Mustangs

It took all five games of the semifinal round before Floral Arts defeated Shortcut Landscaping. Now, with the finals sitting at two wins to one in favor of the Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs, Floral Arts finds itself in a similar scenario to the semifinals when it went down two games to one. This is the sixth straight year in a row that the Mustangs and Floral Arts have met in the finals. The Mustangs have won three championships in that time.

SEMIFINALS

Floral Arts 17 - Shortcut Landscaping 4

On Tuesday, Floral Arts advanced to the final for the sixth year in a row with a 17-4 win over the powerful Shortcut Landscaping team. Larry Mardany pitched a gem of a game and the Floral defense was nearly perfect all night. Mardany helped his cause in the fourth when he hit a two-run homer. Roger Whittlesey hit an opposite-field three run homer in an inning when Floral scored eight runs. Ken Delaney homered twice and Jim Peloquin and Simon Tripp each homered once. Dave Janowsky continued his hot hitting, getting on base in every at-bat.

FINALS

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 20 - Floral Arts 15

On Wednesday, the Mustangs scored six runs in the first and then kept adding on incrementally all night to stay just ahead of Floral Arts. Ken Delaney hit a three-run homer in the second inning for Floral during a seven-run inning that brought the score to 11-7 Mustangs. Jack McGrath’s three-run homer in bottom of sixth provided the insurance runs necessary to hold on for the win. The following Mustangs had productive nights at the plate: Jack Erickson 3-for-3, 2 RS, 2 RBI, Jay Dolan 3-for-3, 2 RS, 1 RBI, Don Cusano 2 hits, 3RBI, Cormac Bordes 2 hits, 3 RS, 2 RBI. Bill Knute was solid defensively in left.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustang 23 - Floral Arts 16

On Friday, the Mustangs were an offensive machine, knocking the ball to all fields and several over the fence. Their success against Floral’s starting pitcher in the first two innings prompted a rare pitching change as Floral shortstop Jim Peloquin came in to stop the bleeding. But the Mustangs did not relax; they continued to pound the ball. Mark Chamber hit a three-run homer for Floral and Jim Peloquin hit a two-run shot to the opposite field. Mustangs’ pitcher Don Cusano and left fielder Bill Knute each scored four runs, had two homers and knocked in four. Mike Kennedy and Paul Selfrige were both 4-for-4 with 4 runs scored and two RBI. Selfrige also hit a home run. Jim Ward, Mark Cusano and Craig Smith had three hits each. Dan Crogan and Paul Liguori played great infield defense.

Floral Arts 3 - Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 8

On Sunday, Floral Arts needed a win to force a fourth game in the best-of-three series finals, and they came out swinging. Mike Alonardo, Jim Peloquin, and Simon Tripp hit homers in the first inning to go up 3-0. Floral pitcher Larry Mardany shut down the Mustangs in the bottom of the inning, and then Floral tacked on more runs, including a home run by Rob Beaudette. Frank Lancelotta was 2-for-3 and hit an opposite-field songle that scored a runner from second. Floral Arts’ strong defense kept the Mustangs from scoring in four of the seven innings. Mustangs’ Mike Kennedy hit a home run and knocked in three, while playing excellent defense at third. Bill Knute collected three hits. Paul Selfrige, Dan Crogan, and Jack Erickson had two hits apiece. Jim Ward played well in the outfield.

Regular Season: Mustangs (23 Wins - 1 Loss)

Play Off Champions: After a bye in the first round as the #1 seed, the Mustangs defeated Willis Tent (3 Games to 0) and Floral Arts (3 Games to 2).

The Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs dispatched of Willis Tent in three straight games to advance to the finals for the seventh year in a row and their eighth trip in nine years. Floral Arts and Shortcut Landscaping remain tied at two games apiece. The winner of the Floral-SCL series will face the Mustangs in the finals.

Semi-Final Game One

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 19 - Willis 7

On Tuesday, Pitcher Don Cusano led the way in the win over Willis Tent with a 3-for-4 effort, two homers and seven RBI. Bill Knute had four hits in as many trips for the Mustangs and knocked in three and hit a him run. Jack Erickson also had four hits and three RBI. Paul Selfrige, Paul Ligouri, and Cormac Bordes tallied three hits apiece, and Mike Kennedy played excellent defense at third base and contributed with a home run.

