NY Fast Pitch Week Three Refresher: Part One

It will have been three weeks since the New York region last hosted fast pitch matchups when play resumes on Sunday, July 3rd. Here now is part one the official New York region Fast Pitch refresher course to help bring you back up to speed on the happenings through the first eight games of the season.

The Spades: Undefeated

Despite an offense that has yet to see consistent production out of Dweg's bat, the Spades stand tall at 8-0 thanks to explosive offensive production from Niffman in Week One and Tweg in Week Two. Papa-Weg has also picked up his game at the plate, already registering a homer and driving in 12 runs in eight games after hitting just two homers and driving in 14 runs in 19 games last season.

But the biggest reason for the Spades' success thus far has been the performances of Ty and Dweg on the mound. The brothers have combined to go 8-0, allowing just seven runs on 10 hits in 31 innings while striking out 76 batters.

The Spades head into Week Three with a Sucker Punch matchup against the C-Notes and a three game set with the Crusaders.

The Black Widows: Searching for Answers

Considered one of the top teams in the league out of the gate, the Black Widows stumbled to a 1-3 start in Week One and followed it up with a 0-4 performance in Week Two that included a crushing shootout loss to the Crusaders on a Dan Lanigan error and capped off by a pitching meltdown in their final game against the Spades.

The Widows have performed up to their potential on the mound as their team ERA of 4.23 is second in the region behind the Spades. However the team ranks last or second to last in nearly every offensive category, having collected just seven extra base hits and driving in just 20 runs through eight games.

Week Three starts off with a tough matchup against Joe Evanish and the High Rollers and is followed up with an expected date with the Bombers' Kevin Norris in game one of a three game set. If the Widows can manage a split against two of the top pitchers in the region, a 3-1 day might be realistic thanks to matchups against the Bombers' struggling Joe Purcell and third starter Phil Fresiello.

The C-Notes: Legitimate Contenders or Right Place, Right Time?

It has been an odd season so far for the C-Notes. Despite a 6-2 record, being tired for first in runs scored and getting relatively solid starting pitching to this point, it's hard to say that anyone is predicting this team to make much of a playoff run.

On one hand, the Notes took two out of three against the Bombers in Week One and followed it up with a 4-0 day in Week Two, a day which included scoring 10 runs off Risers' ace Anthony Didio.

On the other hand, critics can point out that the Bombers were without Phil Fresiello and Pete Slater in Week One, that Didio was diagnosed with elbow tendinitis less than a week later and that three of their four wins in Week Two came against the winless Mustangs.

The Notes will look to avenge their Week One loss to the Spades to start off Week Three before a three game set against Joe Evanish and the High Rollers.

The High Rollers: Evanish, Evanish, ?, ?

Meet the Golden Stick version of the the late 90s, early 2000 Texas Rangers starring Scott Alford as Rafael Palmeiro (although Alford presumably is not using steroids and/or Viagra), Sean McRae as Todd Zeile and Joe Evanish as, okay well the Rangers did not exactly have a pitcher that is comparable to Evanish.

But much like those Ranger teams were all bats and little to no pitching, the High Rollers just do not appear to have any shot at winning a game that Evanish isn't pitching in.

Alford and McRae have combined to allow a whopping 59 runs in 14 innings. Carlo DeGiovine is expected to provide the Rollers with a fourth man for the first time this season, but he will only be able to fill-in in Week Three . DeGiovine was a serviceable arm in 2010 with the Risers, going 3-5 with a 6.99 ERA. He should at least be able to give a respectable effort on the mound this Sunday when he squares off against his nemesis, Wiffman, and the C-Notes.