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Game Results July 10

RED FACES	18	RUSTY ROYALS	14
RED FACES	15	RUSTY ROYALS	5
WHITE HAIRS	10	FINE WINES	9
FINE WINES	10	WHITE HAIRS	5
BLUE PILLS	11	GREYBEARDS	10
BLUE PILLS	14	GREYBEARDS	5

**Click on standings for further details

JULY 3, 2025

Blue Pills-Rick Buchan

The Blue Pills and the Fine Wines split their games at Millbank West, with the Pills winning the opener 17-13 and the Wines prevailing 11-9 in game two. The Pills plated runs in every inning but the third and withstood a late Wines charge to prevail. Vince Pileggi, Ron VanderMeulen, and Ben Roczniak, collectively the heart of the order, led the way on offence with multi-hit and multi-RBI games. Willi Thurner channeled his inner Mark Belanger at shortstop with several key defensive plays. Ron got the win on the hill.

In game two, the teams were tied 9-9 after four innings but the lads in red cobbled together 2 more runs and shut the Pills down with some stellar "D" over the last four innings. Not a whole lot to mention offensively save for Tony, Vince P. and Geoff running amok on the basepaths and scoring two runs each. Teams relocated to the Pump where the grub and service was adequate for the second week in a row.

Fine Wines-Dan Sanscartier

Well it looks like Canada's team, led by an ageless wonder, solid defense, and timely hitting throughout the order, has gotten hot at the right time.

Yes, as you all guessed, the Fine Wines team is on a roll, having won 4 of their last 6 games and are now threatening to vault into....third place.

The ageless wonder in question?, Barney "Bam Bam" Henderson, who ran his on-base streak to 11 straight before finally succumbing to an out during the first game which was won by the Blue Pills 17-13. The Pills victory did not come without a little stress as we scored 6 in the last inning to make it interesting.

In the second game the Pills were ahead 9-4 after 3 innings but were held scoreless the rest of the way as the Shiraz sluggers chipped away and then held them off for an 11-9 win. Randy Heinbecker and Andy Kozai combined for 13 hits, 3 doubles, 7 runs scored and 6 RBI's from the 1-2 spot. Ed Lincz was a perfect 4 for 4 in the second game, and Ken Cullum contributed 4 hits and 2 doubles of his own over the two games. Al Stokes got on 4 times and drove in 3 runs to help...stoke... a couple of rallies.Steve "Ozzie" Devoe (who also had 4 hits) had a fine game at short and Tony Lima shone at second base in game two. But the key defensive work was done by Mike Canham who somehow kept the Pills from hitting to our right center fielder over the final 4 innings.

Greybeards-Dan Cooper

What a week of softball glory, folks. The infamous GreyBeards took the field in Game One and unleashed every ounce of mojo they had left in the tank. Dan Cooper led the charge, crossing home plate four times, proving that age and cunning can still outpace youth and enthusiasm. Not to be outdone, Jeff Palmer and Tom Colquhoun each added three runs apiece, showing off some serious wheels and bat work.

With Frank Sturm still sidelined by his mysterious lower groin injury (we’re starting to think he’s enjoying his role as team motivator), the rest of the roster came out fired up and ready. Our pitching staff—Larry Young, Don Yaschyshyn, and Robert Cookish—each contributed excellent performances, keeping the Red Faces on their heels with crafty placement and veteran savvy. Meanwhile, Stephen Isaacs and Larry Young kept everyone loose and laughing with a steady stream of jokes, proving once again that humor is just as important as hustle.

Jeff Francis brought his signature power, launching big bombs into the outfield that sparked key rallies and kept our offense alive. On defense, there were moments in Game Two when we could’ve sent Jim Fenner to patrol the outfield solo—he caught everything that came within shouting distance and kept us in the fight. On the bases, David Kozai’s speed and sharp instincts were on full display, while Rob Bentley’s hustle made him a constant threat in the infield. And let’s not forget Steve Moses—our “Steady Eddy”—who, as always, came through under pressure and anchored the team when it mattered most.

Game One ended in a hard-fought 20–18 victory for the Gray Beards—a masterclass in offense, defense, and good old-fashioned teamwork. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. In Game Two, the Red Faces came roaring back with a vengeance, racking up four innings of maximum five-run damage and pulling away to take a 20–13 win. Despite our best efforts, the Graybeards couldn’t stem the tide and had to tip our caps (and ice a few sore knees) after a tough loss.

Still, it was an epic day of softball—full of heroics, laughs, and memories that’ll keep us smiling until next week. Hats off to everyone for showing up, giving it their all, and making it a game day to remember.

Red Faces-Brian Mastervick

Well, two more great games between the Red Faces and the Grey Beards. And on a day when it was clear it would not rain. Hallelujah!

Game one was a slugfest (the Beards can mash). They threw five on the board in the first. Faces led 9-6 after three. Then the Beards went 5-3-5 in innings four to six. Eventually, the Faces came up in the bottom of the 7th needing four to tie. We got two and had the tying runs at 1st and 2nd when yours truly made the last out. Great game by both teams and a final score of 20-18 for the Beards.

