Senior Softball League is Family-Driven

In the Lexington Senior Softball, league leader A-team Roundabout Diner & Lounge (11-0-1) clinched first place and a playoff spot Thursday night with a 22-6, six-inning mercy-rule-threatened win over seventh-placed Stone Meadow (1-10) in the second-to-last week of the regular season.

But winning isn’t everything.

Rob MuCulloch -- the coach, player and assistant commissioner of the league, among other things -- talked about the league, explaining that it’s more than 20 years-old, that participants have been playing with each other since high school and that hot dogs and hamburgers are grilled in the school parking lots after wins and losses.

“I’ve had a team since 1981,” MuCulloch said. “I didn’t bring a team into Concord until 1986. I had played two years in Lexington in what they called the Men’s League. The Men’s League started about 1967 and there were some great teams.”

MuCulloch and three buddies of his, who he still plays with, were on a team that won the league four straight years, from 1984-87, back when there were 16 teams in the league, as opposed to today’s eight.

“A lot of these guys (and) I go back 30 years. If not, 27 years,” MuCulloch said. “There’s not a guy tonight that didn’t play last year.”

In 2010, Roundabout was named , after the local Lexington pizza, sub and salad restaurant on Bedford Street.

“They sponsored my team for 20 years,” MuCulloch said.

Now, the team goes by Roundabout Diner & Lounge, named after, you guessed it, a Portsmouth, N.H. joint with the same name.

“My shortstop, Danny Posternak, he owns the diner,” MuCulloch said. “Matter of fact, the diner, it’s unbelievable. It’s been on Phantom Gourmet; Donald Trump was just there about a month and a half ago.”

MuCulloch began explaining the New Hampshire diner. Black-and-white checkers title the floor, a pastry chef prepares breakfast and there’s a second room for a lounge.

“Then you think you’re done there,” MuCulloch said, “They have a room that’s probably 40-feet-by-40-feet for a function hall.”

A family-oriented, old-school diner that sponsors a family-oriented, old-school softball league. Sounds about right.

“This senior league has been going since 1989,” he said. “It’s an over-45 league and you’re allowed three guys under 45 on your team. The average age of most of the guys on my team are 51, 52, so we’re well beyond it. But you know, we’re pretty competitive.”

The squad was indeed ready for action Thursday night in all its competitive glory, as the top of the sixth saw hit after hit and run after run. Roundabout was proving why it’s undefeated; smacking hits for runs one after the other.

“Our guys are on top of their game,” MuCulloch said. “We show up early, we take batting practice -- we’re really into it. I think it’s about our attitude.

“We started the game with nine guys on the field for three innings. We were hanging in there at 6-1 playing really good defense and then (Stone Meadow) scored five to tie it up in the fourth and, fortunately, our guy came and we’re allowed to have 10 out there … and we got two runs in the bottom of the fourth … and then that 14-run explosion.”

Dennis Bolton and Chuck DeFrancisco both went five-for-five at the plate. Steve Pratt had three hits. And Dave Moran was four-for-five on Roundabout, just to name a few.

All season long, MuCulloch said his team’s been blasting at the bat, with Thursday night being no exception.

“We’ve been hitting well,” he said. “A couple times we’ve played with wooden bats and the wooden bats, it’s to slow the ball down. In the B-league games we scored 14 runs one time and six runs another time.”

Yes, some games have been tougher than others for the team, but when they’ve won 21-7 in week 1, 21-5 in week 4, 28-0 in week 5 and 21-11 in week 8, for example, they’ve sure got some loaded arms.

“We’ve had a good streak the last few years,” MuCulloch said. “Actually, since 1998. We’ve won like 73 percent of the games. But you need good competition, otherwise it doesn’t mean anything to come down here and just, crush people.”

Roundabout is looking forward to the playoffs after one final week of regular season ball next week, week 14.

The defending champions almost went undefeated in last year’s regular season, until they fell 13-10 in the second-to-last game. But they moved on to earn their sixth league title. Prime Time, which currently stands in second place at 8-3, has the second-most league titles with three.

“We’re very focused,” MuCulloch said. “Sometimes when you’re coming down to the games people are shaking hands and you’ll get one or two stragglers. Come playoff time you’re getting the guys you’ve seen all year long. Of course everyone gears up a little bit for the playoffs. 

“We play hard,” he added, “and then afterwards we have fun.”