The 2021 Men’s Island Softball League season has been plagued by foul weather to a severe degree. As a result, the final week of the regular season was crammed with makeup games.
Last Thursday, the defending champion Blazers met the Floaters to kick off a triple-header at Veterans Park. The game was a seesaw battle until the Blazers scored seven runs in the fifth inning on the way to a 19-16 win.
Billy Panek hit a triple, a double, and a single, to go with two RBIs and three runs scored to spark the Blazers offense. Ronnie Miske and Andrew Williamson also had three hits, and combined to cross the plate with seven runs. Wes Halkyard chalked up two hits and scored four runs, with Ben Brittle, Shawn Reed, Trevor McCarthy, and John Cotterill each adding two hits.
Stephen Sanborn, Joel Rebello, and Dan Panico paced the Floaters with three hits each. Chris Bonica, Ricky Eddleston, Sam Hurd, and Daron Stobie each added a pair of singles.
With one game in the books, the Floaters stayed on the diamond to take on the Brewhas, who notched a 20-16 win.
In the nightcap, the Whitecaps outslugged the Highlanders, 25-15, clinching the top seed for the upcoming playoffs.
The games kept on coming Monday night, with three more on the docket.
The Whitecaps topped the Highlanders, 16-12, in the first game; the Blazers beat the Brewhas, 14-11, in the middle contest; and the ’Has returned the favor to the Blazers by a 26-14 count in the last game of the night.
Marc Doyle hit a two-run homer for the Brewhas in the fifth inning, and blasted a three-run shot in the sixth to go with a triple and a single. Matt Gebo went yard for three runs in the second, batting 5 for 5 on the night. Noah Asimow also hit 5 for 5 and scored five runs. Cody Pachico (two doubles), Harrison Kisiel (triple, double), and Matt Montanile (double, single) each had two hits for the ’Has.
Tuesday night in the final regular-season game, the Blazers beat the Highlanders, 13-5, to grab the No. 2 seed. Both teams finished at 10-8, and will meet in the best-of-three semifinals, which begin Monday night at Veterans Park. In the other semifinal matchup, the No. 1 Whitecaps (13-5) play the winner of Wednesday’s play-in series between the No. 4 Brewhas (9-9) and No. 5 Floaters (3-15).
The first game on Monday night gets underway at 6:30 pm, with the second starting at 7:45 pm.
