Wednesday July 23, 2025 (Week 13)

Doyle's 22 - Mountain View Ranch 13

Tom Giordano pitched 5 innings for the win, while Joe Prisco finished the final 3 innings for the save. Steve Schmid, Doug McCracken, and Pete Schwarze had 4 hits. Brian Linn, Tom Giordano, Steve Lynch, Joe Kupiec had 3 hits for Doyle's. Dan Diesing threw out a runner from right center field with help from Tom Derito on a nice play at first base. 

For Mountain View Ranch: John Ostuni and Bill Hanchett had 3 hit each and John Berrocal had an exciting "in the park" home run.

J&N 22 - Pizza Time 21

In a battle of the small ballers vs the big ballers, J&N played just well enough to defeat the long ball power of Pizza Time, 22-21. We (I mean Joe DiChiara) pitched a great game and fielded his position like Greg Maddox in his prime. Catching line drives and snagging ground balls, he played like a man possessed!! Perhaps it was his pregame banana. J&N took the walks, hit, hit with runners on base, and fielded just well enough not to cough up the win. Mistakes, we made a few, but then again, too few to mention. After scoring 5 runs in the first, third and fifth innings, J&N scored 4 runs in the seventh and led 22-16 after 7. The rollercoaster ride didn’t stop until Pizza Time scored 5 runs and had the tying run on base when the last out was made. Victory, snatched from the jaws of defeat. A real great team effort! Hitting stars for J&N: George Hammer 2/5 with 2 runs scored, Jaime Pagan 1/2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored, Van Ahouse 2/3 with a walk and 4 runs scored, Mark Battastoni 3/4 with 2 doubles, 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs, Paul Morales 3/3 with a walk, 4 runs scored and 1 RBI, Stan Silverman 4/4  with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI’s, Tony Scaduto 3/4 with 2 runs scored and 5 RBI’s, Joe DiChiara 2/3 with a walk, a double and 3 RBI’s, Steve Savod 2/2 with a sac fly, a run scored and 2 RBI’s, Jeff Noe 2/4 with a double and 2 runs scored, Mike Spinelli 2/4 with a double and 2 RBI’s, Bill Volpe ( no relation to Anthony Volpe) 2/4, and Rick Brettholz 1/3 with a walk. 

J&N Correspondent Stan Silverman poses for a picture to be used on a milk carton in the event he doesn't return from his drunken canoe trip (insert Dueling Banjos music here)

In a battle of a team that's played below their level of talent, against a team on the mend, PIZZA TIME has been hit with the injury bug, it happens to every team in the league. It's all about staying close enough in the race to finish strong and healthy down the playoff stretch. To start the game, PIZZA TIME was without their star shortstop Roger "Derek Jeter" Merritt, and All-Star hitter Ray "Ted Williams" Smith. This put pressure on guys to play out of their normal positions. The Powerful lineup of J&N started off with a bang! Putting 5 runs on the board in the first inning. Pizza Time got a run back off the bat of Joe "Brett Gardner" Wassweiler, a blast that hit the gap between left center and the right center fielder. That just put a dent into the 5-1 J&N lead. In the second neither team scored but PT lost a player to injury; Tony "Chuck Knoblauch' Janicik tried for a diving catch and hurt his shoulder, leaving PT with 11 players. But in the top of the 3rd the Giant J&N came to life again, scoring 5 runs to take a 10-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 3rd. The Never give up or Never give in attitude  of PIZZA TIME fought back and score 5 of their own, making it 10-6 J&N. Top of the 4th, J&N put a run on the board to widen their lead to 11-6. Again PIZZA TIME managed to score 2 runs in the bottom of the 4th, creeping closer 11-8 J&N.  But again, The Hitting Machine of J&N came roaring back big, this time with 5 more in the 5th inning. With PIZZA TIME playing with 10 leaving the middle wide open the talented J&N hitters took advantage of the PT injuries. But again!!  PIZZA TIME fought back! Trailing 16-8, PT went to work again. Everyone had a hand in the rally, Frank "Mike Piazza" Navarra started it off with a smash to right center, then 6 consecutive hits with Greg "Roger Maris" Miller running for Frank. Then Joe's single, followed by Tom "Graig Nettles" Hotaling's single, Then Reggie "Roberto Clemente" Dolson's 3 run double scoring, then a single by D'a Coach and Tony "Phil Rizzuto" Navarra, and finished off with the 5th run coming off the bat of Joe "Dave Winfield" Karam, making the score J&N 16-13, Pizza Time cutting the lead down to 3 runs, heading into the 6th! But The Great Hitters of J&N came back and scored 2 runs adding to their lead, 18-13, But!! Again PT comes back and scores 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th, Battling back again!! It started with the bottom half of the order, Bert "CY Young" Keating line single up the middle, then with one out and the top of the order coming up, a single by Joe, then a Tom Hotaling blast that rolled to the fence at Digilio, giving him a stand-up triple. Reggie would single scoring the 3rd run of the inning, cutting J&N lead down to 22-16, in the top of the 7th Inning. Those Big 1.20 USA Bats came alive and scored 4 big runs to take a commanding lead 22-16 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th inning, but the wear and tear of playing shorthanded was catching up to PT, but a moment for PIZZA TIME's Rally Cry "Our lady Queen of Victory !!" Pray for us!! " Started off with a hard hit ball by Frank, who singled, lead off run on and the  top of the order coming up the Rally Cry became real, Greg's fielder's choice, put man on first with one out, then Joe Wassweiler walked. Then Tom Hotaling doubles to left, scores Greg and Joe, Reggie Dolson ropes a double scoring Tom cutting the JN lead down to 2 runs, Da' Coach singles scoring Reggie , down 22-20 with the tying run on first base, and two outs Charlie "Willie Randolph" Melia gets a hit, With two outs Donnie "Roy White" Black  would deliver what would be the tying hit but a cut off caught the tying run between 2nd and 3rd, as he was in the run down. The 21st run for Pizza Time would score, but the runner was tagged out and the game ended with the Powerful Hitting team of J&N 22 and the patched-up PIZZA TIME 21. Great game by both teams...J&N is a team to be reckoned with, loads of talent! Greg Miller1-4 1rbi, [Played great defensively], Joe Wassweiler 3-4 5run, 4rbi. Tom Hotaling 4-5 4run, 4rbi. Reggie Dolson 4-5 3run, 5rbi. D'a Coach 3-5 2run 2rbi. Tony Navarra 3-5 2run, 2rbi. Charlie Melia 4-5 1run 1rbi. Donnie Black 3-5 1rbi. Joe Karam 2-4 1rbi [played a great right field]. Bert Keating 2-4 1run, Tony Janicik 1-1 1run injured attempting to making a diving catch. Frank Navarra 2-4 1 run.

