Championship Series Tied 1-1

TPG Architecture took the field last night for their first Championship appearance since 2002, and only the 2nd time in firm history.  The energy was in the air from the moment we all woke up, as the entire office was abuzz with the historic events of the evening.  Our opponent HMBA/RAMSA, had been here before, having won the last two league championships.  After an official ASA (American Softball Association) ruling that "Artificial Noisemakers" are not allowed, TPG had to change tactics for the crowd interaction during the finals.

So with the help of the world-class TPG Graphics Department and a digital camera, 3' tall posters were made of team Pitcher Derrick Blocker's face.  If there was ever a silent way to make noise, this was it.  The look on RAMSA Pitcher David Solomon's face when he first saw the posters was worth every square inch of mounted foam core.

Before the game started, we were honored to have TPG Managing Partner Jim "JD" Doherty throw out the first pitch.

Although TPG came pumped up and ready to make some noise, the first game got off to a very rocky start and never really recovered.  Reigning pitcher-of-the-year David Solomon got the first 7 TPG batters out, including spectacular defense by RAMSA SS Dan "had to ask him his name since we did not get a lineup card" Sykes, and outfielders 1-4 "never did find out their names" who caught everything within 2 city blocks of the field.  RAMSA scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back en route to a 9-2 blowout victory.  In fact, Game 1 happened so fast we found ourselves with time for a second game.  It would have been easy to give up on the day and play game 2 next week, but no one on team TPG wanted to spend the holiday weekend surrounded in gloom.

So at 6:35pm, TPG took the field for Game 2.  We had RAMSA just where we wanted, after winning two series in a row when giving up game 1 only to come back and win games 2 and 3.  When TPG got the last out of the 1st inning on a spectacular play at home by TPG Catcher Alison Hopke, we looked up at the scoreboard and saw a big 0 for RAMSA.  But this was the two-time champion after all, and RAMSA scored 2 in the second and 1 in the third to stake a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 4th.  TPG batted, and with hits by 3B Tony Franzese, SS Tommy Anderson, and LF Justin Aharoni, a rally was in place.  TPG 1B Lynee Hastings hit the game tying single, and the score was 3-3 after 4 innings of play.

RAMSA responded with 2 more runs in the top of the 5th, and the pressure mounted for TPG.  But we are a team who has overcome amazing odds all season long, and fight is in our vocabulary.  The 5th inning rally by TPG could go down in history as one of the greatest team moments.  With scrappy hitting, a walk to TPG Catcher Princess Salvacion, a SAC fly by RCF Omar Cevallos, and a walk to 3B Tony Franzese, SS Tommy Anderson came to the plate with 2 outs and the bases loaded, down 5-4.  The guy who has been clutch all season, Tommy, roped a bases clearing triple, and TPG led 7-5.

 The next batter was LF Justin Aharoni, and his RBI single was the 5th run in the inning, and the end of the game's scoring.  Stellar defense for two innings, and TPG won game 2 by the final score of 8-5.

More photos of Games 1 & 2 can be found at TPG Architecture's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.359764724099837.82951.159081227501522&type=1.  Photos are courtesy Vu Tran.

The deciding game 3 is scheduled for play on Wednesday, September 5th, at 5:30pm.  We hope to see you there.

To BE the BEST, You have to BEAT the BEST

When TPG won the last game of the regular season to clinch the 6th and final playoff spot, we knew only one thing for certain. For us to win our first ever SLAM championship, we would have to go though the top powers of this league. As the 6th seed, our round one match-up would be against four-time SLAM champion SOM/SHCA (3 seed). If we won that series we would have to face three-time SLAM champion Gensler (2 seed) in the semi-finals.  And after RAMSA's dramatic victory against KPF, we now have to face two-time defending SLAM champion RAMSA (1 seed).

But how did we get there?  Hard work, great defense, clutch hitting, and most importantly, having fun.  It started with a rubber chicken, and continues building each game as more and more people from the office come out to cheer.  In the quarter finals against SOM/SHCA, TPG lost game 1, only to rebound and win games 2 & 3. 

