Week #2 -- Apri 17 2016

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2017 Pikesville Men's Softball League Playoffs

Week #18 August 6, 2017 -- ROUND 1

Northwest Regional Park Field 1: Umpire- Reggie Grant
Round 1: Kings 12 (WP-Jeff Harris 11-6) La Familia 11 (LP-Miguel Batista)

The Kings in their 29th season met La Familia, a team in their 1st season for a 1st Round PMSL Playoffs match-up. The Kings had won the Regular Season games handily 11-0 and 19-1. The Round 1 Playoffs game would turn out much different as the game stayed close and the lead changed hands several times in the first 6 innings. Steve Levy's RBI 2B scored Alan Varhaftik from 1st base in the b-7th to give the Kings a Round 1 walk-off win 12-11 over La Familia.

La Familia got on scoreboard in t-1st on 2 out RBI 1B scoring runner all the way from first base. Walks to Gary Bosley and Kenny Salzman set up SF by Justin Cohen in b-1st to tie score 1-1 after 1. 5 walks and 2 SF's (Glenn Savage, Gary Bosley) in b-2nd led to 2 runs and 3-1 Kings lead after 2 innings. La Familia tied score 3-3 with 2 out 2 RBI 1B in t-3rd. Miguel Batista pitching in relief was able to retire the Kings without a run in b-3rd keeping score tied.

In t-4th, La Familia banged out 4 hits and scored 3 runs in taking 6-3 lead. The damage could have been far worse as La Familia had runners on the corners with just 1 out, bu the Kings were able to turn an inning ending 4-6-3 doubleplay to prevent another run from scoring. Kings fought back in b-4th loading bases with 0 outs on Steve Levy 1B, Glenn Savage walk, and Jeff Harris reaching on dropped fly ball. Following an infield popout for the 1st out of the inning, Bosely drew an RBI walk, Kenny Salzman hit SF to RCF, Shilo Merwitz 2 RBI 1B, and Justin Cohen 2 out RBI 2B giving the Kings 5 runs for the inning and 8-6 lead.

The Kings added a run to lead 9-6 in b-5th on Jan Katzen 3B and Levy SF to RCF. The lead was shortlived. Wil Martinez led off t-6th with HR over fence in LCF. With 2 outs, La Familia had loaded bases with 3 singles. Alan Rosario lofted a flyball to the warning track in LCF and the Kings outfielder was unable to secure the ball for a 3 base error allowing La Familia to go ahead 10-9. In b-6th, Jeff Harris reached on infield 1B, Brett Eisenberg 1B, and Gary Bosley 1B loaded bases with 0 outs. Kenny Salzman singled home Harris and Shilo Merwitz followed with a SF to LCF scoring Eisenberg putting Kings back in lead 11-10.

In t-7th, Raphi Polanco Jr. led off with a towering 3B to LCF. With a drawn in Kings infield, Kings starter Jeff Harris was able to retire leadoff hitter Danny Enrique on a groundout to 3B. However a SF to LCF by the next hitter brought home the tying run 11-11. In b-7th, Alan Varhaftik led off with a walk. Originial 1988 Kings EH Steve Levy then stepped to plate. Levy sliced a base hit into RF that skipped towards the right field line allowing Varhaftik to score all the way from first base with the winning run for the Kings.

Kings offensive leaders in Round 1
Gary Bosley (1-1,2 R,2 RBI,2 W,SF)
Kenny Salzman (1-1,2 RBI,2 W,SF)
Shilo Merwitz (1-3,1 R,3 RBI,SF,ROE)
Steve Levy (2-2,2 R,2 RBI,2B,W,SF)

►Kings improved their lifetime Round 1 record to 22-7 (.759)

Northwest Regional Park Field 2: Umpire- Reggie Grant
Round 1: Nationwide Insurance Bombers 15 (WP-Tzvi Friedman 14-1) Recruits 0 (LP- ) 4 Innings

The number one seed, the Nationwide Insurance Bombers squared off against the expansion Recruits in the opening round of the Pikesville Men’s Softball league playoffs. The Bombers, behind ace, Tzvi Friedman, quickly dispatched the Recruits, 15-0 after 4 innings. The Recruits showed a lot of heart and teamwork but the defending champions wouldn’t be denied.

