Pikesville Men's Softball League 2008 Season April

2008 Pikesville Men's Softball League
Week 4: April 27, 2008

Northwest Regional Park Field 1:
Game 1: Kings 16 (WP-Chuck Grant 4-0) Northwest Corridor 10 (LP-Howard Goldberg 2-1)

Both teams worked together putting out 4 50 pound bags of Turface drying compound to get the field into shape for the doubleheader. The muddy batter's box and basepaths took a little getting used to, but shortly thereafter, the offenses of both squads responded strongly. The Kings trailed 10-9 after 3 innings, but Chuck Grant shut down the NWC offense in their final 4 innings while his Kings teammates put up runs in each of those innings. The Kings won the opener 16-10.

Singles by Jon Herbst, Scott Sweren, and Dave Stein (RBI) got NWC 1-0 lead in b-1st. In t-2nd, Alan Varhaftik singled, Jan Katzen walked, and Chuck Grant hit a 2 RBI 2B putting Kings ahead 2-1. NWC's Lee Pollak hit a 2 out RBI 2B to tie score in b-2nd. The Kings seemingly broke the game open in t-3rd. Leadoff hitter Kenny Salzman initiated the rally with a 3B to RCF and Dave Sandler followed with an RBI 1B. Shilo Merwitz singled and Arin Gelletly hit a 2 RBI 3B. NWC starter Howard Goldberg then struggled with his control, walking 3 of the next 4 hitters and an infield error prolonged the Kings rally. When the damage was done, the Kings had scored 7 runs (on just 5 hits) to take a 9-2 lead.

The Kings lead did not even last until the end of the inning. NWC leadoff hitter Jon Herbst walked twice in the inning and between his 2 walks, NWC produced 7 hits, with the last 6 hits coming with 2 outs. RBI hits came from Goldberg, Cory Zajdel, Eric Radom (2 RBI 3B), Lee Pollak, Brad Rosenberg (RBI 2B), and Matt Silverman (RBI 2B). An infield error had come before the 2 early outs of the inning, so all of the 8 runs were actually unearned runs. Nevertheless, at the end of 3 innings, NWC was ahead 10-9. In Kings t-4th, Dave Sandler drew a leadoff walk and 1 out later, Arin Gelletly delivered his 3rd homerun of the young season, giving Kings the lead again, this time 11-10.

Grant did not allow more than 1 hit in any of the last 4 NWC at-bats, while his team's offense added to their lead in each of their final 3 at-bats. The Kings scored 2 runs in t-5th on RBI single by Kenny Salzman and RBI fielder's choice groundout by Dave Sandler. Robbie Ressin singled home 1 of the Kings 2 runs in t-6th and Shilo Merwitz hit an RBI 1B in t-7th. Tje Kings came out victorious 16-10 in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.

NWC game 1 offensive stars:
Jon Herbst (1-2,2 R,2 W)
Cory Zajdel (2-3,2 R,1 RBI)
Lee Pollak (2-3,1 R,2 RBI,2B)
Brad Rosenberg (2-3,1 R,1 RBI,2B)

Kings offensive leaders in game 1 included:
Kenny Salzman (3-5,2 R,1 RBI,3B)
Dave Sandler (2-4,2 R,2 RBI,W)
Arin Gelletly (2-4,2 R,4 RBI,3B,HR,W)
Keegan Rettaliata (2-3,2 R,W)
Mike Herr (2-4,1 R,1 RBI)

Game 2: Kings 14 (WP-Chuck Grant 5-0) Northwest Corridor 12 (LP-Howard Goldberg 2-2)

The teams played another close (and long) match in game 2, with the Kings coming out ahead again, this time 14-12. Kings starter Chuck Grant, who was supposed to leave after game 1 to attend to a personal commitment, put team first and decided to stay for game 2 if his teammates would play quickly behind him. Unfortunately for Grant, this was the last game to finish on the day, ending at about 12:30 PM. A combination in the doubleheader for both teams of 22 walks (18 given up by NWC pitching) and 66 hits (33 each team) caused the doubleheader to run long.

