2012 SFL Season Ends, 2013 Begins

A strange game was played on December 15, where Havelock Hewes pitched for both teams, and won. And lost. On December 23, Hewes beat Freddie Melendez 27-25 in an offense-heavy game at Dyckman. Sam Melendez cranked 3 home runs and drove in 11 runs against his brother. I wonder if Freddie got him anything for Christmas.

SFL's 2012 season was a record-breaker. 105 games were played, due to an unusually mild winter and early spring. SFL batters came to the plate a record 7516 times, and scored 1647 runs on 2580 hits. Many individual records fell by the wayside. Sam Melendez scored 161 runs, got 197 hits, and batted 443 times, setting records in all three categories. After 29 seasons of no one driving in 100 runs, three players did. Eric Schulman drove in a record 147 runs (helped by 62 extra base hits and 22 sacrifice flies), Cid Rivera drove in 108 runs, and Freddie Melendez drove in 105. Cid also had 59 doubles, shattering his previous record of 36. Ian Parfrey won his third consecutive batting title at .514, and Marvin Cohen won his first pennant, winning 54 of the 89 games he appeared in.

Remember, our default setting from Christmas until Easter is "no game." When the weather, and player demand, are strong enough, we will play, and it will be announced here, as well as via facebook and email. The location until further notice will be the Dyckman fields.

There will be a winter meeting as always, date and time to be determined.

Games of December 2

Hewes 6, Sulyman 2
Havelock Hewes allowed 6 hits, and threw 6.1 shutout innings, and Ian Parfrey broke the game open with a 2-run triple in the third inning.

Melendez 12, Rosengard 2
Freddie Melendez was equally sharp in picking up his 20th win, and his team broke a 2-2 tie by scoring 8 runs in the 5th inning. Adam Garcia hit a 2-run HR, and Cid Rivera was 3-for-5 with 3 RBI.

Games of November 25

Hewes 5, Martinez 2
Havelock Hewes scattered 6 hits, and allowed no runs over the last 6.1 innings, for his 18th win. Eric Schulman's 3rd inning base hit was the 6,922nd plate appearance of the 2012 season-- a new record.

Melendez 11, Nilva 3
Mike Sulyman was 5-for-5, Alex Rivera hit his 18th HR, and Sam Magnus was 4-for-5 with 2 RBI as Freddie Melendez allowed 3 runs (none earned) on 8 hits for his 19th win.

Games of November 18

Hewes 11, Melendez 3
Sam Magnus drove in 4 runs with a pair of triples, and Ian Parfrey and Zach Nilva had 3 hits each. Havelock Hewes allowed 3 runs on 10 hits.

Martinez 11, Nilva 0
Freddie Melendez was 3-for-4 with a triple and 3 RBI, and Alex Rivera and Chris Hall each added 3 hits. Derek Martinez threw a shutout, allowing only 5 hits, and striking out three.

Games of 10/28

Ever wonder what softball in a wind tunnel would be like? We found out. A fly ball to right-center blew foul. A fly to medium left landed 20 feet behind the infield. It was interesting. And high scoring.

Hewes 12, Mishkin 8
Will Romero drove in 4 runs, and Freddie Melendez drove in 3 for Hewes's team. Sam Melendez was 4-for-5 for Mishkin's team.

Parfrey 9, Melendez 8
Ian Parfrey took a 9-3 lead into the last inning, and then gave up 6 consecutive hits before retiring Bob Holzwasser on a bases-loaded fly to right. Sam Melendez homered and drove in 2, and Sam Magnus was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles. Alex Rivera was 3-for-3 for Melendez's team.

Games of 10/21

Hewes 8, Rosengard 5
Ian Parfrey's 2-out, 2-run single broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the 5th, and Alex Rivera homered and drove in three.

Martinez 4, Nilva 3
Freddie Melendez hit the tiebreaking single in the 5th inning, as Derek Martinez allowed 3 runs on 6 hits for the win. Zach Nilva was just as good, allowing 4 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits.

F.Melendez 4, S.Melendez 1
In a very rare instance of brothers pitching against each other, Freddie Melendez picked up his 17th win and allowed only 2 hits in 5 innings. Sam Melendez allowed 3 runs in the 1st, with Chris Hall's 2-run single being the big blow.

Games of 10/14: The Heckscher Finale

Hewes 5, Melendez 2
Sam Magnus's 3-run double broke open this game in the 3rd inning. Freddie Melendez had 3 hits including a triple, but Havelock Hewes muzzled the rest of the lineup, allowing 2 runs on 13 hits.

