Snook Inn Ties Joey’s Pizza for Top Spot in Marco Division

First-place Verdi’s was able to maintain a 2.5 game lead over Dolphin Tiki in the Island Division as both teams split a pair of games this week. In the Marco Division, Joey’s Pizza had its eight-game winning streak snapped enabling Snook Inn, who won a pair of games, to move into a first-place tie with Joey’s. Oyster Society had its six-game win streak snapped but continues to lead the Gulf Coast Division by two games over Crazy Flamingo. For the complete, up-to-date results and standings, visit the league website at marcoseniorsoftballleague.com.

ISLAND DIVISION

Tuesday February 24, 2026

Nacho Mama’s 16                                                                Dolphin Tiki 4

Nacho Mama’s put together their most complete effort of the season, combining timely hitting and strong defense to propel them to a convincing victory over Dolphin Tiki.

Nacho’s took the early lead scoring four times in the first inning, three coming on RBI singles by Bob Masulis, Dave O’Brien, and Bill Coyle, giving them a 4-1 lead and they never looked back. An RBI base hit by Frank Tedesco extended Nacho’s lead to 8-4 in the third inning, and the defense took over from there, holding Tiki scoreless the rest of the way.

Manager Todd Rogers finished a perfect 4-for-4 to lead the Nacho’s hit parade. He got plenty of help from O’Brien, with three hits and three RBIs, Paul Nussbaum (three hits, two RBIs), and Chuck Stathopoulos, Masulis, and Coyle (each with two runs driven in).

Tiki skipper Ricky Cuevas, who hammered a two-run home run in the second which narrowed the deficit to 4-3 at the time, was the lone bright spot for the Tiki offense.

DaVinci’s 14                                                                         Speakeasy 10

It took four innings for DaVinci’s bats to wake up, but once they did, they poured it on, outscoring Speakeasy 14-2 in the middle innings to take control of the game and claim the win.

Trailing 5-0 heading to the fourth inning, DaVinci’s used three straight singles by Mike Gerace, Joe Lazzarotti, and manager Ed Seery to get on the board. Two batters later, RBI singles by Ken Polarek (two RBIs), Carl Parker (two RBIs), and Chris Flynn, along with a sacrifice fly by Bill Novakovich (two RBIs), evened the score at 5-5. Then in the seventh, with DaVinci’s holding onto an 8-6 advantage, a sacrifice fly by Lazzarotti, a run-scoring triple by Seery, and an RBI base hit by Polarek along with an error upped the lead to 12-6.

Seery led a balanced attack for DaVinci’s with three hits and two RBIs. Jeff Kaczka, who finished with three hits and three RBIs, Gary Revall with a pair of RBIs, and Mark Whealy who tripled were among the notables for Speakeasy.

Verdi’s 16                                                                               Salty Dog 15

In a game featuring seven lead changes, Verdi’s prevailed over Salty Dog in dramatic fashion in ten innings.

The game resembled a boxing match in the middle innings with each team trading blows each time they came to the plate. Verdi’s started the pattern scoring five times in the fifth on a run-scoring double by Nick Jacullo, a two-run double by Rob Barstow, and an RBI single by Jon Thomas to take a 9-7 lead. The Dog retook the lead 10-9 in the top of the sixth on RBI base hits by Bill Krausmann and Brian Ward, and a sacrifice fly by Ron Goralski. Singles by Mike Faria and Mike Compton put Verdi’s back on top in the bottom of the sixth. The trend continued into the ninth inning when the Dog, trailing by two, pushed three across, two on an RBI triple by Chip Mathers and an RBI single by Rob Ferreira. Verdi’s tied it in the bottom half of the ninth on a Jim Sperzel RBI base hit.

Then in the tenth, after Verdi’s held Salty Dog scoreless in the top half, they pushed across the game winner on a fly ball by Nick Jacullo.

