Friday, July 27, 2012

Outside Looking In: WNYC Pushes Bullets to Brink of Playoff Elimination

Mathematically, the DC Bullets hopes of getting into the New York Media Softball League playoffs remain alive; however, the odds are stacked against DC after WNYC emerged victorious in nail-biting, down-to-the-wire 5-4 thriller on North Meadow #2. The loss drops the comic book makers (despite a respectable 12-8 overall record) to just 2-6 in league play, with upcoming games against Forbes and Wall St. Journal. Catching Forbes, currently 3-4 (games remaining: WNYC, High Times, DC), remains a mathematical possibility, but the Bullets will need to avenge an earlier defeat at the hands of the business mag and get a whole lotta help from their friends.

Despite the close score, DC actually trailed the entire way on Thursday evening. Three of the first four WNYC batters reached base on hard-hit singles, and a couple flares capitalized on the baserunners, plating three runs and taking an early advantage.

DC's bats, meanwhile, came out hot in the first inning, but couldn't find any holes. Pat Brahseau reached on a one-out single, but Mike Lorah followed with a 230-foot fly out. After Kevin Schwoer lined a two-out base hit to center, John Choi ripped a line drive - right to the shortstop.

Larry Ganem and the DC defense stepped it up after the first, holding WNYC scoreless in the second, third and fourth innings, but the Bullets had a hard time stringing together any offense. Joel Press struck out on a change-up to start the bottom of the second (one of four strikeouts collected by WNYC's ace. Christine Napolitano pulled a single through the infield and Vince Letterio followed suit, but DC couldn't take advantage. Nel Yomtov ripped a ball toward the leftcenterfield gap, but WNYC's leftfielder closed quickly and made a terrific catch to steal away extra bases, and Sal Cipriano popped up to second to leave two runners stranded.

DC didn't manage a baserunner in the third, as Dan Bertoldi punched out and Laura Demoreuille and Neil Hiremath popped up on the infield. However, the comic book makers broke through in the fourth inning. After Pat took a called strike three, Mike outran a trickler down the third base line. One out later, John singled through the middle and Joel clubbed a long double into the left field corner, scoring both runners. Joel held at second on CNap's infield single to third, but Vince went down swinging, reaching for that slow floater from NYC's pitcher.

After their first inning flurry, WNYC tacked on just two insurance runs, both largely due to pure speed. In the fifth, with runners at first and third and one out, Larry induced a routine grounder to third. Mike fielded the ball, stepped on third for one out, and then threw across to first a half-step too late to complete the potential inning-ending double play. WNYC's speedy leftfielder, at first base when the play started, never broke stride and sprinted around to third on the play, and then scored on a clean single to left from the next batter. The next batter lifted a flare into shallow left which might've scored another run, but Kevin closed quickly and made a terrific sliding catch to end the threat.

Down 4-2, DC couldn't get the run back in the bottom half of the frame, managing only Blake Kobashigawa's two-out single, grounded hard just beyond the second baseman's reach. After holding WNYC down in top six (on three successive pop-ups to Laura at second base!), DC again cut the deficit to a single run. After Larry was robbed when NYC's leaping second baseman pulled down his line drive toward right field, Pat grounded a single through the right side and Mike hammered a pitch off the pitcher for an infield single. Kevin lined a base hit to centerfield, scoring Pat and moving Mike, the tying run, to third base. However, John and Joel both popped up to third base, leaving the two more runners stranded.

WNYC hustled up another run in the seventh. One out, runners on first and second, and a WNYC hitter fisted a squibber between Joel at second base and Laura at first base. With Joel cheating toward second for the force play, it was too far for him to go and there was no way for Laura to field the ball and get back to the base. Which, by itself, wasn't an issue, but WNYC's speediest runner was on second base. Without breaking stride, he rounded third and headed home. Joel shoveled the ball, late, to Laura, and there simply wasn't time, with the ball hit so slowly, for Laura to turn and throw home. And that final run turned out huge.

After CNap was barely thrown out on a groundball to third, Vince Letterio finally conquered his dragon - a long fly ball that bounced atop the fence in the left field corner of the field and over for a solo home run, cutting the lead to 5-4. Nel grounded out, and the Captain, Sal, picked up a two-out single before Dan grounded softly to third base to close out the game.