Appell 4, Nilva 3
Appell's team took the lead for good with a 3-run 6th inning. Russell Rivera singled in the tying run, and Gil Schmerler singled in the go-ahead run. Ray Hernandez hit a 2-run HR for Zach Nilva's team. Zach allowed 4 runs on 11 hits, and Jeff allowed 3 runs on 13 hits.

Our next games will be at East River Park (East 10th Street & FDR Drive), this Sunday at 10:15am.

Games of 9/23

We're slowly catching up here...

Rosengard 10, O'Connor 2
This game was tied at 2-2 going into the top of the 7th, when Rosengard's team erupted for 8 runs. Sam Melendez's infield single scored the go-ahead run. Ian Parfrey was 4-for-4 with 2 RBI, and Eric Schulman added 3 hits. Dave Rosengard allowed one earned run on 7 hits for the win.

Melendez 8, Lawrence 5
Freddie Melendez was staked to a 6-0 lead after 2 innings, and cruised to a win. He helped his cause with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. Phil Ciccone was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI for Lawrence's team.

Mishkin 7, Hewes 7 (5-inning tie)
In the third game, Mishkin's team led 7-5 after 2 innings, but the pitchers eventually regained control. Nel Yomtov was 3-for-4 with a double, triple, and 4 RBI for Mishkin's squad, and Havelock Hewes backed his own pitching with 3 hits and 2 RBI.

Games of 9/16

It looks like I'm never going to find the boxscores for Sept. 9 (don't worry, the stats were already entered), so we'll skip to the 16th.

Rosengard 9, Parfrey 3
Phil Ciccone had 3 hits, and Eric Schulman drove in 3 more runs. Dave Rosengard scattered 11 hits for the win. Ian Parfrey backed his "pitching" by going 3-for-4 with 2 triples.

Melendez 4, Hewes 3 (10 innings)
In an extremely hard-fought game, Freddie Melendez singled home Ian Parfrey (3-for-5) in the top of the 10th for the winning run. Melendez allowed 3 runs, none earned, on 10 hits, and struck out five. Havelock Hewes was almost as good, allowing 4 runs, 3 earned, on 12 hits. Hewes's team scored the tying run in the bottom of the 7th, and stranded the winning run on third base.

Games of Sept 2

Parfrey 7, Hewes 2
Parfrey's team struck for 6 first inning runs, capped by a 2-run HR by Sam Magnus. Cid Rivera also homered, and Ian Parfrey escaped 5 bases-loaded jams and scattered 14 hits for the win.

Melendez 9, Nilva 7
Again, Sam Magnus capped a first inning rally with a HR, this time a 3-run shot. Eric Schulman was 3-for-3 with 4 RBI, and Ian Parfrey also had 3 hits. Matt Mishkin homered and drove in 2 runs for Nilva's team.

Lawrence / O'Connor 7, Rosengard 6
Glen Lawrence pitched 4 scoreless innings of relief for the win in a back-and-forth battle. Freddie Melendez drove in Cid Rivera with a 2-out single in the 5th inning for the win. Victor Waldron hit a 3-run HR for Rosengard's team.

Games of August 26

Hewes 2, Appell 1
Havelock Hewes picked up his 500th win by pitching a 2-hitter. All he needed was a botched rundown involving Cid Rivera, and an outfield miscommunication that allowed Freddie Melendez's 6th inning 2-run single to drop in.

Melendez 3, Parfrey 1 (8 innings)
Sam Magnus's single tied the game in the bottom of the 7th, but an RBI single by Fred Lang and a sac fly by Glen Lawrence won it in the top of the 8th.

Lawrence 11, Rosengard 6
The bats finally woke up for the third game. Rosengard's team led 5-0 in the third inning, but Eric Schulman's 19th sac fly of the year was the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 5th. Schulman was 2-for-3 with 5 RBI, and Glen Lawrence was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI. Cid Rivera hit a 3-run HR for Rosengard's team.

Games of August 12

Melendez 7, Hewes 1
Hewes's defense allowed 5 unearned runs in the second inning to blow the game open, Freddie Melendez allowed one run on 7 hits, and Sam Melendez was 3-for-3 with an RBI.

Nilva 7, Parfrey 4
Zach Nilva backed his own pitching with three hits, and Sam Melendez went 4-for-5 enroute to a 7-for-8 day.

Games of July 29

We played a tripleheader at the Dewitt Clinton field, with Heckscher under water. Several dramatic finishes occurred.

