SPORTS

Senior Softball: Verdi’s, Sami’s, Oyster Society are division champions

Randy Wesolowski
Special to the Eagle

As the regular season for the Marco Island Senior Softball League comes to a close, champions for the three divisions have been crowned.

In the Island Division, Verdi’s defeated second-place DaVinci’s to clinch the division title. Sami’s won the title in the Marco Division by two games over second-place Mango’s. The Oyster Society clinched the Gulf Coast Division championship with a victory over runner-up Crazy Flamingo.

After a one-week break from softball, the league will begin its post-season tournament on Monday, March 13, with all 16 teams competing for the tournament championship.

Visit the website for updated tournament brackets and other league info at marcoseniorsoftballleague.com.

WEEK 7Senior Softball: Division leaders increase lead heading into final week

WEEK 6Senior Softball: Division races tighten; Doreen’s earns first win

WEEK 5Senior Softball: Verdi’s and Sami’s maintain their division leads

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

WEEK 3Senior Softball: Crazy Flamingo and Sami’s remain unbeaten

WEEK 2Senior Softball: Verdi’s and Sami’s hold early lead in their divisions

WEEK 1Senior Softball: Marco league kicks off its 24th season

Marco Island Senior Softball results as of March 3:

Verdi’s Island Division Champions. From left, standing: Ralph Leiterding, Jeff Kaczka, Dave Mayo, Chuck Stathopoulos, Dan Gulick, Pat Comerford, Steve Hummel, Manager Gary Grefer, Mike Porreca; kneeling: Randy Sheridan, Peter Kane, Vito Iacovazzi, Paul Nussbaum, Jimmy Cuevas, Joe Lazzarotti.

ISLAND DIVISION

Tuesday, Feb. 28

DaVinci’s, 13; Speakeasy, 12

Trailing the whole game and down by three runs going into the bottom of the ninth inning, DaVinci’s erupted for four runs capped by a sacrifice fly by Tom Polston to get the comeback win over Speakeasy and move within one game of first-place Verdi’s. Polston had a big day with five hits and four RBIs and Mike Shone contributed three hits and four RBIs for DaVinci’s. Tom Buettner pummeled the ball for six hits including a home run and Eric Jeanotte also homered for Speakeasy. Jon Thomas and Rod Lashley added triples, one of three hits for Thomas. Buettner and Jeanotte knocked in three runs, and Thomas two in the loss.

Nacho Mama’s, 20; Salty Dog, 10

Nacho Mama’s scored nine unanswered runs in the final four innings to tame the Salty Dog. Nacho’s used a balanced attack led by Lou Marinaccio and Jon Wiseman with four hits each, Jim O’Toole with three hits including a triple and a three-run homer, and Tom DeAngelo and Tom Vander Aarde also with three hits. O’Toole and Frank Tedesco drove in three runs, and Marinaccio, Wiseman, DeAngelo and Joe Rocco all had two. Sal Tidona and Bill Novakovich hammered home runs, and Todd Rodgers and Dan Marinelli tripled for the Dog. Glenn Davis added three hits, and Tidona and Novakovich both plated three runs.

Dolphin Tiki, 12; Verdi’s, 10

After Verdi’s scored five times in the top of the eighth inning to take a 10-9 lead, Dolphin Tiki answered with three of their own to re-take the lead and then held Verdi’s scoreless in the ninth to get the victory. Brian Alexander led the way for the Tiki with four hits and Mike Faria blasted a home run. Faria knocked in three runs and Scott Golan two. Randy Sheridan lashed out four hits and Steve Hummel added three for Verdi’s. Hummel drove home three runs and Dan Gulick two.

Thursday, March 2

Nacho Mama’s, 12; Dolphin Tiki, 5

Nacho Mama’s scored five times in the first inning and played air-tight defense as they coasted to the victory over the Dolphin Tiki. Joe Rocco and Jon Wiseman homered and Jim O’Toole tripled to lead the attack for Nacho’s. O’Toole punched out four hits and Rocco three, O’Toole plated four runs, and Rocco, Wiseman, and Lou Marinaccio two for the victors. John Nicholas had three hits for the Tiki.

