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

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.

THE MOUTH IS SILENCED! (FOR NOW)

Following a swirling controversy as to the authenticity of the previous day’s Twitter posts, a newly outfitted TPG team took to the field on beautiful May 9th evening and tried to let their play do the talking against the defending league champs. In the end however, their mouths—much like their bats—were silenced by a suffocating defense and an offense that is clicking on all cylinders.

To his credit, the eye of this Blue Storm controversy – Derrick “The Mouth” Blocker – came out firing in the first inning, literally, as he struck out 2 of the first 3 batters to start the game. TPG mounted a threat in the bottom of the inning getting two runners on but failed to break through against HMA/RAMSA. Both pitchers settled in nicely until the top of the fourth inning as the Orange bats came out swinging and built upon their slim 1-0 lead.

Following two hits from the top of the order to start the fourth inning , cleanup hitter Brian Barney (2-4, 5 RBI) drove them both home with a rope up the middle, nearly decapitating The Mouth (seen below). The inning continued as HMA/RAMSA batted around and took a commanding 7-0 lead. The fireworks continued in the fifth inning as 4 more runs crossed the plate, the final 3 of which came off the bat of comeback player of the year candidate, Josh Aisenberg (3-4, 5 RBI) who hit a rocket shot to right field for a three-run HR.

The scoreless streak for opponents reached 12 consecutive innings, spanning 2.5 games to start the season, but finally TPG broke through in the bottom of the 5th inning with four runs of their own to avoid a mercied defeat. The game would end 2 innings later as HMA/RAMSA took home the victory by a final score of 16-4. Much to this writer's surprised Derrick Blocker would not return calls when asked about the outcome of this game. Conversely, when asked about his team’s play that afternoon Mike “The Situation” (3-4, 1 RBI, 4 runs) humbly offered up “Not for nuthin’, but we had a situation going on earlier today. It’s hard for me to look this good and play this good at the same time—but I pull it off, dawg. Now if you excuse me, I see a cutie who’s DTF…..”

Next up (weather permitting, of course): The Big Red Machine....Game on!

History and Spring elevator battles of Epic proportions

Spring is in full swing and we haven’t had the chance to catch up with the S.L.A.M blog. So, in order to do so we will cover a battle of epic, deity proportions and a historic win. Let us start with the epic one:

It is undoubtedly good when victory happens 2 years in a row against the same team, and it is especially good (in epic, Egyptian mythology proportions) when our opponent’s new name signifies the presence of 9 deities. That would be the newly Christened “Ennead Architects”, our downstairs neighbor. One would think that Gruzen Samton would succumb to the wrath of the so-called Gods, right? Well no, the story went more along the Greek-pop mythology of Perseus in Clash of the Titans: The deities succumbed to the power of their opponent. It was a close, well-fought battle that ended up in a 10-9 Gruzen Samton victory over Ennead.

However, the best part was that coveted “elevator bragging rights” title. The following day, those rights were fully embraced (yet again) by adding some life to the elevator of our building in the form of celebratory street art; the type that would make Banksy recoil with envy.

We wish Ennead good luck for the rest of their season and look forward to future matches in this now classic rivalry that can only be compared to that of the NY Yankees against the Boston Red Sox (only really, really small in comparison).

And now, on to the historic one:

After our victory last night against Gensler I later found out at the bar that Gruzen had never beaten Gensler before; and to that historic effect many names should be highlighted through the game coverage:

- Starting with 2 runs in the first inning we intended to get an early advantage over our opponents.
- On the second inning, our secret British weapon; Simon Smith, crushes a ball deep in between left and center field for a home-run with 2 RBI.
- The offensive attack continued in the 3rd inning with the help of Vickie Vigil taking a walk to load the bases. Then, our newcomer Diane Moseley (at her second time batting ever!) grounds a ball for a 1 RBI, followed by Jeff Gillers for a single with 1 RBI.

