Game Highlights 2005

It was cold enough overnight to produce a frost early on the morning of Sunday, Oct 8th, but by game time 9:00am things had warmed nicely for first pitch. And although it was warm enough to play comfortably, great defense by both teams kept the bats cold for most of the game. But Forever Young, on the strength of 3 home runs, was able to mount enough offense to win the 3rd and deciding game allowing them to claim the 2006 Sunday Morning Softball Championship.

Under cloudy skies and at times a few light drizzles games 1 and 2 of the Championship Series were played at Borden Colony Field.

In the first contest of the day, Sunday Oct 1st, Crush jumped out to an early 3-0 lead only to see Forever Young come right back to take a 6-3 advantage. And what turned out to be a see-saw battle throughout the game was ultimately won by Crush with a close 13-10 score.

In Game 2 Forever Young was able to string quite a few hits together to jump out to a commanding 9-0 in the 1st inning. This proved to be too much for Crush to overcome, allowing Forever Young to even the best of 3 series at 1 game apiece with a score of 18-2.

Round 1 of the '06 playoffs went off under blue skies and dry fields Sunday, Sept 17th with the following results:

A bit overcast and windy but good weather non the less for playoffs round 2 on Sept 24th. Here are the scores:

It was 5 - 3 Free Agents entering the top of the 7th. The Crush, down to their last at bat, came up big and tied it in the top of the inning 5 - 5 forcing the Free Agents to try to score 1 to win it in their half of the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh with one out and runners on 1st and 2nd for the Free Agents a line drive to center field was played by Ron Mastrolia on one hop and he came up throwing to gun the lead runner out at third. A huge play! The Free Agents failed to score after that forcing the game into extra innings.

Top of the 8th The Crush threatened but failed to score. Maybe the stiff wind blowing in from the outfield had something to do with it, maybe it was the excitement of the playoffs, or the great pitching by the Sean of the Free Agents and Dean Crandall of the Crush, but the bats for both teams were fairly quiet all day.

Bottom of the eighth, the Free Agents have 1st and 2nd, no outs. Line drive to center and with the runner on second trying to score Kenny Chisolm for the Crush throws to the cut-off man Dean Crandal who turns and fires to home to cut down the lead runner. The Free Agents then load the bases with one out. A line drive to shallow center looks like the game winner and with the Free Agents celebrating prematurely right fielder Sean Medeiros snares the liner and doubles the runner off second base. We head into the ninth.

The Crush put two men on, first and second with two out and up to the plate steps John "Clutch" Balutis. With the Free Agent outfielders playing to prevent the deep ball Balutis CRUSHES one to deep center scoring both runners. The crowd went wild. It's 7 - 5 Crush! Unbelievable!

The Free Agents came up in the bottom of the ninth but failed to score. THE CRUSH WIN! THE CRUSH WIN!

It was a great game on both sides. Good sportsmanship by both teams. Intense, exciting. A tough loss for one team, a great victory for another, a great game all around. You needed to see this to believe it. One of the most exciting games I've seen.

This game was won with defense. The Crush's defense is their mainstay and feeds their offense. We pick each other up, we feed off each other. We love this game.

- Sean Medeiros, Crush Captain

TRAILING 12 – 2 ENTERING THE BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH INNING, MEN IN BLACK RODE THE POWER BATS OF BRIAN O’ROURKE, WHO HOMERED AND DOUBLED IN THE INNING AND AND MIKE BURR’S BASES CLEARING TRIPLE (HIS SECOND TRIPLE OF THE GAME) IN A TWELVE RUN UPRISING THAT FUELED AN IMPROBABLE 14 – 13 WIN OVER THE LONG SHOTS. MIB’S DEFENSE ALSO PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE VICTORY AS MIKE BURR (WHO WAS EVERYWHERE) TAGGED OUT TWO RUNNERS AT THE PLATE AND PAT O’HEIR, MARK D’ANDREA AND PAUL LEGARE TURNED AN AROUND THE HORN DOUBLE PLAY TO SNUFF OUT A POTENTIAL LONG SHOTS RALLY IN THE TOP OF THE SEVENTH INNING TO SEAL THE WIN.

