Games of 10/7

Hewes 14, Parfrey 8
Hewes's team scored 7 times in the 6th inning to blow open a one-run game. Cid Rivera homered and drove in 5 runs, Eric Schulman was 4-for-5 with 3 RBI, and Bob Holzwasser had 3 hits. Chris Hall was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI for Parfrey's team.

O'Connor 9, Nilva 6
O'Connor's team scored 5 times in the 5th inning to erase a 5-4 deficit. Nilva's defense committed 5 errors and allowed 7 unearned runs.

Games of June 24

Hewes 11, Rosengard 8
Havelock Hewes's team tried to blow a 10-3 lead, but ran out of innings, and won the game.

Nilva 4, Appell 4 (7 inning tie)
Appell's team rallied for 3 runs in the 5th inning to tie, getting RBI hits from Glen Lawrence, Joe Geller, and Jim O'Connor.

Games of March 11

O'Connor 12, Hewes 8
Sam Melendez (3-for-4, 3 RBI) led O'Connor's team to a victory at Van Cortlandt Park parade grounds.

Parfrey 12, Magnus 5
Ian Parfrey scattered 12 hits and struck out 3. Jorge Davila was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI.

Games of February 5

February 5
Hewes 12, Melendez 6
Jorge Davila: 2 HR, 3 RBI
Sam Melendez: 4 hits

O'Connor 19, Velez 9
Freddie Melendez: 3 for 4, 4 RBI
Sam Melendez: 4 RBI
Bobby Echevarria: 3 for 5, HR, 2 RBI
Jorge Davila: 2 solo HR's
Fritz Lambert: 2 for 3, grand slam HR

Nilva 16, Connor 10
No W/L awarded due to disagreement over length of game
Sam Magnus: 3 for 4, 6 RBI
Adam Garcia: HR, 3 RBI

Games and Notes of 5/1

1. Lee Lowenfish event:

Peanuts, Popcorn, Crackerjacks & Branch Rickey
A Salute to Baseball with Noted Baseball Writer, Lee Lowenfish

Tuesday, May 17th
6:00 pm Reception & Book Signing
6:45 pm Ballpark Dinner & Remarks
$25 per person, Chit Bar


He was not much of a player and not much more of a manager, but by the time Branch Rickey (1881-1965) finished with baseball, he

had revolutionized the sport – not just once but three times. Famed baseball writer Lee Lowenfish, author of the definitive biography

of Rickey, will talk about the man sportswriters dubbed “The Brain,” “The Mahatma,” and, on occasion “El Cheapo.”


As the mastermind behind the St. Louis Cardinals from 1917 to 1942 Rickey created the farm system, which allowed smallmarket

clubs to compete with the rich and powerful. Under his direction in the 1940’s, the Brooklyn Dodgers became truly the first “America’s team.” By signing Jackie Robinson and other black players, he single-handedly thrust baseball into the forefront of the civil rights movement. Come listen to Lee speak about a man whoselife is itself a crucial chapter in the history of American business, sports and society.


Lee Lowenfish is a historian, journalist, broadcaster, jazz commentator and the author of four outstanding baseball books. For reservations, please email Jessica Lyon at events@unionleagueclub.org.


2. Games of 4/24
Heckscher was closed but SFLOI headed over to West 54th Street, and played a ghost runner doubleheader extravaganza in the beautiful weather. Appell beat Rosengard 5-4 in Game 1, coming back from a 4-2 deficit in the final frame. Eric Schulman's 2-run double tied it, and Freddie Melendez's single won it. Alex Rivera was 4-for-5 with a solo HR, and Schulman was 4-for-6 with 3 RBI. In the nightcap, Melendez shut out Hewes 12-0. Rivera homered again and drove in 4, and Schulman, Appell, and Scott Weir each added 4 hits.

3. Games of 5/1
Again, a close game and a laugher. O'Connor beat Parfrey 5-4 in the opener, singling in the winning run himself in the top of the 7th. Alex Rivera homered yet again, and Eric Schulman had 3 hits. Chris Hall was 4-for-4 for Parfrey's side. In the second game, Hewes revenged his earlier defeat by trouncing Melendez 19-6. Rivera and Phil Ciccone each homered twice and drove in 5 runs. Sam Melendez homered and drove in 3, and Bill McLaughlin was 5-for-5. Chris Hall homered in a losing cause.

