Senior Softball: Salty Dog, Snook Inn, Crazy Flamingo have upper hand in finals
In the Island Division, Salty Dog defeated top-seeded Dolphin Tiki to remain in the winner’s bracket setting up a rematch between the two in the championship round.
Dolphin Tiki will need to defeat Salty Dog twice to claim the tournament title. Snook Inn handed Brewery its first tournament defeat in the Marco Division and now await the winner of the Sami’s, Brewery game to face in the championship round.
In the Gulf Coast Division, regular season champ Crazy Flamingo will face the American Legion for the tournament championship.
For the complete, up-to-date results and standings, visit the league website at marcoseniorsoftballleague.com.
ISLAND DIVISION
Salty Dog, 13; Dolphin Tiki, 6
In an epic matchup between the regular season champ Dolphin Tiki and the red-hot (12 wins in last 13 games) Salty Dog, the game turned out to be one of two halves, with the Tiki grabbing a 6-0 lead after four innings, but the Dog coming to life in the final five frames to score 13 unanswered runs to claim the win.
Tiki grabbed the early lead with three first inning runs, two scoring on a clutch two-out single by Dan Harrar. Two innings later, Tiki added three more on a three-run blast by Bob Masulis. Meanwhile, the Dog bats were missing in action.
That all changed in the fifth inning when Carl Parker got the Dog on the board with a two-run single and then one inning later a Dan Marinelli two-run triple followed by a sacrifice fly pulled them to within one (6-5). But the seventh inning proved to be the decisive one as the Dog put five runs on the board highlighted by run scoring hits by Jon Thomas and Eric Phillips and a three-run double by Parker sandwiched in between that gave the Dog a 10-6 advantage. They added three more insurance runs in the ninth, two on another hit by Thomas that gave them their final margin of victory.
Parker finished his monster game with six RBIs, followed by Thomas with three and Marinelli with two. Mike Gerace contributed three hits to the cause for the winners, who advanced to the championship round with the win.
Nacho Mama’s, 10; DaVinci’s, 1
Banged-up Nacho Mama’s, with the help of key substitutes, was able to come together offensively and defensively to decisively defeat DaVinci’s which eliminated them from the tournament.
After scoring two early runs on RBI hits by Eric Jeanotte and Ken Polarek, Nacho’s added five more in the third inning on another run scoring hit by Jeanotte, a two-run single by Randy Sheridan, and an RBI single by Matt Evangelista.
Jeanotte completed his big day knocking in the final three runs on a pair of singles and finished with four hits and five RBIs. Evangelista and Enrique Cuevas each had three hits for Nacho’s, who will play Dolphin Tiki in the next round.
Dolphin Tiki, 18; Nacho Mama’s, 3
Dolphin Tiki came out smokin’ in this one as they opened an early 6-2 lead in the third, then tacked on ten runs in back-to-back innings to turn the game into a rout in the defeat of Nacho Mama’s, thereby ending their season.
Outfielders Scott Golan and Sal Tidona continued their hot hitting as Golan hammered out three doubles and a triple along with two RBIs, and Tidona also had four hits and drove in four runs to lead the Tiki assault. Supporting them were Dan Gulick and manager Chris Flynn with three hits each, Dave Johnson with a triple and two RBIs, and Bob Masulis who also plated two runs.
With the Tiki leading 3-2 in the middle of the third inning, Tidona drove home a pair of runs with a single and Tom DeAngelo added a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-2 game. Then in the fifth after Nacho’s shortstop Paul Nussbaum had a run-scoring single to make the score 6-3, Tiki went to work again. Masulis doubled home a run, Tidona followed with a two-run single, and two more runs came in on a fielder’s choice and an error. One inning later, Johnson blasted his two-run triple to the opposite field, Golan plated another run on a double, and after an error scored a fourth run in the inning, Dan Harrar capped the inning with base hit that scored the final run, and the rout was on.
Nussbaum was the lone bright spot for Nacho’s with three hits and three RBIs as Tiki pitcher John Nicholas and solid defense had the rest of the Nacho’s hitters stymied as they were limited to eight other hits, all singles.
MARCO DIVISION
Stonewalls, 15; Joey’s Pizza, 11
Sparked by rookie slugger Ed Boyle’s two home runs and five RBIs, Stonewalls shocked Joey’s Pizza, eliminating the regular season champs from the post season tournament.
Boyle’s power surge came at a critical moment in the game for Stonewalls. Trailing 7-5 with two outs and a runner on first in the top of the third inning, Boyle blasted a two-run home run to tie the game at 7-7. While Joey’s quickly retook the lead with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third, Stonewalls again responded with key hits with men on base in the fourth inning.
Dave Korte (three hits) started the rally by drilling a line drive single that resulted in a three base error allowing him to score for one run; Pete Oellrich (two RBIs) then stroked a double, scoring another run; Jan Grossman (two RBIs) then looped an RBI triple giving Stonewalls a 10-9 lead. Another run scoring single capped the four-run rally, setting the table for Boyle’s next blast in the fifth inning.
With two outs, Boyle boomed a solo homer, giving Stonewalls a 12-9 advantage, a lead it would not relinquish. Jim Baumann also contributed to the Stonewalls attack with three hits, among them an RBI triple.
For Joey’s, Chuck Stathopoulos led the offense with three RBIs that included a solo home run while Tim McKenna chipped in with two RBIs. Paul Sullivan and Robert Stried led the hit parade with three knocks each.
Sami’s, 25; Sand Bar, 13
Combining plate patience (11 walks) with balanced hitting (27 hits as a team), Sami’s scored early and often as it eliminated Sand Bar from the post season tournament.