All in all it was a good battle, with Gensler having a comeback of 4 runs in the last 2 innings backed up by one of the better pitchers of the league. However, the defensive game of Gruzen Samton was in full swing with great plays by Jeff DeLong in 1st base (with great backwards fly-ball catches and on double duty at home plate for a nail-biting out); Joe Illuzzi with several clean plays as well as good plays by Vickie and Anthony Colella on 2nd and Shortstop respectively. Adding to that, several struck-outs by our pitcher Jeff Gillers and a good outfield defensive game (by Robert Lucas, Ed Bolivar, illich Mujica and the secret British weapon) ensured that one of the better teams fell short of a victory. In the end Gruzen Samton won 6-5 over Gensler.

It is Spring, and our 9th button of the elevator trumps any group of 9 deities.  
It is good to press that button. Everyday.

PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF...

After finally winning its illusive first SLAM championship six months ago, the HMA/RAMSA softball team aims to do something that many of its predecessors have done: repeat as champions. In the 30 year history of the SLAM League, there have been a somewhat astounding seven (7) repeat champions—most recently by Gensler in 2007-2008--which might dispel the notion that the hardest thing to do in sports is repeat.

With no time to rest on its laurels, the Orange Crush took the field on Thursday, April 21st against Perkins Eastman with the same attitude of a year ago, same stellar defense from a year ago but with a new logo and team hat. With the help of some sloppy defense and well-placed hits, HMA/RAMSA put four runs on the board early with singles by SS Doug Houstoun and 1B Josh Barkan. After a scoreless second inning, 2009 rookie of the year, LF Mike “The Situation” Sargent led off the third inning by hitting his first homerun of the early season—marking the third consecutive year that he hit a homerun on opening day. It was an impressive rope for sure, but not the longest ball of the afternoon. Following a two-year sabbatical from the team to compete in an Iron Man competition, RF Josh Aisenberg made a triumphant return with a two-run bomb to RF in the bottom of the fourth to open up the flood gates. The game would 6 batters later as SCF Eric Hofmann drove in the final run of the afternoon, ending the game 11-0.

Leave no doubt, the champs aren’t giving up this trophy so quickly.

TPG Blasts into the Semi-Finals

Locked in, and ready to roll. TPG took the field for Game 2 in their best of three quarter finals against Gensler, 3-time champion over the past 7 seasons. TPG won game 1, and needed one more victory to insure a spot in the Semi-Finals. A double header was in the schedule, but only if Gensler could win game 2 and force a third game. Joe (Gensler's Pitcher) showed up early on the field to get in the heads of team TPG. Having just lost Game 1 at Hecksher, Joe let TPG know that "Hecksher's mound is wrong, and screws up my pitching angle. But Great Lawn however, now that's MY mound, so you all are in trouble".

TPG's lineup for Game 2 would be: Ray (2B), Omar C. (3B), Adam (EH), Tony (SS), Justin (LF), Mike (1B), Simon (DH), Omar B. (RCF), Alison H. (RF), David (LCF), Rebecca (C). Derrick took the mound again as pitcher for game 2.

Gensler scored 2 runs in the top of the first, and with Joe "My Mound" pitching for Gensler, we knew (or at least thought) that this game would be tougher than Game 1. But it is not easy to rattle the nerves of a team who as the 6 seed is just happy to be in the playoffs. Unfazed, TPG battled back for 3 in the bottom of the 1st.



The game was close for the first 4 innings, and Gensler scored two in the top of the 5th to tie the game 5-5. It looked like Game 2 was going to be an epic and come down to the last batter. And then TPG Shortstop and Series MVP Tony Franzese (2 HRs, 1 Triple, 8 RBIs in 2 games) blew the game open with a 2-run triple to kick start a 5 run 5th inning for TPG, a lead they would never relinquish.



Perhaps the funniest moment (for TPG at least), was in the 6th inning when Gensler decided to Intentionally Walk TPG's leadoff hitter to face former team MVP Omar "You don't do that to me" Cevallos with the bases loaded. Omar, in a burst of simultaneous anger and humor ripped the first pitch he saw for an RBI single to left, snarling at Gensler when he reached first base (see photo above). Two more runs for TPG, and the final score would stand at 12-5.

