Pikesville Men's Softball League 2009 Season April 5, 2009 Highlights Page

2009 Pikesville Men's Softball League
Week 4: April 26, 2009

Highlights submitted thus far by Kings, Stingers, Cannons, Raptors, Sky, NWC, ESB

Northwest Regional Park Field 1: Umpire- Reggie Grant
Game 1: Kings 11 (WP-Chuck Grant 3-0) Northwest Corridor 3 (LP-Howard Goldberg 3-2)

The teams breezed through the first 3 innings scoreless, with Kings 3B Jan Katzen starring on defense, contributing to 6 of the first 9 outs. The Kings won the last 4 innings and the game by a score of 11-3.

Scoreless into the b-4th, Arin Gelletly and Rob Barrow contributed with 2 RBI singles, Barrow's hit coming with 2 outs and giving the Kings a 4-0 lead. In t-5th, NWC got consecutive leadoff singles by Gabe Unterman, Jon Herbst, and Jon Goldman (RBI), but Kings starter Chuck Grant was able to retire the next 3 hitters. NWC starter Howard Goldberg got into trouble in b-5th walking 3 hitters and bringing the Kings middle of the order at bat with runners in scoring position. A 2 out RBI 2B by Jeff Slutzker and 2 RBI 2B by Alan Varhaftik put the Kings lead at 7-1. 4 additional Kings runs came across in b-6th, with RBI singles by Kenny Salzman and Jeff Slutzker.

NWC scored twice in t-7th on triples by Brad Rosenberg and Jon Herbst (RBI). Jon Goldman had another RBI single to close out the scoring 11-3.

NWC offensive stars:
Brad Rosenberg (2-3,1 R,3B)
Jon Herbst (3-3,1 R,1 RBI,3B)
Jon Goldman (2-3,2 RBI)

Kings offensive leaders:
Jeff Slutzker (3-3,2 R,2 RBI,2B,W)
Shilo Merwitz (1-2,2 R,2B,2 W)
Troy Hendricks (2-3,1 R,2B)
Rob Barrow (2-3,1 R,2 RBI)

Kings game notes:
>Keegan Rettaliata missed his first game since joining the Kings in 2004. His consecutive game streak had reached 156 games.

Game 2: Kings 14 (WP-Chuck Grant 4-0, Save- Shilo Merwitz 1) Northwest Corridor 3 (LP-Howard Goldberg 3-3)

The pace of the second game of the doubleheader between the Kings and NWC slowed down tremendously from game 1 as there were 15 walks and 6 errors in the nightcap. The Kings won game 2 14-3.

NWC took a 2-0 lead in b-1st, loading the bases with 2 outs and getting a clutch 2 RBI 1B by Jon Goldman, his 4th RBI of the day. NWC starter Howard Goldberg could not find his release point in Kings t-2nd and the Kings were patient in drawing 6 walks, 3 consecutive walks coming with the bases loaded and 2 outs. The Kings had just 1 hit in the inning, but with the 6 walks and a Troy Hendricks SF, scored 4 runs.

Matt Silverman came in from the NWC bullpen to start t-3rd, but the Kings bats were ready to swing now, generating 7 hits and 4 more runs. RBI hits came from Scott Katzen, Troy Hendricks, and Chuck Grant. The Kings added 3 more runs in each t-4th and t-5th as they built a 14-3 lead after 4 innings. Kings starter Chuck Grant yielded the pitching duties to Shilo Merwitz for the final 3 innings. In pitching the final 3 innings in the Kings win, Merwitz picked up the first Kings save since Steve Levy in 1998.

NWC offensive leaders:
Joey Liner (2-4,1 R)
Jon Goldman (1-3,2 RBI)
Gabe Unterman (2-3)

Kings offensive game 2 stars:
Jeff Slutzker (2-3,2 R,2 RBI,3B,W)
Alan Varhaftik (1-1,2 R,2 RBI,2 W,SF)
Troy Hendricks (2-3,1 R,2 RBI,SF)
Chuck Grant (2-3,2 R,W)

Kings game notes:
>With 2 hits on the day, Alan Varhaftik has 497 hits in a Kings uniform. He will try to become just the 2nd Kings player in history to reach the 500 hit plateau next week against former teammate and Sky pitcher Larry Newman.
>Jeff Slutzker had 5 hits on the day and now sits with 389 career Kings hits.

