SPORTS

Senior Softball: Joey’s Pizza takes Marco Division crown; March Madness begins

Randy Wesolowski and Kevin Byrnes
Special to the Eagle
Joey’s Pizza is the Marco Division Champions. From left, standing: Coach Jim Burroughs, Coach Freddie Pendergrass, Chuck Stathopoulos, Robert Stried, Tim McKenna, Manager Todd Whitney, Tom Rensch, Scorekeeper Buff Morris, Hal Jurgenson, Gary Swink, Coach John Robichaud; kneeling: Steve Levesque, Paul Sullivan, Matt Lewis, Steve Chasin, Warren Uhl and Howie Reitz.

With three teams vying for the Marco Division regular season title up until the final day, Joey’s Pizza came out on top with a convincing win over Sami’s while both Snook Inn and Sandbar were defeated.

Now it’s on to the double elimination tournament.

In the Island Division, the top two seeds are Dolphin Tiki and Salty Dog both of whom get first round byes. Joey’s Pizza and Snook Inn earned first round byes as the top seeds in the Marco Division. In the Gulf Coast Division, all four teams play in round one with Crazy Flamingo getting the top seed.

For the complete, up-to-date results and standings, visit the league website at marcoseniorsoftballleague.com.

Dolphin Tiki is the Island Division Champions. From left, standing: Coach Rusty Meyer, Mike Faria, Bill Novakovich, Bob Masulis, Sal Tidona, Dan Gulick, Dave Shultz, Dan Harrar and Scorekeeper Nancy Flynn; kneeling: Dave Johnson, Tom DeAngelo, Manager Chris Flynn, Scott Golan, John Nicholas, Coach Steve Friend and Coach Bobby Ferreira. Not pictured Glenn Ahlquist.

ISLAND DIVISION

Verdi’s, 16; DaVinci’s, 14                                                                              

Verdi’s continued to show some late season life as they catapulted to a 15-3 lead before DaVinci’s made things interesting with a five-run ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough as Verdi’s prevailed.

Mike Reale (four hits, three RBIs) and Nick Jacullo (four RBIs) both blasted two-run triples to lead Verdi’s offense. Other hitting stars included John Kelly (four hits, four RBIs), Matt Minik (four hits, three RBIs), and Dave Mayo (four hits).

Skipper Gary Revall and Bill Thompson each knocked in three runs for DaVinci’s, Tom Polston and Doug Aksimit added two RBIs apiece, and David Falls hammered a triple in the contest.

Salty Dog, 17; Nacho Mama’s, 11                              

Salty Dog continued their late season surge as they won their 9th game in the last 10 and solidified their hold on second place by defeating Nacho Mama’s. Leading the Salty Dog offense were Jon Thomas who tripled twice among his four hits, and Brian Alexander who also had four hits and knocked in four runs. Matt Evangelista tripled among his three hits and three RBIs, Dave Manzello also tripled and knocked in two runs, and Carl Parker also had two RBIs for the Dog.

Ken Polarek crushed a home run and Paul Nussbaum, Dick Nemmers, and Brett Bartholomaus had three hits apiece for Nacho’s. Jim O’Toole drove in four runs and Dean Stone two in the loss.

Dolphin Tiki, 16; Speakeasy, 15                                                                 

Powered by home runs by Sal Tidona and Tom DeAngelo, regular season champ Dolphin Tiki fought back from an early 10-3 deficit with back-to-back five-run innings then added three more in the seventh inning to win a squeaker over Speakeasy.

In the key fifth inning when Tiki took the lead, Scott Golan tripled in two runs and after a run-scoring single by Tidona, DeAngelo blasted a two-run home run to complete the rally. Tidona finished the game with four hits and four RBIs and Mike Faria also had four hits. DeAngelo had three hits and three RBIs, Bill Novakovich also had three hits, including a triple, and three RBIs, and Golan had three hits and two RBIs. Tiki manager Chris Flynn contributed two RBIs to the cause.

Mark Whealy pummeled the ball for five hits and drove in two runs to lead Speakeasy. Joe Rocco added four hits, and Jeff Kazcka and Eric Jeanotte contributed three hits apiece. Jeanotte, Lou Marinaccio, and Joe Lazzarotti all drove in two runs for Speakeasy in the game.

Salty Dog, 14; Dolphin Tiki, 6                                                      

In a battle of the top two finishers in the Island Division, second place Salty Dog continued their winning ways with a convincing defeat of division champ Dolphin Tiki, which improved their record to 10-1 in the last eleven contests.

Jon Thomas had a perfect four-for-four day with three doubles to lead the Salty Dog offense. Brian Alexander drove in four runs, Carl Parker, and Matt Evangelista both had three hits and three RBIs, with one of Parker’s hits being a triple and all three of Evangelista’s being doubles, and Dave Manzello contributed two RBIs for the Dog.