Arlington Grill 21 - Miller's 11

Arlington Bar and Grill defeat's Miller's 21-11. For the Grill, Mark Joao had 5 hits. Chris Thomas, Mike Brooks, Angelo Sblendorio and Pat Towne had 4 hits. George Norris, Frank Butler and Tom Mirande had 3 hits. Jim D'Aleo played sparkling defense. Angelo pitched a complete game victory.

Arlington Grill bombed away Miller's by the score of 21-11. Miller's opened the score with 2 runs but Arlington Grill just hit bombs that Miller's couldn’t catch. After that Miller's had to play catch up but couldn’t do it even though Miller's had 24 hits but could only score 11 runs. Tom Borell, Doc Willoughby, Dave Napolillo, Mike Capra and Rich Hill had 3 or more hits. Miller's is looking for a good hamstring Doctor as half the team caught the hamstring virus.

McHoul's 25 -Michael's 21

McHoul's and Michael's put on a slugfest with McHoul's holding on for a 25-21 WIN over Michael's. For McHoul's, winning pitcher Phil Chontos, Mike Healy, Peter Longobardi, Frank Goberish and Louie Rosenberg all provided 4 hits apiece. Jim Kirzoncic, Paulie Lastowski, Dave Lowitz provided 3 hits each with Tony Dalia and Carey Wasserberg pitching in 2 hits for the win. Another total-team effort for McHoul's.

Today at Sports Park SR, McHoul's led wire to wire and beat Michael's 25 to 21. Stats for Michael's: Jack Baxter 4-4 (HR,4rs2rbi), Ralph Bondi 4-4 (4rs2rbi), Gerard Haugh 4-4(4rbi), Stan Smilkstein 4-4(3rs6rbi), Eddie Smilkstein 3-3(3rs3rbi), Frank McHough 3-3(3rbi), Ben Anker 2-3(2rs), Mike Lynch 2-4(2rs), Joe Barbairito 2-4, Joe DeMaria 2-4.

Rule Change - effective 7/23/2025

In the efforts of trying to continue to get the leagues rules similar, the Commissioner and Board has agreed to use the Monday League rule for where the courtesy runner from home plate must start. The home plate courtesy runner's start line is 3 FEET BEHIND THE BACK OF THE HP BOARD and NOT AN EXTENSION OF THE THIRD BASE FOUL LINE.

This rule will become effective Wednesday July 23 for the rest of the season.

Wednesday July 16 (week 12)

A&R 13 - Michael's 11

Today at Whitesell Field, A&R beat Michael's in a nip and tuck game 13-11. Stats for Michael's: Ben Anker 3-4, Mike Lynch 2-4, Eddie Smilkstein 2-3 (2rs2rbi), Ralph Bondi 2-3(2rbi), Stan Smilkstein 2-3 (2rbi), Frank McHough 2-3, Gerard Haugh 2-3, Joe DeMaria 2-3, Joe Barbarito 2-3 (3b2rbi).