George Giacobbi paced Sami’s attack with four RBIs, three of which came on a line drive triple in the second inning, part of five run outburst that gave Sami’s a 9-0 lead. He had plenty of support.
Jim Stewart drove in three runs while smacking three hits and Tom Whitlock also drove in three runs. John Rysak (three hits) led a host of White and Red hitters with two RBIs that included: Ed Kingsbury, Brian Craig, Dean Leffleman and Dick Carson. Also contributing to the Sami’s hit parade was Doug Stang and Mario Lucca with three knocks each while Ray Capella stroked a triple. Randy Wesolowski led the walk parade by drawing three base on balls and scoring three runs.
Despite its early deficit, Sand Bar did make a game of it, at one point reducing their deficit to 9-8 after three innings. However, the Sand Men would get no closer as Sami’s scored 16 runs in the final four innings to seal the win.
Sand Bar’s hitting stars included Larry Locks who blasted a solo home run, part of a three RBI day. Jack Facciolo and Jerry Engel each contributed two RBIs while John Gross had three hits.
Sami’s, 12, Stonewalls, 9
Using its speed and savvy situational hitting to build an early lead, Sami’s stayed alive in the post season tournament while ending Stonewalls dream of an extended tourney run.
Having built a 5-0 lead after two innings, Sami’s tacked on three more runs in the third inning. Brian Craig (two RBIs) stroked a single scoring one run and Ray Capella (two RBIs) followed with a sacrifice fly for another run. On the play, Craig used his speed to advance to second base and into scoring position. The move paid dividends when Craig rode home on a run scoring single, good for an 8-0 Sami’s lead after three innings. Stonewalls, however, did not go out quietly, erupting for five runs in the fifth inning to make a game of it.
Trailing 8-1, Stonewalls plated two runs thanks in part to a fielder’s choice misplay by Sami’s. The Orange and Black added two more on another error and capped the five-run uprising on an RBI single, reducing its deficit to 8-6. One inning later, now trailing 10-6, Ollerich again sparked Stonewalls offense when he drilled a two-run double to leftfield, pulling Stonewalls within one run at 10-9. But Sami’s immediately responded in its half of the sixth inning.
Randy Wesolowski (two RBIs) delivered a two out clutch single to left center, scoring two insurance runs, good for a 12-9 Sami’s lead. Stonewalls loaded the bases with two outs in its final at bat in the seventh inning, however, the rally bid ended on a line out to the outfield.
Snook Inn, 18; Brewery, 5
Snook’s Jim George, Karl Kann, Bob Bejnerowicz and Dan Dumbault combined for 13 RBIs on 10 hits as the Snook stayed undefeated in the post season tournament while handing Brewery its first defeat of the tourney.
Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the third inning, Dumbault (two RBIs) smacked an infield single scoring one run and a few batters later, Bejnerwoicz (three RBIs) capped the four-run uprising with line drive single, giving Snook an 8-5 lead, setting the stage for Kann in the fourth inning.
With two aboard, Kann ripped a line drive three run home run to left center field part of a four hit, three RBI day for the big lefty, giving Snook an 11-5 lead. George (three hits and five RBIs) then plated his first run of the day with another single as Snook continued to pull away from Brewery. In the sixth inning, George concluded his offensive outburst in grand fashion when he lined a bases clearing home run, the slam rounding out the scoring for Snook. Chuck McAlpine also contributed to Snook’s offense with a triple as the Green and White had 18 hits as a team.
Brewery was led by Gary Menzies who had two RBIs courtesy of a two-run double that gave Brewery the lead early in the game.
GULF COAST DIVISION
Oyster Society, 12; Doreen’s, 7
Bobby Smith had a huge game with three hits and five RBIs to lead the Oyster Society to the victory over Doreen’s, which eliminated Doreen’s from the tournament.
Shortstop Nick Kopley gave Oyster Society an early 3-2 lead with a booming home run, a lead they held until the fifth inning when Doreen’s put four runs on the board to lead 7-5 courtesy of a run scoring hit by Gregg Greycarek, a bases loaded walk and a fielder’s choice. After tying the game at 7-7, the Oyster Society took the lead for good with a five-run sixth inning thanks to a couple of errors that scored runs and capped by a two-run single by Smith.
John Klebauskus also contributed three hits to the Oyster Society offense. Nick Lordi drove in a pair of runs for Doreen’s for the game.
American Legion, 10; Oyster Society, 5
In a game that featured fine defensive plays by both teams, American Legion was able to pull away from a slim 6-5 lead with four big insurance runs in the seventh inning to gain the victory over the Oyster Society. With the win, American Legion earned a spot in the championship round to face Crazy Flamingo while Oyster Society saw their season end abruptly.
After the Oyster Society put two on the board in the first inning thanks to a run-scoring double by Dave Chroust and a run-scoring single by Paul Glynn, the Legion took the lead for good in the third inning on a single by Dick Folsom, a bases-loaded walk, and two RBI groundouts. The Legion added two more in the fifth on a double by Rick Herzog. But the Oystermen fought back in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Chroust and a two-run single by Nick Kopley, narrowing the Legion lead to 6-5. The Legion answered with a crucial four-run seventh highlighted by a clutch two-run double by John Barrett, followed by run-scoring hits by Folsom and Andy Pressler that provided the game’s final margin.
Barrett and Folsom each finished the game with three hits and two RBIs for the Legion, Herzog knocked in three runs, and Pressler added two for the winners.
Klebauskus had three hits for the Oystermen, and Kopley and Chroust both plated a pair of runs in the game.
MoreSenior Softball: Brewery, Salty Dog, Crazy Flamingo – First week of tournament action
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