GAME RESULTS JUNE 13, 2024

Blue Pills 14  Red Faces 4

Blue Pills 6  Red Faces 7

Fine Wines 11  Rusty Royals 12

Fine Wines 11  Rusty Royals 4

Grey Beards 6  White Hairs 11

Grey Beards 14  White Hairs 14

Click on the Standings tab for updated standings

Game Reports will be available on Sunday

JUNE 6, 2024

RED FACES vs. RUSTY ROYALS

Red Faces Report – Mike Boyle

The Red Faces were a little battered and bruised BEFORE the game, which didn’t augur well for the two games which followed. The team wasn’t in synch with itself, bashing out 24 hits in the opener but committing a boatload of errors to allow the Rusty Royals to pull out a bottom-of-the-seventh 18-17 win.

In the second game, the Red Faces tightened up its defence but didn’t score until the fifth inning and only scored four runs to drop a 13-4 decision.

Leading the way for the Red Faces was Ron VanderMeulin with six hits (including 5-for-5 in the opener), 5 runs scored and 4 RBIs. He also pitched both games. After missing his first game in forever last week, iron man Dan Sanscartier declared himself well enough to play and bashed out 5 hits and knocked in 7 runs as well as playing a solid 2B and RC. The Red Faces dipped into the spares’ pool to bring the complement up to 10 – superspare Mark Dreschel added 5 hits, 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Jim McDonald had 4 hits and 3 RBIs, while Jack Pang scored four runs, had 4 hits and made some nice catches in LC. Regular outfielder Tom Hunter, recovering from a leg injury and unable to run, imitated a pylon in the infield on the theory that it would be better than leaving the position vacant.  By his own admission, it wasn’t, but on the offensive side he contributed three walks in the first game [Ed. Note – the author made the catch of the day on a sinking line drive in left field which surprised everyone, mostly himself. In a post-game interview he credited the catch to his time-tested strategy of running hard and closing his eyes.]

Rusty Royals Report – John Koopman

Game 1 was an epic seesaw battle that saw the lead change twice before the Rusty Royals pulled out a walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh.  The Red Faces led 17-16 going into the bottom of the last frame, but consecutive singles by Mike Mozewky, Dan Cooper, Willi Thurner, Steve Isaac and John Koopman led to two runs being plated and a walk-off 18-17 victory.  Leaders on the sticks were Jeff Biren who was 4-4 with two runs scored and three ribbies, and the ageless Al Stokes who scored three runs.  Stokes really learned a lot from playing with Ty Cobb.

In Game Two brilliant the Rusty Royal defence and Mike Mozewsky's pitching kept the Red Faces from scoring a run until the fifth inning.  Even super-spare Mark Dreschel was not enough to save the Red Faces.  Bill Martin's first game at Rover was a success, though two weeks in Italy have not helped his waistline.  At the plate Dan Cooper and Brian Mastervick were pounding the ball, and the consensus is that Dan's hitting speaks for itself and he does not need his mug on those buses driving up and down Glenashton in order to be noticed.  The league now knows who he is. A six-run seventh led to a final 13-4 victory for our hometown favorites.

[Ed. Note – Late in Game Two the fan base was exponentially increased by the arrival of three or four kindergarten classes who took up all of the seating in the 200 level on the third base side.  At our request they moved up to the 500 level to reduce the risk from foul balls, and we stationed a player nearby to intercept any such incoming missiles. Upon the game’s conclusion the munchkins invaded the diamond (at our invitation) to run the bases, and then posed with the victorious Rusty Royals for posterity while the Red Faces slunk off into obscurity.]

GREY BEARDS vs. BLUE PILLS

Blue Pills Report – Ed Lincz

Game One was a lopsided victory by the Grey Beards, outscoring the Blue Pills 15 to 4. The bright spots for the Blue Pills were Rudy Gauer going 3 for 3 and Ed Lincz 2 for 3. The Beards capitalized on a few errors by the Blue Pills to score 4 runs in the first and 5 runs in the sixth.

Game Two was a little closer, but the Pills still fell short and lost 8 to 5. Good defence by both teams resulted in several 1-2-3 innings. Players who scored this game were Tony Fratia, Roman Krazniwsky, Stubby, Dave Brinton and Lincz , but we couldn't push any more over the plate to get our elusive second victory of the year. Stubby pitched well in both games, striking out a couple. 

