The Feeney division had one of the tightest races we have ever seen. In fact, we ended up with a six-way tie for third place. It took several rounds of play-in games and preliminary games just to set the field for the quarter finals. Now we are down to just four teams and the fun is just beginning. In one semifinal, the Seapoint Slammers upset number one seed, Ochoa Brew Crew in game one and that series is set to continue on Monday. In the other semifinal, the Silkworms took game one over the Shamrock Pub and will look to double up that lead when they resume on Monday. Here's a recap of the semifinal games:

MORAN DIVISION SEMI-FINALS

Game 1: Sam Adams 5 - Clock Tavern 11

Clock Tavern came out swinging, built an early cushion and never surrendered the lead, opening it's best-of-five series with an 11-5 victory over Sam Adams.

The home team jumped on Sam Adams starter Jose Veliz immediately, plating four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Walks, and two errors put added pressure on the defense which eventually gave way when Kyle Desjardins (3 hits, 2 RBI) ripped a two run double to left-center, making it 4-0.

Sam Adams cut the lead in half in the second when Chris Cacciatore (2 hits, HR, 3 RBI) hit a two-run home run. However, Clock immediatley countered with Tadd Gold doubling and Phil Sciretta reaching on another walk. This set the table for Desjardins again who delivered with another RBI hit. Clock would tack on a couple of more runs and lead 7-2 after two innings of play.

After a scoreless third inning, Clock was back on the sticks and putting more pressure on the defense in the bottom of the fourth. Gold drew a walk, Desjardins collected his third hit, Jack Hocking singled, Robb Scott reached on another Sam Adams error - their third of the game. By the end of the inning, Clock had increased their lead to 11-2.

Meanwhile their pitcher, Chris Pope, was cruising through the innings - allowing a hit here and there but nothing more. After five strong innings Clock decided to lift him in favor of Tom Kazanowski. For the sixth inning, the results were the same - shutdown pitching for Clock Tavern.

Finally in the top of the seventh, Sam Adams found some life. Kobel Lugo and Zach Barnhart singled between a fly out to right field. The hot hitting Cacciatore then drove home Lugo with his third hit of the game, 11-3. After another fly out, Ryan Tettemeyer walked to load the bases. Timmy Benson delivered a sharp two-RBI single making it 11-5. Another walk followed before Kazanowski got the final out on a pop up to short.

Veliz deserved better in this game as he was tagged with eleven runs but only four of them were earned. Sam Adams committed five errors tonight which is a losing formula when playing a team that doesn't beat themselves. The defense will have to play much better for them to have any chance of winning this series.

Prior to the game, we learned that Clock's MVP (2024) pitcher Erik Mercedes is injured (elbow) and is going to miss some time. Erik is an excellent softball citizen in the M Street Softball League and we'll miss him during our playoffs where he usually shines bright. We wish Erik the best care in surgery and hope to see him back on the mound in 2027.

Game 2: Clock Tavern Sluggers 10 - Sam Adams 2

Clock Tavern came into game 2 of it's semifinal series knowing a victory would put it firmly in command. By the time the final out was recorded, the visiting club had done exactly that. The scorebook tells the story of a game that began with no runs and tightly played defense but it gradually tilted - and then broke wide open.

The first three innings were a defensive battle as pitcher's Chris Pope (Clock Tavern) and Jose Veliz (Sam Adams) were matching each other out-for-out. The game's first run came in the bottom of the third inning when Chris Coppola singled home Bryan Tambeau, 1-0 Sam Adams.

That lead didn't last long though as Clock Tavern's offense ignited for three runs in the top of the fourth. Singles by Robb Scott (3 hits, 2 runs), Jack Hocking (3 hits), Jimmy Jankowski, and Tom Kazanowski all played a role in the rally, 3-1 Clock Tavern.

However, Sam Adams wasn't about to go away - at least not yet. A leadoff triple by Joe Uccello followed by a sacrifice fly got Sam Adams within a run, 3-2. Although they had the momentum on their side, from this point forward it would be all Clock Tavern.

