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The Nashoba Valley Mustangs and Willis Tent sit one and two atop the leader board but the rest of the field is very competitive with only two wins the difference between third place and ninth. Nice wins by CSA Graphics and Healy Oil this week illustrate what will be a very tight race this summer for the seven playoff spots.
CSA Graphics 15 - Willis Tent 12
An all-around, well-played game by both squads, with lead changes in the top and bottom of the 7th inning. CSA Graphics took an early 2-0 lead courtesy of a two-run homer from Jonathan Ring. CSA added to the lead in the fourth inning with back-to-back solo shots from Ring and Bill Cullen. Wills came back to take a 7-4 lead, but the CSA bats responded in the bottom of the sixth inning. Singles by Jim Coveno and Josh Haskin were followed by a walk to Jonathan Ring. Bill Cullen then erased the Willis lead with a grand slam. A couple other hits put CSA on top 9-7. Willis responded in the top of the seventh, scoring five runs to take a 12-9 lead. Once again, though, CSA bounced back. As if deja vu... hits this time by Dave Luro and PJ Browne, were followed by hits from Coveno and Haskin. Willis intentionally walked Ring to load the bases for Bill Cullen who responded with his second grand slam of the game, this time in walk-off style.
Healy Oil 21- Drew Farms 16
Healy Oil, down 9-8 through five innings exploded for 13 runs in the sixth inning to put this one out of reach. Matt Dowling and Tony Pantoja had back-to-back solo shots for the second game in a row. Dave O'Keefe put one over the centerfield fence for a grand slam in the sixth as well. Other Healy home runs came from Nick Wilmot, Brian Herrmann, Colin MacDonald and Bruce Wilhelm with two. Drews started a rally in the top of the seventh putting seven runs on the board but fell short due to defensive plays by Matt Dowling, Frank Padron, Wayne Meadows and Tony Pantoja. Nick Wilmot continues to shine on the mound for Healy mixing up speed and trajectory on his pitches.
Floral Arts 16 - Pro Sports Therapy 3
Floral Arts improved its record to 7-2 with a 16-3 win over Pro Sports Therapy on Wednesday night. Roger Whittlesey led off the game with a home run to center field, and two batters later Simon Tripp hit a two-run homer, scoring Chad Kirby. Tripp made several outstanding plays at shortstop in the game. Floral hit seven home runs in the contest. Whittlesey (4-for-4, 2 home runs, 3 RBI), Rob Beaudette (3-for-4, 3 RBI), Mark Chambers (3-for-4, home run), and Mike Donaruma (2-for-4) were the offensive stars for Floral. Pitcher Larry Mardany gave up three runs in the first inning and then PST never scored again. Those runs came off the bats of Ryan Steele (2-run HR following a Ben Armstrong 2B) and a solo shot by Donald Slate.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Hospital - Short Cuts Landscaping
The battle between last year's final 2 was shortened by a violent outburst by Mother Nature. The game will be continued on Sunday, June 25th, at 6:30.
The Nashoba Valley Mustangs sit atop the standings at 6-1 with Floral Arts right behind with a solid 6-2 record. Short Cut Landscaping and Willis Tent, both at 4-2, complete the teams with winning records. Pro Sports Therapy, the last team to post a win, took two in a row this week and put themselves right back in the running while sending CSA to the ninth spot in the standings.
Nashoba Valley Mustangs 19 - Drew Farms 6
Lefty slugger Jack Erickson (4-for-4, two home runs, four RBI, four runs scored) led the balanced Mustang offense with long home runs to both sides of the field, but he had plenty of support. Mike Kennedy (3-for-4, home run, five RBI, three runs scored) followed up an intentional walk to recent marathon runner Bill Knute (2-for-3, home run, three RBI, three runs scored) with a two out grand slam to make Drew's pay. All game long the top of the Mustangs' order, Paul Selfrige and Jim Ward, set the table nicely combining for eight hits and six runs scored. Coach and GM, Dan Crogan chipped in with three hits to help his squad. The Mustangs stellar defense turned two double plays, one involving good plays on each end by infielder's Paul Selfrige and Jay "Big Glove" Lincoln.
