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The question everyone in the league is asking: Will the 10-0 Mustangs go undefeated this season? The well-balanced team has done nothing a persuade anyone to think otherwise. This week they won two more games, including a nail-biter against their perennial playoff rival, the second place Floral Arts (9-3).
Floral Arts 8 - Pro Sports Therapy 4
On Tuesday night, Floral Arts defeated Pro Sports Therapy, 8-4, in a game without any home runs. Floral pitcher Larry Mardany and Pro Sports hurler Dave Chirokas mixed it up all night, keeping most of the batters off-balance. Billy Luppold went 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Floral shortstop Jim Peloquin made several nice plays in the field.
Gutcheck 7 - Drew Farms 6
The rivalry thickened as fifth place Gutcheck edged third place Drew Farms in come-from-behind fashion, 7-6. Both teams played solid defense—hits and runs were hard to come by for most of the game. Then, in the top of the seventh, and down by two, Gutcheck’s Jim Curley belted the game’s only home run, sparking his team, which then three more that inning to go ahead, 7-6. Gutcheck shut down the Drew Farm offense in the bottom of the inning to secure the win.
Mario’s Restaurant 13 - Healy Oil 8
Mario’s jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after three innings against Healy Oil, scoring just enough runs every other inning to withstand a late Healy rally to come away with the 13-8 victory. Dave Batchelder led the way offensively with two home runs, and the trio of Murph McKeon, Luke Boulanger and Jon Russo also went deep. Rookie Jerry Breen continued to impress with a three-hit night, including his first triple. Mario’s outfield defense played flawlessly to help pitcher Chris Brooks keep Healy Oil off of the scoreboard in five of the seven innings.
Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 14 - Shortcut Landscaping 13
After Shortcuts rallied for seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a one run lead, the Mustangs scored two runs to win the game on a walk-off single by Jack Erickson. Erickson went 4-for-4 with a homer and 4 RBI. Dan Crogan added another grand slam and five RBI for the Mustangs. Paul Liguori chipped in with three hits and Don Cusano hit a solo home run.
Pro Sports Therapy 7 - Willis Tent 5
On Friday night, Willis Tent jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Pro Sports Therapy in the first inning. PST came back in the fourth to go ahead, 4-2, powered by a Nate Frazee three-run homer. Two solo homers in the bottom of the sixth gave Willis a 5-4 lead, but the bottom of the PST order found ways to get on base setting the stage for Mark Urlage to deliver another three-run bomb to give PST a 7-5 lead. The bottom of the Willis order tried to provide the same spark, but PST hurler Jeff Fuller managed to retire the top of the Willis order to escape with the win. PST Rookie Mark Pelosky quietly played a solid game, going 3-for-3 and adding the other RBI.
Healy Oil 19 - Shortcut Landscaping 16
The return of key players from the disabled list made all the difference for Healy Oil, as they erupted for 10 runs in the sixth inning to beat Shortcut Landscaping, 19-16. Mike Finegan and Bill Eaton each went deep twice for Healy. Tom Hudson pitched well, allowing only two SCL homers—Dave Silton and Chris Clark.
Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 8 - Floral Arts 6
Bill Knute hit the ball that broke Floral Arts’ back, a three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth over the right field fence that put the Mustangs up, 8-6. Floral was up 5-0 after three innings, but the Mustangs tied it in the fourth on two homers. Pitcher Don Cusano hit a two-run blast, and Paul Selfrige hit a three-run shot. Mike Alonardo hit a solo shot in the sixth inning to bring the score to 6-5, but it was a short-lived Floral lead thanks to Knute’s heroics in the bottom of that inning.
With a third of the season now in the rear-view mirror, surging Drew Farms (7-3) moved into sole possession of third place with an important win this week again Shortcut Landscaping (6-4). Undefeated Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (8-0) and Floral Arts (8-2) sit in first and second place. Rain outs on Friday shortened the schedule this week.
Willis Tent 16 - Gutcheck 14 On Tuesday night, Gutcheck’s winning streak was halted at two games thanks to a seventh inning come-from-behind walk-off hit—a three-run blast—by Willis Tent’s Jeff Briggs. Thanh Nguyen, Jim DeMarco and Mark Lupien each hit homers for Gutcheck.
Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 8 - Healy Oil 4 In a well-pitched defensive battle, the Mustangs pulled out an 8-4 victory over a determined Healy Oil squad. Mustang rookie Cormac Bordes struck the big blow with a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Bordes, Paul Selfrige and Bill Knute all had three hits for the winners. Mark Cusano added two hits and two RBI. Paul Ligouri got the win on the mound for the Mustangs, while Jack Erickson threw out a Healy runner at the plate from his outfield spot to thwart a potential rally.
Drew Farms 11 - Shortcut Landscaping 7 Outstanding defensive play and timely hitting propelled Drew Farms to an 11-7 victory over Shortcuts on Wednesday night. Defensive highlights from Todd Shepherd, Joe Welch, Sal Buonacore, Pat Pawlak and Mark MacAleese were key in the victory. Shepherd also contributed two home runs, while Tom Menicci, Scott Cole, Rob O’Neal, Pawlak, and Buonacore contributed with multiple hit nights.
Floral Arts 15 - Willis Tent 12 Floral rallied late to defeat a pesky Willis team. Rob Beaudette, Mark Chambers, and Simon Tripp (2) homered for Floral, and Roger Whittlesey and Larry Mardany chipped in multi-hit nights. Dave Janowsky made an incredible over the shoulder catch at the fence to help preserve the win in the seventh. Rob Swinamer (2) and Jeff Briggs (GS) homered for Willis.
With weather causing yet another postponement on Friday night, the slate of games orginally scheduled for June 13th will now be played on Sunday, July 27th.
5:30 PST @ GutCheck
6:45 Mustangs @ Mario's Restaurant
8:00 Drew Farms @ Floral Arts
The sixth week of play was the most competitive this season, as five of the seven games finished with a score differential of no more than four runs. Drew Farms (6-3) won two of three games this week to move into a third-place tie with Shortcut Landscaping. The redoubtable Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (7-0) remain the only undefeated team in the league and sit atop of the standings, a game ahead of Floral Arts (7-2).
Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 11 - Drew Farms 9 It took eight innings for the Mustangs to pull out a tough 11-9 victory over a determined Drew Farms team. Craig Smith tied the game for the Mustangs in the top of the sixth inning with his second homer of the year. The Mustangs added three runs in the eighth to secure the win. Mark Cusano and Cormac Bordes each had three hits. Paul Selfrige (home run) and Jack Erickson also contributed two hits each for the Mustangs. Paul Liguori played well defensively.
Gutcheck 15 - Floral Arts 13 Gutcheck scored an impressive 15-13 victory as Gary Lavelle's seventh-inning walk-off grand slam capped a two-homer night for the pitcher of record. Thanh Nguyen and Billy Cullen also went deep for Gutcheck. Strong team defense and a good outing on the mound by Lavelle kept Floral Arts in check. Nguyen played impressive defense in left field, making about a dozen putouts, and cutting down a runner at the plate late in the game.
Shortcut Landscaping 15 - Willis Tent 14 Willis’ John Mangiaratti hit his second homer of the night to give his team a one-run lead in the seventh, but it was not enough to keep SCL from surging ahead and winning it in the bottom of the inning. Steve Damiani had three hits for Willis, and Paul Duato, Andrew Metters, and Brian Anderson each had two hits. Anderson pitched a great game and Damiani made a fine diving catch in the sixth to keep the score close.
Drew Farms 18 - Healy Oil 9 Drew Farms scored in every inning, including a six-run third to overcome an early deficit in defeating Healy Oil, 18-9. All 12 Drews’ players collected hits, with three hits each coming from Tom Menicci (including a home run), Rob O’Neal and Mark Kost. Blake Buxton, Bill Faherty and Joe Walsh provided the necessary stops to provide solid defense. After scoring in each of the first three innings, Healy was held to one run.
