The halfway period of the Spring Season is now over. The results have been rather unpredictable in some cases and each group has put themselves in a position to find their spot in the playoff bracket. Only three weeks are left to the first season of the year. These games now increase in intensity as the end looms closer:
(7 – 1) Raging Bulls at (0 – 8 ) Queens Logic
With another two wins, the Bulls are separating themselves from the rest of the pack, leaving them alone with the defending champions. Last weekend, they won in dominant fashion twice. In the opener, Jim Wendling hit 2 homeruns and threw 5 innings of 1 hit ball, striking out 8. Joe Annoscia remained hot as he went a triple short of the cycle before striking out 19 in a complete game victory the second game. Dave Luongo hit a homer in Game 1 as well. In that aforementioned Game 2, Jim Wendling hit another 2 homeruns as Artie Von Wiegand went deep himself. They take their hot stretch into the Bronx, at Pulaski Park, Saturday morning to meet the Logic. Though they came out with nothing this past weekend, Carlos Viteri gave the Logic a bright start. Having not played in a while, Carlos pitched a quality opener, giving up only 3 runs and striking out 14. He also had 6 hits for the day. Lenny Ferrara got on the board with his first homerun in the MLSB. The Logic are trying their best to get their first win and now are really up against it, meeting one of the better teams in the league. It will be interesting to see if the large field can help or hinder the new squad against one of the elites the league has.
(4 – 4) Showtime at (4 – 4) Pelham Village Wine (Sun.)
The Showtime hit a terrible snag in their run towards a high playoff seed this past weekend. Carmine DeStefano hit a homerun for all the offense they were able to produce, leaving them at the .500 mark once again. They are now going to have to travel back up to Albert Leonard Middle School Sunday morning to test their fortunes against the Wine. Though the Wine have had rough goes since the beginning of the season, they broke out in large form this previous weekend. Off the bat of Steve Chodan and the arm of Randy Belfiore last weekend, the Wine took the opener. Steve hit 2 homeruns and drove in 11 while Randy threw 5 shut out innings and struck out 11. The second game showcased Joe Battaglia and Randy Belfiore going yard twice each and Steve Chodan throwing another 2 hit shut out himself. They have the arms and now the bats coming alive to take on anyone this Spring. The Showtime will have to step up if they wish to play with their longtime nemeses this Sunday.
(3 – 5) Shadyville Sluggers at (3 – 5) Tornadoes (Sun.)
After a sweep, the Sluggers were tripped up by a powerful squad that put them in a little bit of a bind. They still have the ability to spin it all around and get themselves headed in the right direction once more as they travel into Oceania Avenue Middle School Sunday morning to face up against the Tornadoes. The Tornadoes have had trouble these past few weeks and now seek to rebound. They had some pretty sharp contributions the previous weekend as Steve Tomasik and Joe LaMicela both went deep against one of the better hurlers in the MLSB. They will do what they can to right their ship at their home base Sunday morning, but their opponents are definitely amped to put on a show of their own.
(8 – 0) Frozen Ropes at (3 – 5) Stick’Em Up (Sun.)
The Ropes remain unbeaten after another one – sided sweep of a double header this past weekend. Their overall stats are amazing, especially with Steve Yurchak hitting 5 homeruns, 2 in Game 1 and 3 in Game 2, while driving in 13 runs in both games and throwing 4 innings, yielding only 1 run, and striking out 10. Rocco Justice was perfect for the entire day as he hit 2 homeruns in the second game and went a triple short of the cycle. Anthony Yurchak also went a triple shy of a cycle himself as he hit a homerun in each game. Tim Yurchak struck out the three batters he faced in their opening game victory. They take their torrid start into Pulaski Park in the Bronx Sunday morning to meet the Stick’Em Up. Following their own sweep, the Stick’Em Up now feel they have a chance to take on anyone. Gabriel Viteri was solid once more as he threw seven innings, struck out 17, and only surrendered 1 run. Mike Walsh got the game winning, two run triple in the 7th during their 3 run barrage. In the second game, Walsh was monstrous again as he went for the cycle. Fabrizio Peralta hit a homerun, giving Randy Rhyne all the support he needed during his 13 strike out shut out performance. Both these squads are rolling now, both have solid pitching, and both are swinging the bats well. This could be a monumental clash Sunday morning.