Nashoba Valley Mustangs 10 - Healy Oil 6
Cormac Bordes had two home runs and five RBIs to lead the Mustangs. Fellow lefty Bill Knute added another long home run blast in support of winning pitcher Paul Ligouri. Jim Ward and Jay Lincoln chipped in with two hits apiece with Lincoln driving in two runs with a double. The Mustangs infield turned three double plays in the win. Standouts for Healy were Wayne Meadows at third and Matt Dowling in left field. Tony Pantoja put a 2-run shot over center field and Nick Wilnot helped keep the Mustangs to 10 runs with mixing up the pitches on the mound. Keith Mager came up with some clutch catches in right field in bases-loaded situations.
Shortcut Landscaping 5 - Floral Arts 3
Shortcut Landscaping defeated Floral Arts on Wednesday night, 5-3. Both teams, which are near the top in runs scored, stymied each other's powerful offense by playing solid defense throughout the entire game. Simon Tripp (3-for-3, solo home run, 2 RBI) and Geoff Pavao (solo shot) provided the Floral offense in the loss. SCL scored all of their runs on homers—three solo shots and a two-run shot.
Pro Sports Therapy 14 - Burtons Grill 13
PST, fresh off of their win over CSA, added a second straight win with a great game and win over Burtons. In a back and forth affair, PST held onto a one run advantage as Burton's came up in the final frame but ended the game with a one, two, three inning. Burton's got home runs from Erik Pasters, Mike Santiano (2), Jerry Breen and Arkansas-bred Jerod Colley. Jerry Breen was 3-for-3, Santiano also 3-for-3 with three RBI and Tim Scott 3-for-4. Offensively for PST, big nights for Brian Dubey (3-for-4 with 2 HRs & 6 RBIs), Mark Pelosky (3-for-3 with a 2-run blast in the 6th), Steve Sawyer (3-for-4 with a clutch 3-run HR in the 5th) and Ryan Steele (3-for-4 with a big solo shot in the 6th). Critical to the PST effort was the defensive effort in the infield, with Donald Slate at SS and Al Nudler at 1B making a number of important plays.
Pro Sports Therapy 17 - CSA Graphics 6
For stretches of this game, both Jeff Fuller of PST and Bill Cullen of CSA were dominant on the mound. A couple of big innings late in the game were the difference- PST broke through with six in the fifth and six more in the seventh. In both cases, a Ben Armstrong 3-run home run was the key hit. Lots of highlights for the PST offense: Ben was 5for--5 with four runs scored and six RBI, John Bodi (5-for-5), Brian Dubey (best night of his young PST career, going 4-for-4 with a home run a double and three runs scored plus 2 RBI), Ryan Steele (solo home run), Jeff Fuller (3-for-4) and "Coach" Gary Royal lacing them up and adding two hits and his first RBI since, well, a long time. Bill Cullen's solo home run for CSA was their only of the night. Josh Haskin 3-for-4 with a double. Unfortunately, CSA had one hit from innings four thru seven. CSA led-off the fourth with a hit and then went 0 for 12 the rest of the way.
Floral Arts tops the standings at 5-1 and leads the league in runs scored. A spot usually reserved for the Nashoba Valley Mustangs who sit in second at 4-1. Pro Sports Therapy is still seeking their first win of the season while Burton's Grill, with over 100 runs scored, appear to be ready to make a decent showing this year.
Healy Oil 12 - CSA Graphics 7
Matt Dowling and Tony Pantoja led off the game with back to back homers for Healy in the 12-7 win. Matt Dowling added a second homerun and Dave O'Keefe provided a clutch three-run homer in the late innings to give Healy the lead for good. Nick Wilmot had four scoreless innings on the mound and was perftect at the plate. For CSA, Billy Ryan went 3 for 4 with a double and couple of runs and Tim Piwowar was 4 for 4 with a three-run homer for the second straight game.
Floral Arts 20 - Drew Farms 0
Floral Arts shut out Drew Farms, 20-0, on Wednesday night in four and a half innings. Larry Mardany pitched an outstanding game, giving up only three singles. Shortstop Jim Peloquin made some nice plays in the field and stroked two homers at the plate. Mark Chambers sent two shots over the fence too. Chad Kirby and Mike Donaruma also homered. Sexagenarian Frank Lancelotta legged out a triple on a liner to left field in the bottom of the fourth.
