2007 Pikesville Men's Softball League
Week 6:  May 13, 2007

Northwest Regional Park Field 1:
Game 1: Kings 6 (WP-Chuck Grant 7-0)  DC Dental 4 (LP-Tzvi Friedman 3-3) 

The Kings and DCD competed in a closely matched opener, with the Kings breaking a 3-3 tie with 3 runs in b-6th to win 6-3. Kings drew first blood with 2 runs in b-1st. Dave Sandler and Shilo Merwitz drew 1 out walks. Chuck Grant's 2B got the Kings 1st run, while Alan Varhaftik's SF scored Merwitz for a 2-0 Kings lead. DCD didn't trail for long. Jon Minkove and Joe Orshan singled to start t-2nd, while Akers reached on an infield error to load the bases with 0 out. Flamm hit a 2 RBI single to tie score, while Joe Rombro brought home the 3rd run on a fielder's choice groundout. Kings tied score 3-3 on a 2 out outfield error allowing a run to score. Both teams left a lot of runners on base from the t-3rd through t-6th innings. In Kings b-6th, Jan Katzen belted a 2B to start inning. Troy Hendricks drew a bases loaded walk 2 batters later to put Kings ahead 4-3. A SF by Rob Ressin and infield error allowed the final 2 Kings runners to cross home plate in the inning. The Kings held on to win 6-4.

DC dental showed earlier on in the series that they were not going to roll over for the Kings, a perennial top team. DCD, behind tremendous fielding kept the game close. Although the Kings came up on top DCD proved that they could play with the big boys, foreshadowing Game 2.

Lazerow- 2 for 3 (Single, Double, BB) RBI
Rombro- 1 for 3 (Single) 1 RBI, 1 Run

The multi-hit Kings players in game 1 were:
Dave Sandler (2-3,1 R,1 W)
Chuck Grant (2-3,2B,1 RBI)
Jan Katzen (2-2,1 R,2B,W)
Nate Barker (2-3,1 R)

The only multi-hit DCD players were:
Alan Lazerow (2-3,2B,1 RBI,W)
Ben Gutman (2-3)
 

Game 2:  DC Dental 12 (WP-Meir Zoller 2-0)  Kings 10 (LP-Chuck Grant 7-1) 

Game 2 was a sea-saw battle, with DCD giving the Kings their first defeat of the season 12-10. Kings scored 6 runs in t-1st, but uncharacteristic sloppiness in the field and stranded runners led to the Kings demise. Alan Varhaftik (RBI 3B), Jan Katzen (RBI 1B), Rob Barrow (2 RBI 3B), and Troy Hendricks (RBI 1B) helped key the 1st inning rally. Dovi Ziffer singled home Sam Luxenberg in b-2nd to get DCD onto the scoreboard 6-1. DCD sent 10 players to the plate in b-3rd, scoring 5 runs. 2 RBI single by Tzvi Friedman, RBI single by Jon Minkove, RBI single by Flamm and RBI single by Kivi Gross accounting for the 5 runs and a 6-6 score. DCD went ahead 7-6 in b-4th as Alan Lazerow singled home Dan Gutman. Kings took back lead 8-7 on a Dave Sandler 2 RBI 2 out 3B to RF. DCD went back ahead 10-8 with 3 runs in t-5th on RBI singles by Flamm and Gross. Kings pushed to within 1 run in t-5th when Nate Barker hit into an RBI fielder's choice. DCD then extended their lead with 2 out RBI 2B by Luxenberg and RBI single by Joe Rombro. The Kings did threaten in t-7th as Chuck Grant (walk) and Alan Varhaftik (2B) reached base to start the inning, but only Grant scored in the inning as the Kings took their first loss by a final score of 12-10.

After the kings jumped out to an early 6 run lead both teams bats grew cold. That is until DCD came alive in the fourth inning, aided by the enthusiasm and motivation provided by Rabbi/Coach Dave DCD showed just how hot they could get. With the game going back and forth the Kings we held in the top of the seventh by a marvelous defensive double play by Dan Gutman.