Jim O’Toole finished the game with five hits and Sperzel four to lead Verdi’s. Sperzel knocked in three runs, and Barstow and Mike Shone two.

Mike Schwab, with a pair of triples, along with Ferreira, Krausmann, and Brian Alexander led the Dog with three hits apiece. Mathers, Ferreira, Krausmann, Dave Koch, and Tom Polston all had two RBIs in the contest.

Thursday February 26, 2026

Dolphin Tiki 26                                                                     Speakeasy 10

Dolphin Tiki rebounded from a subpar performance in the last game by pounding the ball from the outset as they soundly defeated Speakeasy.

Tiki wasted no time with the bats in this one, scoring five times in the first. An RBI single by Lou Marinaccio was followed by a two-run blast by Sal Tidona, which made it 3-0. A fielder’s choice scored another and an RBI single by Ron Baden completed the uprising and set the stage for the rest of the contest. After tacking on runs over the next several innings, Tiki finished strong, scoring fifteen times in the last two innings. In the eighth, RBI base hits by Brian Craig, Dave Mayo, Eric Jeanotte, Gary Revall, and Ricky Cuevas increased the lead to 16-6. Then in the ninth, after Speakeasy’s Mark Whealy clobbered a two-run homer to close the gap to 16-9, Tiki exploded for ten runs, led by a pair of two-run singles by Joe Rocco and Tidona.

There was no shortage of hitting heroes for Tiki, as Rocco, Marinaccio, Tidona, Mayo, and Baden all slashed four hits as part of a 28-hit attack. Tidona knocked in four runs, Rocco and Marinaccio three, and Mayo, Jeanotte, Revall, Cuevas, and Baden two each.

Speakeasy wasted a big hitting performance from Whealy, who doubled twice in addition to his two-run home run. Mike Reale also plated a pair of runs in the loss.

Nacho Mama’s 12                                                                         Verdi’s 8

Nacho Mama’s used a combination of two big innings and stellar defense to knock off first-place Verdi’s.

With the score tied at two in the third inning, Nacho’s went to work. Chris Brenner started the rally with a base hit, and Frank Tedesco and Ed Adrian followed suit. A fielder’s choice scored one, followed by an RBI single by Paul Nussbaum, an RBI double by Matt Evangelista, and capped with a two-run base hit by Eric Phillips to make it a 7-2 ballgame. After Verdi’s tightened the deficit to 8-7 on a two-run double by Tad Fabian in the eighth inning, Nacho’s answered with four more runs on RBI base hits by Brenner, Adrian, and Randy Sheridan, along with a sacrifice fly by Tedesco to extend Nacho’s lead to 12-7.

Phillips led the Nacho’s attack with four hits and two RBIs. He was assisted by Evangelista (three hits, two RBIs), Brenner and Nussbaum (three hits apiece), and Sheridan (two RBIs).

Jim Sperzel topped Verdi’s hitters with three base hits, and Mike Faria drove in a pair of runs on a base hit in the sixth, which reduced the deficit to 7-5 at that time.

Salty Dog 23                                                                           DaVinci’s 15

Salty Dog unleashed a furious attack, pounding out 37 hits in their biggest offensive performance of the season, and soundly defeated shell-shocked DaVinci’s.

The two teams battled toe-to-toe in the early going with the score tied at eleven going into the bottom of the fourth inning. The Dog took over from there, scoring nine unanswered runs. Brian Alexander broke the tie with a two-run double in the fourth, followed by a run-scoring double by Tom Polston, and a sacrifice fly by Bill Krausmann. Two innings later, the Dog pushed across four more runs, thanks to RBI singles by Polston and Dave Koch, and a two-run single by Dan Gulick, giving them a comfortable 20-11 advantage.

Four Dogs had perfect 5-for-5 games – Polston, Alexander, Koch, and Gulick. Ron Lukasevich and Dave Johnson pitched in with three hits apiece as everyone in the lineup hit safely. Polston and Koch knocked in four runs, Gulick three, and Alexander, Krausmann, Lukasevich, Johnson, and Brian Ward two.