GAMES OF 12/11

We played a tripleheader at M.S. 141 in Riverdale yesterday, some records were broken, and they are described in the previous post. Here are the games.

Hewes 8, Appell 4
Havelock Hewes (15-21) picked up the win. His team struck 4 times in the top of the first and never trailed. Adam Garcia and Adam Horowitz each drove in 2.

Garcia 14, Stoeth / O'Connor 13
Adam Garcia's squad trailed 11-4 after 5 innings, and mounted an improbable comeback by scoring 5 times in the 6th and getting 5 more in the 7th. Sal Cipriano (3-for-4, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI) capped the 6th inning with a 2-run blast to left, and drove in the winning run with a groundout (immediately after blasting a foul home run down the left field line). Eric Schulman also drove in 3 for the winners. Garcia struggled with his command all day but pitched a 1-2-3 7th for the closeout. Alex Rivera went 3-for-3 with a HR and 3 RBI for the other side; Jim O'Connor took the loss in relief.

O'Connor 8, Connor / Hewes 0
After blowing a non-save situation in game 2, Jim O'Connor (14-10) redeemed himself by tossing an 8-hit shutout. Adam Garcia was 3-for-4 with 2 homers and 4 RBI, and Eric Schulman added 3 hits. Jerry Ramirez was 3-for-4 for Hewes's team.

Game Photos from November 19

These photos were taken by my friend Matt Holden at East River Park two weeks ago. He's a pretty good photographer, and there's some nice action shots and portraits. Enjoy!

Softball @ East River Park

GAMES OF 10/31-- FREDS VS MARVINS

Freds 11, Marvins 7
The Marvins had early leads of 3-0 and 5-3, but the Freds scored 5 times in the bottom of the 4th to open an insurmountable lead. The Marvins did succeed in making it nearly impossible for the opposing fielders to tell who was batting. Ken Walker was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI for the Freds, Josh Balsam drove in the go-ahead run, and Jeff Appell picked up his 7th win and lowered his ERA to 2.71.

Freds 4, Marvins 3
In the bottom of the 7th, the Marvins loaded the bases with no one out and a run already in. However, Jim O'Connor (12-8) induced Tony Connor to pop out, and then Havelock Hewes lined into a double play, as Freds SS Ian Parfrey made a diving stop and then doubled Alex Rodriguez off of second. The game was a pitchers' duel all the way, with Jim O'Connor scoring the go-ahead run on a dropped fly ball in the 5th inning.

Freds 4, Marvins 2 (5 innings)
Laura Stoeth (7-9) picked up her first win since July 11, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run. The Freds scored all of their runs with 2 outs in the 4th inning, starting with Ken Walker's solo bomb to deep center. Parfrey then doubled to left. Sam Magnus walked, Joe Geller singled to center for the go-ahead run, and Jeff Appell ripped a 2-run double to left for the final margin.

Games and Notes of 9/12

Courtesy of Brian Hernandez and ABC News, here's a brief video of this morning's action. What you're seeing is Phil Ciccone's 3rd inning double to left-center off of Dave Rosengard in Game 1, advancing Zach Nilva to third. The infielders are Fred Lang (2b), Sam Magnus (3b), and Dave Sommers (ss).

Found at field: One righty Mizuno Premier glove, tan with dark brown trim, and an improvised relacing between the second and third fingers.

In last week's comments section, we learned that IF Bob Holzwasser is on the 60-day DL. Hope to see you on the field again soon, Bob.

Games of 9/12:

O'Connor 15, Rosengard 4
Jim O'Connor picked up his 10th win behind the batting heroics of Phil Ciccone (3-for-4, 3 doubles, 2 RBI), Ian Parfrey (2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI), Zach Nilva (3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI), and Tony Connor (3-for-3, 3 RBI).