Meir Zoller improved his pitching record to 2-0, while Chuck Grant dropped to 7-1.

Kings offensive stars:
Mike Herr (2--4,2 R)
Dave Sandler (2-2,1 R,2 RBI,3B,W)
Alan Varhaftik (2-4,1 R,1 RBI,2B,3B)
Jan Katzen (3-3,1 R,2 RBI,SF)
Nate Barker (2-4,1 R,1 RBI)

DCD hitting stars included:
Ben Gutman (2-3,1 R,W)
Sam Luxenberg (1-3,4 R,1 RBI,2B,W,reached on error)
Joe Rombro (2-2,1 R,1 RBI)
Flamm (2-4,1 R,2 RBI)
Kivi Gross (2-2,2 RBI)
Dovi Ziffer (2-3,RBI)

Kings game notes:

• Dave Sandler's 3B was his 3rd in 2007 and Kings 22nd career 3B, putting him a 2nd place tie on the all-time list (Jeff Slutzker, Joel Gordon).
• Alan Varhaftik has 5 3B's in 2007 and is #1 on  the Kings all-time list with 38.

Northwest Regional Park Field 2:
Game 1: Stingers 22 (WP-Randy Rivera 2-0)  L.O.F.T. 10 (LP-Kory Rosenberg 0-3) 

The game got underway after the start was delayed more then the allotted 5 minutes because the Stingers didn't want to start with 8 players. Kory Rosenberg made his return to the team and pitched game 1 for L.O.F.T. He was a bit sore from pitching the previous day in a charity softball outing and had to go mostly to his knuckle ball all game. The Stingers got out to an early lead in the 1st, but L.O.F.T. tied it up in the bottom of the 2nd on a 2-out RBI double by Rosenberg. The Stingers came right back and scored 2 more in the 3rd and 3 more in the 4th, but L.O.F.T. wasn't ready to go away yet as they scored 3 in the bottom of the 4th behind back to back to back RBI's by Dan Mabry, Ryan Mente and Kory Rosenberg making it a 7-5 game through 4. After that the Stingers bats really heated up and the L.O.F.T. defense started to fall apart a bit as the Stingers had 6 in the 5th, 5 in the 6th and 5 in the 7th. L.O.F.T. could only manage to score 5 more runs the rest of the game. The game was ended when Ryan Mente slide in safely at third for a triple, but lifted his foot off the bag becoming the final out of the game.

Stingers started the morning looking for additional players and thank all the efforts of Mike Herr. Unfortunately, they were only able to obtain nine to on a day that mothers would supersede playing ball. Opening with the bats in the first was Mike BaSoco to begin the day with a watchful eye. James Engler would poke a shot up the middle to mover him on base on Soco over. Under extreme caution, Mike Beverly took a walk and loaded the bases against Rosenberg who pitched for LOFT. Randy Rivera smacked a double to put two Stingers across the plate and would open the morning session with a run lead over LOFT, but LOFT would come back and tie things up against Rivera’s knuckleballs.

Again in the b-3rd, the Stingers would take a lead up by two with timely hitting from Rivera and Matt Friedman. The fourth inning brought a pair of threes from each team. Stingers would get their support from Rosenberg walks and Sean Murphy’s power shot to add on to his RBI total for the season. In the fifth it was all Stingers as they batted through the lineup to plate six from a core of power singles from Aaron Shifrin, Engler (with another RBI), Murphy (and his RBI), Rivera (another RBI), Friedman (poking his RBI through), and a shot from Tabaznik. Stingers would bat the right side of LOFTS infield and continue their shots at LOFT’s Third and Short. The Stinger would take the game fully away in the 6th and not let LOFT up for a break, adding another round of Stingers with power singes to have Beverly, Murphy and Rivera continue to add up the RBI totals on the day. Mike Beverly would pull his hamstring in the 7th and took it easy to do his best for the night cap, but the Stingers continued their parade of batting with Beverly still able to power on with a single over the middle, followed by Murph’s shot to help advance the injured Beverly over. Again the Stingers would take advantage of LOFT’s left side putting Rivera on through anE5. Friedman would round out the positive of the inning after coughing up a lung for the past two weeks with his double to plate two more stingers and add on to his RBI stack.