Joe Lazzarotti also finished with five hits, including a triple, and drove in three runs for DaVinci’s. Other notable performances for DaVinci’s included Carl Parker (four hits, three RBIs), Dave St Angelo (three hits, two RBIs), and Terry Downs (three hits).

Friday February 27, 2026

Speakeasy 13                                                                Nacho Mama’s 12

It took an extra inning to decide this one as Speakeasy scored four times in the tenth inning to edge Nacho Mama’s in a nip-and-tuck battle.

In the top of the tenth with the score tied at nine, Matt Minik, subbing for Speakeasy, doubled in a run and one out later, Scott Golan plated another run on a sacrifice fly. Vito Iacovazzi then hammered a solo homer down the right field line to make it a 12-9 game. Still not finished, Mike Reale followed with a triple and scored on an RBI single by Mike Galloway to give Speakeasy a seemingly comfortable 13-9 lead. Nacho’s though fought back in the bottom half, with Paul Nussbaum plating one on an RBI single, and after loading the bases, Bob Masulis lined a base hit to right center scoring two runs but the tying run was gunned down at the plate on the play as the game ended.

Reale finished the game with four hits, three doubles and a triple, and three RBIs to lead Speakeasy. Terry Downs drove in a pair of runs and Brett Bartholomaus slammed a triple for the winners.

Nacho’s wasted a monster game by Masulis, who went 5-for-5 with six RBIs. Matt Evangelista and Randy Sheridan contributed three hits apiece, and Nussbaum and Eric Phillips both had two RBIs in the heartbreaking defeat.

MARCO DIVISION

Monday February 23, 2026

Snook Inn 15                                                                       Stonewalls 12

Snook Inn’s John Cavanagh’s clutch home run in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in this one.

Following a five-run Stonewalls outburst that tied the game at 11-11 in the fifth inning, Snook’s winning rally in the seventh inning started with a Stonewalls error and a walk. Two outs later, Dan Grace (three hits and three RBIs) kept the inning alive when he smashed a line drive infield single, scoring one run, giving Snook a 12-11 lead. That brought up Cavanagh (four RBIs) with two runners on. The .600 + hitter smacked a line drive into a stiff wind beyond the Stonewalls defense, resulting in a three-run round tripper and a 15-11 Snook lead that it did not surrender. Gary Menzies contributed to Snook’s 19-hit attack. He had three hits and three RBIs that included a run-scoring triple in the third inning and an opposite field solo home run in the fifth inning. Jim Willert chipped in with three hits for Snook.

Steve Friend and Jim Dorey carried the mail for the Stonewalls offense. Friend had four hits, among them a triple and three RBIs, while Dorey also stroked four hits, with two being three baggers. Other contributors included rookies Brian Wegener and Will Smith with three hits each, while manager George Lancaster had three RBIs and Randy Morrison plated two runs.

Brewery 18                                                                               Sand Bar 5

Brewery blitzed Sand Bar with a five-run first inning and then coasted to a victory over Sand Bar.

With two runners on and one out, Ray Capella (three hits and two RBIs) smacked a single to load the bases, setting the table for teammate Glenn Ahlquist (three RBIs) who stroked a single, scoring two runs. Shortstop Rick DiStasio (three RBIs) then looped a run-scoring double to rightfield for a 3-0 Brewery lead. Brewery added two more runs, thanks in part to two Sand Bar errors, bringing a wrap to the first of their three five-run scoring outbursts on the day. Other noteworthy hitters for Brewery included Bob Armstrong, who had two RBIs, courtesy of a triple in the second inning, while Bob Traver (three RBIs) and Pete Ollerich (two RBIs) added to Brewery’s attack. The Crew also had a strong day defensively as it did not commit an error.

Jim Stewart (two RBIs) was the lone bright spot for Sand Bar’s meager offense. He belted a two-run double in the sixth inning, part of a five-run rally for the Sand Men.

