Stick A Fork In Us ...

... because we're done.

Details will follow, but the combined team of Pei Cobb Freed/Hart Howerton lost their semifinal best-of-three series to FXFowle two games to none. Players are still stewing over the loss.

Check back with The Black and Red Report early next week for details on the semifinal series and scheduling information for the finals between FXFowle and Gensler.

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.

Six-Run Third Advances PCF/HH Past SSC

Pitcher Juan Monahan (above) was solid on both sides of the plate, striking out 4

and driving in 3 runs. Right fielder William Work (below) batted 1.000

to help lead his team to a quarterfinal victory. (Photos: Stuart Philips)

It's only right that after a wild 2008 regular season that saw down-and-out teams resurrect their bats and perennial contenders falter in the field, the playoffs should contain a few curveballs.

Playoff dreams for the combined team of SOM/Swanke Hayden Connell/Cooper Robertson began and ended on Monday, as the third-place team dropped their final game of the season 13-9 to seventh-place FXFowle (and opening the postseason to eight teams instead of six) before losing their single-elimination quarterfinal to No. 6 Pei Cobb Freed/Hart Howerton, 11-4, that evening.

The quarterfinal game was as well played by the Black and Red as any this season. SSC jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after one, but PCF/HH knotted up the game at 1-all in the top of the second. SSC threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but pitcher Juan Monahan (2-for-3 with a double, 1 run scored, and 3 RBI) struck out the side to keep the game tied. After that, it was up to the offense.

And did they ever deliver. With Steven Peterson (2-for-3, 2 runs scored) on second base, and two outs, the Black and Red put together seven consecutive base hits to bat around their lineup and blow the game open at 7-1. SSC responded with a run in the bottom of the third, but PCF/HH wouldn't be denied. The team followed their brilliant hitting and base-running performance in the third by capitalizing on more of SSC's misplays in the fourth. Leslie Cacciapaglia (1-for-2, 1 run) and Peterson singled before Carl Pearson (1-for-2), J. Strong (2-for-3) and Monahan each smashed doubles to tack on 4 more runs.

The game was quickly defined by composure by PCF/HH, and a lack of composure by SSC. Three unofficial throwing errors committed by the 2005 and 2006 champions in the third aided in the Black and Red's two-out magic in the third. But errors were never as costly to SSC's momentum and morale as they were in the fourth. When the centerfielder Pearson doubled to score Cacciapaglia, the throw came home to pitcher Scott Habjan in an attempt to catch Peterson running home. It was a misfire, and as Peterson reached the plate safely, Pearson took off for third. With the ball back in his hands, Habjan overthrew third base. Pearson most likely would have made third safely on his slide, but the overthrow allowed him to get back on his feet and cross the plate.

On the other side, PCF/HH outfielders didn't fall for the old tricks, and allowed runners to move from first to third in exchange for a cut-off throw that kept batters to single bases. Overthrows and unnecessary attempts at throwing out base runners were non-existent.

Utility outfielder and infielder William Work was the epitome of PCF/HH's consistency, going 3-for-3 on Monday. Peter LoGiudice went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, and third baseman Ron Rainone was a dependable 2-for-2 with 1 RBI before being tossed from the game in the bottom of the third for throwing a phantom tag.

… … … …

Playoff matchups were still in the air after Monday's win, but FXFowle played the role of the spoiler again on Tuesday, as the No. 7 seed defeated No. 2 The Philips Group 10-3 in a single-elimination game. FXFowle will now play the Red and Black in a best-of-three semifinal, beginning on Monday at 7 p.m. on Central Park's Great Lawn Field 4.

Gensler Associates (No. 4) also advanced to the semifinals on Monday, defeating Polshek Partnership (No. 5), 4-2. Gensler came from down 2-0 to earn the victory. They will play the winner of tonight's game between No. 1 Holzman Moss/Robert A.M. Stern Architects and No. 8 Kohn Pedersen Fox, held after this story was published.

If any of the non-playoff teams have a bone to pick — and we're not saying they should — it would be Ronnette Riley/Davis Brody Bond. The ninth place team finished out of playoff contention after KPF was seeded above them by run ratio. Both teams had the same winning percentage (RR/DBB had one more victory than KPF, the latter had one fewer loss and two more ties) but KPF would have fallen completely out of playoff contention had it not been for a 7-0 victory by forfeit over SSC in their final game of the regular season. This fact stings that much more for RR/DBB when you consider that the team finished their regular season on a strong two-game win streak.