8:20pm - McCourt & Trudden versus Granny O'Shea's - 60ft field

Granny O'Shea's began defending their Reilly Cup title against McCourt & Trudden in round 1 action this past Friday. Balls were flying all over as M&T pounded out an 11-5 lead in the first two innings. O'Shea's defense was not helping as the proverbial 4th (and occasional 5th) out let M&T extend their lead to 14-5 after 5 innings. O'Shea's finally got their chance in the fifth inning as they scored 8 runs with the help of 2 RBI hits by Brian Mulcahy and Mike Hadnagy. Andy Cohen, Lyle Nigro and Al Celeste also chipped in with RBI singles. M&T could smell victory though as they scored 4 more of their own in the top of the sixth inning and headed into the bottom of the 7th with an 18-15 lead. Due to time constraints, this would be the last inning of the game, unless...

Grannys came out fighting in that final inning and slowly chipped their way back to life. Some well placed RBI singles by Lenny Balestrieri and Don Carlin helped force a tie and sent the game into the first extra inning match up of the tournament. Grannys' defense finally grabbed hold as they shut down M&T over the course of the last 2 innings of the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Bruce Kubart and Lenny Balestrieri set the table with 2 singles to place men on first and second. Mitch Maghakian then stroked a single up the middle and Bruce Kubart crossed home with the game winner. O'Shea's had dodged a first round bullet and won 19-18 over M&T. O'Shea's would like to wish Bob Meyers a speedy recovery from his DL stint. Thanks also to Brian Mulcahy for pitching and putting up with all the holes in Grannys' (I mean my) glove. Finally, thanks to our team mate Mickey Newbeck for visiting and coaching the base paths.

9:40pm - Barco versus Zwanger Pesiri - 60ft field

Zwanger-Pesiri opened tournament play with a solid 17-4 win over Barco Construction. Brian Tinney led the way with another strong pitching performance. His defense was anchored by Rich D’Amico at 2nd base and Tom Dittmeier in centerfield. Dittmeier’s sliding catch saved two runs early in the game, ending a potential big Barco rally. At the plate, Marc Fischer was perfect for the night with 4 hits. Dittmeier was right behind with 3, while Ira Berger and John Defalco continued their clutch two out hitting. Berger’s been hot, so we won’t mention his last at bat! D’Amico, George Eicher, Jerry Mazza, Tyrone Clark, Pete Mendelson, Berger and Tinney all had multiple hits for the game. ZP welcomes back Tom “T” Ball for the next game after “T” made a wrong turn and wound up at a hardball game in Iowa last week.