Meanwhile, we can't take away from the performance of Mike Hoadley who tossed a four-hitter while leading Shennanigans to an easy game one victory. I would like to write about some clutch hits here but there weren't any. The script for the night was a single here, an error there, then another error and a couple of runs would score. Dave Conti, Eddie Delcarmen, John Hoadley, and Luis Colon all collected two hits in the win.

It should be noted that Shennanigans had a full roster of players who wanted to be on the field tonight. They arrived early and began stretching, some played "pepper", while others chased fly balls in the outfield. Needless to say, the defending champions were very active and ready to go by game time. On the other hand, the few (only 7) Warehouse players who were at the field sat on their bench and watched Shennanigans warm up. As an observer of many playoff games, I have to say that this one was lost before Mike Hoadley thew his first pitch.

Game 2: Tuesday, Sep. 24th @ 730
Shennanigans 3 - The Warehouse 1
It was Nick French's turn on the mound tonight which usually means that scoring runs was going to be a tall task for the Warehouse. French lived up to his reputation as he scattered six hits, struck out eleven batters, and cruised to a 3-1 victory in game two of the finals.

Shennanigans opened the scoring in the third when Al Martin hit a triple to deep left center and then scored on Dennis Hajjar's (2 hits) double. Shennanigans added a pair of runs in the fourth when Greg Trudell dropped a double down the right field line that scored Steve Stalcup and John Hoadley (2 hits).

The Warehouse, who came ready to play tonight, finally got something going in the sixth when Ryan Martin led off with a single and then scored on Brendan McGinn's bases loaded sacrifice fly. The Warehouse loaded the bases again in the inning but couldn't get the big hit to tie the game and French would strike out the side in the seventh to end things.

Joey Venuti pitched a strong game just days after receiving a treatment for thyroid cancer. The courageous pitcher threw six innings, yielded nine hits, and allowed just the three runs.

Game 3: Wednesday, Sep. 25th @ 730
Shennanigans 5 - The Warehouse 2
Shennanigans came from two runs behind to complete the sweep and win their league tying fifth championship in a row. Shennanigans joins Ocean Kai/L Street Tavern as the only two teams in the 43 year league history to capture five straight championships.

The Warehouse came to play again tonight and they gave it everything they had but would fall short. With Joey Magee on the mound and looking very sharp, the Warehouse built a 2-0 lead in the fourth when lefty Brendan McGinn smoked a ball to right center and later scored on Dave Blandino's single. In a move that would prove pivotal, Shennanigans' sent Nick French out to relieve Mike Hoadley in the fifth.

Up until this point it was looking like the Warehouse was about to get back into the series but the game turned in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and a runner on first base (Steve Stalcup), Dave Conti reached on an infield error. Al Martin then delivered another clutch RBI hit that scored Stalcup making it 2-1. Next up was lefty Dennis Hajjar who wasted little time in doubling to deep right center plating Conti and Martin to make it 3-2 Shennanigans. French then reached on another error which drove Hajjar home with the fourth run of the inning. Shennanigans would add an insurance run in the sixth when pinch hitter Brian Erwin singled home John Smith making it 5-2.

At the conclusion of the game, Nick French was named the unanimous MVP. From start to finish this year, French was dominant on the mound. His record breaking 0.88 ERA was a great regular season statistic but the Frenchman improved that number in the playoffs by tossing 24 innings and yielding only two earned runs for a shiny 0.58 ERA! He was 4-0 and struck out 26 batters in the playoffs alone.

It should also be noted that Shennanigans played exceptional defense (their trademark) in this series. The usual gold glovers (Steve Stalcup, Luis Colon, Al Martin, and Dennis Hajjar) made plenty of "web gems" but Greg Trudell, who doesn't get much recognition, made several outstanding running catches in left field that saved runs and ended potential rallies. After the game Greg and his teammates were celebrating with well deserved victory cigars and plenty of cold beverages. Congratulations Shennanigans!

