Mixing in with the veterans are the young up and coming players and teams who are also trying to make a name for themselves. Using young talent and athleticism, the Quencher Tavern, coached by Bobby Sances, is looking to be the team to watch in the near future. Another example of young talent is Hub Video’s Bobby (“The Natural”) Noto, who was making his first start as a pitcher, allowed only two hits and looked very impressive on the mound in a win over Bay View Liquor. Corner Tavern’s newcomer Michael Yanovitch also made some noise with his offensive skills in an impressive win last week. Watching these players and teams develop into all-stars and contenders will be fun to watch as the season progresses.

You can catch all of the excitement at M Street Park (Lee Playground) on weeknights (Mon.– Fri.) starting at 6 p.m. The season runs from June 1 through September 10 with playoffs beginning in August. Refreshments are available at the field and fan attendance is appreciated.

And finally, special hello goes out to former league MVP, Dan Lamonica, who is following M Street Softball from a safe and distant place. Keep the faith Danny.

Sam Moran Club (3-0):
The Moran Club opened the season with a 5-1 victory over rival Sidewalk Café and then followed with another equally impressive win against the Seapoint Restaurant 4-2. Pitcher, John Gregorio earned both victories and is looking very sharp in the early going. The Moran Club then completed the week with a 7-0 win against the Olde Time Hardware on Friday. Gregorio earned the shutout and finished the game with ten strikeouts.

Corner Tavern (2-0):
Coming off a winless season (0-19) in 1997, the Corner Tavern had room for improvement in all areas of their game. On Tuesday, one improvement came in the form of newcomer Paul Lewellen who was making his first start on the mound for the Tavern. Lewellen showed how important pitching is to the outcome of the game as he mixed his pitches up well and prevented the SBCC hitters from having a big inning. The Corner Tavern went on to win the game 15-5 behind a nine-run sixth inning led by Michael Gregorio’s triple.

In what can only be termed as a slugfest, the Corner Tavern showed that they also improved in the offense department as they squeaked out a 32-21 nail biter over Hub Video in their second game. Shortstop, Michael Yanovitch had quite a game as he collected six hits, including one double, two triples, a homerun, six runs scored, and knocked in eight runs. Holy cow!

Sidewalk Café (2-1):
After playing tight and dropping the opener to the Moran Club (5-2), the Sidewalk Cafe bounced back with two wins to finish the week. On Wednesday they defeated Sullivan’s Pub 10-0, and on Friday they man handled the young Quencher Tavern team 11-3. Sidewalk’s pitcher, Mark Senna, hurled the first no-hitter of the season in the win against Sullivan’s Pub. Senna finished the game with six strikeouts.

Quencher Tavern (2-1):
Two consecutive wins over Sullivan’s Pub (17-12) and Olde Time Hardware (13-10) put them on a crash course with the Sidewalk Café on Friday. After two innings they found themselves trailing 9-0 and would never bounce back as they suffered their first setback of the season (11-3). The schedule does not get any easier as they face Seapoint Restaurant tonight at 7:30.

Boston Beer Garden (1-0-1):
The bats came to life in the third inning of their opener against Molly Darcy’s. With the score tied at one, Sean Malone started a twelve-run rally when he reached base on an error. During that inning, Rob Rodgers, Tommy Shiner, and Mike Smith added to the offense as they each hit long homeruns. Chris Martin added another homer when he connected in the seventh inning as the Beer Garden cruised to a 16-9 victory. In their second game, the Beer Garden faced SBCC and scored seven runs in the first inning. The lead would not last long as SBCC tacked a nine on the scoreboard in there half of the inning. The two teams then traded leads throughout but neither could hang on long enough to earn the win as the game ended in a 12-12 tie.

Seapoint Restaurant (1-1):
The Seapointers got off to a fast start as they sailed to an easy 10-1 win over the Olde Time Hardware on Monday. On Wednesday they faced the tough Moran Club who had just come off a big win over the Sidewalk Café. Although this was an early season game, both teams were looking to prove themselves in this one. The pitching matchup had Paul Alessi going against John Gregorio, in a battle of veteran right-handed pitchers. Gregorio got the best of Alessi in the third inning when he tripled home two runs, which later proved to be the game winning runs. Seapoint could not get the timely hit when they needed as they fell 4-2 to the defending champs.

Bay View Liquor (1-1):
On Wednesday night this team looked and played like a confused bunch as the lost to the in-experienced Hub Video 10-4. Coach Joe Ordway then regrouped the team and they bounced back with a 12-11 come from behind win against Molly Darcy’s on Thursday. Ed Mahoney belted a three run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the game. John Nee earned the victory for Bay View.

Hub Video (1-1):
The kids from Seventh Street showed up to play on Wednesday evening and came away with a 10-4 win over Bay View Liquor in the season opener. Pitcher Bobby Noto, who was making his first start ever, held Bay View batters to just two hits while striking out four. With that pitching line it sounds like a natural is born at M Street. Hub Video would then turn their attention to the upstart Corner Tavern team in a game played on Thursday. In a game that was purely offense, the Corner Tavern outlasted Hub Video 32-21. That score is not a miss-print!

South Boston Check Cashing (0-1-1):
After dropping the opening game to the Corner Tavern 15-5, the gang from Old Harbor managed to earn a 12-12 tie against the Boston Beer Garden on Thursday. Greg Griffin led the way for SBCC with two doubles and three RBI’s.

Molly Darcy’s (0-2):
The rumor swirled throughout the park that had the team not showing for their opener as many of their players were still vacationing in Toronto. That rumor was put to rest when the starting ten took the field against the Boston Beer Garden on Tuesday. The weary bunch held its own for the first two innings, as the score remained tied 1-1. But the late nights must have taken their toll on the young Molly club as the Beer Garden exploded for twelve runs in the third inning. Molly’s rallied and scored five runs in the seventh inning but it was not enough as they fell 16-9.

The boys looked rested and prepared when they took on Bay View Liquor on Thursday. Entering the seventh inning the game was tied 9-9. But with two men on base and nobody out, Bay View’s Eddie Mahoney handed Molly’s their second loss when he ended the game with a three run homer to right center.

Sullivan’s Pub (0-2):
There is not much to report from the 40 and over gang as they have yet to field a full team and are off to a very slow start. After losing a seesaw battle to the Quencher Tavern on Monday, Sully’s Pub where held hitless in their next game against the Sidewalk Café. The league is still waiting to see them led by veteran pitcher John McGrath before any final judgements are made.

Olde Time Hardware (0-3):
Last year’s fourth place finisher is off to a terrible start this year. After playing poorly and losing the season opener to the Seapoint Restaurant (10-1), the hardware boys were looking to redeem themselves against the Quencher Tavern. After two innings they trailed 11-4 and found themselves wondering what had happened to the magic of last season. Olde Time would eventually rally in the seventh but it would not be enough as they fell 13-10.

Things would not get easier for the gang from West Broadway as the schedule had them matched against the mighty Sam Moran Club on Friday. But Olde Time pulled out their trump card and started their newly acquired ace pitcher, “Ruben.” The move was paying off early as the Olde Time boys trailed only 2-0 after five innings of play. But Moran’s pitcher John Gregorio was even tougher as he dominated the hardware batters. Gregorio limited the starting nine to four hits while striking out ten batters. Although Olde Time lost the game (7-0), they may have found an answer in their pitcher.