2008 Pikesville Men's Softball League
Week 15:  July 13, 2008

Northwest Regional Park Field 1:
Game 1: Eastern Savings Bank 15 (WP-Tzvi Friedman 5-5)  LOFT 1 (LP-Andy Peksa 5-10)  5 Innings

ESB finally won a double header by beating a talented loft team 15-1 and 3-2. Tzvi Friedman who is the 2nd best pitcher/hitter in the league behind Kings Chuck Grant, pitched 2 stellar games. ESB’s defense was solid, if not spectacular, the entire day. Included in the performances was probably the best play ESB has made all year. Dan Gutman gloved a hard shot up the middle and flipped it with his glove to 2nd baseman Chaim Finkelstein who caught it with his hand and fired it to first base to complete the double play.


ESB scored 2 in the first, two in the second and five in the third to take a 9-0 lead. The game ended after five innings with Loft scoring their lone run in the 5th.

Hitting stars for ESB were:
Tzvi Friedman (4-4 2 doubles, 3 RBI’s, 3 runs scored)
Mark Loeb (3-4 3 RBI’s, 2 runs scored)
Dan Gutman (3-4 2 RBI’s, 3 runs scored)
Yosef Orshan (2-4, 2 RBI’s, 2 runs scored)


Game 2: Eastern Savings Bank 3 (WP- Tzvi Friedman 6-5)  LOFT 2 (LP-Andy Peksa 5-11)

Game 2 was much closer. ESB has struggled in game two for weeks and this week was no different. LOFT jumped to a 2-0 lead and ESB kept flying out. However, in the 4th, ESB scored 3 times and held on for the victory. Again, Friedman pitched an outstanding game keeping LOFT at bay with the heater and his newly developed killer change up.

Northwest Regional Park Field 2:
Game 1: Kings 20 (WP-Mike Herr 1-0) Stingers 5 (LP-Albert Hoffman 0-3)  4 Innings

With 5 regular players out of the line-up, the Kings turned to veterans Robbie Ressin, Steve Levy, and Scott Katzen for support. The veterans brought with them 290 games of Kings experience and produced in the doubleheader, a combined 13-for-18 (.722). Their offensive and defensive support helped the Kings take game one 20-5 in a shortened 4 innings.

The Kings got on the board in b-1st on RBI 1B by Jeff Slutzker and RBI 2B by Alan Varhaftik. The inning could have been much worse for the Stingers as the Kings had the bases loaded with just 1 out. Stingers 3B Sean Murphy started a huge third to first doubleplay to get out of the inning. The Stingers got one of those runs back in t-2nd with a Murphy leadoff single and following an infield grounder moving up the runner, an Albert Hoffman RBI 1B.

In Kings b-2nd, the Kings sent all 10 batters to the plate twice, en route to a 16 run inning. The Kings had only scored 3 runs prior to the 2nd out of the inning, but the next 13 batters reached on 12 hits and 1 walk. 5 different Kings hitters had 2 hits in the inning (Jan Katzen, Alan Varhaftik, Keegan Rettaliata, Steve Levy, and Mike Herr). The Kings added an insurance run in b-3rd on a Robbie Ressin RBI single, giving the Kings a 19-1 lead into the t-4th inning.

Needing 4 runs to keep the game alive, Mike Beverly delivered a grand slam inside-the-park HR into RCF. The game did end, though, in the Kings b-4th as they loaded the bases with 0 out and Alan Varhaftik scored the winning run on a Scott Katzen fielder's choice grounder.

Stingers tried again to get things going in the first, but with no avail. Albert Hoffman took the mound again but had little defensive help as the sun in left field gave the Stingers a disadvantage. Stingers would do a little damage in the t-2nd as they loaded the bases full and Mike Beverly drove a shot over the Kings outfield for an easy in the park grand slam. Hoffman would have little defensive support thereafter and the King s would take the morning.

