2008 Pikesville Men's Softball League
Week 11:  June 15, 2008

Northwest Regional Park Field 1:
Game 1: Havana Club Cannons 21 (WP-Mark Yokel 7-2) Stingers 9 (LP-Tim Palo 0-2)  6 Innings

Playing with 9 guys, the Havana Club jumped out to an early lead scoring 8 runs in the top of the first. The Stingers, however, would eventually battle back and knot the game at 8-8. Thereafter, the Havana Club offense took control and the game concluded with a final score of 21-9. Mark Yokel picked up the win going 6 strong.

Stingers tried turning the corner again to get on the plus side of the season. They opened the morning with Tim Palo taking the mound again who did a decent job through 4 innings of play as the Stingers held on par with the Cannons with a makeshift team again. Through 4 innings of play, it was a tied game at 8 a piece. Extraordinary effort came from Mike Beverly’s solo homerun and Jeb Buchman’s in the park homer solo homerun. Unfortunately it was fielding errors from the Stingers that allowed the Cannons to take the morning game 21-9.

Game 2: Havana Club Cannons 9 (WP-Tom Paulshock 7-0) Stingers 3 (LP-Mike Beverly 0-2 ) 

The later game looked to be another run away for the Cannons as Mike Beverly tried some magic on the mound. He did a decent job as well keeping the game to a four run difference as the Cannons took the lead in the second. Stingers would battle back and continue to try and put runners across the plate, but it was too little too late as the Stingers fell another game 9-3.

Game 2 involved few fireworks as the Havana Club earned the Sunday sweep 9-3 behind Tom Paulshock.

HC Hitting Stars:
Tim Grap: 7-8, 4rbi, 4 runs
Danny Rifkin: 8-9, 3 rbi, 4 runs
Chris LaTesta: 5-8, 3 rbi, 3 runs

Northwest Regional Park Field 2:
Game 1: Eastern Savings Bank 10 (WP-Tzvi Friedman 3-3)  Northwest Corridor 7 (LP-Howard Goldberg 3-10)

ESB and NWC played two competitive ball games with ESB winning game one 10-7 and losing game two 9-5. In game one NWC jumped out on top to a 4-0 lead. ESB’s defense started slowly behind the stellar pitching of Ace lefthander Tzvi Friedman. After the first ESB woke up and by the second inning had pulled into a 5-5 tie. Gabe Silver walked in the third and Avi Finkelstein came in to pinch run for him and scored a go ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Cameron Brown. ESB tacked on 2 more in the 5th and two more in the 6th and held on for the 10-7 victory. Hitting stars in game one were Ben Gutman who had three hits, Tzvi Friedman who had a triple, two singles and two runs scored.

NWC and ESB battled for the 1st time this season on field #2. Tzvi Friedman took the mound for ESB and Howard Goldberg for NWC. NWC started off with a flurry. Jon Herbst still recovering from being beamed in the head by an errant outfield throw while standing in the batter's box, started things off with a leadoff single. Joey Liner followed with another single and Adam Silverman continued the rally with an rbi double up the middle. Howard Goldberg helped his own cause with a 2rbi double and David Stein drove him in with a base hit to centerfield. The scoring would stop at 4 despite bringing 10 batters to the inning. ESB added two of their own in the 1st and took advantage of sloppy NWC defense to score another 3 in the 2nd to tie the game at 5-5. NWC's bats were quieted for the next three innings, often lunging out way in front of Friedman's slow changeup. ESB scraped together runs in the 3rd , 5th and 6th innings. NWC scored 2 more on a 2rbi double from Brad Rosenberg. It wouldn't be enough as ESB took game #1 10-7 despite only having 2 extra base hits in the contest.

