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Westford Over 30 Softball was able to complete every game this week without a cancellation due to rain. The Mustangs continue to lead the pack both in wins and runs scored. Willis Tent and Short Cuts have also started strong and look to be ready to battle each other closely throughout the season. Several teams continue to get their first win.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Hospital Mustangs 22 - Floral Arts 8 The Mustangs continued to roll hammering the once formidable Floral Arts squad by 14. Mustangs hit nine homeruns, two over the league limit, including Bill Knute and Mike Kennedy with two apiece, one each by Don Cusano, Jack Erickson, and Keith Reynolds. Jim Ward added 4 hits. and Don Cusano was again the winning pitcher, Mark Cusano had a nice sliding catch in the outfield. Floral's Rob Beaudette went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, Simon Tripp went 2-for-3 with two homers and four RBI, and Roger Whittlesey stroked a two-run home run, knocking in Dave Janowsky, who went 2-for-3.
Short Cut Landscaping 10 - Burton's Grill 6 In their first game of the season, Short Cuts edged Burtons by four runs in what was a close game throughout. Short Cuts used a five run inning to gain the lead and hold on for the duration. For Burtons, Jerod Colley went 2 for 3 with a three run home run , Charlie Chungu went 3 for 3 with a double and two runs scored, and Peter Murano, Dave Batchhelder and Greg Fitzpatrick all going 2 for 3. Defensively, Fitzpatrick teamed up with left fielder Eric Cataline to throw out a Short Cut base runner at 3rd and first baseman Batch made a nifty stop and throw to second to catch an advancing runner. Rick Waldron pitched a great game in holding the Short Cut offense to just ten runs over seven innings.
Drew Farms 22 - Healy Oil 19 Healy Oil battled hard but lost to a very good Drew Farms team 22-19. 19 runs wins most games but not tonight. Healy Oil rookie Matt Dowling went 5-5 with a solo shot over left center. Bruce Wilhelm had a solo shot in the third inning and another solo shot in the bottom of the seventh. Dave O'Keefe also added a solo homerun in the fifth. Rookie Nick Wilmot took the mound for the first time for Healy as well.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Hospital Mustangs 17 - CSA Graphics 0 The Mustangs are outscoring even the red hot Red Sox and quickly pummeled CSA by 17 while allowing no runs scored against them. For the second time in as many nights, the Mustangs hit nine homeruns, including two by Mike Kennedy, one each by Paul Selfrige, Don Cusano, Bill Knute, Mark Cusano, and ex-Burton...Keith Reynolds. Paul Ligouri's 3 year unbeaten string continued on the mound for the winners who also turned 2 infield double plays. Ligouri threw a two hit shutout for the win and fielded his position flawlessly. CSA can feel good that they held Mustangs to their lowest run total of the early season. And, the 17 Mustang runs matched the number of at bats had by CSA. Of the 12 guys playing for CSA, seven were rookies getting their welcome into the league by the Mustangs tutorial.
Short Cuts 13 - Floral Arts 5 On a rainy Friday night, Shortcut Landscaping used both power and speed to defeat Floral Arts, 13-5. Jason Humphrey, Mike Gross, David Sullivan, and Steve Jacobson all homered for Shortcuts, and Sullivan used his speed in other at-bats to turn singles into doubles. Jeff Moore played well defensively at third base for Floral, ranging and making several nice catches on pop ups, and also turning a 5-to-3 double play with the bases loaded in the third inning. Larry Mardany (2-for-2 with a walk), and Simon Tripp (2-for-3) each homered for Floral.
Willis Tent 10 - Drew Farms 7 Both teams got off to a slow start, with Drews scoring one run in the 1st inning and two in the second and Willis scoring one run in the second. Third inning, Willis offense exploded for seven runs. Taking a ten to six lead into going into the 7th inning. Drews attempted a comeback but Willis defense held strong, holding Drews to just one run in the bottom of the 7th. Willis wins over Drews 10 to 7. Willis pitcher Rob Swinamer pitched a stellar game with three strikeouts, holding Drews to just seven runs. Rob also contributed on offense with a 3 for 3 night, two homeruns, a single and a base on balls. Roger Neild and Rick Devanna each contributed to the Willis win with home runs of their own.
Burton's Grill 16 - Pro Sports Therapy 9 Burtons posted their first win of the season beating PST by seven during yet another game effected by rain. Burtons was led by rookie Charlie Chungo with two home runs and eight RBIs and Jerod Colley with his second two-run homerun in as many games. John Geary went 3-3 with a sacrifice fly and two RBIs. Tim Scott again paced the Burtons defense with many outstanding catches in the outfield. PST started slowly but rallied in the bottom of the seventh to make a game of it. Their offense was led by homeruns from Donald Slate and Ryan Steele (a four hit night).
It wasn't actually the day the League opened. And it was more than a little blustery. But that didn't prevent the Nashoba Valley Veterinary Hospital Mustangs from once again proving that not only can they play the game at a high level, but they are champions at throwing a BBQ. The Mustangs hosted the Opening Day BBQ as champs for the third year in a row. And they didn't disappoint.
Mixed in there was also some softball.