12-8 (2-6 NYMSL), the Bullets have a three-game NYMSL break now; next Thursday, they meet Hachette Books on North Meadow #2. And to whet your appetites, the following week, on August 9, is the biggest game of the summer, as the Marvel Comics squad ventures to North Meadow #2.

Bullet Box:
P Larry Ganem - 0-2 / CF Neil Hiremath - 0-1
C Pat Brosseau - 2-3, R
3B Mike Lorah - 2-3, R
LF Kevin Schwoer - 2-3, RBI
SCF John Choi - 1-3, R
2B Joel Press - 1-3, 2 RBI
RF Christine Napolitano - 2-3
OF Vince Letterio - 2-3, R, RBI, home run
SS Nel Yomtov - 0-3
1B Sal Cipriano - 1-3
C Dan Bertoldi - 0-2 / 3B Blake Kobashigawa - 1-1
1B/2B Laura Demoreuille - 0-2

Friday, July 20, 2012

DC Bullets Rout iTV

For a brief moment, it appeared that one of the Bullets' own might hand them a loss, as Andrew Marino - playing for a short-handed iTV team - cranked a mammoth three-run home run in the fourth inning, cutting DC's lead to only two runs, but the Bullets responded in style, shutting out iTV the rest of the way and tacking on runs in every ensuing inning en route to a 17-4 blowout.

Andrew and Neil Hiremath volunteered to go over to the iTV side for the day, while the DC roster included a bevy of returnees from San Diego - welcome back Larry, Vince, Kevin and Blake. With Larry Ganem back on the mound working his magic, DC held iTV scoreless through three innings - including Larry getting Neil on a fielder's choice and Andrew on a popup to shortstop in the second inning.

DC took the early lead when the first three batters in the first inning reached base and scored. Both Mike Lorah and Pat Bra-sew singled and came around to score on Andrew Arnold's long double. After Kevin Schwoer flew out, John Choi grounded a single through the infield, moving Andrew to third. Christine Napolitano's fielder's choice scored Andrew for the third run before Larry popped up to end the inning.

The Pressman, Joel Press, and Dan Bertoldi picked up two-out singles in the second inning, but were left stranded in DC's only scoreless inning. Mike started the third with a bloop double to right field and went to third on Pat's single - Pat, however, was thrown out trying for second on the play. Andrew reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners for Kevin, who slugged a double to left. Mike scored easily, and Andrew trotted home when the throw to third went out of play. Kevin moved up to third on the overthrow and scored, after John's shallow fly to left, on CNap's liner down the third base line.

In the fourth, iTV got rid of their goose-egg score, first with an RBI single, and then when Andrew 2 belted a three-run homer over Kevin's head in left. The big fly cut DC's lead to 6-4, but the Bullets went back to work extending the lead in the bottom of the frame: After Blake Kobashigawa flew out to center - the fly ball tracked down by our own Neil - Sal Cipriano yanked a base hit past the third baseman and Joel pounded a run-scoring triple. Dan's groundout to shortstop scored Joel before Vince Letterio flew out to deep left for the second time.

Mike and Pat singled in the fifth again. After Andrew popped up to first, Mike scored on Kevin's second double of the evening, and Pat came home when the throw to third went out of play. Kevin moved to third, but was left stranded on John's groundout and CNap's fly to left.

Now holding a 10-4 lead, the comic book makers put the game away in the last of the sixth, batting around and tallying seven more runs. Larry, Blake and Sal singled, plating the first run. After Joel's fielder's choice, Dan and Vince picked up RBI singles, and Mike drove them both home with a triple to right center. After Pat's shallow fly out, Andrew plated a run with a single to left, and consecutive singles by John and Kevin brought him around to score. Finally, CNap grounded into a fielder's choice at third base to wrap DC's scoring for the day.

iTV put two runners on base - Andrew Marino again, beating out a groundball single, was one - before Larry induced the final out, a routine grounder to Andrew Arnold at short.

12-7 (2-5 NYMSL), the Bullets have a big New York Media Softball League showdown next Thursday on North Meadow #2. WNYC currently holds the fourth and final NYMSL playoff spot with a 2-4 record, one-half game better than the Bullets. Earlier this year, WNYC defeated the Bullets 4-3 in nine innings.