NWC Hitting Highlights Game #1:
Adam Silverman 3-3 2r 2rbi 2b
Howard Goldberg 2-3 2r 2rbi 2b
Brad Rosenberg 1-2 2rbi 2b BB

Game 2: Northwest Corridor 9 (WP-Howard Goldberg 4-10) Eastern Savings Bank 5 (LP-Tzvi Friedman 3-4)  

In game two ESB came out flat again, while NWC came out very focused and by the time the first inning was over NWC was leading again 4-0. NWC put another 3 runs on the board in the second. ESB fought back and pulled to within 7-5 but an error with two outs allowed two more runs to score for NWC in the fifth and ESB went down quietly in the fifth and sixth innings. Harry Auster had two hits for ESB and Dan Gutman had two hits, a run scored and an important RBI.

Both teams brought out the same two pitchers for the rematch. NWC started off strong once again scoring 4 runs in the 1st inning. Adam Silverman drove home Joey Liner with a double to centerfield. Goldberg followed with a bomb over the centerfielder's head and Dave Stein continued the rally ripping a double up the middle. Eric Radom hit a sca fly to RF and Brad Rosenberg singled in another run. ESB fought back in the 2nd plating one run after a Dan Gutman single. NWC added 3 more runs to their lead in the 2nd inning. Gabe Unterman led off with a single and Lee Pollak followed with a walk. Joey liner singled to left to score Unterman and Pollak came home after a Adam Silverman blast to centerfield which resulted in a sac fly after a great catch from Gutman. Goldberg drew a walk and Stein singled home the 3rd run of the inning. NWC's bats were quiet in the 3rd and 4th innings, managing singles from Matt Bell and Gabe Unterman but no other base runners. ESB scraped away at the lead earning 2 runs in the 3rd and 4th innings. With a 2 run lead NWC went into the bottom of the 5th looking to add some insurance runs. Liner and Silverman both hit screaming liners to centerfield that were caught by Dan Gutman. Gutman made several outstanding catches on the afternoon saving tons of runs from scoring. Goldberg followed with his 3rd drawn walk on the day and then 3 straight base hits followed. Stein singled to centerfield, Eric Radom drove home Goldberg with a rocket to rightfield and Brad Rosenberg followed with another rbi shot. With a more comfortable 4 run lead Goldberg shut down the ESB lineup for the last 3 innings inducing many lazy flyballs and groundballs to the left side of the infield. ESB managed just 1 extra base hit in game #2 a double from Dan Gutman.

NWC Hitting Highlights:
David Stein 3-3 2r 2rbi 2b
Matt Bell 2-3
Brad Rosenberg 2-3 2rbi

Additional Northwest Corridor Team Notes:

Northwest Regional Park Field 3:
Game 1: NEK Entertainment 7 (WP- Ted Winner 1-1)  LOFT 6 (LP-Andy Peksa 2-8)  

Highlights pending.

Game 2:  LOFT 8 (WP-Andy Peksa 3-8)  NEK Entertainment 7 (LP- Ted Winner 1-2) 

Highlights pending.


Northwest Regional Park Field 4:

Game 1: Completion of April 20, 2008 Suspended Game
Kings 14 (WP- Chuck Grant 9-1)  Sky & Sky Inc. 8 (LP-Larry Newman 8-2)  

This is the write-up that was posted on Sunday, April 20th
Game 2: Sky & Sky Inc. 6 (current pitcher- Alex Newman) Kings 2 (current pitcher-Chuck Grant) game suspended with Kings batting to start b-5th inning

After an offensively charged game 1, game 2 starters Chuck Grant and Alex Newman shut down the offenses for the first 3 innings. Sky went to the lead in t-4th scoring 4 times. Andy Bloom singled and Elliot Blank doubled in front of an Andrew Van Landingham 2 RBI 3B over the head of Kings RCF Troy Hendricks. Alex Newman followed with an RBI 1B and used his speed to advance to second base on Paul Hayes' flyout to LCF. Eric Gertner came through with a 2 out RBI 2B, giving Sky 4-0 lead. Kings halved the lead in b-4th on an Arin Gelletly 2 run HR to LCF, scoring Alan Varhaftik (2B) in front of him. Sky got back those 2 runs in their next offensive chance. The first 4 batters in the inning reached safely to load the bases-- Scott Felton 1B, Steve Truitt walk, Glenn Ackman infield 1B. Andy Bloom hit an RBI 1B and Brian Sky had an RBI fielder's choice, giving Sky 6-2 lead after 4 1/2 innings.