After the game, it was pie for Tony, and a ice water shower for Josh. Let the good times just keep on rolling. Next up, defending champions SSC in a best of 3 series in the semi-finals.

PCF/HH Back On Track After Controversial Loss

After suffering a dissapointing and controversial loss to FXFowle, PCF/HH came back out with something to prove....this time against SLAM powerhouse Gensler. Although GA brought their big bats, PCF/HH played extremely tight defense, especially in the outfield. But unfortunately Gensler did not bring their typical defensive prowness to the field that day, and gave this one to PCF/HH, 11-0 in 5 innings....

Game ball goes to the ENTIRE SQUAD for holding Gensler scoreless...their first shutout in many years!

ORANGE CRUSH RALLIES FOR THRILLING 6-5 VICTORY OVER BIG RED MACHINE

The Great Lawn was abuzz on Monday evening as a pair of SLAM’s elite renewed their friendly rivalry in Central Park. In three of the previous four seasons, the outcome of this game has been decided by one run (with each team splitting the four contests) so it should have come to no one’s surprise that this game was also a 1-run game.

Just six days after the birth of his daughter, David Solomon took the mound against the vaunted Gensler lineup and was rudely greeted by a leadoff single by Roger Lee, who later came around to score the first run of the game. After the first inning, both pitchers settled in nicely as the score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the 4th inning.

After extending the lead to 3-0 in the 4th inning, Gensler tacked on another pair of runs in the 5th inning thanks in part to a pair of errors by shortstop Doug Houstoun who had an absolutely miserable defensive day in the field. (I don’t want to say exactly how many errors he had on the afternoon but I think it rhymed with “jive”). On the flipside, Gensler’s pitcher Joe Sopiak was nothing short of masterful through five innings, shutting down the HMA/RAMSA offense and limiting them to only 4 hits.


But you can keep a good offense down for so long as the Orange Crush mounted an epic rally for the ages in the 6th inning, with 6 outs to play, scoring 6 runs to take the lead. The devilish rally began with a little hustle as Mike Sargent doubled to LF which seemingly energized the team. After a defensive error and strikeout, Pete Garofalo worked a savvy walk to load the bases. Dan Sykes started the first of 4 consecutive singles to continue the one out rally. Proving his mental toughness, SS Doug Houstoun redeemed himself by roping the last single up the middle to bring home the fifth run and tie the game. HMA/RAMSA took a lead they would never relinquish when Mike Ryan hit a groundball to short to drive in the 6th run of the inning.

Seemingly energized from the offensive outburst, HMA/RAMSA shutdown Gensler in the 6th and 7th innings to secure a thrilling 6-5 victory – thrilling at least for the team in orange. When asked to comment on his team’s performance, SS Roger Lee could only text “Gonna take a week to get over this loss....see you punks in the postseason."


Come get some.

HMA ROLLS TO 3-0 WITH BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS

After a somewhat rocky start to the season against RRA/DBB, HMA/RAMSA has once again taken its familiar spot atop the SLAM League standings. There had been many whispers through the trees of Central Park that HMA/RAMSA would suffer a mental hangover from the bitter disappointment of last season’s SLAM finals. If that’s the case, it sure hasn’t shown on the field…yet. And some members of the team will say there’s a new edge to the Orange Crush this season--a chip on their collective shoulders for coming up short each of the last 2 post seasons.

GAME ONE RECAP (April 15th): The final score of the first game of the season (14-7) doesn’t do justice to how close and competitive the first game actually was. Down 1-0 after the top of the first inning, HMA/RAMSA started the 2010 campaign with a bang as they put up 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning for a 4-1 lead. Included in the hit parade was former ROY Mike Sargent’s homerun to deep left center, marking the second time in two seasons that Mike homered in his first AB of the year. After a scoreless second, RRA/DBB continued to pound the aging two-time pitcher of the year, with 4 runs in the third inning, followed by one run each in the fourth and fifth to take a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the 5th inning…when the HMA/RAMSA bats woke up from their slumber.

