broadcasting baseball again?"

"...Baseball?"

"Yeah. Frankly, people are more interested in learning about how the Zebras rocked the Scotchpinestan starter O'Dell and eventually won 13-1 than about your meaningless propaganda."

"...What?"

"They deserve the details of the magnificent three-run fifth inning, like how Lee's bunt attempt resulted in Quave scoring from second."

"Um, we have another caller on the line here."

"Hi! I think it would be a great boost to the Scotchpinestan fans to hear about their team's run."

"Is this someone else?"

"Yeah. Stieb's single to second, Kerrigan's liner to left, Moreland's reaching on catcher's interference, and Kobayashi's walk with the bases loaded-"

"Er,"

"That's how a two-out rally should go. Beautiful play."

"Right. Let's turn it over to somebody else-"

"So now they're 5-0, one of only three teams in the tournament to-"

"We're experiencing technical difficulties. Don't go away, we'll have them fixed soon."

static

"Right, we're back with The Anti-Government Hour. Coming up: what the government doesn't want you to know, and how they're censoring independent media that try and inform you about the baseball team."

FNN Sports News

Fans Almost Witness History, Phoenixes Win 6-0

I'm Franklin Snar, reporting from Federation Field here in Arkanis. With their loss to Milchama in which the team committed three errors and let in twelve runs, the Phoenixes were put up against the wall with a do-or-die attitude, where they need to win out, or at least with three of their next four, to make it to the round of 12. And, boy, did they ever deliver.

With a near perfect-game, which would have been the first ever in a WBC, the Phoenixes won 6-0 to improve to 3-2 in group C1, in third place, with a +1 run differential. Vephrall fell to 1-4, and is now mathematically eliminated from contention. The Phoenixes are just four runs back of the 11th qualifying spot, and just two back of the magic twelfth.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Vephrall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
A-Douglas 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 X 6 15 0

Wll Powers, the lefty who had been mostly ineffective versus Zwangzug in his first game, going 5 1/3 innings with 3 ER on 7 H for a 5.09 ERA, got the nod over righty Peter Hampton to start this game. Management preferred to go with experience over a fresher arm. The Phoenixes have the next week off, and then they play Zwangzug again, so management preferred not to have Powers pitch against the Zebras twice in a row. Fihor Langis started for Vephrall.

Powers, eager to bounce back in this crucial game, started off well, striking out Sanani Hahnea with a brilliant cut fastball, getting Pinteps Soscren to ground out to second, and making Mopukest Apyrphung fly out to short for a quick one-two-three inning.

Usar Davis started out the game for Ambrose-Douglas by knocking in a double into right center, and a good vibe filled Federation Field. Andrew Karlson put down a sacrifice bunt in order to advance Davis to third, and Victor Bruce lined a single into left field to score him, making it 1-0 Phoenixes. Carson Isnaris was up next, returning from his ejection in the Milchama game, and immediately made an impact, smashing a double off the left field wall. A brilliant throw by left fielder Fyls Ferrys prevented Bruce from coming home, which left it as men on second and third, with one out. Benjamin Isnaris drew an intentional four pitch walk to load the bases with Brock Templeton coming up. Templeton hit a shot towards the shortstop that looked like it would get through, except that Scunt Persas made an excellent diving catch for one out, and then tossed the ball to second the get Carson Isnaris for the 6-4 double play.

Powers really reached his grove in the second, striking out both Scunt Persas and Rirvymoles Ailos, Ailos with a deceptively nasty, rarely used curve, before DH Rictavos Shrifflu put a scare into everyone. He smashed a line drive into left field that looked to be going over Templeton's head, that is until Templeton leapt into the air, snagged the ball by twisting his arm around, then then somersaulted forward, holding up his glove for the final out. The appreciative crowd gave him a standing ovation as he jogged back to the dugout.

Jacob Farthington grounded out to third to begin the inning for the Phoenixes. Cameron Xerxes, the DH batting eighth was up next for the Federation. He had been struggling as of late, but put a 2-1 fastball into the right center gap for a double. Henry Samuelson followed that up with a first pitch single that scored Xerxes from second, though Samuelson was pegged trying to stretch it into a double. Usar Davis flew out harmlessly to left field to end the inning, 2-0 Federation.

Powers continued his masterful ways in the pitching department in the top of the third, not even allowing a ball out of the infield as he got Baspaalt Cilleng to fly out in foul territory to Benjamin Isnaris at first, caught Fyls Ferrys looking at strike three, and made Voreght Urkero ground back to himself at the mound for out number three.

Fihor Langis seemed to settle down a bit in the bottom of the third, striking out Andrew Karlson before walking Victor Bruce. Carson Isnaris was not able to repeat his first inning heroics, however, and grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

The fact that the Vephrall batters were facing Will Powers for a second time made little difference, as the top of the fourth was just a reverse of the outs from the first time around. Sanani Hahnea grounded out to shortstop, while both Pinteps Soscren and Mopukest Apyrphung struck out swinging. Powers had his perfect game intact through the fourth.

The Ambrose-Douglas bats came alive again in the bottom of the fourth as Benjamin Isnaris placed a bloop single off a nice curveball by Langis into left for a single, and then Brock Templeton hit a single into right, but Isnaris advanced to third on rightfielder Rirvymoles Ailos' fielding error. Farthington laid down a sac bunt that scored Isnaris and advanced Templeton to second to make the score 3-0. Cameron Xerxes worked a walk out of Langis, but Samuelson hit a first pitch grounder to third, starting a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Persas grounded out to third, Ailos flew out to center, and Shrifflu looked silly on a seldom-used changeup from Powers, who increased his strikeout total to seven through five.

Usar Davis struck out to start the bottom of the fifth on four pitches, and then Karlson knocked a single into center. Victor Bruce walked on six pitches to make it men on first and second with one out for Cameron Isnaris. Isnaris blooped a single down the right field line to score Karlson from second, and make the score 4-0 Phoenixes. Benjamin Isnaris struck out in a rare occurrence, and then Brock Templeton grounded into a fielder's choice at third to end the inning.

The sixth inning was no different for Will Powers as his mastery continued. He struck out the side in the top of the sixth, increasing his strikeout total to ten, and a buzz started through the crowd as they realized they could be witnessing history.

Jacob Farthington grounded out to second to start off the bottom of the sixth, while Cameron Xerxes struck out looking. Henry Samuelson looped a single into left, and then Usar Davis smacked a double he could have stretched into a triple had the slow Samuelson not been in front of him. Langis decided not to walk Karlson, who made him pay with a single into right. That was all for Langis, who was pulled in favor of Wecoisus Limpents. Langis went 5 2/3 innings, letting in 5 earned runs on 12 hits, with four strikeouts and three walks. Victor Bruce grounded to short for a fielder's choice to end the inning.

The top of the seventh registered more brilliance for Powers, as got another strikeout off of Hahnea and forced two harmless groundouts from Soscern and Apyrphung.

Cameron Isnaris started off the bottom of the seventh with a double into the left center gap, and then his older brother Benjamin stepped up and ripped a single into right, scoring Carson from second to make it 6-0, Phoenixes. Brock Templeton struck out and Isnaris was gunned down trying to steal second on the failed hit-and-run play. Farthington grounded to short to end the inning.

The bottom of the eighth was more of the same. Without sounding like a broken record, suffice it to say that Powers was dominant again, striking out one and forcing two fly outs in foul territory.

Limpents came into the top of the ninth and threw well. He struck out Xerxes, and got Samuelson to ground out before Davis hit a single into center. Karlson grounded into a fielder's choice at second to end the inning.

The crowd was standing as Powers took the mound for the bottom of the ninth. He was three outs away from the first perfect game in WBC history. It seemed like he would do just that as he struck Baspaalt Cilleng out on three pitches to start the inning. Ferrys got hit bat on the ball in a shot that scared most, but Carson Isnaris charged hard and made a magnificent diving catch to keep the perfect game hope alive. Powers was just one out away. Nine hitter Urkero was up next. He worked the count to 3-2 and then Powers threw his specialty, his cut fastball. Ball four, inside, the umpire called and the crowd booed heavily. Powers seemed to accept it as he rubbed his hand over his face, his perfect game bid shattered with the last out. The misery wasn't over though as he saw his no-hitter bid destroyed by the next batter, Sanani Hahnea who blooped a single into left. Samuelson went out to talk to his pitcher, and Powers then got Soscern to ground out to third to end the game.

Powers lowered his ERA for the WBC to 1.89 with the complete game shutout, while registering 13Ks in the win. Langis received the loss, his ERA jumping to 7.95.

Next up, after a week off, for the Phoenixes is first place Zwangzug at Zwangzug. Franklin Egon will get the nod for the Phoenixes, who won his first game against Vephrall, pitching eight innings for 2 ER on 7 hits for a 2.25 ERA. Will Bartnett will start for the Zwangzug Zebras.

When asked about pitching against a team that is still undefeated, Egon smiled. "Any given day, any team can beat any other. I see no reason why we can't beat the Zebras if we play well."

Franklin Snar, FNN Sports

Vephrall Pitchers
Langis - 5.66 IP, 5 ER, 7.95 ERA, 12 H, 1 E, 4K, 3BB
Limpents - 2.33 IP, 1 ER, 3.86 ERA, 3 H, 0 E, 2K, 0BB

Federation Pitchers
Powers - 9.0 IP, 0 ER, 1.89 ERA (WBC), 1 H, 0 E, 13K, 1BB

Kampfers Stays Perfect!
Kampfers won again today, crushing NMS at home 8-3. Kampfers stays perfect in the tournament this year, which is sure just to increase their standings in the world's rankings. Kampfers has 3 more matches in group play, and has almost locked up a spot in the knockout rounds.

Federation Phoenixes' stats through the first five games.

Fielders
# Name Position AB H BB HR 2B 3B RBI SO R OBP BA SB CS DP E
1 Davis, Usar CF 22 5 0 0 2 0 0 4 2 .227 .227 1 0 0 0
5 Reeton, Jamie OF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 0 0 0 0
7 Farthington, Jacob2B 18 4 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 .222 .222 0 0 0 0
8 Bruce, Victor SS 18 3 2 0 1 0 1 3 1 .278 .167 0 0 0 1
11 Legor, Patrick OF 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 .000 0 0 0 1
13 Isnaris, Benjamin1B 18 9 1 2 1 0 5 3 4 .556 .500 0 2 0 0
17 Karlson, Andrew 3B 21 5 0 0 1 0 1 5 3 .238 .238 0 0 0 1
22 Templeton, BrockLF 21 5 0 0 2 1 0 5 2 .238 .238 0 0 2 0
29 Xerxes, Cameron DH 9 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 .222 .111 0 0 1 0
31 Isnaris, Carson RF 16 5 0 1 3 1 5 1 4 .313 .313 0 0 1 0
42 Bergan, HowieC/1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 0 0 0 0
46 Samuelson, HenryC 18 8 1 1 0 0 4 2 3 .500 .444 0 2 0 0
51 Dolan, Mike IF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 0 0 0 0
77 Veral, Nick IF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 165 45 5 4 12 2 18 30 21 .303 .273 1 4 4 3

Pitchers
# Name Type Throws GP IP ER ERA SO BB WP H HR HB W L S E
0 Togan, Chris M Right 1 4.00 4 9.00 2 1 0 12 0 0 0 1 0 2
3 Rolland, David S Left 1 4.00 6 13.50 5 4 0 11 2 0 0 0 0 1
10 Olson, Greg L Right
16 Gigante, Edward M Right
19 Hampton, Peter S Right
21 Powers, Will S Left 1 14.33 3 1.88 14 1 0 8 0 0 1 1 0 0
27 Powell, Justin S Right 1 7.00 0 0.00 8 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
32 Yugnes, Randy M Right
38 Egon, Franklin S Right 1 8.00 2 2.25 0 3 0 7 0 0 1 0 0 0
40 Parsons, StanleyL Left 1 2.00 0 0.00 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
41 Earlson, Alan M M 1 1.67 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
55 Hasselton, SteveM M
71 Loassr, Zoltan SU Right 1 1.00 1 9.00 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
99 Tartarus, Danny C Right 2 2.00 1 4.50 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0
TEAM TOTALS 44.00 17 3.48 37 9 0 43 4 0 3 2 2 3

CBC Sports

C. Prestonia 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 5
Cookesland 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 X 8

Today Cookesland defeated Central Prestonia in a 8-5 game. The team scored only a few runs at first, the game seemed to go slowly. Then as the game rounded the fifth inning, Cookesland mounted the offensive.

the team was lead by pitcher Sara Verita, lately seen a star on the team, who pitched a four-inning shutout against the Prestonians. The team is looking forward to the up and coming match against Kura-Pelland.

'til next time i'm Milchama Banks

Newly Updatd Standings: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

An Az-cz the NMS-Kampfers scoreline is off. The score i belive is correct (8-3) bu the Line score says that kampfers Scored in the bottom of the 9th, which should not happen. Just letting you know.

TEAM/INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
KAMPFERS 3 3 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 13 15 1 VISITORS
LIVERPOOL ENGLAND 0 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 1 7 11 2 HOME

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND BATTING
POS AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
JONAS CABLE SS 3 3 2 2 2 1 .400
CORTEZ ROSENSTIEHL 1B 3 0 2 0 0 0 .214
DAMION TREVITHICK PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
DOUGLAS SHAFER LF 4 1 2 2 1 1 .400
GRANT PITTMAN 3B 5 0 0 1 0 0 .313
ROHTIN CHUNG CF 4 1 1 1 0 1 .357
DANILO SEIDNER DH 3 1 2 0 0 1 .357
ANDREW JOHNSTONE DH 1 0 1 0 0 0 .250
CLAY EASTER RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 .250
TODD ALLSHOUSE C 2 0 1 1 0 1 .333
JARVIS WELLS 2B 3 1 0 0 1 2 .167
TEAM TOTAL 33 7 11 7 4 7

BATTING AND FIELDING
2B: Rosenstiehl, Allshouse
SH: Rosenstiehl
HR: Chung (4th inning, 0 on, 0 out), Shafer (3; 5th inning, 0 on, 1 out),
Cable 2 (3; 5th inning, 0 on, 0 out; 9th inning, 0 on, 0 out)
GIDP: Pittman, Easter
IBB: Shafer
HBP: Allshouse 2
E: Rosenstiehl (1), Pittman (1)

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND PITCHING
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
DARREN SHUPERT (L, 0-1) 7.0 12 10 7 2 7 1 9.00
WILFORD MCMICHAELS 1.2 2 2 2 1 1 1 7.72
NICKY JAMES 1.1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1.93

Shupert pitched to two batters in the 7th
Seidner ejected in 6th inning for arguing strike 3 call

Errors let team down
Starting pticher Darren Shupert K'd 7 at Shocker Stadium in front of 24,000 fans on Friday night against Kampfers - but that was not enough. Over seven innings of work, Shupert gave up ten runs (seven earned) over twelve hits - including two home runs.

In a game that is bound to have raised the profile of the sport in a country where baseball has taken a back-seat for many, many years, the two teams combined to produce 20 runs on 26 hits and three errors - remarkable for a pitcher's arena like Shocker Stadium.

The highlight of the game... well, there was no one single highlight. Maybe the highlight of the game was the game itself. But Danilo Seidner, the Liverpool England designated hitter, finds himself in big trouble after being ejected for the second time this tournament for arguing a strike three call. He could be suspended by the national baseball federation, the Nation-wide League for Baseball (NLB), for up to three games. The call was correct - a diving sinker that just about caught the plate - but Seidner threw his bat in the direction of the umpire and was ejected. Neither Seidner nor team manager Justin Wilson would comment.

