Show no Mercy! TPG beats MGA 20-0

The hour was getting late.  Between deadlines, jury duty, and a frigid forecast team TPG was desperate for a 2nd female player (our league requires at least two female players at all times).  When an emergency email went out to the NY office, a hero was born, and the TPG C for last night was Gal "The Hero" Vaknin.  Whew, with about an hour to spare TPG avoided playing a female short - something our team prides itself on never having had to do.

standings after last night's games

With unseasonably cold weather, team TPG gathered as many coats and sweaters as we could find, and huddled around the backstop of Great Lawn 3 waiting for a close game to finish between GA and FXF (GA would break the tie in a late inning and go on to a 12-8 victory).  Since this was the first "late" (6:45pm start) game of the season, TPG had a huge turnout (among the male players at least) as over 15 people showed ready to play.  As we were itching to take the field, we looked to our right and realized our opponent for the evening - MGA - only had 7 players, the bare minimum to start a game.  As two more MGA players arrived late, the vast majority of the game allowed MGA to field 9, which is only one short of the max allowed in our league.

TPG P Derrick "The Mouth" Blocker took the mound in the top of the first, and never broke a sweat.  Stellar pitching, strong defense, and a diving catch by TPG RCF Simon "Kung Fu Panda" Yeung resulted in the first TPG shutout of the season.

The powerhouse offense of TPG (who came into the game averaging just under 17 runs scored per game) was on display from the very beginning as the first nine batters of the game scored en route to a 12 run inning (16 batters came to the plate), capped off by a monster 2 run HR blast by SS Tommy "Guns" Anderson (3-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI).  With 12-0 lead after the first inning, and an 11 run mercy rule (game is over after four innings if a team has an 11 run lead or more), TPG could have chosen to run on auto pilot.  But that is not our style.  After getting three quick MGA outs in the top of the second, TPG put up another rally, this time sending 12 people to the plate and scoring 7.  The highlights of this second inning rally were TPG Rookie DH Norman "Cricket" Ha's (3-4, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI)  first ever career HR, and Tommy "Guns" Anderson's 2nd monster HR of the game.

One more TPG run would score in the 3rd, and after a fourth consecutive shutout inning, the game was over, and TPG won by a final score of 20-0.

Game balls go to Derrick Blocker, Tommy Anderson, Norman Ha, and Gal Vaknin

TPG mercy's Gensler 15-4

It was not long ago (pre-season 2009 in fact) when it felt like TPG had never beaten Gensler on the softball field.  TPG beat Gensler 11-10 on opening day back in 2009 (our first victory against them in the modern era), and we celebrated as if we had won the championship.  Since that fateful (and precedent setting) day, and leading up into last night's game, TPG has played Gensler 8 times between the regular season and the playoffs... and we won 4 of them and lost 4 of them.  So the TPG vs Gensler match is always circled on the schedule as would be expected with a bitter - yet shockingly friendly(?) - rivalry.

As the teams took the field last night a fierce battle was expected.  Rumors of the core Gensler team retiring at age 40 to focus on their small children were unfounded.  TPG won their 3rd consecutive coin flip (heads anyone?), and took the field as the home team.  In 2012, Gensler scored 123 runs in the regular season - 39 more than any of the other teams in the league.  They were an offensive powerhouse.  So when they rallied in the top of the first and put up 3 runs, TPG thought we would be in for another high-scoring battle.

But let's not forget that TPG is showing signs of an historic offensive season in 2013 averaging 17 runs per game over the first two games of the year.  TPG came to bat in the bottom of the 1st, and like every game so far this year, runs would score.  The first six TPG batters reached base safely including Doubles by SS Tommy "Guns" Anderson (2-3, 2 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) and Rookie 1B Elliot "Stretch" Grochal (2-3, 2 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI).  A total of 10 batters came to the plate, and at the end of the first inning, TPG was up 5-3 with a lead they would never relinquish.

Tommy "Guns" Anderson

Elliot "Stretch" Grochal

TPG Defense took over for the rest of the game allowing only one more run over five innings.  Stellar play by the TPG outfield of Justin "Big Bat" Aharoni, David "Speedy" Beauchamp, Ray "Big Ray" Dominguez, and Simon "Kung Fu Panda" Yeung caught every blast the power bats of Gensler launched their way.

Heading into the bottom of the 5th inning, it was 6-4 and TPG was clinging to a 2 run lead.  TPG C Alex "Nickname" Belfiore led off the inning with a line drive single to left, and with the top of the order immediately following, this inning was shaping up to be a big one.  With two men on base and nobody out, early season MVP candidate TPG LF Justin "Big Bat" Aharoni (2-3, BB, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) smoked an RBI double, and immediately scored when TPG 3B Tony "Muscle" Franzese (2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI) ripped a 2 RBI single.  In the next two at bats, TPG SS Tommy "Guns" Anderson blasted an RBI triple to deep center field, and TPG Rookie 1B Elliot "Stretch" Grochal roped an RBI double.  Not to be outdone, fellow TPG Rookie DH Norman "Cricket" Ha (1-2, R, 3B, RBI) crushed his second triple of the season, scoring on the following at bat.  A total of 7 runs came across the plate in the 5th, and TPG now led 13-4.

