News and Announcements
The Week 8 Round Up brings us to the Fourth of July break with two teams clearly separating themselves from the pack. The Mustangs, the league's defending champion, show no intention of giving up that title as they are undefeated through eleven games. Not willing to simply cede the title to them is a Floral Arts squad intent on making amends for last year's loss in the finals. At 11-1, Floral Arts is only 1/2 game back and still has 3 games against the Mustangs to make a statement.
Short Cut Landscaping (SCL) stands as the best of the rest at the half-way pole. At 7-5, they are the only other team above .500 and have a 2 game lead on their next closest competitor.
The rest of the pack is only separated by 2 games. At this point, with all of these teams currently below the .500 mark, anyone can come out of the dog days of July and early August to make a run at a home spot in the first round of the playoffs. On the other side of the coin, two of these teams will be left out when the playoffs start. Stuck in this group of teams are Willis Tent (three titles in the 2000's as part of their four year run), Healy Oil (three titles), Pro Sports Therapy (PST; two titles) and Drew Farms (one title). And not to be left out, Mario's Restaurant has already clinched the season series with at least one of these competitors.
Mustangs 20 - SCL 7
The Mustangs beat Short Cuts in five innings on Tuesday night, 20-7. Mustang rookie Jack Erickson’s first career home run came with the bases loaded. Bill Knute and Mark Cusano also homered for the winners. Paul Liguori pitched a solid game. Fred Mettler, Don Cusano, and Mike Kennedy each had two hits. Knute made a great catch in left field and then doubled off a Shortcut runner.
Floral Arts 7 - Drew Farms 3
Pitching and defense dominated this tightly contested game. Floral Arts backed up home runs from Jim Peloquin (2), Jonathan Morgan, and Simon Tripp with two double plays in the middle infield and several standout defensive plays in the outfield. Larry Mardany was tough on the mound, working out of multiple jams and fielding the position expertly.
Mustangs 33 - PST 1
Mustangs hit nine home runs en route to a 33-1 thrashing of an undermanned PST squad on Friday night. Paul Selfridge (4 RBI’s) and Don Cusano (6 RBI’s) hit two bombs each, while Mark Cusano (4 RBI’s) and Jack Erickson each hit one home run. Dan Crogan, Jim Ward, Craig Smith, and Mark Cusano each had two hits. Larry Zupkowski’s solo shot provided the only offense for PST.
SCL 11 - Mario's 10
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Mario’s had the tying run on second base, but a timely double play iced the game in Short Cuts’ favor, 11-10. Mario's banged out 19 hits, led by Thanh Nguyen (2 for 2 with a homerun and 2 RBI’s). Tony DeAntonis and Pete Morano each had a pair of hits. Gary Townsend pitched another solid game for Mario's, suffering his first loss.
Drew Farms 8 - Healy Oil 6
Drew Farm began with a leadoff triple by Matt Chamberlain and later scored on Tom Menicci’s single as Drew Farm's offense edged Healy Oil, 8-6. Scott Cole, Todd Shepherd, and Pat Pawlak hit home runs for the winners. Don Barnas pitched well.
Healy Oil 23 – Mario’s 7
Healy Oil hit five home runs in the third inning to jump-start an offense that defeated Mario’s, 23-7, in five innings on Sunday. Healy’s Brian Egan went 4 for 4 with two home runs, Matt Critch was 3 for 4 with one home run, and Bill Martin was 3 for 5 with a grand slam. Michael Martin hit three bombs and went 4 for 4 for the victors.
Floral Arts 8 – PST 7
First baseman Mark LeFebvre drove home Dave O’Keefe (2 hits, home run) from third in the top of the seventh inning for what proved to be the game-winner in the 8-7 contest against PST on June 28. LeFebvre also made an outstanding turn-around sweep tag to nail a runner at first and gain the final out of an early inning. Simon Tripp’s three-run bomb was the big blow in the four-run sixth inning outburst that also included a Floral Arts home run by Geoff Pavao. PST's 16 hit attack was led by Gary Royal's three hits in a rare appearance in the two-hole.
Mustangs 15 – Willis Tent 2
The first-place Mustangs finished off Willis Tent in six innings, 15-2.Don Cusano hit three home runs for the winners, which scored seven runs with two outs in the second inning.
SCL 17 – Drew Farms 4
Short Cuts possess the third most productive offense in the league (140 runs scored to date) and they showed it off on July 29th with a 17-4 win over Drew Farms.
Healy Oil 15 – Mario’s 5
Healy Oil dispatched of Mario’s, 15-5, in the final game before the July Fourth break. John Clemens pitched a fine game for Healy, the only blemishes coming off of two swings—a Keith Reynold’s three-run shot and a two-run homer by Thanh Nguyen. Healy’s David Cannistraro was 4 for 4, Matt Critch was 3 for 3 with a home run, and Michael Martin was 3 for 3 with a grand slam.