Offensive Stars for LOFT:
Ryan Mente: 4-4, 1B, 2 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R
Kory Rosenberg: 3-3, 3 2B, 5 RBI, R
Dan Mabry: 2-4, 2 1B, RBI, 3 R
Adam Crothers: 2-4, 2 1B, 2 R
Pete Sclafani: 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 R
 

Game 2: L.O.F.T. 15 (WP-Andy Peksa 1-4)  Stingers 9 (LP-Randy Rivera 2-1)  

Andy Peksa took the mound in game 2 for L.O.F.T. and gave up 4 runs in the 1st inning, but then shut the Stingers down over the next 3 innings allowing no runs and only throwing 3 pitches in the 4th inning retiring the side 1-2-3. L.O.F.T. finally got the bats going in the 3rd inning by tying the game up behind a 2 RBI triple by Mike Bowen; a RBI double by Brandon Mabry and a RBI single by Dan Mabry. L.O.F.T. then added 5 more runs on in the top of the 4th to give L.O.F.T. a 9-4 lead which they never relinquished.
The Stingers were able to cut the lead to 9-7 after scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th, but L.O.F.T. came right back with 3 runs of their own in the top of the 6th. Peksa lost his control a little bit in the bottom half of the 6th walking 4 batters and even walking in a run, but L.O.F.T.'s defense backed him up because when the inning was over Peksa only gave up 2 runs, but the lead was cut to 12-9. L.O.F.T. added on 3 insurance runs in the top half of the 7th, but they didn't end up needing them as Andy Peksa was able to hold the Stingers scoreless in the bottom half of the 7th to secure their 1st win of the season.

With Beverly injured and being short as it was, the Stinger did all they could with Mike Basoco being the only mobile outfielder to cover ground and still blank LOFT with the knuckle balls of Rivera again. In the b-1st, the Stingers went through their entire line-up again plating four from Single as again by Basoco, Shifron, Engler, Murphy and Phil Engler (helping out as a brother would do). Unfortunately the sun and the inability to be able to cover the outfield with one true outfielder started to hinder the Stingers but not before Randy Rivera took the LOFT in the second again.

The Stingers would again attempt to put LOFT back in the field but they were able to plate nine between the 3rd and 4th innings. In the b-5th, the Stingers held off LOFT winning the inning 3-0, from another round of shots to the left side of LOFT from the injured Beverly, Murphy, Rivera, and a power shot by Friedman over the right side to plate two more stingers followed by Phil Engler’s single to plate Rivera. In the 6th, the two teams would battle each plating runners. The Stingers held off LOFT’s attempted damage with only Basoco in the outfield running down hits. When it came time to put the runs on the board from an injured band of Stingers, Soco worked his magic along with Shifron to get on base with their shots followed shortly after by walks administered to Beverly and Murphy who would gain an RBI from his walk with bases loaded. Unfortunately with only seven mobile Stingers and two battling Stingers doing their best to help out, the Stingers would fall to LOFT.


Offensive Stars for LOFT:
Brandon Mabry: 4-4, 2 1B, 2B, 3B, Sac Fly, 4 RBI, 2 R
Mike Bowen: 4-5, 2 1B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 3 R
Dan Mabry: 4-5, 2 1B, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R
JC Beattie: 4-4, 2 1B, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 3R
Andy Peksa: 2-4, 2 1B, RBI, 2 R
Pete Sclafani: 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R
Brett Henry: 2-4, 2 1B, R

L.O.F.T. Game Notes:
- L.O.F.T. debuted their new uniforms as they finally came in earlier in the week
- Tacking on a third insurance run for L.O.F.T. in the top of the 7th was non other than former Aflac employee Brandon Mabry
- Ryan Mente got back to his roots of drinking all night and showing up to softball on 3 hours of sleep as he went 5-7 on the day
 