Bullet Box:
3B/CF Mike Lorah - 4-4, 4 R, 2 RBI, double, triple
RF/C Pat Brosseau - 3-4, 2 R
CF/SS Andrew Arnold - 3-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, double
LF/1B Kevin Schwoer - 3-4, R, 2 RBI, two doubles
SS/2B John Choi - 2-4, RBI
SCF Christine Napolitano - 1-4, 2 RBI
P Larry Ganem - 1-3, R
3B/SS Blake Kobashigawa - 1-3, R
1B Sal Cipriano - 2-3, R, RBI
2B Joel Press - 2-3, 2 R, RBI, triple
C Dan Bertoldi - 2-3, R, 2 RBI
LF Vince Letterio - 1-3, R, RBI

And for iTV:
CF/2B Neil Hiremath - 0-3, R, RBI
SS/C Andrew Marino - 2-3, R, 3 RBI, home run

Also, credit to Sal for moving the defense around and giving everybody at least one inning on the bench. I may hate being off the field, but it's fairer than having the same people always sitting every other inning. Particularly in these non-league games.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Closer, but Not Quite: Bullets' Rally Comes up Short Against High Times

At least the final score was relatively close. At Hecksher #2 on Monday evening, the High Times Bonghitters held off a late rally to best the DC Bullets 10-7 in the New York Media Softball League. DC's defense could've been slightly sharper, but operated well within the bounds of presentable softball standards, a big improvement over Thursday's Bad News Bearish effort - High Times simply managed a few extra key hits and capitalized on two good innings to claim the victory.

DC took an early lead, as leadoff hitter Pat Broesow singled to center and advanced to second on an errant cut-off throw. After Mike Lorah lined out to shortstop, Andrew Arnold ripped an RBI single to left and took second on the throw home. John Choi flew out to deep left, and Joel Press grounded a single through the left side to score Andrew. High Times managed to halve the lead in the bottom half, but DC held a 2-1 lead after an inning.

In the second, Nel Yomtov collected a one-out base hit, but never advanced beyond first, as Dan Bertoldi popped up to third base and Andrew Marino flew out to center, and the Bonghitters seized on DC's scoreless turn with a five-run second, capitalizing on Pat's uncharacteristic wildness - three walks in the second.

Laura Demoreuille and Pat flew out to start the third, but Mike Lorah got one run back with a laser line drive down the right field line, an easy opposite field home run. Andrew singled as well, but John's fielder's choice ended any possible threat. High Times went scoreless in the third, and DC trailed 6-3 after three.

Joel led off the fourth with a single, moved to second on an overthrow and to third on Christine Napolitano's groundout to third. Sal Cipriano drew a walk to put runners on the corners with one out. Nel Yomtov's fielder's choice grounder scored Joel, but Dan struck out after working a full count. DC was chipping away, but High Times tallied four in the bottom of the fourth to attain their margin of victory - the decisive blows being Mike's errant throw, a weak toss meant to protect his sore right arm more than get an out, which allowed two runs to score, and a mammoth two-run triple to dead centerfield.

The fifth and sixth passed uneventfully. The Bonghitters didn't tack on, but DC never cut into the lead either. Andrew Marino singled in the fifth, moved to second with two outs, and basically gave Mike a free hit by breaking for third on a routine groundball to shortstop and somehow diving around the tag at third base. But the Bullets couldn't capitalize on the two-outs, runners-on-the-corners chance. In the sixth, Joel's one-out hit provided the only offense, so we went to the seventh, DC down by six, 10-4.

After Nel flew out to right field, Dan and Andrew Marino singled to left field. Laura popped out for the second out, and Pat lined a base hit to center to load the bases. Mike scalded a ball into the hole between shortstop and third, but High Times' shortstop somehow made a spectacular backhand play on the ball - and he shoveled to third. Andrew, sprinting from second like a young Hiremath, somehow beat the third baseman to the bag - Dan scored, the inning remained alive. Andrew Arnold picked up his third hit and second and third RBI of the afternoon, singling to left, scoring Andrew and Pat, and bringing the tying run, clean-up hitter John Choi, to the plate. Oh, the drama... if only the lead graph hadn't spoiled the outcome. John launched a fly to deep left, but it hung up long enough for the Bonghitters' leftfielder to run it down for the game's final out.