MEN IN BLACK SHOCK THE LONG SHOTS

Going into the bottom of the sixth inning down by ten runs, the Men in Black were staring another defeat in the face. But things would be different today. After sending seventeen men to the plate, MIB scored twelve runs and was now leading 14-12, thanks in large part to a Mike Burr triple and a Bryan O’Rourke homer to straight-away center. After giving up a run in the top of the seventh, MIB finished off the unbelievable comeback with a sharply-turned double play. Final score; 14-13. WOW!

- Mark D'Andrea-MIB

LONG SHOTS GO DOWN TO DEFEAT 13 TO 3 AGAINST FOREVER YOUNG

What has been a struggle all season long offensively for Forever Young was not evident in this game. Behind their good defense and pitching the collected 19 hits for 13 runs.

Forever Young took a 3 run lead early in the 1st inning behind RBI singles from Ralph, Matt and Eric. In the 2nd inning they put up 2 more runs thanks to a RBI singles from Brian Reardon & Mike Fisher. The move by the teams coach of putting Mike into the third spot in the order to get more people on base for their big hitters, worked out great for the team as Mike collected two hits, a sac fly and a RBI on the day. In the 4th inning the Forever Young put up 4 more runs to make the score 10 to 0. The key hit in the game came on a rocket line drive to left field for 2 RBI's by Ricky Winn.

Not only did Ricky Winn collect the key hit in the 4th, he would go on to pitch a 7 hitter for 3 runs and the win. His teammates played good defense all day long in support of Ricky's effort on the hill. Chris Herr who filled for starter Jeff Costello, came up huge with several good defensive web gems. He was given the game ball by his coach after the game for his effort and play.

Offensively for Forever Young, Chris Herr came up big as he did on defense with 3 hits and 2 runs. The team had 8 players on the day come up with 2 hits, Brian Reardon, Ralph Deckert, Eric Silverman, Mike Fisher, Ricky Winn, Matt Urban and Brian Owens. On the day Ricky Winn not only had 2 hits, he also contributed with 2 runs and 2 RBI's.

If Forever Young can bottle up their offense on this day for rest of the year it will help their goal to become champs of the league.

Coach
Neal

UNFAZED BY A 9 – 1 FIRST INNING DEFICIT, MEN IN BLACK STAGED A STEADY COMEBACK TO DEFEAT THE DIRT DAWGS BY THE SCORE OF 17 – 12. KENNY ROBBINS SCORED THREE TIMES AND MARK D’ANDREA HAD A KEY TRIPLE TO SPARK THE OFFENSE AND PLAYED A SOLID GAME AT SHORT, INCLUDING THROWING A RUNNER OUT AT THE PLATE ON A PERFECTLY EXECUTED RELAY. ROB GORDON HAD FOUR HITS, SCORED TWICE AND HAULED IN EVERYTHING HIT HIS WAY IN LEFT AND CAPT. SCOT KUDCEY MADE A BRILLIANT OVER THE SHOULDER RUNNING CATCH IN RIGHT HELPING HOLD DOWN THE POTENT DIRT DAWG OFFENSE AFTER ITS EARLY UPRISING. AFTER MANY CLOSE DEFEATS, MIB FINALLY BROKE THROUGH AND IS POISED FOR AN IMPROVED SECOND HALF RUN.

Men In Black won their second game of the season today over the Dirt Dawgs by the score of 17-12. It was an impressive comeback with MIB down by the score of 9-1 after the first inning. - Scot Kudcey, MIB captain

In a very close game Midlife Crisis prevailed 8-7 over Crush by pushing across the winning run with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th after Crush tied the score with 3 runs in the top of the frame. - Jim Sullivan, Midlife Crisis captain

With Forever Young without ace Ricky Winn & Ralph Deckert, (who has being pitching great as the backup for the team this year); Coach Mohan turned the game over to Eric Silverman. It was a tough situation for Eric since he only has pitched 4 innings in his 4 years of softball. The chance to pitch in a game was great as Eric commented, “I have been waiting for this opportunity”. Coach Mohan had plenty of faith in Eric as he has asked him to practice pitching in case he was called upon someday. Not only did his day arrive, he would go out and pitch Forever Young to a victory with a great pitching performance.

