Verdi’s and Oyster Society Extend Leads with Big Week

Verdi’s knocked off second-place Dolphin Tiki as part of a big week that allowed them to extend their lead in the Island Division to 2.5 games. In the Marco Division, red-hot Joey’s Pizza ran their winning streak to seven games including a showdown over Snook Inn that allowed them to take sole possession of first place over the Snook by one game. Oyster Society continued its dominance in the Gulf Coast Division with a pair of victories and increased its lead for the top spot to three games ahead of Crazy Flamingo. For the complete, up-to-date results and standings, visit the league website at marcoseniorsoftballleague.com.

ISLAND DIVISION

Tuesday February 17, 2026

Speakeasy 14                                                                        Salty Dog 10

Terry Downs drove in five runs on three hits to lead Speakeasy to the win over reeling Salty Dog, who suffered their third straight defeat.

Speakeasy opened the game with a five-run first inning, highlighted by a Downs sacrifice fly, an RBI single by Vito Iacovazzi (three hits), and a two-run double by manager Tom Vander Aarde. Then in the sixth inning, Iacovazzi came through again with a run-scoring single to give Speakeasy an 8-6 advantage. Two batters later, Downs drilled a pitch to deep left field, good for a two-run round-tripper and a 10-6 lead. Finally in the ninth, Downs struck again with a two-run double, followed by an RBI single by Tom DeAngelo and a sacrifice fly by Laz Ferro to give Speakeasy a 14-7 cushion.

Jeff Kaczka contributed a triple to the Speakeasy attack. For Salty Dog, Brian Alexander led the way with four hits and two RBIs. Bill Krausmann stroked three hits and drove in a pair of runs, and Tom Polston also had two RBIs for Salty in the game.

DaVinci’s 11                                                                   Nacho Mama’s 10

In a see-saw battle featuring several lead changes, DaVinci’s pushed across three runs in the eighth to edge Nacho Mama’s.

Dick Nemmers two-run single to score the tying and go-ahead runs capped the decisive eighth inning for DaVinci’s. Earlier in the contest with DaVinci’s trailing 6-4, Mike Gerace singled home a pair of runs, and Joe Lazzarotti followed with an RBI base knock to reclaim the lead. Two innings later, Nacho’s manager Todd Rogers slashed a two-run single to put them back up 10-8, setting the stage for DaVinci’s eighth inning rally.

Nemmers, manager Ed Seery, and Ken Polarek led DaVinci’s offense with three hits apiece. Polarek, Bill Novakovich, who tripled, and Chris Scherzinger all drove in a pair of runs for the winners. Nacho Mama’s hit leaders included Paul Nussbaum and Matt Evangelista, each with three hits and two RBIs, and Chuck Stathopoulos, who knocked in two runs.

Verdi’s 15                                                                           Dolphin Tiki 10

In a battle of the top two teams in the division, first-place Verdi’s came back from a 10-9 deficit to score the final six runs of the game and prevail over second-place Dolphin Tiki.

After the two teams traded five-run innings, Dolphin Tiki recaptured the lead 10-9 on run-scoring hits by John Nicholas and Joe Rocco in the top of the seventh. Then in the bottom half, Verdi’s had one more big inning in them. With two runners on and one out, Rob Barstow lined an RBI base hit to even the score at 10. Next up was Jon Thomas, who then blasted a three-run homer to give Verdi’s the lead for good. One more run scored on an RBI single by Matt Minik to complete the uprising.

Barstow, Minik, Michael Shone, and Tad Fabian each finished with three hits for Verdi’s. Thomas knocked in four runs and Minik three for the victors. Tiki was led by Gary Revall (three hits, three RBIs), Rocco and manager Ricky Cuevas (three hits each), and Dave Mayo and Sal Tidona (two RBIs apiece).

Thursday February 19, 2026

Verdi’s 15                                                                                 DaVinci’s 8

Verdi’s continued their pattern of strong finishes as they scored nine unanswered runs in the late innings to propel them past DaVinci’s.