Week 7 Update
PST 10 - Drew Farms 4
On Tuesday night, PST defeated Drew Farms, 10-4, behind Larry Zupkosky’s fine pitching performance. Home runs by Matt Dolan (3 RBIs) and Derek Donegan, led the 17-hit PST offense.
Mustangs 6 - Drew Farms 2
On Wednesday night, Mustangs prevailed over Drew Farms, 6-2, in a low scoring, defensive battle. Mustangs Don Cusano and Bill Knute each hit a home run and combined to drive in all six runs. It was a great achievement that Drew Farms pitcher Bob Chamberlin held the high-powered, undefeated Mustang offense to only six runs.
Floral Arts 16 - SCL 8
In the second game of the night, Floral Arts raised its record to 8-1 by defeating SCL, 16-8. Floral Arts got offensive production from Jim Peloquin (two home runs), Dave O’Keefe (home run), Simon Tripp (home run) and Roger Whittlesey (3 for 4, grand slam, 5 RBIs). Mark LeFebvre and Dean Wormell each went 2 for 3 for Floral Arts.
Mario's 12 - PST 11 On Friday night, Gary Townsend pitched Mario's to its second consecutive win over PST, 12-11. Mario's put up five runs on five straight hits in the third inning to pull ahead, and then survived a seventh-inning rally by PST to win by a run. Thanh Nguyen hit two bombs for Mario’s en route to a 3 for 3 night—his last home run was the difference-maker. Jon Russo and Jim DeMarco also homered for Mario's. Townsend went 2 for 2, with am RBI.
Willis 10 - Healy Oil 9
Healy Oil jumped out to an early 1-run lead, only to be overtaken by a 4-run rally by Willis in the 3rd inning. The rally was keyed by the Willis Front Four of Keith Wauters, Jeff Briggs, Rob Swinamer, and John Hunter. Healy, however, answered back by batting around in the 4th, triggering an 8-run explosion. Willis went quiet for a couple of innings, but stormed back with another 4 runs in the 6th. One inning left. One run ballgame. Healy has first and third and two outs. Willis’ Ryan Gleason makes a nice stop at third and Fleury makes a better scoop at second for the force and final out. Bottom of the 7th, Steve Young leads off with a single. The Willis Front Four, once again, fills the bases. Young scores. Briggs is 60 feet away with one out. Andrews lifts a fly ball to left. Briggs tags, lumbers home, and slides in safely.
Floral Arts 17 – Drew Farms 4
Jim Peloquin’s six RBIs helped Floral Arts beat Drew Farms, 17-4. Floral Arts got home runs from Peloquin (2), Simon Tripp (2) Frank Lancelotta, and Geoff Pavao. Ron Paulaskas had a multi-hit game and Roger Whittlesey reached based and scored all four times up. Drew Farms clean-up hitter, Todd Shepherd, hit a three-run homer. Don Barnas and Mark Kost both went 2 for 3 in the losing effort.
Today's rain has caused yet another postponement in the schedule. Games originally scheduled for Wednesday night are now scheduled to be played on Sunday, July 24th.
5:30 Mario's Restaurant @ Willis Tent
6:45 PST @ Healy Oil
The Westford Over 30 Men’s Slow Pitch Softball League needed a logo, so league president Chris Smith (pictured on the right) created a contest offering $100.00 to the Westford Academy student with the winning design. Fifty-three Westford Academy students of graphic arts teacher Melissa MacDonald (pictured on the left) entered the contest. Westford Academy senior, Emily Raczelowski, holds her winning design. In addition, Smith, who is the Vice President of Business Development for Sal’s Pizza, provided pizza and drinks for all who entered the contest.
* The Westford Slow-Pitch Softball League is an Over-30 League for men who live in Westford, Massachusetts. In order to qualify for the league, you must be at least 30 years of age by opening day of the season and live in Westford (and be able to prove it). A new rule instituted in 2007 is that those who work for a Westford based business will also be allowed to enter the league. Teams are sponsored by area businesses and the sponsors provide uniforms to each player.
* It is a slow pitch softball league, requiring legal pitches to be thrown with an arc of between 6 and 12 feet. The league is ASA approved- using one umpire during the regular season and two for each playoff game. Each player pays a fee of $90.00 per year.
* The league currently consists of eight teams. We play a 24-game schedule beginning in early May and ending in mid to late August. The regular season is followed by three rounds of playoffs. The quarter-final round is best of three, with the #3 seed playing the #6 seed and #4 v. #5. The top two teams receive byes. The semi-finals and finals are both best of five series.
* Games are played at the VFW Field on Prescott Street (Route 225). Teams typically play two nights a week, with games being held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Make-ups are usually played on Sunday. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, the games are played at 6:30 and 7:45 (Friday sometimes has an additional game at 9:00). Sunday make-up games are played at 5:30, 6:45, and 8:00.
* Each player MUST enter the league through the draft. New players are always wanted, however WE ARE NOT YET ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2012 DRAFT.
This is a competitive league, but win or lose, it is a great way to meet new friends who are a part of your town! If you would like additional information, please send an e-mail to the League Secretary.