Joey’s Pizza 20                                                                           Sami’s 14

Joey’s Pizza delivered its eighth straight win thanks to its balanced offense that saw much of its lineup either get hits or drive in runs.

Joey’s started quickly with two five-run rallies in its first two at bats to take a commanding 10-2 lead. Up 5-2 in the second inning, manager Todd Whitney’s (two RBIs) high flyball fell safely for a double, scoring two runs. An intentional walk scored a third run, setting up Larry Locks (two RBIs), who mashed another two-run double, completing the Pizza Men’s second straight five-run uprising. Trailing by eight, Sami’s briefly pulled within striking distance in the fourth inning.

The White and Red’s John Binns (four RBIs) ignited the outburst with an RBI single, good for the first of five runs as Sami’s cut its deficit to 10-7. But Joey’s answered in its half of the fourth to take control of the game.

Glenn Davis had the first key swing of the rally, lashing a two-run double, upping Joey’s lead to 12-7. An intentional walk loaded the bases for Todd Stigall (four RBIs) who promptly lined a three-run triple to the gap in centerfield, reasserting Joey’s eight-run cushion at 15-8. In its fifth inning, Joey’s tallied another five runs with the key hits belonging to Jerry Engel (two RBIs) and Dick Carson (two RBIs), whose opposite field triple closed the rally. Joey’s other contributor was Robert Stried, who also drove in two runs.

While Sami’s scored six runs in its final at bat to cut its deficit to 20-14, the prior run scoring damage was too much to overcome. Jim Fairbanks was Sami’s other spotlight hitter with two RBIs.

Wednesday February 25, 2026

Brewery 12                                                                          Joey’s Pizza 5

Brewery came out swinging, scoring five runs in its first at bat as it rolled to a victory over Joey Pizza, which saw its eight-game winning streak abruptly halted.

Ray Capella (two RBIs) sparked Joey’s first inning rally when his flyball single dropped between three Joey’s defenders for a 1-0 Brew Crew lead. That brought up Glenn Ahlquist (three RBIs), who ripped a line drive triple to deep left center field, scoring two more runs. Shortstop Rick DiStasio (two RBIs) then made it three straight RBI knocks with a looping single to short leftfield for a 4-0 Brewery advantage. Bob Traver (two RBIs) then completed the uprising with a single for a 5-0 Brewery lead.

Trailing 5-2, it batted in its half of the fourth inning; Joey’s shook off its sluggish start thanks to one swing by slugger Todd Stigall (three hits and three RBIs). He hit a moonshot to deep right center field for a triple, good for two runs as Joey’s pulled to within 5-4.

While Brewery has struggled at times to close out games in the late innings, this time was not one of them. Clinging to a one-run lead in the sixth inning, Chuck McAlpine (three hits) started the Crew’s game-clinching rally with a single. He would score on a fielder’s choice. Di Stasio and Traver closed the five-run outburst with run-scoring singles as Brewery had a 10-4 lead it did not yield.

On an otherwise tough day for Joey’s hitting (only 11 hits) and fielding (eight errors), the Pizza Men’s other spotlight hitters were Tim McKenna and manager Toddy Whitney, who also smacked triples.

Stonewalls 14                                                                         Sand Bar 12

With one swing of the bat, Stonewalls Randy Morrison helped Stonewalls persevere in a back-and-forth affair with Sand Bar.

Having seen its early seven-run lead evaporated by Sand Bar’s tenacity at the plate, and trailing 12-11, Morrison blistered a ground ball up the middle that rolled through Sand Bar’s defense, scoring Will Smith and Brian Wegener, who had ignited the rally with singles, giving Stonewalls a 14-12 lead that it did not yield. The three-run round tripper by Morrison capped a four-RBI day for him. Stonewalls early lead was led by the power swings of Jim Dorey (three hits among them a solo HR and two RBIs) and Wegener (three hits and three RBIs that included a two-run bomb and a triple) as the Men in Black surged to an 8-1 lead after two innings. But to its credit, Sand Bar fought back.