After the leadoff men got on base in the 5th inning, Doug Neri came through with a 2-RBI single up the middle to put the Orange ahead 8-7 (a lead that would not be relinquished). Two batters latter, aging pitcher David Solomon who couldn’t get it going with his arm on this day, decided to find redemption in the form of his bat with a 2-run HR down the leftfield line. Scouts clocked his time around the bases somewhere around 45.5 seconds, a new personal record.

HMA/RAMSA tacked on 4 more runs in the 6th inning to secure the 14-7 victory. Game balls were handed out to Doug Neri (3-3 with 3 runs and 3 RBI, one awful defensive play)

GAME TWO RECAP (April 19th): With a new starting pitcher and revamped batting order, HMA/RAMSA shook off the Game One rust and returned to 2009 form as they dominated MGA with an 11-0 victory on the Great Lawn.

Doug Neri made his SLAM League debut on the mound as David Solomon could only watch from the sidelines in this one. Neri did nothing to disappoint as he threw 4 innings of shutout softball, walking only one and relying on his stellar defense behind him. Offensively, HMA/RAMSA controlled the game as they have so many times in the past few seasons with runs early and often. With 3 consecutive doubles from the middle of the lineup, HMA put up 5 runs in the first inning yet again; and followed that up with another 4 runs in the second inning to stake a 9-0 lead. From there, the defense and pitching took care of the game as Neri continued to baffle the MGA bats.

Game balls were handed out to CF Brian Barney drove in 5 runs on the afternoon with his 2 hits and RF Pete Garofalo scored 3 runs on his 2-2 afternoon.

GAME THREE RECAP (May 6th): After a very heated best-of-three playoff series in 2009 which saw all three games decided by one run, HMA/RAMSA and FxFowle renewed their rivalry on Thursday afternoon. Unlike so many of their recent regular season matchups however, this one was pretty much over early as FxFowle was clearly without several starters from a year ago, including pitcher Manny Morales who arrived late to the field and missed the first inning (and by that time the damage had been done).

After scoring 22 first-inning runs a year ago, and 9 already in their first two games this season, HMA/RAMSA sent 13 batters to the plate in the first inning, setting a team record for runs and AB’s in an inning. It was not a pretty inning all around with 4 walks, 2 reached on errors and a few hits sprinkled in. When the dust had settled HMA/RAMSA plated 8 runs. An inning later, with 2 runs already scored in the inning, Mike Sargent stepped to the plate and hit a booming 2-run HR to left center for a 12-0 lead. It was Mike’s second homer of the young season.

In the field, things were just as sharp as HMA/RAMSA kept FxFowle off the scoreboard thanks to some flawless defense and timely pitching. It marked the first time in the team’s history that back-to-back shutouts had been thrown (no less by different pitchers) as HMA moved to 3-0 atop the SLAM league standings.

Next up on the schedule: The Big Red Machine of Gensler (also 3-0) in a battle of unbeatens on Monday, May 17th. The World will be watching.

HMA/RAMSA RALLIES TO REACH ITS FIRST SLAM FINALS

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

--George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, essayist, fan of SLAM League softball

* * * * * * * * * *

The 2009 playoffs…..SLAM-tastic!

(Great Lawn, Central Park) A season ago, HMA/RAMSA finished the regular season at 10-1 and were promptly eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. On Tuesday evening in Central Park, a mere 20 hours after winning Game #1 in their best of three battle with Fox+Fowle, they were faced with a very similar and very disappointing fate. That is, until the rally began. . .

With all due respect to the equally epic battle between Skidmore/Swanke/Cooper and Gensler, it is hard for this reporter to imagine a series having more drama, more comebacks, more controversy and more SLAM-tastic play than the FxFowle vs. HMA/RAMSA series, which saw all three games decided by a single run.

