OUTDOORS

Senior Softball: Another decade of league play begins

Bill Shurina
Special to the Eagle
Snook Inn’s Fred Pendergrass prepares himself in the batter’s box ready to lash out one of his three hits in the game against Sand Bar.

The Marco Island Senior Softball began its 21st season on Jan. 6 with approximately 200 participants in the league.

The League is comprised of 15 team teams with six teams in the “Island Division” and “Marco Division” and three in the “Gulf Coast Division.” Games are played Monday through Friday at Winterberry Park.

This week’s limit action saw four of the seven games highlighted determined by less than two runs. These games are all covered in the game recaps below.

For more information on our League, which includes schedules and team roster  you can visit marcoseniorsoftballleague.com.

Highlights game played through Jan. 7 follows.

Sand Bar’s first baseman Steve Clark scoops the ball out of the dirty getting the put out on Snook Inn’s Tom Loiacono.

MARCO DIVISION

Snook Inn, 15; Sand Bar, 14

The opening game of the 2020 season saw the Snook Inn rally from a 10-7 deficit tying the game in the seventh inning, sending the game into extra innings.

In the bottom of eighth inning the Snook scored the winning run on an error for the win. Fred Pendergrass lined three hits for the Snook, with Steve Chasin, Jay Davis, Bob Levasseur, and John Binns having two.

Davis chased in four runs and Levasseur two. Charlie Lamb nailed three hits for Sand Bar; Ralph Rohena, Tom Pugh, Jerry Engel, Steve Clark and Roger Fleming all had two. Lamb and Engel recorded three RBIs in the loss.

Mike Arnold the manager for the Snook Inn tags the ball for base hit

Joey’s Pizza, 10; Stonewalls, 8

Joey’s used 16 hits to win their season opener. Newcomer to the league Pat Schilling laced three hits, while Ed Kingsbury, Jim White, Allen Schneider and Bob Smith picked up two.

Schneider chased in three runs and John Sherwin two. Don Schwartz nailed three hits for Stonewalls with Tom Purtell and Jon Krebs having two. Krebs and Tom DeAngelo each clobbered a home. Schwartz and Krebs each drove in three runs.

Crazy Flamingo’s, 4; Mango’s, 3

Joe Furst, Crazy Flamingo’s manager, drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning for the come from behind win. Both teams could only manage six hits apiece with Doug Stang having two for Flamingo’s and two RBIs.                                

GULF COAST DIVISION

Mutual of Omaha Bank, 18; Doreen’s, 8 

The game was called due to a time limit, which resulted in reverting to the score of the last full inning. The Bank had every player in their lineup with a multiple hit’s lead by Jerry Kratz, Fred Kramer and Brian Berman all slashing out four hits for the Bank.

Mick Keller and Tom Bowers each hoisted a homerun with Dick DeAnna and Jim Yount cracking triples. Butch Monson the manager of Doreen’s racked up seven RBI on three hits which included a grand slam homerun.

ISLAND DIVISION

Salty Dog, 21; Speakeasy, 12                      

Salty Dog unleashed 30 hits in their season opener. The lead dog was Jack Martin pounding the ball for five hits, Rick DiStasio and Phil Holmes had four; Paul Nussbaum, Steve Hummel, Mike Schwab and Craig Cunningham three.

Schwab, Martin and Cunningham each smacked a triple. Martin collected five RBIs; Nussbaum, Schwab, Cunningham and Holmes three, with winning pitcher Ed caster having two. Speakeasy’s Mark Whealy rapped off four hits, while Lou Wolfenson and John Gross having three. Whealy and Tom Buettner each belted a homerun, giving Whealy four RBIs in the game, Buettner and Glenn Davis two.

Brewery, 19; DaVinci’s, 18                                           

The Brewery was down 18-12 going into the bottom of the ninth when they rallied to the win on a two-run base hit with two strike and two outs by Bill Novakovich. Mark Waks stung the ball for four hits for the Brewery while teammates Rich Krumholtz, Herman Griffith, George Lancaster and Novakovich had three hits.

Joe Rocco tagged the ball for a homerun and Gary Grefer a triple. Rocco and Lancaster had three RBIs; Waks, Griffith, Grefer, Novakovich, Tim Rose and Chuck Reich two. Art Sinisi drilled four hits for DaVinci’s with Tom Polston having three, one a homerun, while Bill Thompson and Jack Tizio had a triple. Tizio was responsible for four runs driven in, Gary Revall and John Haskins three, Polston and Thompson two.

Dolphin Tiki, 22; Nacho Mama’s, 17

Lou Marinaccio the manager of Dolphin Tiki and Ed Seery blistered the ball for four hits apiece, with winning pitcher Jim George and Rod Lashley chipping in with three.

Seery and Jimmy Cuevas each smacked a triple. Seery racked up five RBIs; Mike Garofalo four, George and Tom Vander Aarde three, and Bob Traver two. Nacho’s had John Bethel, Joe Lazzarotti, Chris Flynn and Jim Vitas with three hits.  Flynn, Vitas, Dan Gulick and Jacullo all smashed a triple. Vitas chased in four runs; Bethel, Gulick, Flynn and Jacullo two.    

STANDINGS

ISLAND DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Brewery / 1 / 0

  • Dolphin Tiki / 1 / 0          

  • Salty Dog / 1 / 0

  • DaVinci’s / 0 / 1

  • Nacho Mama's / 0 / 1    

  • Speakeasy / 0 / 1 

MARCO DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Crazy Flamingo’s / 1 / 0                           

  • Joey’s Pizza / 1 / 0                         

  • Snook Inn / 1 / 0                                   

  • Mango’s / 0 / 1                                               

  • Sand Bar / 0 / 1                   

  • Stonewalls / 0 / 1                                                  

GULF COAST DIVISION / Wins / Loses

  • Mutual of Omaha Bank / 1 / 0

  • Doreen’s / 0 / 1

  • American Legion / 0 / 0