Drew Farms

Talk about a close call. The Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (7-0) remain the only undefeated team in the league, but their epic encounter against Burtons Grill on Friday—a game that lasted 12 innings and had a man thrown out at the plate and several potential game-winning rallies squelched—was a win that almost wasn’t. Floral Arts (6-1) won twice this week, including a victory against Drew Farms (6-2), and moved into second place. Drew Farms is now in third place. 

Drew Farms 12 – Burtons Grill 8

On Tuesday night, Burtons jumped out to an early 7-4 lead before giving up eight runs to Drews in the fifth. Jason Lenicheck led Burtons with three RBI and a pair of hits; Pete Morano drove in two runs, and Dave Batchelder and Greg Fitzgerald both crossed the plate twice. Pat Pawlak earned the win on the mound.

Floral Arts 21 – Gutcheck 4

Gutcheck struggled to pitch a strike for two innings and Floral Arts took advantage of the free passes by scoring nearly a dozen runs in one inning. Simon Tripp and Rob Beaudette homered for Floral Arts. Gutcheck’s Matt Sepe went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer. Mark Lupien, in his first game of the year, went 1-for-1 with a 2-run home run. Lupien also made three impressive plays in the outfield, catching one over his shoulder and two other basket-catches.  

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 11 – Willis Tent 4

On Wednesday, Don Cusano blasted two home runs (4 RBI) to lead the Mustang offense. Bill Knute added three hits and 2 RBI while Paul Selfrige (HR) and Mark Cusano chipped in with two hits apiece. Mustang outfielder Jim Ward made the play of the night, gunning down a Willis runner at the plate. Dave Harrington and Keith Wauters each went 3-for-3 for Willis Tent.

Shortcut Landscaping 19 – Healy Oil 15 

Shortcuts scored 11 runs in the first inning on the strength of homers by Brent Oakleaf and Chris Clar. Healy scored in every inning and closed within one run, but Shortcuts’ six runs in the seventh earned them the win. 

Floral Arts 9 – Drew Farms 5

On Friday night, Floral Arts handed Drew Farms its second loss of the season. Simon Tripp and Jim Peloquin hit back-to-back homers in the second inning. Floral Arts continued to add a run here and it was 9-2 in the seventh when Drews rallied, scoring three runs. There were two men on when Floral Arts’ pitcher Larry Mardany induced a deep fly ball to left that Roger Whittlesey caught in foul territory to end the game. Dave Janowsky was 2-for-2 with two RBI and Tom Semeter hit two screaming line-drive singles for the winners. 

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 20 – Burtons Grill 17

Burtons Grill, in a bid to replicate last year’s feat of ending the Mustangs’ undefeated season, fell just short in the twelve-inning game. Burtons rallied from eight runs down in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game when Mustang left-fielder Bill Knute threw out the potential winning run at the plate, forcing extra innings. Two innings later, Mustangs third baseman Mike Kennedy extinguished another potential game-winning rally, making a diving stop and throwing to second for the force out. Kennedy blasted a three-run homer in the top of the twelfth to give the Mustangs a three-run lead they would not relinquish. Bill Knute (3-for-6, 2 HR, 6 RBI), Don Cusano (4-for-4, 2 BB, HR, 4 R, 5 RBI), Paul Selfrige (4-for-6, 4R), Jack Erickson (4-5, HR, 2 RBI), and Mark Cusano (4H) were the offensive stars for the winners. Pitcher Paul Ligouri earned the win and added three hits and a walk to the offense. Pitcher Jerod and a stellar Burtons defense combined to earn five consecutive shutout innings. John Geary (3-run homer) and a Raghu Mantena (clutch 2-run double) contributed key hits for Burtons. Colley and Dave Batchelder hit back-to-back home runs.

Shortcut Landscaping 24 – Pro Sports Therapy 11

After the Burton-Mustang 12-inning marathon game, Shortcuts and Pro Sports Therapy played a game into the midnight hour. The relentless SCL offense pounded out hit after hit to overwhelm PST in five innings. Bill Doherty and Brett Hammond each had four hits for SCL, and Dave Sullivan homered. PST played some impressive defense in the loss, inducing two double plays, and left-fielder Ben Armstrong made a spectacular sliding catch after a long run. 