In game 1, the Bombers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st. The Bombers loaded the bases- Gershon- Walk, Yoyo- infield single and Flamm- Walk. Shulie Hochman walked to bring home the 1st run and Jason Gardner’s SF brought home the 2nd. Howie Friedman ripped a 2 run single and Dan Gutman’s single ended the 1st. The Bombers continued their potent offensive attack with 5 more in the 2nd. Max Cantor and Gershon singled. Yoyo’s FO made it 6-0. Flamm walked again and Hochman tripled off the LF fence for an 8-0 lead. He scored on an OF overthrow. Jason Gardner then hit a mammoth HR over the CF fence that almost hit Raven’s GM, Ozzie Newsome as he jogged behind the fence.

In the 3rd the Bombers tacked on another 5 for a 15-0 lead. Chaim Finkelstein, Uri Rabinowitz and Max Cantor walked. Gershon hit a 2 run double and then Yoyo hit a 2 run single. Ben Gutman’s double made it 14-0 and Flamm singled to close the scoring. Friedman was brilliant as he pitched a 2 hitter.

Northwest Regional Park Field 3: Umpire- Scott Snyder
Round 1: LOFT 14 (WP-Andy Peksa 4-7) Northwest Corridor 12 (LP-Ted Winner 5-4) 9 Innings

Highlights pending

Northwest Regional Park Field 4: Umpire- Jeff Kurland
Round 1: Natty O's 15 (WP-RJ Seabeck 5-5) Outlaws 10 (LP- Jon Kerzner 3-4)

The sun may have been hiding behind the clouds to start the day, but the Natty O’s bats weren’t hiding anywhere. The Outlaws struck first with an early run in the top half of the game, but the O’s knew how to answer that by batting around and sending the first 7 batters around the bases started by a Jeff Kapper single and capped off with a Jonathan Veditz double with singles from Matt bratter, Brad Wandell, Austin Feldman and Bill Wendorf in bewteen. The O’s weren’t done their barrage yet, the second inning they almost did it again, scoring 5 more, this time with Brad Wandel and Jason Smulson with bookending singles. By the time the third inning was done, Bratter and Wandell had given the O’s had a 15-4 lead. The outlaws tried valiantly to chip away, and managed to plate 10 runs of their own, but RJ Seabeck proved to be too much, changing speeds and keeping and the outlaws off balance and shut the door just when it seemed the outlaws had any life left as the O’s came away with a 15-10 win.

Its playoff time in the Pikesville Mens Softball League, as the 5th seed Outlaws take on the 4th seed Natty O's. The Outlaws took 2 on the O's earlier in the season, as the O's look for payback.

The Outlaws come the blocks with one in the top of the 1st. Reggie Molock leads it off with a double. Chas West pops out moving Molock to third. John Brader brings in Molock on a sac fly to give the Outlaws a 1-0 lead. The O's answer back delivering hits all over the field, and open it with an 8 spot. 8-1 after 1.

The O's pick up where they left off with 5 more in the bottom of the 2nd, and take a commanding 13-1 lead. The Outlaws have their work cut off for them against the flamethrowing RJ Seabeck. In the top of the 3rd, Theo Battle draws a leadoff walk. Reggie Molock gets a one out single, for his second hit of the game. Chas West gets an RBI sac fly to score Battle. John Brader singles. David Woods hits a bomb to the warning track for a 2RBI triple scoring Molock and Brader. The O's answer back with 2 more to pad the lead. 15-4 after 3.

In the top of the 4th, Josh Vaeth gets on with a leadoff walk. Tony Wiggs hits a missile into right center for an RBI triple, as Vaeth scores, and cut into the deficit 15-6 after 4. In the top of 5th the Outlaws keep the bats rolling, as they try to get back into the game.

