Sports Highlights
By Don Lyons - June 29, 2006
Bridgeheads
Jim Kaplan and Chuck Jackson were top card sharks at the Bridge Club of Martha's Vineyard tables, Saturday, at the Tisbury senior center.
Cheryl Neal and Dorothy Arnold were runners up and Jean and Lionel McMurren came in third.
Hail Phil Hale!
The Frost Biters and Winter Guys (FBWG) finished their spring season, Thursday, a season that began May 4 and finished June 22.
The clear winner was Phil Hale's "Mischief" with five firsts. Tied for second were Mike Oliviera's "Bora", Jerry Goodale's "Stormalong", and Alan Wilson's Sara B. Tied at third were Dan Culkin's "Magic Time" and Charlie Felder's "Surprise." Peter Strock was fourth in "Jules" and Ernie Mendenhall and Kathy Logue were fifth in "Rocinanate III."
The FBWG will resume racing Thursday evenings and Sundays at 1 pm, when the Holmes Hole Sailing Assn. calls it a day.
To learn more about FBWG, call Michael Jacobs at 713-249-1689.
Tennis anyone?
The Vineyard Tennis Center (VTC) announces its professional staff for the summer. Head pro is Christopher Fecitt, a 20-year veteran of the tennis circuit. He has worked at Saddlebrook, Tampa Palms, Van DerMeer Tennis and Bolitary Academy. He has worked with Pete Sampras, Jennifer Capriati, and Jerrod Palmer among others and has developed a modern way of teaching and playing. He is a USPTA certified pro and well known to the Vineyard having taught here several summers.
The Vineyard's own Timothy Penicaud will be assistant pro. Raised here and taught by his father, Dominique, Tim has been a pro at Mattakesett, Farm Neck, and was head pro at the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. During the last five years Tim has been athletic Director at the MV Public Charter School for children K through 12th grade.
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| Taza Vercruysse started for the Cardinals. Photo by Ralph Stewart |
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Cards are Babe Ruth champs
The two Martha's Vineyard Babe Ruth teams, the Cardinals and the Twins, faced off Thursday at the high school field. Up for grabs were the Island bragging rights. The Cards won on a broken pickoff play in the eighth (extra) inning, 8-7.
The first three redbird batters scored in the bottom of the first. Ben Williams and Lamar Moreis singled. Tad Gold reached on an error. Nick Billingham drove in two with a double. Gold scored on a ground out by Ben Ferry .
Niether team scored in the second.
The Cards added two more in the bottom of the third, an inning which saw Gold purloin home.
In the top of the fourth the Twins put one run on the board. Scott Cleary singled into left field, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and, matching Gold's feat, stole home.
The Twins big inning was the fifth, when they crossed the plate five times to take a 6-5 lead. Jason Schwab started the rally with a single. Kendall Chaves, Scott Cleary, and Jack Wadleigh followed with RBI base hits and when the dust settled the Twins led, 6-5.
They upped the ante to 7-5 in the sixth when Mike Kendall drove in Caleb Costas.
The Cardinals responded with two of their own, tying the score in the bottom of the inning. Ian Shay and Steve Handy set the table with a double, a single, and a stolen base for Lamar Moreis who drove them in.
The seventh inning was scoreless as was the top of the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth the Cards loaded the bases with Ian Shay, Ben Williams, and Lamar Moreis. Twins pitcher Kendall threw to first trying to pick off Moreis but the throw sailed beyond the reach of Wadleigh and Shay trotted home with the winning run.
The winning pitcher was Ian Shay who replaced Tad Gold for the eighth. Gold relieved Taza Vercruysse at the beginning the fifth.
Lax facts
The U-15 youth lacrosse team finished its season in grand style crushing Nantucket at B.U.'s Nickerson Field, 12-0, and finishing the season with a 9-1 record.
Little League
Minors
In semi-final games, the Twins trounced the Orioles, 11-1 as Colin Cameron out-dueled Aaron Wilson.
In other contests, the Rockies took a 7-0 lead over the Blue Jays, but reliever Jeremy Maciel put out the fire the Jays rallied to win, 9-7
The Twins and Blue Jays face off today at 5 pm at Veira Park to decide the league championship.
Travel teams
Three all-star travel teams are ready to begin play in off-Island tournaments. The 11/12 team is coached by Bruce Stewart, Steve Morris, and Sam Berlow.
The 10/11 team is coached by Jim Maseda, Paul Hakala and Matt Montanile.
The 9/10 team is coached by Kris Lukowitz, Jeff Canha, and Steve Mussell.
One to remember
Eight year old Zachary Stevenson of Tisbury, and Austin, 11, his older brother, won't ever forget their visit to Fenway Park last Friday to watch the Red Sox beat the Phillies, 7-2. Zachary was chosen to announce "Play Ball" starting the contest, and Austin was picked to be the honorary bat boy.
The Sox won the game, 7-2. Manny hit two home runs and Gabe Kapler hit another.
Seventh heaven!
Losers win, winners lose
Two men's softball teams that had yet to win were tops on the menu at Veterans' Park, Monday. The Highlanders and the Boilers were both 0-4.
At the end of the game the Boilers were still winless and the Highlanders were weary from running the bases. They scored 23 times. The loudest blow of the game was Sam Griswold's bases loaded home run in the bottom of the third. Ryan Kurth also homered in the same 10-run inning.
The game was shortened by the mercy rule in the middle of the fifth, with the score at 23-5.
The second game pitted the unbeaten Treds against the undefeated Brewhas, both 4-0.
The Brewhas took a one-run lead in the bottom of the first and added another in the third.
The Treds exploded in the top of the fourth batting around and scoring seven runs.
The Brewhas added a third run in the bottom of the inning.
After a scoreless fifth, the Treds added four in the top of the sixth. The Brewhas responded with three but still trailed 11-6. They would score once more in the seventh but that was too little too late. Treds 11, Brewhas 7.
The last game of the triple-header pitted the Hurricanes against the Loose Cannons, both 4-0 on the season.
The 'Canes scored four in the first and second, gaining an early 8-2 advantage. After a scoreless third, the Canes added a run in the top of the fourth only to see the Cannons explode for a dozen in the bottom of the inning and go up 14-9.
The 'Canes scored half a dozen, reclaiming the lead in the sixth, 15-14.
The Cannons pushed across a tying run in the bottom of the seventh sending the game into overtime.
Don McFarland led off the top of the ninth with a single to left. The next three batters flied out, deep enough for McFarland to advance to third but no further.
In the bottom of the eighth, Chris Menne lined a single to left and went to third on Ben Connally's liner up the middle. Jeff LaBell lifted a fly to deep left. Menne tagged and scampered home with the winning run. Cannons 16, Hurricanes 15.
All of the games were played with a pond of ankle deep water behind second base. Line drives up the middle that should have bounced to centerfielders dropped like dead ducks in the pond, easy pickin's for middle infielders.
Standings as of Tuesday
Loose Cannons 5-0; Treds 5-0; Brewhas 4-1; Hurricanes 4-1; Highlanders 1-4; Wildcats 0-4;
Riptide 0-4; Boilers 0-5
Run-the-Chop
The annual Murdick's Fudge, five mile, Run-the-Chop road race starts at 9 am, Saturday, at the Tisbury School.