Under the bright lights of DeWitt Clinton Field #1, Game One of this series started off very shaky for the #1 seed as three batters into the game, SS Mike “The Phantom Menace” Ryan was ejected for attempting a phantom tag at 3B—an ominous start for sure. After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first, HMA/RAMSA responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, followed by 3 scoreless innings in the field. In the bottom of the 4th, HMA/RAMSA rallied with their own 3-run inning. The lead however was short-lived as FxF tied the game in the top of 5th at 4-4. The score remained the tied until the bottom of the 7th inning when firstbaseman Josh Barkan stepped into the batter’s box with runners on the corners and 1 out. Barkan delivered a hard groundball to first that was good enough to score the winning run. (HMA/RAMSA, 5-4)

A day later, the setting was moved to the Great Lawn #3—site of the historic doubleheader between SSC/GA just 24 hours earlier. The fields might have changed for these two teams but the game was much of the same—a close game throughout, dominated by stellar defense and very little offense (both teams combined for 12 hits in Game #2).

For the first time all season long, HMA/RAMSA did not score a run in the first inning; and for the second time all season (and in this series) Fox+Fowle jumped out to an early lead with a run in the bottom of the first. HMA/RAMSA chipped away with a run in the top of the 2nd and 4th innings for a 2-1 lead, which again, was short-lived. Helped by some shaky defense and timely hitting, Fox+Fowle scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th to take a 4-2 lead and control of the game. HMA/RAMSA scored one run in the top of the 7th inning, and had the tying run on 2nd base but were unable to mount a rally in this game. (FxF, 4-3)

Just 4 minutes after Game#2 wrapped up, the third and deciding game of the series began at 6:45 PM as the Great Lawn prepared to host its second ESPN Classic-worthy ending in two nights. As the sun disappeared below the tree lines, the tired pitchers exchanged zeroes for the first two innings. For the third consecutive game, FxFowle struck first with a run in the 3rd inning and then another in the 4th for a 2-0 lead. The air was clearly coming out of the sails of the SLAM's #1 seed as those in attendance wondered where this vaunted HMA/RAMSA offense, which scored a league best 125 runs in the regular season, had gone. After cutting the lead to 2-1 in the 5th, FxF tacked on another key run in the 6th for a 3-1 lead as the game headed into the bottom of the 7th inning.

For their efforts in the regular season as the #1 seed, HMA/RAMSA had earned the right to home field advantage throughout the playoffs—and in this series it proved all the difference in the world. In what I can only describe as “shades of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series” the demons from a season ago were exorcised with a comeback rally for the ages. Like Game 6 for the Mets, HMA/RAMSA entered their final at bats down two runs.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-video/648619/83279/Relive-this-exciting-ending-to-Game-6-of-the-1986

Rightfielder Doug Neri, who led the team in hits for the regular season, began the inning with a double to left. After a groundball out to the shortstop by Eric Hofmann (which advanced the runner to 3rd), The Phantom Menace - looking to redeem himself for Monday night’s blunder - delivered a single up the middle. That hit was followed by a single to left by an admittedly exhausted David Solomon, who was given an all-important courtesy runner in Eric Hofmann. Rookie Mike Sargent proceeded to tie the game with yet another base hit to left field which brought runners on first and second in a tie game.

After a fly ball out to left field, Game One hero, Josh Barkan once again stepped into the batter’s box to channel his inner Mookie Wilson. From there, I cannot really tell you what happened as I was admittedly too sick to my stomach to watch. But I’m told Josh hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield, which was fielded and bobbled slightly by the shifted infield, causing a somewhat errant throw to first base which was dropped (or maybe brought the firstbaseman off the bag—I couldn’t see with a towel over my head). In any event as Josh hit first base and the umpire screamed “SAFE”, Eric Hofmann—who never stopped running from second base—screamed his way home to win the game on a ball that never left the infield. GAME OVER, SERIES OVER….HMA/RAMSA wins, 4-3 with 3 runs in the inning.