The speedy Reggie Molock hits a lazer into the left, and uses his world class speed to lead it off with a triple. John Brader legs out a single, as Molock beats the throw home to score with heads up base running. David Woods walks. William Giles gets an RBI single with a shot into center, as Brader crosses. Josh Vaeth gets a line drive RBI single to score Woods. Tony Wiggs RBI sac flys to score Giles as bring the Outlaws within 5. 15-10 after 5. Both teams go scoreless in the last 2 innings, as the Natty O's hold on to win 15-10 and advance.

Outlaws Hitting Stars:
Reggie Molock 4-4 2 2 2B, 3B, 3R
John Brader 2-3 SAC, 2R, RBI
David Woods 2-3 BB, 2B, 3B, R, 2RBI
Josh Vaeth 1-2 2BB, R, RBI
Tony Wiggs 1-3 BB, 3B, SAC, R, 2RBI

Natty O's Offensive leaders:
Jonathan Veditz: 2-3, 2 doubles, 2 runs, 4 RBI
Matt Bratter 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Brad Wandell: 3-4, 3 runs, 2 RBI

Northwest Regional Park Field 1: Umpire- Reggie Grant
Round 2: Natty O's 13 (WP-RJ Seabeck 6-5) Kings 8 (LP-Jeff Harris 11-7) 8 Innings

The second game of the day for the Natty O’s was one for the ages. The O’s jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on an over the fence homerun by Matt Bratter. Bratter would narrowly miss another homerun in the 3rd inning but would get knocked in by Brad Wandell to give the Natty O’s a 4-0 lead. The kings would come back, as they usually do, and even with Kapper and RJ putting up a 5th run in the 5th inning, eventually the game would end up in extras. The very first batter of the 8th inning was that one guy again, Matt Bratter, and he would strike quickly with another bomb over the fence. The O’s weren’t done yet, scoring 3 more times with a triple from RJ Seabeck and ended with a Jonathan Veditz double who was a machine the entire day. The Kings, unlike most teams, would not be deterred by a 4 run extra inning lead, and somehow battled back to tie the game once again with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 8th. The Natty O’s, however, were not going to let that ruin their spirits, as they would put the game away with 5 more runs in the top of the 9th, where EVERYONE pitched in a little bit and RJ would shut the door on any hopes of another comeback the Kings had.

Natty O's Offensive Leaders:
Matt Bratter 4-5, 2 HR, 2 2B, 4 runs, 5 RBI
RJ Seabeck 3-5, 3B, Run, RBI
Jay Walle 3-5, RBI playing in his final game of 2017

Kings offensive leaders in Round 2
Justin Cohen (2-4,2 R,2 RBI,2B)
Jan Katzen (4-4,1 R,3 RBI,3B)
Steve Levy (3-3,W)
Brett Eisenberg (2-3,1 R)

Northwest Regional Park Field 2: Umpire- Reggie Allen
Round 2: Northwest Corridor 13 (WP-Howard Goldberg 8-5) Recruits 1 (LP- ) 6 Innings

Northwest Regional Park Field 3: Umpire- Scott Snyder
Round 2: Nationwide Bombers 5 (WP-Tzvi Friedman 15-1 ) LOFT 0 (LP-Andy Peksa 4-8)

In game 2, the Bombers met up with LOFT and shut down their powerful lineup- 5-0. Expert junk ball pitcher, Andy Peska held the Bombers in check, but again, Howie Friedman was the story. He held LOFT to 6 hits and only 1 runner got past 2nd base. The Bombers defense was outstanding. Dan Gutman retrieved a hit off the bat of Verbosky and pegged him out at 1st when he rounded the base too far. Yoyo and Gershon made outstanding running catches. Chaim Finkelstein made a great play at 2nd- ranging far past the hole between 1st and 2nd and made a perfect throw to Friedman, covering 1st. Dan turned a beautiful double play and Ben Gutman threw out a runner at the plate to preserve the shutout.

The Bombers took a 1-0 lead in the 1st on a single by Ben and a triple by Flamm. The Bombers tacked on 3 more in the 3rd. Gardner doubled off the RCF fence and Friedman tripled. Chaim hit an RBI single and an RBI single by Gershon made it 4-0. The final run was scored in the 6th on Flamm’s RBI single.

