O'Leary's Pub goes to "B" division Finals in Adult Softball League

O'Leary's Pub rode a strong defensive effort and timely hitting to its' first-ever "B" division finals appearance in the Brookline men's softball league last night.

Marc Kaufman started O'Leary's Pub off well by pitching a 1-2-3 first inning against Team 1918 at "Deletetsky Diamond" at the Brookline Avenue Playground in game 3 of the "B" division semifinals

O'Leary's Pub struck first in the bottom of the inning when Christian Fierbend knocked Tony Garofalo for a 1-0 lead. The offense continued to plate runs in the second inning when Peter Rosenfeld and Garofalo each had RBI singles and Mike Mauceri and Wayne Palermo had bases-loaded walks to give their team a 5-0 advantage.

Good communication among O'Leary's Pub fielders on pop ups and their ability to keep the ball in front of them at all times proved to be important, especially toward the end of the game.

Despite the 5-0 deficit, Team 1918 didn't roll over and scored three runs over the third and fourth innings and a single run in the sixth to make a 5-4 game. In the top of the seventh inning, Team 1918 had a single to open the frame but a fly out and double play ended the contest in exciting fashion for O'Leary's Pub.

The 5-4 win gave O'Leary's a 2-1 series win and for a team that has been around for eight years, the victory was certainly satisfying. Manager Akira Motomura has been around for all eight years (seven of which have been sponsored by O'Leary's Pub) and the core group of players has remained intact.

"This series was a lot of fun," Motomura said. "They have a tough team and all three games were tight."

O'Leary's Pub will now face Wade Boggs 64, another team that will be making its initial trip to the finals, on Tuesday in game 1 of the best-of-five series after the "A" division has finished its 7:30 game.

"We're very excited to play for the championship," Motomura said." It's an exciting matchup."