Full game log:

INNING ONE
MILLER STRUCK OUT SWINGING
CRAWFORD SINGLED DOWN THE RIGHT-FIELD LINE
BLALOCK SINGLED IN THE INFIELD TO THIRD, CRAWFORD TO SECOND
BOB LINED OUT TO THE PITCHER
KONTROVERS HOMERED TO DEEP LEFT, CRAWFORD AND BLALOCK SCORE
D. IST GROUNDED OUT TO FIRST

CABLE WALKED ON FIVE PITCHES
ROSENSTIEHL DOUBLED TO LEFT, CABLE TO THIRD
SHAFER INTENTIONALLY WALKED
PITTMAN GROUNDED INTO 5-2-3 DOUBLE PLAY
CHUNG POPPED OUT TO THIRD

INNING TWO
BAUER SINGLED TO RIGHT
ZIMMER GROUNDED INTO 6-4-3 DOUBLE PLAY
W. IST REAHCED SECOND ON THROWING ERROR BY 3B PITTMAN
MILLER SINGLED TO RIGHT, W. IST TO THIRD
CRAWFORD HOMERED TO RIGHT, W. IST AND MILLER SCORE - NONE EARNED
BLALOCK FOULED OUT TO FIRST

SEIDNER SINGLED IN THE INFIELD ON A BUNT
EASTER FLEW OUT TO DEEP CENTRE, SEIDNER TO SECOND
ALLSHOUSE DOUBLED TO DEEP RIGHT, SEIDNER SCORES
WELLS STRUCK OUT, ALLSHOUSE CAUGHT STEALING AT THIRD FOR THE DOUBLE PLAY

INNING THREE
BOB HIT A GROUND-RULE DOUBLE TO RIGHT
KONTROVERS STRUCK OUT LOOKING
D. IST DOUBLED TO LEFT, BOB SCORES
BAUER GROUNDED OUT, THIRD BASEMAN TO FIRST
ZIMMER LINED OUT TO SECOND

CABLE STRUCK OUT SWINGING
ROSENSTIEHL HIT A LINE DRIVE TO CENTRE, ERROR BY CF CRAWFORD, SCORED A SINGLE
SHAFER GROUNDED INTO FIELDER'S CHOICE, ROSENSTIEHL OUT AT THIRD
PITTMAN POPPED OUT TO PITCHER

INNING FOUR
W. IST GROUNDED OUT TO FIRST
MILLER STRUCK OUT SWINGING
CRAWFORD STRUCK OUT LOOKING

CHUNG HOMERED TO DEEP RIGHT
SEIDNER SINGLED TO LEFT
EASTER LINED OUT TO SECOND, SEIDNER OUT AT FIRST FOR THE DOUBLE PLAY
ALLSHOUSE HIT BY PITCH
WELLS GROUNDED INTO FIELDER'S CHOICE, ALLSHOUSE OUT AT SECOND

INNING FIVE
BLALOCK TRIPLES TO DEEP CENTRE
BOB SAC FLIES TO RIGHT, BLALOCK SCORES
KONTROVERS GROUNDS OUT, FIRST BASEMAN TO PITCHER
D. IST GROUNDS OUT, CATCHER TO FIRST BASEMAN

CABLE HOMERED TO DEEP LEFT
ROSENSTIEHL GROUNDED OUT TO SHALLOW RIGHT
SHAFER HOMERED TO LEFT
PITTMAN FOULED OUT TO THIRD
CHUNG LINED OUT TO SHORT

INNING SIX
BAUER STRUCK OUT LOOKING
ZIMMER SINGLED TO RIGHT
W. IST GROUNDED INTO 5-4-3 DOUBLE PLAY

SEIDNER STRUCK OUT SWINGING, EJECTED FOR ARGUING STRIKE THREE CALL
EASTER GROUNDED OUT TO FIRST
ALLSHOUSE STRUCK OUT SWINGING
--> NEW DH (LEN): ANDREW JOHNSTONE

INNING SEVEN
MILLER HOMERED TO RIGHT
CRAWFORD HOMERED TO RIGHT
---> NEW PITCHER (LEN): WILFORD MCMICHAELS
BLALOCK LINED OUT TO PITCHER
BOB FLEW OUT TO RIGHT
KONTROVERS WALKED ON SEVEN PITCHES
KONTROVERS PICKED OFF AT FIRST

---> NEW PITCHER (KAM): ROLLIE FINGERS
WELLS WALKED ON NINE PITCHES
CABLE WALKED ON EIGHT PITCHES, WELLS TO SECOND
ROSENSTIEHL SAC BUNTED, WELLS TO THIRD, CABLE TO SECOND
SHAFER SINGLED UP THE MIDDLE, WELLS SCORES, CABLE TO THIRD
PITTMAN GROUNDED TO THE FIRST BASEMAN, CABLE SCORES
CHUNG STRUCK OUT SWINGING

INNING EIGHT
D. IST STRUCK OUT LOOKING
BAUER SINGLED UP THE MIDDLE
ZIMMER FLEW OUT TO RIGHT, BAUER TO SECOND
W. IST HOMERED TO DEEP CENTRE, BAUER SCORES
---> NEW PITCHER (LEN): NICKY JAMES
MILLER STRUCK OUT LOOKING

JOHNSTONE BUNTED A SINGLE IN THE INFIELD
EASTER GROUNDED INTO 1-4-3 DOUBLE PLAY
ALLSHOUSE HIT BY PITCH
WELLS STRUCK OUT SWINGING

INNING NINE
CRAWFORD REACHED FIRST ON CATCHING ERROR BY 1B ROSENSTIEHL
CRAWFORD STOLE SECOND
BLALOCK DOUBLED TO DEEP RIGHT, CRAWFORD SCORES - UNEARNED
BLALOCK PICKED OFF AT SECOND
BOB FLEW OUT TO RIGHT
KONTROVERS STRUCK OUT LOOKING

CABLE HOMERED TO DEEP CENTRE
---> PINCH HITTER (LEN): DAMION TREVITHICK
TREVITHICK GROUNDED OUT TO FIRST
SHAFER STRUCK OUT SWINGING
PITTMAN FLEW OUT TO LEFT

OOC: Thans Qazox. That run should've been in the eighth. It's been fixed.

Az-cz Scroll
Calizorinstan
Ya-Kyu

Gnomes roll over Thunders

The team from Calizorinstan gave the Gnomes a good battle when the two teams met earlier in the tournament in Az-cz, falling 8-4. This time however there would be no such luck as the Gnomes put together by far their best offensive performance of the tournament.

Coming into the game the most runs the Robbers had taken was 10, against Demot. But tonight against the Calizorinstan squad they put up a whopping sixteen runs, almost as if they were Qazox or something. However it took a while for the flow of the game to really come clear. The offense started it off well with Ich-Ro and Br-Bnds coming around to score in the first. However they gave one back in the bottom half. Similarly in the second inning Bn-Sntg scored but Calizorinstan again answered right back to keep the game tight. However the third inning saw the start of five consecutive innings scoring multiple runs, including putting up three in the sixth. In that same time frame the Thunders added only two runs, turning a close 3-2 game turn into a 14-4 massacre. Both teams added individual runs in the 8th and 9th innings to lead to the final score of 16-6 in favor of Az-cz.

The team now welcomes in the Qazox side, who despite the earlier loss to the Gnomes are looking like one of the best teams in the tournament. A win here probably clinches the group for Az-cz but a loss gives Qazox the edge in the race for top spot in the group and probably dooms the Gnomes to a much harder matchup.

Scores

Calizorinstan 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 5
Quakmybush 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 6

Qazox 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2
Az-cz 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 X 4

Lovisa 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
ESF 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 X 3

Yafor 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nitrodymium 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 X 3

Zwangzug 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 18
Vephrall 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Milchama 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 3 2 11
Scotchpinestan 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 6

Kiryu-shi 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3
C. Prestonia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 X 8

St. Samuel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kura-Pelland 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 X 6

Angry Chimps 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NMS 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 X 3

LE 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Iansisle 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 X 3

Tables

Group A1

Az-cz 6 0 51 17 34
Quakmybush 4 2 24 33 -9
Qazox 3 2 44 23 21
Calizorinstan 1 5 25 47 -22
Demot 0 5 4 28 -24

Group B1

ESF 5 1 39 31 8
Assegai 4 1 20 12 8
Lovisa 3 3 30 27 3
Yafor 2 1 4 6 17 -11
Nitrodymium 1 5 18 26 -8

Group C1

Zwangzug 6 0 55 15 40
Milchama 4 1 46 25 21
A-Douglas 3 2 22 21 1
Vephrall 1 5 19 48 -29
Scotchpinestan 0 6 18 51 -33

Group D1

Kura-Pelland 4 2 36 27 9
Kiryu-shi 4 2 39 30 9
Cookesland 3 2 41 37 4
St. Samuel 2 3 26 30 -4
C. Prestonia 1 5 26 44 -18

Group E1

Kampfers 5 0 48 28 20
Iansisle 4 2 19 14 5
NMS 3 3 29 31 -2
LE 2 3 22 25 -3
Angry Chimps 0 6 14 34 -20

11 & 12 standings

Qazox 3 2 44 23 21
Cookesland 3 2 41 37 4
A-Douglas 3 2 22 21 1
Lovisa 3 3 30 27 3
NMS 3 3 29 31 -2
LE 2 3 22 25 -3
St. Samuel 2 3 26 30 -4

"And with that, this meeting of the Symbolic Idealists Emphasizing Vephrall Especially comes to order."

"So what are we doing?"

"Discussing the game while subtly insulting Ambrose-Douglas."

"The ones with the cool mascot?"

"That's them."

"How'd you get tickets anyhow?"

"Connections in Meice."

"Which Meice?"

"What?"

"Never mind. How was the game?"

"Er...good. Vephrall...got a run. Their fans were happy."

"How'd they score?"

"Ape...Pyre...that center fielder...got a hit, and then Purse-Pearse-number 24...Here, just have a peek at my scorecard."

http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/images/Scorecard.JPG

"And Zwangzug?"

"Won."

"One what?"

"The game."

"Ah."

"Look, don't you think there's something wrong about winning 18 to 1?"

"No."

"Shouldn't they have gone a little easier on them?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It wouldn't be honorable."

"What?"

"The best teams have to give their best, so that when the underdogs finally come back and win it all, it'll be a true victory. Otherwise it's just hollow."

"I understood that. Should I be disturbed?"

"You know what they say: it's not over until the spreadsheet overflows."

FNN Sports News

Phoenixes Prepare for Undefeated Zebras

I'm Franklin Snar reporting from Federation Field in Arkanis.

On a much needed off-day, the Phoenixes prepared for their toughest test yet, the Zwangzug Zebras. Although the Phoenixes played the Zebras in a tough 5-1 loss in their first game, Zwangzug has won all their games this tournament and has only gotten batter as it's gone on, beating Vephrall today 18-1.

"We can't be rattled." Starting pitcher for tomorrow's game, Franklin Egon said, smiling. "So they beat a team 18-1. It's Vephrall for fuck's sake. I don't see what everyone is making such a big deal about. Is 18 runs a lot? Damn Skippy it is. Is Zwangzug a great team? If they weren't, they wouldn't be undefeated. But are they unbeatable? Not by a long shot. We're facing their number four pitcher, where before we were facing their number two. We've got a shot. Any given day, any given day."

The Phoenixes, currently 3-2 and ranked 13th overall, one spot out from that magic 12th place finish that moves on to the next round, consider this, and all the rest, as must win games.

"A win tomorrow would be huge." First baseman Benjamin Isnaris said, who currently leads the team in batting average, on base percentage, home runs, RBIs, hits, and runs scored. "It puts us in great shape coming up to face Milchama and Scotchpinestan. But we need to beat Zwangzug, otherwise those games won't matter."

Franklin Snar, FNN Sports.

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

Even an extra day off can't help the Sidewinders defeat Az-cz as the Hosts move to 6-0 witha 4-2 win earlier today.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Qazox 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 6 0
Az-cz 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 x 4 8 0


Az-cz' Juan Marichal held the #1 offense going into this game to only 6 hits as he picked up a complete game. Tough luck loser Ryan Olds also went the distance giving up 8 hits in 8 innings, but 3 of those 8 hits were homeruns, all in the first three innings.
Up next is a home game against Quakmybush, the winner will have the advantage of being the front-runner for the 2nd team from the group to advance directly into the 2nd round.


QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 4 1 0 0 .250
CF- Gabe Reyes 4 1 1 0 .250
3B- David Ramierez 4 2 0 0 .250
RF- Juan Ortiz 2 1 1 0 .250
C- Henry Bonds 4 1 0 1 .250
LF- Jack Sun 4 1 0 0 .250
1B- Kyle Werth 4 0 0 0 .000
SS- Paul Assen 3 0 0 0 .000
P- Ryan Olds 3 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 32 6 2 2 .188

HITTING:
Triple: Sun
GIDP: Reyes


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Ryan Olds (0-2) 8.0 8 4 4 1 7 4.50
TOTALS 8.0 8 4 4 1 7 4.50

And newly updated Standings here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2
And Congrats to Az-cz, the 1st team to advance to the 2nd round.

TEAM/INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
LIVERPOOL ENGLAND 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 VISITORS
IANSISLE 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 X 3 4 0 HOME

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND BATTING
POS AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
JONAS CABLE SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 .316
CORTEZ ROSENSTIEHL 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 .167
DOUGLAS SHAFER LF 3 0 0 0 1 1 .333
GRANT PITTMAN 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 .250
ROHTIN CHUNG CF 4 1 1 0 0 0 .333
DAMION TREVITHICK 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 .250
CLAY EASTER RF 2 0 1 1 0 0 .278
TODD ALLSHOUSE C 2 0 1 0 1 0 .357
TED SCHAEFFER P 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-BRENT JUDGE PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000
WILFORD MCMICHAELS P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TEAM TOTAL 29 1 4 1 2 5

BATTING
2B: Chung
RBI: Easter (2)
SH: Easter
IBB: Allshouse
GIDP: Schaeffer

a-Judge struck out for Schaeffer in the 8th

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND PITCHING
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
TED SCHAEFFER (L, 0-1) 7.0 3 2 2 3 6 1 2.57
WILFORD MCMICHAELS 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 1 8.10

Offence stumped after 2nd
In a game that was dominated by the pitching staff of both Liverpool England and Iansisle, the home side triumped 3-1 in a boring game, with only 4 hits each given up by both staff. For Liverpool England's efforts three of their four hits came in the second inning, in which the lone run for the visitors was scored - Chung Roh-tin started the parade with a double, and second baseman Damion Trevithick, in for the suspended Danilo Seidner, hit a single to move Chung over to third. Clay Easter then attempted and successfully executed a risky squeeze bunt to move Trevithick to second and score Chung. Catcher Todd Allshouse added a single, but then it all went quiet until Easter managed to get a lone single later in the game.

By then, it was still very close - starter Ted Schaeffer had only given up two runs in his six innings of work. He went on to pitch another inning before being pulled in the bottom of the seventh for a pinch-hitter, who promptly struck out in his place. Wilford McMichaels' disastrous relief work continued as he gave up yet another run - his third earned run in 3.1 innings of relief - to raise his ERA to an astounding 8.10.

Team stats after 5 games:
POS AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
JONAS CABLE SS 19 6 6 3 3 5 .316
CORTEZ ROSENSTIEHL 1B 18 1 3 0 1 2 .167
DOUGLAS SHAFER LF 18 3 6 7 2 3 .333
GRANT PITTMAN 3B 20 1 5 3 2 2 .250
ROHTIN CHUNG CF 18 2 6 2 1 4 .333
DANILO SEIDNER DH 14 2 5 3 0 4 .357
ANDREW JOHNSTONE DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 .250
CLAY EASTER RF 18 1 5 2 0 3 .278
TODD ALLSHOUSE C 14 3 5 1 2 2 .357
JARVIS WELLS 2B 6 2 1 0 2 3 .167
DAVID KIEFERFER P 2 0 1 0 0 1 .500
BRENT JUDGE PH 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000
PIERRE MACKENDOER 2B 3 0 1 1 0 0 .333
DAMION TREVITHICK 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 .250
TED SCHAEFFER P 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000

2B: Cable 3, Pittman 2, Mackendoer 1, Easter 1, Rosenstiehl 1, Allshouse 1, Chung
3B: Pittman 1
HR: Shafer 3, Seidner 1, Cable 3, Chung 1
RBI: Shafer 7, Easter 2, Pittman 3, Seidner 3, Mackendoer, Cable 3, Chung 1, Allshouse 1
SB: Cable 1
E: Rosenstiehl 1, Pittman 1

IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
MICHAEL TAYLOR (1-0) 8.0 4 1 1 2 7 1 1.13
STEPHEN WEGLEY (1-0) 7.0 5 3 3 2 5 0 3.86
TED SCHAEFFER (0-1) 7.0 3 2 2 3 6 1 2.57
DARREN SHUPERT (0-1) 7.0 12 10 7 2 7 1 9.00
DAVID KIEFERFER (0-1) 6.0 8 4 4 0 7 2 6.00
NICKY JAMES 4.2 4 2 1 0 2 0 1.93
WILFORD MCMICHAELS 3.1 3 3 3 1 3 2 8.10
TERRENCE ORBELL (1 SV) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz
Ya-Kyu

Az-cz recieves presents from Qazox pitcher Olds

If you had asked most Gnomes fans how they thought this game would play out, three home runs most definitely wouldn't have been on the list. Az-czzers just don't hit home runs. Only Br-Bnd consistently hits them. The rest of the team just grinds and grinds and steals and walks and claws out runs. But today was different.

Some in the Az-cz media question if he threw the game on purpose, the home run pitches were so bad. According to one Az-cz scout he'd "seen harder to hit pitches in home run derbys". Br-Bnd connected in the first to put the Robbers ahead. Will Clark added another in the second and Ich-Ro, of all people, hit the third home run of the game. The Qazox fans in the stadium were just crushed to walk such weak power hitters hit solo shots on them.

Qazox answered with a solo shot of their own to start the fourth, before Marichal went into shutdown mode allowing only one more hit over the next five innings. In the 7th the Gnomes added a more regular style run with a walk, a single and a sac fly pushing the lead back to 4-1. Although Qazox scored a final run in the top of the 9th it wasn't enough as the Pink & Green held on to win and clinch a spot in the second round. They also move very close to locking up the group and have their sights set on a top spot overall.