Freidman’s back to back shutouts were the first in Bombers history- maybe even league history- ask Mike.

The Bombers will square off against the Natty O’s in round 2 next Sunday.

Northwest Regional Park Field 4: Umpire- Jeff Kurland
Round 1: La Familia (WP-Edison Echabaria ) Outlaws 10 (LP- Jon Kerzner 3-5)

After the Outlaws tough loss to the Natty O's in round 1, they try to bounce back against the improved La Familia, who battled the Kings to the end in their round 1 loss. La Familia starts off fast with 4 in the top of the first, highlighted by a deep shot into right by Will Martinez.

The Outlaws answer back. Reggie Molock draws a leadoff walk. Chas West also draws a walk. John Brader moves them into scoring position with a deep pop out. David Woods brings home Molock with an RBI sac fly. William Giles gets an RBI ground out scoring West. 4-2 after 1. The Outlaws get on the board in the 2nd inning as well, Theo Battle singles. John Kerzner singles. Darnell Maxwell RBI singles to bring in Battle. Reggie Molock RBI singles to bring in Kerzner to give the Outlaws a 6-4 lead after 2.

La Familia bounces back putting up a 6 spot in the top of the 3rd, and regaining the lead 10-6. The Outlaws continue to fight in this slugfest, William Giles gets a one out single to start of the bottom of the 3rd. Josh Vaeth singles. Theo Battle hits a moon shot into right field for a 2 RBI triple to bring in Giles, and Vaeth. John Kerzner comes thru clutch with an RBI single, but is thrown out on a close call trying to stretch it into a double. 10-9 after 3.

In the bottom of the 4th, the Outlaws take the lead back, Darnell Maxwell leads it off with an infield single. Reggie Molock hits a deep shot into left center, but was robbed by Danny who makes a diving catch at the fence. Maxwell with heads up base running, tags up from first, and puts it into fifth gear to score all the way from first. Chas West singles. John Brader singles. David Woods hits an RBI double to score West. William Giles RBI sac flys in Brader. Josh Vaeth comes up big with a RBI double to bring Woods. Tony Wiggs crushes another shot into center to score Vaeth. Theo Battle walks. Miguel comes into relief for starter Edison and retires the side. Outlaws up 12-10 after 4.

Both teams go scoreless in the 6th and 7th. In the 7th, La Familia scores 4 to take the lead 14-12. In the bottom of the 7th, the Outlaws with the season on the line, come to the plate. Theo Battle reaches on an infield single. The next 3 batters all retire on pop flys as La Familia hangs on in an exciting game, eliminating the Outlaws, and moving on the 3rd round.

Outlaws Hitting Stars:
Reggie Molock 1-2 BB, SAC, R, 2RBI
Chas West 1-3 BB, 2R
David Woods 2-3 2B, SAC, R, 2RBI
William Giles 1-3 SAC, R, RBI
Josh Vaeth 2-4 2B, 2R, 2RBI
Tony Wiggs 3B, RBI
Theo Battle 3-3 3B, BB, 2R, 2RBI
Darnell Maxwell 3-4 R, RBI

Northwest Regional Park Field 1: Umpire- Reggie Allen
Round 2: Northwest Corridor 9 (WP-Howard Goldberg 9-5) LOFT 8 (LP-Andy Peksa 4-9)

Northwest Regional Park Field 3: Umpire- Scott Snyder
Round 2: Nationwide Insurance Bombers 12 (WP-Tzvi Friedman 16-1) Natty O's 5 (LP-Rob Medoff )

The defending champion, Nationwide Insurance Bombers played the Natty O’s in games 3 and 4 of the playoffs. The O’s only had 9 players but had a very talented squad opposing the Bombers. The Bombers behind Tzvi Friedman won the 1st game 12-5. In the top of the 1st, Bombers manager, David Finkelstein put in a shift on Natty O’s leadoff hitter, Kap Gun. It payed immediate dividends as Yoyo Strauss, the “short fielder” snagged his short pop up. Yoyo would retire Kap Gun 4 times on the day. The O’s went down 1-2-3. The Bombers took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st. With one out, Yoyo and Ben Gutman singled, and Flamm loaded the bases with a walk. Catcher and team leader, Jason Gardner cleared the bases with a double to the fence to continue his torrid stretch over the past 2 months.