Stingers offensive stars:
Sean Murphy (2-2,2 R)
Mike Beverly (1-2,1 R,4 RBI)
Aaron Shifrin (2-2)

Kings multi-hit players:
Robbie Ressin (2-3,2 R,2 RBI,W)
Dave Sandler (2-3,1 R,3 RBI,SF)
Jan Katzen (2-4,2 R,1 RBI)
Alan Varhaftik (4-4,3 R,4 RBI,2B,3B)
Keegan Rettaliata (3-3,1 R,2 RBI,W)
Steve Levy (3-3,3 R,1 RBI)
Mike Herr (3-3,2 R,2 RBI)

Game 1 notes:
►The Kings offense exploded at the plate with 22-31 (.710), 20 R, 19 RBI,1 2B,1 3B,6 W, 1 SF), while the defense was errorless.
►Stingers Albert Hoffman was making his first career start against the Kings.

Game 2: Kings 14 (WP-Mike Herr 2-0) Stingers 0 (LP-Albert Hoffman 0-4)  5 Innings

Kings starter Mike Herr allowed just 1 hit and 0 walks in a 5 inning 14-0 win over the Stingers in game 2. The Kings bats continued their torrid pace from game 1, going 20-30 (.667) in the nightcap. Steve Levy and Mike Herr, the first 2 batters in the Kings game 2 line-up went 3-for-3 and both ended up 6-for-6 on the day. The game 2 win for the Kings allowed them to clinch the Regular Season title for just the 2nd time in the franchise's 20 year history-- the other time was in 1993 when the team recorded a 25-5 regular season record and went onto a 5-0 playoff title.

Dave Sandler's RBI 1B in t-1st scored Mike Herr with the only run of the inning. The Kings took advantage of some sloppy defense by the Stingers in t-2nd as the outfielders had difficulty with the sun field. Keegan Rettaliata hit an RBI 3B, and Troy Hendricks and Herr also recorded RBI hits. With the addition of 2 SF's, the Kings led 6-0 after 1 1/2 innings.

Sean Murphy led off the b-2nd with a 1B and that would end up being the only baserunner in the game for the Stingers. The Kings added 2 runs in t-4th and sealed the win with 6 runs in t-5th. The key hit in the 4th inning was Steve Levy's 7th career HR and his first since 1997. Steve's last game with the Kings was another fill-in appearance in 1999. Appearing today in Kings game #296, he retired from full-time play following the 1998 season and has his Kings #17 jersey retired by the team.

Stingers offensive leaders:
Sean Murphy (1-2)

Kings multi-hit players:
Steve Levy (3-3,3 R,2 RBI,HR,W)
Mike Herr (3-3,2 R,1 RBI,W)
Robbie Ressin (2-3,1 R,2 RBI,SF)
Dave Sandler (2-3,2 RBI,W)
Jeff Slutzker (2-2,2 RBI,2 SF)
Keegan Rettaliata (2-4,2 R,1 RBI,3B)
Troy Hendricks (2-3,2 R,2 RBI)
Scott Katzen (2-3,2 R,1 RBI,2B)

Game 2 notes:
► In the Kings 1993 Championship Season, Larry Newman recorded the only 20 win season in team history. Newman was 20-1 for the Kings that season, along with Steve Levy 10-3, Dave Sandler 0-1. Chuck Grant thus far in 2008 is 17-1 and hopes to establish the Kings record for pitching wins in a season. Grant's current career high for wins is 18 in 2007. Newman also had a 19 win season for the Kings in their 1996 Tournament Championship season.
► Steve Levy's 7th career HR moved him past Rob Bark, Jason Green, and Ken Zalis on the Kings all-time list. He is now in 16th place on the list, hoping one day to catch the 8 HR achievements of Jim Davis and Marc Summerfield. Alan Varhaftik is #1 on the list with 56.
►The Kings played errorless ball again in game 2, their first errorless doubleheader of the season. The previous low for a doubleheader was 1 on June 8 against Sky and 1 on July 6 against Eastern Savings Bank. Both of those 1 error games were outfield throwing errors.