Appell 2, Stoeth 1 (8 innings)
Jeff Appell (5-3) and Laura Stoeth locked up in a real pitcher's duel. In the bottom of the first, Phil Ciccone singled in Don Weiss to give Laura a 1-0 lead. Appell didn't allow another runner to reach third base the rest of the way. His own offense was stymied by Tony Connor's pitching protege until a pair of errors in the sixth inning tied the score. In the top of the eighth, Bill McLaughlin tripled up the left-center gap, and scored on Dave Sommers' sacrifice fly. Appell flew out with the bases loaded to end the inning, but retired Zach Nilva and Phil Ciccone after Don Weiss's one-out single to preserve the win. Appell allowed 8 hits, 1 walk, and struck out one. Stoeth allowed 6 hits, 5 walks, and struck out two.

GAMES AND NOTES OF 8/8

O'Connor 17, Stoeth 11
Jim O'Connor (9-6) prevailed in a wild slugfest of a game. O'Connor's team scored 7 two-out runs in the second inning to take a 10-6 lead. An Alex Rivera 2-run triple and a Phil Ciccone (2-for-3, 4 RBI) single brought Stoeth's team within 13-11 in the 5th, but that was as close as they would get. The winners were led by Jaime Orochena (3-for-3, 2B, 4 runs, 3 RBI). O'Connor and Don Weiss also drove in 3, and Ian Parfrey scored 4 runs. Eric Schulman had 3 hits in a losing cause. Stoeth's control issues finally caught up with her, as she walked 7 batters, and all but one came around to score.

Rosengard 4, Hewes 2
Dave Rosengard (3-4) pitched well, scattering 7 hits, and Don Weiss (2-for-2) hit a 2-run double in the third that proved to be the decisive hit. Phil Ciccone was 2-for-3 with 2 doubles and an RBI for Hewes's team, who stranded 5 baserunners over the final two frames.

GAMES OF 7/18

Game 1: O'Connor 4, Hewes 1
Jim O'Connor (8-5) scattered 7 hits in another fine pitching performance. Freddy Melendez was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Havelock Hewes was touched for three runs in the first but recovered to pitch well and keep the game close.

Game 2: Melendez 6, Parfrey 4
Phil Ciccone (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) broke a 2-2 tie with a bases-loaded, 2-out, 2-run double. Freddy Melendez followed with a 2-run single, and that proved to be enough of a margin for the win. Ian Parfrey backed his own pitching by going 3-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBI. Melendez (8-4) retired Fred Lang as the winning run; there would be no Lang Bang walkoff today.

Also, earlier in the week, Riverdale thrashed SFLOI 13-4, getting 7 innings from long reliever and winning pitcher Jim O'Connor. Ken Walker was 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and a 3-run homer, and Bill Vernick had 4 hits as well.

GAME OF 7/11

Stoeth 5, O'Connor 4 (11 innings)

In one of the more thrilling SFLOI contests of recent years, Laura Stoeth (6-0) remained undefeated by throwing shutout ball over the final 9 innings. O'Connor's team lost an early 4-1 lead, as Stoeth's team scored twice in the 5th, started by a Freddy Melendez triple, and capped by a sac fly from Freddy's son Kelvin. That was it until the 11th, when Brian Hernandez led off with a hard line single off of Dave Sommers' glove, and alertly advanced to second on Alex Rivera's flyout. An intentional walk to Ian Lebowitz and a pitcharound of Freddy Melendez set up Havelock Hewes to be the hero, as he lined a single to right-center over a drawn-in infield for the win. Bill Vernick drove in two for the hard-luck losers.

Earlier in the week, SFLOI lost a similar heartbreaker to Tony Connor's Duke alums, 7-6 in 11 innings. SFLOI led 4-1 early, but fell behind 6-4, and fought back to tie with a Glen Lawrence RBI single in the 8th inning and a Derek Martinez sac fly in the 9th. However, David Larado led off the 11th with a bunt single, and scored on Tyler Patla's bomb to deep left. Glen Lawrence had 3 hits for SFLOI, and Rob Anapol doubled and drove in two. Tony Connor (1-1) pitched an 11-inning CG and had 3 hits for the Duke team.

GAMES OF JUNE 13

Two dramatic finishes, and a 3-sac fly day for Jaime Orochena!

Game 1
O'Connor 6, Hewes 3
Jim O'Connor (6-3) scattered 11 hits for the win. Ian Lebowitz had 3 hits in a losing cause, and the game ended on the bizarre play described in detail below. Jaime's first sacrifice fly was a liner to shallow center in the bottom of the 1st.

