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 10/14: 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 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.

Game of August 23

Rosengard 3, Connor 2
Rosengard's team scored three times in the second inning, around a triple by Sam Magnus (3-for-3). Cid Rivera threw out the tying run at home plate to end the game. Dave Rosengard allowed 2 runs on 11 hits, and Tony Connor allowed 3 runs on 6 hits.

Games of August 5

Hewes 7, Rosengard 5
Eric Schulman homered and drove in 2, and Sam Magnus was 3-for-4 with an RBI double to lead the Havelocks past the Rosengards. Phil Ciccone was 3-for-3 with 3 RBI for Rosengard's team. Defensive play of the game: Marvin Cohen catches a popup and initiates a 3-2 DP.

Appell 9, Parfrey 3
Russ Rivera's 2-run opposite field double broke a 3-3 tie in the 5th inning, after which the wheels came off for Parfrey's team. Appell scattered 6 hits in a strong pitching performance.

Games of May 6

Hewes 8, Parfrey 5
Fred Lang and Sam Magnus each had 3 hits, as Hewes's team broke a 4-4 tie by scoring 4 runs in the 4th. Alex Rivera homered for Parfrey's team.

Lawrence 13, O'Connor 2
Glen Lawrence (2-0) scattered 8 hits and was backed by Alex Rivera (4-for-5, HR, 4 RBI). Sam Melendez homered for O'Connor's team.

Games of February 26

Melendez 13, Hewes 9
Sam Magnus (4-for-5, HR, 5 RBI) and Adam Garcia (3-for-5, HR, 5 RBI) led Melendez's team to the win.

O'Connor 22, Mishkin 22 (8 innings)
This was one of the most dramatic SFL games ever. O'Connor's team stormed back from a huge deficit to (apparently) tie the game in the top of the 7th. Gil Schmerler's 2-out single to center plated Eric Schulman with the winning run-- except a scorekeeping error was discovered later-- Mishkin's team actually had 21 runs in the 7th, not 22, and Magnus's HR could have been the game-winner. No one noticed at the time and the game was declared a tie. Sam Magnus had an amazing game, going 4-for-4 with 5 runs scored, 2 HR, and 8 RBI. Bill McLaughlin had 5 hits, Matt Mishkin drove in 5 runs, and Sam Melendez and Mike Sulyman each had 3 hits, a homer, and 4 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

Opening Day 2012

Parfrey 10, Hewes 3
Ian Parfrey allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, and held Hewes's team scoreless over the final 6 innings. Sam Magnus was 2-for-2 with a home run and 3 RBI.

Melendez 9, Martinez 5
Freddie Melendez allowed only 4 hits enroute to a come from behind win. Adam Garcia's 2-run double tied the game in the bottom of the 6th, and then Mike Sulyman (3-for-5) cleared the bases with a 3-run triple.

Games of Dec 18

21 players braved near-freezing temperatures to play in the season finale.

Hewes 11, Melendez 7
Eric Schulman was 4-for-4 with a HR and 3 RBI, Cisco Velez was 3-for-4 with a HR and 5 RBI, and Bobby Echevarria also homered, as Havelock won his 21st game of the year. For Freddie's team, Jorge Davila homered, and Sam Melendez had 3 hits.

Parfrey 11, Garcia 9
Trailing 4-1 in the 5th, Parfrey's team exploded for 6 runs, and never looked back. Sam Magnus was 4-for-5 with 3 RBI, Bobby Echevarria was 3-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI, and Josh Balsam's 2-out 2-run single was the go-ahead hit. Jorge Davila hit a pair of 3-run HR's for Garcia's team.

I am in the process of updating the stats, and in the next few days it should be complete. We will be back in action in January 2012, weather permitting.

Games of Dec 4

Magnus / Hewes 19, O'Connor 11
The ball was flying out of MS 141 this Sunday. O'Connor allowed 9 runs in the first, including 3 2-run HR's. The game settled down after that, and O'Connor's team closed to within 13-10 at one point. Alex Rivera led the offense by going 4-for-4 with 2 HR's (#19 and 20) and 4 RBI. Sam Magnus also homered twice with 4 RBI, and Eric Schulman homered and drove in 3 runs. Mike Sulyman added 3 hits, and Havelock Hewes had 3 hits and pitched an effective 3-inning save. Bobby Echevarria homered twice for O'Connor's team, and Sal Cipriano was 3-for-3 with 3 doubles.

Melendez 9, Garcia 8
Freddie Melendez (18-10) took a 7-3 lead into the 6th inning, but Garcia's team rallied-- Eric Schulman hit a tying 2-run single, and Rich Rowlands brought in the go-ahead run with a flare down the RF line. Garcia seemed to be on his way to a win, but Josh Balsam reached on an error with one out, and Havelock Hewes walked. Both came around to score on walk-on Nick Bressers' 2-out, 2-run double to center. Melendez retired the side in order in the bottom of the 7th for the win. Sam Magnus homered twice more, and drove in 4 runs.