Healy Oil 16 - Burtons Grill 14
Clutch home runs from Nick Wilmot and Wayne Meadows brought Healy's, down by one in the top of the seventh, up by four after a nice rally. Burton's scored only two in the last half thus securing the win for Healy's Oil 16-14. A key defensive play in the fifth by Healy included a standard 9 to 10 output with Keith Mager and Mike Finegan connecting on a tip play to rob Burton's Tim Scott of a hit. Burton's Jerod Colley, (3-3, three RBI), John Geary, (3-3 three RBI), and Mike Santiano, another three RBI, was not enough in the loss.
Burtons Grill 28 - CSA Graphics 11
Close for two innings at 11-10, Burton's scored another 17 over the next three innings to defeat CSA by the run rule. Burton's leadoff batter Tim Scott went 5-5 with four doubles, a homerun, five runs scored and six RBI. Batting second, behind Scott, Eric Cataline went 3-4 with eight RBI of his own. Scott and Cataline were also responsible for many of the put-outs for Burtons. Erik Pasters hit another homerun, his fourth and had three RBI. Charlie Chungo, (4-4 four RBI), Jason Lenicheck, (3-3 three runs scored), also contributed to the win. CSA's Jonathan Ring was 2-3 with a couple runs, RBIs and doubles. Bill Cullen had a solo homerun, and Jim DeMarco was three for three with two runs scored, a double, and three RBI. DeMarco also made two stellar defensive plays against his old team throwing out two runners from deep behind second base.
Willis Tent 12 - Pro Sports Therapy 7
In search of their first victory of the season, PST jumped out early on the new-look Willis Tent Squad powered by a Ryan Steele solo HR in the first, a Ben Armstrong grandslam in the second, and a Brian Dubey lead-off HR in the third. The PST bats would go cold after that and the Willis bats finally caught up to the valiant effort of Steve Sawyer on the mound. Powered by a series of three-run homers, Willis put up six in the fourth, tied it in the fifth, then sealed it with another five in the sixth. PST offensive leaders were Steele, Armstrong, and Dubey, who were each 2-4 with a homerun and a double, and Donald Slate, who went 3-4 on the evening with an RBI. First three innings it was all PST, but, that would be all PST would do on the evening, Willis offense woke up scoring six runs in the bottom of the fourth, one run in the fifth and five more in the sixth. Willis defense held PST scoreless from the third inning on. Willis Wins over PST 12 to 7. Contributions to another Willis come from behind win were , Justin Swanson going 3 - 3 with three singles, Rick Devanna, Dennis Kane, Stephen Damiani and John Lutatti each contributing with a homerun.
Floral Arts 19- Healy Oil 6
On Friday night, Floral Arts raised their record to 5-1 with a 19-6 win over Healy Oil. Rob Beaudette (two home runs, 3-for-4, four RBI), Roger Whittlesey (2-for-2, two BB, home run, two RBI), Ken Delaney (4-for-4, homer), Dave Janowsky (2-for-3, two-run homer), and Chad Kirby (3-for-4, grand slam, four RBI) led the offense for Floral. Simon Tripp made several great plays at second base. Kirby made a couple sliding catches in right center, and Larry Mardany pitched well, keeping the opponent to just six runs in five innings. Healy's Bruce Wilhelm continues to excel with an opposite field homer. Wayne Meadows had a solid defensive night at third with numerous put outs and Frank Padron delivered at the plate with some timely hitting.
Willis Tent 29 - Short Cut 28
It was a game of catch up for most of the night for Willis Tent. In the second inning Willis would score one to tie it up only to see Short Cut add five more runs to their total. In the third, Willis loaded up the bases for Justin Swanson who quickly cleared them with a grand slam. After four, it was 15 to 11 Short Cut. In the top of the fifth, Willis scored a couple of more run but in bottom of the Short Cut tried to break away coming up with eight to take a 23 to 13 lead. Un-phased , Willis exploded for 13 runs in the top of the sixth taking the lead for the first time 26 to 23. Top of the seventh Willis added three more insurance runs which would ultimately be needed as Short Cut came charging back with five but Willis Tent would hold on to take the win. Willis 29, Short Cut 28. It was a total team effort with every Willis team member scoring runs. Huge night at the plate for Justin Swanson, going 4 for 5 with four homeruns. Other notable contributors were Stephen Damiani going 4 for 4 with three singles and a homerun, Roger Nield 4 for 5, three singles and a homerun, Rick Devanna 3 for 5 a single and two doubles, Brian Gallardo, 3 for 5 a single and a double and a homerun, Zach Ellis 3 for 4 with three singles, John Beebe 3 for 4 with two singles and a double and Stephen Young 3 for 4 with three singles.
