2009 Pikesville Men's Softball League
 Week 1:  April 5, 2009

Highlights submitted thus far by all teams except for NEK Entertainment.

Northwest Regional Park Field 1:    Umpire- Reggie Grant
 Game 1: Cannons 12 (WP-Tom Paulshock 1-0) NEK Entertainment 4 (LP-Ted Winner 0-1) 

The Cannons opened 2009 with a few new faces and each one contributed right off the bat

Cannons jumped on NEK right from the start. Chuck Easter singled and scored on Jason Schwartzberg's triple. Steve Hayes singles in Schwartzberg to give the Cannons a 2-0 lead. Tom Paulshock was in mid season form as he kept the NEK bats quiet all game. The Cannons scored 6 more in the bottom of the 6th to give them a 12-4 victory.

 Hitting stars for the Cannons:
Jason Schwartzberg 3-4, 3 runs, 3RBI's--homer shy of the cycle
Evan Kreitzer 2-3, 2 3B's, 3 RBI's

Game 2: Cannons 22 (WP-Bernie Manzone 1-0) NEK Entertainment 6 (LP-Ted Winner 0-2)  6 Innings

Game 2 was closer than the score indicated. New Cannons pitcher Bernie Manzone toed the rubber for game two. The Cannons picked right up where they left off scoring 3 in the first. Kurland led of with a single. With one out Schwartzberg doubled Kurland in and scored on a Jim Davis double. Johnny Edelman delivered the 3rd run with a two out triple. NEK answered with one run in each of the first 3 innings. In the top of the 6th the Cannons unleashed their furry on NEK pitch Ted Winner sending 19 batters to the plate and scoring 15 runs to blow the game open. The inning was highlighted by Steve Hayes' grandslam. Manzone pitched well to earn the victory in his Cannons debut. Final score 22-6

Cannons hitting stars:
Chuck Easter 3-4, 3 runs, 3 RBI's
Jason Schwartzberg 4-5, 3 runs, 2 RBI's
Jim Davis 4-5, 3 runs, 2 RBI's
Steve Hayes 3-4, 6 RBI's, HR, 2B
Jon Edelman 3-4 3B, Run, 2 RBI's
Bernie Manzone 3-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI's

Northwest Regional Park Field 2:    Umpire- Ray Huster
 Game 1: Kings 12 (WP-Chuck Grant 1-0) Eastern Savings Bank  5 (LP-Tzvi Friedman 0-1) 

We thought we might be rained out this week but thanks to Mike Herr’s abilities in the area of field preparation we were able to play. ESB had the challenging task of playing last year’s Regular Season champs on opening day and gave them two tough games. However, behind the solid pitching of Chuck Grant , the Kings swept the doubleheader.

In game one, ESB had the lead 4-3 going into the b-5th, but with 2 outs the Kings erupted for 7 runs. The Kings added to their lead in b-6th, winning the 2009 season opener 12-5.

The Kings grabbed an early 2-0 lead in b-1st on leadoff singles by Kenny Salzman and Dave Sandler. Following 2 force-outs, Arin Gelletly delivered a 2 out 2 RBI 3B. ESB got on the board in their next at bat with 1 out singles by Tzvi Friedman and Jack Farbman, and 1 2 out RBI 2B by Chaim. The teams exchanged an unearned run in the b-2nd and t-3rd, giving the Kings a 3-2 lead thru 4 innings.

In t-5th for ESB, Rafi Strum and Louis had leadoff singles. Kings starter Chuck Grant was able to retire the next 2 batters, but Ben Gutman delivered a game tying 1B. Dovid Flamm followed Gutman with an infield error, with Louis scoring and giving ESB a 4-3 lead.

