Heading into his Senior Softball League game Tuesday evening against Five-O's, Rob McCullough of Alexander's Pizza Chiefs loved his team's chances of walking away with another victory.
"It's pretty friendly, but we kind of knew the attitude they were going to come with," he said.
Behind his 5-for-6, six-RBI performance – which included back-to-back-to-back triples – McCullough made good on his prediction, leading the Chiefs to an overwhelming 22-5 victory at Estabrook Elementary School.
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But Lexington's 45-and-over Senior Softball League isn't a long running, highly enjoyable institution because of any intense competition.
"You know what's great about this is we're going to go have a few beverages and a little cookout," McCullough said. "And I'm going to catch up with some stories."
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With over half of his teammates having graduated from McCullough realizes that the league is about so much more than wins and losses. It's about camaraderie, and getting to keep on with friendships that began decades ago; years before they needed to be pinch run for with no outs in the first inning, or would hesitate rounding first trying to stretch out a double.
"I had four guys (that) tonight was their first game of the year," McCullough said. "It will be interesting to catch up and see what's going on with their families."
The Chiefs (8-0) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on four straight base hits in the first inning by McCullough, Steve Pratt, John Hunter and Mike Corapi.
In the next inning, Andy Lamb lined an RBI double to right before he was driven home by McCullough to make it 6-0. A sacrifice fly in the fifth by Corapi tacked on another run right before Jim O'Keefe knocked in two more with a line drive over the right fielder's head.
The merciless attack continued in bottom of the sixth with RBI contributions from McCullough, Dennis Bolton, Pratt and a two-run home run by John Hunter. When the dust had settled on the inning, the score stood at 14-0, and a comeback seemed out of the question.
The Five O's (2-6) finally answered in the top of the seventh with four quick runs, but it was too late. McCullough answered right back in the bottom half of the inning, knocking in two more runs on his third triple of the contest and the game was all but over.
