3E Moving

SHORT CUT LANDSCAPING ENTERS WEEK THREE UNDEFEATED

Short Curt Landscaping 8 - Gutcheck 3  Rookie team Gutcheck, which had struggled to score runs in its first couple of games, got off to a fast start and took a 3-run lead against the formidable SCL squad. The lead was short-lived, however, a SCL pitcher Bill Doherty shut them down for the remaining six innings. Mike Gross and Chris Clark hit home runs for the undefeated SCL.

Nashoba Valley Mustangs 17 - Healy Oil 4  Mustangs finally got into the win column with a five inning run-rule victory over Healy Oil on Tuesday night. Mike Kennedy and Don Cusano led the Mustangs offensively, as each went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, 6 RBI and 3 runs scored. Mark Cusano had a big night at the plate (3-for-4, home run, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored). Other Mustangs with three hits apiece were Jack McGrath and Brian Foley. Paul Selfridge and Jack Erickson played well defensively in the win.

Short Cut Landscaping 8 - Pro Sports Therapy 7  Pro Sports Therapy's late rally fell short as Short Cuts Landscape pulled out the 8-7 win on Wednesday night. Dave Chirokas held the powerful SCL lineup to 2 home runs, assisted by several double plays and diving defensive efforts, including a gem in left field by Steve Nolan. Nolan (3 hits and 4 RBI) also led the offense with a 3-run bomb that brought PST to within one in the bottom of the seventh. Despite getting another runner on base, PST could not push the tying run across the plate. PST also had 3-hit games from Jeff Morse and John Bodi.

Floral Arts 25 - Gutcheck 15  Both the Floral and Gutcheck bats came alive, combining for 18 runs in the 5th inning alone. Floral maxed out the new 7 home run limit with blasts from Greg Marchand (3), Rob Beaudette, Ken Delaney, Jim Peloquin, and Simon Tripp. Roger Whittlesey continued his hot hitting with his fourth consecutive multiple hit game, and Mike Alonardo chipped in several extra base knocks.

Drew Farms 9 - Willis Tent 7 A 7-run 4th inning and solid game-long defense proved to be the combination leading Drews to a 9-7 win over Willis on Friday night. The 4th inning offense was powered by back-to-back home runs from Jason Goldthwaite (grand slam) and Todd Shepherd. Both the top and bottom portions of the line up provided solid offensive contributions, with the top 5 hitters going 8-for-15, with a double and 2 home runs, and the bottom 3 going 3-for-5. Lance Pratt pitched a solid game, the outfield rotation played flawlessly, and the infield rotation again turned a double play and made several key difficult stops. Willis’ Jeff Briggs went 3-for-4, including a 2-run homer. Rick Devanna and Dave Harrington had two hits apiece. John Mangiaratti played a stellar third base, stopping everything that hit his way.

Short Cut Landscaping 19 - Mario’s Restaurant 18 Despite scoring a season-high 18 runs and building a 12-run lead at one point, Mario’s Restaurant was unable to hold off a late SCL rally, which pushed 4 runs across the plate in the bottom of the 7th to win 19-18. Dave Batchelder led Mario’s with 4 hits and 2 runs scored, while Thanh Nguyen contributed 3 hits, including 2 home runs and 3 RBI. Brian Collamore continued his season-long hot streak with 3 hits, and third baseman Jim DeMarco was again the defensive star while also adding 3 hits. Shortcut got home runs from Jason Humphrey, Rob Prendergast, Dave Sullivan and Dave Silton. Mike gross ended the game with a walk-off double.

Floral Arts 16 - Pro Sports Therapy 7 Floral Arts broke open a tight game with 5 runs in the 5th and 3 runs in the 6th to garner a 16-7 victory. Jim Peloquin made his pitching debut, and was ably relieved by Larry Mardany. Tom Semeter, Mike Alonardo, and Simon Tripp (2) homered for Floral, and Roger Whittlesey and Greg Marchand extended their multiple hit game streaks. Dean Wormell chipped in a double and an RBI. Dave Chirokas pitched well, and Jerry Cressman and Steve Nolan hit back to back home runs for Pro Sports Therapy.

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.

The 2013 schedule has been announced and uploaded to the web site.  Opening Day is just around the corner, kicking off at 1 PM on this coming Sunday, April 28th.

Despite Nemo and the 2+ feet of snow on the field, it is never too early to start thinking about the 2013 softball season.  Teams are starting to make plans for the upcoming season, with the arrangements for new Opening Day festivities already in the works.

