On Friday, the M Street Softball League will hold its annual home run hitting contest and all-star game. The festivities will begin at 6:30pm on the M Street field. The game will start at approximately 8:30pm. This is another can't miss event and is one of the most talked about events of the summer. Don't miss out! It's this Friday starting at 6:30 pm.

Entrants include last year's home run champion, Steven Muldowney, who is looking to be the first back-to-back winner. Rob Rogers, Manny Arruda, Bobby Dobay, Jimmy Burgio, Brian Linehan, Kevin Geherity, and many others have their sights set on Muldowney and are looking to dethrone the king. Who will be the Home Run King for the 2000 softball season? Come to the park on Friday and find out.

This past week the many players involved in the race for first place caught pennant fever. The stands were buzzing with activity as players, coaches and fans kept a watchful eye on the games below. Only two wins separated a team from first to fifth place in the standings. As the week progressed the league saw three teams (Sidewalk Café, Quiet Man Pub, and Quality Painting) stake a claim on the top position. The league also watched Murphy's Law, who was in first place two weeks ago; lose three straight games that landed them in fifth place.

One of Murphy's losses came at the hands of the Libertarian Party (LP) - a team that had lost 30 straight softball games dating back to June of 1999. This was a great win for the players who stuck it out all season long for LP. One such player is Timmy Fitzpatrick who had a great game in the field and at the plate. Timmy went four for five with two triples and drove in six runs. He was also responsible for two great double plays in the field. Stuart Stone earned the win on the mound with son Matt playing a terrific second base.

Another player that earns kudos here is the LP's third baseman, Jason Atton. Jason has been part of LP's two losing seasons but through it all he manages to bring his best to the field every night. He has even been part of three amazing triple plays this year - one of them was an unassisted one. A rare feat indeed!

This past Tuesday, the Sam Moran Club and Seapoint Restaurant were involved in an exciting game that was won by Seapoint in dramatic fashion. With Seapoint leading 5-3 in the top of the sixth inning, Moran's Charles Zaniboni laid into a John Kenney offering and smashed the ball to deep center for a three-run homer. Observers could see that the blow deflated Seapoint and it looked like Moran was going to steal one. But in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, Brian Ahearn roped a single to left field. Michael Whitney was then brought in to run for Brian and the move quickly paid dividends.

The next batter, Steven Morrill hit what appeared to be a game ending pop out but the ball eluded the Moran fielders. Whitney raced around third and was heading for home when the ball was picked up and heaved towards the plate. The ball and Whitney arrived at the same time but Michael managed to get a hand on the plate before the tag was applied and the game was tied. The fleet footed Morrill never stopped at first and smartly ran to third on the throw home. Seapoint's, Jimmy Glynn then followed with a single to right that plated Morrill with the games winning run and the celebration began for Seapoint. What a finish!

As Seapoint continued the celebration the dejected players of the Moran Club quietly made their way to the bench area. Many of them held their heads down and were a bit stunned. After all it was their third loss in a row and seventh of the season. Losing games has not been a part of the Moran Club for several seasons now as they are the four-time defending champions. As I sat and watched these players milling around their leader/manager Ron Gurley could see that his bunch was upset at the latest happenings and needed a bit of encouragement. Not missing a beat, Ron looked around and sternly said, "hold your heads up boys, it's the playoffs that matter". Gurley's words were spoken through years of ups and downs and if his words didn't fall on deaf ears that night, then the Sam Moran Club could play a big role come playoff time. You can bet on that!