Floral Arts 13 - Shortcut Landscaping 12

Floral Arts beat Shortcut Landscaping in the bottom of the seventh inning on a single to the left field fence by Jim Peloquin, who scored Dave Janowsky from third to go up 13-12. SCL scored three runs in the first inning on a tremendous three-run blast by Brent Oakleaf. Floral scored only two in the bottom of the inning, despite an intentional walk to Simon Tripp with the bases loaded and no outs. Rob Beaduette hit a sacrifice fly that scored Roger Whittlesey from third for the other run. SCL put up five runs in the second to go up 8-2, but Floral scored eight, including Frank Lancelotta’s 500th career home run, a three-run shot that started the eight-run rally. SCL’s Oakleaf hit another three-run homer in the fifth, this one a shot that cleared two fences and likely traveled 400 feet, and then the score remained tied 12-12 for two innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Janowsky, who was 4-for-4 in the game, hit a double to left. Whittlesey, who went 3-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBI, moved Janowsky to third with his second single of the night. With no outs and a man on third, SCL contemplated walking Peloquin to get to Tripp, who they had intentionally walked in all three of his at-bats, but ultimately decided to pitch Peloquin, who then won it on a single.

Semi-Final Game Two

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 13- Willis Tent 9

On Wednesday, Willis Tent put up a stronger fight in this contest, but the Mustangs won on the strength of Jack Erickson's two home run and 4 RBI effort. Mike Kennedy, Bill Knute, and Don Cusano each homered and had two hits. Jim Ward chipped in three hits. Knute played some stellar defense in left field for the winners.

Shortcut Landscaping 14 - Floral Arts 8

David Sullivan had a great night at the plate for Shortcut Landscaping, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and 6 RBI, as SCL tied the series at one, with their 13-9 win over a listless Floral Arts offense. Jason Humphries was busy all night at shortstop, making play after routine play, and showing off his range by ranging left and right to make several stellar plays.

Semi-Final Game Three

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 11 - Willis Tent 2

On Friday, the Mustangs clinched the series and won their 26th games of the year (in 27 tries) against Willis Tent. Bill Knute belted three hits, including two homers (one was a grand slam), and tallied 6 RBI. Paul Selfrige, Don Cusano, Jack Erickson, Mark Cusano, and Paul Ligouri each had two hits apiece. Erickson continued his great outfield defense by throwing out another runner at first base from his short fielder spot.

Shortcut Landscaping 8 - Floral Arts 6

Shortcut Landscaping took a 2-1 lead in the series with a gutsy 8-6 win over Floral Arts. Floral Arts held the lead until the top of the seventh when SCL plated three runs to go up by two, but Floral, a team that scored the most runs in the league during the regular season, could not plate anyone else and saw three straight batters make outs in the bottom of the seventh. Jim Peloquin and Ken Delaney hit home runs for Floral, accounting for two of the team’s seven hits in the game.

Semi-Finals Game Four

Floral Arts 34 - Shortcut Landscaping 8

Floral Arts’ bats rose from the dead just in time to stave off an early exit and force a fifth and final game of the series. Floral banged out 39 hits and knocked nine out of the park, two of which were counted as singles under the league mandate. Jim Peloquin was 6-for-6 and hit two over the fence. Floral got homers from Rob Beaudette (2), Larry Mardany, Ken Delaney, and Mike Alonardo. Dave Janowsky was 4-for-6 and scored four times, Roger Whittlesey was 4-for-5 with a walk and four runs scored, and Greg Marchand, Mark Chambers, and Mardany collected three hits apiece. SCL continued to make nice defensive plays in the outfield, including several running catches.

Willis Tent dispatched Pro Sports Therapy in two straight playoff games and now moves into the semifinals of the playoffs against a Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs team that only lost once in the regular season. Shortcut Landscaping required three games, two of which went into extra innings, to beat Drew Farms and will now face second place Floral Arts in the semifinals, a best-of-five series.

Willis Tent 18 - Pro Sports Therapy 3

On Sunday evening, Willis Tent eliminated Pro Sports Therapy with a big win in the second game of the series. Willis jumped out early with seven runs in the first inning, sparked by Dennis Kane’s leadoff home run. Willis put up seven more runs in the second inning and the game was effectively over, as PST only managed seven hits in the game. John Bodi, who collected two of the seven hits for PST, doubled in the fourth and then a double by Jerry Cressman drove Bodi in. Mark Pelosky then singled to drive in Cressman. Willis pitcher Dave Harrington kept PST off balance all game. Willis’ Rob Swinamer had two doubles and a home run.