Down by a run (7-6) going into the sixth inning, Verdi’s exploded for five runs. With the bases loaded, Nick Jacullo and Rob Barstow hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to reclaim the lead. Two batters later, Tad Fabian had the big blow of the inning as he blasted a three-run home run to deep center field to make it an 11-7 Verdi’s advantage. Then two innings later, Verdi’s struck again. Barstow singled home another run, Jim O’Toole smacked a two-run single, and Matt Minik doubled home a run to extend the lead to 15-7.

Jon Thomas led the hit parade for Verdi’s with five hits, followed by Mike Compton, Fabian, and O’Toole with three apiece. Fabian finished with four RBIs, O’Toole three, Minik, Barstow, and Jacullo two. David St. Angelo punched out three hits for DaVinci’s, and Carl Parker smacked a triple. Ed Seery and Ken Polarek both drove in a pair of runs in the defeat.

Dolphin Tiki 22                                                                        Salty Dog 7

Led by manager Ricky Cuevas and Dave Falls, Dolphin Tiki rebounded from a painful loss to put together a dominant performance in their victory over Salty Dog.

Tiki came out of the gate smokin’ as they scored five times in the first inning, thanks to a Sal Tidona (two RBIs) RBI double, RBI singles by Dave Mayo (three hits) and Eric Jeanotte (three hits, two RBIs), an RBI double by Cuevas (four hits, four RBIs), and a bases loaded walk. Then in the fifth with Tiki already ahead by an 11-6 margin, they scored five more on RBI singles by Jeanotte, Cuevas, and Dave Falls (who also tripled and had five RBIs), followed by a two-run triple by John Nicholas (three hits) to put the game on ice.

Other hitting stars for Tiki included Gary Revall (three hits) and Brian Craig (two RBIs), as everyone in the lineup hit safely. Bob Ferreira hammered a two-run home run, and Brian Alexander added a solo blast for the only bright spots for the Salty Dog offense as they dropped to 1-6 for the month of February after a strong January.

Nacho Mama’s 20                                                                Speakeasy 11

Nacho Mama’s combined their biggest offensive output of the season with an errorless defensive performance to claim the win over Speakeasy.

Nacho’s got big production from Matt Evangelista, who went a perfect five-for-five including a two-run home run in the seventh and drove in five runs, and from manager Todd Rogers, who slashed four hits including a run-scoring triple and five RBIs. Other contributors to Nachos’ potent attack include Frank Tedesco (three hits, three RBIs), and Bill Coyle and Paul Nussbaum (three hits each).

Speakeasy was led by Mike Galloway, with four hits and three RBIs, Mark Whealy (three hits, two RBIs), Vito Iacovazzi (three hits), and Terry Downs (three RBIs).

Friday February 20, 2026

DaVinci’s 19                                                                   Nacho Mama’s 18

Ken Polarek, who finished with three hits and four RBIs, doubled in the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the ninth, enabling DaVinci’s to outlast Nacho Mama’s in a thriller.

Multiple lead changes in the early innings left the score at 10-10 after five innings. Nacho’s put together a five-run sixth on run-scoring hits by Matt Evangelista (three hits), Bob Masulis (two RBIs), Dave O’Brien (three hits, two RBIs), and Chuck Stathopoulos (four hits, four RBIs), along with a sacrifice fly by Todd Rogers (three hits, two RBIs). DaVinci’s answered with five of their own on RBI singles by Bill Novakovich and Dick Nemmers (two RBIs), a two-run double by Bruce Denlinger (three hits), and a sacrifice fly by Joe Lazzarotti (four RBIs). DaVinci’s took a two-run lead into the ninth inning, but a two-run triple by Stathopoulos tied it and a Bill Coyle sacrifice fly gave Nacho’s back the lead (18-17), setting up Polarek’s heroics in the bottom of the inning.

Other hitting heroes for DaVinci’s included Paul Kramer (four hits), Dave St. Angelo (three hits, three RBIs), and Mike Gerace (three hits). Eric Phillips blasted a three-run homer to center field to give Nacho’s a 10-6 lead in the fourth inning, part of a three-hit afternoon, and Paul Nussbaum also slashed three hits for Nacho’s.

MARCO DIVISION

Monday February 16, 2026

Brewery 8                                                                                     Sami’s 5

After being on the short end of several close losses this season, Brewery turned the tables on Sami’s with a late rally to win its fourth game of 2026.

