Mustangs

Another great week in Westford Over 30 softball as both Burtons Grill and Pro Sports Therapy had explosive offensive efforts, each resulting in the run rule and adding excitement to the playoff picture. The Mustangs continued to win and showed their impressive defense turning five double plays in Sunday night's game. Nine RBI by Charle Chungu for Burtons and six for John Bodi of PST highlighted the offense for the week. With Drew’s loss to the Mustangs on Sunday, PST is level with them in wins as the playoff race tightens. Burtons plays Drews on Wednesday night and PST has a big game against CSA Graphics on Tuesday.

Burtons Grill 29 - Healy Oil 9 Burtons scored early and often opening the top of the first inning with seven runs and ended the game with a 29-9 win enacting the league run rule after five. Burtons was led by rookie shortstop Charlie Chungu with nine RBI and three runs scored, the result of a grand slam, three run home run and two singles. Chungu also played a stellar shortstop. Other Burton's notables included Rick Waldron, Jeff Kott and Brian Haley continuing to hit well. Jerod Colley's steroid streak continued as he hit yet another two run homerun. Tim Scott went 3-4 with four runs scored, and Raghu Mantena went 2-4 with two RBI. Jon Russo had a homerun and three RBI, Gerry Breen 3-4, three RBI, three runs scored and Eric Cataline 2-4, three RBI and two runs scored. Eric "Murph" McKeon went 3-4 as did John Geary, both with two runs scored. Every Burton's player had at least one run scored in the lopsided affair. Dave Batchhelder stroked a solo shot for Burtons and trotted, with purpose, around the bases. Going into the bottom of the fifth down 29-3, Healy showed they are a quality team just having an off night by posting six runs with two homeruns including a three run shot by Dave O'Keefe and a solo by captain Bill Eaton.

Short Cuts Landscaping 11 - CSA Graphics 8 Last place CSA Graphics put up a good fight against the second place squad from Short Cuts and kept it close losing by just eight in the end. A Short Cut home run by Mike Gross, and two hits by both Chris Smith and Jason Humphrey fueled the landscaper's seventh win of the season. CSA slugger Matt Sepe had three homeruns, Tim Greenwood had one homerun, Bill Ryan went 3 for 3, Both Bill Cullen and Josh Haskin each had two hits for CSA in the loss.

Floral Arts 21- Pro Sports Therapy 8 On Wednesday night, Floral Arts defeated Pro Sports Therapy, 21-8, to improve their record to 7-3. Pitcher Larry Mardany kept PST from hitting any home runs, and then helped his cause by hitting his fourth homer of the season in the third inning. Mardany was 3-for-4 with four RBI. Rob Beaudette hit two home runs for Floral, both solo shots. Roger Whittlesey went 4-for-5, including a two-run home run and a double. He knocked in three runs. Simon Tripp was also 4-for-5 with a two-run, double-fence home run. In only his second game in the league, Mike Donaruma went 3-for-4 and hit a towering home run over the center field fence. Ryan Dunn made some great plays at third and went 3-for-3 with a walk. For Pro Sports Therapy, Brian Dubey (on base all three times) and Derek Donegan (two doubles and a pair of RBIs) led the PST offense.

Floral Arts 17- Healy Oil 2 On Friday night, Floral Arts improved its record to 8-3 and regained sole ownership of second place in the standings with its 17-2 win over Healy Oil. Ryan Dunn had a big night at the plate, going 4-for-4, smashing three home runs, and gathering five RBI. Rob Beaudette (3-for-4, HR, four RBI), Chad Kirby (homerun), and Billy Luppold (2-for-2, BB) were the other offensive stars for Floral. Dave Janowsky made several nice catches in left-center field and Mark Chambers played a solid second base.

Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 21 - Short Cuts Landscaping 6 Mustangs broke open a tight game with their signature big run inning in the 4th when they scored 12 runs, eight after two were out. The outstanding Mustang defense and pitcher Don Cusano held the powerful Shortcuts lineup to only six runs and no homeruns. "Big game" Paul Selfrige led off the game in his usual fashion with the first of his two homeruns on the night. He also turned a big infield double play early in the game to keep Shortcuts off the board. Left fielder Bill Knute added two monster home run blasts of his own and gunned out a runner at third base to snuff out another Shortcuts rally. The Cusano brothers each had long homeruns as well to aid the cause. The Mustangs saved one homerun for late in the game, as they often do, and Jack Erickson made the most of it with a walkoff grandslam for the Mustangs' 10th mercy rule in 12 games. Other Mustang contributions came from Jim Ward (3 hits, two runs, two RBI), Jay Lincoln (two hits, BB, three runs), and Sean Morgan (hit, BB, sac fly, two runs).

