Snook Inn and Verdi’s Have Big Week, Claim Top Spot

After five weeks of play, Verdi’s won a pair of contests in convincing fashion to retake the lead by 1.5 games over Salty Dog in the Island Division. In the Marco Division, Snook Inn defeated both of its closest challengers to open up a one-and-a-half game lead over Joey’s Pizza. Oyster Society, despite spitting two games this week, increased their lead to two games by defeating second-place Crazy Flamingo for the top spot in the Gulf Coast Division. For the complete, up-to-date results and standings, visit the league website at marcoseniorsoftballleague.com.

ISLAND DIVISION

Tuesday February 3, 2026

Dolphin Tiki 18                                                                      Salty Dog 11

Dolphin Tiki awakened from a slow start to score 15 runs over the final five frames to pull away from first-place Salty Dog and put an end to their four-game win streak.

Down by a 6-3 count after four innings, Tiki put together a five-run fifth on a sacrifice fly by Dave Shultz, an RBI single by Joe Rocco, and a two-run triple by Dave Mayo (three RBIs), who came around to score on the play on a Salty Dog error. They followed that up with four more the next inning, with two crossing the plate on a Ricky Cuevas triple, part of his three-hit, three-RBI performance, one on a Gary Revall sacrifice fly, and one on an Eric Jeanotte (four hits, two RBIs) single to make it a 12-7 lead and they were not threatened from there.

Sal Tidona had another huge game for the Tiki with five hits and two RBIs. Ron Baden was also clutch with three hits and three RBIs for the winners.

Leadoff hitter Chip Mathers set the table for Salty Dog with four hits in the contest. Brian Alexander and Jeff Robinson both had three hits and two RBIs, and Ron Lukasevich also had three hits for the Dog in a losing effort.

Verdi’s 24                                                                                 DaVinci’s 4

Verdi’s put on a clinic in this one, combining clutch hitting and sound defense to thoroughly trounce DaVinci’s in a game shortened due to the mercy rule.

Verdi’s amassed twenty-nine hits while scoring at least three runs in every inning. Jon Thomas and Tad Fabian both went a perfect 4-for-4 with four doubles and four RBIs. They got plenty of help from Jim O’Toole (three hits, three RBIs), Gary Grefer (three hits, two RBIs), Mike Shone and Mike Faria (three hits each), and Rob Barstow, Matt Minik, and Nick Jacullo, all with two runs knocked in.

Verdi’s set the tone early, pushing across four first inning runs, thanks to back-to-back doubles by Thomas and Fabian scoring one, and RBI singles by O’Toole, Dan Harrar, and Faria. After DaVinci’s put two on the board to narrow the lead to 4-3, Verdi’s quickly answered with five more runs on a sacrifice fly by Barstow, followed by the double twins, with Thomas’ two-bagger scoring two and Fabian’s plating one. O’Toole then capped the rally with an RBI single to make it a 9-3 ballgame, and Verdi’s was off to the races.

Manager Ed Seery was the lone bright spot in the lineup for DaVinci’s with a pair of run-scoring doubles.

Thursday February 5, 2026

Verdi’s 19                                                                               Salty Dog 12

Verdi’s put on another power display with three long balls as they tamed the Salty Dog in a battle for the top spot in the division.

Tad Fabian continued his torrid hitting as the outfielder tallied five hits, including three doubles and a home run, and knocked in five runs to lead Verdi’s attack. Support came from Matt Minik, who also homered among his four hits and two RBIs, Michael Shone with four hits, Jon Thomas with three hits and two RBIs, and Dan Harrar with three hits. Rob Barstow also had a solo homer, and Jim O’Toole contributed two RBIs for the winners.

Verdi’s holding on to a precarious 9-7 lead began to create some distance in the seventh, scoring four times on a two-run double by Thomas, an RBI double by Fabian, and a run-scoring single by Harrar. They tacked on six big insurance runs in the ninth, highlighted by a two-run homer by Fabian, and run-scoring singles by Mike Faria and Shone to take a comfortable 19-9 lead.

Salty Dog was led by Chip Mathers with three hits and two RBIs, Tom Polston and Mike Schwab with two RBIs apiece, and Dave Koch, who blasted a triple.