Rosengard 7, O'Connor 6
Rosengard's team trailed 5-2 after 5 innings, but rallied to tie on an RBI triple by Sam Magnus, and took a 6-5 lead when Russell Rivera singled him in. A two-out RBI single by Dave Sommers tied the game in the seventh, but O'Connor lost the plate in the bottom of the inning, walking the bases loaded before Sam Melendez won it with a walk-off infield single.

Melendez 4, Parfrey 3
Freddie Melendez prevailed in a pitcher's duel, stranding the winning runs on base in the bottom of the 7th when he induced Joe Geller to ground into a game-ending DP. Parfrey lost despite allowing only four hits.

Martinez 10, Hewes 9
In another dramatic finish, Sam Melendez came all the way around on an infield hit and two errors to break a 7-7 tie in the top of the 6th, and Gil Schmerler singled in an insurance run in the 7th. Martinez's team rallied for three runs and the win, with Bob Holzwasser singling in Ian Parfrey with two outs to end the game. Derek Martinez homered and drove in 3, and Joe Geller was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. Phil Ciccone and Sam Melendez had 3 hits and 3 runs scored each for Hewes's team.

Games of July 22

Hewes 4, Rosengard 2
Havelock Hewes picked up his 8th win, allowing two runs, one earned, on 10 hits.

Appell 10, Nilva 2
Freddie Melendez was 3-for-3 with an RBI to back Jeff Appell (3-4), who scattered 8 hits.

Games of July 8

Nilva 7, Hewes 6
Bob Holzwasser drove in 4 runs, and Alex Rivera had 3 hits to back Zach Nilva's pitching. Sam Melendez had 3 hits for Hewes's team, who stranded the tying run at first base.

Melendez 13, Lawrence 9
Freddie Melendez won his 10th game of the year. Eric Schulman was 3-for-5 with 2 triples and 6 RBI, and Sam Melendez was 4-for-5 with 4 runs scored.

Also note that the Heckscher hotline was unreliable this week. They claimed to be opening late at 11:00, and then opened at 9:15. When in doubt, call someone, or just show up.

Game of July 5

Lawrence 9, Appell 5
In a Great Lawn evening game, Eric Schulman's 3-run triple broke open a one-run game, and Mike Barbato was 3-for-4 to back Glen Lawrence (3-1). Freddie Melendez was 3-for-3 with an RBI for Appell's team.

Games of June 17

Rosengard 6, Melendez 2
Dave Rosengard scattered 7 hits in a strong pitching performance to pick up his first win of the season.

Appell 8, Lawrence 3
After Derek Martinez's 2-out 2-run HR tied the game for Lawrence's team, Havelock Hewes alertly stole home on an indifferent recovery of a throwing error for the lead in the top of the 6th. Eric Schulman drove in 4 runs for Appell's team.

Martinez 6, O'Connor 5
A bases-loaded walk to Fred Lang was the margin of victory, and Cid Rivera Sr. lined out to Cid Rivera Jr. with the bases loaded to end the game. Freddie Melendez drove in 4 runs to back Martinez's pitching, and Mark Rodriguez had 3 hits.

Games of 6/3

Hewes 7, Rosengard 2
Havelock Hewes scattered 8 hits in his return to action, and Alex Rivera was 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored. Phil Ciccone and Robert Rodriguez drove in 3 runs apiece.

Nilva 5, Melendez 3
Ed O'Connor hit a go-ahead 3-run HR in the 6th inning, and then made a tough catch in center field to preserve the win for Zach Nilva. Zach and Freddie Melendez each had three hits.

Games of May 20

Melendez 11, O'Connor 9
Freddie's team battled back from a 6-0 deficit, scoring 6 times in the bottom of the 6th for the win. The go-ahead runs came in on Marvin Cohen's bases-loaded grounder to first, as Sam Magnus threw a 3-3-6 DP attempt into centerfield. Phil Ciccone and Chris Hall homered for O'Connor's team.

Parfrey 6, Holzwasser 2
Sam Melendez had 2 hits and 2 RBI in a three-inning second game.

Games of May 13

Melendez 15, Parfrey 6
Eric Schulman homered and drove in 5 runs, Freddie Melendez was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, and Ben Indek was 4-for-5 with 5 runs scored. Alex Rivera homered and drove in 4 for Parfrey's team.

Nilva 6, Hewes 2
Courageously pitching with a broken finger on his pitching hand, Havelock Hewes gave up a tiebreaking single to Fred Lang in the 4th inning. Zach Nilva scattered 13 hits and backed his pitching with a 2-run HR. Hewes is expected to miss 1 to 3 months.