Northwest Regional Park Field 2: Umpire- Ray Huster
Game 1: Raptors 5 (WP-Jeff Harris 3-2) NEK Entertainment 4 (LP-Ted Winner 1-4)

Both games today between the Raptors and NEK were well fought close defensive struggles where the team that hit the best did not necessarily win. Game 1 did not start out that way however, as NEK took advantage of the horrible sun field in left along with a couple of solid hits to plate 3 runs in the top of the first. Teddy Winner set the tempo of the day in the top of the first striking out Eric Radom looking to leadoff off the bottom of the first. The Raptors bats stayed asleep after that until the fourth inning. NEK went 1-2-3 in the second and scored one in the 3rd to make the score 4-0 in the third. After the third, the Raptors turned on the defense behind pitcher Jeff Harris, and they cruised through the next 4 innings facing the minimum with a series of highlight reel plays. The defense did not lead to much offense, but the Raptors managed to load the bases in the bottom of the fourth on an error and 2 walks from Jeff Brauer and Ryan Wilner. With one out, Ian Wright hit a fly ball that was misplayed by NEK and cleared the bases, landing Wright on third. Harris then tied the game at 4 with an RBI single. In the bottom of the sixth, the Raptors scrapped their way to the go ahead run with a walk for Brauer, a single from Wright, and an NEK error. During NEK's final at bat, they had a leadoff single, that was quickly nullified by Jon Mandras' stab of a wicked one hopper at third. He quickly got the double play started which was turned nicely by Darren Copp at second. The last batter popped out for a 5-4 Raptor win.

Raptors Hitting Highlights:
>Ian Wright - 2-2, sac, RBI, 2 R
>Jeff Harris - 1-3, RBI
>Ryan Wilner - 1-2, 2B, BB, R
>Jeff Brauer - 0-1, 2 BB, R

Game 2: Raptors 7 (WP-Jeff Harris 4-2) NEK Entertainment 5 (LP-Ted Winner 1-5)

Game 2 was even closer than game one with both teams neck and neck throughout the game. In the top of the first, singles from Mandras and Justin Nusz led to an RBI single from Ryan Wilner for a one run lead. One of several great tags on bouncing throws from the NEK catcher ended threat gunning Nusz at the plate. The speedy NEK leadoff hitter turned a routine single into a double in the bottom of the first allowing NEK to tie the game on a base hit, but a doubleplay from shortstop Justin Raynor ended the threat. The Raptors stranded two singles in the top of the second. A walk, a triple, and a double put NEK up 3-1 after two. The Raptors tied it up in the top of the third when Mandras singled with one out. Raynor tripled him in, and Nusz grounded out to score Raynor. Great defense by both teams continued in the 4th and 5th innings. The Raptors went on top 4-3 in the top of the sixth taking advantage of a couple of NEK errors. Ian Wright had the big RBI single. NEK came right back in the bottom of the inning scoring 2 on 3 singles and a couple of botched Raptor rundowns. In the top of the seventh, the Raptors needed to score one to stay alive down 5-4. Eric Radom legged out a leadoff infield single up the middle for his first hit of the day. A fielders choice made it one out. Raynor hit a single to put 2 on, but then a flyout had the Raptors down to their last out. With ice in his veins, Ryan Wilner stroked a single down the line scoring Mandras to tie the game. Then Darren Copp had a huge single to take the lead, and Jeff Brauer with an equally huge single to put the Raptors up 7-5. NEK did not go down without a fight in the seventh. A laboring Jeff Harris relied on his defense to get out of the seventh after a leadoff walk. Amazing diving stops by Justin Raynor and Jon Mandras on the left side of the infield secured the 7-5 win for the Raptors.

