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While the Mustangs remain undefeated at 17-0, they did face a formidable challenge this week in a Burtons squad who took them seven innings and scored 19 in the loss. The middle of the pack remains exciting as CSA won twice this week and pulled secret weapon, Thanh Nguyen, off the reserve list for their season ending drive. PST with six wins currently has the final playoff spot but Drew Farms and CSA are right behind with five and four wins respectively. Important and impactful matchups this week include Drew Farms facing Healy Oil, Willis Tent versus Short Cuts, and Burtons squaring off against former teammate Nguyen and CSA.
Pro Sports Therapy 11 - Burtons Grill 9 Opening night of the second half began with a tight game between PST and Burton Grill ending in an 11-9 win for the PST squad. PST led the whole way but never by enough to be comfortable. Burtons kept it close including a four run seventh inning and making their final out with the winning Burton run at the plate. Mark Urlage led off the game for PST with a homerun and made several big catches in the outfield. Urlage also started a relay that cut down a Burtons runner at the plate saving a run late in the game. PST veteran Jerry Cressman hit a grand slam in the third to key a six run inning that would ultimately mean a big difference in the game. Donald Slate led off the sixth with a homerun to key a four run inning that gave PST some room for error, needed in the end. Jeff Fuller of PST also contributed a two run double and Jeremy Joyce drove in a run with a two-out single. Derek Donegan, 3-3, and Merrimack College scholar Dave Chirokas, 2-2 with a walk, were both on base all night. Chirokas also sent a mix of pitches to the plate which kept the Burtons hitters guessing on what was coming next. Burtons hitting was led by Dave Batchelder, 3-3 including a homerun and two runs scored, Murph McKeon 3-3, one RBI, two runs scored and an assist on a throw to the plate to John Geary to end a PST inning. Geary and Arkansas farmhand Jerod Colley both went 2-2 with two RBI. Greg Fitzgerald went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored to keep Burtons close. Other key contributions included a Kieran Murray throw to get a PST runner at third and possibly the best catch of the year on a screaming line drive by Burton's Eric Cataline. Cataline also tagged up from second on a fly ball and continues to show rookie of the year credentials.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 23 - Burtons Grill 19 Over the last few seasons Burtons has proven a formidable challenge to the dominant Mustangs team taking them into six extra innings one game and handing them their only loss in a prior seasons. While the Mustangs won last night, Burtons fought back from a 19-4 deficit to lose just 23-19. Burtons turned a couple of double plays and had great hitting from several spots in the lineup. First year player Charlie Chungo hit a grand slam, Gerry Breen 4-4, two homeruns, three RBI and four runs scored. Dave Batchelder had another homerun, Eric Cataline 4-4, Jon Russo with a homerun, and lefty Luke Boulanger 2-4, a double and two runs scored. Chris Brooks, recovering from an injury playing off-season football, came in to pitch in a clutch relief appearance. Billy "Blastoff" Knute led the potent Mustang attack with three long homerun blasts, seven RBI, and four runs scored in the slugfest victory over the much improved Burtons squad. Paul Selfrige, 3-4, HR, two RBI, three runs, and Jack Erickson, 3-4, HR, three RBI, three runs, set the table at the top of the Mustang order for Knute and Don Cusano, two hits, BB, homerun, two RBI, three runs. Cormac Bordes and Mike Kennedy added three hits apiece, while Paul Ligouri and Sean Morgan each had three RBI and three runs scored, and Craig Smith chipped in with two hits. Kennedy and Selfrige played excellent defense on the left side of the Mustang infield. It is worth noting that 19 runs was the most scored by any team against the Mustangs this season.
CSA Graphics 14 - Drew Farms 6 Drew's took an early, but small, lead which held through the first five innings. In the sixth, CSA Graphics stormed ahead behind the offense of CSA's secret weapon for the game, Thanh Nguyen. "T", playing in his first game of the year, off the reserves list, went three for three on the night with solo and three-run home runs, and five RBI. Jim DeMarco also had a two run homerun in the sixth to help push CSA into the lead. In the top of the seventh, CSA threatened again, loading the bases with T coming to the plate. Drew Farm's proceeded to take the a time-out to discuss their options on the mound, choosing to intentionally walk T and concede a run. This plan back-fired when Mike Cioffi followed with a grand slam, putting the game out of reach for Drew's.