Salty Dog, 25; Speakeasy, 16

Home runs by Sal Tidona and Bill Novakovich and a triple by Dan Marinelli powered Salty Dog to the win over Speakeasy. Marinelli pounded out five hits, Mark Whealy and Bill Thompson four, and Tidona and Novakovich three for the Dog. Dave O’Brien drove home four runs, Tidona and Novakovich three, and Thompson, Marinelli, and Todd Rodgers two. Jon Thomas homered among his four hits and Don O’Connell homered among his three hits for Speakeasy. Rod Lashley also contributed four hits, and Tom Buettner and Jim George had three. O’Connell had four RBIs, Thomas three, and George and Eric Jeanotte two.

Verdi’s, 19; DaVinci’s, 8

Using a combination of solid defense and very efficient offense, Verdi’s grabbed the early lead and gradually pulled away from DaVinci’s which gave Verdi’s the Island Division Championship. Verdi’s scored five times on sacrifice flies, Randy Sheridan crushed a three-run homer and Paul Nussbaum contributed three hits to highlight the attack. Steve Hummel and Dave Mayo also knocked in three runs, Nussbaum, Vito Iacovazzi, and Mike Porreca two. Dave Falls pounded a two-run homer, and Dave Johnson and Tom Polston added three hits for DaVinci’s. Falls knocked in three runs and Johnson two in the loss.

Verdi’s, 18; Speakeasy, 12

Verdi’s trailed Speakeasy 11-9 in the sixth inning but came to life with a five-run sixth and added four more insurance runs to get the win. Chuck Stathopoulos hammered a home run among four hits and Paul Nussbaum also had four hits to lead the Verdi’s offense. Dave Mayo lashed out three hits including a triple, and Vito Iacovazzi, Dan Gulick, and Jimmy Cuevas also chipped in with three hits for Verdi’s. Stathopoulos and Nussbaum knocked in four runs, and Iacovazzi and Steve Hummel two. Rod Lashley tripled and homered, and Jon Thomas also homered for Speakeasy. Lashley and Tom Buettner had three hits apiece, and Lashley, Jim George, and Eric Phillips each drove in two runs.

Nacho Mama’s, 20; DaVinci’s, 12

Home runs by Jim O’Toole and Ken Polarek powered Nacho Mama’s to the victory over DaVinci’s. O’Toole stroked the ball for five hits in all, and Polarek, Joe Rocco, Tom DeAngelo, Tom Vander Aarde, Kevin Smith, and Art Sinisi all pitched in with three hits to lead Nacho’s. O’Toole was responsible for four runs, Rocco, Polarek, and Smith three, and DeAngelo and Lou Marinaccio two. Gary Revall had three hits including a triple, and Tom Polston and Dave Johnson also had three hits for DaVinci’s. Johnson plated four runs, and Polston and David Falls two in the contest.

Salty Dog, 29; Dolphin Tiki, 26

In what was the highest scoring contest of the year, Salty Dog outslugged the Dolphin Tiki to claim the win. The Dogs used a combination of the long ball and thirty-four hits in the victory, with booming home runs by Sal Tidona, Ed Seery, and Dave O’Brien leading the way. Tidona, Seery, Todd Rodgers, and John Rysak pounded out four hits each, with one of Rysak’s a triple, and Dan Marinelli, Bill Novakovich, and Steve Hummel contributed three. Tidona knocked in six runs, Seery and Mike Schwab four, Rodgers, O’Brien, and Mark Whealy three, and Novakovich two for the winners. Chris Flynn blasted a home run and had four hits and four RBIs and Mike Faria tripled to lead the Tiki. Scott Golan also had four hits, and John Nicholas, Dave Shultz, and John Stuart all chipped in with three. Nicholas, Mike Reale, and Ed Caster drove in three runs, and Shultz, Stuart, Golan, Faria, and Nick Jacullo had two apiece.

