Link: All-Star Game & Homerun Hitting Contest

The M Street Softball League has reached the halfway point of the season and with one look at the standings it appears the race for the playoffs won't be settled until the last game of the regular season is played. However, before we review the teams that play out of the Sam Moran division we first want to bring attention to this year's all-star festivities.

The league has brought back the very popular Homerun Hitting contest which will be on Thursday, July 17th at 6pm. Sluggers Rob Rogers, Mike Selig, and Mike Smith are just a few of the names who will be participating. Following the contest is a real treat for softball fans and players. A traveling all-star team that plays out of Staten Island, New York is coming to M Street Park to take on the M Street stars. I'm told by their manager (Bob Riley) that they play over 170 games a year! Boys we better bring our "A" game for this one.

Then on Friday, July 18th the M Street Stars and our friends from New York will then travel to the North End to take on the North End All-Stars. Those games are scheduled to begin at 6:30pm at the Atlantic Avenue field in the North End of Boston. The North End league has been itching to play the M Street Stars for the past couple of years and now they finally have their wish. An interesting twist to these games will be the use of wooden bats. That's right folks; the North End league has recently gone with wooden bats to cut down on the number of homeruns. For those of you not familiar with the field - balls hit over the fence in left and center field end up in the Boston Harbor.

The series will then return to M Street Park on Saturday, July 19th with games beginning at 1pm. This is a great way to promote the M Street Softball League and the game of modified pitch softball itself. Coaches, players, families, and fans of softball are encouraged and welcomed to attend these can't miss games.

We'll now review those teams that play in the Sam Moran division and take a look at the Buckey Feeney division teams next week. This year the league is divided into two divisions (13 teams in each division) with the top six teams qualifying for the playoffs.

At the top of the standings is last year's champion, the Dawgs (10-2). With only eight players returning from last year's team coach Danny Ekasala has done a great job in assembling another powerhouse of a lineup. Dan Brown, Rob Coppola, and Franklin Pimetel add to an already deep lineup. On the mound for the Dawgs is lefty Nick French who has been pitching most of the innings for the Dawgs while veteran Jerry Thomes has pitched in a limited role. So far the toughest challenge they have faced was from the Shamrock Pub who beat them 7-6 in a game that was played under poor weather conditions.

In second place is the Stadium Stingers (9-3), who as a first year entry are the surprise team of the league. The Stingers started their season at 9-0 before recently running into a couple of tough losses. Coach Steve Ballas has fielded a very athletic squad who lead the league in runs scored (185). Brothers Dave & Steve Ballas, John Lawrie, Brendan O'Heir, Jimmy Peters, and Dan Roderigues are all having an outstanding year at the plate. Roderigues is also the Stingers starting pitcher who has an impressive 8-1 record. Although an unknown, the Stingers continue to impress on the field and will be a tough opponent come playoff time.

Just off the pace in third is Shennanigans Bar & Grill (8-3) who have undergone a massive roster transformation this year. Coach Dave Conti is focused on building a winner and has proved it by adding tournament players Jimmy Pinkston (P), Greg Trudell (OF), Jim Innocent (1B), and Luis Colon (SS). The group has big game experience which will go a long way in putting Shennanigans at even ground with the league's elite teams.

The Cranberry Café (8-3) sits in fourth place and can boast that they are the only team in the league that features players who were born and raised in South Boston. The Café boys have been holding their own in the league and are getting solid pitching from veteran M Streeter's Jay Malley and Jimmy McNiff. At the plate it's been Christian Lynch and Pat Pickup who have been driving in most of the Café's runs. Their remaining schedule isn't too difficult which gives Coach John Silva and the rest of his troops a pretty good chance at finishing within the top three teams in the division.

After dropping four of their first five games the Brewers got on a roll and have climbed into fifth place (8-5). Coach Tom Yeo lost several key players from last year's squad but the returning players have all stepped up their game to fill the void. Jarrett Britt, Brad Cole, Kevin Coyle, Derrick Smith, Chris King, and Yeo are the nucleolus that gives the Brewers a chance of winning every night. Looking ahead, the Brewers will be in the run for one of the two top spots and a playoff bye in the division.