Quakmybush 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qazox 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 X 5

Demot 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2
Calizorinstan 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

ESF 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3
Yafor 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Assegai 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 5
Lovisa 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 4

Vephrall 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 5
Milchama 3 1 2 1 3 0 0 1 X 11

A-Douglas 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 2 1 10
Zwangzug 2 0 3 4 3 3 2 0 X 17

C. Prestonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
St. Samuel 0 1 2 1 1 2 1 0 X 8

Cookesland 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8
Kiryu-shi 2 2 2 1 2 0 1 2 X 12

NMS 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 6
LE 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 1 7

Kampfers 1 0 2 2 1 1 2 0 1 10
Angry Chimps 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 7

Tables

Group A1

Az-cz 6 0 51 17 34
Qazox 4 2 49 23 26
Quakmybush 4 3 24 38 -14
Demot 1 5 6 29 -23
Calizorinstan 1 6 26 49 -23

Group B1

ESF 6 1 42 31 11
Assegai 5 1 25 16 9
Lovisa 3 4 34 32 2
Nitrodymium 1 5 18 26 -8
Yafor 2 1 5 6 20 -14

Group C1

Zwangzug 7 0 72 25 47
Milchama 5 1 57 30 27
A-Douglas 3 3 32 38 -6
Vephrall 1 6 24 59 -35
Scotchpinestan 0 6 18 51 -33

Group D1

Kiryu-shi 5 2 51 38 13
Kura-Pelland 4 2 36 27 9
St. Samuel 3 3 34 30 4
Cookesland 3 3 49 49 0
C. Prestonia 1 6 26 52 -26

Group E1

Kampfers 6 0 58 35 23
Iansisle 4 2 19 14 5
LE 3 3 29 31 -2
NMS 3 4 35 38 -3
Angry Chimps 0 7 21 44 -23

11 & 12th place standings

Quakmybush 4 3 24 38 -14
St. Samuel 3 3 34 30 4
Cookesland 3 3 49 49 0
A-Douglas 3 3 32 38 -6
Lovisa 3 4 34 32 2

"17-10...not too much to say about that, is there?"

"Where to begin? The grand slam? Ambrose-Douglas's six-hit, no-run third inning?"

"Hang on, they're called Ambrose-Douglas?"

"Yep. Well, also the Phoenixes, but that's the name of the nation."

"Then why are we the Douglas-Ambrose Malevolence Network?"

"Because my name's Douglas, your name's Ambrose, and we don't want to implicate the actual country in our nefarious plot."

"What plot?"

"Haven't gotten to that yet. As I was saying, the country's a fair deal smarter than we are: they remembered the bye days when we got all confused."

"Okay. So what's our nefarious plot?"

"These scores are too high, and it can only be the fault of one nation-"

"Az-cz?"

"No, the-"

"Impoverished country that's making the balls too lively?"

"No-"

"The-"

"The idiots that designed the organization software!"

"But they're-"

"Listen up. There's a mythical nation that's beginning a patriotic celebration tomorrow-"

"Patriotic?"

"It's a foreign word: some obscene insult, I think. Anyhow, we're going to distract the moronic nation that designed that spreadsheet by celebrating this made-up holiday. If all goes well, they'll be silent for a week."

"And if all doesn't go well?"

"Then they'll be able to put some effort into their games. But let's hope for the best, huh?"

Kampfers Wins!

Big news, huh! Kampfers extended their winning streak to 6 today. The win was yet another easy one, as Kampfers has breezed through this round. Fuhrer Richtoff was once again present this time escorted by an as of now unidentified women. Hopefully Kampfers will ride this streak all the way through the tournament.

Az-cz Scroll
Qazox answered with a solo shot of their own to start the fourth,
I didn't hit a home run at all that game.. silly goose.

Well I certainly didn't hit three, but there it is :) You didn't mention how you scored in your RP so I gave you a home run.

FNN Sports News[/FONT]

Phoenixes Lose Slugfest to Zwangzug, Chances for 2nd Round Slim

This is Franklin Snar reporting for FNN Sports.

The Phoenixes might have lost their final chance to make their push as a wildcard into the second round today as they fell to the Zwangzug Zebras 17-10 at Zwangzug.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
A-Douglas 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 2 1 10 21 1
Zwangzug 2 0 3 4 3 3 2 0 X 17 26 0

At first it looked like the Phoenixes were going to have a decent game against Will Barnett, starting pitcher for the Zebras. Brock Templeton smacked a grounder through the infield for a leadoff single. Templeton stole second on the very next pitch before Andrew Karlson grounded out to second, which advanced Templeton to third. Usar Davis was up next, but grounded to first and Templeton stayed at third. Benjamin Isnaris walked up to the plate next and hit a single into right field to score Templeton and give the Phoenixes' an early 1-0 lead. His brother, Carson, was up next and placed a single over the shortstop's head into left, advancing the elder Isnaris brother to second for two men on with two outs. They weren't able to capitalize as Victor Bruce popped out to third to end the inning.

Dwight Eastman led off for the Zebras and promptly grounded out to second. Nathan Ellis was up next and proceeded to slap a double into the right-center gap. Richie Stagg was up next and struck out swinging to bring up Terry Quave. On a 2-0 pitch, Quave got a hold of the ball and lifted it over the center field fence for a two run homer. 2-1 Zebras. Thomas Grush managed another double before Egon was able to get Karen Lee to ground out to shortstop to end the inning.

Henry Samuelson continued his solid classic as he pounded a quick single to start off the top of the second. Jacob Farthington was able to draw a seven pitch walk to make it men on first and second, no outs. Franklin Egon was up next and proceeded to strike out badly. Brock Templeton was up next and poked a single into left that didn't score the slow Samuelson, but loaded the bases for Andrew Karlson. Karlson delivered, sending a single into shallow left that scored Samuelson, but a good throw from the left fielder caused Farthington to hold at third. That proved costly as Usar Davis' hard liner was caught by the shortstop who tossed it to second for an inning-ending 6-4 double play.

It seemed like Egon had settled down going into the bottom of the second, as he gave up a single to Ben Ridge, but then struck out I Don't Care and Barnett, and got Eastman to ground into a fielder's choice at third to end the inning 2-2.

The third inning will stand out in the Phoenixes' minds as THE missed opportunity of this entire classic. Benjamin Isnaris led off with a single into right, and his brother Carson followed that up with another single that advanced Benjamin all the way to third. Victor Bruce got an infield single when the third baseman decided to hold Benjamin Isnaris at third too long and Bruce beat the throw to load the bases with no outs and Henry Samuelson, the team's .474 average catcher, up next. Samuelson struck out, however, Jacob Farthington grounded into a fielder's choice at home, and Franklin Egon struck out to end the inning. After getting three men on with no one out, the Phoenixes could not put across a single run.
(OOC: Zwangzug, it's impossible to have six hits in an inning and not score... it simply can't be done. I went through all the possibilities and everything. It simply isn't possible)

The Zebras jumped on the opportunity to make the Phoenixes pay, and did they ever. Nathan Ellis and Richie Stagg both hit singles to start off the inning before Terry Quave stepped up and blasted his second home run of the day, this time a three run shot over the left field wall. A quick chat between Samuelson and Egon ensued, and Egon proceeded to strike out Thomas Grush and get Karen Lee to ground to first before Ben Ridge hit a single. I Don't Care grounded to third, however, and the inning was over. But the damage was already done.

The Phoenixes woes continued in the top of the 4th, as Barnett struck out the side of Templeton, Karlson, and Davis for a quick, one-two-three inning.

The Zebras continued to pour it on in the bottom of the 4th, scoring four runs, including a solo shot by Dwight Eastman. An error by Andrew Karlson didn't help matters any either, as the Zebras pounded out seven hits and fours runs before the defense registered their second out. Egon was pulled after only pitching 3 2/3 innings, and letting in eight earned runs on fourteen hits and one error. Greg Olsen was called in from the bullpen and was able to get Nathan Ellis to fly out to right to end the inning with the Phoenixes down, 9-2.

The Phoenixes started on the long road back in the top of the fifth, and the Isnaris brothers took it upon themselves to do so. Benjamin Isnaris led off the inning and blasted a solo shot deep over the center field fence to make it 9-3 Zebras. Carson Isnaris was up next and matched his older brother's feat, smacking a home run over the right field fence to make it 9-4. Victor Bruce and Henry Samuelson both hit singles to make it men on first and second with no outs for Jacob Farthington. Farthington grounded into a double play that sent Bruce to third, but Olsen struck out swinging to end the inning and the Phoenix threat.

Greg Olsen's job was to hold the Zebra lead at five heading into the bottom of the fifth. He failed miserably. Back to back home runs by Richie Stagg and Terry Quave, his third of the day, extended the Zebra lead to 11-4. Two quick groundouts by Grush and Lee were followed by another solo shot by Ben Ridge, and Olsen's day was done. Steve Hasselton was brought in to replace him and struck out I Don't Care to end the inning. 12-4 Zebras after five.

Templeton singled to right to start the top of the sixth for the Federation and Karlson singled as well. Victor Bruce struck out looking on a controversial 3-2 pitch to bring Benjamin Isnaris to the plate with two men on and one out. He smacked a double into the deep right field corner to score both Templeton and Karlson, and bring the Phoenixes back to within 6. Carson Isnaris drew a walk before Victor Bruce grounded into the 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

The bottom of the sixth was a strange repeat of the bottom of the fifth, as Hasselton was only able to get a single out before two consecutive singles and a walk left him with the bases loaded and Terry Quave at the plate. Quave kept it in the park this time, barely, and scored a base-clearing double to make it 15-6 Zebras. Hasselton stayed in the game, giving up another single to Grush before striking out both Lee and Ridge to end the inning.

Stan Donatelli came into the game in relief for the Zebras to start the seventh. Barnett had pitched six full innings, for six runs on fifteen hits, with six strikeouts and a walk. Donatelli looked slightly fresh as he allowed a single by Samuelson, followed by a double by Farthington, before striking out Hasselton. A sac fly by Templeton scored Samuelson but held Farthington at second. Andrew Karlson lined out to send the game into the seventh inning stretch.

Randy Yugnes came into the game to pitch for the Phoenixes in the bottom of the seventh. He started well, getting I Don't Care to ground out and striking out pitcher Stan Donatelli before running into trouble. Eastman, Ellis, and Stagg all singled, with Stagg's single scoring Eastman, and then Quave came up and bunted in Ellis in a squeeze play. That was all for Yugnes as Stanley Parsons was called in from the bullpen, just off of the day-to-day injured list. He proceeded to strike out Grush to end the inning with the Zebras up 17-7.

Usar Davis doubled to start off the top of the eighth for the Federation side. Benjamin Isnaris took three big cuts at the ball and missed on all three, sending him down with a rare strikeout. His brother, Carson, made sure that that didn't hurt them. With one swing of his bat, Carson put the Phoenixes back to within eight as his shot flew over the right field wall. That was all the offense the Federation side could produce, however, as both Bruce and Samuelson grounded out to second to end the inning.

Parsons finally made Federation pitching look decent in the bottom of the eighth as he struck out two and let in no runs while only allowing two hits. He allowed himself a slight smile as he walked off the mound.

The top of the ninth was the final chance for the Phoenixes, but all they could manage was a single run scoring Jacob Farthington off an Andrew Karlson single. That was all though, and the Phoenixes fell to the Zebras 17-10.

With the loss, the Phoenixes fall to 3-3 and ten runs out of the magic twelve spot. They must win their next game vs. Michama and then the game after that again Scotchpinestan if they hope to have a chance of advancing to the next round. Justin Powell, a righty with a flawless ERA will get the nod for the Phoenixes.

Franklin Snar, FNN Sports.

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

Qazox move one step closer to the next round with a 5-0 win over Quakmybush today.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Quakb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Qazox 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 x 5 11 0


The Sidewinders were held to 5 runs on 11 hits, all singles, but the pitching of Eric Johnsen held Quakmybush at bay for the complete game. Juan Reed scored 3 runs and had 4 stolen bases to pace the Sidewinders.

Up next is a trip to Demot, where a win will advance the team into the next round.


QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 5 3 3 0 .600
CF- Gabe Reyes 3 2 1 0 .667
RF- Juan Ortiz 4 2 1 3 .500
3B- David Ramierez 3 1 0 0 .333
1B- Qadi Olea 4 2 0 0 .500
C- Henry Bonds 4 0 0 1 .000
LF- Jack Sun 4 0 0 0 .000
SS- Paul Assen 4 0 0 0 .000
P- Eric Johnsen 4 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 35 11 5 5 .314

HITTING:
Stolen Bases- Reed 4(5), Reyes (2)
Sac Flies- Oritz, Bonds


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Eric Johnsen (2-0) 9.0 8 0 0 4 6 0.00
TOTALS 9.0 8 0 0 4 6 0.00

And newly updated Standings here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

HITTING:
Triple: Sun
GIDP: Reyes


I may not have, but my Box score didn't mention any.

UPDATE

The current teams have all qualified directly into the 2nd round of play:

AZ-CZ
ESF
ASSEGAI
ZWANGZUG
KAMPFERS

And the following teams are eliminated:
Demot
Calizorinstan
Nitrodymium
Yafor 2
Vephrall
Scotchpinestan
Central Prestonia
Angry Chimpanzees

Qaz,

Who reads your box score? I certainly don't. I note that you did it but ignore it other than that.

Qaz,

Who reads your box score? I certainly don't. I note that you did it but ignore it other than that.

:p

Qazox 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 6
Demot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Az-cz 4 0 2 3 5 0 0 5 1 20
Quakmybush 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2

Yafor 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Assegai 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 X 2

Nitrodymium 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 5
ESF 0 1 1 1 2 0 2 2 X 9

Milchama 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 7
A-Douglas 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 8

Scotchpinestan 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Vephrall 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2

St. Samuel 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 1 9
Cookesland 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 8

Kura-Pelland 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 7
C. Prestonia 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

LE 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 7
Kampfers 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 X 9

Iansisle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
NMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Tables

Group A1

Az-cz 7 0 71 19 52
Qazox 5 2 55 23 32
Quakmybush 4 4 26 58 -32
Calizorinstan 1 6 26 49 -23
Demot 1 6 6 35 -29

Group B1

ESF 7 1 51 36 15
Assegai 6 1 27 16 11
Lovisa 3 4 34 32 2
Nitrodymium 1 6 23 35 -12
Yafor 2 1 6 6 22 -16

Group C1

Zwangzug 7 0 72 25 47
Milchama 5 2 64 38 26
A-Douglas 4 3 40 45 -5
Vephrall 2 6 26 60 -34
Scotchpinestan 0 7 19 53 -34

Group D1


Kiryu-shi 5 2 51 38 13
Kura-Pelland 5 2 43 31 12
St. Samuel 4 3 43 38 5
Cookesland 3 4 57 58 -1
C. Prestonia 1 7 30 59 -29


Group E1

Kampfers 7 0 67 42 25
Iansisle 5 2 20 14 6
LE 3 4 36 40 -4
NMS 3 5 35 39 -4
Angry Chimps 0 7 21 44 -23

11th & 12th place standings (these are the only teams capable of earning these spots)

St. Samuel 4 3 43 38 5
A-Douglas 4 3 40 45 -5
Quakmybush 4 4 26 58 -32
Lovisa 3 4 34 32 2
Cookesland 3 4 57 58 -1
LE 3 4 36 40 -4

St. Samuel and Ambrose-Douglas both advance with victories. Quakmybush is all but eliminated as they'd need a monumental shift in run differential to qualify.

(OOC: Ambrose-Douglas, the 6 hits with no runs are possible if the last out is made by the ball hitting a runner in fair territory: it's counted as a hit. http://en.allexperts.com/q/Baseball-Trivia-General-2552/Hits-w-runs-single-1.htm)

Wells' leadoff 9th walkoff homer wins game against NMS, but team fall to Kampfers

Jarvis Wells hit a leadoff-bottom-9th walkoff home run against New Montreal States to give the home fans something to cheer about following the team's prior home loss to Kampfers. The second baseman, batting last in the order, came up to the plate and hit one yard to deep right, circling the bases to pick up the team's third win of the campaign to improve the team's record in their debut tournament to 3-3.


TEAM/INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
NEW MONTREAL STATES 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 6 10 0 VISITORS
LIVERPOOL ENGLAND 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 1 7 13 0 HOME

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND BATTING
POS AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
JONAS CABLE SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 .304
CORTEZ ROSENSTIEHL 1B 3 0 1 0 1 0 .190
DOUGLAS SHAFER LF 3 0 1 0 1 1 .333
GRANT PITTMAN 3B 4 1 1 1 0 2 .250
ROHTIN CHUNG CF 4 1 1 0 0 1 .318
DANILO SEIDNER DH 3 1 1 2 0 0 .353
CLAY EASTER RF 3 1 1 0 1 1 .286
TODD ALLSHOUSE C 4 2 3 1 0 0 .444
JARVIS WELLS 2B 4 1 3 3 0 0 .400
TEAM TOTAL 32 7 13 7 3 6

BATTING
2B: Allshouse 2 (3), Wells (1)
3B: Chung (1)
HR: Pittman (1), Seidner (2), Allshouse (1), Wells (1)
RBI: Pittman (4), Seidner 2 (5), Allshouse (2), Wells 3 (3)

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND PITCHING
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
MICHAEL TAYLOR (ND, 1-0) 7.0 9 5 5 3 6 1 3.60
NICKY JAMES (W, 1-0) 2.0 1 1 1 0 2 1 2.70

However, the team travelled to the as-yet-unbeaten Kampfers and expectedly lost the game. However, it was tight, with Liverpool England managing to score seven runs - including a pinch-hit home run by Wells in the 7th, hitting for losing starter David Kieferfer (0-2).

