Red Storm - 6
Orange Crush - 7
This week in the MNBL began with a battle of the last remaining unbeaten teams. The Red Storm, off to a 3-0 start, sent Mike Conway to the mound to face Tyler Calkin of the Orange Crush, who were 2-0 to begin the night. The Storm took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd on a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Ronnie Wilson. The Crush came back with 4 runs in the bottom of the 3rd. After a Roy Souza stikeout to start the inning, the next 7 batters would reach base. Chris McKenzie delivered a two run triple, followed up by a double from Calkin. The inning came to an abrupt halt as Bill Brooks was hit with a ground ball that was heading to right field. The Storm answered with 3 runs in the 4th, highlighted by a Wilson triple. The play of the game came in the bottom of the 6th inning with the Crush leading 6-5. Donnie Peterson was on second base when Dave Culliane singled to left. Rookie left fielder Derrek Deranian came up firing and threw a strike to home plate to cut down the tying run. The Crush added a big insurance run in the bottom of the 6th, and Calkin finished them off in the 7th, stranding the tying run on 3rd for the complete game victory.
Shamrocks - 7
Maronis - 8
The Maronis and Shamrocks faced off in a game for 1st place in the MNBL East division. Both teams sent their hard throwing aces to the mound, Justin O’Connor for the Shamrocks and Rob Doherty for the Maronis. The 1st half of the game lived up to the pitching duel hype, with the Maronis leading 1-0 after 3 innings. After 5 innings the Maronis appeared to be cruising to a 2-0 shutout win after O’Connor left the game with an apparent injury. But the Shamrocks tied the game in the top of the 6th with some smart base running from Mike Young and Nico Gobbi. In the bottom of the 6th the Maronis took back the lead with a clutch 2 RBI double from Dan Doherty off reliever Tommy O’Connell. The Shamrocks would not go down without a fight. In the top of the 7th they scored 5 runs off Rob Doherty, led by a bases clearing triple by Nico Gobbi to take a 3 run lead into the bottom of the 7th. But the Maronis weren’t done either. Adam Dziki and Jim Corso got back-to-back hits to start the 7th. Down to their final out, Mike Doherty, the 2009 All Star Game MVP, stroked a base hit to load the bases. Bryan Harrold came up huge with a 2 RBI single and Matt Ford followed with a walk to load the bases once again. Rob Doherty helped his own cause by walking, scoring the tying run from 3rd. That set the table for Dan Doherty. He smacked a base hit up the middle to walk off with the win and help his team take the lead in the division at 2-1.
Orange Crush – 13
Black Smoke – 6
The last two MNBL champions squared off for the first time this season. The Smoke were looking to build off their first win of the season from Wednesday night as the Crush tried to remain the MNBL’s only unbeaten team. The Smoke sent rookie Bill Dacier to the mound to face off against the seasoned MNBL veteran, Bill Brooks. The game was tied at 1 heading into the 4th as Brooks pitched around some early control problems and Dacier mystified the Crush lineup the first time through. Tony Salamone started the Crush rally in the 4th by reaching on an error. Steve Garvey followed with a hit and Brooks sacrificed both runners over with a nice bunt down the first base line. Rookies Derrek Deranian and Mike Walsh followed with back-to-back singles. Elliot Daniels and AJ Geswell added two more hits and the Crush took a 6-1 lead. The Smoke bounced back with 2 runs of their own as Brooks pitched himself into a bases load no outs jam with two hit batters and a single. He ended up striking out the side, allowing just the 2 runs and escaping with a 6-3 lead. The Crush added another run in the 6th on a 2 out single by Mike Killilea, but again the Smoke battled back. In the bottom of the 6th they cut the lead to 7-5 on a 2 RBI single by Bryan Page. The Crush broke the game open in the top of the 7th scoring 6 times to extend their lead to 13-5. Closer Chris Mackenzie gave up one run while striking out one, to push the Crush record to 4-0.
About the MNBL
The Men’s Night Baseball League is a 21+ baseball league based out of Woburn, MA. This is the league's 10th year in action. Over the 10 years the league has grown from four teams to eight. The competition level has risen each year, as has the quality of play. The season runs from July to mid-October. For more information check out their website at: http://www.mensnightbaseball.com
