SEMI-FINALS UNDERWAY

Daily Playoff Recaps The playoffs continue in the M Street Softball League this week as Hurricane Irene had minimal impact on the schedule or field for the matter. After this past weekend's storm, the field was playable by Monday morning. That's a sure sign of how well the Boston Park's ground crews have maintained the field this summer. With that said, it was a very busy week in the league as the remaining team's waged battle each night. Monday saw the Quencher Tavern pull off a bit of their own upset when they clipped Nexus, 10-8 in game one of their best of three series. The well rested Quencher Tavern team came out swinging tonight as they built an early 8-0 lead. Nate Spada, Kyle Carlson, Jesse Carlton, and Mike Briggs struck the big blows with key RBI hits in the uprising. While the offense was humming along their pitcher, Steve Mills was mowing them down as he struck out five of the first six batters he faced. However, the Nexus didn't go away and kept chipping away at the lead. By the seventh inning they were within striking distance but Mills and the Quencher held on for the very important first win of the series. The two teams were scheduled to complete the series on Monday. The nightcap saw Makepeace edge The Playwright 3-2, in game one of their series. As expected, scoring runs in wouldn't be easy against two of the league's best pitchers in Jimmy Pinkston and Keith Zeiwey. The two hurlers didn't disappoint as they stayed out of trouble and were in control of the game from start to finish. In fact, this game took just over an hour to complete. Joe Claudio (Makepeace) got the clutch hit in the fifth when plated two runs with a sharp single to center that put his team ahead to stay. The quarter finals continued on Tuesday with the Stingers falling to the George Pratt Club, 15-2 in game one of their best of three series. Pratt's Kevin Ohara and Tommy Connolly led the way in the offensive category with three hits each while Ryan Wilson made the defensive play of the night. With a runner on, Wilson made a great diving catch in left then fired a strike to first base to double off the runner. This wasn't the Stingers best game of the season as they played tight and made a few miscues that cost then some runs in the early innings. The late game saw the defending champion Shenanigans smash Below Average Joe's 16-0 in a game played in just 47 minutes. Shenanigans scored eleven runs in the second inning and then watched pitcher Mike Hoadley (9 strikeouts, 2 hits) dominate the remainder of the game as they shutout Joe's in game one. Wednesday's playoff action saw the Playwright needing a win against Makepeace to keep their season alive. However, Pinkston would slip by Zeweiy and the Playwright by the slimmest of margins, 1-0. In two games, Zewiey had yielded only one earned run yet had suffered two defeats. The game's only run came when Angel Andrews led off the top of the fifth with a double to deep left and took third on the throw back to the infield. Matt Fornier followed with a grounder to second that left no choice but to go to first for the out, with Andrews scoring. It would prove to be the only run of a very well played game. The week finished on Thursday with two more quarter final playoff games. With their backs against the wall Below Average Joe's perhaps played their best game of the season when it mattered most but came up a run short to the defending champion Shenanigan's squad in game two, 11-10. The late game saw the George Pratt Club play a carbon copy game of their first game of the series and won fairly easily, 15-3 to close out the series against the Stingers. As we move forward, the semi final matchups were not quite decided. We know Makepeace will pay the George Pratt Club in a best of five series that was scheduled to start on Wednesday (Aug 31) but will have to wait and see who (Quencher/Nexus) wins the right to take on the defending champion Shenanigan's in the other best of five series. Stay tuned! In closing, the playoffs continue at M Street with games starting at 6:30 and 8:30pm. Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you at the field.

Kyle Carlson Jesse Carlton Steven Mills Jimmy Pinkston Keith Zeweiy Keven Ohara Tommy Connolly Mike Hoadley