Northwest Regional Park Field 3:
Game 1: NEK Entertainment 15 (WP-Ted Winner 4-2) Northwest Corridor 12 (LP-Howard Goldberg 7-14)  

Adrenaline was flowing and testosterone was bouncing off of the walls as NWC and NEK battled for the second time in 2008. Always a fun and heated rivalry these two teams didn't disappoint on Sunday. NEK batted first and had a single from Rashaad Johnson, but heads up defense from NWC ended the inning with a 10-4-6 putout. NWC left 2 men on base in the bottom of the 1st and failed to score. Goldberg shut down NEK in order in the 2nd and NWC's bats awakened in the bottom half of the inning. Brad Rosenberg led off with a double to centerfield and Eric Radom drew a walk from Ted Winner. Matt Bell took advantage of the shallow NEK outfielders and blasted a 3-run inside the park homer. NEK struck back with 2 of their own in the 3rd, but NWC matched them plus two more in the bottom of the 3rd. Jon Herbst and Joey Liner received back-to-back walks to start the inning off for NWC. David Stein doubled home Herbst and Brad Rosenberg drilled a 3-run homer to score everyone. Both teams exchanged runs in the 4th inning. Eric Radom hit the 3rd homerun of the game for NWC, but his teammates stranded two more runners in scoring position to end the 4th inning. NEK exploded for 5 runs in the 5th and 7 runs in the 6th inning. NWC was shut down in both innings stranding another 4 runners on base. NEK went down in the 7th without scoring and NWC went into the bottom of the inning to try and rally back after the defensive collapses of the 5th & 6th innings. Things started well for NWC, Jon Herbst singled up the middle and Joey Liner was issued another walk. Adam Silverman singled to center and Howard Goldberg lined a double to centerfield. After scoring 4 runs to bring the score to 15-12, NWC managed one more hit but no more runs. A see-saw battle with numerous defensive mistakes from both teams resulted in the NEK 15-12 victory.

Hitting Highlights NWC:
Matt Bell 1-3 R HR 3RBI BB
Eric Radom 3-3 2R HR RBI 2B BB
Howard Goldberg 3-4 R 3RBI 2B
Brad Rosenberg 2-4 2R 3RBI 2B HR

NEK game 1 offensive stars:
Jason Gardner - 2/4, 1 hr, 1 3b, 6 r.b.i's
John Frederick ('Fred') - 3/3, 1 2b, 2 r.b.i's


Game 2:  Northwest Corridor 12 (WP-Howard Goldberg 8-14)   NEK Entertainment 5 (LP-Jeff Harris 4-2) 

Looking for a split series NWC's bats didn't miss a beat to start the top of the 1st. Howard Goldberg singled home Jon Herbst, and Scott Sweren singled home Goldberg and Adam Silverman. NEK went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 1st. In the top of the 2nd NWC added to their 3 run lead with 3 more runs scored. Matt Silverman's line drive to centerfield knocked in Matt Bell and Jon Herbst blasted a shot to the left centerfield warning track that resulted in an inside the park homer. Adam Silverman tripled home Joey Liner to complete the scoring in the inning. NEK would get themselves back in the ballgame scoring a few runs in the 2nd and 3rd, but Goldberg quieted the NEK bats for the next 3 innings. NWC added another run in the 5th inning and broke the game wide open in the top of the 6th. Eric Radom's liner to RF plated Scott Sweren. Matt Bell and Aaron Birenbaum followed with consecutive singles and Jon Herbst drew a walk to load the bases. Joey Liner drove home 2 runners with a hit to left center and Adam Silverman followed with an rbi single to finish the 5 run 6th inning. NEK staged a mini comeback in the bottom of the 7th, but only managed 2 runs. NEK's triple over the glove of Radom in left field was their only extra base hit of the game. In addition to the one extra base hit, Goldberg didn't allow a walk all game and NEK really only managed a few well hit singles in game #2.

Hitting Highlights NWC:
Jon Herbst 3-3 4R HR RBI BB
Scott Sweren 3-4 R 2RBI 2B
Adam Silverman 2-4 R 2RBI 3B

NEK game 2 offensive stars:
Stephen Georgie - 3/3
Marqui Garrett - 2/3
Jeff Harris - 2/3, 1 r.b.i
Haener - 2/3

Game Notes:
► NWC welcomed back Scott Sweren off of the DL after a 6 week absence.
► Milestones for NWC 7/13- Scott Sweren hit his 100th career rbi, Joey Liner hit his 175th hit and scored his 125th career run, Aaron Birenbaum enjoyed his NWC career hit #100. Liner's 176 hits are 3rd in franchise history to David Stein(223) and Howard Goldberg(238).
►Joey Sweren's wrestling action figures and Brad Rosenberg's salty peanuts continue to be the secret weapons behind the fierce NWC offensive attack.