Friday February 6, 2026

Dolphin Tiki 30                                                                       DaVinci’s 22

In one of the wildest endings to a game in many years, Dolphin Tiki was able to outlast DaVinci’s in ten innings.

The two teams put up sixty-five hits, with the Tiki finishing with forty of them. With the Tiki entering the ninth inning holding a precarious 16-14 lead, they put together a six-run inning, all after two outs were recorded. RBI singles by Sal Tidona, Brian Craig, Ricky Cuevas, followed by a two-run single by Eric Jeanotte, and capped with an RBI base hit by Gary Revall gave the Tiki a seemingly insurmountable 22-14 lead. But DaVinci’s answered with a furious rally of their own, scoring eight times to tie the game at 22 and send the game to overtime. The big blows for DaVinci’s were a two-run double by Mike Gerace and a long fly ball by Carl Parker that was ruled an error and scored three to tie the game.

Tiki showed amazing resilience with another huge inning. RBI singles by David Falls and Joe Rocco were followed by a two-run double by Tidona, a sacrifice fly by Craig, an RBI single by Cuevas, an RBI double by Ron Baden, and an RBI base hit by Jeanotte, and by the time the dust settled, Tiki enjoyed a 30-22 lead that proved sufficient to secure the victory.

Jeanotte led a long list of hitting heroes for the Tiki with five hits, including a triple and six RBIs. Support came from Tidona (triple among five hits, four RBIs), Baden (five hits, two RBIs), Cuevas (four hits including a triple, five RBIs), Craig (four hits, four RBIs), Rocco (four hits), Revall and Lou Marinaccio (three hits), Falls (three RBIs), and John Kelly (two RBIs).

Paul Kramer led DaVinci’s with three hits, including a home run and four RBIs. Other contributors for DaVinci’s included Ken Polarek (triple among three hits and two RBIs), Dick Nemmers (three hits, two RBIs), Ed Seery, David St Angelo, and Chris Flynn (all with three hits), Gerace (three RBIs), and Joe Lazzarotti (two RBIs).

MARCO DIVISION

Monday February 2, 2026

Snook Inn 13                                                                       Joey’s Pizza 6

Steve Hemmerlein’s run scoring double sparked a five-run seventh inning uprising as Snook Inn broke open a tight game and defeated Joey’s Pizza.

Leading 8-5 as it came to bat in their seventh inning, Hemmerlein (four hits and two RBIs) completed his perfect day at the plate by smacking an arching double to left centerfield that plated one run, giving Snook a 9-5 lead. Hemmerlein finished the day with eight total bases as the Snook added four more runs, courtesy of a pair of singles, a sacrifice fly, and a Joey’s error, good for a 13-5 advantage. Hemmerlein had support from Gary Menzies (three hits and three RBIs). Among his knocks was a line drive, opposite field three-run home that gave Snook an initial 3-0 lead in the first inning. He also had a triple. Pitcher Neal Newhouse helped his own cause by driving in three runs at the plate.

In an otherwise quiet hitting day for Joey’s (10 hits as a team), slugger Todd Stigall led the offense with a perfect three-hit day.

Wednesday February 4, 2026

Sand Bar 10                                                                               Brewery 4

It was a moment of abundant joy, with gloves tossed in the air to celebrate, followed by hugs and handshakes as Sand Bar recorded the final out as it defeated Brewery and snapped its season-long eight-game losing streak. The Sand Men put together their most complete game of the season, stroking 19 hits while playing a nearly flawless game defensively, committing only one error as a team.

Holding onto a 6-4 lead as it came to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, Steve Levesque (four RBIs) had the signature swing of the game for Sand Bar, blasting a three-run home run to left field with the Maine native hustling home just ahead of the relay throw to complete the round tripper. Hitting support came from Bill Thompson, who had three knocks and two RBIs. His third-inning single plated a run and gave Sand Bar a 6-1 lead at the time. Among the Sand Men’s fielding gems was a rare double play midfield to first base and then relay home to nip a Brewery runner attempting to score on the ground ball, killing a Brew Crew rally bid in the third inning.

Don Palmer (two RBIs) and Ray Capella (triple) were the lone bright spots for Brewery’s offense that generated only nine hits on the day.