Drew Farms 15 - Shortcut Landscaping 14

Tom Menucci hit a walk-off home run to straightaway center field to help Drew Farms stave off elimination in the second game of the three-game playoff series on Sunday night. Drew Farms jumped out to a big lead and maintained it until seventh inning, when SCL tied it on the power of a Dave Sullivan home run. The game went to extra innings and then Menucci stepped up to the plate with two outs and delivered the game winner.

Shortcut Landscaping 20 - Drew Farms 17

On Tuesday night, in the Game Three of the the three-game playoff series, Shortcut Landscaping needed extra innings to earn the victory over Drew Farms. Drew Farms had a 14-1 lead until the bottom of the third, when SCL put up 11 runs to close the gap. The game was notched at 17-17 in the ninth inning, when Jason Humphry and Chris Clark singled for SCL and then Brent Oakleaf hit a three-run walk-off home run. Todd Shepherd hit two home runs for Drew Farms in the loss. Tom Menucci, the hero of Game Two, tied the game in the sixth when he hit a three-run bomb to straightaway center. Both teams had chances to take the lead in the next couple of innings, but pitching and defense came up big when it mattered.

It all came down to the final night of the regular season.

On Tuesday night, when Pro Sports Therapy (10-14) beat Willis Tent, they breathed a sigh of relief because the win continued the team’s streak of making the playoffs the year after its inception in 1997. That left two teams with nine wins, and they played each other on Wednesday night. Willis Tent (10-14) got the necessary tenth win against Healy Oil (9-15), a solid team with three championships to its legacy, and ultimately knocked them out of the playoffs.

That left league secretary John Bodi with the task of figuring out how to seed three teams with identical records, as Drew Farms (10-14) also finished with ten wins. Bodi poured over the tie-breaker rules and, using every resource short of sorcery, determined the match ups for the first round of the playoffs (a best-of-three series).

Third place Shortcut Landscaping (13-11) beat sixth place Drew Farms in Game 1 of the first round of playoffs. Fourth place Pro Sports Therapy lost to fifth place Willis Tent in their first playoff meeting. The winners of these series will move into the semi-final round (a best-of-five series) against either first place Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (23-1) or second place Floral Arts (20-4).

Home Runs

Most teams would likely acknowledge that the ball did not fly out of the park this season the way it has in the past. Some blame it on the humid summer, others on the bats, and still others on old age. However, there is an elite group of hitters in the league that hit them no matter what the circumstances.

Here are the top home run hitters of the 2014 regular season:

1. Don Cusano: The Mustangs pitcher is the league’s most consistent power hitter. He is usually good for one home run a game, though he hit seven home runs in the final three games of the season. Cusano knocked out 23 home runs in 24 games this season.

2. Rob Beaudette: The Floral Arts left fielder plays softball as a change of pace from his role as the Nashoba Tech varsity football coach. Softball is not his favorite sport, but that hasn’t stopped him from banging out 21 home runs this season and gathering 60 RBI.

3. Simon Tripp & Jim Peloquin: Both players are key on defense for Floral Arts and each hit 20 home runs this season and knocked in 50-plus runs. The pair hit a combined four grand slams this season.

5. Thanh Nyugen: Gutcheck’s star left fielder and sometimes pitcher hit five home runs in the final week of the season to finish with 19 home runs. It is staggering to think how many more home runs he would have hit if he hadn’t been intentionally walked nearly ten times and constantly pitched around.

6. Todd Shepherd: The Drew Farms outfielder got off to a screaming start, hitting 12 home runs in the first ten games, but then hit four in the final 12 games for a total of 16 long flies.

7. Mike Gross: Shortcut Landscaping’s first baseman rapped out 15 home runs this season, including several grand slams.

8. Rob Swinamer & Billy Knute: When Willis Tents’ Swinamer is playing, no one parks within fifty feet of the right field fence. The powerful lefty is known for hitting tape-measure shots over the right field fence into the parking lot. Knute, the smooth left fielder for the Mustangs, also bats lefty and is a formidable presence at the plate. Both Knute and Swinamer tied with 14 home runs.

