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.