Joey’s Pizza 13                                                                           Sami’s 10

Joey’s scored 10 runs in its first two at-bats as it rode the fast start to its fifth win of the season.

Joey’s Glenn Davis (three RBIs) had the Pizza Men’s first big swing in the opening inning. His hustling double to left center field plated two runs, giving Joey’s the early lead. Todd Stigall (three hits- including a triple- and four RBIs) then immediately followed with a line drive two-run double, giving Joey’s a 4-0 lead, with the final run of the uprising scoring on a Sami’s error. In the second inning, Joey’s Dick Carson had the signature swing.

Carson drilled an outside pitch down the rightfield line, with the ball rolling and eluding Sami’s defense, enabling him to leg out a two-run home run, giving Joey’s a 7-1 advantage. Another run scoring double by Davis capped Joey’s second five-run rally, good for a 10-1 lead after two at-bats. Joey’s other hitting star was George Giacobbi, who bashed a line drive triple.

One of Sami’s big swings belonged to John Stuart, who laced a leadoff home run down the leftfield line in Sami’s first at bat. The other swing belonged to Jon Wiseman (two RBIs), who tripled in the second inning, good for two Sami’s runs. Other contributors to Sami’s attack were John Gross and manager Dick Eddy, who each had two RBIs.

Snook Inn 17                                                                         Stonewalls 9

Snook Inn erased a mid-game, three-run deficit by scoring 13 runs in its final three at-bats as it pulled away from Stonewalls.

Trailing 7-4 with the bases loaded and one out, Snooks Bob Bejnerowicz (six RBIs) ripped a three-run double to the gap in right centerfield, clearing the bases and tying the game at 7-7. Two batters later, sub–Larry Locks (three hits) stroked a double for an 8-7 Snook lead. A single by Karl Kann (three RBIs, two of which came on a two-run home run in the sixth inning) scored the final run of the rally, good for a 9-7 Snook margin. It was more of the same for the Snook in the fifth inning.

With two outs and one runner on, Rob York (three hits) kept the inning alive with a single. Pitcher Neal Newhouse (three hits) then smoked a single, scoring one run. Two batters later, with bases loaded, up stepped Bejnerowicz again. This time, his pop fly double to leftfield plated three more runs with Snook adding another run on a single, capping its second straight five-run inning, giving it a comfortable 14-7 lead. Other hitting stars in Snook’s 23 hit attack included Tom Deater (three hits, including a triple and two RBIs) and Jim Willert, who had three RBIs.

Stonewalls attack was led by Geoff Bentley, who had three RBIs. His run scoring single in the first inning scored one run and was part of the Men in Black’s five-run two-out rally that gave Stonewalls an early lead.

Friday February 6, 2026

Joey’s Pizza 16                                                                             Sami’s 7

Sparked by its extra base hitting power, Joey’s Pizza exploded for 10 runs in its first two at-bats, rolling to a victory over skidding Sami’s.

The offensive fireworks for Joey’s started with leadoff batter and manager Todd Whitney (two RBIs) in the first inning. The skipper boomed a solo home run to centerfield, giving Joey’s a quick 1-0 lead. A pair of singles then set the table for Glenn Davis (three RBIs), whose spinning flyball to right center field dropped safely for a triple, plating two more runs. Todd Stigall (three hits, two of them triples on the day) then reached on an infield single, scoring Davis for a 4-0 Joey’s lead. The Pizza Men finished off the five-run uprising with an RBI single. It was more of the same in the second inning for Joey’s.

Tim McKenna (two RBIs) had the highlight hit. His opposite field liner just eluded Sami’s infield defense, scoring two more runs. When the dust settled in the second, Joey’s had five more runs and a comfortable 10-1 lead. Joey’s other hitting star was Dick Carson, who had three hits, among them a triple as well as two RBIs. For the game, Joey’s had 22 hits as A team and flashed the leather defensively, turning three double plays.

Sami’s, losers of four in a row, was led by the power swings of John Gross (two RBIs) and Jack Facciolo (three RBIs). Each of them blasted home runs in the seventh inning, accounting for all five of Sami’s runs in the inning.