Eric showed great poise on the hill and he was not bothered one bit when balls were hit up the middle on him. In fact he made a spectacular grab on a hard hit ball that was right at him to throw the runner out at first. Eric had very good control for someone lacking pitching experience. He would only walk two players and allow Black Sheep 8 hits on the day. Heading into the 7^th Eric was pitching shut-out ball on a 4 hitter. Black Sheep did manage to collect 4 hits and score 4 runs in the 7^th to end the game 11 to 4. After the game Eric received the “Game Ball” from coach Mohan for his first win and a terrific job on the hill. Eric would later say to his coach, “It felt great out there! I know my Dad was watching from above and smiling down”.

On the day Forever Young displayed very good defense to support Eric for a win. Offensively for Black Sheep it was a rough morning until they would put together a very good 7^th for their 4 runs. Brett Krausse would start their 7^th off with a sharp single and score the teams first run on a single by Bob Meade. The inning continued with 2 singles from Coach Craig Romaine & Kevin Friend followed by a sac fly by Kevin Kelly for their 4^th and final run for the day. On the day the team collected 8 hits from Brett Krausse, Mike Downes, Kevin Kelly, Steve Johnson, Craig Romaine, Kevin Friend, Mike McKenna and Bob Mead. Although the Black Sheep lost, you could hear a few players comment that the last inning was good for them and it could get them going the rest of the season. For a new team they are talented, but it needs to just play together to gain continuity and wins. As coach of Forever Young, I’d say this team if it comes together soon it will be a .500 team by the end of the season. They will give people trouble in the playoffs.

Offensively for Forever Young the team did better today. It has had a very tough time getting the bats going. Not only did Eric pitch a great game he helped himself by getting 2 hits and scoring a run. Mike Fisher contributed with 3 hits & 2 runs, while Tommy Williams had 2 hits for 2 rbi’s. Several others collected 2 hits each, Jeff Costello, Brian Reardon, Dean Dorman and Coach Neal. Brian Owens, Ari Solomon, Chris Herr and Mike Brown had 1 hit each. All in all the team collected 17 hits for 11 runs and the win.

Although Men In Black lost a heart breaker they did play a good game and nearly defeated Forever Young. Thanks to very good hitting early they put up a 9 – 3 lead after 3 innings. Forever Young did not get its offense going until the 4^th when they scored 5 runs to pull within 1 run after 4 innings. In the 4^th Mike Brown, Dean Dorman, Matt Urban and Brian Reardon collected singles & scored to give the team a chance to win. With both teams exchanging 2 runs in the 5^th and 6^th the score stood 11 to 10 heading into the 7^th in favor of the Men In Black. Thanks to a double by Jeff Costello and a single by Coach Neal to lead off the bottom of the 7^th , Forever Young would tie the game up 11 to 11 an a RBI from Tommy Williams.

With the game heading to extra innings the fun was about to start. Men In Black would put men into scoring position with a double and single in the top of the 8^th. If not for a terrific double play made by Forever Young, Men In Black would have gone ahead in the game. As Mike Brown stepped on first for the second out, he quickly turned and threw to home plate and his catcher. With the runner trying to slide into home plate, Chris Herr stood his ground by making a tough low catch and tag to complete the inning ending double play. In the bottom of the 8^th Ricky Winn would start the inning off with a single for Forever Young and moved to third on back to back singles by the clutch hitting of Mike Brown and Dean Dorman. With the bases loaded and no outs, the scene was set for a game winning RBI from Matt Urban. As Matt stepped up to home plate, Coach Neal mentioned to Matt don’t worry about flying out, just drive the ball hard to the outfield to get the run across the plate. Not only did Matt Urban drive it deep for a sac fly, it gave his team 12 to 11 excellent win.