As the Semi-finals against Gensler began, everything turned up a notch.  TPG had played in the Semi-Finals as recently as 2010, but had only been to the championships once (2002), having never won it all.  In the first game TPG jumped out to an early lead only to watch Gensler score 6 runs in the 3rd on their way to an 8-5 victory.  Game 2 was a nail-biter with Gensler clinging to a 2-0 lead through the first five innings.  With a clutch 3 run rally in the bottom of the 6th, TPG took the lead and held on for a dramatic 3-2 victory tying the series at 1. 

Last night, August 28th, 2012, TPG took the field again for the deciding game 3 against Gensler.  Unlike the SOM/SHCA showing in Game 3 (where half of their team decided to not show up for the game), Gensler came ready to play.  They even got to the field before TPG.  And after TPG scored 2 runs in the 1st, Gensler roared right back with 5 runs and held a 5-2 lead at the end of the first inning.  But TPG had a secret weapon.  We had the support of an entire office.  And when the crowd (thanks everyone who showed up to cheer us on!) arrived, the momentum turned back in our favor, and before we knew it, we had a 4 run lead with only 1 inning to play.  Shut down defense, 3 outs, and the game was won, the series clinched, and a birth in the 2012 championships against RAMSA confirmed.

Semi-Finals Series MVP was Omar Bustamante for hitting the game winning RBI in BOTH games 2 & 3!  Well done Omar B.

See you in the finals.

FIGHT TO THE FINISH

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
- Mike Tyson

Those were the words that Coach Solomon offered up to his team just minutes before the third and deciding game of the SLAM semifinals against a spirited and confident KPF team on Thursday. What else could he say to his team following the stunning results (to him at least) of Game 2? The HMBA/RAMSA team had never experienced a beat down like that before - and truly no one could say for certain how the team would react--not even their supremely confident pitcher.

Despite a hostile crowd, complete with posters, cow bells and Principals of the firm to cheer on the visiting team, Game 1 of the semifinals doubleheader against KPF began rather favorably for the two-time champions. HMBA/RAMSA jumped out to an early 4-0 lead thanks to the help of 4 straight in the first inning. The lead would be extended to 5 in the very next inning thanks to 3 more hits, and the game would end in only an hour by the score of 5-1. Lost in the shuffle of the victory was the fact that KPF's pitcher, Michael Linx, was settling in after a rough start. In the final 4 innings of the game, he allowed only 2 hits, and retired the final 10 batters he faced. But there was not a single player who was prepared for what happened in Game 2.

Unphased by the Game 1 results, KPF jumped out to a quick lead 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning; but the real damage came in the second inning. It would fair to call it the ugliest inning of softball the HMBA/RAMSA team had played in a decade - and it was only magnified by the fact that it happened in the playoffs. 8-9 hits, a pair of walks, and 4-5 errors later, KPF had put up an 8-spot in the inning to take a 9-0 lead. To put this in perspective, HMBA/RAMSA only allowed 27 runs in 11 games this season, and never allowed 8 in any game all season long (let alone an inning). The next five innings were spent avoiding the mercy - which we barely did - in losing 10-0 to a very worthy opponent. As impressive as the offense was, it was the pitching performance by Linx that left a mark on the reeling champions (and this blogger): 7 innings pitched, two hits allowed, no walks and he faced one over the minimum number of batters. No runner ever reached third base. And when you couple that performance with the final 4 innings of the first game, it was nothing short of a brilliant 11 inning stretch.

