Mustangs

The weather refused to cooperate on Friday night, forcing the Pro Sports Therapy - Willis Tent game to be suspended after 3 innings.  This game will be continued on Sunday, July 20th, at 5:30 PM, followed by the remaining two games that were postponed that night.

5:30  Willis Tent @ Pro Sports Therapy

6:45  GutCheck @ Mustangs

8:00   Short Cut Landscaping @ Healy Oil

Westford Over 30 Softball (Week One)

The Westford Over 30 Men’s Softball League opened the 2014 season this week in weather more reminiscent of winter than spring. Floral Arts got off to a great start in two games this week, outscoring opponents, 52-17. Reigning champions Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs were rained out on Wednesday and will have to wait until next week to try to pick up where they left off last season.

Healy Oil 17 - Pro Sports Therapy 7 On Tuesday, with temperatures in the high-30s, Healy Oil erupted with 9 runs in the bottom of the third to defeated Pro Sports Therapy, 17-7. Chris Ricard, Brian Egan, and Bill Eaten homered for the winners. Tony Pantoja was flawless at short, Glenn Robinson made a big stop at third to end the game, and Tom Hudson pitched well for Healy. Matt Dolan hit a grand slam and Andrew Fletcher hit a 2-run bomb off the light pole in left center for PST and Mark Urlage had 3 hits.

Floral Arts 34 - Shortcut Landscaping 11 Also on Tuesday, Floral Arts exploded for 22 runs in the first two innings and cruised to a big win in the season opener against Shortcut Landscaping, 34-11. Larry Mardany pitched well in the win and was supported by home runs by Mike Alonardo (2), Dave Janowsky, Rob Beaudette, Jim Peloquin, Geoff Pavao and Tom Semeter. Short Cuts displayed raw power as well with long balls from Rich Acabbo (2), Brent Oakleaf, Dave Sullivan, and Dave Silton.

Floral Arts 18 - Gutcheck 6 On Friday, Larry Mardany spun a gem and Rob Beaudette hit a key 3-run home as Floral Arts defeated Gutcheck, 18-6. Ken Delaney homered and played stellar defense at shortstop and Roger Whittlesey continued his season-opening streak of reaching base in every plate appearance. Greg Marchand and Simon Tripp also homered for Floral. Thanh Nguyen accounted for the majority of Gutcheck's offense with 2 home runs and 5 RBI.

Shortcut Landscaping 21 - Willis Tent 3 In the second game of the evening, Shortcut Landscaping beat Willis, 21-3, behind a 9-run first inning led by a Mike Gross grand slam. Dave Sullivan went 3-for-3 with 3 runs scored. Jason Humphrey, Carl Dean, Brent Oakleaf, Donny Morash also homered for Short Cut.

Drew Farms 19 - Healy Oil 5 Drew Farms won the nightcap game over Healy Oil, 19-5. Chris Ricard hit an early-inning monstrous grand slam for Healy, but Drew Farms was relentless at the plate thereafter.

Westford Over 30 Softball Round Up (Week Two)

After two weeks of play, Floral Arts has scored 108 runs in five games and remains undefeated. Shortcut Landscaping (3-1) has used the long-ball to power itself into second place, and the 2013 league champs Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (2-0) won both games this week, good for third place in the standings.

Sunday was a special day, as the Mustangs manned the grill and fed hundreds of players and friends of the league for more than five hours during the annual league cookout. While the reigning champs put on an all-star fete, the league played four regular season games.

Pro Sports Therapy 18 - Mario’s Restaurant 3 Jeff Fuller led PST to their first win of the season with an impressive performance on the hill. Tim Schutt’s led the way with a three extra-base-hit performance (2 doubles and a 3-run homer) as PST scored in every inning of the contest. PST also got a 2-run homer from Keith Davighi and three hits from Dave Chirokas and newcomer Ben Armstrong.

Willis Tent 23 - Gutcheck 9 John Hunter led the offense with four hits as Willis Tent defeated Gutcheck, 23-9. Dave Harrington settled down and pitched well after Gutcheck scored nine runs in the first two innings, and Kevin Adolp, Andrew Metters (3-run homer), John Damiani, Mike Ellis, and Paul Duato had multiple hits in the game. Willis played solid defense, led by a hustling catch by Adolph. Thanh Nguyen hit a grand slam for Gutcheck.

Short Cut Landscaping 25 - Drew Farms 8 The big bashers on SCL put on a impressive offensive display, mashing their way to a 25-8 victory over Drew Farms. This was the second game this season that SCL scored 20 or more runs.