OFFENSIVELY on the day, Men In Black collected 21 hits, many of the line drive variety; Forever Young would collect 18 hits, none bigger than 20.

For Forever Young, Ricky Winn collected 3 hits and 2 RBI’s, while Brian Owens, Brian Morrissey, Brian Reardon, Mike Brown, Dean Dorman & Jeff Costello would collect 2 hits each. Brian Owens & Brian Reardon would finish the day with 2 hits each and Brian Morrissey would come up big with 3 runs scored. On the day Forever Young collected 18 hits. - Coach Neal

I would like to thank all those who turned out at Campanelli Stadium on
Saturday for the Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
A great day was had by all, and a very special thanks to The Dirt Dawgs, in
particular Stephen Marcus and Captain Dan Raymo for their tremendous
generosity. Once again, this team showed their class on and off the field.
(Ponch...you really were out!)
Also, the event would not have gone off without the support of Tom Aborn and
the Black Sheep crew...thanks guys..and to everyone who came out to help
this cause...and kept their beers cleverly hidden.

Kevin Friend
Black Sheep

We introduced the use of a double 1st base bag at both fields this past weekend (June 18th). The use of this type of base was approved at the organizational meeting this year and will be used for the balance of this season. The purpose is to provide a wider area for the 1st baseman and runner, hopefully reducing the likelihood of collisions between the two. A number of both adult and youth leagues use them routinely with good results. The idea is to set the white side of the bag over the usual 1st base spot with the orange part protruding into foul ground, the crease between both sides of the base over the foul line. Obviously the 1st baseman uses the white side and the runner uses the orange. Each player, the 1st baseman and the runner, needs to be careful to use only their side of the base.

Special thanks to Sean Medeiros, Rob Gimler and the rest of GBU, Paul Gobin, and others who, over the past couple of weeks, have put in extra time and work at the fields to get them in shape to play. We were able to play the June 11th schedule in large part to their efforts.

Dean Crandall pitches a gem for Crush as does Ralph Deckert for Forever Young. It was a shame that Ralph took the loss, as he kept Crush at bay trailing 1 – 0 going into the 6^th. Ralph’s teammates did not support his great effort with any runs. Meanwhile pitcher Dean Crandall of the Crush and his defense held Forever Young to only 6 hits on the day. As coach of Forever Young, I would say the effort by both pitchers had to be one of the better ones since the league started three years ago.

Defensively Crush’s second baseman Mark Dolan made two spectacular plays to stop any offensive rallies by Forever Young. Mark not only displayed his defense, he put Crush ahead by leading off the game with a triple before knocked in with first run of the game in the first inning. At the time no one on the field knew it would be the only run that Crush needed for the day. In the 6^th inning Dean’s teammates would increase the lead. Crush would open the game up with 5 hits, singles from Dean, Chris Hoyle, Bob Goonan, Billy Kennedy and a key 2 run single from John Balukts to put the team ahead 4-0 and the win.

In summary, there is not much the coach can say this week about his team, Forever Young. Aside from a miscue in the 6^th inning that helped Crush put the game away, Forever Young played well defensively behind the great pitching effort of Ralph. As for their offense it was plain and simple shut down by P Dean Crandall of Crush. It was again a game that was brilliant to see from a pitchers point of view, one that you rarely see in softball.

As Coach John Langis of Stout Men put it, “that was a great game”, a tough one for any team to lose for either team as both had excellent pitching, defense and timely hitting.

Thanks in part to the pitching of Bill Lusky, Forever Young seemed baffled at the plate early. If the pitching was not enough trouble for Forever Young, the excellent doubly plays by Bill and Bob Leadbetter at short, certainly made the players wonder if they were ever going to score a run.

