Mustangs

FLORAL ARTS WINS TWICE TO MOVE INTO FIRST PLACE - The powerhouse Shortcut Landscaping team (5-1) lost its first game of the season on Friday to Floral Arts (6-1), which then took over first place in the standings. The surging Drew Farms (5-1) won three games this week and now shares second place with SCL.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 15 - Willis Tent 10 On Tuesday, the Mustangs got back to .500 mark with solid all-around effort against Willis Tent. The Mustangs Heads up base running and hustle manufactured several runs until their bats came alive. Mark Cusano and Jack Mcgrath led the Mustangs with three hits apiece. Jack Erickson, Don Cusano, and Bill Knute hit home runs. Mustangs with two hits each included Brian Foley, Paul Liguori, Jay Dolan and Jim Ward.

Drew Farms 10 - Gutcheck 7 The Drew Farm’s defense kept Gutcheck from scoring in five innings, while the Drew’s offense scored scattered 16 hits to pull off the tight win. Tom Menicci, Todd Shepherd, and Mark Kost hit doubles and combined to go 7-for-9. The defense was solid all night as Drews committed only two errors. Gutcheck’s Darren Weizt had a great game in the field and contributed with the bat, going 3-for-4. Gary Murphy (3-for-4) and Jim Curley (3-for-4) hit well, but it wasn’t enough in the first matchup of what appears to be a healthy rivalry.

Floral Arts 20 - Mario’s Restaurant 7 (Run rule) Floral combined hot bats with solid defense to post a 20-7 victory on Wednesday night. Jim Peloquin led the way with three home runs, while Roger Whittlesey and Simon Tripp (home run) each contributed 4 hits. Dave Janowsky knocked in the game-winning run in the 7th. Mario’s hit four home runs, including two by Than Nguyen and one by Dave Batchelder.

Willis Tent 22 - Healy Oil 11

Drew Farms 17 - Pro Sports Therapy 10 Drew’s 7-run outburst in the third inning broke the game open. Todd Sheppard led the Drew’s offense with two home runs; the second—a 3-run shot—provided the insurance after PST had cut the Drew's lead to three going into the 7th. Dave Chirokas led the PST offense with a home run and 4 RBI. Drew Farms had 26 hits. Scott Cole hit two doubles and the top 5 hitters in the order went a combined 14-for-19. Mark Kost, Mark McAleese, Pat Pawlak, Sheppard and Cole all had three hits. The outfield rotation of Sheppard, Pawlak Jason Goldthwaite, Rob O'Neal and Tony DeAntonis played superbly to support strong pitching form Lance Pratt. Nashoba Valley Veterinarian

Mustangs 20 - Gutcheck 6 (Run rule) Paul Liguori pitched the Mustangs to their third straight victory. Mike Kennedy, Paul Selfrige, and Jack Erickson each went 2-for-3 with a home run apiece. Bill Knute threw out a Gutcheck runner at the plate from left field and contributed a home run and four RBI to aide the Mustang cause. Other Mustangs with two hits each included Don Cusano, Fred Mettler, Liguori, Jay Dolan, Brian Foley, and Jay Lincoln.

Floral Arts 19 - Shortcut Landscaping 6 (Run rule) Floral used four home runs in the first inning to surge out to a 7-run lead, and then never looked back. Larry Mardany pitched his best game of the season and added a home run to the effort. Roger Whittlesey, Rob Beaudette, Jim Peloquin, Simon Tripp (2) and Greg Marchand also homered for Floral. Carl Dean hit a two run blast for Short Cuts and Steve Jacobsmeier played very well in the outfield.

Nashoba Valley Mustangs 13 - Pro Sports Therapy 9 Mustangs used a well-balanced attack to hold off a battling PST squad who wouldn't quit on Sunday night. Mark Cusano continued his hot hitting with three hits, including a home run and three RBI. Paul Selfrige added two hits, including a home run. Fred Mettler and Dan Crogan both contributed multiple hit games, including run scoring doubles. Jay Lincoln and Andy Mastandrea chipped in with two hits apiece, and Jay Dolan made several nice catches in left field for the winners. The PST offense was led once again by Dave Chirokas, who had 3 hits, including a home run and 2 RBI. Also contributing home runs were Larry Zupkosky and Jeff Fuller, both playing in their first game of the year, along with Derek Donegan. Gordon Eddy added 2 hits and 3 RBI, and John Bodi had a 3-hit game.

Healy Oil 11 - Gutcheck 9 Healys defense held strong all night to edge Gutcheck, 11-9. Mike Martin pitched a solid game, and Chris Ricard hit a sky-high bomb to get the offense moving early in the game. Gutcheck bats were also hot, as Jeff Curley, Dave, Guthrie, Jim Curley, Gary Murphy all hit home runs in the loss. Mark Priest and Ray Vianna provided great defense for the rookie team.

Drew Farms 13 - Mario’s Restaurant 11 Drews prevailed on a wet late night on Sunday. Home runs from Pat Pawlak and Blake Buxton (first as member of Men's over 30) keyed the offense, as did multiple hit nights from Todd Shepherd, Rob O'Neal, Pawlak, and Mark Kost. Defense again was a key for Drews, with excellent plays coming from all over the diamond, including a game-ending double play started by Bill Bowser. Keith Reynolds led Mario’s in the hit department with a 4-for-4 performance, aided by Murph McKeon, Jerod Colley and Chris Brooks who all had 3 hits. Mario’s rallied with an 8-hit, 5-run sixth inning and had the tying runs on base in the seventh, when they hit into a double play.

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.