Rec C Playoffs Begin, Porter House Beats Sam’s Club in Women’s League
Lou DeMarco has manned the softball fields at Carl J. DelFino Park for the White Plains Recreation Department for many years. On Thursday, Aug. 8, DeMarco anxiously waited for Mother Nature to go her course, as rain threatened to cancel play in the White Plains Recreation Softball Leagues.
With 73 teams participating in the White Plains Recreation Summer Softball League, the true nemesis of the league is rainout-games for scheduling purposes, as the Fall League starts in September.
On Friday, Aug. 9, torrential downpours persisted in the early morning hours, which caused the entire schedule that evening to be postponed.
However, on Thursday, Aug. 8, the Residential C League regular season was completed and the playoff seeding was finalized. And the games continued at Leslie B. Gillie Park, where Porter House beat Sam’s Club 20-8, in the Women’s League.
In Residential C, Steve Zelem, Jr. was the winning pitcher for Zelem Pools in their rematch game over Beechmont Tavern. Beechmont Tavern beat Zelem Pools on July 31, but Zelem Pools came-back to douse Beechmont, 12-7, on Thursday.
The win solidified Zelem Pools (9-5) fifth place finish in Residential C. “It feels pretty good, definitely we thought we would finish better but we blew a couple of games this season,” stated Zelem, who is also the Manager of the team. Steve Jr. teams with his father in work and play, as Steve Sr. plays second base and is the co-owner of Zelem Pools.
Zelem Pools third baseman Ryan Anderson flashed leather when Beechmont loaded the bases in sixth inning with Zelem leading 12-7. Anderson leaped to his right and snared a hard line drive to retire the sides. Anderson also slammed a solo homerun in the second inning. “I play wherever they need me infield and outfield. The team just needs to get hot at the right time in the playoffs and have some fun,” said Anderson.
Beechmont was in the game until the fourth inning when Zelem’s Anthony Smith and Greg Kalarchain both hit two-run homeruns, to put Zelem ahead, 11-8. Kalarchain’s homerun sailed over the leftfield fence.
Beechmont Tavern is one of three teams (Bowery Boys and Mario Borello) in Residential C that finished in eighth place with 4-10 records. Nonetheless, Beechmont won the tiebreaker and was awarded the last berth in the Residential C Playoffs.
Nick Junta, the Manager and pitcher for Beechmont Tavern feels as long as his complete team shows up for the games, Beechmont has as a good a chance as any team in the playoffs. “It is a struggle because players get married, they have children and they have careers. But we do our best and everyone has that competitive drive to win,” stated Junta.
Beechmont Tavern opened about six months ago in White Plains. Nonetheless, the newcomer to the Mamaroneck Avenue strip, which is owned by John Leone, has a promising White Plains Recreation Softball entry.
The 2013 White Plains Recreation Softball Residential C Playoffs will begin on Tuesday, August 13, at Delfino Park. The eight teams making the playoffs this season in the Residential C League include by seeding: 1) Mansion Broadway, 2) Plus 40, 3) Dunnes Pub, 4) MJL and Company, 5) Zelem Pools, 6) Sand Springs, 7) Rick’s Flair and 8) Beechmont Tavern. The Residential C Semifinals will commence, on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 8:15 p.m. at Delfino Park.
Porter House Has Mercy on Sam’s Club 20-8
On Thursday, Aug. 8, across town at Gillie Park, umpires enforced the Mercy Rule when Porter House had Sam’s Club on the ropes, 20-8, in the sixth inning in the White Plains Women’s Recreation Softball League.
The Mercy Rule specifies if a team is leading by twelve runs and the losing team has batted five times, the game will be halted and recorded as a complete game.
Porter House (8-2) is in second place in a heated battle for first place with leader Healy Electric (8-1) in the Women’s League. With only one week remaining in the regular season, the win for Porter House over Sam’s Club was crucial considering playoff seeding. AF.BFH Team is in third place with an 8-4 record.
“We are looking forward to beating Healy Electric in the playoffs. It has been them and us all season. Healy Electric has been the most competitive team to play and the most fun,” declared Patricia Martucci, the Manager of Porter House.
The game against Sam’s Club was not always a blowout for Porter House. Sam’s Club scored eight runs in the top of the fifth inning to take the lead 8-7. But that only fired-up Porter House who came back with an eight-run inning of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Andrea DiNella is a 20-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, who is stationed at the 34th Precinct. During the summer evenings she switches uniforms from NYPD blue to the glowing highlighted-green uniform of Porter House.
DiNella broke the eighth inning open for Porter House, with a bases-loaded triple to score three runs. Then Christina Pistone followed with a three-run homerun, which made the score 15-8. “They (Sam’s Club) came back and then we buckled down as a team and everyone starting hitting,” stated DiNella.
When Sam’s Club did not score in the top of the sixth inning and Porter House tacked on five more runs in the bottom frame, the Mercy Rule was applied for a win for Porter House. Katie Letcheo was the winning pitcher for Porter House.