In Kings b-5th, the Kings had just a runner on first base with 2 out, when Kenny Salzman coaxed a walk and Dave Sandler hit a little dink single over first baseman Gabe Silber’s head, knocking in the tying run. Pitcher Tzvi Friedman , who pitched great all day seemed to get rattled by Sandler’s hit and then the Kings started teeing off on him. Jeff Slutzker hit a 2 RBI 3B, Shilo Merwitz RBI 1B, Arin Gelletly 1B, and Alan Varhaftik 2 RBI 3B. The Kings 2 out rally resulted in 6 runs and a comfortable lead for Chuck Grant.

The Kings added 3 more runs in b-6th-- the key hit in the inning was a 2 out 1B by Brooks Sandler, his first hit in a Kings uniform. Salzman (2 RBI 3B) and Dave Sandler (RBI 2B) knocked in the 3 runs, giving the Kings a 12-4 lead. ESB got consecutive 2 out 1B's by Strauss, Dan Gutman, and Ben Gutman (RBI), putting the final score at 12-5.

ESB offensive leaders:
Dan Gutman (3-4)
Ben Gutman (2-3,3 RBI,SF)
Jack Farbman (2-3,1 R)

Kings multi-hit players:
Kenny Salzman (2-3,2 R,2 RBI,3B,W)
Dave Sandler (3-4,1 R,2 RBI,2B)
Jeff Slutzker (2-4,2 R,2 RBI,3B)
Arin Gelletly (3-3,1 R,2 RBI,3B)
Alan Varhaftik (2-3,2 RBI,3B)

Game 2: Kings 2 (WP-Chuck Grant 2-0) Eastern Savings Bank 1 (LP-Tzvi Friedman 0-2) 

Game 2 was a pitching duel re-match between Grant and Friedman, and featured many fine defensive plays on both teams. The Kings prevailed 2-1. Friedman pitched a solid game even though he was scorched by a line drive and almost had to come out of the game. He showed a lot of heart and toughness by staying in the game and shut down the Kings powerful lineup.

In t-3rd, ESB loaded bases on singles by Rafi Strum, Avi Finkelstein, and Strauss. With 1 out, Dan Gutman plated Strum on a SF to left centerfield, but the Kings were happy to escape the inning trailing just 1-0. The Kings tied the game in b-3rd on another Dave Sandler 2 out RBI single.

Both teams turned pretty 4-6-3 doubleplays during the middle innings to keep the score 1-1 thru 4 1/2 innings. In Kings b-5th, Keegan Rettaliata (1B) and Scott Katzen (BB) reached base to start the inning. Following a forceout at thirdbase, Chuck Grant hit a routine fly ball to RCF. The sun on field #2 caused ESB RCF Rafi Strum to lose site of the ball, allowing Grant to reach and loading the bases for the Kings with still 1 out. Mike Herr hit a SF to LCF to score Katzen with the 2-1 go-ahead run.

Chuck Grant escaped trouble in both the 6th and 7th innings as ESB stranded 2 runners in each of the innings. Rafi Strum’s shot to the right centerfield gap was tracked down by Troy Hendricks to save the game for the Kings in t-7th.

On a positive note, ESB played 5 players under the age of 21 and they all played well. They gave much needed speed and defense. With ESB returning 6 key veterans the future is bright. The veterans , mainly the Guttman twins-Dan and Ben, played great all day. Their defense was great and they were on base all day. They also provided key leadership for the younger players.

ESB offensive leaders in game 2:
Strauss (2-3)
Dan Gutman (1-1,RBI,W,SF)
Chaim Finkelstein (2-3)

Kings offensive leaders in game 2:
Shilo Merwitz (2-3,2B)
Keegan Rettaliata (2-2)
Chuck Grant (2-2,1 R)
Mike Herr (1-1,RBI,SF)

Kings game notes:

Deer Park Middle School Field 1:    Umpire- Scott Snyder
 Game 1: Northwest Corridor 9 (WP-Howard Goldberg 1-0)  LOFT 3 (LP-Rick 0-1) 