TEAM/INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
LIVERPOOL ENGLAND 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 7 12 0
KAMPFERS 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 X 9 16 0

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND BATTING
POS AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
JONAS CABLE SS 4 2 2 1 0 1 .333
CORTEZ ROSENSTIEHL 1B 3 1 2 1 0 0 .250
DOUGLAS SHAFER LF 3 1 1 1 0 1 .333
GRANT PITTMAN 3B 4 0 1 1 0 1 .250
ROHTIN CHUNG CF 4 1 1 0 0 1 .308
DANILO SEIDNER 2B 4 0 1 1 0 1 .333
CLAY EASTER RF 4 1 2 1 0 1 .320
TODD ALLSHOUSE C 3 0 1 0 1 1 .429
DAVID KIEFERFER P 2 0 0 0 0 1 .250
a-JARVIS WELLS PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 .455
WILFORD MCMICHAELS P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-BRENT JUDGE PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TEAM TOTAL 33 7 12 7 1 8

a-Wells homered for Kieferfer in the 7th
b-Judge grounded into double play for McMichaels in the 9th

BATTING:
2B: Seidner (1)
SH: Rosenstiehl, Shafer
CS: Seidner
HR: Cable (4), Rosenstiehl (1), Shafer (4), Easter (1), Wells (2)
RBI: Cable (4), Rosenstiehl (1), Shafer (8), Pittman (5), Seidner (6), Easter (3), Wells (4)
GIDP: Shafer, Kieferfer, Judge

LIVERPOOL ENGLAND PITCHING
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
DAVID KIEFERFER (L, 0-2) 6.0 12 7 7 2 6 2 8.25
WILFORD MCMICHAELS 2.0 4 2 2 1 2 1 8.44

Kura-Pelland booked a place in the second phase of the World Baseball Classic with a 7-4 defeat of Central Prestonia.

Poor fielding proved costly early on as four runs were allowed in the first three innings - but excellent relief pitching thereafter eased the pressure and allowed the rest of the team to focus on hitting, something they were doing rather well. Only in the fourth and eighth innings were no runs scored and even then, this was only due to very good fielding - hits were recorded in each inning, 20 in all. In fact, only good fielding and a lack of home runs - just two in all, both leadoff solo runs - kept the score as low as it did. In all honesty, after an early scare, it was relatively straightforward, and it puts Kura-Pelland into a position where no sequence of events (OOC: unless I'm severely mistaken) can prevent them from qualifying.

Few people saw this coming, not least the team themselves, but now it seems Kura-Pelland have genuine sporting heroes. The Central Prestonia match drew the fifth-highest TV audience share ever recorded in Kura-Pelland, 41.8% - a remarkable figure for a country with a very dispersed television market (some timeslots are regularly won with audience shares barely into double digits). From low expectations, this team is now gathering a wave of hype.

K-P,

That's correct. Every team with five or more wins will be in the second round.

FNN Sports News

Phoenixes Win on Walk-Off Homer vs Milchama, All But Guaranteed Spot in Round of 12

I'm Franklin Snar, reporting live from Federation Field.

In perhaps one of the most monumental moments in Ambrose-Douglas sports history, the Phoenixes knocked off Milchama 8-7 at home with a walk off home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning to all but assure the Federation side a spot in the round of 12. There is still a sense of pandemonium here, so let's get right to the action.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Milchama 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 7 15 1
A-Douglas 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 8 20 0

Justin Powell started off the game for the Phoenixes and showed he meant business right from the start. Kenny Merrick struck out and Michael Flinter grounded out to third to start the inning before Tal Gool placed a harmless single into left. Barrett Hamilton flew out to right to end the inning, no damage done.

Brock Templeton led off for the Phoenixes against Warrior's pitcher Stan Romanson. He grounded out to second before Andrew Karlson zipped a hot grounder into right. Cameron Xerxes, the DH, grounded into a fielder's choice at short to make it man on first, two outs for Benjamin Isnaris, who coming into the game was hitting .565 with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs. He continued his hot streak against Romanson, knocking a single into shallow right field. His brother Carson was up next and grounded out to third to end the inning.

The Warriors put themselves on the board to start the top of the second as Marcus Losche doubled to start the inning and Kent Monarch singled to bring him around to score, and put the Warriors up 1-0. Matan Williams struck out looking after that, and Ronny Bjork grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

The Phoenixes responded in the bottom of the second, as Usar Davis tripled into deep right field in his first at bat of the game, and then Henry Samuelson popped a ball up deep into left for a sac fly to score him. Jacob Farthington was able to put the bat on the ball for a single, but Victor Bruce struck out looking and then Brock Templeton flew out to deep left end the second.

Milchama refused to be intimidated by the 40,000+ crowd at Federation Field. Del Carmic came up first and promptly struck out, but two consecutive singles by Merrick and Flinter made it men on first and third, with one out. Tal Gool struck out swinging, before Barrett Hamilton put one just over the outstretched glove of Victor Bruce at short to score Merrick, and make the score 2-1 Warriors. Powell buckled down against the Warriors' best hitter, Losche, and got him to fly out in foul territory to end the inning.

Romanson looked to put the clamps down on any hope the Phoenixes might have left as he struck out Karlson and Xerxes to start off the inning and then got Benjamin Isnaris to fly out to center to end it, one two three.

Looking to capitalize on their newfound momentum, Kent Monarch came up and blasted a solo home run over the right field wall to make it 3-1, Warriors. Powell waved off Samuelson, indicating that he did not want to talk, stared down Williams, and then pegged him in the back. Samuelson called time but Powell waved him off again, and spent the timeout staring at the scoreboard, which also had the scores from the other games on it. Turning back around, he got Ronny Bjork to ground into a 4-3 double play and then struck out Del Carmic on three pitches. The top of fourth was over.

Carson Isnaris had a slight smile on his face as he walked to the plate to face Romanson, and we soon figured out why as he put a 2-0 pitch over the right field fence for a ground rule double. Usar Davis bunted him over to third with a beautifully placed sac bunt down the first base line, and Henry Samuelson scored him as he ripped a single into the right center gap. Jacob Farthington grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the Phoenix scoring threat, but the Federation side was back within one, 3-2.

Cameras showed Stanley Parsons speaking with Justin Powell before he came out to start the top of the fifth, and whatever Parsons said must have worked as Powell pitched a one-two-three inning, getting Merrick to fly out to right, Flinter to ground out to short, and striking out Gool on a nasty nose to toes curveball that left Tal swinging at air.

The Federation side took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fifth. Victor Bruce placed a bloop single into center to start off the inning, and Brock Templeton followed that up with a single of his own. Andrew Karlson hit into a 6-4-3 double play that ended with only Bruce on third, and two outs. Cameron Xerxes came up next and ended his slump with a towering double into right center that scored Bruce from third. Benjamin Isnaris followed that shot up with a single of his own into right that scored Xerxes from second to make it 4-3, Federation. Carson Isnaris drew a five pitch walk that prompted Del Carmic to talk to Romanson. The talk worked, as Usar Davis flew out in foul territory by first on the first pitch to prevent the Phoenixes from scoring even more.

The Warriors responded in the top of the sixth, however. Barrett Hamilton flew out to center to start off the inning, but Marcus Losche pounded out a ground rule double before Kent Monarch walked. Matan Williams was up next and placed a single into right center that scored Losche just ahead of Davis' throw home. The Warriors were not able to do any more damage though, as Bjork grounded into a 5-3 double play to end the inning.

Romanson made sure to keep the game tied in the bottom of the sixth, only allowing a first pitch single to Samuelson before striking out Farthington swinging, making Bruce ground into a fielder's choice at third, and having Templeton fly out to left to end the inning.

The Warriors took the lead back in the top of the seventh. Del Carmic grounded out to first to start the inning, before Merrick singled and then Flinter showed a surprising bit of power as he nailed a double off the wall to score Merrick from first. After a quick talk with the pitching coaches, Powell stayed in the game, striking out Tal Gool again before getting Barrett Hamilton to fly out to center. Powell was done after that inning, leaving the game after pitching seven full innings, letting in five earned runs on eleven hits and no errors, with seven strikeouts and one walk.

Karlson broke out of his mini-slump, smacking a single to start the bottom of the seventh. Xerxes followed that up with a single of his own. Benjamin Isnaris flew out to deep right, but his brother, Carson, smacked a single of his own to score Karlson from second and tie the game up at five apiece. Usar Davis grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Reliever Edward Gigante was called in to replace Powell. He is the only pitcher on the Federation side with a screwball in his arsenal. He hadn't pitched so far this classic and was a little rusty at first, giving up consecutive doubles to Losche and Monarch, which put the Warriors up 6-5 with a man on second and no outs. He pulled it together after that, however, striking out both Bjork and Carmic with screwballs, and then getting Merrick to ground weakly back to the mound for the third out of the inning.

The Phoenixes showed that they were not going away, however, as Henry Samuelson grounded out to start the bottom of the eighth, but Jacob Farthington and Victor Bruce each hit singles to make it men on first and third with one out for Templeton, who hit a sac fly to score Farthington from third to tie the game. Andrew Karlson grounded out to short to end the inning and send it into the ninth tied 6-6.

Gigante stayed on the mound to start off the ninth, and threw well, getting both Merrick and Flinter to strike out on screwball pitches before Tal Gool redeemed himself with a solo home run over the right field fence that silenced the 40,000+ Federation fans in attendance. Gigante crouched on the mound with his head down and was pulled in favor of Zoltan Loasser. Gigante had pitched 1 2/3 innings, letting in two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Loasser came to the mound and quickly put down Hamilton, getting him to ground to first, to end the inning, but the Phoenixes were in dire need of a run, or their classic might be over.

Pat Vernon came in to close the game for the Warriors. Romanson had pitched eight full innings, letting in six earned runs on sixteen hits and four strikeouts with one walk and no errors. The Warriors anticipated that Vernon would be able to shut the Phoenixes down for the win, but the Federation side would not die easily. Cameron Xerxes singled to start off the inning, and Benjamin Isnaris followed suit. Carson Isnaris hit into a fielder's choice at third to make it men on first and second with one out. Usar Davis came up next and hit a shot into right field. As right fielder Barrett Hamilton came up to play the ball and throw home to nail a charging Benjamin Isnaris, the ball skipped off his glove. There never was a throw and Carson advanced to third while Davis stayed at first with one out, the score now tied 7-7. The Federation fans were on their feet as Henry Samuelson came to the plate, sensing that this was their chance to win. Unfortunately, it was not to be as Samuelson grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning, and send the game into extras tied 7-7.

Loasser pitched a near-flawless top of the tenth, only allowing a single by Losche before forcing Monarch into a 4-6-3 double play and striking out Williams to end the inning.

Vernon continued to pitch the bottom of the tenth, and outdid his Federation counterpart as he struck out all three batters, Farthington, Bruce, and Templeton to send the game to an eleventh.

Loasser was taken out for the top of the eleventh and replaced by Danny Tartarus, the team's closer. Loasser had gone one and 1/3 innings, letting in no earned runs on one hit and one strikeout. Tartarus pitched beautifully, striking out both Bjork and Carmic before getting Merrick to ground to second to end the top of the eleventh.

Chad Fernayo came in to relieve Vernon in the bottom of the eleventh. He worked quickly through Karlson and Xerxes, getting both of them to groundout to third. Benjamin Isnaris worked the count to 3-2, before Fernayo threw his final pitch. We'll listen to the call from yours truly.

"Fernayo's in his windup... here comes the three-two. A swing by Isnaris, he got a hold of it! Will it far enough? Will it be fair? IT IS! Benjamin Isnaris with a walkoff home run in the bottom of the eleventh! The Phoenixes win! The Phoenixes WIN!"

Isnaris belted a hanging curveball over the fence in right to end the game, and pandemonium ensued. Fernayo threw his glove on the ground in disgust and walked off the field. The Federation's bench emptied and all the players greeted Isnaris as he rounded towards home. Fans even started jumping the fences and running onto the field. A true celebration it was. It looked as though the Federation had just won the whole Classic, not just nearly secured their spot into the second round.

With the win, the Federation moves into 12th place and they now control their own destiny. With a win, they are automatically in. If they lose, they are out. They play Scotchpinestan next, where Peter Hampton will get the start for the Federation.

This is Franklin Snar, reporting for FNN Sports. Excuse me now, I'm going to go party.

Kampfers Wins!
This win and all the rest have left one question resounding in the streets of Kampfers. "When does the next round start already?" Kampfers is undefeated, which makes them one out of 3 undefeated teams. Fuhrer Richtoff was once again present at Kampfers' win, seemingly omniscient these days.

A-D,

You're not eliminated with a loss. If all the 3-4 teams lose you'll qualify barring a loss of 27 runs or more.

A-D,

You're not eliminated with a loss. If all the 3-4 teams lose you'll qualify barring a loss of 27 runs or more.

Yeah, I know. I just assumed that at least one of the 3-4 teams would win, and all have a better run differential than I do. So if I lose and one of them wins, then I'm out.

It's simple though. I win, I'm in. Which is what I'm hoping to do.

Kura-Pelland booked a place in the second phase of the World Baseball Classic...it puts Kura-Pelland into a position where no sequence of events (OOC: unless I'm severely mistaken) can prevent them from qualifying.


Unless a time warp happens.. then you can be eliminated.. lol

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

Another Shut-out as Qazox advances to the 2nd round with a 6-0 win in Demot.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Qazox 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 x 5 11 0
Demot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0


With advancement almost certainly clinched after news of Az-cz' 20-2 win in Quakmybush earlier, The Sidewinders rested most of the regular starters. Despite having the 'B' team in Demot never seriously challenged until a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the 8 with one out, but a quick groundball double play kept the scoreless streak alive which is now up to 19 2/3 innings.


QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Orlando Jackson 5 1 0 0 .200
SS- Paul Assen 5 2 2 1 .400
1B- Qadi Olea 4 1 0 1 .250
CF- John Green 4 0 0 0 .000
LF- Jack Sun 4 2 1 0 .500
RF- Thomas Franks 4 2 2 0 .500
C- Manuel Ortega 4 3 1 3 .750
3B- Kyle Werth 4 1 0 1 .250
P- Kyle Pollack 4 1 0 0 .250
TOTALS 38 13 6 6 .342

HITTING:
Doubles- Assen, Olea, Ortega 2, Franks
Homeruns- Assen, Ortega
GIDP- jackson, Assen


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Kyle Pollack (2-0) 9.0 5 0 0 0 2 0.00
TOTALS 9.0 5 0 0 0 2 0.00

And newly updated Standings here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

Congrats to the following teams on advancement into the 2nd round:


Qazox
Milchama
Kiryu-shi
Kura-Pelland
Ianisle

Who join:
AZ-CZ
ESF
ASSEGAI
ZWANGZUG
KAMPFERS

ten down and 2 to go.. good luck bubble teams

Liverpool England hoping for last-day win against winless Angry Chimps
The Liverpool England team (3-4) are desperately hoping for a final-day convincing victory over the as-yet-winless Angry Chimpanzees (0-7) at home. A win by a strong margin coupled with a loss for Ambrose-Douglas or St. Samuel would be enough to see the team through.

Other contenders for the two best-third-placed spots include Lovisa (3-4, RD 2) and Cookesland (3-4, RD -1), but the national team (RD - 4) are fully expecting to be able to blow apart Angry Chimpanzees, who have a run difference of -23, having allowed 44 runs.

The team will be relying on the offence of eighth batter Todd Allshouse, who has a team-high batting average of .429 (Jarvis Wells, ninth batter, has an average of .455 but has not played every game). Allshouse, who has also been hit by four pitches throughout the tournament, is 9-for-21. Leadoff man Jonas Cable and third batter Douglas Shafer, who lead the team with 4 home runs each, will also be looking to add to their power numbers - and for Shafer, to take his RBI tally (8) into double figures.

Stephen Wegley (1-0) will take to the mound for his second start, and surely he hopes not his last for the tournament. Wegley has an ERA of 3.86 coming into the game (3 earned runs over 7 innings). Julian Brenstein and Rory Billimek - both of whom have not yet made any relieve appearances in the tournament - wait in the sidelines should Wegley fall into trouble, which is not expected to happen against the Chimps. Nicky James (1-0, 2.70 ERA) also waits on the sidelines should Wegley need help - he's already saved Michael Taylor (1-0) with a good relief performance against New Montreal States.

Good defence is also a key - Cortez Rosenstiehl (1 at 1B) and Grant Pittman (1 at 3B) are the only team members to have committed errors over seven games (between them their errors caused four unearned runs).

Other members of the team to watch out for in this important game for the team are Jarvis Wells (.455), the second baseman whose game has been set alight in the past two matches with two home runs and four runs batted in, and designated hitter Danilo Seidner (.333), who has the second-most RBI in the team (6) behind Shafer.

Az-cz Scroll
Quakmybush
Ya-Kyu

Gnomes crush sharks dreams

With the Ambrose-Douglas upset of Milchama, the Sharks found themselves really needing to beat the Gnomes to have any chance of making the next round. And the worst possible scenario was exactly what happened, a total brutilization.

The game started for the Pink & Green like this: Single, Stolen Base, Run-scoring single, single, Run-scoring single, Run-Scoring Single, Run-Scoring single, walk. The first six batters had hits, the seventh a walk and it was 4-0 and bases loaded without even an out being recorded. Luckily the Sharks got a 6-2-3 double play and then a pop out from Mk-Krk to end the inning. Still they Gnomes had batted around and scored four runs before the Sharks came to bat. And as a sign of how the game was going to go they went down in order on six pitches.

