Announcement
The Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (20-0) have gone farther into the season without a loss than any team in recent history. Their two wins this week leave them four victories shy of achieving perfection in the regular season. These games will likely not be walks in the park, however, as each of the remaining opponents have winning records. The Mustangs play Floral Arts (16-4) twice, Willis Tent (13-8), and Shortcut Landscaping (12-10). Floral Arts won twice this week, and even though Willis Tent could potentially win 16 games, Floral earned the first round playoff bye for the fifth year in a row by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker against Willis. Floral defeated Willis Tent in all three games this season. Drew Farms (9-12) also clinched a playoff spot this week.
Floral Arts 19 – Pro Sports Therapy 3 On Sunday, Simon Tripp hit three home runs (including a grand slam) and knocked in nine runs to help lead Floral Arts to a 19-3 win over PST. Larry Mardany pitched four scoreless innings, with Ben Armstrong’s three-run homer in the third inning the only blemish of the outing. Ken Delaney made several outstanding plays at shortstop and hit a solo home run in the second inning. Dave Janowsky (2-for-2, 2 BB), Mark Chambers (3-for-3, BB, 4 RBI) and Roger Whittlesey (2-for-4, 3 RBI) contributed on offense.
Shortcut Landscaping 15 – Burtons Grill 2 SCL’s Rich Acabo had three hits, including a walk off homer. Dave Silton and Chris Clark also homered for SCL.
Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 16 – Healy Oil 0 Don Cusano pitched the Mustangs to their fifth shutout victory (his third) of the season against Healy Oil. Mike Kennedy led the NVVM offense with two hits, including a home run, 4 RBI, and two runs scored. Jack Erickson, Mark Cusano, and Jim Ward all contributed three hits apiece. The Mustang defense was solid throughout the entire game, with first baseman Cormac Bordes making a nice over-the-shoulder running catch in shallow right field.
Shortcut Landscaping 19 – Drew Farms 6 On Tuesday, Shortcuts’ Bill Doherty pitched a solid game after giving up a few early inning home runs. He also hit his first homer since his first game in the league—seven years ago! Mike Gross, Pat Flaherty, and Jason Humphrey also homered for SCL.
Floral Arts 17 – Willis Tent 2 Floral Arts hit seven home runs and scored in every inning in a lopsided win against Willis Tent, 17-2. Larry Mardany pitched another gem, allowing only two runs on a mammoth home run by Rob Swinamer. Rob Beaudette (4-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI), Simon Tripp (4-for-4, HR, 3 RBI), Geoff Pavao (2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI), Mike Alonardo (4-for-4, HR, 2 RBI), Jim Peloquin (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI), and Roger Whittlesey (1-for-2, HR, 2 RBI) were the offensive standouts in the game. Willis Tent’s Jeff Briggs was 2-for-2 with an opposite field hit and a run scored.
Healy Oil 12 – Burtons Grill 0 On Wednesday, Healy’s Bruce Wilhelm hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth. Dave O'Keefe launched a two-run blast and Brian Herrmann sent a solo blast over the right field fence. Tom Hudson got the shutout on the mound and both Cam Santana and Dan Nucci both went 2-for-2 with clutch 2-out hits.
Willis Tent 15 – GutCheck 2 Solid defense and a strong offense, coupled with a stellar pitching performance by Willis pitcher Rob Swinamer, earned Willis a win over GutCheck. Willis’ bats were alive and well, coming off of a previous loss, taking a 9-0 lead after two innings. Willis went into the bottom of the fifth holding a 13-0 lead, only three outs away from a win. GutCheck scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but in top of the sicth, Willis’s leadoff hitter Steve Damaini singled and scored on the walk-off home run by John Mangiaratti. Brian Gallardo went 3-for-3 with a HR, John Mangiaratti was 3-for-4 with a HR, Rob Swinamer 2-for-3 with a HR, Steve Damaini 2-for-4 with a double and HR, Andrew Metter with a HR and John Duffy contributed to the effort by going 2-for-3 on the evening. GutCheck’s Gary Lavelle pitched a good game and also went 2-for-2 with one run. Jim DeMarco and Jeff Bernier also went 2-for-2 in the loss.
Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 24 – Pro Sports Therapy 8 On Friday evening, every Mustang had at least one hit and one run scored in their victory over PST. NVVM batted around their entire order two separate times in the game. Paul Selfrige (home run, 4 RBI, 3 RS) and Jim Ward (3 RBI, 3 RS) set the table at the top of the order with four hits apiece. Don Cusano had three hits, including his 21st homer of the year to go along with five RBI and two runs scored. Other Mustangs with three hits each included Mark Cusano, Dan Crogan (2 doubles, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored), and Paul Ligouri (3 RS). Cormac Bordes added a home run blast for the winners. LF Bill Knute played outstanding defense in the victory. The Mustangs took advantage of a shorthanded (3 OFs) PST squad for an easy 24-8. Mustangs showed great bat control—repeatedly hitting the gaps. For PST, outfielders John Bodi and Michael Winer went 3-for-3 on the night and rookie Ryan Steele returned from injury and hit a homer in his first swing. Coach Gary Royal, returning from surgery, went 2-for-3 with a couple of RBI.
Burtons Grill 18 – GutCheck 17 Burtons jumped out to an early six-run lead, and then watched GutCheck bash their way into the lead, then seized the lead in the seventh before surviving a bases-loaded and one-out GutCheck rally to win, 18-17. Burtons catcher Dave Batchelder made a key play by throwing out a GutCheck runner advancing to third. Also, shortstop Jon Russo blocked a hard hit ball and forcing the final out at second. Batchelder went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI, Russo knocked in three more, while John Geary, Rick Waldron, Brian Collamore and Jerod Colley all drove in two each. Jerry Breen added a two-run homer and Waldron pitched well enough in his first start of the season to pick up the W. GutCheck’s Thanh Nguyen was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI, Jimmy Sullivan was 3-for-4 with three RBI, Darren Wizst was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, and Jim Curley was 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI.
Willis Tent 17 – Drew Farms 4 It took a combination of aggressive hitting, solid defense, and another magnificent pitching performance by Willis pitcher Bob Fleury to earn Willis a back-to-back mercy-rule win. Willis’ bats went to work early against Drews, scoring six runs in the first inning, and then adding three more in the second inning. The game ended in the bottom of the fifth on a walk-off single by Rick Devanna. Brian Gallardo went 4-for-4 with a HR, two doubles and a single, Rick Devanna was 4-for-4, Andrew Metters went 4-for-4, Jeff Briggs was 3-for-4 with a HR, opposite field double and a single, and Paul Duato was 2-for-3 (2 doubles). John Mangiaratti and Steve Damiani each hit homers for Willis.
