Date: Fri 26-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Slo-Pitch-Tilford's

Full Text:

Slo-Pitch - Tilford's Piano Movers In A Division

B Y T.W YATT

Every few years a new team moves up into the " A " Division ranks of the

Newtown Slo-Pitch Softball League hoping to lay a foundation and build a

champion in a league that has long been dominated by two franchises.

This year's entry, Tilford Piano Movers, may not play a concerto every time it

takes to the field, but the music is always loud enough for the opponent to

sit up and take notice.

Currently in fourth place, in the five-team league, Tilford's started its " A

" Division history by winning its first game and later adding victories over

perennial-league power, Newtown Exxon and, most recently, first-place Catering

By George.

" I knew that we would be able to compete in the " A " Division, " said

Tilford's playing coach, John O'Grady. " If you can hit the ball and score 15

runs in a game, you can beat anybody out there. We hit the ball as hard as

anybody and our defense is as good as anybody's too. I don't think that any of

the team's up here considers us a pushover. "

The Tilford's team was born only four years ago when Brian Maciolek wanted to

play softball but couldn't sign on with another team. He got together some

friends and built a " B " Division club that won only two games in its first

year. The next year, though, Tilford's played to a 12-8 record and made the

playoffs and in 1996 finished in first place with a 14-2 mark after winning

its last eleven-straight games.

But despite the undisputed fact that Tilford's had the best team in the " B "

Division, it was unable to win the league championship. In the first round of

the double-elimination playoffs last September, they lost twice.

" We just choked, " O'Grady said. " And I figured we could do that just as

easily in the " A " Division. And I knew we'd become a better team if we moved

up. "

" Our goal was to move up the following year, no matter what happened, "

offered Maciolek. " Waiting around in the " B " Division wasn't doing us any

good so we decided that we'd move up and take our lumps and get it over with.

" But Tilford's has been handing out almost as many lumps as it has been

taking. With the addition of " A " Division mainstays Kevin Booker, Mike Kirk,

and Tee O'Grady this year, Tilford's lineup has scored in excess of ten runs

per game and has clouted out an average of 18.6 hits per game - better than

any team, but one. In fact, the team has five players in the league's top ten

in batting.

" Playing in the " A " Division is a lot more challenging, " said the team's

shortstop, Glen Dean. " You have to respect everybody up here, because

everybody can play ball. You never have a game locked up and you are never out

of one. "

In the 25-year history of the league, only two teams have moved from the " B "

to the " A " Division and reached the playoffs. Those, Pizza Palace and

George's, were still unable to win championships there.

Tilford's is hoping to change all that.

" I'll tell you what, " said O'Grady. " We may be only one or two power

hitters away from winning a title up here. "

In addition to practicing up to twice and three times a week and making

frequent visits to the batting cages, Tilford's also has a team entered in the

Newtown Weeknite Slo-Pitch League where, at 8-1, they stand alone in first

place. " Playing together in the night league has helped us out a lot, " Dean

admitted. " You have to learn how to play together and develop a chemistry. "

Tilford's is the only Newtown " A " Division team that plays together in the

Weeknite League.

In addition to all of their practicing and playing together, the team has been

partying and hanging around together for years as well. Their spanky

pinstriped uniforms with their names on the backs are the nicest in the league

and the retail value of their extravagant equipment supply makes the national

debt look like chump change.

" Tilford's may not be the best team in the league yet, but Tilford's is the

best team to be on, " laughed Dean.

Team sponsor Brian Tilford, owner of Tilford Piano Movers, is an unmistakable

sight. He stands approximately 5-foot-10, has a red goatee, and a triple-XL

jersey with the number 360 screened on the back that he jokes, " is my weight.

" Tilford though, like his team, is anything but a joke. He leads his team in

batting with a .556 average, fourth best in the league.

" For me its just a lot of fun, " he says. " I love it. We have parties and

have a good time, win or lose. We've known each other for a long time. We all,

basically, went to school together. "

Tilford took over the family piano-moving business that his father began 22

years ago. " Business can get slow sometimes, but when its booming its

booming. My father started the business by passing out his cards and I don't

even have to advertise today. I'm busy seven days a week moving pianos all

over the country. I've got one going to Chicago, Colorado, SF, and Seattle.

That's my trip in August, so I'll miss a few games. I'm my own boss so I

schedule all my moves around softball. I wake up in the morning, do all my

moves, come home at 6 or 7 at night, get on the phone, and set up the next

day. You get what you work for in this world. "

Brian's softball team is learning that same lesson.