The bats however did come alive for Forever Young in the 4^th and 5^th innings thanks to a shot hit deep to left field by Jeff Costello for a triple. Oh! Don’t worry about Jeff being on “Steroids” the team is testing him for it, because it was the longest ball they have ever have seen him hit. Forever Young took a 4 to 2 lead going into the bottom of the 5^th on RBI singles by Brian Owens and Dean Dorman, a Mike Brown double to left and a key Sacrifice Fly for the 4^th run by Brian Reardon. As Stout Men came to the plate in the 5^th the lead for Forever Young did not last long. Behind 3 straight hits and an RBI each from John Langis, Mike Graff and Bill Lusky, the Stout Men regained its lead 5 to 4. However the team could not count a victory yet, for they have seen a victory snatched away in the past late in a game by Forever Young. Sure enough Stout Men would go down to defeat 7 to 5 to Forever Young, as they would score 3 times in the 6^th behind 4 hits. An RBI single from Jeff Costello and a 2 run double to left center field from Brian Owens would bring victory to Fover Young.

Offensively there were a total of 30 hits on the day between both teams. Bob Leadbetter, Coach John Langis, Mike Graff and Bill Lusky contributed 2 hits each in the losing effort for Stout Men. John and Bill each had 2 RBI’s capping of a good game for both players. As for Forever Young, Ari Solomon and Ralph Deckert each collected 2 hits, while Brian Owens and Jeff Costello had 3 hits each. Brian would end a big day with 3 RBI’s and a run scored.

Although there were many hits in the game, both teams had ESPN web gems. The double plays converted by Bill Lusky and Bob Leadbetter early in the game where a thing of beauty for Stout Men. Through out the game Bob flashed the leather at short, preventing big innings for Forever Young. Although the two key hits by Jeff Costello and Brian Owens in the game for Forever Young were not caught, it was not due to the valiant effort by the outfield of Stout Men. As for Forever Young, once again Brian Reardon displayed why he is one of the top short stops in the league with his consistent good plays. On the mound, Ralph Deckert not only pitched a gem of a game 5 runs, he made several nice plays on balls hit up the middle and a fine running catch of a short pop up near the third base line late in the game. It may have been the number one web gem of the game. Not bad for the old man! -Coach Neal, Forever Young!

I have to say that was a great game...a tough one to lose 7-5. But we played well and it was a close one all the way. The game was scoreless til the 3rd when we scored 2 runs after that it was back and forth til the end. We had timely hitting with runners in scoring position and we capitalized on it. And Kevin (WELCOME BACK) Friend , yes...he was back, at least for 1 game when we needed him. Thanks alot Kev. We had some great plays in the field as well to keep us in the game and Billy pitched a beautiful game...he kept the opposition off balance and he made some sweet DPs with Bob. Solid game guys and lets get ready for our next game. - John Langis of Stout Men

Although both teams did not want to have their rematch game this early in the season, the game had to go on. One would think that on a windy day and no practices the play on the field would suffer. It did some, but overall both teams felt it was an entertaining game.

There was plenty of action in the game, with a total of 32 hits, several being line drives that found holes; while others were tough outs especially when the score was close all day. It was a game that had a few double plays, (must be the players are older) a collision at first and the coach of Forever Young getting his, “Fat Head” in a way of a throw to second.

As the coach of Forever Young, I cannot say enough thanks for the way both teams rush out to my aide. Once again it proves the action on the field may get hot at times, but the bottom line is the two teams showed a lot of class.

What about the game you say? OK! Midlife Crises took a three run lead early before Forever Young went ahead 4 – 3 in the third inning with a triple to left by Mike Brown for two runs and a sacrifice fly by Brian Owens. The lead did not last long, as Midlife Crises would hit five straight singles from Mike O'Connor, Brian Flaven, Ryan Feeney, Dave Burke and the game winning hit to left center by Steve Peck. Although the inning gave Midlife Crises the lead 7 – 3, their victory did not come easy. Forever Young in the bottom of the 7^th inning would collect 4 hits to score two runs and end the game with the tying runs on base.