Opening day 2009 NWC vs. LOFT took place on the alternate Deer Park Middle fields. Mike Herr’s work on the fields Saturday afternoon allowed us to play puddle and mud free softball. LOFT came up to bat 1st and were sent down 1-2-3 to start the ballgame. NWC took advantage of new pitcher Rick’s wildness and plated 3 runs in the 1st and added 6 more in the 2nd. Gabe Unterman, Adam Silverman and Don Lichay each had rbi hits in the 2nd inning. LOFT was able to hold the NWC offense for the final 5 innings and added 3 runs of their own in the 5th. The infield trio of Matt Bell, Adam Silverman and Brad Rosenberg played flawlessly while having hits drilled to them all game. LOFT and NWC split the season series in 2008.

LOFT started the 2009 season with new comer Rick on the hill, he struggled early with control giving up 3 in the 1st and 6 in the 2nd, but then held NWC scoreless after that. LOFT couldn't manage much on offense besides a few hits that yielded 3 runs in the 5th. Bob Santos triple in the 2nd was the lone offensive highlight in game 1 for LOFT.

 Hitting Highlights NWC
 >Gabe Unterman 2-2 BB 2r 2rbi
 >Don Lichay and Adam Silverman both drove in multiple runs.
>Gabe was the only NWC player with a multi-hit game.
>NWC did draw 8 walks off of the LOFT pitcher.

Game 2: Northwest Corridor 7 (WP-Howard Goldberg 2-0) LOFT 6 (LP-Rick 0-2) 

The 2nd game of the doubleheader was much closer than the 1st. LOFT put their 1st two batters on base, but couldn’t capitalize with a run. NWC went down in order in the bottom half of the inning. Goldberg sent the LOFT hitters down 1-2-3 in the top of the 2nd while his teammates earned him their 1st run in the bottom half of the inning. Don Lichay hit a blast over the left centerfield fence to give NWC a 1-0 lead. LOFT took a 3-1 in the 4th inning after a lead off triple from Matt B. and a double by Mark Wienner a few batters later. NWC’s bats were relatively quiet. Matt bell delivered a 2run double in the 5th inning to tie the game. Matt Silverman and Aaron Birenbaum led off the inning with back to back singles before Bell drove them home. Don Lichay added to the NWC lead with another blast to the trees and RBI singles in the 7th from Goldberg and Unterman took the NWC total up to 7. LOFT never let up and plated a few more runs to make things a close battle but NWC was able to hold them off again.

Rick held NWC in check most of game 2 from start to finish. LOFT did have a 3-1 lead after 3, but NWC tied it with a 2 run HR and then added 2 more in the 6th and 7th to go up 7-4 heading into the bottom of the 7th. Dan Mabry led the 7th off with a triple, but then NWC got an out and Jeff Kapper did bring Dan in with a sac fly to cut lead to 2. Matt Boden drew a walk and then Matt Montoe hit a 2 out RBI double to the wall, however LOFT was unable to score Montoe from second to tie the game, as LOFT fell short by 1 run in game 2.

Offensive leaders for LOFT:
Matt Montoe: 2-4; 1B, 2B, RBI
Mark Wienner: 2-3; 1B, 2B, RBI

Hitting Highlights NWC
Gabe Unterman 2-4 rbi
Howard Goldberg 3-4 2rbi
Matt Bell 2-3 2b 2rbi
Don Lichay 2-3 2HR 2r 3rbi

NWC Game Notes:

Randallstown High School Field 1:    Umpire- Kory Rosenberg
 Game 1: Sky & Sky Inc. 18 (WP-Larry Newman 1-0) Raptors 1 (LP-Jeff Harris 0-1)  5 Innings