Pro Sports Therapy 19 - Mario’s Restaurant 3 Pro Sports Therapy scored in all but the second inning as they defeated Mario’s Restaurant Tuesday night, 19-3. The offense was powered by Nate Frazee’s big offensive night. Frazee hit the walk-off grand slam in the sixth to cap off a 4-for-4 night with 3 runs scored and 5 RBI. Jeff Fuller got the win for PST and contributed a two-run triple as PST got contributions from he entire lineup. Dave Chirokas added a homer and 5 RBI, John Bodi had 3 hits and 2 RBI, and coach Gary Royal got on base all night and drove in a pair.
Shortcut Landscaping 13 - Pro Sports Therapy 10 A tightly contested battle saw SCL push across three runs in the top of the eighth to take control of the contest and seal a 13-10 win over PST. Dave Chirokas pitched well in defeat for PST, supported by his defense, which threw out two runners at the plate. Nate Frazee continued his tear at the plate, hitting another home run. John Bodi and Tim Schutt added three hits each and Andrew Fletcher contributed a rocket of a home run off the light pole in centerfield.
Drew Farms 22 - Mario’s Restaurant 21 In a long, wild game, Drews withstood a furious couple of rallies from Mario’s to hold on for the win. Drews led 17-6 after four when Mario’s scored nine in the fifth to draw within two. Drews scored two in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth to go into the seventh ahead by six. Mario’s scored six in the top of the inning to tie the score, but Todd Shepherd hit a walk-off home run (his second homer) in the bottom of the inning to finally close out the game. All Drews players recorded at least one hit, with Pat Pawlak leading the way with a 4-for-4 game, including two home runs. Mark Kost, Tom Menicci, Bill Faherty and Scott Cole each had three hits. Jon Russo and Murph McKeon hit homers for Mario’s, and Dave Batchelder went 4-for4, with four runs. John Geary, Brian Collamore and Jerod Colley each had three hits. Colley held Drews in check from the mound over the late innings to enable the comeback.
This week’s weather was more characteristic of Scotland than New England as a conspiracy of rain, lightning, and cold undermined best intentions, postponing four of seven games. Reigning champions Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (6-0) now sit at the top of the standings, while Floral Arts (7-1) slid down into second place.
Floral Arts 31 - Mario’s Restaurant 17 (suspended because of rain after four innings) On Tuesday, the bats were alive for both teams, but Floral Arts made the most of their offense by swatting three grand slams to build a 31-17 lead after four innings against Mario’s Restaurant. Pitcher Jim Peloquin, in relief for Frank Lancelotta, needed only three outs to earn the mercy win, but a streak of lightning, its ensuing boom, and then torrential rain caused the game to be suspended until the two teams meet again in July. Greg Marchand, Simon Tripp and Rob Beaudette hit grand slams for Floral Arts.
Willis 30 - Healy Oil 12 Willis Tent scored 15 runs in the second inning as they powered their way to a 30-12 win over Healy Oil. Andrew Metters, Rob Swinamer, Steve Damian, Dennis Kane, Bill Andrews and Paul Duato hit homers for the winners. Glenn Harding and Jeff Briggs each had three hits. Everyone in the Willis lineup had a hit. Brian Anderson pitched a strong game, keeping Healy scoreless in three of the five innings.
Mustangs 22 - PST 6 Mustang hurler Paul Liguori earned the win on the mound with a solid performance, including several fine fielding plays from his position. Dan Crogan (2-for-3, HR, 5 RBI) led the Mustang offense with a grand slam and run-scoring double. Jack Erickson and Craig Smith both added three hits, including a home run apiece for the winners. The Cusano brothers, Mark and Don, combined for four hits, two homers (one each), six RBI, and four runs scored. Jim Ward helped set the table near the top of the Mustang order with three hits. Mike Kennedy added a long home run for the winners. Mark Pelosky hit his first home run for PST.
Floral Arts 17 - Shortcuts 3 On Friday night, Rob Beaudette hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning to give Floral Arts a run-rule walk-off win over Shortcut Landscaping. Floral Arts hit seven home runs in the contest, including two that bounced off of the top of the fence. Tom Lester, in his first game with Floral in two years, went 4-for-4 with a home run. Floral also got home runs from Simon Tripp, Greg Marchand, Frank Lancelotta, and Jim Peloquin. Jason Humphrey went deep for Shortcuts in the first inning and was solid at shortstop.
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