Game 2
Parfrey 8, Appell 7
Ian Parfrey (6-3) managed to blow all of a 6-1 lead, and needed Phil Ciccone (3-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) to bail him out with a long blast down the LF line to lead off the top of the 7th. Parfrey stranded the tying run in scoring position in the bottom half. Freddy Melendez contributed 3 hits, and Derek Martinez was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Appell's team was led by Alex Rivera (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI). Jaime had sacrifice flies in each of his first two at-bats, the first on a popup to shallow left that Phil Ciccone made an excellent catch on.

GAMES AND NOTES OF 5/23

1. Celebrate Memorial Day with a softball marathon! Sunday May 30 is business as usual, 8:30am at Heckscher. Monday May 31 we're on the Great Lawn in the late afternoon-- courtesy of Joe Gerber-- time and field will be posted here soon.

2. Games of May 23:
Hewes 7, O'Connor 3
A shaky defense and the clutch hitting of Nate Sillman (3-for-3, 3 RBI) prevented Jim O'Connor from becoming SFLOI's first 6-game winner. Zach Nilva also had 3 hits. O'Connor's team stranded 13 runners. Jaime Orochena was 4-for-4, and Laura Stoeth had 3 hits.

Parfrey 9, Connor 2
Parfrey's team exploded for 6 runs in the 3rd to break a scoreless tie, and he improved to 5-2 while only allowing 4 hits. Connor's team got a 2-run bomb from Brian Hernandez, but little else in the way of offense.

3. Let's Play 2 played a Thursday doubleheader, beating the MMC Outlaws 5-1 in game one, and playing Weintraub & Haber to a 2-2 8-inning tie in the 2nd game. The Appell / Parfrey pitching duo combined to allow 3 runs in 15 innings. LP2 is currently in first place with a 5-0 record.

GAMES OF SUNDAY 5/2

Game 1-- Parfrey 5, Martinez 4
Havelock Hewes's 3rd-inning single broke a 3-3 tie, and Paul Schuman followed with an RBI single to give Parfrey (3-2) enough breathing room to win it.

Game 2-- O'Connor 5, Hewes 0
Jim O'Connor (5-1) threw an 8-hit shutout, and backed his pitching with 2 hits and an RBI. Bill McLaughlin was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI, and Zach Nilva had 3 hits in a losing effort.

APRIL 18 GAME RECAPS

Game 1: Parfrey 8, Hewes 3
Backed by the bats of Chris Hall (2-for-3, triple, 4 RBI), and Freddy Melendez (3-for-3, RBI), Parfrey (2-2) scattered 12 hits and won. Hall's 2-run triple broke a 3-3 tie in the 4th inning.

Game 2: O'Connor 4, Melendez 3
With the 11am curfew rapidly approaching in the bottom of the 6th, Don Weiss tripled to right, and Zach Nilva hit a deep sac fly to right-center to bring him in, breaking a 3-3 tie. Jim O'Connor (4-1) settled down after allowing a run in each of the first 3 innings to shut down a good offense over the final four. Ian Parfrey was 2-for-3 with an RBI for O'Connor's team, and Fred Lang made two game-saving catches in right field. Sal Cipriano hit his first HR of the season in a losing cause.

THIS WEEK IN SFLOI

1. As some of you already know, veteran pitcher Dave Rosengard had a heart attack last week. He is doing well, and is expected to be home by midweek. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Dave!

2. Dues are $30 for the season and can be paid to Secretary of the Treasury Gil Schmerler.

3. The Easter weekend will be our last in Westchester. We may play Saturday, we may play Sunday. Zinsser Park is the probable location.

4. Recaps of Sunday 3/28:

Game 1-- Hewes 12, Martinez 5

Havelock had another good outing, backed by Zach Nilva's 3-for-3, 4-RBI game. Zach's 3-run triple broke a 3-3 tie, and Hewes's team never looked back.

