Archive 2008 - 2019

Week #11: Holliston Senior Softball Wrap-Up: (thru 6/23)

by Ken Sawyers
6/26/2019

Congratulations to Braggville on the 4-PEAT as they took down Kampersal, 12-1 in the ‘A’ championship game.  It was scoreless until the bottom of the 5th, when P George Kampersal fielded a comebacker cleanly but then proceeded to air mail the throw to first putting the lead-off runner on. 

Kampersal P George Kampersal just before he airmailed his throw to first base.

Braggville then took advantage of another infield error (second baseman below) and proceeded to put up 12 in the inning behind 2- run doubles from OF Dan Kittredge and 1B Chad Engel.  P Chris Connors was dialed in defensively making several key plays from the mound and gave up just 6 hits in the win.  Congrats again, boys!  Kampersal owners, George & Millie Kampersal werre so disappointed in their team’s performance, they held a team meeting at Casey’s right after the loss. No word on changes to come but it appears their son and player/mgr, Tom Kampersal is safe, for now….

The 4-time Champs celebrating.  P Chris Connors (not pictured).  Good timing, guys.

Kampy’s 2B Mike DeFazio sits alone at his teams table at the year-end league banquet. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the error in the 5th…

Dalton Road beat South 8-3 as P Dave Birmingham moved to 5-0 on the year. Dalton was led by OF Steve Cotto’s 3 hits and 3 RBI’s and 2B Dan Geary’s key 2-out double in the 4th that drove in 2.  Scary moment during BP when Dalton LF Tim McDevitt lost a flyball in the tough sun and was hit in the back.  Ever the warrior, and despite the laughter from his teammates, Tim was able to play. 

Tim’s vicious bruise from pre-game incident….

Last week’s note about P Bryan Sweeney changing for the better may have been a bit premature.  South’s pitching phenom Greg Copeland arrived just 5 minutes prior to game time because his volunteer work at the homeless shelter ran longer than expected and was scratched from his start by an incensed Sweeney.  Sources tell me teammates were not happy with the decision and seems the bitterness will carry into the off-season for sure.  In fact, the team is so divided, here is a look at the reserved South table at the banquet:

South’s empty table at the banquet.  League fine likely forthcoming.

Downtown sailed pass Anthony’s 8-1 as their stellar defense kept the Anthony’s offense quiet.  3B John Lynch had several outstanding plays at the hot corner while OF Tim McCarron also made a great catch in left on a smash off the bat of Mike DelPrete in the 5th to squash any chance of an Anthony’s comeback.  The win caused a 3 -team tie in the ‘A’ Division which needed 30 minutes to be sorted out before the banquet by league officials.

Downtown veteran 3B, John Lynch making one of his 5 outstanding plays in his teams 8-1 win over Anthony’s….

DYR beat Jasper Rock 13-3 behind a gutsy spot start by Matt Piselli, who filled in for the vacationing starter Justin Lessard. Piselli gave up just 5 hits and 2ER while also going 3-4 with 3 runs scored from the lead-off spot.  One name for Lessard to remember this offseason, ‘Wally Pip’.  3B Gerry DiLuzio broke open a tie game with a 2-out single that drove in 2 in the bottom of the 4th.

DYR P Justin Lessard vacationing while his team battled to stay in the ‘A’ Division

So, with Downtown and DYR both winning, it created a 3-way tie with Anthony’s as all 3 teams finished with record of 4-5.  To determine who would drop to the ‘B’ Division with Jasper, the league called in Will Hunting to decipher the tiebreaker:

Special guest Will Hunting working through the 3-team tiebreak scenario.

And, after Will’s calculations it is Anthony’s that will join Jasper in the move down to B!!  Tough one, guys…better luck next year.

The Hood defeated Mudville 6-3 in a meaningless game as both teams were already assured of moving up to the ‘A’ Division. Quick game note here: Mudville IF John Hennessy retired after 27 years on the Mudville squad.  Congrats John!  Enjoy your Sunday nights in peace.  In a somewhat mild upset, Lions edged Long Distance 7-6.  P/1B Chris Landers was a no show for Long Distance and speculation had him on the Cape vacationing with his family. Photo proof below:

Chris Landers frolicking with his family this past Sunday at South Cape Beach. No word yet on those outfits being made available at Fiske’s.