In the fifth, Clock Tavern put together another productive inning. We didn't see the big home run but they instead relied on stringing together hits and using productive outs to advance the baserunners. Hocking and Scott would score in the inning making it 5-2, Clock Tavern.

In the sixth, with the game starting to slip our of reach, Sam Adams defense began to feel the pressure and began to crack again - just as they did in game one. Two walks and another fielding error led to Clock Tavern scoring a pair of runs, making it 7-2.

While Clock was putting runs on the scoreboard, Pope wasn't giving Sam Adams an inch - in fact he finished the game with five scoreless innings pitched including shutout ball over the last three innings.

In the seventh, it was more of the same - baserunners led to pressure on the defense, which then in turn, committed untimely errors. Kazanowski and Matt Savage (2 doubles) had the key hits in this inning as Clock Tavern tacked on three more runs to lead 10-2. What was once a competitive game turned into a runaway victory for the visitors.

Sam Adams will need to play their best game (no errors/no walks) of the season when the series resumes on Wednesday, September 2nd @ 8pm.

Every once in awhile a game comes along that's a "must watch" - tonight game one of this series was a must watch due to the fact that we had two of the very best pitchers squaring off in a playoff game. Jimmy Pinkston and Nick French were on the mound which meant there would be plenty of strikeouts and runs would be tough to come by. But who would prevail? Let's get to the scoresheets and break it down.

Lincoln Tavern drew first blood in the top of the first when lefty Conor Gleason launched one deep into the night, 1-0. If there was a fence in right field, then this ball would have cleared it by 40 feet. Aside from that one big hit, French and Pinkston were doing their thing and shutting down the attack. Gleason's solo home run would be the only run scored until the top of the fourth.

Lincoln's offense manufactured a pair of runs on Drew Blake's RBI single to right field, 3-0. That lead seemed huge as French was being very stingy - allowing just four hits at this point of the game. The tall lefty threw another two innings of shutout ball and we headed to the bottom of the sixth inning with Lincoln still ahead 3-0.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lincoln's defense committed multiple errors which led to an unearned run, 3-1. Brendan Busa then singled home another run and suddenly Fat Baby had life, 3-2. With runners on first and second, Cam O'Brien stepped into the batter's box. The powerful righty fouled off pitches and worked the count to full. French then threw and off speed breaking ball that was called a third strike. O'Brien disagreed but the ump said it caught the inside corner. French himself admitted it was a 50/50 ball - sometimes you get that call and sometimes you don't.

We moved to the top of the seventh with Lincoln clinging to a one run lead. Taylor Ferguson looked to help matters when he doubled to left center. Two batter's later, Ryan O'Rourke drove him home with a single to right, making it 4-2. It was a huge run considering that Fat Baby had the lower half of the lineup due up in the bottom of the seventh.

French quickly retired the first two batters on groundball outs. Andrew Stover drew a walk which gave Fat Baby some hope but it was brief. Two pitches later, French produced the third out and the game one victory went to French and the Lincoln Tavern.

Fat Baby 5 - Lincoln Tavern 3

Behind a steady pitching performance from Jimmy Pinkston and a timely offensive attack that kept finding answers, Fat Baby walked away with a victory in game two, leveling the best of five series at one game apiece.

Fat Baby's lineup immediately put the ball in play against Jose Bonilla, who started for Lincoln Tavern. After surrendering two hits in the first inning but not allowing a run, Bonilla was tagged for a run in the top of the second when Greg Bosse doubled and later scored the game's first run, 1-0 Fat Baby. They added another run in the third on a pair of singles coupled with an infield error, 2-0 Fat Baby.

Lincoln got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when Dave Corcoran (3 hits, 2 RBI) doubled and scored on Conor Gleason's single, 2-1. In the bottom half of the inning, Brian Dunphy and Andrew Stover hit one out singles. Kyle Cheever followed with a sacrifice fly to right and Fat Baby built a 3-1 lead. Neil Corcoran followed with an RBI single which brought home Stover, making it 4-1 Fat Baby.

