Top Seeds Struggle in S.L.A.M. Quarters

In a bizarre twist that fits right in with the way the 2008 season and post season has developed, No. 8 seed Kohn Pedersen Fox beat No. 1 Holzman Moss/Robert A.M. Stern Architects 8-6, last night, on North Meadow Field 11. It marks the third time in the eight-team bracket that a lower seed has eliminated a higher seed in the single-elimination quarterfinals.

Details of the game itself weren't available at the time this story was written, but KPF has FXFowle to thank for their opportunity to unseat the best team of the 2008 S.L.A.M. season. League rules stipulate that playoff-bound teams boast an above-.500 record, but because FXF beat third-place SOM/Swanke/Cooper in the final game of the regular season on Monday to clinch a post-season bid, the league pulled KPF into the playoffs to create a balanced bracket. Ironically, KPF also beat SSC by a 7-0 forfeit to finish their season just above ninth-seed Ronnette Riley/Davis Brody Bond.

HM/RAMSA was flying high for most of the season, boasting a 10-1 record. But as the start of the playoffs neared, HM/RAMSA seemed to fall into a slump, just beating our own Pei Cobb Freed/Hart Howerton team 5-4 before losing their final game of the season by an astounding 20-7 score to RR/DBB.

This marks the second season in a row that Holzman Moss was eliminated in the quarterfinals. The team finished the 2007 regular season with a strong record and good seeding before facing PCF/HH. In that game, the two teams battled to a 3-3 tie and continued their quarterfinal into an eighth and deciding inning days later, when PCF/HH pulled the game out 7-5. Immediately following that game, the Red and Black began their semifinal match against Gensler Associates, who swept them en route to a 2007 S.L.A.M. championship over SSC.

Even Gensler — the sole remaining team from the top four — struggled earlier this week, having to make a comeback from a 2-0 deficit against Polshek Partnership for a 4-2 final.

Here's how the current standings appear, with regular season standings, winning percentage, and run ratio — runs against divided by runs for — in parenthesis. Eliminated teams are indicated with a strikethrough:

1. Holzman Moss/Robert A.M. Stern Architects (10-1, .909, 1.299)
2. The Philips Group (9-2, .818, 2.159)
3. SOM/Swanke/Cooper (7-4, .636, 1.338)
4. Gensler Associates (7-4, .636, 1.290)

5. Polshek Partnership (5-5-1, .500, 1.206)

6. Pei Cobb Freed/Hart Howerton (5-5-1, .500, 1.108)
7. FXFowle (5-5-1, .500, 0.925)
8. Kohn Pedersen Fox (4-5-2, .455, 1.216)

Defending champions Gensler assume the position of top seed and face a high-scoring KPF team in their best-of-three series. The first two games of that series will be played as a double-header this Monday.

The Black and Red also get to bat as the home team in their best-of-three series against an equally matched FXF team. Their series also starts on Monday, with Game 2 on Tuesday.