Shennanigans wins series 3-0

Lefty Nick French took his turn on the mound for Shennanigans and was his usual dominating self - 7 innings pitched, 8 hits allowed, 7 strikeouts, while yielding just one unearned run.

Shennanigans wins series 2-0

Joey Venuti earned the win by scattering five hits over seven innings of work. His only nemesis was Max Vigliotti (2 RBI) who was providing all of the offense for Lincoln as he homered and tripled off Venuti. Aside from Doherty's clutch homerun, The Warehouse got a majority of their offense from the top of the order in the name of Ryan Martin. Ryan was on base five times (2 walks and 3 hits) and scored four runs.

From the outset, this was a tightly played game but was controlled by The Warehouse and pitcher Joey Magee. They led all game long and the two run lead they carried into the seventh seemed much larger than it actually was. Until that point, Magee had scattered five hits while not allowing an earned run. They were in great shape to get the win and complete the sweep.

However, the mighty bats of the Lincoln Tavern sprung to life after Sean Gorman started the rally with a single to left. Leo Evriviades then ripped the first pitch he saw to left and suddenly Lincoln had something going. One pitch later, Mike Briggs hit a line drive to right that scored Gorman and put Evriviades in scoring position with the tying run. Max Vigliotti tied the game on a fielder's choice and Ryan Caswell put Lincoln ahead to stay with an RBI single to center. The rally kept going and going from that point. In fact, six straight batters would reach base and score before another out was recorded. In total, sixteen batters would be sent to the plate, ten would reach base with hits (including a double and THREE triples), and twelve would score. It was a rally for the ages and one that neither team would soon forget.

Less than 24 hours after getting shelled (12 earned runs) in the seventh inning of game two, pitcher Joey Magee bounced back and fired a four-hitter to lead The Warehouse over the Lincoln Tavern in the deciding game of the series.

Lefty Brendan "Freedom" McGinn got the scoring started in the second inning when he tripled to right center and then scored on a ground out by Dave Blandino. The Warehouse added three more runs in the top of the the third on hits by Kevin Snow, Dan Pencinger, Magee, and McGinn. Mike McGrath made it 5-0 in the fourth when he singled home Paul Doherty. At that point, Lincoln was still calm and felt a rally was just around the corner.

Lincoln's hopes came true when Mike Briggs led off the home half of the fourth with a homerun to right. A batter later, Ryan Caswell singled and later scored on Andy Hillier's grounder making it 5-2. But Magee wasn't rattled and reached back to retire the side on a strikeout. In fact, as the pressure mounted Magee got stronger - retiring twelve of the next thirteen Lincoln batters to end the game and the series.

The Warehouse wins series 2-1

Shennanigans wins series 2-0

Lincoln Tavern wins series 2-0

The 0-0 game quickly moved to extra innings and in the top of the ninth inning we saw a little bit of everything. Southside's Pat Dolbeare led off with a hard single to center field and was followed by a strikeout. The inning seemed harmless until Sean Wilshire and Mark Dipari both reached base safely to load them for Rob Costello. On a 1-0 offering, Costello bounced a slow roller to the pitcher Magee who flipped the ball to catcher Mike McGrath. McGrath corralled the ball and applied the tag to the sliding Dolbeare but in doing so the ball was knocked lose and Dolbeare was declared safe. On the same play, while some argued the safe call with the umpire, Wilshire kept running from second and tried to score but was tagged out at the plate. More heated words were exchanged between the teams and there was some pushing and shoving but the men soon got back to playing softball. While all that was going on, Gregorio stayed away and kept his calm as he now had a run to work with and knew the outcome of the game was still very much up in the air. However, he made it look easy as he quickly set the side down in the home half of the ninth to earn the very impressive game one win.

The Warehouse wins series 2-1

Keith Zeweiy pitched all 14 innings and seemed to get stronger and stronger as the game went on. He will need to be on top of his game as the Playwright's next opponent will put up a much tougher challenge.

The Playwright wins best of three series 2-1