Senior Softball: Marco City Council members toss out balls to start the 2021 season
The Marco Island Men’s Senior Softball League was back in full swing with Marco Island newly elected City Council members Rich Blonna and Becky Irwin tossing out first pitches to start the 2021 season. Rich and Becky were very instrumental in helping facilitate the needed improvements made to the Winterberry Park Field for the 2021 season.
The 2020 season was brought to an abrupt halt last March due to Covid-19, which also lead to a delay in beginning the 2021 season to insure Covid-19 Protocols were in place for players and other participants.
At the end of a week of play Speakeasy in the Island Division, Joey’s Pizza and the Snook Inn in the Marco Division, and Crazy Flamingo in the Gulf Coast Division were all undefeated. Games results along with highlights and Divisional Standings are included below.
Games are played at Winterberry Park Mondays through Fridays during the months of January, February and March. More information such as division schedules, team rosters and other pertinent details can be found on our league website marcoseniorsoftballleaguecom.
Here are the results as of Jan. 19.
MARCO DIVISION
Joey’s Pizza, 18; Sand Bar, 13
In the opening game of the 2021 season Joey’s Pizza was the winner in an extra inning affair scoring seven runs in the top of the eighth inning for the win. Winning pitcher Ron Irwin, Mario Lucca, and Rob York all had three hits for Joey’s. York and Ed Kingsbury tripled while Jim Dorey blasted a homerun. Dorey had four RBI, York three, Kingsbury and John Sherwin two. Sand Bar had Dick Folsom and Alan Schneider each with three hits while Jim Burroughs hoisted a three-run homer for his three RBI; Mitch Eli had two RBI.
Stonewalls, 17; Mango’s, 9
Ray Kane scorched the ball for four hits for Stonewalls with Jim Williams, Dick Carson, and Angelo Polizzi picking up three. Kane and Joe Logisz each thumped a triple. Kane and Williams had three RBI; Carson, Logisz and Pat Shannon two. Fred Pendergrass slammed two homeruns and Warren Uhl one for Mango’s with Brian Bergman having a triple. Pendergrass, Uhl and Bergman each chased in three runs; Tim McKenna two.
Snook Inn, 16; Joey D’s, 9
It was a 7-7 ballgame at the end of four and half innings, before the Snook Inn erupted for nine runs over the fifth and sixth innings for the win. Winning pitcher Ed Kopecky, Robert Stried and John Cavanagh each lined three hits for the Snook with Geoff Bentley smacking a homerun and Don Schwartz a triple. Bentley, Cavanagh, Randy Wesolowski and Mike Arnold all had two runs driven in. Ray Niemeyer and Bob Smith had three hits for Joey D’s with Smith, Jim Baumann, and Brian Maguire having two RBI in the loss.
Sand Bar, 20; Joey D’s, 6
Sand Bar pounded the balled the ball for twenty-one hits, which include Mitch Eil, John Remhoff and Jim Burroughs clocking homeruns; Eil, Remhoff, Tom Rensch and Ray Kane all cracked triples. Eil, Dick Folsom and Pat Comerford each had three hits. Eil chalked up six RBI, Rensch three, Remhoff and Burroughs two. Dave Coward nailed a triple and had three RBI for Joey D’s with Jim Bauman having two RBI.
Joey’s Pizza, 11; Stonewalls, 8
Joey’s Jim Dorey and Mario Lucca had three hits to pace Joey’s Pizza with Dorey having three RBI and Lucca two. Stonewalls Tom Parker had three hits with Tom Purtell. Jim Williams and Ray Kane picking up two RBI each.
Snook Inn, 10; Mango’s, 6
Robert Stried and John Binns had three hits for the Snook Inn. Stried thumped a triple and John Cavanagh hoisted a homerun. Cavanagh had three RBI, Stried and Binns two. John Robichaud drove in two runs for Mango’s.
GULF COAST DIVISION
Doreen’s, 19; American Legion, 16
Both teams saw the opposing pitching issue 17 walks which set a league record for a game. Doreen’s Butch Monson had a big game racking up seven RBI on three hits. Monson and Roger Fleming each smacked a homerun. Fleming had three RBI in the game; John Ranieri, Ron Krueger, and Dan O’Sullivan two. Ralph Leiterding had a triple giving him three RBI for the American Legion. Teammates Don Mandetta, Ed Dreyfus, Gere Krajniak and Mick Keller each had two RBI.
Crazy Flamingo, 19; Doreen’s, 12
Flamingo’s knocked off Doreen led by Mick Keller who drove in seven runs in the game, Mike Corless, Rick Condle and John Gill had two. Keller and Ralph Leiterding each walloped a triple. Roger Fleming and Butch Monson had three hits each for Doreen’s. Monson had five RBI while Dick DeAnna and Bruce Borden had two.
ISLAND DIVISION
Speakeasy, 17; DaVinci’s, 2
The Speakeasy had two five run innings in their mercy ending win (fifteen run differential after seven innings) versus DaVinci’s. Big George Grygorcewicz and Tom Angelo lashed out four hits for Speakeasy, Jeff Kaczka and Eric Jeanotte had three, while winning pitcher Jimmy Cuevas slashed a triple. Grygorcewicz accumulated a total of seven RBI; Angelo, Cuevas, and Joe Lazzarotti all had two RBI. Cuevas limited DaVinci’s to seven hits, three were off the bat of Chris Flynn and one a triple from Brian Alexander.