The humbling results of Game 2 made the aforementioned Tyson quote seem only appropriate as both teams took the field at Hecksher for a deciding Game 3.  As they did in Game 1, HMBA/RAMSA got on the board first in the second inning thanks to a clutch 2-out hit by Holly Kunz with runners on first and third. (she would later get the game ball for finally breaking the Linx Jinx). HMBA/RAMSA was able to extend to a 2-0 lead thanks to a defensive lapse in the 3rd. But the cow bells, the posters and the Principals would not quit as KPF responded in the top of the 4th with a pair of bombs by Michael Bentley and Michael Linx that gave KPF a 3-2 lead and renewed energy

But the offense of the Orange Crush would not be silienced on this day as they responded with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 4th, and another pair in the bottom of the 5th to extend the lead to 7-3. KPF refused to go away quietly though as they took their final at bats in top of 7th. Feeling the effects of the previous 20 innings pitched in the week, the usually reliable and admitted exhausted HMBA/RAMSA pitcher struggled to find the strike zone in the 6th and 7th inning. And when he did managed to throw a strike, KPF smacked the ball all over the field. After leadoff hitter Bryan Frank's deep sac fly, KPF had cut the lead to 7-6 with runners on first and second base and two outs in the inning. The final out did not come easy as defending defensive player of the year Dan Sykes had to work his magic to end the game.

It was a series that truly neither team deserved to lose. And if you ask anyone in orange they will likely confess that we did not win the series, we survived it.  I tip my cap to everyone on the KPF side--players, principals and cow bell ringers--for a brilliant semifinals series.

And so, for the fourth straight season HMBA/RAMSA heads to the SLAM Finals looking to become the first three-peating champion since 2000 (when FXF won their fourth in a row).  The opponent (either GA/TPG) will be determined on Monday evening - weather permitting - with the Finals to begin shortly there after.  One thing is clear, however, after last week's festivities:  the defending champions can take a punch - and still have plenty of fight left in the tank.

Leave No Doubt.

6-4-1

Before every season starts, some teams contemplate what record they need to make the playoffs.  We can't speak for every team, but for TPG, this is an annual discussion right before the first game of the season.  As a team who is always right on the playoff bubble - now settling into an every other year pattern - the "number" is always on the front of our mind.  In the past, when the league had an 8-team playoff structure, the math was pretty easy.  In fact the rules even stated that if you had a .500 record or better you were insured of a playoff spot.  So it was simple - 5 wins and a tie, or 6 wins and you were in.  Period. 

Then came 2009.  The league voted during the manager's meeting, and we reduced the number of playoff teams to 6.  The reasoning was due to lack of permits, and keeping an 8-team structure meant playing a single elimination first round.  This decision was not controversial. And for the next 2 years, a 6-5 record (2009) and a 5-6 record (2010) got you in the playoffs.  In 2011, history was made when GA failed to make the playoffs even though they had an above .500 record (5-4-2 - which is essentially the same as 6-5).  For anyone knew, that was the first time a winning record did not get you in.  It seemed like the exception at the time, and not the rule.

So it felt pretty safe heading into 2012 that a 6-4-1 record would get you in.  And when TPG beat FXF in the regular season (a game we correctly assumed was the Turning Point of the Season) 8-7, that would end up being the deciding tie breaker.  And when both FXF and TPG finished the season at 6-4-1, TPG was in, and FXF was out.  In 2008-2011, a 6-4-1 record would have been good for 5th, 6th, 5th, and 5th respectively.  In 2012, that record would find FXF sitting at 7th, out of the playoffs for the first time in 14 years (or so they claim).

Yesterday, TPG took the field needing a win against GSA to clinch a playoff birth with the above mentioned 6-4-1 record.  And while we played well en route to a 7-2 victory (including a HR by SS Tommy "Guns" Anderson, and an awesome outfield assist by LCF David "Speedy" Beauchamp"), the real win occurred the night before.  Requiring some help to get in, TPG needed either a win by RAMSA over RRA, GA over FXF, SS over KPF, or RAMSA over FXF (in all cases we needed the "favorite" to beat the "underdog").  But a string of what seemed like a season getting cursed saw the first three of these games with an upset.  It came down to needing RAMSA to beat or tie FXF in their last game of the season.  RAMSA had already clinched the number 1 seed, and FXF was fighting for their lives.  Hat's off to RAMSA for not limping into the playoffs, and taking what was essentially a meaningless game and playing their hearts out in an 8-inning 4-4 tie.  TPG is in the playoffs in 2012.  First round, double header against SS.

Game ball goes to RAMSA pitcher David Solomon for coming through with a tie against FXF.  Thanks Dave.