11-7 (2-5 NYMSL), the DC Bullets meet iTV this Thursday on North Meadow #2.

Bullet Box:
P Pat Brosseau - 2-4, 2 R
3B Mike Lorah - 3-4, R, 2 RBI, home run
LF Andrew Arnold - 3-4, R, 3 RBI
SCF/CF John Choi - 0-4
2B Joel Press - 3-3, R, RBI
RF/SCF Christine Napolitano - 0-3
CF/RF Sal Cipriano - 0-2, BB
SS Nel Yomtov - 1-3, RBI
C Dan Bertoldi - 1-3, R
C Andrew Marino - 2-3, R
1B Laura Demoreuille - 0-3

Friday, July 13, 2012

Bonghitters Clobber Bullets - What More Is There to Say

Anybody who has observed the New York Media Softball League since its inception, particularly since the dissolution of the slugging BusinessWeek team, knows that Wall St. Journal and the High Times Bonghitters have been the league's premier teams. The DC Bullets have played some epics games against both squads and have occasionally come out on top in those contests. But sprinkled throughout those competitive games, you'll find those "DC wants it too much and psyches themselves out" affairs. Thursday night on North Meadow #2, it was one of the latter games.

By a final score of 16-3 (the NYMSL site has 17-3, but really, what one run more or less at this stage?), the Bonghitters shellacked the Bullets, dropping DC to 2-4 in league standings. In a game plagued by missed cut-off men, overthrows and just plain missed balls, DC couldn't seem to do much right in the field. Even if they had, with the offense sputtering, the outcome wasn't in much question, although the final score could've been a lot closer. I mean, High Times might've scored less than ten runs anyway...

From the top of the first, the Bonghitters seemed to deflate the Bullets and put pressure on them, both defensively and offensively. A four-run opening frame put DC back on their heels, and the comic book makers did little to retake the momentum in the bottom half of the inning: Neil Hiremath grounded to shortstop and Pat Broso popped out on the infield. Mike Lorah lifted a routine fly ball to right center, which was dropped, giving Mike a gift double, but Andrew Arnold popped up for the final out.

Both teams were scoreless in the second, as SuperSoldier Nel Yomtov, Christine Napolitano and Joel Press went down in order, and after a five run third for the Bonghitters, DC went down meekly again - Sal Cipriano, Dan Bertoldi and Andrew Marino all failing to reach base. Note on the hitting: High Times pitcher threw a little faster than DC's used to and threw high in the strike zone, so most Bullet hitters were underneath the ball. Nine Bullets were retired on infield pop-ups during the game. (Swing for the top half of the ball next time.)

High Times added one in the fourth, but DC finally broke through in the bottom half. Allison Dugas-Behan rolled a trickling ground ball into no man's land between third base and the pitcher's mound and beat it out for an infield single. After Neil flew out to left, Pat bounced a single through the middle and Mike, jammed on a handle shot, dropped a bloop single behind the first base bag. The Bonghitters' firstbaseman made a good effort, got a glove on it, but couldn't corral the flare. Andrew then punched a two-run single to left, but consecutive groundouts from John and Nel halted the rally.

If any drama remained in the game's outcome, High Times iced that with a six-run fifth. Laura Demoreuille and Joel Press lined singles to left to start the bottom of the inning, but Sal popped up to short, Dan bounced into a fielder's choice and Andrew 2 popped out to end that scoring chance.

High Times didn't score in the sixth or seventh. Nor did DC in the sixth - after Danielle grounded out, Neil lined a single to left and Pat flew out to deep left center. Mike lined a single over the second baseman, sending Neil to third, but Andrew grounded to short to close the sixth. In the last of the seventh, John ripped a ground single through the left side. Nel flew out to left, CNap lined a base hit over third base and Joel popped up to short. With two down, the captain refused to let the Bullets go too quietly - Sal lined a single to right center, scoring John (actually pinch-runner Andrew), but Dan bounced back to the mound for the game's final out.

11-6 (2-4 NYMSL), the Bullets rematch against High Times next Monday on Hecksher #2 in Central Park. Everybody, breathe this time.

