Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology got back on the winning track with a 13-7 win over Changing Times Pub. The game was tight until the 8th inning when Marc Fischer and John DeFalco broke it open with a pair of powerful drives to left field. Fischer went for a 2-run homer, while DeFalco legged out a 2-run triple. Pitcher Brian Tinney had a big night at plate with three hits, two of them driving in runs with two outs. Tom Dittmeier, Pete Mendelson and Jerry Mazza also had three hits on the night, while John Hernandez, Karl Dessel, Bino Reverberi and Art O’Neill had two hits each. Defensively, John Hernandez had his usual stellar game at shortstop.
BK Sweeneys and Paradox went to battle with neither team wanting to give in. In the 7th inning, Paradox took a five run lead, but BK came back with one in the bottom of the inning. BK shut down Paradox in the top of the 8th with the meat of the order coming up. BK hit and walked their way into a tie score with bases loaded one out a long out from victory. Pitcher Jim Feleccia launches a deep fly ball, really deep second, to the right side of the outfield. Joe Giamonte tags up and with a close play at the plate is called safe. Score 19-8 victory, BK clinching the top spot in the division with a 10-4 record. Rookies player Geo Moerler gets two RBIs and Mark Hemminger each with three hits along with Tom Vella with three. Joe Girimonte with four hits and four RBIs leads the hitters. Bottom of the lineup coming through once again with clutch hitting are Tom Fitzpatrick and Tom Brusca. Mike Magro with two triples and an RBI, Jack DeBobes, John Longo, Byrone Bodine, one RBI and all with two hits a piece.
Autocraft managed a dramatic comeback victory beating Barco Construction 23-16. Barco had piled on 12 runs by the end of the 2nd inning to Autocraft’s two. Mike Ferretti pitched beautifully holding down Barcos big bats in only allowing them four more runs the rest of the way. The turning point of the game came in the 8th inning, which was the last, when Autocraft’s trusty sponsor Bob Huebner hit a run scoring triple and set himself up as the tying run. Aldo Balducci hit a homerun that put his team ahead for good. Denny “Ace” Oehl, Mike Ferritti and Little Mike Mormino both had four hits on a great night for both. Rookies Chris Piccininni and Donny Simone came up big with key hits. Defensively Tommy Vanasco made two big time catches in the outfield, and Aldo Balducci actually caught a pop fly running into the outfield from second. What a night!
Lockie & Nowachek Family Chiropractors notched its 7th win with a 10-7 victory against Moby Drugs. Pitcher Ron Schwabe kept the Moby team scoreless through the first four innings. Defense was a big key to the win. Second baseman Tim Jones made a great reaching grab of a hard hit ball for an out. Damon Pishva made a perfect throw home to Bill Camacho for an out preventing a Moby run. Ron Schwabe made a few assists with several balls hit up the middle. The hottest hitter in the L&N lineup is Gerald Bowman, who went three-for-three, with a walk, two singles and a double. Gerald has eight hits and two walks in his last 12 plate appearances, and has been on base 11 straight times. Jim Doyle hit his first home run to ensure a Lockie & Nowacheck victory.
Autocraft was down some significant players but those who showed up made the most of the evening as Autocraft belted out a 28-12 win over Singletons, the defending tournament champs. Key contributions came from pitcher Mike Ferretti who held the dangerous line up to only 12 runs. Mike also hit a grand slam, as did Don Simone and Benny Macchia as the three grand slams hit in one game could be a league record. Both Mike Mormino and Robert Huebner had some timely hits as they have done all year generating strong offense throughout the lineup allowing Autocraft to average some 20 runs per game. Other players with multi-hit games included Joe Lutz, Chris Piccininni, Frank Quarto Cinco Ses Quartomano and Denny Oehl.
Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology made it two wins in a row with a 6-2 victory over McCourt and Trudden Funeral Home. Marc Fischer filled-in on the mound and supplied what turned out to be all the runs needed with a monster three-run homer in the first inning. Bino Reverberi had a fantastic game in right-center with a number of impressive grabs, including a key running catch to end a M&T rally. ZP tried to mount a rally of its own in the seventh inning, but it fizzled after one of the most unusual plays in OTHG history. With the bases loaded and no one out, Reverberi hit a grounder to second base, Jack Brosnan threw home for the force, which should have left the bases loaded, right? But for some inexplicable reason, Jerry Mazza, who should have been on second, ran off the field. A bonehead move for sure, but to make matters worse, no one on ZP noticed, not even T-Ball who was in the dugout. Hernandez followed with a single and then all of a sudden ZP realized they were missing a runner! Fischer picks up the story from here: Where was Jerry? Perhaps it was the sunlight in his eyes? Perhaps he got caught up in the roar of the crowd? Perhaps he needed a drink of water? He was in the dugout looking to see who was coming up next. M&T was all over it however and negotiated with the umpires to have an automatic second out for the play. Luckily, ZP held on for the win.