NWC did get on the board first in t-1st on a2 out RBI 1B by Adam Silverman, scoring Scott Sweren who had singled earlier. Kings came right back in b-1st as Arin Gelletly had an RBI 1B and Keegan Rettaliata had a 2 out 2 RBI single. Brad Rosenberg doubled home Eric Radom in t-2nd to cut the Kings lead to 3-2.

In t-3rd, following a leadoff ground out, 5 straight NWC singles by Jon Herbst, Scott Sweren, Dave Stein (RBI), Howard Goldberg (RBI), and Adam Silverman (RBI) keyed a 4 run rally. NWC led at the time 6-3. Kings took advantage of 2 walks and a fielder's choice RBI by Rettaliata to close to within 6-4. Singles by Brad Rosenberg, Herbst, and Sweren (RBI) in t-4th gave NWC another 3 run lead, 7-4. In b-4th, leadoff singles by Robbie Ressin and Troy Hendricks set the stage for a Kenny Salzman SF, Shilo Merwitz 2 RBI 3B, and Arin Gelletly RBI single, now putting Kings to the lead 8-7.

In t-5th, Goldberg reached on an infield error to leadoff the inning. A subsequent infield error and a fielder's choice groundout by Cory Zajdel knotted score 8-8. Kings began b-5th with singles by Katzen and Rettaliata. Goldberg was able to retire the next 2 Kings hitters keeping the runners in place, but Troy Hendricks muscled up on an inside fastball, sending a 2 RBI 3B onto the warning track in LF. Mike Herr followed Hendricks with an RBI 1B to CF, putting Kings up 11-8. Kings added to their lead in b-6th as Arin Gelletly and Alan Varhaftik drew 1 out walks. Jan Katzen hit an RBI 2B and Keegan Rettaliata hit a double to the wall for 2 more RBI's, as the Kings built their lead to a seemingly safe 14-8.

While the Kings were pondering their post-game plans, they lost focus of their defense, committing 3 errors in t-7th. Dave Stein hit a leadoff 3B and scored a sacrifice fly by Goldberg. Adam Silverman flew out to LF, giving the Kings just 1 out to go. Matt Bell singled, Zajdel singled and advanced an extra base on an outfield bobble. Eric Radom hit a grounder to Rettaliata that was booted, scoring Bell with the 10th run for NWC. Lee Pollak followed with a flyball to CF that was dropped by Hendricks, scoring Zajdel and Radom. All of a sudden the score was 14-12 with a runner on 3B and the tie run at the plate. Grant was able to retire Brad Rosenberg on a flyout to deep LCF to end the game.

While the Kings pride themselves on their usually solid defense, they commited 7 errors in game 2, compared to just 1 by NWC. However, NWC yielded 10 walks, to the Kings Grant allowing just 2 walks.

Offensive game 2 stars for NWC:
Jon Herbst (2-3,1 R,1 W)
Scott Sweren (3-4,2 R,1 RBI)
Dave Stein (2-3,2 R,1 RBI,3B,W)
Howard Goldberg (1-3,2 R,2 RBI,SF,reached on error)
Adam Silverman (3-4,2 RBI)
Brad Rosenberg (2-4,1 R,1 RBI,2B)

Offensive game 2 stars for the Kings:
Shilo Merwitz (2-3,3 R,2 RBI,2B,3B,W)
Arin Gelletly (3-3,2 R,2 RBI,W)
Jan Katzen (2-3,2 R,1 RBI,2B,W)
Keegan Rettaliata (3-4,2 2B,5 RBI)
Troy Hendricks (2-2,1 R,2 RBI,3B,W)

Northwest Regional Park Field 2:
Game 1: Sky & Sky Inc. 8 (WP-Larry Newman 2-1) NEK Entertainment 2 (LP-Dave Pridgen 0-3)