Thankfully there are no more permits available for this week as we all could use a little rest this Labor Day Weekend. But if The Slam Finals are anything like the Championship Series, do yourself a favor and come out and watch SSC and HMA/RAMSA battle next week.

The Bigger They Come, The Harder They Fall

After a long and patient off-season, the season finally opened. And for team TPG, it opened with a bang as they beat Gensler for the first time in at least 5 years with a final score of 11-10. It was a hard fought battle with 6 lead changes and a walk-off win for TPG in the bottom of the 7th. With bad weather all spring, and no official practice permits, the rust was thick. It was obvious that this was the first game of the season, and errors for both teams were plentiful. The top of the first was ugly as TPG pitcher Ron Alalouf walked the first two batters, and with a couple of hits Gensler easily scored 2 quick runs and was threatening for many more. TPG got out of the inning with some decent defense including a running catch by RCF and recent new dad Josh Ginsburg.

It looked like this would be a long afternoon for team TPG. But our offense came back in the bottom of the first with a lead-off walk by SS Len Emmanuel (arguably the fastest runner in the league), who came all the way around to score on an RBI single by last year's team MVP Omar Cevallos (4-4, 4 Runs, 3 RBI). With Omar on first, last year's SLAM Big Bat award winner Justin Aharoni (2-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB) belted a 2 run home run deep into right center field, and TPG took the lead 3-2.

Pitching and defense marked the second inning as both teams were held scoreless. Gensler scored 1 in the top of the 3rd, and the game was tied again. TPG put together a string of walks and singles scoring 3 before ending the inning with bases loaded. TPG now leads 6-3. In the top of the 4th, Gensler scored two runs on a few good hits, and a overthrow error by Josh. Gensler's defense shut down TPG in the bottom of the 4th including an outstanding 6-6-3 double play by All Star SS (and another recent new dad) Roger Lee, sending the teams to the 5th with TPG up 6-5. TPG held Gensler scoreless in the top of the 5th, and then added two more on Justin's second home run of the game. 5 innings in the books, and TPG leading 8-5.

The 6th inning would prove to be near-fatal for team TPG. Gensler had the biggest rally of the night for either team and put a big five-spot on the board. It would have been more if not for a stellar defensive 2-3 play by Catcher Princess Salvacion. TPG went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 6th and we headed to the 7th with Gensler leading 10-8.

TPG has always played Gensler close in the regular season (one run losses in both 2007 and 2008), and this game was no exception. After all was said and done, this game came down to a coin flip won by TPG giving them home field advantage and crucial last licks. Catcher Princess led of the inning with a walk, before SS Len hit into what appeared to be a 6-4-3 double play. But they couldn't catch Len, as he beat the bang-bang throw from Roger. A quick single by 2B Adam Woods, followed by an RBI single by Omar (his fourth hit of the game as he tries to outdo his unreal .700 batting average from last season), and TPG had 1st and second, one out, down 10-9 with Justin coming to the plate. A quick thinking substitution by Manager Josh brought in fleet footed Shyam Kumar as the tying run on second. Justin popped up his next at bat just over second base when normally sure handed Roger dropped it. since the runners were holding, Roger had a play to 3B Robert Fuller in a "commish to commish" play that would decide the game. Roger's throw was good, but with 3rd Base Coach Derrick Blocker managing the baserunners, Speedy Shyam slid in safe under the tag as Robert bobbled the relay. Now it was bases loaded, one out, and 1B Mike Stevick at the plate. Would it be a dramatic game ending walk-off hit? Not quite. He ripped a ground ball to Roger who stepped on second for one, and did his best to turn two at first and end the game. But not this time, as Roger (who in past years had singlehandly shut down TPG with his trademark double plays) threw wild by the 1B, and two runs came in to end the game on what will go down in the books as a FC, RBI, and an E-6. Not the cleanest game ever, but only the final score counts. What a great way to start the season.

Game Balls go to Omar Cevallos and Justin Aharoni for their outstanding hitting.