Northwest Regional Park Field 4:
Game 1: Havana Club Cannons 13 (WP-Mark Yokel 8-4) Sky & Sky Inc. 1 (LP- Alex Newman 2-2)  6 Innings

The Cannons came in to this week in a race for second place, and on a 4 game losing streak. Mark Yokel took to the bump looking to help reverse the Cannon’s fortunes.

The Cannons bats came out hot, plating 3 runs in each of the first two innings, while Yokel surrendered only 1 unearned run. Johnny Edelman had 4 rbis with two singles. Sky and Sky never really put an inning together, as Yokel was fantastic striking out two batters looking the rest of the way.

In a sign of things returning, exactly what the Cannons had been missing in recent weeks was the killer instinct. While up 6-1 and not resting on that 5 run lead, the Cannons plated 7 more runs in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings to take a 12 run victory in 6 innings.

Hitting stars for the Cannons in game 1:
Tim Grap: 1-1, BB 2 sacrifice flies. 2 runs, 2 rbis
Chuck Easter: 1-1, 3BB, 3 runs scored
Shawn Warner: 2-3 3rbis
Edelman: 2-4, 4 rbis 

Havana Club Cannons 14 (WP-Tom Paulshock 8-2) Sky & Sky Inc. 8  (LP- Larry Newman 13-4)  8 Innings

Game two got started in the opposite way for the Cannons as Tommy Paulshock surrendered 5 runs in the 1st two innings, while the Cannons couldn’t muster any help from the offense.

In the top of the 4th inning though, the Cannons came out hot, awakening from their slumber. Of the 11 batters to come to the plate, 10 of them safely reached base. After Warner and Edelman hits came a Steve Hayes walk. Evan Kreitzer cleared the bases with a triple to centerfield. Drew Maclean reached on a dropped fly ball to RCF, and Danny Kassell walked.

With runners on 1st and 2nd, Neal Charkatz pinch hit for Tommy, no outs, 4 runs in so far. Charkatz ripped a ball to leftfield that the Sky fielder dove for and after some confusion was ruled a trap. The base runners were confused, and a quick throw in to second base tagged both of them out for a double play. (in a side note, the Sky fielder believes he caught the ball, and if that was the case a easy triple play would have occurred, but the umpire saw differently with no objections from either team)

After the misfortune of Charkatz’s fielder's choice/ double play, the Cannons rebounded with 3 more hits by Kurland, Grap and Easter with 2 more runs coming home. The Cannons added a single run in the top of the 5th on a rbi double by Steve Hayes.

In the b-6th Tommy got a little wild, walking the bases loaded, and giving up a line drive single that plated all 3 runs when the Cannons OF bobbled the ball. Tommy got out of the jam from that point with additional runs being scored.

Leading off the t-7th down 1 run, Chuck Easter blasted a homerun to LCF off Larry Newman that quickly tied the game up at 8 apiece. Nothing more could be mustered up by the Cannons. Tommy got out of a 1st and second 1 out jam in the B 7th to give the Cannons a shot in extra innings.

In the top of the 8th, the Cannons exploded again, starting with a leadoff double by Drew Maclean to deep LF. Danny Kassell popped out, and Charkatz came to bat for the 2nd time hitting for Tommy in the game. Charkatz hit a single to LF that scored Maclean and giving the Cannons a 1 run lead. After a Kurland fly out, the Cannons had 5 consecutive hits with two outs to plate 5 more runs, and taking a 14-8 lead.

Mark Yokel came in for Tommy in the b-8th to shut down Sky and Sky and giving the Cannons revenge in a doubleheader sweep that went the other way 3 weeks earlier vs. Sky.

Now the Cannons are within percentage points of second place, a key place to be in the playoffs. It’s clear these teams will meet again at some point in the playoffs …

Game 2 Hitting Stars for the Cannons:
Grap; 3-4 BB, 2 rbis, 1 run
Easter: 4-5, 3 rbis, 2 runs
Edelman: 3-5, 3 runs, 2 rbis
Hayes: 4-4; BB, 2 rbis, 1 run
Charkatz: 1-2; 1 rbi,  pinch hit single