Pinkston retired the side in the home half of the fourth and Fat Baby was in control and looking to pad their lead. They did just that in the fifth when Sammy McDonald (3 hits) led off with a double and scored on Jordan Gorham's single, 5-1 Fat Baby.

Pinkston and Fat Baby were greeted with three straight Lincoln singles to start the bottom of the fifth inning. If Lincoln was going to get back into this game, then this was their moment. The very underated Dave Corcoran came through with another clutch hit (his 3rd) and drove home a pair of runs in the process, 5-3. Pinkston beared down and retired the next batter on a productive groundout to first base as both baserunners moved up into scoring position. With the third and fourth hitters due up, Lincoln had to feel good about their chances. However, Pinkston got a pop out to third base and then a fly out to center field - opportunity wasted.

Now with Lincoln back in the game, Nick French took over the pitching duties and threw two straight scoreless innings. However, he was matched batter-for-batter by Pinkston as he did not allow a baserunner after the fifth inning, retiring nine in a row to nail down the game two victory. Game three should be a beauty!

FEENEY DIVISION SEMI-FINALS

Game 1: Seapoint Slammers 14 - Ochoa Brew Crew 11

The Seapoint Slammers came out swinging, survived a furious Ochoa comeback, and then delivered the knock out punch in the final frame, taking a 14-11 victory here in game one of the best of five semifinal series.

As some expected, the story of this game was that it featured lots of runs (25) and had many momentum changes. Seapoint jumped ahead early with three runs in the first and eventually carried an 9-3 lead into the bottom of the fourth. Jack Cook had the key hit in the third for Seapoint when he struck a two-run double. However, Ochoa wasn't going away and they answered with a four-run fourth inning, cutting the deficit to 9-7. Seapoint tacked on three more runs in the top of the fifth on a homerun by Ryan Pfeffer, making it 12-7. Ochoa got one of the runs back and trailed 12-8 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Ochoa's first three batters singled which led to another run, 12-9. A sacrifice fly followed and suddenly we had a two-run game again, 12-10. With two outs and Brendan Skehill on first, Kyle White doubled him home to get Ochoa within a run, 12-11. Seapoint's pitcher Pat Pickup, fought off the nerves and retired the number four hitter on a flyball to left, whew!

In the top of the seventh, good teams find a way to support their pitchers and that's what Seapoint did here. Mark Lavalley led off with a single, Colby Fortin (3 hits, 2 doubles, 3 runs) doubled, and Ryan Pfeffer drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out. A sacrifice fly scored Lavalley and a two-out single by Ross Mandigo scored Fortin, making it 14-11.

In the bottom of the seventh, it was last call for Ochoa and back-to-back singles brought the tying run to the plate but Pickup and the Seapoint defense thwarted the attack and held on for the impressive wire-to-wire win here in game one.

Game 1: Shamrock Pub 2 - Silkworms 10

The Silkworms used a seven-run second inning to draw first blood in their best of five semi-final series against the Shamrock Pub.

In that second inning, the Worms had one out and runners on first and second, when Matt Clark hit an RBI single to make it 2-0. Tom Clark followed by ripping a two-run homerun to make it 5-0. Back-to-back singles at the top of the order brought up Mark Carlson (3 hits, 2 doubles, 3 runs) who singled home another run, 6-0. The rally kept going - Greg Laubenstein (2 hits, 3 runs) followed with a bases clearing double. It was early but one felt like the Worms were in complete control in this one already leading 8-0.

Perhaps Shamrock Pub was still glowing from their previous night's walk-off win against Shea's Tavern and just hadn't recharged their batteries yet. Making matters more challenging was the fact that the Worm's pitcher, Austin Fanning, was nearly perfect through six innings of play - allowing just four hits and no runs.

Finally, in the top of the seventh the Shamrock Pub broke through with a pair of runs but come up short as the Worms take game one, 10-2.