Trailing 8-4 as it batted in the fourth inning, Sand Bar plated two on a fielder’s choice and an RBI single by Jack Martin (three hits). Dave Korte (three hits and three RBIs) then blooped an RBI single to short leftfield for one run and a Stonewalls error on the play scored another, tying the game at 8. Bill Thompson (three hits and three RBIs) then singled to score Korte, giving the Sand Men their first lead of the day at 9-8. Sand Bar used a similar formula to retake the lead in its sixth inning.

Down 11-10 with a one runner on base, Korte singled and once again, a Stonewalls error on the play permitted the runner to score, tying the game at 11. Thompson then smacked a single to left, scoring Korte, for a 12-11 Sand Bar advantage. Other spotlight hitters for Sand Bar included Nick Kopley and Joe Logisz with three hits each and Steve Levesque, who had a triple. For Stonewalls, manager George Lancaster had three hits, which included a solo home run and two RBIs, while Smith had a perfect four-hit day.

Snook Inn 15                                                                              Sami’s 12

Snook Inn broke open a tie game by scoring five runs in the fifth inning to pull away from Sami’s and in so doing, reclaimed a share of first place with Joey’s Pizza.

With the game tied at 7 in its fifth inning at bat, Snook got busy, with Karl Kann (four hits) and Gary Menzies starting the rally with a single and a double, respectively. An intentional walk loaded the bases for John Cavanagh (two RBIs), who blooped a single to right field, giving Snook an 8-7 lead. A single scored another run, setting the table for Doug Stang (two RBIs). The outfielder dropped a perfectly placed single to short right center field, resulting in two more runs and an 11-7 Snook advantage. Snook tallied its final run of the uprising on a fielder’s choice. Snook added three more runs in the sixth inning, with key swing belonging to Steve Hemmerlein, whose RBI single capped a perfect three hit day at the plate.

For Sami’s, number three hitter Tim Rose had another spectacular day hitting, with four hits and four RBIs, one of which came on a triple. Jim Fairbanks, batting second just before Rose, also had a perfect day at the plate, with three hits and three RBIs. And like Rose, he also had an RBI triple, with his helping Sami’s take the early lead in the first inning. Jon Wiseman chipped in with three hits for Sami’s.

Friday February 26, 2026

Stonewalls 15                                                                            Brewery 9

Stonewalls weathered a strong start by Brewery as it turned to its power game, led by rookie Will Smith’s five RBI day.

Trailing 4-0 after two scoreless at bats, Stonewalls got the O going in the third inning when pitcher Steve Chasin (three RBIs) smacked a hard ground ball to leftfield that rolled for a three-run home run, pulling Stonewalls to within one run at 4-3. Back-to-back home runs by Brewery’s Ray Capella (two-run HR, two RBIs on the day) and Glenn Ahlquist (solo shot) again gave Brewery a four-run lead at 7-3 heading into Stonewalls fourth inning at bat. With two runners on and two out, Smith bashed a line drive three-run homer to left center, his first ever, helping Stonewalls to pull within one at 7-6. The Men in Black added two more runs, thanks to a pair of Brewery errors, good for an 8-7 advantage and put the game on ice in the fifth and sixth innings.

In the fifth, Tom Breslin skyed a triple for one run and Jim Dorey capped the four-run uprising when he drilled a two-run HR, resulting in a 12-7 Stonewalls lead. And in the sixth, Smith capped his big day when he popped a two-run double as Stonewalls tacked on insurance runs.

Outfielder Rod Lashley was the other spotlight hitter for Brewery, driving in three runs.

GULF COAST DIVISION

Monday February 23, 2026

Oyster Society 12                                                                   Doreen’s 11

Bolstered by six RBIs by Steve Risch, first place Oyster Society outlasted Doreen’s in eight innings to increase their win streak to six games.