GULF COAST DIVISION

Monday February 2, 2026

Doreen’s 9                                                                       Oyster Society 8

Doreen’s came back from a two-run deficit in the seventh inning to win a thriller over the Oyster Society that put an end to their six-game winning streak.

Most of the action occurred late in this one, starting with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning by the Oyster’s Ray Niemeyer that broke a 4-4 tie. Then in the top of the seventh inning with Doreen’s needing two runs to tie, they pushed across five runs to take a 9-6 lead. With two runners on base, Warren Uhl (three RBIs) hammered a bases-clearing double to center field, followed by a run-scoring double down the left-field line by Chuck Reich (two RBIs), an RBI groundout, and an RBI single by Paul Womack to cap the rally. The Oyster Men quickly responded with a leadoff triple by Mike Roman and a two-run home run by Steve Risch (three RBIs) to pull within one, but left the tying run on base as the game ended.

Jan Grossman pitched in with three base knocks for Doreen’s, and winning pitcher Larry Anspach held the hot-hitting Oyster Men to ten hits in the contest.

Wednesday February 4, 2026

American Legion 21                                                     Crazy Flamingo 13

Powered by Jim Lencioni’s three hits and seven RBIs, the American Legion broke a four-game losing streak, scoring a season-high 21 runs to defeat Crazy Flamingo.

The Legion had the bats working early, jumping out to the 14-7 lead in the fourth inning, with the big blows being a three-run double by Lencioni, a run-scoring double by Nick Brooks (four hits, two RBIs), a run-scoring triple by Jeff Taylor (three hits, three RBIs), a solo home run by Andy Pressler, and a two-run single by Lencioni. Crazy Flamingo closed the gap to 14-12 when Huck McPhee (three hits, two RBIs) singled home a pair of runs.

But the Legion put the game away with a seven-run seventh inning uprising, with the final three runs scoring on a Don Mandetta base hit.

Other offensive muscle for the Legion came from John Barrett with three hits and Jerry Lenhoff with a pair of runs knocked in. For the Crazy Birds, Brian Bergman continued to hammer the ball with three hits and three RBIs, John Sherwin tripled among his three hits and had a pair of RBIs, and Mike Puskar also drove home a pair of runs in the contest.

Friday February 6, 2026

American Legion 12                                                                  Doreen’s 1

American Legion pulled away from a tight contest with some late-game fireworks to send Doreen’s home with a convincing defeat.

The Legion was tied with Doreen’s at 1-1 when they came up in the fourth inning. Thanks to run-scoring hits by Al Bozzo and Jerry Lenhoff, the Legion took the lead for good. They followed that up with nine more unanswered runs the next two innings. In the fifth, back-to-back two-run base hits by John Barrett and Nick Brooks ran the score to 7-1. They capped the three-inning uprising with five more runs in the sixth with the help of some sloppy defense on the part of Doreen’s that turned the game into a laugher.

A combination of sound defense (one error) and excellent pitching by the Legion’s Jim Battye limited Doreen’s to eight hits and no walks for the game.

Oyster Society 16                                                         Crazy Flamingo 15

Oyster Society surrendered a seven-run lead but came back with a big sixth inning to edge Crazy Flamingo, who fell two games back of the division-leading Oyster Men as a result.

The Oyster Society opened up an 11-4 lead over the first three innings. Pitcher Ed Kopecky tripled to lead off the first for the Oyster Men and came around to score on a Ray Niemeyer single. Three batters later, Steve Risch plated a pair of runs on a bases-loaded single, and John DeRosa drove in another with a base hit to left. A Crazy Flamingo error allowed run number five to cross the plate, and the lead stood at 5-0, which would stand until the sixth inning.

In the top of the sixth with the score tied at eleven, the Crazy Birds pushed across three runs, the last one on a John Ranieri base knock, to take a brief 14-11 lead. But the Oyster Men answered with a five-run bottom of the sixth, with the big blow being a two-run single by Fred Kramer that put the Oyster Men back on top for good, 15-14.

Dave Chroust and Barry Neale also pitched in with two RBIs for the Oyster Society. Rich Klein, with three hits including a triple, and Mike Puskar, also with three hits, led Crazy’s offense. Gary Badger knocked in three runs and Huck McPhee two in the heartbreaking loss.