The second inning was uneventful as Ich-Ro got a hit but after that three Az-czzers and three Quakmybushians went down in order. The Gnomes added a couple in the top half before Quakmybush used a 1-out double and 2-out single to give their fans their only excitement of the day.

It was short lived as the Gnomes responded with three in the fourth and a total explosion for five runs in the fifth. In that inning every Gnomes player, including Mk-Krk got a hit to move the score to 14-1. Quakmybush then found their one good reliever who pitched two scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, but Az-cz put together another five spot in the 8th and an "insurance" run in the ninth. Quakmybush hit a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth, but by that point there were no Quakmybushians left in the stadium to see it.

Asked about why the team kept down the pedal so hard in a game they were clearly going to win manager Flp-Alu just commented, "That's how you play. You go full speed till the last out. I don't wanna embarass no Quakmybushians, but we ain't gonna ease up just to make them feel better. This ain't t-ball".

The Gnomes now head home to host another friendly nation, Demot. A win there sees them to the top of the round 1 standings.

Calizorinstan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qazox 1 1 2 1 2 2 0 1 X 10

Demot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Az-cz 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 X 12

Lovisa 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Yafor 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Assegai 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 6
Nitrodymium 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

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

A-Douglas 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 6
Scotchpinestan 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 5

Kiryu-shi 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 7
St. Samuel 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 6

Cookesland 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 4
Kura-Pelland 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 X 6

Angry Chimps 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 7
LE 2 1 2 3 1 1 3 2 X 15

Kampfers 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 3
Iansisle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0

Tables

Group A1

Az-cz 8 0 83 19 64
Qazox 6 2 65 23 42
Quakmybush 4 4 26 58 -32
Calizorinstan 1 7 26 59 -33
Demot 1 7 6 47 -41


Group B1

ESF 7 1 51 36 15
Assegai 7 1 33 19 14
Lovisa 4 4 35 32 3
Nitrodymium 1 7 26 41 -15
Yafor 2 1 7 6 23 -17

Group C1

Zwangzug 8 0 79 28 51
Milchama 5 3 67 45 22
A-Douglas 5 3 46 50 -4
Vephrall 2 6 26 60 -34
Scotchpinestan 0 8 24 59 -35

Group D1

Kura-Pelland 6 2 49 35 14
Kiryu-shi 6 2 58 44 14
St. Samuel 4 4 49 45 4
Cookesland 3 5 61 64 -3
C. Prestonia 1 7 30 59 -29

Group E1

Kampfers 8 0 70 42 28
Iansisle 5 3 20 17 3
LE 4 4 51 47 4
NMS 3 5 35 39 -4
Angry Chimps 0 8 28 59 -31

OOC: Poor LE. Lost on number of runs allowed, the third tiebreaker. That final run in the top of the 9th was the difference. I was pulling for you too.

Here are the standings of the twelve teams qualified for the second round, and the groups for the second round as well as schedule.

Standings

Az-cz 8 0 83 19 64
Kampfers 8 0 70 42 28
Zwangzug 8 0 79 28 51
ESF 7 1 51 36 15
Assegai 7 1 33 19 14
Kura-Pelland 6 2 49 35 14
Kiryu-shi 6 2 58 44 14
Qazox 6 2 65 23 42
Milchama 5 3 67 45 22
Iansisle 5 3 20 17 3
A-Douglas 5 3 46 50 -4
St. Samuel 4 4 49 45 4

That leaves these groups:

Group A2

Az-cz
Qazox
St. Samuel

Group B2

Kampfers
Kiryu-shi
Ambrose-Douglas

Group C2

Zwangzug
Kura-Pelland
Iansisle

Group D2

ESF
Assegai Developments
Milchama

The schedules for the second round are as follows:

1v2, 3
2v3, 1
3v1, 2
2v1, 3
3v2, 1
1v3, 2

Which means these schedules for the respective groups (again home teams listed first):

A2

Az-cz v Qazox, St. Samuel
Qazox v St. Samuel, Az-cz
St. Samuel v Az-cz, Qazox
Qazox v Az-cz, St. Samuel
St. Samuel v Qazox, Az-cz
Az-cz v St. Samuel, Qazox

B2

Kampfers v Kiryu-shi, Ambrose-Douglas
Kiryu-shi v Ambrose-Douglas, Kampfers
Ambrose-Douglas v Kampfers, Kiryu-shi
Kiryu-shi v Kampfers, Ambrose-Douglas
Ambrose-Douglas v Kiryu-shi, Kampfers
Ambrose-Douglas v Kampfers, Kiryu-shi

C2

Zwangzug v Kura-Pelland, Iansisle
Kura-Pelland v Iansisle, Zwangzug
Iansisle v Zwangzug, Kura-Pelland
Kura-Pelland v Zwangzug, Iansisle
Iansisle v Kura-Pelland, Zwangzug
Zwangzug v Iansisle, Kura-Pelland

D2

ESF v Assegai Developments, Milchama
Assegai Developments v Milchama, ESF
Milchama v ESF, Assegai Developments
Assegai Developments v ESF, Milchama
Milchama v Assegai Developments, ESF
ESF v Milchama, Assegai Developments

"I have good news."

"Took you long enough, but I've already heard it. Gool's solo shot?"

"No."

"Loshe's double, scoring Flinter?"

"No."

"Comnick's heroic hit for a rally in the bottom of the ninth?"

"What are you, man, the Douglas Avid Milchama National?"

"Watch it."

"As I was trying to say, Zwangzug is only third overall, so they'll have tougher opposition in their next group."

"Do you know what this conversation means?"

"No..."

"It means our nefarious plot is failing miserably!"

Ambrose vomited.

"That's more like it. Lie in sick a couple of days, maybe we'll be eliminated by the time you come around."

CBC Sports

After a final 6-4 defeat by Kura-Pelland the National are headed home. The team was slightly disheartened by the final loss. The Nationals look forward to competing again in the 3rd World Baseball Classic.

"Dude we advanced to the next round"

"Nice it's good to know that we have not blown it yet"

"Yeh I fully expect to start blowing it soon because our newspapers aren't sending out reports anymore and bad stuff is happening"

"Yeh I completely agree, it sucks. Oh well that's our baseball team for ya"

"100% yeh"

"Let's go back to debate"

"Yep"

One slight problem i have with the 2nd round groups:

THIS IS BASEBALL not FOOTBALL, Head-to-Head record needs to be taken into account for tiebreaks, but it's too late now. (Figures i get stuck with the toughest group :p)

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

Yet another Shut-out as Qazox cruises past Calizorinstan 10-0 behind 8 1/3 perfect innings by Frank Tinker, who sets a WBC record by pitching 17 1/3 no-hit innings, until a lone hit with 1 out in the 9th.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Caliz 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Qazox 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 x 10 15 0


Qazox now has pitched 28 2/3 striaght scoreless innings and has 3 consecutive shut-outs. But with the group draw for the 2nd rund, Qazox has a tall order as they must face Az-cz again, and a tough St. Samuel.


QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Orlando Jackson 5 3 2 2 .600
SS- Paul Assen 4 2 1 1 .500
1B- Qadi Olea 5 2 2 3 .400
CF- John Green 4 1 1 2 .250
LF- Jack Sun 4 0 0 0 .000
RF- Thomas Franks 4 2 2 0 .500
C- Manuel Ortega 4 2 0 0 .500
3B- Kyle Werth 3 3 2 2 .250
P- Frank Tinker 4 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 37 15 10 10 .405

HITTING:
Doubles- Ortega 2, Assen
Triples- Assen, Werth
Homeruns- JAckson, Olea, Green
Sac- Tinker
Sac Fly- Olea
GIDP- Tinker


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Frank Tinker (2-0) 9.0 2 0 0 0 8 0.00
TOTALS 9.0 2 0 0 0 8 0.00


Qazox' Round 2 schedule:
Game 9: Az-cz v Qazox
Game 10: Qazox v St. Samuel
BYE
Game 11: Qazox v Az-cz
Game 12: St. Samuel v Qazox
BYE

And newly updated Standings here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz
Ya-Kyu

Hickory Dickory Dock

This game proceeded like clockwork. With the exception of the first and eighth every Gnomes half of an inning produced two runs. And all of the Demot innings were the same. 1-2-3 sitdown. Only a 3rd inning single broke up a perfect game.

The Az-cz fans came to the match in partying mood. Although the game still had some importance to the standings you'd barely know from the mood in the stands. It seems as if there were as many people ignoring the game as there were watching it. With the perfect 82 degree weather it was hard to blame them.

And the team provided plenty of highlights. Such as Ich-Ro setting a World Baseball Classic record with seven stolen bases, including swiping home twice. With Wl-My hitting an inside the park homer in the 6th there was plenty of exictement for the home fans.

As they cruised to their eighth win this tournament, they locked up the top spot for the second round, meaning they'll face the 8th and 12th seeds. They also ended up with the most runs scored and tied for the fewest runs allowed. With luck they can stay hot and hopefully their top spot will allow them a less difficult path to the semis.

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz
Ya-Kyu

Many stunning results across the board

When all the results from the last day of matches came in, two things were clear: The hosts did not benefit from being the top seed and tiebreakers were incredibly important.

Definitely the biggest losers when the dust settled were the team from Liverpool England. Despite a 15-7 win on their last day to boost their run differential well up, they just missed out on tiebreakers. How close was it? They had the same run differential as St. Samuel but had scored and allowed TWO more runs so are watching from home now. And they gave up a single run in the top of the 9th in their game. They keep that run off the board and they are here.

The second huge play where tiebreaking came into play was group D1. There Kura-Pelland just edged Kiryu-shi for tops of the group. That allowed them to slide into sixth and Kiryu-shi then beat out Qazox for seventh leaving the Sidewinders and Gnomes matched again. But if Kiryu-shi had one more run of run differential they'd have taken sixth and Qazox would've edged Kura-Pelland for seventh, makin both the sidewinders and the Gnomes much happier. Alas it wasn't to be. Now let's take a look at the various groups.

Group A2

Az-cz
Qazox
St. Samuel

You'd have to say this is a runaway winner for toughest group. Which is odd, cause it's supposed to be the easiest. As we eluded to earlier the Gnomes and Sidewinders have been drawn together again. Az-cz was clearly the best team in the last round and Qazox was probably third with the third best run differential of all teams, despite two matches against the Gnomes. Both of them would be worthy semifinalists and the rivalry will grow with two more such important matches. St. Samuel has some talent, as they showed last cup, but if they win any matches against the other two it will be a big suprise and could well swing the group. In the end I don't think the Gnomes will be stopped before the semis.

Group B2

Kampfers
Kiryu-shi
Ambrose-Douglas

Kampfers railroaded their group, but put up only +28 run differential over 8 wins. For contrast Qazox was +46 in their six wins and +42 overall. It's hard to fault consisten winning, but it's also hard to tell how good Kampfers really is. Kiryu-shi fans sort of feel they won their group. Indeed they did put up six wins in the group that seemed to be toughest top to bottom. Ambrose-Douglas has shown the most heart of the three and certainly could be dangerous. This group is pretty open, but I'm gonna take a stab and pick Kiryu-Shi. Something about Kampfers just doesn't rub me right.

Group C2

Zwangzug
Kura-Pelland
Iansisle

If Az-cz was the best team Zwangzug layed strong claim to second. They easily won a group with two pretty strong sides in Milchama and Ambrose-Douglas. With the second best run differential they're a much improved side from last cup. Kura-Pelland, came together well at the end and just nipped the top spot of their group. This is the only group with two group winners from the first round. Iansisle was miles behind Kampfers last round and will be miles behind Zwangzug and Kura-Pelland this round. But Zwangzug will again advance in reasonable comfort.

Group D2

ESF
Assegai Developments
Milchama

Like us and Qazox, ESF and Assegai Developments have been drawn together again. Unlike us, neither team really established themselves as the better side last round. ESF earned top spot by the difference of one run. Seeing as how things are almost identical it doesn't make any difference. Splitting their matches caused them to get stuck with each other and Milchama, who I think will top them both and move to the next round in their stead.

Rankings for next round

I think Zwangzug is the only perfect record from this round, making them top. Us at 3-1 will take second Milchama in third and Kiryu-shi as the fourth seed. Zwangug sweeps Kiryu-shi and we win a three game thriller against the Warriors before Zwangzug drops us in four defoiling plans for a repeat.

Qazox 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 4
Az-cz 0 1 2 2 2 0 1 2 X 10

Kiryu-shi 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 5
Kampfers 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 4

Kura-Pelland 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 6
Zwanzug 2 3 2 3 0 2 2 2 X 16

Assegai 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 4
ESF 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 X 5

Somehow - and few even in the team believe it - Kura-Pelland are through as group winners to the second phase on runs allowed.

Zwangzug will surely book their place in the final four at the expense of the Kura-Pellandi underdogs and pretty much proved as much in a sensational 16-6 victory last night, but the very fact the team are here is enthralling the nation. 'People say soccer is the national sport here. As of right now, they are wrong. This is a baseball nation,' declared K-PAB (Kura-Pelland Association of Baseball) spokesman Jack Margolis in an interview broadcast before the Zwangzug game. With an incredible 44.9% audience share for the game at one point - though dwindling to nearer 30% as the game wore down - Margolis's statement was totally justified, especially in the context of single-digit audience share for BoF highlights the previous day.

Now the focus is on the two Iansisle games. Almost nobody is entertaining a Zwangzug failure but Iansisle could be beatable.

Kampfers suffers crushing defeat!

Kampfers rallied late, but 4 runs wasn't enough as they were felled by Kiryu-shi. This is beggining to smell like last year. It was just as Az-Cz's commentators predicted. Wait! Isn't Az-Cz the host? It's a conspiracy! They paid off the umps! Call the cops! What do you mean they don't care? If this madness continues, there might be a warranted invasion!

"What happened in the fifth inning? We must have done something right."

"Uh, Eastman wiped out trying to stretch a double into a triple. He won't be able to play for the rest of this stage."

"Let's watch the replay..."

"Baek fires it in, brilliant throw straight on-target, and Del Horno applies the tag, though somewhat unnecessarily with Eastman flat in the dirt. So a daring dash from Eastman will probably see Paige into the game next inning."

"A dash?"

"Yes, that's right."

"As in Kura dash Pelland?"

"Not that kind-"

"Or Ay zee dash see zee?"

"Well-"

"It's gotta be a conspiracy."

"---- you and your theories."

(ooc: WTF?!? no day off before the 2nd round??? Bad Host ;) )

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

Well the shut-out streak ended, and So did Qazox' big chance to put a hurting on Az-cz in a 10-4 loss.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Qazox 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 4 10 0
Az-cz 0 1 2 2 2 0 1 2 x 10 19 0


Ryan Olds was the loser again, dropping him to 0-3 in the tourney, and all three losses against Az-cz. Thankfully for him, Game 3 of this round he will not be pitching. Juan Reed and Jack Sun each hit a homerun.

QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 5 3 2 1 .400
CF- Gabe Reyes 4 1 0 1 .250
3B- David Ramierez 4 2 0 0 .500
RF- Juan Ortiz 4 0 0 0 .000
C- Henry Bonds 4 2 1 0 .500
LF- Jack Sun 4 2 1 1 .500
1B- Kyle Werth 4 1 0 1 .250
SS- Paul Assen 4 0 0 0 .000
P- Ryan Olds 2 0 0 0 .000
P- Jason Dawes 1 0 0 0 .000
P- Eric Dawes 0 0 0 0 .000
PH- Manuel Ortega 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 36 10 4 4 .278
*-Ortega PH for Eric Dawes in 9th

HITTING:
Double: Werth
Triple: Reyes
Homeruns: Sun, Reed
Reached on Fielder's Choice: Ortega

PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Ryan Olds (0-3) 4.2 9 7 7 5 1 13.50
Jason Dawes 2.1 7 2 2 1 3 7.71
Eric Dawes 1.0 3 1 1 0 1 9.00
TOTALS 8.0 8 4 4 1 7 11.25
HIt Batter: J. Dawes (6th inning)
WP: Olds
PB: Bonds

Qazox' Round 2 schedule:
Game 9: Az-cz v Qazox (Lose 4-10)
Game 10: Qazox v St. Samuel
BYE
Game 11: Qazox v Az-cz
Game 12: St. Samuel v Qazox
BYE

And newly updated Standings here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

St. Samuel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qazox 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 X 5

A-Douglas 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 7
Kiryu-shi 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 6

Iansisle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kura-Pelland 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 2

Milchama 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
Assegai 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0

Stats for the first round... first game roleplay to follow.