Hitting Highlights Raptors:
>Jon Mandras - 2-4, 3 R
>Justin Raynor - 2-4, 3B, RBI, 2 R
>Ryan Wilner - 2-4, 2 RBI, 1 R
>Jeff Brauer - 3-4, RBI
>Darren Copp - 2-4, game-winning RBI

Northwest Regional Park Field 3: Umpire- Scott Snyder
Game 1: Cannons 3 (WP-Bernie Manzone 3-0) Sky & Sky Inc. 2 (LP-Larry Newman 2-2)

Both games turned into pitchers duals today with the Cannons and Sky splitting the games

Game 1 saw Sky and Sky take a 1-0 lead in the first. The Cannons responded with 2 in the bottom of the inning. Neal Charkatz reached on an error. He went to 2nd on a Jim Davis flyout. Evan Kreitzer walked. This brought Jon Edelman to the plate and he responded with a 2 run triple. Sky got on back in the top of the 3rd to tie the score at 2. The teams remained scoreless until the bottom of the 8th. Lee Densky singled to start the inning. Julio Hernandez popped out to SS. Bernie Manzone hit into a fielders choice. A two out walk to Steve Hayes brought Jeff Kurland to the plate. He hit a squibber down the 1st base line. Larry Newman pounced on the ball but Kurland beat the close play at 1st. The ball squirted slightly away from Alex Newman. Bernie Manzone never stopped running and on a close play at the plate scored the winner for the Cannons. Final score 3-2 in 8 innings. Manzone improved to 3-0 with a solid pitching effort. 8 innings and 1 earned run.

Defense was the word of the day as Sky & sky faced off against The Cannons. Mike Brown’s aggressive baserunning led to Sky & Sky’s first run off an Andy Bloom single. The Cannons answered with a Johnny Edelman triple bringing home two runners who had reached on an error and BB respectively. Of note was the fact that the ball landed well in front of the RF and spun to the fence. This triple was the only extra base (by either team) the entire game. Russ Dlin’s single knotted things at 2 in the t-3rd where both teams' offense stalled until the 8th inning. Jeff Kurland crushed a ball which wound up 25 feet straight down the first base line. The relay from dad to son at first base hit Kurland who was hustling down the line. First baseman Alex Newman alertly picked it up and threw a strike to home plate well ahead of the baserunner who was attempting to sneak home from 2B. Alan Friedman mishandled the throw from Newman which allowed the winning run in the b-8th for The Cannons 3-2 victory.

Game 2: Sky & Sky Inc. 5 (WP-Alex Newman 2-0) Cannons 4 (LP-Tom Paulshock 2-1)

Steve Hayes touched up Alex Newman for a 2-run shot just over the fence-climbing efforts of LCF Mike Brown for the early lead. Sky & Sky got to Paulshock early as well using a leadoff BB and 4 hits to answer with three runs in the b-1st. Paulshock issued four free passes over the next four innings, but Sky & Sky never managed to break through on the scoreboard. In the t-3rd Steve Hayes singled in one, and The Cannons parlayed a leadoff walk into the go-ahead run in the t-4th. In the b-5th RCF Evan Krietzer saved his pitcher’s ERA by tracking down a bases loaded, 2-out blast to straight-away CF by Andy Bloom that would have seen the Cannons relinquish their lead. Finally in the b-7th “living dangerously” gave way to a rare defensive meltdown by The Cannons. A miscommunication by the LCF and RCF saw Alex Newman’s can-of-corn flyball fall out of the outfielder’s glove. A BB preceded Elliot Blank’s 2B down the RF which tipped off the rightfielder’s glove allowing the tying run. The Cannons issued the IBB to set up the force play. Under the category of turnabout being fair play, Jim Davis bobbled a meekly hit ball down the third base line allowing Sky & Sky to win on a last-inning dribbler. Alex Newman was credited with the win over Paulshock, while Steve Truitt epitomized the production expected of a leadoff batter posting 3BB, 1B & 2 runs including the game winner.

Game 2 was another close pitching matchup. Cannons got 2 in the first on a Kurland single and a Steve Hayes 2 run HR, his 3rd of the year. Sky got 3 back in the bottom of the first to take the lead. The Cannons got 1 in the 3rd and 1 in the 4th to take a 4-3 lead. The score remained that way until the bottom of the 7th. A couple miscues in the Cannons outfield loaded the bases with one out and the score tied at 4-4. Russ Dlin ended game two the same way game one ended. He hit a slow grounder to 3rd that plated the winning run. Final score Sky and Sky 5 Cannons 4. Tom Paulshock took the loss.