Northwest Regional Park Field 3:
Game 1: NEK Entertainment 11 (WP-David Pridgen 2-1)  Sky & Sky Inc. 7 (LP-Larry Newman 0-5) 

A makeshift defense took the field for Sky & Sky with a number of players out of position, and it showed early. N.E.K. Entertainment plated 4 in the first with several base hits on balls stopped only by the OF fence, and two in the second on a monster shot which the fence could not contain. Four more in the t-4th and a run in the 5-th almost made this game a laugher, as Sky & Sky allowed two bases loaded opportunities to slip away. N.E.K.'s defense did start to crack, as an error led to 1 in the b-5th and 5 in the following frame, but Dave Pridgen shut the door riding his defense to the 11-7 victory over Larry Newman. Alex Newman, Barry Unger and Zach Scherr each went 2-3 with a BB.

Game 2: NEK Entertainment 10 (WP-Jeff Harris 2-3)  Sky & Sky Inc. 7 (LP-Zach Scherr 0-2) 

Game 2 saw a much more competitive contest. Each team came roaring out of the blocks with 11 runs scored in just the first inning. N.E.K. led 8-5 after 2 innings and the Sky & Sky defense seemed somewhat absent-minded, if not absent. Both teams plodded along the rest of the way, with N.E.K. holding off a late Sky & Sky flurry to go home with a 10-8 victory as Jeff Harris beat Zach Scherr. Alex Newman had his standard 2 hits and a BB, while Paul Hayes went 3-4 with 2 runs.



Northwest Regional Park Field 4:
Game 1:Havana Club Cannons 14  (WP-Mark Yokel 4-0)  Northwest Corridor 6 (LP-Howard Goldberg 2-2) 

A tight game from the first inning on, The Cannons gave up a run in the bottom of the first, but got it back quickly in the t 2nd when Steve Hayes hit a sac fly knocking in Steve Henneman who reached on an error. The Cannons got another run in the top of the 3rd on Mike Steller RBI single. Yokel settled down, and in the top oft he 4th the Cannons plated 3 more, keyed by a Shawn Warner 2 out 2 RBI double. The inning started off with a Johnny Edelman single, and a Steve Hayes single, and then a strange play occurred. Mark yokel hit what looked like a hard single to centerfield, but the ball hit 2nd base, kicked to the second baseman who was able to get the force at second easily.

The Corridor didn't go away, plating 2 more runs in the bottom of the 4th, and again in the bottom of the 5th, making it a 7-5 game. Single runs were traded in the 6th for both teams, but then in the top of the seventh in a 8-6 game, the Cannons bats finally awakened with a roar. Jeff Kurland reached on an E6 with 1 out; and Chuck Easter lined out to second hard... what ensued was a great bit of 2 out clutch hitting. the next 5 batters reached and scored, all keyed by a basesloaded triple to right by Johnny Edelman, essentially putting the game out of reach, a 6 run 7th inning lead to a 14-6 victory for the Cannons.


Hitting stars game 1 for the Cannons:
Warner 3-5, 3 RBIs 1 run scored
Mike Steller 3-5, 2 RBIs 2 runs
Evan Kreitzer 4-5 2 RBIs, 2 runs
 

Game 2: Havana Club Cannons 18  (WP-Mark Yokel 5-0)  Northwest Corridor 6 (LP-Ted Winner 2-2) 

With Tommy in California to see his grandchildren for Mothers Day, Yokel was forced to throw 2 games. Fortunately, this game was never in doubt as the Cannons plated 5,4,3, and 1 run in the first 4 innings, while NWC could only manage single runs in the 3rd and 4th innings.

With 5 more runs in the b 6th, the Cannons 12 runned NWC with a final score of 18-6.

Hitting Stars game 2 for the Cannons:
Henneman 3-5, 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs
Easter, 3-3, 2 runs, 5 RBIs, 2 sac flies
Steller: 3-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs
Luis Falcon, 3-4 3 RBIs 2 runs
Edelman 3-3, BB, 2 runs, 2 RBIs