Before the Kings could bat in b-5th, heavy rain fell causing the suspension of game 2. The teams will meet later this season and will resume this game prior to their next scheduled doubleheader.

Upon the resumption of play before the start of the regularly scheduled doubleheader, the Sky team needed to make a pitching change as Alex Newman was unavailable for today's game. Being Father's Day, it was fitting that Alex's dad Larry took the mound to start at the point of suspension, the Kings half of the 5th inning, with Sky leading 6-2. Rob Barrow singled to lead off the Kings inning, but Newman was able to retire the next 2 Kings hitters on flyouts to RCF. Barrow was able to advance to 2B on the latter flyout and scored on Kenny Salzman's 2 out RBI 1B. Dave Sandler followed Salzman with an RBI 3B, with Shilo Merwitz proceeding with an RBI 1B, pulling the Kings to within 1 run before Newman got the final out of the inning on another flyout to RCF Andrew Van Landingham.

The Kings had all 11 players from the April 20th game back for the resumption of play, including starting pitcher Chuck Grant. With 1 out, Paul Hayes singled and Eric Gertner hit an RBI 3B down the RF line. The throw into the infield got away and Gertner scored the 2nd run of the inning, giving Sky an 8-5 lead. Grant retired the next 2 batters, as he did the leadoff batter of the inning on a groundout to Kings thirdbaseman Jan Katzen.

In the Kings b-6th, Larry Newman struggled with his control and adjusting to a low strike zone. He walked Jan Katzen to start the inning. Sky seemingly caught a break when Arin Gelletly followed Katzen with a 1B to RCF, the ball bobbled in the outfield, Gelletly tried for 2B, but was tossed out by Van Landingham. With Katzen on 3B and just 1 out, Newman was able to retire the next batter on an infield popup for the 2nd out of the inning. Troy Hendricks and Rob Barrow picked up the team with consecutive RBI 3B's, again pulling the Kings to within 1 run. Chuck Grant knotted the game 8-8 with a bloop RBI single to LCF. Walks to Jeff Slutzker and Kenny Salzman loaded the bases for the heart of the Kings line-up. Dave Sandler put the Kings ahead by 2 with a 2 RBI 1B. Shilo Merwitz put the Kings ahead by 4 runs with a 2 RBI 2B. Alan Varhaftik (1B) and Jan Katzen (2B) followed with RBI hits, and the Kings now led 14-8, scoring 9 2 out runs in the inning. Grant held Sky off the board in t-7th, giving the Kings the 14-8 win.

Offensive stars for Sky included:
Andy Bloom (3-4,1 R,1 RBI,2B)
Andrew Van Landingham (2-3,1 R,2 RBI,3B)
Alex Newman (2-2,1 R,1 RBI)
Eric Gertner (2-2,1 R,2 RBI,2B,3B,W)

Offensive stars for the Kings included:
Dave Sandler (2-3,2 R,3 RBI,3B,W)
Shilo Merwitz (2-4,1 R,3 RBI)
Alan Varhaftik (2-3,2 R,1 RBI,2B,W)
Arin Gelletly (2-4,1 R,2 RBI,HR)
Rob Barrow (2-3,2 R,1 RBI,3B)

Game 2: Kings 10 (WP- Chuck Grant 10-1)  Sky & Sky Inc. 6 (LP-Larry Newman 8-3)  

Alan Varhaftik went 4-for-4 and the Kings scored 4 runs in their last 2 at bats, breaking a 6-6 tie in winning the game 10-6. Larry Newman faced off against Chuck Grant. The Kings got on the board first in t-2nd as Alan Varhaftik singled to lead off the inning and scored on Grant's SF to LCF. Kings extended lead in t-3rd as Mike Herr, Dave Sandler, and Shilo Merwitz (RBI) all singled to start the inning. A sacrifice fly by Jeff Slutzker, RBI single by Arin Gelletly, 2B by Jan Katzen, and 2 RBI 1B by Alan Varhaftik gave Kings 6-0 lead.

