2011 Pikesville Men's Softball League
Week 4:  May 1, 2010

Highlights submitted thus far by Kings, Stingers, Northwest Corridor, Hammerheads, Bombers, Sky

Northwest Regional Park Field 1:    Umpire- Reggie Grant
 Game 1: Kings 14 (WP-Mike Herr 1-0) Stingers 1 (LP-Larry Newman 0-1)  5 Innings

The defending league champion Kings opened the 2011 season with a 15-1, 5 inning victory over the Stingers. The Stingers return to PMSL for their 6th season, while the Kings return for season number 23.

As the visitors in game 1, the Kings scored 5 runs in t-1st. RBI singles by Arin Gelletly, Keegan Rettaliata, Glenn Savage, along with 2 RBI 1B by Rob Barrow gave Kings starter Mike Herr a quick 5-0 lead. The Kings would score 4 more times in t-3rd. An RBI 1B by Rettaliata, along with RBI 3B's by Chuck Grant and Barrow helped to extend lead. 2 infield errors led to 4 unearned Kings runs in t-4th, but RBI singles by Tom Blumenauer and Brooks Sandler nevertheless further built the Kings lead to 14-0.

The lone offensive highlight for the Stingers came from Mike Randall, who smashed a line drive past Kings LF Troy Hendricks, with Randall rounding the bases for an inside-the-park homerun. Keegan Rettaliata collected his 4th hit of the game in t-5th, an RBI 1B scoring Gelletly.

Opening Day for the Stingers started out with some ups and downs. Tim Palo, Brett Eisenberg and Mike Beverly held down the outfield behind Larry Newman, but the Kings were too much for them in game one. Mike Randall did all he could with an inside the park homerun off of Mike Herr to be all of the Stingers’ offense.

Stingers offensive leaders:
MIke Randall (2 AB,1 H, 1 R,1 RBI,HR)

Kings offensive leaders:
Arin Gelletly (3-3,3 R,2 RBI,2B,3B,SF)
Keegan Rettliata (4-4,2 R,3 RBI,2B)
Glenn Savage (2-4,3 R,1 RBI, reached on error)
Rob Barrow (2-3,2 R,3 RBI,3B)

 Game 2:  Kings 12 (WP-Chuck Grant 1-0) Stingers 6 (LP-Larry Newman 0-2) 

Game two was different though. Joel Otzler gave the Stingers the extra support they needed both in the field and with a bat, or should I say, his feet. Stingers started off on the right foot and matched its first game run production when, again, Mike Randall shot a single down the left to score Tim Palo who worked his way around the bases. The Kings did fight back as usual with a 4 run first, playing the long ball off of Newman. In the second, the Stingers shut down the bottom of the King’s offense 1-2-3 keeping it a 3 run game. In top of the 3rd, Randall produced another RBI single to bring the Stingers within 1 run of a tie. Aaron Shifrin did the job behind Randall with his rbi shot into the Kings center field followed by Joe Binkowski’s single to drive in Shifrin and take the lead by one. The Kings tried battling back and tied things up on a Shilo Merwitz double + error. However, the top of the 4th brought out another new face for the Stingers when Tom Bahne drove in Otzler to extend the Stingers lead by two. Larry Newman controlled the next two innings with great speed from the Stingers’ outfield and Aaron Shifrin’s glove. In the sixth, the Stingers lost the services of Otzler which shrunk the outfield to three.

Kings veteran Chuck Grant faced Stingers veteran Larry Newman in the nightcap. Newman pitched well in game 2, keeping his team ahead 6-5 thru 5 innings, aided by quality outfield defense from LF Tim Palo and LCF Brett Eisenberg. The Stingers went down to just 3 outfielders in b-6th and the Kings were able to take advantage with 7 runs, taking over the lead and ultimately winning the game 12-6.

Tim Palo's leadoff single and Mike Randall's 2 out single gave Stinger 1-0 lead in t-1st. The Kings took advantage of 3 Stingers errors in b-1st, scoring 4 unearned runs. RBI's came off the bats of Troy Hendricks, Keegan Rettaliata, and Chuck Grant. The Stingers loaded the bases with 1 out in t-3rd, with 2 RBI 1B by Mike Randall, 2B by Aaron Shifrin, and RBI 1B by John Binkowski putting Stingers ahead 5-4. With 2 outs in Kings b-3rd, Shilo Merwitz doubled down the RF line. Merwitz advanced 2 bases on an overthrow into the infield, scoring the tying run.

