Afterdeck sweeps Tommy D's to win Division ‘A' title

Brazen Head wears the ‘C’ crown Monroe - The Afterdeck completed their inaugural season with a two-game sweep of give-time Division “A” champs, Tommy D’s. The Afterdeck dominated with a relentless lineup of hitters, lights out pitching and gold glove defense to claim their first title with a 10-2 victory. Leadoff hitter Dan Politoski led the way, going 4-4 with two doubles, three runs scored and an RBI. Scott Goldstein went 2-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Bruce Weyant and Anthony Rizzi haunted their former team. Weyant was 3-4 with two runs scored and an RBI while Rizzi was 2-4 with two RBI’s. Pitcher Dan Henderson gave up two runs in the first inning, but shut down the potent Tommy D’s lineup the rest of the way to earn the win. In the first game, The Afterdeck used three home runs and a terrific pitching performance by Papo Rodriguez to defeat the defending champions by the score of 9-4. Tommy D’s jumped out to an 1-0 lead, only to have The Afterdeck respond with five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Anthony Rizzi sparked the rally with a two-run home run. The D’s responded with a run in the second on Dave Laney’s RBI-double, but The Afterdeck answered with two of their own, thanks to a solo home run from Joe Picone and a sacrifice fly from Bruce Weyant. In the fourth, Tommy D’s closed the gap to 7-4 on a two-run double by Laney. But that was as close as they would get as Papo Rodriguez and some solid defense shut them down the rest of the way. MVP candidate Scott Goldstein provided a much needed cushion with a two-run blast in the fifth to seal the 9-4 victory. James Rizzi, Bruce Weyant and Lloyd Kurth each contributed two hits apiece for The Afterdeck. Tommy D’s was led by Dave Laney, (two doubles, three RBIs) and Dave Krawczyk (2-3 with two runs and two unassisted double plays) to help keep Tommy D’s within striking distance. Brazen Head wins Division ‘C’ The Brazen Head Pub won their first championship by taking the Division “C” crown in three games. In the deciding game, the Brazen Head scored 12 runs over the last three innings to pull away from a Nebrasky team that held the lead after four at bats. Jesse Blattstein pitched another fantastic game, giving up only four earned runs over the last 14 innings of the series. The defense in game three was led by Tracy Robinson and Len Froio, both making tough rally-ending plays in the field. Dennis Leahy, Rick Babbits, Rob Almodovar and Kenny Schultz all played 21 innings of errorless ball over the course of the series. Mike Clavell was the offensive star, going 3-4 with a game-clinching grand slam home run. Joe McCormack was 1-1 with two walks. John Wetnik, Dino Patrikis, and Donnie Quarles also added base hits. The offensive stars for the Brazen Head were Artie Flora and Jesse Blattstien. Rob Raab added several key plays throughout the playoffs. A special thanks goes out from the team to Tommy and everyone else at the Brazen Head who supported the team over the years. This story was provided by Greg O’Connor.