Sami’s Marco Division Champions. From left, standing: John Remhoff, Bobby Williams, Todd Whitney, Frank Caso, Gary Menzies, John Gross, Pete Oellrich, Lou Basch, Ray Capella, Phil Holmes, Steve Chasin, Bob Traver; kneeling: Tom Purtell, Warren Uhl, Dave Coward, Coach Jon Krebs.

MARCO DIVISION

Monday, Feb. 27

Joey’s Pizza, 13; Mango’s, 11

Down by two runs going into the sixth inning, Joey’s Pizza rallied for four runs to retake the lead and held on for the victory over Mango’s. Jim Stewart smacked a triple and Dick Eddy had three hits to lead the offense for Joey’s. Stewart, Eddy, and Bill Shurina each knocked in three runs for the winners. George Lancaster tripled and Howie Reitz had three hits for Mango’s. Reitz and Larry Locks plated two runs apiece in a losing cause.

Stonewalls, 21; Sami’s, 13

Stonewalls held a slim 14-12 lead after six innings but exploded for seven runs in the seventh to subdue Sami’s. Despite the loss, Sami’s clinched the Marco Division Championship by virtue of the Mango’s loss earlier in the day. Bruce Chambers and Dean Stone hammered home runs, Mitch Eil laced four hits, and Chambers and Stone three to lead Stonewalls. Chambers and Mike Puskar were responsible for four runs, and Gary Young, Tom Irions, and Joe Logisz two. Warren Uhl had four hits, and John Gross and Ray Capella three for Sami’s, one of Capella’s a home run. Capella drove in three runs, and Gross, Bobby Williams, and Gary Menzies two.

Snook Inn, 21; Sand Bar, 14

Geo Giacobbi blasted a home run and Robert Stried, Tim McKenna, and Jack Martin all tripled to lead the Snook Inn to the win over the Sand Bar. Giacobbi had three hits and knocked in five runs, McKenna and John Binns three, and Stried, William Atwood, Dick Carson, and Randy Wesolowski two for the winners.  Doug Stang had four hits, Gary Young homered among his three hits, and Jim Vitas also had three hits for the Sand Bar. Stang plated four runs, Paul Sullivan three, and Vitas two.

Wednesday, March 1

Mango’s, 20; Snook Inn, 19

Snook Inn held a 17-10 advantage before Mango’s battled back to tie the game at 17, then after Snook Inn scored twice in the top of the seventh, Mango’s answered with three runs of their own to get the walk-off win. Jim Burroughs and Brian Craig blasted two-run homers and Howie Reitz and Tom Rensch tripled to lead the Mango’s offense. Rensch had four hits in all, and Burroughs and Ed Kingsbury added three. Craig and Kingsbury knocked in three runs, and Burroughs and Rensch two for the winners. Dick Carson crushed a grand slam home run among three hits and had seven RBIs for the Snook. John Barrett, John Binns, and Jack Martin all pounded out four hits, and Carson, Robert Stried, and William Atwood chipped in with three. Binns, Atwood, Randy Wesolowski, and Mike Arnold contributed two RBIs each.

Sami’s, 19; Joey’s Pizza, 13

Sami’s did all their scoring in four innings and it proved to be more than enough to defeat Joey’s Pizza. Bobby Williams hammered a home run, Ray Capella tripled twice, and Gary Menzies also tripled to lead Sami’s. Capella and Phil Holmes laced four hits, and Williams, Menzies, Bob Traver, and Todd Whitney each had three. Capella and Williams plated four runs, Menzies three, and Holmes and Traver two. Jim Stewart and Dick Eddy each hoisted home runs for Joey’s with Stewart’s being a grand slam. Eddy and Mark Waks each had three hits, and Stewart drove in five runs, Jim Willert three, and Eddy and Tom Whitlock two.