Fielders
# Name Position AB H BB HR 2B 3B RBI SO R OBP BA SB CS DP E
1 Davis, Usar CF 34 8 1 0 3 1 0 5 4 .265 .235 1 0 4 0
5 Reeton, Jamie OF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 0 0 0 0
7 Farthington, Jacob2B 31 11 1 0 4 0 3 4 4 .387 .355 0 0 2 0
8 Bruce, Victor SS 33 8 2 0 1 0 1 6 3 .303 .242 0 0 2 1
11 Legor, Patrick OF 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 .000 0 0 0 1
13 Isnaris, Benjamin1B 32 20 1 5 2 0 13 4 8 .656 .625 0 2 0 0
17 Karlson, Andrew 3B 35 10 0 0 1 0 4 7 5 .286 .286 0 0 1 2
22 Templeton, BrockLF 35 9 0 0 2 1 2 7 4 .257 .257 1 0 3 0
29 Xerxes, Cameron DH 15 4 1 0 2 0 1 4 2 .333 .267 0 0 1 0
31 Isnaris, Carson RF 28 15 2 4 4 1 10 1 8 .607 .536 0 0 1 0
42 Bergan, Howie C/1B 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 .500 .500 0 0 0 0
46 Samuelson, HenryC 27 13 1 1 0 0 6 3 6 .519 .481 0 2 1 0
51 Dolan, Mike IF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 0 0 0 0
77 Veral, Nick IF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 278 100 9 10 19 3 41 44 45 .392 .360 2 4 15 4

Pitchers
# Name Type Throws GP IP ER ERA SO BB WP H HR HB W L S E
0 Togan, Chris M Right 1 4.00 4 9.00 2 1 0 12 0 0 0 1 0 2
3 Rolland, David S Left 1 4.00 6 13.50 5 4 0 11 2 0 0 0 0 1
10 Olson, Greg L Right 1 1.00 3 27.00 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 1 0 0
16 Gigante, Edward M Right 1 1.67 2 10.78 4 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
19 Hampton, Peter S Right 1 6.67 5 6.75 4 1 0 12 3 0 0 0 0 0
21 Powers, Will S Left 2 14.33 3 1.88 14 1 0 8 0 0 1 1 0 0
27 Powell, Justin S Right 2 14.00 5 3.21 15 1 0 12 1 1 1 0 0 0
32 Yugnes, Randy M Right 1 0.67 2 26.87 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
38 Egon, Franklin S Right 2 11.67 10 7.71 4 3 0 21 3 0 1 0 0 1
40 Parsons, StanleyL Left 2 3.33 0 0.00 6 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
41 Earlson, Alan M M 1 3.00 0 0.00 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
55 Hasselton, SteveM M 1 1.33 3 20.30 3 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
71 Loassr, Zoltan SU Right 2 2.33 1 3.86 2 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
99 Tartarus, Danny C Right 4 4.00 1 2.25 3 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 3 0
TEAM TOTALS 72.00 45 5.63 64 12 0 94 15 1 5 3 3 4

FNN Sports

Phoenixes Take Game 1 of 2nd Round from Kiryu-shi. How the Hell Do We Keep Winning?

This is Franklin Snar, reporting live from Kiryu-shi where the Phoenixes continue their surprise run this WBC. In another nail-biter, the cardiac kids pulled out a huge win against Kiryu-shi on their home field, setting the stage for a monumental game next against Kampfers. So, we'll take you right to the action.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
A-Douglas 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 7 15 0
Kiryu-shi 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 6 11 0

(OOC: Since Kiryu-shi never posted any roster or anything that I could find, I guess this all up to me. I'm going to say he's using a DH just for shits and giggles.)

The Federation Phoenixes brought their vs R, with DH lineup into Kiryu-shi the heavy underdogs. But since when has this team been favored, right? Anyways, things didn't look the best for them as Kiryu-shi's started downed the first three batters in succession, grounding out Templeton, striking out Karlson swinging, and getting Xerxes to fly into left.

David Rolland, a lefty, started for the Federation, bringing his 13.50 ERA into the game, the worst of any Federation starter. It showed in the bottom of the first as the one and two Kiryu-shi batters got hits before the third struck out looking. A fly out by the clean up hitter followed that, but the five hitter got it done, lining a single into right that scored the man on second to make it 1-0 Kiryu-shi. The six batter grounded out to end the inning.

The Phoenixes made sure not the let Kiryu-shi get too far ahead though as they scored twice in the top of the second. Benjamin Isnaris smacked a single and so did his brother, Carson, to start off the inning. Usar Davis was up next and hit a double that scored both brothers, giving the Federation side the lead, 2-1. Samuelson was up next and walked before Farthington hit into a double play and Victor Bruce grounded out to second.

Kiryu-shi tied it up in the bottom of the second, however. The seventh batter struck out while Rolland walked the eighth and ninth batters consecutively. The lead-off hitter grounded into a fielder's choice, but the second batter hit a bloop single into center that scored the nine hitter from second. Rolland managed to get the third hitter to fly out to end the damage.

The top of the third was uneventful as Templeton and Karlson both grounded out to start the inning before Cameron Xerxes singled into right. Benjamin Isnaris lined out to third to end the inning.

Rolland managed to put together a shutout inning in the bottom of the third, only allowing a lead-off single to the cleanup hitter before striking out the five hitter and getting the six hitter to ground into a double play.

Carson Isnaris started off the top of the fourth with a bang... literally. He sent the first pitch towering over the center field fence for a solo home run, which put the Federation side back in front, 3-2. Usar Davis followed that with a single, and then Henry Samuelson followed that with another single. Jacob Farthington ripped a double down the right field line to score Davis, but Samuelson was thrown out trying to head home, as was Farthington trying to stretch it into a triple. Victor Bruce flew out to left to send the game to the bottom of the fourth with the Federation side up, 4-2.

Rolland seemed on a roll in the bottom of the fourth, striking out the seven, eight, and nine hitters consecutively, ending the inning without a man getting on base. Rolland pumped his fist as he walked towards the dugout.

The Federation side tried in vain to get another run to help their pitcher out in the top of the fifth. Templeton singled to start off the inning, but Karlson grounded into a fielder's choice, Xerxes struck out swinging, and Benjamin Isnaris flew out to left.

Rolland returned to his usual sub-par performance in the bottom of the fifth. The first and second batters singled before the third batter struck out looking. The cleanup man made good on his job, however, as he belted a 2-1 fastball over the fence in right for a three run homer. 5-4, Kiryu-shi. Rolland was pulled at that point, going 4 2/3 innings, giving up five earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. Alan "Pops" Earlson was brought in to replace him. Earlson got the fifth batter to fly out, and the sixth to ground back to the mound for a quick two outs to end the inning.

The Phoenixes fought back in the top of the sixth, when, after Carson Isnaris struck out for only the second time this Classic, Usar Davis singled, Samuelson flew out to right, and then Farthington and Bruce each singled, Bruce's single scoring Davis from second to tie the game at 5. Brock Templeton grounded out to halt the scoring there.

"Pops" continued to pitch magnificently in this classic. He came into the game with a 0.00 ERA through three innings pitched, and did nothing to blemish it here, downing the batters, seven eight nine, while recording one strikeout to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh, the Phoenixes were not able to break the tie as Andrew Karlson grounded out to short, Xerxes flew out to center, and Benjamin Isnaris continued his bad day at the plate with a grounder to first for a one-two-three inning.

Earlson continued his mastery in the bottom of the seventh. He struck out the one hitter, allowed a single to the two hitter, and then got the three hitter to ground into a double play. So far this Classic, that is 5 2/3 innings of work with no earned runs and three strikeouts, no walks, and two hits.

In the top of the eighth, the Phoenixes could do no better as Carson Isnaris, Henry Samuelson, and Usar Davis all grounded to short for a quick one-two-three inning again.

"Pops" continued to pitch in the bottom of the eighth and continued to be everything we've come to expect from him. No more strikeouts, but no more hits or walks either. The four, five, and six hitters went down quietly.

The Federation side knew that the top of the ninth was their time. They really didn't want to get into extra innings at a, supposedly, superior team's stadium. Samuelson grounded out to start the inning, but Farthington singled and Bruce singled as well. Templeton walked and suddenly it was bases loaded for Andrew Karlson. He delivered, smacking a double that scored Farthington and Bruce, though Templeton was nailed at the plate trying to score as well. Cameron Xerxes flew out to center to end the inning with the Federation up, 7-5.

"Pops" was pulled for the bottom of the ninth in favor of closer Danny Tartarus. The kid entered the game with a 1-0 record, 3 saves, and 4 IP, with 1 ER for a 2.25 ERA, 3 Ks, and a hit. It all went downhill quickly as the seven hitter knocked a single, the eighth hitter struck out, and then the ninth hitter singled. The leadoff man walked, and suddenly it was bases loaded with one out. The two hitter slapped a grounded towards Victor Bruce at short, who dove to make the stop, looked up, saw he couldn't get the runner at the plate, and flipped it to second for the second out. Tartarus faced down the three hitter, who worked the count to 3-2. Tartarus wound up and threw his signature cut fastball, which the batter swung and missed at for strike three. Tartarus bounded off the mound, ripping his arms to the sides and yelling as Samuelson came up and hugged him. End of the game, final score, Federation 7, Kiryu-shi 6.

This is Franklin Snar, reporting live from Kiryu-shi. We'll be back in the Federation for the next game, where there is sure to be a party-like atmosphere as the team takes on 0-1 Kampfers. Lefty Will Powers will start the game, and he brings in his 1-1 record with an 1.88 ERA with three earned runs in 14 1/3 innings pitched, with fourteen strikeouts, one walk, and eight hits.

Remaining Round 2 Schedule:
--BYE--
Kiryu-shi v Ambrose-Douglas (W 7-6)
Ambrose-Douglas v Kampfers
--BYE--
Ambrose-Douglas v Kiryu-shi
Ambrose-Douglas v Kampfers

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

Qazox gets back on the winning side with a 5-0 win over St. Samuel.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
St. Sam 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Qazox 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 x 5 10 0


Eric Johnsen improved to 3-0 this tourney with has 2nd straight shut-out. Qazox when hitless until the 5th when Jack Sun managed to slap a double down the left field line, and then the Sidewinders' bats came to life and wound up with 10 hits, 5 of which were doubles.
Up next is a Bye date while St. Samuel hosts Az-cz. The pitcher for the 4th game against Az-cz will be 2-0 Kyle Pollack. The way Pollack has pitched, this could be Qazox' best shot to knock off the Champs.

QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 4 2 0 2 .500
CF- Gabe Reyes 4 0 0 0 .000
3B- David Ramierez 4 1 1 0 .250
RF- Juan Ortiz 4 1 0 1 .250
C- Henry Bonds 4 1 1 0 .250
LF- Jack Sun 4 2 1 1 .500
1B- Qadi Olea 4 1 1 0 .250
SS- Paul Assen 4 2 1 1 .500
P- Eric Johnsen 2 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 34 10 5 5 .294


HITTING:
Doubles: Sun 2, Ramierez, Ortiz, Reed, Bonds


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Eric Johnsen (3-0) 9.0 7 0 0 1 7 0.00
TOTALS 9.0 7 0 0 1 7 0.00
Hit Batter: Johnsen

Qazox' Round 2 schedule:
Game 9: Az-cz v Qazox (Lose 4-10)
Game 10: Qazox v St. Samuel (Win 5-0)
BYE
Game 11: Qazox v Az-cz
Game 12: St. Samuel v Qazox
BYE

And newly updated Standings here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

This was the big one. Zwangzug were a class apart, but Iansisle were beatable. Could it happen?

Sure could. A run in the bottom of the first from a 375-foot homer into right-centre, a run in the bottom of the second from two line-drive doubles, and then it was just a pitching exhibition with just three other hits all game.

The match took place the day after Kura-Pelland's Oxen Cup debut, and drew a marginally bigger audience share (40.1%) but fewer overall viewers. Is this, as Jack Margolis claimed, 'a baseball nation'? As one analyst put it, it's probably better to call it 'a competition nation'. 'That's why the Baptism of Fire was a turn-off. It just doesn't have that same competitive spirit.'

A bye game is next before Zwangzug visit Trilan. 'This game is going to be special.' Iansisle play Zwangzug in the meantime.

Az-cz 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 0 8
St. Samuel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Kampfers 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
A-Douglas 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 X 4

Zwangzug 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Iansisle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


ESF 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Milchama 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 X 6

Tables

Group A2

Az-cz 2 0 18 4 14
Qazox 1 1 9 10 -1
St. Samuel 0 2 0 13 -13

Group B2

A-Douglas 2 0 11 8 3
Kiryu-shi 1 1 11 11 0
Kampfers 0 2 6 9 -3

Group C2

Zwangzug 2 0 17 6 11
Kura-Pelland 1 1 8 16 -8
Iansisle 0 2 0 3 -3

Group D2

Milchama 2 0 8 1 7
ESF 1 1 6 10 -4
Assegai 0 2 4 7 -3

"Wow dude this is incredible"

"Yeh I know, what is incredible?"

"The baseball team! They haven't blown it yet"

"Are we still in the group stages?"

"Yeh why?"

"They've always done well in the group stages just wait for outrounds they will suck in outrounds"

"Why?"

"Because they always fail in outrounds just look at our record in outround series 2-3"

"That's actually not so terrible"

"But we should be 5-0 and we're not so it's just really sad"

"Agreed"

"I bet we get lucky this time"

"I bet a pig falls from the sky just now and kill you"

*waits 2 second*

"Well it's pretty unlikely"

*Pig falls from the sky but just misses*

"Holy shit dude maybe we have a chance"

"Just maybe"

FNN Sports News

Powers Pitches Great, Phoenixes Push Winning Streak to Four

I'm Franklin Snar, live from Federation Field where the party atmosphere is continuing. Baseball fever has taken hold of Arkanis and the rest of the Federation, and we've all got it bad. A standing room only crowd of 40,000+ packed Federation Field today, and it's estimated another 100,000 surrounded the park outside, watching on portable television sets or listening on radios.

So, let's take you straight to the action.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kampfers 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 0
A-Douglas 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 X 4 7 0

Ambrose-Douglas started Will Powers today. The hard throwing lefty with his cut fastball came into the day with a 1-1 record, 1.88 ERA on three earned runs in 14 1/3 innings pitched and eight hits, with fourteen strikeouts and one walk. And he showed why his only loss has come against one of the best teams in the tournament, Zwangzug, especially in the first inning. Daniel Miller grounded out on the second pitch of the game, Johnny Crawford flew out to left, and then Hank Blalock struck out swinging for a quick one-two-three top of the first.

Eric Bob started the game for Kampfers today. Both teams pitted lefty pitchers against one another, and the Federation side drew first blood against Bob in the bottom of the first. Usar Davis grounded out to start the inning, before Karlson and Bruce each singled. Carson Isnaris doubled and Karlson easily scored, though Bruce was thrown out sliding into home. Benjamin Isnaris drew a six pitch walk, and then Brock Templeton grounded out to first. 1-0 Phoenixes.

Powers continued to overpower Kampfers in the top of the second as well. Again the visitors went down one-two-three, with Billy Bob flying out to center, Kontrovers striking out looking, and Das Ist grounded back to Powers to end the inning.

The Phoenixes were not able to keep the momentum going in the bottom of the second as Jacob Farthington, Cameron Xerxes, and Henry Samuelson all went down consecutively, with Farthington striking out looking.

Kampfers responded in the top of the third. Jack Bauer singled to start the inning, and then Mein Zimmer grounded into a fielder's choice at second. Wo Ist lined a single into right before Daniel Miller walked to load the bases. Johnny Crawford hit a sac fly into left to score Zimmer and tie the game at one apiece. Hank Blalock grounded out to third to end the inning.

When needed most, his team responded, however. Fueled by the home crowd and their desire to keep the magic alive, Davis singled into right and then stole second. Karlson then sac bunted him over to third where Victor Bruce brought him home with a sac fly. Perfect small ball techniques. Carson Isnaris lined out to short stop to send it to the top of the fourth.

Powers regained composure and form in the top of the fourth, allowing a quick lead-off single to Billy Bob before striking out Kontrovers and getting Das Ist to ground into a 4-6-3 double play.

If the bottom of the third had been all about small ball, the bottom of the fourth was all about longball. Benjamin Isnaris was up first and crushed his sixth home run of the Classic over the right field fence. The roar from the crowd was deafening as he rounded the bases, both inside the stadium and outside. 3-1 Phoenixes. The scares didn't end there, though, as Brock Templeton flew out to deep center, Jacob Farthington hit a ground rule double over the left field fence, and Henry Samuelson flew out to right. In the least exciting out of the inning, Usar Davis grounded out to first.

The beautiful pitching performance continued in the top of the fifth. Jack Bauer popped up to first, Mein Zimmer singled, but was then caught stealing, and Wo Ist struck out looking for another one-two-three inning.

The Phoenixes put across their final run in the bottom of the fifth. Karlson grounded out for the first out, but Bruce singled. Carson Isnaris lined out to right, and then Benjamin Isnaris pounded the ball into the right center gap for a double, scoring Bruce. 4-1 Phoenixes. Brock Templeton struck out swinging.

The game proceeded to follow it's three up, three down format in the top of the sixth. Miller grounded out to the pitcher, while Crawford and Blalock flew out to center.

The one-two-three fever caught with the Federation side as well in the bottom of the sixth. Farthington, Xerxes, and Samuelson were downed consecutively, with only Samuelson striking out.

Billy Bob tried to bring his team back into the thick of things to start off the seventh. A 3-1 towering shot over center left the fans groaning, and the Phoenixes up 4-2. That would be all Kampfers would get, however, as Kontrovers, Das Ist, and Jack Bauer all grounded out. Powers left the field to a standing ovation, as Zoltan Loasser was called in from the bullpen to pitch the eighth.

Neither team could garner a hit through the next inning and a half. Davis, Karlson, and Bruce were downed in the bottom of the seventh, and then both Isnaris brothers and Templeton were downed in the bottom of the eighth. Loasser pitched a perfect eighth and struck out one while allowing no hits in his one inning of work.