McHoul's 17 - Arlington Grill 6

McHoul's defeats Arlington Grill by a score of 17 to 6. Winning pitcher Phil Chontos throttled the Grill and provided a 4 for 4 performance as a batter. Also contributing to the win was Mike Healy, Peter Longobardi, Tony Dalia, Jim Kirzoncic and Paulie Lastowski, all with 3 hits each. A great overall defensive effort from the entire team!

For the Grill - Mike Brooks had 4 hits and Pat Towne was 2 for 3.

Pizza Time 20 - Miller's 17

In a battle to see who was going to succumb to the heat, Pizza Time held up in a back-and-forth battle with Miller's. Battle of two halves, the first 4 innings saw Miller's with a 2 run lead 6-4 over PT. But the last 4 innings saw Pizza Time outscore Miller's 16-11 to sneak away with the win, 20-17. The first four inning saw PT struggle to put a rally together only scoring 1 run in the first 3 innings then putting a 3 spot up in the fourth inning, to cut Miller's lead to 2 runs.  It was a total team hitting effort for Pizza Time with all 14 hitters getting at least one hit and 13 scoring a run or more. The second half is when the sticks heated up [No pun intended]. Great defensive plays all around kept the game close enough for each team to stay in striking distance. The weather played a big factor in the game with temperatures in the 90's. Rotating players in and out for an inning was a must. A few players needed an inning or two to drink water and hydrate. But the Never give up, Never give in attitude of PT came through trailing by17-14 heading into the 8th [Open Inning] fought through the heat and good defense and Pitching of Mike Capra to push 6 runs across the line to take a 20-17 lead. Great defense from the Pizza Time infield and outfield players sealed the game. Great Game by both teams. Miller's has a strong defensive and offensive team and it was a well-matched game. PIZZA TIME STATS: Greg "Roger Maris" Miller 3-4 2run, 2rbi, Joe "Brett Gardner" Wassweiler 3-4 2run 2rbi, Roger "Derek Jeter" Merritt 4-4 4run 2rbi [Played a solid SS], Reggie "Roberto Clemente" Dolson 1-3 1run 2rbi, Tom "Brooks Robinson" Hotaling 3-4 2run 2rbi, D'a Coach 2-4 2run 3rbi, Ray "Ted Williams" Smith 2-4 2run 2rbi, Tony "Phil Rizzuto" Navara 1-3 1run 2rbi, Charlie "Willie Randolph" Melia 1-4 1run [Turned two double plays], Joe "Dave Winfield" Karam 3-3 1run 1rbi, Bert "Cy Young" Keating 3-3 1rbi [crushed the ball all day], Tony "Jose Altuve" Janicik 1-3 1run 1rbi [played through pain], Frank "Mike Piazza" Navarra 1-3 1run 1rbi [Hit the ball hard with his new bat]. Great game on both sides of the diamond.

On another hot day Miller's lost to Pizza Time 20-17 in a back-and-forth game. In the 5th inning Miller's had problems on defense that gave Pizza Time 5 runs but Miller's came back with 5 runs of their own. In the 6th, Pizza Time scored 5 more runs and again Miller's scored 5 times. Miller's was up by 3 when Pizza Time scored 6 times in the 8th and stopped Miller's in the bottom of the inning. John Warman, Tom Borell, Dave Napolillo, Dan Sopchack, Rich Hill, Carlos Vazquez and Joe Pennachio all had 2 or more hits. It was rough day for Miller's as the injuries keep on piling up.

J&N 12 - Doyle's 10

J&N came back from a 5 run deficit to beat Doyle’s in a close one. Timely hitting, great defense and 3 double plays paved the way toward J&N’s 2nd win in 3 games, as the team continues to jell. Doyle’s scored 5 runs in the top of the first to put J&N behind the eight ball. Slow and steady, winning innings one at a time, J&N managed to tie things up 8-8 after 4 innings. After falling behind 10-9 after 5 innings, J&N scored 3 unanswered runs in the 6th to wrap things up. Hitting stars for J&N: Jaime Pagan 3/3 with 2 triples and 2 runs scored,

Von Ahouse had a hit, 2 runs scored and an rbi, Mark Battastoni 3/3 with a double, a home run, a run scored and 3 RBI’s, Stan (Pulitzer) Silverman had a double, a run scored and 2 RBIs, Joe DiChiara 2/3 with a run scored and 2 RBIs, Steve Savod 2/3, Jeff Noe had a hit, an RBI and (surprise!!) several flying diving catches, Dick Michel had a hit, a walk and 2 runs scored, Michael Spinelli Jr (the only one we have left) went 2/3, Rick Brettholz had hit, a walk and a run scored, and Billy Volpe had a triple, a walk, 3 RBIs and flashed some serious leather at first base.

For Doyle's: Dan Doyle 3-4 1 double, Dan Diesing 3-3 hr, Peter Schwarze 3-3, Doug McCracken 3-3.