Risch played a big part in helping the Oyster Men build an early lead, with an RBI single in the first and a grand slam in the third inning to make it an 8-2 ballgame. Doreen’s fought back, eventually taking a 9-8 lead in the seventh inning on a John Robichaud RBI along with a couple of Oyster Society miscues. An RBI single by Oyster’s Ralph Leiterding (three RBIs) in the bottom of the seventh sent the game into extra innings.

Doreen’s scored twice in the top of the eighth, one on a Chuck Reich base hit. In the bottom half, Alan Schneider drew the Oyster Society to within one on an RBI single. After an intentional walk, Risch foiled the strategy, driving in the tying run on his third hit of the game. The winning run crossed the plate one batter later on a Doreen’s error.

Doreen’s Jim O’Meara finished the game with three hits, and Rich Larkin knocked in a pair of runs in the loss.

Wednesday February 25, 2026

Crazy Flamingo 10                                                       American Legion 3

It was a slow start for both teams, but the Crazy Flamingo bats came to life in the late innings while the American Legion bats remained dormant, enabling Crazy’s to claim the win.

In the bottom of the fourth, trailing 1-0, the Crazy Birds went to work. Manager Mick Keller got things going with a leadoff single. After a walk, Rich Klein put Crazy’s on the board with an RBI single. RBI base hits by Jim Cuevas and Brian Bergman were followed by a two-run double by Mike Puskar and when the dust settled, the Crazy Birds were up 5-1. Two innings later, Crazy’s added four insurance runs on another RBI single by Klein and a two-run double by Bergman who came around to score on the play on an error, which gave them a 10-3 lead.

Nick Brooks was the lone bright spot for the Legion offense, with a two-run single that narrowed the lead to 5-3, as the Legion was limited to ten hits, all singles.

Friday February 27, 2026

Doreen’s 15                                                                  American Legion 8

Doreen’s jumped out to a big lead early in this one and coasted to the victory over the American Legion.

Already ahead 3-1 after two innings, Doreen’s scored twelve unanswered runs over the next three innings. In the third, Chuck Reich (two RBIs) started the rally with an RBI single. Then with the bases loaded, up stepped Larry Anspach, who delivered a two-run single with another run scoring on an error. Paul Womack capped the uprising with another RBI base hit to give Doreen’s an 8-1 cushion. Doreen’s added four more runs the next inning, three coming on RBI singles by John Robichaud (three hits), Warren Uhl, and Paul Glynn (three hits), and the rout was on.

Doreen’s other hitting stars included Dick Folsom (four hits), Jim O’Meara (three hits including a triple), and Bob Smith (three hits).

Tom Obermeier hammered a three-run homer and Andy Pressler had a two-run round tripper among his three hits for the Legion.

Crazy Flamingo 23                                                         Oyster Society 10

Crazy Flamingo saved the best for last as they scored eleven runs in the seventh inning to pull away from a tight contest and hand Oyster Society the defeat, putting an end to the Oyster Men’s six-game win streak.

Crazy’s Huck McPhee capped a huge day (four hits, six RBIs) with a three-run triple as part of the big seventh inning uprising. Prior to his hit, Crazy’s got RBI singles by Rich Klein and Nick Lordi, a two-run single by Jim Cuevas, and an RBI base hit by Mike Puskar. Joe Barry and John Ranieri also contributed RBI base hits in the inning.

Lordi and Ranieri also punched out four hits for Crazy’s. Puskar drove in four runs, Barry three (two on a line drive homer to left field), and Klein, Lordi, Cuevas, and Ranieri two. Klein hammered a triple earlier in the contest.

John Robichaud, subbing for the Oyster Society, blasted a grand slam to give them an early 6-4 lead. Alan Schneider slashed three hits, and Fred Kramer and Jim Williams each drove in a pair of runs in the loss.