The season will kick off on Sunday, April 28th, but not with the One-Pitch Tournament that has become an opening weekend fixture.  Instead, to celebrate the opening of the season and the addition of a new team, the defending league champion Floral Arts squad will host a barbeque while the other eight teams play their first games that day.

Featured in this opening day game will be the debut of Gutcheck, the league's first new team since Spinner's (now known as PST) was launched by league legend Paul Carey. 

Another new wrinkle to the league is an invitation to Westford Academy alums to join.  Of course, you still need to meet the over-30 requirement (or, for some teams, over 40).  Teams looking to add that one missing piece are now able to dip into this talent-rich pool in addition to players who either live or work in Westford.  Any interested player should submit a Draft Application (found in the Handouts section of the left margin of this page).

The schedule for opening day and the rest of the season is still to be announced.  Check back here at the home of Westford Over-30 Softball for updates. 

With a 14-7 win on Friday night, Floral Arts captured the 2012 championship.  This is the second year in a row that Floral Arts has captured the title from the Mustangs in the fifth and deciding game of the series.  

Game One: Floral Arts 16 - Mustangs 9

Floral Arts scored 7 in the first, including back-to-back home runs to start the game, and never looked back. The Floral Arts outfield turned in two momentum-shifting defensive plays: Roger Whittlesey threw out a runner attempting to tag on a long fly out to left, and Greg Marchand made a sliding play in short left center field and doubled off the runner caught in no man's land. Mike Alonardo, Jonathan Morgan (2), Jon Haslam (2) and Jim Peloquin all homered for Floral Arts. Don Cusano and Bill Knute (2) hit the long ball for Mustangs.

Game Two: Floral Arts 14 - Mustangs 6

Mike Alonardo was 3-for-3 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI, and pitcher Larry Mardany did the rest, holding the Mustangs powerful offense to just 6 runs. Roger Whittlesey, John Haslam, Greg Marchand, and Tom Semeter had multiple hit games for Floral, while Don Cusano and Bill Knute homered for Mustangs. Defensive standouts included Jim Peloquin, John Haslam, and Greg Marchand for Floral, and Mike Kennedy for Mustangs.

Game Three: Mustangs 13 - Floral Arts 8

The Mustangs made easy work of Floral Arts in Game Three and stave off elimination thanks to the potent bats of Bill Knute and Donnie Cusano and strong defensive play by the regular season champs.

Game Four: Mustangs 18 - Floral Arts 16

The Mustangs scored early and often, building an 11-1 lead by the top of the second inning; however, Floral Arts continued to chip away at the lead, and eventually pulled ahead in the bottom of the sixth inning by a score of 16-15, and were only three outs away from winning the championship. But the Mustangs responded by getting two straight hits in the seventh, before pitcher Donnie Cusano hit a bomb to pull his team into the lead. Floral Arts did not score in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Game Five: Floral Arts 14 - Mustangs 7

On Friday night, Floral Arts and the Nashoba Valley Veterinary Hospital Mustangs were notched at two games apiece when the fifth game of the best-of-five championship series began. This was the fourth straight meeting in the playoff finals for these two teams, and the second year in a row that it culminated in a fifth game. In the top of the first, Floral Arts got singles from Mike Alonardo (who batted .950 in the playoffs) and Jonathan Morgan before shortstop Jim Peloquin swatted a three-run home run. But the Mustangs responded by scoring five runs in the bottom of the first, and it seemed it would be another one of the back-and-forth battles the two teams were used to playing. In the bottom of the second, the Mustangs began to apply more offensive pressure, but a fine 6-4-3 double play (Peloquin to Tom Lester to Tom Semeter) squelched their rally. Floral Arts scored in the all innings but the third and fourth inning. In the top of the seventh Floral Arts scored four runs to go up 14-6. Hot-hitting right fielder Jon Haslam hit his fifth home run of the playoffs, a two-run shot to centerfield. Mike Spanos, owner of Floral Arts, also hit a home run, his second of the series. Floral Arts pitcher Larry Mardany was masterful on the mound, keeping the powerful Mustangs from hitting any home runs in the game. Mardany only allowed two runs after the first inning. Down 14-6, the Mustangs continued fighting in the bottom of the seventh. Paul Selfredge, the Mustangs’ shortstop, hit a liner off of the top of the double fence in left for a double. Jack Erickson singled and scored Selfredge to make the score 14-7. But Mardany got the next batter to ground into a double play before the final batter of the game hit a fly ball that right fielder Haslam tracked down.