Nashoba Valley Mustangs 16 - Drew Farms 4 The Mustangs infield of Paul Selfrige, Dan Crogan, Paul Ligouri, and Cormac Bordes turned five infield double plays in support of winning pitcher Don Cusano. Mustang Lefty sluggers Bill Knute two homerun, six RBi) and Jack Erickson (two HR, three RBI) led the offensive charge. Other Mustangs homerun blasts were hit by Paul Selfrige, Mark Cusano and Don Cusano. Drews kept the Mustangs to well below their game scoring average but unfortunately only scored four. For the losing side, Sal Bonacoure went 3-3, Todd Shepherd 2-3 with a homerun, and Jason Welch 1-2, also with a homerun in the effort.

Pro Sports Therapy 17 - Willis Tent 4 Pro Sports Therapy surprised everyone on Sunday night beating soundly a strong Willis Tent team 17-4 and employing the league run rule on a walk off single by Chelmsford Class of 1978 legend, Tim Schutt. The Schutt single capped off an eight-run outburst in the fifth for PST. Willis was playing with nine in the field and PST took advantage of the extra gaps. PST leadoff hitter Ben Armstrong opened off the game with a long homerun to left. Armstrong had another big game including three hits, four runs scored and two more RBI. Adam Hickey had his first homerun and RBIs of his career, a two run blast to center Donald Slate, just a double short of the cycle, blasting a long two-run homerun to left field and a triple to right field as part of a three hit, three RBI night. League Secretary John Bodi went 4-4 with three doubles and a career high six RBI.

Westford Over 30 softball had a busy week including the undefeated Mustangs scoring an astonishing 49 runs in just five innings on Friday night. They have now scored 248 runs over just 11 games. Floral Arts and Short Cuts Landscaping are tied in second place with 6-3 records, Willis Tent, Burtons Grill, and Drew Farms round out the top six in that order. Key match-ups this upcoming week include Floral Arts versus Short Cuts Landscaping and a rematch of Burtons versus Pro Sports Therapy.

Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 19 - Burton's Grill 3 Burtons remained optimistic holding the league leading Mustangs to just five runs....until the league leaders crossed the plate 11 more times in the fourth and effectively put the game out of reach. Burton was held scoreless until Dave Batchelder hit a three run home run in the bottom of the fifth to bring Burton to within four of the run rule and extending the game but it was not meant to be. Left handed Mustang sluggers Bill Knute and Jack Erickson continued their hot streaks with two homers apiece. Other Mustangs with homeruns in the win over Burton's included: Don Cusano, Mike Kennedy, and Cormac Bordes. Dan Crogan added three hits and Knute ran down every ball from his left field spot. Paul Liguori got another win on the mound. Both teams did work together to polish off a Jerod Colley pulled pork feast after the game.

Drew Farms 20 - Willis Tent 11 Standouts for Willis tent were Roger Neild offensively going 3 for 4 with a homerun and two singles and defensively with an amazing over the head catch. John Mangiaratti going 3 for 4 with a homerun and two singles, Jeff Briggs 2 for 2 with a homerun, single and two base on balls. Also Rob Swinamer contributed to the effort with a homerun of his own.

Floral Arts 26 - CSA Graphics 4 On Sunday night, second-place Floral Arts defeated CSA, 26-4, in five innings to improve its record to 6-2. Billy Luppold led the Floral Arts' offense with a 3-for-4 night, five RBI and three runs scored. Frank Lancelotta was 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI. Floral's third-string pitcher Simon Tripp pitched well in his season debut for Floral and supported his cause by hitting a home run. Tom Semeter, Mark Chambers, Dave Janowsky, Jeff Moore, and Ryan Dunn each had a multi-hit game. CSA once again played a great top of the first defense and earned an early 1-0 lead... but couldn't keep up with the Floral barrage from there. Bob Cullen did have a two-run home run last night in the CSA effort.