10. Mike Kennedy & Mike Alonardo: The Mustangs’ Kennedy and Floral Arts’ Alonardo each swatted 13 home runs.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 22 - Pro Sports Therapy 10

On Sunday, The Mustangs began their last regular season game with five home runs in the first inning and never looked back. Paul Selfrige went 3-for-5, three runs scored and an RBI and set the tone by leading off the game with a blast to left. Jim Ward followed with a single, then the Mustangs hit four consecutive homers. Don Cusano was 4-for-5, with a homer and 5 RBI, Bill Knute went 4-for-5, with two homers, and 5 RBI, Mike Kennedy homered and Mark Cusano went 4-for-4 with a home run. Ward (4-for-5, HR, 4 RS, 3 RBI) later added his first home run of the year. The Mustangs hit 12 home runs in total, but league rules allow only the first seven to count. Jay Dolan added three hits and played excellent outfield defense for the Mustangs. Several PST players quietly had big games: Al Nudler and Dave Chirokas both went 3-for-3 and Tom Rose was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and three runs scored.

Pro Sports Therapy 9 - Willis Tent 7

On Tuesday, both teams were fighting to qualify for the playoffs, but Pro Sports Therapy had to win or go home. On the strength of four runs in the bottom of the sixth, the PST squad was able to hold off Willis Tent with a 9-7 win. Willis jumped out to a two-run lead in the first, but PST responded with three runs. Willis broke out for four in the fourth to take the lead back. PST got two in the fifth and then took the lead in the sixth. Willis rallied in the seventh, pushing across one run, but saw their rally die with the winning runs on base and a fly-out to the fence. PST’s Tim Schutt had two hits and two RBI. Willis got offensive contributions from Dennis Kane, who went 3-for-3, with a two-run homer and Rob Swinamer, who was 2-for-2, walked, and hit a two-run homer. Dave Harrington pitched a solid game.

Floral Arts 19 - Shortcut Landscaping 6

Floral Arts hit two grand slams en route to a 19-6 victory over Shortcut Landscaping. Jim Peloquin, typically the team shortstop, pitched well for Floral Arts, earning his third win of the season on the mound. Mike Alonardo hit two homers, including a grand slam, Peloquin hit a grand slam, and Rob Beaudette and Frank Lancelotta each hit solo shots for the winners. Lancelotta also made a nice running catch in right field.

Willis Tent 22 - Healy Oil 8

Healy Oil's season ended Wednesday with a 21-8 loss to Willis Tent. Ten players on Willis had two or more hits. John Hunter (2 HR, 5 RBI), Rob Swinamer (2 HR, 5 RBI), and Jeff Briggs (HR) provided the big hits for Willis. Dave Harrington pitched a strong game. Healy’s Bill Eaton hit a three-run homer over the left-center fence.

Gutcheck 22 - Mario’s Restaurant 9

In a contest to determine eighth place, Mario’s Restaurant fell behind early and could not keep pace with Gutcheck’s offense, closing out their season with a 22-9 loss to Gutcheck in six innings. Gutcheck’s Thanh Nguyen pitched against his former mates and hit three home runs, including one that rattled the Porta-Potty just outside the right-center field fence. Threes were wild for Mario’s as Dave Batchelder hit a three-run home run, John Russo and Jim Scott both went 3-for-3, and Raghu Mantena and Russo both legged out triples.

First Round of the Playoffs

GAME 1: Willis Tent 17 - Pro Sports Therapy 12

On Friday, Willis Tent put up seven runs in twice in the game and defeated Pro Sports Therapy, 17-12, to take a 1-0 lead in this first round series. Willis pitcher Dave Harrington kept PST off balance all night, recording two strikeouts and six walks. Rob Swinamer took the mound during PST’s desperate seventh inning rally and closed out the game. PST’s Tom Rose, Jeff Fuller, and Jeff Morse all were 2-for-2 with a walk. PST also got important contributions from the bottom of the order, as Al Nudler and coach Gary Royal both contributed two RBI. Rob Swinamer hit two home runs, including one of his trademark bombs that landed nearly seventy feet over the right field fence.

Game 1: Shortcut Landscaping 21 - Drew Farms 9

Shortcut Landscaping overcame a 6-2 deficit in the third inning on the power of home runs by Mike Gross and Steve Jacobsmeir. Both players swatted two home runs in the game. Gross amassed 5 RBI. Dave Sullivan and Brent Oakleaf also homered for SCL. Todd Shepherd hit two home runs for Drew Farms and Tom Menucci hit a line-drive home run over the center field fence. SCL leads the best-of-three series, 1-0.