The Bombers tacked on 3 more runs in the 2nd to take a 6-0 lead. Chaim Finkelstein and Uri Rabinowitz led off with singles and Sam Luxenberg scorched a triple to the CF fence. Ben’s SF brought home Sam. The resilient Natty O’s came back with 3 of their own in the 4th to slice the lead to 6-3. The Bombers bats were silent in the 3rdand 4th while the O’s scored another run on a SF to make it 6-4. The damage could have been worse but Luxenberg made a full out diving catch to end the 5th. His catch invigorated the Bombers. In the bottom of the inning, Dan G reached on an error and Chaim singled Dan to 3rd. Rabinowitz hit an RBI single and Sam’s GO scored Chaim to make it 8-4.

The Bombers struck for 4 more runs in the 6th to increase their lead to 12-5. Ben doubled and Uri ran for him. Flamm hit an infield single and Gardner was walked to load the bases. Shulie Hochman doubled home 2 runs and Gardner hustled home on a SF by Dan. Howie then hit a SF and Hochman scored. That would be all the scoring in the game. Friedman held down a dangerous O’s lineup. It pushed the Bombers record to 21-2 as they prepared for their rematch.

Northwest Regional Park Field 4: Umpire- Jeff Kurland
Round 2: Kings 6 (WP-Jeff Harris 12-7) La Familia (LP-Anderson )

Round 3 was a re-match of Round 1 for these 2 teams. The Kings won the Round 1 match-up in a 1 run game. This Round 3 game was another close contest with the Kings holding on for the win 6-2. King starter Jeff Harris limited La Familia offense to just 7 hits and 1 walk.

In b-1st, with 2 on and 1 out, Justin Cohen singled home Gary Bosley with the first run of the game. Shawn Smith walked to load bases with 1 out. However 2 infield popouts kept the contest at 1-0 after 1 inning. Harris retired 9 of the first 10 La Familia hitters thru 3 innings. In b-3rd, Bosley and Salzman again led off inning with a 1B and walk. 3 runs then came across on Shilo Merwitz RBI 1B, Justin Cohen SF, and Shawn Smith SF. Kings lead thru 3 innings was 4-0.

La Familia had 2 singles in t-4th, but stranded both runners. In b-4th, Alan Varhaftik hit 1 out 3B. Harris walked putting runners on the corner. Varhaftik scored when Brett Eisenberg's groundball to SS skipped thru the fielder. Bosley nexted reached on an infield error to load bases with 1 out. Salzman hit RBI SF scoring Harris and the Kings lead stretched to 6-0 thru 4 innings.

In t-5th, with 1 out Miguel Batista singled and Alan Rosario scorched RBI 2B. Following a flyout for out #2, Osvaldo Rodriguez singled to score Rosario and the Kings lead was narrowed 6-2. Neither team scored after that with the Kings securing 6-2 win.

La Familia offensive leaders in Round 3
Alfonso Canela (2-2)
Alan Rosario (1-3,1 R,1 RBI,2B,K)

Kings Round 3 offensive leaders
Gary Bosley (2-4,2 R,ROE)
Kenny Salzman (0-0,1 R,1 RBI,2 W,SF)
Shilo Merwitz (1-2,1 R,1 RBI,W)
Justin Cohen (1-2,2 RBI,2B,SF)
Shawn Smith (0-0,1 RBI,2 W,SF)
Alan Varhaftik (2-3,1 R,3B)
Jeff Harris (1-1,1 R,2 W)

Northwest Regional Park Field 3: Umpire- Scott Snyder
Round 2: Natty O's 6 (WP-Rob Medoff ) Nationwide Insurance Bombers 5 (LP-Tzvi Friedman 16-2)

In game 2, the O’s beat the Bombers, 6-5. The Bombers, Yoyo Strauss started off the game with a highlight catch to rob Kap Gun again. Flamm speard a hard liner and the Bombers were on their way. Or so they thought. They jumped on the O’s starter for 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st.Luxenberg led off with a single and went to 2nd on a flyout by Ben. Flamm hit an RBI single. Gardner singled and Flamm then scored an error. Yoyo made another amazing to catch to start off the 2nd but the o’s bats came alive and a costly error by the Bombers tied the game at 2. In the 3rd the O’s widened their lead to 5-2. Another costly 2 out error kept the inning going and the O’s capitalized. The O’s made it 6-2 before the Bombers chipped away at the lead but the O’s held on to win 6-5 and keep their season going.