Trailing 5-0 as it came to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Brew Crew went into rally mode. An RBI single and a sacrifice fly plated two runs for Brewery, with Jack O’ Brien (two RBIs) striding to the plate with two runners aboard. The lefty pitcher and batter smacked an inside pitch into short rightfield for a base hit, with one run scoring on the hit and another coming home on an errant throw, giving Brewery life as it now trailed by only one run at 5-4. It was more of the same for the Brew Crew in their sixth inning.

With one out, a single and the walk set the table for the Crew’s slugger, Bob Armstrong (two RBIs). He promptly bashed a triple to centerfield, scoring two runs, giving Brewery its first lead of game. Glenn Ahlquist then did his teammate one better. He laced a two-run line drive home run to right center field, his third HR of the season, good for an 8-5 Brewery lead it did not yield.

Ed Kingsbury (two RBIs) and Tim Rose (two RBIs) were the main drivers of Sami’s early lead with RBI hits in the first and third innings, respectively. Both teams played stout defense, with Brewery committing no errors while Sami’s had only one error on the afternoon.

Joey’s Pizza 8                                                                        Stonewalls 5

Joey’s Pizza continued its torrid February, winning its sixth game in a row (and second straight over Stonewalls), while moving into a first-place tie with Snook Inn.

Trailing by a run as it batted in the bottom of the fourth inning, Joey’s flexed its extra base muscle to flip the game in its favor. Manager Todd Whitney followed a leadoff double by bashing a triple, tying the game at two. Glenn Davis (two RBIs) then tattooed the next pitch for a two-run home run, his third of the year, giving the Pizza Men a 4-2 advantage. George Giacobbi (three hits) then followed Davis’ lead. He hammered his first pitch to deep leftfield for a no doubt solo home run, his fourth-round tripper of the season. Joey’s added its fifth and final run of the uprising courtesy of a Stonewalls error, pushing its lead to 6-2. Joey’s would add two more runs to achieve its final run tally of eight.

It was a tough day offensively for Stonewalls, as the Men in Black managed only eight hits while scoring in only two innings. Steve Friend (three RBIs) had the signature swing of the game, smashing an opposite field three-run home run in the sixth inning, giving Stonewalls some life, reducing its deficit to 7-5. But the heartbeat did not last long. As it did most of the game, Joey’s sure handed defense (no errors) snuffed out Stonewalls seventh inning rally bid by turning a game ending double play on a lineout.

Snook Inn 12                                                                            Sand Bar 5

Snook Inn broke open a close game by scoring seven runs in its final two at bats to pull away from Sand Bar as it remained tied for first place with red hot Joey’s Pizza.

Leading the last place Sand Men by only two runs after five innings, Mike Sweeney (three hits and two RBIs) and Bob Bejnerowicz (three hits and two RBIs) ensured there would be no Sand Bar upset this day. Sweeney’s sixth inning line drive single pushed the Snook lead to 6-3. An RBI single and an error plated two more runs for Snook. Bejnerowicz then dropped a single into short right centerfield to make it 9-3 Snook as Sand Bar negated a possible 10th run thanks to a fine relay play resulting in the third out at home plate. In seventh inning Snook added three insurance runs as Karl Kann (two RBIs) plated one with a single and Gary Menzies (two RBIs) scored two more with a triple. Steve Hemmerlein (two RBIs) had Snook’s highlight swing of the day when stroked an opposite field, solo home run in the first inning.

Jack Martin was Sand Bar’s lone bright spot offensively with two RBIs.

Wednesday February 18, 2026

Sami’s 15                                                                                  Sand Bar 3

Sami’s Jim Fairbanks smacked three hits while driving in four runs to lead the White and Red to a convincing win over last place Sand Bar.