Hitting star for Cannons:
>Steve Hayes, 3-3, HR, run, 3RBI's
>Tim Grap made his first appearance of the year for the Cannons as they were playing without Chuck Easter and Jason Schwartzberg.

Northwest Regional Park 4: Umpire- Ken Seaman
Game 1: Eastern Savings Bank 25 (WP-Tzvi Friedman 1-4) Stingers 3 (LP-Matt Friedman 0-2)

ESB walked into the third week of the season with a 0-4 record. Even though we played the Kings tough and lost 2-1 and the Cannons and lost 11-10 moral victories don’t count. We knew we had to come out and hit in game one and make a statement. What we didn’t know is that we were going to score more runs in the first inning (21) than we scored all year. Matt Friedman walked six of the first seven batters he faced. Some members of the ESB lineup batted three times. The big blow was a grand slam home run by catcher Avi Finkelstein and a three run HR by David Flamm. Finkelstein also had a double in the inning and drove in five runs. After the first inning Mike Beverly pitched well for the Stingers and held them in check the rest of the way. The game ended 25-3 after four innings. Pitcher Tzvi Friedman pitched a great game. ESB started again with five members of the team 21 or younger. They have a lot of speed and energy and make any opposing defense take notice.

Stingers tried to build on their split from last week. They opened with the top of their lineup getting off on the right foot as Lee Liberman, Mike Beverly and a triple by Nate Meyl got things started with a 3 run opener for the Stinger. Then Matt Friedman was too wild again and walked in 9 runs before being chased from the mound. Mike Beverly came in next in relief in a hole and had some control issues as well. With a 17 run lead, ESB would control the 1st inning. Stingers would try to create rally to chop at the deficit. The Stingers would put everything they had in them in the field, including a diving attempt by Liberman who had the ball just pass him. Meyl and Shifrin tried to get the turns working again; it would be too little for the Stingers to get back into the game as they went down in4 innings.

Game 2: Eastern Savings Bank 12 (WP-Tzvi Friedman 2-4) Stingers 9 (LP-Mike Beverly 1-1)

Games two would be much more competitive as Beverly took the mound for the Stingers to start things off. With the defense backing Beverly, ESB would only jump out with a 2 run lead in the t-1st and keep Stingers at bay. Stingers would reply with the leather in the 2nd and 3rd innings along with a run created by Stewart Sheridan and Mike Beverly helping out his own cause with a SAC. IN, the t-3rd, ESB tried getting a larger lead adding only a run. The Stingers would rally the bottom of their line-up scoring 5 on solid hustle and determination to get into the game with a lead and RBIs from Dan Mathe, James Engler and Mike McGee to take the lead after 4 innings making it 7-4 Stingers.

ESB would scratch back in and drop in a few shots in front of the Stingers outfield to score 4 and take a 1 run lead. Stingers would work the middle of their line-up in the b-5th started things off with RBI single Beverly would make it on base with his single and then Friedman would loop a shot into right to score Shifrin and Beverly taking the lead by one at 9-8 Stingers. ESB would come back with one of their own to tie things up at 9, but the Stingers pushed with their bats again and took back the lead to make it 10-9 Stinger after 6 innings of play. IN the end though, ESB would come out on top as they would plate 5 in the t-7th and no answer from the Stingers for the day.

In game two was an exciting game with each team holding the lead on five different occasions. Friedman pitched another game but the defense wasn’t as focused as it had been in game one. Marc Loeb and Avi Finkelstein drove in go ahead runs in the third and fifth innings with sacrifice flies. Manager David Finkelstein had two hits and scored an important run on a RBI by Ari Raskas. The Stingers took a 9-8 lead into the top of the 7th but the ESB bats woke up and scored 4 runs and ESB held on for a 12-9 victory.

ESB continues to be led by Dan and Ben Guttman. The Guttman twins have played outstanding defense all year and have been on base more than 50% of their at bats. ESB has also received great leadership from Co-Captain Marc Loeb, pitcher Tzvi Friedman and 3B Flamm. The youngsters are getting better every game.