The defending champion Bombers will have a chance to defend their title in game 2 as the O’s and Kings battle in game 1. If the Bomber’s play the O’s it will be their 3rd straight game against each other. If they play the Kings, it will be a rematch of last year’s final, with the Bombers defeating the Kings 9-3 and earning their first title.

Northwest Regional Park Field 4: Umpire- Jeff Kurland
Round 2: Kings 9 (WP-Jeff Harris 13-7) Northwest Corridor 4 (LP-Ted Winner 5-5)

Kings overcame early 4-0 deficit and defeated Northwest Corridor in a Round 4 elimination game 9-4. NWC got early 2-0 lead in t-1st on Jon Herbst 1B and Up Webb 2 RBI HR over the fence in LCF. A 3rd run came home later in the inning on a 2 out infield error. An outfield error in t-2nd led to 4-0 NWC lead.

In b-3rd, Alan Varhaftik reached on infield error. Steve Levy drew a walk and 2 outs later, Kenny Salzman singled home Varhaftik with the Kings first run of the game. In b-4th, the first 3 Kings hitters reached base with Justin Cohen 1B, Shawn Smith 1B, and Dylan Bell E5. With the bases loaded and 0 outs, NWC starting pitcher was able to induce Jan Katzen into a 1-2-3 doubleplay. Now with 0 runs in and 2 outs, Troy Hendricks picked up the Kings with a 2 RBI 1B pulling the Kings to within 4-3. Alan Varhaftik followed with a 1B to LCF and when the ball was bobbled by the NCW fielder, Hendricks was waved home with the tying run.

In b-5th, the first 5 Kings batters reached base as Gary Bosely reached on an infield error, Kenny Salzman BB, Shilo Merwitz 1 RBI 2B, Justin Cohen RBI 3B, Shawn Smith BB, and Dylan Bell RBI SF. The Kings lead was now 8-4. Following another flyout, Troy Hendricks again delivered a clutch 2 out RBI 1B extending Kings lead 9-4. Neither team got a runner to 2B in the 6th inning. In the t-7th, Kings starter Jeff Harris was able to retire NWC 1-2-3 to close out a 9-4 Kings Round 4 win over Northwest Corridor.

Kings Round 4 offensive leaders
Kenny Salzman (2-2,1 R,1 RBI,W)
Justin Cohen (2-2,1 R, ! RBI,3B,W)
Troy Hendricks (2-3,1 R,3 RBI)

Kings Playoffs Notes
►Kings advance to Round 5 for their PMSL record 17th time. A Round 5 win against Natty O's would put the Kings into a PMSL record 16 Championship Game appearances. All-time, Kings are 6-9 in Championship Games.
►This is not the first time the Kings have been part of a 3 team Finals week Sunday.
►In 1991, Kings (2) beat Rudo (3) 1-0 in Round 5, before losing to Attman's Deli 4-2 in the Round 6 Championship Game.
►In 2007, Kings (2) lost to DC Dental (4) 10-8 in Round 5. Havana Club Cannons (1) beat DC Dental (4) in Round 6 Championship Game 14-6
►In 2009, Round 5, Kings (2) fell behind 8-0 to LOFT, but battled back and won in walkoff fashion 9-8. The Kings fed off energy of Dave Sandler returning to the field where 3 weeks earlier he suffered a cardiac arrest. The storybook ending for the Kings fell short as the rested Cannons (1) beat the Kings in the Round 6 Championship Game 6-5.
►In 2010, Kings (1) waited out Round 5 Cannons (4) defeating Sky & SKy (5) 7-6. In the Round 6 Championship Game, Kings (1) defeated Cannons (4) 7-5.
►The last PMSL 3 team Finals week scenario was 2012. Sky & Sky Inc (4) defeated Bombers (3) 10-4 in Round 5. In the Round 6 Championship Game, Northwest Corridor (2) beat Sky & Sky Inc. (4) 11-6 for their only PMSL Championship.