Alex "Nickname" Belfiore

Justin "Big Bat" Aharoni

Tony "Muscle" Franzese

Norman "Cricket" Ha

Needing only two more runs to win the game via the 11-run mercy rule, TPG LF Justin "Big Bat" Aharoni came to bat in the bottom of the 6th with one out and a man on base.  Justin blasted an RBI triple, only to score on the ensuing errant throw to 3rd base.  2 runs scored, TPG wins 15-4.

Game balls go to Justin Aharoni, Tommy Anderson, and Elliot Grochal

A Statement Game - TPG vs KPF

On April 30th, 2013, league commissioner David Solomon sent TPG Manager Josh "Roll Call" Ginsburg an email saying that TPG's next game against KPF on May 2nd was a "statement game".  Last night was May 2nd.  KPF was coming off a very successful 2012 season where they were two runs away from playing in the championships, and followed it up with two dominating victories to start the 2013 season.  TPG did play in the 2012 championships, and had one dominating victory themselves to start the 2013 season.  Could last nights game be a preview of the 2013 finals?  When the 2013 schedule was first released, everyone on team TPG circled May 2nd.  Why you ask?  KPF star pitcher Michael Linx is a "high arc pitcher", and for you newbies out there, that means he pitches the ball ridiculously high in the air, and manages to land them for strikes.  And last nights game was a bright sunny day on Heckscher 1, where the batter faces South West.  And since this league is made of Architects who - for the most part - have an inherent understanding of sunlight angles, we all knew that it would be literally impossible to see the high arc pitches as they soared through the sky.

But would this game be the defensive battle and pitching duel we were all anticipating?  We thought so.  Oops.  With closed eyes, sun glasses, hats, and what at times felt like small miracles, the TPG powerhouse would not be held down.  For the second time in two games, TPG LF Justin "I don't like to stop running" Aharoni (2-2 2HRs, 2BB, 5 RBI) blasted a HR in the first inning, and it was 2-0 TPG heading into the second.  A controversial fair ball call down the left field line by the umpire rewarded KPF P Michael Linx with a solo HR in the top of the 2nd, and it was the tight 2-1 game that everyone expected.

Batting in the bottom of the 2nd inning, TPG Rookie of the Year candidate EH Norman "Cricket" Ha (2-3, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI) smoked an RBI triple (this Australian cricket player had literally never held a softball before this season started), and scored on the following AB when TPG Rookie DH Bill "Wild Bill" Jenak (2-2, 3 RBI) knocked him home on an RBI single.

Stellar pitching by TPG P Derrick "The Mouth" Blocker held KPF to only one run over three innings, and TPG came to bat in the bottom of the 3rd leading 4-1.  With the sun at the worst possible angle, and batters guessing at every pitch, we are still scratching our heads at what TPG pulled off in their next at bat.  With 9 of the next 10 batters reaching base safely including a 2 RBI triple (should have been a HR but Derrick the 3rd base coach wanted to rest Simon's legs) by TPG RF Simon "Kung Fu Panda" Yeung (3-4, 3B, 4 RBI), Justin Aharoni came to bat with two outs and 2 runners on base.  And boom, with his second HR of the game (4th of the year in two games played), a 3-run blast, TPG put up a 10-spot and was now leading 14-1 after three innings of play.

The 11 run mercy rule was staring us right in the eye.  When KPF came to bat in the top of the fourth all TPG needed was three outs before KPF scored 3 runs, and the game would be over.  The first batter made an out, and now it was only two outs before the game was history.  TPG was merry, relaxed, and already thinking about the post game beers.  Somehow KPF rallied, and with clutch hitting scored 4 runs in the 4th to avoid the mercy.  Both teams played some defense, TPG was held scoreless for two innings, and KPF came back to the plate down 14-5 in the top of the 6th inning.  A few innings ago TPG was wondering if they had completely overestimated the ability of KPF.  But the top of the 6th changed that view.  KPF rallied  and scored 6 runs (a total of 10 unanswered), and we had a ball game at 14-11 heading into the bottom of the 6th.

TPG leads the league with an absurd 17 runs scored per game.  And our bats were not to be silenced any longer.  A 6th inning rally, including a 2 RBI single by Simon Yeung, and TPG ended the 6th up 17-11.  KPF put one final run on the board in the 7th, and the "pitcher's duel" ended as a 17-12 victory for TPG.

Statement Game.

Game balls go to Justin Aharoni, Simon Yeung, Norman Ha, and Bill Jenak.