And, finally…..

Yes!  Brentwood avoids a winless season and doubles up Queens, 20-10 behind the bat and arm of P Ken Engstrom who pitched a complete game giving up just 6 hits and 3 ERs while going 5-5 with 4 RBI at the plate.  Congrats guys…

PLAYOFFS PREVIEW & PREDICTIONS: (8-4 for the year on my picks)

‘A’ Game:  Braggvile (8-0) vs Kampersal (6-2): 3x defending champs have not missed a beat this year and are primed for a 4-peat.  Kampersal does play great D which should keep it close.  I like Braggville, 9-6.  WON

‘B Game: Dalton Rd (6-2) vs South (6-2): Rain kept this match up from happening in wk #4, so this match up intrigues me.  The ‘new’ South vs a veteran Dalton Rd team.  I like Dalton bc their hot (3-gm win streak) and are very sound defensively.   14-8, Dalton. WON

‘C’ Game: Downtown (3-5) vs Anthony’s (4-4): A rematch from wk #8 in which Anthony’s was victorious and started the 3-game skid for Downtown.  A desperate D’town could be tough but I think Anthony’s will prevail, 14-11. LOST

‘D’ Game: Jasper Rock (1-7) vs DYR (3-5):  Meeting just 2 wks ago in a game that lasted 32 minutes, both teams will look to get consecutive hits during this rematch.  Jasper, destined for the B division has nothing to play for but pride while DYR needs a win to stay in A.  For that reason, its DYR, 10-6.  WON

‘E’ Game: The Hood (6-2) vs Mudville (6-2): Both teams are assured of moving up to ‘A’ division so not much to play for other than pride.  Mudville won just 2 weeks ago when they met and I think they’ll prevail again as The Hood has stumbled a bit here down the stretch, 13-10. LOST

‘F’ Game: Lions (2-6) vs Long Distance (4-4): Long Distance doubled-up Lions just 2 weeks ago and I see that happening again in this rematch.  16-8, Long Distance. LOST

‘G’ Game: Brentwood (0-8) vs Queens (1-7): A 1-run Queens victory just 2 weeks ago kept Brentwood winless but I like them in the rematch as they should be motivated to grab that elusive first win against a team they know they can hang with.  Brentwood, 15-13. WON

FINAL Division A Standings through 23 Jun

Position

Team

Won

Lost

Tied

Pct

Runs
For

Runs
Against

Opp
Wins

1

Braggville

9

0

0

1.000

146

49

36

2

Dalton Road

7

2

0

0.778

105

48

26

3

Kampersal

6

3

0

0.667

86

63

25

4

South

6

3

0

0.667

94

87

23

5

Downtown

4

5

0

0.444

79

89

13

6

DYR

4

5

0

0.444

86

102

12

7

Anthony's East

4

5

0

0.444

83

83

12

8

Jasper Rock

1

8

0

0.111

43

91

1

FINAL Division B Standings through 23 Jun

Position

Team

Won

Lost

Tied

Pct

Runs
For

Runs
Against

Opp
Wins

1

The Hood

7

2

0

0.778

91

76

25

2

Mudville

6

3

0

0.667

120

81

17

3

Long Distance

4

5

0

0.444

73

73

6

4

Lions

3

6

0

0.333

64

115

6

5

Brentwood

1

8

0

0.111

75

102

1

6

Queens

1

8

0

0.111

55

141

1

The Hood and Mudville are promoted to Division A - congratulations!
Anthony's East and Jasper Rock are relegated to Division B

Congratulations to Braggville for winning the Division A championship game
and congratulations to The Hood for winning the Division B championship game!

And finally, a big thank you to Mike and his staff at Anthony’s on the Green.  Your support does not go unnoticed. We look forward to another great year in 2020!

Comments (2)

Glad you like them, Alan! They are fun to do....Yes, we will see each other in the fall!

ken sawyers | 2019-06-27 08:04:25

Great job on your articles all year Ken! Hopefully see you in the fall.

Alan Lisak | 2019-06-26 06:40:29