With the wind playing havoc with fly balls, the outfield for both teams played well. Matt Urban of Forever Young who filled in for their star left fielder Mike Fisher, made several catches to prevent hits. The outfielders were not the only ones that played well for both teams. Behind the excellent pitching of Mike O’Connor & defense of SS Richie Amirault, Midlife Crises were victorious. As for Forever Young, Ralph Deckert pitched a good game while filling in for their ace Ricky Winn. Brian Reardon at short made several good plays & Mike Brown once again displayed great glove work at first.

Offensively both teams collected 16 hits each. For Forever Young, Matt Urban had 3 hits on the day for 2 doubles and a single. Brian Morrissey, Jeff Costello and Dean Doorman all had two hits, while Mike Brown had a key triple for two runs. As for Midlife Crises, Mike O’Connor & Steve Peck went 3 for 3, while Brian Flaven and Ryan Feeney collected 2 hits each. In the 4 run fourth to put the team ahead for good, Dave Burke had a two run single & scored the winning run. - Neil Mohan

The Uglies have started the 2006 season with a victory. For the third straight meeting, The Longshots and the Uglies played a defensive struggle with many good plays. Team G.B.U.'s pitcher, Dave Wallace, began 2006 with 2 strikeouts in the first two innings! The Uglies scored 2 in the bottom of the second. In the fourth the Longshots plated 3 with a deep shot to the gap by Mark Bevilacqua to regain the lead. G.B.U. came back in the bottom half of the 4th with 4 runs of their own to take the lead for good. After scoring 4 more in the 5th, the Longshots entered the top of the seventh down by a score of 10 - 3. The Longshots showed their grit as they came out swinging in the 7th. The valiant attempt to get back in the game was cut short by a close call at third. By keeping the Longshots to 4 runs, the Uglies were able to win on Opening Day for the first time. - Rob Gimler

It was a rough start for the Stoutmen as they kicked off their 2006 softball campaign, giving up 9 runs in the top of the first inning to the Crush of Raynham. Crush hit the ball hard and often in that frame, batting around the order. They then continued their game dominance by playing sparkling defense to prevent the Stoutmen from scoring even a single run, earning a shutout for the game. But the Stoutmen did manage to salvage a silver lining by shutting down the Crush for most of the rest of the game, only allowing 3 runs after the 1st inning. - Mike Graff

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES -- Best 2 out of 3

	BORDEN COLONY FIELD

	HOME		AWAY
1-Oct
9:00	Crush - R	VS	Forever Young-E
	13		10
11:00	Forever Young-E	VS	Crush - R
	18		2

8-Oct	OLIVER AMES HIGH SCHOOL

9:00	Crush - R	VS	Forever Young-E
	2		5

	OLIVER AMES HIGH SCHOOL				BORDEN COLONY FIELD

	HOME		AWAY		HOME		AWAY
17-Sep
8:00	Black Sheep-E	VS	Dirt Dawgs - E	8:00	Midlife Crisis - R	VS	Crush - R
	16		3		9		17
9:30	Forever Young-E	VS	Men In Black-E	9:30	Free Agents - R	VS	Long Shots - R
	37		3		10		7
11:00	WeekendWarriors-E	VS	Stout Men-E	11:00	Good,Bad&Ugly-R	VS	Red Sox - R
	won by forfeit				3		6

24-Sep
8:30	WeekendWarriors-E	VS	Black Sheep-E	8:30	Crush - R	VS	Red Sox - R
	6		14		5		3
10:30	Forever Young-E	VS	Black Sheep-E	10:30	Free Agents - R	VS	Crush - R
	12		9		5		7

Webmaster: Michael Graff 508/238-9000 magraff@earthlink.net Copyright © 2003-2007 [Sunday Morning Softball]. All rights reserved. Revised: 04/08/07.

Webmaster: Michael Graff 508/238-9000 magraff@earthlink.net
Copyright © 2003-2007 [Sunday Morning Softball]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 04/08/07.