SPORTS

Senior Softball: Verdi’s and Sami’s maintain their division leads

Randy Wesolowski
Special to the Eagle

With three weeks remaining in the regular season, Verdi’s continues to hold a two-game lead now over surging DaVinci’s, winners of five straight games, in the Island Division of the Marco Senior Softball League.

In the Marco Division, Sami’s won two of three games this week but still maintains a three-game cushion over Mango’s and Stonewalls. The Oyster Society lost to Crazy Flamingo which reduced their lead in the Gulf Coast Division to a half game.

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

Marco Island Senior Softball results as of Feb. 10.

ISLAND DIVISION

Tuesday, Feb. 7

Salty Dog, 20; Verdi’s, 8

Salty Dog finished the game strong with an eight-run ninth inning to put the game away over first-place Verdi’s. Bill Thompson, Sal Tidona, and Rick Benedetti led the offense for the Dog with four hits each, and Dan Marinelli and Dave O’Brien added three. O’Brien and Glenn Davis knocked in three runs, and Thompson, Tidona, Marinelli, Ed Seery, and Mike Schwab all had two for the winners. Vito Iacovazzi lashed out four hits, including a booming home run, and had four RBIs for Verdi’s. Dave Mayo added three hits in the loss.

DaVinci’s, 13; Dolphin Tiki, 12

In a game that started as a low-scoring defensive battle, both teams traded the lead with big innings in the eighth and ninth inning before DaVinci’s finally prevailed over Dolphin Tiki. Rick DiStasio’s two-run double tied the game in the ninth and he came around to score the winning run on a single by Mike Shone. Gary Revall led the way for DaVinci’s with three hits and three RBIs, and David Falls and Tom Polston also contributed two RBIs. Mike Reale blasted a three-run homer that temporarily gave the Tiki the lead in the top of the ninth. Brian Alexander had four hits, Reale and Bruce Winer three, and Nick Jacullo added a triple for the Tiki. Alexander and John Nicholas each drove in three runs.

Speakeasy, 16; Nacho Mama’s, 8

Jon Thomas and “Big George” Grygorcewicz both hammered triples among three hits to lead Speakeasy to victory over Nacho Mama’s. Brett Bartholomaus pitched in with three hits for Speakeasy, and Big George knocked in four runs, Bartholomaus, Tom Buettner, and Jim George two. Tom DeAngelo, Jeff Robinson, Frank Tedesco, and Jim O’Toole all had three hits for Nacho’s, one of O’Toole’s a triple. Tedesco and John Haskins each drove in two runs.

Thursday, Feb. 9

DaVinci’s, 18; Salty Dog, 16

DaVinci’s scored twice in the top of the ninth inning to break a 16-all tie and held on to defeat the Salty Dog and gain their fifth straight win. DaVinci’s was led by Mike Shone, David Falls, and Tom Gazzillo with four hits each, one of Falls’ a triple, and Dave Johnson and Jack Tizio with three. Johnson drove in four runs, Gazzillo and Tizio three, and Falls and Mike Faria two for the winners. Bill Novakovich homered, and Mark Whealy, Sal Tidona, Mike Schwab, Dan Marinelli, and John Rysak all had three hits for the Dog. Schwab plated four runs, Tidona, Marinelli, Novakovich, Dave O’Brien, and Bill Thompson two.

Verdi’s, 19; Nacho Mama’s, 7

Verdi’s jumped out to a 12-1 lead and coasted from there to claim the victory over Nacho Mama’s. Dan Gulick peppered the ball with four hits, and Dave Mayo, Steve Hummel, Jeff Kaczka, Joe Lazzarotti, and Chuck Stathopoulos all contributed three to lead Verdi’s, with one of Stathopoulos’ a home run. Kaczka drove in three runs, and Mayo, Gulick, Lazzarotti, Paul Nussbaum, and Randy Sheridan all had two RBIs. Joe Rocco and Lou Marinaccio laced three hits, and Tom Vander Aarde had two RBIs for Nacho’s.

Speakeasy, 18; Dolphin Tiki, 10

Speakeasy put up five runs in the top of the first inning and led the entire way to deal Dolphin Tiki with the loss. Don O’Connell led the offense for Speakeasy with four hits and five RBIs. George Grygorcewicz also had four hits, and Tom Buettner and Eric Jeanotte three apiece for the winners. Jeanotte and Buettner drove home four runs, and Craig Cunningham two. Nick Jacullo tripled and had two RBIs for the Tiki.

