The Westfield Leader Newspaper
The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood

CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA

THE WEEK IN SPORTS Meyer's Marauders Even SPSL Series;

Stagger J. M. Quick Men, 145 Nies' Homer in 8th, Pushes Meyer's Past Quick for Title

St. Bartholomew's Oldtimers Softball League Results:

The James "Gang" Rides High Again; Knocks Off FirstPlace St. Patrick, 94

FALL LESSONS BEGIN AUGUST 30TH

HELP WANTED

CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA

THE WEEK IN SPORTS Meyer's Marauders Even SPSL Series;

Stagger J. M. Quick Men, 145 Nies' Homer in 8th, Pushes Meyer's Past Quick for Title

St. Bartholomew's Oldtimers Softball League Results:

The James "Gang" Rides High Again; Knocks Off FirstPlace St. Patrick, 94

FALL LESSONS BEGIN AUGUST 30TH

HELP WANTED

CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA

THE WEEK IN SPORTS Meyer's Marauders Even SPSL Series;

Stagger J. M. Quick Men, 145 Nies' Homer in 8th, Pushes Meyer's Past Quick for Title

St. Bartholomew's Oldtimers Softball League Results:

The James "Gang" Rides High Again; Knocks Off FirstPlace St. Patrick, 94

FALL LESSONS BEGIN AUGUST 30TH

HELP WANTED

A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and THE TIMES of Scotch Plains – Fanwood Thursday, August 26, 1999 Page 13

CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA BLACK

THE WEEK IN SPORTS ** AllCorbin Team** Coming September 2

** AllCorbin Team** Coming September 2

NIES NAILS TWO TOWERING HOME RUNS; DRIVES IN SIX RUNS

Meyer's Marauders Even SPSL Series; Stagger J. M. Quick Men, 145 By DAVID B. CORBIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

Brookside Park in Scotch Plains was quite hospitable to the invading Meyer's Marauders on August 17 as

they went on an offensive scourge and staggered J. M. Quick, 145, in the fourth game of the Scotch Plains Softball League A Division championship, tying the series at two games

each. Marauder Mark Nies led the scourge by thrashing two towering home runs and amassing six RBI.

To get to this point in the bestoffive series, it was quite a battle. J. M. Quick dominated game one, winning 177, then after struggling to a 1717 tie in game two, the game had to be replayed. The Marauders won the replay, 179, but J. M. Quick sped back to win game three, 1210.

With an air of confidence, the visiting Marauders jumped with a 30 lead in the top of the first. Fred Behr walked, then Nies sent his first homer far into the trees beyond the left field fence. Next, Tommy Behr beat out an infield single then flew to second on a throwing error. John Hagy strolled to the plate and brought Behr home with a hoping single past short.

The Quick men were slow to react and went down in order in the bottom of the inning, but Meyer's quickly

added three more runs in the second. Greg Roe ripped a double over second and Mark O'Day drilled an RBI single to center. Steve Barber hacked a single to left and Rusty Meyer

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Nies' Homer in 8th, Pushes Meyer's Past Quick for Title

By DAVID B. CORBIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

Slugger Mark Nies launched a threerun home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to push Meyer's Marauders past a very tough J. M. Quick squad, 1211, at Brookside Park in Scotch Plains which earned them the Scotch Plains Softball League (SPSL) A Division title on August 18. Last year, under the name of Phoenix Tube, Meyer's was stopped by PEPCO for the championship.

J. M. Quick came ever so close to being the only team in SPSL history to win both the B Division and the A Division titles in consecutive years. Last year, under the name of C & C Landscaping, J. M. Quick swept D & L Locksmiths to seize the B Division crown.

Quick jumped to a 20 lead in the top of the first, but the Marauders stormed back with three in the bottom of the inning. Quick swiftly regained the lead with five runs in the third, capped by a grand slam homer from Tom Bruemmer who had been absolutely flawless offensively throughout the entire playoffs.

