Lynx, Stadium Sports Bar, El Presidente, and Sidewalk Café Reach Semi's

Seven wins away. That's all that separates each of the four semi finalist from capturing the coveted M Street Softball League championship. The Lynx, Stadium Club, El Presidente, and Sidewalk Café each advanced through the quarter final round last week in impressive two game sweeps. They will each face their toughest competition of the season putting their players in situations where a single play can win or lose a game. At this time of the year, every hit, error, or defensive play that happens on the field is magnified.

The best of five semi-final series is scheduled to begin on Monday (Aug. 13th) and will conclude on Thursday (Aug. 16th). Game times are 6:30 and 8pm. Upon conclusion of the two series, the best of seven finals is scheduled to start on Monday, August 19 with the first pitch being thrown at 7:35pm.

In order to reach the finals, each of these teams will need to play their best softball of the season as they will be tested again and again. Let's take a look at the four teams and breakdown their chances of winning the title.

The Lynx - they posted the best regular season record (16-1-1) and arguably have the most talented team. They have four very good pitchers in Nick French, Jerry Thomes, Domenic Lemarra, and Mike Hoadley. There batting lineup boasts of former major league prospects (Toco Soto and Mike Spinelli) who can put up big numbers in a hurry. If those two fail to produce, then the Lynx can rely on the clutch hitting of Hoadley, Jerry Thomes Jr and Kevin O'Hara. They also have top glove men at nearly every position including catcher Al Martin, third baseman Hoadley, second baseman Juan Sanchez, and first baseman Dan Ekasala. Ekasala also serves as their coach and has his team in participating in three competitive leagues while also playing in weekend tournaments against the best teams in the country. If there is any weakness in this team it might be the fact that they have played so much softball to this point that they could be worn down and looking ahead to the Nationals (Labor Day). In any case, in just their second season of playing in the M Street league the Lynx are looking to return to the finals by taking down the team that defeated them in last years championship, the Sidewalk Café.

Stadium Sports Bar - after several years of fielding competitive teams but coming up a player or two short, the Stadium feels this could be their year to make a serious run. At 15-4, they were the only team to pin a loss on the Lynx and are one of the few teams who have improved their overall play as the season wore on. Pitchers John Gregorio, Sammy Acevedo, and Joey Burke are healthy, focused, and ready to lead their teammates through the grueling games that lie ahead. Their offense is well balanced with power (Rob Rogers and Chris Martin), speed (Charlie Conners and Steve Couturier), and pure hitting (Matt Traft, Javier Colon, and Greg Carter). The supporting cast (Paul Gurley, Tim Walsh, Daryle Alexander, and Tommy Russell) is also very talented. Alexander, who isn't a starter, led the team in hitting this year with a .675 batting average. There is no question that the Stadium has enough talent to win but will need to do a better job at putting a game behind them and "bouncing back" after a tough defeat. Fortunately, the Stadium will be facing El Presidente in the semi finals, a team that they handled rather easily this season.

El Presidente - at 9-9, the first year team from Lynn has shown flashes of brilliance at times but has also shown that they might be a few players short from challenging for the title this year. They feature two good pitchers in Joey Venuti and Alberto Perez who have both had success and failures this season. When they are on, both Perez and Venutti have dominated games this year and will be looked upon to bring their best "stuff" to the park over these next two weeks. Perez, Ryan Shefferman, Franco Leon, and Pedro Subervi provide the deep threat in the middle of the El Presidente lineup while Matt Abbott, Raul Acosta, Enrique Leon, Eddie Leon, and Paul O'Toole round out the order. As mentioned above, El Presidente will be facing their nemesis (Stadium Club) in the semi finals. In their first meeting this year, El Presidente was dominating and leading 12-5 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. They wound up losing that game and the next three regular season games to the Stadium Club. Coach Cliff Ansara is hoping for a better outcome in the playoffs and will look to his veteran players to provide leadership.

Sidewalk Café - their 6-12 records shows that it has been a frustrating and trying year for the defending champions. Several key players from last year's team have moved on to other commitments leaving the team with big shoes to fill. To offset their loss, pitchers George Pratt and Mark Senna will need to be on top of their game to give them a chance in their semi final series against the league best team, the Lynx. RBI machines Bobby Dobay, Mike Smith, and Joe Andriano provide the power in the lineup while Jeremy Beauchemin, Phil Stavrinos, and Peter John give them plenty of speed on the bases. Sidewalk will also need key contributions from Tommy Connolly, Bryan Ellsworth, Brian Goodman, Michael Donovan, Mark Gangone, and Jake Drew. They're taking on a tall task in facing the Lynx but have responded in the past with great performances and shouldn't be counted out just yet.

Moving away from the local league, it was recently announced that the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Nationals tournament will be held in Fairhaven, MA this Labor Day weekend. Folks this is a great chance to not only see the "best of the best" but to also take part in the tournament yourself. That's right, local area teams are accepted and encouraged to enter the tournament. Gil Modesto is the contact for the tournament and he can be reached at: (508) 295-6232 or reached on their web site: www.leaguelineup.com/llsl.

In closing, it is with regret that we announce the passing of M Street Softball star - Bob Lerro #49. Mr. Lerro, as many of us known him, taught English at South Boston High school and coached the school's football team. My own memories of Mr. Lerro were both from the classroom and on the athletic fields. I remember attending his classes at SBH and thinking I could use my status as a "hockey star" to get away with doing very little school work. Mr. Lerro quickly picked up on that, took me aside, stared directly into my eyes and made his point very clear. From that day forward I respected and held him in high regard and was always prepared for his classes.

After graduation it would be a few years later where I would see him again but this time it was on the diamond at M Street park, it was 1987. Lerro was near the end of his softball career and I was making my debut as an outfielder for the Sam Moran Club. We had some tightly wound characters on that team but Lerro's calming presence would often defuse whatever was about to erupt. He had that "gentleman" way about him that instantly put you on your best behavior. I remember hearing former Bruins coach Don Cherry say that he would often ask Jean Ratelle to leave the dressing room while he blasted the Bruins for their poor play. Cherry knew he would loose his cool and would get into a tirade but didn't want the gentle Ratelle to hear any of the profanity. It was the same with Lerro - he was and will always be remembered as a classy individual who gave more than his share to the youth of the South Boston community. Rest in peace my friend!