Brookline Men's Softball Waiting for Break in the Rain

As soon as the weather cooperates, the 2010 Brookline men's softball league will finally be able to hit the field for a second round of playoffs.

The wooden-bat league is sponsored by the town and includes a total of 17 teams, with 70 percent of players living in Brookline or having some sort of affiliation with the town. Based on past records, the top eight squads are put into the "A" playoff division and the next eight are placed in the "B" division.

In the "A" division's first round, top-seeded Bay State Residential Brokerage (20-6 regular season record) continued its impressive season by finishing off Long Ball in their best-of-three series 2-1 in the fist round of playoffs. Second-seeded Moe's Tavern topped Golden's Garage 2-0, and Bleacher Bar beat Tile 2-1. Rounding out the first round was the Dead Presidents' 2-0 series victory over Clients.

O'Leary's Pub, the "B" division's No. 1 seed, had a 2-0 opening round series win against CherylAnn's Bakery, while Our House West beat Paddy's Pub, 2-1. Wade Boggs 64 came out on top over Chestnut Hill Realty 2-1 and Team 1918 topped T's Pub 2-0.

Once "Deletetsky Diamond" at the Brookline Avenue Playground has dried off, Bay State Brokerage can continue its three game semifinal series against the Dead Presidents with the advantage of a 1-0 lead. Bleacher Bar currently has a 1-0 series advantage over Moe's Tavern.

In the "B" Division semifinals, Team 1918 is up 1-0 on O'Leary's Pub and Wade Boggs 64 took a 1-0 lead over Our House West.

The winners of the semifinal series in each division will meet in a five-game series for the 2010 championship.

League commissioner Bruce Raine has overseen the league since 2006 and thinks the best quality of the league is that it appeals to all types of talent.

"Any resident who wants to play can play in this league," he said. "What makes the league fun is that there are different levels of competition."