Sports
By Ralph Stewart - June 14, 2007
Shady Lady Crystal Walker was 6-for-6, including two home runs. Photos by Ralph Stewart
Women's softball season opens
The Women's Summer Softball league began play Tuesday with three games at an increasingly windy and chilly Veterans Park in Tisbury.
The most competitive game was between the Island Entertainment Late Fees and the Wharf Pub Honeys, a game that featured excellent fielding with no errors. The Honeys won, 4-1.
At the same time the Summer Shades Shady Ladies were wearing themselves out on the base paths in a 34-1 thumping of the Edgartown Pizza Toppers in five innings.
The late game under the lights at the park was also one-sided. The Dairy Queen Swingers scored four runs in the 1st, six in the 2nd, three in the 3rd, one in the 4th and three more in the 5th while holding the Dockside Dentistry Drillers to a single run in the fourth inning, enough to invoke the league's mercy rule, triggered by a lead of 15 or more runs after five innings. Final score: 17-1.
Men's softball up and running
Sean Fitzpatrick snags a line drive in front of the fence for the Riptides.
Canceled by last Monday's rain, the scheduled Men's Softball League Wildcats vs. Treds game and Riptide vs. Hurricanes game were rescheduled to last night, June 13.
Because of Monday's rainouts, the first games of the season were those played Thursday at Veterans Memorial Park in Tisbury, pitting the league's old hands Brewhas against one of the newer and younger teams, the Highlanders.
On this occasion the Brewhas just had too much power at the plate. The first home run of the new season was stroked in the top of the first inning by Tim Andrews, driving in John VanPutten who had led off with single. The very next batter, Dewey Green crushed the season's second round-tripper.
The Highlanders responded as Ben Gunn's drive cleared the fence with one aboard and it was 3-2 after one. The second inning was scoreless but the Brewhas erupted for six in the top of the third, when Green launched his second circuit blast with two on.
With Monte Bizzarro on base, VanPutten cleared the fence, filling the team's allotment of four home runs per game. (In the final inning John Custer's blast left the park but was counted an out by the league's four home run rule.)
Sam Griswold is out at second as John VanPutten looks to complete a double play.
Highlander pitcher Julian Hickman homered twice - the game's most impressive display of raw power. Final score: Brewhas 16, Highlanders 9.
The second game mismatched the Loose Cannons with the error-prone Boilers. The Cannons scored in each of the game's five innings, 3 in the first, 7 in the second, 4 in the third, 8 in the fourth, 3 in the fifth to win the mercy-rule shortened contest, 25-4.
Dave Maddox, the league's most senior citizen, entered the game as a Boiler pinch hitter in the fourth inning. He stroked the team's first hit and, running like a teenager, scored the team's run. The loudest blast was a third-inning three-run homer by Ben Connolly.
Monday's matches
On Monday the early game had the new and improved Riptide home to the Brewhas. The Tide led briefly after one inning, 1-2, on solo homers by Nate Briggs and Sean Fitzpatrick. But the Brewhas scored 11 runs in the top of the second and were never threatened after that. John VanPutten had a three-run homer in the top of the second and a two-run blast in the third. Also hitting the ball over the fence were Tim Andrews for the Brewhas and Greg Belcher for the Riptide. Final score: Brewhas 18, Riptide 5.
In the late game the Highlanders did battle with the reigning champion Hurricanes. Both teams scored once in the 1st. The Canes went up, 3-2 in the 2nd. Both scored four runs in the 3rd. The Highlanders went ahead 12-11 in the 4th but were scoreless in the top of the 5th while the Canes scored five taking a 16-12 lead, and grew that to 22-14 in the 6th. Final score 22-16.
Home runs were stroked by Ryan Kurth, Bill Jackson, and Julian Hickman.
Adiles Goncalves scores under the intended block of Y-D player.
Amherst beckons U-18 boys
The Under-18 boys travel soccer team was home to Yarmouth-Dennis, Tuesday, at Tisbury's Veterans' Memorial Park to decide which team would represent the South Coast Summer League in the Mass. Tournament of Champions (MTOC) at Amherst.
The answer was definitely the Islanders after a 5-0 trouncing of Y-D. Antulio Neto scored four times and Adiles Goncalves added the fifth.
Old hands, including MVRHS soccer coach Bob Hammond, paid frequent tribute to the skill of the visiting Y-D players, but they managed few serious challenges to score, all of which were frustrated by MV goalie Nick Cuba.
U-16 girls play Sunday
The Under-16 girls travel soccer team is host to Dartmouth, Sunday, at 12:15 pm, winner to qualify for the MTOC. In a previous meeting Dartmouth defeated the Islanders, 2-0.