(7 – 1) Raging Bulls at (0 – 8 ) Queens Logic
With another two wins, the Bulls are separating themselves from the rest of the pack, leaving them alone with the defending champions. Last weekend, they won in dominant fashion twice. In the opener, Jim Wendling hit 2 homeruns and threw 5 innings of 1 hit ball, striking out 8. Joe Annoscia remained hot as he went a triple short of the cycle before striking out 19 in a complete game victory the second game. Dave Luongo hit a homer in Game 1 as well. In that aforementioned Game 2, Jim Wendling hit another 2 homeruns as Artie Von Wiegand went deep himself. They take their hot stretch into the Bronx, at Pulaski Park, Saturday morning to meet the Logic. Though they came out with nothing this past weekend, Carlos Viteri gave the Logic a bright start. Having not played in a while, Carlos pitched a quality opener, giving up only 3 runs and striking out 14. He also had 6 hits for the day. Lenny Ferrara got on the board with his first homerun in the MLSB. The Logic are trying their best to get their first win and now are really up against it, meeting one of the better teams in the league. It will be interesting to see if the large field can help or hinder the new squad against one of the elites the league has.
(4 – 4) Showtime at (4 – 4) Pelham Village Wine (Sun.)
The Showtime hit a terrible snag in their run towards a high playoff seed this past weekend. Carmine DeStefano hit a homerun for all the offense they were able to produce, leaving them at the .500 mark once again. They are now going to have to travel back up to Albert Leonard Middle School Sunday morning to test their fortunes against the Wine. Though the Wine have had rough goes since the beginning of the season, they broke out in large form this previous weekend. Off the bat of Steve Chodan and the arm of Randy Belfiore last weekend, the Wine took the opener. Steve hit 2 homeruns and drove in 11 while Randy threw 5 shut out innings and struck out 11. The second game showcased Joe Battaglia and Randy Belfiore going yard twice each and Steve Chodan throwing another 2 hit shut out himself. They have the arms and now the bats coming alive to take on anyone this Spring. The Showtime will have to step up if they wish to play with their longtime nemeses this Sunday.
(3 – 5) Shadyville Sluggers at (3 – 5) Tornadoes (Sun.)
After a sweep, the Sluggers were tripped up by a powerful squad that put them in a little bit of a bind. They still have the ability to spin it all around and get themselves headed in the right direction once more as they travel into Oceania Avenue Middle School Sunday morning to face up against the Tornadoes. The Tornadoes have had trouble these past few weeks and now seek to rebound. They had some pretty sharp contributions the previous weekend as Steve Tomasik and Joe LaMicela both went deep against one of the better hurlers in the MLSB. They will do what they can to right their ship at their home base Sunday morning, but their opponents are definitely amped to put on a show of their own.
(8 – 0) Frozen Ropes at (3 – 5) Stick’Em Up (Sun.)
The Ropes remain unbeaten after another one – sided sweep of a double header this past weekend. Their overall stats are amazing, especially with Steve Yurchak hitting 5 homeruns, 2 in Game 1 and 3 in Game 2, while driving in 13 runs in both games and throwing 4 innings, yielding only 1 run, and striking out 10. Rocco Justice was perfect for the entire day as he hit 2 homeruns in the second game and went a triple short of the cycle. Anthony Yurchak also went a triple shy of a cycle himself as he hit a homerun in each game. Tim Yurchak struck out the three batters he faced in their opening game victory. They take their torrid start into Pulaski Park in the Bronx Sunday morning to meet the Stick’Em Up. Following their own sweep, the Stick’Em Up now feel they have a chance to take on anyone. Gabriel Viteri was solid once more as he threw seven innings, struck out 17, and only surrendered 1 run. Mike Walsh got the game winning, two run triple in the 7th during their 3 run barrage. In the second game, Walsh was monstrous again as he went for the cycle. Fabrizio Peralta hit a homerun, giving Randy Rhyne all the support he needed during his 13 strike out shut out performance. Both these squads are rolling now, both have solid pitching, and both are swinging the bats well. This could be a monumental clash Sunday morning.