Fairbanks started his RBI parade in the first inning. He ripped a single to leftfield, scoring one run, good for a 3-1 Sami’s lead. It was more of the same for Fairbanks in his next at bat, with a little help from one of his teammates. With one run in, John Gross (two RBIs) plated a run with a double. One batter later, Fairbanks did it again, smacking a nearly identical RBI single to left, giving Sami’s a 6-1 lead. In his third at bat in the fifth inning, Fairbanks completed his hat trick of leftfield RBI singles. This time his liner drove in two runs as Sami’s plated five runs in the inning to blow the game open with a 12-2 cushion when the dust settled. Sami’s other spotlight hitters were Jon Wiseman (three hits), while Jack Facciolo had two RBIs.

Bill Thompson had three hits to pace Sand Bar’s meager offense that generated only 10 hits in the game.

Joey’s Pizza 13                                                                       Snook Inn 6

Streaking Joey’s Pizza won its seventh game in a row and more importantly, moved into sole possession of first place by defeating Snook Inn.

The story of this win for Joey’s was the complementary play of its offense and defense. On offense, half of Pizza Men’s lineup had multiple hit games while the other half had one knock each, good for a 20-hit attack as a team. And Joey’s continued its stretch of solid fielding, committing only one error in the game. Glenn Davis paced the offense with three hits and three RBIs while manager Todd Whitney chipped in with three hits. Todd Stigall had three RBIs, upping his season total to 21. And George Giacobbi kept pace with his teammate, driving in two runs, upping his total to 21 as well. Defensively, time and again, Joey’s flashed the leather by snaring line drives and hauling in flyballs to stymie Snook’s offense. The complementary play of its offense and defense has been the centerpiece of Joey’s surge to first place with six regular-season games to play.

Snook’s John Cavanagh (three RBIs) had its signature swing of the day when he boomed a three-run triple, giving the Snook an early lead in the first inning. Steve Hemmerlein had three hits while Karl Kann bashed a line drive that rolled for his team leading fourth home run.

Stonewalls 15                                                                            Brewery 8

Stonewalls used extra base power in the early going to overwhelm Brewery.

Already leading 2-0 after manager George Lancaster (two RBIs) plated two runs with a single, the Men in Black loaded the bases for number eight hitter Paul Sullivan (four RBIs). Sullivan promptly cleared them when he blasted a triple to deep leftfield, scoring three and boosting Stonewalls lead to 5-0. But the big swings for Stonewalls did not end there.

In its next at bat, pitcher Steve Chasin (two RBIs) drilled a line drive to straight away centerfield that rolled for a solo home run and a 6-2 Stonewalls advantage. Following a single by Tom Breslin (two RBIs on a two-run HR later in the game), sub–Larry Locks (three RBIs) smacked a hard ground ball to center that eluded Brewery’s defense and again rolled for a home run, this one scoring two, upping Stonewalls cushion to 8-2. Stonewalls other spotlight hitter was outfielder Tom Gazzillo, who had three hits and two RBIs while batting leadoff for the first time this season. And Stonewalls had a strong game defensively, with no errors and several highlight reel putouts.

Brewery’s offense was led by Bob Armstrong with three hits. Contributors included Chuck McAlpine and Glenn Ahlquist with two RBIs each. One of Ahlquist’s RBIs came when he laced an opposite field triple in the fourth inning.

Friday February 20, 2026

Sami’s 35                                                                                Sand Bar 18

Tim Rose had a day for the ages as Sami’s routed Sand Bar.

The first of Rose’s power swings occurred in the first inning when he scorched a line drive two-run triple to centerfield, the signature hit of a five-run first inning for Sami’s. And it was the beginning of a hitting and scoring avalanche for Sami’s that saw them score five runs three more times and plate nine runs in the seventh inning where scoring is unlimited.

Rose’s other highlight swing came in the fourth inning. He roped a liner, again to centerfield, splitting Sand Bar’s defense and resulting in a solo home run. Rose’s final stat line: six hits in six at bat’s, seven RBIs, and 11 total bases. He had plenty of support from his teammates.

Jack Facciolo (five hits, two RBIs); Kent Clarkson (four hits, two RBIs); John Gross (four hits, two RBIs); John Binns (three hits, three RBIs); Ed Kingsbury (three hits, three RBIs); Dave Schott (three hits, three RBIs); Jon Wiseman (three hits, two RBIs); manager Dick Eddy (three hits) and Jim Fairbanks (two RBIs) all had a hand in Sami’s blizzard of offense. As a team, Sami’s had 39 hits (36 singles and three extra base knocks). Meanwhile, it was another tough day for Sand Bar, with the irony being that their largely season-long offensive struggles were dismissed as they scored 18 runs while smacking 22 hits as a team.