Sal Tidona led the Tiki with four hits, and Tom DeAngelo knocked in a pair of runs in the game. Both teams earned first-round byes for the upcoming tournament.

DaVinci’s, 23; Speakeasy, 12                       

Tom Polston had a huge game blasting a pair of home runs along with a triple and double and drove in six runs as DaVinci’s trounced Speakeasy. DaVinci’s did most of the damage in the first five innings as they took a 17-6 lead and coasted from there to the win.

Supporting Polston in the 31-hit attack for DaVinci’s were Wayne Bombaci, Ed Adrian, Gary Revall, Doug Aksimit, Art Sinisi, and Tom Gazzillo who all collected three hits in the contest. Two of Aksimit’s hits were triples, Revall and Jack Martin had three RBIs, and Sinisi, Bill Thompson, and John Haskins added two apiece in the victory.

Lou Marinaccio led Speakeasy with four hits, and Joe Rocco, Mike Compton, Mark Whealy, Mike Garofalo, and Bob Masulis all had three. Whealy, Compton, Garofalo each drove in a pair of runs in the contest.

Verdi’s, 9; Nacho Mama’s, 8                       

It was a nip-and-tuck affair between Verdi’s and Nacho Mama’s with the game tied after the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings before Rob York singled in the game winner for Verdi’s in the bottom of the ninth.

Dave Mayo and Rod Lashley both hammered triples for Verdi’s, with Lashley and Nick Jacullo finishing with three hits each.

Paul Nussbaum, Dean Stone, and Mike Shone each lashed out three hits to lead Nacho’s. Stone plated three runs and Shone added two. Matt Evangelista crushed a triple for Nacho’s, which finished the season in third place.

MARCO DIVISION

Sami’s, 12; Stonewalls, 11                                            

Thanks to key hits in two of their final three at bats, Sami’s rallied to nip Stonewalls.

Trailing 7-4 after four innings, Sami’s erupted for five runs in the fifth, sparked by George Giacobbi’s (three RBIs) bases clearing double, tying the game at 7-7. The next batter Ray Capella, (three RBIs) then blasted a two-run home run, giving Sami’s a 9-7 lead. In the sixth inning, Mario Lucca (two RBIs) smacked a seeing eye double, plating two runs. The Sam added another run on a single for a 12-7 lead.

Stonewalls pitcher Ed Kopecky led the Orange and Black offense with three RBIs, two of which came on a single in the third inning that gave Stonewalls a 7-3 lead. Shortstop Jim Baumann’s third hit of the game pulled Stonewalls within one run at 12-11 in the bottom of seventh inning. However, with runners at the corners, the Orange and Black could not get the tying or winning run home, enabling Sami’s to get the win.

Joey’s Pizza, 11; Snook Inn, 10                                    

Trailing 10-7 after six innings, Joey’s Pizza erupted for four runs in the seventh inning as it rallied to edge Snook Inn in a see-saw battle of Marco Division leaders.

Joey’s Howie Reitz (two RBIs, thanks to a two-run HR early in the game), ignited the comeback with a double. Tom Rensch followed with a triple, scoring one run. Gary Swink (three hits and two RBIs) lined a single, scoring Rensch, cutting Snook’s lead to 10-9. Two more singles plated two more runs, giving the Pizza Men their margin of victory.

Snook’s Chuck McAlpine (four RBIs) capped the Green and White’s five run fifth inning when he lined a double to rightfield, scoring three runs and giving Snook an 8-3 lead. RBI support came from leadoff batter Dan Dumbault and pitcher Jim George who each drove in two runs. Karl Kann led Snook’s hit parade with three knocks.

Brewery, 8; Sand Bar 4                  

Thanks to a five run sixth inning, Brewery pulled away from Sand Bar in the completion of a suspended game from March 4.

Brewery shortstop Jon Wiseman (three hits) ignited the Brew Crew sixth inning rally with a two-run single, giving the Blue and Red a 4-2 lead. After a bases loaded walk plated another run, manager Jim Vitas (three hits, three RBIs) boomed a triple, scoring three more runs, upping Brewery’s lead to 8-2 and capping the uprising.

Kevin Smith also contributed to Brewery’s attack with a triple.

For Sand Bar, John Gross led the offense with three RBIs. He knocked in one with a first inning triple and plated two more with a single in the seventh inning. Jack Facciolo also had a triple for Sand Bar.

Joey’s Pizza, 15; Sami’s, 3                                             

Powered by three-run home runs from Paul Sullivan and Chuck Stathopoulos, Joey’s pulled away from Sami’s by scoring nine runs in its final two at bats to get the win.

Leading 7-2 following a Sami’s run scoring error in the fifth inning, Stathopoulos (four RBIs) smacked a line drive home run to rightfield, scoring three runs and upping Joey’s lead to 10-2. The Pizza Men added another run on a fielder’s choice to cap the five-run uprising. In the sixth inning, Sullivan (three hits and three RBIs) capped a four-run Joey’s surge when he drilled a three-run homer to leftfield, giving Joey’s a comfortable 15-2 lead.