Bullet Box:
CF Neil Hiremath - 1-3
RF Pat Brosseau - 1-3, R
3B Mike Lorah - 3-3, double
LF Andrew Arnold - 1-3, 2 RBI
2B John Choi - 2-3, R
SS Nel Yomtov - 0-3
SCF Christine Napolitano - 1-2 / 1B Laura Demoreuille - 1-1
P Joel Press - 1-3
1B/SCF Sal Cipriano - 1-3, RBI
RF/C Dan Bertoldi - 0-3
C Andrew Marino - 0-2
C Allison Dugas-Behan - 1-1, R / C Danielle Yannetta - 0-1

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Bullets' Late Run Locks Down Win Over Vanity Fair

That's what they call a nailbiter. At the end of five innings, the DC Bullets nursed a 2-0 lead over Vanity Fair on North Meadow #10 on Tuesday evening, and clung to a 3-2 lead after six, before plating five runs in the seventh to finalize an 8-2 win.

From the start, Vanity Fair made it clear that runs would be hard to come by. DC's first three hitters went down in order to start the game - Neil Hiremath popping up and both Pat Brohsoh and Mike Lorah grounding to shortstop. Andrew Arnold swallowed some infield dirt on a head-first dive into second base, leading off the second with a double, and Nel Yomtov followed with a base hit to put runners on the corners. After Allison Klein popped up, Sal Cipriano punched a single through the left side, plating Andrew with the game's first run. Dan Bertoldi's fielder's choice erased Sal, but moved Nel to third where he was in position to trot home on Andrew Marino's clutch two-out single.

The early runs didn't lead to much comfort at the plate for DC, however. During the third through fifth innings, the Bullets managed only one baserunner - Pat's one-out single in the third. Every other DC hitter made an out during the second turn through the order. Fortunately, with Pat's pitching and DC's defense having a big game, those two second inning runs were holding up through the end of the fifth. Nel, reminding us of his ageless Super-Soldier training, gobbled up everything anywhere near him, turning screaming line drives, short-hop spinners and anything else into an out. With a runner on first and one down in the fifth, Nel ranged far to his left, knocking down a bouncer over the second base bag and then shoveling the ball back to Allison for the force out. Vanity Fair's other biggest chance came in the fourth, a runner on third with one out: Mike fielded a hard groundball near the line, looked the runner back and fired a bullet to first to set up a routine two-out groundball chance for Nel to keep VF scoreless.

The comic book makers finally tacked on an insurance run in the sixth. Pat picked up a one-out single and Mike drove an outside pitch into the rightcenter field gap for a double. Vanity Fair's shortstop then dropped Andrew's easy pop-up, and Pat sprinted home, beating the recovery and throw by a step. Nel ripped a line drive right at the third baseman and Allison grounded out, stalling the rally, but even a single run was huge as VF's first two batters in the last of the sixth reached on a single and a double. Both eventually scored, but Andrew Marino ran down the second out in rightcenter field and Pat, with the tying run on third base, induced an easy comebacker to the mound to close out the threat.

DC ended much of the drama in the seventh with a five-run outburst. Sal's double into right center set up Andrew 2 for a one-out RBI laser through the middle. With his sixth inning catch and two-out second inning RBI, Andrew had a very big game. Danielle Yannetta legged out an infield roller and Neil picked up his first hit to load the bases for Pat. And Pat, being Pat, delivered a Pat Special, a soft liner down the right field line. Andrew 2, Danielle and Neil all scored easily, but a terrific relay throw cut down Pat at third base for the second out. Mike then clobbered a fly ball over the centerfielder and raced around to third base - and as he cruised into third, the centerfielder's throw ricocheted off his lower back and went out of play, allowing Mike to score the Bullets' final run. Andrew added another single, his third hit of the evening, before VF closed out the seventh. Pat put the finishing touches on a strong pitching performance with a three up, three down last of the seventh, getting the last out on bouncer back to the mound.

11-5 (2-3 NYMSL), the Bullets face the High Times Bonghitters, currently undefeated in NYSML action and sitting atop the league's playoff bracket, for two games in the next four days starting Thursday evening on North Meadow #2.