All games scheduled for tonight, Sunday, May 31st, are postponed due to weather / field conditions.  They will be made up in the same time slots beginning at 5:30 PM on Sunday, June 14th.

The undefeated Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (5-0) moved into first place, exchanging places with Drew Farms (5-1), a team that appears to be a strong contender for the coveted top two spots in the standings, while Floral Arts (4-1) sits in third place. Through four games, the Mustangs had only allowed five runs, but in its fifth game against the slugging Shortcut Landscaping (3-3), the reigning champs gave up 14 runs. The 19 runs that teams have scored against the Mustangs this season equals only half the amount that the next stingiest team (Floral Arts) has allowed. Pro Sports Therapy, a team battling injuries, won its first game of the season, and now all nine teams in the league have earned at least one victory.

Willis Tent 18 – Gutcheck 5 Willis Tent came roaring back from a recent loss with a mercy-rule win over Gutcheck on Sunday. Glenn Harding was unstoppable all evening, going 3-for-3 with a sixth-inning leadoff game-ending home run. Dennis Kane answered the call going 3-for-3 too. Rob Swinamer, Brian Gallardo and John Hunter kept the offensive machine running, each contributing with a home run. Willis pitcher Rob Swinamer was stellar on the mound. Dave Guthrie and Kevin Borselli laced them up for the first time this season and each contributed a hit for Gutcheck. Jim DeMarco was 2-for-2.

Floral Arts 8 – Burtons Grill 7 Mark Chambers homered in his third-consecutive game and added another hit in a close win for Floral Art over Burtons. Simon Tripp hit two homers for the winners. Burtons staged a late 4-run rally in the seventh inning that fell short with the tying run on third. Burtons’ Tim Scott went 3-for-3, Dave Batchelder went deep for his first home run of the season, and Rick Waldron and Jeff Kott helped close the gap with key hits in the seventh. Jerod Colley aided a fine effort on the mound with a pair of RBI.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 21 – Pro Sports Therapy 0 Nashoba Valley Veterinary Mustangs hurler Paul Liguouri pitched a three hitter for the Mustangs third consecutive shutout victory. Ligouri added two hits and an RBI to help his cause. Don Cusano led the Mustang offense with two home runs and 8 RBI. Mark Cusano chipped in with three hits, including a homer and 4 RBIs. Other Mustangs with three hits included Paul Selfrige, Jim Ward, and Jack Erickson. Bill Knute, Dan Crogan (3 RBI), and Jay Dolan all contributed two hits for the winners. Solid all around defense by the Mustangs helped keep their shutout streak alive.

Pro Sports Therapy 14 – Healy Oil 11 On Tuesday, Pro Sports Therapy and Healy Oil engaged in another of their classic battles, with PST earning their first win of the season, 14-11. PST jumped out to a 9-2 lead, riding their most consistent offensive showing of the young season, only to see the Oilers put up a six-spot in the top of the fourth. From that point on, the game remained a back-and-forth battle. PST received offensive contributions up and down the lineup. Dave Chirokas led the team with a defensive effort reminiscent of the championship years as well as a 4-for-4 night at the plate. PST also got a 3 hit/3 RBI nights from Mark Urlage. Gary Royal, Rich Morin, Jeff Fuller, and John Bodi also chipped in 3 hits and Ben Armstrong drove in another 3.

Gutcheck 16 – Burtons Grill 4 GutCheck scattered 27 hits en route to a convincing victory over Burtons. Matt Sepe led the way with three home runs, two of which were 3-run shots. Rey Vienneau had one home run and another hit that struck the top of the fence and fell into the center field gate opening, deemed a ground rule double. Jeff Stabach and Jim DeMarco each had five hits and four runs scored. Tim Piwowar and Rob Rohlfs added three hits apiece, and Gary Lavelle pitched a strong game to keep the Burtons bats at bay.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 27 – Shortcut Landscaping 14 The Mustangs withstood five Shortcut home run blasts by scoring in every inning to outscore their powerful opponents, 27-14, on Wednesday. Every Mustang had at least one hit and one run scored in the high scoring affair. Bill Knute (3-4, HR, 6 RBI) struck the big blow for the Mustangs with a grand slam after teammate Don Cusano (3-4, HR, 5 RBI) was intentionally walked with the bases loaded. Jim Ward also had a bases-clearing 3-run triple to go along with his 3 hits and 4 RBI. Paul Selfrige (4 runs scored, 2 RBI) and Jay Lincoln contributed four hits apiece for the Mustangs. Jack Erickson added 3 hits, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. The Mustangs infield defense (Selfrige, Dan Crogan, Cormac Bordes) turned two big double plays to snuff out Shortcut rallies.