The L Street Tavern (5-7) is sitting on the playoff bubble and will need a strong finish down the stretch to qualify. The pitching staff is steadily improving which is keeping the Tavern is games that once were out of reach. Joe Pillar, Graham McGirr, and Trevor Donelan have all notched wins on the mound for L Street. On the offensive side Josh Ray, Pillar, McGirr, Jonathan Neil, Ryan Morin, and Donelan are all having a great year at the plate and contributing nightly. It looks like L Street will need to win three out of their remaining four games to fend off the rest of the division and qualify for the playoffs.

The joke following the first year Biltmore Orioles (4-4) for the early part of the season was that whenever they had a game scheduled it would rain. Well, it appears that the dark clouds are no longer following them and they can now concentrate on playing some meaningful games. Coach Ben Sharpe has assembled a decent team that will only improve with time. Jeremy Covino, Lex & Leo Evriviades, Jay Soucia, Sharpe, and Matty Thayer have played key roles in the Orioles first four wins. Currently in seventh place and just of the pace, it appears that the Orioles will be chasing the L Street Tavern for the final playoff position.

Although the wins have been hard to come by for the first year Clough Club (3-7-1), they are still the best dressed team in the league. The first year team wears matching hats, socks, shorts, and shirts and looks very professional. Coach Matt Clough has a great group of players and friends to work with and is determined to build a winner. Clough, Matt Lovetere, Colin Maxey, Greg Smith, Brian O'Hanley, and Andrew Genovese have led the way for the Clough Club so far this year. Reaching the playoffs is still a possibility this year but it appears the Clough Club will have to win all of their remaining games.

The Southie Sox (3-5) are another first year team who are coached by Bill Davis. The Sox are going through typical first year growing pains as they are trying to adjust to the league, field, rules, and player personnel. Jared Barber and Ross Maguire are putting up big numbers for the Sox in the middle of the order and will be looked upon to continue. Because of the number of rainouts the Sox have had this season they are still in the hunt for the playoffs providing they win the makeup games.

Bushwhackers (4-6) are probably the most improved team of the year. Coach Justin Holohan and his troops went through a long losing season last year (2-16) but now find themselves just a game off the playoff pace. Anthony Donnelly, D.J. Hill, Holohan, A.J. Lindsey, and Steve Robb are all having a productive year at the plate. Holohan is still looking for one of his players to step up and learn the craft of pitching which will eventually lead to many more wins for the Bushwhackers. Looking ahead, most of the games the Bushwhackers have left on their schedule are against teams that are just ahead of them in the standings. I guess they wouldn't want it any other way.

As a first year team, Murphy's Law's (3-8) season might be best remembered when they pulled off one of the upset wins of the year in taking down the then 9-0 Stadium Stingers. Although the wins have been hard to come by, Coach Mike Doran and his troops appear to be enjoying their first year in the league. Doran is getting great production from players Dave & Mike Byrne, Anthony McGoughlin, Adam Mullen, Peter Needham, and Ryan Palizzolo. This is another team that will need to win their remaining games to qualify for the playoffs.

The Place (3-6) is far off the pace they set last year when they were 15-3 as a first year club. The schedule wasn't kind to them in the first few weeks either so they could be ready to hit their stride and make a run for that last playoff position. Alex Olson, Nate Root, Chris Sylvia, and Coach Kevin Sheppard have led the way for The Place.

The ex Blue Jays (0-11) are an athletic bunch who got off to a tough start and have yet to recover. As the losses continue to mount the team has struggled to field nine for Coach Derek Kilduff. The league is hoping that the team sticks it out and plays the role of the spoiler down the stretch.

In closing, please remember that the homerun hitting contest is this Thursday starting at 6pm with the All-Star game against New York immediately following. Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you at the field.