CSA Graphics 28 - Willis Tent 27 A classic slugfest. After Willis posted six runs in the first inning, CSA hit fourteen singles to counter with nine runs. After the string of singles in the first inning, CSA settled for a couple solo home runs in the second from Matt Sepe, 4 for 4 on the night with two home runs and Bill Cullen, 3 for 5 on the night. After Willis managed to begin pulling away with high-scoring innings, CSA chipped-away, scoring in each inning of the game, scoring three in the third and two more in the fourth. CSA made their big move in the fifth inning, scoring seven behind the big bat of Mike Cioffi who hit his second home run of the game. After four more runs in the sixth inning, Willis bounced back to tie the game in the top of the 7th. After a couple quick outs, Mike Cioffi completed his big night with a walk off solo homerun, going 5 for 5 with three home runs and six RBI on the night. Every CSA player had at least one hit and one RBI in the game, as the team scored in each inning for the first time this season. Notable contributions for Willis were: Rick Devanna going 4 for 5 with four singles, Brian Gallardo going 4 for 5 with two singles and two homeruns, Kevin Adolph 3 for 5 with three singles and Andrew Metters also 3 for 5 with a single, a double and a homerun. Stephen Damiani aided the Willis effort with a homerun as well.
Drew Farms 23- Floral Arts 13 Drew Farms drew first blood and was relentless thereafter, getting timely hits, extending rallies, and finding the gaps. Drew's third baseman Pat [last name] made two great stabbing plays on hard hit balls. Both teams hit seven home runs. Homering for Floral were Simon Tripp, Frank Lancelotta, Mike Alonardo, Ryan Dunn, Rob Beaudette, and Geoff Pavao. Fleet-footed Chad Kirby turned in another solid defensive effort in the outfield, and second baseman Mark Chambers dove for and gobbled up seven ground balls heading for the middle. Drew's Kirk C. went 5-5 with two dingers, Jim Scanlon 5-6, also with two homeruns, Joe Welch five hits, Rich Rago and Blake Buxton four hits each. Bill Farhety's returned from retirement with a single, double, and a sacrifice fly in the big win.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 25- Pro Sports Therapy 2 PST's first two batters of the game reached base, but Mustangs' first basemen Cormac Bordes changed the momentum by making the play of the night diving to his left to catch a bullet grounder and from his back flipped to pitcher Paul Ligouri for the out to help stop the early rally. Bordes added three hits, including a homer and three RBI to aide Liguori's victory on the mound. The Mustangs' offense was led by Mike Kennedy, 4-4, two homeruns, five RBI, three runs scored, Paul Selfrige, 5-5, homerun, three RBI, four runs. Bill Knute, 4-4, HR, four RBI, four runs scored. Mark Cusano, 4-4, homerun, five RBI, three runs scored, and Don Cusano, 3 hits, homerun, three RBI, three runs scored. Jack Erickson added three hits and four runs scored from his second spot in the Mustang order. Selfrige turned two infield double plays from his shortstop position to lead the Mustang defense. For PST, Donald Slate continued his hot streak by hitting a two run homerun to break up the shut out. Dave Chirokas also had a 2-2 night for PST.
Short Cuts Landscaping 14 - Pro Sports Therapy 8 Short Cuts jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first and put up two more in the 2nd and it looked like it would be cruise control to a run rule win. But PST broke through in the 3rd with four runs, powered by two run homeruns by Derek Donegan and Ben Armstrong. From there, it was a much more competitive game. PST got close with three more in the 5th, but three in the bottom of the 6th from SCL put it away. For PST, Armstrong led the offense going 3-4 with two doubles and the homerun.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 23 - Drew Farms 11 Down only 12-10 after five innings Drew Farms held out hope that this might be an upset in the making over the undefeated Mustangs. However, it would end 23-11 as the Mustangs turned it on in the final two innings while shutting down the Drew's offense. Mike Kennedy hit three homeruns and had five RBI, Mark Cusano, two homeruns and three RBI. Paul Selfrige 5-5, a homerun, three RBI and four runs scored, Bill Knute 4-5, another homerun and two runs scored. Sean Morgan three hits and two runs scored and Jay Lincoln three hits and a bomb over the fence. Good infield defense by Paul Ligouri and Bill Knute threw out another runner at the plate from left field for the Mustangs. Drew's Pat Pawlak, 2-4 with two homeruns, Rob Oneal and Scott Cole were both 3-4. Todd Shepherd went 3-3 with two homeruns and flashed the leather playing third base for the first time in thirteen years. Tome Millante also hit well going 2-4 in the Drew's effort.
Heading into the mid-season break, the Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs sit undefeated at 14-0 having scored 307 runs, accumulating exactly 100 more runs than the second place 8-4 Floral Arts team. The Mustangs defense is just as strong allowing only 80 runs over those same 14 games. Second place thru fifth place are all teams with eight wins represented by Short Cuts Landscaping, Willis Tent, and Burtons Grill falling in behind Floral. Six teams make the playoffs and Pro Sports Therapy, after two big wins, currently sits in sixth place at 5-9. Drew Farms, Healy Oil and CSA Graphics make up the bottom three spots but all are well within reach of a playoff spot with a strong second half.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 22 - Healy Oil 6 The Mustangs began another week of games with a run rule win over Healy Oil. Mark Cusano went 4-4, with two grand slams, 10 RBI total, including the second straight walkoff salami for the Mustangs to reach the run rule victory. Paul Selfrige and Mike Kennedy each went 3-4, while Paul Liguori notched another win on the mound. Jack Erickson threw out a runner at 3B from LF to bolster the outstanding Mustang defense. Bruce Wilhelm started Healy going early with a two run shot over center field and Wayne Meadows tried to pitch around the Mustang batters but the Mustang offense just overpowered the Healy defense.
Pro Sports Therapy 17 - CSA Graphics 0 Pro Sports Therapy notched yet another run rule win scoring 17 and keeping CSA Graphics from crossing the plate at all over the five innings. PST's Donald Slate cleared the bases with a three-run bomb in the first and was then followed by Tom Rose hitting a homerun on his first swing in six weeks. These early runs would be all veteran hurler Dave Chirokas would need the rest of the way. PST put up four more in the bottom of the second, all with two outs, high-lighted by Ben Armstrong’s three run bomb. Both Slate and Armstrong had big nights, each going 3-3, with a double, homerun and four RBI. Also noteworthy at the plate were both Dave Chirokas and interim manager Derek Donegan, both posting 3-3 efforts. A five run third inning all but sealed the deal, but PST’s offense stayed hot by adding three in the fourth and a single run in the fifth. The undermanned CSA squad fought gamely, led by former PST outfielder Bill Cullen, who has reinvented himself as one of the better pitchers in the league with a reputation for shutting down his former squad. The PST defense turned three double plays in the infield, including Chirokas’s stab of a line drive and catching a CSA runner off of first to end an inning.
Willis Tent 13 - Floral Arts 9 Willis Tent beat Floral Arts 13-9 on Wednesday night. Both teams battled throughout the game, but Willis' big sixth inning put them ahead for good. Floral got a good pitching performance from Simon Tripp. Jeff Moore went 3-for-3 with two homers and five RBI, Mark Chambers hit a solo home run, and Roger Whittlesey knocked in two with a double. Chad Kirby played a solid right field and knocked in a run. Contributing to the Willis win were Andrew Metters with a 4 for 4 night, two singles and two doubles, John Mangiaratti going 3 for3 with three singles and a base on balls, Brian Gallardo 3 for 4 with two singles and homerun, Rick Devanna 3 for 4 with two singles and a homerun. Dennis Kane and Justin Swanson each contributed to the effort with a homerun. Willis also got excellent pitching from veteran Paul Duato.
Burtons Grill 25 - Drew Farms 22 Posting a score often seen in football rather than softball, Burtons outlasted a very tough Drews squad 25-22 over seven innings and nearly two hours. The high scoring affair was highlighted by a rare homerun, two swinging strikeouts, a 22 run inning, and a near triple play. In an important game for two teams in the middle of the pack, Burtons went above .500 standing at 8-7 going into the holiday break. Burtons rising star Raghu Mantena hit a two run blast off of Drews starter Mark Kost to open the scoring and contributed four RBI on the night. Mantena also made several great catches in right field to end some rallies. Burtons season homerun leader Dave Batchelder hit for the cycle, knocking in five RBI. Eric Cataline 5-5 and four RBI, Luke Boulanger went 3-4 with four RBI, Tim Scott 3-5, two RBI, and three runs scored, John Geary 3-4, three runs scored and two RBI and Jerod Colley 4-5 and a great pitching effort to close out the seventh. Peter Morano had several key hits and a blown tire due to excessive speed rounding first. Drews competed every inning including responding with 12 runs in the bottom of an inning where Burtons posted 10 thus quickly narrowing an 18-2 lead and making it a game again. Offensive standouts for Drews included Pat Pawlak with a homerun, Rich Ragu with a three run homerun, and solid hitting by Blake Buxton and Joe Welch. Outstanding catches in the outfield by Tim Scott and Brian Collamore for Burtons, and a nice grab by Jason Lenicheck at third, put the win in Burton's column.
Healy Oil 23 - CSA Graphics 19 CSA jumped to an early 7-0 lead, but Healy quickly erased that deficit, with six-run and 13-run innings. CSA Graphics stormed back, led by Matt Sepe, two homeruns and four RBI, Bill Ryan, 4-5, with two RBI, and Mike Cioffi, 4-5, with three RBI. In the fifth inning, a grand slam from Bob Cullen who had three homers on the night and six total RBI, followed by a two-run homerun from his brother Bill helped get CSA within a run of Healy. Insurance runs by Healy in the bottom of the sixth helped secure the win, however. CSA had 28 hits on the night (everyone on the team with at least two), but were ultimately out-slugged, leaving the bases loaded to end the game in the seventh. Leading the Healy win, Brian Herrmann had a solo homerun over the right field fence and Nick Wilmot also had a solo line drive homerun to center field. Wilmot pitched a solid game as well as going 4-4. Mike Finegan went 4-4 as well. Healy had a 13 run third inning and was able to keep a fighting CSA at bay.
Short Cuts Landscaping 20 - Drew Farms 7 Three home runs by Dave Silton, one by Brett Oakleaf and Chris Clark hitting for the cycle for Short Cuts put this one out of reach for Drew Farms. John Ablondi and Bill Doherty each add three hits to contribute to the Short Cuts victory. Short Cuts scored seven runs in the first inning but Drews tried to battle back with good hitting by several Drews players. Todd Shepherd was 2-3 with a homerun, Pat Pawlak, 2-3 with a double, and Blake Buxton 2-2 on the night.
Another great week in Westford Over 30 softball as both Burtons Grill and Pro Sports Therapy had explosive offensive efforts, each resulting in the run rule and adding excitement to the playoff picture. The Mustangs continued to win and showed their impressive defense turning five double plays in Sunday night's game. Nine RBI by Charle Chungu for Burtons and six for John Bodi of PST highlighted the offense for the week. With Drew’s loss to the Mustangs on Sunday, PST is level with them in wins as the playoff race tightens. Burtons plays Drews on Wednesday night and PST has a big game against CSA Graphics on Tuesday.
Burtons Grill 29 - Healy Oil 9 Burtons scored early and often opening the top of the first inning with seven runs and ended the game with a 29-9 win enacting the league run rule after five. Burtons was led by rookie shortstop Charlie Chungu with nine RBI and three runs scored, the result of a grand slam, three run home run and two singles. Chungu also played a stellar shortstop. Other Burton's notables included Rick Waldron, Jeff Kott and Brian Haley continuing to hit well. Jerod Colley's steroid streak continued as he hit yet another two run homerun. Tim Scott went 3-4 with four runs scored, and Raghu Mantena went 2-4 with two RBI. Jon Russo had a homerun and three RBI, Gerry Breen 3-4, three RBI, three runs scored and Eric Cataline 2-4, three RBI and two runs scored. Eric "Murph" McKeon went 3-4 as did John Geary, both with two runs scored. Every Burton's player had at least one run scored in the lopsided affair. Dave Batchhelder stroked a solo shot for Burtons and trotted, with purpose, around the bases. Going into the bottom of the fifth down 29-3, Healy showed they are a quality team just having an off night by posting six runs with two homeruns including a three run shot by Dave O'Keefe and a solo by captain Bill Eaton.
Short Cuts Landscaping 11 - CSA Graphics 8 Last place CSA Graphics put up a good fight against the second place squad from Short Cuts and kept it close losing by just eight in the end. A Short Cut home run by Mike Gross, and two hits by both Chris Smith and Jason Humphrey fueled the landscaper's seventh win of the season. CSA slugger Matt Sepe had three homeruns, Tim Greenwood had one homerun, Bill Ryan went 3 for 3, Both Bill Cullen and Josh Haskin each had two hits for CSA in the loss.
Floral Arts 21- Pro Sports Therapy 8 On Wednesday night, Floral Arts defeated Pro Sports Therapy, 21-8, to improve their record to 7-3. Pitcher Larry Mardany kept PST from hitting any home runs, and then helped his cause by hitting his fourth homer of the season in the third inning. Mardany was 3-for-4 with four RBI. Rob Beaudette hit two home runs for Floral, both solo shots. Roger Whittlesey went 4-for-5, including a two-run home run and a double. He knocked in three runs. Simon Tripp was also 4-for-5 with a two-run, double-fence home run. In only his second game in the league, Mike Donaruma went 3-for-4 and hit a towering home run over the center field fence. Ryan Dunn made some great plays at third and went 3-for-3 with a walk. For Pro Sports Therapy, Brian Dubey (on base all three times) and Derek Donegan (two doubles and a pair of RBIs) led the PST offense.
Floral Arts 17- Healy Oil 2 On Friday night, Floral Arts improved its record to 8-3 and regained sole ownership of second place in the standings with its 17-2 win over Healy Oil. Ryan Dunn had a big night at the plate, going 4-for-4, smashing three home runs, and gathering five RBI. Rob Beaudette (3-for-4, HR, four RBI), Chad Kirby (homerun), and Billy Luppold (2-for-2, BB) were the other offensive stars for Floral. Dave Janowsky made several nice catches in left-center field and Mark Chambers played a solid second base.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 21 - Short Cuts Landscaping 6 Mustangs broke open a tight game with their signature big run inning in the 4th when they scored 12 runs, eight after two were out. The outstanding Mustang defense and pitcher Don Cusano held the powerful Shortcuts lineup to only six runs and no homeruns. "Big game" Paul Selfrige led off the game in his usual fashion with the first of his two homeruns on the night. He also turned a big infield double play early in the game to keep Shortcuts off the board. Left fielder Bill Knute added two monster home run blasts of his own and gunned out a runner at third base to snuff out another Shortcuts rally. The Cusano brothers each had long homeruns as well to aid the cause. The Mustangs saved one homerun for late in the game, as they often do, and Jack Erickson made the most of it with a walkoff grandslam for the Mustangs' 10th mercy rule in 12 games. Other Mustang contributions came from Jim Ward (3 hits, two runs, two RBI), Jay Lincoln (two hits, BB, three runs), and Sean Morgan (hit, BB, sac fly, two runs).
Nashoba Valley Mustangs 16 - Drew Farms 4 The Mustangs infield of Paul Selfrige, Dan Crogan, Paul Ligouri, and Cormac Bordes turned five infield double plays in support of winning pitcher Don Cusano. Mustang Lefty sluggers Bill Knute two homerun, six RBi) and Jack Erickson (two HR, three RBI) led the offensive charge. Other Mustangs homerun blasts were hit by Paul Selfrige, Mark Cusano and Don Cusano. Drews kept the Mustangs to well below their game scoring average but unfortunately only scored four. For the losing side, Sal Bonacoure went 3-3, Todd Shepherd 2-3 with a homerun, and Jason Welch 1-2, also with a homerun in the effort.
Pro Sports Therapy 17 - Willis Tent 4 Pro Sports Therapy surprised everyone on Sunday night beating soundly a strong Willis Tent team 17-4 and employing the league run rule on a walk off single by Chelmsford Class of 1978 legend, Tim Schutt. The Schutt single capped off an eight-run outburst in the fifth for PST. Willis was playing with nine in the field and PST took advantage of the extra gaps. PST leadoff hitter Ben Armstrong opened off the game with a long homerun to left. Armstrong had another big game including three hits, four runs scored and two more RBI. Adam Hickey had his first homerun and RBIs of his career, a two run blast to center Donald Slate, just a double short of the cycle, blasting a long two-run homerun to left field and a triple to right field as part of a three hit, three RBI night. League Secretary John Bodi went 4-4 with three doubles and a career high six RBI.
Westford Over 30 softball had a busy week including the undefeated Mustangs scoring an astonishing 49 runs in just five innings on Friday night. They have now scored 248 runs over just 11 games. Floral Arts and Short Cuts Landscaping are tied in second place with 6-3 records, Willis Tent, Burtons Grill, and Drew Farms round out the top six in that order. Key match-ups this upcoming week include Floral Arts versus Short Cuts Landscaping and a rematch of Burtons versus Pro Sports Therapy.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 19 - Burton's Grill 3 Burtons remained optimistic holding the league leading Mustangs to just five runs....until the league leaders crossed the plate 11 more times in the fourth and effectively put the game out of reach. Burton was held scoreless until Dave Batchelder hit a three run home run in the bottom of the fifth to bring Burton to within four of the run rule and extending the game but it was not meant to be. Left handed Mustang sluggers Bill Knute and Jack Erickson continued their hot streaks with two homers apiece. Other Mustangs with homeruns in the win over Burton's included: Don Cusano, Mike Kennedy, and Cormac Bordes. Dan Crogan added three hits and Knute ran down every ball from his left field spot. Paul Liguori got another win on the mound. Both teams did work together to polish off a Jerod Colley pulled pork feast after the game.
Drew Farms 20 - Willis Tent 11 Standouts for Willis tent were Roger Neild offensively going 3 for 4 with a homerun and two singles and defensively with an amazing over the head catch. John Mangiaratti going 3 for 4 with a homerun and two singles, Jeff Briggs 2 for 2 with a homerun, single and two base on balls. Also Rob Swinamer contributed to the effort with a homerun of his own.
Floral Arts 26 - CSA Graphics 4 On Sunday night, second-place Floral Arts defeated CSA, 26-4, in five innings to improve its record to 6-2. Billy Luppold led the Floral Arts' offense with a 3-for-4 night, five RBI and three runs scored. Frank Lancelotta was 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI. Floral's third-string pitcher Simon Tripp pitched well in his season debut for Floral and supported his cause by hitting a home run. Tom Semeter, Mark Chambers, Dave Janowsky, Jeff Moore, and Ryan Dunn each had a multi-hit game. CSA once again played a great top of the first defense and earned an early 1-0 lead... but couldn't keep up with the Floral barrage from there. Bob Cullen did have a two-run home run last night in the CSA effort.
Short Cuts Landscaping 16 - Burton's Grill 6 Third place Short Cuts Landscaping used six long homeruns and four walks to beat sixth place Burtons 16-6. Dave Silton powered two over the fence and made some nice catches in the field for Short Cuts who took a 4-4 tie and blew the game wide open with an eight run inning. Burtons was led by hitting tactician Mike Jerzlyo who went 3-3 with a double and two singles, one RBI and one run scored. Lefty Keiran Murray slugged a ball over the head of the Short Cuts outfield for two RBI and Brian Haley hit well all night. JC pitched well and protected himself on several shots back up the middle.
Pro Sports Therapy 18 - Drew Farms 10 With a much needed win to stay in the race, PST outdueled a fifth place Drew Farms 18-10 on Tuesday night. "My boys finally had a real good effort," stated manager John Bodi, "13 players tonight, 12 of them scored and every one of them had at least one hit." PST went up 3-0 in the second inning, a big hit by Andrew Fletcher was a solid double that drove in two runs. Brian Dubey drove in another run on his first hit of a 3-3 night. PST extended the lead to 9-0 in the third inning when veteran Jerry Cressman hit a three-run homerun and Donald Slate followed with a two-run homerun of his own. Drews fought back led by Scottie Cole 3-3, Blake Rago 2-3 with a three run homerun and Kurt Cambin with a grand slam to keep it interesting. PST wasn't willing to give up the win and capitalized on big hits including a two-run triple by John Bodi (rumor has it that the whole play was in slow motion) and another Donald Slate two-run homerun. PST separates itself from the others at the bottom with their third win.
Willis Tent 18 - Healy Oil 17 Willis Tent used everything in their arsenal to hold off a much improved Healy Oil team, including and exhausting the homerun rule. Willis took an 18 to 10 run lead into the 7th inning only to see that lead dwindle to a single run. But, with another solid defensive effort put in by Roger Neild and pitcher Bob Fluery, Willis would capture the win beating Healy 18 to 17. Standout contributions for Willis were, Dennis Kane going 4 for 4 with two homeruns (one being a grand slam) and two singles, Jeff Briggs 2 for 3 with two homeruns and two more walks. Justin Swanson 2 for 4 with two homeruns, Roger Neild and Stephen Damiani both going 2 for 3 with two doubles and a base on balls, also contributing to the Willis win was Brian Gallardo with a "fully charged" homerun.
Burtons 18 - Pro Sports Therapy 5 Burtons continued to firm up a position in the playoffs notching their sixth win of the season against Pro Sports Therapy winning 18-5 and invoking the league run rule in the sixth inning. Burtons has moved into fifth place with more games played than any other team in the league to this point. Burtons defensive highlights included a diving catch by Brian Collamore, a twisting stab by Murph McKeon, and a run saving throw for an out at the plate by Collamore from right center. Burtons also hit the ball well with contributions from several players. Tim Scott went 4-5 with three runs scored and three RBI, John Geary was 3-3 including two sacrifice flies, three runs scored and four RBI, Jason Lenicheck 3-4, one run scored, and two RBI, and Jeff Kott 3-4 with triple and a run scored. In the effort by PST, Brian Dubey hit a loud homerun in the third to get his squad back in the game. The PST old guard led the offense with Tim Schutt, 2-2 with a walk and an RBI and, always a tough out, John Bodi, 3-3 on the evening. PST shortstop Ryan Steele continued to impress with his defensive skills.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 24 - Floral Arts 15 The Mustangs faced their toughest test of the season against their long time rival, Floral Arts. The Mustangs needed to come from behind two separate times and found themselves tied at 15-15 coming to bat in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Mustangs batted throughout their entire order in the inning, putting up nine runs, including three homers to pull away. Don Cusano led the offense with three homeruns and six RBI's. Paul Selfrige added two hits, including a big homer in the decisive 6th inning, to go along with five RBIs. Adding homerun blasts for the Mustangs were Mike Kennedy, Jack Erickson, and Mark Cusano. Bill Knute chipped in with four hits and three runs scored. Several outstanding defensive plays were made by both teams. Mustangs outfielder Jim Ward leaped and pulled down a sure Floral Arts homerun from over the left center firled fence with two runners on base to keep the game tied in the 6th inning, while Scott Lawrence threw out a Floral Arts runner from right field trying to stretch a hit into a double.
The Mustangs continue to win, and win big, but the story of the week is Healy Oil is on the board with their first two wins of the season. Healy notched back to back quality wins and hope to work their way back into the playoff picture with plenty of time to go.
Burton's Grill 16 - CSA Graphics 13 In a match between the sixth and seventh place teams (six teams make the playoffs), Burtons edged an improving CSA squad 16-13. Burtons opened the game with three runs, two on a John Geary single with the bases full, but CSA Graphics then answered with nine runs of their own in the first. CSA's assault was led by Matt Sepe's three-run homer (2 for 4 with two home runs on the night) and Mike Cioffi's grand slam (3 for 4 on the night). Several big hits taking advantage of numerous Burtons miscues gave CSA a comfortable lead after one However, Burtons pitcher Jerod Colley, following sage advice to increase his arc, basically shut down CSA allowing only four more runs over the final six innings. Burtons hitting and defense was led by rookie of the year nominee Eric Cataline going 4-4 with two singles, a double, and a homerun, four runs scored and three RBI. Tim Scott, partnered with Cataline in the outfield, went 3-4 with two singles, one homerun, two runs scored and three RBI. Both Catalane and Scott continued their great defense making key grabs in left and left center including a game ending stab by Cataline. Other notables included Peter "Mario" Murano with two singles, the game tying RBI and a cardiac testing run scored from second base. Luke Boulanger and Jon Russo also chipped in with key homeruns for Burtons who are now at 5-5 on the season. Colley helped out himself dogging out a triple usually seen in a Tough Mudder event.
Healy Oil 22 - Short Cuts Landscaping 21 In a slugfest, Healy is now on the board with a win, it's first, outdueling SCL in an eight inning battle, 22-21. This is a notable effort with a ninth place team beating a fourth place team and bringing SCL back to the pack. Healy saw the return of Tom Hudson on the mound who pitched a solid game. Healy Oil got off to an early start with a lead off home run by Matt Dowling who continues his hot streak of at least one home run in every game. Brian Herrmann followed shortly thereafter with a two run blast over the center field fence. From that point on it was a combination of singles and double for the remaining seven innings including a 10 run fourth inning that consisted of seven singles and a three run triple by Captain Bill Eaton. Healy loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth when Dan Nucci launched a walk-off single to win the game for Healy. Notable Healy defense was Wayne Meadows at third base. Also notable was that Healy started their grill and cooking at 6 PM for their 7:45 game and the smell of barbeque permeated the field for several hours making it feel like a night game at Fenway for all.
Healy Oil 10 - Pro Sports Therapy 9 Yes, it's true, Healy Oil has won two in a row and have started to hit the ball well and are no longer a team to count on as an easy win. Healy jumped out to an immediate 3-0 lead on Pro Sports Therapy, but saw that quickly turn into a 3-3 tie after one inning. PST then posted four more in the second on a Ben Armstrong Grand Slam to take a 7-3 lead. Healy pitcher Wayne Meadows then shut down the PST bats for three innings incorporating many different pitching angles and depths.The Oilers chipped away and eventually took an 8-7 lead in the 6th. Once again, PST tied it up but Healy again grabbed the lead, putting up two more. PST continued to battle cutting the lead to one on another Armstrong homerun. A Jerry Cressman double that was just short of being a walk-off HR put runners at second and third with the tying run just 65’ away. Healy defied conventional wisdom, which would have had Meadows walk the clean-up hitter to load the bases and, instead, pitched to him and survived with a great catch by Brian Herrmann in right center field. Herrmann also went 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI. On the PST side, Ben Armstrong was again a force at the top of the order, going 4-4, scoring three runs and driving in five. Jeff Fuller was the tough luck loser for PST, matching Meadows throughout despite a defense that struggled at times.
Floral Arts 26 - CSA Graphics 3 On Friday evening, Floral Arts defeated CSA, 26-3, to improve to 5-2 on the season. Rob Beaudette made several outstanding plays at shortstop for Floral and went 4-for-4, with two home runs and seven RBI. Larry Mardany and Frank Lancelotta combined on the mound to keep CSA to just three runs, and neither allowed a home run. Floral Arts got strong offense from Geoff Pavao (4-for-4, three-run homer), Simon Tripp (3-for-4, two-run homer), Ryan Dunn (three-run homer), Lance Lotta (three doubles), and Roger Whittlesey (3-for-4, four runs).
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 22 - Drew Farms 7 Don Cusano led the offensive attack (two HR, three RBI, three runs scored) and got the win on the mound. Baby brother Mark Cusano chipped in with three hits, including a homer. Fellow lefty Jack Erickson added teo hits, a blast of his own and four RBI. Righty Mike Kennedy contributed three hits and a big fly of his own, along with three RBI. Per usual, Paul Selfrige set the tone at the top of the order with three hits, including two doubles. The well balanced Mustang attack scored 10 runs, all with two out, in the second inning to start to pull away. Other Mustangs with two hits were Bill Knute, Cormac Bordes, Craig Smith, Paul Ligouri, and Dan Crogan, who also helped turn a nice infield double play to end a Drews rally.
Willis Tent 21 – Pro Sports Therapy 8 On a night filled with three, five inning run rule games, the big bats of Willis Tent put Pro Sports Therapy away early on the strength of two homeruns from both Rob Swinamer and Dennis Kane. Swinamer’s pitching shut down the PST bats early and his two run bomb staked Willis to a 3-0 lead after one inning. PST finally got on the board with two in the third, but Willis then erupted for seven runs. Swinamer (three run shot) and Kane (solo) went back to back in the inning. PST fought back with three more of their own with the key hit being a two-run double by Andrew Fletcher, but Willis matched those three runs quickly to make it 13-5 after four innings. PST continued to chip away to get within 5 but Willis brought out the big fly one more time when Kane got his second, a grand slam, in the midst of an eight run inning that would close out the game.
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