Rosengard 9, Sulyman 3
Dave Rosengard picked up his 3rd straight win, baffling his opponents with offspeed pitches. He was backed by the hitting of Ian Parfrey (3-for-4, 3 RBI), Cisco Velez (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and Eric Schulman, who homered and drove in 3.

This weekend also featured appearances by Larry Savell (2-for-3), Bill Vernick and Bill Weinberg (both DNP), and Ian Parfrey broke Zach Nilva's 1-year old hit record, and now has 155 hits on the year, most of them singles to right.

Games and Notes of Nov 27

We will be at MS 141 in Riverdale next Sunday. The field is on Hudson Manor Terrace between 236th and 237th Streets. Game time is 10:00am and the weather looks playable.

Due to an enormous surplus of players, we played two simultaneous games, and then the winners faced the winners, the losers faced the losers, and anyone who wanted to stick around after that played again. Unfortunately, Paul Geoghan dislocated his thumb in the first inning of the first round. Speedy recovery, Paul!

Round 1
Rosengard 7, Hewes 6
Andy Atkinson's sac fly scored Joe Geller in the bottom of the 7th to give Rosengard the come from behind win. Atkinson was 3-for-4, and Alex Rivera drove in 4 runs. For Hewes's team, Eric Schulman and Ray Hernandez were each 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. Rosengard's team trailed 6-3 in the 6th inning.

Nilva 12, O'Connor 11 (8 innings)
Cisco Velez's sac fly broke a 9-9 tie in the 8th inning, and Nilva stranded the tying run at third in the bottom of the inning. Bobby Echevarria and Zach Nilva had 4 hits, and Sam Magnus was 3-for-5 with 5 RBI. For O'Connor's team, Freddie Melendez was 3-for-5 with 4 RBI, and Bill McLaughlin and Ian Parfrey added 3 hits each.

Round 2
Rosengard 7, C.Magnus 6 (8 innings)
Alex Rivera hit a walkoff double with 2 outs in the 8th to give Rosengard his second win of the day. Magnus's team came back from a 6-2 deficit only to lose in extra innings. Sam Magnus had 3 RBI.

Melendez 7, Connor 1
Freddie Melendez improved to 17-10 with a dominating pitching performance in the consolation game. He allowed 5 hits, an unearned run, and struck out 2.

Game 5
Hewes 8, Parfrey 4
Backed by his own 3 hits, Havelock won his 19th game. Chris Pun added 4 hits. Bill McLaughlin homered and Ray Hernandez was 3-for-3 in a losing effort.

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

ZACH NILVA, RECORD BREAKER (part 2 and 3)

Zach Nilva got his 140th hit of the season, a 4th inning RBI single off of Freddy Melendez, to break Joe Gerber's single-season record, which had lasted since 1995. Nilva also had 17 consecutive hits over 5 games before finally being retired on a groundout by Jeff Appell. This is also a record as far as we know.

Zach needs to score 5 more runs to break Gerber's run record, and Ian Parfrey needs 10 RBI to break Larry Savell's record. Alex Rivera needs 3 doubles to break Phil Kotik's record. Parfrey also has a chance at breaking 2 more obscure records-- most times reached base and most runs produced, needing to reach 6 more times and produce 11 more runs, and also may become SFLOI's 4th ever Triple Crown winner. To recap, Zach has already broken the records for most hits and most singles; Freddy Melendez has broken the record for most player wins; Laura Stoeth has broken the record for most wins by a female pitcher; and Havelock Hewes has batted for the 6,000th time. It has been a historic season already and there may be more to come.

Now onto the games.

Hewes 6, Appell 4
Ken Walker hit a grand slam and tripled in another run, and Evan Peters added 3 hits as Hewes (13-20) held on for the win. Zach Nilva was 4-for-4 for Appell's team.

O'Connor / Garcia 21, Connor / Melendez 14
Game 2 was a slugfest featuring 35 runs, 41 hits, 12 walks, at least 7 errors, and 4 pitchers. Jim O'Connor (13-9) got the win and Freddy Melendez got the loss in relief. Adam Garcia picked up the save with 3 innings of relief pitching. O'Connor was staked to an 8-2 lead, but Connor's team scored 5 in the 3rd and 5 more in the 4th to take a 12-8 advantage. O'Connor's team scored 8 times in the bottom of the 4th and 5 more in the 5th to regain control. As you might expect, there are alot of individual performances to mention: For the O'Connors, Ian Parfrey (4-for-4, 2B, 5 RBI), Zach Nilva (4-for-4, 2 RBI), Adam Garcia (3-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Jeff Appell (3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI), Joe Geller (2-for-3, 3 RBI). For the Connors, Freddie Melendez (5-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Sam Magnus (4-for-5, 3 RBI), Alex Rivera (3-for-5), Ken Walker (2-for-4, 3 RBI), and Havelock Hewes walked in all 5 of his at bats.