Grey Beards Report – Jim Fenner

On a sunny day at Glenashton West diamond, the Grey Beards’ bats were hot and their defence was tight. The top of the order, Randy Heinbecker, Dave Kosai, and Andy Kosai, each crossed the plate 4 times. Steve Moses led the team with 5 RBIs, followed by Bill Craig with 4, Andy Kosai and Barny Henderson each with 2, and Dave Kosai and Bruce Locke each with 1. Spectacular defensive catches were made in the outfield by Andy Kosai and Barny Henderson. In the infield, Bill Craig kept shortstop clean, Steve Moses snared everything at second base, and Bruce Locke played a solid first base. The final score was Grey Beards 14, Blue Pills 4.

In the second game, the Grey Beards held a 1-0 lead going into the 4th inning when the Blue Pills found a few cracks in the Beards’ defence. However, the Beards rebounded with more runs in the closing innings to post an 8-5 win without playing the bottom of the 7th inning. Kudos to George Merrick for pitching two complete games.

[Ed. Note – you may recall that the author of the above report, Jim Fenner, distinguished himself last week by breaking 2 fingers during batting practice.  In an impressive display of team loyalty Jim attended this week’s games (in uniform, no less) to keep score and provide much-needed moral support (as the Grey Beards are lacking in morals).  Jim also came back to the pub to show off his discoloured fingers and ruin a few appetites. What a guy!]

WHITE HAIRS vs. FINE WINES

White Hairs Report – Jeff Morton

"Goes the Other Way."

I don't know how many times I heard this phrase Thursday but it was a lot!  13 Whiteys showed up, had a good warmup and BP and then the games went in a different direction.

Strong Winers Defense and hitting and a tough day at the plate for the Hairs lead to a sweep. 

Highlights for the Hairs included 5 hits from Secret Weapon Grudzinki and 3 from Rick Wilcox.  Defensively, Tony Foscarin was solid and Morton took some consolation in throwing out his good friend Chris Barrett at home and third.

Back at Monaghans, the Hairs all had salads.  Enough said. 

Fine Wines Report – Dave Adams

With an opening day Double Dose Defeat at the hands, bats, and gloves of the White Hairs, the Fine Wines were looking to even the score. Things did not look promising as the Wines' lineup was as threadbare as the heel on my well-worn socks. Game 1 started slowly with the score 4-1 after four frames. Suddenly a Grape-loving Genie popped out of the (wine) bottle and granted the Wines 10 runs in the following two innings to bring the game to a merciful conclusion, 14-2. Great offence was provided by Ben Roczniak, Big Ian Carson and Bob Edmonston who blended their 8 hits to produce 7 runs. The somewhat wounded Mike Way (playing right field for the first time) pounded out 4 hits, resulting in a couple of meaty ribbies.

In Game 2 the Wines never trailed. With the contest tied at 5 after three innings, the Men in Magenta proceeded to score 7 more times to make the final 12-6, handing the first place Whites their first double defeat of the season. Some of the players on the Wines could be heard whispering "This is Huge...". Your eavesdropping reporter can only assume they were talking about the games' results. Big Bangers for the Wines were Chris Barrett, Jonathan Kamin, Roczniak and Edmonston whose bats cranked out a dozen hits, allowing them to hasten home with 8 runs.

Pitcher Pat Blais was a mound master, holding the Whites to single digits in the runs department.

Defensively, Bob Edmonston played a stellar left field, replacing the usual pooch who was on assignment. He swallowed (well actually it was his glove that did this) every fly ball that approached his domain. A Dyson handheld vacuum could not have done a better job than Bob.

2023 SEASON FINALE!

Congratulations to the White Hairs for achieving first place in the regular season and, for an encore, winning the Playoff Championship.

From left to right:  Barny Henderson,  Tony Fratia,  Frank Strum,  Kim Warren,  Roman Kryzaniwsky,  Mike Canham,  Jeff Morton (Manager),  Al King,  Brock Paterson,  Greg Potter,  Nick Wollaston,  Rick Cummings,  Vince Pileggi 

Congratulations also to the Fine Wines for their terrific regular season (1 point out of first place) and a hard-fought battle in the Championship Game.

From left to right - Ian Schell, Tony Foscarin, Jim McDonald, Steve Isaacs, Rick Wilcox, George Merrick, Vince Moffat, Andy Kozai, Rick Wilkinson, Dave Adams, Mike Way, Chris Barrett, Ted Wierda

And congratulations to Shane Noseworthy, the recipient of the Bill Carson Award for 2023, which is awarded to a player who exemplifies patience, a positive attitude, enthusiasm, support of his teammates and a proclivity to lead by example, and who commands respect from both his teammates and competitors.

BOYS OF SUMMER 2023