Date: Fri 20-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

My-Place-Champs-B

Full Text:

My Place Wins B Division Crown - 1996

B Y T.W YATT

Resigned to the fact that it was going to be a long afternoon, My Place Pizza

shook off the ill effects of a 10-9 ninth-inning defeat on the afternoon of

September 15, and regrouped to defeat Steve's Liquor 12-7 in the deciding game

thus defending its crown as 'B' Division champion of the Newtown Slo-Pitch

Softball League.

Steve's, the playoff tournament's top seed, had scored two runs in the bottom

of the ninth inning to pull off a dramatic rally and force one game to decide

the 1996 crown and then jumped out to a 2-0 first-inning lead before My Place

started to cook.

In the top of the second inning, John Zadrovitz tripled home Carl Strait, who

had walked, and then trotted home with the tying run on a sacrifice fly by

Steve D'Amico.

In the third, Mark Lawrence led off with a base hit and Mike Constine doubled

with his second of five hits in the game. Tim March, who homered in each of

the team's two previous playoff contests, then stroked a long three-run shot

over the left-field fence. Rich Treadwell, who homered back-to-back with March

in the day's early game, then drove one deep to centerfield for his second

homer of the tourney making it 6-2.

From that point on, My Place was seemingly in control.

Steve's tacked on a run in the bottom of the third, but My Place answered with

three in the fifth on a two-run single from Leo Spinelli and an RBI single by

Zadrovitz to make it 9-3.

Steve's scored again in the bottom half and then got as close as it would get

in the sixth inning as Al Rocca, Paul McGahren, Bill Kneisel, Dave Taylor, and

Keith Chapman all singled to produce three runs and chop the deficit to two,

but that would be it.

My Place added a pair in the eighth and another in the ninth to salt away its

second-consecutive 'B' Division title.

" It was tough losing the early game and being able to keep our heads up for

another one, " said My Place player/coach, Mark Tambascio. " But everyone did

it. We kept our heads up and jumped right on them. Our guys really wanted it.

" My Place had entered the day in the winner's bracket of the double

elimination tournament and Steve's Liquor, the '94 league champion, needed to

win twice in order to wrest away the league crown.

Steve's made its first step towards doing just that by winning a see-saw

battle in the preliminary contest.

There, Steve's built an early lead and held to a 4-3 advantage through five

innings. My Place then exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth inning

as March and Treadwell pounded back-to-back homers and Spinelli, Carl Strait

(who hit a solo homer in the fourth), Zadrovitz, Gene Martin, Tambascio, and

Mike Beigel all singled to make it 8-4.

Each team grabbed a run in its next at bat before Steve's threw up a three

spot in the bottom of the seventh on consecutive base hits by Kneisel, Dave

Taylor, Keith Chapman, Steve Gilbertie, and Bob Jerolman.

Then, trailing 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth, Steve's Liquor produced some

drama. Kneisel led off the frame with his fourth hit of the afternoon and

moved to second on Taylor's second hit of the ballgame. Chapman then singled

to load the bases with nobody out.

Gilbertie followed by lofting a short flyball into shallow left field that was

ruled an infield fly. But the ball fell to the ground allowing Kneisel to

hurry home from third with the tying run.

Bob Jerolman was then issued an intentional pass before Matt Coughlin plated

the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly to left field, forcing the rubber

game. During the regular season, Steve's had defeated My Place in both

meetings. My Place, in fact, began the season by losing five of its first nine

ballgames before going on a nine-game winning streak that spanned from late

July until the first game Sunday.

" We just had a couple of games, early on, when we weren't hitting, "

Tambascio explained. " It seems like in the games when we've had our whole

team there, we've played great. When we started off 4-5 I told the guys that

we had to win all the rest of our games all the way through the championship.

We couldn't lose again. And we didn't. I told them, 'we're the champs, lets

start playing like the champs.' And we did. We got focused and played good

ball. "

My Place and Steve's had developed a little rivalry over the past three years

which will, most likely, come to an end next season.

My Place will move into the 'A' Division next season, by league rule, but was

intending to make the move anyway.

" We were gong to move up, win or lose, " Tambascio said. " I wasn't sure we

were ready to move up this year, but now we need another goal to shoot for.

We've been together for seven years now and have accomplished all we can in

the " B " Division. "