Merrimack Valley Senior Softball Association

The high-powered Citywide Designs team, coached by Colonel Slushie himself (Gary Johnson), won the 2025 MVSSA championship today, defeating Cornerstone Services in game 4 of the best-of-five finals series by a score of 16-5. Citywide finished the season with a record of 23-7, while Cornerstone finished 18-12.

Game 3 summary: Cornerstone came out swinging early in the game, and combined with a few Citywide miscues, they led 10-1 after 5 innings. Cornerstone then put up a 5-spot in the 6th inning, and things looked pretty bleak for Citywide. After Citywide scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th to make it 15-3, the "flip-flop" rule kicked in, allowing them to bat in the 7th right away. The Citywide lineup got 10 hits in the inning for 9 runs, but Cornerstone survived for a 15-12 victory, avoiding the sweep and forcing a Game 4. MVSSA rookies Brian McCormack and Pat Collins (HR, triple, 3 RBI) led the way for Citywide with 3 hits each. Bob Wogan had a triple in the 9-run inning, while Mike Simard had a double. Pat Lavanga went 4-4 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored for Cornerstone, while Charlie Kacamburas and Greg Elwell had 3 hits each. Denis Higgins chipped in with 2 hits and 3 RBI.

Game 4 summary: the last inning of the previous game apparently awakened the bats for Citywide Designs, as they scored in every inning of game 4 for a 16-5 victory and the championship. Citywide got 5 runs in the 2nd inning on 6 consecutive hits, highlighted by a bases-loaded double by the oldest guy on either team, septuagenarian Jack Gilhooly. Mike Bergeron, Brian McCormack, and Gary Desrochers all had RBIs in the 3-run 3rd inning, and Jack G drove in another run in the 4th. McCormack, Desrochers, and Bob Wogan all drove in runs in the 5th inning, and Citywide tacked on 3 more runs in the 6th on hits by Bergeron and Mike Perrone to make it 16-3. Cornerstone got 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th, and the flip-flop rule kicked in again. Cornerstone went quietly in the 7th, and the 2025 title belonged to the guys in the slushie-red shirts. Final score - 16-5. Gilhooly and Bergeron had 4 hits in the game, and Mike Cusack had a big game with 3 hits. The winning pitcher was Mike Simard, now a 3-time MVSSA champion. The old guy picked up his 7th championship in the 11 year history of the MVSSA. For Cornerstone Services, Jeff Kelly, Barry Bertwell, Mike Morgan, and Denis Higgins all had 2 hits.

Congratulations to both teams on a great season, and thank you to all 84 players who competed in our league this year. We hope that everyone comes back in 2026. Registration for next year will open up soon.