Unlike the past four years that saw the Sam Moran Club in first place for most of the season, this year the league has had several teams jockeying for position at the top of the standings. The Sidewalk Café, Quiet Man Pub, Quality Painting and Murphy's Law have all enjoyed first place for at least a day. The parity in the league will make for some interesting playoff games later in the season.

Speaking of first place, the Quiet Man Pub was undefeated and alone at the top for the first three weeks until they played the ever-improving Seapoint Restaurant. Seapoint won an exciting 5-4 thriller that featured pitching, defense, and timely hitting. The welcomed addition of Jim Burgio, Don Bolstad, and Steve Rosemond have really given the Seapointers a much needed shot in the arm.

Another team that is looking to turn around their misfortunes is the forty plus team, Mirisola's who is carrying a disappointing 1-4-1 record as of this writing. All four of their losses have been by one run which has to be frustrating for coach Dan Lamonica. One has to believe that this talented team of veteran ball players will get their game together and enjoy a fine season of softball.

Now it's time to look at last week's games starting with last Thursday's early game between Murphy's Law and the Sidewalk Café. This was a rematch of last year's semi finalist and it was Murphy's who exacted revenge as they pounded out fourteen hits and cruised to a 14-9 victory. Center fielder Joe Broderick made several outstanding catches providing the necessary defense for pitcher James Lee who picked up the win for Murphy's.

Thursday's nightcap saw Quality Painting edge Mirisola's by an 11-10 score on Christian Lynch's game winning three run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was Lynch's second homerun of the game. Pat Simpson also contributed to Quality's win by collecting two hits and knocking in two runs. The win improved Quality's record to 5-1 and moved them up to third place in the standings.

On Wednesday, Quality Painting defeated the Boston Beer Garden 11-7 behind Tommy Fitzpatrick's complete game win. Christian Lynch was the offensive star again for Quality as he pounded out two hits and drove in five runs. Jeremy Bragg and Pat Simpson also contributed to the cause as they each collected a pair of hits.

Wednesday's late game saw the Sidewalk Café trounce the winless Libertarian Party 16-6. Charlie Diblasi got the rare start on the mound for Sidewalk and made the best of it as he pitched seven strong innings and picked up the win. Left-handed power hitter, Bob Dobay, continued swinging the hot bat at the plate foe Sidewalk as he pounded out three hits and drove in six runs. Rookie outfielder Dennis O'Connor also contributed to Sidewalk's cause by collecting four hits and scoring four runs.

The Seapoint Restaurant shutout the Libertarian Party 6-0 on Tuesday behind Jay Malley's four-hitter. Pat Sullivan and Jim Burgio led the offensive attack with three hits each for the Seapointers.

Tuesday's nightcap the Sidewalk Café squeezed by Molly Darcy's 6-3 behind Kevin Hemsley's fifth inning two out single that scored two runs. Yours truly earned the win for Sidewalk and Tommy Connolly picked up the save.

This week's schedule is a short one. On Thursday June 29 at 7pm, the Libertarian Party will try to end its losing streak when they take on the Quiet Man Pub. Also on Thursday, Murphy's Law takes on the Seapoint Restaurant in which should be a great game to watch. The league will then suspend play in observance of the Fourth of July holiday and resume play on Thursday July 6th.