Drew Farms 21 – Willis Tent 19 With 27 years in the Westford slow pitch league, Drew Farms utility man Bill Faherty made his pitching debut against Willis Tent. A 7-run top half of the first inning gave Bill Faherty a good start to his debut and nice cushion to work with. Willis had a decent first inning, bringing seven men to plate and getting two runs back. But Willis Tent walked their way back into the game, patiently taking an impressive 11 walks. The third inning produced some more action as Drew Farms put up four and Willis put three more on the board. As the Drew Farm bats went silent, Willis put up three three-run innings to tie it in the bottom of the fifth. Willis took a very comfortable lead to the top of the seventh, but Drews came back, earning two walks and 10 runs. Willis scored two more runs, but stalled in the seventh. John Mangiaratti of Willis Tent hit a 2-run home run.

Drew Farms (4-1) sits in first place after two weeks of softball. But the reigning champs Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs (3-0) are eager to reclaim that top position in the standings. It’s a perch they’re used to. The Mustangs have started the season in a way, even considering the fact that they’ve won four championships in the past six years, which outshines previous starts. The Mustangs have scored 55 runs in their first three games and only allowed 5 runs! There is no team in the league that comes close to their runs-scored to runs-allowed differential of + 50 runs.

Willis Tent 17 – Burtons Grill 9 Willis jumped out to an early 11-0 lead on Tueaday night, but Burton's fought back to close within three before Brian Gallardo (2 HRs) and Mike Ellis hit homers in top of 7th to pull away. Jeff Briggs added 3 hits for Willis. Jerry Breen and rookie Steve Sawyer, both hitting their first home runs of the season, led Burtons offensively. Kieran Murray had a 3-hit night and Tim Scott's aggressive speed on the base paths continued to result in run scoring opportunities.

Floral Arts 11 – Shortcut Landscaping 9 Strong pitching and good defense were the key ingredients in Floral’s win on Tuesday night. Jim Peloquin threw seven strong innings and Mike Alonardo, Rob Beaudette, and Ken Delaney homered in support. Chad Kirby made a great diving catch in left field for Floral. Dave Sullivan, Jason Humphries and Chris Clark provided strong offense for Shortcuts and Steve Jacobsmeier made some excellent plays at first base.

Drew Farms 16 – Pro Sports Therapy 14 Drew Farms continues to roll as they edged out PST, 16-14, on Wednesday night. Drews laced 19 hits from 11 of 12 players which resulted in Drews scoring in 6 of 7 innings.  PST fielded an undermanned squad that went down big early, came back to tie it up at 14-all in the sixth inning, only to see Drews win it in the seventh. Pat Pawlak hit a key home run in the 6th inning for Drews, who scored the majority of their runs with 2 outs. Alex Lelchook went 3-3 with a walk, while 6 other batters produced 2 hits apiece (Pawlak, Jason Goldthwaite, Tom Milanette, Rob O’Neal, Scott Cole and Joe Welch).  For PST, Ben Armstrong hit a homer and notched 3 RBI, Andrew Fletcher had 3 hits (including two doubles), and Ryan Steele was 3-for-3 with a HR before being injured.

Shortcut Landscaping 18 – Gutcheck 3 GutCheck spotted SCL a quick and unlucky 13 runs in the first inning, and never managed to climb back from the deficit. Despite the l;oss, there were some highlights for Gutcheck, including Rob Rohlfs’ over-the-shoulder running catch in center field and a two-run home run by Darren Wiszt.