Bullet Box:
CF Neil Hiremath - 1-4, R
P Pat Brosseau - 3-4, R, 3 RBI, double
3B Mike Lorah - 2-4, R, double, triple
LF Andrew Arnold - 3-4, R, double
SS Nel Yomtov - 1-4, R
2B Allison Klein - 0-3
1B Sal Cipriano - 2-3, R, RBI, double
RF Dan Bertoldi - 0-3
SCF Andrew Marino - 2-3, R, 2 RBI
C Danielle Yannetta - 1-3, R

Friday, July 6, 2012

Relentless Bullets Power Past ProPublica

Thursday at North Meadow #2, the DC Bullets overpowered ProPublica, tallying a 17-11 win. Offensively, the game was exactly what you like to see - consistency up and down the line-up, with every player scoring a run or driving in one and ten of twelve hitters compiling at least two hits on the afternoon. Defensively, however, the Bullets played a little sloppy and didn't have their heads in every play.

Against DC's Mike Lorah, making his 2012 pitching debut, ProPublica put their first three runners on base and seemed poised for a big inning. After getting the clean-up hitter to pop up to shallow left, Mike surrendered two runs on a single and a groundout, but managed to minimize the threat.

During DC's turn at-bat, Neil Hiremath and Vince Letterio both flew out, but Mike helped himself get a run back, grounding a hard base hit into left that turned into a triple when the leftfielder misplayed the ball. Andrew Arnold followed with a clean RBI single to halve ProPublica's lead.

Holding ProPublica scoreless in the second and third innings, DC quickly seized the advantage. Base hits by Sal Cipriano, Christine Napolitano and Blake Kobashigawa tied the game before any outs were registered in the second. Dan Bertoldi's infield single loaded the bases, and Andrew Marino rapped a hard fielder's choice to shortstop - erasing Dan, but chasing home CNap with the go-ahead run. Allison Dugas-Behan followed with another fielder's choice, taking Andrew 2 off the bases, but scoring Blake. Nick Sienty, making his Bullets debut, lined an opposite field single to left, and Neil reloaded the bases with a liner to center. Vince capitalized, clubbing a two-run double. Mike and Andrew followed with RBI singles before Nel launched a long fly ball into the left field corner. ProPublica's left fielder appeared momentarily to catch the ball, but in reality trapped the ball against the fence (and, good sportsman that he is, admitted so). As there was some confusion on the field and comic book makers had batted around anyway, we opted to credit Nel with a base hit, but also close out the inning - a seven run frame that put DC in the lead 8-2.

The Bullets tacked on two more in the third: Sal singled, moved to second on an overthrow, and then held his ground as CNap and Blake popped up on the infield. Dan collected the big two-out hit, fisting a single shallow left. Andrew 2 lined a single to left, scoring Sal, and Allie beat out an infield roller to score Dan. Nick launched a deep fly to left, but ProPublica's left fielder ran this one down to end the inning.

ProPublica picked themselves up with two runs in the fourth. DC equaled that total in their half of the inning. Vince took second base on an infield single and an overthrow, and scored in Mike's liner into centerfield. Back-to-back base hits by Andrew and Nel scored Mike before Sal grounded out and CNap popped up to end the inning.

In the fifth, ProPublica scored three more times. DC scored five. Singles by Blake and Dan, and a all-hustle double from Andrew 2 put one on the board. One out later, Nick drilled a two-run double to left center. Nick held at second on Neil's infield single and was forced at third base on Vince's fielder's choice ground ball to third. However, on the attempt for the 5-3 double play, the throw went wide of first, putting both Neil and Vince in scoring position. And both came home on Mike's headhunting rocket over the pitcher's mound. Andrew added a single, his fourth hit of the game, before Nel grounded out to end the outburst.

After a quick and scoreless top of the sixth, with time expiring on the permit and the 7:00 teams raring to go, the Bullets and ProPublica opted to forego the bottom of the sixth inning and let ProPublica take their last licks in the top of the seventh. And things got a little more interesting than they maybe should have - Blake dropped a ball while making a tag, Andrew dropped a fly in left for the first time in a long, long while, and Mike forgot the baserunners and, rather than getting a sure home-to-first double play on a trickler in front of the plate, only took the sure out at first. But the lead held up - ProPublica scored four times, but Mike got the last hitter on an easy comebacker to the mound to secure the win.

10-5 (2-3 NYMSL), the Bullets travel to North Meadow #10 on Tuesday to square off against Vanity Fair. Next Thursday (and the following Monday), DC returns to New York Media Softball League action against perennial powerhouse High Times.