Stonewalls, 19; Sand Bar, 16

Stonewalls pounded out 29 hits en route to their victory over the Sand Bar. Bob Hermann, Gary Young, Mitch Eil and Steve Sauerberg all lashed out four hits, with one of Sauerberg’s a triple, to lead Stonewalls. Eil, Ralph Sieja, and Tom Irions had three RBIs, and Young, Sauerberg, and Bruce Chambers two. Paul Sullivan blasted a three-run homer, and Doug Stang and Dan Dumbault had three hits for the Sand Bar. Sullivan and Jerry Engel knocked in three runs, and Stang and Tom Breslin two in the loss.

Oyster Society Gulf Coast Division Champions. From left, standing: Bob Smith, Ralph Leiterding, Mike Corless, Pat Coraggio, Hal Jurgensen, Andy Pressler, Lou Basch, Jim O’Meara, Steve Levesque; Kneeling: Mike Galatis, John Klebauskus, Brian Maguire, Nick Brooks, Manager Roger Fleming, Ed Kopecky, Bill Liggett. Missing Steve Risch.

GULF COAST DIVISION

Monday, Feb. 27

Oyster Society, 11; Crazy Flamingo, 4

The Oyster Society defeated the Crazy Flamingo to clinch the Gulf Coast Division Championship. Steve Levesque homered and Nick Brooks tripled among his three hits to lead the Oystermen. Both Levesque and Brooks drove in two runs for the champs. Larry Anspach hit a two-run home run for Crazy Flamingo.

Doreen’s, 20; American Legion, 14

Doreen’s had the bats working as they pounded the ball the whole game en route to a convincing victory over the American Legion. Bruce Borden crushed a home run, Jack Facciolo had four hits, and Tom Rucks three to lead Doreen’s. Borden and Joe Barry drove home five runs, Facciolo four, Al Bozzo three, and Dave Chroust two for the winners. Barry Neale homered among his three hits and Dean Leffleman also had three hits for the Legion. Nick Lordi knocked in five runs, Neale and Rick Condle three, and Leffleman two.

Wednesday, March 1

Crazy Flamingo, 17; American Legion, 11

Crazy Flamingo led from the outset in this one as they soundly defeated the American Legion. Matt Opperman homered among his three hits and had four RBIs to lead the Crazy birds. Joe Kruse, Gene Wahler, and Chuck Reich also contributed three hits, and John Ranieri slashed a triple. Kruse, Larry Anspach, Fred Kramer, and Bill Dauch all drove home two runs for the winners. Dean Leffleman and Jim Batttye homered for the Legion, Battye and Jeff Dougherty had four hits, and Leffleman three. Leffleman plated three runs and Greg Graycarek two in a losing effort.

Oyster Society, 12; Doreen’s, 11

The Oyster Society led 11-4 before Doreen’s made a furious late-game comeback bid only to fall short at the end. Steve Levesque had a big game with two home runs and Brian Maguire also homered to lead the Oystermen. Hal Jurgensen had four hits, Levesque, Nick Brooks, and Andy Pressler pitched in with three apiece. Levesque and Maguire knocked in three runs, Jurgensen and Pressler two. Rand Krueger tripled home three runs for Doreen’s, and Al Bozzo, Jack Facciolo, and Ray Zielinski each drove in two.

STANDINGS

ISLAND DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Verdi’s / 15 / 5
  • DaVinci’s / 12 / 8
  • Nacho Mama’s / 10 / 10
  • Dolphin Tiki / 9 / 11
  • Salty Dog / 9 / 11
  • Speakeasy / 5 / 15

MARCO DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Sami’s / 14 / 5
  • Mango’s / 12 / 7
  • Stonewalls / 10 / 9
  • Joey’s Pizza / 10 / 10
  • Sand Bar / 8 / 11
  • Snook Inn / 4 / 16

GULF COAST DIVISION / Wins / Losses

  • Oyster Society / 16 / 3
  • Crazy Flamingo / 12 / 7
  • American Legion / 7 / 12
  • Doreen’s / 3 / 16