Tough Loss to HM/RAMSA Means Postseason Hinges on Polshek Game

A tough 5-4 loss to offense-minded Holzman Moss/Robert A.M. Stern Architects has put the Pei Cobb Freed/Hart Howerton softball team in the unenviable and unfamiliar position of a make-or-break season finale.

The Red and Black's postseason hopes hinge on the outcome of today's game against Polshek Partnership after last week's so-close-yet-so-far-away waivering against an until-then perfect HM/RAMSA team, on July 30.

Early on, the game played out like many of PCF/HH's have when facing the S.L.A.M. league's best teams – shaky in the early innings followed by a valliant attempt to close the deficit. PCF/HH was down 5-1 in the fourth before the rally began. Two runs in the fourth, followed by a scoreless fifth, swayed the confidence into the Red and Black's favor. PCF/HH was finally finding holes with their hitting, and HM/RAMSA looked as if they felt the game could be slipping from their grasp.

A run with one out in the sixth by Doug Chu (3-for-3 with 3 runs scored) narrowed RAMSA's lead to 1, and PCF/HH appeared ready in the dusk to pounce on the win, until the sun set on the team's opportunity with a double play. RAMSA tacked on 2 more unofficial runs in the seventh before the game was called due to darkness.

J. Strong continued his outstanding season, going 3-for-3 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Peter LoGiudice went 1-for-1 with 1 RBI as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. Steven Peterson, Juan Monahan, Mike Copeland, Carl Pearson, and Ron Rainone all contributed one hit apiece.

Despite the bitter defeat when the game seemed so close, PCF/HH players admitted after the game that it was a strong showing for the team that has had its ups and downs this season (5-5).

HM/RAMSA's perfect season didn't last much longer, as Ronnette Riley/Davis Brody Bond took a surprising 20-7 victory over the first place team the following week. The win by RR/DBB was only the latest indication of what some have called an uncharacteristic roller coaster S.L.A.M. season in 2008. Ronnette Riley's team finished the year under .500 but on a two-game win streak, culminating with an 11-1 victory over a FXFowle team still fighting for a spot in the playoffs.

Still, the last 10 games isn't what's on the minds of PCF/HH players. It's today's scheduled make-up game against PP (5-5). There are a number of possible playoff scenarios, but with the new league standard of only plus-.500 teams making the postseason, the onus is on the Red and Black to earn their spot.

Win Some, Lose Some: PCF/HH Remain at .500 Through Roller Coaster Season

Above: Veteran PCF outfielder Carlos Sagastume does his best A-Rod

pose during one of his four successful at-bats last week.

Sagastume went 4-for-4 in PCF/HH's victory over RR/DBB.

Below: Pitcher Juan Monahan collides with RR/DBB's first baseman.

(Photos: Stuart Philips)

Momentum continues to swing like a pendulum in the 2008 S.L.A.M. season, as the combined team of Pei Cobb Freed/Hart Howerton fought for a compelling 12-4 victory over Ronnette Riley/Davis Brody Bond last week. The victory was just two weeks separated from a 12-2 thumping the Red and Black took from SOM/Swanke/Cooper.

PCF/HH and RR/DBB met on the fields of North Meadow for their match-up on July 15. Leading off as the visiting team, the Red and Black catapulted themselves into an early 5-1 lead, scoring their first five batters in the first inning. Though RR/DBB closed it to 5-2 in the third, PCF/HH piled on 4 more runs in the fourth, 1 in the fifth, and 2 in the seventh for the complete-game, 12-4 victory.

Pei Cobb Freed veteran Carlos Sagastume and Hart Howerton outfielder Mike Copeland led the offense for PCF/HH. Sagastume went 4-for-4 with 2 doubles, 1 RBI, and 3 runs scored. Mike Copeland batted an equally impressive 1.000 on the day, going 3-for-3 with a triple, 1 walk, 5 RBI, and 2 runs scored. J. Strong remained a rock of consistency for his team, batting 2-for-4 with 1 RBI and 1 run. Both PCF's Dwidson Metayer and HH's Steven Peterson equaled Strong's 2-for-4, with Peterson contributing 2 runs scored and Metayer driving in 1. Hart Howerton's Carl Pearson was 1-for-2 on the day, scoring once and driving in 1.

Pearson, Copeland, and Strong have proven to be the new leaders of the team, each registering a mind-blowing batting average greater than .600 (minimum 10 at-bats). Pearson leads the team with a .692 batting average (9-for-13 on the year). Copeland leads the team with 11 base hits and a third-best .632 average while Strong has driven in a team-high 10 runs while batting .684 from the heart of the lineup all season. Sagastume isn't far behind, batting .588 and leading the team in extra-base hits with 6 in his seven appearances this season.

Defensively, PCF/HH held tight though the game by making a number of outs with RR/DBB runners on the base path. Strong turned an unassisted double play at first base in the second, while the catcher Metayer tagged a runner out at the plate off relay throws from left fielder Sagastume and second basewoman Cate Foster (0-for-3). Black and Red fielders made outs at each of the bases at least once in the game. Pitcher Juan Monahan threw the complete game, surrendering 12 hits and 4 runs while walking 1 and striking out 1.

It was a marked improvement over the team's ghastly 12-2 drubbing at the hands of SSC two weeks earlier. Their July 30 meeting was a game they'll soon try to forget, as it proved to be impossible to develop any kind of consistency on either end of the field. Left fielder Doug Chu (1-for-2, playing in only his second game with the team) and extra hitter Yusuke Okabayashi (2-for-3) scored the only runs of the game. RBI were provided by Strong (2-for-3) and Kenneth Wiland (0-for-2 with a fielder's choice RBI in the second). SSC scored a trio of runs in four different innings to put the game at Central Park's Great Lawn out of reach.

PCF/HH (4-4 on the season) will continue this season's Vegas crap shoot Thursday, when they try their collective luck against a very difficult Gensler team (7-2). Game time is 5:30 p.m. on Hecksher Field 1.