Meyer's chipped away with a run in the third, then added another in the fourth when Nies walked with the bases loaded. Quick scored two runs in the fifth to take a 95 lead but Rich Wilson of Meyer's rapped an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to narrow the score to 96. Additional runs were prevented in the inning when Quick shortstop Vin Rappa grabbed a ground ball, tossed it to

St. Bartholomew's Oldtimers Softball League Results: STANDINGS (As of August 20) Angels Division:

TEAM W L Pct. St. Joseph 12 8 .600 St. Thomas 12 8 .600 St. Jude 12 9 .571 St. Anne 7 14 .333 St. Louis 7 14 .333

Saints Division:

TEAM W L Pct. St. Patrick 14 7 .667 St. Michael 13 8 .619 St. James 12 8 .600 St. Paul 7 13 .350 St. Blaise 7 14 .333

St. Patrick 18, St. Paul 15

In a back and forth offensive showcase, St. Pats scored six runs in the bottom of sixth inning to seal the victory over St. Paul, 1815. Mike Camfield "Of Dreams" (3 hits, 5 RBI, 2 runs scored) and Lee "The Crusher" DiDonato (3 hits, 4 RBI, 4 runs scored) led the way for the Pattys as Don Rowbotham, Steve Pietrucha,

Bob "My Guy," Karl "Web Master" Mende and Wayne Morse "Code" contributed with two hits apiece.

Tony Blasi (2 hits, 4 RBI) and Tony Barattucci (3 hits, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored) led the way for St. Paul. "St. Paul" Nadolny (2 hits, 2 runs scored), Billy Mirto (2 hits, 3 runs scored), Tom "Stats" Kucin (2 hits, 2 runs scored) and Tom Faitoute (2 hits, 3 RBI) all contributed to the cause.

St. Jude 9, St. Louis 4

St. Jude scored five runs in the third inning and held on to defeat St. Louis, 94. Steve Pirella led St. Jude with three hits, one RBI, and one run scored as Bill Canata, added two hits and three RBI. Steve Ferro, Tom Rutkowski and Jim Steger each had two hits. For St. Louis, "Marvelous" Marv Scherb (2 hits, 2 runs scored), Billy Hicks (2 hits) and Rory "Golden" Ruhl (1 hit, 2 RBI) all pitched in.

St. Blaise 19, St. Paul 7

St. Blaise scored eight runs in the top of the seventh inning to cement

the victory over St. Paul, 197. For the Blaisers, Tom Reade (2 hits, 4 RBI, 2 runs scored), Tony "The Tiger" Williams (3 hits, 3 runs scored), Dave Hagan (3 doubles, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored), "Uncle" Floyd Roberts (3 hits, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored) and Steve Magnotta (2 hits, 3 RBI, 1 run scored) all pitched in to lead the way to victory. For St. Paul, Tom "Stats" Kucin (3 hits, 1 run scored) and Gerry Spitzer (1 hit, 3 RBI), Billy Mirto (2 hits, 2 RBI, 1 run scored) all led the way for the Paulies.

St. Pats 16, St. Anne 4

St. Pats won their second game of the week to charge into first place in the Saints Division by defeating St. Anne, 164. The St. Pat's machine pounded out 20 hits as Steve Pietrucha led the Pattys with four hits, three runs scored and four RBI. Lee DiDonato (3 hits, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored), Frank Del Re (3 hits, 2 runs

Willoughby Trips Sun Valley, 21

The topseeded Willoughby Avenue team defeated fourthseeded Sun Valley, 21, in the third and deciding game of its semifinal round in the Fanwood Old Men's Softball Association. The series was a real burner as each game was decided by only one run. Willoughby edged Sun Valley, 109, in game one but the Valley men came back to shave Willoughby, 76, in game two. Willoughby advanced to the finals to have a rematch with the fivetime defending champion Russell Road team. Game one of the finals was to be contested on August 23. Results and an article of the championship series will appear in the September 2 issue of The Westfield Leader and The Times of Scotch PlainsFanwood.

reached first safely on a slightly high throwing error. Nies approached the plate and whacked a tworun single to left.

Trying to retaliate in the bottom of the second, Mike Quick ricocheted a sizzling leadoff single off the pitcher's arm into center field. On the next play, Marauder second baseman Fred Behr scooped a grounder, fired to second for the force out, then shortstop Rusty Meyer tossed the ball to first baseman Tommy Behr to complete the double play. The next Quick batter flew out to right for the third out.

The invasion continued as the Marauders boosted their lead to 80 in the third. Hagy walked and Tom Pennimpede pounded a single to left. Rich Wilson whizzed an RBI single to rightcenter, then Roe lofted an RBI sacrifice fly.

