Friday, April 15th, 2011
OTHG Opening Night
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Remembering Sal Gioeli...

It was a bittersweet week for members of the Over the Hill Gang softball league. The 2011 season kicked off Friday, but not before the league paid tribute to Sal Gioeli. Sal was an OTHG pioneer, one of the men who helped build the league to what it is today. On Tuesday, several dozen OTHG players, past and present, formed an honor guard as Sal’s funeral procession drove past Allen Park one final time..

7:00pm - LaCorte Family Auto versus Moby Drugs - 90ft field

Moby Drugs beat LaCorte Family Auto, 16-15. Both teams throughout this hard fought battle displayed great camaraderie and sportsmanship on a bitter cold night. Or maybe they were all just rubbing each other to keep warm.

Either way, Moby Drugs held the lead going into the final inning but Lacorte would not be frozen. They knocked the ice off their bats and like a hailstorm, scattered balls to all parts of the field to go ahead by a run. Just as quick, in the bottom of the inning the score was tied. With a man on 3rd and one out, Tommy Dorsey chillingly roped a "walk off" single for Moby to eek out the victory. Here's to hoping Scotty of Moby recovers quickly from a pulled hammy and a great season to all!

8:20pm - Barco Construction versus Paradox Cafe - 60ft field

Barco Construction got off to a rough start to the new season as they opened up with a disappointing 19-13 loss to Paradox Cafe . Paradox jumped out to a quick 9-1 lead after two before Barco was able to get untracked, getting to within 9-8 in the 6th before Paradox pulled away for good. Barco was led by Russ Graham, who had 4 RBIs with 3 coming on a monster HR. Also having good starts were Bill White (3 hits and 2 RBIs) along with Terry McPartland and Mike Angarita. James Widmer had a good defensive game which included a diving grab while patrolling L/C. Although it was only the start of the season, there was one thing for Barco that was in mid-season form and that was Terry’s non-stop chatter and “wit”.

9:40pm - Zwanger Pesiri versus Bar-Boy - 60ft field

Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology came up short against Bar-Boy, losing 15-10. But the game marked the beginning of a new era for ZP with Tom “T” Ball and Joe Trainer handling the coaching duties. John DeFalco led the way for the offense, with 4 hits. Marc Fischer and John Hernandez added two hits each, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the hard-hitting Bar Boy lineup. ZP welcomes rookie Anthony Nicolich who broke the ice with a late game hit, the first of many more to come!

9:400pm - Changing Times versus McCourt & Trudden - 90ft field

Check it out... Changing Times Pub has a new look. Over the winter, CT retired several players and was able to get some young blood. On opening day, CT posted 13 runs in the first inning and added runs each inning to defeat McCourt & Trudden Funeral Home 31-15. CT saw run product from Dave Thorburn(5-5) who opened the game with a bonafide HR, but third base coach Jack Scherer held Dave at third. Rookies Jim Cullen (3-4), Dan Davies (5-5), Neil Strocchia (3-4), Stu Koch (1-4) are off to a good start. Mike Dawson hit a home run in the third inning, which we still are waiting for the ball to come down. Old Timers Ed Cullen, Rob Bishop have been moved to the infield which proved to be a great decision by returning manager Jerry Iavarone. It looks to be a good start for CT..