Dario Pretto played despite a bad hand and bad achilles. He needed a runner from the plate and was confined to catcher duties but had three hits and made two outs on foul tips...which I assume means he now leads the league in catcher put-outs. Brock chipped in his usual three hits and spares, Gabe and Joe combined for 5 hits to pace the offense. As is usually the case with the Faces, everyone chipped in, which is how you get 18 runs without anybody having a George Springer game.

Game 2 started out as a pitchers duel. The Beards put up five in the 1st inning and led 5-2 after three innings. At that point, we turned on the jets, scoring 5 runs in each of the 4th, 5th and 6th innings. Trailing 17-8 in the 6th, the Beards put up 5 to make it close, but we responded with three in the top of the 7th and hung on to win 20-13. How good is the Beards offense? We scored 38 runs and split with them. Again, the offense was up and down the lineup. Brock went 4 for 4 including a shot to the wall which would have been a home run except it scored the 5th run of the inning in front of him...and he was already out of gas and probably would have stopped at second anyway.

A happy split for us. We had a number of guys missing with injuries or playing hurt so manager Mastervick (Mastermind?) got the blender out to set the defense up that gave us a chance to win. Kudos to all the boys that played unfamiliar positions (not me...I'm a diva and Brian knows it).

Highlights...Brock Paterson, playing left field, made a great running catch and started a relay to cut a run off at the plate in game 2. Brock made a great throw to me...I made a mediocre throw into the dirt at the plate and Dario made a terrific stretch and backhanded short-hop scoop for the out...Super spare Gabe (pronounced Gabay, I'm told) had to leave in the bottom of the 7th in game 2. So intrepid first baseman Don Brown moved over to second base. With one on, Donnie "Ballgame" snared a hard hit ball, wheeled and gave me a great feed to start a double play. He then calmly made the last out of the game as well. Lastly, greatest play on the basepaths...Rick Halik was on first...Lefty Doug Hyland scorched a liner right at Rick...Rick hits the dirt and the ball goes over him, fair, into right field...Rick does a single roll, springs (yes, springs) to his feet and heads for second and just beats a good throw from right field at second base...it was noted that the last guy who almost got killed like this was me...and that I skinned my knee and whined about it for the rest of the game...and that Rick went completely whine-less in the same circumstance...it took me a while, but the inference was that Rick is tougher than me...which nobody disputed.

Well played games by both teams...and the Beards even let us sit with them at the Pump...great grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and great company!

White Hairs-Jeff Morton

Interesting games yesterday as the Hairs and Rustys umpired themselves and did a pretty good job. I've heard many ways to describe illegal pitches over the years. Yesterday, "wannabe" umpires Dave "Scowling" Walker and Mike "always happy" Boyle exclaimed a couple of illegal pitch phrases never before heard. At least they got the calls right!

Game one saw the Royals get six outs (yes 6 in the game) as the Hairs hit, and hit and hit in the 5 inning 21-2 lambasting.

Game two was quite different. Hairs hitting went away and defence was just ok. We entered the bottom of the 7th down 9-6 with the top of the order coming to the plate. "Chip" Barrett led off with a triple, Habnot King drove him in with a sac fly, Morton hit a double, "Silent" Steve Craig drove him in with a single and down by 1, the Hairs tapped out and lost 9-8.

Morton went 7-7 and Boyle, Habnot, Silent, "Easy" Schell and "Mark" Mark Palencher had 5 hits each.

Possibly the least rewarding split the Hairs have ever had over the years.

Meanwhile, back at the Pump we were actually the first patrons in the entire facility. Service was excellent, beer was cold and the lads regrouped for next week.

Rusty Royals-Tom Hunter

After last week’s discouraging losses the Royals’ beleaguered manager John Koopman made a pilgrimage to Tibet to search for some tips on changing the team’s karma. The Yogi advised him to take a week off. “Will that help the team?” John asked. “Probably not”, replied the sage, “but it might improve your mental health”. John wisely took the advice.

Under new (and very temporary) management Game 1 proved the sage correct. We sucked. Coincidentally, the White Hairs’ hitting was reminiscent of that Oscar-winning film “Everywhere everything all at once”. After 4 ½ innings the home team Royals were down 19-2, rendering a comeback a mathematical impossibility as scoring 5 runs in the bottom half would not prevent a mercy loss. (Incidentally, last year the Executive Committee considered whether it would be desirable to tweak the “open inning” rule to permit a comeback in this situation, but the likelihood of this situation arising was deemed too remote.) The Royals used the bottom half for some much-needed batting practice.

The Royals resolved to at least make it respectable in Game 2. It didn’t start well, as the visiting Royals went down quickly in the first. Surprisingly, so did the Hairs. Ditto for the second inning. In the top of the 3rd the Royals exploded for 2 runs, matching their offensive output in Game 1. Panic set in among the ranks of the Hairs, who promptly put up another goose-egg. “Hey, we’re actually winning” one of the more astute Royals observed. Entering the final frame the good guys were somehow still on top by 3 runs. What transpired next remains a blurred fever-dream, but when the dust cleared the Royals had eked out a 9-8 victory. Karma.

Much credit to the two Bills (Manson and Stubby) who shared the pitching duties and gave up only one walk in both games. Each of Manson, Jack Pang and spare Simon Everritt batted 4-6 on the day.