Stingers regained lead 6-5 with singles in t-4th from Joel Ozbolt, Tim Palo, and Tom Bahne (RBI). Newman limited the Kings to just 1 hit in each the 4th and 5th inning, carrying the 6-5 lead into b-6th. With Ozbolt having to leave the game, the Stingers went down to 3 outfielders. The Kings bats again awoke, exploding for 6 solid hits and 7 runs. Key RBI's came from Gelletly (2 RBI 3B) and Tom Blumenauer (3 RBI 3B).

Stingers offensive leaders:
Tim Palo (2-3,2 R,1 W)
Tom Bahne (1-3,1 R,1 RBI, 1 W)
Mike Randall (2-4,3 RBI)
Joel Ozbolt (2-3,1 R, reached on error)

Kings offensive leaders:
Kenny Salzman (2-4,1 R)
Shilo Merwitz (2-3,3 R,2B, reached on error)
Keegan Rettaliata (3-3,1 R,2 RBI,3B)
Chuck Grant (2-3,1 R,2 RBI,2B)
Tom Blumenauer (1-3,1 R,3 RBI,3B)

Kings game notes:
►Kings were missing 3B Jan Katzen, LF Alan Varhaftik, RF Koby Sarubin, and DH Dave Sandler.
►Kings all-time Opening Day record improved to 37-9 (.804) dating back to 1988.
►The May 1st start date is the latest in Kings history. Previous late start was April 22, 2007 opener against Stingers. Earliest opening day was March 29, 1992 vs. Fat Tuesday's.
►Kings opening day win streak has now reached 11 games. Last Kings opening day loss was 4/3/2006 vs. Northwest Corridor 9-8.

Northwest Regional Park Field 3:      Umpire- Scott Snyder
 Game 1: Sky & Sky Inc.  19 (WP- Jeff Harris 1-0) Northwest Corridor 15 (LP- Mark Yokel 0-1)  8 Innnings

Opening day 2011 arrived the latest date in league history and the matchup between Sky&Sky & NWC was going to prove to be worth the wait. Sky&Sky looked to be in midseason form as soon as the game started, plating 6 top of the 1stinn runs off of Mark Yokel and a shocked NWC team. The ball really seemed to be carrying out of NWRP field #3, as Eric Radom, Elliott Blank & Holley all had extra base hits in the inning. Van Landingham drove another ball over the fence and the 6 run cushion was a startling way to start the ballgame. NWC didn’t lay their heads down, rather they fought back for 10 of their own 1st inning runs. Jon Herbst, Scott Sweren & Jeff Kurland led off the game with singles. Howard Goldberg knocked two in with a double down the left field line. Gabe Unterman, Matt Bell and Mark yokel also had rbi hits in the inning. Yokel and Harris both looked to be in command in the 2nd and 3rd innings but both teams put up more runs in the 4th inning. Sky&Sky put together a nice rally in the 7th inning and took their first lead of the game 14-12. NWC went into the bottom of the innings looking for redemption after losing their lead. Brad Rosenberg scored on a two out Matt Bell base hit to get within one run. Mark Yokel then stepped up to help out his own cause knocking in Jon Goldman from 2nd base to tie the score and force extra innings. Sky&Sky took advantage of some sloppy NWC play and put a few runners in scoring position. Elliott Blank and Ken Zalis hits then gave them a nice 5run cushion going into the bottom of the 8th inning. NWC managed to get one run back but fell short in this wild high scoring affair to start the season.

The first week featured a matchup between two seasoned teams both with new looks in 2011. NWC and Sky used the free agent wire in the offseason to upgrade their squads with several veteran players remaining from the Cannons and AR Bodies respectively.