Game 2-- Parfrey 24, O'Connor 16
Both teams scored 7 times in the 1st inning of this slugfest. Parfrey's team scored 5 times in the 5th and blew it open with 8 more in the 7th. The big play of this game was Carl Weinberg singling into a double play in the 6th inning. O'Connor's team was threatening, with first and second and none out. Carl lined a single up the middle, and Mike Sulyman got hung up between second and third. He slid back into second, and appeared to be out, though as later events would prove, he had been called safe. Nate Sillman broke for the plate and was thrown out. Carl advanced to second on the throw, and now there were two runners on second! Carl was tagged out returning to first. Derek Martinez led O'Connor's team, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, and the winners were paced by Freddy Melendez's 4-for-4, 6-RBI performance, Robert Rodriguez Sr's homer and 6 RBI, and Parfrey's 3 hits and 4 RBI.

RECAPS OF SUNDAY's GAMES

With unseasonably warm and beautiful weather, Zinsser Park in Hastings was packed to the gills with softballers. We had a near-record 27 players in Game 2.

Game 1
O'Connor 21, Rosengard 18
Jim's team built a quick 16-5 lead and then had to sweat it out, as the Rosengarders stormed back with a 9-run 5th inning to close within 17-16 before Alex Rivera (3-for-3, 3 RBI) tripled to key a 4-run rally that proved to be decisive. Ken Walker also drove in three runs for the winning side. Ian Parfrey had a home run and 5 RBI for the losing team. Freddy Melendez added a home run, Joe Geller drove in 3 runs, and Sal Cipriano was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Game 2
Hewes 11, Melendez 5
Havelock was sharp in his first outing since the Massacre at Riverdale, scattering 11 hits and allowing very little after a 3-run first inning. Freddy matched him until a 6th inning defensive collapse led to 7 runs scoring. The winning team was led by Rich Rowlands and Alex Rivera (2-for-3, 2 doubles each). Parfrey was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a boneheaded baserunning mistake for the losers.

THE OFFENSE WAS OFFENSIVE

Maybe Havelock Hewes will have pleasant dreams of Dobbs Ferry after surrendering 17 runs in the top of the 4th inning in Game 1 at Riverdale, enroute to a 27-7 defeat at the hands of Dave Rosengard. Havelock's misery began when SS Alex Rivera tried to complete a double play but missed Marvin's glove and drilled batter Laura Stoeth in the leg instead. Her teammates seemed to take this personally, and Rob Anapol, Ross Barkan, Ian Parfrey, and Zach Nilva (grand slam) all homered in the inning. Anapol homered three times in the game, all 3 absolute bombs, and drove in 7 runs. Ross Barkan, a promising rookie from Brooklyn, homered twice and drove in 6. Rosengard pitched effectively for the win.

Game 2 was won by Jim O'Connor (2-0) over Ian Parfrey, 19-17. O'Connor's team fought back from a 10-2 deficit. Freddy Melendez homered and drove in 7 runs. Barkan was 5-for-5 with 4 RBI. Parfrey homered twice and drove in 7, but couldn't out-hit his pitching, as fields away from Central Park continue to be his Kryptonite. The go-ahead run was stranded on first base in an exciting finish.

Field conditions were a little on the icy, sunny, and muddy side, which made for little defense and much offense.

This is not meant to take the place of Dave Rosengard's View From the Mound, which will eventually hopefully be hosted here.

OPENING DAY

We decided to open the 2010 season in Riverdale, after hearing unfavorable reports of ground conditions in Hastings. The field, on Independence Avenue and 232nd Street, was a strange hybrid of turf infield and grass outfield. There was a fair amount of mud in the batter's box and in the outfield, but the weather was beautiful, and the games were exciting, though all the players are probably doing laundry tomorrow.

Game One was won by Jim O'Connor's team 15-13. They barely held on after scoring 10 times in the top of the 1st. First hit of 2010-- a Russell Rivera double to right-center off of Dave Rosengard. First home run of 2010-- an Ian Parfrey 3-run shot to left in the 2nd inning off Rosengard. First strikeout-- Dave Rosengard, 1st inning, pitching to Dan Glauber. First cycle-- Ian Parfrey. First win-- Jim O'Connor.

Game Two was won by Havelock Hewes, 8-4. Hewes's team rallied for 5 runs in the bottom of the 6th to win. Alex Rivera's 2-run triple to left-center was the decisive blow.

I want to thank everyone who played today in conditions reminiscent of Woodstock (the mud, not the rampant nudity), and keep in mind that the winter schedule is often improvised, like this game was. Our default is Zinsser Park in Hastings on Sundays.