Danny Tartarus came in to pitch the ninth, and ended Kampfers' hopes of a comeback, downing the batters consecutively while scoring two strikeouts to get his fourth save in as many chances this Classic.

Powers got the win today, improving to 2-1 for the Classic with a 2.11 ERA. The win puts the Federation solidly on top of group B2 with a 2-0 record. The Phoenixes have an off day before they play Kiryu-shi again. Franklin Egon will get the start in that game for the Phoenixes.

This is Franklin Snar, signing off from Federation Field.

Remaining Round 2 Schedule:
--BYE--
Kiryu-shi v Ambrose-Douglas (W 7-6)
Ambrose-Douglas v Kampfers (W 4-2)
--BYE--
Ambrose-Douglas v Kiryu-shi
Ambrose-Douglas v Kampfers

"Now that is the way the game is supposed to be played. None of these double-digit monstrosities. Small ball: did you see that beautiful sacrifice bunt?"

"Which?"

"Stirk's, in the eighth."

"Yeah."

"Textbook."

"You do know Ridge got caught looking the next pitch, right?"

"And then bottom of the ninth rallies."

"It was the top of the eleventh, actually."

"Single to left for Ellis, single for Quave, dribbler from Lee."

"Yes, yes, exemplary. There's just one small problem."

"What's that?"

"Zwangzug's still winning..."

Az-cz Scroll
St. Samuel
Ya-Kyu

Gnomes keep on rolling, press their advantage

After enjoying a nice relaxing day off the team headed out for the first of two consecutive road games. They were travelling to St. Samuel who had been shutout 5-0 when they travelled to Qazox a day earlier. So it was that score the team had set for themselves as the target mark. The team wanted to keep their advantage on Qazox, in case they fall short in game three of the second round.

Things looked like they'd go the Gnomes way early. After an opening out by Ich-Ro three straight singles had them up a run with runners on the corners and just a single out. But a foul out and then a ground out did away with those dreams.

And for a while it looked like that might be all the offense for the game. St. Samuel's starter was twirling great after settling down and Li-Van was pitching wonderfully as well, with Marichal being held out for the next game against Qazox. Through four innings the score was still 1-0. However in the top of the fifth disaster struck for St. Samuel. As he was coming through the motion to pitch he slipped on the mound and jerked his arm awkwardly, forcing him out of the game. And the bullpen couldn't pitch nearly as well. In the top of the fifth the Pink & Green found one run, and found two more in each of the next three innings to find their eight runs for the game.

With Li-Van pitching a 4-hit shutout the Gnomes added to their advantage over Qazox, by posting an 8-0 when while Qazox had only won 5-0. Now they travel to play the Sidewinders themselves. A win their sends the Gnomes through to the next round. A loss leaves St. Samuel the role of spoiler, but with the Gnomes in the probable drivers seat. The Gnomes currently hold a +15 run differential advantage on Qazox and have St. Samuel visiting Az-cz for their fourth game while Qazox would be on the road. So that also favors the Gnomes. Barring a beating at the hands of the sidewinders the Gnomes ought to be ok for the semifinals, but there is a small current of people who think the Qazoxians are due. We'll find out soon enough.

Az-cz 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 5
Qazox 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2

Kampfers 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2
Kiryu-shi 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 X 3

Zwangzug 0 0 0 3 1 0 2 1 0 7
Kura-Pelland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ESF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Assegai 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 X 1

Tables

Group A2

Az-cz 3 0 23 6 17
Qazox 1 2 11 15 -4
St. Samuel 0 2 0 13 -13

Group B2

A-Douglas 2 0 11 8 3
Kiryu-shi 2 1 14 13 1
Kampfers 0 3 8 12 -4

Group C2

Zwangzug 3 0 24 6 18
Kura-Pelland 1 2 8 23 -15
Iansisle 0 2 0 3 -3

Group D2

Milchama 2 0 8 1 7
Assegai 1 2 5 7 -2
ESF 1 2 6 11 -5

Qualified for next round
Eliminated from next round

"Have a peek at group B, why don't you. Ambrose dash Douglas, Keeryoo dash shee."

"The groupings were determined by record in the first round, Ay zee-our hosts made sure of that well in advance. No international conspiracy. On the other hand, is there something in group C you wanted to show me?"

"Um...no, there wasn't."

"Try again."

"Well...Murphy...held the Zebras scoreless through three?"

"Good guess. But no."

"There's still the knockout stages for elimination."

"Such idealism."

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

Qazox eliminated by Az-cz in a slugfest 5-2, as every run came via homerun.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Az-cz 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 5 9 0
Qazox 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 0


Kyle Pollack pitched his 3rd complete game, but 5 HR allowed including back-to-back jobs in the 7th that knocked any wind out of the Sidewinders' sails. The team did well in this 2nd WBC, but should have done better.

Up next is a trip to St. Samuel, where Frank Tinker seeks a 3rd consecutive shut-out.

QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 4 0 0 0 .000
CF- Gabe Reyes 4 2 1 1 .500
3B- David Ramierez 4 0 0 0 .000
RF- Juan Ortiz 4 1 0 0 .250
C- Henry Bonds 4 0 0 0 .000
LF- Jack Sun 3 0 0 0 .000
1B- Qadi Olea 2 0 0 0 .000
SS- Paul Assen 3 1 1 1 .333
P- Kyle Pollack 3 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 31 4 2 2 .192


HITTING:
Homeruns: Reyes, Assen


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Kyle Pollack (2-1) 9.0 9 5 5 1 9 5.00
TOTALS 9.0 9 5 5 1 9 5.00

Qazox' Round 2 schedule:
Game 9: Az-cz v Qazox (Lose 4-10)
Game 10: Qazox v St. Samuel (Win 5-0)
BYE
Game 11: Qazox v Az-cz (Lose 2-5) Eliminated
Game 12: St. Samuel v Qazox
BYE

And newly updated Standings here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

5 HRs, Qazox? Did you do that just to annoy me? You of all people ought to know there's no way in hell the Gnomes would hit five home runs in a game.

5 HRs, Qazox? Did you do that just to annoy me? You of all people ought to know there's no way in hell the Gnomes would hit five home runs in a game.

Well If you'd let me beat you once... :cool: Besides they all were inside-the park jobs ;). I'm 7-4 and all 4 losses are to you.. what about the fact you won the title at my place.. surely that means I win it in yours??? lol.

IF you want, I'll sim Az-cz' matches in the semis and the finals, to keep this on the up and up.

If you'd be willing to use IRC and do it in the evening Japan time that would be great. Otherwise I'm going to try to find someone localized to do it. Maybe LE

If you'd be willing to use IRC and do it in the evening Japan time that would be great. Otherwise I'm going to try to find someone localized to do it. Maybe LE

Most important is that you stay safe with that typhoon bearing down on Japan.
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/9696/070400fj1va0.png

Qazox 1 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 7
St. Samuel 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Kiryu-shi 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 4
A-Douglas 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 X 5

Kura-Pelland 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Iansisle 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3

Assegai 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Milchama 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 X 4

Tables

Group A2

Az-cz 3 0 23 6 17
Qazox 2 2 18 16 2
St. Samuel 0 3 1 20 -19

Group B2

A-Douglas 3 0 16 12 4
Kiryu-shi 2 2 18 18 0
Kampfers 0 3 8 12 -4


Group C2

Zwangzug 3 0 24 6 18
Iansisle 1 2 3 5 -2
Kura-Pelland 1 3 10 26 -16

Group D2

Milchama 3 0 12 1 11
ESF 1 2 6 11 -5
Assegai 1 3 5 11 -6


All group leaders have clinched their groups.

http://www.logoserver.com/baseball/TusconSideWinders2.GIF
JOEHIO HERALD

Nothing great lasts forever as Frank tinker finally allowed a run, but Qazox finsihes 2-2 in the 2nd round to improve thier overall record to 8-4.


TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Qazox 1 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 7 10 0
St. Sam 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0


Tinker's only run allowed in the entire tourney came off of 2 walks and a bloop single in the bottom of the 4th, which made the game 4-1 Sindewinders. But Tinker got his revenge as he knocked in 2 runs with a single in the 7th to make it 7-1.

QAZOX' STATS

BATTING
POS AB H R RBI AVG
2B- Juan Reed 5 2 1 1 .400
CF- Gabe Reyes 4 1 1 0 .250
3B- David Ramierez 5 2 1 0 .400
RF- Juan Ortiz 5 3 1 2 .600
C- Henry Bonds 4 1 1 1 .250
LF- Jack Sun 5 2 1 0 .400
1B- Qadi Olea 5 2 1 1 .400
SS- Paul Assen 4 0 0 0 .000
P- Frank Tinker 4 1 0 2 .250
TOTALS 41 14 7 7 .341


HITTING:
Doubles: Oritz, Reyes, Bonds, Reed
Homerun: Olea


PITCHING IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Frank Tinker (3-0) 9.0 5 1 1 4 5 1.00
TOTALS 9.0 5 1 1 4 5 1.00

Qazox' Round 2 schedule:
Game 9: Az-cz v Qazox (Lose 4-10)
Game 10: Qazox v St. Samuel (Win 5-0)
BYE
Game 11: Qazox v Az-cz (Lose 2-5) Eliminated
Game 12: St. Samuel v Qazox (Win 7-1)
BYE

And newly updated Standings here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

FNN Sports

Phoenixes Win on Homer in the 8th, Advance to Semis! Citizens Dance and Streak in the Streets!

This is Franklin Snar, reporting live from Federation Field where a mob scene is still present. Fans are dancing on the diamond with players, truckloads of champagne have already been brought in an drunk... I believe they've called in another load. Reports are running rampant through every major city of streakers taking to the streets, no pun intended. As you might have guessed, the Phoenixes won and have clinched their place in the Final Four. So, let's get you right to the action.

TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Kiryu-shi 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 4 7 0
A-Douglas 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 X 5 11 0

Franklin Egon started the game for the home team. He brought in a 7.71 ERA with ten earned runs on 11 2/3 innings pitched. He had four strikeouts, three walks, twenty one hits, and three home runs against him with one win and one no-decision. Still, he started off well, looking like he knew the importance of the game as he struck out one and retired the next two to end the top of the first quickly.

The Phoenixes weren't so forgiving in the bottom of the first. Templeton singled to start things off, and, after Karlson lined out to second, Xerxes hit a single that advanced Templeton to third. A simple sac fly from Benjamin Isnaris made it 1-0, Federation. Carson Isnaris grounded out to second to finish things off.

Egon continued pitching well in the top of the second. After retiring the first batter, he allowed a broken-bat single to right, before getting the next man to ground into a double play.

Usar Davis ripped a single right back up the middle to start the second. That was all the offense the Phoenixes managed, as Samuelson grounded into a fielder's choice and then Farthington knocked the ball into an easy 6-4-3 double play.

Egon made only a single mistake in the third inning, and it cost him dearly. He struck out the first batter with his signature slider, and got the second batter to ground out. He left the same slider hanging to the third batter, he knocked a solo home run out of the park. A walk followed before Egon pulled himself back together, getting the final batter to fly out to right.

The Phoenixes responded in the bottom of the inning, however. Templeton and Karlson both grounded out before Xerxes knocked a single to get himself on base. Benjamin Isnaris followed that up with a long double into left center that scored Xerxes and made the score 2-1, Federation. Carson Isnaris walked before Usar Davis grounded out to end the inning.

Kiryu-shi would not disappear easily, however. They fought back in the top of the fourth, when they, after having their first two batters each fly out in foul territory, put together three straight singles to score a runner and tie it up at two. A walk by Egon loaded the bases before he struck the final batter out for out number three.

Again, the Federation side responded. Samuelson struck out before Farthington doubled. Bruce walked and then Templeton singled to score Farthington. 3-2, Phoenixes. Karlson lined to short, which turned into a 6-4 double play as Bruce was caught off of second.

The visitors kept pushing though, where consecutive two-out doubles put another run across to tie the score at three. Egon managed to strike out the last batter, giving him eight for the Classic.

The most dangerous part of the Federation lineup failed to produce in the bottom of the fifth, as the Kiryu-shi pitcher managed to down Xerxes, Isnaris, and Isnaris on only five pitches.

Kiryu-shi took their first lead in the top of sixth, as a first pitch solo homer left Egon scuffing at the dirt and the Phoenixes down 4-3. He got a groundout, but after two consecutive walks, was pulled in favor of Stanley Parsons. Parsons made short work of the rest of the inning, getting the next batter to ground into a double play the very next pitch.

The Federation side showed they would not allow themselves to be down for long. Usar Davis struck out swinging, but Samuelson singled and then Farthington grounded into a fielder's choice. Bruce knocked a single into right field that advanced Farthington to third. With men on the corners, Templeton smacked a single into right, scoring Farthington to tie it a 4-4. Karlson grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Stanley Parsons continued the mastery he has shown throughout this Classic. Teams have not been able to figure out his lefty submarine motion, nor his sinker. Between the two, through four innings, he had compiled a 0.00 ERA with 6 Ks, no walks, and only three hits. The seventh and eighth were no different. Only one hit accompanied two more strikeouts as Stanley left the mound to a standing ovation.

Xerxes, Isnaris and Isnaris went down consecutively again in the bottom of the seventh. Usar Davis ended all worry with the first pitch in the bottom of the eighth. With his first home run of the Classic, a solo shot to left, Davis put the Phoenixes up 5-4 and in control of their own destiny. Samuelson and Farthington both failed to reach base, Bruce walked, and then Templeton flew out to short.

Danny Tartarus came in to pitch for the save. Three outs was all he needed to send the Phoenixes on to the Final Four. He did it in five pitches. Each of the first two batters hit first pitch ground outs, and then Tartarus struck out the last batter on three pitches, and pandemonium ensued.

No one really gave this Phoenix team a chance, even coming into this second round. To see them in the Final Four is unfathomable. But they have prevailed and pulled off the impossible. We hope that people continue betting against them, it's making us a lot of money.

An interesting side-note... Three group C1 teams are headed to the Final Four, Zwangzug, Milchama, and, of course, Ambrose-Douglas. The only other team heading there are the hosts, Az-cz. So, not only have the Phoenixes done the impossible by advancing, they did it through the first round in the toughest group.

The Federation side plays Kampfers in a near-meaningless game tomorrow. David Rolland will get the start to rest Justin Powell for the first round of the Final Four. If the Federation side wins, and all the other teams heading for the Final Four win, the Phoenixes will be the four seed. If a single team loses, then the Federation side would be the three seed. If the Phoenixes lose, they'll be the fourth seed.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go grab a bottle of champagne and go streaking down Main St. Franklin Snar, over and out.

Az-cz, Since all 4 semi-finalists will probably go 4-0, how will you figure out the seeds for the semifinals? Just wondering.

OOC: Qazox, it will be seeded exactly how I said it would be seeded in my opening post.

The semifinals will be seeded based on:

1. Win-Loss Record in second round
2. Rank at the end of 1st round

Therefore if all four teams win out the order will be: 1. Az-cz 2. Zwanzug 3. Milchama 4. Ambrose-Douglas

Az-cz Scroll
Qazox
Az-cz

Crazy plays put Gnomes through to semis

In the fourth game against Qazox this cup the Gnomes put up probably their worst performance of the four. Thankfully the Sidewinders managed to outdo the Pink & Green and send Az-cz out of Qazox victorious. Somehow this Gnomes squad was credited with five home runs in beating Qazox.

The Gnomes got their first run through fan interference. After the first eight batters got sent down in order, Marichal of all people sent a line drive shot towards centerfield. As the Qazoxian centerfielder jumped to make a play a Qazox fan stuck his arm out and grabbed the ball. The umpires converged to discuss what to do and eventually ruled the ball to be a home-run.

Qazox answered in the bottom half of the inning. Things remained tied through four before Mt-Wl hit the Gnomes into the lead, with some more bad luck from the Qazoxian centerfielder. With one out Mt-Wl hit what looked to be a sure double. But the centerfielder got a great jump and looked to be in position to make the catch, but at the last second the wind got a hold of the ball and instead of catching it, the ball bounced off his head into the stands for Az-cz's second run of the game. The centerfielder was fine, but stunned by his bad luck.

Qazox kept the game close still trailing just 2-1 going into the seventh. That's when Kyle Pollack decided to snuff his teams dreams. On consecutive pitches to start the seventh he soft pitched the balls over the plate. In fact the Qazoxian announcing crew predicted both pitches would be homeruns as they left his hand. And they were. With the lead now up to 4-1 things looked bleak for Qazox. And they got worse in the top of the 8th when an inside the park home run finished the Gnomes scoring. The sidewinders added one in the bottom of the 8th, but not nearly enough to save their classic.

The Gnomes now guarantee that they'll have a chance to defend home soil. All of their remaining matches will be in Az-cz as they host St. Samuel before the semifinals get underway.