Two of those players, NWC's Mark Yokel and Sky's Jeff Harris, made up the game 1 pitching matchup. With Yokel and Harris both former championship winning pitchers, it was expected to be a low scoring game, but it did not take long to work out differently. Sky put up 6 runs in the top of the first off Yokel. Eric Radom, another new addition, led off the game with a triple and scored the season's first run on Steve Truitt's sac fly. Elliot Blank tripled off the fence, and then scored on an Andrew Vanlandingham HR bomb to right center. With 2 outs, Ken Zalis (single) and Andy Bloom (single) were knocked in by Matt Holley's triple. Holley then scored on Shaun Poulton's single to complete the 6 run rally. NWC wasted no time coming back in the bottom of the first, mixing some hard hit balls with some bloops to bat around and score 10 runs making it 10-6. A key play in the inning was a scary collision between shortstop Truitt and left fielder Bloom allowing the inning to continue for several more runs. Fortunately, both were okay and able to continue playing. The bats were relatively quiet for the next few innings. After a scoreless 2nd, and top of the third, with 2 outs in the bottom of the third, Radom was able to cut down an NWC runner trying to score from second on a single to keep the score at 10-6. The bats woke back up for Sky in 4th, when Holley and Poulton started with singles. Then after a fielder's choice off the bat of Dave Kowitz left runners on 1st and 3rd with one out, Holley would score on a seeing eye double by Radom and a throwing error trying to get Kowitz at third allowed Kowitz to score and Radom to go to third. Blank than singled in Radom to make it 10-9. In the bottom, a leadoff walk by Jon Herbst and singles by new additions Jeff Kurland and Matt Silverman made the score 11-9 after 4 innings. The 5th would go scoreless due to a great play by Sky's Blank at third base to turn a 3rd to home double play with the bases loaded. NWC would add another in the 6th, so Sky would need 3 in the 7th to continue. Sky wasted no time tieing the score after singles by Radom and Truitt were followed by a big 3 run homer to center by Blank to even the score at 12-12 with 0 outs. Sky didn't stop there, taking a 2 run lead on a Vanlandingham double, a Bloom triple, and a Holley single. NWC was not dead yet, and with 2 outs and 1 on in the bottom of the 7th, Jon Goldman, Matt Bell, and Mark Yokel all singled to send the game into extra innings. Sky broke it open in the 8th though when Jeff Harris reached on an error and followed with a Kowitz double, leading to an intentional walk to Radom to load the bases. Truitt than hit a sac fly which gave Sky the lead, and advanced all of the runners. Then Blank and Vanlandingham followed up with hits to take a 5 run lead. Sky would hold NWC off in the bottom for a 19-15 win.

Sky offensive leaders:
Eric Radom - 4-4, BB, 3B, 2B, RBI, 4 R
Elliot Blank - 4-5, HR, 3B, 6 RBI, 3 R
Andrew Vanlandingham - 3-5, HR, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R
Matt Holley - 4-4, 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R
Andy Bloom - 2-5, 3B, RBI, 2 R

Hitting Stars NWC:
Jon Herbst 2-4 3r BB 2rbi 2b
Jeff Kurland 4-5 3r 3b 2b
Howard Goldberg 2-3 r BB SF 5rbi 2b
Brad Marcus 3-4 r 2b
Matt Bell 3-4 r 3rbi

Game 2:Sky & Sky Inc. 6 (WP- Ken Zalis 1-0) Northwest Corridor 2  (LP- Howard Goldberg 0-1) 

Game two was a much different game as Zalis & Goldberg cooled off each team’s bats a bit.  Both teams went down scoreless in the 1st but Sky & Sky put up 2runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning.  They got 4 more insurance runs in the bottom of the 5th inning.  Elliott Blank and Brian Sky both hit triples to right centerfield and Sky & Sky had a very comfortable 6-0 lead.  NWC got 2 back in the top of the 6th from a Jeff Kurland inside the park homerun down the rightfield line.  That was all they could muster off of Ken Zalis, drawing 5 walks but only managing 4 hits.  Sky&Sky gets the sweep, 6-2.

