Announcement
The 2013 season opened on Sunday, April 28th, a sunny 70-degree beauty of a day. To celebrate the season opener, in which eight of the nine teams competed, the league held a cookout run by returning champs Floral Arts, and the Westford Fire Department brought down a ladder truck for the kids to tour. The league served nearly 700 hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, and sausages. It was a carnival atmosphere, a day to remember.
Shortcut Lawn Care 16 - Healy Oil 15 Healy Oil got off to a fast start, scoring 9 runs in the first inning, punctuated by a Dave O’Keefe grand slam, but SCL fought back and forced the game into extra innings. Mike Gross had a huge day at the plate for SCL, going 4-for-4 with 2 home runs, and Chris Clark walked twice and hit a huge 3-run homer. Bill Doherty earned the win on the mound.
Pro Sports Therapy 13 - Gutcheck 0 (run rule in bottom of 6th) PST opened the season against the league’s newest entry and took advantage of several opportunities that led to a run rule victory in 6 innings. Dave Chirokas threw the shut out, getting ample defensive support to prevent the Gutcheck offense from plating several runners in scoring position. Mark Urlage led the PST offense from the lead-off spot going 4-for-4 and Keith Davighi contributed 3 hits and 4 RBI. Jerry Cressman and Chirokas also had 3 hit games.
Mario’s Restaurant 5 - Willis Tent 4 Mario’s beat Willis 5-4 Sunday afternoon on a walk-off, bases-loaded single by Keith Reynolds. This was a pitcher’s duel with no runs scored until Mario’s plated 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles by Dave Batchelder and Jon Russo. Murph McKeon went 3-for-3 with 2 runs scored, team sponsor Mario Brancato chipped in with 2 singles and Brian Haley drove in a key run in the 6th inning. McKeon, Reynolds and Batchelder teamed up on a perfect relay to nab a Willis base-runner trying to stretch a single into a double, ending a Willis rally in the top of the 7th, setting the stage for Reynolds to win it in the bottom of the inning.
Drew Farms 23 - Nashoba Valley Mustangs 13 Three drafted players, an alumnus coming out of retirement, and an intra-league transfer filled out a refreshed Drew Farms’ line-up after several departures from last year, helping lead Drews to a 23-13 win over Mustangs. Home runs by Pat Pawlak (2), Tommy Menicci, Scot Cole and Steve Abbott (grand slam) paced an offense that went 25-47. Newcomer Lance Pratt pitched a solid game in his league debut. After a shaky first inning of defense, the team pulled itself together to play a near flawless 6 innings and turned in a 6-4-3 double play. Bill Bowser, returning to the Drews' line-up after a few years away, was 2-for-2 with 2 walks. Tony DeAntonis, playing with a bit of a bum hip, played his first game with Drews and went 3-for-3. Blake Buxton, also playing his first game with Drews, went 3-for-4 and displayed good speed on the bases.
Floral Arts 15 - Nashoba Valley Mustang 14 On Tuesday night, Floral used a 9-run fifth inning to overtake the Mustangs, then survived a late rally in the top of the 7th to defeat the Mustangs, 15-14. Floral got home runs from Jon Haslam, Jim Peloquin (grand slam), Simon Tripp, and newcomer Rob Beaudette, and sparkling outfield defense from Dave Janowsky. Frank Lancelotta and Roger Whittlesey had multiple hit games, and Larry Mardany pitched out of several jams to preserve the win. Donnie Cusano, Jack Erickson, Mark Cusano, and Paul Selfridge went deep for the Mustangs.
Shortcut Lawn Care 16 - Willis Tent 3 The new home run rule allows a team to hit only seven runs in a game and the powerful SCL offense almost reached that limit in a 16-3 victory over Willis Tent. SCL had six home runs by five players. Going deep for SCL were Mike Gross, Jason Humphrey (2), Chris Smith, Dave Libby (grand slam) and Stevie Jacobsmeier. Despite the lopsided score, it was a close game until the late innings when SCL rallied and then played three innings of great defense to seal the victory. Bill Doherty earned his second victory of the young season.
Mario’s Restaurant 9 - Gutcheck 2 On Wednesday night, Mario’s jumped out to an early lead with four first inning runs, enough to keep Gutcheck at bay, while adding five more runs to finish off a workman-like 9-2 victory. Jon Russo keyed a strong defensive effort at shortstop, initiating several double plays with second baseman Jerod Colley, while Thanh Nguyen contributed a highlight reel diving catch in left field. Jim Demarco and Brian Collamore posted identical 3-for-3, 1 RBI and a run scored stat lines, with Nguyen crossing the plate three times. Mike Jerzylo, Pete Morano and Raghu Mantena added to the offensive effort with two hits apiece.
Floral Arts 16 - Healy Oil 3 Floral Arts combined multi-hit attacks from Roger Whittlesey and Larry Mardany with home runs from Tom Semeter (2) and Jim Peloquin to defeat Healy Oil. Floral scored in every inning but one and played strong defense behind a solid pitching effort by Mardany.
Pro Sports Therapy 14 - Mario’s Restaurant 10 On Friday night, Mario’s carried an 8-3 lead into the 6th inning over Pro Sports Therapy, but could not hang on as PST put up a 10-run inning to hand Mario’s their first loss of the season. Jim DeMarco staked Mario’s to a 5-0 advantage in the first inning with a grand slam home-run, and Jon Russo added a 2-run shot in the 4th to maintain the 5-run lead. The PST’s bats came alive in the 6th, as PST Rookie Mark Strzegowski led the late-inning charge by hitting his first home run. Jerry Cressman also contributed a home run. Mario’s DeMarco finished with 5 RBI and played stellar defense at third base. John Geary started a last inning rally with a triple, and Brian Collamore and Mike Jerzylo added two hits apiece.
Willis Tent 15 - Floral Arts 11 Willis Tent's pitcher Dave Harrigton stymied Floral over the first 3 innings, and chipped in 2-run home run to lead Willis to a 15-11 victory. Rob Swinamer hit two long home runs, and Paul Duato capped a 7-run seventh inning with a grand slam. Floral got home runs from Rob Beaudette (2), Dave Janowsky, and a grand slam from Frank Lancelotta.