Floral Arts 18 – Willis Tent 4 On Friday night, Larry Mardany pitched a gem, holding the potent Willis bats to one home run, while Floral offense pounded out five long balls en route to 18 runs. Mark Chambers led the way, going 3-for-3 with a home run. Greg Marchand, Jim Peloquin, Ken Delaney, and Rob Beaudette also went deep. Willis’ Andrew Metters went 2-for-2 with Steve Damiani contributing with a two-run homer.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 22 – Healy Oil 0 The Mustangs continued their hot start with their third-straight mercy-rule win to begin the season and second consecutive shutout. Pitcher Don Cusano threw a two hitter for his second shutout of the early season. He added a home run and three RBI at the plate. Jim Ward set the table with four hits and three runs scored. Mike Kennedy added three hits, including a long home run and four RBI. He was also outstanding defensively at third base. Lefties Jack Erickson and Bill Knute contributed home runs for the Mustangs as well.

Drew Farms 14 – Shortcut Landscaping 9  Outstanding defense, solid pitching and timely hitting up and down the lineup resulted in a key win for Drews. Despite starting the game with only 9 players and giving up 3 first inning runs, Drews never quit scoring in all but the first. The ageless Scott Cole continued his torrid start to the year, while Jason Goldthwaite hit a key home run. Once again, Drews scored often with 2 outs.

Obdurate lumps of dirt-encrusted snow loitered in the shaded section of the VFW parking lot, but no one was thinking about the wicked winter on Sunday, May 3, as the Westford Over 30 Men’s Softball League kicked off the 2015 season under summery blue skies. Colorful uniforms, the ping of the bat, and the constant greetings of old friends reacquainting themselves punctuated the scene and established the mood for the new season. And there was food—so much delicious food! The 2014 champion Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs prepared and cooked an array of meats and vegetables—some donated by new team sponsor Burtons Grill—that nourished the nearly 400 attendees. That evening, when the easy-ups were eased down and the grills and tables lifted into pickups and packed away, well after the conclusion of four regular-season games, the Mustangs delivered and donated the remaining food to St. Paul’s Soup Kitchen, in Lowell.

Sunday, May 3 (Opening Day)

Burtons Grill 5 – Pro Sports Therapy 4 The team formerly sponsored by Mario’s Restaurant opened the new season with a new sponsor, Burtons Grill, and a walk-off 5-4 win over PST. Burtons combined stellar defense, timely hitting and solid pitching from Jerod Colley to climb out of a 2-run deficit in the bottom of the 7th to post the win. Defensive gems included an over the shoulder catch by Raghu Mantena in right field and a pinpoint relay from outfielder Tim Scott to shortstop Dave Batchelder to catcher John Geary to nip a PST runner at the plate. Geary also delivered a clutch 2-run double in the 7th to score rookie Steven Sawyer with the winning run.  Derek Donegan led the way offensively for PST with two hits and two runs scored.

Drew Farms 11 – Gutcheck 9 Drew Farms scattered 18 hits over six innings to fend off Gutcheck, 11-9. Tom Milanese, making his Drews debut, went 3-for-3, as did Scott Cole. Mark McAleese, Todd Shepherd, Blake Buxton, Rob O’Neil and Mark Kost contributed to the win, getting two hits apiece. Jason Goldthwaite, Joe Welch and Pat Pawlak helped the cause with their excellent defense. Gutcheck’s Thanh Nguyen, Matt Sepe and Jim DeMarco all went 3-for-4. Two of Nguyen's hits were home runs, and Sepe hit the top of the fence twice. Gutcheck was down by two in the seventh with the tying run at the plate when the game ended.

Healy Oil 13 – Floral Arts 12 The Healy Oilers withstood a late-inning surge by Floral Arts to prevail 13-12 in a nail-biter. The Healy offense was buoyed by a series of three-run home runs by shortstop Tony Pantoja, outfielder Brian Egan and newcomer Wayne Meadows, who also impressed with his defense at third. Mike Martin and Tommy Hudson combined on the hill for the win. Floral’s Jeff Moore, Rob Beaudette, and Simon Tripp homered in the loss.

Shortcut Landscaping 5 – Willis Tent 4 In the season opener, both team’s bats started off slow. In the end, the difference-maker came from SCL rookie John Kulesza, whose go-ahead three-run homer ended up the game-winner. For Willis, Kevin Adolph had 4 hits. Dennis Kane and Steve Damiani both had 3 hits. Brian Gallardo hit his first career HR.