Floral Arts 20 - Healy Oil 4 Jim Peloquin led the way with two home runs and 5 RBI as Floral’s powerful offense continued to fire on all cylinders, beating Healy Oil, 20-4. Rob Beaudette and Simon Tripp each hit two home runs, and Larry Mardany added a 2-run shot. Geoff Pavao and Mark Chambers added some sparkling defense while Mardany was once again solid on the mound.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 23 - Healy Oil 2 On Tuesday night, Don Cusano and Jack Erickson led the Mustang offense with two homers apiece as the defending champion Mustangs opened up with a win against Healy Oil. Cusano also earned the win on the mound, while the Mustangs played excellent defense overall. Mustang rookie Cormac Bordes made an outstanding debut going 3-for-3 with a grand slam. Mike Kennedy and Jay Lincoln also added home runs for the winners, while Paul Selfrige went 4-for-4 from the leadoff spot.

Pro Sports Therapy 11, Short Cut Landscaping 8 Trailing 8-2, SCL rallied for 9 runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead. Rich Acabbo and Don Morash hit home runs to lead the comeback. Brent Oakleaf hit a big double over the third base bag. Bill Doherty picked up the pitching victory. PST pitcher Dave Chirokas held the big bats of SCL in check for 5 innings but then fell victim to the powerful SCL lineup. PST got a 3-run homer from OF Nate Frazee and three hits from shortstop John Bodi.

Drew Farms 18 - Mario's Restaurant 5 On Wednesday, Drew Farms scored in almost every inning, defeating Mario’s Restaurant, 18-5. Drew Farms now sits in fourth place with a 2-2 record.

Floral Arts 9 - Willis Tent 8 Floral hung on for dear life late in a 9-8 win over Willis Tent. Rob Beaudette made a leaping catch against the left-field fence with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the win. Larry Mardany pitched another strong game and chipped in an RBI double. Rob Beaudette, Frank Lancelotta, and Simon Tripp (2) all homered for Floral, while Jeff Briggs and John Manginotti had blasts for Willis.

Pro Sports Therapy 13 - GutCheck 12 (9 Innings) Seven innings weren’t enough as it took two extra innings to settle Friday night’s contest between PST and Gutcheck. PST finally broke through in the bottom of the 9th when Andrew Fletcher got his fourth hit and second RBI of the night, driving in Nate Frazee for the walk-off win. PST also got big offensive contributions from Jerry Cressman (2-run homer), Tim Schutt (3-run homer), and Ben Armstrong (3-for-3).  For Gutcheck, Thanh Nguyen led the offense with a number of extra base hits and Dave Guthrie hit a long HR.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 25 - Mario’s Restaurant 12 The Mustangs overcame an 8-run deficit in the fourth inning to defeat a tough Mario's team. The Mustangs bats came alive to score 21 combined runs in the fourth and fifth innings alone in a well-balanced offensive attack. Paul Selfrige and Jim Ward set the tone at the top of the Mustang order, combining for 7 hits, 6 runs scored, and 5 RBI. One of Selfrige's hits was his first homer of the year. Other Mustangs who went deep were: Don Cusano (4-4, 5 RBI), Mike Kennedy (2-3, 4 RBI), and Cormac Bordes. Craig Smith and Jack McGrath also chipped in with three hits apiece for the winners. Mario’s Dave Batchelder hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and Murph McKeon also homered.

Floral Arts 27 - Drew Farms 11 Floral Arts started fast once again with a 9 run first and scored in every inning of a 27-11 win. Larry Mardany was solid on the mound with the exception of one rough inning, and was supported by home runs from Jim Peloquin (2), Mike Alonardo, Dave Janowsky, Rob Beaudette, rookie Mark Chambers, and Frank Lancellota. Tom Menici homered for Drew Farms, which got offensive contributions up and down the lineup.

With a 12-9 win on Friday night, the Mustangs completed a three game comeback against Floral Arts to win the 2013 title 3 Games to 2.

Game 3: Mustangs 22 - Floral 10 Mustangs avoided elimination with a 22-10 victory behind numerous offensive contributions. Paul Selfrige set the tone from the top of the order going 4-5 with 4 runs scored. Don Cusano added 3 hits, including 2 monstrous homers and 4 RBIs. Bill Knute and Jack Erickson also homered for the winners.

Game 4 Mustangs 5 - Floral 4 Great pitcher's duel finally came to an end in the bottom of the 8th inning on a walkoff homerun by Mustang Jack Erickson. Paul Selfrige and Dan Crogan combined to turn 4 infield double plays in the well played game.

Game 5 Mustangs 12 - Floral 9 Bill Knute and Jim Ward played outstanding outfield defense in LF and LC all series long for the Mustangs and it continued in game 5. Offensively, the Mustangs were led by Don Cusano's two tape measure homeruns. Bill Knute and Mike Kennedy also homered to help the Mustangs wrestle the championship back from Floral Arts in a hard fought series.

Regular Season: Floral Arts (21 Wins - 3 Losses)

Play Off Champions: After a bye in the first round as the second seed, the Mustangs defeated Short Cuts (3 Games to 0) and Floral Arts (3 Games to 2).