The win opened the door for Joey’s (13-7) to claim the regular season division title and the top seed in the post season tournament. Sami’s finished the regular season at 10-10.

Brewery, 7; Snook Inn, 4                                               

Brewery won its second low scoring affair of the week, this time using a four-run second inning to springboard it to victory.

With the scored tied at three in the second inning, Brewery’s Jon Wiseman (two RBIs) capped the rally when he lined a two-run home run to centerfield, good for a 5-3 Brew Crew lead. First baseman Tom Purtell contributed two RBIs to Brewery’s offense, both coming on a fourth inning single, giving Brewery its final margin of victory.

Snook pitcher Jim George (two RBIs) helped his own cause with a second inning triple that scored two runs. Support came from Gary Pringle (three hits), one of which was an RBI single that staked Snook to a 3-1 lead early in the game.

Even with the loss, Snook claimed second place in the division with a 12-8 record while Brewery finished the regular season at 10-10.

Sand Bar, 15; Stonewalls, 4                         

After scoring only four runs in its previous game, Sand Bar’s offense awakened as it used a 23-hit attack to overrun Stonewalls.

Bobby Williams led the Sand Bar’s hit parade with three hits and three RBIs while manager Mike Puskar contributed three knocks including a two-run triple in the fourth inning. Other hitting stars included: John Binns and Jon Krebs (three hits each) while Gary Young and Jerry Engel each had two RBI’s, with Young’s coming on a first inning triple.

Stonewalls started strong, thanks to back-to-back home runs from Dick Eddy (two run) and rookie Ed Boyle (solo), part of a three run first inning. Stonewalls other hitters were rookie Kevin Byrnes, who had three hits (including an RBI single) and pitcher Ed Kopecky who also had three knocks.

Sand Bar (12-8) claimed third place in the regular season by virtue of tiebreakers while Stonewalls (3-17) will seek better fortunes in the post season tournament.

Crazy Flamingo is the Gulf Coast Division Champions. From left, standing: Scorekeeper Deanna Sherman, Ray Niemeyer, Coach Dennis Schmitt, Manager Mick Keller, Gene Wahler, Jim Battye, Alan Schneider, Leon Schmitt and Jim O’Meara; kneeling: Brian Maguire, Joe Barry, Barry Neale, Brian Bergman, Nick Brooks and John Ranieri.

GULF COAST DIVISION

Crazy Flamingo, 11; American Legion, 6  

Crazy Flamingo and the American Legion were deadlocked at 6 after five innings, but Crazy’s put two on the board in the sixth and added three more in the seventh to claim the victory over the Legion.

Alan Schneider and Ray Niemeyer delivered the key blows as they ripped run-scoring hits in the sixth to give the Crazy Birds the lead, and a two-run triple by Barry Neale followed by a run-scoring single by Joe Barry in the seventh provided key insurance runs for Crazy’s. Neale finished the game with two triples and three RBIs, Brian Bergman had three hits, and Niemeyer and pitcher Jim Battye contributed two RBIs for the winners. Battye along with the Crazy Flamingo defense limited the Legion to eleven hits, all singles.

Oyster Society, 21; Doreen’s, 11                

Nick Kopley set the tone early with a grand slam home run in the first inning and finished his monster game with three hits and seven RBIs to lead the Oyster Society to a convincing win over Doreen’s.

Kopley got plenty of help from Roger Fleming who had four hits and two RBIs, John Klebauskus who also had four hits, Dave Chroust with three hits and two RBIs, Paul Glynn with three hits, Bill Kayhart with a triple and three RBIs, and Don Mandetta with two RBIs.

Nick Lordi and manager Jerry Lenhoff both knocked in a pair of runs for Doreen’s.

STANDINGS

ISLAND DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Dolphin Tiki* / 15 / 5
  • Salty Dog / 12 / 8  
  • Nacho Mama’s / 10 / 10
  • DaVinci’s / 10 / 10
  • Verdi’s / 7 / 13  
  • Speakeasy / 6 / 14

MARCO DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Joey’s Pizza* / 13 / 7
  • Snook Inn / 12 / 8
  • Sandbar / 12 / 8
  • Sami’s / 10 / 10
  • Brewery / 10 / 10                  
  • Stonewall’s / 3 / 17

GULF COAST DIVISION / Wins / Losses   

  • Crazy Flamingo* / 14 / 5                               
  • Oyster Society / 11 / 8
  • American Legion / 8 / 11
  • Doreen’s / 5 / 14

*clinched division title         

MoreSenior Softball: Crazy Flamingo claims Gulf Coast title; Marco Division up for grabs

AndSenior Softball: Dolphin Tiki clinches Island Division; Joey’s Pizza stays hot

AlsoSenior Softball: Joey’s Pizza and Salty Dog make up ground in standings