Week two of Over 30 softball shows an undefeated Short Cut Landscaping at the top of the standings at 3-0. The Mustangs are in second at 4-1 and leading in the "Runs For" category with nearly 100 scored already. The rest of the pack is bunched up other than Pro Sports at 0-4 and looking for their first win of the young season.
Floral Arts 21 - Burtons 7
Burtons held an early game lead and held out hope for an early season upset win, however, a 15-run, two grand slam inning by Floral Arts put a quick end to Burton's dream. Floral Arts defeated Burton's Grill, 21-7, in five innings. Floral hit seven home runs in the contest, including two by Rob Beaudette (two-run shot, grand slam), two by Mike Alonardo (two-run homer and a grand slam) and one each by Mark Chambers, Larry Mardany, and Roger Whittlesey with the walk-off. Playing well on defense for Floral were Chad Kirby in left center and Simon Tripp at shortstop. For Burtons, rookie Mike Santiano went 1-3 with a home run and four RBI, Murph McKeon 2-3 with a run scored and one RBI, and Tim Scott, 2-3 and a run scored.
Drew Farms 15 - Pro Sports Therapy 12
PST scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 12 but left the winning run on third base in the loss. This turned out to be a fatal error, as Drew’s responded with four in the top of the first extra frame to put the game away. Offensive highlights for PST include a two-run homerun by Ben Armstrong in the first (to begin his 3-4 effort with three runs scored), Mark Urlage going 3-4 with three RBI, and Ryan Steele going 3-4.
Nashoba Valley Mustangs 30 - CSA Graphics 2
Some team had to pay for the Mustangs opening game loss and unfortunately for CSA, they were next on the schedule.
CSA succumbed to the mercy rule in the 5th as they continue to struggle in both the field and at the plate. Mustang hurler Paul Ligouri got the win on the mound and was on base three times, scoring each time and adding two RBI to help his cause. Every Mustang had at least one hit and scored at least one run in the balanced attack. Bill Knute led the charge with four hits, including two homeruns, four RBI, and three runs scored. Other Mustang homerun hitters were Cormac Bordes, Mike Kennedy, Don Cusano, and Jack Erickson. Kennedy made several nice plays at third for the winners.
Drew Farms 10 - Willis Tent 9
Drew’s scored five runs in the second inning but Willis scored six to take the lead. In the top of the sixth, Drew’s would score one run to tie it up but in the bottom half Willis would score two more holding onto an eight to six lead over Drew’s. Willis would add one more run to pad their lead but in the bottom of the last inning, Drew’s banged out four key runs taking the win 10 to 9. Contributing to the Willis effort were Darren Swanson, going 3 - 3 with two singles and a homerun, Roger Neild, 3 - 3, two singles and a double, Zach Ellis, with a homerun.
Nashoba Valley Mustangs 17 - Burtons Grill 15
After maxing out on their homerun limit early in the game, the Mustangs rallied from one run behind in the top of the 7th the old fashioned way: by hitting singles and doubles and hustling on the bases. The Mustangs scored three times and held off the middle of the powerful Burtons lineup in the bottom of the 7th to close the game. Mustangs shortstop Paul Selfrige (3-4, HR, two RS, one RBI) turned a double play to end the game with the tying run at the plate for Burtons, who had bashed their way to a lead early in the game with a 12-run inning. Other excellent defensive plays were made by Mustang infielders Paul Ligouri, who also had a clutch two RBI double in the seventh inning rally, and Dan Crogan (diving stop at second to force out a runner at second base late in the game.) Other homerun hitters for the Mustangs were Scott Lawrence, with the first of his career, two by Don Cusano, two by Bill Knute, and one by Jack Erickson (4-4, HR, four RS, two RBI). Jay Lincoln added two hits and a walk and made nice defensive play by leaping to pull down the game ending throw at 1B for the Mustangs. A surging Burton's squad again played the Mustangs tough as they have done several times over the last few years. Down only two in the bottom of the seventh, Burton's couldn't rally to score the needed three for the win. Tim Scott contributed with two homeruns on a 2-4, five RBI performance. Newcomer Erik Pasters was 2-3 with a homerun in his first ever Over-30 league appearance and Captain Dave Batchelder chipped in with a homerun on a 2-4, three RBI night. Pasters also now holds the rookie of the year post game spread award.