Short Cuts Landscaping 16 - Burton's Grill 6 Third place Short Cuts Landscaping used six long homeruns and four walks to beat sixth place Burtons 16-6. Dave Silton powered two over the fence and made some nice catches in the field for Short Cuts who took a 4-4 tie and blew the game wide open with an eight run inning. Burtons was led by hitting tactician Mike Jerzlyo who went 3-3 with a double and two singles, one RBI and one run scored. Lefty Keiran Murray slugged a ball over the head of the Short Cuts outfield for two RBI and Brian Haley hit well all night. JC pitched well and protected himself on several shots back up the middle.

Pro Sports Therapy 18 - Drew Farms 10 With a much needed win to stay in the race, PST outdueled a fifth place Drew Farms 18-10 on Tuesday night. "My boys finally had a real good effort," stated manager John Bodi, "13 players tonight, 12 of them scored and every one of them had at least one hit." PST went up 3-0 in the second inning, a big hit by Andrew Fletcher was a solid double that drove in two runs. Brian Dubey drove in another run on his first hit of a 3-3 night. PST extended the lead to 9-0 in the third inning when veteran Jerry Cressman hit a three-run homerun and Donald Slate followed with a two-run homerun of his own. Drews fought back led by Scottie Cole 3-3, Blake Rago 2-3 with a three run homerun and Kurt Cambin with a grand slam to keep it interesting. PST wasn't willing to give up the win and capitalized on big hits including a two-run triple by John Bodi (rumor has it that the whole play was in slow motion) and another Donald Slate two-run homerun. PST separates itself from the others at the bottom with their third win.

Willis Tent 18 - Healy Oil 17 Willis Tent used everything in their arsenal to hold off a much improved Healy Oil team, including and exhausting the homerun rule. Willis took an 18 to 10 run lead into the 7th inning only to see that lead dwindle to a single run. But, with another solid defensive effort put in by Roger Neild and pitcher Bob Fluery, Willis would capture the win beating Healy 18 to 17. Standout contributions for Willis were, Dennis Kane going 4 for 4 with two homeruns (one being a grand slam) and two singles, Jeff Briggs 2 for 3 with two homeruns and two more walks. Justin Swanson 2 for 4 with two homeruns, Roger Neild and Stephen Damiani both going 2 for 3 with two doubles and a base on balls, also contributing to the Willis win was Brian Gallardo with a "fully charged" homerun.

Burtons 18 - Pro Sports Therapy 5 Burtons continued to firm up a position in the playoffs notching their sixth win of the season against Pro Sports Therapy winning 18-5 and invoking the league run rule in the sixth inning. Burtons has moved into fifth place with more games played than any other team in the league to this point. Burtons defensive highlights included a diving catch by Brian Collamore, a twisting stab by Murph McKeon, and a run saving throw for an out at the plate by Collamore from right center. Burtons also hit the ball well with contributions from several players. Tim Scott went 4-5 with three runs scored and three RBI, John Geary was 3-3 including two sacrifice flies, three runs scored and four RBI, Jason Lenicheck 3-4, one run scored, and two RBI, and Jeff Kott 3-4 with triple and a run scored. In the effort by PST, Brian Dubey hit a loud homerun in the third to get his squad back in the game. The PST old guard led the offense with Tim Schutt, 2-2 with a walk and an RBI and, always a tough out, John Bodi, 3-3 on the evening. PST shortstop Ryan Steele continued to impress with his defensive skills.

Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 24 - Floral Arts 15 The Mustangs faced their toughest test of the season against their long time rival, Floral Arts. The Mustangs needed to come from behind two separate times and found themselves tied at 15-15 coming to bat in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Mustangs batted throughout their entire order in the inning, putting up nine runs, including three homers to pull away. Don Cusano led the offense with three homeruns and six RBI's. Paul Selfrige added two hits, including a big homer in the decisive 6th inning, to go along with five RBIs. Adding homerun blasts for the Mustangs were Mike Kennedy, Jack Erickson, and Mark Cusano. Bill Knute chipped in with four hits and three runs scored. Several outstanding defensive plays were made by both teams. Mustangs outfielder Jim Ward leaped and pulled down a sure Floral Arts homerun from over the left center firled fence with two runners on base to keep the game tied in the 6th inning, while Scott Lawrence threw out a Floral Arts runner from right field trying to stretch a hit into a double.

The Mustangs continue to win, and win big, but the story of the week is Healy Oil is on the board with their first two wins of the season. Healy notched back to back quality wins and hope to work their way back into the playoff picture with plenty of time to go.