After Vito Castaldo singled and the remaining three Quick batters flew out to center, Meyer's Marauders increased their lead to 100 in the fourth. Rusty Meyer legged out an infield single and Fred Behr bashed a single over second. Tommy Behr's ground out to the second baseman drove in Meyer, then a throw from first to third sailed astray, allowing Fred Behr to score.

In the top of the fifth, Marauder Wilson skid a grounder beneath the first baseman's glove then later scored when Roe's single to left was mishandled. Still looting the runs, the Marauders added two more in the

MATT HOELZEL, DOLAN GO 3FOR3; HERCEL THUMPS 2RUN TRIPLE

The James "Gang" Rides High Again; Knocks Off FirstPlace St. Patrick, 94

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

By DAVID B. CORBIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

The St. James "Gang" rode wild and free once again, striking terror and fear, as they snaked firstplace St. Patrick, 94. and slithered to within onehalf a game of first in the Saints Division of the St. Bart's Oldtimers Softball League at Jerseyland Park in Scotch Plains on August 23. Co-" Gang" leader Matt Hoelzel and henchman Joe Dolan both went threeforthree and fellow

outlaw Dennis Hercel pitched in with a tworun triple.

Steve Pietrucha led off with a baseonballs in the top of the first for the "Pats," but Bob Guy drilled a liner into the glove of "Gang" pitcher Nick Baratucci who then fired to first to catch Pietrucha off base. Next, Lee DiDonato poked a single to center then zoomed around to score on Bryan Williams' double to rightcenter.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The "Gang" burst out of their hideout and seized a 61 lead in the bottom of the first.

Tom Ulichny hammered a shot to right that was snagged by Pietrucha for the first out. Matt Hoelzel whacked a single to center and Jim Hoelzel hacked a single over second. Both baserunners tagged up and advanced on Ed Belford's fly out to right, then Terry Gallagher tied the game with an RBI single to left.

The seizure continued when Darryl Eaton looped an RBI single to right. Hercel stepped up and thumped his tworun triple to deep left field, then Stan Lesniewski lashed an RBI single past third. Dolan plopped a single over second, then Lesniewski scored when Barattucci's grounder was over thrown.

St. "Pat" Luongo led off the second with a triple to rightcenter but was later thrown out at home when he tagged up and attempted to score on Jerry Baker's fly out to left. Matt Hoelzel tapped his second single in the bottom of the second but the James "Gang" failed to steal any runs.

Gutsy and zany base running highlighted the third for St. Patrick, resulting in one run scored. Erik Baum bopped a single to center then advanced to second when the CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

ball was mishandled. Frank Del Re punched a short single to left and the gutsy Baum barreled safely to third, arriving in the nick of time. Wayne Morse popped out to short. Gary Cardinale dribbled a grounder to the pitcher and Baum burst toward home. The throw sailed over the catcher's head and Baum scored. Next, Del Re raced toward third, but was thrown out. In the meantime, Cardinale drifted toward second but was sunk for the third out when second baseman Jim Hoelzel

received the throw in time from third baseman Lesniewski.

While St. Patrick was still reeling, the James "Gang" netted three more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 92 lead. After Eaton drilled a bang, bang liner to St. Patrick pitcher Matt Vastano for the second out, Hercel hooked a single over third. Lesniewski blooped a single over short, then Dolan bashed an RBI single to left. Two successive errors allowed Lesniewski and Dolan

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times TITLE CLINCHING HOME RUN… Mark Nies, right, is congratulated by Rich Wilson after crushing a threerun homer in the eighth inning against J. M. Quick.

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times SCOTCH PLAINS SOFTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPS… Meyers Marauders defeated J. M. Quick, 1211, to become the A Division Champs. Pictured, left to right, are: front; Tom Behr, Greg Roe, Rusty Meyer, Pete Poillon and Fred Behr; back, Steve Barber, John Hagy, Rich Wilson, Mike Coppola, Mark Nies, Tom Pennimpede and Mark O'Day.

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times ST. PAT LUONGO OUT AT HOME PLATE… Pat Luongo becomes the victim of a great throw from left field while attempting to score. James "Gang" catcher Bill Lawrence makes the tag. St. James defeated St. Patrick, 94, at Jerseyland Field in Scotch Plains on August 23.

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times COLEADER OF THE RUGGED ST. JAMES "GANG"… St. "Outlaw" Matt Hoelzel terrorized the opposition, going threeforthree, as the St. James "Gang" defeated Saints Division leader St. Patrick, 94, at Jerseyland Field in Scotch Plains on August 23.

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