WEEK 4Senior Softball: Verdi’s, Sami’s and Oyster Society lead their divisions

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MARCO DIVISION

Monday, Feb. 6

Mango’s, 14; Sand Bar, 13

After losing the lead in the top of the seventh inning, Mango’s scored three times to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh and then pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to prevail over the Sand Bar. Mario Lucca and Chris Nolan had three hits apiece and Howie Reitz tripled to lead the Mango’s attack. Brian Craig drove in three runs and Tom Rensch two for the winners. Paul Sullivan, Doug Stang, and Murph Knapke all had three hits for the Sand Bar. Jim Vitas, Tom Breslin, and Jerry Engel knocked in two runs each.

Sami’s, 11; Snook Inn, 5

In a defensive battle, Sami’s did most of their scoring in two innings which was more than enough to defeat the Snook Inn. Bobby Williams lashed out three hits and Steve Chasin slammed a triple for Sami’s. Gary Menzies, Warren Uhl, and Pete Oellrich knocked in two runs each for the victors. Tim McKenna clobbered a two-run home run and George Giacobbi and William Atwood had three hits for the Snook.

Joey’s Pizza, 17; Stonewalls, 12

Joey’s Pizza scored ten runs in the final two innings to overtake and pull away from Stonewalls. Jim Willert and Mark Waks led the way with three hits each for Joey’s, and Jim Stewart accounted for four runs, Waks three, and Charlie Lamb and Jim Dorey two. Ralph Sieja and Mitch Eil slashed three hits apiece for Stonewalls, and Eil, Dean Stone, Gary Young, and Joe Logisz all had two RBIs.

Wednesday, Feb. 8

Stonewalls, 15; Snook Inn, 0

Stonewalls used a combination of stellar defense, hitting and pitching to thoroughly trounce the Snook Inn in a game shortened due to the mercy rule. Steve Sauerberg led a balanced attack for Stonewalls with three hits, Gary Young drove in four runs, and Ralph Sieja, Dave Schott, and Murph Knapke each had two. The Snook Inn was limited to five hits by Stonewalls pitcher Mike Puskar.

Joey’s Pizza, 15; Sand Bar, 6

Dick Eddy and Mark Waks hammered home runs to lead Joey’s Pizza to the win over the Sand Bar. Waks, Jim Dorey, Jim Stewart, and Charlie Lamb each contributed three hits for Joey’s. Eddy plated four runs, Lamb, Tom Whitlock, and Jim Willert two. Paul Sullivan smacked three hits and had two RBIs, and Tom Breslin also had two RBIs for the Sand Bar.

Mango’s, 24; Sami’s, 21

Mango’s outlasted Sami’s in a slugfest that required eight innings to determine the winner. Mango’s scored seven runs in the seventh inning to take a 20-14 lead into the bottom of the inning only to have Sami’s push across six runs to tie the game. Mango’s then scored four more runs in the eighth inning and held on for the win. Larry Locks had a monster game for Mango’s with four hits including a grand slam home run and seven RBIs. Jim Burroughs also homered, Tom Rensch tripled, and Brian Craig, Ed Kingsbury, and George Lancaster added three hits to the cause for Mango’s. Kingsbury knocked in four runs, and Burroughs, Lancaster, Rensch, Howie Reitz, Rob York, and Brian Bergman all had two. Steve Chasin and John Gross blasted home runs for Sami’s, Bob Traver and Ray Cappella had four hits, and Chasin, Gross, Todd Whitney, and Tom Purtell had three. Chasin and Gross knocked in four runs, Cappella and Purtell three, and Traver, Phil Holmes, and Pete Oellrich two.

Friday, Feb. 10

Sami’s, 20; Sand Bar, 14

Sami’s cranked up the offense from the outset scoring nineteen times in the first five innings and cruised to the win over the Sand Bar. Bob Traver led a balanced attack with three hits and Gary Menzies had six RBIs for Sami’s. Traver added three RBIs, and Todd Whitney, John Gross, Bobby Williams, and Tom Purtell had two apiece. Tom Breslin hammered a three-run home run and had four RBIs for the Sand Bar. Jim Vitas knocked in three runs, Bob Grant and Jim Burroughs two in a losing cause.