Dave Pridgen and Larry Newman were both locked in for most of the game, and despite only starting with 9 fielders, NEK's outfield covered all the ground needed to back up their pitcher. Sky & Sky was clinging to a 2-1 lead entering the b-6th, but took advantage of several free passes and a controversial call to break things open. They batted around with mostly singles, and extended their once fragile lead to seven runs. NEK made some noise in the t-7th, but Newman managed to induce his counterpart into a game ending foul out with the bases loaded. Final score of 8-2 with Newman getting the win over Pridgen. Sky & Sky was glad to welcome back Pat Wilcox after a brief stint on the DL with a knee injury, and he contributed quite adequately with 1B, 2BB, SF. Russ Dlin cleared his busy schedule to go 2-3 in his return after back surgery ended his season last April, and Brian Sky had a single and 2 annoying walks

Game 1 was the first of two good defensive ball games. Stephen Georgie made a great play on SS to help keep SKY & SKYs league @ 2-1. David Pridgen pitched a great game, but didn't get any offensive support from his team. S & S added some late runs to seal the win.

Offensive Stars for NEK in game 1:
Rashaad Johnson, 2-4, 2B
Marqui Garrett, 1-3, RS

Game 2: Sky & Sky Inc. 10 (WP-Larry Newman 3-1) NEK Entertainment 4 (LP-Dave Pridgen 0-4)

Game two started with a bang and the aforementioned Pat Wilcox opened the scoring with a 2-run blast to LCF, and Elliot Blank singled home two more for the quick 4-0 lead. Sky & Sky added three more in the t-4th to go up 7-1. Newman's defense managed to keep almost everything in front of them on the slick field, holding NEK to a scant 2 runs through 6 innings. Three more insurance runs in the t-7th bested the 2 answer runs NEK put up in the b-7th for a 10-4 final, as Newman again got the win over Pridgen (who was held hitless in a double header for the first time since 5/12/87 in pee wee ball). Steve Truitt played the leadoff role perfectly going 4-4, Mike Rotts started a new on-base streak for the 2008 season with 3 pinch hits on the day, and Russ Dlin reached safely in 3 of 4 plate appearances while scoring 2 runs.

NEK's offensive woah's continued during game 2. Another good pitched game by David Pridgen was wasted. Nemo pitched another good game to lead his team to it's second win of the day. Stephen Georgie, Frederick Neal, and Rashaad Johnson made some spectacular plays in the field.

Offensive Stars for NEK in game 2:
Stephen Georgie, 2-4
Jason Gardner, 1-3, RS
Brian Jackson, 3-4, 1 RS

Northwest Regional Park Field 3:
Game 1: Havana Club Cannons 5 (WP- Mark Yokel 3-0) LOFT 3 (LP-Andy Peksa 1-3)

Game 1 started out with both teams struggling to get hits because of the field conditions. The game was scoreless until the top of the 5th when the Cannons scored 2 and then scored 3 more in the top of the 6th. LOFT was facing another 5 run deficit in the bottom of the 7th when it started out just like last week with 3 straight singles to load the bases with no outs. LOFT however was only able to play 3 in the inning and lost to the Cannons 5-3.

Mark Yokel kept the L.O.F.T. hitters off balance and improved to 3-0 on the young season.

Game 2: Havana Club Cannons 6 (WP- Tom Paulshock 3-0) LOFT 4 (LP-Andy Peksa 1-4)

Game 2 was also a pitchers duel as it was tied 1-1 after 3 and then the Cannons scored 2 in the 4th to take the lead. Kory Rosenberg came in to pitch with 1 out in the 4th and got out of the jam with the less then traditional touch second throw to third for tag out double play. LOFT scored 2 in the top of the 5th to tie the game, but the Cannons plated 2 more to make the game 5-3. LOFT scored another in the top of the 6th and the Cannons score once more in the bottom half to make it 6-4 heading into the 7th. LOFT was unable to get any runs across the board and lost another 2 run game to the Cannons.

The Cannons picked up the sweep, winning the second game 6-4 behind veteran pitcher Tom Paulshock (3-0). Tom helped his own cause with several nice defensive plays.

The Cannons were led offensively by Tim Grap and his 529s.

Offensive Highlights between both games for LOFT:
Jeff Kapper: 3-5; 3 1B, Sac, R, RBI
Andy Peksa: 3-5; 3 1B, Sac, R, RBI
Matt Boden: 3-7, 2 1B, 2B, 2 RBI