Dolphin Tiki, 13; Nacho Mama’s, 11
The long ball power hitting of Dolphin Tiki was the difference in the game with Lou Marinaccio and Don O’Connell launching a homerun, with O’Connell and Tom Vander Aarde each having a triple. O’Connell and Jim George had three hits apiece. O’Connell ended the game with five runs driven in; Marinaccio, Rod Lashley and Dick Nemmers two. Tom Polston ripped four hits for Nacho Mama’s with Ed Seery having three. Polston had four RBI, Seery three and Dan Marinelli two.
Brewery, 23; Salty Dog, 16
The Brewery bats were smoking hot against the Salty Dog pounding out thirty-one hits which included four homeruns. Bill Thompson and Wayne Bombaci lined four hits: Dan Harrar, Steve Hummel, Bill Novakovich, Gary Grefer and Peter Kane all had three with Hummel, Bombaci, Novakovich and Kane smacking a homerun. Novakovich was credited with four RBI; Hummel, Bombaci and Kane three; Harrar; Thompson, Grefer, and John Nicholas two. The Salty Dog had twenty-four hits in total with Mark Whealey, Jeff Robinson, John Haskins, and Ed Caster each having three. John Gross and George Lancaster each had a triple. Robinson and Gross each drove in four runs with Haskins driving in three.
Speakeasy, 18; Salty Dog, 14
Jeff Kaczka and Steve Friend each blistered the ball having four hits for Speakeasy while Joe Lazzarotti, Eric Jeanotte, Paul Shelton, and Craig Cunningham had three. Friend drilled a three-run homer for his three RBI with Cunningham matching him with three as well; Lazzarotti, Joe Rocco and Herman Griffith each had two RBI. Salty Dog’s Mike Schwab and John Haskins banged out four hits and Mike Garofalo chipped in with three hits. Teammate Jack Tizo chased in four runs; Haskins, Garofalo, and Mark Whealey two.
Dolphin Tiki, 16; DaVinci’s, 12
Dolphin Tiki scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning breaking open a 12-11 ball game. Rick DiStasio and Glenn Davis each had three hits, with Kevin Smith driving in four runs; Davis and Don O’Connell three and Dave Mayo two. Both Mike Shone and Gary Revall had three hits for DaVinci with Pete Oellrich cracking a triple. Dave Johnson was responsible for five runs crossing home plate, Revall two.
Nacho Mama’s, 20; Brewery, 14
Nacho’s crushed the ball with Tom DeAngelo clubbing two solo homeruns while Tom Polston, Ed Serry and Bob Armstrong each had a triple. Seery scolded the ball for four hits, DeAngelo three. DeAngelo had a total of four RBI, Dan Marinelli three; Polston, Nick Jacullo and Phil Holmes two. The Brewery’s Paul Nussbaum had three hits with Wayne Bombaci launching a three-run homer. Besides Bombaci’s three RBI, Steve Hummel had two.
Brewery, 13; Dolphin Tiki, 10
The Brewery jumped out to an early 8-1 lead and then had to hold off a ninth inning rally by Dolphin Tiki for the win. Dan Harrar, Bill Novakovich and Gary Grefer had three hits for the Brewery with Bill Thompson ripping a triple. Grefer drove in three runs; Thompson, Novakovich, Steve Hummel, and Wayne Bombaci two. Dave Mayo had three hits and three RBI for Dolphin Tiki.
Salty Dog, 24; DaVinci’s, 21
Going into the final inning the score was tied at 16-16 when the Dog’s chased in eight runs in the top of ninth and then were able to hold a DaVinci rally in the bottom of the ninth for their first win of the season. Jeff Robinson mauled the ball for five hits for Salty Dog; Mark Whealey John Gross and Jack Tizio had four, George Lancaster and Chuck Reich had three. Gross who clouted a homerun, accumulated eight RBI, Tizio four, Lancaster and John Haskins three, Robinson, Reich, and John Rysak two. DaVinci had Chris Flynn and Gary Revall pepper the ball for four hits with two of Revall’s being homeruns. Teammates Dave Johnson; Mike Shone and Dave Shott had three hits. Revall recorded six RBI; Johnson and Rick DiStasio three; David Falls, Pete Oellrich and Jak O’Brien two.
Speakeasy, 14; Nacho Mama’s, 13
Eric Jeanotte drove in the winning run for the Speakeasy in the bottom of the ninth keeping the Speakeasy undefeated in 2021. Joe Rocco lined four hits for the Speakeasy with George Grygorcewicz, Tom Angelo and Steve Friend having three hits. One of Grygorcewicz hits was a triple giving him and Rocco three RBI and winning pitcher Jim Cuevas two. Nacho’s Tom DeAngelo of had three hits giving him and Ed Seery two runs batted in, while Bill Novakovich had three.
STANDINGS
ISLAND DIVISION / Wins / Losses
Speakeasy / 3 / 0
Dolphin Tiki / 2 / 1
Brewery / 2 / 1
Nacho Mama's / 1 / 2
Salty Dog / 1 / 2
DaVinci’s / 0 / 3
MARCO DIVISION / Wins / Losses
Joey’s Pizza / 2 / 0
Snook Inn / 2 / 0
Sand Bar / 1 / 1
Stonewalls / 1 / 1
Joey D’s / 0 / 2
Mango’s / 0 / 2
GULFCOAST DIVISION / Wins / Loses
Crazy Flamingo / 1 / 0
Doreen’s / 1 / 1
American Legion / 0 / 1