Some potential nerves may have been plaguing The Raptors as a lead-off error and walk allowed Russ Dlin and Brian Sky to single home the first two runs of the season. In the t-3rd Brian Sky and newcomer Mike Brown again singled home runners giving Sky & Sky a 3-run advantage. In the t-5th the floodgates opened as Andrew VanLandingham hit a wind-aided, 3-run HR which just barely cleared the very shallow OF. A slew of singles, errors, and inexperience with opposition hitters allowed Sky & Sky to push 11 more across the plate, capped by an Andy Bloom 2-run HR. The final was 18-1 with Larry Newman coasting to his first victory of the season over Jeff Harris. The aforementioned VanLandingham guy seemed to do o.k. adding a triple, a single, while accounting for 3 runs and 4 RBI. Brian Sky chipped in with 3 hits and 3 RBI, while the other newcomer Erik Hanson joined Mike Brown in their inaugural game with 2 knocks and an RBI. Erik's brothers in the band took a moment out of their European tour to send him a congratulatory video message.

Opening day 2009 did not go as planned for the Raptors at Randallstown High School.  There is only one way for them to go from here and that's up.  The Raptors committed an error on the first play of the game, and that was a sign of things to come.  Jeff Harris pitched well and only walked one, but he could not beat Sky & Sky by himself.  After Sky & Sky scored one in the first, the Raptors tied it up in the bottom of the first.  After the first, the Raptors bats fell asleep, and they were able to keep it relatively close until the 4th inning, where everything fell apart.  A series of well hit balls, bloop hits, and mental and physical errors led to an 8 run fourth and a 5 run fifth for Sky & Sky.  The story of this game concluded perfectly with a strikeout from Raptor's leadoff hitter Eric Radom on a well executed 3-2 change-up from Larry Newman. 

Hitting Highlights Raptors
>Justin Raynor - 1-1,  sacfly,  rbi
 >Eric Radom - 1-2, 2B, BB, run,

Game 2: Sky & Sky Inc. 13 (WP-Alex Newman 1-0) Raptors 7 (LP-Jeff Harris 0-2) 

Game 2 saw most of both team's offense earlier in the contest. The Raptors jumped out to an early lead capitalizing on 2 walks and an error to plate 3 runs. Sky & Sky answered with 6 runs in the b-1st, including 5 hits and a couple of Raptors miscues. Sky & Sky returned the favor committing two errors themselves in the t-2nd. Three hits later The Raptors regained the lead 7-6. Alex Newman then proceeded to pitch to a scant 16 batters over the next 5 innings, using a pitcher's most effective pitch, "STRIKE ONE", 14 times. Meanwhile his teammates provided him the extra offense needed to close out the game. Alex singled and scored in the b-2nd to tie the contest, with Sky & Sky regaining the lead on a VanLandingham triple to take a slim 1-run lead. Four singles in a row plated 3 more in the b-3rd. Single runs in the following innings allowed Alex Newman to gain his first victory of this young season over Jeff Harris. Steve Truitt set the table in picture perfect fashion with a 2B, (2) 1B and 2 runs. Mike Brown and Erik Hanson reached base safely in 6 of their 7 combined (game 2) plate appearances prompting a thumbs up text message from the Hanson roadies since the band was on stage at the time. The Newman/Friedman battery combined for 4 hits and 5 RBI prompting comments from teammates such as what the heck did you guys eat at IHOP for breakfast that morning.

Game 2 was slightly more competitive than game 1.  The Raptors jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first, with 3 runs on an error, two walks, and two hits.  Then Sky & Sky continued where they left off in the bottom of the first putting up 6 runs on 6 hits.  The Raptors came right back in the second with 4 more to take a one run lead.  Sky & Sky took the lead again in the bottom of the second with 2 runs, and never looked back.  The Raptor's bats feel asleep again, and Sky and Sky added 3 in the third, and one in the fourth and fifth.  The game ended at 13-7. 

Hitting Highlights Raptors
>Justin Nusz - 2-4,  run,  2 rbi
 >Ryan Wilner - 1-1, 2 bb
>Justin Raynor - 0-2, rbi, run, bb