Sandi Isner

#38 - P, C (profile)

Sandi arrived at her first DRS game as a spectator, joining a group of fellow ISD employees who showed up to support co-worker Kevin Kennedy in an early-season contest during 2002. The rowdy bunch brought hand-made cards to spell out Kevin’s last name and sang out cheers in unison. Following the game, Sandi introduced herself to the DRS captain and volunteered to join up. That’s all it took, and a week or so later, Sandi was at the field as the newest rookie on the DRS roster.

Her first 20 games saw Sandi play as a catcher, along with a couple pinch-hitting appearances and a one-time stint at second base. But then, in the taxmen’s first showing in the annual Rocky Hill Vets Tournament, Sandi found her niche. A combination of injuries and early departures created a line-up dilemma for the DRS captain. Sandi was named starting pitcher, went all seven innings in a DRS victory, and with an umpire behind the plate, walked none. In fact, the umpire had stopped granting Sandi warm-up pitches because, as the ump said, “she throws nothing but strikes.”

Settling into her role as a starter at the end of the 2002 season, Sandi compiled some impressive stats over the next five years as a full-time pitcher, making 68 starts, posting a 44-14 record, notching 9 saves, and recording 12 strikeouts, most in team history. In the 2004 Easter Seals Softball Weekend, Sandi set a team record by striking out 4 batters in a single game.

Her dominance on the hill has naturally led to her being nicknamed, “the Ace.” However, at times when fellow New York Yankee fan Peggy Jiantonio is behind the plate as her battery-mate, Sandi has been referred to as “Whitey” (as in Whitey Ford) while Peggy has been dubbed “Yogi” (as in Yogi Berra.)

Overall, Sandi has played 148 games with DRS, surpassing the century mark during the ‘06 season. In those games, she’s totaled 71 base hits, 51 RBIs, and 8 runs scored. (The low total can be explained in that Sandi normally opts to come off the basepaths in favor of a courtesy runner.) Sandi’s best game as a taxman came in a DRS win over the Arch Sports Bar this past season – she went 3 for 4 and drove in a career-best 4 runs.