Northwest Regional Park Field 4: Umpires- Scott Snyder, Jeff Kurland
Round 5: Kings 17 (WP-Shilo Merwitz 1-1) Natty O's 16 (LP-RJ Seabeck 6-6)

Northwest Regional Park Field 3 Umpires- Scott Snyder, Jeff Kurland
Round 5: Nationwide Insurance Bombers 9 (WP-Tzvi Friedman 17-2) Kings 2 (LP-Shilo Merwitz 1-2)

The defending champions, the Nationwide Insurance Bombers made it back to back championships as they trounced the Kings 10-2 in the PMSL championship. . The Bombers waited a long time to see who their opponent would be as the Natty O’s fell to the Kings in a thrilling finish. The Kings showed their mental toughness by coming back from a large early deficit. However, there would be no miracle finishes for the Kings this year. The Bombers were just too dominant. The Bombers were in first place the entire season, wire to wire. Bombers star ace, Tzvi Friedman was terrific again. He allowed 2 early inning runs on a 2 run double by new King, Sean Smith. That would be it for the Kings offense the rest of the game. The Bombers had several highlight defensive plays including the last play of the game. Jan Katzen who won the game for the Kings in game 1 vs. the O’s , sliced a ball that hooked foul down the RF line. Superman, Yoyo Strauss, went into a full out sprint and dove and caught the ball for the final out. It was a fitting end to the season as the Bombers are built around pitching and defense (even though they scored the most runs in the league.) Shiloh Merwitz took the loss.

The Bombers, after falling behind early, 2-0 in the 1st, came back with 5 runs in the 2nd. That would be all they needed on this breezy day. David Flamm and Jason Gardner drew back to back walks. Friedman lined out to 2nd base but Dan Gutman roped a single to LCF for an RBI. It was a bang bang play at the plate but Flamm with his complete package of power and speed , slid in under the tag and upended the Kings catcher, Savage. Savage was shaken up but manned up and stayed in the game. Both runners moved up on Gutman’s hit.

Sam Luxenberg then hit a clutch 2 run single to make it 3-2. Shulie Hochman walked and Chaim grounded to SS Justin Cohen which looked like an easy double play. However, the Kings botched the relay, and Chaim was safe at 1st. This allowed Sam to score. Uri Rabinowitz followed with a single and Gershon Yakobovitch’s RBI single made it 5-2. A diving lunging catch by Eisenberg on a shot by Yoyo in the RCF gap kept the game closer. It saved at least 2 runs.

The Bombers kept coming against Shiloh and his devastating change ups. They scored 2 in the 4th to make it 7-2. Dan singled with one out and Luxenberg tripled him home. Hochman followed with a SF. In the 5th the Bombers set a PMSL record by hitting back to back to back triples. Uri, Gershon and Yoyo all hit triples. Yoyo scored as the Kings botched the relay home. It pushed the lead to 10-2. Friedman made 3 great defensive plays in the game to help seal the victory.

Bombers Notes:
►The Bombers had to wait over 30 minutes to start the game as Mike Herr invoked the half hour between games clause.
►Sam Luxenberg had 3 hits and 3 RBI’s
►Marc Loeb made a return to the Bombers after a 2 month illness as a pinch hitter in the 6th. He has now retired for the 14th time in his illustrious career. The team is using the money they won by being the champs to send Loeb and manager David Finkelstein to the Duke clinic to lose some weight and to get ready for spring training.
►It was the 2nd straight year the Bombers defeated the Kings in the championship.
►Thank you to Commissioner, Howard Goldberg for keeping the league alive and thriving. Thank you also to Mike Herr for keeping the website going.