Week 3:

Anthony’s East took care of Queens 23-7 behind the arm of legendary P Jim Cormier who gave up just 5 hits and 3 earned runs in 7 innings.  1B Chris Landers got things started in the first inning with a bases clearing double and finished with 6 RBI on the night. Seems the Queens pitcher had trouble finding the strike zone which led to 9 walks for Anthony’s and some grumblings from Queens about this ultra-patient approach employed by Anthony’s skipper, Mike Delprete. 

In a wild one, DYR edged The Hood 21-17 despite having only 3 outfielders. Tied at 11 heading into the 7^th, DYR exploded for 10 runs behind 1B Dave Randlett’s bases clearing double to get things started in the 7^th.  3B Zach Raymond had a big night too with 3 hits and 5 RBI.  P Justin Lessard gutted out his start despite feeling side effects from his first vaccine shot to come away with the win and collected 3 hits from his lead-off spot.

The Hood didn’t go away quietly as they put up a 6- spot in their half of the 7^th and LF Colin Fields just missed a 3-run HR in the 7^th when his shot hit midway up the fence despite a 25-mph wind blowing in from center.  Clean-up hitter SS Greg Andreola sealed the game for DYR by striking out swinging for the second out of the inning to squelch any real threat of a comeback.

Lions nipped Johnson North, 14-13 as P Mike McKenna doubled in the go ahead run in the top of the 7^th and then held off a Johnson threat in bottom half of the inning to seal the win.  For the first time in roughly 5 yrs, Jasper Rock hit double-digits in runs as they pounded Brentwood 21-2 behind CF Jeremy Cordon’s 4 hits and 5 runs scored from his lead-off spot while SS Paul St. John collected 4 hits and 5 RBI in the win.

Dalton Rd may have managed to save their season as the squeaked by Mudville, 11-10 behind LF Tim Mc Devitt’s 4-hit night and the career night of 1B Kevin S (no one knows his last name, I guess) who had 3 hits & made 2 stellar defensive plays at first base. P Dave Birmingham remained 0-for-2021 prompting teammates to not-so secretly suggest to player-manager Steve Cotto to move the struggling slugger out of the clean-up spot.  Speaking of Cotto, he had a rough night at the plate for Dalton with a violent swing-and-a-miss during his 2^nd at bat but, did recover with a pop out to the catcher to end a scoring threat. 

South moved to 3-0 with an 11-4 thrashing of Downtown behind P Greg Copeland’s 5-hit complete game gem.  Rookies Matt Martinez and Ryan Looney had key hits in the win. (Looney, I thought we were tight, man? Fellow Ithaca College grads and you go play for South?  Better hope we don’t see each other at Firewall). SS Sean Jacquet kept his hot start going with 3 hits in the win. OF Dave Franco had 2 hits in the win and robbed Downtown SS John Drohan of extra bases with a diving catch in left-center.  C Bryan Sweeney also had 2 hits but was seen sitting alone in the dugout on multiple occasions during the game.  Sources tell me his mood remains surly, yet the team continues to perform on the field.  We’ll keep an eye on this combustible situation in the weeks ahead.

In the Game of the Week, Braggville moved to 3-0 with an efficient 9-5 win over Kampersal as 1B Chad Engel led the offense with 3 hits and 3 RBI while P Chris Connors kept the Kampersal hitters off-balance all night except for rookie 1B Alex Kampersal.  For the 3^rd time in as many weeks, the burly slugger hit a prodigious blast never seen before at Stoddard Park by veterans on both teams. 

GAME OF THE WEEK for WK #4 (5//9/21)

South (3-0) vs DYR (2-1): @ High School 6pm

• Can South withstand the growing resentment in the clubhouse with the Sweeney situation and still perform on the field?  Can DYR get more than 9 guys to show up?  That would help as South has some ‘thunder’ in the middle of their line-up.

• We’ll have a full report of this game next week.