The potent Sky offense struck back in bottom off the inning with singles by Elliott Blank, Paul Hayes, and Brian Weiss loading bases with 2 outs. Steve Truitt drew an RBI walk, Pat Wilcox delivered a 2 RBI 1B, and Glenn Ackman followed with an RBI 1B, putting Sky back into the game, trailing just 6-4. In b-4th, Andy Bloom doubled to leadoff inning and Eric Gertner delivered another clutch 2 out RBI hit, trimming the Kings lead to 6-5. In b-5th, singles by Weiss, Truitt, and a 2 out RBI single by Ackman tied the score 6-6.

In t-6th, Kings retook lead as Rob Barrow hit a 2 out RBI single. In t-7th, The Kings loaded the bases with 1 out bringing Jan Katzen to the plate. The hot Katzen hit a 2 RBI single to LCF, Varhaftik singled, and Keegan Rettaliata gave the Kings an insurance run with a SF to RCF. Grant retired Sky in order in the b-7th, giving the Kings the win 10-6.

Offensive stars for Sky included:
Brian Weiss (2-4,2 R)
Steve Truitt (1-2,1 R,1 RBI,2 W)
Glenn Ackman (3-3,2 RBI,2B)
Eric Gertner (2-3,1 RBI,2B)

Offensive stars for the Kings included:
Shilo Merwitz (2-4,2 R,1 RBI,2B)
Arin Gelletly (2-3,2 R,1 RBI,W)
Jan Katzen (2-4,1 R,2 RBI,2B)
Alan Varhaftik (4-4,1 R,2 RBI)
Keegan Rettaliata (2-3,1 RBI,SF)
Rob Barrow (2-3,1 RBI)

Game 3: Kings 6 (WP- Chuck Grant 11-1)  Sky & Sky Inc. 3 (LP-Scott Kessner 0-1)  

Scott Kessner took the mound for Sky in game 3, while Chuck Grant remained on the hill for the Kings. Kessner struggled early issuing 4 walks in the first 2 innings, but the Kings could not take full advantage, scoring just 2 runs in the first 2 innings. Nevertheless, the Kings came out ahead in the end, 6-3.

In the b-1st, Kessner walked the first 3 Kings hitters. Arin Gelletly hit a SF to bring home the first run of the game and Shilo Merwitz was able to score on Jan Katzen's groundout to 3B, but Sky escaped a potential huge inning, trailing just 2-0 after inning 1. Kings loaded bases again in b-2nd with singles by Rettaliata, Grant, and a walk to Hendricks. Kessner got out of the inning without allowing a run as the Kings ran themselves out of the inning with a mistimed tag-up from 3B on a flyout led to an inning ending doubleplay.

In t-3rd, singles by Alan Friedman, Kessner, and Steve Truitt (RBI) cut the lead in half, but a baserunning mistake also ended the inning for Sky. In t-4th, Pat Wilcox tripled, Glenn Ackman hit an RBI 1B, and Andy Bloom hit an RBI 2B to put Sky ahead 3-2.

The walks would catch-up to hurt Kessner in b-4th. 3 walks in the inning, along with 2 RBI 1B by Chuck Grant and SF by Rob Barrow gave Kings the lead back, 5-3. Sky got 2 runners on base in each the 5th and 6th innings, but were unable to score. Meanwhile, in b-6th, Rettaliata singled to start inning, moved to secondbase on a 2 out walk to Rob Barrow, and scored on a Kenny Salzman RBI 1B. Leading 6-3 after 6 innings, the Kings ended the game in the 7th on a pretty 3-6-3 doubleplay started by Rob Barrow.

The Kings had just 8 basehits off of Kessner, while drawing a season high 10 walks. Grant scattered 11 hits, giving up just 2 walks in winning his 3rd game of the day.

The only multi-hit players in game 3 for Sky were:
Steve Truitt (2-3,1 RBI)
Pat Wilcox (2-2,1 R,3B,W)

The only multi-hit players in game 3 for the Kings were:
Keegan Rettaliata (3-3,2 R)
Chuck Grant (2-3,2 RBI)

Kings game notes: