Washington Township Senators 35+

The Washington Township Senators began their title defense with a 15-5 beating of the Sewell Sharks at St. Augustine High School in Buena, NJ. John DiPietro went seven strong innings and allowed just five hits and two runs as the Nat offense got on track. The Senators offense produced up and down the lineup, with Mark Alessandrini (3 steals), Chris Lawrence, Frank Izzi (2 steals) and Jim Toth each collecting two hits. Jim McAllister picked up three RBIs, while Lawrence, Dale Amos (2 steals), Izzi, Miles Reader and Toth each had two RBIs. The focused Senators travel to Clearview High School in the hopes of ending this thing in two straight games. Dale Amos gets the starting nod on the hill. The lineup: 1. Alessandrini-CF 2. Lawrence-3B 3. D. Amos-P 4. Bevenour-LF/EH 5. McAllister-SS 6. Reader-EH 7. Frese-1B 8. Kulikowski-EH/LF 9. R. Amos-C 10. Trotman-2B 11. Wood-RF P-Dale Amos

The Senators got past the Philadelphia Panthers 4-1 on Sunday despite a less-than-stellar offensive effort. The pitchers kept the Nats in the safety zone, so kudos to Frank Rose, Chris Lawrence, and John DiPietro for their excellent effort on the day. As for the offense, well, we need to find the "on" switch, and we need to find it now. On that note, we WILL hit this Thursday night at the varsity cages. I strongly encourage you to make it out and get some swings so that we can jump start things. We play Saturday morning, 9:00 AM at St. Augustine Prep School in Richland, NJ against the Sewell Sharks. Game #2 will be 9:00 AM at Clearview Regional High School in Mullica Hill, NJ. Game #2 (if necessary) would be our home game, location TBA. The starting lineup for Saturday at St. Augustine: 1. Alessandrini-CF 2. Lawrence-3B 3. D. Amos-LF 4. Izzi-1B 5. Bevenour-EH 6. McAllister-SS 7. Reader-C 8. Toth-EH 9. Rose-EH 10. Trotman-2B 11. Wood-RF P-DiPietro

The Delco Astros used a fine performance from veteran hurler John Kosmosky and four hits from Tony "Fugi" DiGiammo to hand the Senators a sweaty 10-4 pasting at Sun Vally High School in Delaware County. Rich Kulikowski took the loss, coming up with a sore wing after pitching two solid innings to start the game. The Senators were very short-handed, with only 10 players present, and they seemed to wilt in the near 100-degree heat. Frank Rose was the offensive leader, collecting singles in each of his three at-bats. And although every Senators but the skipper hit safely, Rose was the only Nat with multiple safties. Next up: the Senators come back home for a regular season ending contest against the Philadelphia Panthers, a team they faced in last year's playoffs -- and the former team of long-time Nat Ken Bevenour. Gene Michalski will have the ball for this one, but I also intend to use Dale Amos, Chris Lawrence, Frank Rose, Ken Bevenour, and if healthy, Rich Kulikowski and John DiPietro in this one, too. The tentative lineup (with Toth getting one quick AB and departing): 1. Toth-EH
2. Alessandrini-CF
3. Lawrence-3B
4. D. Amos-LF
5. Izzi-1B
6. Bevenour-RF
7. McAllister-SS
8. Frese-2B/EH
9. Kulikowski-EH/OF
10. R. Amos-C
11. Rose-2B Gene Michalaki would hit for Toth the second time around the lineup and continue from there.

Well, at least we had a nice breakfast. The Senators were given a 9-0 forfeit win over the Voorhees Angels this past Sunday when Phil Ball was unable to muster enough bodies to play the game. Only six Angels were in evidence at Washington Township High School. But many thanks to Phil for footing the entire umpire bill. Classy move. Next week, we travel to Sun Vally High School to meet the Delco Astros, who are also sitting on four losses right now. Be a nice game to win. Rich Kulikowski will get the starting nod, with Gene Michalski, Frank Rose and Ken Bevenour in the pen. John DiPietro, Dale Amos and Bill Trotman are unavailable. The starting lineup: 1. Mark Alessandrini-CF
2. Chris Lawrence-SS
3. Frank Izzi-1B
4. Ken Bevenour-LF
5. Miles Reader-RF
6. Jim Toth-EH/3B
7. Nick Frese-2B/EH
8-Rich Kulikowski-P
9. Rick Amos-C
10. Frank Rose-3B/EH
11. Gene Michalski-EH/2B Lineup and pitching, as always, subject to change at any time. We will hit Thursday night at the varsity cages as usual.