CSA Graphics 13 - Drew Farms 7
Everyone in the line-up hit for CSA Graphics and the team scored in five of six innings to log their first win of the season versus Drew Farms. After a scoreless first inning, each team scored twice to keep the game even after two innings. In the third CSA took the lead and never looked back. Josh Haskin was 3 for 3 on the night plus a sacrifice fly, scoring two runs and driving in two others. Jonathan Ring went 3 for 4 with a couple runs and an RBI, along with making some great plays at shortstop. Jeff "the zip code" Bernier also reached base safely three times, scored a run, and had an RBI. The hero for CSA Graphics was Tim Piwowar who went 3 for 3 on the game, including a three-run homer, had two other RBIs and scored twice.
Short Cut Landscaping 15 - Pro Sports Therapy 7
Pro Sports had hits from 11 of the 13 players in the lineup, but it wasn’t enough against the big bats (five home runs) of Short Cut Landscaping. The offensive highlight for Pro Sports Therapy was a three-run homerun from Ben Armstrong.
Nashoba Valley Mustangs 23 - Floral Arts 19
In a back and forth game between the league's two finalists for the last eight seasons, the Mustangs prevailed on a two out walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 7th inning by Keith Reynolds (4-5, HR, six RBI). To get to that point the Mustangs had to come back from five separate deficits in the game to pull out the victory. Jim Ward set the table in the number two spot of the Mustang order going 5-5 with five runs scored. He also played outstanding defense in left center field all game. Winning pitcher Don Cusano provided tremendous offensive punch for the winners with four hits, including two long homeruns, a walk, six RBI, and four runs scored. Mark Cusano chipped in with five hits himself, including an opposite field homerun blast, four RBI and three runs scored. Jack Erickson and Bill Knute chipped in with three hits apiece and Knute made an outstanding diving catch down the left field line with the game still hanging in the balance. Super sponsor Craig Smith added two hits, including a clutch double down the left field line. Floral hit eleven balls out of the park, the last four only producing singles owing to the home run maximum of seven. Ryan Dunn (2), Ken Delaney (2), Larry Mardany, Rob Beaudette, and Mike Alonardo homered in the loss for Floral.
Burtons Grill 21 - Drew Farms 12
Burtons put up 21 and evened their season record to 2-2 in a nice win over Drew farms on Friday night. Led by the coaching of cricket expert Raghu Mantena, Burton's batted around in the third inning scoring nine runs and erasing a 10-4 deficit. Jerry Breen went 4-5 with three homeruns and five RBI. Rookie Erik Pasters continued his great start hitting two more homeruns, now three in his first two games in the league. Defense was just as strong at Brian Collamore made a great catch in right field and Tim Scott got Burton's out of jam in the sixth with a diving catch and throw to second to double up the runner and end the inning.
Willis Tent 11 - Healy Oil 9
After one it was tied up with three runs apiece. Willis took an 8 to 6 lead into the sixth inning but Healy would add three more runs to their total, briefly taking a 9 to 8 lead over Willis. In the bottom of the sixth Willis offense took over, banging out three runs to take an 11 to 9 lead . Willis sultimately ended it with a game ending double play. Willis' wins 11 to 9. Notable Willis contributions were Dennis Kane 3 for 3 with one single, one double and a homerun, Andrew Metters 3 for 3 with teo singles and a homerun, Brian Gallardo and Justin Swanson each with a homerun.