Stonewalls, 19; Mango’s, 11

Stonewalls jumped out to an early lead and were never threatened after that as they claimed the victory over Mango’s. Tom Irions and Steve Sauerberg paced the offense for Stonewalls with four hits each, and Ralph Sieja, Mitch Eil, Dave Schott, Mike Puskar, and Joe Logisz all contributed three, with one of Logisz’ a three-run homer. Dean Stone and Gary Young also had three RBIs, and Sieja, Irions, Sauerberg, and Schott two. Tom Rensch and Larry Locks tripled for Mango’s, and Rensch plated four runs, Howie Reitz three.

Joey’s Pizza, 27; Snook Inn, 13

Joey’s Pizza busted out of a tight 9-8 game by scoring eighteen unanswered runs as they trounced the Snook Inn. Jim Stewart and Mark Waks did the most damage as Stewart had five hits and four RBIs and Waks had four hits including a home run and five RBIs. Dick Eddy and Jim Dorey pitched in with three hits each, Dorey drove in four runs, and Eddy, Jim Willert, Charlie Lamb, Bill Shurina, and Ron Irwin all had two. Dick Carson blasted a grand slam homer among his three hits and had five RBIs for the Snook. John Binns had three hits and two RBIs and Jack Martin tripled and drove in three runs in the loss.

GULF COAST DIVISION

Monday, Feb. 6

Oyster Society, 13; American Legion, 4

The Oyster Society scored five times in the first inning and never trailed as they defeated the American Legion. Ed Kopecky and Bob Smith both blasted triples to pace the Oyster Society. Smith, Hal Jurgensen, and Brian Maguire each knocked in three runs in the win. Kopecky limited the Legion to eleven hits, all singles.

Wednesday, Feb. 8

American Legion,  17; Doreen’s, 12

The American Legion and Doreen’s were locked in a 9-all tie after five innings but the Legion busted loose for eight runs in the final two innings to secure the win. Jim Battye had four hits, Al Schneider three, and Barry Neale tripled to lead the Legion attack. Schneider and Dean Leffleman contributed three RBIs, and Jerry Lenhoff two. Jack Facciolo homered and Bruce Borden had three hits including a triple for Doreen’s. Facciolo, Matt Lewis, and Al Bozzo knocked in three runs apiece.

Crazy Flamingo, 18; Oyster Society, 14

In a battle for first place, Crazy Flamingo scored four insurance runs in the seventh then held on as a furious rally by Oyster Society fell short in the bottom of the inning. Ray Malone had a big day for Crazy’s with a triple and five RBIs. Joe Kruse and Bill Dauch pitched in with three hits, and Jan Grossman and Dick Deanna had three RBIs, Matt Opperman two for the victors. Nick Brooks blasted a home run among his three hits and had four RBIs for the Oystermen. Hal Jurgensen and John Klebauskus tripled, and Andy Pressler and Steve Levesque each added three hits to the cause. Pressler, Jurgensen, Levesque, and Mike Corless each drove in two runs in the loss.

Friday, Feb. 10

Crazy Flamingo, 12; American Legion, 8

Crazy Flamingo pushed across four runs in the final two innings to break an 8-all tie and defeat the American Legion. Ray Niemeyer crushed a two-run home run and Chuck Reich tripled for Crazy’s. Matt Opperman and Larry Anspach also contributed two RBIs. Dean Leffleman homered and drove in three runs for the Legion.

Oyster Society, 11; Doreen’s, 5

The Oyster Society used some late inning fireworks to pull away from and defeat Doreen’s. Ed Kopecky and John Klebauskus led a balanced attack with three hits each for the Oyster Society, and Andy Pressler drove in three runs and Steve Levesque two in the win. Bruce Borden slammed a two-run home run for Doreen’s.

STANDINGS

ISLAND DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Verdi’s / 9 / 3
  • DaVinci’s / 7 / 5
  • Dolphin Tiki / 6 / 6
  • Nacho Mama’s / 5 / 7
  • Speakeasy / 5 / 7
  • Salty Dog / 4 / 8

MARCO DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Sami’s / 10 / 2
  • Stonewalls / 7 / 5
  • Mango’s / 7 / 5
  • Joey’s Pizza / 6 / 7
  • Sand Bar / 5 / 7
  • Snook Inn / 2 / 11

GULF COAST DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Oyster Society / 10 / 2
  • Crazy Flamingo / 9 / 2
  • American Legion / 4 / 8
  • Doreen’s / 0 / 11