St. Samuel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Az-cz 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 X 5

A-Douglas 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 5
Kampfers 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 X 3

Iansisle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Zwangzug 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 X 7

Milchama 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 6
ESF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1


Tables

Group A2

Az-cz 4 0 28 6 22
Qazox 2 2 18 16 2
St. Samuel 0 4 1 25 -24

Group B2

A-Douglas 4 0 21 15 6
Kiryu-shi 2 2 18 18 0
Kampfers 0 4 11 17 -6

Group C2

Zwangzug 4 0 31 6 25
Iansisle 1 3 3 12 -9
Kura-Pelland 1 3 10 26 -16

Group D2

Milchama 4 0 18 2 16
Assegai 1 3 5 11 -6
ESF 1 3 7 17 -10

Here is the information for the semifinals:

All matches will be played in Az-cz. The teams will alternate being the "home" team, with the higher ranked team being "home" in games 1 & 3 (if necessary) and the lower ranked team being "home" in game 2.

The seeds are as follows:

1. Az-cz
2. Zwangzug
3. Milchama
4. Ambrose-Douglas

So Az-cz will play Ambrose-Douglas and Zwanzug will play Milchama. Az-cz and Ambrose-Douglas will play in Doom Bug stadium in Az-cz city and Zwangzug and Milchama will play in Burlock Castle Adjoined Stadium in Mil-Bax. Both stadiums are pitchers park and no DH will be used in Az-cz.

OOC:

The next scores will be delayed until next Monday JST.

"I have to say, that patriotism was getting to me, too. Glad it's over."

"It didn't work, anyhow. News of the games still got out."

"News? What kind of news?"

"Our chatter."

"Yeah, but that's nothing. Now that things are back to normal, we'll have real news reports. Right?"

"What kind of news reports?"

"Stuff like this:

Although qualification was already assured, the national baseball team won again, shutting out a floundering Iansisle team. The latter's defense picked up in the later innings, though, led by a young and promising relief pitcher. Lou Stirk, filling in for an injured Dwight Eastman, performed admirably, drawing a walk in the fourth inning.

Zwangzug will advance to the host nation of this classic, Az-cz, for a rematch against Milchama. Ambrose-Douglas, a third team from that group, will be underdogs against the hosts. Both semifinals are best out of three: Zwangzug will have home-field advantage for the first game, as well as the third, if there is one."

"I got a good feeling about this, we swept the group and now are in the semi finals"

"Very true unfortunately we're playing Zwangzug and we lost to them twice in the first group stage so it's probably all over but the lights for us"

"Not quite!"

"Why?"

"The glorious power of Margaret!"

"Oh yeh baby! Let's do it!"

"DO AS I DO AND SAY AS I SAY!"

''Ringa pakia!''
''Uma tiraha!''
''Turi whatia!''
''Hope whai ake!''
''Waewae takahia kia kino!''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru''
''Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā''
''Ā upane, ka upane''
''Whiti te rā, hī!''

"Oh shit man here we go repeat after me!"

"Dedal!" "Dedal!"
"Derrida" "Derrida"
"Foucault" "Foucault"
"Lacan" "Lacan"

"Ok man one more thing, strip and run around!"

*10 minutes of chaos later*

"Oh great Margaret we ask thee humbly to bring us great victory in baseball over our foes Zwangzug who have so mightily crushed us! And in honor of your awesomeness we sacrifice this rubber chicken"

*Chops the chicken's head off*

"Thank you Margaret for accepting our sacrifice we ask thee kindly and humbly for victory as it is desirable"

OOC:Ways to know you've been at debate camp too long 1. You warrant prayers in RPs on NS on accident.

(ooc: I think Az-cz fell asleep or forgot or Godzilla attacked or something... just bumping to ensure Az-cz sees this....)

OOC: A big, mother-fucking monsoon with sustained winds of 150 mph just nailed Japan... he said the scores would be up sometime Monday Japan time.

OOC: A big, mother-fucking monsoon with sustained winds of 150 mph just nailed Japan... he said the scores would be up sometime Monday Japan time.

(OOC: Din't know that.. Damn Cable been out for 2 days, thanks to a thunderstorm and the stupid cable company)

I do hope Az-Cz got through the Typhoon OK.

IF for some reason, Az-cz isn't back by wednesday would the semi-finalists mind if I scorinated the Semis and the Finals until Az-cz gets back?

OOC:

Qazox,

I said the scores would be up Monday night Japan time. And they will be. I didn't disappear.

IC:

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz
Ya-Kyu

Gnomes put down St. Samuel, earn top spot

The Gnomes went into their final game with relatively little on the line. A loss would send them into a tougher match with probably Zwangzug, but as no qualification was on the line they were through either way. Of course, they wanted to keep their unbeaten record and their winning streak alive. And they did more than enough to get that.

With Mk-Krk taking the mound in the game, he quickly established that he would be dominating the game. A three pitch strikeout was quickly followed by a weak groundout and a second pitch popout to get through the inning with only six pitches and nothing resembling St. Samuel offense.

Ich-Ro continued his fine play with a lead off triple and a run scored on Durham pop up. And that was all the team needed with the way Mk-Krk was pitching.

Mk-Krk continued to have wonderfully efficient innings and took a no-hit 51 pitch game into the 8th with the offense having added three more runs. After a strikeout and a fly out he gave up the single hit of the game. The ball was blistered at Mt-Wl at third base who bobbled the ball just long enough to allow the runner to just beat the throw at first. All the fans were hoping for an error the statisticians, correctly in my opinion, gave a hit to St. Samuel, ruining the perfect game bid. Still Mk-Krk earned a ground out on the next pitch. With the team adding another run in the bottom of the inning he came out and pitched a quick 9 pitch 9th to end the game sending the team on it's way in style.

With all of the top teams winning the Gnomes will face Ambrose-Douglas next. They've been on quite a roll as of late and are definitely the upstarts of this tournament. While they don't have the experience the Gnomes do, they are certainly a very dangerous team. On the other side Zwangzug and Milchama meet again, with anything capable of happening.

OOC: Az-cz score was scorinated by Bostopia

A-Douglas 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Az-cz 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 X 5

Az-cz leads 1-0

Milchama 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 5
Zwangzug 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Milchama leads 1-0

(Buried away somewhere inside the "International News" section of the Merano Regency:)

An improbable streak came to a halt as Zwangzug's international baseball team lost for the first time since the Olympics: this time to the Milchama Warriors, whom they beat twice in the first group stage. Zwangzug nicked two runs off the Warriors' starter, Stan Romanson, early in the game. Lou Stirk, more than filling the injured Dwight Eastman's shoes, scored in the first on a bracing hit from Terry Quave, and Nathan Ellis, having stolen second and third, scored on Karen Lee's bunt in the third. But that was all the Zebras would accomplish: Milchama began to rally in the fourth, as Michael Flinter led off with a walk, and Tal Gool homered to tie the game. The Warriors took the lead in the fifth, when Kenny Merrick walked to begin a two-out rally. A hit from Flinter moved him over to third, and Gool drove them both in with a double. Marcus Loshe's home run off John Meyers added a fifth run for the victors.

Az-cz.. wb sorta. Guess i missed that part where you said the scores were going to be delayed. I apologize.

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz City
Ya-Kyu

Gnomes put down Ambrose-Douglas

With the semifinals having arrived the Gnomes knew that they would be facing tough competition. And Ambrose-Douglas had proven their worth by advancing from a group with Milchama and Zwangzug in the first round and then sweeping their second round group. But there was one big difference between the two teams, experience. And it showed.

Even during introductions you could tell that the Robbers were all business. Having won the title in Qazox and now having come home they wanted to impress the home fans. Meanwhile Ambrose-Douglas was a little bit shocked to be in the semifinals and you could tell from the looks on their faces that they were a bit in awe of the champs.

And indeed the first two runs of the game were self inflicted wounds. The first inning Ambrose-Douglas's pitcher was to blame. After getting Ich-Ro out Durham was walked. With his dancing on first base he got the pitcher to balk him over to second and a wild pitch allowed him to move to third. Bonds lifted the ball towards the outfield and Durham tagged up to put the home team ahead.

The second inning was comedy of defense. Following an out to start the inning, the Mt-Wl fought the pitcher off for 11 pitches before driving a single down the third base line. Bn-Sntg looked what appeared to be an out to third baseman but he overthrew the first baseman allowing Mt-Wl to move to third and Bn-Sntg to get onboard safely. Hoz-Yrb then got a present. He hit the ball straight at the shortstop for what appeared to be a double play ball. But the shortshop was trying to throw before he got control of the ball which allowed all the runners to advance safely. Schmidt actually did hit into a double play to end the inning, but the two errors allowed the Pink & Green to extend their lead.

Ich-Ro had another of his single, steal, steal innings to add a run in the third. After that the Phoenixes calmed down and started to get used to the situation. They even strung a nice rally together in the fifth to put a run on board for themselves. However the Gnomes responded with a trio of singles in the bottom half to equal the Ambrose-Douglas run. Schmidt then kept the bats dead for the next three innings, allowing a mere single in the seventh. Another run was added in the bottom of the eighth and then Blake Hoffer came in from the bullpen to finish things off.

The Gnomes expect a much tougher fight in the second game, where they will be the "away" team. On the other half, Milchama got revenge against Zwangzug 5-2. While the Gnomes look to be in good shape in this semifinal, that result makes things very interesting on the other half.

Scores for Game 2

Az-cz 2 1 2 2 1 2 0 1 0 11
A-Douglas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Az-cz wins 2-0

Zwangzug 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2
Milchama 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 X 4

Milchama wins 2-0

Finals: Az-cz v Milchama. Az-cz will be the "home" team for games 1,3 & 5 (if necessary). Milchama will be the "home" team for games 2 & 4 (if necessary). Games with Az-cz as "home" team will be played in Doom Bug Stadium in Az-cz city and games with Milchama as "home" team will be played in Burlock Castle Adjoined Stadium.

The up-and-comer was up and...coming. For too long he had had to do the actual work, instead of watching and learning from his boss. 4-2. Okay, so he could write about Loshe's hits, or Meyer's falling apart, or even Quave and Ellis's runs. He could even commentate on how that the scores were finally reasonable, they were in the wrong direction.

But he didn't want to.

So he came to the intimidating door, the door to the office of the man who oversaw the entire sports department, and knocked.

The overseer stepped out. "Hi."

"Hi," the up-and-comer stammered. "It's my bos...He's writing poms agen."

The department head rolled his eyes. "I'l tak car of this. U work on the articul."

Oh well.

The leader stomped off to his former underling, who minimized his text editor, but too late. "I saw that."

There was no way to deny it.

"U remember the terms on wich u got ur intern."

"No mor poms."

"Inded."

"Wel, I kwit."

He took off, a reserve disk with his data in hand, and didn't stop running until he reached a tiny office teetering four stories above a back alley. He placed a cardboard sign in the window: Poms ritin: descriptiv, luv, nething...4 a fe.

He had his first customer within the hour.

"Holy shit dude!"

"I know we're going to finals what the hell?"

"How did we not blow it?"

"I have no idea I mean seriously we have no business being here"

"Yeh, you know what it proves?"

"What?"

"The all mighty glorious power of Margaret!"

"Very true, so then there is only one thing to do..."

"PRAY FOR VICTORY IN THE FINALS!"

"Do as I do and say as I say"

''Ringa pakia!''
''Uma tiraha!''
''Turi whatia!''
''Hope whai ake!''
''Waewae takahia kia kino!''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Ka mate, ka mate''
''Ka ora, ka ora''
''Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru''
''Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā''
''Ā upane, ka upane''
''Whiti te rā, hī!''

"Good! now..."

"Philipo" "Philipo"
"Arezoo" "Arezoo"
"Myzoo" "Myzoo"
"Kentoolion" "Kentoolion"

"Now strip and run around!"

*15 minutes of chaos later*

"Oh great Margaret we beseech thee for a wonderful victory in the finals today over the heathens of Az-Cz. Our team is ready, their spirit is good and we ask you that they don't blow it again"

*Sacrifices the Rubber chicken and goat*

"To ensure victory we hope you like our sacrifices of rubber animals, they were of choice stock and in wonderful condition."

"Now we just need one more thing, Come on you Warriors!"

*Sacrifice the Chicken and Go

Newly updated WBC stuff here: http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/World_Baseball_Classic_2

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz City
Ya-Kyu

Gnomes roll into finals

The first game was a bit tight against Ambrose-Douglas. Although they won 5-1, they got some help from some Ambrose-Douglas miscues and certainly didn't expect to get the same help the next time around. And they didn't. Instead they made their own success.

There was some talk of whether or not the roster would be tinkered with before the game, specifically the starting rotation, but Marichal was sent out to pitch the game, just as his spot demanded. The thinking is that all of the pitchers are quite talented so there's no reason to throw off their timing. And he was absolutely brilliant. His perfect game, the first in Az-cz history and only the second in the history of the sport, baffled Ambrose-Douglas all game long and the bats were quite lively as well.

The team scored in each of the first six innings to pile up a 10-0 lead much to the delight of their home fans. Amazingly all nine players crossed the plate at least once, with Ich-Ro being the only player to score twice in those innings. The entire thing went absolutely as Az-czzers would have hoped.

Despite being outscored 16-1 in the semis and losing in two straight the Gnomes had only good things to say about Ambrose-Douglas. Speaking for the team Br-Bnd said that he expected Ambrose-Douglas to be a key rival in future tournaments.

In the other semifinal Milchama beat Zwangzug 4-2, to turn the tables and advance to the finals. Last tournament in Qazox the Gnomes sent the Warriors packing in a very tense semifinals. Now the Warriors come looking for revenge against the Gnomes. Both sides expected a heated and close set of games.

Qazox,

Next time you update the Wikis, could you add links to the Jolt threads?

Scorinated by Bostopia

Milchama 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2
Az-cz 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3

Az-cz leads 1-0

Az-cz Scroll
Az-cz City
Ya-Kyu

Az-cz beats Milchama in broken record fashion

Call it heart. Call it spirit. Call it guts. Call it luck. Whatever it is when Az-cz and Milchama meet the Gnomes always just seem to come up with the better end of it, and in always the same way. Just as the way Milchama's WBC 1 ended these finals started, losing to the Gnomes 3-2 in ten innings. In the three games between the two teams, now all three have ended with the Gnomes winning 3-2 in extra innings.

Things started off looking great for the Gnomes. Li-Van struckout the first three Milchama batters. And the Gnomes started out single, stolen base, run scoring single, single, walk to take a 1-0 lead and load the bases before getting an out. Unfortunately two consecutive strikeouts and a ground out meant that all three were left on board and the Gnomes squandered a good chance to take a commanding lead.

And it was a big missed opportunity, as both teams struggled for offense. Milchama found just a lone single while the Gnomes were just a bit better with a double in the third and a walk in the fourth.

Li-Van finally gave up a run in the fifth on a solo home run with one out. Thankfully the Gnomes answered with Ich-Ro again scoring. A walk, a steal and a Br-Bnd double drove him home. Milchama answered with a run in the seventh on consecutive two out doubles. And then things unfolded just as they do. Li-Van pitched a beautiful 8th and Jazop-Jazop had some trouble in the 9th but got out of the inning. Similarly he loaded the bases with two out in the top of the tenth, but Hoffer came in from the pen and got a groundout to end the inning. Then in the bottom of the inning a huge pinch hit triple from Mk-Cvy was followed by an Ich-Ro pop up with Mk-Cvy tagging up to end the game as the Gnomes mobbed the plate.

The Gnomes took a big step to repeat titles with that win. Milchama played great, but just didn't come through when it counted and have to be wondering if they really can get it done against the Gnomes. The series now moves to Mil-Bax, where Milchama will be listed as the home team. With some more good luck and clutch plays the Gnomes could be playing for the title the next time they're back in Doom Bug stadium.

Qazox,

Next time you update the Wikis, could you add links to the Jolt threads?

Ok...
(wonder's why this wasn't brought up like 3 weeks ago....)

didn't think about it until just then. I didn't need to look at the old threads before, so it didn't occur to me.

Scorinated by Bostopia

Az-cz 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 5
Milchama 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Az-cz leads 2-0

Next set of scores will probably be on Saturday Japan time.

Az-cz Scroll
Mil-Bax
Ya-Kyu

Finally something new, but just a little bit

After three consecutive extra inning 3-2 Az-cz victories, the fourth baseball game between Az-cz and Milchama finally yielded a different result. However, the Gnomes still won and a total of five runs were still scored as the Pink & Green came away with a 5-0 victory.

Batting as the away team despite playing in front of the home crowd things started off slowly as Ich-Ro and Durham both grounded out and it looked as if Br-Bnd was going to contribute to a 1-2-3 inning, following behind 0-2, but he battled off two foul balls before singling to get on board. Wl-My followed with a triple to put the Gnomes ahead.

Mk-Krk pitched another dazzling game in which he struck out 12 while allowing just 3 hits and a walk in shutting out the Milchaman offense. They in fact never advanced a runner past first base all game and the spunk they'd shown in overcoming Zwangzug and in the first game simply wasn't there. It was like they decided they couldn't compete with the Gnomes.

Now the Gnomes sit just one game from a second consecutive title and from a perfect tournament. Milchama seems to have given up, but it would be foolish to write off a team of their talent. So we'll see what happens.

Milchama 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Az-cz 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 X 4

Az-cz wins 3-0

Thanks everyone for taking part in the World Baseball Classic 2. Hoping to see everyone back for a World Baseball Classic 3.

"Wow! That was awful"

"Yeh we blew that one really really badly"

"You woulda thought we could have pulled off just one win?"

"Yeh"

"Oh well our baseball team sucks and can't finish off anything but the World Cup is about to begin so we can watch our good team play"

"Yeah!"