Tarrytown Men’s and White Plains Co-ed D-1 Recreation Softball Champions

Those that would equate Recreation Softball to being all fun without much competition or passion for winning, should have witness the Tarrytown Men’s and White Plains Co-ed Championships which began last week in Westchester County.

Sleepy Hollow Landscaping is the Tarrytown Recreation Men’s 2012 Softball Chmapions in the Ichabod Crane Division. Brazen Fox is the White Plains Recreation Co-ed Division 1 Champions for the third consecutive year.

The Huddle Titans (16-2) were the favorite against Sleepy Hollow Landscaping (13-6), in the Tarrytown Recreation Ichabod Crane Division Men’s Championship, on Monday, August 20, at Losee Park.

However, with the Huddle Titans leading by seven runs in the fourth inning of the deciding Game Three of the Championship Series, a throwing error by Titans third baseman James Mastrangelo, gave Sleepy Hollow a chance to snatch the crown.

Brother and sister Brain and Kelly McFarlane play shortstop and second base respectively for Elements, while Kelly’s husband Andy Guich plays third base. McFarlane and Guich were married, on Saturday, August 25. “]The Titans came into the Men’s Championship attempting to protect an undefeated season at 16-0. However, Sleepy Hollow Landscaping ruined the Titans hopes of a perfect summer in softball by winning, 6-4, in Game 1.

Sleepy Hollow’s catcher Robert Blair had a two-run homerun in the second inning of Game 1. The winning pitcher for Sleepy Hollow in Game 1 was Scott Renda and the losing pitcher for the Titans was Greg Casey.

The Titans made some adjustments after losing their first game of the season and sent Nick Cacciola to the mound in Game 2, instead of Casey. Sleepy Hollow stuck with Renda and what transpired was a pitchers duel in Game 2.

Sleepy Hollow struck first in the bottom of the second inning of Game 2. In the third inning Sleepy Hollow’s leftfielder Charlie Boyer threw-out Titans runner Paul DeTorres at home-plate to keep the score, 1-0 Sleepy, until the top of the sixth inning.

With the Championship slipping away, the Titans scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning and crossed the finish line “a nose” ahead of Sleepy Hollow to win Game 2, by a score of 2-1 and tie the series one game apiece.

Sleepy’s “big bopper” Chris Rowan slammed two potential homerun balls foul in the top of the seventh inning to make the last out of the game. Titans Cacciola won the pitchers duel over Sleepy’s Renda in Game 2.

Sleepy Hollow’s shortstop Rowan is a well known figure in White Plains. Rowan is a nationally known strength and conditioning coach, who trains the White Plains High School Softball Team. He is also a hitting instructor for the Tigers.

If Rowan had accomplished for Sleepy Hollow Landscaping, what he did in the top of the first inning of Game 3, they may have been crowned champs a game earlier.

Rowan the second batter in Game 3, must have took measurements in his last at bat in Game 2, because he slammed a solo homerun to put Sleepy Hollow ahead, 1-0.

But the Titans scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and had a commanding, 7-1, lead after the first inning.

The Titans scored again in the second and were well on their way to winning the Championship, while leading 8-1. Then in the fourth inning, Titans third baseman Mastrangelo threw the ball away to first base with two outs, which scored two unearned runs for Sleepy.

The next batter for Sleepy was Blair, who slammed a three-run homerun, which gave Game 3 of the Co-ed Championship an entirely new perspective; now 8-6 Titans.  It was Rowan again for the Landscapers in the fifth inning who tied the game, 8-8, with his second homerun of the game. It was a two-run blast over the left-centerfield fence. “I was a little over anxious in the second game when I tried to hit the homerun and fouled out,” commented Rowan. “But this game with my team behind me, they told me to stay relaxed and they put me in the right spot (in the batting order),” stated Rowan, who batted second in Game 3.

Sleepy was ahead 9-8 in the bottom of the sixth inning when the Titans fought back to score and tie the game 9-9.

Nonetheless, Sleepy Hollow Landscaping was not to be denied and scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to win 14-9 and capture the Tarrytown Recreation Men’s Softball Ichabod Crane Division Championship.

Brazen Fox Co-ed D-1 Champions Three Straight Years

On Wednesday, August 22, at Gillie Park in White Plains, Elements was one out away from sweeping the first two games and winning the White Plains Recreation Softball Co-ed Division 1 Championship, when their star pitcher Wendy Bellantoni succumb to injury.

Bellantoni was carried off the field with a pulled muscle in her leg and could not return to pitch in Game 3.

The three-game White Plains Co-ed Division 1 Championship was a series that exemplified heart, determination, grit and hustle, with players diving in the dirt to gain an extra base and somersaulting on the field to make defensive plays.

Elements won the first game of the series, 7-5, behind the pitching of Bellantoni and steadfast defense. But the second game proved just the opposite as Elements defense gave the game away, 6-5, in 11innings.

Elements second baseman Kelly McFarlane and third baseman Andy Guich were getting married on the ensuing Saturday, on August 25, with shortstop Brian McFarlane, Kelly’s brother certainly planning to attend the wedding.

Therefore, Guich and the MacFarlanes were certainly not looking forward to playing 11 innings or losing Game 2. As the newly weds were looking forward to starting their new life with a Championship.

But that was not to be: It seemed Game 2 would go on forever with the lights on at Gillie Park. In the top of the 11^th inning Elements scored two runs to break the four-inning tie at 3-3. Kelly McFarlane singled and scored on right-fielder Kelly Blaine’s RBI single, while McFarlane’s brother Brian scored on a fielder choice.

At about 9:30 p.m. with Elements winning 5-3 in the top of the 11^th inning, the team exclaimed. “We are going right from here to the wedding!” But two errors by Elements in the bottom of the 11th inning put honeymoon plans on hold for the Guichs, as Brazen Fox won 6-5, to force Game 3.

Shawn Akerson has managed Brazen Fox for three years and all three years the Mamaroneck Avenue Pub has won the League and overall Co-ed D-1 Championships.

In the sixth inning, Akerson scored and hit a line drive double that scored two runs to give Brazen Fox the lead 5-3. Fox scored one more time in the sixth inning and walk away with a, 6-3 win and the Championship. “They were playing me a little deep, so I figured I would hit a base hit which turned into a double. It feels amazing to win the Championship three years in a row,” thrilled Akerson.

Corey Moeller was the winning pitcher for Brazen Fox in the Championship Game and also won Game 2.