Tuesday, May 5  The first week of the season was in doubt when several weeks ago a town official discovered the light pole holding the electrical box was yet another victim of the vicious winter, laying sideways on the grass between the softball and baseball field. But town officials and work crews combined to resolve the problem in time for the first night games last Tuesday.

Nashoba Valley Veterinarian Mustangs 19 – Gutcheck 5  The first four Mustang batters went 3-for-3 to start the season, as the defending champs defeated Gutcheck in a 19-5 run-rule win. Paul Selfrige set the tone at lead off with three doubles and three runs scored. Jim Ward added three singles and three runs scored as well. Don Cusano chipped in with a homer and 5 RBI to go along with his three hits. Bill Knute and Paul Liguori (winning pitcher) also contributed three hits in the winning effort. Mark Cusano blasted a home run and had three RBI. Gutcheck’s Gary Lavelle and Rey Vienneau each had two hits, and Jim DeMarco went 3-for-3 three in a loss to the Mustangs. Thanh Nguyen hit a home run in his first at bat, and then was pitched around in his final two plate appearances.

Floral Arts 19 – Pro Sports Therapy 5 The game remained close until the fourth inning, when the seesaw battle ended and Floral Arts scored 15 runs, leading to a run-rule victory that ended in the fifth inning. Many Floral batters tallied multiple hits and runs, but Billy Luppold stole the show with a majestic double to the right field fence. Greg Marchand, Rob Beaudette, and Simon Tripp (2) homered in the game, and Jim Peloquin pitched well for the winners.  Jerry Cressman led the way for PST going 2-2 with a double and an RBI. Rookie SS Ryan Steele also drove in 2.

Wednesday, May 6

Gutcheck 8 – Healy Oil 6 It was a back and forth battle through seven innings. Gutcheck’s Matt Sepe hit a two-run home run and hit the top of the fence on another at bat. Jeff Stabach went 2-for-3, with two doubles, driving in one run and scoring one of his own. Derek McDermott, just off rotator cuff surgery, pitched a gem for Gutcheck. In the top of the 7th, with one on, and two out, Thanh Nguyen hit a two-run homer to break the tie and allow the eventual win.

Nashoba Valley Mustangs 14 – Drew Farms 0 Great Mustang defense and Don Cusano’s stellar pitching helped shutout Drew Farms earning the reigning champs their second consecutive win and first shutout of the new season. Paul Selfrige continued his hot start with two doubles, a home run, three RBI, and three runs scored. Selfrige and Mike Kennedy played great defense at short and third, respectively, helping to snuff out any potential Drew rallies. Kennedy also chipped in with two hits and three RBI. Mustang Bill Knute contributed two hits, a walk and two RBI.

Friday, May 9

Shortcut Landscaping 24 – Burtons 11 Burtons fell behind early to a Short Cuts home run barrage, and then woke up with some late offense before going down in a 24-11 defeat. Donny Morash, rookie Patrick Flaherty (2), Chris Clark, Mike Gross hit long-balls for the winners. Jon Russo paced the Burtons bats with a three hit, four RBI night, including his first home run of the young season. Rick Waldron stepped in admirably in his first appearance on the mound, in relief of the injured Burtons starter. Greg Fitzgerald and Tim Scott were active on the bases, scoring five runs and leading a late Burtons rally.

Drew Farm 19 – Healy Oil 18 An excellent played game from both teams resulted in a tight win for Drews. There were 22 hits, including home runs from Todd Shepherd (2), Jason Goldthwaite and Sal Buonacore to support a solid defense for Drews. Tom Menicci supplied four hits, with three each coming from Mark McAleese, Shepherd and Goldthwaite, and two each from Pat Pawlak and Blake Buxton.

Willis Tent 19 - Pro Sports Therapy 12  Capping an evening of high scoring and late running games, Willis Tent broke up a 12-12 tie in the 6th by adding 6 more runs to take a 19-12 victory over Pro Sports Therapy. Willis Tent received contributions up and down the line up with Rob Swinamer leading the charge with 4 hits and 5 RBI including a tape measure blast.  Mike Ellis had 3 hits including 2 doubles and 3 RBI. PST was led offensively by Ben Armstrong (3-4 with a double), Andrew Fletcher (3-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI), and Ryan Steele (2 home runs and 3 RBI).