Pro Sports Therapy 19 - Healy Oil 9 PST's offense broke out with 6 Home Runs, more than they have bashed during a single game in many a year. Ben Armstrong (5-5 including a HR), Ryan Steele (4-4 including a HR and a SF), Steve Sawyer (4-5 with a HR) and Jeff Fuller (3-4 including a HR and a SF) led the PST offense. Jerry Cressman and Donald Slate also contributed HRs. Healy Oil welcomed the return of veteran pitcher John Clemmons on Sunday. The Oilers lost despite 2 home runs from both Brian Herrmann (one solo and one two run bash) and Wayne Meadows (one three run shot and one solo shot). Dave O'Keefe also added a solo shot in the first.
Burton's Grill 16 - CSA Graphics 6 Holding CSA to runs in just a single inning, Burtons tallied its second win of the young season and brought their record to .500 at 2-2. Led by two blasts from Dave Batchelder and solo shots from both Eric Cataline and Tim Scott, Burtons put together an efficient win with runs in every inning but one. Brian Colamore also chipped in with an opposite field triple and two RBIs. For CSA ,Jeff Bernier went 3 for 3, Jim DeMarco went 2 for 4 with a homerun and two RBIs, and rookies Tim Greenwood and Ryan Nolet had two RBIs a piece.
Willis Tent 14 - Short Cut Landscaping 9 Short Cuts scored early with three runs in the first but Willis scored often coming up with five runs in the second inning, added three more in the third, and soon another six. Short Cuts slowly picked away at the Willis Lead but Willis pitching backed up by a solid defense held, allowing Willis to defeat Short Cuts 14 - 9. Pitching for Willis Tent was Bob Fluery. Other notable contributions to the Willis win were Andrew Metters going 4 - 4 with two singles and two homeruns, Stephen Damiani going 3 - 3 with two singles and a double and John Mangiaratti going 3 - 4 with three singles.
Floral Arts 21 - Drew Farms 8 Floral Arts ended its 2-game losing streak by defeating Drew Farms, 21-8, in six innings on Sunday. Floral's Geoff Pavao was the offensive standout, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and 4 RBI. Mark Chambers, who made a great diving play at second base, also went 3-for-5, hit a home run, and tallied 6 RBI. Floral Arts hit seven home runs in the game, including a three-run shot by Dave Janowsky (4-for-6), a two-run homer by Jeff Moore, a solo shot by Tom Semeter, and a three-run homer by Ryan Dunn. Ken Delaney went 5-for-5 for Floral. Drew Farms Joe Welch went 3-for-3 and Todd Shepherd hit a solo shot.
After a week of cancellations due to non-stop rain, the Westford Over 30 Softball League found a window in the weather and kicked off the 2016 season with three games on Friday night. While the evening saw a fairly heavy downpour during the second game, the teams pushed on and ultimately all three matchups were completed and are officially in the books. None of the three games took long to finish as the mercy rule was invoked in all of them. Willis Tent, Mustangs, and Drew Farms all ended the night dominant winners.
Willis Tent 21 - Healy Oil 6 Coming off of strong 2015 campaign, Willis Tent dominated Healy Oil, posting a convincing 21-6 run rule win. Willis Tent scored early and often, putting up 3 runs in the 1st inning, 7 in the 2nd and 8 more in the 3rd, then finishing their night with 3 more runs in the 4th. Notable contributions for Willis came from Dennis Kane who went 4 for 4 with 3 home runs (including a Grand Slam) and a double with an impressive 10 RBI night. Also going 4 for 4 on the evening was Willis pitcher Rob Swinamer with 3 singles and a home run. Rookie Justin Swanson introduced himself to his team and the league with a 1st pitch home run, going 3 for 4. Stephen Damiani added to the Willis effort with a Home run of his own. For Healy, Wayne Meadows had a 2 run shot over the right field fence and Bill Eaton had a 3 run blast over the center field fence, but overall Healy could couldn't match Willis' bats. Cam Santana and Wayne Meadows shared pitching duties for Healy. Next up for Healy Oil is Drew Farms on Wednesday night.
Nashoba Valley Veterinary Hospital 19 - Burtons Grill 6 The reigning champion Mustangs again brought their dominant offensive and defensive talent and handed an "improved on paper" Burtons team an opening night defeat. The Mustangs were led by Paul Selfrige 3-3 with 2 homeruns and 5 RBIs, left handed power Bill Knute also with a 3-3 night, 2 homeruns and 3 RBIs, and Don Cusano 3-3, 1 homerun, 3 RBIs, along with a solid pitching performance. Jack Erickson played well in the field for Mustangs as all were challenged by wet conditions. Burtons were led by John Russo with a 3 run homerun to lead off his seaon, and newcomer Eric Cataline had a double and two runs scored. Dave Batchelder played a solid first base given the challenging conditions.
Drew Farms 17 - Pro Sports Therapy 4 In the third and final run rule win of the evening, Drew Farms led the whole way and had PST by 13 runs after five innings. A new look PST team couldn't keep up with the hot bats brought on by the Drew Farms squad. While PST has many new faces, it is worth noting the newcomer Brian Dubey hit his first HR and despite the messy field and wet weather, PST turned their first DP of the season. Drews was equally impressive in the field- demonstrating mid-season form defensively. Pro Sports tries to get back on track versus Burtons Grill next Friday night.
Mother Nature is pitching a shut out in 2016. For the third time in a row, weather and unplayable field conditions have caused games to be postponed. The new dates for Wednesday's games, along with Tuesdays, will be announced later tonight.
For the second day in a row, the weather was the only victor at VFW Field. With the town closing the fields early in the afternoon, Tuesday's games have been postponed to a date to be determined. Make up dates will be announced in the next few days.
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