Announcement
The Week 8 Round Up brings us to the Fourth of July break with two teams clearly separating themselves from the pack. The Mustangs, the league's defending champion, show no intention of giving up that title as they are undefeated through eleven games. Not willing to simply cede the title to them is a Floral Arts squad intent on making amends for last year's loss in the finals. At 11-1, Floral Arts is only 1/2 game back and still has 3 games against the Mustangs to make a statement.
Short Cut Landscaping (SCL) stands as the best of the rest at the half-way pole. At 7-5, they are the only other team above .500 and have a 2 game lead on their next closest competitor.
The rest of the pack is only separated by 2 games. At this point, with all of these teams currently below the .500 mark, anyone can come out of the dog days of July and early August to make a run at a home spot in the first round of the playoffs. On the other side of the coin, two of these teams will be left out when the playoffs start. Stuck in this group of teams are Willis Tent (three titles in the 2000's as part of their four year run), Healy Oil (three titles), Pro Sports Therapy (PST; two titles) and Drew Farms (one title). And not to be left out, Mario's Restaurant has already clinched the season series with at least one of these competitors.
Mustangs 20 - SCL 7
The Mustangs beat Short Cuts in five innings on Tuesday night, 20-7. Mustang rookie Jack Erickson’s first career home run came with the bases loaded. Bill Knute and Mark Cusano also homered for the winners. Paul Liguori pitched a solid game. Fred Mettler, Don Cusano, and Mike Kennedy each had two hits. Knute made a great catch in left field and then doubled off a Shortcut runner.
Floral Arts 7 - Drew Farms 3
Pitching and defense dominated this tightly contested game. Floral Arts backed up home runs from Jim Peloquin (2), Jonathan Morgan, and Simon Tripp with two double plays in the middle infield and several standout defensive plays in the outfield. Larry Mardany was tough on the mound, working out of multiple jams and fielding the position expertly.
Mustangs 33 - PST 1
Mustangs hit nine home runs en route to a 33-1 thrashing of an undermanned PST squad on Friday night. Paul Selfridge (4 RBI’s) and Don Cusano (6 RBI’s) hit two bombs each, while Mark Cusano (4 RBI’s) and Jack Erickson each hit one home run. Dan Crogan, Jim Ward, Craig Smith, and Mark Cusano each had two hits. Larry Zupkowski’s solo shot provided the only offense for PST.
SCL 11 - Mario's 10
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Mario’s had the tying run on second base, but a timely double play iced the game in Short Cuts’ favor, 11-10. Mario's banged out 19 hits, led by Thanh Nguyen (2 for 2 with a homerun and 2 RBI’s). Tony DeAntonis and Pete Morano each had a pair of hits. Gary Townsend pitched another solid game for Mario's, suffering his first loss.
Drew Farms 8 - Healy Oil 6
Drew Farm began with a leadoff triple by Matt Chamberlain and later scored on Tom Menicci’s single as Drew Farm's offense edged Healy Oil, 8-6. Scott Cole, Todd Shepherd, and Pat Pawlak hit home runs for the winners. Don Barnas pitched well.
Healy Oil 23 – Mario’s 7
Healy Oil hit five home runs in the third inning to jump-start an offense that defeated Mario’s, 23-7, in five innings on Sunday. Healy’s Brian Egan went 4 for 4 with two home runs, Matt Critch was 3 for 4 with one home run, and Bill Martin was 3 for 5 with a grand slam. Michael Martin hit three bombs and went 4 for 4 for the victors.
Floral Arts 8 – PST 7
First baseman Mark LeFebvre drove home Dave O’Keefe (2 hits, home run) from third in the top of the seventh inning for what proved to be the game-winner in the 8-7 contest against PST on June 28. LeFebvre also made an outstanding turn-around sweep tag to nail a runner at first and gain the final out of an early inning. Simon Tripp’s three-run bomb was the big blow in the four-run sixth inning outburst that also included a Floral Arts home run by Geoff Pavao. PST's 16 hit attack was led by Gary Royal's three hits in a rare appearance in the two-hole.
Mustangs 15 – Willis Tent 2
The first-place Mustangs finished off Willis Tent in six innings, 15-2.Don Cusano hit three home runs for the winners, which scored seven runs with two outs in the second inning.
SCL 17 – Drew Farms 4
Short Cuts possess the third most productive offense in the league (140 runs scored to date) and they showed it off on July 29th with a 17-4 win over Drew Farms.
Healy Oil 15 – Mario’s 5
Healy Oil dispatched of Mario’s, 15-5, in the final game before the July Fourth break. John Clemens pitched a fine game for Healy, the only blemishes coming off of two swings—a Keith Reynold’s three-run shot and a two-run homer by Thanh Nguyen. Healy’s David Cannistraro was 4 for 4, Matt Critch was 3 for 3 with a home run, and Michael Martin was 3 for 3 with a grand slam.
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