Outfielder Kevin Smith led the Sand Men’s offense with three hits, among them a grand slam home run in the fourth inning, good for four of his five RBIs while Peter Kane had four hits and two RBIs. Other contributors included: John Klebauskas with three RBIs while Joe Logisz and sub-Todd Stigall had two each. Stigall’s two RBIs were courtesy of his home run in the seventh inning.

GULF COAST DIVISION

Monday February 16, 2026

American Legion 18                                                                  Doreen’s 9

American Legion pulled away from a tight contest scoring nine times in the final two innings to take down Doreen’s.

With the Legion ahead 9-6 entering the sixth inning, they pushed across five runs thanks to a two-run triple by Jim Lencioni (three hits, three RBIs), RBI singles by Jim Battye (four RBIs) and Don Mandetta, and a fielder’s choice. They followed that up with a four-run seventh. An RBI double by John Barrett, who also homered as part of his three hit, three RBI afternoon, preceded run-scoring base hits by Jeff Taylor (four hits including a triple and three RBIs) and Lencioni and Battye again to turn it into an 18-7 rout.

Leadoff batter Jim Adair set the table for the Legion also collecting three hits in the game. Warren Uhl had a run-scoring double and a solo home run for Doreen’s. Bob Smith tripled and Chuck Reich drove in a pair of runs in the loss.

Wednesday February 18, 2026

Oyster Society 8                                                             Crazy Flamingo 5

In a defensive battle where only one error was committed and hits were hard to come by, Oyster Society, on the strength of one big inning, was able to outlast Crazy Flamingo and claim the victory.

Oyster Society struck first when Steve Risch singled in a run in the top of the first inning. Crazy Flamingo hurler Jim Cuevas (three hits) then hammered a two-run round-tripper to center field in the bottom half to give them an early 2-1 lead. It stayed that way until the fourth inning when the Oyster Men pushed across five runs. After a pair of walks, the second intentional, put runners at first and second, Risch again foiled the strategy by stroking a single to knock in one run. Dave Chroust (two RBIs) followed with another RBI base knock, and then the big blow, a three-run home run to left by Barry Neale to cap the rally and give the Oyster Men a 6-2 advantage that they did not relinquish.

Friday February 20, 2026

Crazy Flamingo 5                                                                      Doreen’s 4

Runs were hard to come by as defense was the name of the game in this one in which Crazy Flamingo was able to eke out the win against Doreen’s.

Crazy’s did most of their scoring in the first inning as they pushed across three runs. With one out, Nick Lordi slapped a single to left field and Jim Cuevas followed with a double to left. Brian Bergman then singled home the first run and Mike Puskar singled home a pair to make it a 3-0 ballgame. Crazy’s added two more runs in later innings on RBI base hits by Huck McPhee and Rich Klein and that was all they needed in this low-scoring affair.

Puskar had three hits to lead the Crazy Birds while Jan Grossman topped Doreen’s with three hits also.

Oyster Society 16                                                      American Legion 14

Red hot Oyster Society used the long ball to continue their winning ways as they were able to thwart a late rally by American Legion to claim their fifth consecutive win.

The Oyster Men’s Dave Chroust broke a 5-5 tie with a three-run blast to center field in the third inning. An inning later, Brian Bergman (three hits) hit a two-run homer to center to increase Oyster’s lead to 12-6. Then in the seventh, Mike Corless (three hits) joined the long-ball brigade for the Oyster Society with a three-run bomb to give them a 16-8 advantage. It turns out that’s all the runs that were needed as the Legion staged a furious rally in the bottom of the seventh, scoring six runs, the last five on a three-run home run by Jim Adair and a two-run triple by Tom Obermeier (three RBIs) that closed the gap to 16-14, but that’s where it ended.

Joe Barry also punched out three hits and Ray Niemeyer tripled for the Oyster Men. John Barrett and Jim Lencioni had three hits each and Jeff Taylor tripled for the Legion.