Realizing that the competition is very tough this year, many of the twelve teams have sought out additional talented players to complete their roster. With these new additions, games are becoming more competitive and league standings are beginning to reflect this. Although it's early, one can only imagine what the playoffs will be like come seasons end.

A Bit of History
League history was made on Wednesday night when the first female player to join the league, Lisa Root, took the mound for the Quencher Tavern in a game against the Sam Moran Club. Root, pitching coach for U-Mass women’s softball, was holding her own until a two-out error in the fourth inning led to five runs. She eventually ended the inning when Dorsey Connolly grounded out to shortstop. Root then ran into more trouble in the fifth and was relieved by pitcher Joey DeGrandis. As she made her way to the bench area the crowd gave her a standing ovation. Although she lost the game 15-3, Root is looking forward to her next start on Friday against the undefeated Corner Tavern.

A First
Bob Miller hit a leadoff home run, his first, to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning that proved to be the game winner as Sullivan’s Pub upended the Olde Time Hardware 9-6 on Wednesday evening. Making his first appearance of the season, John McGrath pitched seven strong innings and collected the win for Sullivan’s Pub, their first of the season.

Ready for Prime Time
With a lot to prove and nothing to lose, Quencher Tavern brought their best game and used it to upend the Seapoint Restaurant on Thursday night. Trailing by three in the third inning, the Tavern capitalized on Seapoint’s sloppy defense (3 errors) and scored four runs to take a 5-4 lead. Quencher’s pitcher, Joey DeGrandis then silenced the Seapoint hitting attack as he pitched three effective innings in a row. With the momentum now on their side, Quencher’s offense came to life again in the fifth when they scored six more runs. Danny Nee (single, RBI) and Tommy Flaherty (double, 2 RBI) led the attack with clutch hits in the inning as Quencher cruised to an 11-6 victory.

Bouncing Back
After a slow start, Molly Darcy’s have regrouped and have now won two games in a row. On Monday they had it easy as they pounded Hub Video 17-1 behind pitcher Chris Burnell’s three-hitter. Next opponent, South Boston Check Cashing, would prove to be more of a test when they rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning. Again, Chris Burnell took the mound for Molly’s and was cruising along until he ran into trouble in the top of the seventh inning. Molly’s led 5-2 and had two outs with nobody on base when SBCC’s Jason Mazzeo singled to right field. Danny Flanagan followed with a double that brought the tying run to the plate in Jason Atton. Atton fouled off a couple of pitches before he laced a single to right that scored two runs cutting Molly’s lead to one. Dave Tilton then kept the inning alive when he reached base on an error. Coleman Richards then tied the game with single up the middle that scored Atton from second base. Burnell managed to get the next batter to pop up but the game was tied and the damage was done.

In the bottom of the seventh inning Mike Duffley reached base with a one-out walk. Mike Mogan then followed with a single to right that took a tough bounce and eluded the right fielder. Duffley motored from first to home with the game winning run setting off a mini celebration at home plate. The dejected SBCC crew walked off the field in disbelief.

The Undefeated
Both the Sam Moran Club and the Corner Tavern continued their winning ways this week as both teams climbed to 4-0. The Tavern’s George Young, Mike Yanovitch, and Christian Lynch provided the key hits in a win over the Boston Beer Garden 10-7 on Tuesday.

On Thursday the Tavern trailed by four runs and was looking at their first defeat as they entered the top of the seventh inning. But with two outs six straight batters reached base and all scored as the Tavern rallied for a come from behind 14-10 win over Bay View Liquor and remained undefeated. Pitcher, Paul Lewellen collected his fourth win of the season for the Tavern.

Rain, Rain, Go Away
As of Monday, the weekend's heavy rainfall has placed this entire week’s schedule of games in jeopardy. Games that are rained out will be rescheduled on Friday’s at 9 PM or at the end of the season. Read the Tribune for further notice.

Taking it Indoors
With the rain falling steadily outside, members of the Sidewalk Café gathered indoor’s and held a ping pong tournament. Tournament hopefuls included Mark Senna, Danny Flaherty, Bob “McEnroe” Sweeney, Dennis Lynch, and Tommy “BM” Nelson. Lynch captured the title as he went unbeaten during the day. Next up: Sega golf and hockey tournament.