Spring has officially arrived as Westford Over 30 softball kicked off the 2017 season with its annual opening day cookout and full game schedule. Again, the Mustangs hosted the affair due to their winning the 2016 league championship. The Mustangs have the cookout down to a science having won the championship so many years in a row. The heavy rain held off and a full-complement of scores were reported.
Burtons Grill 16 - CSA 2
Burtons took an early lead but then blew it wide open scoring nine to win by the run-rule. Homeruns by Charlie Chungu, Eric Cataline and newcomer Mike Santiano led the way for Burtons. Cataline also had three hits and four RBI picking up from where he left off last season. Peter Morano legged out a nice double and Jerod Colley pitched well in the win. CSA looked ready to compete this year with some new faces. One highlight came from Tim "Wolverine" Greenwood, who had a solo shot that went over the light poles.
Healy Oil 9 - Pro Sports Therapy 6
Healy trailed 6-3 until the fourth inning when Healy put up six runs initiated by a Brian Herrmann three-run shot over the centerfield fence. Also going long was Tony Pantoja who put the second pitch of the game over the fence in left. Nick Wilmot pitched well mixing up the pitch format while Wayne Meadows and Tony Pantoja shined at third and shortstop. PST highlights included Ben Armstrong (3-3 with a homerun), Jeff Fuller (2-2 with a double), a Ryan Steele homerun, and Al Nudler- who posted what might have been the slowest motion triple in the history of the league, according to his coach.
Floral Arts 14 - Willis Tent 11
After three innings, Floral had a 6 to 3 lead over Willis. Willis began the fourth inning with three singles to load up the bases for teammate Dennis Kane who quickly cleared them with a towering grand slam. Willis followed with two more singles and a double taking a 9 to 7 lead over Floral heading into the fifth. Willis scored one more run in the sixth and Floral answered with four of their own taking an 11 to 10 lead after six. Willis would tie it up with a Justin Swanson homerun in the bottom of the seventh but Floral shut Willis down with three run walk off homerun. Floral Arts wins over Willis Tent 14 to 11. Notable Willis game contributors were, Justin Swanson going 3-3 with a single and two homeruns, Kevin Adolph 3-3 with two singles and a triple and Dennis Kane with grand slam. Floral Arts left-fielder Rob Beaudette had a big day at the plate, stroking two home runs, a three-run shot in the first inning and another three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning, to give Floral an Opening Day win. Beaudette, who was 4-for-4, also made several nice catches in left. Larry Mardany pitched a strong game for Floral and chipped in with two hits. Roger Whittlesey (3-for-4 with a home run), Simon Tripp (3-for-4 with a home run) and Geoff Pavao (4-for-4 with a home run) contributed consistently from the top of the order.
Floral Arts 25 - CSA 9
Floral Arts improved its record to 2-0 with a 25-9 win over CSA. Jim Peloquin (3-for-3, BB) had a big night at the plate. The shortstop hit two grand slams. Simon Tripp also hit a home run. Larry Mardany pitched well for Floral; and he was backed by some solid defensive plays by outfielder Chad Kirby and infielders Matt Critch, Ken Delaney, and Peloquin.
Short Cuts Landscaping 20 - Healy Oil 7
Healy was down 10-1 going into the top of the 4th and was able to rally 6 runs thanks in part to a Matt Dowling grand slam.
In the end Healy just couldn't match the offensive strength of SCL despite Wayne Meadows doing a good job of mixing up the pitch format.
Willis Tent 8 - Nashoba Valley Veterinary 4
A combination of some great pitching provided by Darren Swanson and solid offense and defense all around earned Willis Tent a well deserved win over team Mustangs. Willis held Mustangs to only four runs, all the while scoring eight runs of their own. The Mustangs attempted a comeback, loading up the bases in the top of the 7th but a spectacular “game ending” diving catch by Willis left fielder Brian Gallardo ended the Mustangs charge. Notable contributions to the Willis win were Roger Neild going 3 for 3, all singles, Kirt Andjus going 2 for 2 with a double and a homerun, Darren Swanson going 2 for 2 with single and a homerun, Zack Ellis going 2 for 2 with two singles. Also contributing to the win with homeruns were Dennis Kane and Stephen Damiani and a triple by Brian Gallardo.
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