Bullet Box:
RCF Neil Hiremath - 2-4, 2 R
LCF Vince Letterio - 2-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, double
P Mike Lorah - 4-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, triple
LF Andrew Arnold - 4-4, 2 RBI
SS Nel Yomtov - 2-4, RBI
1B Sal Cipriano - 2-3, 2 R
2B Christine Napolitano - 1-3, R
3B Blake Kobashigawa - 2-3, 2 R, RBI
RF/C Dan Bertoldi - 3-3, 2 R
RF Andrew Marino - 2-3, R, 3 RBI, double
C Allison Dugas-Behan - 1-3, R, 2 RBI
RF Nick Sienty - 2-3, R, 2 RBI, double

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Wall St. Journal Rocks Bullets

First of all, sorry for the delay in getting the game summary up - both Sal and I had very busy weekends and very busy Mondays, so I didn't get the box score until noon Tuesday, and wouldn't have started on the write-up if I'd gotten it earlier anyway.

Saturday morning's New York Media Softball League match-up against three-time defending NYMSL champion Wall St. Journal didn't go as well as the DC Bullets hoped. Despite several big run-scoring opportunities early in the game, DC couldn't get the big hit, and WSJ just kept adding on runs, aided on occasional by some sloppy DC defense (though to be fair, most of the errors were over-throws, allowing runners to take extra bases, and likely would not have resulted in any extra WSJ outs), finally icing the game with a six-run fifth inning en route to a 14-4 victory over the comic book makers.

Under a scorching 11am sun on North Meadow #7, the Bullets put pressure on early, but couldn't capitalize, and then wilted as the game wore on. Neil Hiremath lined out to lead off the game, but Pat Brohsew, Mike Lorah and Andrew Arnold singled in sequence to load the bases. Nel Yomtov's fielder's choice scored Pat, but the Pressman, Joel Press, lined out to third, leaving two runners stranded. Wall St. Journal seized on DC's shortfall, tallying four runs in the bottom of the frame.

After Christine Napolitano's fly out to left, the Bullets again loaded the bases - singles by Sal Cipriano, Dan Bertoldi and, after Emily Winter's pop up, Neil created a big opportunity. Pat lined an RBI single to center, but Mike drilled an easy one-hopper to shortstop to let another big chance slip away. WSJ scored twice more in their turn at-bat, taking a 6-2 advantage.

Andrew led off the third with a bomb to left field, beating the relay home for DC's third run. But after Nel's base hit, Joel, CNap and Sal went down in order and DC settled for a single run for the third time in the game. Wall St. Journal's defense, however, consistently hit their cut off men and handled the routine chances, preventing the Bullet baserunners from taking any extra bases. Two more Journal runs scored in the third. 8-3.

Both teams put up scoreless efforts in the fourth, with the comic book makers managed only Neil's two-out single. In the fifth, with one down, Andrew collected a line-drive base hit and then sprinted around to third on Nel's single into shallow left. Joel lifted a sacrifice fly to left to score Andrew. But CNap's groundout to third wrapped the inning, and WSJ put an emphatic exclamation point on the game with their six-run outburst.

Neither team scored in the sixth - Sal, Dan and Emily went down in order for DC - and the Bullets' last gasp in the seventh (Mike beat out an infield single with two down, and Andrew doubled into shallow left - they were playing him deep after his earlier home run) couldn't manage a single run, much less the ten required to extend the game.

Despite their overall 9-5 record, the Bullets now stand at 2-3 in the New York Media Softball League, in fourth place, holding the last playoff spot. We're going to have to step it up, gang. The next game, a non-league affair, is Thursday on North Meadow #2 against ProPublica.

Also, a Bullet "Thank You" to Emily Winter for coming out and playing with us.

Bullet Box
CF Neil Hiremath - 2-4
SCF Pat Brosseau - 2-4, R, RBI
3B Mike Lorah - 2-4
LF Andrew Arnold - 4-4, 2 R, RBI, double, home run
SS Nel Yomtov - 2-4, RBI
P Joel Press - 0-2, RBI, sac fly
RF Christine Napolitano - 0-3
1B Sal Cipriano - 1-3
C Dan Bertoldi - 1-3
2B Emily Winter - 0-3