Both teams appeared to have run out of steam in Game 2. Sky got on the board first after Bloom and Poulton walked and were followed by a single by Kowitz, and a 2RBI base hit by Radom. Ken Zalis cruised through the first 5 innings. Sky tacked on some more in the 5th when Truitt got on base by error, and then Elliot Blank knocked him in with a triple. Andrew Vanlandingham and Brian Sky followed with base hits and an error allowed Sky to advance to 3rd base. Sky then scored on a grounder back to the pitcher. Sky led 6-0 after 5 innings.

With the leadoff man on base for NWC in the 6th, Jeff Kurland hit a long fly ball down the right field line. Kowitz got a late jump on the ball thinking it was foul, and even the partially injured Kurland was able to speed around the bases. That was all NWC could get, and Sky completed the sweep.

Sky offensive leaders:
Eric Radom - 2-4, 2 RBI
Elliot Blank - 2-4, 3B, RBI, R
Brian Sky - 2-3, R
David Kowitz - 2-3, 2B

Northwest Regional Park  Field 4:      Umpire-Kory Rosenberg
 Game 1: Bombers 17 (WP-Tom Paulshock 1-0)  Hammerheads 0 (LP- RJ Seabeck 0-1)  4 Innings

Being the new kid is tough, 2 games, 2 slaughter rules was not the way the Hammerheads wanted to start, but sooner than later we'll fit in just fine. Both games can be summed up in the same paragraph. RJ Seabeck pitched valiantly, but absorbed two tough losses. Jeff Kapper played a flawless outfield and also knocked in our team's lone run going 2-2 on the day. Tony Mundell and Ryan McAndrews provided some web gems, but it just wasn't enough. The highlights may be few for the Hammerheads this week but we will have plenty more within the coming weeks.

The Bombers were happy to finally get the season underway after three straight rainouts. Our opposition was the expansion team, the Hammerheads. The Hammerheads definitely have talent and will make some noise in the league. They definitely had nicer uniforms than us, being that Assistant Manager Marc Loeb still hasn’t picked up our uniforms (he is using the birth of his new child as an excuse).

In game 1, the Bombers sent new acquisition, star pitcher Tommy, to the mound. Tommy pitched a great game and the Bombers defense was stellar, as they hammered the Hammerheads, 17-0 (the game was stopped after 4 innings). The Bombers got on the board in the bottom of the second inning, and took a 3-0 lead. Loeb started the inning by reaching on an error, then Flamm and Wiggs walked. Dan Guttman drove in the first run on a SacFly, and then Jason Gardner followed with a double to drive in Flamm and Wiggs.

In the bottom of the third, the Bombers put the Hammerheads away by scoring 14 runs. Dave Pridgen pinch hit for Tommy, and walked, following a single by Georgie and a walk to Hochman. Ben Guttman plated two more runs with a single. Following a walk to Loeb, Flamm hit a two run single for a 7-0 lead. Wiggs’s sack fly made it 8-0, and Dan Guttman drove in his third run of the day with an RBI single. After Gardner and Raashad Johnson hit singles (Johnson’s singles scored Dan Guttman), Petey Griffin hit a two run double to make it 12-0. Dave Pridgen then came up for the second time in the inning, and hit a two run HR over the left field fence. It was his first HR in three years. Georgey and Hochman then reached on a single and a walk, and Loeb followed with a 3 run HR over the centerfield fence. After all was said and done, the Bombers clicked on all levels and took an easy victory.

 Game 2: Bombers 18 (WP-Ted Winner 1-0)  Hammerheads 1 (LP- RJ Seabeck 0-2)  5  Innings

In game 2, Ted Winner took the mound and the result was almost the same as game 1. Winner pitched brilliantly, and the Bombers won 18-1. Ben Guttman hit an RBI single in the first, and Loeb hit a SacFly to make it 2-0. In the second, the Bombers tacked on 8 more runs. The big hits of the inning were a 2 run double by Raashad and a 3 run triple by Loeb. In the bottom of the second, the Hammerheads scored their first run, but the Bombers tacked on 3 more in the fourth, to make it 12-1. Ben Guttman, Loeb, and Wiggs all had RBIs in the inning.

The Bombers scored 6 more in the fifth, highlighted by Manager David Finkelstein’s 2 run, bases loaded, pinch hit single. Finkelstein came around to score, and the Bombers started off the season very convincingly.