Burton's Grill 16 - CSA Graphics 13 In a match between the sixth and seventh place teams (six teams make the playoffs), Burtons edged an improving CSA squad 16-13. Burtons opened the game with three runs, two on a John Geary single with the bases full, but CSA Graphics then answered with nine runs of their own in the first. CSA's assault was led by Matt Sepe's three-run homer (2 for 4 with two home runs on the night) and Mike Cioffi's grand slam (3 for 4 on the night). Several big hits taking advantage of numerous Burtons miscues gave CSA a comfortable lead after one However, Burtons pitcher Jerod Colley, following sage advice to increase his arc, basically shut down CSA allowing only four more runs over the final six innings. Burtons hitting and defense was led by rookie of the year nominee Eric Cataline going 4-4 with two singles, a double, and a homerun, four runs scored and three RBI. Tim Scott, partnered with Cataline in the outfield, went 3-4 with two singles, one homerun, two runs scored and three RBI. Both Catalane and Scott continued their great defense making key grabs in left and left center including a game ending stab by Cataline. Other notables included Peter "Mario" Murano with two singles, the game tying RBI and a cardiac testing run scored from second base. Luke Boulanger and Jon Russo also chipped in with key homeruns for Burtons who are now at 5-5 on the season. Colley helped out himself dogging out a triple usually seen in a Tough Mudder event.

Healy Oil 22 - Short Cuts Landscaping 21 In a slugfest, Healy is now on the board with a win, it's first, outdueling SCL in an eight inning battle, 22-21. This is a notable effort with a ninth place team beating a fourth place team and bringing SCL back to the pack. Healy saw the return of Tom Hudson on the mound who pitched a solid game. Healy Oil got off to an early start with a lead off home run by Matt Dowling who continues his hot streak of at least one home run in every game. Brian Herrmann followed shortly thereafter with a two run blast over the center field fence. From that point on it was a combination of singles and double for the remaining seven innings including a 10 run fourth inning that consisted of seven singles and a three run triple by Captain Bill Eaton. Healy loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth when Dan Nucci launched a walk-off single to win the game for Healy. Notable Healy defense was Wayne Meadows at third base. Also notable was that Healy started their grill and cooking at 6 PM for their 7:45 game and the smell of barbeque permeated the field for several hours making it feel like a night game at Fenway for all.

Healy Oil 10 - Pro Sports Therapy 9 Yes, it's true, Healy Oil has won two in a row and have started to hit the ball well and are no longer a team to count on as an easy win. Healy jumped out to an immediate 3-0 lead on Pro Sports Therapy, but saw that quickly turn into a 3-3 tie after one inning. PST then posted four more in the second on a Ben Armstrong Grand Slam to take a 7-3 lead. Healy pitcher Wayne Meadows then shut down the PST bats for three innings incorporating many different pitching angles and depths.The Oilers chipped away and eventually took an 8-7 lead in the 6th. Once again, PST tied it up but Healy again grabbed the lead, putting up two more. PST continued to battle cutting the lead to one on another Armstrong homerun. A Jerry Cressman double that was just short of being a walk-off HR put runners at second and third with the tying run just 65’ away. Healy defied conventional wisdom, which would have had Meadows walk the clean-up hitter to load the bases and, instead, pitched to him and survived with a great catch by Brian Herrmann in right center field. Herrmann also went 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI. On the PST side, Ben Armstrong was again a force at the top of the order, going 4-4, scoring three runs and driving in five. Jeff Fuller was the tough luck loser for PST, matching Meadows throughout despite a defense that struggled at times.

Floral Arts 26 - CSA Graphics 3 On Friday evening, Floral Arts defeated CSA, 26-3, to improve to 5-2 on the season. Rob Beaudette made several outstanding plays at shortstop for Floral and went 4-for-4, with two home runs and seven RBI. Larry Mardany and Frank Lancelotta combined on the mound to keep CSA to just three runs, and neither allowed a home run. Floral Arts got strong offense from Geoff Pavao (4-for-4, three-run homer), Simon Tripp (3-for-4, two-run homer), Ryan Dunn (three-run homer), Lance Lotta (three doubles), and Roger Whittlesey (3-for-4, four runs).

Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs 22 - Drew Farms 7 Don Cusano led the offensive attack (two HR, three RBI, three runs scored) and got the win on the mound. Baby brother Mark Cusano chipped in with three hits, including a homer. Fellow lefty Jack Erickson added teo hits, a blast of his own and four RBI. Righty Mike Kennedy contributed three hits and a big fly of his own, along with three RBI. Per usual, Paul Selfrige set the tone at the top of the order with three hits, including two doubles. The well balanced Mustang attack scored 10 runs, all with two out, in the second inning to start to pull away. Other Mustangs with two hits were Bill Knute, Cormac Bordes, Craig Smith, Paul Ligouri, and Dan Crogan, who also helped turn a nice infield double play to end a Drews rally.

Willis Tent 21 – Pro Sports Therapy 8 On a night filled with three, five inning run rule games, the big bats of Willis Tent put Pro Sports Therapy away early on the strength of two homeruns from both Rob Swinamer and Dennis Kane. Swinamer’s pitching shut down the PST bats early and his two run bomb staked Willis to a 3-0 lead after one inning. PST finally got on the board with two in the third, but Willis then erupted for seven runs. Swinamer (three run shot) and Kane (solo) went back to back in the inning. PST fought back with three more of their own with the key hit being a two-run double by Andrew Fletcher, but Willis matched those three runs quickly to make it 13-5 after four innings. PST continued to chip away to get within 5 but Willis brought out the big fly one more time when Kane got his second, a grand slam, in the midst of an eight run inning that would close out the game.

Westford Over 30 Softball wraps up another week with little change at the top as the Nashoba Valley Mustangs remain undefeated at 7-0 having scored 135 runs, an average of nearly 20 per game, while many of those games ended after just five innings. Defensively, the Mustangs are just as dominant having only allowed 36 runs over the same seven game span. At the other end of the spectrum, Healy Oil continues to look for their first win but face a tough Short Cut Landscaping team on Tuesday. Burtons currently retains the final playoff spot but faces a surging CSA Graphics this week. CSA is right behind Burtons in the standings.

Floral Arts 15 - Burton's Grill 2 Floral Arts defeated Burton's Grill on Tuesday night, 15-2, in five innings. Burton's took the early lead on solo shots by David Batchelder and Jerry Breen. Floral got some great hitting from Billy Luppold, who strokes a double and a single, and home runs from Mark Chambers (solo), Jeff Moore (two-run shot), Roger Whittlesey (three-run shot), Simon Tripp (solo), Mike Alonardo (solo) and two from Rob Beaudette (a solo and a two-run shot). Ryan Dunn made the play of the game with an over-the-shoulder basket catch in the outfield grass behind third base. Burton's Jerod Colley made a great play on the mound on a laser come-backer to the mound in the fourth inning. The win gives Floral four straight wins to improve its record to 4-2 on the young season. Jerod Colley went 2-2 for Burtons to continue his solid hitting in 2016. Mike J continues to be missed by the Burtons lineup.

Willis Tents 12 - CSA Graphics 5 CSA Graphics managed an early lead, but Willis soon posted five-run and six-run innings that CSA could not counter. In the loss, nine of the CSA players had hits including Bill Cullen who went 2 for 3 with a homerun and Jim DeMarco who went 3 for 4 with a double.

CSA Graphics 15 - Drew Farms 14 CSA Graphics scored in each of the first five innings, leading to an 11-3 lead. Drews posted nine runs in the top of the 6th and held CSA scoreless in the bottom half of the frame. Drews added two insurance runs in the top of the 7th, but Matt Sepe (who was 4 for 5 with a double, home run, and six RBI on the night) evened the score in the bottom of the 7th with a three-run homerun. Drews got one run in the extra inning, but CSA came right back to score two behind back-to-back hits from Bill Ryan (6 for 6, one homerun, four runs, six RBI) and Jim Coveno (3 for 6, including the walk-off). Jim DeMarco went 4 for 5 and Darren Wizst had a homerun for CSA.

Mustangs 22 - Willis 5 Long ball barrage included blasts over the fence by Mark Cusano, Paul Selfrige, Keith Reynolds, and Cormac Bordes all with two a piece. Don Cusano, Mike Kennedy, and Craig Smith each had one. The last few long balls only counted as singles per the homerun limit rule, better named the "Mustangs Rule". Cusano got the win on the mound. for the undefeated Mustangs.

Due to rain and unplayable field conditions, tonight's game between CSA Graphics and Floral Arts has been postponed.  

It is now scheduled as the third game next Sunday, June 12th.  Start time is 8 P.M.