Melendez 13, Appell 9 (5 innings)
Eric Schulman homered and drove in 4 runs, and Adam Garcia was 3-for-3 with a triple and 4 RBI, as Freddy Melendez improved to 16-9 on the year. Alex Rivera had 3 hits in a losing cause, and Sam Magnus tripled twice. Melendez's team opened a 13-4 lead and barely survived their own defense.

GAMES AND NOTES OF 10/24

SFLOI record broken! Freddy Melendez won his 44th game of the season in today's Game 3, breaking Joe Gerber's record of 43 wins as a player in 1995. Zach Nilva has 41 wins this season, so it isn't guaranteed that Freddy will keep the record for very long. Freddy currently holds a 1.5 game lead in the pennant standings.

As for the games themselves, Tony Connor and Josh Balsam stacked their side with Riverdale players, but dropped a tripleheader to Ian Parfrey and Havelock Hewes's Brooklyn-Manhattan squad.

Melendez 7, Appell 4
Freddy Melendez (13-8) prevailed in a contest that was tied at 1 after 6 innings. Ian Parfrey's 2-run double to shallow right broke the tie in the top of the 7th, and then the floodgates opened. Melendez's team scored 6 times, and then had to hold on in the bottom of the inning when Sam Magnus smacked a 2-run HR to left-center. Alexander Rodriguez was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI for the winners.

Hewes 2, Martinez 1
Havelock Hewes (12-18) won a pitchers' duel. Parfrey had an RBI single in the 1st, and Alexander Rodriguez tripled to right-center in the 5th, and came around to score on a throwing error. Havelock's only spot of trouble came in the bottom of the 5th, as two singles and an error loaded the bases. Jaime Orochena's groundout drove in a run, a walk to Eric Schulman reloaded the bases, and Sam Magnus grounded out to end the inning.

Rosengard 7, Stoeth 3
Dave Rosengard (5-7) was in control throughout, and didn't allow an earned run. Nel Yomtov's 2-run HR to left in the 5th (on an 0-2 pitch with 2 outs!) broke open a 1-run game, and Rosengard's team scored 3 more times after that, taking advantage of two key outfield errors. Rosengard retired Marvin Cohen and Zach Nilva on grounders to snuff a 7th-inning comeback.

ZACH NILVA THROWS NO HITTER

Game 1
Hewes 7, O'Connor 5
Havelock Hewes (10-16) needed most of a 7-0 cushion to pick up the win. Sam Magnus was 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI for the winners. Ken Walker (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and Freddy Melendez (3-for-3) led O'Connor's team. Hewes stranded the tying runs on base.

Game 2
Parfrey 10, Stoeth 3
Ian Parfrey (11-7) battled control issues in the first, when he walked the bases loaded and then allowed Glen Lawrence's 3-run double. He settled down to throw 6 scoreless frames afterwards. Alex Rivera was the offensive star, going 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, and an RBI. Ian Lebowitz scored 3 runs, drove in 2, and participated in a bizarre play where his short fly ball to center fell just in front of Don Weiss, who recovered to force out Parfrey at second, and the throw on to third got Bill McLaughlin, while Alex Rivera scored from third.

Game 3
Nilva 1, Melendez 0, 5 innings
Zach Nilva allowed no hits and walked three, and a French tourist walk-on named Manu made three difficult catches in right-center to preserve the no-no. He then asked me if we play every day, and I told him only on Sundays. I hope not to see him unless he's on my team. Zach's defense turned two double plays behind him, and the game's only run came when Mike Palma hit a leadoff triple to right-center, and then came around on Ken Walker's sac fly to deep left. Freddy Melendez was the hard-luck loser, scattering 4 hits.

GAMES AND NOTES 6/27

Reminder: Bonus games Monday July 5th in addition to regular schedule. Great Lawn #8 at 5:00pm.

Games of 6/27:
Stoeth 7, O'Connor 1
Laura Stoeth (5-0) threw a 5-hitter, allowing a run in the first on an Ed O'Connor double, then completely shutting down a good lineup for the final 6 frames. She was backed by a balanced offensive attack led by Phil Ciccone (2-for-4, 2B, RBI), and Sam Magnus (2-for-4, 2 RBI).

Parfrey 7, Hewes 2
Ian Parfrey (7-3) scattered 7 hits and struck out 4, and was backed by Phil Ciccone (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI), and 3 hits from Fred Lang. Alex Rivera (2-for-2, RBI, SF) led Hewes's team in a game that was close until Parfrey's team scored 4 times with 2 out in the top of the 7th.

Let's Play 2 update: LP2 split a doubleheader this week, losing 9-2 to the NYC Knights, but beating the Wallbangers 2-1 on a complete game gem by Jeff Appell and a 2-run, 2-out single by Nick Stefanides.