Not super weather, but a super weekend
St. John’s senior league finally opens its 2018 season, getting in eight of 10 scheduled games
The St. John’s Senior Men’s Softball League staged its first “St. John’s Senior Weekend”, and managed to get in eight of 10 games until Sunday’s bitter temperatures forced the postponement of two games.
The league has two such super weekends planned this season, with the next one slated for later in the month.
After the weather-related postponement of six games, this amounted to the 2018 opening weekend for the league.
NTV Hitmen registered three wins over the weekend, and the defending champion Kelly’s Pub Molson Bulldogs had two. The Hitmen won two Saturday by 7-3 and 10-0 scores over the 3 Cheers Bud Light Dodgers and Kelly’s Pub Junior Canadians. On Friday, the Hitmen got by The Bigs 2-0.
Other scores Saturday saw the Junior Canadians edge the Bulldogs 4-3 in eight innings, the Bulldogs slip past The Bigs 2-1 and 3 Cheers beat The Bigs 8-3.
In the only game played Sunday, The Bigs outscored the Junior Canadians 12-11.
Games between the Bulldogs and Hitmen, and Junior Canadians and Dodgers Sunday were mercifully postponed.
In Friday’s second game, the Bulldogs blanked the Dodgers 3-0.
Highlights on the weekend:
• In The Bigs’ win Sunday, Joey Maynard collected two hits, homered and scored four runs. The two hits were Nos. 392 and 393 of Maynard’s senior career, leaving the veteran just seven hits shy of joining the 400 Hit Club.
Friday, Maynard hit his 80th career double, and is the all-time leader in that department. Marcus Pittman of the junior Canadians recorded his first career senior league hit against The Bigs, an RBI double. And Andrew Kelly of the Junior Canadians hit his first career senior league home run, a two-run shot in the fifth.
• In the Junior Canadians’ extra-inning win over the Bulldogs, Daniel Byrne hit a line drive off the left-field fence to score Kelly with the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
• Blair Ezekiel homered in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Bulldogs a one-run win over The Bigs. Reigning MVP Sean Cleary struck out 11 for the win.
• Chris Murphy had a big game for the Hitmen in their 10-0 win with two hits, two runs scored, a two-run home run and four ribbies.
• Jason Hill and Ryan Kirk both hit two-run home runs for the Dodgers in their win over The Bigs, and winning pitcher Colin Walsh hit a solo shot. Hill’s homer was the 49th of his career
• Kenny Gosse hit a threerun home run, Ryan Boland launched a two-run shot and Jeremy O’reilly clubbed a solo blast in the Hitmen win over the Dodgers.
• On Friday, the Bulldogs’ Cleary retired the first 18 batters he faced before giving up back-to-back hits to start the top of the seventh. Cleary finished the night with 16 strikeouts.